I know I switched it up a little with Berlin. I missed Brussels by accident. We went here to go to the Brussels beer festival. It showcased different Belgian beers, which are extremely strong and wheaty. You can actually be a Belgian beer if you have a license from a Belgian beer brewing company, although they say true Belgian beer has its unique flavor from the water in Belgium.
The first night we got there, we had a doner kebap and wandered around. We happened across a really interesting converted train station to art gallery and bar. Then, we migrated to another bar with a white guy with dreads who recommended to us some sweet Belgian beer. It was filled with smoke. Later, we went to an Irish pub which was playing 80's music.
The next day, we started off the day with Belgian waffles and watching a parade go by for the beer festival. The waffles were too sweet, in my opinion, and didn't taste at all like Mrs. B's waffles. The beer festival was already going strong and we grabbed a quick lunch, then went into the festival. This was the beginning of a long day of drinking. We started off with a Trappist beer, which I think was delicious. I had a Rochefort 8, a sweet, malty beer. I only bought 9 euros of beer caps and ended up spending all of them. We met a couple who was from Texas and had some escargots.
Sometime during the day, we met some rather obnoxious Aussies and Brits. They were all dressed up in costume and seemed like they pre-gamed the beer festival. They were funny at first, but then just got a bit annoying. Ally, Tom Tom and I wandered off later and met a bunch of Dutch guys who were prepared for the festival and brought in a giant bag of food from the Netherlands.
Eventually we found Tom Faussett and Kyle again who were chatting with some girls. I said they were big boys and could take care of themselves so we went to get dinner and left them to their antics. Little did we know that wasn't such a good idea. We had a nice dinner and went back home. I had an early night because I was exhausted. Tom Tom went out and later came back. We heard Tom Faussett and Kyle get back and Kyle saying "I think I got beat up really badly... Do I have a fat lip?" I assumed he and Tom got back together.
The next morning, Ally and I wake up first and take our showers. As I get out, Kyle sits up and asks us what he was doing last night. I thought he was joking. Later, he's taking pictures using his camera of the bruises he has all over his body. Somehow, he got into a huge fight and lost Tom Faussett during the night. He also lost his camera. Tom Faussett lost his wallett (which was just in front of the hostel) and was waiting for Kyle as he got back. It was nuts. We probably should't've let them be, but they seemed so normal when we left. During Sunday, Kyle and Tom were recalling bits of their night.
Two other highlights of Brussels were the pissing boy, which was very small and very strange... perhaps not worth seeing more than once, and the atom-shaped worlds fair structure. this one was very large and very strange...not really worth seeing again.
We did have Belgian fries, which I don't understand how much better they are. They tasted a lot like fries in the States...
I think Brussels was awesome, but not really worth more than a weekend, even with a beer weekend. There's probably far cooler things in Belgium.
Monday, October 19, 2009
September 12-13 Berlin!
Berlin was a lot of fun. Before we went to Berlin, I e-mailed Fabian, Oliver and Jens to see if they were there. Ally did the same for Randy. Fabian said he'd be in town, but Oliver never replied and Jens was in Munich.
On the first night, Brian, Tom Tom and I arrived finally after our flight was delayed by an hour for no real reason. It's the easyjet way, I suppose. We also didn't know which train to take, so we ended up on a long train which took 2 hours to get to Berlin's downtown. On my way, Fabian called and asked if we wanted to go out tonight. Definitely!
When waiting at the train station to go to our hostel, we saw Fabian and his friend, also coincidentally named Fabian, on the train. They came with us to the hostel and we dropped off our stuff, then left. It was 2 AM by the time we left the hostel to go out. We went to the corner market, got some beers and started to drink them on the street. We met up with some of Fabian's friends and started to go out.
Flunkyball is a German drinking game which involves flunky pins, in our case empty glass beer bottles, and a flunkyball... This time, it was a leather loafer. Fabian taught us how to play Flunkyball while we were in the middle of an intersection with cops down the street from us. The game requires two teams and a couple of beers. In our case, it was one beer and several bottles of Jager. One team throws the flunkyball at the flunky pins and starts to drink. The other team runs up as fast as they can, tries to put the pins back up and brings the "ball" back. If you're ahead of the other team, you've been drinking more. Unlike American drinking games, where the loser drinks. Here, the winner drinks. It feels like such a better reward.
The next day we went to sightsee a bit. We met up with Ally at noon and had lunch at a Moroccan place, we think. Then, we went off to see the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and all that good stuff. First up was Checkpoint Charlie, which is actually checkpoint number three (alpha, bravo, charlie). I thought it was named after a person. There was a museum near the checkpoint which records the events of the Berlin wall and the fall of the wall. It was a bit of information overload.
Next was the wall itself. Over the years, ingenious businessmen went to the wall with jackhammers and drilled off chunks of the wall to sell to unsuspecting tourists. People are willing to pay up to 20 euros for a chunk of perhaps slightly painted concrete. I paid 5 euros for my chunk, so I'm just as guilty. Because of this, the wall is a sad, skinny, bumpy concrete sliver which is now fenced off so people don't drill off any more and create holes.
From there, we went to Postdamerplatz, a square which shows much of modern Berlin. It's crazy that just 20 years ago, this place was completely deserted. Today, it had tons of buildings and shops around it. There was a fair and an open air concert going on.
The Holocaust memorial in Berlin is the only one I've seen thus far, and so it's the most striking. The memorial is a bunch of concrete blocks in the shape of graves at varying heights across a square of Berlin. Beneath the blocks is a Holocaust museum which has notes and information on the systematic murder of a wide array of people. It was sobering, but made me wonder why we're so focused on the Jews. There were a lot of other people who died. Also, there was a lot of other terrible things which happened in WWII to the Chinese, Filipino and other people in Asia. Why aren't they recognized. I think part of it is the power of the Jewish community in the US, which won... Another aspect is possibly the lack of power on the Chinese side to force the Japanese to recognize their mistakes. Also, the Japanese murders weren't systematic. They were barbaric, but they weren't systematic in the sense that they were calculating to eliminate an entire culture. They were just the "generic" rape, pillage, destroy. Not less disgusting, but I think far less disturbing.
We also got to see the Brandenburg gate, which was a originally a symbol of peace, later a symbol of separation of the wall. I knew very little about the division of Berlin and WWII, so this was really interesting to see.
From the gate, we went to see Reichstag, the Parliament building, which was beautiful and really cool, but had a 2 hour or something line, so I didn't want to go.
The Berliner Dom is quite an interesting building. Located behind (or in front of depending on your perspective) Lustgarten, it was built in 1451. In 1940, the Allies bombed it and a lot of the building became rubble. Then in 1944, a bomb of combustible liquids was placed inside of it and the fire couldn't be extinguished on the top part of the dome. The dome collapsed and they eventually built a temporary roof over it. There's a lot of controversy over whether to fully fix and restore the dome, removing the black charring. It's a testimony to the horrors committed during WWII and what people did to each other. Some felt fixing the dome was like covering up that part of history.
On our way back, we walked to Alexanderplatz to look for some food. When we got there, we saw something that looked like a circus from afar. it looked like it had tables outside, so we got closer to see what was inside and if we could have dinner there. Turns out, it was Berlin's first Oktoberfest. There was only one tent, the Hippodrom, which would then be taken down the next week and brought to Munich. This was the unintentional addition to the 3 beer weekends I was already going to in September.
That night, Fabian took us out again and we went to several more bars. No more flunkyball, but a lot of fun still. We went to a bar/club which had free chili as its food of choice. There was a projector which projected a horse on a wall and it was staring at you. Additionally, in another room, there was a DJ and a singer who was in a wolf man mask, a wife beater shirt, jogging shorts, elbow and knee pads. It was terribly strange, but hilarious.
I loved Berlin and would definitely go back again. It was awesome having Fabian there to show us around as well. I wish we could've said good bye to him formally on Sunday. He was awesome to take us around!!
On the first night, Brian, Tom Tom and I arrived finally after our flight was delayed by an hour for no real reason. It's the easyjet way, I suppose. We also didn't know which train to take, so we ended up on a long train which took 2 hours to get to Berlin's downtown. On my way, Fabian called and asked if we wanted to go out tonight. Definitely!
When waiting at the train station to go to our hostel, we saw Fabian and his friend, also coincidentally named Fabian, on the train. They came with us to the hostel and we dropped off our stuff, then left. It was 2 AM by the time we left the hostel to go out. We went to the corner market, got some beers and started to drink them on the street. We met up with some of Fabian's friends and started to go out.
Flunkyball is a German drinking game which involves flunky pins, in our case empty glass beer bottles, and a flunkyball... This time, it was a leather loafer. Fabian taught us how to play Flunkyball while we were in the middle of an intersection with cops down the street from us. The game requires two teams and a couple of beers. In our case, it was one beer and several bottles of Jager. One team throws the flunkyball at the flunky pins and starts to drink. The other team runs up as fast as they can, tries to put the pins back up and brings the "ball" back. If you're ahead of the other team, you've been drinking more. Unlike American drinking games, where the loser drinks. Here, the winner drinks. It feels like such a better reward.
The next day we went to sightsee a bit. We met up with Ally at noon and had lunch at a Moroccan place, we think. Then, we went off to see the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and all that good stuff. First up was Checkpoint Charlie, which is actually checkpoint number three (alpha, bravo, charlie). I thought it was named after a person. There was a museum near the checkpoint which records the events of the Berlin wall and the fall of the wall. It was a bit of information overload.
Next was the wall itself. Over the years, ingenious businessmen went to the wall with jackhammers and drilled off chunks of the wall to sell to unsuspecting tourists. People are willing to pay up to 20 euros for a chunk of perhaps slightly painted concrete. I paid 5 euros for my chunk, so I'm just as guilty. Because of this, the wall is a sad, skinny, bumpy concrete sliver which is now fenced off so people don't drill off any more and create holes.
From there, we went to Postdamerplatz, a square which shows much of modern Berlin. It's crazy that just 20 years ago, this place was completely deserted. Today, it had tons of buildings and shops around it. There was a fair and an open air concert going on.
The Holocaust memorial in Berlin is the only one I've seen thus far, and so it's the most striking. The memorial is a bunch of concrete blocks in the shape of graves at varying heights across a square of Berlin. Beneath the blocks is a Holocaust museum which has notes and information on the systematic murder of a wide array of people. It was sobering, but made me wonder why we're so focused on the Jews. There were a lot of other people who died. Also, there was a lot of other terrible things which happened in WWII to the Chinese, Filipino and other people in Asia. Why aren't they recognized. I think part of it is the power of the Jewish community in the US, which won... Another aspect is possibly the lack of power on the Chinese side to force the Japanese to recognize their mistakes. Also, the Japanese murders weren't systematic. They were barbaric, but they weren't systematic in the sense that they were calculating to eliminate an entire culture. They were just the "generic" rape, pillage, destroy. Not less disgusting, but I think far less disturbing.
We also got to see the Brandenburg gate, which was a originally a symbol of peace, later a symbol of separation of the wall. I knew very little about the division of Berlin and WWII, so this was really interesting to see.
From the gate, we went to see Reichstag, the Parliament building, which was beautiful and really cool, but had a 2 hour or something line, so I didn't want to go.
The Berliner Dom is quite an interesting building. Located behind (or in front of depending on your perspective) Lustgarten, it was built in 1451. In 1940, the Allies bombed it and a lot of the building became rubble. Then in 1944, a bomb of combustible liquids was placed inside of it and the fire couldn't be extinguished on the top part of the dome. The dome collapsed and they eventually built a temporary roof over it. There's a lot of controversy over whether to fully fix and restore the dome, removing the black charring. It's a testimony to the horrors committed during WWII and what people did to each other. Some felt fixing the dome was like covering up that part of history.
On our way back, we walked to Alexanderplatz to look for some food. When we got there, we saw something that looked like a circus from afar. it looked like it had tables outside, so we got closer to see what was inside and if we could have dinner there. Turns out, it was Berlin's first Oktoberfest. There was only one tent, the Hippodrom, which would then be taken down the next week and brought to Munich. This was the unintentional addition to the 3 beer weekends I was already going to in September.
That night, Fabian took us out again and we went to several more bars. No more flunkyball, but a lot of fun still. We went to a bar/club which had free chili as its food of choice. There was a projector which projected a horse on a wall and it was staring at you. Additionally, in another room, there was a DJ and a singer who was in a wolf man mask, a wife beater shirt, jogging shorts, elbow and knee pads. It was terribly strange, but hilarious.
I loved Berlin and would definitely go back again. It was awesome having Fabian there to show us around as well. I wish we could've said good bye to him formally on Sunday. He was awesome to take us around!!
August 29-30, Ally visits!
Ally visited this weekend and we went to Lago Maggiore. We just had a quick ride to Isola Bella and wandered around the town. I think the best part of going to the islands is the scenery. I hope Ally had a good time...
On Sunday, we just wandered around and relaxed. it was a nice chill day. We took a walk around Lago di Varese. This was one of the two relaxing weekends I've had. It was wonderful.
On Sunday, we just wandered around and relaxed. it was a nice chill day. We took a walk around Lago di Varese. This was one of the two relaxing weekends I've had. It was wonderful.
August holiday with Dan!! Cinque Terre
This was the last part of our trip and probably the least fun. I think it was partly to do with just going too many places, or the heat, or the sheer number of people. Regardless, it wasn't that enjoyable. First, we drove out from the agriturismo we stayed at and went on our way to Cinque Terre. It was pretty easy to get to and not a lot of traffic, but once we got to the mountains, we saw the issue. We were staying in the third town, Vernazza. This town supposedly had a big parking lot which people could park at easily and there was a bus which goes to the town. When we got to the town, which was tough as it was, the parking lot was full. We had to turn around and go back somewhere, but we didn't know where. We called the lady who owned the room we were renting and she said there was nowhere else, really, and we must go to Levanto. Levanto was at the north side of the villages and close to Vernazza. When arriving at Levanto, we tried to look for a place to park. There was no free parking anywhere and there was no over 24 hours parking. Why would this town not let you park for more than one day, especially at the train station? Wouldn't they want to earn the money on people who would park there and take the train to Cinque Terre? After spending an hour or so looking for parking in this small town, we found the best idea was to park the car at the train station, then come back to Levanto the next day to renew our parking. By then, I was so frustrated and tired, I couldn't wait to take a nap.
The place we stayed at, whose name I don't' care to remember, was... ok. The room was extremely small, but we had a patio area to ourselves. We had a great view of Vernazza from where we were at, but outside of that, it wasn't that great of a place.
To me, Cinque Terre was a bit too hot with too many people. I think going there during May or October would've been by far better. The landscape is beautiful and there's a lot to see, but with so many tourists and it being so hot, it was difficult to enjoy the hiking and walking around the small towns. Perhaps another visit will do it better justice.
The place we stayed at, whose name I don't' care to remember, was... ok. The room was extremely small, but we had a patio area to ourselves. We had a great view of Vernazza from where we were at, but outside of that, it wasn't that great of a place.
To me, Cinque Terre was a bit too hot with too many people. I think going there during May or October would've been by far better. The landscape is beautiful and there's a lot to see, but with so many tourists and it being so hot, it was difficult to enjoy the hiking and walking around the small towns. Perhaps another visit will do it better justice.
August holiday with Dan!! Siena/Tuscany
The next leg of our trip was going to Siena. From Santorini, we went to Athens and flew back to Milan. The flight was uneventful outside of it being extremely early. I'm wondering if it's either just the Italian way, or Southern European, but they seem to love clusterfucks at the airport (or anywhere in general). I'm not sure, but there must be a more effective way of doing things.
We got into Malpensa at 8AM. From there, I drove for 4 hours to Siena. On the way, we intended to stop for an hour to teach Dan how to drive a stick shift car, but in the end, we only stopped for 30 minutes and then he never got to practice very much. I ended up driving the entire stretch in Italy, which wasn't too fun, but couldn't be helped.
We arrived to Siena without any major problems. The drive was relatively smooth and didn't' have a great view, by any means. When we arrived in Siena, we got to the Best Western we were staying at for the first night. Since it was the night of the Palio, the Best Western was the only hotel we could find. I was exhausted, but insisted on going out. Dan eventually convinced me to take a nap and we stayed in the hotel room until 5PM.
It's said that Siena and Florence were the two heavyweights in Tuscany during the medieval times. They battled each other on who has the greatest church, the greatest town hall, the greatest people, etc. Siena was much more of a republic than Florence was. In the end, Siena lost the popularity contest and now Florence is the more well known city. Although I liked Florence, I really do love Siena as well and would recommend anyone to visit it.
After a nap and some difficulty driving into Siena and back out again, we were at the Palio. We followed the crowds of people into the central square of the town, Il Campo. Again, what is up with Italians and clusterfucks? It was nuts trying to get in. People were pushing left and right. I lost Dan for a moment and was a bit worried. He didn't have a cell phone, so there was no real way to get in touch with him if I really did lose him. Eventually we found each other, but it was a bit of a mess.
Palio is a famous horse race in Siena. Each quarter of the town, called contrada, has a symbol and a horse and rider. There's a lot of fanfare with the Palio, which happens twice a year. Whoever wins the Palio gets bragging rights for the year that their contrada is the best. The race is held in Il Campo, the city square. It's a clam shell shaped city square which they fill a track in with packed down dirt. The buildings surrounding Il Campo are filled with people during the race. There are parades and then finally the race itself. All the while, tourists and locals may have the chance to sit in the middle of the track (for free) and watch the race. Since there's no way to get out from Il Campo once you're in for the race, it's ideal to go to the bathroom before, not bring in a ton of water and bring some snacks.
Palio is also particular with the way the horses line up. There is an order to the horses lining up and the riders go around making deals with each other while trying to line up. There's a lot of false starts and horses who just don't want to line up. We waited for 2.5 hours this year. There have bee Palios which have had to pause and re-start the next morning due to lack of light. We were close to that point. The race itself was an exciting 3 minutes or so long. Not worth the wait again, but it was fun to see it once. Immediately after the race, people are pushing and shoving to get out. The restaurants nearby fill up completely and everyone enjoys a dinner. We had a wonderful meal at a small restaurant in a nearby restaurant.
The next day, I woke up really late and we went to Siena again to actually see the town. From the day before to that day, it was like night and day. The town was still full of fanfare and marching. The contrada with the owl won. The Doumo has really beautiful marble work on the inside, but nothing much else. In Italy, they are very hardcore Roman Catholic. If you want to go into a church, you typically must have your shoulders covered and knees not exposed. At the Duomo in Siena, they had thin mesh pieces of fabric passed out to everyone who went in, so if you have anything exposed, you can cover it up and still enjoy the Duomo. Where do they get the money for this kind of stuff?
One other interesting tidbit of Siena is the Fountain of Joy. The original fountain is well preserved in a museum, but the copy is in Il Campo for all of us to enjoy. From the fountain, there are depictions of God and people who are punished for doing not so great things. The strangest are the statues of wolves, which is where the water comes from. The she-wolf and Romulus and Remus are the symbol of Siena. Pigeons line up perched on these wolf sculptures, dip their heads down and take a drink of fresh water from the wolf's mouth. If a real wolf was sneaky, he could pretend to be a statue and get a free snack....
Earlier that day, we made our way to Agriturismo Marciano. This cute little farm house was purchased by its owners in 2000 and restored to its original glory. The owner told us it was originally a worker's home who used to work on the owner's farm. They later abandoned the home and the grape fines were left to themselves. The person who owns the farm now re-organized all the grapes and found a lot of indigenous grapes to the region. He started to produce his own wine and enjoys keeping the farm. He said he also produces olive oil, but last year was a bad year and the olives were not very good, only producing enough oil for his small farm. It's incredible how people will quit their day jobs to work on vineyard with such passion.
That night, we had the opportunity to eat dinner at the agriturismo. If there is ever the chance to do this again, I'd take it in a heartbeat. The food was so delicious! Christian and Nadia were wonderful hosts. They took us into their family kitchen and sat us down at the tables in the middle of the kitchen. They gave us the chance to cooked traditional Tuscan fare. Most of their ingredients came from their garden and farmland. Christian opened 4 bottles of wine per table (there were two small ones). All the food was delicious and very fresh. Staying at the agriturisumo gave us an opportunity to really get to know the owners and feel like we were part of the family. The whole atmosphere had a homey feeling. In the other agriturismi i've been to, it was much more industrial.
The next day, Dan and I went to Montalcino, Pienza and Monteplucino. These three towns were in a small row and although they were within 20 minutes of each other, each had their claim to fame. The town Montalcino itself is really nothing much to look at. The surrounding area is famous for its Brunello wine. There were over 200 wineries in the area. Since it was just the Palio, many of the wineries were closed and we were only able to visit one for a tasting. Although I liked the Brunello, most went for 50 euros and up, so I stuck with the Rosso di Montalcino, another good wine which goes for 5-10 euros.
In Pienza, they were famous for their cheese, pecorino. They had fresh pecorino, aged pecorino, and everything in between. These cheeses went amazingly with honey. The town itself was relatively small and didn't have much to do, but it was worth walking around and taking a look at. The cheese is definitely delicious, but there was no chance to taste the cheeses and buy which ones we liked. We just bought a block of both the young and middle-aged cheese.
Monteplucino was a small town with a lot of character. Monteplucino is known for its Nobile di Monteplucino. They're really wonderful, medium bodied wines. At least I think they're medium bodied. I have no idea what they're actually. We went to a cantina where we met Aldo, an old Italian man who was the master winemaker of their winery. He would hobble around and greet people with warm smiles and strong handshakes. When meeting him, he asked for my name then declared "Georgina, an Italian name" while giving me a kiss on the cheek. Hilarious. We tasted all the wines they had and purchased 6 bottles in total. We weren't the only ones to purchase wine in such mass quantities. There were several groups who were in and out around us who also were doing the same thing. Since we bought so much, or perhaps he just liked my name, we got a free corkscrew. I don't actually own my own corkscrew, so that was awesome.
The last day in Tuscany, we went to Monteriggioni, which wasn't that interesting, then Volterra and San Gimignano. Monteriggioni was a old castle/fortress in the middle of fields, and not much more. We then went to Volterra, which is a small town rich in history. It also happens to be the town which Twilight features as the home of the Volturi. The town itself didn't seem to have a lot of mystical vampire-esque feelings, but that's just me. They had Twilight tours to show the famous parts which were also in the book. I liked the town, but I don't understand why Stephanie Meyer chose it. It seemed like any other Italian small town to me. Perhaps it's just because I have lived here and seen a lot. Maybe it's rich in history. Regardless, it was a bit funny to see tons of Twilight paraphernalia. After Volterra, we went to San Gimigano, a famous town for its tall towers. The towers made it look a bit like a medieval Chicago or something. Other than the towers and the good views, the town had a lot of history, but I think it was too hyped up and full of tourists. I would've been just as happy spending more time in Monteplucino or around Montalcino (not the town itself).
I loved Tuscany and would go back again any day. You need to have a car to go to Tuscany, though. Driving around the small towns is half the fun!
We got into Malpensa at 8AM. From there, I drove for 4 hours to Siena. On the way, we intended to stop for an hour to teach Dan how to drive a stick shift car, but in the end, we only stopped for 30 minutes and then he never got to practice very much. I ended up driving the entire stretch in Italy, which wasn't too fun, but couldn't be helped.
We arrived to Siena without any major problems. The drive was relatively smooth and didn't' have a great view, by any means. When we arrived in Siena, we got to the Best Western we were staying at for the first night. Since it was the night of the Palio, the Best Western was the only hotel we could find. I was exhausted, but insisted on going out. Dan eventually convinced me to take a nap and we stayed in the hotel room until 5PM.
It's said that Siena and Florence were the two heavyweights in Tuscany during the medieval times. They battled each other on who has the greatest church, the greatest town hall, the greatest people, etc. Siena was much more of a republic than Florence was. In the end, Siena lost the popularity contest and now Florence is the more well known city. Although I liked Florence, I really do love Siena as well and would recommend anyone to visit it.
After a nap and some difficulty driving into Siena and back out again, we were at the Palio. We followed the crowds of people into the central square of the town, Il Campo. Again, what is up with Italians and clusterfucks? It was nuts trying to get in. People were pushing left and right. I lost Dan for a moment and was a bit worried. He didn't have a cell phone, so there was no real way to get in touch with him if I really did lose him. Eventually we found each other, but it was a bit of a mess.
Palio is a famous horse race in Siena. Each quarter of the town, called contrada, has a symbol and a horse and rider. There's a lot of fanfare with the Palio, which happens twice a year. Whoever wins the Palio gets bragging rights for the year that their contrada is the best. The race is held in Il Campo, the city square. It's a clam shell shaped city square which they fill a track in with packed down dirt. The buildings surrounding Il Campo are filled with people during the race. There are parades and then finally the race itself. All the while, tourists and locals may have the chance to sit in the middle of the track (for free) and watch the race. Since there's no way to get out from Il Campo once you're in for the race, it's ideal to go to the bathroom before, not bring in a ton of water and bring some snacks.
Palio is also particular with the way the horses line up. There is an order to the horses lining up and the riders go around making deals with each other while trying to line up. There's a lot of false starts and horses who just don't want to line up. We waited for 2.5 hours this year. There have bee Palios which have had to pause and re-start the next morning due to lack of light. We were close to that point. The race itself was an exciting 3 minutes or so long. Not worth the wait again, but it was fun to see it once. Immediately after the race, people are pushing and shoving to get out. The restaurants nearby fill up completely and everyone enjoys a dinner. We had a wonderful meal at a small restaurant in a nearby restaurant.
The next day, I woke up really late and we went to Siena again to actually see the town. From the day before to that day, it was like night and day. The town was still full of fanfare and marching. The contrada with the owl won. The Doumo has really beautiful marble work on the inside, but nothing much else. In Italy, they are very hardcore Roman Catholic. If you want to go into a church, you typically must have your shoulders covered and knees not exposed. At the Duomo in Siena, they had thin mesh pieces of fabric passed out to everyone who went in, so if you have anything exposed, you can cover it up and still enjoy the Duomo. Where do they get the money for this kind of stuff?
One other interesting tidbit of Siena is the Fountain of Joy. The original fountain is well preserved in a museum, but the copy is in Il Campo for all of us to enjoy. From the fountain, there are depictions of God and people who are punished for doing not so great things. The strangest are the statues of wolves, which is where the water comes from. The she-wolf and Romulus and Remus are the symbol of Siena. Pigeons line up perched on these wolf sculptures, dip their heads down and take a drink of fresh water from the wolf's mouth. If a real wolf was sneaky, he could pretend to be a statue and get a free snack....
Earlier that day, we made our way to Agriturismo Marciano. This cute little farm house was purchased by its owners in 2000 and restored to its original glory. The owner told us it was originally a worker's home who used to work on the owner's farm. They later abandoned the home and the grape fines were left to themselves. The person who owns the farm now re-organized all the grapes and found a lot of indigenous grapes to the region. He started to produce his own wine and enjoys keeping the farm. He said he also produces olive oil, but last year was a bad year and the olives were not very good, only producing enough oil for his small farm. It's incredible how people will quit their day jobs to work on vineyard with such passion.
That night, we had the opportunity to eat dinner at the agriturismo. If there is ever the chance to do this again, I'd take it in a heartbeat. The food was so delicious! Christian and Nadia were wonderful hosts. They took us into their family kitchen and sat us down at the tables in the middle of the kitchen. They gave us the chance to cooked traditional Tuscan fare. Most of their ingredients came from their garden and farmland. Christian opened 4 bottles of wine per table (there were two small ones). All the food was delicious and very fresh. Staying at the agriturisumo gave us an opportunity to really get to know the owners and feel like we were part of the family. The whole atmosphere had a homey feeling. In the other agriturismi i've been to, it was much more industrial.
The next day, Dan and I went to Montalcino, Pienza and Monteplucino. These three towns were in a small row and although they were within 20 minutes of each other, each had their claim to fame. The town Montalcino itself is really nothing much to look at. The surrounding area is famous for its Brunello wine. There were over 200 wineries in the area. Since it was just the Palio, many of the wineries were closed and we were only able to visit one for a tasting. Although I liked the Brunello, most went for 50 euros and up, so I stuck with the Rosso di Montalcino, another good wine which goes for 5-10 euros.
In Pienza, they were famous for their cheese, pecorino. They had fresh pecorino, aged pecorino, and everything in between. These cheeses went amazingly with honey. The town itself was relatively small and didn't have much to do, but it was worth walking around and taking a look at. The cheese is definitely delicious, but there was no chance to taste the cheeses and buy which ones we liked. We just bought a block of both the young and middle-aged cheese.
Monteplucino was a small town with a lot of character. Monteplucino is known for its Nobile di Monteplucino. They're really wonderful, medium bodied wines. At least I think they're medium bodied. I have no idea what they're actually. We went to a cantina where we met Aldo, an old Italian man who was the master winemaker of their winery. He would hobble around and greet people with warm smiles and strong handshakes. When meeting him, he asked for my name then declared "Georgina, an Italian name" while giving me a kiss on the cheek. Hilarious. We tasted all the wines they had and purchased 6 bottles in total. We weren't the only ones to purchase wine in such mass quantities. There were several groups who were in and out around us who also were doing the same thing. Since we bought so much, or perhaps he just liked my name, we got a free corkscrew. I don't actually own my own corkscrew, so that was awesome.
The last day in Tuscany, we went to Monteriggioni, which wasn't that interesting, then Volterra and San Gimignano. Monteriggioni was a old castle/fortress in the middle of fields, and not much more. We then went to Volterra, which is a small town rich in history. It also happens to be the town which Twilight features as the home of the Volturi. The town itself didn't seem to have a lot of mystical vampire-esque feelings, but that's just me. They had Twilight tours to show the famous parts which were also in the book. I liked the town, but I don't understand why Stephanie Meyer chose it. It seemed like any other Italian small town to me. Perhaps it's just because I have lived here and seen a lot. Maybe it's rich in history. Regardless, it was a bit funny to see tons of Twilight paraphernalia. After Volterra, we went to San Gimigano, a famous town for its tall towers. The towers made it look a bit like a medieval Chicago or something. Other than the towers and the good views, the town had a lot of history, but I think it was too hyped up and full of tourists. I would've been just as happy spending more time in Monteplucino or around Montalcino (not the town itself).
I loved Tuscany and would go back again any day. You need to have a car to go to Tuscany, though. Driving around the small towns is half the fun!
Friday, October 16, 2009
August Holiday with Dan! Santorini
Santorini was... a lot different than I expected. Arriving on ferry (it took approx 4 hours), it seemed really desolate. The bus ride from the ferry to the main city made me feel like I was in a rural area. The land was dry with very few trees. There were many homes which were only half constructed, as if the ran out of money or lost faith in what they were meant to be. There weren't really any people around this part of the island. It felt a bit like it was deserted, and for good reason. It wasn't the lush paradise I was imagining.
In truth, Santorini had very little greenery. There were a few bushes and trees here and there, but no grass. It was just dry, brown dirt. Fira, the main city, is a hub of tourists. Santorini is truly a tourist's city. You couldn't go three meters without seeing someone with a ATV or scooter and a funny helmet, zipping around. There was English on all the signs. After getting on the bus at Fira, we headed off to Oia (pronounced Ee-ah). Oia is on the very tip of the island. Santorini looks a little like a funny eggplant wich someone took a big bite out of. Who knows why anyone would want to take a big bite out of a raw eggplant. Oia is on the very top and supposedly the most beautiful to see the sunsets from. More on Oia sunsets later.
Once arriving at Oia, I started to see more of the Greece I imagined. Whitewashed houses with beautiful blue windows and accents . The caldera was absolutely gorgeous. Dan and I rented out a studio apartment on the caldera from a management company called Delphini. I highly recommend Delphini. Rena, the landlady, is a total sweetheart. It had a view of both the caldera and the volcano and ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. This was definitely what people come for when they come to Greece. Dan and I had a relaxing lunch at a restaurant in Oia and spent the rest of our day wandering around the town. Oia's a very small town, you can walk the span of it within 20 minutes. it's very skinny, but very long.
The next day, we decided to rent an ATV and go to the Red Beach. The ATV we rented was probably the worst on the island. It was an automatic, but just didn't want to go into the second gear. The entire time, we were slowly chugging along and everyone was zipping past us. As a result, we did get to see a lot of the beautiful landscaping of Santorini.
The Red Beach is red because of the volcanic rock which is on the cliff face and the beach itself. It's more of a rocky/pebbly beach than a sandy one. Essentially all we did was lay there and read. It was a wonderful feeling, to just relax, snack on some chips and hang out at the beach. I miss that a lot....
The last full day we were there, Dan and I went to a volcano tour. The volcano tour was way over-sold. There were a lot of suckers, though, so we didn't feel as bad. We went onto the volcano... which was a bit blah, then went to a hot springs near the volcano. The hot springs was an area which was warmer than the rest of the water and a light green/yellow color. It had a lot of sulfur in the water. Tour boats took turns dropping off tourists there. Really, it was uneventful and not that interesting. The last segment of our tour was to an island which was rather small and didn't have a lot of things to do. We had lunch at a specified area (probably the only source of money for that restaurant) and wandered around a little. The overall trip wasn't expensive, but it was rather dull and not worth the money.
When getting back from the island, we rode some donkeys up the mountain. I really wanted to ride them because I saw it in "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". Not a good idea. Not only is the guy too gruff and the donkeys going everywhere, you still need to hike up a section. Dan scraped up his right foot really badly and the guy was completely unapologetic. Never ride donkeys in Santorini. They seemed less than caring about the actual fun experience.
After our donkey fiasco, we went back home and relaxed. That evening, since it was our last night in Santorini, we went to see the famous Oia sunset. The sunset was beautiful, but the place was way too crowded with people! I couldn't see a thing. Luckily for Dan and I, we had a bite to eat at home, because it was a huge rush to get in and out of the area to watch the sunset. The sunset was beautiful, regardless.
This segment of the trip was extremely relaxing. We didn't have a set number of things to see, so just wandered around. The food in Greece was quite interesting as well. For where we were, you had to pay for almost everything. I think it was a factor of the place we stayed. Although Greece had a lot of seafood, we ended up eating a lot of meat. They have shish kebabs of pork which were really popular. And there were fries with everything. That was a bit strange. I guess we didn't' have true Greek food, perhaps. We did eat Greek salad almost every day. It was delicious. Those cherry tomatoes from Santorini were great. They also supposedly had a very good chocolate souffle thing, but when we tried it, it was cold and pre-made. The next time we tried to order it, all they had was a soft brownie. I guess I'll have to keep on trying to make a molten chocolate cake.... Oh well.
I liked Santorini, but I think I'd much rather go to another, less touristy island sometime. This island was a good primer, but I'd love to go elsewhere to see what there is to see.
In truth, Santorini had very little greenery. There were a few bushes and trees here and there, but no grass. It was just dry, brown dirt. Fira, the main city, is a hub of tourists. Santorini is truly a tourist's city. You couldn't go three meters without seeing someone with a ATV or scooter and a funny helmet, zipping around. There was English on all the signs. After getting on the bus at Fira, we headed off to Oia (pronounced Ee-ah). Oia is on the very tip of the island. Santorini looks a little like a funny eggplant wich someone took a big bite out of. Who knows why anyone would want to take a big bite out of a raw eggplant. Oia is on the very top and supposedly the most beautiful to see the sunsets from. More on Oia sunsets later.
Once arriving at Oia, I started to see more of the Greece I imagined. Whitewashed houses with beautiful blue windows and accents . The caldera was absolutely gorgeous. Dan and I rented out a studio apartment on the caldera from a management company called Delphini. I highly recommend Delphini. Rena, the landlady, is a total sweetheart. It had a view of both the caldera and the volcano and ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. This was definitely what people come for when they come to Greece. Dan and I had a relaxing lunch at a restaurant in Oia and spent the rest of our day wandering around the town. Oia's a very small town, you can walk the span of it within 20 minutes. it's very skinny, but very long.
The next day, we decided to rent an ATV and go to the Red Beach. The ATV we rented was probably the worst on the island. It was an automatic, but just didn't want to go into the second gear. The entire time, we were slowly chugging along and everyone was zipping past us. As a result, we did get to see a lot of the beautiful landscaping of Santorini.
The Red Beach is red because of the volcanic rock which is on the cliff face and the beach itself. It's more of a rocky/pebbly beach than a sandy one. Essentially all we did was lay there and read. It was a wonderful feeling, to just relax, snack on some chips and hang out at the beach. I miss that a lot....
The last full day we were there, Dan and I went to a volcano tour. The volcano tour was way over-sold. There were a lot of suckers, though, so we didn't feel as bad. We went onto the volcano... which was a bit blah, then went to a hot springs near the volcano. The hot springs was an area which was warmer than the rest of the water and a light green/yellow color. It had a lot of sulfur in the water. Tour boats took turns dropping off tourists there. Really, it was uneventful and not that interesting. The last segment of our tour was to an island which was rather small and didn't have a lot of things to do. We had lunch at a specified area (probably the only source of money for that restaurant) and wandered around a little. The overall trip wasn't expensive, but it was rather dull and not worth the money.
When getting back from the island, we rode some donkeys up the mountain. I really wanted to ride them because I saw it in "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". Not a good idea. Not only is the guy too gruff and the donkeys going everywhere, you still need to hike up a section. Dan scraped up his right foot really badly and the guy was completely unapologetic. Never ride donkeys in Santorini. They seemed less than caring about the actual fun experience.
After our donkey fiasco, we went back home and relaxed. That evening, since it was our last night in Santorini, we went to see the famous Oia sunset. The sunset was beautiful, but the place was way too crowded with people! I couldn't see a thing. Luckily for Dan and I, we had a bite to eat at home, because it was a huge rush to get in and out of the area to watch the sunset. The sunset was beautiful, regardless.
This segment of the trip was extremely relaxing. We didn't have a set number of things to see, so just wandered around. The food in Greece was quite interesting as well. For where we were, you had to pay for almost everything. I think it was a factor of the place we stayed. Although Greece had a lot of seafood, we ended up eating a lot of meat. They have shish kebabs of pork which were really popular. And there were fries with everything. That was a bit strange. I guess we didn't' have true Greek food, perhaps. We did eat Greek salad almost every day. It was delicious. Those cherry tomatoes from Santorini were great. They also supposedly had a very good chocolate souffle thing, but when we tried it, it was cold and pre-made. The next time we tried to order it, all they had was a soft brownie. I guess I'll have to keep on trying to make a molten chocolate cake.... Oh well.
I liked Santorini, but I think I'd much rather go to another, less touristy island sometime. This island was a good primer, but I'd love to go elsewhere to see what there is to see.
August Holidays with Dan - Off to Athens
The flight to Athens was less than exciting. The plane was delayed for a mysterious reason, which caused us to have to sprint through Rome's terminal to catch our next flight. We had an hour to spare if the flight wasn't delayed. I suppose the plane was operating on Italian time. We arrived in Athens at around midnight to find our luggage wasn't there.
It's a terrible feeling, when my luggage doesn't arrive. I put in all this effort to make the plane and wait anxiously as the luggage carousal turns around, waiting for the man behind that mysterious doggie door to put the luggage onto the conveyor belt which reminds me of a centipede. I have a little hope and cross my fingers that it made it ok. Then suddenly I saw the sign that says the man has loaded every last piece of luggage on to the strange segmented conveyor belt and know it's too late. The airline's lost my luggage.
I stormed (or if you're a normal person, probably trudge) to the lost luggage counter to find a man who has no idea how to speak any language the attendant can speak trying to tell her what his hometown is (I can only assume). Finally, it's my turn to speak with the attendant, in hopes she can do something so I can at least take a shower after that little 200 yard dash through the airport in Rome. She was kindly informs me there's nothing they can do and it happens all the time.
All the time? I can't help but think, if this happens all the time, why do they still sell so many plane tickets? How is the company still in business? How jacked up are the prices to compensate for the lost business? It's strange to think that now, the norm is to expect to have your luggage lost when you fly. It's like expecting restaurants to spit in your food. I suppose I should start expecting that one as well, but I like to think I'm pretty nice to waitresses. I feel like I could punch her and that may make me feel better. Why should I have to accept such poor quality standards? I wouldn't accept a bank which lost my money, or a car with only three of its wheels. Regardless, I took the little slip she gave me with a phone number to call in case I didn't get my luggage the next day. Dan calmed me down and we got into a cab to go to the hotel.
Taxi drivers are often shady characters, but I guess the ones in Athens just top the lists. I've had taxi drivers try to take me through an extra loop or something here and there, but I haven't really had taxi drivers try and add strange fees on top of their fares. Often, they'll communicate the fees to me. Then again, the only other taxis I take are in Asian countries which I understand the language and know the area. I suppose that helps. Because I didn't trust him, I took out my GPS and he followed the "shortest route" described. That was all well and good, but when we got to the hotel, he added an extra 10 euro on for himself to the fare on the meter. The meter already was double the price because it was at night, so he couldn't use that excuse. Ok, from the airport, there was an extra 2 euros, there was another extra 2 euros for the toll. So an extra 6 euros of gravy for him. It must be a good life, being a taxi driver for tourists. You can cheat people out of their money so easily . In the end, I paid 39 euros for the taxi fare, probably still far more than I should've. He even had the audacity to yell at me for not giving him a tip. Didn't you already just give yourself a tip? And he thought I was Japanese. I suppose most Europeans look alike to me, so if all Asians look alike, I'm guilty for the same thing. Then again, China is the size of Europe, so if I'm a little guilty of thinking a lot of people look the same, it's like saying people from HK and people from Beijing look the same. They're all Chinese and you're allowed to categorize them as such, but really it's two completely different regions.
Our hotel was also a little on the sparse side. We chose it for economy, but we probably should've thought about that a little bit. They didn't even have toothbrushes to use. Also, there were no supermarkets nearby where we could pick up some of these basic things. I think I had the biggest tantrum I've had in a while that night. I just wanted this entire vacation to start out so smoothly and it all went so very wrong. Luckily for me, Dan's infinitely patient and sat through it all. Since we had nothing to do, for some reason, I thought it was a good idea to read the bible in German. If you've ever heard me read anything in German, it's pretty hilarious. I would not do well to learn German. It's a tough language to read!
The day in Athens was OK. We ended up wearing the same clothes we had a the dash through Rome in and walked around Athens. Athens, in general, is a regular people's city. There's the Acropolis, but really that's about all the tourist attractions. It's just your generic, average big city. It was like a slightly dirtier Milan... or a slightly cleaner and shorter Shanghai.
In the end, I thought Athens was good to visit, but I wouldn't want to stay there for more than a day. Definitely the islands are the best part of Greece.
It's a terrible feeling, when my luggage doesn't arrive. I put in all this effort to make the plane and wait anxiously as the luggage carousal turns around, waiting for the man behind that mysterious doggie door to put the luggage onto the conveyor belt which reminds me of a centipede. I have a little hope and cross my fingers that it made it ok. Then suddenly I saw the sign that says the man has loaded every last piece of luggage on to the strange segmented conveyor belt and know it's too late. The airline's lost my luggage.
I stormed (or if you're a normal person, probably trudge) to the lost luggage counter to find a man who has no idea how to speak any language the attendant can speak trying to tell her what his hometown is (I can only assume). Finally, it's my turn to speak with the attendant, in hopes she can do something so I can at least take a shower after that little 200 yard dash through the airport in Rome. She was kindly informs me there's nothing they can do and it happens all the time.
All the time? I can't help but think, if this happens all the time, why do they still sell so many plane tickets? How is the company still in business? How jacked up are the prices to compensate for the lost business? It's strange to think that now, the norm is to expect to have your luggage lost when you fly. It's like expecting restaurants to spit in your food. I suppose I should start expecting that one as well, but I like to think I'm pretty nice to waitresses. I feel like I could punch her and that may make me feel better. Why should I have to accept such poor quality standards? I wouldn't accept a bank which lost my money, or a car with only three of its wheels. Regardless, I took the little slip she gave me with a phone number to call in case I didn't get my luggage the next day. Dan calmed me down and we got into a cab to go to the hotel.
Taxi drivers are often shady characters, but I guess the ones in Athens just top the lists. I've had taxi drivers try to take me through an extra loop or something here and there, but I haven't really had taxi drivers try and add strange fees on top of their fares. Often, they'll communicate the fees to me. Then again, the only other taxis I take are in Asian countries which I understand the language and know the area. I suppose that helps. Because I didn't trust him, I took out my GPS and he followed the "shortest route" described. That was all well and good, but when we got to the hotel, he added an extra 10 euro on for himself to the fare on the meter. The meter already was double the price because it was at night, so he couldn't use that excuse. Ok, from the airport, there was an extra 2 euros, there was another extra 2 euros for the toll. So an extra 6 euros of gravy for him. It must be a good life, being a taxi driver for tourists. You can cheat people out of their money so easily . In the end, I paid 39 euros for the taxi fare, probably still far more than I should've. He even had the audacity to yell at me for not giving him a tip. Didn't you already just give yourself a tip? And he thought I was Japanese. I suppose most Europeans look alike to me, so if all Asians look alike, I'm guilty for the same thing. Then again, China is the size of Europe, so if I'm a little guilty of thinking a lot of people look the same, it's like saying people from HK and people from Beijing look the same. They're all Chinese and you're allowed to categorize them as such, but really it's two completely different regions.
Our hotel was also a little on the sparse side. We chose it for economy, but we probably should've thought about that a little bit. They didn't even have toothbrushes to use. Also, there were no supermarkets nearby where we could pick up some of these basic things. I think I had the biggest tantrum I've had in a while that night. I just wanted this entire vacation to start out so smoothly and it all went so very wrong. Luckily for me, Dan's infinitely patient and sat through it all. Since we had nothing to do, for some reason, I thought it was a good idea to read the bible in German. If you've ever heard me read anything in German, it's pretty hilarious. I would not do well to learn German. It's a tough language to read!
The day in Athens was OK. We ended up wearing the same clothes we had a the dash through Rome in and walked around Athens. Athens, in general, is a regular people's city. There's the Acropolis, but really that's about all the tourist attractions. It's just your generic, average big city. It was like a slightly dirtier Milan... or a slightly cleaner and shorter Shanghai.
In the end, I thought Athens was good to visit, but I wouldn't want to stay there for more than a day. Definitely the islands are the best part of Greece.
Pre-August Holidays Milan Trip : Aug 7th
I went to Milan to get a haircut. One thing you'll learn is that it's worth driving an hour to get a haircut from a hairstylist you can trust. I hadn't met this person, but knowing they were from China made me trust them more. Maybe it's a communication thing. Maybe it's a same hair type thing. Or maybe it's a combination of that plus the fact that they weren't trying to make me look "stylish" in the Milan fashion world. Regardless of which, I drove an hour each way for the purpose of getting my hair cut.
It wasn't one of my best ideas. I had the name of the hair salon and approximate directions from a train station. I didn't really know the are well nor did I know anyone who did. I was just really wandering around Milan's Chinatown looking for this place. After 40 minutes of wandering, I caved and asked someone. Turns out, it was a straight shot, 10 minute walk from my car. Damn it.
The hair salon was small, nothing at all like the one I go to in Shanghai. The guy in there was good, though, and he actually listened to what I wanted. A huge pet peeve of mine is when a hair dresser doesn't listen to what you want. An hour later, I was out with a fabulous new haircut.
To make me feel a little less vain, I also went to the Chinese grocery store in Milan to pick up a few things. Upon returning to my car, I found that someone hit my bumper above the left front wheel! There was a dent about the size of two fingers on my poor Cinque Cento (the car's name is 500, but I find the Italian word more fun, and it rhymes as "Go, Go Cinque Cento"). I guess I need to preface this with the fact that I didn't do the best parking job in the world. There's just too many cars in the area, even though it was the start of the August holidays. Since the Cinque Cento is a relatively small car (think Mini Cooper crossed with a VW Bug) i figured if I was slanted just a little in the spot, it wasn't a huge deal and I could leave it in a spot that was slightly too small for it. That was the wrong assumption, I realized. I just hope the car rental company doesn't notice it....
It wasn't one of my best ideas. I had the name of the hair salon and approximate directions from a train station. I didn't really know the are well nor did I know anyone who did. I was just really wandering around Milan's Chinatown looking for this place. After 40 minutes of wandering, I caved and asked someone. Turns out, it was a straight shot, 10 minute walk from my car. Damn it.
The hair salon was small, nothing at all like the one I go to in Shanghai. The guy in there was good, though, and he actually listened to what I wanted. A huge pet peeve of mine is when a hair dresser doesn't listen to what you want. An hour later, I was out with a fabulous new haircut.
To make me feel a little less vain, I also went to the Chinese grocery store in Milan to pick up a few things. Upon returning to my car, I found that someone hit my bumper above the left front wheel! There was a dent about the size of two fingers on my poor Cinque Cento (the car's name is 500, but I find the Italian word more fun, and it rhymes as "Go, Go Cinque Cento"). I guess I need to preface this with the fact that I didn't do the best parking job in the world. There's just too many cars in the area, even though it was the start of the August holidays. Since the Cinque Cento is a relatively small car (think Mini Cooper crossed with a VW Bug) i figured if I was slanted just a little in the spot, it wasn't a huge deal and I could leave it in a spot that was slightly too small for it. That was the wrong assumption, I realized. I just hope the car rental company doesn't notice it....
Dolomighty Mountains Aug. 1-2
Yes, I made that corny joke. I couldn't help myself. I was dreading this trip a little. I'm not a great hiker and not in the best shape. Luckily for me, Tom tom was with me on this one instead of Brian and he's more patient of a person. It was actually really fun.
At the Dolomites, there's these things called the Earth Pyramids. They reminded me a bit of the Sagrada Familia's peaks. It was the strangest thing. They were all naturally made too. Goodness knows why. It took us an hour to find these things, though. I guess they weren't as apparent as we thought they'd be.
The heart of the Dolomites, Alpine di Suisse, is really underwhelming. It's essentially a giant meadow in the middle of mountains. Not much going on there. We walked around it, then it started to rain. Definitely not dressed properly. We looked like we were out for a jog while everyone else has their Nordic walking sticks.
The next day, though, we went to see another section of the Dolomites and these were far more impressive. The sheer cliff faces and beautiful mountains in the background, this is absolutely what I wanted to see when I made the effort to go hiking. Not some meadows. We were a quarter of the way on our hike when thunder started to roll in. Not a good sign. We were intending to go all the way to the end of the hike and take a bus back, but about half way it started to hail. We ran into a shelter and hid out for a bit. The weather went from sunny with blue skies to dark and rainy. Watching those dark, ominous clouds roll over the mountains was a little terrifying. The clouds seemed to chase you.
Overall, hiking experience number 3 was a good one. I seriously need to find people who are willing to hike at my pace and are just as out of shape as me. Then maybe we can enjoy the beautiful scenery for once while hiking.
At the Dolomites, there's these things called the Earth Pyramids. They reminded me a bit of the Sagrada Familia's peaks. It was the strangest thing. They were all naturally made too. Goodness knows why. It took us an hour to find these things, though. I guess they weren't as apparent as we thought they'd be.
The heart of the Dolomites, Alpine di Suisse, is really underwhelming. It's essentially a giant meadow in the middle of mountains. Not much going on there. We walked around it, then it started to rain. Definitely not dressed properly. We looked like we were out for a jog while everyone else has their Nordic walking sticks.
The next day, though, we went to see another section of the Dolomites and these were far more impressive. The sheer cliff faces and beautiful mountains in the background, this is absolutely what I wanted to see when I made the effort to go hiking. Not some meadows. We were a quarter of the way on our hike when thunder started to roll in. Not a good sign. We were intending to go all the way to the end of the hike and take a bus back, but about half way it started to hail. We ran into a shelter and hid out for a bit. The weather went from sunny with blue skies to dark and rainy. Watching those dark, ominous clouds roll over the mountains was a little terrifying. The clouds seemed to chase you.
Overall, hiking experience number 3 was a good one. I seriously need to find people who are willing to hike at my pace and are just as out of shape as me. Then maybe we can enjoy the beautiful scenery for once while hiking.
Wroclaw for work - July 25
For work, I finally got to go on a business trip to Wroclaw! I actually like Poland a lot. Despite the rain, Wroclaw had good food at reasonable prices and really friendly people. They also had these little bronze statues of gnomes everywhere. Who knows why... Some sort of city symbol. It's a bit like Ann Arbor's fairy doors.
During this trip, though, I started to wonder what Italians do between work and dinner. My team would get home at around 7:30PM or so (which is a little late for Italians), and hang out for an hour and a half before going out to dinner at 8:30PM. Usually by then, I was STARVING. I guess my stomach's just not on Italian time. What does one do with an hour in a hotel where your Internet doesn't work? Do you go to the gym? Go for a short swim? Go take a nap? half hour naps are never enough for me. I have no idea. We'd always get back at around 10:30PM from dinner and by then, I was too tired to do anything. Long days... I asked a co-worker of mine and they just said "sit around and unwind". I suppose I'm not much of a sit around and unwind type. I still find it strange... and I guess I need to bring more snacks when I travel with these guys.
At the beginning of this trip, our flight was over 4 hours delayed. At first, it was due to an engine issue from the plane. Then it was a bomb threat at the Berlin airport. A bomb threat? I wonder how much of whatever airline attendants say that I should believe. Why would they just delay the airport by a few hours if there was a bomb threat? Was it severe? I wonder if it happens often, since I really haven't heard of airports having bomb threats to the extent that it would delay a flight. To be honest, they could say anything to me and I'd probably have no way to argue otherwise. I guess I'll never know...
During this trip, though, I started to wonder what Italians do between work and dinner. My team would get home at around 7:30PM or so (which is a little late for Italians), and hang out for an hour and a half before going out to dinner at 8:30PM. Usually by then, I was STARVING. I guess my stomach's just not on Italian time. What does one do with an hour in a hotel where your Internet doesn't work? Do you go to the gym? Go for a short swim? Go take a nap? half hour naps are never enough for me. I have no idea. We'd always get back at around 10:30PM from dinner and by then, I was too tired to do anything. Long days... I asked a co-worker of mine and they just said "sit around and unwind". I suppose I'm not much of a sit around and unwind type. I still find it strange... and I guess I need to bring more snacks when I travel with these guys.
At the beginning of this trip, our flight was over 4 hours delayed. At first, it was due to an engine issue from the plane. Then it was a bomb threat at the Berlin airport. A bomb threat? I wonder how much of whatever airline attendants say that I should believe. Why would they just delay the airport by a few hours if there was a bomb threat? Was it severe? I wonder if it happens often, since I really haven't heard of airports having bomb threats to the extent that it would delay a flight. To be honest, they could say anything to me and I'd probably have no way to argue otherwise. I guess I'll never know...
June 25-26, Madrid
Madrid is not quite a city for regular people, but not quite a tourist city. Because they're trying to bid for the Olympics, there was construction everywhere. I've gotta say, I love Spain in general, but their food is not all that amazing. Greasy and too salty...
Madrid did have some gorgeous architecture and beautiful blue skies. The gorgeous, cloudless blue skies resulted in 40+ degree C weather. Very very hot. It was almost unbearable in the sun . We walked around the town, seeing some of the most famous buildings. We saw these creepy Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Winnie the Pooh people walking around in Plaza Mayor trying to sell balloon animals. They must've been exhaustingly hot in the 40 degree weather (that's something like 120F) in full body costumes and the funny heads.
There's also a popular "fast food" place called the Museum of Ham in Madrid. It's a shop full of prosciutto crudo type ham legs hanging from the walls. The walls are covered in it. It looked like we entered some sort of weird 15th century butchery.
The Royal Palace was a little underwhelming from the outside. Supposedly one of the most grand in Europe, we didn't want to bother waiting in the hour long line under the sweltering sun to pay 11 euro to see a lavishly furnished house. Instead, we went to a park where I got swindled by some ladies pretending they were from Unicef. Not much better, I suppose. I guess I have a soft spot for people who get stuck asking for donations.
The next stop was Reina Sophia art museum, which was again, underwhelming. It was contemporary/modern art museum and I've gotta say... I know nothing about modern art. It's so boring. We saw Picasso's famous painting, Guernica, which I really didn't' find that interesting. Again, modern art just confuses me.
Madrid nightlife is really lively and actually quite a bit of fun. This is another place, I think, where having a local would've been useful to show us where the more lively places were. We went to a few which were interesting, but not very lively. More just people chillin' and chatting. Where'd all these crazy Spanish parties I've heard about happen?
The next day, we went to Las Ventas bullfighting stadium and wanted to take a tour, but it was all closed. How unfortunate. Go figure they're only open till noon on Sunday. Instead we walked around it and took some pictures, then went to Reito Park. This relaxing park reminded me faintly of Huntington Park in LA, but with far more people, far less greenery and much much hotter.
Oh, on a side note, via travelzoo, I did manage to get an amazing deal on a hotel for the night we were there. It was a 5 star hotel not quite in downtown, but close to a metro station which was $100 per night. We slept lavishly that night.... Much better than the last few months of Arcate's pull down bed.
Madrid did have some gorgeous architecture and beautiful blue skies. The gorgeous, cloudless blue skies resulted in 40+ degree C weather. Very very hot. It was almost unbearable in the sun . We walked around the town, seeing some of the most famous buildings. We saw these creepy Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Winnie the Pooh people walking around in Plaza Mayor trying to sell balloon animals. They must've been exhaustingly hot in the 40 degree weather (that's something like 120F) in full body costumes and the funny heads.
There's also a popular "fast food" place called the Museum of Ham in Madrid. It's a shop full of prosciutto crudo type ham legs hanging from the walls. The walls are covered in it. It looked like we entered some sort of weird 15th century butchery.
The Royal Palace was a little underwhelming from the outside. Supposedly one of the most grand in Europe, we didn't want to bother waiting in the hour long line under the sweltering sun to pay 11 euro to see a lavishly furnished house. Instead, we went to a park where I got swindled by some ladies pretending they were from Unicef. Not much better, I suppose. I guess I have a soft spot for people who get stuck asking for donations.
The next stop was Reina Sophia art museum, which was again, underwhelming. It was contemporary/modern art museum and I've gotta say... I know nothing about modern art. It's so boring. We saw Picasso's famous painting, Guernica, which I really didn't' find that interesting. Again, modern art just confuses me.
Madrid nightlife is really lively and actually quite a bit of fun. This is another place, I think, where having a local would've been useful to show us where the more lively places were. We went to a few which were interesting, but not very lively. More just people chillin' and chatting. Where'd all these crazy Spanish parties I've heard about happen?
The next day, we went to Las Ventas bullfighting stadium and wanted to take a tour, but it was all closed. How unfortunate. Go figure they're only open till noon on Sunday. Instead we walked around it and took some pictures, then went to Reito Park. This relaxing park reminded me faintly of Huntington Park in LA, but with far more people, far less greenery and much much hotter.
Oh, on a side note, via travelzoo, I did manage to get an amazing deal on a hotel for the night we were there. It was a 5 star hotel not quite in downtown, but close to a metro station which was $100 per night. We slept lavishly that night.... Much better than the last few months of Arcate's pull down bed.
July 20th, Bern... Where they keep bears in a pit in the city
Bern was a bit underwhelming. Perhaps it's a city which is better with a local. On the way to Bern, we had to go over a part of the Alps, which would've been beautiful had it not been snowing. Snowing. In the middle of July. It's insane. Driving was a bit dangerous and we were all under dressed. We saw a bunch of Porsches which were probably going for a joyride, unfortunately in the snow. Once we got to Bern, though, it was far warmer.
It's said in Bern, there was a pit just outside of the city that they kept a few bears. When we got there, the last bear died in April this year. Or was killed... Regardless, they were relocating the pit. Why the Swiss really wanted a bear pit in the middle of their capital city, I have no idea. Crazy Swiss. Maybe that's why their cheese has holes in it.
The next day, since there wasn't much to do in Bern, we went to Gimmelwald and Mussen. It was like Zermatt, but dressed improperly and with people who were way too fast. It was beautiful, but I was so tired it wasn't the most pleasant walk. I definitely need to get more in shape.
It's said in Bern, there was a pit just outside of the city that they kept a few bears. When we got there, the last bear died in April this year. Or was killed... Regardless, they were relocating the pit. Why the Swiss really wanted a bear pit in the middle of their capital city, I have no idea. Crazy Swiss. Maybe that's why their cheese has holes in it.
The next day, since there wasn't much to do in Bern, we went to Gimmelwald and Mussen. It was like Zermatt, but dressed improperly and with people who were way too fast. It was beautiful, but I was so tired it wasn't the most pleasant walk. I definitely need to get more in shape.
July 11-12, Intern Weekend
This weekend, four American interns came to Italy. On Saturday, we met them at their hotel and took them out and around Milan a bit. We went to the Castle (which I haven't been to previously) and the Duomo. The castle really wasn't much... It was rather boring, to be honest. It was fun just to walk around. That night, we went out for aperitivo in Milan again, but this time in the canal region. We arrived at 6PM, right as the bars were opening, and had the entire place to ourselves. We sat by the canal (full of gross dead stuff) and ate to our hearts content. It was a very fun night. I guess it helps when Whirlpool's picking up the tab for part of it. Diego and his girlfriend met up with us and showed us to another bar, the Iguna.
The next day, we went to Bellagio and Varenna on Lago di Como to wander around and eat. Bellagio is nothing like the casino in Vegas. I was hoping they were more similar. The small town with lots of stairs felt like a piece of old, rich Italy. I wonder what it was like before....
The next day, we went to Bellagio and Varenna on Lago di Como to wander around and eat. Bellagio is nothing like the casino in Vegas. I was hoping they were more similar. The small town with lots of stairs felt like a piece of old, rich Italy. I wonder what it was like before....
July 4th! Kurt and Erica's good bye, Lago di Como
This day, we went to try and see our friend, George Clooney, on Lago di Como. Too bad he wasn't there. We started off at a town who had the unfortunate name of Cernobbio. If reading in English, it wouldn't be as bad, but in Italian, the "ce" is pronounced as a "che". I'm sure when they named this, they didn't know the Chernobyl disaster would have happened. Good thing there's no nuclear power plants here.
Lago di Como is essentially a valley between two mountains which collected a lot of runoff water and became a lake. The lake is shaped like a man. They have a saying that Como is at the man's left food, Lecco is the man's right foot, I forgot what the head was, and Bellagio is at the man's balls. The three famous cities on Lago Di Como are Menaggio, Bellagio and Varenna. We only got to visit Menaggio this time, but it was beautiful. The drive was the best part. On the way, there were mansions which could probably fit multiple families and a castle which was in the side of the mountain. You find the most random things in Italy...
After we went to Lago di Como, we went to Kurt and Erica's good bye party/4th of July party. They had burgers and brauts! It was delicious. I miss good ole American food. I got a bit ambitious and wanted to make these really cute cupcake/brownie "hamburgers" and sugar cookie "french fries". Unfortunately, the oven I have here is more like a toaster oven, so the cupcakes turned out weird and half the sugar cookies were burnt. Instead, I made red white and blue frosting and made patriotic cupcakes and cookies. The brownies turned out ok. I miss my cooking stuff at home... and a real oven.
Kurt and Erica's was a lot of fun. We drank through the night. I had to drive the drunk boys home, so I didn't end up partaking in the shots they had... probably for the better. We also had the chance to meet Tim Stacy's daughter, Becca. This girl was nuts. I feel like took a wrong turn somewhere in college. It was a good thing all the boys were good and her father didn't think anything of it.
Lago di Como is essentially a valley between two mountains which collected a lot of runoff water and became a lake. The lake is shaped like a man. They have a saying that Como is at the man's left food, Lecco is the man's right foot, I forgot what the head was, and Bellagio is at the man's balls. The three famous cities on Lago Di Como are Menaggio, Bellagio and Varenna. We only got to visit Menaggio this time, but it was beautiful. The drive was the best part. On the way, there were mansions which could probably fit multiple families and a castle which was in the side of the mountain. You find the most random things in Italy...
After we went to Lago di Como, we went to Kurt and Erica's good bye party/4th of July party. They had burgers and brauts! It was delicious. I miss good ole American food. I got a bit ambitious and wanted to make these really cute cupcake/brownie "hamburgers" and sugar cookie "french fries". Unfortunately, the oven I have here is more like a toaster oven, so the cupcakes turned out weird and half the sugar cookies were burnt. Instead, I made red white and blue frosting and made patriotic cupcakes and cookies. The brownies turned out ok. I miss my cooking stuff at home... and a real oven.
Kurt and Erica's was a lot of fun. We drank through the night. I had to drive the drunk boys home, so I didn't end up partaking in the shots they had... probably for the better. We also had the chance to meet Tim Stacy's daughter, Becca. This girl was nuts. I feel like took a wrong turn somewhere in college. It was a good thing all the boys were good and her father didn't think anything of it.
Vienna June 25-26
Vienna is one of those places you've gotta have time to appreciate. It's a huge city rich in history and tradition. The first time I went to Vienna, I thought it was only OK. There wasn't a ton to see and we weren't really that interested. Dan and I were also very burnt out from the Europe trip and just wanted to rest. This time, I feel like Vienna was definitely a ton more fun. It helped infinitely to have a local guide.
Since we were helping out Kurt and Erica move a washing machine and air conditioner from Italy to Austria, we drove to Vienna. Vienna is a 8 hour drive, 10 if you're including traffic, getting lost and other random happenings on the way. We left work at noon, before lunch, and arrived in Vienna at 1AM. Roland, Kurt and Erica's cousin who was going to university in Vienna, was ready and waiting to go out... but by the time we got there, we just wanted to sleep.
The next day, Roland took us out to a few of the highlights of Austria. First stop was breakfast with a waitress who was not very pleasant. Apparently old ladies at that restaurant in Austria are like that. Breakfast was delicious. The bread, I think, was the best part. Slightly crusty on the outside, but not so much that you're just asking for a chipped tooth with an extremely soft inside. We had a soft boiled egg, cheese and ham and jam as well. Orange juice and coffee came with the breakfast. I guess this replaces your standard scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.
Stephensdom was the same was it was before. This time, we went to the top. The inside of the church was beautiful. That being said, I was only in Europe for a month thus far, so churches are still beautiful on the inside. We walked around to the palaces and saw that palace gardens. We then wandered into a festival area in front of city hall where they served a lot of beer. I ended up getting a Radler... beer and lemonade. Not bad if you want lemonade with a splash of beer.
Lunch was delicious. Having a native guide really does do wonders. Austrians really know how to cook their meat. I had ribs and potatoes. It felt like I was back in the States. The ribs were amazing. Living in Italy, all we eat really is pasta, pizza and meats cooked with very little sauce on them. It's delicious, but repetitive. Dry rub ribs were the cure to that. That and a big beer.
One of the highlights for me (and probably only me) was the Vienna Opera. We went to watch an opera, the Magic Flute, at the famous Vienna Opera House. They were standing room only tickets for 4.50 euros. It was very hot, all in German and completely wonderful. I never really liked the opera before, but this was great. Roland also seemed to be enjoying his time, but mostly because the girl next to me was a cute Swedish girl. Her poor friend (not quite as attractive) was completely ignored. It's always interesting how when you put a beautiful girl next to one who's attractive, but probably not quite as attractive, the latter girl is completely ignored... while in another situation, she'd be getting all the attention. I suppose also standards for beauty are different.
After the Opera, all the guys were ready for drinking. Oh, I failed to mention, it was me and a bunch of guys. Being an engineer, I should be used to this, but sometimes... I miss having girls around.
Vienna is an awesome town to go drinking in. They have a three streets collectively called the Bermuda Triangle which are covered in bars. At the first one, we all ordered Long Islands. After a sip, Thomas, our Belgian friend, declared "Cocktails do not effect me. This is really weak." We tried to warn him... two Long Islands later, we had to cut him off. It was hilarious all the way, though. The night was full of Arnold impressions and Roland hitting on a married woman at a bachlorette party (later making out with her which caused her friends to be infinitely angry).
I'd definitely go back to Vienna again, perhaps for a ball... then maybe hit up Bermuda Triangle at the end of the night. Anyone else?
Since we were helping out Kurt and Erica move a washing machine and air conditioner from Italy to Austria, we drove to Vienna. Vienna is a 8 hour drive, 10 if you're including traffic, getting lost and other random happenings on the way. We left work at noon, before lunch, and arrived in Vienna at 1AM. Roland, Kurt and Erica's cousin who was going to university in Vienna, was ready and waiting to go out... but by the time we got there, we just wanted to sleep.
The next day, Roland took us out to a few of the highlights of Austria. First stop was breakfast with a waitress who was not very pleasant. Apparently old ladies at that restaurant in Austria are like that. Breakfast was delicious. The bread, I think, was the best part. Slightly crusty on the outside, but not so much that you're just asking for a chipped tooth with an extremely soft inside. We had a soft boiled egg, cheese and ham and jam as well. Orange juice and coffee came with the breakfast. I guess this replaces your standard scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.
Stephensdom was the same was it was before. This time, we went to the top. The inside of the church was beautiful. That being said, I was only in Europe for a month thus far, so churches are still beautiful on the inside. We walked around to the palaces and saw that palace gardens. We then wandered into a festival area in front of city hall where they served a lot of beer. I ended up getting a Radler... beer and lemonade. Not bad if you want lemonade with a splash of beer.
Lunch was delicious. Having a native guide really does do wonders. Austrians really know how to cook their meat. I had ribs and potatoes. It felt like I was back in the States. The ribs were amazing. Living in Italy, all we eat really is pasta, pizza and meats cooked with very little sauce on them. It's delicious, but repetitive. Dry rub ribs were the cure to that. That and a big beer.
One of the highlights for me (and probably only me) was the Vienna Opera. We went to watch an opera, the Magic Flute, at the famous Vienna Opera House. They were standing room only tickets for 4.50 euros. It was very hot, all in German and completely wonderful. I never really liked the opera before, but this was great. Roland also seemed to be enjoying his time, but mostly because the girl next to me was a cute Swedish girl. Her poor friend (not quite as attractive) was completely ignored. It's always interesting how when you put a beautiful girl next to one who's attractive, but probably not quite as attractive, the latter girl is completely ignored... while in another situation, she'd be getting all the attention. I suppose also standards for beauty are different.
After the Opera, all the guys were ready for drinking. Oh, I failed to mention, it was me and a bunch of guys. Being an engineer, I should be used to this, but sometimes... I miss having girls around.
Vienna is an awesome town to go drinking in. They have a three streets collectively called the Bermuda Triangle which are covered in bars. At the first one, we all ordered Long Islands. After a sip, Thomas, our Belgian friend, declared "Cocktails do not effect me. This is really weak." We tried to warn him... two Long Islands later, we had to cut him off. It was hilarious all the way, though. The night was full of Arnold impressions and Roland hitting on a married woman at a bachlorette party (later making out with her which caused her friends to be infinitely angry).
I'd definitely go back to Vienna again, perhaps for a ball... then maybe hit up Bermuda Triangle at the end of the night. Anyone else?
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