For the price of a Diet Coke (amazingly they are about $5.00 US for 2 of them) we can sit in Micky D's and work for thirty minutes on free internet. So here we are, second day in a row. I spent most of my minutes on updating the photos. I should have written the blog entry off-line and posted during the thrity minutes. So, tomorrow will be longer.
It is dreary and rainy today so we are looking for the fitness club to work out. We will let you know how it turns out.
So long on a wet Sunday in Interlakken.
Deanne
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Sttending a Cow Concert in the Outdoor Auditorium
On one of our train rides through the gorgeous Swiss countryside Mike fell in love with the strip of towns between Interlaken and Lucerne. These little towns were all similar; well maintained, peak-roofed homes surrounding a church with a steep roof and tall spire built on the tallest hill around set beside the crystal aquamarine glacier water of a lake. For whatever reason, Lungern struck a cord with him and we decided to stay there for a few days. Mike got on-line and found accommodations in the Rossli Hotel for significantly less than our big city accommodations, so a few days ago we set off for Lungern.
It was a long trip, with four separate train rides and the changes in between. When we finally arrived in the tiny town of Lungern we were ready. We were standing near the doors to the train with our baggage ready to alight when the train stopped. Unfortunately it was difficult to tell which side of the train was the right side to get off, so after pushing hard against the door I finally got my side open and we threw off the bags. Unfortunately it was the wrong side of the train and we were out of sight of the conductor who had no idea we were trying to get off. So, by the time I got off and the bags followed, the doors closed before Mike could get off. They blew the whistle to take off and we forced the door open as he slid out of the train. I know you have guessed the rest. He bruised up the foot attached to the recently healed leg. In fact, his left foot is now a horrible shade or purple that matches the shade the leg was until days ago. He is jinxed.
The train station is on a hill. In fact, the entire town in on the side of a mountain. The train comes over the pass and Lungern is the first town it hits. The town begins at the train station and works it's way down the hill to the lakeside, then back up the mountain on the other side. When I attach the photos you will get a sense of it. We set off downhill toward town to find the Hotel Rossli. This is a small town so it was easy to find. Attached to a restaurant, this family run place was in the midst of lunch time when we arrived, so after waiting for Mom to finish up with some card-playing lunch guests she checked us in. Our room was in the chalet hotel facing the lake. With a wall of windows and a beautiful deck we had a great view of the mountains and lake. Beautiful.
We spent the next few days walking the nature trails around town and enjoying the peace and quiet of this little village. On one walk that I went on alone I walked past a building with opaque glass windows on some garage doors. It was clear that there was heavy equipment inside, red in color, so perhaps a fire department. Later, I revised the guess to be snow removal equipment. As I continued walking it was apparent that the second floor of this building was an elementary school. It was lunch time so I was able to see all of the kids leaving for lunch. I heard a horn player inside practicing (in need of much more practice). After walking up into the hills I heard the most amazing "band" of bells, cymbals, etc. I wondered where it was coming from and kept walking to find the source. Imagine my surprise when I looked down to the field below and saw that I was listening to the bells around the neck of the cows. Some huge (maybe 16 inch diameter) and others smaller, they rang at different pitches making the most wonderful music that echoes through the valley up into the hills where I was walking. A cow concert!
We are sitting in McDonald's using 30 minutes of free internet before it runs out, so I have to go. I will work on another entry tonight that I can post quickly tomorrow when we return to McDonald's.
Bye for now. Deanne
It was a long trip, with four separate train rides and the changes in between. When we finally arrived in the tiny town of Lungern we were ready. We were standing near the doors to the train with our baggage ready to alight when the train stopped. Unfortunately it was difficult to tell which side of the train was the right side to get off, so after pushing hard against the door I finally got my side open and we threw off the bags. Unfortunately it was the wrong side of the train and we were out of sight of the conductor who had no idea we were trying to get off. So, by the time I got off and the bags followed, the doors closed before Mike could get off. They blew the whistle to take off and we forced the door open as he slid out of the train. I know you have guessed the rest. He bruised up the foot attached to the recently healed leg. In fact, his left foot is now a horrible shade or purple that matches the shade the leg was until days ago. He is jinxed.
The train station is on a hill. In fact, the entire town in on the side of a mountain. The train comes over the pass and Lungern is the first town it hits. The town begins at the train station and works it's way down the hill to the lakeside, then back up the mountain on the other side. When I attach the photos you will get a sense of it. We set off downhill toward town to find the Hotel Rossli. This is a small town so it was easy to find. Attached to a restaurant, this family run place was in the midst of lunch time when we arrived, so after waiting for Mom to finish up with some card-playing lunch guests she checked us in. Our room was in the chalet hotel facing the lake. With a wall of windows and a beautiful deck we had a great view of the mountains and lake. Beautiful.
We spent the next few days walking the nature trails around town and enjoying the peace and quiet of this little village. On one walk that I went on alone I walked past a building with opaque glass windows on some garage doors. It was clear that there was heavy equipment inside, red in color, so perhaps a fire department. Later, I revised the guess to be snow removal equipment. As I continued walking it was apparent that the second floor of this building was an elementary school. It was lunch time so I was able to see all of the kids leaving for lunch. I heard a horn player inside practicing (in need of much more practice). After walking up into the hills I heard the most amazing "band" of bells, cymbals, etc. I wondered where it was coming from and kept walking to find the source. Imagine my surprise when I looked down to the field below and saw that I was listening to the bells around the neck of the cows. Some huge (maybe 16 inch diameter) and others smaller, they rang at different pitches making the most wonderful music that echoes through the valley up into the hills where I was walking. A cow concert!
We are sitting in McDonald's using 30 minutes of free internet before it runs out, so I have to go. I will work on another entry tonight that I can post quickly tomorrow when we return to McDonald's.
Bye for now. Deanne
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Success at Everyday errands
When you live somewhere a long time you learn to operate efficiently and effectively with little conscious thought to day-to-day activities. When you move you are forced to start over and find a new grocer, a new dentist, a barber that gets it just right and the best place to get your favorite dinner. When you move every two or three days, without the thought that you will be home in two weeks so haircuts and dental appointments can wait, you have to learn some tricks to figure out how to learn these things quickly. Not learning them means you have shaggy hair for awhile, you buy your bottles of water at the tourist shops paying four times the price you would pay at the grocery store if you could just find it, and you can't get fresh fruit for breakfast so you will just have to settle for the fruit cocktail they serve. When you combine the need to learn these things quickly with the language difficulties and the cultural difficulties it is more complex. Does the place that looks like a hairdresser cut men's hair? Will you look like a complete moron if you go in and ask?
As much as we love our suitcases, we did have one mishap. While yanking them on and off trains every other day has not hurt them too bad, one hauling effort caused the foot rest on my bag to fall off. It didn't grossly effect its functionality, but it did fall over rather than stand up. We saved the leg, but the screws holding it on were broken. This happened two weeks ago, and we have been quite unsuccessful at finding a hardware store in which to buy screws, nuts and the hardware to use them to repair my suitcase. So, we have devised a two person team effort to make our way. One of us watches the suitcases, holding mine up, while the other goes in the information office, the restroom, or the shop. Then, while out for a walk today Mike spotted a hardware shop on a side street in Zermatt. We have not found a hardware store in bigger cities than this with lots of asking, so imagine how surprised and excited we were to find this old fashioned neighborhood hardware store. We found the equipment we thought we needed and with a promise that they would trade anything that didn't work for replacements, we left the hardware store to empty my suitcase and try to put the foot back on. We installed the foot successfully and considered that a win!
As to haircuts. Barbers are hard to find in some countries and easier in others. Spain seems to hide them but they are very clearly barber shops in Italy. Mike got a great haircut in Orvietto, by using sign language to make his requests. How do you explain how long to make the sides, or to trim the beard if you and the barber don't speak the same language? All I can say is I think the sign language worked really well and we may try it when we get home.
I have explained grocery stores in an earlier blog. The groceries are not surrounded by giant parking lots. They are in tiny side streets, with only a small doorway going in, usually to a set of stairs down to a basement, but sometimes winding to the interior of a building. There is nowhere to park- everyone walks to the market and buys only what they can carry or put in their rolling basket to get home. If you don't know the name of the grocery stores in that country you would have a very hard time finding the stores. So, you look for people carrying plastic grocery bags and you walk in the direction they are coming from. In most of the countries we have visited the groceries are quite small, think the size of a convenience store with shelves closer together, a meat and fish counter and a small produce area. In some groceries you weigh your own produce and put a scan tag on it from the scale. In other groceries you are not allowed to touch the produce, instead you point out what you want and they bag and weigh it for you. Swiss grocery stores are the largest and most beautiful stores we have seen so far. Think Whole Foods. Big, well stocked and much greater variety than any other country we have seen. For example, yesterday I was able to buy almonds and cashews in the grocery instead of buying them in the health food store as we had to do in Italy.
Laundry facilities continue to be elusive, although we have decided that when we have found them they are so expensive and time consuming that doing our own laundry in the hotel is preferable. We have a routine now. The day we check in to the hotel is laundry day. Mike strings the line and we each wash and hang our laundry. Whatever isn't dry by morning shower is put on hangers in the closet until time to leave. We left some of our clothes in Florence in the hotel we stayed during the kick-off of school for Caitie because we are going back there on our way home. So, with a limited wardrobe on hand, we have to wash clothes every two or three days and layer to keep warm. Yes, I am sick of Mike's orange shirts and he is sick of my white and black shirts.
It is raining and cold today. We have been out for a walk this morning, then again for lunch and a walk, but now we are in for a cozy afternoon. It is snowing in the mountains nearby, but here it is not quite cold enough for snow. But cold enough to keep us inside this afternoon.
We spoke to Caitie, Jonny and my mother over the past two days. It is wonderful to hear everyone's voices. Everybody is doing well. For those of you curious about how school is going for Caitie I can just say that she is ecstatic about her choice of NYU Florence. She loves the curriculum focused on the Renaissance, had made wonderful friends with her roommates, has been on a weekend trip to Rome to see the museums ans stay in a hostel, and is learning to speak Italian. Jonny has started school and he loves it too. Things are going well for everybody.
Love, Deanne
As much as we love our suitcases, we did have one mishap. While yanking them on and off trains every other day has not hurt them too bad, one hauling effort caused the foot rest on my bag to fall off. It didn't grossly effect its functionality, but it did fall over rather than stand up. We saved the leg, but the screws holding it on were broken. This happened two weeks ago, and we have been quite unsuccessful at finding a hardware store in which to buy screws, nuts and the hardware to use them to repair my suitcase. So, we have devised a two person team effort to make our way. One of us watches the suitcases, holding mine up, while the other goes in the information office, the restroom, or the shop. Then, while out for a walk today Mike spotted a hardware shop on a side street in Zermatt. We have not found a hardware store in bigger cities than this with lots of asking, so imagine how surprised and excited we were to find this old fashioned neighborhood hardware store. We found the equipment we thought we needed and with a promise that they would trade anything that didn't work for replacements, we left the hardware store to empty my suitcase and try to put the foot back on. We installed the foot successfully and considered that a win!
As to haircuts. Barbers are hard to find in some countries and easier in others. Spain seems to hide them but they are very clearly barber shops in Italy. Mike got a great haircut in Orvietto, by using sign language to make his requests. How do you explain how long to make the sides, or to trim the beard if you and the barber don't speak the same language? All I can say is I think the sign language worked really well and we may try it when we get home.
I have explained grocery stores in an earlier blog. The groceries are not surrounded by giant parking lots. They are in tiny side streets, with only a small doorway going in, usually to a set of stairs down to a basement, but sometimes winding to the interior of a building. There is nowhere to park- everyone walks to the market and buys only what they can carry or put in their rolling basket to get home. If you don't know the name of the grocery stores in that country you would have a very hard time finding the stores. So, you look for people carrying plastic grocery bags and you walk in the direction they are coming from. In most of the countries we have visited the groceries are quite small, think the size of a convenience store with shelves closer together, a meat and fish counter and a small produce area. In some groceries you weigh your own produce and put a scan tag on it from the scale. In other groceries you are not allowed to touch the produce, instead you point out what you want and they bag and weigh it for you. Swiss grocery stores are the largest and most beautiful stores we have seen so far. Think Whole Foods. Big, well stocked and much greater variety than any other country we have seen. For example, yesterday I was able to buy almonds and cashews in the grocery instead of buying them in the health food store as we had to do in Italy.
Laundry facilities continue to be elusive, although we have decided that when we have found them they are so expensive and time consuming that doing our own laundry in the hotel is preferable. We have a routine now. The day we check in to the hotel is laundry day. Mike strings the line and we each wash and hang our laundry. Whatever isn't dry by morning shower is put on hangers in the closet until time to leave. We left some of our clothes in Florence in the hotel we stayed during the kick-off of school for Caitie because we are going back there on our way home. So, with a limited wardrobe on hand, we have to wash clothes every two or three days and layer to keep warm. Yes, I am sick of Mike's orange shirts and he is sick of my white and black shirts.
It is raining and cold today. We have been out for a walk this morning, then again for lunch and a walk, but now we are in for a cozy afternoon. It is snowing in the mountains nearby, but here it is not quite cold enough for snow. But cold enough to keep us inside this afternoon.
We spoke to Caitie, Jonny and my mother over the past two days. It is wonderful to hear everyone's voices. Everybody is doing well. For those of you curious about how school is going for Caitie I can just say that she is ecstatic about her choice of NYU Florence. She loves the curriculum focused on the Renaissance, had made wonderful friends with her roommates, has been on a weekend trip to Rome to see the museums ans stay in a hostel, and is learning to speak Italian. Jonny has started school and he loves it too. Things are going well for everybody.
Love, Deanne
Monday, September 24, 2007
Roofing error in your favor- collect $200
Wahoo! Yipee! Yeah!
Imagine you select a hotel for two nights in the beautiful resort area of Zermatt, Switzerland that fits within your budget by skipping the niceties. Not horrible, but not great. 16 rooms for which the description mentions such amenities as heating. Continental breakfast described as a choice of drinks and a bread basket with jam. Got the picture? When the train got to Zermatt, after a stunning afternoon spent watching gorgeous mountain villages go by, we stopped at the information office for a map. I also asked for directions to our hotel. The information office staff told me that our hotel had a leaky roof and was closed so all of the guests were being diverted to the Butterfly Hotel. Not an auspicious start to the trip. We have been diverted to hotels in other cities like Venice and we usually had some surprises (like the bathroom is in the hall in Venice). So, he drew the map and told us we were even closer, as the Butterfly is just around the corner.
You may know that Zermatt allows no cars. Cargo and passengers are carried in electric carts. The taxis are electric carts as are the hotel conveyances, not that we have stayed in any hotel offering any conveyance but an elevator. When I gave Mike the news that we were changing hotels at the spot where he was waiting for me outside the information office, he turned around and pointed out a Butterfly Hotel vehicle waiting in the plaza outside the train station. We walked over, passed over our luggage, and enjoyed a FREE ride to our hotel. The Best Western sign outside was the second indication that life was looking up. You may not think much of Best Western, but from our point of view after staying at these family run independent places, a Best Western is a huge step up.
We were welcomed at the front desk with the story of the leaky roof and the comment that we were getting a "huge upgrade". No kidding. The lobby has carpet and silk drapes! There is an elevator up to our room. We have a small deck (well, we are not on the view side, but what can you expect?) The room doesn't have a refrigerator, but it has most of the other amenities you would expect in a nice hotel. A comfortable queen sized bed rather than two twins pushed together. TV with a few English speaking channels (CNN and BBC). A safe! This is absolutely wonderful and we are very appreciative of the fact that when you are tired, sometimes fate delivers a little luxury to make your life easier. We haven't figured out the monetary difference between the hotels, but it is probably safe to say we are saving at least $100 per night with our "huge upgrade". Yahoo.
So, we are two very happy campers who feel like we ought to stay indoors for the next two days just to enjoy our digs!
More about Zermatt in the next writing- including photos.
Deanne
Imagine you select a hotel for two nights in the beautiful resort area of Zermatt, Switzerland that fits within your budget by skipping the niceties. Not horrible, but not great. 16 rooms for which the description mentions such amenities as heating. Continental breakfast described as a choice of drinks and a bread basket with jam. Got the picture? When the train got to Zermatt, after a stunning afternoon spent watching gorgeous mountain villages go by, we stopped at the information office for a map. I also asked for directions to our hotel. The information office staff told me that our hotel had a leaky roof and was closed so all of the guests were being diverted to the Butterfly Hotel. Not an auspicious start to the trip. We have been diverted to hotels in other cities like Venice and we usually had some surprises (like the bathroom is in the hall in Venice). So, he drew the map and told us we were even closer, as the Butterfly is just around the corner.
You may know that Zermatt allows no cars. Cargo and passengers are carried in electric carts. The taxis are electric carts as are the hotel conveyances, not that we have stayed in any hotel offering any conveyance but an elevator. When I gave Mike the news that we were changing hotels at the spot where he was waiting for me outside the information office, he turned around and pointed out a Butterfly Hotel vehicle waiting in the plaza outside the train station. We walked over, passed over our luggage, and enjoyed a FREE ride to our hotel. The Best Western sign outside was the second indication that life was looking up. You may not think much of Best Western, but from our point of view after staying at these family run independent places, a Best Western is a huge step up.
We were welcomed at the front desk with the story of the leaky roof and the comment that we were getting a "huge upgrade". No kidding. The lobby has carpet and silk drapes! There is an elevator up to our room. We have a small deck (well, we are not on the view side, but what can you expect?) The room doesn't have a refrigerator, but it has most of the other amenities you would expect in a nice hotel. A comfortable queen sized bed rather than two twins pushed together. TV with a few English speaking channels (CNN and BBC). A safe! This is absolutely wonderful and we are very appreciative of the fact that when you are tired, sometimes fate delivers a little luxury to make your life easier. We haven't figured out the monetary difference between the hotels, but it is probably safe to say we are saving at least $100 per night with our "huge upgrade". Yahoo.
So, we are two very happy campers who feel like we ought to stay indoors for the next two days just to enjoy our digs!
More about Zermatt in the next writing- including photos.
Deanne
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Even vacations need a weekend
We have figured out that life on the road, while as wonderful as you imagine, is tiring. We have found through a few months of experience that we need a "weekend" rest day about once a week. On that rest day we don't walk more than a few miles. We might catch up on CNN, but we are more likely to curl up with a book and read. Yesterday was our weekend rest day. After the meager pickings of our hotel breakfast we took a walk. This weekend the town of Lugano was having a cancer fund raising 5K and 10K which involved entertainers on stage in the main town square. We saw an Elvis impersonator who sang in English and spoke Italian between songs. The act following his was a traditional folk singing group of senior citizens, and he worked a nice little dance with the skirt and apron frocked, wooden shoed old ladies into his act. Mike and I sat in the plaza courtyard sipping some wine watching the show even though we had no idea what they were talking about. We watched the runners from the square when they ran by twice during the race and on a huge screen TV in the square that captured photos from various spots around town as they ran. In addition to our "participation" in the cancer run, we went for our own meandering walk through the civic park and along the waterfront. It was a glorious warm day to be out.
Mike is missing football. In fact, he is sitting beside me right now using the free internet time to check the scores of the games he missed yesterday. We called the boys about an hour before the game and were able to reach Jonny. He is so happy to be using his Dad's ticket for the season. He was with a group of his college friends who all collectively yelled, "We love you Jonny's Mom" to me on the phone. Of course, I loved hearing from my son and his friends. Jonny's Mom loves them too. He just read that the Seahawks won after being down with two minutes to go, so he is sure wishing he had seen the game. The price we are paying for this lifestyle....
Today we head off on the trains at 10:15 to Zermatt. We change trains several times, so it is a grueling train day. Zermatt should be lovely, though, and the train ride to get there is wonderful. I made this trip the summer I traveled alone to Europe after graduation from Cornell. It will be fun to see it again.
Later, Deanne
Mike is missing football. In fact, he is sitting beside me right now using the free internet time to check the scores of the games he missed yesterday. We called the boys about an hour before the game and were able to reach Jonny. He is so happy to be using his Dad's ticket for the season. He was with a group of his college friends who all collectively yelled, "We love you Jonny's Mom" to me on the phone. Of course, I loved hearing from my son and his friends. Jonny's Mom loves them too. He just read that the Seahawks won after being down with two minutes to go, so he is sure wishing he had seen the game. The price we are paying for this lifestyle....
Today we head off on the trains at 10:15 to Zermatt. We change trains several times, so it is a grueling train day. Zermatt should be lovely, though, and the train ride to get there is wonderful. I made this trip the summer I traveled alone to Europe after graduation from Cornell. It will be fun to see it again.
Later, Deanne
Saturday, September 22, 2007
A repeat hotel feels like home
We soo enjoyed our night at the Dante Hotel in Lugano. A guilty splurge the first time we stayed here a month ago, this time it was a welcome luxury. Those little things we took for granted when traveling in the past- comfortable bed with crisp linens and down duvets, hot showers, free mini-bar and free internet- feel so good after deprivation. We had a massive breakfast- their buffet is undoubtedly the best of our trip. Eggs are rarely served in Italy for breakfast, so the Swiss tray of scrambled eggs and the bowl of hard boiled eggs was welcome. Over time we have tried to cut back out the croissants at breakfast, but in Italy their version, the Cornetto is ubiquidous. The Dante has a big table of cut up fresh fruits and grilled vegetables. We had crusty whole wheat bread (the Italians haven't heard about whole wheat yet) with our eggs and fruit, and delicious Swiss yogurt. It was hard to leave the life of luxury, although during our free internet access we were able to book a cheaper room next door and the decidely less luxurious hotel sitting adjacent to the funiculur tunnel. We will save 50 swiss francs per night, and once we get used to the exchange rate, I'm sure that will be a welcome economy. We also have free internet, tapping into somebody that is providing us a chance to upload the photos (finally I got it to work) and update the blog.
It is about noon, and we are off for a walk. I will check in later.
Love, Deanne
It is about noon, and we are off for a walk. I will check in later.
Love, Deanne
Friday, September 21, 2007
We are heading north again
After four days of healing Mike's lag in Orvieto, we woke up this morning and decided to head north rather than south. Who is to explain the whims of travel? It was one of those magical fall days in which the air is clear and crisp and the colors of the sunshine are warm and inviting. We had been toying with a visit to the Amalfi coast, but the descriptions of stairs and hills were too much for the freshly rehabilitated leg, so we instead headed north to spend more time in some of our favorite places. So, southern Italy waits for another trip.
The first train out of Orvieto (the 10:33) was a local that took us back to Florence, where we put aside a big urge to call and check on Caitie and instead caught the 13:14 to Milano. In Milan, with a few minutes to spare, we caught the next train to Como. Dare-devils that we are, we arrived in Como at 5:30 PM with no hotel reservations and started phoning. We had been on the road since leaving our hotel at 9:00 for the walk to the Orvieto train station, so the resounding "completo" (Italian for full up) calls we heard was disheartening. finally, we decided to hop the next northbound train (6:30 PM bound for Zurich) and ride the half hour back to Lugano, where we were able to get a single night at the wonderful Dante hotel which we enjoyed so much the last time through Lugano. So, here we sit enjoying our free internet at the hotel. We are in Switzerland again, although it is a bit further than we expected. We had anticipated a few days in Como and then on to the Italian Dolomites, but instead we are in Switzerland. It feels comforting to be in such a nice hotel (this was our overall favorite for the entire trip) in a city and country that we enjoyed.
We had dinner at the same restaurant beside our hotel and relaxed for the first time today. Overall pleasure. Running out of time, so I am off. I will write again soon.
Love, Deanne
P.S. I am having some difficulties with photos that I have not figured out yet, but they will be coming shortly.
The first train out of Orvieto (the 10:33) was a local that took us back to Florence, where we put aside a big urge to call and check on Caitie and instead caught the 13:14 to Milano. In Milan, with a few minutes to spare, we caught the next train to Como. Dare-devils that we are, we arrived in Como at 5:30 PM with no hotel reservations and started phoning. We had been on the road since leaving our hotel at 9:00 for the walk to the Orvieto train station, so the resounding "completo" (Italian for full up) calls we heard was disheartening. finally, we decided to hop the next northbound train (6:30 PM bound for Zurich) and ride the half hour back to Lugano, where we were able to get a single night at the wonderful Dante hotel which we enjoyed so much the last time through Lugano. So, here we sit enjoying our free internet at the hotel. We are in Switzerland again, although it is a bit further than we expected. We had anticipated a few days in Como and then on to the Italian Dolomites, but instead we are in Switzerland. It feels comforting to be in such a nice hotel (this was our overall favorite for the entire trip) in a city and country that we enjoyed.
We had dinner at the same restaurant beside our hotel and relaxed for the first time today. Overall pleasure. Running out of time, so I am off. I will write again soon.
Love, Deanne
P.S. I am having some difficulties with photos that I have not figured out yet, but they will be coming shortly.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The Pleasure of small things
What makes a wonderful day?
-Clear, fall sunshine on your chilly face when you are out for an early morning walk with your freshly recovered, no longer limping, husband
-Finding a cheap hotel (65 Euros) that caters to young travelers BUT is remarkably quiet allowing you to sleep all night with only church bells as interruptions
-A great meal (last night's dinner of steak and porcini mushrooms and wonderful bottle of 8 euro local red wine)followed by the obligatory (and how will we survive without them) espresso
-Free wifi internet which we are currently using at a nearby cafe to download our e-mail and upload our photos to the blog, things we have been unable to do for weeks
-washing all of the dirty clothes early and knowing that when you are finished for the day you can pack mostly clean clothes
-finding the grocery store that has eluded you for the first three days in this town (the locals must buy their toothpaste somewhere) so that you can buy 35 cent bottles of water instead of the 2 euro bottles that look exactly the same but are sold to tourists
-clean, rain refreshed air after the brutal rain we experienced our final morning in Venice and the light sprinkles we have had every day since.
We are enjoying our stay in Orvieto. Tomorrow we take the train to Naples, then on to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. I will check in then. Now I am going to upload all of the photos I have taken in the last week and have been unable to post.
Deanne
-Clear, fall sunshine on your chilly face when you are out for an early morning walk with your freshly recovered, no longer limping, husband
-Finding a cheap hotel (65 Euros) that caters to young travelers BUT is remarkably quiet allowing you to sleep all night with only church bells as interruptions
-A great meal (last night's dinner of steak and porcini mushrooms and wonderful bottle of 8 euro local red wine)followed by the obligatory (and how will we survive without them) espresso
-Free wifi internet which we are currently using at a nearby cafe to download our e-mail and upload our photos to the blog, things we have been unable to do for weeks
-washing all of the dirty clothes early and knowing that when you are finished for the day you can pack mostly clean clothes
-finding the grocery store that has eluded you for the first three days in this town (the locals must buy their toothpaste somewhere) so that you can buy 35 cent bottles of water instead of the 2 euro bottles that look exactly the same but are sold to tourists
-clean, rain refreshed air after the brutal rain we experienced our final morning in Venice and the light sprinkles we have had every day since.
We are enjoying our stay in Orvieto. Tomorrow we take the train to Naples, then on to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. I will check in then. Now I am going to upload all of the photos I have taken in the last week and have been unable to post.
Deanne
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Orvieto- quiet rest
After leaving hectic Venice we headed south on the train to Naples. Four hours later we got off at the walled city of Orvieto. Mike's leg still hurts so we took a cab up to our hotel. For 90 Euros per night we ended up in what seems like a palace. A Bathroom, a good bed and peace and quiet. We have been here for two nights and if you can believe it, Mike had trouble sleeping last night because he could here a television in the distance. Compared to the racket we have slept through in previous places, this was a real treat!
Orvieto is a quiet little town where even the tourists don't seem to ruin the place. The streets are narrow and uncrowded. The churches are beuatiful, if not as spectacular as some of the previous cities we have visited. The food sure beat Venice though! I loved Venice but Mike didn't. The crods and high prices were a big turn off to him. For me, the life on boats and bridges was quaint and romantic. I saw a funeral by boat, saw garbage being picked up in a hand truck (since there are no cars or trucks in the city) and saw boats and water everywhere. It was like our life on the houseboat. Yes, the food was outrageously expensive, but it was my type food (as opposed to Mike's). Where I would start a meal with mussels marinara or mussels in garlic and end with spaghetti in clam sauce, picking happily through the clam shells, he would eat his spaghetti marinara without much pleasure. In Orvieto, the hoof takes over for the shell, and Mike had tried several different steaks, most of the time very happy with the results.
Our hotel was expecting a big tour group today, so after two pleasant nights we moved to a cheaper and much less nice place this morning. Described by our guidebook as a place that your wild aunt with hoop earrings would have decorated I have to say that no aunt of mine would have been caught dead decorating this place. The tourqoise bathroom tile and the granite floor tile in the bedroom give you a sense for the clash of styles. The bed is a giant hammock. Oh well, it provides another home base for two more days of exploring this pleasant little town.
Internet access is more challening here. It is such a surprise to find access difficult. After traveling numerous times through Europe for work without difficulty, I expected that internet access was everwhere. But, here there are signs advertising access, but when you go inside they tell you it doesn't work. We are sitting in the newspaper covered basement of an eating cafe working on two of the four computers here. We tried working on the other two computers without success, so it is quite possible we have the only two working computers in the place. We just had salads for lunch, and we are off for a walk after computer time. Mike is still walking slow and carefully, but he is recovering nicely.
So long, Deanne
Orvieto is a quiet little town where even the tourists don't seem to ruin the place. The streets are narrow and uncrowded. The churches are beuatiful, if not as spectacular as some of the previous cities we have visited. The food sure beat Venice though! I loved Venice but Mike didn't. The crods and high prices were a big turn off to him. For me, the life on boats and bridges was quaint and romantic. I saw a funeral by boat, saw garbage being picked up in a hand truck (since there are no cars or trucks in the city) and saw boats and water everywhere. It was like our life on the houseboat. Yes, the food was outrageously expensive, but it was my type food (as opposed to Mike's). Where I would start a meal with mussels marinara or mussels in garlic and end with spaghetti in clam sauce, picking happily through the clam shells, he would eat his spaghetti marinara without much pleasure. In Orvieto, the hoof takes over for the shell, and Mike had tried several different steaks, most of the time very happy with the results.
Our hotel was expecting a big tour group today, so after two pleasant nights we moved to a cheaper and much less nice place this morning. Described by our guidebook as a place that your wild aunt with hoop earrings would have decorated I have to say that no aunt of mine would have been caught dead decorating this place. The tourqoise bathroom tile and the granite floor tile in the bedroom give you a sense for the clash of styles. The bed is a giant hammock. Oh well, it provides another home base for two more days of exploring this pleasant little town.
Internet access is more challening here. It is such a surprise to find access difficult. After traveling numerous times through Europe for work without difficulty, I expected that internet access was everwhere. But, here there are signs advertising access, but when you go inside they tell you it doesn't work. We are sitting in the newspaper covered basement of an eating cafe working on two of the four computers here. We tried working on the other two computers without success, so it is quite possible we have the only two working computers in the place. We just had salads for lunch, and we are off for a walk after computer time. Mike is still walking slow and carefully, but he is recovering nicely.
So long, Deanne
Friday, September 14, 2007
Venice - better than anyone ever described
We love Venice. It is a magical city. It is like an entire city is living on houseboats! We tried describing our houseboat community to some Italians and they just couldn't understand. For those of you who have never been here imagine a city made up of 117 islands all connected to each other by quaint bridges that all involve steps up, then over then back down. The steps provide the height over the water for boats. Boats are everywhere. Families are out in boats, DHL delivers packages in boats, ambulances are boats, basically everything that would be a car or truck is a boat. There are bus boats called vaporettos that cost 6 euros per ride (yes $8) that take you on the main water boulevards. There are taxis which apparently put the meter in to gear at 50 euros. Many of them are quite luxurious, with polished teak and fine leather seats. We took a budget buster ride in one yesterday and thought it was great fun.
Our hotel is virtually around the corner from the train station. It requires no bridges to get there and is only three flights upstairs. The wonderful receptionist, Claudio carried the bags for us, after apparently assessing our state of energy as exhausted. We had arrived in Venice from Verona at about noon. We walked from our Verona hotel to the train station which was a longer hike than we normally take with the bags. Then, when we got to Venice and hiked over the tall bridge on the Grand Canal, and over several streets to our hotel, we found that the hotel had a plumbing problem which required them to move us to the new place. All of that bragging about having a bathroom was for naught, as the new place only had a room with the bathroom across the hall. They provided us with a 10 Euro discount because of the lack of an en suite bathroom, so the room now hits our 100 Euro per night budget. We don't have to share the bathroom with anyone. In fact, we have an ancient skeleton key to open the door to our own private bathroom. So, we do have to dress to use it, but there is no old dude in his bathrobe coming out the door when we go in.
We probably haven't mentioned the noise you hear inside some of these hotels. I know we have mentioned the street noise which seems pretty common in most of the places we stay. We are in inner city hotels with tourist traffic out on the street, so there is almost always street noise. There is also sometimes the noise of other guests. We have overheard somethings we would prefer not to overhear- especially in the places where you eat breakfast with the other guests....always looking around at the other couples as they sip their coffee wondering who the moaning rabbits are. Last night it was snoring that woke us up and kept us awake. Thank heavens for the iTunes on my computer. We whipped that out at 2:00 in the morning and set it to play New Age meditative music all night. Far better to listen to moaning of your own choosing than snoring.
We are learning to do our errands in cities that are new to us. Early this morning while we were both mostly sleeping but sort of awake I glanced at my watch to see that it was 6:40. Ten or fifteen minutes later when Mike opened his eyes I asked him the time to find it was 7:40. My watch had stopped. We were standing at the jewelery store when it opened at 9:00 and by 9:10 my watch was working. Venice was another tough city to find a grocery store, but wandering around eventually led to one, and now we have replacement toothpaste. Dental floss is a tougher problem. Apparently they don't have Dr. Wendy, our family dentist for the past twenty years who would freak out if we tried the excuse that we couldn't find dental floss in Venice when it ran out. After traipsing through several farmacias, we finally found some. While we were backtracking from our original hotel to the one we ended up in we passed a laundramat which I went back to later to treat ourselves to soft, dry clothes that don't smell like hotel shampoo. We use the hotel shamposs for laundry soap and when the clothes have hung for a day, we put the stiff, sometimes damp clothes on and wear them again. Some of our errands are less critical than running out of dental floss or toothpaste. Like finding pretzels. Mike really misses his pretzels and they just don't sell them anywhere in Italy. In fact, it is hard to find the bags of nuts and raisins we ate on trains when we were in Spain and Portugal. In Italy, the only nuts we see are in their shells in bags at the open air markets. Not conducive to snacking tourists. The open air market did provide us with our lunch today, though... bananas and grapes. The big purple grapes are huge, with seeds that crunch when you chew them down.
Take care- I'm off to wander Venice some more. I tried to find the Jewish quarter today which is somewhat near our hotel. It is the site of the original ghetto, and the word "ghetto". There are several synagogues there dating four hundred years back. Instead I ended up with lots of wonderful dead ends, each one a reminder that when you are retired you are never late no matter where you are going. I am sitting in an Internet cafe at the Piazza San Marco which is about as far from our hotel as you can walk without doubling back, so I have at least another hour to get back to the hotel. So, I'm off.
Love, Deanne
Our hotel is virtually around the corner from the train station. It requires no bridges to get there and is only three flights upstairs. The wonderful receptionist, Claudio carried the bags for us, after apparently assessing our state of energy as exhausted. We had arrived in Venice from Verona at about noon. We walked from our Verona hotel to the train station which was a longer hike than we normally take with the bags. Then, when we got to Venice and hiked over the tall bridge on the Grand Canal, and over several streets to our hotel, we found that the hotel had a plumbing problem which required them to move us to the new place. All of that bragging about having a bathroom was for naught, as the new place only had a room with the bathroom across the hall. They provided us with a 10 Euro discount because of the lack of an en suite bathroom, so the room now hits our 100 Euro per night budget. We don't have to share the bathroom with anyone. In fact, we have an ancient skeleton key to open the door to our own private bathroom. So, we do have to dress to use it, but there is no old dude in his bathrobe coming out the door when we go in.
We probably haven't mentioned the noise you hear inside some of these hotels. I know we have mentioned the street noise which seems pretty common in most of the places we stay. We are in inner city hotels with tourist traffic out on the street, so there is almost always street noise. There is also sometimes the noise of other guests. We have overheard somethings we would prefer not to overhear- especially in the places where you eat breakfast with the other guests....always looking around at the other couples as they sip their coffee wondering who the moaning rabbits are. Last night it was snoring that woke us up and kept us awake. Thank heavens for the iTunes on my computer. We whipped that out at 2:00 in the morning and set it to play New Age meditative music all night. Far better to listen to moaning of your own choosing than snoring.
We are learning to do our errands in cities that are new to us. Early this morning while we were both mostly sleeping but sort of awake I glanced at my watch to see that it was 6:40. Ten or fifteen minutes later when Mike opened his eyes I asked him the time to find it was 7:40. My watch had stopped. We were standing at the jewelery store when it opened at 9:00 and by 9:10 my watch was working. Venice was another tough city to find a grocery store, but wandering around eventually led to one, and now we have replacement toothpaste. Dental floss is a tougher problem. Apparently they don't have Dr. Wendy, our family dentist for the past twenty years who would freak out if we tried the excuse that we couldn't find dental floss in Venice when it ran out. After traipsing through several farmacias, we finally found some. While we were backtracking from our original hotel to the one we ended up in we passed a laundramat which I went back to later to treat ourselves to soft, dry clothes that don't smell like hotel shampoo. We use the hotel shamposs for laundry soap and when the clothes have hung for a day, we put the stiff, sometimes damp clothes on and wear them again. Some of our errands are less critical than running out of dental floss or toothpaste. Like finding pretzels. Mike really misses his pretzels and they just don't sell them anywhere in Italy. In fact, it is hard to find the bags of nuts and raisins we ate on trains when we were in Spain and Portugal. In Italy, the only nuts we see are in their shells in bags at the open air markets. Not conducive to snacking tourists. The open air market did provide us with our lunch today, though... bananas and grapes. The big purple grapes are huge, with seeds that crunch when you chew them down.
Take care- I'm off to wander Venice some more. I tried to find the Jewish quarter today which is somewhat near our hotel. It is the site of the original ghetto, and the word "ghetto". There are several synagogues there dating four hundred years back. Instead I ended up with lots of wonderful dead ends, each one a reminder that when you are retired you are never late no matter where you are going. I am sitting in an Internet cafe at the Piazza San Marco which is about as far from our hotel as you can walk without doubling back, so I have at least another hour to get back to the hotel. So, I'm off.
Love, Deanne
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Slightly into triple digits gets a bathroom!
Late breaking update...
We are still at the internet cafe in Verona and I thought I would share the news that we found a one star hotel within walking distance to the train station with a room and bathroom for 110 Euros per night! So, we are off to Venice in the morning. We won't have internet, but in a contest between the proprieter in his bathrobe sharing our bathroom or updating the blog freshly every day, you lose.
Bye, Deanne
We are still at the internet cafe in Verona and I thought I would share the news that we found a one star hotel within walking distance to the train station with a room and bathroom for 110 Euros per night! So, we are off to Venice in the morning. We won't have internet, but in a contest between the proprieter in his bathrobe sharing our bathroom or updating the blog freshly every day, you lose.
Bye, Deanne
Verona - day two
Here we are in the land of Romeo and Juliet and we forgot to wish Megan and Matt a huge happy anniversary yesterday. We remembered it was your special day, along with the memorial to the World Trade Center attack, yet we forgot to mention it in the blog. Apologies. We hope you had a wonderful time yesterday. We are very proud of you and your family, bragging to everyone about our grandchildren. Our love to you both.
Sharing a bathroom isn't too bad in most places. Picture this place. First of all, it is up four flights of stairs to the front door of the hotel, a big locked wooden door at the top of the two flights. Upon arriving, you ring the doorbell and the elderly Italian lady (I'm not kidding, Mom, she could be YOUR grandmother) answers the door. If you are one of the fortunate ones that called early enough to get a bathroom ensuite, you check in as best you can in Italian then you continue up the stairs to whatever heavenly rooms exist in the hotel. If you didn't get your own bathroom, you stay on the lobby floor with a bedroom opening up directly across from the check-in desk. There are two bathrooms down the hall, past the family kitchen and den where grandma and her children, the also elderly couple that speak some English spend most of their day. We share the bathroom with the family. Last night when Mike tried to use the bathroom and found them both locked, shortly thereafter, the English speaking old guy knocked on his door in his bathrobe to let Mike know it was available to him now. One of the bathrooms is a toilet and a shower. You get really wet when you wash your hands in that shower. The other bathroom is a shower, toilet and sink. It has a window that opens up into a closet that opens at the other end into the family's den. I am not making this up. They leave the bathroom window wide open, presumably because they enjoy bathroom music with their TV, which is playing at the volume suitable for people who lived through the bombing of WWII, maybe even WWI.
We started looking for rooms in Venice and my budget-managing husband is freaking out over the prices. I never would have believed he would do this at the start of our trip, but when he was doing the dialing for hotel rooms today to find an affordable Venice hotel he actually requested rooms WITHOUT a bathroom so that we could find something in the double digit price range. My how we have come down in expectations. When I finish the blog entry I am going on line to look for a room in Venice on Booking.com or Venere.com which Maryann has recommended to us. You'll find out in the next edition what happened.
Today was spent sightseeing Verona. We bought a tourist card which provided access to the sights then walked around checking them out. Sure wish I could share the photos, as we saw some awesome sights. The Roman arena dating from the frist century AD is still standing and is currently being set up for the production of Guillietta and Romeo that begins tomorrow. The basillica of St. Anastasia was beautiful and because it shared a name with Mike's mother, it was very special. The shopping street here is amazing. We are located right above it (noisy) but access to some of the most impressive designer stores is just four flights of stairs away. And, we have a wonderful gelateria right downstairs, with the best gelato we have tried in Italy so far. (We haven't stopped at every possible place that sells gelato but we sure have tried lots of it).
Wish me luck with reservations in Venice.....
Deanne
Sharing a bathroom isn't too bad in most places. Picture this place. First of all, it is up four flights of stairs to the front door of the hotel, a big locked wooden door at the top of the two flights. Upon arriving, you ring the doorbell and the elderly Italian lady (I'm not kidding, Mom, she could be YOUR grandmother) answers the door. If you are one of the fortunate ones that called early enough to get a bathroom ensuite, you check in as best you can in Italian then you continue up the stairs to whatever heavenly rooms exist in the hotel. If you didn't get your own bathroom, you stay on the lobby floor with a bedroom opening up directly across from the check-in desk. There are two bathrooms down the hall, past the family kitchen and den where grandma and her children, the also elderly couple that speak some English spend most of their day. We share the bathroom with the family. Last night when Mike tried to use the bathroom and found them both locked, shortly thereafter, the English speaking old guy knocked on his door in his bathrobe to let Mike know it was available to him now. One of the bathrooms is a toilet and a shower. You get really wet when you wash your hands in that shower. The other bathroom is a shower, toilet and sink. It has a window that opens up into a closet that opens at the other end into the family's den. I am not making this up. They leave the bathroom window wide open, presumably because they enjoy bathroom music with their TV, which is playing at the volume suitable for people who lived through the bombing of WWII, maybe even WWI.
We started looking for rooms in Venice and my budget-managing husband is freaking out over the prices. I never would have believed he would do this at the start of our trip, but when he was doing the dialing for hotel rooms today to find an affordable Venice hotel he actually requested rooms WITHOUT a bathroom so that we could find something in the double digit price range. My how we have come down in expectations. When I finish the blog entry I am going on line to look for a room in Venice on Booking.com or Venere.com which Maryann has recommended to us. You'll find out in the next edition what happened.
Today was spent sightseeing Verona. We bought a tourist card which provided access to the sights then walked around checking them out. Sure wish I could share the photos, as we saw some awesome sights. The Roman arena dating from the frist century AD is still standing and is currently being set up for the production of Guillietta and Romeo that begins tomorrow. The basillica of St. Anastasia was beautiful and because it shared a name with Mike's mother, it was very special. The shopping street here is amazing. We are located right above it (noisy) but access to some of the most impressive designer stores is just four flights of stairs away. And, we have a wonderful gelateria right downstairs, with the best gelato we have tried in Italy so far. (We haven't stopped at every possible place that sells gelato but we sure have tried lots of it).
Wish me luck with reservations in Venice.....
Deanne
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
In the land of young Love
It is best to start today's entry with a great big thanks to everyone that sent us e-mails thanking us for finally getting off our comfortable bottoms to find an Internet cafe and update the blog. We are sorry to cause any of you worry, but after our past few accidents we certainly understand why you envisioned us in a double room at the Pisa Generali Oespital. Given our new understanding that there is no charge for hospitals, and our strong desire to beat our 100 Euro per night budget, a hospital stay does not sound all that bad.
We're doing fine. The camera is taking photos, but technical issues with the Internet cafes make it easier not to post them until we get to somewhere with wifi, so you'll have to wait to see for yourselves that we are alive and well. Mike's purple leg is healing, although the bruise looks like gravity is doing a number on the purple spot, that now stretches from the top of his leg and down below the knee. Who would have thought that bruises sag just like the rest of our aging bodies.
Last night was one of those occasional nights we have when one or both us us can't sleep. This isn't unique to this trip, but we notice it a lot more when there is no where to go to sit up and read while the other sleeps. So, last night I sat in the tiny bathroom reading for several hours until Mike woke up so that we could keep each other company in our wakefulness. We were attacked by mosquitoes for some reason and they were relentless. They did a number on me in Florence too, but they hadn't been too bad in Cinque Terre until last night when they feasted on us both. The biggest problem was the sate of alert you stay in waiting for the next attack so that you can cream those little puppies. In any event, after only a few hours sleep we got up, showered and took off for the bus down the hill to the train station. We were without our normal two cappuccino breakfast, as town doesn't open up until 9:00 am. Even the bus driver doesn't make any runs that early, so we ended up dragging our wheelie bags and our backpacks down the switch backed road, through the grape vineyards, above the 180 degree view of the ocean and down to the train station. Kind of makes you feel sorry for us having to make that walk at 8:00 doesn't it?
The train to La Spezia went fine, but when it came time to board the train to Milano we found ourselves locked out of the train. A nice conductor took pity on us when they announced that our train was delayed for an hour and tried to help us find an alternative. But, while we was looking at his hand held computer trying to figure it out the engine started up and it was decided we really didn't need to delay an hour, we could take off. Getting on a train that has mechanical problems is a lot less scary than an airplane. This train was configured in sets of six seats. Our seatmates included a couple from Golden, Colorado, Mike and Vicki who we spent the entire two hours talking to about our travels. The poor Italian businessman sitting in the fifth seat with his computer out trying to work!
We are experts at doing the on/off trains. We can hike our bags up and down the stairs and onto the overhead rack like nothing. We remind ourselves that this is taking the place of the gym time we spent lifting weights. Today we had three trains to load and unload, but the speed with which we handle the bags now is much better than when we started the trip.
There are numerous drawbacks to cheap hotels but the most obvious one is that they are ALWAYS up lots of stairs. That makes them particularly nasty after carrying the luggage on and off the train and across a new town in which you don't know where you're going. When you get to the hotel, like we did today, and there is only a sign on the door and a set of stairs facing you, it is daunting. Sometimes we lose our sense of humor and adventure, although today, even without sleep we climbed them without complaint.
The proprietor of this hotel was not a day under 85 years old and it was clear from our communication that she spoke less English than we speak Italian. She made lots of attempts to explain her Italian to us with more Italian, but it was like a Laurel and Hardy to do business with her. She had us worried that we were not going to get the room we had reserved earlier, but it turns out that she was actually lamenting the fact that there were no more rooms with en suite bathrooms (we already knew this sad fact). She took a shine to me, and took my hand to walk me around the place and show me how the locks work (we have four keys to use to get safely to our room) and where the facilities are. This tiny little old lady was explaining to me something about Mike not using the same shower as me. I finally figured out that she wanted him to use the shower reserved for extra tall people rather than the other one for the rest of us. After checking in and giving her our passports as required in most of the hotels we have stayed in, we asked her about an hour later for our passports back. The answer was no, but it took us major interpretations to figure out why. At first we thought we wouldn't get them back until we paid her the money, but it turns out the English word for money is similar to the Italian word for Wednesday or tomorrow or whenever we think she is going to give them back to us. We'll see.
We saw a poster advertising a production of Romeo and Guiliette(their spelling)at the ancient Roman arena in Verona. So, here we are staying in a hotel on Via Cappoletto, home of the Capulets and we may have a chance to see the play in a thousand year old arena. We haven't tried to buy tickets yet. A task for tomorrow.
The Internet cafe closes early here in Verona, so we will sign off and go get some dinner. Our love to all of you. Thanks for the notes. Gerry, we are still laughing at your comments. And Maryann, thanks for the advice on Venice.
Love, Deanne (and Mike)
We're doing fine. The camera is taking photos, but technical issues with the Internet cafes make it easier not to post them until we get to somewhere with wifi, so you'll have to wait to see for yourselves that we are alive and well. Mike's purple leg is healing, although the bruise looks like gravity is doing a number on the purple spot, that now stretches from the top of his leg and down below the knee. Who would have thought that bruises sag just like the rest of our aging bodies.
Last night was one of those occasional nights we have when one or both us us can't sleep. This isn't unique to this trip, but we notice it a lot more when there is no where to go to sit up and read while the other sleeps. So, last night I sat in the tiny bathroom reading for several hours until Mike woke up so that we could keep each other company in our wakefulness. We were attacked by mosquitoes for some reason and they were relentless. They did a number on me in Florence too, but they hadn't been too bad in Cinque Terre until last night when they feasted on us both. The biggest problem was the sate of alert you stay in waiting for the next attack so that you can cream those little puppies. In any event, after only a few hours sleep we got up, showered and took off for the bus down the hill to the train station. We were without our normal two cappuccino breakfast, as town doesn't open up until 9:00 am. Even the bus driver doesn't make any runs that early, so we ended up dragging our wheelie bags and our backpacks down the switch backed road, through the grape vineyards, above the 180 degree view of the ocean and down to the train station. Kind of makes you feel sorry for us having to make that walk at 8:00 doesn't it?
The train to La Spezia went fine, but when it came time to board the train to Milano we found ourselves locked out of the train. A nice conductor took pity on us when they announced that our train was delayed for an hour and tried to help us find an alternative. But, while we was looking at his hand held computer trying to figure it out the engine started up and it was decided we really didn't need to delay an hour, we could take off. Getting on a train that has mechanical problems is a lot less scary than an airplane. This train was configured in sets of six seats. Our seatmates included a couple from Golden, Colorado, Mike and Vicki who we spent the entire two hours talking to about our travels. The poor Italian businessman sitting in the fifth seat with his computer out trying to work!
We are experts at doing the on/off trains. We can hike our bags up and down the stairs and onto the overhead rack like nothing. We remind ourselves that this is taking the place of the gym time we spent lifting weights. Today we had three trains to load and unload, but the speed with which we handle the bags now is much better than when we started the trip.
There are numerous drawbacks to cheap hotels but the most obvious one is that they are ALWAYS up lots of stairs. That makes them particularly nasty after carrying the luggage on and off the train and across a new town in which you don't know where you're going. When you get to the hotel, like we did today, and there is only a sign on the door and a set of stairs facing you, it is daunting. Sometimes we lose our sense of humor and adventure, although today, even without sleep we climbed them without complaint.
The proprietor of this hotel was not a day under 85 years old and it was clear from our communication that she spoke less English than we speak Italian. She made lots of attempts to explain her Italian to us with more Italian, but it was like a Laurel and Hardy to do business with her. She had us worried that we were not going to get the room we had reserved earlier, but it turns out that she was actually lamenting the fact that there were no more rooms with en suite bathrooms (we already knew this sad fact). She took a shine to me, and took my hand to walk me around the place and show me how the locks work (we have four keys to use to get safely to our room) and where the facilities are. This tiny little old lady was explaining to me something about Mike not using the same shower as me. I finally figured out that she wanted him to use the shower reserved for extra tall people rather than the other one for the rest of us. After checking in and giving her our passports as required in most of the hotels we have stayed in, we asked her about an hour later for our passports back. The answer was no, but it took us major interpretations to figure out why. At first we thought we wouldn't get them back until we paid her the money, but it turns out the English word for money is similar to the Italian word for Wednesday or tomorrow or whenever we think she is going to give them back to us. We'll see.
We saw a poster advertising a production of Romeo and Guiliette(their spelling)at the ancient Roman arena in Verona. So, here we are staying in a hotel on Via Cappoletto, home of the Capulets and we may have a chance to see the play in a thousand year old arena. We haven't tried to buy tickets yet. A task for tomorrow.
The Internet cafe closes early here in Verona, so we will sign off and go get some dinner. Our love to all of you. Thanks for the notes. Gerry, we are still laughing at your comments. And Maryann, thanks for the advice on Venice.
Love, Deanne (and Mike)
Monday, September 10, 2007
Internet Free Italy
It is hard to believe that anywhere in the world (outside of Mancos, Colorado) still uses dial up access to the internet, but this place does. We left Lucca and headed up the the coastal area of Italy known as the Cinque Terre, or five lands. It is the most heavenly place- five little tiny towns perched on the edge of the world. We are in Coniglia, the center most of the five towns. We ended up in this one by chance, having spent our final night in Lucca on the mobile phone calling all of the hotels in both guide books. We started with the Lonely Planet guide because its slant towards young and poor travelers seems to fit our budget aspirations better than the Frommer guide book. After exhausting all of its possibilities, we started into Frommer. On our tenth call (as marked off in the book so that we didn,t call any twice) we found the one with a room for three nights. Our hotelier runs a restaurant, and like many of the businessmen in this town, also rents out rooms. We have a gorgeous view from our window above the restaurant of the town and the ocean. Our western facing window gets spectacular views, which once we get to internet other than the current internet cafe, I will share with you.
Our choice of Coniglia was pure chance, but one we are very appreciative to have received. The towns on each end of the Cinque Terre are the most lively, with more hotels and beaches to accommodate the crowds. Our town is the only one perched high on a hill, requiring either a bus ride or 365 steps to go from the train to the town square. Each day we travel from this town on the train to one of the other towns in order to see each of these unique little villages. Coniglia is delightfully remote and uncrowded but we have tried each of its restaurants and now can unequivocally say that it is possible to have mediocre food in Italy. This area is best known for its white wine (good- we have tried it repeatedly to verify) and its seafood. Under ideal circumstances Mike is not a seafood lover, but in a place where you don,t know what you are ordering, and where most fish and shrimp comes with unsavory identifying information like heads, tails, skins and shells, he is very reluctant to venture away from his safe spaghetti with pomodoro sauce. We had sea bass one night, as the only way to get it was to order for two, and when it arrived in its birthday suit on the table, we picked through its bones, skins, eyeballs, etc. to get our three bites each. We decided to forgo the fish for awhile. I have had spaghetti with clams, a nostalgic family favorite, and spaghetti with seafood with the rubbery calamari that brought back the nostalgic memories of my twenty-first birthday party during which I was introduced to calamari for the first time.
The only internet access available in Coniglia is in the "bar", a tiny little room full of old men playing cards. At the back of the room there are two ancient PCs set up with dial-up access to the internet. The agony of waiting for the screens to load have prevented us from doing anything on these machines. Instead, we took the train to the northernmost of the towns, Riomaggiore, today. We are sitting in the internet cafe, where between the two of us, we are using more than twenty percent of the computing capacity within a fifty square mile area. Amazing. Because I am not on my own computer I can,t update the photos. You will be happy to hear that out of every fifty shots I take without automatic focus, about twenty or so are decent enough to share. The others are so out of focus as to be relegated to the delete bucket immediately.
Today is our sixth day in Coniglia. We extended our stay once we got here and found ourselves in such a beautiful and peaceful place. We have been spending our morning walking (after breakfast of cornettos and cappachinos) and our afternoons resting, and Mike is slowly healing from his accident. The purple spot on his leg, which pretty much fills up the back side of his left leg, has started to fade as his strength returns. His knee swells up each afternoon, so we rest to recover.
Tomorrow we leave here for Verona. We were considering Como, land of George Clooney and most of the people that leave here, but others have told us that it is not as magical as the Cinque Terre, so we have decided to see it later. Verona is a convenient stop on the way to Venice, a city that we have never seen. The controversy of whether to go to Venice or not seems to be popular among the tourists, many of think it is too over priced and smelly and others who think it romantic and beautiful. We thought we would check it out and see for ourselves.
There is most definitely a traveler's sharing of information that takes place. When we hear English we frequently lean over to the table next to us or the people nearby and start up a conversation. In the Cinque Terra most of the English we hear is from Canadians rather than Americans. We met a newlywed couple from Ottawa, Brad and Melina. Like us, they stayed in Conigulia for five days, although Brad's outgoing personality made them the center of attention in town. They made friends with everyone and were invited to dinner at the home of people they met in town. We met them for wine at the Entoteca (wine bar) several nights and made friends along with them. The proprietor of the wine bar was spending his days picking grapes and Brad helped him haul the grapes down to the cellar below the wine bar for pressing, so we were able to meet the crew and hear all about the process. When Marco, the proprietor (named in the Rick Steves guide book) decided to share his television with the town in order for everyone to watch the France vs. Italy soccer finals, we were invited to sit in the alley and watch the game with everyone else.
One night we sat down for dinner in a restaurant high above the ocean alongside a table with four people speaking English. Together we were the only people in the place. They heard us and made room for us at their table and soon we were part of the group from Texas. These two couples went to college together twenty years ago and travel together every year or two. it was fun to meet them and to be part of their party. So, we have found alternative entertainment to make up for lack of Internet.
We spoke to Caitie yesterday. She and her roommates were spending their Sunday afternoon doing homework. She is recovering from tonsillitis which she thinks she has had for awhile but has just now seen a doctor. Life is good and she seems very happy with college.
Verona should have better Internet access, so we will check in again soon. Gotta go now: Mike is done and ready to hobble our way back to the train and our hammocks.
Deanne
Our choice of Coniglia was pure chance, but one we are very appreciative to have received. The towns on each end of the Cinque Terre are the most lively, with more hotels and beaches to accommodate the crowds. Our town is the only one perched high on a hill, requiring either a bus ride or 365 steps to go from the train to the town square. Each day we travel from this town on the train to one of the other towns in order to see each of these unique little villages. Coniglia is delightfully remote and uncrowded but we have tried each of its restaurants and now can unequivocally say that it is possible to have mediocre food in Italy. This area is best known for its white wine (good- we have tried it repeatedly to verify) and its seafood. Under ideal circumstances Mike is not a seafood lover, but in a place where you don,t know what you are ordering, and where most fish and shrimp comes with unsavory identifying information like heads, tails, skins and shells, he is very reluctant to venture away from his safe spaghetti with pomodoro sauce. We had sea bass one night, as the only way to get it was to order for two, and when it arrived in its birthday suit on the table, we picked through its bones, skins, eyeballs, etc. to get our three bites each. We decided to forgo the fish for awhile. I have had spaghetti with clams, a nostalgic family favorite, and spaghetti with seafood with the rubbery calamari that brought back the nostalgic memories of my twenty-first birthday party during which I was introduced to calamari for the first time.
The only internet access available in Coniglia is in the "bar", a tiny little room full of old men playing cards. At the back of the room there are two ancient PCs set up with dial-up access to the internet. The agony of waiting for the screens to load have prevented us from doing anything on these machines. Instead, we took the train to the northernmost of the towns, Riomaggiore, today. We are sitting in the internet cafe, where between the two of us, we are using more than twenty percent of the computing capacity within a fifty square mile area. Amazing. Because I am not on my own computer I can,t update the photos. You will be happy to hear that out of every fifty shots I take without automatic focus, about twenty or so are decent enough to share. The others are so out of focus as to be relegated to the delete bucket immediately.
Today is our sixth day in Coniglia. We extended our stay once we got here and found ourselves in such a beautiful and peaceful place. We have been spending our morning walking (after breakfast of cornettos and cappachinos) and our afternoons resting, and Mike is slowly healing from his accident. The purple spot on his leg, which pretty much fills up the back side of his left leg, has started to fade as his strength returns. His knee swells up each afternoon, so we rest to recover.
Tomorrow we leave here for Verona. We were considering Como, land of George Clooney and most of the people that leave here, but others have told us that it is not as magical as the Cinque Terre, so we have decided to see it later. Verona is a convenient stop on the way to Venice, a city that we have never seen. The controversy of whether to go to Venice or not seems to be popular among the tourists, many of think it is too over priced and smelly and others who think it romantic and beautiful. We thought we would check it out and see for ourselves.
There is most definitely a traveler's sharing of information that takes place. When we hear English we frequently lean over to the table next to us or the people nearby and start up a conversation. In the Cinque Terra most of the English we hear is from Canadians rather than Americans. We met a newlywed couple from Ottawa, Brad and Melina. Like us, they stayed in Conigulia for five days, although Brad's outgoing personality made them the center of attention in town. They made friends with everyone and were invited to dinner at the home of people they met in town. We met them for wine at the Entoteca (wine bar) several nights and made friends along with them. The proprietor of the wine bar was spending his days picking grapes and Brad helped him haul the grapes down to the cellar below the wine bar for pressing, so we were able to meet the crew and hear all about the process. When Marco, the proprietor (named in the Rick Steves guide book) decided to share his television with the town in order for everyone to watch the France vs. Italy soccer finals, we were invited to sit in the alley and watch the game with everyone else.
One night we sat down for dinner in a restaurant high above the ocean alongside a table with four people speaking English. Together we were the only people in the place. They heard us and made room for us at their table and soon we were part of the group from Texas. These two couples went to college together twenty years ago and travel together every year or two. it was fun to meet them and to be part of their party. So, we have found alternative entertainment to make up for lack of Internet.
We spoke to Caitie yesterday. She and her roommates were spending their Sunday afternoon doing homework. She is recovering from tonsillitis which she thinks she has had for awhile but has just now seen a doctor. Life is good and she seems very happy with college.
Verona should have better Internet access, so we will check in again soon. Gotta go now: Mike is done and ready to hobble our way back to the train and our hammocks.
Deanne
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Trying not to cry over spilled camera
We are in Lucca now. Our room, while well within our budget, comes with a steep price. Four sets of stairs over which to carry luggage and ourselves to be exact. It makes us nostalgic for the tiny 2 foot square lifts of our past. For 70 Euro per night we have a room without breakfast and with a bathroom across the hall. Apparently later today the guy with the en suite bathroom moves out and we graduate to a bathroom that does not require getting dressed to use. Although the guidebook says that breakfast is included, the cook is ill, so we are roughing it at the bakery downstairs. The joys of improvising!
Poor Mike is still recovering. His leg is massively purple where he landed, and it stiffens up when he sits, so he still needs some recovery time. It is nice not to be on crutches, though. After our arrival yesterday he rested while I went out exploring. I visited several churches and had a great walk. Unfortunately it was my turn to take a spill. I was putting my camera in its bag while walking and I missed a step inside a church. It was a short step and I easily regained my balance without falling, but the camera crashed to the marble floor with a resounding noise that made me want to cry. It seems to take photos okay, but only on manual focus. The automatic focus capability disappeared on the floor of the Basilica di San Frediano in Lucca. I must admit I relied heavily on that feature. The photos I took yesterday after the accident were occasionally in focus, but more often than not, they were fuzzy. I have to learn the focus now, which is more difficult with my glasses than the automatic focus was. I am trying to keep a positive attitude and look at this as a growth opportunity.... my photography skills will improve!
So, if you there aren't many photos for the next few days you'll know that the ones I am taking aren't making the grade.
Tomorrow is Matt's 23rd birthday. He never reads the blog or looks at e-mail so it is highly unlikely he will see this greeting. But, just in case any of you talk to him, give him our love. Happy birthday Big Guy, with love from Mom and Dad.
Poor Mike is still recovering. His leg is massively purple where he landed, and it stiffens up when he sits, so he still needs some recovery time. It is nice not to be on crutches, though. After our arrival yesterday he rested while I went out exploring. I visited several churches and had a great walk. Unfortunately it was my turn to take a spill. I was putting my camera in its bag while walking and I missed a step inside a church. It was a short step and I easily regained my balance without falling, but the camera crashed to the marble floor with a resounding noise that made me want to cry. It seems to take photos okay, but only on manual focus. The automatic focus capability disappeared on the floor of the Basilica di San Frediano in Lucca. I must admit I relied heavily on that feature. The photos I took yesterday after the accident were occasionally in focus, but more often than not, they were fuzzy. I have to learn the focus now, which is more difficult with my glasses than the automatic focus was. I am trying to keep a positive attitude and look at this as a growth opportunity.... my photography skills will improve!
So, if you there aren't many photos for the next few days you'll know that the ones I am taking aren't making the grade.
Tomorrow is Matt's 23rd birthday. He never reads the blog or looks at e-mail so it is highly unlikely he will see this greeting. But, just in case any of you talk to him, give him our love. Happy birthday Big Guy, with love from Mom and Dad.
Monday, September 3, 2007
The joys of having a neighborhood
Mike is back among the mobile walking world. He turned in his crutches this morning and walked to meals. We stayed close to our hotel today, so the ventures out were not overly aggressive, and he aced each of the walks. So, ready or not, we leave Florence tomorrow. We were not able to go to any of the museums during our stay due to the accident, so we have reserved our hotel room for several days in October, just before we leave Italy. We will visit Caitie and see Florence so that this wonderful city is one of our final memories.
Just walking around the neighborhood of our hotel has been a pleasure. We are only a block from the Mercato Centrale- Florence's huge central food market. Opened in 1874, it is reportedly Europe's' largest covered food hall. We strolled around the first floor where the meats, wines and assorted other things like wine and olive oil are sold. I have added some photos of the meat counters, where we saw whole rabbits, minus their skins, and pigs feet as big as my forearm. The second floor was the produce floor, where they had wonderful fruits and vegetables along with entire stands of mushrooms (funghi) with a rich, earthy smell. We had our second coffee of the day in this market served by a pleasant woman with no front teeth.
Being immobile has given us some side benefits. We have eaten meals at several hotels twice, and the familiarity of the staff in seeing us the second time makes it feel like home. The Italians welcome us with even more enthusiasm when we return for the second time. Of course, the gelato lady has seen us three times, but that is purely for the medicinal qualities of the calcium in her Straciatella gelato, this wonderful chocolate chip flavor.
Caitie started classes today. Mike and I took Caitie and two of her roommates to dinner tonight after they walked to the bookstore downtown to buy their textbooks. We needed to give Caitie the suitcase we retrieved from Rome, so our visit with the girls allowed us to pass the big bag along to her. The NYU photos include some pictures of the three roommates who seem to have become very close in less than a week's time. Mike and I are so pleased that Caitie has such good friends to help her transition to college life.
Tomorrow- it's off to Lucca. Another walled city; but this time with gelato.
Deanne
Just walking around the neighborhood of our hotel has been a pleasure. We are only a block from the Mercato Centrale- Florence's huge central food market. Opened in 1874, it is reportedly Europe's' largest covered food hall. We strolled around the first floor where the meats, wines and assorted other things like wine and olive oil are sold. I have added some photos of the meat counters, where we saw whole rabbits, minus their skins, and pigs feet as big as my forearm. The second floor was the produce floor, where they had wonderful fruits and vegetables along with entire stands of mushrooms (funghi) with a rich, earthy smell. We had our second coffee of the day in this market served by a pleasant woman with no front teeth.
Being immobile has given us some side benefits. We have eaten meals at several hotels twice, and the familiarity of the staff in seeing us the second time makes it feel like home. The Italians welcome us with even more enthusiasm when we return for the second time. Of course, the gelato lady has seen us three times, but that is purely for the medicinal qualities of the calcium in her Straciatella gelato, this wonderful chocolate chip flavor.
Caitie started classes today. Mike and I took Caitie and two of her roommates to dinner tonight after they walked to the bookstore downtown to buy their textbooks. We needed to give Caitie the suitcase we retrieved from Rome, so our visit with the girls allowed us to pass the big bag along to her. The NYU photos include some pictures of the three roommates who seem to have become very close in less than a week's time. Mike and I are so pleased that Caitie has such good friends to help her transition to college life.
Tomorrow- it's off to Lucca. Another walled city; but this time with gelato.
Deanne
Sunday, September 2, 2007
A new world experience in the old world
Today was an errand day. After our leisurely breakfast at 9:30 (my how we have changed in six weeks) we walked to the train station and caught the train to Rome, as chronicled by Mike in his blog addition below. He didn't mention an experience we had on the way back from Rome that I found very interesting. As we have been doing, we struck up a conversation with the people sitting near by us in the train. These men were obviously Americans, as evidenced by the diet Cokes they pulled out of their "panini express" bags (think Italisn McDonalds). The Boston Red Sox hat was not enough of a clue as to citizenship, as every other European wears a baseball hat from the US, mostly the NY Yankees. Even the Adidas tennis shoes was not 100% proof positive, although it was close. The Diet Coke was a clincher though. They cost between 2 and 4 Euros for a bottle of Coke Light, or $2.75- 3.50, so anyone drinking them must be a sure fire addict, and that is almost always an American. There were other obvious clues too, but the Diet Coke was the sure fire proof. The Rick Steves guide book that they pulled out after we had pegged them as Americans only cemented the opinion.
In any event, these two big, buff guys were sitting there in the train across from us, although not right beside us. Placed just right for us to notice them while we were reading and to start up a conversation. Independently we were trying to peg their story (business collegeagues out to see the sights on the weekend, etc.) until we struck up a conversation. They seemed happy to talk to fellow Americans and told us they were celebrating their honeymoon, having just married in Boston at their home, and again in Maine at the family home of one of them. We talked about their wedding, their jobs, their holiday and ours and altogether had a nice visit during the remainder of the 1 1/2 hour train ride from Rome to Florence.
I relay this story because it struck me that although we were traveling in an old world country with architecture and heritage thousends of years old all around us, we were talking to people that could only share their life story with us in the current world. How wonderful to be visiting the world of the Renaissance and the Great Thinkers in a time of telerance and acceptance.
Peace,
Deanne
In any event, these two big, buff guys were sitting there in the train across from us, although not right beside us. Placed just right for us to notice them while we were reading and to start up a conversation. Independently we were trying to peg their story (business collegeagues out to see the sights on the weekend, etc.) until we struck up a conversation. They seemed happy to talk to fellow Americans and told us they were celebrating their honeymoon, having just married in Boston at their home, and again in Maine at the family home of one of them. We talked about their wedding, their jobs, their holiday and ours and altogether had a nice visit during the remainder of the 1 1/2 hour train ride from Rome to Florence.
I relay this story because it struck me that although we were traveling in an old world country with architecture and heritage thousends of years old all around us, we were talking to people that could only share their life story with us in the current world. How wonderful to be visiting the world of the Renaissance and the Great Thinkers in a time of telerance and acceptance.
Peace,
Deanne
Return to the scene of the crime....
Today we ventured out to the scene of my illustrious fall at the Florence train station. Equipped with my rented crutches and a strong resolve to conquer the crossing of the Marble floor unscathed, we set off for the dreaded station! We made it down the street and across several busy intersections and into the station where we once again retraced our steps to the ticket office. I just kept my head down and plowed ahead never taking my eyes off what felt like a skating rink. After successfully getting our reserved seats we went out to wait and see what track we would be departing. Deanne went to check the board while I carved out a clean spot on the shiny surface. As she returned , she had this big smile on her face and I thought, "Oh no someone else took a header!!" However it was good news. As she was looking up at the board she recognized a familiar face to all Seattleites and baseball fans everywhere...Edgar Martinez!!!! She came running back, and I looked, and at first he looked a bit different, and then he turned and sure enough it was Edgar. Not being shy I went over and just said "Edgar"? Big smile and he says " Where you from?" We say Seattle and he shakes hands with us and I told him last summer I met him at Barnes and Noble in Bellevue ( eastside of Lake Washington) and when I went outside I saw a kid with his mother and I said, "Hey kid, go inside, Edgar Martinez is there and you may get an autograph". Kid looks up and says, " I know, he's my Dad". Edgar's wife Holly got a big laugh out of that and Edgar today said he remembered that day in Bellevue. So a little lousy Karma and then some good at the train station. We went on into Rome, retrieved this monster bag for Caitie and came back to our home away from home. I must tell you one other funny story from our new friend, the hotel manager, who looks a little like Danny Divito and is usually very serious. All excited, he was telling us about a movie the famous Italian actor Roberto Benigni, who is proudly from Florence and won an Oscar, was playing in a smaller role in an Italian gangster movie. In broken English the hotel manager is doing a great job of telling us that Roberto is sitting at a outdoor restaurant having espresso. At a table a safe number of yards away a guy is stealing a banana and is putting it up the sleeve of his jacket. Suddenly a black car pulls up with brakes screeching and a Mafia guy jumps out with a machine gun and blows the banana thief away. Roberto does not know the banana guy owed them a lot of money, so as he is leaving another person comes up and asks what happened, and Roberto says " I don't know but don't eat the bananas!!!! He cheered up my day! Have fun...enjoy. Go Mariners!!
Mike
Mike
Saturday, September 1, 2007
A Quiet Saturday... Take that back, IKEA is not quiet
We have been staying close to our room for the past few days in order to let Mike's leg heal. Yesterday he was in pain and needed to stay in bed, but today he woke up in good spirits and anxious to get up and move around. He removed his compression bandage and went to breakfast then went for a spin around the neighborhood. We are starting to feel like locals... we have our favorite haunts. After our morning walk, we came back for laundry (he is taking full advantage of his injury to have his laundry done by his adoring wife) and naps. Then, at about 1:00 we took an even longer walk to have lunch. Mike got around these rocky streets on those crutches, dodging motorcycles and tourists adroitly.
Caitie and two of her roommates came by to visit Mike, brightening up the afternoon. Then, the girls and I headed out in search of the free IKEA bus that takes shoppers from downtown (the illustrious train station of the banana affair) to the IKEA store. We were on an expedition to furnish the dorm room with a few essential elements. Four girls and one shower means that to take a shower you have to dodge four razors, four bottles of shampoo, four bars of soap, four bottles of conditioner, etc. all spread out on the floor of a 3x3 shower. They were using a donated towel as a rug, and their suitcases to hold their belongings. So, we went in search of supplies.
If you have never been to an IKEA, that major Swedish chain store for furnishings and lots more, save yourself the agony and skip it. If it is even possible to be more crowded that the store in Seattle, this one was. The good thing about having the store crowded with Italians is that you feel like you are walking around in a bubble where the noise might as well be TV blaring. You hear people talking but you can totally tune it out because you haven't got a clue what they are saying. The hardest part of an IKEA store is the lay-out of the store and the way they organize the merchandise. Imagine a two story football stadium in which you enter through one door, get funneled up some stairs, snake around the entire football field in a pack of frenzied shoppers through rooms and rooms of furniture, only to end up at the opposite end of the field having walked its length and width four or five times while you were winding your way to the end, then walking down another set of stairs to do it all over again on the bottom floor until your eventual escape at the exit cashier line where you get to stand for twenty minutes and contemplate your purchases. As you wind your way through the pretend kitchens you are never sure whether this is the spot where you look for the coffee mug you want, or do you wait in the hopes that their will come a coffee mug department. Likewise, do you grab the single rug you like from the fake bathroom, or do you leave it there knowing that there will be a new rug, not a sample, further in the bowels of the store in the rug department. For all the challenges of keeping a smile on your face in a store designed to frustrate anyone, I must admit it was fun to spend my time with Caitie and her roommates. The three of these girls are beautiful, fun and polite. It was a treat to be invited to share their decorating trip and I loved to be part of it. They are all very excited to be at NYU and full of the excitement of the first few days as they learn all about this new city, culture and university life. Their enthusiasm for their purchases and their concern about making sure they got good value for their expenditures was a treat. I was likely the oldest person on the IKEA shopping bus by a good twenty (okay, maybe a little more) years, and it felt like I was sneaking in for a peak at life among the college kids. They told me about the other students they have met, the parties and dancing they have been doing, their developing friendships, etc. After hearing all of that, I REALLY want to be a university student in Florence.
Deanne
Caitie and two of her roommates came by to visit Mike, brightening up the afternoon. Then, the girls and I headed out in search of the free IKEA bus that takes shoppers from downtown (the illustrious train station of the banana affair) to the IKEA store. We were on an expedition to furnish the dorm room with a few essential elements. Four girls and one shower means that to take a shower you have to dodge four razors, four bottles of shampoo, four bars of soap, four bottles of conditioner, etc. all spread out on the floor of a 3x3 shower. They were using a donated towel as a rug, and their suitcases to hold their belongings. So, we went in search of supplies.
If you have never been to an IKEA, that major Swedish chain store for furnishings and lots more, save yourself the agony and skip it. If it is even possible to be more crowded that the store in Seattle, this one was. The good thing about having the store crowded with Italians is that you feel like you are walking around in a bubble where the noise might as well be TV blaring. You hear people talking but you can totally tune it out because you haven't got a clue what they are saying. The hardest part of an IKEA store is the lay-out of the store and the way they organize the merchandise. Imagine a two story football stadium in which you enter through one door, get funneled up some stairs, snake around the entire football field in a pack of frenzied shoppers through rooms and rooms of furniture, only to end up at the opposite end of the field having walked its length and width four or five times while you were winding your way to the end, then walking down another set of stairs to do it all over again on the bottom floor until your eventual escape at the exit cashier line where you get to stand for twenty minutes and contemplate your purchases. As you wind your way through the pretend kitchens you are never sure whether this is the spot where you look for the coffee mug you want, or do you wait in the hopes that their will come a coffee mug department. Likewise, do you grab the single rug you like from the fake bathroom, or do you leave it there knowing that there will be a new rug, not a sample, further in the bowels of the store in the rug department. For all the challenges of keeping a smile on your face in a store designed to frustrate anyone, I must admit it was fun to spend my time with Caitie and her roommates. The three of these girls are beautiful, fun and polite. It was a treat to be invited to share their decorating trip and I loved to be part of it. They are all very excited to be at NYU and full of the excitement of the first few days as they learn all about this new city, culture and university life. Their enthusiasm for their purchases and their concern about making sure they got good value for their expenditures was a treat. I was likely the oldest person on the IKEA shopping bus by a good twenty (okay, maybe a little more) years, and it felt like I was sneaking in for a peak at life among the college kids. They told me about the other students they have met, the parties and dancing they have been doing, their developing friendships, etc. After hearing all of that, I REALLY want to be a university student in Florence.
Deanne
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