Here it is almost a month since we returned and I am finally finishing up our blog. Better late than never. :)
July 8th was our last day in Paris, as well as our second wedding anniversary. (If someone had told me on July 8, 2005 that I would be spending July 8, 2007 in Paris with my husband, I don't know if I would have believed them!) On the agenda: gather food for a picnic, visit the Orsay Museum, take a trip to Versailles and spend the evening at Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre. A grand farewell to an even grander trip.
After the usual morning routine, we headed out onto Rue Cler to assemble our picnic. We had been looking forward to this since we arrived on our little street because it is a jumble of specialty food shops and markets. We selected apricots, apples and raspberries from a local produce stand, ham from this amazing Italian deli called Davoli (where we had to wait in line with all the locals...it was a pretty happenin' place!), and this little baby wheel of soft cheese from La Fromagerie. We tried to purchase bread and breakfast from our favorite bakery, Boulangerie Patisserie Artisnale, but the line was stretching so far into the street we decided it wasn't worth the wait. After carefully packing our goodies in the daypack we were off to the Orsay.
We decided to walk to the Orsay because Rick said we could, and because seeing the city on foot is just such an unbeatable experience. On the way, we stopped at a bakery and purchased two croissants for a light breakfast. They were scrumptious! We kept walking and walking and walking, finally reaching the Seine. Eventually we arrived at the museum, skipped the rather long line with our handy museum pass and entered the beautiful building. There was a special section on Picasso on the lower floor, so we checked it out since we didn't make it to the Picasso Museum, but there were sooo many people that we scrambled through the displays and moved on.
I have to tell you, the building that houses the Orsay is AMAZING. Karen told us it is a former train station, and it has this beautiful glass ceiling and amazing curves. I loved it.
We checked out some Art Nouveau furniture and then headed up to the Impressionist galleries. We saw lots of Manet, Monet, Renoir, some more of our friend Van Gogh, and much more. It was getting late, so we headed outside and across the street to the handy metro/RER stop that would take us to Versailles. When we got to the ticket line we could hear the teller being rude to the people in front of us, so I told Jason to use simple words and his fingers to tell her we wanted two tickets to Versailles. Well he did just that, but she goes "HOW MANY" and Jason again told her two. They went back and forth like this for a bit, and finally he gave her 50 Euro and she goes "No." He was like, "What?" "No. Too big." She wouldn't break a 50 for our tickets that cost 12.20. So we went back, dazed, into the daylight. Where would we find a place to get smaller bills?
Jason does not get mad easily, and he really doesn't swear very often. So when he looks at me and says "We're not going to f****** Versailles", I got a little worried. I told him we had to, it would be cool, and it was our anniversary. "No. I'm not going back down and talking to her. This is shit." Hmmm. Finally I convinced him we could buy a bottle of water from a street stand, break the 50 and go buy our tickets. My plan worked, she was still rude, but we made it onto the metro, switched to the RER, ate our little picnic, and eventually got off at Versailles.
It was sprinkling at Versailles, and chilly, but we made our way to the Palace. It actually doesn't look all that impressive when you see it head on, and we had to struggle walking over some topsy-turvy cobblestones to get there. And it seemed that every tourist in France must have converged upon Versailles the same day we did. As we stood in the massive front courtyard, we had to decide if we should see the inside of the palace first, or the gardens. Since we didn't know how long it would be before the weather really broke, we went with the gardens.
When I say "gardens" I really mean freakin' Central Park. The grounds at Versailles are MASSIVE. Even Jason was impressed. We had to pay extra since it was Sunday and the fountains were supposed to be running, but much to our disappointment they were not. We decided to walk down past the Grand Canal (back in the day it housed 9 ships including a warship with cannons), stopped for some ice cream, and headed to the Grand Trianon Palace. This little place was the "summer home". Yeah. We toured the inside since it was starting to rain, and for a "summer home" the place was pretty fancy.
We kept walking and saw the Petit Trianon, which was where Marie-Antoinette spent a lot of her time, and wanted to walk out to her peasant hamlet, but by this point the weather was really not cooperating. Jason and I turned around, sharing our little umbrella, and waited for a tram to take us back to the main palace (would have been a 25 minute walk in the POURING rain). We had to wait through two trams before one came by that was not full, and then enjoyed a damp, bumpy ride back up. And, figures, the fountains were now on in full glory.
After some confusion, and waiting in the drenched, unevenly surfaced front courtyard, we made it inside the main palace. Basically we wandered through the rooms with about a bazillion other soggy tourists and ogled at the absolute wealth that built the place. Everything was just so ornate. Gilding was everywhere. Not my idea of interior decorating, but shoot, it was impressive. I loveloveloved the Hall of Mirrors. We found out later that it just came out of a long restoration. Marie-Antoinette's bedroom was pretty cool, even though there were so many people that I literally could not move for a good 60 seconds. Finally we got to the gift shop, I bought a cute magnet, and we high-tailed it to the train station.
When we arrived back in Paris it was after 5:00 PM and rainy, so we decided to nix our excursion to Montmartre. It took me a bit to get over my disappointment because both Martina and Karen had said this area was lovely, but Jason reminded me that we WOULD be back someday. So we headed back to Rue Cler, ate a delicious dinner at the Chinese place across from our hotel, and then walked to our bakery so I could finally purchase one of those macaroons I had been eyeing. I decided to try the pistachio flavor. It was flat out the best piece of food I had on the entire trip! This delicious cream is sandwiched between two cookies with crunchy shells and soft, cakey interiors. Oh man. A trip back just to have another macaroon would be worth the cost. :)
We went back to our hotel, reminisced about our trip and our two-year-old marriage, packed and fell asleep.
The day we left Paris, we got up early, caught the metro, transfered to the RER, experienced one of the cities biggest metro stations, I bought two more macaroons (one crossed the Atlantic with me and arrived in the mouths of my parents) and we finally made it to CDG. The airport was huge, we took a bit to find our bearings, and then we had to take a freakin' shuttle just to get to our terminal. Crazy. Our flight home was wonderful due to the fact that each seat had it's own TV screen and a large choice of movies. I watched four straight and didn't even mind the 8 hours of sitting. :) Jason was able to see a couple movies he had been really wanting to see, and it was just a much more enjoyable flight than the one coming over.
We landed in Philadelphia, had to go through customs, get our bags and re-check them, go through security, walk through the airport to our terminal, and we were supposed to go through security AGAIN. But it was 5:00 PM and our flight left at 5:20. The line was so long we couldn't see the end. So I went up to this woman and told her, "We just landed from Paris. We've been gone for 23 days. We are not going to stand in line AGAIN and miss our flight." She was really helpful and got us to the head of the line. We made our flight, and by 10:45 PM PST we were happily in my parents living room.
This was a trip of dreams for me, and while Jason has not wanted this since the time he was 10 (like me!), by the time we got home he couldn't stop talking about all the things we saw and experienced --- and he was already speaking of "when we go back" and "where we'll go next" (perhaps the UK and Ireland?!). I believe we have found true travel partners in each other. I would so strongly encourage people to travel if they have that desire. The memories we have will last us a lifetime, and that is worth more to us than any material thing we could buy. Here's to the future and whatever travel adventures it holds in store. :)
Monday, August 6, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Two Americans in Paris, Day Three
Saturday the 7th was our third day in Paris, and we were both excited because we knew we would be able to meet up with my cousin Laura later that day. We started our morning by getting some delicious croissants from the bakery down the street and then walking to the metro to ride to the Arc de Triomphe. It was another cloudy, gray morning but as we stepped out from the metro entrance and that grand monument was before us, a few sprinkles didn't matter. We took the underpass to actually reach the monument (a massive round-about keeps it rather isolated from foot traffic) and marveled at our own smallness.
After paying our respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we stepped into the right base of the arch and made the 284 step climb to the top. We had to stop about mid-way for a breather, and a few others joined us. Finally we reached the top, or rather the bookstore. They are in the midst of renovating, but we sat and rested a few minutes while viewing the dried palms they have on the walls (saved from the tomb below). After a few more flights of stairs, we were overlooking what I imagine is one of the grandest cities in the world. We had wonderful views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre-Coeur and all of Paris, really. We soaked in the scenery for awhile, and then made the dizzying climb back down.
From the Arc de Triomphe, we strolled down the Champs-Elysees (not impressed much) where we passed store after store. We did make a stop at the GAP, where I hoped to purchase a pair of ballet flats that were all the rage over there, but no such luck. We finally made it to the Place de la Concorde, where thousands lost their heads to the guillotine and where city workers were setting up massive bleachers for Bastille Day celebrations to be held on July 14. After making our way across the busy intersection, we entered the lovely Tuileries Garden, where we had hoped to lazily stroll and relax. The weather turned on us though, so we stopped at an outdoor cafe and ate a lunch in which Jason's sandwich cost 5,40 euro and his coke 6,50. Who knew soda could cost more than a meal?!
After lunch we headed to one of the city's most famous sites: the Louvre. Justing standing in the square surrounded by the grand palace and facing the modern pyramid made us feel a little like Tom Hanks in The DaVinci Code. But just a little. :) We entered through the pyramid and took the escalators down into madness. There were sooo many people! At this point of the trip, we were getting a little museum-ed out so we decided to see the highlights and leave the rest for another time. Due to Jason's handy map reading skills, we were able to see Venus de Milo which is an actual Greek statue (not a Roman copy), and Winged Victory. From there we headed to the granddaddy of them all, the Mona Lisa. She hangs on her own wall in a big room, and is covered by bulletproof glass. I fought my way to the front...and decided I was a little disappointed. The painting itself is actually quite small (if comparing it to others in the museum). After spending what seemed like forever finding and then waiting for a bathroom, we toured some rooms on ancient Rome and Egypt and finally finished by viewing Michelangelo's Slaves. We had seen his unfinished Prisoners in Florence, so it was cool to see the finished product here.
From the Louvre, we followed the Seine as the sun was coming out on our way to meet up with Laura and Karen and Harry. It was a nice walk and the sun lifted our travel-weary spirits. Rainy weather can take a lot out of a person in a foreign city meant to be seen on foot. We made it to our meeting point about half an hour early, so we people-watched until I saw familiar-looking females headed our way. I walked over and Karen and Laura and I talked excitedly, as would anyone meeting up in a city as grand as Paris. After some hello hugs, the five of us found a cafe and ordered ice cream and caught up. It was soo good to see them!
After some discussion, we all decided to walk to the Luxembourg Gardens through the Latin Quarter. It was good to hand the reins over to someone else for awhile. Jason and Harry chatted while us girls did as well. We stopped to look at a few cool cars that Karen and Harry recognized and finally made it to the gardens --- which were lovely. We found a nice place to sit and Laura called my mom with her cell. It was crazy to be hanging out with Laura IN PARIS. :)
From the gardens we decided we'd split up, but Jason and I convinced them to ride the metro to their next stop, the Eiffel Tower (and besides, I don't think Laura or Harry's feet could hold out much longer!). So we helped them figure out the metro system, and the five of us were able to ride together part of the way. I hadn't planned on having to say my goodbyes to Laura in a crowded metro, but I think it worked out better in the end because there was no time for tears. Jason took a quick picture of us, and then we had to get off. After walking BACK to our transfer spot due to construction, we finally made it to Rue Cler.
We ate another delicious meal at Cafe du Marche (fried duck for Jason, steak for me) and then headed over to the Eiffel Tower around 9:30 PM. As we were walking, we heard these people say "Hey we know you!" We turned, and saw this great couple that we had met on the train in Switzerland. He had had a Gonzaga hat on, so we struck up conversation and discovered they were both in the Education program and studying in Florence for the summer. They were so cool, and now we were seeing them in Paris! We struck up conversation like travelers would, and the four of us made our way to the Eiffel Tower.
The Tower, as Jason called it, was so amazing to see in person. The sun was set, darkness was descending, and the four of us got in some great photo opportunities. Then at exactly 10 PM, as I was snapping a picture of our new friends, the tower exploded into sparkling lights. It was sooo pretty! We walked down to the base of it to climb up (the sucker is really HUGE in person and up close and personal) and were bombarded with insanely long lines. We decided not to wait in line. Instead, we attempted to catch a boat cruise, but we just missed it. So we walked back to our hotel, constantly turning around to view one of the most romantic sights probably on earth. All in all, it was a good day.
After paying our respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we stepped into the right base of the arch and made the 284 step climb to the top. We had to stop about mid-way for a breather, and a few others joined us. Finally we reached the top, or rather the bookstore. They are in the midst of renovating, but we sat and rested a few minutes while viewing the dried palms they have on the walls (saved from the tomb below). After a few more flights of stairs, we were overlooking what I imagine is one of the grandest cities in the world. We had wonderful views of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre-Coeur and all of Paris, really. We soaked in the scenery for awhile, and then made the dizzying climb back down.
From the Arc de Triomphe, we strolled down the Champs-Elysees (not impressed much) where we passed store after store. We did make a stop at the GAP, where I hoped to purchase a pair of ballet flats that were all the rage over there, but no such luck. We finally made it to the Place de la Concorde, where thousands lost their heads to the guillotine and where city workers were setting up massive bleachers for Bastille Day celebrations to be held on July 14. After making our way across the busy intersection, we entered the lovely Tuileries Garden, where we had hoped to lazily stroll and relax. The weather turned on us though, so we stopped at an outdoor cafe and ate a lunch in which Jason's sandwich cost 5,40 euro and his coke 6,50. Who knew soda could cost more than a meal?!
After lunch we headed to one of the city's most famous sites: the Louvre. Justing standing in the square surrounded by the grand palace and facing the modern pyramid made us feel a little like Tom Hanks in The DaVinci Code. But just a little. :) We entered through the pyramid and took the escalators down into madness. There were sooo many people! At this point of the trip, we were getting a little museum-ed out so we decided to see the highlights and leave the rest for another time. Due to Jason's handy map reading skills, we were able to see Venus de Milo which is an actual Greek statue (not a Roman copy), and Winged Victory. From there we headed to the granddaddy of them all, the Mona Lisa. She hangs on her own wall in a big room, and is covered by bulletproof glass. I fought my way to the front...and decided I was a little disappointed. The painting itself is actually quite small (if comparing it to others in the museum). After spending what seemed like forever finding and then waiting for a bathroom, we toured some rooms on ancient Rome and Egypt and finally finished by viewing Michelangelo's Slaves. We had seen his unfinished Prisoners in Florence, so it was cool to see the finished product here.
From the Louvre, we followed the Seine as the sun was coming out on our way to meet up with Laura and Karen and Harry. It was a nice walk and the sun lifted our travel-weary spirits. Rainy weather can take a lot out of a person in a foreign city meant to be seen on foot. We made it to our meeting point about half an hour early, so we people-watched until I saw familiar-looking females headed our way. I walked over and Karen and Laura and I talked excitedly, as would anyone meeting up in a city as grand as Paris. After some hello hugs, the five of us found a cafe and ordered ice cream and caught up. It was soo good to see them!
After some discussion, we all decided to walk to the Luxembourg Gardens through the Latin Quarter. It was good to hand the reins over to someone else for awhile. Jason and Harry chatted while us girls did as well. We stopped to look at a few cool cars that Karen and Harry recognized and finally made it to the gardens --- which were lovely. We found a nice place to sit and Laura called my mom with her cell. It was crazy to be hanging out with Laura IN PARIS. :)
From the gardens we decided we'd split up, but Jason and I convinced them to ride the metro to their next stop, the Eiffel Tower (and besides, I don't think Laura or Harry's feet could hold out much longer!). So we helped them figure out the metro system, and the five of us were able to ride together part of the way. I hadn't planned on having to say my goodbyes to Laura in a crowded metro, but I think it worked out better in the end because there was no time for tears. Jason took a quick picture of us, and then we had to get off. After walking BACK to our transfer spot due to construction, we finally made it to Rue Cler.
We ate another delicious meal at Cafe du Marche (fried duck for Jason, steak for me) and then headed over to the Eiffel Tower around 9:30 PM. As we were walking, we heard these people say "Hey we know you!" We turned, and saw this great couple that we had met on the train in Switzerland. He had had a Gonzaga hat on, so we struck up conversation and discovered they were both in the Education program and studying in Florence for the summer. They were so cool, and now we were seeing them in Paris! We struck up conversation like travelers would, and the four of us made our way to the Eiffel Tower.
The Tower, as Jason called it, was so amazing to see in person. The sun was set, darkness was descending, and the four of us got in some great photo opportunities. Then at exactly 10 PM, as I was snapping a picture of our new friends, the tower exploded into sparkling lights. It was sooo pretty! We walked down to the base of it to climb up (the sucker is really HUGE in person and up close and personal) and were bombarded with insanely long lines. We decided not to wait in line. Instead, we attempted to catch a boat cruise, but we just missed it. So we walked back to our hotel, constantly turning around to view one of the most romantic sights probably on earth. All in all, it was a good day.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Two Americans in Paris, Day Two
We started our second day in Paris by following Rick's Historic Core of Paris walk. We took the Metro to Notre Dame, which actually sites on the Ile Cite in the Seine River. The church was impressive, but after Rome and St. Peter's it has been pretty hard to floor us. Still, it was cool to be at a place that is steeped in so much history and lore.
The lines were crazy, but it didn't take too long to get inside. I had read to be sure and see the rose windows that fill each transept, and they were beautiful, impressive and the subject of several photographs. I imagined it would be wonderful to attend mass here, with music and prayers filling the domineering space. Back outside we walked around the church to see the spire and the flying buttresses --- cool because I taught about this stuff when I was in Mr. Funke's classroom at LHS.
We wanted to visit the Deportation Memorial that is located right across from Notre Dame, but we arrived right at noon, when it closes for two hours. We decided to continue with our walk and hopefully get back to it.
From the Ile Cite we crossed a bridge to the Ile St. Louis. It was very cute and felt like classic Paris. We found the ice cream parlor that we were to meet Laura and Karen and Harry at on Saturday, and then ate a relaxing lunch at a tiny little cafe. Luckily for us, our walk took us back to the Ile Cite and we arrived just as the Deportation Memorial opened. This site honors the 200,000 French victims of the Holocaust. Part of it consisted of a dark hallway lite by 200,000 crystals, with the flame of eternal hope shining bright at the end. The sign above the exit read "Pardonne n' oublie pas..." --- "Forgive, but never forget."
Our walk continued into the Latin Quarter, which was the city's main university district in the Middle Ages. Since educated people back then all learned Latin, the district earned its name. The area was filled with little shops and lots of tourists. We stopped at a bakery so I could buy a macaron (I had been eyeing them since we arrived) but no such luck. As we were walking out of the district towards Sainte-Chapelle we witnessed some sort of protest, and I remembered from my International Relations course that the French are known for this. We just wished we knew what was being protested.
The line for Sainte-Chapelle was ridiculous. Even though we had our Paris Museum Passes, we had to wait because the line was for security and not tickets. After 45 minutes, we passed through security and made our way to the chapel. It supposedly has the best Gothic stained glass windows in all of Europe, but I was skeptical. As I said before, Rome was pretty impressive. But nothing could outshine what we saw. Other churches are bigger and richer, but these windows are amazing. Just thinking about the craftsmanship blew our minds. Initially this church was so important because it held a very important relic, the Crown of Thorns. While the Crown is now housed at Notre Dame and rarely seen, the glory of the stained glass shines on.
We continued on, walking past the Palais de Justice and an original early-20th-century Metro entrance. Most of these were torn down over the years, but a few remain and they are great examples of Art Nouveau. We walked past the prison that held Marie-Antoinette before she became a foot shorter and ended our trek at Pont Neuf, the city's oldest bridge. After looking over the Seine for awhile, we decided we could walk to the Marais neighborhood for some more sightseeing and a trip to the Right Bank.
The area of Paris known as Marais seemed artsy to me, and a little hip. We had wanted to visit the Picasso Museum ("he's an artist I've heard of" said Jason) but it was too late. Instead we visited the Pompidou Center and the National Museum of Modern Art. The center itself is pretty interesting looking, and the square surrounding it had some cool street entertainers. The museum was an eye-opener for our uncultured eyes, and I actually really enjoyed most of the displays, even if I didn't understand them. I was just grateful we weren't looking at more Madonnas and angels and altarpieces, oh my. There were some rather humorous (although I don't think they were supposed to be) film pieces that Jason really got a kick out of.
After the museum we needed to figure out a way to get back to Rue Cler, but we still wanted to walk to the Place des Vosges, so we were glad to discover a bus stop near it --- although bus travel in Paris would be new to us. Place des Vosges was cool. It was a lovely square where all the rich Parisians used to live, and then Victor Hugo. We relaxed our feet in its little park, and then found our bus stop. After some waiting, we rode our cramped bus home and saw some sights along the way.
We ate our dinner at the Cafe du Marche, a favorite with tourists and locals. While we were surrounded by smokers, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we received FREE water with our meal --- a first in Europe. I ordered fried duck, which was delicious, and Jason ordered the plat du jour, which was veal and rice. Skeptical at first, he ate it right up. To finish off our meal, we had two scoops of vanilla ice cream. While tasty, it didn't compare to the Italians and their gelato. :)
The lines were crazy, but it didn't take too long to get inside. I had read to be sure and see the rose windows that fill each transept, and they were beautiful, impressive and the subject of several photographs. I imagined it would be wonderful to attend mass here, with music and prayers filling the domineering space. Back outside we walked around the church to see the spire and the flying buttresses --- cool because I taught about this stuff when I was in Mr. Funke's classroom at LHS.
We wanted to visit the Deportation Memorial that is located right across from Notre Dame, but we arrived right at noon, when it closes for two hours. We decided to continue with our walk and hopefully get back to it.
From the Ile Cite we crossed a bridge to the Ile St. Louis. It was very cute and felt like classic Paris. We found the ice cream parlor that we were to meet Laura and Karen and Harry at on Saturday, and then ate a relaxing lunch at a tiny little cafe. Luckily for us, our walk took us back to the Ile Cite and we arrived just as the Deportation Memorial opened. This site honors the 200,000 French victims of the Holocaust. Part of it consisted of a dark hallway lite by 200,000 crystals, with the flame of eternal hope shining bright at the end. The sign above the exit read "Pardonne n' oublie pas..." --- "Forgive, but never forget."
Our walk continued into the Latin Quarter, which was the city's main university district in the Middle Ages. Since educated people back then all learned Latin, the district earned its name. The area was filled with little shops and lots of tourists. We stopped at a bakery so I could buy a macaron (I had been eyeing them since we arrived) but no such luck. As we were walking out of the district towards Sainte-Chapelle we witnessed some sort of protest, and I remembered from my International Relations course that the French are known for this. We just wished we knew what was being protested.
The line for Sainte-Chapelle was ridiculous. Even though we had our Paris Museum Passes, we had to wait because the line was for security and not tickets. After 45 minutes, we passed through security and made our way to the chapel. It supposedly has the best Gothic stained glass windows in all of Europe, but I was skeptical. As I said before, Rome was pretty impressive. But nothing could outshine what we saw. Other churches are bigger and richer, but these windows are amazing. Just thinking about the craftsmanship blew our minds. Initially this church was so important because it held a very important relic, the Crown of Thorns. While the Crown is now housed at Notre Dame and rarely seen, the glory of the stained glass shines on.
We continued on, walking past the Palais de Justice and an original early-20th-century Metro entrance. Most of these were torn down over the years, but a few remain and they are great examples of Art Nouveau. We walked past the prison that held Marie-Antoinette before she became a foot shorter and ended our trek at Pont Neuf, the city's oldest bridge. After looking over the Seine for awhile, we decided we could walk to the Marais neighborhood for some more sightseeing and a trip to the Right Bank.
The area of Paris known as Marais seemed artsy to me, and a little hip. We had wanted to visit the Picasso Museum ("he's an artist I've heard of" said Jason) but it was too late. Instead we visited the Pompidou Center and the National Museum of Modern Art. The center itself is pretty interesting looking, and the square surrounding it had some cool street entertainers. The museum was an eye-opener for our uncultured eyes, and I actually really enjoyed most of the displays, even if I didn't understand them. I was just grateful we weren't looking at more Madonnas and angels and altarpieces, oh my. There were some rather humorous (although I don't think they were supposed to be) film pieces that Jason really got a kick out of.
After the museum we needed to figure out a way to get back to Rue Cler, but we still wanted to walk to the Place des Vosges, so we were glad to discover a bus stop near it --- although bus travel in Paris would be new to us. Place des Vosges was cool. It was a lovely square where all the rich Parisians used to live, and then Victor Hugo. We relaxed our feet in its little park, and then found our bus stop. After some waiting, we rode our cramped bus home and saw some sights along the way.
We ate our dinner at the Cafe du Marche, a favorite with tourists and locals. While we were surrounded by smokers, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we received FREE water with our meal --- a first in Europe. I ordered fried duck, which was delicious, and Jason ordered the plat du jour, which was veal and rice. Skeptical at first, he ate it right up. To finish off our meal, we had two scoops of vanilla ice cream. While tasty, it didn't compare to the Italians and their gelato. :)
Two Americans in Paris, Day One
The last leg of our trip was spent in Paris --- 4 nights to be exact, which meant three whole days plus a half a day in ONE place. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. :)
We left Switzerland early Thursday morning and arrived at the Paris train station (one of 6 I believe) around 1:30 PM. The only way (or I should say only reasonable way) to reach our hotel was to take the Metro. While we had used public transportation plenty of times on our trip, for some reason the Paris Metro seemed daunting. Oh wait, that's because to the novice, non-French speaker it IS daunting. Even with the Rick, we had a tough time figuring it out. Finally things made sense, and once they did we realized the system is really quite simple. Good thing because we used it a lot.
It was crummy weather the afternoon we arrived, cloudy and chilly and sprinkly. We got off the Metro at "our" stop (Ecole Militaire) and rather easily found "our" street, Rue Cler. This was one of our favorite parts of Paris. It had several outdoor markets, a DELICIOUS bakery spot, and a handful of good cafes. Plus, it was only a 10 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower. We checked into our hotel, rode in the Starship Enterprise elevator (seriously, it beamed us up to our room) and then decided to go see Les Invalides, known to English speakers (and us) as Napoleon's Tomb and Army Museum.
The dome covering the building that houses the height-challenged emperor's remains is covered in gold, and quite imposing. His coffin seemed to be a purple-y color and it was massive. We also saw some of his personal effects, like a jacket, a hat, and several of the swords he actually carried in battle. Pretty cool. Then we toured just the WWI and WWII wings of the museum. Despite the fact that English explanations were limited, we both found this to be very interesting. The French, like the Dutch, fiercely resisted their Nazi occupiers. One of my favorite displays was a real taxi car --- one of 670 that were used in a single day to transport over 6,000 French troops to fight those Nazi SOB's. The museum also had a little bit on the Pacific Theater, where both of my grandfathers served.
After Invalides, we wanted to go to the gardens at the Rodin Museum to see the famous statue of The Thinker. We knew the museum would be closed, but that the gardens were supposed to be open. When Jason tried to buy tickets, they told us to get them from the machine. But the machine only accepted change, which we didn't have. This incredibly rude French woman wouldn't even acknowledge Jason, and finally another worker asked her to make change from his 10 Euro. The woman refused, and we walked home. A nice welcome to France.
For dinner, we ate at this little Chinese deli right across from our hotel. It was fast, easy and delicious. One dish we tried was chicken with caramel sauce, and Jason said it is the best Chinese food he's ever eaten. Thank goodness we're slowly discovering dishes he approves of, because I enjoy foreign cuisines! After our meal, we watched a little CNN in our room (we've been so out of the news loop) and went to bed.
We left Switzerland early Thursday morning and arrived at the Paris train station (one of 6 I believe) around 1:30 PM. The only way (or I should say only reasonable way) to reach our hotel was to take the Metro. While we had used public transportation plenty of times on our trip, for some reason the Paris Metro seemed daunting. Oh wait, that's because to the novice, non-French speaker it IS daunting. Even with the Rick, we had a tough time figuring it out. Finally things made sense, and once they did we realized the system is really quite simple. Good thing because we used it a lot.
It was crummy weather the afternoon we arrived, cloudy and chilly and sprinkly. We got off the Metro at "our" stop (Ecole Militaire) and rather easily found "our" street, Rue Cler. This was one of our favorite parts of Paris. It had several outdoor markets, a DELICIOUS bakery spot, and a handful of good cafes. Plus, it was only a 10 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower. We checked into our hotel, rode in the Starship Enterprise elevator (seriously, it beamed us up to our room) and then decided to go see Les Invalides, known to English speakers (and us) as Napoleon's Tomb and Army Museum.
The dome covering the building that houses the height-challenged emperor's remains is covered in gold, and quite imposing. His coffin seemed to be a purple-y color and it was massive. We also saw some of his personal effects, like a jacket, a hat, and several of the swords he actually carried in battle. Pretty cool. Then we toured just the WWI and WWII wings of the museum. Despite the fact that English explanations were limited, we both found this to be very interesting. The French, like the Dutch, fiercely resisted their Nazi occupiers. One of my favorite displays was a real taxi car --- one of 670 that were used in a single day to transport over 6,000 French troops to fight those Nazi SOB's. The museum also had a little bit on the Pacific Theater, where both of my grandfathers served.
After Invalides, we wanted to go to the gardens at the Rodin Museum to see the famous statue of The Thinker. We knew the museum would be closed, but that the gardens were supposed to be open. When Jason tried to buy tickets, they told us to get them from the machine. But the machine only accepted change, which we didn't have. This incredibly rude French woman wouldn't even acknowledge Jason, and finally another worker asked her to make change from his 10 Euro. The woman refused, and we walked home. A nice welcome to France.
For dinner, we ate at this little Chinese deli right across from our hotel. It was fast, easy and delicious. One dish we tried was chicken with caramel sauce, and Jason said it is the best Chinese food he's ever eaten. Thank goodness we're slowly discovering dishes he approves of, because I enjoy foreign cuisines! After our meal, we watched a little CNN in our room (we've been so out of the news loop) and went to bed.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Switzerland, Day Zwei
When we woke up this morning and looked outside, we could tell it was going to be iffy taking the lift up to the top of Shilthorn. Still, we got ready, ate quickly and booked it down to the tourist office to buy our tickets and hop on the bus. When we got there we discovered the office didn't open for 15 minutes but the bus left in 5. So we thought we missed our chance. Then we looked at the schedule more closely and realized another bus left at 9:20. Perfect. But as we waited for the office to open, we checked out the livecam of the Schilthorn and everything was covered in clouds, it was 2 degrees C and snowing. We decided not to spend 140 francs to look at whiteness. As Jason said, we'll do it next time.
We got over our disappointment by hanging out in the cozy TV lounge of our hotel and then taking an earlier train into Interlaken. We wanted to window shop, but Interlaken Ost was not near the town center so we walked over to the Coop instead and had a tasty lunch. As we waited for our train into Bern Jason took a nap and I inwardly shunned the rainy weather.
As our train pulled into the Bern station I eagerly looked for Martina, and when I saw her I started to wave madly. Thankfully she waved madly back. :) It was nice to see a familiar face, and good to have someone to show us around. She helped us navigate the station, as it is in a state of construction because the city is hosting the Europe Cup next summer and expecting loads of tourists. On the way we were able to sample leckerli, a traditional (and delicious) Swiss treat. It sort-of reminded me of gingerbread. Sort of.
From there (as the weather had temporarily cleared) we headed into the Old Town --- the original city mostly focused around the Aare River. A fire in the early 1400s forced the city to rebuild, and they used beautiful sandstone. We saw the old prison, the city cathedral (gorgeous, and perhaps the first Protestant church we have toured) and walked under the trademark arcades. We saw the clock in action at 16:00 and then headed towards the river and the city mascots --- the bears. Two bears live in pits near the river and people came come and look down on them. As it had started to rain again, we couldn't linger long, but we got a few pictures of these creatures. We also figured out that they are older than Jason by 4 months. :)
Martina wanted to show us a movie on the history of Bern that started at 17:20, so we sat in a cafe and had a very tasty Swiss soda called Rivella that is made of 30% milk until the show started. It was pretty entertaining, with a film and a model of the city and lights and water oh my --- all in about 15 minutes.
From the film pits we walked up to the Rosengarten (rose garden) and ate at a restaurant overlooking the old city. It was a gorgeous view, and fantastic food. For me, it was good to eat something not involving pasta or potatoes. :) Jason had sausage and potatoes, but didn't eat his spinach. :) After we ate, we talked for a good hour and then the three of us split the most scrumptious strawberry sundae of our lives. Mmmm good. Why is the food, even simple things, so much better over here??
After our meal, we took a bus back to the station because it was chilly, picked up our bags from the lockers and said our goodbyes to Martina as we boarded our bus. She is such a nice girl (and a great tour guide!), and will be visiting Idaho with her family next year. I will be glad to see her. It was a short trip to our stop and a shorter walk to our pension. Somehow I booked us a room with two twin beds --- not very romantic, but perfect for resting up before 4 nights in Paris.
Sidenote: it barely dawned on us that today is Independence Day at home. When it did, I became quite homesick as we always spend today with extended family and friends. And what is July 4th with no fireworks? Alas, it was just another rainy day here in Switzerland. We'll have to make up for it next year. To our families, we love and miss you. Have fun celebrating. :)
We got over our disappointment by hanging out in the cozy TV lounge of our hotel and then taking an earlier train into Interlaken. We wanted to window shop, but Interlaken Ost was not near the town center so we walked over to the Coop instead and had a tasty lunch. As we waited for our train into Bern Jason took a nap and I inwardly shunned the rainy weather.
As our train pulled into the Bern station I eagerly looked for Martina, and when I saw her I started to wave madly. Thankfully she waved madly back. :) It was nice to see a familiar face, and good to have someone to show us around. She helped us navigate the station, as it is in a state of construction because the city is hosting the Europe Cup next summer and expecting loads of tourists. On the way we were able to sample leckerli, a traditional (and delicious) Swiss treat. It sort-of reminded me of gingerbread. Sort of.
From there (as the weather had temporarily cleared) we headed into the Old Town --- the original city mostly focused around the Aare River. A fire in the early 1400s forced the city to rebuild, and they used beautiful sandstone. We saw the old prison, the city cathedral (gorgeous, and perhaps the first Protestant church we have toured) and walked under the trademark arcades. We saw the clock in action at 16:00 and then headed towards the river and the city mascots --- the bears. Two bears live in pits near the river and people came come and look down on them. As it had started to rain again, we couldn't linger long, but we got a few pictures of these creatures. We also figured out that they are older than Jason by 4 months. :)
Martina wanted to show us a movie on the history of Bern that started at 17:20, so we sat in a cafe and had a very tasty Swiss soda called Rivella that is made of 30% milk until the show started. It was pretty entertaining, with a film and a model of the city and lights and water oh my --- all in about 15 minutes.
From the film pits we walked up to the Rosengarten (rose garden) and ate at a restaurant overlooking the old city. It was a gorgeous view, and fantastic food. For me, it was good to eat something not involving pasta or potatoes. :) Jason had sausage and potatoes, but didn't eat his spinach. :) After we ate, we talked for a good hour and then the three of us split the most scrumptious strawberry sundae of our lives. Mmmm good. Why is the food, even simple things, so much better over here??
After our meal, we took a bus back to the station because it was chilly, picked up our bags from the lockers and said our goodbyes to Martina as we boarded our bus. She is such a nice girl (and a great tour guide!), and will be visiting Idaho with her family next year. I will be glad to see her. It was a short trip to our stop and a shorter walk to our pension. Somehow I booked us a room with two twin beds --- not very romantic, but perfect for resting up before 4 nights in Paris.
Sidenote: it barely dawned on us that today is Independence Day at home. When it did, I became quite homesick as we always spend today with extended family and friends. And what is July 4th with no fireworks? Alas, it was just another rainy day here in Switzerland. We'll have to make up for it next year. To our families, we love and miss you. Have fun celebrating. :)
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Trains, Planes...and Switzerland
Before we left Vernazza on Monday morning we headed up to this restaurant at the top of town called the il Pirate. It doesn't have views of the water, but as the two joksters who run the place told us, "What is more important, the view outside or the view on the plate?" How can you argue with that logic? The man at the counter immediately asked us if we were Americans, and if we wanted the specialty. I remembered that Rick had mentioned a delicious pastry. He pulled it out and asked, dead pan, "Do you like fish and chips? The inside is of fish and chips." We stared blankly and finally realized he was kidding. So Jason took it and I had some sort of apple pastry, which was tasty. But I SHOULD have had what Jason did. It was pastry dough filled with ricotta cheese mixed with sugar and cinnamon --- and it was amazing. I had cappuccino with mine and Jason had a strawberry granita (made from FRESH strawberries topped with the most scrumptious whipped cream either of us has ever had). It was the tastiest breakfast of the trip thus far.
From Vernazza we spent 9 hours and 10 minutes traveling by train to reach our next destination. We passed by some of the prettiest scenery of the trip, especially northern Italy. Fields of sunflowers and sleepy towns set into the hills allowed me to daydream the time away. As we passed into Switzerland, the views began to remind me a little of home, but on a much grander scale. I can see now why the Benedictine sisters at St. Gertrude's (who came from Switzerland) chose to settle where they did. Except the prairie doesn't of course have massive mountains. :)
Finally, at 7:40 PM we arrived in our homebase of Lauterbrunnen. Both of us were immediately disappointed as while we were surrounded by beautiful rock walls, there was not a snow-capped mountain in sight. Everything was covered by clouds, and a light rain. We trekked to our very quaint hotel, dropped our bags off, and found a warm meal at Hotel Oberland. I ordered traditional Swiss Rösti (fried potatoes smothered in cheese with ham, onions and mushrooms) and --- being true to my Idaho roots --- it was the best meal of the trip for me so far. It probably didn't hurt that I was starving either. Jason ordered pizza and he also felt that it was tastier than the ones he had in Italy. Again, hunger may have played a part. :) To cap off the meal, we split an ice cream sundae. While it was more like our ice cream at home, and not delicious gelato, it was still incredibly satisfying.
Today we woke up early and I scurried across the hall to the balcony and squealed as the mountains were now in sight. I went and grabbed Jason and we both gawked for a minute before going back to our room to get ready for the day. After a good breakfast of cereal, bread with homemade blackberry jam and yogurt with granola, we headed off to the train station. From there we took a scenic train to the touristy town of Wengen; from Wengen we took the Männlichen lift to the top of the ridge high above us. As we departed into the wind and cool weather, we both commented that this may in fact turn out to be our favorite spot (and neither of us had thought we'd have a "favorite"). As we soaked in the spectacular Alpine vista, I sang (poorly mind you) "The hills are alive with the sound of music". Jason acted like he didn't know me. :)
The walk we followed took us from the Männlichen lift station to Kleine Scheidegg (where you have the option of taking a train to the top of the Jungfrau and the ability to say you've been to the top of Europe). We walked past meadows filled with wildflowers and small glacial lakes as blue as the sky and little streams that gushed down the mountainside to the valley below. It was magical --- even with the wind. We stopped many times for photos and the views. Always ahead of us were the north faces of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (the monk is protecting the young maiden from the ogre). Really, it was the most awe-inspiring sight of my life. As we got close to Kleine Scheidegg, the clouds started to come in and the rain. This dampend our plans to have a grand alpine picnic (and to hike back down to Wengen) so we ended up eating lunch in one of the restaurants at the stop and taking the train back down to Lauterbrunnen --- a 4152 foot elevation drop.
After going back to our hotel and dinking around for a bit hoping the rain would stop (it didn't), we decided to go visit Trümmelbach Falls --- actually 10 waterfalls mostly inside the mountain. This is the home of the glacial melt from the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau that scours away at the rock at 20,200 liters per SECOND. It's some powerful water. We took a bus to the falls, walked to the ticket booth and then rode a lift up into the mountain to witness the wonder of nature at work. You actually hike around inside the mountain viewing the various falls as they are lit either from natural light above you or from lights set up inside the mountain. It was pretty darn cool --- not to mention loud and wet. :)
After all that force, we stopped off to do our last load of laundry overseas and then came back to our hotel to eat the picnic we never had. Now I'm sipping menthe (mint) tea and contemplating a hot shower. Tomorrow we are taking a trip up to the top of Schilthorn peak, seeing the restaurant that James Bond exploded, heading back down the mountain and going to Bern to see Martina and her city (also, for geography nerds out there, the capitol of Switzerland).
We have found Switzerland to be wonderful. Both of us wish we were here longer --- but there is always a next time. We have also found the country to be quite expensive and are grateful that we have been keeping under budget up to this point --- because we cannot not sightsee here. We would be denying ourselves one of God's great gifts to mankind --- and the Swiss people a decent chunk of income. :)
From Vernazza we spent 9 hours and 10 minutes traveling by train to reach our next destination. We passed by some of the prettiest scenery of the trip, especially northern Italy. Fields of sunflowers and sleepy towns set into the hills allowed me to daydream the time away. As we passed into Switzerland, the views began to remind me a little of home, but on a much grander scale. I can see now why the Benedictine sisters at St. Gertrude's (who came from Switzerland) chose to settle where they did. Except the prairie doesn't of course have massive mountains. :)
Finally, at 7:40 PM we arrived in our homebase of Lauterbrunnen. Both of us were immediately disappointed as while we were surrounded by beautiful rock walls, there was not a snow-capped mountain in sight. Everything was covered by clouds, and a light rain. We trekked to our very quaint hotel, dropped our bags off, and found a warm meal at Hotel Oberland. I ordered traditional Swiss Rösti (fried potatoes smothered in cheese with ham, onions and mushrooms) and --- being true to my Idaho roots --- it was the best meal of the trip for me so far. It probably didn't hurt that I was starving either. Jason ordered pizza and he also felt that it was tastier than the ones he had in Italy. Again, hunger may have played a part. :) To cap off the meal, we split an ice cream sundae. While it was more like our ice cream at home, and not delicious gelato, it was still incredibly satisfying.
Today we woke up early and I scurried across the hall to the balcony and squealed as the mountains were now in sight. I went and grabbed Jason and we both gawked for a minute before going back to our room to get ready for the day. After a good breakfast of cereal, bread with homemade blackberry jam and yogurt with granola, we headed off to the train station. From there we took a scenic train to the touristy town of Wengen; from Wengen we took the Männlichen lift to the top of the ridge high above us. As we departed into the wind and cool weather, we both commented that this may in fact turn out to be our favorite spot (and neither of us had thought we'd have a "favorite"). As we soaked in the spectacular Alpine vista, I sang (poorly mind you) "The hills are alive with the sound of music". Jason acted like he didn't know me. :)
The walk we followed took us from the Männlichen lift station to Kleine Scheidegg (where you have the option of taking a train to the top of the Jungfrau and the ability to say you've been to the top of Europe). We walked past meadows filled with wildflowers and small glacial lakes as blue as the sky and little streams that gushed down the mountainside to the valley below. It was magical --- even with the wind. We stopped many times for photos and the views. Always ahead of us were the north faces of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (the monk is protecting the young maiden from the ogre). Really, it was the most awe-inspiring sight of my life. As we got close to Kleine Scheidegg, the clouds started to come in and the rain. This dampend our plans to have a grand alpine picnic (and to hike back down to Wengen) so we ended up eating lunch in one of the restaurants at the stop and taking the train back down to Lauterbrunnen --- a 4152 foot elevation drop.
After going back to our hotel and dinking around for a bit hoping the rain would stop (it didn't), we decided to go visit Trümmelbach Falls --- actually 10 waterfalls mostly inside the mountain. This is the home of the glacial melt from the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau that scours away at the rock at 20,200 liters per SECOND. It's some powerful water. We took a bus to the falls, walked to the ticket booth and then rode a lift up into the mountain to witness the wonder of nature at work. You actually hike around inside the mountain viewing the various falls as they are lit either from natural light above you or from lights set up inside the mountain. It was pretty darn cool --- not to mention loud and wet. :)
After all that force, we stopped off to do our last load of laundry overseas and then came back to our hotel to eat the picnic we never had. Now I'm sipping menthe (mint) tea and contemplating a hot shower. Tomorrow we are taking a trip up to the top of Schilthorn peak, seeing the restaurant that James Bond exploded, heading back down the mountain and going to Bern to see Martina and her city (also, for geography nerds out there, the capitol of Switzerland).
We have found Switzerland to be wonderful. Both of us wish we were here longer --- but there is always a next time. We have also found the country to be quite expensive and are grateful that we have been keeping under budget up to this point --- because we cannot not sightsee here. We would be denying ourselves one of God's great gifts to mankind --- and the Swiss people a decent chunk of income. :)
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Lazy Days in the Cinque Terre
Our Saturday morning train from Rome left the station 45 minutes late, and we were in a cramped 2nd class compartment with two Italian men and a hip priest with James Bond sunglasses and shoes so shiny I bet I could see my reflection in them if I tried. We made the best of our travel time by reading up on our destination, sleeping and eating a light lunch. Finally bright blue water began flashing past our window between tunnels and we knew a few days of relaxation were near.
The Cinque Terre translates, I believe, to "the five (cinque) lands (terre)". Basically it is 5 towns along the coast of the Ligurian Sea, all connected by train, boat and scenic hiking trails. And after three days (and two weeks) of busy travel, it offered us a break from sightseeing and a chance to catch our breath.
We arrived around 3:30 in the 4th town (if you are heading North) of Vernazza. As we stepped off the train and into the mass of tourists waiting to board, we could smell the sea air. We walked for 5 minutes through town, past pastel colored buildings and narrow streets with laundry hanging out of windows and reached the town's small harbor --- the only one among the towns. Our albergo faces the harbor (and was apparently once used as a guardhouse) and we had no trouble finding it. After climbing over 80 steps to the top floors, with the final stretch rivaling the final climb to the cuppola of St. Peter's, we had our little attic room. The small window overlooks the harbor, and everything was just perfect. Nothing fancy, but perfect all the same.
As seems to be our pattern, we took a two-hour siesta, and then decided we better explore the town. After purchasing (surprise!) gelato, we took Rick's town walk and oriented ourselves. By this point many of the day-trippers had left, and the town was quieting down as twilight descended.
We stopped at the local Internet Point to check on email and such things, and I made fast friends with four cats whose permanent perch seems to be on the stairs outside the door. Jason finally convinced me to leave the felines and we began our search for dinner. The first two restaurants we tried were reserved, so finally we ate at Piva's. Jason had basic, and delicious, spaghetti, and I tried the pesto --- and discovered that while it is tasty, it is not my cup of tea. With full stomachs, we headed down to the water to soak in the sunset.
Today we slept in a little, and then took a train back towards the first town of Riomaggiore to begin our hike. The trail between Riomaggiore and the next town of Manarola is called the Via dell'Amore and along its path are the professions of love of numerous couples carved into the rocks. It also offer some "oh wow" views of the water and scenery. I have never seen water so blue or clear. Jason said it is very similar to Hawaii.
When we reached Manarola, we continued on the slightly more strenuous hike to the third town of Corniglia. Along the way we could look down at the sunworshippers soaking up the rays (Italians haven't seemed to get the message that UVA rays equal skin cancer and wrinkles) and witnessed a few women without their tops on. Just another European experience for us.
In Corniglia we opted to hop on the train which took us past Vernazza to the last town of Monterosso. This seemed to be the most resort-y of the five, so we didn't waste any time finding the boat to take us home. Once we had fought through the tourist group crowd to board, it only took a few minutes before we were back in our familiar harbor. We went up to our room to cool down a bit and then stopped for some more delicious gelato as we strolled the town. After talking to both of our families, we made the start of the steep, strenuous hike towards Monterosso for some breathtaking views of Vernazza. It also allowed us to see the vineyards up close.
For dinner, we ate at Ristorante Castello, which sits right below the old town castle and offers gorgeous views of the Ligurian Sea. Jason ordered spaghetti with tomato and basil, and I stepped out on a limb and ordered "spaghetti on the rocks". It was noodles with mussels and clams and a whole crawfish as a little surprise --- and it was DELICIOUS. My dad would have LOVED it. We also ordered wine for the first time in Italy --- made from the famous Cinque Terre grapes. Between the two of us, we only ordered a little 375 ml bottle, but it still gave us a slight buzz. We're lightweights. :) After thoroughly enjoying our meal and the views, we headed back down the steps, strolled through town and ended up here at the little Internet Point.
Next stop: the Swiss Alps. Then on to Bern, and our finale in Paris. What a trip this has been! And we still have a week to go. We're looking forward to new adventures and also to coming home. But we have caught the travel bug, and it doesn't look like it will be going away any time soon. :)
The Cinque Terre translates, I believe, to "the five (cinque) lands (terre)". Basically it is 5 towns along the coast of the Ligurian Sea, all connected by train, boat and scenic hiking trails. And after three days (and two weeks) of busy travel, it offered us a break from sightseeing and a chance to catch our breath.
We arrived around 3:30 in the 4th town (if you are heading North) of Vernazza. As we stepped off the train and into the mass of tourists waiting to board, we could smell the sea air. We walked for 5 minutes through town, past pastel colored buildings and narrow streets with laundry hanging out of windows and reached the town's small harbor --- the only one among the towns. Our albergo faces the harbor (and was apparently once used as a guardhouse) and we had no trouble finding it. After climbing over 80 steps to the top floors, with the final stretch rivaling the final climb to the cuppola of St. Peter's, we had our little attic room. The small window overlooks the harbor, and everything was just perfect. Nothing fancy, but perfect all the same.
As seems to be our pattern, we took a two-hour siesta, and then decided we better explore the town. After purchasing (surprise!) gelato, we took Rick's town walk and oriented ourselves. By this point many of the day-trippers had left, and the town was quieting down as twilight descended.
We stopped at the local Internet Point to check on email and such things, and I made fast friends with four cats whose permanent perch seems to be on the stairs outside the door. Jason finally convinced me to leave the felines and we began our search for dinner. The first two restaurants we tried were reserved, so finally we ate at Piva's. Jason had basic, and delicious, spaghetti, and I tried the pesto --- and discovered that while it is tasty, it is not my cup of tea. With full stomachs, we headed down to the water to soak in the sunset.
Today we slept in a little, and then took a train back towards the first town of Riomaggiore to begin our hike. The trail between Riomaggiore and the next town of Manarola is called the Via dell'Amore and along its path are the professions of love of numerous couples carved into the rocks. It also offer some "oh wow" views of the water and scenery. I have never seen water so blue or clear. Jason said it is very similar to Hawaii.
When we reached Manarola, we continued on the slightly more strenuous hike to the third town of Corniglia. Along the way we could look down at the sunworshippers soaking up the rays (Italians haven't seemed to get the message that UVA rays equal skin cancer and wrinkles) and witnessed a few women without their tops on. Just another European experience for us.
In Corniglia we opted to hop on the train which took us past Vernazza to the last town of Monterosso. This seemed to be the most resort-y of the five, so we didn't waste any time finding the boat to take us home. Once we had fought through the tourist group crowd to board, it only took a few minutes before we were back in our familiar harbor. We went up to our room to cool down a bit and then stopped for some more delicious gelato as we strolled the town. After talking to both of our families, we made the start of the steep, strenuous hike towards Monterosso for some breathtaking views of Vernazza. It also allowed us to see the vineyards up close.
For dinner, we ate at Ristorante Castello, which sits right below the old town castle and offers gorgeous views of the Ligurian Sea. Jason ordered spaghetti with tomato and basil, and I stepped out on a limb and ordered "spaghetti on the rocks". It was noodles with mussels and clams and a whole crawfish as a little surprise --- and it was DELICIOUS. My dad would have LOVED it. We also ordered wine for the first time in Italy --- made from the famous Cinque Terre grapes. Between the two of us, we only ordered a little 375 ml bottle, but it still gave us a slight buzz. We're lightweights. :) After thoroughly enjoying our meal and the views, we headed back down the steps, strolled through town and ended up here at the little Internet Point.
Next stop: the Swiss Alps. Then on to Bern, and our finale in Paris. What a trip this has been! And we still have a week to go. We're looking forward to new adventures and also to coming home. But we have caught the travel bug, and it doesn't look like it will be going away any time soon. :)
Saturday, June 30, 2007
The Eternal City, Day Three
Our final day in Rome was kind-of a hodgepodge of activities. As Jason observed to me over lunch, we had been moving slower since arriving in this great city. Rome is marvelous, but it can be grueling. So we took the day at a slower pace and didn't beat ourselves up by trying to see too much --- and Jason is already planning our next trip back. :)
After toast, cereal, juice and some darn strong coffee at the B&B, we made our way to the Capuchin Crypt that sits below one of Rome's many churches. It may sound morbid (and I suppose in a way it is) but the crypt consists of five vaulted rooms decorated in the bones of over 4,000 Franciscan friars. Using only human remains, the men created light fixtures, crucifixes, and oddly beautiful wall "murals". We purchased a little postcard that had explanations in English of each of the rooms and marveled at the ability to use bones in such a manner. The final vaulted room has a little sign that issues a message to visitors: "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be." Chilling? Not really. Their acceptance of our fate was kind-of affirming. In death, beauty --- and new life --- will be found.
After visiting the vault, we walked to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, only to discover it was closed to visitors due to the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. After getting over our temporary disappointment, we trudged on. Jason stopped to fill up our water bottle at one of Rome's many fountains --- some of these are simple, some of them are quite ornate, all of them offer cooling refreshment from the heat. We decided to eat lunch again at the train station --- the food really was quite good --- and then we headed to our next stop.
The National Museum of Rome showcases this city's history, from its small start to being the most powerful empire on earth, and finally to its sad but inevitable fall. It had a great collection of statues, and we followed Rick's reading tour in our book. To carve what these people did out of marble just floors me. It is really amazing. We also saw some original Greek bronze statues, which are apparently really rare. We toured the upper floors, where we saw remnants of mosaics and frescoes from Roman villas. These places must have been SPECTACULAR in their day. The final visit was the basement, where we saw some examples of Roman jewelry (quite beautiful) and a massive coin collection.
After the museum, we considered visiting the Baths of Diocletian across the street, but after reading that much of it has been turned into a church and other (what we felt were) non-interesting things, we headed home to do some laundry and take a siesta. We knew we had a night walk ahead of us, and wanted to be rested for it.
Rick has a walk you can follow in his Rome book called "A Night Walk Across Rome". Before we started, we stopped at the Largo Argentina ruins, which is now home to a cat hospice. I LOVED it there. The ruins cover about half a football field, and cats are just laying around, sunning themselves on the remains of a great civilization. We got there after the hospice had closed, but it was still fun to watch the action. Jason commented on how I took more pictures there than I had at a lot of other places. I can't help that I love cats. :)
Our walk started at Campo di Fiori. We ate at Ostaria da Giovanni ar Galletto on Piazza Farnese, and besides being delicious Roman food (our waiter was very pleased that Jason ordered the carbonera) it was entertaining, as the owner Angelo (a sweet Italian man) told his waiters what to do, found tables for customers, and sung to the women as he seated them. After our meal, we headed from Campo di Fiori to Piazza Navona, where we saw all the night action. Struggling artists had their work out, vendors hawked their goods, and a man with a Michael Jackson puppet on his hand and a massive crowd around him did the moonwalk to "Beat It". From the piazza, we walked past the gloriously lit Pantheon and took a detour to eat gelato from Rome's most famous gelateria, Giolitti's. As we walked and ate, we made our way to the beautiful-when-lit Trevi fountain (which was packed with people) and each threw in a coin to ensure our return. The last stop of the night was the Spanish Steps.
After some wandering, we took a bus back to the station and walked the rest of the way home, arriving back at 11:30 --- late but worth it, as it was a good farewell to the city.
After toast, cereal, juice and some darn strong coffee at the B&B, we made our way to the Capuchin Crypt that sits below one of Rome's many churches. It may sound morbid (and I suppose in a way it is) but the crypt consists of five vaulted rooms decorated in the bones of over 4,000 Franciscan friars. Using only human remains, the men created light fixtures, crucifixes, and oddly beautiful wall "murals". We purchased a little postcard that had explanations in English of each of the rooms and marveled at the ability to use bones in such a manner. The final vaulted room has a little sign that issues a message to visitors: "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be." Chilling? Not really. Their acceptance of our fate was kind-of affirming. In death, beauty --- and new life --- will be found.
After visiting the vault, we walked to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, only to discover it was closed to visitors due to the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. After getting over our temporary disappointment, we trudged on. Jason stopped to fill up our water bottle at one of Rome's many fountains --- some of these are simple, some of them are quite ornate, all of them offer cooling refreshment from the heat. We decided to eat lunch again at the train station --- the food really was quite good --- and then we headed to our next stop.
The National Museum of Rome showcases this city's history, from its small start to being the most powerful empire on earth, and finally to its sad but inevitable fall. It had a great collection of statues, and we followed Rick's reading tour in our book. To carve what these people did out of marble just floors me. It is really amazing. We also saw some original Greek bronze statues, which are apparently really rare. We toured the upper floors, where we saw remnants of mosaics and frescoes from Roman villas. These places must have been SPECTACULAR in their day. The final visit was the basement, where we saw some examples of Roman jewelry (quite beautiful) and a massive coin collection.
After the museum, we considered visiting the Baths of Diocletian across the street, but after reading that much of it has been turned into a church and other (what we felt were) non-interesting things, we headed home to do some laundry and take a siesta. We knew we had a night walk ahead of us, and wanted to be rested for it.
Rick has a walk you can follow in his Rome book called "A Night Walk Across Rome". Before we started, we stopped at the Largo Argentina ruins, which is now home to a cat hospice. I LOVED it there. The ruins cover about half a football field, and cats are just laying around, sunning themselves on the remains of a great civilization. We got there after the hospice had closed, but it was still fun to watch the action. Jason commented on how I took more pictures there than I had at a lot of other places. I can't help that I love cats. :)
Our walk started at Campo di Fiori. We ate at Ostaria da Giovanni ar Galletto on Piazza Farnese, and besides being delicious Roman food (our waiter was very pleased that Jason ordered the carbonera) it was entertaining, as the owner Angelo (a sweet Italian man) told his waiters what to do, found tables for customers, and sung to the women as he seated them. After our meal, we headed from Campo di Fiori to Piazza Navona, where we saw all the night action. Struggling artists had their work out, vendors hawked their goods, and a man with a Michael Jackson puppet on his hand and a massive crowd around him did the moonwalk to "Beat It". From the piazza, we walked past the gloriously lit Pantheon and took a detour to eat gelato from Rome's most famous gelateria, Giolitti's. As we walked and ate, we made our way to the beautiful-when-lit Trevi fountain (which was packed with people) and each threw in a coin to ensure our return. The last stop of the night was the Spanish Steps.
After some wandering, we took a bus back to the station and walked the rest of the way home, arriving back at 11:30 --- late but worth it, as it was a good farewell to the city.
Friday, June 29, 2007
The Eternal City, Day Two
Thursday was our first full day in Roma, and despite our best intentions, we didn't head out for the day's sightseeing until around 10:00 AM. We did, however, meet a nice young couple at breakfast from Toronto, and they let us borrow a very cool little book that shows what Rome's ruins looked like when they were brand new.
The first stop of the day was another church, St. Peter-in-Chains. It was very peaceful here, as there were not so many tourists. We saw Michelangelo's statue of Moses and also the chains that held St. Peter at the Mamertime Prison and also under Herod's lock and key. It is said that when the two sets of chains were brought together, they miraculously joined.
After St. Peter-in-Chains, we headed for the Colosseum. When the massive structure came into sight, we both stopped to admire (and gawk) at it. So many times we had seen it, on TV, in the movies, in our school books. Now we were really there. On a tip we got from Rick, we walked to the Palatine Hill ticket office, purchased our Archeologia Cards, and then were able to skip through the lines at the Colosseum straight for the turnstile. I must say, the place is HUGE --- a theme we are noticing more and more in this city. From the Vestal Virgins box (these young women tended the eternal fire of the city), we observed the now-visible floor plan of underground tunnels and passages that were used by the gladiators and the wild animals they fought. You can still see the elevator shafts that brought up surprise rivals for the fighting men to fend off. We hiked up immensely steep stairs (Jason said we were going to watch the fights and give our thumbs up (live) or thumbs down (die)) and got a better view of everything. We stood where the emperors box was located, and pondered the power these men held --- and then snapped some pictures.
After walking around the Arch of Constantine, our next stop was a quick lunch, followed by the massive Forum. This area was the main drag in ancient Rome. Today it is the site of some pretty darn cool ruins. We followed the tour in Rick's Rome 2007 book and saw the spot where Caesar's was burned, the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, the arch of Titus, and much more. We were going to tour Palatine Hill, but when we got up there we decided that we were tired enough, and had enough left to see, to bypass this chunk of history and leave it for next time.
From the ruins, we walked to the Pantheon. At it's earliest point, this building was a temple dedicated to ALL the gods, not one in particular. It still looks today pretty much as it did in the early years of the first millenium. The reason it has been so well preserved is that, as Rome fell, the Christians converted it to a church and no one messed with it. It is also the longest continually used building in Rome. Before we stepped inside, we were both impressed with it's 40 foot tall solid granite columns (rock brought here from Egypt). Once inside, the only light comes from the massive hole in the top of the dome --- and what a dome! It was the last one built until Brunelleschi's in Florence over 1,000 years later. Shortly after we arrived, mass started (odd to think about mass being said in a building previously used for pagan worship) and we left.
We wandered the streets, looking for a little bar that we read had a good, cheap menu. We found it, ordered a pizza to share, and enjoyed the city's ambiance as we ate. After our meal, our waiter brought us complimentary sparkling wine and we savored the evening some more. Finally we forced ourselves to leave, and headed home.
The first stop of the day was another church, St. Peter-in-Chains. It was very peaceful here, as there were not so many tourists. We saw Michelangelo's statue of Moses and also the chains that held St. Peter at the Mamertime Prison and also under Herod's lock and key. It is said that when the two sets of chains were brought together, they miraculously joined.
After St. Peter-in-Chains, we headed for the Colosseum. When the massive structure came into sight, we both stopped to admire (and gawk) at it. So many times we had seen it, on TV, in the movies, in our school books. Now we were really there. On a tip we got from Rick, we walked to the Palatine Hill ticket office, purchased our Archeologia Cards, and then were able to skip through the lines at the Colosseum straight for the turnstile. I must say, the place is HUGE --- a theme we are noticing more and more in this city. From the Vestal Virgins box (these young women tended the eternal fire of the city), we observed the now-visible floor plan of underground tunnels and passages that were used by the gladiators and the wild animals they fought. You can still see the elevator shafts that brought up surprise rivals for the fighting men to fend off. We hiked up immensely steep stairs (Jason said we were going to watch the fights and give our thumbs up (live) or thumbs down (die)) and got a better view of everything. We stood where the emperors box was located, and pondered the power these men held --- and then snapped some pictures.
After walking around the Arch of Constantine, our next stop was a quick lunch, followed by the massive Forum. This area was the main drag in ancient Rome. Today it is the site of some pretty darn cool ruins. We followed the tour in Rick's Rome 2007 book and saw the spot where Caesar's was burned, the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, the arch of Titus, and much more. We were going to tour Palatine Hill, but when we got up there we decided that we were tired enough, and had enough left to see, to bypass this chunk of history and leave it for next time.
From the ruins, we walked to the Pantheon. At it's earliest point, this building was a temple dedicated to ALL the gods, not one in particular. It still looks today pretty much as it did in the early years of the first millenium. The reason it has been so well preserved is that, as Rome fell, the Christians converted it to a church and no one messed with it. It is also the longest continually used building in Rome. Before we stepped inside, we were both impressed with it's 40 foot tall solid granite columns (rock brought here from Egypt). Once inside, the only light comes from the massive hole in the top of the dome --- and what a dome! It was the last one built until Brunelleschi's in Florence over 1,000 years later. Shortly after we arrived, mass started (odd to think about mass being said in a building previously used for pagan worship) and we left.
We wandered the streets, looking for a little bar that we read had a good, cheap menu. We found it, ordered a pizza to share, and enjoyed the city's ambiance as we ate. After our meal, our waiter brought us complimentary sparkling wine and we savored the evening some more. Finally we forced ourselves to leave, and headed home.
The Eternal City, Day One
Wednesday was our first day in Rome, and it was a full one. We arrived at the Termini Station at 10:00 AM, found our B&B a short walk away, and were on the Metro headed for Vatican City by 11:00. Remember that Vatican City is its own country --- although nothing really changes physically when you leave Rome and enter this tiny little state (expect perhaps that things seem cleaner).
When we got off the metro, our first stop was the Vatican Museum. The line to enter stretched along a wall and around the corner, and we took our place at the back. It moved surprisingly quickly, and within 15 minutes we were inside --- only to stand in another line to purchase tickets. At least this new line was located in an air-conditioned building. It was basically wall-to-wall people, and the crowds made everything seem like it was taking longer than it really was.
When we arrived in the museum itself, we started in the rooms concerning Mesopotamia and and Egypt. We saw mummies, burial trinkets and lots of statues. Some of the items dated from 2500 B.C. It was amazing. We passed through rooms of Roman art, ornate halls hung with huge tapestries and maps, and slowly made our way to the cherry on top of the sundae --- the Sistine Chapel. Before we entered this amazing room, we passed by some very cool modern Christian art which was quite refreshing after all that Renaissance stuff. :) Right before the chapel we saw rooms decorated by Raphael and his impressive School of Athens painting. Finally, with about a million (give or take) other visitors, we entered the personal chapel of the pope and by craning our necks viewed Michelangelo's story of creation on the ceiling. Behind the altar was his later version of the Last Judgement. The message: Christ will come again, some will go to hell and some to heaven --- so get your brownie points in while you can.
From the Sistine Chapel, we took a little side door, and headed down to the greatest church in Christendom, St. Peter's Basilica. I cannot even describe how impressive this building is. We just stood at the back for awhile and gapped up. The basilica itself covers six acres (and this is NOT including St. Peter's Square outside). We toured the inside, saw Bernini's glorious starburst above St. Peter's throne and his massive, 7-story high bronze canopy over the main altar, and marveled at Michelangelo's dome (if you took a football field and stood it on end, it wouldn't touch the top of the dome). We stopped at a little side chapel for venerating the Eucharist and went in and prayed for awhile, stepped back out into the church, and went outside so that we could climb the dome.
After riding a lift up to the base of the dome, we went inside to peer 70 feet down inside the church. Although there is a fence, neither Jason or I could be near the edge for long before vertigo got the better of us. The letters that make up the base of the dome --- and that declare Peter as the rock of the church --- are themselves SEVEN feet high. From the inside we began the long climb up 320 stairs to the cuppola. The stairs gradually got narrower and narrower, and eventually we had to curve our bodies inward and follow the shape of the dome. Finally we emerged into the light and had views of Rome worth all the claustrophobia in the world. After climbing back down the dizzying spiral staircase, we stopped on the main roof and paid the gift shop a visit. I bought a small icon of the Madonna and Child from a little nun and we were on our way back to the basilica.
At 5:00 we attended mass under St. Peter's Throne. It was a lovely experience, with beautiful music, prayers and incense wafting heavenward. I kept trying to remind myself that we were in ST. PETER'S! After the service, we went outside to view the massive square. We saw the little balcony that the pope uses to speak to and bless the masses, and the windows to his personal living quarters. After marveling some more at the home of our faith, we headed back to the metro for home.
For sheer ease, we ate at the train station and had a surprisingly good meal. Once back to the hotel, I was able to talk to my dad and then we both fell quickly asleep.
When we got off the metro, our first stop was the Vatican Museum. The line to enter stretched along a wall and around the corner, and we took our place at the back. It moved surprisingly quickly, and within 15 minutes we were inside --- only to stand in another line to purchase tickets. At least this new line was located in an air-conditioned building. It was basically wall-to-wall people, and the crowds made everything seem like it was taking longer than it really was.
When we arrived in the museum itself, we started in the rooms concerning Mesopotamia and and Egypt. We saw mummies, burial trinkets and lots of statues. Some of the items dated from 2500 B.C. It was amazing. We passed through rooms of Roman art, ornate halls hung with huge tapestries and maps, and slowly made our way to the cherry on top of the sundae --- the Sistine Chapel. Before we entered this amazing room, we passed by some very cool modern Christian art which was quite refreshing after all that Renaissance stuff. :) Right before the chapel we saw rooms decorated by Raphael and his impressive School of Athens painting. Finally, with about a million (give or take) other visitors, we entered the personal chapel of the pope and by craning our necks viewed Michelangelo's story of creation on the ceiling. Behind the altar was his later version of the Last Judgement. The message: Christ will come again, some will go to hell and some to heaven --- so get your brownie points in while you can.
From the Sistine Chapel, we took a little side door, and headed down to the greatest church in Christendom, St. Peter's Basilica. I cannot even describe how impressive this building is. We just stood at the back for awhile and gapped up. The basilica itself covers six acres (and this is NOT including St. Peter's Square outside). We toured the inside, saw Bernini's glorious starburst above St. Peter's throne and his massive, 7-story high bronze canopy over the main altar, and marveled at Michelangelo's dome (if you took a football field and stood it on end, it wouldn't touch the top of the dome). We stopped at a little side chapel for venerating the Eucharist and went in and prayed for awhile, stepped back out into the church, and went outside so that we could climb the dome.
After riding a lift up to the base of the dome, we went inside to peer 70 feet down inside the church. Although there is a fence, neither Jason or I could be near the edge for long before vertigo got the better of us. The letters that make up the base of the dome --- and that declare Peter as the rock of the church --- are themselves SEVEN feet high. From the inside we began the long climb up 320 stairs to the cuppola. The stairs gradually got narrower and narrower, and eventually we had to curve our bodies inward and follow the shape of the dome. Finally we emerged into the light and had views of Rome worth all the claustrophobia in the world. After climbing back down the dizzying spiral staircase, we stopped on the main roof and paid the gift shop a visit. I bought a small icon of the Madonna and Child from a little nun and we were on our way back to the basilica.
At 5:00 we attended mass under St. Peter's Throne. It was a lovely experience, with beautiful music, prayers and incense wafting heavenward. I kept trying to remind myself that we were in ST. PETER'S! After the service, we went outside to view the massive square. We saw the little balcony that the pope uses to speak to and bless the masses, and the windows to his personal living quarters. After marveling some more at the home of our faith, we headed back to the metro for home.
For sheer ease, we ate at the train station and had a surprisingly good meal. Once back to the hotel, I was able to talk to my dad and then we both fell quickly asleep.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Farewell Florence, Hello Rome!
Our last day in Florence was a busy one. In the morning we had planned to see Santa Croce church, but the San Lorenzo market sucked us in. I purchased a scarf (I had been eyeing them in Venice) and Jason bought himself a great leather (at least we HOPE its leather) bag that he can use to haul his stuff to and from work. He tried to haggle with the vendor, but the two of them ended up joking around and we both got the feeling as we left that the vendor probably came out on top.
Our reservation at the Accademia was for 11:30. We waited a bit and then went inside. We viewed Michelangelo's unfinished Prisoners that were originally intended for the tomb of an egomaniacal pope in Rome. And then there before us, in all of his nude glory, was David. We hadn't been sure of what to expect with this statue, and quite frankly we were stunned. It is much larger than I expected, and really quite amazing. From there we viewed some beautiful religious altar pieces and icons and then headed out for lunch.
We ate at the little restaurant at the end of our block. I had a salad with mozzarella and tomatoes and it was delicious. When I say it came with mozzarella, I mean this baseball size ball of it sits in the middle and you eat pieces of it. Beth told me how great these cheese balls are, and I can now say I AGREE! I wish we had them back home.
It was sprinkling at this point (and no hot sun to bake us!) so we whipped out the umbrella again. We quickly viewed the inside of the Duomo (but opted to not climb the dome due to lines) and then headed to Santa Croce, home of the third longest nave in Christendom and the tombs of many important historical figures. The church seemed massive, and we saw where Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli are laid to rest. We also saw Donatellos beautiful Annunciation.
Our next stop was the Uffizi Gallery. We saw room after room after room of Renaissance art. Botticelli's Birth of Venus, da Vinci's The Annunciation, and all of the Raphael's, Michelangelo's and Titian's were amazing. After the museum we hunted down Florence's best known gelateria, Vivoli's. It was a nice break from the damp weather, and a great flavor infusion for our tastebuds.
The remainder of the evening was spent finding dinner, packing and relaxing in our room. In the morning we were on our way to Rome.
Our reservation at the Accademia was for 11:30. We waited a bit and then went inside. We viewed Michelangelo's unfinished Prisoners that were originally intended for the tomb of an egomaniacal pope in Rome. And then there before us, in all of his nude glory, was David. We hadn't been sure of what to expect with this statue, and quite frankly we were stunned. It is much larger than I expected, and really quite amazing. From there we viewed some beautiful religious altar pieces and icons and then headed out for lunch.
We ate at the little restaurant at the end of our block. I had a salad with mozzarella and tomatoes and it was delicious. When I say it came with mozzarella, I mean this baseball size ball of it sits in the middle and you eat pieces of it. Beth told me how great these cheese balls are, and I can now say I AGREE! I wish we had them back home.
It was sprinkling at this point (and no hot sun to bake us!) so we whipped out the umbrella again. We quickly viewed the inside of the Duomo (but opted to not climb the dome due to lines) and then headed to Santa Croce, home of the third longest nave in Christendom and the tombs of many important historical figures. The church seemed massive, and we saw where Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli are laid to rest. We also saw Donatellos beautiful Annunciation.
Our next stop was the Uffizi Gallery. We saw room after room after room of Renaissance art. Botticelli's Birth of Venus, da Vinci's The Annunciation, and all of the Raphael's, Michelangelo's and Titian's were amazing. After the museum we hunted down Florence's best known gelateria, Vivoli's. It was a nice break from the damp weather, and a great flavor infusion for our tastebuds.
The remainder of the evening was spent finding dinner, packing and relaxing in our room. In the morning we were on our way to Rome.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
A crazy morning, sleepy afternoon and lovely evening...
When we woke up yesterday morning, we knew we needed to hustle to get ready, pack remaining items, and head for the train station. Unfortunately I woke up with a MASSIVE headache --- a result of too much sun or the mysterious drink from the night before, I do not know. To remedy myself without waking Jason, I grabbed two Excedrin Migraine and drank lots of water. A few short minutes later I was sick in the bathroom sending all that water right back out. It is not fun to be sick at home, and it was certainly not fun to be sick in a hot little bathroom in a foreign country. Jason went and got me a little roll, and that helped to settle my stomach and cure my headache. Praise be! As we walked to our vaporetto stop, I sang, as the gondoliers do at the end of a ride, "Ciao Venezia, Ciao Venezia, Ciao Venzia lalalala" (or something along those lines) and we bid farewell to this hectic, glorious city.
We got to the train station and immediately had some trouble locating our track. The train was scheduled to leave at 8:50 and as the clock ticked away we went to the information desk for help. It was there that we discovered we had made a rookie mistake --- our train departed from Venezia Mestre (on the mainland) and we were at the main station, Venezia Santa Lucia. We caught a train hoping to make it to Mestre in time, but alas we did not. Our seat reservations were no longer valid, and we had to rush around trying to communicate with non-English speakers. Finally we got new reservations for the 9:17 train and after a 20 minute delay (figures!) were on our way. Then we discovered that the train was only taking us to Firenze Campo, not the main station, Firenze Santa Maria Novella. We decided we'd deal with this fact later only to discover a few hours later that the train in fact DID stop at SMN. Again, praise be!
The Florence station was packed to the walls with people --- perhaps trains were delayed --- and we cautiously made our way through the crowds. Once out on the street we had to avoid the kamikaze motorscooters and traffic to get to our hotel. After a 10 minute walk in the midday HEAT, we found Hotel Il Bargellino, went to our room, dropped our bags, laid across the bed, and woke up 3 hours later. :)
After our very restful nap, we decided to nix our plan to visit Siena and instead toured Florence on foot. The heat had receded a bit, and after a delicious and inexpensive meal at the recommended restaurant at the end of our block (Via Guelfa) we strolled through the outdoor stalls at the San Lorenzo street market. Prices are much better here than they were in Venice, but we survived the shopping gauntlet unscathed. From here the beautiful Duomo came into sight and we headed towards it. It is a massive building, and the first dome built since ancient Rome. Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance, and Brunelleschi's dome it's most massive masterpiece. We strolled some more, passed through several piazzas with massive statues, and then found ourselves in the courtyard of the Uffizi. A lone violinist was playing in the empty, shaded courtyard and we sat along the walls listening to the classical strains float upward. It was lovely. From there we walked along the Arno River, saw the Ponte Vecchio, had a photo-op and then purchased some (surprise!) gelato.
We walked home and slept quite soundly.
On the agenda today: view Santa Croce church, visit both the Accademia and the Uffizi galleries, climb the Duomo and walk through the third longest nave in Christendom. Tomorrow we are off to Rome and three nights in the Eternal City. Until later, ciao!
We got to the train station and immediately had some trouble locating our track. The train was scheduled to leave at 8:50 and as the clock ticked away we went to the information desk for help. It was there that we discovered we had made a rookie mistake --- our train departed from Venezia Mestre (on the mainland) and we were at the main station, Venezia Santa Lucia. We caught a train hoping to make it to Mestre in time, but alas we did not. Our seat reservations were no longer valid, and we had to rush around trying to communicate with non-English speakers. Finally we got new reservations for the 9:17 train and after a 20 minute delay (figures!) were on our way. Then we discovered that the train was only taking us to Firenze Campo, not the main station, Firenze Santa Maria Novella. We decided we'd deal with this fact later only to discover a few hours later that the train in fact DID stop at SMN. Again, praise be!
The Florence station was packed to the walls with people --- perhaps trains were delayed --- and we cautiously made our way through the crowds. Once out on the street we had to avoid the kamikaze motorscooters and traffic to get to our hotel. After a 10 minute walk in the midday HEAT, we found Hotel Il Bargellino, went to our room, dropped our bags, laid across the bed, and woke up 3 hours later. :)
After our very restful nap, we decided to nix our plan to visit Siena and instead toured Florence on foot. The heat had receded a bit, and after a delicious and inexpensive meal at the recommended restaurant at the end of our block (Via Guelfa) we strolled through the outdoor stalls at the San Lorenzo street market. Prices are much better here than they were in Venice, but we survived the shopping gauntlet unscathed. From here the beautiful Duomo came into sight and we headed towards it. It is a massive building, and the first dome built since ancient Rome. Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance, and Brunelleschi's dome it's most massive masterpiece. We strolled some more, passed through several piazzas with massive statues, and then found ourselves in the courtyard of the Uffizi. A lone violinist was playing in the empty, shaded courtyard and we sat along the walls listening to the classical strains float upward. It was lovely. From there we walked along the Arno River, saw the Ponte Vecchio, had a photo-op and then purchased some (surprise!) gelato.
We walked home and slept quite soundly.
On the agenda today: view Santa Croce church, visit both the Accademia and the Uffizi galleries, climb the Duomo and walk through the third longest nave in Christendom. Tomorrow we are off to Rome and three nights in the Eternal City. Until later, ciao!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Munich, a restless night and ITALIA!
After locating our hotel in Munich, which was only a 10 minute walk from the main station and yet somehow located on a completely peaceful street, we decided to run some "errands" --- and doing so in a foreign country can be interesting. :) We had some laundry we needed to do, and as we had passed a launderette on our way to the hotel, we went back there. Unfortunately, and obviously, everything was in German. We must have looked befuddled because the lady on duty came and helped us in near perfect English.
After we put our load in we went in search of dinner, and since we had to be back in 25 minutes, we just walked a few doors down to a place called Al Bagdadi. We were both skeptical but our growling stomachs ruled the day. I ordered something called a Schwarma, and Jason wanted a hot dog, but he got another of what I ordered --- which was fine because they were delicious. As the soccer game between Jordan and Lebanon played out on the TV, men smoked out of hookahs behind us. All in all it was a good meal and an interesting experience.
We picked up our laundry and headed back to the hotel where we were finally able to call our families. I must say I had begun to feel down from not speaking to them in so many days. Corny, perhaps. But true.
On Friday we had our "castle day". We took a two hour train ride from Munich to Fussen (where we stored our luggage in lockers) and toured both the castle that King Ludwig grew up in, and also the famous Neuschwanstein (from which Disney modeled his fairytale castle). It was rainy all day, which dampened our spirits a bit (pun intended!) but even with the crummy weather, it was still beautiful. I figured out that Ludwig would have been king when the Seubert family decided to leave Bavaria for America. That made the tours all the more interesting.
We tried to see all of Munich's Marienplatz when we returned that evening (foolish of us!) but mostly we were able to take pictures of the major landmarks (three churches) and we were thankfully able to enter one of them --- which one escapes me as of now. We had hoped to eat at the world's most famous beer hall, the Hofbrahaus, but after getting lost several times we gave up and ate at a lesser and I am sure calmer beer hall.
From dinner we headed back to the central station in Munich and hung out in a Deutsche Bahn lounge until our train left for Venice at 11:40 PM. What a long day! When we got to our compartment we met a girl from Vancouver, BC and later a man from Germany. Since all the couchettes were full, the four of us had to attempt to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Needless to say, we didn't. :) But both of us managed more sleep than when we crossed the Atlantic, and we arrived in Venice mostly alert at 7:36 in the morning.
Well, Venice and the Grand Canal were everything we expected and some of what we didn't. The main mode of transportation are vaporetto, or water buses. Rick suggested taking #1, the slow bus, to follow the reading tour in his book. It would have worked much better if the boat hadn't been packed tighter than a sardine can. We still saw all the sights, it just required more neck craning. We got off the bus at San Marco, and witnessed one of the most famous squares in the world. The basilica and Doge's Palace were breathtaking in the morning light, but we headed straight for our albergo (sort-of a cross between a B&B and a hotel). We found it quite easily, and were pleased to discover it was only a TWO minute walk from San Marco. Perfect.
Once we were free of our bags, we decided to tour the Correr Museum at the far end of the square, where we saw much Venetian art and learned a little of its great history as a trade center. After the museum, we toured the Doge's Palace. (I believe the English word for doge is "duke".) It was amazing and dumbfounding to think of the wealth that built it. Within the walls we saw the world's largest painting on canvas, and many more extravagances.
From the palace we walked the 2 minutes to our hotel to escape the crowds and the heat, slept for a few hours, and headed out to find one of Rick's recommended restaurants. Venice is difficult to navigate even for the locals, so we didn't feel too bad when we didn't find it. We had a mediocre meal in a busy Campo (square) and then fought our way back through the crowds to our hotel, stopping of course for some gelato. :)
The next morning we got up, ate breakfast and headed for the church of San Zulian. We thought it offered an English mass at 9:30 but alas, the service was in Italian. Besides figuring out that St. John the Baptist was being honored, we understood nothing of what was said, and yet everything that was done. Such is the life of being Catholic.
After mass we toured the museum above St. Mark's Basilica because the basilica was not open until 14:00 (or 2:00 PM). When you tour this museum, you are technically in the church and can thus see the jaw-dropping mosaics that cover every inch of the ceiling, but cannot see down into the nave. Mass was going on below us, and we were both irritated that we could not attend that service (never found out how to set that up). The singing was beautiful, and they had the mosaics lit from below. Everything sparkled in gold, Christian glory. I cannot even explain it.
From the basilica we had a quick lunch and did some window shopping. Jason let me have a little splurge and bought me a murano glass bracelet (which I LOVE and am currently wearing) for 35 euro, and later that day I popped into a little glass store and purchased matching earrings for another 8 euro. Besides that, we have avoided the souvenir traps.
Initially we had planned on not taking a gondola ride for 80 euro, but later we decided to take a walking/gondola tour offered by the city Tourist Information office. We met with other English speakers at 3:00 PM at the far end of the piazza and a lovely Italian lady led us through some quiet streets of Venice, telling us the city's story. We then boarded a gondola (with 4 others) and had a 40 minute intimate tour of the canals. It wasn't as romantic as in the movies, but it was peaceful and relaxing. We finished our tour with a trip to the Church of the Frari. It was amazing, and beautiful --- as all the churches have been. But here we were able to witness the art of Donatello, Bellini and Titian in situ (which means in the place it was created for). It was a lovely end to our tour.
Jason and I headed back to more familiar ground by walking to the famous Rialto Bridge and then back to St. Mark's square. We decided to try another of Rick's restaurants and again got lost, only to realize we were "lost" back on the canal of our hotel. We popped in, got a map, and 5 minutes later were seated along a quite canal eating delicious ravioli at Trattoria da Giorgio ai Greci. From dinner we went back to our room, cooled down, listened to the gondoliers sing below us, and then headed back to the piazza around 8:00 PM. Surrounding the piazza are many famous cafes that the wealthy used to attend (and I imagine still do). In the summer, dueling orchestras play outside at each of these cafes. Even though you must pay extra to sit outside, we got a table and ordered drinks (more on that in a minute) as the music filled the air, the stars came out, and everything was lit in lantern light. It was a highlight of the trip so far.
We wanted to order wine and believed we had. I ordered a spritz and Jason ordered a glass of Moscato. When our order arrived, from a man in a white tuxedo jacket and black bowtie, we were both excited to relax and enjoy the evening. Except Jason's "wine" was a glass of hard liquor that he had a hard time even sipping, and my spritz was some sort of orange liquor mixed with soda water. We both attempted to sip on these as people cheered for music and danced under the moonlight. As we were leaving, the band was playing a wonderful rendition of New York, New York. It felt good to hear a piece of home.
If Jason's family has access to this, we want to wish Kevin a very happy birthday! We wish we were there to celebrate 50 years with you! :)
More to come of the crazy morning we had today, as we leave you from this little Internet cafe in Florence. Ciao ciao.
After we put our load in we went in search of dinner, and since we had to be back in 25 minutes, we just walked a few doors down to a place called Al Bagdadi. We were both skeptical but our growling stomachs ruled the day. I ordered something called a Schwarma, and Jason wanted a hot dog, but he got another of what I ordered --- which was fine because they were delicious. As the soccer game between Jordan and Lebanon played out on the TV, men smoked out of hookahs behind us. All in all it was a good meal and an interesting experience.
We picked up our laundry and headed back to the hotel where we were finally able to call our families. I must say I had begun to feel down from not speaking to them in so many days. Corny, perhaps. But true.
On Friday we had our "castle day". We took a two hour train ride from Munich to Fussen (where we stored our luggage in lockers) and toured both the castle that King Ludwig grew up in, and also the famous Neuschwanstein (from which Disney modeled his fairytale castle). It was rainy all day, which dampened our spirits a bit (pun intended!) but even with the crummy weather, it was still beautiful. I figured out that Ludwig would have been king when the Seubert family decided to leave Bavaria for America. That made the tours all the more interesting.
We tried to see all of Munich's Marienplatz when we returned that evening (foolish of us!) but mostly we were able to take pictures of the major landmarks (three churches) and we were thankfully able to enter one of them --- which one escapes me as of now. We had hoped to eat at the world's most famous beer hall, the Hofbrahaus, but after getting lost several times we gave up and ate at a lesser and I am sure calmer beer hall.
From dinner we headed back to the central station in Munich and hung out in a Deutsche Bahn lounge until our train left for Venice at 11:40 PM. What a long day! When we got to our compartment we met a girl from Vancouver, BC and later a man from Germany. Since all the couchettes were full, the four of us had to attempt to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Needless to say, we didn't. :) But both of us managed more sleep than when we crossed the Atlantic, and we arrived in Venice mostly alert at 7:36 in the morning.
Well, Venice and the Grand Canal were everything we expected and some of what we didn't. The main mode of transportation are vaporetto, or water buses. Rick suggested taking #1, the slow bus, to follow the reading tour in his book. It would have worked much better if the boat hadn't been packed tighter than a sardine can. We still saw all the sights, it just required more neck craning. We got off the bus at San Marco, and witnessed one of the most famous squares in the world. The basilica and Doge's Palace were breathtaking in the morning light, but we headed straight for our albergo (sort-of a cross between a B&B and a hotel). We found it quite easily, and were pleased to discover it was only a TWO minute walk from San Marco. Perfect.
Once we were free of our bags, we decided to tour the Correr Museum at the far end of the square, where we saw much Venetian art and learned a little of its great history as a trade center. After the museum, we toured the Doge's Palace. (I believe the English word for doge is "duke".) It was amazing and dumbfounding to think of the wealth that built it. Within the walls we saw the world's largest painting on canvas, and many more extravagances.
From the palace we walked the 2 minutes to our hotel to escape the crowds and the heat, slept for a few hours, and headed out to find one of Rick's recommended restaurants. Venice is difficult to navigate even for the locals, so we didn't feel too bad when we didn't find it. We had a mediocre meal in a busy Campo (square) and then fought our way back through the crowds to our hotel, stopping of course for some gelato. :)
The next morning we got up, ate breakfast and headed for the church of San Zulian. We thought it offered an English mass at 9:30 but alas, the service was in Italian. Besides figuring out that St. John the Baptist was being honored, we understood nothing of what was said, and yet everything that was done. Such is the life of being Catholic.
After mass we toured the museum above St. Mark's Basilica because the basilica was not open until 14:00 (or 2:00 PM). When you tour this museum, you are technically in the church and can thus see the jaw-dropping mosaics that cover every inch of the ceiling, but cannot see down into the nave. Mass was going on below us, and we were both irritated that we could not attend that service (never found out how to set that up). The singing was beautiful, and they had the mosaics lit from below. Everything sparkled in gold, Christian glory. I cannot even explain it.
From the basilica we had a quick lunch and did some window shopping. Jason let me have a little splurge and bought me a murano glass bracelet (which I LOVE and am currently wearing) for 35 euro, and later that day I popped into a little glass store and purchased matching earrings for another 8 euro. Besides that, we have avoided the souvenir traps.
Initially we had planned on not taking a gondola ride for 80 euro, but later we decided to take a walking/gondola tour offered by the city Tourist Information office. We met with other English speakers at 3:00 PM at the far end of the piazza and a lovely Italian lady led us through some quiet streets of Venice, telling us the city's story. We then boarded a gondola (with 4 others) and had a 40 minute intimate tour of the canals. It wasn't as romantic as in the movies, but it was peaceful and relaxing. We finished our tour with a trip to the Church of the Frari. It was amazing, and beautiful --- as all the churches have been. But here we were able to witness the art of Donatello, Bellini and Titian in situ (which means in the place it was created for). It was a lovely end to our tour.
Jason and I headed back to more familiar ground by walking to the famous Rialto Bridge and then back to St. Mark's square. We decided to try another of Rick's restaurants and again got lost, only to realize we were "lost" back on the canal of our hotel. We popped in, got a map, and 5 minutes later were seated along a quite canal eating delicious ravioli at Trattoria da Giorgio ai Greci. From dinner we went back to our room, cooled down, listened to the gondoliers sing below us, and then headed back to the piazza around 8:00 PM. Surrounding the piazza are many famous cafes that the wealthy used to attend (and I imagine still do). In the summer, dueling orchestras play outside at each of these cafes. Even though you must pay extra to sit outside, we got a table and ordered drinks (more on that in a minute) as the music filled the air, the stars came out, and everything was lit in lantern light. It was a highlight of the trip so far.
We wanted to order wine and believed we had. I ordered a spritz and Jason ordered a glass of Moscato. When our order arrived, from a man in a white tuxedo jacket and black bowtie, we were both excited to relax and enjoy the evening. Except Jason's "wine" was a glass of hard liquor that he had a hard time even sipping, and my spritz was some sort of orange liquor mixed with soda water. We both attempted to sip on these as people cheered for music and danced under the moonlight. As we were leaving, the band was playing a wonderful rendition of New York, New York. It felt good to hear a piece of home.
If Jason's family has access to this, we want to wish Kevin a very happy birthday! We wish we were there to celebrate 50 years with you! :)
More to come of the crazy morning we had today, as we leave you from this little Internet cafe in Florence. Ciao ciao.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Germany, Germany, Germany
We left Amsterdam quite early Monday morning, headed for the Rhine River and the quaint town of Bacharach. After some quick-on-our-feet itinerary planning, we decided to get off the train at St. Goar, climb all over Rheinfels Castle (a ruin, actually), hop on the last Rhine cruise of the day, and check out the scenery from the river for an hour to our stopping point.
Rheinfels was very cool. It was one of, if not the, largest castle along the Rhine. If memory serves me, it withstood a siege of 40,000 enemy soldiers. Now it is a fraction of the original size and in ruin --- but nonetheless amazing. We hiked all over the place and were generally impressed with the fortifications and flat out history of it all. When we had completed our walk, we took the slightly corny Tschu Tschu train back down to town (had to save our aching feet!!).
The cruise we took was very relaxing and allowed us to not only witness several Rhineland castles, but also the vineyards that produce the grapes that make the Rhine's famous white wines. The best grapes are grown on these steep, terraced fields. The slate below the soil keeps them warm all night, while the grapes grown above the river on flat land cool down and are less sweet.
Bacharach was home for two nights. We stayed at the Pension of wonderful Lettie. We met a very nice family from South Carolina and ended up being travel partners for a bit of our trip. On our first night (Monday) we ate at the oldest building in town, and had the BEST salad of our lives. It was incredibly simple but whatever was in the dressing was sehr gut!
On Tuesday we had quite the adventure. We had heard that Burg Eltz was one of the best-preserved medieval castles in all of Europe and that it was within traveling distance of Bacharach. So we took the train back up the Rhine, switched at Cochem, followed a new route along the Mosel River and hopped off at a little town so small that the train station is no longer manned. From the station we hiked for nearly 20 minutes through the sweet town of Moselkern (after wondering with an older couple from Chicago if we were in fact going the right way), and then hiked another 45 minutes through a forest where we expected knights and their ladies fair to appear at any minute. It was truly like being in a fairytale...except, of course, in fairytales the protagonists don't have achy legs from hiking. :)
Finally, Burg Eltz appeared. After a grueling last climb up what seemed like never-ending stairs in the midday sun, we arrived in the castle courtyard. We took the tour and followed along the German explanations with our English reading guide. Our high school German didn't help us much as our guide was explaining away. The rooms of the castle are decorated just as they were in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was so fascinating to see how people really lived back then. One of Jason's favorite rooms was the toilet. :) The castle is still owned and partly inhabited by the Eltz family, and the current countess makes sure all the rooms have fresh flowers weekly.
On our way out, the couple from Chicago offered to share the cab they had called but we declined and enjoyed a more relaxing climb back down.
Wednesday morning we took the early train with the family mentioned above to Rothenburg, an absolute haven of medieval coolness. When we arrived we took our bags to our room, rested a bit and then followed Rick's town walk. After that we toured St. Jakob's church, ate at a delicious little place (where Jason had a beer and decided he still didn't like beer) and where I had traditional bratwurst and sauerkraut. Then we took the entertaining Night Watchman's tour and headed home for bed.
Today we slept in a bit, ate our breakfast at the ancient but delicious Altfrankische Weinstube and toured the Crime and Punishment museum where we learned about medieval torture methods. Cool, huh. After that we did a tiny bit of shopping, the first of our trip. Then we left town right as the rain came in.
We took the train to Munich, arrived around 3:30, spent an hour at the Euraide office where we received some amazing help straightening out some goofed up schedule we received in Koln, and then headed for our hotel. More later as my time is up.
Rheinfels was very cool. It was one of, if not the, largest castle along the Rhine. If memory serves me, it withstood a siege of 40,000 enemy soldiers. Now it is a fraction of the original size and in ruin --- but nonetheless amazing. We hiked all over the place and were generally impressed with the fortifications and flat out history of it all. When we had completed our walk, we took the slightly corny Tschu Tschu train back down to town (had to save our aching feet!!).
The cruise we took was very relaxing and allowed us to not only witness several Rhineland castles, but also the vineyards that produce the grapes that make the Rhine's famous white wines. The best grapes are grown on these steep, terraced fields. The slate below the soil keeps them warm all night, while the grapes grown above the river on flat land cool down and are less sweet.
Bacharach was home for two nights. We stayed at the Pension of wonderful Lettie. We met a very nice family from South Carolina and ended up being travel partners for a bit of our trip. On our first night (Monday) we ate at the oldest building in town, and had the BEST salad of our lives. It was incredibly simple but whatever was in the dressing was sehr gut!
On Tuesday we had quite the adventure. We had heard that Burg Eltz was one of the best-preserved medieval castles in all of Europe and that it was within traveling distance of Bacharach. So we took the train back up the Rhine, switched at Cochem, followed a new route along the Mosel River and hopped off at a little town so small that the train station is no longer manned. From the station we hiked for nearly 20 minutes through the sweet town of Moselkern (after wondering with an older couple from Chicago if we were in fact going the right way), and then hiked another 45 minutes through a forest where we expected knights and their ladies fair to appear at any minute. It was truly like being in a fairytale...except, of course, in fairytales the protagonists don't have achy legs from hiking. :)
Finally, Burg Eltz appeared. After a grueling last climb up what seemed like never-ending stairs in the midday sun, we arrived in the castle courtyard. We took the tour and followed along the German explanations with our English reading guide. Our high school German didn't help us much as our guide was explaining away. The rooms of the castle are decorated just as they were in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was so fascinating to see how people really lived back then. One of Jason's favorite rooms was the toilet. :) The castle is still owned and partly inhabited by the Eltz family, and the current countess makes sure all the rooms have fresh flowers weekly.
On our way out, the couple from Chicago offered to share the cab they had called but we declined and enjoyed a more relaxing climb back down.
Wednesday morning we took the early train with the family mentioned above to Rothenburg, an absolute haven of medieval coolness. When we arrived we took our bags to our room, rested a bit and then followed Rick's town walk. After that we toured St. Jakob's church, ate at a delicious little place (where Jason had a beer and decided he still didn't like beer) and where I had traditional bratwurst and sauerkraut. Then we took the entertaining Night Watchman's tour and headed home for bed.
Today we slept in a bit, ate our breakfast at the ancient but delicious Altfrankische Weinstube and toured the Crime and Punishment museum where we learned about medieval torture methods. Cool, huh. After that we did a tiny bit of shopping, the first of our trip. Then we left town right as the rain came in.
We took the train to Munich, arrived around 3:30, spent an hour at the Euraide office where we received some amazing help straightening out some goofed up schedule we received in Koln, and then headed for our hotel. More later as my time is up.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Amsterdam, the rest of the story
This may be short as we are now in Bacharach, Germany and must catch a 9.26 train. After our last post, we took a tram to visit this amazing little musuem called Our Lord of the Attic. After we got off the tram we had a bit of a walk, and all of a sudden in this window a woman wearing next-to-nothing was looking out at us. I tripped and then nudged Jason to look. We realized that the building was full of these window women, and that we were in the infamous Red Light District. It was quite odd, and I tried not to stare but when we saw several men go proposition these ladies, it was too much.
Back to our original purpose. Catholics were not allowed to practice their faith after the country became Protestant, so this wealthy man built a chapel in the top of his house. It really was quite beautiful. It even had an organ!
From there we went to the Dutch Resistance Museum. We had about 20 minutes to view what should have taken over an hour. We were both very impressed with the Dutch attempts at fighting the Nazis, and as we left we both decided it would be nice to come back to this great city and spend more time learning its history.
Dinner at delicious Cafe Restaurant de Reiger followed, where we met a couple from D.C. with a Rick Steves book in tow. They spend every Christmas in Sun Valley, so we all felt a connection. Before leaving, we gave them our Museum Cards as they are good for a year. The gesture was much appreciated, and we felt good helping out fellow followers of Rick.
Our last official stop was the Anne Frank House. I cannot really put into words how moving of an experience it was, but I am glad we went and would put it on the top of any itinerary.
I must go now, but I must tell family that we have yet to purchase phone cards, and I must tell dear Marissa and Nick that we have yet to figure out how to upload pictures. And for any students out there, I have been thinking of you and plan on sending postcards soon. More later on our German castle adventures!
Back to our original purpose. Catholics were not allowed to practice their faith after the country became Protestant, so this wealthy man built a chapel in the top of his house. It really was quite beautiful. It even had an organ!
From there we went to the Dutch Resistance Museum. We had about 20 minutes to view what should have taken over an hour. We were both very impressed with the Dutch attempts at fighting the Nazis, and as we left we both decided it would be nice to come back to this great city and spend more time learning its history.
Dinner at delicious Cafe Restaurant de Reiger followed, where we met a couple from D.C. with a Rick Steves book in tow. They spend every Christmas in Sun Valley, so we all felt a connection. Before leaving, we gave them our Museum Cards as they are good for a year. The gesture was much appreciated, and we felt good helping out fellow followers of Rick.
Our last official stop was the Anne Frank House. I cannot really put into words how moving of an experience it was, but I am glad we went and would put it on the top of any itinerary.
I must go now, but I must tell family that we have yet to purchase phone cards, and I must tell dear Marissa and Nick that we have yet to figure out how to upload pictures. And for any students out there, I have been thinking of you and plan on sending postcards soon. More later on our German castle adventures!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
June 16 and 17, Amsterdam
After an exhausting day of travel and a rather sleepless trans-Atlantic flight, we landed safely and soundly at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport. After wandering around for nearly an hour, we finally had our railpass validated and took the train into the city. After wandering around some more at Central Station, we purchased 48 hour public transit tickets, took the tram to the Leidesplein, and then walked to our B&B from there.
Needless to say, we were both quite tired --- but after dropping our bags off, we went back to Central and hopped a train for Haarlem. Yesterday was a little rainy, but we made the best of it by visiting St. Bavo church (where we saw a massive organ once played by Mozart) and also taking an abbreviated tour of Corrie Ten Boom's house (if you haven't read The Hiding Place, I strongly suggest it!). We sampled some frittes and decided we should have had them with mayo (like the locals) and not ketchup (like the Yankees back home!). At this point we were both wet and cold and TIRED, so we headed back to the city. We changed into dry clothes, slept-walked to a restaurant around the corner from Boogaards, ate in a dream, went home and fell into bed.
Side note: the streets here are CRAZY for pedestrians. You have to constantly be on the lookout for either trams (silent) or bicyclists (silent until they ring their little bells). We were almost ambushed by a little moped, but Jason saved the day and got us out of the path.
Today has been much more relaxing, as we know the layout of the city and have refreshed our bodies and minds with sleep. We've visited Amsterdam's two great museums --- Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. We were able to send my family a video message from Van Gogh so that was fun. We have more to see, and our time is running out. More to come!
Needless to say, we were both quite tired --- but after dropping our bags off, we went back to Central and hopped a train for Haarlem. Yesterday was a little rainy, but we made the best of it by visiting St. Bavo church (where we saw a massive organ once played by Mozart) and also taking an abbreviated tour of Corrie Ten Boom's house (if you haven't read The Hiding Place, I strongly suggest it!). We sampled some frittes and decided we should have had them with mayo (like the locals) and not ketchup (like the Yankees back home!). At this point we were both wet and cold and TIRED, so we headed back to the city. We changed into dry clothes, slept-walked to a restaurant around the corner from Boogaards, ate in a dream, went home and fell into bed.
Side note: the streets here are CRAZY for pedestrians. You have to constantly be on the lookout for either trams (silent) or bicyclists (silent until they ring their little bells). We were almost ambushed by a little moped, but Jason saved the day and got us out of the path.
Today has been much more relaxing, as we know the layout of the city and have refreshed our bodies and minds with sleep. We've visited Amsterdam's two great museums --- Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. We were able to send my family a video message from Van Gogh so that was fun. We have more to see, and our time is running out. More to come!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Planning, Travel Festivals and Blogging
The departure date of June 15th seems to be barreling towards us with greater and greater speed, and we are beginning to get our ducks in a row. We have all of our reservations at this point and are just getting into the nitty-gritty details of day-to-day sightseeing and riding the rails.
Just this past weekend we took a road trip to the quaint town of Edmonds, Washington to attend a free "Travel Festival" put on by the infamous Rick Steves. This was quite exciting for me, as I have been watching his shows and dreaming of Europe since I was little. He actually almost ran into me as I was waiting in line to hear him speak. Very exciting! ;) Jason in the meantime was highly entertained by the title "Festival" as the atmosphere wasn't exactly festive. Educational, yes. Festive, no.
After attending four classes ranging from European Rail Skills to Italy, we were able to purchase our rail passes as well as convertible bags that should last us for the rest of our traveling lives. A few other items that we deemed to be "essentials" were picked up as well.
We have posted links to our accommodations --- mostly to give mom recourse should she determine that we must be hopelessly doomed. :) They are listed in the order we will be visiting them, and a full itinerary will be added at a later date.
As far as this little blog, we hope to make it our number one form of communication with everyone back home. I have told students I will do my best to keep them updated on our adventures, and again, hopefully this will keep the inevitable worries of dear Jude in check.
Just this past weekend we took a road trip to the quaint town of Edmonds, Washington to attend a free "Travel Festival" put on by the infamous Rick Steves. This was quite exciting for me, as I have been watching his shows and dreaming of Europe since I was little. He actually almost ran into me as I was waiting in line to hear him speak. Very exciting! ;) Jason in the meantime was highly entertained by the title "Festival" as the atmosphere wasn't exactly festive. Educational, yes. Festive, no.
After attending four classes ranging from European Rail Skills to Italy, we were able to purchase our rail passes as well as convertible bags that should last us for the rest of our traveling lives. A few other items that we deemed to be "essentials" were picked up as well.
We have posted links to our accommodations --- mostly to give mom recourse should she determine that we must be hopelessly doomed. :) They are listed in the order we will be visiting them, and a full itinerary will be added at a later date.
As far as this little blog, we hope to make it our number one form of communication with everyone back home. I have told students I will do my best to keep them updated on our adventures, and again, hopefully this will keep the inevitable worries of dear Jude in check.
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