We’re doing the laundry and packing up after a week in one place. It has been such a luxury to sit in a single place for a week. We worked out at the Gold’s gym every other day, ate microwaved oatmeal every morning in our kitchenette and spread out our clothes instead of keeping everything packed during our stay. We learned the public transportation system and the groceries (which thankfully are much easier to find than in Europe).
We have found Australians to be warm and friendly. Every time we thank someone, we get the very pleasant response of, “no worries”. They are open to conversations about where we are from and curious about our visit. The Australian news is covering the Los Angeles fires as top coverage. Right now I am watching Charlie Wrangel on the news. Can you imagine watching an Australian politician on our news? It seems that more Australians have visited the US than vice versa. As I working out today the woman next to me told me she spent four weeks in LA and New Jersey this summer and was watching the fire news as anxiously as I was. When we say we are from Seattle, they always respond with some knowledge of the area such as, “home of Microsoft and Boeing”, or “are you Supersonics fans?” The US is like a big brother to Australia. They watch our politics and our news with interest.
The owner of the Golds gym told us that with overtime, the guys working the front desk make $30 AUD an hour on Sundays. Assuming that is time and a half or double time pay for working Sundays (can you imagine getting paid more for working on a Sunday?) they make $15-20 an hour the rest of the time. Each of our trips out to dinner cost between $60-100 for the two of us, so the prices here reflect the higher compensation. Our dollar has been falling all over the world, and in our week here has gone from one our dollars to 88 cents Australian to today’s one to 90.5.
One of their local business heroes died a few days ago, just a day after we watched a special on him. 42 years old, this local man from an immigrant Middle Eastern background made millions by founding a cell phone store empire. He was a philanthropist and all around good guy, who dropped dead of a heart attack while taking a walk, and today there is a huge Muslim funeral. The news coverage is similar to what the passing of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet might be like. Most of our business people don’t get this type of news coverage.
It is a rainy, storming day today with lightening and other-non-vacation-happy weather. We are spending our last day relaxing. Last night we had our best dinner here at a small Japanese restaurant around the corner- the Uchi Lounge. Wonderful. We will probably go back again tonight.
Love, Deanne
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I may have gained a bit of weight….but not that much!
Masters of public transportation…. We have traveled by city train, ferry, taxi and this morning we added the monorail. We rode around the city loop (meeting a two couples traveling together from Dallas for the same cruise that we take on Saturday) to Paddy’s Market, a huge indoor swap meet. Stalls go for miles selling souvenirs, tee shirts and all kinds of can’t-live-without-it junk. We wandered around for as long as we could take the crowds, escaping with one grandchild gift and a few workout tee-shirts (something we should have planned better before leaving home).
After the markets we decided to take the monorail to Darling Harbor for lunch. We found one of the guidebook recommended restaurants, Blackbird and settled in for a chicken sandwich and fish&chips. Both of us were concerned about the slippery floor under our table and asked the waitress to have someone clean it. Someone came over and assured us that the floor was wet from the rain (it was an open restaurant with no walls facing the harbor where we were sitting). After finishing our meal the floor was still slippery even though neither of us had been rained on while eating, so we knew the floor was oily from something else. I decided to clean my shoes with the cleaner that the waitress carried over to use on the floor. While rolled up in my chair cleaning the bottoms of the shoes the chair collapsed! One minute I was sitting up cleaning shoes the next minute I was sitting on the floor with a broken chair beside me. Nothing was hurt but my pride. It was quite embarrassing.
Apparently customer service in Sydney does not include listening to your customers complain about the slippery floor, nor does it include any concession when your chair breaks while a customer is sitting in it. May we suggest you not visit the Blackbird Café.
I am off to edit the zoo photos. I took so many that I need to weed through them or I will kill the internet when I post them. I will write again soon.
Deanne
After the markets we decided to take the monorail to Darling Harbor for lunch. We found one of the guidebook recommended restaurants, Blackbird and settled in for a chicken sandwich and fish&chips. Both of us were concerned about the slippery floor under our table and asked the waitress to have someone clean it. Someone came over and assured us that the floor was wet from the rain (it was an open restaurant with no walls facing the harbor where we were sitting). After finishing our meal the floor was still slippery even though neither of us had been rained on while eating, so we knew the floor was oily from something else. I decided to clean my shoes with the cleaner that the waitress carried over to use on the floor. While rolled up in my chair cleaning the bottoms of the shoes the chair collapsed! One minute I was sitting up cleaning shoes the next minute I was sitting on the floor with a broken chair beside me. Nothing was hurt but my pride. It was quite embarrassing.
Apparently customer service in Sydney does not include listening to your customers complain about the slippery floor, nor does it include any concession when your chair breaks while a customer is sitting in it. May we suggest you not visit the Blackbird Café.
I am off to edit the zoo photos. I took so many that I need to weed through them or I will kill the internet when I post them. I will write again soon.
Deanne
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Settling into Sydney
The zoo was beautiful- just as I remembered. The weather was not nearly as gorgeous as my last trip, but the overcast skies made it cooler. If you look at the photos, you can see the city skyline behind the animals. So impressive. I took pictures of the snakes for Jonny who has a few of his own. We especially enjoyed the Australian animals- the koalas, kangaroos and others.
We are busy staying close to the tv to watch the reports of the horrible fires in California. For all our friends and family nearby- our thoughts are with you. We have heard that the Chopra Center is closed and many of our San Diego friends have been evacuated. We aren’t sure about our former home in Malibu, but once again we are happy to no longer own that home and the vulnerability it had to the weather.
We have been working out at the neighborhood Golds Gym around the corner from our hotel. Just as expensive as everywhere else in Sydney- we have a discounted neighborhood hotel rate of $12 per day to work out (that is each!). We have been there every other day where we feel quite welcomed by the American men that run it. Marc and Steve are quite welcoming and offer us a cappuccino at the end of each work-out as a gift. Marc has been very generous with ideas of places to eat and visit, and we have found commonality in the fact that both of us are graduates of both Cornell and USC.
Last night we took the ferry across the harbor to Darling harbor and Star City where we saw the Sydney performance of Miss Saigon. I had purchased the tickets before we left on this trip. We have seen performances of concerts and plays when we visit new cities and always enjoy the night out. The Lyric theater in Sydney is beautiful and we loved watching the orchestra from our front row seat. It was particularly nice to be able to go out on the town without dressing up- everything goes in Sydney!
Today we walked down to Chinatown for lunch which was wonderful. Our restaurant was quite popular, with room for several hundred people all full. One entire wall of the place was taken up with aquariums full of fish and shellfish where you could select your meal while it was alive. Mike is not a seafood lover even when he hasn’t seen it alive, so we decided to stick with a meal that we didn’t need to apologize to before digging in.
The weatherman anticipates rain this afternoon although it has not begun yet. We are in our room watching the news, working on the internet and thinking of all of you.
Bye for now,
Deanne
We are busy staying close to the tv to watch the reports of the horrible fires in California. For all our friends and family nearby- our thoughts are with you. We have heard that the Chopra Center is closed and many of our San Diego friends have been evacuated. We aren’t sure about our former home in Malibu, but once again we are happy to no longer own that home and the vulnerability it had to the weather.
We have been working out at the neighborhood Golds Gym around the corner from our hotel. Just as expensive as everywhere else in Sydney- we have a discounted neighborhood hotel rate of $12 per day to work out (that is each!). We have been there every other day where we feel quite welcomed by the American men that run it. Marc and Steve are quite welcoming and offer us a cappuccino at the end of each work-out as a gift. Marc has been very generous with ideas of places to eat and visit, and we have found commonality in the fact that both of us are graduates of both Cornell and USC.
Last night we took the ferry across the harbor to Darling harbor and Star City where we saw the Sydney performance of Miss Saigon. I had purchased the tickets before we left on this trip. We have seen performances of concerts and plays when we visit new cities and always enjoy the night out. The Lyric theater in Sydney is beautiful and we loved watching the orchestra from our front row seat. It was particularly nice to be able to go out on the town without dressing up- everything goes in Sydney!
Today we walked down to Chinatown for lunch which was wonderful. Our restaurant was quite popular, with room for several hundred people all full. One entire wall of the place was taken up with aquariums full of fish and shellfish where you could select your meal while it was alive. Mike is not a seafood lover even when he hasn’t seen it alive, so we decided to stick with a meal that we didn’t need to apologize to before digging in.
The weatherman anticipates rain this afternoon although it has not begun yet. We are in our room watching the news, working on the internet and thinking of all of you.
Bye for now,
Deanne
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sydney- Expensive doesn’t even begin to describe it
We are in Sydney. It is so nice to hear English everywhere you turn. We have TV on right now playing another game show- “The Singing Bee”, but this time we understand the show and the rules. Game shows seem to be popular everywhere. Maybe they are also popular at home but we don’t know because we never tune them in. In Europe we watched them under the pretense of learning the language- here we have them on just to laugh at the silliness.
We are staying in a very nice little boutique hotel- the Best Western Stellar. It sits on the edge of Hyde Park across the street from a Marriott. It is a suite hotel, and in the reservation I asked for a high floor with a view. We ended up on the top floor (sixth) with a view of the park. We have a nice little kitchenette with coffee making equipment, a microwave and a small refrigerator. One of the other luxuries (I wasn’t even going to mention the bathroom in the room rather than in the hall) is a washing machine and drier in the laundry room across the hall. All of that comes at a price- $165 AUD, or about $150. I keep reminding Mike that it is close to our 100 Euro a night budget. But the expensive room pales in comparison to other costs. We went to see our first movie in months (assuming you don’t count the marathon of movies we watched on the plane coming here) for $31 admission for two.
One of my favorite memories of Sydney was visiting the zoo and looking back at the Opera house and the harbor. That is on the agenda for tomorrow. Today we went to the historic area- the Rocks and visited the weekend arts and crafts market. We purchased a week pass for the public transportation so we are taking the subway around town and the ferry to the zoo. The transportation pass was the bargain price of $31.
The Australian people are so easy to like. Two tall, tattooed and wild looking teenagers asked Mike to take their photo today where we were sitting in front of the Opera House. He agreed but pointed them to me, saying that I was the photographer of our team. They whipped out a cardboard covered disposable camera and Mike laughed and said he thought even he could figure out that camera. They got a good laugh over the ribbing about their camera and sat together for a “cheese” and the snap of the camera. That is a little like the other young people we see around town- a little wildly dressed yet good natured and fun loving.
The back to back trips from Italy to Seattle then two days in town and on to Sydney has been hard on the internal clocks. We arrived here early in the morning and slept several hours that first day. Then, we were awake early the next morning (2:00 is very early) so we read for awhile then slept for a little while. We had a similar night last night. Hopefully we will sleep better tonight.
I will write tomorrow and let you know if the zoo lives up to memories.
Deanne
We are staying in a very nice little boutique hotel- the Best Western Stellar. It sits on the edge of Hyde Park across the street from a Marriott. It is a suite hotel, and in the reservation I asked for a high floor with a view. We ended up on the top floor (sixth) with a view of the park. We have a nice little kitchenette with coffee making equipment, a microwave and a small refrigerator. One of the other luxuries (I wasn’t even going to mention the bathroom in the room rather than in the hall) is a washing machine and drier in the laundry room across the hall. All of that comes at a price- $165 AUD, or about $150. I keep reminding Mike that it is close to our 100 Euro a night budget. But the expensive room pales in comparison to other costs. We went to see our first movie in months (assuming you don’t count the marathon of movies we watched on the plane coming here) for $31 admission for two.
One of my favorite memories of Sydney was visiting the zoo and looking back at the Opera house and the harbor. That is on the agenda for tomorrow. Today we went to the historic area- the Rocks and visited the weekend arts and crafts market. We purchased a week pass for the public transportation so we are taking the subway around town and the ferry to the zoo. The transportation pass was the bargain price of $31.
The Australian people are so easy to like. Two tall, tattooed and wild looking teenagers asked Mike to take their photo today where we were sitting in front of the Opera House. He agreed but pointed them to me, saying that I was the photographer of our team. They whipped out a cardboard covered disposable camera and Mike laughed and said he thought even he could figure out that camera. They got a good laugh over the ribbing about their camera and sat together for a “cheese” and the snap of the camera. That is a little like the other young people we see around town- a little wildly dressed yet good natured and fun loving.
The back to back trips from Italy to Seattle then two days in town and on to Sydney has been hard on the internal clocks. We arrived here early in the morning and slept several hours that first day. Then, we were awake early the next morning (2:00 is very early) so we read for awhile then slept for a little while. We had a similar night last night. Hopefully we will sleep better tonight.
I will write tomorrow and let you know if the zoo lives up to memories.
Deanne
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Seattle Whirlwind
We arrived in Seattle on Monday night after two long airport delays- one in Rome and the other on our connecting flight in Cincinnati. Nevertheless, it was nice to get back to cool, wet Seattle. We stayed a Motel 6 in Issaquah in order to be close to the appointments we had lined up for all day Tuesday (doctors, dentists, pharmacy, hair stylist, barber). We also had some shopping to do (new lens for the camera, drugstore supplies, etc.) We didn't sleep all that well Monday night- perhaps jet lag or maybe the sound of cars parking outside our motel window. We were very keyed up about all that we had to do, so it was possibly the excitement of our fast touchdown in Seattle that caused the wakefulness. Nevertheless, we made it through our day of errands and drove our rental Toyota Prius up to Bellingham Tuesday night for dinner with Mike, Dana and Matt. Unfortunately we did not get to see Jonny this trip. Dinner was fun- we celebrated Michael's birthday and listened to some friendly jibes from Matt who responded to his Dad's comment that we loved the nomadic lifestyle and might never come home with a request that we not tease him like that.
Mike and Dana put us up in their home where we got a private bathroom, free internet access, a bottomless cup of coffee at breakfast and English speaking hosts! It was great to sleep well, although once again the excitement of getting ready for the next leg of our journey caused us both to wake up at 3:00 AM, so wide awake that we got out of bed and packed our bags. Crazy!
We spent most of today traveling to the airport from Bellingham. We flew to LA this afternoon and currently sit in LAX waiting for our flight to Sydney. We found a condo to rent in San Miguel de Allende, so we know where we will be in January.
We arrive in Sydney in another day or two after our fourteen hour flight. We will log in then and let you know how these two dead tired travelers are doing. To those of you that we couldn't see this trip- our apologies. One and a half days in Seattle was just not enough to see everyone. We will be back in December though.
Love to you all, Deanne and Mike
Mike and Dana put us up in their home where we got a private bathroom, free internet access, a bottomless cup of coffee at breakfast and English speaking hosts! It was great to sleep well, although once again the excitement of getting ready for the next leg of our journey caused us both to wake up at 3:00 AM, so wide awake that we got out of bed and packed our bags. Crazy!
We spent most of today traveling to the airport from Bellingham. We flew to LA this afternoon and currently sit in LAX waiting for our flight to Sydney. We found a condo to rent in San Miguel de Allende, so we know where we will be in January.
We arrive in Sydney in another day or two after our fourteen hour flight. We will log in then and let you know how these two dead tired travelers are doing. To those of you that we couldn't see this trip- our apologies. One and a half days in Seattle was just not enough to see everyone. We will be back in December though.
Love to you all, Deanne and Mike
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Can you believe it is almost over?
We have been enjoying our last few days in Italy. When we returned to our hotel in Florence we were greeted like returning family. Tonight we took Caitie and her roommates to dinner at a restaraunt that we ate in twice during our last stay and once before this stay and the entire staff treated us like neighborhood friends. It has been great to know our way around this small part of Florence and to have familiar faces to make us feel more welcome.
Tomorrow we leave for Rome. Caitie and her friends are joining us for brunch at a restaurant that reportedly serves an American style breakfast, something we all have done without for months. Then, after our visit, Mike and I board a train for the two hour ride directly to the Rome airport where we are staying at the Airport Hilton (thank you work-earned Hilton points) the night before our morning flight. We fly to Cincinnati then on to Seattle.
We have been thinking and planning our holidays. We expect to spend our time from mid-December to mid-January with family then we think we will head to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico for six weeks for Spanish lessons and holiday. We have located several condos available for rent that allow us to stay downtown near the heart of the city. If any of you have similar experiences and advice please let us know.
We have several busy days ahead, so it may be a few days before you hear from us again.
Love, Deanne
Tomorrow we leave for Rome. Caitie and her friends are joining us for brunch at a restaurant that reportedly serves an American style breakfast, something we all have done without for months. Then, after our visit, Mike and I board a train for the two hour ride directly to the Rome airport where we are staying at the Airport Hilton (thank you work-earned Hilton points) the night before our morning flight. We fly to Cincinnati then on to Seattle.
We have been thinking and planning our holidays. We expect to spend our time from mid-December to mid-January with family then we think we will head to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico for six weeks for Spanish lessons and holiday. We have located several condos available for rent that allow us to stay downtown near the heart of the city. If any of you have similar experiences and advice please let us know.
We have several busy days ahead, so it may be a few days before you hear from us again.
Love, Deanne
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Firenze and wonderful wifi
Final (hopefully) update on the bugs. Mike's invention of the ankle to wrist and neck tin foil suit does the trick. All new bites are limited to my neck, face and hands. Becuase the bugs had a much smaller target area, they were twice as vicious so my hands feel like monster fingers. They hurt to bend. I will be glad when whatever spiders or bugs we have encountered are in our past.
We took the train trip to Florence this morning and checked back in to the wonderful City Hotel where we felt like we were coming home. Francesco, the wonderful man who helped us arrange for crutches had our room ready with the bag he was storing already in our room. We have a room with bathroom for one night, then to get our discount rate we have to move tomorrow to a room with a bathroom outside in the hall. Oh well. We are so happy to be back in Florence. We had lunch at one of our old haunts where the chef came out to greet us again. We sat beside a couple from Ireland and had a wonderful visit.
Caitie just called. She has just finished a test in Italian which she is celebrating with a McDonald's ice cream with her roommates, then she is coming to town to meet us for dinner. She leaves tomorrow morning at 8:00 for Venice so we won't see her again until Sunday morning when we meet for breakfast before heading off to Rome for our final night and flight home.
I have updated the photos now that we are back in a hotel with wifi access. What a pleasure it is not to have to go to an internet cafe to work on the blog and e-mail. We are sitting on the bed side by side both working on our "stuff". Small pleasures.
Later,
Deanne
We took the train trip to Florence this morning and checked back in to the wonderful City Hotel where we felt like we were coming home. Francesco, the wonderful man who helped us arrange for crutches had our room ready with the bag he was storing already in our room. We have a room with bathroom for one night, then to get our discount rate we have to move tomorrow to a room with a bathroom outside in the hall. Oh well. We are so happy to be back in Florence. We had lunch at one of our old haunts where the chef came out to greet us again. We sat beside a couple from Ireland and had a wonderful visit.
Caitie just called. She has just finished a test in Italian which she is celebrating with a McDonald's ice cream with her roommates, then she is coming to town to meet us for dinner. She leaves tomorrow morning at 8:00 for Venice so we won't see her again until Sunday morning when we meet for breakfast before heading off to Rome for our final night and flight home.
I have updated the photos now that we are back in a hotel with wifi access. What a pleasure it is not to have to go to an internet cafe to work on the blog and e-mail. We are sitting on the bed side by side both working on our "stuff". Small pleasures.
Later,
Deanne
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Sleeping in a tin foil suit does the trick
A few of you were wondering how I was doing as the bug dish delight. The anti-itch cream seems to be doing the trick, although I have to reapply it all of the time. I woke up a few times in the night itching my knee or ankle and applied the cream from its syringe-like container to myself in the dark. The hardest part was figuring out how to keep from getting bit again. So, Mike and I settled on clothing from head to foot as a detrrent to the little critters. Unfortunately my loyal readers know how hot I get at night, so it was tough to find the right outfit, but I settled on long pants and a long sleeved shirt from my extensive wardrobe (which you know has to fit in my little suitcase). I wore the clothes that keep the sun off and they worked pretty well. All of the blankets and sheets ended up on Mike and he needed them because the window was wide open to keep me cool enough. The only new bites were to the ankles in the space between the top of the socks and the bottom of the pants and my neck. We had an attack of laughter this morning when we realized how noisy these clothes are and how every time I rolled around in the night the crinkly of the cotton woke both of us up. It was like sleeping in a suit of tin foil.
I have to end with just this short note. My husband bogarted the computer in the internet cafe so I didn't get much time.
Love to you all,
Deanne
I have to end with just this short note. My husband bogarted the computer in the internet cafe so I didn't get much time.
Love to you all,
Deanne
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Bugged in San Gimignano
I have written enough on Mike's accidents and disabilities. Now it is my turn in the spotlight. It turns out that there is some sort of biting bug in this beautiful Tuscan town that has decided to make lunchmeat (and breakfast, dinner and snack) out of me. I am covered in bug bites from neck to toe. The worst ones are on the palm of my hand which hurt to type. They are driving me crazy with itching, causing me to miss my precious good night's sleep. Trust me, very little in this world disrupts my sleep (especially now that the boys are grown up and I don't have to worry about 16 year old drivers). So, Mike and his spotted wife went to the Farmacia in search of sledgehammers to know the itching away. We ended up with cortisone cream (Susan-remeber that cream that I was allergic to? The one that made my face swell up?). I am so desperate that we bought it and I started using it today. Mike promises to take over the blog if my face swells up so bad that I can no longer see or if my bug-bitten hands get to the point they can no longer type.
We have discovered the 2006 winner fo the world's best gelato contest. This tiny shop is right across the courtyard from our hotel. We have decided to assure all of our loyal readers of the validity of their claim to being the world's best by trying every one of their thiry flavors before we leave so that we can make sure. So far, Mike still favors Crema Argentina, a flavor he found in Verona. I am partial to last night's cone- made up of half saffron cream (think eggnog gelato) and cinnamon (a most delightful, creamy and spicy gelato flavor). We have only two more days to make sure we have tried enough flavors. This place is so popular they sell cones starting at 9:00 am.
So long,
Your spotted friend,
Deanne
We have discovered the 2006 winner fo the world's best gelato contest. This tiny shop is right across the courtyard from our hotel. We have decided to assure all of our loyal readers of the validity of their claim to being the world's best by trying every one of their thiry flavors before we leave so that we can make sure. So far, Mike still favors Crema Argentina, a flavor he found in Verona. I am partial to last night's cone- made up of half saffron cream (think eggnog gelato) and cinnamon (a most delightful, creamy and spicy gelato flavor). We have only two more days to make sure we have tried enough flavors. This place is so popular they sell cones starting at 9:00 am.
So long,
Your spotted friend,
Deanne
Monday, October 8, 2007
On the homestretch for our return
It is later in the day, and we have finally located an internet shop with two working computers. The last one was in a cafe, convenient for having a cappuccino while you work, but requiring serial efforts. Mike went first then got bored waiting for me to work on the blog, hence the short write-up earlier.
We are staying in a lovely hotel in the main square. After ending up here we found out from our well traveled next door neighbors that this is a favorite hotel of theirs. It is nice to hear that we didn't just miss on a better one. The views from the breakfast room are sensational- when we get to Florence and have free internet in our room I will be able to work on my computer and send the photos. This walled town is surrounded by rolling hills covered in vineyards planted in various directions depending on the hills and the sunlight, making a beautiful patchwork green.
We are enjoying our return to Italian food. The difference in weather since our last visit has provided an entirely different range of menu possibilities. We are starting at least one meal each day with a rich soup, mostly homemade minestrone, but sometimes lentil. Yesterday I had something called medieval soup which is a cream based leek and vegetable soup with saffron. It is fun to try the sous after all of those hot weather sandwiches. The Tuscan wines beat the Swiss wines by 100%. For about 10 Euros ($14) we had a wonderful bottle of local chianti. Great life.
We are here until Thursday then we go back to Florence. We have three nights in Florence. We will see Caitie art of that time, although she and her roommates will be visiting Venice for one of those nights. It is such a great opportunity for her to see these Italian cities on her weekends. School is going well for her. She has sent us by e-mail a couple of her essays and they are outstanding.
Our current internet outlet is a bookstore. Books have turned out to be one of our biggest costs on this trip. We both spend lots of time reading (on trains, evenings, etc). English books, in normal paperback format cost between $10-20. I can read four or five a week, which adds up. So, Mike likes to limit my access to bookstores. As it turns out though, the bookstore is the only location with two internet accessible machines in this town, so here we sit.
We fly back to the US on the 15th from Rome. We are planning dinner with Jonny the night we return, a day of doctor and dentist appointments the following day, dinner with Mike, Dana and Matt that evening, then a flight to LA and Sydney the following day. Another leg of the adventure!
Deanne
P.S. I just reread for edits. The keyboard does not accept the letter P unless you pound heard, so if there are misspellings it is not my fault!
We are staying in a lovely hotel in the main square. After ending up here we found out from our well traveled next door neighbors that this is a favorite hotel of theirs. It is nice to hear that we didn't just miss on a better one. The views from the breakfast room are sensational- when we get to Florence and have free internet in our room I will be able to work on my computer and send the photos. This walled town is surrounded by rolling hills covered in vineyards planted in various directions depending on the hills and the sunlight, making a beautiful patchwork green.
We are enjoying our return to Italian food. The difference in weather since our last visit has provided an entirely different range of menu possibilities. We are starting at least one meal each day with a rich soup, mostly homemade minestrone, but sometimes lentil. Yesterday I had something called medieval soup which is a cream based leek and vegetable soup with saffron. It is fun to try the sous after all of those hot weather sandwiches. The Tuscan wines beat the Swiss wines by 100%. For about 10 Euros ($14) we had a wonderful bottle of local chianti. Great life.
We are here until Thursday then we go back to Florence. We have three nights in Florence. We will see Caitie art of that time, although she and her roommates will be visiting Venice for one of those nights. It is such a great opportunity for her to see these Italian cities on her weekends. School is going well for her. She has sent us by e-mail a couple of her essays and they are outstanding.
Our current internet outlet is a bookstore. Books have turned out to be one of our biggest costs on this trip. We both spend lots of time reading (on trains, evenings, etc). English books, in normal paperback format cost between $10-20. I can read four or five a week, which adds up. So, Mike likes to limit my access to bookstores. As it turns out though, the bookstore is the only location with two internet accessible machines in this town, so here we sit.
We fly back to the US on the 15th from Rome. We are planning dinner with Jonny the night we return, a day of doctor and dentist appointments the following day, dinner with Mike, Dana and Matt that evening, then a flight to LA and Sydney the following day. Another leg of the adventure!
Deanne
P.S. I just reread for edits. The keyboard does not accept the letter P unless you pound heard, so if there are misspellings it is not my fault!
San Gimignano- A "discovered" Tuscan village
We traveled all day Friday to reach San Gimignano, which lies about 50 km or 1 hour by slow regional train south of Florence. We had pounding rain, thunder and lightening and cold weather all of the way, but arrived to a beautiful Tuscan evening. Our hotel, Hotel La Cisterna is right in the center of town, but unfortunately the train doesn't come to this town. We asked a cab what the price was to take us the 10 km to our town, and after hearing his rediculous answer of 50£ we struck out for the bus stop. After half an hour the bus arrived, the driver jumped signaled to all of the Americans waiting for him, to put our luggage in the luggage comp'artment in the back of his mini-bus. We all did as instructed then boarded the bus only to find out we were to have purchased a ticket in advance. Lots of yelling in Italian went with that discovery, so Mike and another American went in search of tickets while the women stayed near the bus to make sure our luggage did not head off without us. The bar where he dicrected us to get the tickets told Mike they weren't selling any, so they came back to the bus. Meanwhile the driver is getting irritated by the delay. I told him we needed to get the luggage out before he could leave which further bugged him. So, in the end he signaled us in to the bus without tickets. The ride up the hill was through gorgeous vineyards with ancient stone farmhouses lined up on the top of hills. It was wonderful. The driver didn't want any money when we got to town, but Mike insisted he keep our 5 Euro tip, so we ended up trying to patch international relations between Italy and America by not mooching a free ticket.
We are taking turns using the internet cafe computer... the only one that works, so I have to log off now. We are in seach of another place where we can both work at once.
I will write further in a bit. Deanne
We are taking turns using the internet cafe computer... the only one that works, so I have to log off now. We are in seach of another place where we can both work at once.
I will write further in a bit. Deanne
Friday, October 5, 2007
Final Day in Switzerland
We decided to move on. Mike is feeling good and the bruises have faded to that wonderful shade of yellowish green that is so attractive. We took a nice walk this morning along the Aare River. We tried to find a room for a few nights on the path between here and Tuscany where our next reservation lies, but we ran into a wall of full hotels. We decided to do one very long train trip instead, leaving here tomorrow morning at 9:30 and getting to San Gimginano four trains later at 6:30 PM. It will be a long day, but we know we have a room waiting. We will stay in San Gimginano (1 hour south of Florence by train) for five days then move back to Florence to see Caitie for a few days before we head to Rome for our flight home on October 15.
We have loved our time in Switzerland. Everything is so clean and beautiful. The Swiss are very proud of their country. Every morning we see shopkeepers wiping down the front of their stores, cleaning the windows and sprucing up the sidewalk displays. The people are genuinely friendly, unlike some of the places we have been like Venice where the people appeared to suffer from tourist fatigue.
The weather has been unpredictable. Mike ended up buying a fleece pullover because he was suffering from the cold. He now proudly sports his "Swiss Military" fleece, a beautiful red reminder of Switzerland. The weather report says it is 80 degrees in Florence, so the jacket will go back in the suitcase when we leave.
Today is Mike Jr.'s birthday. We are thinking of you, Mickicito. Have a great one. We will celebrate with you on the 16th when we get to Bellingham. We are looking forward to seeing you.
so Long from Switzerland. Next stop.... Tuscany.
Deanne
We have loved our time in Switzerland. Everything is so clean and beautiful. The Swiss are very proud of their country. Every morning we see shopkeepers wiping down the front of their stores, cleaning the windows and sprucing up the sidewalk displays. The people are genuinely friendly, unlike some of the places we have been like Venice where the people appeared to suffer from tourist fatigue.
The weather has been unpredictable. Mike ended up buying a fleece pullover because he was suffering from the cold. He now proudly sports his "Swiss Military" fleece, a beautiful red reminder of Switzerland. The weather report says it is 80 degrees in Florence, so the jacket will go back in the suitcase when we leave.
Today is Mike Jr.'s birthday. We are thinking of you, Mickicito. Have a great one. We will celebrate with you on the 16th when we get to Bellingham. We are looking forward to seeing you.
so Long from Switzerland. Next stop.... Tuscany.
Deanne
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Mickey's the world over
Here we are, once again in the front window of McDonald's being watched by the tourists who walk by and point to the Mickey D's disquised as a real restautant. The Swiss Mickeys are pine lodge looking (Zermatt), modern sports bar (here in Interlakken) or historical landmark (Geneve). They all have outrageously priced food that is slightly better than home. They do take pains to try and blend in, though. No huge parking lots (well, there was one in Tomar,Portugal) or big golden arches. This is the subtle look. The free daily half hour of internet access is enough to pull us in every day. I drink a cup of tea, Mike has a coca cola light. 6.60 swiss francs, or approximately $5. Beats the internet cafe, though.
Today is raining, so we have been reading. I will write more this afternoon.
Bye for now.
Deanne
Today is raining, so we have been reading. I will write more this afternoon.
Bye for now.
Deanne
Monday, October 1, 2007
Cow Update
I talked about the cow concert, but that wasn’t the end of the cow story. Yesterday we were walking around town and we heard a loud clattering, banging noise. Thinking it was a parade coming around the corner we stood on the side of the city street to see what was happening. A herd of cows, complete with big cow bells around their necks and Christmas trees tied to the tops of their heads were walking down the center of town herded by some un-cowboylike folks with sticks. Apparently the cows spend their summers up in the mountains grazing then come down to town for the winter. Their twice annual trip up and down the mountain is called Alpsabzug and the timing of our trip coincided perfectly with the winter move. For the rest of the day we had to step around the piles of cow manure in the streets but today’s rain finished off that problem.
We never did hear why the cows are decorated with Christmas trees on their heads, but we will try to figure it out for the next chapter of the cow story.
I have written a little about how we have split up our responsibilities on the road to play to our strengths, but the more time we spend on the road the more clear those unique roles have become. I don’t mean things like laundry; we both wash our own laundry out in the sink every other day, or if we are in a town for several days, every day. The trick is to do the laundry with at least on complete day to dry. The real division of duties is in things like asking for help (Mike unless it is a little old lady- then Deanne), scanning the guidebooks and planning the logistics of the trains (Deanne except when Mike was excited about visiting Lungern, which he planned), managing the finances and tracking the budget (Mike, totally and completely). We spend all of our time together and talk about everything. Other than walks, which Deanne has taken alone while Mike heals, most of our day is spent together. We have our quiet times while we are working on individual projects such as blog updates or journals, but most of the time we are doing things together. We are very compatible travelers.
The more days we are in Switzerland the more German I am remembering. Those five years of German in high school were not completely forgotten. This morning I asked the kitchen helper to refill the coffee and I asked her for our bread basket. When the owner came in, I greeted her formally (and correctly) and earned a smile. She is an older woman who speaks English very well, but she is being very helpful with my stabs at German. Mike and I are both trying to improve our language skills as we move from country to country, but it is sometimes hard to remember where you are and what language to use. Over the past week we have both found ourselves thanking someone for our food with a quick, “Grazie”.
The weather is starting to get cold. It has been raining some nights, which is quite cozy in our fourth (top) floor room with the sloped, wood paneling ceiling. We hear the rain falling on the roof all night then wake to a chilly, but clear and beautiful day. We have been taking strolls through town each morning, then while Mike rests his foot, I take longer walks out into the countryside in the afternoons. Interlakken has been a restful stop for us.
We found the fitness club. It is "geschlossen". Not exactly sure why it is closed until October 5, perhaps vacation, but we aren't working out at the fitness club.
Deanne
We never did hear why the cows are decorated with Christmas trees on their heads, but we will try to figure it out for the next chapter of the cow story.
I have written a little about how we have split up our responsibilities on the road to play to our strengths, but the more time we spend on the road the more clear those unique roles have become. I don’t mean things like laundry; we both wash our own laundry out in the sink every other day, or if we are in a town for several days, every day. The trick is to do the laundry with at least on complete day to dry. The real division of duties is in things like asking for help (Mike unless it is a little old lady- then Deanne), scanning the guidebooks and planning the logistics of the trains (Deanne except when Mike was excited about visiting Lungern, which he planned), managing the finances and tracking the budget (Mike, totally and completely). We spend all of our time together and talk about everything. Other than walks, which Deanne has taken alone while Mike heals, most of our day is spent together. We have our quiet times while we are working on individual projects such as blog updates or journals, but most of the time we are doing things together. We are very compatible travelers.
The more days we are in Switzerland the more German I am remembering. Those five years of German in high school were not completely forgotten. This morning I asked the kitchen helper to refill the coffee and I asked her for our bread basket. When the owner came in, I greeted her formally (and correctly) and earned a smile. She is an older woman who speaks English very well, but she is being very helpful with my stabs at German. Mike and I are both trying to improve our language skills as we move from country to country, but it is sometimes hard to remember where you are and what language to use. Over the past week we have both found ourselves thanking someone for our food with a quick, “Grazie”.
The weather is starting to get cold. It has been raining some nights, which is quite cozy in our fourth (top) floor room with the sloped, wood paneling ceiling. We hear the rain falling on the roof all night then wake to a chilly, but clear and beautiful day. We have been taking strolls through town each morning, then while Mike rests his foot, I take longer walks out into the countryside in the afternoons. Interlakken has been a restful stop for us.
We found the fitness club. It is "geschlossen". Not exactly sure why it is closed until October 5, perhaps vacation, but we aren't working out at the fitness club.
Deanne
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