After leaving Montmartre, I boarded my train to Brussels. I checked into my hostel and headed for the Rey de Espana (the Spanish King) at my uncle's recommendation. I sat there with one of my last beers thinking about the last 6 weeks. What an unbelievable trip. I'm so glad a kept this blog, there's no way I could have remembered all this over that time.
I headed back to the hostel and spent the last night hanging out in the lounge, talking with random backpackers about where I had been and where they were going. by this time I've decided these experiences are only as valuable as the degree they can be shared with others. I finally retired and was out the door early the next day.
Leaving was bittersweet. I thought I would have seen so much in that time, but I only scratched the surface. The plane ride home I continuously flipped through my travel book planning my next 10 European adventures - Spain, French/German countryside, Southern Italy, other Eastern states - the list goes on.
All that being said, nothing beats getting home. My parents parked at LAX and came out to meet me as I arrived at the gate - a huge deal because my Dad is a cheapskate (just kidding Pop). My Mom was pretty emotional since email and the blog were the only communication they'd had with me over more than a month (OK, fine, I was happy to see them too).
For now, I'm signing off...until the next Adventure of course :-D
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Paris Days 6-8
**Note: Paris is being done as part of the blog reboot in 2010. I dropped blogging for that week b/c french keyboards suck a fat one. It was still an amazing time with lots of great memories, so I'm filling it in from them.**
So I've spent nearly a week in one town; I've seen churches, museums, monuments, towers, a wedding - surely I've hit it all right? Wrong! The day after my cousin's wedding was the final day of the Tour de France. I have no clue who is in control, but who cares? It's a giant party. The best I can describe it is akin to a major parade in the US, but with massive corporate sponsorship. Cars and trucks covered in marketing material (even a Simpsons bus!) roll past hundreds lining the street waiting for a flash moment of riders flying through the streets of Paris to the finish along the Champs-Elysees. Lindy and I setup on a corner opposite the Louvre and watched a few groups of riders fly past. After a while we noted that there was a carnival in the park on the opposite side of the street with a ferris wheel. We decided to take the chance we would have a good vantage point and it paid off big time! We had incredible overhead views of the groups of riders. One group even looked like a spear flying down the street. Very cool.
Along the way we randomly ran into Mollie's stepfather who said the couple were having people over to their room at the Ritz Paris. Needless to say this is a NICE hotel. I'm talking 5-star James Bond in the presidential suite nice. Lindy and I fit right in in our tee shirt and jeans. Fortunately no one said anything and we got to see some incredible views of the city from their top floor room. Later that evening we went to the Hemingway bar, named for Ernest due to his frequency of the bar. I had a 20 euro Manhattan (~$35). I'm not totally sure it was worth the price, but it was an amazing drink nonetheless.
Day 7 spent with one of Mollie's friends who was staying a bit longer like me. It was a Monday, so the museums were closed, but we spent the day wandering the streets, checking out some of the sculpture gardens and squares. We had lunch on a bridge where groups of college students gather and got into an interesting conversation about what college experiences are like in the US. My UCSB experience and the friend's experience at dance school were an interesting contrast to the broad studies the students we talked with were experiencing. Ludovic had us over for dinner that night and after a few glasses of wine I retired, ready to do the mast legs of my trip.
Day 8 was exit day from Paris, but first I had to trek out to the Montmartre Steps. One of my Mom's all-time favorite movies is The Great Race, which ends in Paris and includes a car taking a wrong turn down the steps. She cracks up every time so I knew I had to get a pic of them. Even I had to laugh a little as I stood at the base thinking about Jack Lemmon driving own in his race car. the cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried is also in that area. I found the cemetery, but it was quite large and there are no guides (probably to discourage tourists), so I gave up trying to find it. My little bro - a huge Doors fan - later said he was glad I didn't find it because he'd rather be the first to see it. He's never even left North America, but if it motivates him to travel then so be it.
So I've spent nearly a week in one town; I've seen churches, museums, monuments, towers, a wedding - surely I've hit it all right? Wrong! The day after my cousin's wedding was the final day of the Tour de France. I have no clue who is in control, but who cares? It's a giant party. The best I can describe it is akin to a major parade in the US, but with massive corporate sponsorship. Cars and trucks covered in marketing material (even a Simpsons bus!) roll past hundreds lining the street waiting for a flash moment of riders flying through the streets of Paris to the finish along the Champs-Elysees. Lindy and I setup on a corner opposite the Louvre and watched a few groups of riders fly past. After a while we noted that there was a carnival in the park on the opposite side of the street with a ferris wheel. We decided to take the chance we would have a good vantage point and it paid off big time! We had incredible overhead views of the groups of riders. One group even looked like a spear flying down the street. Very cool.
Along the way we randomly ran into Mollie's stepfather who said the couple were having people over to their room at the Ritz Paris. Needless to say this is a NICE hotel. I'm talking 5-star James Bond in the presidential suite nice. Lindy and I fit right in in our tee shirt and jeans. Fortunately no one said anything and we got to see some incredible views of the city from their top floor room. Later that evening we went to the Hemingway bar, named for Ernest due to his frequency of the bar. I had a 20 euro Manhattan (~$35). I'm not totally sure it was worth the price, but it was an amazing drink nonetheless.
Day 7 spent with one of Mollie's friends who was staying a bit longer like me. It was a Monday, so the museums were closed, but we spent the day wandering the streets, checking out some of the sculpture gardens and squares. We had lunch on a bridge where groups of college students gather and got into an interesting conversation about what college experiences are like in the US. My UCSB experience and the friend's experience at dance school were an interesting contrast to the broad studies the students we talked with were experiencing. Ludovic had us over for dinner that night and after a few glasses of wine I retired, ready to do the mast legs of my trip.
Day 8 was exit day from Paris, but first I had to trek out to the Montmartre Steps. One of my Mom's all-time favorite movies is The Great Race, which ends in Paris and includes a car taking a wrong turn down the steps. She cracks up every time so I knew I had to get a pic of them. Even I had to laugh a little as I stood at the base thinking about Jack Lemmon driving own in his race car. the cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried is also in that area. I found the cemetery, but it was quite large and there are no guides (probably to discourage tourists), so I gave up trying to find it. My little bro - a huge Doors fan - later said he was glad I didn't find it because he'd rather be the first to see it. He's never even left North America, but if it motivates him to travel then so be it.
Paris Days 4-5 (The Wedding)
**Note: Paris is being done as part of the blog reboot in 2010. I dropped blogging for that week b/c french keyboards suck a fat one. It was still an amazing time with lots of great memories, so I'm filling it in from them.**
I awoke Day 4 and pulled out my suit which had traveled the European Continent with me. It looked like crap. What did I expect after 5 weeks of being shoved in the bottom of my bag? Fortunately the front desk lady knew a cleaners right around the corner. I took it over and 10 euros later everything was nicely pressed and ready to go.
(Side note: I had gotten word in Italy that the ceremony was going to be a two-day event. Had a been a woman, this would be a problem. Fortunately, I have a Y-chromosome, so a suit for one day instantly turns into a suit for two days by picking up a fleur de lis tie at a street market in Venice.)
Day 1 of the wedding involves a civil ceremony presided over by the mayor of the district that you live in in Paris. Apparently you can't even have the religious ceremony until this happens. I guess it's to make sure everyone pays their taxes on it. Silly Socialists. Anyway, I headed for the part of town my cousin Mollie lives in and instantly got lost. Fortunately, my male instincts of direction took over and I arrived only 10 minutes late. The room was pretty incredible - gorgeous panelling along oversized doors, a large mirror packing the local magistrate and my cousin and her husband up front. Afterwards we went out into the garden to do photos and then headed to Ludovic mother;s house for a reception. It was great to finally meet up with my cousins that had made the trip out - Chris was doing the typical 5-Star touring with his latest g/f and Lindy was going nuts splitting a room with her mother. We swapped stories for hours - their time in Rome, driving through the French countryside and all my adventures.
We also met Mollie's schoolmates who had come out - Bass, Denny, and Guy (the 3rd name isn't right, but Lindy and I forgot his name a few weeks after we got back. Oops.) Anyway, those three took Lindy, me, and Mette - a former Au Pair for Mollie's three little bros - out for a night on the town. We started at an underground jazz club called the dungeon because it turns out in Europe, a bunch of stuff used to be dungeons! I'll never forget throwing back a beer while some guys lays down a sick funk line on an electric guitar and noticing an inscription on the far wall:1421. 14-fricken-21! I'm in a room that existed before Columbus set sail for America listening to an electric guitar and slamming beers. A-w-e-s-o-m-e!
On the way to the next club we came upon a toilet sitting in the middle of the street. Yes, seriously, I'm not clever enough to make that up. We took some hilarious pictures: Denny acting surprised people are invading his private time, Guy doing the "Man contemplating the universe" pose, and Lindy pretending to hold Bass's head into the bowl like he's yakking. High comedy.
The next club was more like the type of dance club you hear about in Europe. They had a lot of electric music going on, glo-sticks, and the entire floor was covered in sand. Not my everyday scene, but hey, you only live once. We were drunk, so we partied up. At some time I can't even remember we ended up at a crepe shop that the guys were raving about. We were hammered and there's no way if i knew they were actually good, but at the time they were delicious. I do remember a hammered Denny being incapable of using a knife to cut his crepe. Bass had to finally just pull the thing away and Denny proceeded to just shovel his food. Good times.
Day 2 of the wedding began a bit hazy (shocking, I know). I was literally down the street from the church and the ceremony was later in the day, so it wasn't a problem to get functional. The front desk lady had gotten the railpass back from Greg, so she had some fun with my dreary state before recommending a place for lunch that fixed me right up. I arrived at the church in my 2nd suit (also known as the same suit from the day before with a new tie) and was blown away. In France, they call it a church. If this building had been in the US, we'd be calling it a cathedral. easily 3 stories high with arched roofs, incredible stained glass windows, spires, spiral staircases, hundred of organ pipes - just incredible. The ceremony was catholic - obviously - but it was much shorter than a US Catholic ceremony. You hear that all my Catholic friends? Stop inviting 500 people and holding 3 hours ceremonies. There's no way you should exceed the time a French Catholic wedding that includes readings in multiple languages.
We went for pictures in a central park in the city and then off to the reception which was held at a very nice restaurant. Good food, great wine, rehashed stories of our travels and the crazy night before, dancing, and more drinking. All around good times.
I awoke Day 4 and pulled out my suit which had traveled the European Continent with me. It looked like crap. What did I expect after 5 weeks of being shoved in the bottom of my bag? Fortunately the front desk lady knew a cleaners right around the corner. I took it over and 10 euros later everything was nicely pressed and ready to go.
(Side note: I had gotten word in Italy that the ceremony was going to be a two-day event. Had a been a woman, this would be a problem. Fortunately, I have a Y-chromosome, so a suit for one day instantly turns into a suit for two days by picking up a fleur de lis tie at a street market in Venice.)
Day 1 of the wedding involves a civil ceremony presided over by the mayor of the district that you live in in Paris. Apparently you can't even have the religious ceremony until this happens. I guess it's to make sure everyone pays their taxes on it. Silly Socialists. Anyway, I headed for the part of town my cousin Mollie lives in and instantly got lost. Fortunately, my male instincts of direction took over and I arrived only 10 minutes late. The room was pretty incredible - gorgeous panelling along oversized doors, a large mirror packing the local magistrate and my cousin and her husband up front. Afterwards we went out into the garden to do photos and then headed to Ludovic mother;s house for a reception. It was great to finally meet up with my cousins that had made the trip out - Chris was doing the typical 5-Star touring with his latest g/f and Lindy was going nuts splitting a room with her mother. We swapped stories for hours - their time in Rome, driving through the French countryside and all my adventures.
We also met Mollie's schoolmates who had come out - Bass, Denny, and Guy (the 3rd name isn't right, but Lindy and I forgot his name a few weeks after we got back. Oops.) Anyway, those three took Lindy, me, and Mette - a former Au Pair for Mollie's three little bros - out for a night on the town. We started at an underground jazz club called the dungeon because it turns out in Europe, a bunch of stuff used to be dungeons! I'll never forget throwing back a beer while some guys lays down a sick funk line on an electric guitar and noticing an inscription on the far wall:
On the way to the next club we came upon a toilet sitting in the middle of the street. Yes, seriously, I'm not clever enough to make that up. We took some hilarious pictures: Denny acting surprised people are invading his private time, Guy doing the "Man contemplating the universe" pose, and Lindy pretending to hold Bass's head into the bowl like he's yakking. High comedy.
The next club was more like the type of dance club you hear about in Europe. They had a lot of electric music going on, glo-sticks, and the entire floor was covered in sand. Not my everyday scene, but hey, you only live once. We were drunk, so we partied up. At some time I can't even remember we ended up at a crepe shop that the guys were raving about. We were hammered and there's no way if i knew they were actually good, but at the time they were delicious. I do remember a hammered Denny being incapable of using a knife to cut his crepe. Bass had to finally just pull the thing away and Denny proceeded to just shovel his food. Good times.
Day 2 of the wedding began a bit hazy (shocking, I know). I was literally down the street from the church and the ceremony was later in the day, so it wasn't a problem to get functional. The front desk lady had gotten the railpass back from Greg, so she had some fun with my dreary state before recommending a place for lunch that fixed me right up. I arrived at the church in my 2nd suit (also known as the same suit from the day before with a new tie) and was blown away. In France, they call it a church. If this building had been in the US, we'd be calling it a cathedral. easily 3 stories high with arched roofs, incredible stained glass windows, spires, spiral staircases, hundred of organ pipes - just incredible. The ceremony was catholic - obviously - but it was much shorter than a US Catholic ceremony. You hear that all my Catholic friends? Stop inviting 500 people and holding 3 hours ceremonies. There's no way you should exceed the time a French Catholic wedding that includes readings in multiple languages.
We went for pictures in a central park in the city and then off to the reception which was held at a very nice restaurant. Good food, great wine, rehashed stories of our travels and the crazy night before, dancing, and more drinking. All around good times.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Paris Days 1-3
**Note: Paris is being done as part of the blog reboot in 2010. I dropped blogging for that week b/c french keyboards suck a fat one. It was still an amazing time with lots of great memories, so I'm filling it in from them.**
We arrived in Paris from our overnight run and worked our way to our hotel - great call on the location, marginal call on the setup of the place. We were on the 4th floor, showers on the ground floor. However, we were in the heart of the city with quick access to the metro and the lady manning the desk was very nice directing us to hotspots each night.
We spent our first day hitting some of the big sites around us. Notre Dame was just 2 blocks away, we walked past the Louvre, towards the Arc de Triomphe, around George Washington Square (Yes, America is so badass, the French put up a statue of the Father of our Country), and to the Eiffel Tower. We didn't go up in the tower - I'm glad we didn't which I'll explain in a moment - but we did have a purpose: Greg needed a photo of the "Weifel" Tower. Greg's primary goal in Europe was to get a picture of him such that the Eiffel Tower shows a side of his manhood that would drive the ladies of JDate wild. See the pic at the right and judge for yourself. We ended up staying around the Eiffel Tower for dinner and drank at a bar as the skyline lit up. We ended up having to walk back because we didn't realize the metro had stopped, but overall a good first day.
Day two we devoted to diving into some specific sites. We started at Notre Dame, which we hadn't ventured into the first day due to a long line. There were some incredible murals, windows, and of course - Gargoyles! I want my house adorned with them someday - or at least I would if I wasn't so sure I'll never be allowed to make that decision.
After that it was off to the Louvre. It's impossible to do in one day, but we gave it a shot. We of course started with the paintings. Mona Lisa was packed as expected, but we had to see it just to say we had. Beyond that were incredible works devoted to the French Revolution, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, works depicting medieval France, Jesus, and Plato's school in Greece. Other highlights included sculptures of ancient Greeks and Romans - including the Venus de Milo - and a special exhibit of Egyptian mummies.
We circled around towards our hotel and wrapped the day at the Pantheon. The Pantheon is home to most of the greatest contributors to French history. Entombed there are Voltaire, Jean-Jeaque Rousseau and Victor Hugo. There are tributes to martyrs of the French Revolution and France's first national convention.
After seeing Paris lit up the night before, we decided that we should check it out from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. As dusk fell we headed back out and climbed to the top. In a word: Amazing. I'm glad we skipped 6 hours in line and 40 euros go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. For 5 euros we got a full view of all Paris, including incredible views of the Eiffel Tower (see right). Greg capped his last night with a handstand (of course) and we returned back to the area around our hotel (not wanting to repeat the previous night's trek home).
Turns out there was a great little bar district up the street from our hotel. We started at an English pub where Greg spied Galliano. If you're head just took you back to drunken nights in Santa Barbara then you know what that means: Harvey Wallbangers! We were pumped as we ordered a round. the only think I remember after round 3 was talking with some British dudes, unsuccessfully hitting on some french students and wrapped the night chilling with a pack of Aussies.
Day three was Greg's last of the journey. We did a tour of the catacombs under Paris. In the medieval days they were used to store the bones of the dead in Paris, experiencing a boom during years of plague. There are tunnels of 10x10 rooms just piled with random bones. Crazy. The Catacombs were later used to hide from the Germans in WWI and II. After that it was tie to bid Greg adieu. That night I took it easy. I had dinner at St. Michael's square and grabbed some drinks at a random bar. The next day was my cousin Mollie's wedding - the moment that spawned my trip had arrived.
We arrived in Paris from our overnight run and worked our way to our hotel - great call on the location, marginal call on the setup of the place. We were on the 4th floor, showers on the ground floor. However, we were in the heart of the city with quick access to the metro and the lady manning the desk was very nice directing us to hotspots each night.
We spent our first day hitting some of the big sites around us. Notre Dame was just 2 blocks away, we walked past the Louvre, towards the Arc de Triomphe, around George Washington Square (Yes, America is so badass, the French put up a statue of the Father of our Country), and to the Eiffel Tower. We didn't go up in the tower - I'm glad we didn't which I'll explain in a moment - but we did have a purpose: Greg needed a photo of the "Weifel" Tower. Greg's primary goal in Europe was to get a picture of him such that the Eiffel Tower shows a side of his manhood that would drive the ladies of JDate wild. See the pic at the right and judge for yourself. We ended up staying around the Eiffel Tower for dinner and drank at a bar as the skyline lit up. We ended up having to walk back because we didn't realize the metro had stopped, but overall a good first day.
Day two we devoted to diving into some specific sites. We started at Notre Dame, which we hadn't ventured into the first day due to a long line. There were some incredible murals, windows, and of course - Gargoyles! I want my house adorned with them someday - or at least I would if I wasn't so sure I'll never be allowed to make that decision.
After that it was off to the Louvre. It's impossible to do in one day, but we gave it a shot. We of course started with the paintings. Mona Lisa was packed as expected, but we had to see it just to say we had. Beyond that were incredible works devoted to the French Revolution, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, works depicting medieval France, Jesus, and Plato's school in Greece. Other highlights included sculptures of ancient Greeks and Romans - including the Venus de Milo - and a special exhibit of Egyptian mummies.
We circled around towards our hotel and wrapped the day at the Pantheon. The Pantheon is home to most of the greatest contributors to French history. Entombed there are Voltaire, Jean-Jeaque Rousseau and Victor Hugo. There are tributes to martyrs of the French Revolution and France's first national convention.
After seeing Paris lit up the night before, we decided that we should check it out from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. As dusk fell we headed back out and climbed to the top. In a word: Amazing. I'm glad we skipped 6 hours in line and 40 euros go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. For 5 euros we got a full view of all Paris, including incredible views of the Eiffel Tower (see right). Greg capped his last night with a handstand (of course) and we returned back to the area around our hotel (not wanting to repeat the previous night's trek home).
Turns out there was a great little bar district up the street from our hotel. We started at an English pub where Greg spied Galliano. If you're head just took you back to drunken nights in Santa Barbara then you know what that means: Harvey Wallbangers! We were pumped as we ordered a round. the only think I remember after round 3 was talking with some British dudes, unsuccessfully hitting on some french students and wrapped the night chilling with a pack of Aussies.
Day three was Greg's last of the journey. We did a tour of the catacombs under Paris. In the medieval days they were used to store the bones of the dead in Paris, experiencing a boom during years of plague. There are tunnels of 10x10 rooms just piled with random bones. Crazy. The Catacombs were later used to hide from the Germans in WWI and II. After that it was tie to bid Greg adieu. That night I took it easy. I had dinner at St. Michael's square and grabbed some drinks at a random bar. The next day was my cousin Mollie's wedding - the moment that spawned my trip had arrived.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Night Train to Paris
We got to Bologna on time and had enough time to grab a quick bite before our train. Once we got on, everything was smooth. Our roommates were chill, the beds were good, and I don't we had a single asian on the train. We got to Paris ready to take on the city
So we went 2 for 3 on night trains. It could have been worse. I'd still highly recommend taking them to save time and money.
So we went 2 for 3 on night trains. It could have been worse. I'd still highly recommend taking them to save time and money.
Pisa-Florence-Bologna
We checked out of our room in CT this morning and had until 10pm to get to Bologna to catch our night train to Paris. We had to connect through Pisa and Florence so we decided we'd get a flavor of those cities.
Pisa was the first stop.
On getting out we checked our bags and headed to the leaning tower. As we wound our way through the streets, we passed a bookshop and I noticed that the new Harry Potter was out. Now, I could care less about HP. But Greg has been geeking out on it every time he saw a movie poster or book sign. I let him get about 20 steps beyond the store before I said something. They had an English version and Greg was content (this would prove fortuitous as we walked by later b/c the store was closed on the way back - though I could have made fun of him for missing it).
Finally we made it to the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Yup, there it is...leaning. The is seriously the least climactic site we've seen. Pisa is a dumpy town, with a dumpy tower that should just end the suspense and crush the moron tourists taking pictures of themselves "holding it up." We did do the traditional photos just to do it. Greg took his with one hand on the tower and the other holding up Harry Potter. We then went to the other side and took pictures knocking it over - now THAT'S a photo-op. Greg took his giving the tower a roundhouse and I took mine bull-rushing it. The pics were pretty funny.
Pisa did have one other redeeming quality - the gelato. I had a sour cherry gelato that I think blows away any ice cream I've ever had in my entire life. So there you go, spend about 2 hours seeing the dumpy town, leaning tower, and have a cone of gelato. After that go someplace classy like...
That after noon we spent wandering Florence.
We couldn't stay too long b/c we wanted to be sure to get to Bologna without missing our night train, but we were able to see Duomo and the battisero (baptistery). Duomo is a cathedral commissioned in the 1400s to be the most magnificent cathedral such that it could never be equaled. They may have succeeded. Instead of the traditional stone, the entire outside is an incredible tapestry of colors. Next door is the battisero, which has 2 enormous bronze doors known as Gates of Paradise. We didn't go inside b/c we had our packs with us, but it was still incredible.
Michelangelo's David is also in Florence, so we headed out to Accademia, an art school where David is kept. When we got there however, it was closed b/c it was Monday. Boooo! Oh well, we needed to get to the train station to get up to Bologna. We definitely dropped the ball on Florence (we should have spent a day or two), but it happens. Another place we'll have to come back to and give it it's full due.
Pisa was the first stop.
On getting out we checked our bags and headed to the leaning tower. As we wound our way through the streets, we passed a bookshop and I noticed that the new Harry Potter was out. Now, I could care less about HP. But Greg has been geeking out on it every time he saw a movie poster or book sign. I let him get about 20 steps beyond the store before I said something. They had an English version and Greg was content (this would prove fortuitous as we walked by later b/c the store was closed on the way back - though I could have made fun of him for missing it).
Finally we made it to the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Yup, there it is...leaning. The is seriously the least climactic site we've seen. Pisa is a dumpy town, with a dumpy tower that should just end the suspense and crush the moron tourists taking pictures of themselves "holding it up." We did do the traditional photos just to do it. Greg took his with one hand on the tower and the other holding up Harry Potter. We then went to the other side and took pictures knocking it over - now THAT'S a photo-op. Greg took his giving the tower a roundhouse and I took mine bull-rushing it. The pics were pretty funny.
Pisa did have one other redeeming quality - the gelato. I had a sour cherry gelato that I think blows away any ice cream I've ever had in my entire life. So there you go, spend about 2 hours seeing the dumpy town, leaning tower, and have a cone of gelato. After that go someplace classy like...
That after noon we spent wandering Florence.
We couldn't stay too long b/c we wanted to be sure to get to Bologna without missing our night train, but we were able to see Duomo and the battisero (baptistery). Duomo is a cathedral commissioned in the 1400s to be the most magnificent cathedral such that it could never be equaled. They may have succeeded. Instead of the traditional stone, the entire outside is an incredible tapestry of colors. Next door is the battisero, which has 2 enormous bronze doors known as Gates of Paradise. We didn't go inside b/c we had our packs with us, but it was still incredible.
Michelangelo's David is also in Florence, so we headed out to Accademia, an art school where David is kept. When we got there however, it was closed b/c it was Monday. Boooo! Oh well, we needed to get to the train station to get up to Bologna. We definitely dropped the ball on Florence (we should have spent a day or two), but it happens. Another place we'll have to come back to and give it it's full due.
Cinque Terre Day 3
My last morning in CT was pretty chillaxing (actual word - look it up). I basically just bounced between the ocean and the room in between glasses of Wine.
Greg had a bit of a adventure though. He was going to go to Monterosso (the most developed terre) to see about getting a new digital camera. Upon getting to the train station though, he learned the railroads were on strike. It's not a huge deal though b/c there are also ferries, but on getting to Monterosso he learned the ferries were going on lunch break - which is not a short break. So after 2 hours in Monterosso he learned that there was going to be one train back to Manarola and fortunately got to it on time.
Once he got back we met up at headed to a local wince shop we'd seen on the main drag. I picked out 3 CT wines, 2 Chiantis, and another red the storekeeper recommended to ship home. I have to leave tomorrow, but the flavor is going to last a bit longer.
After some more of the best pizza of all tie, we spent the rest of the day in the surf. The swell was definitely the largest we'd seen our entire time there. If there was a normal beach, the break likely would have been about 4-6 feet. This did make for interesting currents and breaks over the rocks in the Manarola bay. We spent the afternoon climbing and swimming between the rocks while the swell kept the currents very interesting. We also met some Americans who were on their honeymoon and a group of Irish who'd been in Rome. They said it was incredible, but over 100 degrees every day! No thinks. I'll come back to Italy in the Spring someday (soon...).
Reluctantly, we ended our final swim and headed back to the room to get cleaned up for dinner. We had another excellent meal with a few bottles of wine and met a couple from Atlanta that we talked baseball with for a while. As the meal was winding down the owner came by and informed the couple their table had been reserved and they had to clear out to get it ready. I get that it's reserved, but shouldn't you not seat it if there's a chance you may have to kick out the current customers. That was kinda messed up, but oh well. The guy ended up seeing us later and pulled out his blackberry to check the baseball standings (Dodgers leading the NL West- woo!) which was pretty cool.
After our meal we went back to the bar we'd been at the last two nights and this time bought a few bottles of beer and took them down to the waterfront. There's a courtyard where a bunch of people were hanging out and we just tried to hang on to every last second in Cinque Terre.
There's no doubt I'll be back someday.
Greg had a bit of a adventure though. He was going to go to Monterosso (the most developed terre) to see about getting a new digital camera. Upon getting to the train station though, he learned the railroads were on strike. It's not a huge deal though b/c there are also ferries, but on getting to Monterosso he learned the ferries were going on lunch break - which is not a short break. So after 2 hours in Monterosso he learned that there was going to be one train back to Manarola and fortunately got to it on time.
Once he got back we met up at headed to a local wince shop we'd seen on the main drag. I picked out 3 CT wines, 2 Chiantis, and another red the storekeeper recommended to ship home. I have to leave tomorrow, but the flavor is going to last a bit longer.
After some more of the best pizza of all tie, we spent the rest of the day in the surf. The swell was definitely the largest we'd seen our entire time there. If there was a normal beach, the break likely would have been about 4-6 feet. This did make for interesting currents and breaks over the rocks in the Manarola bay. We spent the afternoon climbing and swimming between the rocks while the swell kept the currents very interesting. We also met some Americans who were on their honeymoon and a group of Irish who'd been in Rome. They said it was incredible, but over 100 degrees every day! No thinks. I'll come back to Italy in the Spring someday (soon...).
Reluctantly, we ended our final swim and headed back to the room to get cleaned up for dinner. We had another excellent meal with a few bottles of wine and met a couple from Atlanta that we talked baseball with for a while. As the meal was winding down the owner came by and informed the couple their table had been reserved and they had to clear out to get it ready. I get that it's reserved, but shouldn't you not seat it if there's a chance you may have to kick out the current customers. That was kinda messed up, but oh well. The guy ended up seeing us later and pulled out his blackberry to check the baseball standings (Dodgers leading the NL West- woo!) which was pretty cool.
After our meal we went back to the bar we'd been at the last two nights and this time bought a few bottles of beer and took them down to the waterfront. There's a courtyard where a bunch of people were hanging out and we just tried to hang on to every last second in Cinque Terre.
There's no doubt I'll be back someday.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Cinque Terre Day 2
First let me setup CT for those who don't know: Cinque Terre literally means "5 Villages." The villages are cut into steep hillsides that drop right into the Med. You can only get to 3 of them by rail or ferry. The villages thrive on fishing and farming (and more recently tourism). It's pretty incredible to see these terraced hillsides that produce grapes (which they make into great wine), olives, among others.
So with limited transportation, the big thing to do is to hike between all the towns. We decided to hike between ours (Manarola, the 4th Terre from the West) and Vernazza (2nd Terre) via Corniglia. The first leg was pretty easy. It began with a slight uphill around a point where we had a great view back on our Terre and then around a cover where a bunch of boats had pulled up for day on the water. We then crossed a wood rope bridge and got to the entrance to Corniglia...which is actually the base of a switchback up the side of a steep hill. Awesome. They aren't without humor though. Once you reach the top there's a sign that Congratulates you on scaling the 287 steps into Corniglia. Oh those silly Corniglians...
All said though, the hike to Corniglia was pretty easy so we were sort of figuring we'd get to Vernazza pretty quick too. Later we would learn that this leg is the hardest of the hikes between any two of the villages. It was full of long, steep climbs and descents along the coast. Fortunately we had the foresight to leave at 11am and hike during the peak hours of the day. It was a heck of a trek, but there were incredible views the whole way. There were also sections through olive groves and grape vines. It was definitely a primo hike.
By the time we finally descended into Vernazza we were ready to get in the water and cool off. Vernazza is one of the 2 Terre's with an actual beach, but since we had daypacks with us we decided to head to a rocky part of the shore so we could have our stuff out of the way. We found a good sized rock and Greg started one way to it, and I went anther and then...SPLASH! I look over and Greg is all wet. Before I could start laughing at him though, I had a sudden realization: Greg's camera was probably in his pocket. Once Greg got helped up, he indeed pulled his camera out of his pocket. We left it on the rock to attempt to dry it out, but ultimately the camera (and it's SD card were done. Fortunately Greg had changed his SD card the last day in Vienna, so he only lost some Venice and CT pics that I basically had duplicates of.
(Note - I didn't have the heart to laugh at him at the time, but Greg was helped out of the water by a mid 50s older man wearing a speedo. On the other hand, the guy had a smoking hot mid 30s wife/gf/mistress, so wtf do we know. Still funny though..)
In spite of the minor crisis, we still had fun in Vernazza. We met a pack of UCSB students who were on Summer break and swapped DP stories. There was also a formation we deemed "Hot Chick Rock" which should be pretty self-explanatory 8-). I also didn't get tagged by a jellyfish today - booyah.
We took a ferry back to Manarola. It was pretty cool to get to see all 5 Terre's from a few hundred yards off the coast. It's amazing that these tiny cities have been fully functional since the Roman Empire purely b/c of how difficult it is to get to them.
The other highlight of the day was the food we had in Manarola. Before our hike we went to a small pizzeria in town and I think it has to skyrocket to the best I've ever had. Fresh meat and veggies mixed with all kinds of fantastic spices and bread - just better then any I've ever had. Dinner was spectacular as well. Fresh seafood right out of the med mixed with fresh produce right off the hillside. Throw in a fantastic Chianti and you've got a pretty good evening. The night we spent back at the bar, splitting another bottle of Chianti and rehashing the day (including ribbing Greg for getting saved by a 50yr old merman :-p).
So with limited transportation, the big thing to do is to hike between all the towns. We decided to hike between ours (Manarola, the 4th Terre from the West) and Vernazza (2nd Terre) via Corniglia. The first leg was pretty easy. It began with a slight uphill around a point where we had a great view back on our Terre and then around a cover where a bunch of boats had pulled up for day on the water. We then crossed a wood rope bridge and got to the entrance to Corniglia...which is actually the base of a switchback up the side of a steep hill. Awesome. They aren't without humor though. Once you reach the top there's a sign that Congratulates you on scaling the 287 steps into Corniglia. Oh those silly Corniglians...
All said though, the hike to Corniglia was pretty easy so we were sort of figuring we'd get to Vernazza pretty quick too. Later we would learn that this leg is the hardest of the hikes between any two of the villages. It was full of long, steep climbs and descents along the coast. Fortunately we had the foresight to leave at 11am and hike during the peak hours of the day. It was a heck of a trek, but there were incredible views the whole way. There were also sections through olive groves and grape vines. It was definitely a primo hike.
By the time we finally descended into Vernazza we were ready to get in the water and cool off. Vernazza is one of the 2 Terre's with an actual beach, but since we had daypacks with us we decided to head to a rocky part of the shore so we could have our stuff out of the way. We found a good sized rock and Greg started one way to it, and I went anther and then...SPLASH! I look over and Greg is all wet. Before I could start laughing at him though, I had a sudden realization: Greg's camera was probably in his pocket. Once Greg got helped up, he indeed pulled his camera out of his pocket. We left it on the rock to attempt to dry it out, but ultimately the camera (and it's SD card were done. Fortunately Greg had changed his SD card the last day in Vienna, so he only lost some Venice and CT pics that I basically had duplicates of.
(Note - I didn't have the heart to laugh at him at the time, but Greg was helped out of the water by a mid 50s older man wearing a speedo. On the other hand, the guy had a smoking hot mid 30s wife/gf/mistress, so wtf do we know. Still funny though..)
In spite of the minor crisis, we still had fun in Vernazza. We met a pack of UCSB students who were on Summer break and swapped DP stories. There was also a formation we deemed "Hot Chick Rock" which should be pretty self-explanatory 8-). I also didn't get tagged by a jellyfish today - booyah.
We took a ferry back to Manarola. It was pretty cool to get to see all 5 Terre's from a few hundred yards off the coast. It's amazing that these tiny cities have been fully functional since the Roman Empire purely b/c of how difficult it is to get to them.
The other highlight of the day was the food we had in Manarola. Before our hike we went to a small pizzeria in town and I think it has to skyrocket to the best I've ever had. Fresh meat and veggies mixed with all kinds of fantastic spices and bread - just better then any I've ever had. Dinner was spectacular as well. Fresh seafood right out of the med mixed with fresh produce right off the hillside. Throw in a fantastic Chianti and you've got a pretty good evening. The night we spent back at the bar, splitting another bottle of Chianti and rehashing the day (including ribbing Greg for getting saved by a 50yr old merman :-p).
Cinque Terre Day 1
Originally we were going to make a stop in Pisa to see the leaning tower, but after our late night trek around Bologna we didn't even get going until noon. 4 hours later we finally pulled into La Spezia, the major gateway city to Cinque Terre.
Unfortunately the 4:16pm train didn't show up, so we had to wait until almost 6pm to get there. Fortunately, the station had a McDonalds. I know what you're thinking "Why the hell are they eating at a McDonalds?" Well, here's the thing: the food still stinks, but they serve booze. So I got a beer and Greg got what he called "McWine." He even took a photo of himself drinking a McWine in front of a "I'm lovin' it" sign. Not a bad way to kill an hour.
Finally, the train arrives and 2 stops later we are standing in Manarola. After 2 weeks of travel, in spite of all the amazing sights we'd been to, seeing the deep blue of the Med was an inviting scene for two UCSB grads. We walked up to a square we met our hostess, Mrs. Marcella, who took us to the apt we were renting. She took us inside, cracked open the windows and we were staring over the top of Manarola. Absolutely incredible view with the next Terre in the distance, and the Med off to our left.
Once we got squared up we were off to the beach. 20 steps and a 40yd ramp later we were diving into the 75 degree water. The layout was really nice. The town literally drops into the water, so there's no beach, but paths are carved out fo the rocks and there are ladders to get in and out. From the left shore a jetty creates the harbor that the local fisherman keep their boats in and 2 large rock formations jut out from the main part of the shore to sort of create 3 natural swimming pools.
After 2 hours of soaking and exploring the pools, we were about ready to head out when I felt a sudden sting on my arm. I spun around and slapped my wrist on top of a effing jellyfish. Friggin bastard. I quickly got out and got cleaned off and 30 mins later the sting had pretty much gone away and I wasn't getting dizzy or sick or anything so I figured I was good. Not dying by getting stung by a crazy european jellyfish FTW!
Once that ordeal passed we headed to dinner. We picked the restaurant on the ocean, killed a bottle of Cinque Terre wine (specially made by local grapes and local method - fantastic!), and had a spectacular 2 course pasta-seafood meal. We then headed to the bar up the street and finished the night with more wine, beer, chatting with backpackers and listening to live guitar music strung by the bartender.
This town is freaking awesome.
Unfortunately the 4:16pm train didn't show up, so we had to wait until almost 6pm to get there. Fortunately, the station had a McDonalds. I know what you're thinking "Why the hell are they eating at a McDonalds?" Well, here's the thing: the food still stinks, but they serve booze. So I got a beer and Greg got what he called "McWine." He even took a photo of himself drinking a McWine in front of a "I'm lovin' it" sign. Not a bad way to kill an hour.
Finally, the train arrives and 2 stops later we are standing in Manarola. After 2 weeks of travel, in spite of all the amazing sights we'd been to, seeing the deep blue of the Med was an inviting scene for two UCSB grads. We walked up to a square we met our hostess, Mrs. Marcella, who took us to the apt we were renting. She took us inside, cracked open the windows and we were staring over the top of Manarola. Absolutely incredible view with the next Terre in the distance, and the Med off to our left.
Once we got squared up we were off to the beach. 20 steps and a 40yd ramp later we were diving into the 75 degree water. The layout was really nice. The town literally drops into the water, so there's no beach, but paths are carved out fo the rocks and there are ladders to get in and out. From the left shore a jetty creates the harbor that the local fisherman keep their boats in and 2 large rock formations jut out from the main part of the shore to sort of create 3 natural swimming pools.
After 2 hours of soaking and exploring the pools, we were about ready to head out when I felt a sudden sting on my arm. I spun around and slapped my wrist on top of a effing jellyfish. Friggin bastard. I quickly got out and got cleaned off and 30 mins later the sting had pretty much gone away and I wasn't getting dizzy or sick or anything so I figured I was good. Not dying by getting stung by a crazy european jellyfish FTW!
Once that ordeal passed we headed to dinner. We picked the restaurant on the ocean, killed a bottle of Cinque Terre wine (specially made by local grapes and local method - fantastic!), and had a spectacular 2 course pasta-seafood meal. We then headed to the bar up the street and finished the night with more wine, beer, chatting with backpackers and listening to live guitar music strung by the bartender.
This town is freaking awesome.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Bologna
After a day in Venice, we headed to Bologna b/c we'd been told it has a better nightlife than Venice (plus it's on the way to our next stop).
It ended up being a pretty big city, though it was definitely one of the dirtier cities we've been too. The town is best known for the area around the university so we headed off hoping to find some college kids to drink with. Next thing we know, we're stuck in the middle of a late night street scene, complete with live band and a MJ cloud. We picked a restaurant along the side to have dinner in and were treated to such sights as 8 police officers escorting a bum and his pitbull away from the area and a fight breaking out among a group of students.
The concert wasn't very good, so we headed to an Irish pub on the street we'd heard was a big party spot figuring that the group would head that way. Many beers (and hours) later, the place was still kind fo dead. Really strange. These studnets needed some UCSB schooling.
We had to get up and get to our next stop anyway so we headed for the hotel...by going the complete wrong direction. 3 hours, 20 hookers, and 5 blisters later, we figured out our way home. The highlight was finding a guy the didn't look like he'd shiv us and asking "Are we near the train station? stationa nd him going "Uhhh, it's that way, but it's FAAAARRRR." Always a good sign.
Anyway, we still made it and high-tailed it out the next morning. All in all, a pretty forgettable spot...
It ended up being a pretty big city, though it was definitely one of the dirtier cities we've been too. The town is best known for the area around the university so we headed off hoping to find some college kids to drink with. Next thing we know, we're stuck in the middle of a late night street scene, complete with live band and a MJ cloud. We picked a restaurant along the side to have dinner in and were treated to such sights as 8 police officers escorting a bum and his pitbull away from the area and a fight breaking out among a group of students.
The concert wasn't very good, so we headed to an Irish pub on the street we'd heard was a big party spot figuring that the group would head that way. Many beers (and hours) later, the place was still kind fo dead. Really strange. These studnets needed some UCSB schooling.
We had to get up and get to our next stop anyway so we headed for the hotel...by going the complete wrong direction. 3 hours, 20 hookers, and 5 blisters later, we figured out our way home. The highlight was finding a guy the didn't look like he'd shiv us and asking "Are we near the train station? stationa nd him going "Uhhh, it's that way, but it's FAAAARRRR." Always a good sign.
Anyway, we still made it and high-tailed it out the next morning. All in all, a pretty forgettable spot...
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Venice
After a rough night, Venice is one hell of a place to wake up in. A sprawling labyrinth of canals passages, and town squares, this place is definitely one of a kind.
The first order of business however: A bottle of Italian wine. Nothing helps you wipe out a bad night like drinking a bottle at 10am. Vino FTW. And speaking of w(h)ine, Greg is in prime form. He was really grumpy after the nighttrain and his rants were fantastic. "Where's the effing consideration? I don't need to hear what your food tastes like. Turn off the light. I know the sun isn't always shining there." Good old pissed off Greg :-p.
Anyway, we headed for San Marco Square and it was absolutely impressive. The poles where they used to string up criminals have ropes ready for use (we decided not to tempt it - probably the way to go), the facade of the church of San Marco is an incredible sight, and the Campanile towers over the whole scene as a beacon. Throw in a few thousand birds, the open bay with gondola docks, and it's an incredible scene.
(Side note on the birds - there are seriously a thousand pigeons hanging out in that square and the big thing to do is to buy feed and get them to climb all over you so you can take pics. HUH?!?!?! Really? Every other city in the world and you'd shoo them away as fast as possible and mumble something about a flying rat. But not in Venice. Nope, put some bird seed on your head, the bird flies up, takes a crap on you while it eats and moves on. And you've got a "timeless moment" to remember. It's obviously beyond my comprehension.)
We climbed the Campanile and the views of the city were astounding. The whole city is cut by a snaking canal and the only visible way in or out not by boat is the bridge of railroad tracks and a 2 lane highway. The houses are so tight-packed that you can't even discern streets (btw, not a single car in the town. Each "street" is maybe 8-10' wide). Canals shoot in all different directions, and the outlying islands around Venice make an awesome backdrop. Once again, this place is beyond unique.
We next decided to head for the southern point of town where we could see into San Marco and check out a few more churches. The churches have boatfront parking too. That has to be a sight on Sunday.
We also had to call the lady who was in charge of our room in Cinque Terre, which was fine until she picked up and doesn't understand English. Fortunately days and numbers in Spanish are very similar to Italian so I was able to get her to understand that we were due to arrive the next day and what time we thought we'd be there. Still though, it must have been funny to everyone around to look at the American struggling to talk on the pay phone.
At one point I looked at Greg and half-jokingly said "Wow, this place looks just like Vegas." And you what, it does. Maybe the correct thing is to say Venetian looks like Venice, but still. Scale down some of the stuff, throw in a slot rack and some craps tables and it'll be just like home :-p.
We polished off the city with a slice of Pizza (fantastic), some more wine (this is becoming a running theme), and a Gelato (You're right Jess, it's awesome there). All in all, it was exactly what was needed to get past the crappy train ride over.
The first order of business however: A bottle of Italian wine. Nothing helps you wipe out a bad night like drinking a bottle at 10am. Vino FTW. And speaking of w(h)ine, Greg is in prime form. He was really grumpy after the nighttrain and his rants were fantastic. "Where's the effing consideration? I don't need to hear what your food tastes like. Turn off the light. I know the sun isn't always shining there." Good old pissed off Greg :-p.
Anyway, we headed for San Marco Square and it was absolutely impressive. The poles where they used to string up criminals have ropes ready for use (we decided not to tempt it - probably the way to go), the facade of the church of San Marco is an incredible sight, and the Campanile towers over the whole scene as a beacon. Throw in a few thousand birds, the open bay with gondola docks, and it's an incredible scene.
(Side note on the birds - there are seriously a thousand pigeons hanging out in that square and the big thing to do is to buy feed and get them to climb all over you so you can take pics. HUH?!?!?! Really? Every other city in the world and you'd shoo them away as fast as possible and mumble something about a flying rat. But not in Venice. Nope, put some bird seed on your head, the bird flies up, takes a crap on you while it eats and moves on. And you've got a "timeless moment" to remember. It's obviously beyond my comprehension.)
We climbed the Campanile and the views of the city were astounding. The whole city is cut by a snaking canal and the only visible way in or out not by boat is the bridge of railroad tracks and a 2 lane highway. The houses are so tight-packed that you can't even discern streets (btw, not a single car in the town. Each "street" is maybe 8-10' wide). Canals shoot in all different directions, and the outlying islands around Venice make an awesome backdrop. Once again, this place is beyond unique.
We next decided to head for the southern point of town where we could see into San Marco and check out a few more churches. The churches have boatfront parking too. That has to be a sight on Sunday.
We also had to call the lady who was in charge of our room in Cinque Terre, which was fine until she picked up and doesn't understand English. Fortunately days and numbers in Spanish are very similar to Italian so I was able to get her to understand that we were due to arrive the next day and what time we thought we'd be there. Still though, it must have been funny to everyone around to look at the American struggling to talk on the pay phone.
At one point I looked at Greg and half-jokingly said "Wow, this place looks just like Vegas." And you what, it does. Maybe the correct thing is to say Venetian looks like Venice, but still. Scale down some of the stuff, throw in a slot rack and some craps tables and it'll be just like home :-p.
We polished off the city with a slice of Pizza (fantastic), some more wine (this is becoming a running theme), and a Gelato (You're right Jess, it's awesome there). All in all, it was exactly what was needed to get past the crappy train ride over.
Back on the nighttrain!
We knew things were going to get hectic here (3 cities in 2 days), but yeeesh! First of all, once again we've managed to pick the Orient Express. We just spent 3 days in Vienna and saw maybe 10 asians and all of the sudden there's 200 of them on our platform. Where do they come from? Do they just bounce from station to station taking over every nighttrain out of the city? Someone needs to answer this.
Things started out ok, as we left the platform we actually had a 6-person sleeper to ourselves, so we thought there was a good chance we'd get a few more backpackers to hang out with. WRONG. After 2 stops, in walks 4 asian people, none under the age of 52. Oh boy. So we get a night of peeling and loudly chewing vegetables, dirty looks b/c we dared to ask if we could turn off the light, and crammed sleep b/c for some reason it was decided that no one over 5'10" would use the top bunk.
I guess that puts us 1-1 on nighttrains. And we're ready to crash and burn, We'll never learn...:-)
Things started out ok, as we left the platform we actually had a 6-person sleeper to ourselves, so we thought there was a good chance we'd get a few more backpackers to hang out with. WRONG. After 2 stops, in walks 4 asian people, none under the age of 52. Oh boy. So we get a night of peeling and loudly chewing vegetables, dirty looks b/c we dared to ask if we could turn off the light, and crammed sleep b/c for some reason it was decided that no one over 5'10" would use the top bunk.
I guess that puts us 1-1 on nighttrains. And we're ready to crash and burn, We'll never learn...:-)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
French keyboards suck
I have a tons of stuff to write about the night train to Venice (crappy w/ bitchy old asian people), Venice (gorgeous city), Bologna (and getting lost), Cinque Terre (is it better than Maui? Maybe...), Pisa (2 sentences), Florence (quick stop), the night train to Paris (no crappy asians!), and Paris itself, buuuuut...
FRENCH KEYBOARDS SUCK! Letters are all over the place and that above paragraph took 20 mins to write. If I find a normal spot I'll try to get updated.
Until then...
FRENCH KEYBOARDS SUCK! Letters are all over the place and that above paragraph took 20 mins to write. If I find a normal spot I'll try to get updated.
Until then...
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A tribute to Grandma Bar
So I've mentioned in a few posts that something not good has happened on this trip, and that is that my last grandparent has passed away. We knew this was a possibility and I spent a good 3 hours with her before I left. She was so excited for me going on this trip and it's unfortunate she won't get to hear about my experiences.
I found out the 2nd night in Prague, which is why I was pretty chill the rest of the time. The day I found out had strange circumstance. I was visiting the bonechurch/ostuarry, and the largest building for miles around was the cathedral Santa Barbara. I had even lit a candle in the bonechurch as a general remembrance. Kinda of spooky to get the news later that night.
(Side note - the day my Mom's mom died was also kinda eerie. I was using Grandma June's UCLA tickets and Deshaun Foster ran for a record 350 yards and 4 TDs vs Washington. It was a fitting day.)
Going to the Prague Cathedral the day after I found out was helpful. I'm not overly
religious, but something felt right about being in the former capital of the Holy Roman Empire and thinking of my Catholic grandma.
Today (Wed, July 18th) she's being laid to rest in San Clemente and I was fortunate to stumble into St. Stephan's which had a number of side areas and a place where I could light a candle and reflect away from the tourists. I think I smiled more than anything. Every minor event in my life was always a big event in hers and the pride she took in her children and grandchildren will stay with us all forever.
Rest in Peace Grandma Bar. You will be missed and always loved.
(Ugh, it's getting all dusty in here.)
I found out the 2nd night in Prague, which is why I was pretty chill the rest of the time. The day I found out had strange circumstance. I was visiting the bonechurch/ostuarry, and the largest building for miles around was the cathedral Santa Barbara. I had even lit a candle in the bonechurch as a general remembrance. Kinda of spooky to get the news later that night.
(Side note - the day my Mom's mom died was also kinda eerie. I was using Grandma June's UCLA tickets and Deshaun Foster ran for a record 350 yards and 4 TDs vs Washington. It was a fitting day.)
Going to the Prague Cathedral the day after I found out was helpful. I'm not overly
religious, but something felt right about being in the former capital of the Holy Roman Empire and thinking of my Catholic grandma.
Today (Wed, July 18th) she's being laid to rest in San Clemente and I was fortunate to stumble into St. Stephan's which had a number of side areas and a place where I could light a candle and reflect away from the tourists. I think I smiled more than anything. Every minor event in my life was always a big event in hers and the pride she took in her children and grandchildren will stay with us all forever.
Rest in Peace Grandma Bar. You will be missed and always loved.
(Ugh, it's getting all dusty in here.)
Vienna day 3
Today was mostly just a chill out, get caught up on the blog, and catch a night train -day. It had an added event which I'll post in a minute.
We took the train down to St. Stephan's to take a catacomb tour and the cathedral itself was unreal. Not quite as big as the one in Prague, but equally as grand. Tall, sweeping pillars, large stain glass scenes and a organ that spanned the entire width on an upper level.
The catacomb tour was crazy too. It starts in the rooms where the coffins of the bishops are kept, then moves into the crypt of the Hafburgs (the royal family of Vienna) which has not only their coffins but also rows of copper bins that hold their organs from their embalming. It then goes through a large room of old sculptures and the original pendulum used to ring the bells - a 800kg (1700lb) wooden piece that the guide jokes anyone if free to take (hahahahahha, so funny...not really). From there we move down into the general population crypt where we learned about how int he 1700s the crypt was getting so full that the smell of the dead was actually seeping into the church, driving down attendance. To fix it, the church forced prisoners to clean all the "leftovers off the bones and throw them down into the second level. There was also story about more bones being cast down a deep shaft so the space could be used as a bomb shelter during WWII.
(Side note - this is why I'm getting cremated. Do you want your bones dug up 400yrs later and thrown wherever the hell someone decides? No thanks. Cast me into the ocean and I'll be good.)
For lunch we had bratwurst that fortunately did not ruin my view of Johnsonville Brats. Props to Johnsonville for not making crappy American version of the brat.
Tonight it's off to Venice and then on to Cinque Terre.
We took the train down to St. Stephan's to take a catacomb tour and the cathedral itself was unreal. Not quite as big as the one in Prague, but equally as grand. Tall, sweeping pillars, large stain glass scenes and a organ that spanned the entire width on an upper level.
The catacomb tour was crazy too. It starts in the rooms where the coffins of the bishops are kept, then moves into the crypt of the Hafburgs (the royal family of Vienna) which has not only their coffins but also rows of copper bins that hold their organs from their embalming. It then goes through a large room of old sculptures and the original pendulum used to ring the bells - a 800kg (1700lb) wooden piece that the guide jokes anyone if free to take (hahahahahha, so funny...not really). From there we move down into the general population crypt where we learned about how int he 1700s the crypt was getting so full that the smell of the dead was actually seeping into the church, driving down attendance. To fix it, the church forced prisoners to clean all the "leftovers off the bones and throw them down into the second level. There was also story about more bones being cast down a deep shaft so the space could be used as a bomb shelter during WWII.
(Side note - this is why I'm getting cremated. Do you want your bones dug up 400yrs later and thrown wherever the hell someone decides? No thanks. Cast me into the ocean and I'll be good.)
For lunch we had bratwurst that fortunately did not ruin my view of Johnsonville Brats. Props to Johnsonville for not making crappy American version of the brat.
Tonight it's off to Venice and then on to Cinque Terre.
Vienna day 2
Today we basically roamed from sight to sight in the 9th and 1st district. How much area is that? Vienna is divided into 23 districts. It's friggin huge. All the good stuff is in the 1st though so we focused there.
To get around we took public transit, a system which easily beats NYC in quality. If LA had this system, we could get past all the stuffy NY people for the best city in the US, but for now enjoy the traffic.
We spent the morning touring the Parliament and Imperial palace. then headed for the Danube so we could brag we'd seen it the 2nd longest river in Europe (1700 miles) from multiple sides (I know you're jealous). That afternoon we found a cafe with free Internet if you buy a drink and drowned ourselves in a bottle of pinot grigio. This is going to be an emerging trend as we hit Italy and France. Vienna has sort of been our beer-wine transitions spot.
That might we headed for the Bermuda Triangle, a 3 sided area of killer bars and got loaded on good food, wine and beer. Unfortunately the place kinda died around midnight (don't they know we're on vacation!) which wasn't all bad because we had to be out of our hostel at 9am.
To get around we took public transit, a system which easily beats NYC in quality. If LA had this system, we could get past all the stuffy NY people for the best city in the US, but for now enjoy the traffic.
We spent the morning touring the Parliament and Imperial palace. then headed for the Danube so we could brag we'd seen it the 2nd longest river in Europe (1700 miles) from multiple sides (I know you're jealous). That afternoon we found a cafe with free Internet if you buy a drink and drowned ourselves in a bottle of pinot grigio. This is going to be an emerging trend as we hit Italy and France. Vienna has sort of been our beer-wine transitions spot.
That might we headed for the Bermuda Triangle, a 3 sided area of killer bars and got loaded on good food, wine and beer. Unfortunately the place kinda died around midnight (don't they know we're on vacation!) which wasn't all bad because we had to be out of our hostel at 9am.
Vienna (half) day 1
We make it to Vienna around 2 and instantly we love it - dry heat! After 3 humid days in Prague, it was fantastic to be in some SoCal weather. Little did we know how much this place would end up feeling like home.
We headed to our hostel. It was a cool spot, a converted dorm for the Summer manned by college kids that told us all the spots to hit.
We took off towards the inner ring and found a plaza with some open cafes and sat down for dinner. This town is totally laid back. Have a beer, take 20 mins to order your food. Have another beer afterwards and just hang out. Don't worry about a big tip, our restaurant owners don't treat us like slaves. This lace is easily as laid back as LA, except every building has some kind of historic significance. After dinner we realize we're in an area call Judenplatz (Jewish Plaza). It had some cool sculptures and a monument to the 65,000 (yes, thousand) Austrian Jews that perished from 1938 to 1945. Cool and solemn at the same time.
We took a slightly different way back and ended up at an Irish pub where we tried 3 new kinds of Guinness beer we've never seen in the US and met a bunch of cool Aussie chicks that unfortunately had the token NYC buzzkill chick who had to go to some loser bar where she could play Connect 4 and everyone had to go because it was her last night. NYC wino-bag chick for the loss.
after the 11pm to midnight HH (we REALLY like this town) and some smiles from our smoking-hot Austrian waitress we called it a night.
Fucking bitchy NYC chick.
We headed to our hostel. It was a cool spot, a converted dorm for the Summer manned by college kids that told us all the spots to hit.
We took off towards the inner ring and found a plaza with some open cafes and sat down for dinner. This town is totally laid back. Have a beer, take 20 mins to order your food. Have another beer afterwards and just hang out. Don't worry about a big tip, our restaurant owners don't treat us like slaves. This lace is easily as laid back as LA, except every building has some kind of historic significance. After dinner we realize we're in an area call Judenplatz (Jewish Plaza). It had some cool sculptures and a monument to the 65,000 (yes, thousand) Austrian Jews that perished from 1938 to 1945. Cool and solemn at the same time.
We took a slightly different way back and ended up at an Irish pub where we tried 3 new kinds of Guinness beer we've never seen in the US and met a bunch of cool Aussie chicks that unfortunately had the token NYC buzzkill chick who had to go to some loser bar where she could play Connect 4 and everyone had to go because it was her last night. NYC wino-bag chick for the loss.
after the 11pm to midnight HH (we REALLY like this town) and some smiles from our smoking-hot Austrian waitress we called it a night.
Fucking bitchy NYC chick.
The mad dash
So we were hopping a 10:26 train to Vienna and we get to the station at 10 thinking we're good and early...only we don't see our train...oh crap. A info desk attendant that was very annoyed we had to ask (we don't have this cool train system in America lady!) told us we were at the wrong station and needed to hop the subway to the other one.
We finally figure out the right line at 10:10 and get ot the stop. Greg doesn't like our chances, I'm optimistic.
10:15 - we make it to the right station
10:17 - Crap! we went the wrong way out, amd dash back the other way.
10:21 - We're in the train terminal. Platform 3! GO!!!
10:23 - And we're there. Piece of cake. Knew we'd make it all along.
We had a ticket but not a reservation. It wasn't a big deal (9 euros extra each) and we ended up with a nice asian couple who taught at Clairmont Mackena (sp), a college in SoCal.
All in all, an eventful morning. On to Wien! (Vienna)
We finally figure out the right line at 10:10 and get ot the stop. Greg doesn't like our chances, I'm optimistic.
10:15 - we make it to the right station
10:17 - Crap! we went the wrong way out, amd dash back the other way.
10:21 - We're in the train terminal. Platform 3! GO!!!
10:23 - And we're there. Piece of cake. Knew we'd make it all along.
We had a ticket but not a reservation. It wasn't a big deal (9 euros extra each) and we ended up with a nice asian couple who taught at Clairmont Mackena (sp), a college in SoCal.
All in all, an eventful morning. On to Wien! (Vienna)
Prague day 3
Our final day we wanted to explore the St Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. We crossed the bridge in the morning and headed up the hill to the castle. A big long hill. Really high up. Look, an ice cream shop! Hmmmmm, ice cream. More uphill walking. And we're there!
The castle is amazing and huge. It houses the Prague Cathedral within its walls, plus all the current admin buildings, the Kafka house, and royal gardens. In the Prague Cathedral we were blown away by all the gold and silver statues, the giant stained glass windows and sculpture after sculpture. We decided to climb the 287 steps up winding staircase to of the North tower and were rewarded with incredible views of the castle, the bridges across the Danube and into Old Town Prague. Just incredible (and totally worth the dizzying, 2-way climb).
On the way back we stopped to admire the St. Charles Bridge. It's like a massive open market with people playing music, doing portraits and selling trinkets. the highlights are the 20 statues that line both sides of the bridge. Each is incredible, but the most prominent two are the ones of St. John's and a statue of Jesus with Hebrew letters. The St. John one is famous because supposedly a pious man had been thrown from the bridge at that spot during a Zionist period and if you rub the statue it means you will have good luck and will someday return to Prague (ok, twist my arm :-D). The second statue is supposedly a spot where a Jewish man was condemned for heresy and forced to put the words "Holy Holy Holy lord almighty" around the statue of Jesus as punishment.
That night we were set on having absinthe, and having seen good deals on it at the jazz bar the previous night we headed back to do some shots. We did the classic Fire Absinthe shot which is where they take a spoon full of sugar, dip it in the absinthe, pull it out and light it on fire to caramelize the sugar, then pour it back into the absinthe and shoot it. Holy crap what a shot. One of those and we were flying. We ended up staying at the jazz bar another night because the waitresses were cute and there were lots of travellers swapping stories (and because we probably would have gotten hopelessly lost outside :-p).
Awesome time in Prague. I always wondered how Little was able to stay there for 2 years and ow I wonder how he ever made it back. It has probably shot to the top of the cities so far.
The castle is amazing and huge. It houses the Prague Cathedral within its walls, plus all the current admin buildings, the Kafka house, and royal gardens. In the Prague Cathedral we were blown away by all the gold and silver statues, the giant stained glass windows and sculpture after sculpture. We decided to climb the 287 steps up winding staircase to of the North tower and were rewarded with incredible views of the castle, the bridges across the Danube and into Old Town Prague. Just incredible (and totally worth the dizzying, 2-way climb).
On the way back we stopped to admire the St. Charles Bridge. It's like a massive open market with people playing music, doing portraits and selling trinkets. the highlights are the 20 statues that line both sides of the bridge. Each is incredible, but the most prominent two are the ones of St. John's and a statue of Jesus with Hebrew letters. The St. John one is famous because supposedly a pious man had been thrown from the bridge at that spot during a Zionist period and if you rub the statue it means you will have good luck and will someday return to Prague (ok, twist my arm :-D). The second statue is supposedly a spot where a Jewish man was condemned for heresy and forced to put the words "Holy Holy Holy lord almighty" around the statue of Jesus as punishment.
That night we were set on having absinthe, and having seen good deals on it at the jazz bar the previous night we headed back to do some shots. We did the classic Fire Absinthe shot which is where they take a spoon full of sugar, dip it in the absinthe, pull it out and light it on fire to caramelize the sugar, then pour it back into the absinthe and shoot it. Holy crap what a shot. One of those and we were flying. We ended up staying at the jazz bar another night because the waitresses were cute and there were lots of travellers swapping stories (and because we probably would have gotten hopelessly lost outside :-p).
Awesome time in Prague. I always wondered how Little was able to stay there for 2 years and ow I wonder how he ever made it back. It has probably shot to the top of the cities so far.
Prague day 2
Day two we were on a mission to get to a small town about an outside of Prague called Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora houses a small osstuary where in the late 1700s a half blind monk built a Bonechurch. Apparently this church had been a favorite burial site of a wealthy Czech family and eventually more and more fo the lcoals wanted to be burried there. In the 1500s part of the land of the already overfiled cemetary was sieyed and the bones piled up around the outside of the church. In the 1700s a half-blind monk began takign the bones and building them intothe church. Today you can toru that church and it is awesome ina really creepy way. There's a chandellier that is made of at least one of every bone in the human body, a family crest made entirely of bone, and 4 large pyramids that you could see skulls lying all throughout. Pretty crazy.
That night was kind fo subdued (for reasons I'll get into in a moment), but we found a chill jazz bar with cute bartenders and it was all good.
That night was kind fo subdued (for reasons I'll get into in a moment), but we found a chill jazz bar with cute bartenders and it was all good.
Prague day 1
So as you can probably imagine, getting up at 6am to catch our train was a bit of a struggle...just a tad...yeah...
The ride was fairly uneventful. We slept a lot and at some point picked up these 3 guys that sat in front of us who seemed like they were headed to college next fall. One was going to SLo so every now and then one of us would start chanting "State school" and "Slooowwwwmoooos." Gotta love that central coast rivalry.
So we get to Prague and were instantly blown away. The centuries old architecture, cobbelstone streets, and gold-laden churches and towers were incredible. Our hostel ended up being a right in the middle of old town so we dumped our stuff and went exploring.
Our first beer in prague? The original Budweiser of course! It's funny because Prague and Anhieser-Bushc are still fueding over this and evry banner for Bud you see in Prague says "The original Pilsner." Go America. :-p
The first stop was old town square which is famous for it's churches and the old town tower. The tower is the big attraction. There is a celestial clock on one side and every hour the chimes are rung by the skeleton of death and the 12 apostles march by. It really cool to see. We then walked out to the Danube and found a small cafe where we sat own on the side of the water and drank czechk wine as we watched the sun drop over the Prague Castle. It was spectacular. That night was wandered around Old Town and found a bar called Harley's that had a DJ spinning all types of American rock songs. Add the gorgeous and fun eastern block chicks and we were in the middle of a pretty good party.
(Side note about the eastern block women: Gorgeous and fun! I imagine SoCal girls without the prissiness and insecurity. I may have to figure out how to bring one of these girls home by the end of the trip.)
The ride was fairly uneventful. We slept a lot and at some point picked up these 3 guys that sat in front of us who seemed like they were headed to college next fall. One was going to SLo so every now and then one of us would start chanting "State school" and "Slooowwwwmoooos." Gotta love that central coast rivalry.
So we get to Prague and were instantly blown away. The centuries old architecture, cobbelstone streets, and gold-laden churches and towers were incredible. Our hostel ended up being a right in the middle of old town so we dumped our stuff and went exploring.
Our first beer in prague? The original Budweiser of course! It's funny because Prague and Anhieser-Bushc are still fueding over this and evry banner for Bud you see in Prague says "The original Pilsner." Go America. :-p
The first stop was old town square which is famous for it's churches and the old town tower. The tower is the big attraction. There is a celestial clock on one side and every hour the chimes are rung by the skeleton of death and the 12 apostles march by. It really cool to see. We then walked out to the Danube and found a small cafe where we sat own on the side of the water and drank czechk wine as we watched the sun drop over the Prague Castle. It was spectacular. That night was wandered around Old Town and found a bar called Harley's that had a DJ spinning all types of American rock songs. Add the gorgeous and fun eastern block chicks and we were in the middle of a pretty good party.
(Side note about the eastern block women: Gorgeous and fun! I imagine SoCal girls without the prissiness and insecurity. I may have to figure out how to bring one of these girls home by the end of the trip.)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Munich day 2
Why is my vision so foggy and my head in pain. Oh yeah...oh well, nothing to do but power through
Today we took a trip out to Dachau, a former Jewish concentration camp. I won't get too down in this post, but craziness includes the "Work will set you free" melded into the iron gate (yeah right), the former firing range where it's pretty obvious that's not red clay on the ground, and the crematorium (enough said). Pretty heavy, but we felt it was important (I think I can put this one on my parents taking me to Gettysburg, the Smithsoniam, and other sites in the US for my natural draw to historical landmarks).
Upon getting back we headed to another beerhaus for the night with our new roommate Dennis from St. Petersburg. He was a good guy (an econ teach from a university) and we went to the Augustinekiller which is a nice beer haus that is mostly outdoor under a grove of trees. It was much more of a local crowd than at the Hof and Dennis helped get us in with the locals who may have just been curious to see Americans and Russians drinking together in Germany.
We stayed for a few extra after Dennis left and then headed back. On the way though we saw a beer we hadn't had on a sign outside a bar, so we cruised in to try it. The beer was ok, but the highlight came when Greg met Andy. Andy was a Swiss from Zurich who had an Irish accent because he spent 5 years there and his wife has one. At first he was just kinda shooting the shit with us - talking football (Ämer vs Euro) and about how he was at a conference and looking for hookers. Then he gets up like he's going to the restroom and before he completely goes he throws his arm around Greg and says out loud "But you know what there's nothing like anal. Am I right? HAHAHA" and then heads to the can. I'm still convinced he wanted Greg to join him. We bounced soon after that, but I'm probably going to be ripping on Greg for a few years for that one.
Off to Prague at 6AM tomorrow morning...
Today we took a trip out to Dachau, a former Jewish concentration camp. I won't get too down in this post, but craziness includes the "Work will set you free" melded into the iron gate (yeah right), the former firing range where it's pretty obvious that's not red clay on the ground, and the crematorium (enough said). Pretty heavy, but we felt it was important (I think I can put this one on my parents taking me to Gettysburg, the Smithsoniam, and other sites in the US for my natural draw to historical landmarks).
Upon getting back we headed to another beerhaus for the night with our new roommate Dennis from St. Petersburg. He was a good guy (an econ teach from a university) and we went to the Augustinekiller which is a nice beer haus that is mostly outdoor under a grove of trees. It was much more of a local crowd than at the Hof and Dennis helped get us in with the locals who may have just been curious to see Americans and Russians drinking together in Germany.
We stayed for a few extra after Dennis left and then headed back. On the way though we saw a beer we hadn't had on a sign outside a bar, so we cruised in to try it. The beer was ok, but the highlight came when Greg met Andy. Andy was a Swiss from Zurich who had an Irish accent because he spent 5 years there and his wife has one. At first he was just kinda shooting the shit with us - talking football (Ämer vs Euro) and about how he was at a conference and looking for hookers. Then he gets up like he's going to the restroom and before he completely goes he throws his arm around Greg and says out loud "But you know what there's nothing like anal. Am I right? HAHAHA" and then heads to the can. I'm still convinced he wanted Greg to join him. We bounced soon after that, but I'm probably going to be ripping on Greg for a few years for that one.
Off to Prague at 6AM tomorrow morning...
Munich day 1
I think Munich is a pretty sweet town. In spite of the fact it rained the first morning there, we hit a bunch of spots. First we ended up at the Marianplatz, which houses one of those clock towers with puppets that move every hour. Opposite that was St. Peter's, one of the tallest churches in town. We paid 1,50 to climb to the top (300+ stairs) and got an awesome panorama of the city.
Next we hit the Science Museum (yes, because we're engineers - shut up). It had some pretty amazing exhibits including a full-size cross-section of a U-boat (I now know what engine is going to be in my future boat), the first jet aircraft, and even an Enigma machine. Interestingly enough, the on Bismark ship they had was a cruisliner and we didn't see any German tanks. Hmmmm...
(Note - We've been cracking the "Nothing happened! Everyone was on vacation!!!" joke from Family Guy ever since :-p)
We then headed back to our hostel to check in. Thia was a major upgrade from AMS. In AMS we were in a 20 person room, here we had 3 beds and we were two of them. Waaay better. We ended up in the bar and met two Canadians, Mike and Ashley, who had yet to go to the Hofbrahaus, so we all joined up to go. They even had bought a subway pass good for up to 4 people (Mooching FTW!) We figured that 1L of beer is about 3.25 cans, so a baker's dozen later we were flying. I vaguely remember over the course of the night meeting some smoking hot spanish chicks and watching Greg hit on some girl who's brother had to inform him she was 15. Oh, and Mike got shit housed and swore the guy bringing us our beer was out to get him. Oh those silly Canadians. More to come...
Next we hit the Science Museum (yes, because we're engineers - shut up). It had some pretty amazing exhibits including a full-size cross-section of a U-boat (I now know what engine is going to be in my future boat), the first jet aircraft, and even an Enigma machine. Interestingly enough, the on Bismark ship they had was a cruisliner and we didn't see any German tanks. Hmmmm...
(Note - We've been cracking the "Nothing happened! Everyone was on vacation!!!" joke from Family Guy ever since :-p)
We then headed back to our hostel to check in. Thia was a major upgrade from AMS. In AMS we were in a 20 person room, here we had 3 beds and we were two of them. Waaay better. We ended up in the bar and met two Canadians, Mike and Ashley, who had yet to go to the Hofbrahaus, so we all joined up to go. They even had bought a subway pass good for up to 4 people (Mooching FTW!) We figured that 1L of beer is about 3.25 cans, so a baker's dozen later we were flying. I vaguely remember over the course of the night meeting some smoking hot spanish chicks and watching Greg hit on some girl who's brother had to inform him she was 15. Oh, and Mike got shit housed and swore the guy bringing us our beer was out to get him. Oh those silly Canadians. More to come...
I'm on the Nighttrain!
...or is it the Orient Express?
The train system in Europe rocks. You get on, have a beer with some other travellers, get gently rocked to sleep (thanks dad for all the nights camping out on Snakebit), and you wake up in the next city ready to rock.
We did have a running joke though because we saw maybe 10 asians in 4 days in AMS, and then all of the sudden there are 50 of them on our train to Munich. Too funny...
The train system in Europe rocks. You get on, have a beer with some other travellers, get gently rocked to sleep (thanks dad for all the nights camping out on Snakebit), and you wake up in the next city ready to rock.
We did have a running joke though because we saw maybe 10 asians in 4 days in AMS, and then all of the sudden there are 50 of them on our train to Munich. Too funny...
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Amsterdam - For the Win!
(...and the occasional loss)
What a town! Prostitutes, drugs, and sex shows that would make the donkey show in TJ look like an afternoon with your reverend - this city is crazy. I'm sure I'm going to leave out at least 20 things that happened, but as for the stuff I can remember:
Day 1- Lazy - didn't do much b/c we were exhausted and still kinda tripped out by our transportation here. We just spent the afternoon walking around the canals as we forced ourselves to stay up until dark so we could pass out and wake up all adjusted...except we are so far North (like, parallel w/ Canada) that the sun doesn't set until 10:30 and rises at 4:30. For dinner we found this spectacular cafe that had a good selection of drafts and amazing food (lamb meatballs and bruscetta param) and afterwards we called it a day.
Day 2 - Kicking it up - Since we had 3 beers our first day, we decided to make it a mission to have 3 new beers every day. We decided this meant heading towards the South to the Heineken Experience. We rented bikes and took a trip by the Van Gogh Museum to see how long the line was. It was very short so we decided to do it before the HE. Pretty incredible stuff. The collection is massive (3 floors) and there are numerous pieces from every phase of his career. I'm sure if I'd ever had an Art History class I could geek out on this for pages, but I'll just mention that the one I thought was the best was a painting of a wheat field with crows descending on it. It is though to be his last painting before killing himself. Craziness. Van Gogh Museum - For the Win!
From the VGM we were off to the Heineken Experience. Let me preface this by saying I'm not a huge fan of Heineken, but every said it tastes waaaaayyyyy better over here. They're mostly full of crap. The only difference I could tell was that it didn't have the nasty finish. Otherwise it was still the same boring beer. Heineken Experience - For the Loss.
After that we decided to bike over to an old opera house that has been converted into a museum dedicated to Jews who had been held there during the holocaust years. It was pretty amazing to see how they banded together during that time (more to come in the Anne Frank house).
Finally after enough touristy stuff...into the Red Light District! Even though it was 4pm the windows were packed with girls beckoning in anyone walking by, hosts outside of sex shows were trying to make deals. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. You just have to experience it. We threw back a few beers and decided to take our bikes back and get some dinner before coming back later that night. By the time we were headed back to the RLD that night we were ready to party...and this place doesn't disappoint. Every street you walk down looks like it was ripped right out of Vegas. Fluorescent red lights are everywhere, the bars are packed to the walls, the coffee shops look like a fog bank moved in. By this time we'd averaged out our 3 new beers per day to 10. Darks, lights, ambers, blonds - we got hammered. The only details I can remember are us running into a bachelorette party and the bride being all over Greg - who she kept yelling was Ross from Friends - high comedy.
Day 3 - Peaking -
So we went from no sleep on the plane, to waking up around 10am to waking up at 2pm this afternoon. Of course when you go to bed at 4am it doesn't sound too bad :-p.
For our tourist stops this day we went up into the tower of the tallest church in Amsterdam, the Westerkerk. It had a whole tour that went over the history of the tower and then finally got the to terrace at 142 feet to look out over the city. The view was incredible and you really get a feel for how tightly constructed the city is.
Next we went down to the Anne Frank house. The walking tour takes you through every room, passed the secret doors and into the cubby spaces the Frank family hid out in. There are videos of interviews with the various people that helped them through their hiding and there are numerous original papers throughout the house. It's all pretty surreal. Historical perspective - For the Win!
So after a little more culture...back to the RLD! This place never stops. Somehow we managed to find 6 new kinds of beer and not buy a 20 mins with a hooker (I think) or get sucked into a sex show (though we got close). After meeting some Aussies that were looking for a fight and some Americans that were stuffing themselves with some fungus, we called it at about 2am b/c we had to get out of our hostel by 10am.
Anyway, I'm sure more details will come to me as my head levels back out, but until then we're off to Munich. Can't find any new beers there... :-D
What a town! Prostitutes, drugs, and sex shows that would make the donkey show in TJ look like an afternoon with your reverend - this city is crazy. I'm sure I'm going to leave out at least 20 things that happened, but as for the stuff I can remember:
Day 1- Lazy - didn't do much b/c we were exhausted and still kinda tripped out by our transportation here. We just spent the afternoon walking around the canals as we forced ourselves to stay up until dark so we could pass out and wake up all adjusted...except we are so far North (like, parallel w/ Canada) that the sun doesn't set until 10:30 and rises at 4:30. For dinner we found this spectacular cafe that had a good selection of drafts and amazing food (lamb meatballs and bruscetta param) and afterwards we called it a day.
Day 2 - Kicking it up - Since we had 3 beers our first day, we decided to make it a mission to have 3 new beers every day. We decided this meant heading towards the South to the Heineken Experience. We rented bikes and took a trip by the Van Gogh Museum to see how long the line was. It was very short so we decided to do it before the HE. Pretty incredible stuff. The collection is massive (3 floors) and there are numerous pieces from every phase of his career. I'm sure if I'd ever had an Art History class I could geek out on this for pages, but I'll just mention that the one I thought was the best was a painting of a wheat field with crows descending on it. It is though to be his last painting before killing himself. Craziness. Van Gogh Museum - For the Win!
From the VGM we were off to the Heineken Experience. Let me preface this by saying I'm not a huge fan of Heineken, but every said it tastes waaaaayyyyy better over here. They're mostly full of crap. The only difference I could tell was that it didn't have the nasty finish. Otherwise it was still the same boring beer. Heineken Experience - For the Loss.
After that we decided to bike over to an old opera house that has been converted into a museum dedicated to Jews who had been held there during the holocaust years. It was pretty amazing to see how they banded together during that time (more to come in the Anne Frank house).
Finally after enough touristy stuff...into the Red Light District! Even though it was 4pm the windows were packed with girls beckoning in anyone walking by, hosts outside of sex shows were trying to make deals. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. You just have to experience it. We threw back a few beers and decided to take our bikes back and get some dinner before coming back later that night. By the time we were headed back to the RLD that night we were ready to party...and this place doesn't disappoint. Every street you walk down looks like it was ripped right out of Vegas. Fluorescent red lights are everywhere, the bars are packed to the walls, the coffee shops look like a fog bank moved in. By this time we'd averaged out our 3 new beers per day to 10. Darks, lights, ambers, blonds - we got hammered. The only details I can remember are us running into a bachelorette party and the bride being all over Greg - who she kept yelling was Ross from Friends - high comedy.
Day 3 - Peaking -
So we went from no sleep on the plane, to waking up around 10am to waking up at 2pm this afternoon. Of course when you go to bed at 4am it doesn't sound too bad :-p.
For our tourist stops this day we went up into the tower of the tallest church in Amsterdam, the Westerkerk. It had a whole tour that went over the history of the tower and then finally got the to terrace at 142 feet to look out over the city. The view was incredible and you really get a feel for how tightly constructed the city is.
Next we went down to the Anne Frank house. The walking tour takes you through every room, passed the secret doors and into the cubby spaces the Frank family hid out in. There are videos of interviews with the various people that helped them through their hiding and there are numerous original papers throughout the house. It's all pretty surreal. Historical perspective - For the Win!
So after a little more culture...back to the RLD! This place never stops. Somehow we managed to find 6 new kinds of beer and not buy a 20 mins with a hooker (I think) or get sucked into a sex show (though we got close). After meeting some Aussies that were looking for a fight and some Americans that were stuffing themselves with some fungus, we called it at about 2am b/c we had to get out of our hostel by 10am.
Anyway, I'm sure more details will come to me as my head levels back out, but until then we're off to Munich. Can't find any new beers there... :-D
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Crazy first day
3 stories just to make it to Amsterdam:
1) The first leg: LAX-DET
Greg gets stuck next to 6-4 300+lb of a man-beast who as soon as the plane starts to taxi out wraps his bandanna over his eyes to pass out. The guy seriously looked like he was trying to get focused for his Jedi training. Greg then has to spend the rest of trip half-lodged into this guy's sweaty armpit while the guy tries to make his best chainsaw impression. Mean while to avoid being crushed he leans out into the aisle where he gets slammed by the drink cart every 20 mins.
2) The overnight: DET-Brussels
After spending the first leg in the 3rd circle of hell Greg catches a break with an empty row to lay out in. I get one where the middle seat is empty next to a retired college professor who was pretty cool. We start talking about where we're headed and the row behind me overhears that Greg and I are starting in Amsterdam. The ladies in the row tell us their headed that way to - only driving not by train - and were wondering if we'd like to tag along to help navigate and such. We're down b/c that saves us one of the travel days on our railpass.
3) This bitch is crazy
So it turns out the two women are a 44 yr old teacher who's married but left her husband and kids behind so she could take her former student that she moved into her house to Europe. Hang on, it gets crazier. The older woman is basically having the first break from her family in 20 years so her neurons are firing at least 30x faster than normal...and at 150km/hr on the Brussels to Amsterdam highway. After regaling us with fantastic stories of having an uzi pulled on her while visiting her husband, her 70 yr old father who cultivates weed in the greenhouse in her backyard, the way she got her house in San Jose by suing the guy that pulled the uzi on her and using the winnings as a down payment, and how she has a deep belief in Judaism...and she's a practicing Catholic. Greg said it was hilarious to watch the younger girl just sit in the back seat squirming at every comment
So the moral of the story kids: always hitchhike with crazy people. The fun never ends!
1) The first leg: LAX-DET
Greg gets stuck next to 6-4 300+lb of a man-beast who as soon as the plane starts to taxi out wraps his bandanna over his eyes to pass out. The guy seriously looked like he was trying to get focused for his Jedi training. Greg then has to spend the rest of trip half-lodged into this guy's sweaty armpit while the guy tries to make his best chainsaw impression. Mean while to avoid being crushed he leans out into the aisle where he gets slammed by the drink cart every 20 mins.
2) The overnight: DET-Brussels
After spending the first leg in the 3rd circle of hell Greg catches a break with an empty row to lay out in. I get one where the middle seat is empty next to a retired college professor who was pretty cool. We start talking about where we're headed and the row behind me overhears that Greg and I are starting in Amsterdam. The ladies in the row tell us their headed that way to - only driving not by train - and were wondering if we'd like to tag along to help navigate and such. We're down b/c that saves us one of the travel days on our railpass.
3) This bitch is crazy
So it turns out the two women are a 44 yr old teacher who's married but left her husband and kids behind so she could take her former student that she moved into her house to Europe. Hang on, it gets crazier. The older woman is basically having the first break from her family in 20 years so her neurons are firing at least 30x faster than normal...and at 150km/hr on the Brussels to Amsterdam highway. After regaling us with fantastic stories of having an uzi pulled on her while visiting her husband, her 70 yr old father who cultivates weed in the greenhouse in her backyard, the way she got her house in San Jose by suing the guy that pulled the uzi on her and using the winnings as a down payment, and how she has a deep belief in Judaism...and she's a practicing Catholic. Greg said it was hilarious to watch the younger girl just sit in the back seat squirming at every comment
So the moral of the story kids: always hitchhike with crazy people. The fun never ends!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Final countdown...
So I'm going to give this blog thing a shot. I may quit after this first post, I may go the distance. I make no promises. Either way, I hope I can use this to keep everyone up to date on my trip without having to copy/paste the same story into 20 different emails. Those stories by the way, will be semi-filtered. I want to share all the absurd crap I do, but I may want to keep this blog as a personal record to read again some day, so I'll try to keep it all to vague references that will make for great stories later and hope I can drink away the gory details by next 4th of July. Let's just say expect a NC-17 rating.
I've got a lot of crap packed.
After 7 months of planning, 10,000 airline points, 125 emails, the time in here. In 7.5 hours we'll be gear-up on our way to Europe. It definitely has a much different feel than my last two international trips (maybe it's the whole NOT getting dumped on a plane with 3 days notice to work on cellphones in a 3rd world country). This one is pure excitement. We definitely set an ambitious itinerary (see below). We sort of go from fast-paced to low-key all along the way, so in the end I think we can pull it off (have the new livers on standby just to be sure). The Prague - Vienna - Venice stretch is currently not booked for the sake of being flexible.
Speaking of "we", my buddy Greg from UCSB has signed up to take on my 4th continent with me. You may remember him from such adventures as Shasta Slam 2006 or as the guy who moved out on me, bringing Jordt - along with the Superbowl song, moonshine, rockets, stolen keg shells, pasty white ass hanging off the balcony and a couch thrown off the second story - into our lives (anyone who says NOT to take that 5th year of college is a damn fool).
Anyway, the 'planned' itinerary:
Amsterdam (~7/10) - We may never leave, rendering the rest of the list pointless
Munich (~7/13) - Hofbrahuas!!!
Prague (~7/16) - Home of the original Budweiser
Vienna (~7/18) - Totally need to rock a Governator shirt
Venice (~7/19) - Hopefully I break my record of destruction within a year to cities below sea-level I've visited (Sorry New Orleans!)
Cinque Terre (~7/23) - Ocean view apt on the Italian Riviera? Yeah, that won't be awesome
Paris (~7/31) - Wedding the 28th, Tour de France ends on the 29th. I hope their medical care is socialized too...
Time to try to get some sleep...Catch ya in Amsterdam.
I've got a lot of crap packed.
After 7 months of planning, 10,000 airline points, 125 emails, the time in here. In 7.5 hours we'll be gear-up on our way to Europe. It definitely has a much different feel than my last two international trips (maybe it's the whole NOT getting dumped on a plane with 3 days notice to work on cellphones in a 3rd world country). This one is pure excitement. We definitely set an ambitious itinerary (see below). We sort of go from fast-paced to low-key all along the way, so in the end I think we can pull it off (have the new livers on standby just to be sure). The Prague - Vienna - Venice stretch is currently not booked for the sake of being flexible.
Speaking of "we", my buddy Greg from UCSB has signed up to take on my 4th continent with me. You may remember him from such adventures as Shasta Slam 2006 or as the guy who moved out on me, bringing Jordt - along with the Superbowl song, moonshine, rockets, stolen keg shells, pasty white ass hanging off the balcony and a couch thrown off the second story - into our lives (anyone who says NOT to take that 5th year of college is a damn fool).
Anyway, the 'planned' itinerary:
Amsterdam (~7/10) - We may never leave, rendering the rest of the list pointless
Munich (~7/13) - Hofbrahuas!!!
Prague (~7/16) - Home of the original Budweiser
Vienna (~7/18) - Totally need to rock a Governator shirt
Venice (~7/19) - Hopefully I break my record of destruction within a year to cities below sea-level I've visited (Sorry New Orleans!)
Cinque Terre (~7/23) - Ocean view apt on the Italian Riviera? Yeah, that won't be awesome
Paris (~7/31) - Wedding the 28th, Tour de France ends on the 29th. I hope their medical care is socialized too...
Time to try to get some sleep...Catch ya in Amsterdam.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Welcome
I'm using this space to blog my July trip throughout Europe. It all begins 7/6/2007, so check back on the 5th for the big kick-off post.
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