10-May 2008

*Warning - Might take a while to read. Make sure you've recently used the bathroom, and aren't expecting company soon. Check the laundry; make sure it doesn't need attention. Everything good...?

Well, I've been putting off writing the blog for our trip to Italy for 2 (now 3)weeks - but finally I'm sitting down to catalogue one of man's greatest triumphs of international tourism. Only Alexander the Great could claim to have a more fulfilling journey to another country. Granted he was there to massacre and conquer, and we wanted photos...but in the end, it's pretty much the same...

So we had an elaborate plan to visit quite a few places and happily stuck to most of the itinerary for the ten days that we were there. We rented ("hired" in Brit-speak) a car for the trip to keep things flexible if things changed. We also wanted to enjoy the luxury of sharing the road with the fringe-insane Italians on the downtown streets of Florence and Rome. We learned the reputation is there for a good reason.

We spent the first two days in Florence. Once we got through the ordeal of finding the hotel and parking, we went straight to enjoying a nice meal and some gelato. The gelato is AWESOME. I'm not a big ice cream nut, but you could seriously eat gelato in Italy with every meal and never tire of it. Oh..the food was good too. So good. The first morning we woke up early to get to the Accademia di Bella Arti to see Michelangelo's David. Leah and I were a bit nervous about waiting in line. We were told by the staff at the hotel that we were no match for the Japanese tourists when it came to getting in line early and that we'd probably be in line for a few hours waiting. Screw them! 2nd people in line! We thought we might be in the wrong place. Small alleyway with only one other group waiting...but, sure enough, that was it. A killer blow to the Japanese. The David was magnificint (and enormous). I can't explain except to say that it is internationally famous and recognized as a masterpiece for a very good reason. We left and moved on to some of the other city highlights. The Piazza San Giovanni to Michelangelo's Square, then to the Arno River on the south side. We heard American accents pretty much everywhere we went - a good indication that we stuck to the touristy parts of the city. The river was beautiful. It's been the computer background for 2 weeks now.

The next morning we set off to Cinque Terre (Five Lands). It's a short string of five Mediterranean coastal towns noted for a great cultural atmosphere and some amazing views if your up to walking between them. We stayed in one of the towns, called Manarola. Although part of the coastline walkway was closed due to wet conditions, we got to see all but one of the towns. (We reconciled this loss by badmouthing said town to one another for a few hours, which made us feel better) Of the four we saw, I liked Manarola the best. It felt very culturally pure, undisturbed by tourism, and had a beautiful coastline - owning one end of the Via dell Amorre (Road of Love) - a 10-15 minute coastline walking route to the neighboring town of Riomaggiore. We took the walk and noticed and interesting Italian custom. The two 'lovers' write their names on a padlock and then lock it to a railing. Then they take the key and throw it into the ocean. The symbolism is pretty apparent. Locked in the bond of love for life. (unless they want to swim the key out of the ocean...) Our time here was great. Very relaxing, very peaceful, and an incredible and unforgettable meal overlooking the sea at sunset.

In the morning we left for Rome, but not before heading off on a detour through the wine country of Tuscany. We went to the Chianti region in search of some famous vineyard, but our GPS (in the first of a long list of offences) led us to a housing complex with a goat farm. We assumed this was wrong. No grapes. No open fields. Just goats. The signs were all there that the GPS had let us down...that bastard Richard (GPS voice reinstated even after unforgivable errors in Spain)... On our way out we did find a vineyard/restaurant and had lunch. The wine was sensational. Being in Chianti, we had the Chianti. They make it seem like no big deal that they're surrounded by incredible wines. I should point out that Tuscany is home to most beautiful inland scenery I've ever seen in my life. The trees, the hills, the fields, and the flowers all come together in perfect harmony. Someone knew what they were doing. The land is manicured in such a way that the natural elements still seem natural, and nothing looked forced or overly pedantic. Just amazing...

So...onward to Rome. Now I had just finished watching season 1 of HBO's Rome, played Rome: Total War for a month, and was in the middle of reading a book about Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. To say that I was in a good frame of mind to visit the city would have been a sizeable understatement. We found the hotel, parked nearby and headed up to the room. We had only budgeted one day to see the sites in both Rome and the Vatican, so we were planning to get an early start. Now is a good time to mention a few more things about our rented car. We had asked for a small economy, but gotten the 'free upgrade' to a SUV-ish thing. I hated it from the beginning. Too big. Only 1 windshield wiper worked. The windows only worked some of the time...etc..etc.. So when we woke up early to move it and found that someone had broken the side window to rummage around for plunder, it was about the most non-exciting thing to lay eyes on. Nothing stolen save a sleeve of shortbread cookies. We moved the car and covered the window with a plastic bag. We went back to check on the car in the afternoon just in time to see a man walk past with a dog. The dog stopped to pee all over the back tire. A very poetic scene to lighten the situation for Leah and I.

We walked through the Roman Forum to Vatican City in the morning to see St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Both were awesome. St Peter's took our breath away with its sheer size and architecture. The Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum had the same effect with Michelangelo and Raphael's artwork on the walls and ceiling of almost every room. I almost got numb to seeing all the priceless works of art. Next we walked to the Coliseum.

Holding my hands on the concrete railing of the upper deck...looking down on the remains of the arena's interior...my mind swept me back 2000 years to imagine what it would have been like to see this place in its prime. It was a very cool experience for us both. We finished up a wonderful day with dinner in the Piazza outside the Pantheon - a 2000+ year old structure built by the Romans before Christ(ianity) for worshipping the Pagan gods. I sacrificed a chicken to the gods to keep us safe for the rest of the journey.

In the morning we left for what was supposed to be a relaxing two days at a hotel in the Italian countryside. The hotel was in the middle of the Frosinone region, and about 45 minutes from anything that could be called a city. Although patience paid off, and we eventually found the place we were looking for, (without the help of the GPS - strike 2) when we got there, the place was barred up and vacant. Interesting. We had lunch and went back only to find the same thing. More interesting. Anyway, we left. I later took it up with the booking company and apparently the guy that runs it was away or something and forgot we were coming.

So what to do now? We thought about going to stay in Sperlonga to see the castle of Tiberius - about an hours drive down a precariously narrow barely paved road along the edge of a cliff. Then we thought about placing explosives all over this hotel and sending a message. Then we thought about going to Sorrento early and making it 5 nights there. Because we didn't want to kill ourselves and our TNT supply was running low, we chose the last option. It was a little long there (as we expected), but Sorrento had enough to make things interesting.

There were orange trees clustered all around the hotel grounds. I've never eaten so many oranges in such a short space of time. They were delicious. Leah had an "intervention" with me when she found me huddled behind some dumpsters with 20 or so oranges eating them and giggling to myself. We both spent some time outside reading for the first few days. Leah took some walks through the city. We caught a sunset here and there. It was incredibly peaceful. When the weather was cooperating, we decided to take a day trip to the island of Capri for the day. My first time there, Leah's second. Unfortunately, our ferry 'made berth' (parading my sea-faring lingo...) on the uninteresting side of the island. We hadn't planned enough time to get across to the other side and see the real beauty of the island, but we did get a few hours on the beach. Blue, blue water. The water was a little turbulent, so no tours through the grottos, and Leah was a little sad that I didn't get to see how clear the water can be. A beautiful island though. Even the ferry ride was nice. Mt. Vesuvius dominating the view to the left, the Sorrentine coast to the right and Capri behind us.

Strike 3 occured on the ride to Naples airport. Richard would have been thrown out of the car at 60mph if he was a real person. Italy's road system is partly to blame, but we finally got there. We paid for the window (omitted from the additional insurance coverage we purchased) and headed back. What a great trip though. Great food, great sites, and amazing experience. We'll be back for more later.

Til next time.

A little Vesuvio...

On the wall in Florence. I added the '01.

Coastline looking on Rio Maggiore in Cinque Terre.

30-March 2008

Well, our most recent trip to Wales moved to a different rhythm than the rest. Leah found a group of about 70 people all travelling to Wales for the 4-day Easter break to do a little hiking along the Welsh coastlines in a place called Pembrokeshire. It was organized by a selfless family of Londoners who organize everything (meals, lodging, itinerary, etc) and are just after escaping the city and taking trips while meeting new and interesting people. They put together an excellent short holiday for the group, and I know I speak for Leah when I say that we had an excellent time. We mixed with people from all over the globe. The Italian guy who congratulated the Sopranos on behalf of the Italian people for being authentic. The Hungarian girls who got moderately offended for being called Romanian. And the Indian guy from Singapore who reminded everyone not to bring gum to his country.

We stayed at what looked like a youth activity center (but with hotel rooms...?). In between the meals and hikes, I mopped the table tennis competition (ping-pong ego showing through...), and Leah taught the crazy Aussie's how to correctly throw a football. They opt for the underhanded Rugby dish move that just looks awful with a football.

We set off in the morning of the second day for an 11 mile walk along the Western ocean coast to a site called Green Bridge. The weather was fierce - windy and freezing cold. We trekked across beaches, up across some amazing cliffs and gorges, and through countless piles of sheep crap. Piles everywhere...apparently they like the views as well. At one point, it started to hail. Coupled with the 900mph winds blowing laterally, Leah and I both got free skin exfoliations to the right side of our faces.

Continuing to the end of the walk, we passed a sign indicating that we should not pick up any "unexploded missiles" that we might find along the way. ...This was worth a few seconds to ponder... Nice ocean walk, sheep happily grazing, flutes playing, and missiles...? (ok, no flutes..) As we found out, we were walking near a military firing range...which admittedly killed some of the sense of purity of our surroundings...but the views were still amazing. Upon arriving to the Green Bridge, which is a rock formation (resembling a bridge) extending out into the ocean, we came to a barbed wire fence blocking the path. Beyond it, was an active firing range. Evidently Wales is expecting invasion...


The second day of hiking was along another ocean coastline farther South near the town of St. David's - home to a cathedral of the same name. The Pope once decreed that 3 pilgrimages to St. David's would equal 1 to Jerusalem. High hopes indeed.

The wind was horrible today. Our group had to walk single file down the narrow pathway which snaked its way above the coastline. The wind gusts were strong enough to make you 'think' about every step and concentrate on where your feet were landing. Had the wind been blowing out to the ocean instead of from the ocean, I think I would have crawled instead of walked.

We eventually made it to a cove and had lunch on the beach. The stones on the beach were various shades of pink, blue, and green...making them all look like Easter eggs...suitable for Easter Sunday. When we finally arrived at St. Davids, and turned the corner to the lookout over the cathedral, I could see why the Pope may have once thought highly of this place. It was a gorgeous site - very old, but very well maintained. We took a short stroll through the interior, rearranged some furniture, changed the label on a sarcophagus, and then left.

A good trip! Next is Italy. Hopefully I can post pics...

The Green Bridge

.....?

In the hail...

Random photo

01-Mar 2008

So this past week, Leah and I went to the Portuguese island of Madeira for a short escape. We stayed at a hotel high up in the mountains and away from the major city of Funchal. Although at a glance, you’d think this is a great formula for peaceful nights, but I haven’t yet mentioned the civil war going on across the valley between random dogs competing for supremacy nor the roosters who refused to be outdone by one another and thus collectively decided to start “Cock-a-Doodle-Do” recitals at 4AM instead of 7. A few nights we were happy to scrounge together 5 hours of sleep.


Madeira itself is an absolutely beautiful place. The island is sparsely populated, most of the terrain and natural features are very much preserved, and everything seemed very undisturbed. (if that makes any sense) The mountains were gorgeous. My command of the English language isn’t even close enough to a level that will do them justice with words. The indigenous folk grow grapes for wine (including a sweet variety that tasted like a port), bananas, and sugar. All the young adults drank something called Poncha, which basically tastes like Malibu albeit a little stronger. Not my favorite.


We only had three days to explore the island, so for our first day, we climbed up another 400m from our hotel and walked west along a gently upward sloping levada (water way) for what was probably a few miles. We had to stop when the levada stopped and we realized we were in some pretty raw terrain. We’re rookies, so we turned back. Although there are a few photos of our little walk, they do a poor job of capturing the awe and jaw-dropping scenery that surrounded us. There is nothing like looking up and seeing clouds misting about – only a stone’s throw from where you’re standing.


For day two, we took what was supposed to be a 30 minute bus ride (actual time was like 90 mins) to the central city of Funchal on the Southeast coast. I was again bothered (Malaga) with someone’s decision to trade beach coastline for a huge ugly shipping marina, but I’m sure there’s more convenience and profit in having the marina right there. Oh well… Funchal was a great city though. It seemed to be a very exciting, very relaxing, very livable place, and Leah definitely agreed. We got to see a few markets, a few landmarks, and soak in some of the scenery. Other than being a *bit* expensive, and the entire city crawling with tourists (us included I suppose), it was a perfect little city.


While we were in Funchal, we booked a Jeep Safari for the following day. We got picked up at our hotel in the morning of day three for a full day off-road excursion around the island. (thankfully, it was just us and the tour guide) We climbed to over 1800m up on several occasions, and actually were driving among the clouds – passing through a few of them on occasion. That was just amazing. Some of the other highlights included seeing cows grazing on the edges of 1200m cliffs, seeing the turbulent ocean from a ledge 1000m up, and manning the guns of an old Russian tank as we leveled trees driving through the woods whilst taking out several enemy command posts and bunkers. (can’t remember if tank story was dream or reality…)


By the way, all of the altitudes came from the tour guide (hence the meters), but for reference: 1800m ~6000ft.


The photo feature with blogspot is broken or something. I may have been flagged as a terrorist....I'll get some posted just as soon as its working again

Next we’re on to Wales and then the much anticipated trip to Italy in April. Take care!

February 11,2008

Well, we have been recently blessed with some sunny days! I think spring is in the air. Joe and I both agree that we are much more motivated on the weekends to get out and do things. We still have not found another flat to let, but are looking. It would just be nice if we could take our current flat and just move it to another location.


Since the weather was beautiful yesterday, I took a trip down to Portobello Road and explored the famous Portobello Market. As you walk down the street, you are just surrounded by antiques, fresh foods, and groovy booths of clothes, jewelry, and music. There were venders making fresh Spanish pallea and rows and rows of fresh olives, breads, feta (three of the foods on my top 10 list). It was a good thing that I only brought £20 with me!

On Friday, we workout with my friend Joanna and her husband, Precash and then ate excellent Thai food. For those of you that live in Austin, Joe has been terribly missing Madam Mam’s Restaurant, so this was perfect for him. For Christmas Joe got me a Thai cooking course lesson. I have it next Saturday and am really excited. People keep asking Joe if it was really a gift for me or did he have himself in mind as well.

Last night we met up with some Aussie friends and went down near London Bridge. We went on a Jack the Ripper tour on the eastside of London and then ate on Brick Lane. This whole street is known as Bangla Town and is covered with Bangladesh restaurants. As you walk down the street people come up to you and try to lure you into their establishment with food/drink bargains. Our friends said that we didn’t experience the true haggling experience, but it was great fun anyways.

Living down below us our two of the cutest little girls you’ll ever meet, Alighta and Jonsu. Joe and I go downstairs to visit them about twice a week. We celebrated Jonsu’s birthday today and here are a few shots of the little darlings.

Work for both Joe and I has been going alright. I think we both have the mindset that travelling is our main priority. We are headed to Madeira, Portugal on Feb. 20th, and then plan to go to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in Wales with a group.

26-Jan

Although this tag may fail to inspire any fear in the rival "North Side" gang, it does do a nice job of providing a title for our recent trip to Spain. (I believe it may say 'Fetus' in red underneath...although I can't offer any guesses as to what that might mean...) We got the chance, thanks to a GPS in the car, to travel to some other great cities along the South of Spain. Leah warned me that they may not respond well to my "English in a Mexican accent", so we had the added pleasure of advancing our Spanish another notch throughout the trip.

We began our first day in Malaga, which by size and population was the largest city along the tour. It was also my personal favorite and the birthplace of Picasso. Although the beach left something to be desired, (ie. a coastline with something other than harbor, construction, or drilling equipment) the rest of the city was brilliant. Cathedrals still dominated the large building category, but there were plenty of other good sites around the city. There were parks with orange trees, bull-fighting arenas, cozy little street cafes, and plenty more to keep our attention.

The main attraction was the Castillo (Castle) Gibralfaro. After reading some of the history, it apparently defended the city for several hundred years from the Moors and the Roman invading armies. It's situated atop a huge freakin hill, which Leah and I chose to climb by foot. I was in a personal little heaven. The only thing that would've made seeing the castle any cooler would be if it fell under siege while we were there. As you can see, I already had the South wall well defended.

The next day we followed Richard's instructions, the voice of our GPS guide, to the small coast town of Tarifa at the Southernmost point of Spain. The city was a bust. Not really much to see and definitely nothing to do. I don't think we took any pictures. We just had a sandwich, some coffee, and left. I'm sure I saw Leah spit at a local as we walked back to the car...

The drive getting there was beautiful though. We learned that wind turbines are cool, and that even Fiat's are capable of on-the-dime cornering and turning abilities. (while pulling over for some photo opportunities) We also stopped in a great little town called Mijas, which seemed to be the one place most untouched by tourism. On the way back I fired Richard (for some inexcusable errors) and hired July who led us near Gibraltar. I say near Gibraltar, because neither Leah or I knew there was more than just a rock chilling out in the middle of the sea. It's actually a country, and I forgot my passport for customs. No big deal though, the infamous rock is unmistakable in this photo, and hat's off to Leah for one of the prettiest pictures from the entire trip. The dark cloud looming overhead makes Gibraltar look like Dr. Evil's new lair...

For our last day, we trekked about 90 minutes North of Malaga to the city of Granada. We could both feel the rise in elevation, and couldn't miss the beautiful and unmistakable sight of snow-capped mountains in front of us as we got closer to the city. After a little walking around, we aimed our walk toward Alhambra, a very large, very old Muslim-inspired palace on the North side of the city. History explains several overthrows, occupations, and some partial destruction of he palace, so its origin comes from a few places, but it was an entirely amazing structure, with much of the buildings still intact and preserved. I included my favorite photo to the left. It was taken by the late renowned atomic scientist Neils Bohr.*

*my new designation for Leah

A great trip. I know we'll be back to Spain for more in the future.

A few extra photos:

The Palace of Charles V At home in the fruit orchard.

Gibralfaro from ground level Leah in front of a tea shop

Looking out from Alhambra