We all made it through customs and were granted permissiong to re-enter the U.S. today. I was worried that officials may have read the blog and would detain us or at least me for my overseas activities. It is good to be back though very strange. I should be in bed but I think I have been up for so long that I am not tired anymore. It will probably hit me tomorrow.
Anyway, the flights were good today, Paris to Houston and Houston to San Diego. The first flight went by faster for me than the second, probably because I was ready to be done by the time we got to Houston. Just thought I would post a final update. Pictures to come and of course non-Europe trip subjects...I must catch up on movies now and from those viewings of course come my reviews.
Goodnight.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Au revior!
Tonight is our last night in Europe, specifically Paris. Thank you to those who have joined us on our journey. I slacked on the blog and in my personal journal these last few days. Fortunately I have time on a very long plane ride tomorrow to catch up on the personal journal. Those who have kept up with the blog, I am sure that a travel companion of mine or I will you in on the smaller details as time goes by. I will tell you now about a few odd things that have happened here in France these last few days, the highlights if you will.
1. Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting, at the Palace Versailles!?! This will be hard to tell without the visuals but I'll try. Sandra, Erin and I went to Versailles, the Palace originally built by King Louis XIV. I had been before but it was a place I was excited to see again. We were pretty hungry when we got there and decided to go eat in the "cafe". It wasn't fit for a King, but the Louis' have been gone for a while now. On our way down the stairs into the cafe, we were stopped in our tracks as we saw a woman of about 29 year old tossing her food onto the floor. She was yelling in French at an older couple of about 67 (I am specific about ages only for my own entertainment) who were part of a group of tourists of about the same age. The woman then threw the remaining food, an apple tart perhaps, towards the corner of the room. Once her hands were free, she stood in a Kung-fu position, ready to fight. The older man she was in the debacle with said something to her in what seemed to be a mocking tone though from my perspective, much of French is spoken in a mocking tone. Anyway, from there, the seniors tour group left the cafe, passing us as they moved up the stairs and the angry woman continued to speak to them and pushed her way through the crowd. We never learned what led to her random use of the Kung-fu stance at Versailles other than she was in line for a while and the people said something to her. It was hilarious though. Later, when we were near the Grand Canal in the gardens, we saw a different woman posing for a picture in a Kung-fu stance. She was smiling though and it just occurred to me that maybe she had been in the cafe during the feud. Or, maybe it was Kung-fu day at Versailles.
2. 100's of Rollerbladers and Cyclists: This is not funny but just cool. Our first night back in Paris, we were hanging out on the street, checking out a map and deciding on what to do when suddenly a few police cars came by with lights flashing. I was worried that thing I did the night we were here a couple of weeks ago was coming back to haunt me but they were actually clearing the way for the 100's of rollerbladers and then cyclists that came zooming past. Later, once we were in our hotel room, we heard commotion again and saw from our room the group passing by again. We never found out why. I know I could google it now and list it but I'm on a roll and only paid for an hour at this lab so I'll keep going.
3. Today I saw a bum fight. There were about 8 police officers circled around two bummish-(yeah, I am making up words now)looking guys who were yelling at each other. The larger of the two could not keep his right eye open so I think he was losing the fight when the police arrived.
4. Free Metro Days: We have a dollar (1€40 to be exact) saving tip for those who use the Metro when they are in France. Do as the locals do and participate in turnstile-hopping. It is all the rave with the Parisians. Basically, if no one is looking, and there is a standard turnstile keeping you from the metro line, hop it. You may be first inclined to go under the turnstile as I was the night we arrived but that is anamateure move and can lead to a bruised knee.* Upon observing the locals jump turnstiles, and knowing we would potentially miss our train to Versailles while waiting in the ticket line, we decided to go for it and sneak onto the train. The three of us went under this time vowing to jump from now own. When we arrived at Versailles' station, we noticed that we would not be inconspicuous sneaking through the turnstiles since there were more people around who were watching for such activity. Fortunately, there was an open gate that we were able to pass through unnoticed. On our way back into Paris, the same gate afforded us free admission to the metro. When we arrived in Paris, Erin went under the turnstile because she was wearing a skirt and jumping would be tricky. Casually, I jumped over, getting m my back foot caught on the turnstile and almost falling. Sandra was equally awesome when she lost her flip-flop as she brought her 2nd leg over. No one helped her retrieve the sandal so it was a bigger challenge than my recollection may make it seem. ** If you are up for it, next time you're in Paris, jump!
Sandra planned this entire trip and did a wonderful job. Coordinating the 5 of us whotraveledd and getting us to all of our destinations was no easy task. If she ever wants it, she could definitely make a career of travel planning. We had a great time and though each hotel had "character" (3 minutes of hot water in the shower, slanted ceilings, broken A/C) the housing was good and safe and could not have been arranged in better areas.
Since it is the last night in Paris, we are going to check out a few local spots and think of creative ways to finish packing (the biggest challenge of the trip). See you soon I am sure.
Au revior!
*For the record, I lost my ticket and needed it to get out of the metro as the same ticket is required for entry and exit. In desperation and in possession of luggage, I had to sneak through with the help of Erin and Nick.
**For the record, we only did this one day and owe no further explanation! :)
Friday, September 22, 2006
30 by 30 Final Count
The final count, after dinner and a Barcelona club, is 30.5.
The dinner we had was excellent and the perfect way to celebrate. Everything was excellent.
After dinner we headed to a club that was recommended to us by Hannika, the English girl we met previously. Jamboree Jazz was the name and there were 2 levels. Level 1: smoke-free underground level with hip-hop music. Level 2: Above ground that played 80's music but also similar to a smoke-filled room. I got toto hear Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" before we had to run downstairs to catch our breath and hope permanent damage hadn't been done by all the cigarettes we probably ended up smoking 2nd hand. We didn't recognize much of the music and were pretty tired so we headed back to our loft. It was a good evening though and great that we had a chance to check out the Barcelona scene.
We are now in Paris but we didn't arrive here without incident. On the shuttle at the Paris airport, we boarded with our bags in tow (they have gotten heavier as the trip has gone on) to catch the train. A Chinese man boarded the shuttle and kept looking at Sandra. Finally, he asked her if she spoke Chinese. She answered "Si," naturally, which probably gave him confidence since saying "yes" in Spanish indicates Chinese language skills. Anyway, she turned out to be a life-saver for the guy who was in France visiting his daughter and had boarded the wrong shuttle. Basically, he had a train to catch within about 20 minutes and was going the wrong direction. We played a mini-version of "The Amazing Race" with Sandra as the clear leader of the team and got him to the right train station. He missed the train by minutes but had a ticket booked on the next train in no time. Thanks to Sandra, he will make it to see his daughter. Otherwise, he may have been stuck on the Paris shuttle system through the weekend.
Our room at our hotel is interesting. We are on the top floor which would be cool if two entire walls of our room were not slanted to the same angle as the roof of the building! The toilet requires that one lean at an angle to sit down. The flat-screen TV is at an angle that practically requires a person to be on the floor or laying down to watch it. We are moving my bed because if I turn at all in my sleep, I will be injured for sure. If I sat up quickly in the middle of the night, I would have a concussion.
Anyway, I am out of time online so must end abruptly.
The dinner we had was excellent and the perfect way to celebrate. Everything was excellent.
After dinner we headed to a club that was recommended to us by Hannika, the English girl we met previously. Jamboree Jazz was the name and there were 2 levels. Level 1: smoke-free underground level with hip-hop music. Level 2: Above ground that played 80's music but also similar to a smoke-filled room. I got toto hear Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" before we had to run downstairs to catch our breath and hope permanent damage hadn't been done by all the cigarettes we probably ended up smoking 2nd hand. We didn't recognize much of the music and were pretty tired so we headed back to our loft. It was a good evening though and great that we had a chance to check out the Barcelona scene.
We are now in Paris but we didn't arrive here without incident. On the shuttle at the Paris airport, we boarded with our bags in tow (they have gotten heavier as the trip has gone on) to catch the train. A Chinese man boarded the shuttle and kept looking at Sandra. Finally, he asked her if she spoke Chinese. She answered "Si," naturally, which probably gave him confidence since saying "yes" in Spanish indicates Chinese language skills. Anyway, she turned out to be a life-saver for the guy who was in France visiting his daughter and had boarded the wrong shuttle. Basically, he had a train to catch within about 20 minutes and was going the wrong direction. We played a mini-version of "The Amazing Race" with Sandra as the clear leader of the team and got him to the right train station. He missed the train by minutes but had a ticket booked on the next train in no time. Thanks to Sandra, he will make it to see his daughter. Otherwise, he may have been stuck on the Paris shuttle system through the weekend.
Our room at our hotel is interesting. We are on the top floor which would be cool if two entire walls of our room were not slanted to the same angle as the roof of the building! The toilet requires that one lean at an angle to sit down. The flat-screen TV is at an angle that practically requires a person to be on the floor or laying down to watch it. We are moving my bed because if I turn at all in my sleep, I will be injured for sure. If I sat up quickly in the middle of the night, I would have a concussion.
Anyway, I am out of time online so must end abruptly.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Almost there...
30 by 30, our sangria event, will be completed by the time the day ends. We made great progress last night and got up to 25.5. Barring any details of the evening, I will only say that I was relieved to wake up this morning without a hangover. :)
This afternoon we hit the 26.5 mark and we will commence completion of our last 3.5 liters later at dinner or some cool Barcelona club. We checked out Shoko last night which is a club. They played fun music and it was good to get some dancing in. The place was recommended by a girl from England who we met at our favorite hang-out here. She and her friend were really cool and oddly enough, she turned out to be our waitress today at lunch...strange coincidence.
I havent mentioned our favorite place to go for sangria and tapas. It is called "Luz de Gas" and is a cool boat with a bar, docked at Port Vell near our loft. We found it by chance when we were looking for a place to have a drink and have been there 3 or 4 times since.
Overall, we have relaxed a lot the past couple of days, walking and shopping and enjoying our vacation. There are a lot of people with mullets here and a strange 80´s punk scene so the young people are interesting to look at. Erin thinks I should get a mullet at this salon we pass by daily but unfortunately I didn´t make an appointment and there is no time now. Bummer. That would have been pretty sweet.
We head to Paris tomorrow and fly back from there on Monday. I am sure I will write from Paris where we have a few sites left to see.
Happy Birthday to Sandra!
This afternoon we hit the 26.5 mark and we will commence completion of our last 3.5 liters later at dinner or some cool Barcelona club. We checked out Shoko last night which is a club. They played fun music and it was good to get some dancing in. The place was recommended by a girl from England who we met at our favorite hang-out here. She and her friend were really cool and oddly enough, she turned out to be our waitress today at lunch...strange coincidence.
I havent mentioned our favorite place to go for sangria and tapas. It is called "Luz de Gas" and is a cool boat with a bar, docked at Port Vell near our loft. We found it by chance when we were looking for a place to have a drink and have been there 3 or 4 times since.
Overall, we have relaxed a lot the past couple of days, walking and shopping and enjoying our vacation. There are a lot of people with mullets here and a strange 80´s punk scene so the young people are interesting to look at. Erin thinks I should get a mullet at this salon we pass by daily but unfortunately I didn´t make an appointment and there is no time now. Bummer. That would have been pretty sweet.
We head to Paris tomorrow and fly back from there on Monday. I am sure I will write from Paris where we have a few sites left to see.
Happy Birthday to Sandra!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Running Bulls...
No, we didnt see the running of the bulls while here in Spain. It is just something I think of when I think of Spain. The only bulls I have seen are on tshirts, postcards and coffee mugs all of which are probably purchased by people who never see bulls when they are here. Anyway, enough bull.
Barcelona is our longest stop during the European tour. We spend 6 nights total in our cool (yet very warm because of a difficult A/C box) little flat in the Born neighborhood before heading back to Paris, the Euro city that bookends our trip.
We have continued our Sangria consumption though no injury to anyone´s body or reputation has been caused by the special drink we order by the litre. In other words, we have all been on our best behavior as we work towards our goal of "30 by 30¨. That is 30 pitchers by the time Sandra is 30. As of last night, we are at 9.5. I don´t know if we will make it but it is a fun goal to set and since are beds are particularly uncomforable in this city, the Sangria is serving as a sleep aide. Very helpful.
We have spend most of our time walking about the city to get our bearings and to see what sites we are interested in. It was recommended that we check out the Bus Touristic which allows unlimited on and off privilages and three different buslines that stop at all major spots in the city for the duration of the life of the pass you buy. This worked out well for all of us though in a few cases, now that we know where we are going more or less, the bus was probably a slower mode of transport for us than our own feet would have been.
The city of Barcelona is somewhat like an outdoor Gaudi museum at times because his work or the influence of his work is prevalent in many places. Yesterday we checked out Parc Guell, a place that houses some of the most famous Gaudi works and is where he lived for some time as well. The mosaic works are wonderful and were worth the long hike up the hill to get to them. There was a great view of Barcelona from there as well.
Today the major site we visited is "The Temple de la Sagrada Familia¨(The Temple of the Sacred Family). This structure has been under construction since 1882 and it is anticipated that it will not be completed for another 20 years. Gaudi himself spent 40 years on the Temple, until his death. Those who continue his work maintain the integrity of what he began. Why is it taking so long? Financing mostly but also the importance of the structure to people and the materials it is made of. I photographed a quote by Gaudi that I will list here: Religious buildings, essentially, have to endure, in the same way as the religion that they house.
This is the only religious temple in the world that is currently under construction. Erin and Sandra actually went to the top of one of the towers so be sure to ask them for pics which should be great since the weather was clear today. Just like at The Vatican, I opted to stay close to the ground. It is strange because I do not have a fear of heights, but I just dont feel like going up in these places this time around.
The other major stop of the day was the Dali museum. There was an extraordinary display of his renderings of The Creation from Genesis and also Christ´s crucifiction which were interesting to look at. That was much different than Michelangelo´s Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings. My favorite drawings involved Don Quixote. I always laugh when I see him.
I know this was more a history lesson than I usually offer here but things have been pretty chill. I was on the subway today when a guy made an obscene gesture towards me and then winked. I would make a funny story out of it, and even thought about what I could say but really, it just grossed me out so no joke there!
We are likely headed out of Barcelona for a day trip to Monteserrat and Ciches (I think I spelled those correctly) for Sandra´s birthday Thursday and maybe the Picasso Museum tomorrow.
I will be back here before the trip ends more than likely. Until then, or if you prefer, hasta luego.
Barcelona is our longest stop during the European tour. We spend 6 nights total in our cool (yet very warm because of a difficult A/C box) little flat in the Born neighborhood before heading back to Paris, the Euro city that bookends our trip.
We have continued our Sangria consumption though no injury to anyone´s body or reputation has been caused by the special drink we order by the litre. In other words, we have all been on our best behavior as we work towards our goal of "30 by 30¨. That is 30 pitchers by the time Sandra is 30. As of last night, we are at 9.5. I don´t know if we will make it but it is a fun goal to set and since are beds are particularly uncomforable in this city, the Sangria is serving as a sleep aide. Very helpful.
We have spend most of our time walking about the city to get our bearings and to see what sites we are interested in. It was recommended that we check out the Bus Touristic which allows unlimited on and off privilages and three different buslines that stop at all major spots in the city for the duration of the life of the pass you buy. This worked out well for all of us though in a few cases, now that we know where we are going more or less, the bus was probably a slower mode of transport for us than our own feet would have been.
The city of Barcelona is somewhat like an outdoor Gaudi museum at times because his work or the influence of his work is prevalent in many places. Yesterday we checked out Parc Guell, a place that houses some of the most famous Gaudi works and is where he lived for some time as well. The mosaic works are wonderful and were worth the long hike up the hill to get to them. There was a great view of Barcelona from there as well.
Today the major site we visited is "The Temple de la Sagrada Familia¨(The Temple of the Sacred Family). This structure has been under construction since 1882 and it is anticipated that it will not be completed for another 20 years. Gaudi himself spent 40 years on the Temple, until his death. Those who continue his work maintain the integrity of what he began. Why is it taking so long? Financing mostly but also the importance of the structure to people and the materials it is made of. I photographed a quote by Gaudi that I will list here: Religious buildings, essentially, have to endure, in the same way as the religion that they house.
This is the only religious temple in the world that is currently under construction. Erin and Sandra actually went to the top of one of the towers so be sure to ask them for pics which should be great since the weather was clear today. Just like at The Vatican, I opted to stay close to the ground. It is strange because I do not have a fear of heights, but I just dont feel like going up in these places this time around.
The other major stop of the day was the Dali museum. There was an extraordinary display of his renderings of The Creation from Genesis and also Christ´s crucifiction which were interesting to look at. That was much different than Michelangelo´s Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings. My favorite drawings involved Don Quixote. I always laugh when I see him.
I know this was more a history lesson than I usually offer here but things have been pretty chill. I was on the subway today when a guy made an obscene gesture towards me and then winked. I would make a funny story out of it, and even thought about what I could say but really, it just grossed me out so no joke there!
We are likely headed out of Barcelona for a day trip to Monteserrat and Ciches (I think I spelled those correctly) for Sandra´s birthday Thursday and maybe the Picasso Museum tomorrow.
I will be back here before the trip ends more than likely. Until then, or if you prefer, hasta luego.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Espana
Hola,
We are in Spain and we are at a bar using the net briefly. Basically, we needed to check our email to get some addresses for postcards. Also, I will mention that we are with Frederick and Yngve who are Norwegian and enamored with my two counterparts. I have time for blogging because they are occupied with Hans and Frans! Haha, anyway, 3 pitchers of Sangria to the wind but I can still type, baby!
Just kidding...yet not kidding. No worries. We are still family friendly in this blog.
So, the girls have made requests as to what I put in the blog since they had time to read it during the Roman rainstorm.
1. Mini Guinness...that is a shot a bartender in Rome made us. It is Irish Creme and Kahlua. Very good. Make it and drink it in our honor while we are gone.
2. I made up a song about a bar we saw...
Cervezaria
Sangria
Had one litre
Feel so Freeee-uh
I will sing it once back in the States, by request only and for a 1 Euro minimum fee...that is what street performers get and what I get as well.
3. There are two different flusher buttons on the toilet. we figured out they yield a big and small flush, the number 1 and number 2 flush if you will.
That is all from Erin and Sandra, and myself.
We like Spain very much so far. It is a different city than Rome as far as the businesses and crowds are concerned so it is much more enjoyable.
Must go rescue mis amigas! These guys are pretty loco.
Sandra says: buenas noches. 4 more days until her birthday...30th.
Seriously, Barcelona is not ready for this.
Hasta luego!
We are in Spain and we are at a bar using the net briefly. Basically, we needed to check our email to get some addresses for postcards. Also, I will mention that we are with Frederick and Yngve who are Norwegian and enamored with my two counterparts. I have time for blogging because they are occupied with Hans and Frans! Haha, anyway, 3 pitchers of Sangria to the wind but I can still type, baby!
Just kidding...yet not kidding. No worries. We are still family friendly in this blog.
So, the girls have made requests as to what I put in the blog since they had time to read it during the Roman rainstorm.
1. Mini Guinness...that is a shot a bartender in Rome made us. It is Irish Creme and Kahlua. Very good. Make it and drink it in our honor while we are gone.
2. I made up a song about a bar we saw...
Cervezaria
Sangria
Had one litre
Feel so Freeee-uh
I will sing it once back in the States, by request only and for a 1 Euro minimum fee...that is what street performers get and what I get as well.
3. There are two different flusher buttons on the toilet. we figured out they yield a big and small flush, the number 1 and number 2 flush if you will.
That is all from Erin and Sandra, and myself.
We like Spain very much so far. It is a different city than Rome as far as the businesses and crowds are concerned so it is much more enjoyable.
Must go rescue mis amigas! These guys are pretty loco.
Sandra says: buenas noches. 4 more days until her birthday...30th.
Seriously, Barcelona is not ready for this.
Hasta luego!
Friday, September 15, 2006
Roamin
We had a lot to fit in today because of the rain yesterday. Fortunately, like anywhere else in the world, the forecast for rain today was incorrect and we had a sunny day. It was muggy and very hot but that was better and less intrusive on our plans than the rain.
I dubbed us the "hit and run" travel group today because we were literally arriving in places of note and then leaving them as quickly as we had come. It is not that any of us is unappreciative of the history or age of the sites, I think we are just ready to move on from Rome and get to the next stop. There are so many people here, mostly tourists. It is specifically the tour groups that I am tired of.
What did we see today?
1. Trevi Fountain, great site but we could not relax with all of the people around
2. Spanish Steps, famous but so many people made them tough to truly enjoy. I had seen them before when I was here with my mom and it was less crowded and more enjoyable. I did not walk up the steps previously and that was not fun but an accomplishment nonetheless. We have done so much walking and climbed many stairs. That probably doesnt sound interesting but that is what we have done.
4. The Pallatine, different last time as well. There was lot of the center of the grand room closed off due to the rainfall last night and a ton of people. I also had a very messy gelato experience before we went in which left me in a mood for a little while. It melted way to fast and I had thrown almost all of it away...at least what hadnt covered my hands.
5. The Forum and Ruins, this was great and I really enjoyed this. The light was wonderful too so we got some nice shots of the Coliseum as well. I am sure that I will be printing a few of these.
Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and then off to Barcelona. I am curious to see the differences between the cities, despite the obvious Spanish v. Italian. In Rome, there are an enormous number of cars and scooters zooming around. I enjoy crossing at crosswalks without traffic lights. You just step out into the street and the cars stop. It is a little scary because there is some uncertainty as to whether the cars will stop but they always have so far! It would be a shame to turn into a human speedbump.
I did make it to a record store (pretty much at Italian Borders) to get my Elton John CD and then found my CD player doesnt work. I was kind of bummed but am happy that I got the album. It isnt released in the US until Tuesday so that is cool. I also picked up a Robbie Williams CD that I could not get, even as an import in the US. Fun shopping for music here since a lot of the people I enjoy dont release much in the US (Elton excluded).
Not much else to say. Going to dinner in a few so gotta run.
Look for more from Spain!
I dubbed us the "hit and run" travel group today because we were literally arriving in places of note and then leaving them as quickly as we had come. It is not that any of us is unappreciative of the history or age of the sites, I think we are just ready to move on from Rome and get to the next stop. There are so many people here, mostly tourists. It is specifically the tour groups that I am tired of.
What did we see today?
1. Trevi Fountain, great site but we could not relax with all of the people around
2. Spanish Steps, famous but so many people made them tough to truly enjoy. I had seen them before when I was here with my mom and it was less crowded and more enjoyable. I did not walk up the steps previously and that was not fun but an accomplishment nonetheless. We have done so much walking and climbed many stairs. That probably doesnt sound interesting but that is what we have done.
4. The Pallatine, different last time as well. There was lot of the center of the grand room closed off due to the rainfall last night and a ton of people. I also had a very messy gelato experience before we went in which left me in a mood for a little while. It melted way to fast and I had thrown almost all of it away...at least what hadnt covered my hands.
5. The Forum and Ruins, this was great and I really enjoyed this. The light was wonderful too so we got some nice shots of the Coliseum as well. I am sure that I will be printing a few of these.
Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and then off to Barcelona. I am curious to see the differences between the cities, despite the obvious Spanish v. Italian. In Rome, there are an enormous number of cars and scooters zooming around. I enjoy crossing at crosswalks without traffic lights. You just step out into the street and the cars stop. It is a little scary because there is some uncertainty as to whether the cars will stop but they always have so far! It would be a shame to turn into a human speedbump.
I did make it to a record store (pretty much at Italian Borders) to get my Elton John CD and then found my CD player doesnt work. I was kind of bummed but am happy that I got the album. It isnt released in the US until Tuesday so that is cool. I also picked up a Robbie Williams CD that I could not get, even as an import in the US. Fun shopping for music here since a lot of the people I enjoy dont release much in the US (Elton excluded).
Not much else to say. Going to dinner in a few so gotta run.
Look for more from Spain!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
The Rain in Spain Falls Mostly on the Plains...
We are still in Rome but I enjoy that rhyme so thought I would start with it. Two more days until we fly to Barcelona. It has been nice staying in one place for a few days and more relaxing. Today we walked down the street to the Coliseum. I decided not to go in but to just read and check things out around the area.
Erin and Sandra went inside and I must say, it was cool to see Erin totally awestruck by the place. They both took a lot of pictures and enjoyed it though after their walk up to the top of St. Peters yesterday, they opted to take the lift rather than go to the top of the Coliseum by foot.
From my perspective, it is an odd thing to see the Coliseum, so old and glorious and to sit on a ledge writing in my journal and then the next minute to walk across the street into a busy metro station, so ordinary. That is the coolest part about Rome for me, just experiencing the modern and the historic within one city block.
It began raining early this afternoon and now it is pouring. As the weather changed, the street vendors changed as well. Around the Coliseum, the postcard and statue vendors closed shop coving their stands in blue and clear plastic tarps. On cue, guys with umbrellas populated the surrounding area first selling umbrellas for 5 Euro each. Over the course of 30 minutes, the price decreased to 3Euro each or 2 for 5Euro. We didnt buy but I have had fun coming up with different ways of saying no. When the sun returns, I think the umbrella guys should keep up their business by calling the parasols...high fashion here.
Will write again soon, maybe not until Spain if there is nothing interesting to say. We have a few more places to see while we are here in Rome and are hopeful the weather will clear. The lightening and thunder indicate that our evening will be spent indoors. I know that tomorrow I will visit a record store, for sure, to pick up the new Elton John album 4 days before it drops in The States. Just because I'm in Europe doesn't mean I am any less dorky!
Ciao!
Erin and Sandra went inside and I must say, it was cool to see Erin totally awestruck by the place. They both took a lot of pictures and enjoyed it though after their walk up to the top of St. Peters yesterday, they opted to take the lift rather than go to the top of the Coliseum by foot.
From my perspective, it is an odd thing to see the Coliseum, so old and glorious and to sit on a ledge writing in my journal and then the next minute to walk across the street into a busy metro station, so ordinary. That is the coolest part about Rome for me, just experiencing the modern and the historic within one city block.
It began raining early this afternoon and now it is pouring. As the weather changed, the street vendors changed as well. Around the Coliseum, the postcard and statue vendors closed shop coving their stands in blue and clear plastic tarps. On cue, guys with umbrellas populated the surrounding area first selling umbrellas for 5 Euro each. Over the course of 30 minutes, the price decreased to 3Euro each or 2 for 5Euro. We didnt buy but I have had fun coming up with different ways of saying no. When the sun returns, I think the umbrella guys should keep up their business by calling the parasols...high fashion here.
Will write again soon, maybe not until Spain if there is nothing interesting to say. We have a few more places to see while we are here in Rome and are hopeful the weather will clear. The lightening and thunder indicate that our evening will be spent indoors. I know that tomorrow I will visit a record store, for sure, to pick up the new Elton John album 4 days before it drops in The States. Just because I'm in Europe doesn't mean I am any less dorky!
Ciao!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Cured at The Vatican?
Two items of good news:
1. You may notice by my punctuation so far that I have found the colon key and the question mark key. I would continue to pursue the apostrophe and hyphen but time is money here.
2. My face is back to normal. Three doses of the Italian version of Benadryl, Reactine, and a trip to The Vatican City, and my lip is no longer swollen.
I must say, I am relieved as my luck with doctors while travelling has not been the best and I was not looking forward to seeing one here. I am not saying that the Vatican visit healed me but it is a nice thought since things were not looking good this morning but are fine now.
As you could guess, today was Vatican day. I had been there before but this time was slightly different for me since I did not find myself as overwhelmed by it all as I was two years ago. Swang, Erin, Nick and Steph all went to the top of the dome in St. Peters Bascillica but I chose to hang out and spend some time reading and taking pictures, some being self portraits. Anyway, the rest of the gang of took an elevator, a lift if you will, and then from the end of the elevators accent, had to continue up the side of the Bascillica an addtional 250+ steps! In addition, they risked vertigo and some other symptom caused by climbing to that height. They all survived and got some great shots of Rome. Maybe I will check it out next time.
St. Peters Bascillica is an amazing structure. Swang and I talked about how brilliant the architects and builders were back when it was built. Seriously, we are so easily impressed by buildings today but those of Ancient Rome and other places are magnificent considering the advantages we have today.
We also checked out the Sistine Chapel. I could go on about its brilliance but you all know it is brilliant. Plus, why do that when I have a great story to tell about what happened in the bathroom of the Vatican Museums after we saw Michelangelos masterpiece?!? Dont worry, it is just funny but not gross. We all went to use the public restrooms, and though some of the facilities are quite dodgy over here, those in this building were very similar to those in the US. There are locking doors on the stalls but no toilet seats as we found out. Sandra found a stall right away but Erin and I had to check the doors to see if there any others were open. Red above the handle indicates locked and white indicates unlocked or unoccupied. Erin swings open a door showing "white" and unexpectedly we see is an older woman of probably 75 squatting above the toilet. In a matter of 2 seconds, we looked at each other kind of confused and disturbed as she said without missing a beat, "I am not quite done yet", in a British accent! Erin slammed the door shut and we got away and into unoccupied stalls as quickly as possible. I could hear Erin laughing through the walls and I was cracking up too. It was pretty crazy. It was as though the woman was expecting us. She was nonchalant about the whole thing, ready with an answer to our unasked question "Are you about done?" Well, we are positive we heard her lock the door immediately after Erin shut it and that begs our real question, "Why not lock it in the first place?" Good lord. I do not know how well this story will translate via written description meaning sans my great physical gestures to illustrate but hopefully it will be enjoyed.
On our way back to our hotel, Sandra noticed that we could actually see the Coliseum from our the street our hotel is on. Somehow this had gone unnoticed by all of us until this afternoon. Amazing what will get past you when you are so focused on other things. It was probably the first time we had even looked around our immediate area. On my walk here, to the cafe, I noticed a beautiful fountain that I must have walked by before on this otherwise somewhat ugly street. I am glad my mind was finally unoccupied enough to allow me to see that too.
Nada mucho mas (practicing for Spain) to tell at this time so i am signing off the blog scene for now. late dinner soon...just in time for most of you to have lunch.
Buona sera. (I think thats right.)
1. You may notice by my punctuation so far that I have found the colon key and the question mark key. I would continue to pursue the apostrophe and hyphen but time is money here.
2. My face is back to normal. Three doses of the Italian version of Benadryl, Reactine, and a trip to The Vatican City, and my lip is no longer swollen.
I must say, I am relieved as my luck with doctors while travelling has not been the best and I was not looking forward to seeing one here. I am not saying that the Vatican visit healed me but it is a nice thought since things were not looking good this morning but are fine now.
As you could guess, today was Vatican day. I had been there before but this time was slightly different for me since I did not find myself as overwhelmed by it all as I was two years ago. Swang, Erin, Nick and Steph all went to the top of the dome in St. Peters Bascillica but I chose to hang out and spend some time reading and taking pictures, some being self portraits. Anyway, the rest of the gang of took an elevator, a lift if you will, and then from the end of the elevators accent, had to continue up the side of the Bascillica an addtional 250+ steps! In addition, they risked vertigo and some other symptom caused by climbing to that height. They all survived and got some great shots of Rome. Maybe I will check it out next time.
St. Peters Bascillica is an amazing structure. Swang and I talked about how brilliant the architects and builders were back when it was built. Seriously, we are so easily impressed by buildings today but those of Ancient Rome and other places are magnificent considering the advantages we have today.
We also checked out the Sistine Chapel. I could go on about its brilliance but you all know it is brilliant. Plus, why do that when I have a great story to tell about what happened in the bathroom of the Vatican Museums after we saw Michelangelos masterpiece?!? Dont worry, it is just funny but not gross. We all went to use the public restrooms, and though some of the facilities are quite dodgy over here, those in this building were very similar to those in the US. There are locking doors on the stalls but no toilet seats as we found out. Sandra found a stall right away but Erin and I had to check the doors to see if there any others were open. Red above the handle indicates locked and white indicates unlocked or unoccupied. Erin swings open a door showing "white" and unexpectedly we see is an older woman of probably 75 squatting above the toilet. In a matter of 2 seconds, we looked at each other kind of confused and disturbed as she said without missing a beat, "I am not quite done yet", in a British accent! Erin slammed the door shut and we got away and into unoccupied stalls as quickly as possible. I could hear Erin laughing through the walls and I was cracking up too. It was pretty crazy. It was as though the woman was expecting us. She was nonchalant about the whole thing, ready with an answer to our unasked question "Are you about done?" Well, we are positive we heard her lock the door immediately after Erin shut it and that begs our real question, "Why not lock it in the first place?" Good lord. I do not know how well this story will translate via written description meaning sans my great physical gestures to illustrate but hopefully it will be enjoyed.
On our way back to our hotel, Sandra noticed that we could actually see the Coliseum from our the street our hotel is on. Somehow this had gone unnoticed by all of us until this afternoon. Amazing what will get past you when you are so focused on other things. It was probably the first time we had even looked around our immediate area. On my walk here, to the cafe, I noticed a beautiful fountain that I must have walked by before on this otherwise somewhat ugly street. I am glad my mind was finally unoccupied enough to allow me to see that too.
Nada mucho mas (practicing for Spain) to tell at this time so i am signing off the blog scene for now. late dinner soon...just in time for most of you to have lunch.
Buona sera. (I think thats right.)
Monday, September 11, 2006
When in Rome...
Well, we are not quite in Rome yet but on our way there this morning. I have a couple of minutes on the net at the hotel so need to make it quick. We are staying at the Hotel Scandanavia which I renamed as the Hotel Skandalnavia last night at dinner...nothing scandalous has happened here though so dont think this blog is going to be anything other than family friendly. It was a premature renaming to say the least.
I can say that my travel mates do not yet know something you may actually find out first. I had an allergic reaction to some Tea Tree Oil blemish treatment Swang gave me last night befor bed for a blemish just above my upper lip and now that part of my face is swollen. If I had any trouble with my appearance before, I certainly have a new perspective on how I could look. Hopefully i can get to a farmacia for some Benedryl sometime today. Or, I may consider buying a carnivale mask on my way out of Venice. I dont look awful but my lip is pretty swollen and feels that way as well. Basically, the left half of my face is very Lisa Rinna. Though tempting, I wont pull a Suri Cruise and not appear in photographs until Annie Leibowitz decides to snap pictures. I will just make sure there are no close ups. If anyone asks...Erin beat me up again!
Anyway, yesterday I actually held a 2 birds in Piazza San Marco. It was a little scary but pretty cool and fufilled a wish to become a crazy bird lady in st. marks square. not a wish but just a thought that it would be cool. for those who dont know, there are probably 500 or more pigeons in the square and people buy bird seed for 1 euro to get the birds to climb on them. i just held out my arm for a few minutes and got one to land. did it again because a picture came out blurry and another landed.
Look out Rome...we are on our way.
Later.
I can say that my travel mates do not yet know something you may actually find out first. I had an allergic reaction to some Tea Tree Oil blemish treatment Swang gave me last night befor bed for a blemish just above my upper lip and now that part of my face is swollen. If I had any trouble with my appearance before, I certainly have a new perspective on how I could look. Hopefully i can get to a farmacia for some Benedryl sometime today. Or, I may consider buying a carnivale mask on my way out of Venice. I dont look awful but my lip is pretty swollen and feels that way as well. Basically, the left half of my face is very Lisa Rinna. Though tempting, I wont pull a Suri Cruise and not appear in photographs until Annie Leibowitz decides to snap pictures. I will just make sure there are no close ups. If anyone asks...Erin beat me up again!
Anyway, yesterday I actually held a 2 birds in Piazza San Marco. It was a little scary but pretty cool and fufilled a wish to become a crazy bird lady in st. marks square. not a wish but just a thought that it would be cool. for those who dont know, there are probably 500 or more pigeons in the square and people buy bird seed for 1 euro to get the birds to climb on them. i just held out my arm for a few minutes and got one to land. did it again because a picture came out blurry and another landed.
Look out Rome...we are on our way.
Later.
Bonjour and Ciao
This will be a bit disjointed and possibly more nonsensical than usual because I am in a cafe in Venice with a molases slow inet connection and twice now i have realised that I caqnnot reach the shift key where it normally is, do not know where the apostrophe is and do not want to waste any time finding a hyphen on this italian keyboard. much to my chagrin, it is going to get ugly in the blog folks. :)
So, we are currently in venice and it is a great place to rest. we checked out a vivaldi violin concert last night and though erin and i dozed every so often, it was a nice show and a beautiful venue...though it is hard to look at anything around here and not hav ethe word beautiful come to mind.
since weàve been in italy, i feel like our diet has consisted of pizza and gelato mostly. it is kind of like being at a childrens birthday party. the gelato is cheap though which is helpful to these travellers.
i must pay homage to swangs birthday before i forget...countdown is at 10 days now. barcelona doesnt have any idea whats coming!
prior to arriving in venice, we were in paris, france. eiffel tower was the first order of business after the hotel check in. i had been to the eiffel tower before as had nick and steph, sandras best friends who we are also travelling with. they hung out in the park near the eiffel...what a view, eh...swang and erin went up into the tower, and i decided to mill around. i took a few photos and then sat in the park but not uninterrupted. a huge guy who turned out to be swiss and italian or something like that, and when i say huge i mean body builder huge, and his small italian friend started to talk to me. Great...Arnold and Danny DeVito, straight out of the movie Twins, up in my business. Well, just after that thought crossed my mind, sure enough, the Arnold guy asks where i am from and then asks what i think of the governator. he actually said governator. so, even over here that has caught on. ends up the guy knows ahrnold from body building way back. I dont know that i believe him but dont care enough not to. i chatted until i could get out of talking to these guys any longer and was able to find steph and nick. it was a mundane and painful conversation about anything they guy could think to ask about the u.s. and my plans for the evening.
i got into a minor tiff with a canadien on the Batobus. he made a comment about us being american. pretty much it was my backing down and not really making anything of it to him but being really angry about it for a while. only erin even knew what happened...on my best behavior.
the other site we caught was the louvre. very cool...or is that an understatement? the mona lisa did not affect me profoundly but there was a picture of Christ that i found quite moving. his tears were painted in the most lovely way and it really got to me. that is the only moment of overwhelming emotion i had among the louvre art collection.
otherwise, things have been rather calm over here in europe. we are off to rome tomorrow and then to barcelona.
hello to all regular readers and guests! i will try to write again soon.
Ciao!
So, we are currently in venice and it is a great place to rest. we checked out a vivaldi violin concert last night and though erin and i dozed every so often, it was a nice show and a beautiful venue...though it is hard to look at anything around here and not hav ethe word beautiful come to mind.
since weàve been in italy, i feel like our diet has consisted of pizza and gelato mostly. it is kind of like being at a childrens birthday party. the gelato is cheap though which is helpful to these travellers.
i must pay homage to swangs birthday before i forget...countdown is at 10 days now. barcelona doesnt have any idea whats coming!
prior to arriving in venice, we were in paris, france. eiffel tower was the first order of business after the hotel check in. i had been to the eiffel tower before as had nick and steph, sandras best friends who we are also travelling with. they hung out in the park near the eiffel...what a view, eh...swang and erin went up into the tower, and i decided to mill around. i took a few photos and then sat in the park but not uninterrupted. a huge guy who turned out to be swiss and italian or something like that, and when i say huge i mean body builder huge, and his small italian friend started to talk to me. Great...Arnold and Danny DeVito, straight out of the movie Twins, up in my business. Well, just after that thought crossed my mind, sure enough, the Arnold guy asks where i am from and then asks what i think of the governator. he actually said governator. so, even over here that has caught on. ends up the guy knows ahrnold from body building way back. I dont know that i believe him but dont care enough not to. i chatted until i could get out of talking to these guys any longer and was able to find steph and nick. it was a mundane and painful conversation about anything they guy could think to ask about the u.s. and my plans for the evening.
i got into a minor tiff with a canadien on the Batobus. he made a comment about us being american. pretty much it was my backing down and not really making anything of it to him but being really angry about it for a while. only erin even knew what happened...on my best behavior.
the other site we caught was the louvre. very cool...or is that an understatement? the mona lisa did not affect me profoundly but there was a picture of Christ that i found quite moving. his tears were painted in the most lovely way and it really got to me. that is the only moment of overwhelming emotion i had among the louvre art collection.
otherwise, things have been rather calm over here in europe. we are off to rome tomorrow and then to barcelona.
hello to all regular readers and guests! i will try to write again soon.
Ciao!
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