Turin is really a beautiful city - very Baroque architecture and not a lot of people, though it is Italy's fourth largest city. We get into our hotel right away because it's after 4 by the time we get there. We hunt out the only Irish pub in the city to watch the USA vs. Ghana game. Finally, we get some real french fries. These are actually cooked. And the burger is pretty decent, too. Florence had the most AMAZING food (cheap and sooooo good), but we're getting tired of Italian. We've been eating it for almost two weeks straight, so we're glad of the change of pace.
Unfortunately, when you spend time in a pub, you tend to consume a lot of liquids. I was very dehydrated and had 3 giant cokes (by the way, Italy and Germany have the best colas, France is the worst) and soon I have to go. I go into the back, to the bathroom, and they're Turkish toilets. Look them up, they are horrifying. Hoards of girls would go to the bathroom together back there - I can only assume it was to give each other moral support because it is horrid. I don't really drink much for the rest of the night. Sad to say, America lost, and we go back to the hotel a bit dejected.
The next day we get up and take a guided tour of the 2nd floor of the Palazzo Reale - which is the royal palace of the Savoy's. The apartments itself were very beautiful - a lot of furniture, so you can really get a feel for the place. Unfortunately, you have to do this floor with a guided tour. Which is only in Italian. So they give the non-Italian speakers audio guides, which you can listen to instead as you follow along behind the group. Unfortunately, the guide moved so fast we couldn't listen to the whole recording of every room. Fortunately, most of the commentaries would devolve into what the artist was trying to express in the paintings on the walls (I'm more interested in the day-to-day aspects of life, what went on in the room, etc). We're also not allowed to take pictures. You can't take pictures anywhere in any museum in Italy, so by now I'm getting pretty peeved. I'm also getting really good at shooting from my purse. Will post pictures later.
Afterwards, we grab a mediocre lunch (it's Sunday, so most restaurants are closed) and head to the Egypt museum. It's supposed to be the most extensive museum of Egyptian artifacts outside the one in Cairo, and it did not disappoint. It was started in the 1800's by the Savoys and has grown a lot since then. I know Skip loved it, and I thought it was pretty cool, too.
Overall, Turin is an underrated city. There's supposed to be quite a few palaces outside of town that are amazing, but we didn't get to them this time. It's also supposed to form a white magic triangle with Lyon and Prague and a black magic triangle with London and San Francisco. Don't know if I believe that, but it makes a nifty story. We wanted to take the black magic tour, but it was only in Italian on the day we were there. Not very useful. Turin is making a big effort to expand it's tourist industry, it's just not quite there yet. But it was still a good stopover to Geneva, which is where we fly out of tomorrow!
I can't believe it's been a month already. I feel like we've been here a long time and yet not at all. There's still so much I want to see! But I wouldn't trade this experience for anything - it was amazing and I feel so lucky that I had this opportunity. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible and we'll see you all real soon!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Florence
Florence is utterly cute. It would be beautiful if it weren't for the hoards of tourists. But you can generally ignore them as long as you watch where you're going (I got bumped into so many times by people walking backwards and taking pictures). We got into the main train station around noon and only had a short walk to our hostel. The hostel was actually a redone hotel, so it was almost half hostel/half hotel. All the amenities of a hostel but none of the camaraderie. We leave our packs there to go get some lunch and then head back to get our room. We spend most of the day just walking around and exploring - Florence's downtown is pretty small and compact, so it's really easy to navigate. It's also a little confusing when you start wandering down the teeny alley ways. We also make a stop in the Disney store and I am very disappointed to find that they don't sell music. No Italian Disney music for Lauren.
That night we wander around some more and hang out outside the Palazzo Vechio (which is open till midnight if you feel like doing some late-night sight seeing) where this American dude is singing. He's actually pretty good and he's gathered a huge crowd - he sings the Beatles, John Denver, and some American classic rock, so pretty harmless stuff. Everyone in Florence seems to stay up really late, too. When we were heading in around 11:30 the streets were still buzzing. Most of the gelato places were doing a rousing business and most restaurants were still open, too. Wandering around at night was great because we got all the good, warm weather, and none of the sun (which is awesome because I've already gotten a bit of a weird burn/tan from my t-shirts).
The next day we do the Uffizi, which actually takes only a couple of hours. In my opinion it's a bit overrated - there's the couple Botticelli works and couple Da Vincis, but the rest is just okay. I don't know why you have to reserve a month ahead, but judging by the line outside you clearly do.
We wander around some more that night - coincidentally it's the day for the patron saint of Florence so there's lots of revelry to be had. We watch the fireworks along with a huuuuge crowd (watch being a loose term - we really just tried to crane our necks around a corner without toppling into everyone). We wanted to get gelato at this place we discovered earlier, Grom, but it had a huuuge line around 11, so we thought we'd just try the next day. We had discovered this place in our guide book, dubbed a local favorite, but they had run out of vanilla by the time we got there. Their other flavors were very good, but we really wanted to try the Madagascar vanilla. We get to it the next afternoon and it was so worth it.
The next day we do the Duomo, the Medici Chapels, and the Accademia. The Accademia wasn't hard to get into (we didn't reserve ahead) - we waited in line for maybe ten minutes before getting in. Though, when we were leaving the line was getting long, so I guess it just depends on when you hit it. The Accademia is also overrated. You have to pay 10 euros just to see David. Now, he's kinda worth it, but I just wish there was more. I mean, there's Michelangelo's Prisoners series, but you're there all of a half hour to see these, which are all in the same room. Everything else in the museum is by amateur artists and really not that impressive. If you want to see David, do it, but realize that you'll be there all of a half and hour, if that.
The Duomo felt like a hospital. It was the only place we've found that enforced the dress code of no baring your knees or shoulders. When someone comes in dressed inappropriately, they give you an aqua pull over foam-like thingy that you have to wear. Nearly half the girls were wearing these over their shirts or around their waists, so when you're sitting on the side you feel like you're in one giant mental facility. The church inside isn't that impressive. It's actually kind of a let-down, but it's free so I suggest waiting in the five minute line to see what all the fuss is about. And yes, I was wearing shorts cause it was so gosh darn hot out so I got to wear the little blue thing around my waist, too. I was very annoyed.
The Medici Chapels are pretty nifty, or would be if they weren't completely covered in scaffolding. Even the inside of the chapel, which is supposed to be awesome, is covered in sheets and scaffolding and plaster for a restoration. Very much a let down, but at least the crypt that Michelangelo did was untouched. That was pretty nifty.
We get gelato twice that day because Grom is just that good. We find out later that it's a chain, so if you're ever in Italy you must look it up and get the gelato of a life time. Their vanilla is amazing and their coffee ice cream tastes like you just did a shot of espresso. We wanted to watch the guy singing American songs again, but instead they're having an orchestra play outside the palace. They're playing ABBA so it's an ok substitute. Afterwards, we try to hunt down the four ninja turtle inspirations among the statues outside the Uffizi, but can't find Raphael. We figure he must be behind the scaffolding (yes, everywhere in Europe is undergoing restoration) and go to get more gelato.
It's sad to leave Florence, but we're getting homesick so it's on to Turin!
That night we wander around some more and hang out outside the Palazzo Vechio (which is open till midnight if you feel like doing some late-night sight seeing) where this American dude is singing. He's actually pretty good and he's gathered a huge crowd - he sings the Beatles, John Denver, and some American classic rock, so pretty harmless stuff. Everyone in Florence seems to stay up really late, too. When we were heading in around 11:30 the streets were still buzzing. Most of the gelato places were doing a rousing business and most restaurants were still open, too. Wandering around at night was great because we got all the good, warm weather, and none of the sun (which is awesome because I've already gotten a bit of a weird burn/tan from my t-shirts).
The next day we do the Uffizi, which actually takes only a couple of hours. In my opinion it's a bit overrated - there's the couple Botticelli works and couple Da Vincis, but the rest is just okay. I don't know why you have to reserve a month ahead, but judging by the line outside you clearly do.
We wander around some more that night - coincidentally it's the day for the patron saint of Florence so there's lots of revelry to be had. We watch the fireworks along with a huuuuge crowd (watch being a loose term - we really just tried to crane our necks around a corner without toppling into everyone). We wanted to get gelato at this place we discovered earlier, Grom, but it had a huuuge line around 11, so we thought we'd just try the next day. We had discovered this place in our guide book, dubbed a local favorite, but they had run out of vanilla by the time we got there. Their other flavors were very good, but we really wanted to try the Madagascar vanilla. We get to it the next afternoon and it was so worth it.
The next day we do the Duomo, the Medici Chapels, and the Accademia. The Accademia wasn't hard to get into (we didn't reserve ahead) - we waited in line for maybe ten minutes before getting in. Though, when we were leaving the line was getting long, so I guess it just depends on when you hit it. The Accademia is also overrated. You have to pay 10 euros just to see David. Now, he's kinda worth it, but I just wish there was more. I mean, there's Michelangelo's Prisoners series, but you're there all of a half hour to see these, which are all in the same room. Everything else in the museum is by amateur artists and really not that impressive. If you want to see David, do it, but realize that you'll be there all of a half and hour, if that.
The Duomo felt like a hospital. It was the only place we've found that enforced the dress code of no baring your knees or shoulders. When someone comes in dressed inappropriately, they give you an aqua pull over foam-like thingy that you have to wear. Nearly half the girls were wearing these over their shirts or around their waists, so when you're sitting on the side you feel like you're in one giant mental facility. The church inside isn't that impressive. It's actually kind of a let-down, but it's free so I suggest waiting in the five minute line to see what all the fuss is about. And yes, I was wearing shorts cause it was so gosh darn hot out so I got to wear the little blue thing around my waist, too. I was very annoyed.
The Medici Chapels are pretty nifty, or would be if they weren't completely covered in scaffolding. Even the inside of the chapel, which is supposed to be awesome, is covered in sheets and scaffolding and plaster for a restoration. Very much a let down, but at least the crypt that Michelangelo did was untouched. That was pretty nifty.
We get gelato twice that day because Grom is just that good. We find out later that it's a chain, so if you're ever in Italy you must look it up and get the gelato of a life time. Their vanilla is amazing and their coffee ice cream tastes like you just did a shot of espresso. We wanted to watch the guy singing American songs again, but instead they're having an orchestra play outside the palace. They're playing ABBA so it's an ok substitute. Afterwards, we try to hunt down the four ninja turtle inspirations among the statues outside the Uffizi, but can't find Raphael. We figure he must be behind the scaffolding (yes, everywhere in Europe is undergoing restoration) and go to get more gelato.
It's sad to leave Florence, but we're getting homesick so it's on to Turin!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Rome Day 5
Today was the day of the Vatican. We purchased tickets online beforehand, but loved our guide the other day so much that we wanted to go on the Vatican tour they did. So I called up the office using Skype and changed our time to 1 - about the time the group was supposed to get there. We meet up with the new guide - a very chipper teeny Canadian named Monica - at 11. She's very energetic, but very, very short, so we're always straining to see her. She leads us onto a bus which takes us to just outside the Vatican. We cross the Bridge of the some-odd Angels and learn more about crucifixion than I ever wanted to know in my whole life. Supposedly the bridge is part of this long pilgrimage where you're supposed to 'suffer and die along with Christ'. Millions do it every year for the fun of it.
So we learn about all the angels on the bridge and head over the river for some lunch. After lunch we head into the Vatican itself and stand in line for tickets. There's absolutely no line so our reservations would have done us absolutely nothing anyway, but Monica told us that yesterday (the rainy day) the line was over two hours long. All the luck of the draw, I guess. Our tickets work out just fine and we get into the Vatican Museums. She leads us through, pointing out all the major works on the way to the Sistine Chapel. We don't see as much as we would have if we were alone, but I think it was worth it. She told us a bunch of stuff I would not have known (where Michelangelo got the inspiration/faces/bodies for the chapel, etc) and I liked getting guided through. It set me up for the next time we get there. I'll know where to go, what I want to see, etc.
We get through the museums, lots of fun stuff there, and it dumps us right into the Sistine Chapel. No pictures allowed because Kodak owns the rights to the ceiling since they paid for the cleaning a while back. They left a couple patches to show you how dirty it used to be - yikes. So you stand there, head craned back to look at the ceiling and the massive walls that are awesome. And all the while the guards are going "SHHHH" and "NO PICTURES". They're very angry in the Vatican.
The tour ends in front of Saint Peter's Basilica. We go in (free - yay!) and it's massive. I know I should feel completely impressed, and I am on some level, but I've seen so many churches and massive rooms and ornately decorated palaces that it's almost too much. I swear I'm going to be throwing up marble by the end of this trip. But it was beautiful and ginormous. Everyone's taking pictures of St. Peter's tomb, which is only part of it because the real part can only be seen on a special tour that I tried to book a month in advance but was refused. Cause when it comes to Christianity, you have to book everything months in advance if you want to beat out the evangelicals. But that's okay - the cathedral and the museums were quite enough. I have the urge to watch EuroTrip again and see how the end scene compares with my view of the Vatican, but that will have to wait till I get home.
So we learn about all the angels on the bridge and head over the river for some lunch. After lunch we head into the Vatican itself and stand in line for tickets. There's absolutely no line so our reservations would have done us absolutely nothing anyway, but Monica told us that yesterday (the rainy day) the line was over two hours long. All the luck of the draw, I guess. Our tickets work out just fine and we get into the Vatican Museums. She leads us through, pointing out all the major works on the way to the Sistine Chapel. We don't see as much as we would have if we were alone, but I think it was worth it. She told us a bunch of stuff I would not have known (where Michelangelo got the inspiration/faces/bodies for the chapel, etc) and I liked getting guided through. It set me up for the next time we get there. I'll know where to go, what I want to see, etc.
We get through the museums, lots of fun stuff there, and it dumps us right into the Sistine Chapel. No pictures allowed because Kodak owns the rights to the ceiling since they paid for the cleaning a while back. They left a couple patches to show you how dirty it used to be - yikes. So you stand there, head craned back to look at the ceiling and the massive walls that are awesome. And all the while the guards are going "SHHHH" and "NO PICTURES". They're very angry in the Vatican.
The tour ends in front of Saint Peter's Basilica. We go in (free - yay!) and it's massive. I know I should feel completely impressed, and I am on some level, but I've seen so many churches and massive rooms and ornately decorated palaces that it's almost too much. I swear I'm going to be throwing up marble by the end of this trip. But it was beautiful and ginormous. Everyone's taking pictures of St. Peter's tomb, which is only part of it because the real part can only be seen on a special tour that I tried to book a month in advance but was refused. Cause when it comes to Christianity, you have to book everything months in advance if you want to beat out the evangelicals. But that's okay - the cathedral and the museums were quite enough. I have the urge to watch EuroTrip again and see how the end scene compares with my view of the Vatican, but that will have to wait till I get home.
Pompeii
We decided to take a day away from Rome and journey down to Pompeii. We had originally planned to do a day trip from Naples, but when Naples got cut, we were determined to still fit in Pompeii. It wasn't too bad - 1 hour 10 minutes down to Naples on the bullet train and then 30 minutes on the Circumvesuviana commuter rail. Pretty easy to figure out. We get to the station in Rome and I go to buy tickets at the machine while Skip goes off to find breakfast. Within two seconds some creepy dude comes up trying to 'help' me decipher a machine that's already in English. I think he was a little taken aback when I told him in no uncertain terms to go away. I think tourists are usually more polite and skittish. Another minute, I've put my credit card into the machine and I'm just waiting for it to spit it back out with my ticket and another stupid woman comes up to me and tries to 'help' me. When I tell her I got it, she still asks for money on the way out. Seriously, does this work on people? Rome was the capital of beggars, no doubt about it.
Skip rejoins me and I yell at him to never leave me alone at a ticket machine again and we get on the train. It was a very easy trip to Pompeii - just follow all the other tourists. When we get there it's sprinkling again. Europe is constantly raining. The line for the tickets is a bit long, so we go over to the map window first. We want the map and the free guide that tells you what all the sites are about. She tells us we need to buy a ticket first. K. Stand in line, buy the ticket, want the book. She's out of English maps. It's just barely noon. Seriously? We get stuck with the stupid audio guide we have to pay for and then don't use much because nothing in Pompeii is labeled. You have to figure out what you're looking at from the map. That is in Italian.
We get food at the cafeteria there before walking around some. Pompeii is huge. Half of it hasn't even been dug up yet. We find all the major sites - house of the faun, tons of baths, temple of Jupiter, temple of Isis, the theater, the whorehouse, etc. In the supposed red light district we find a hundred people trying to file through the main whorehouse. I don't know why. Everything's pretty faded and it's barely bigger than a NY studio apartment. Ah well, we came, we saw. It was great, except most of the artwork and furniture that was recovered is now in the Naples National Archeological Museum. Next time we'll go to Herculaneum - supposedly better preserved and very little looting done. But I'm still glad we went to Pompeii - if you get far enough away from the entrance (where all the horrid tour groups gather) you can get down some streets with no one on them. It's pretty nifty walking through god-knows-how-old ruins all by yourself. We didn't get to the Colosseum, cause that was allll the way on the other side of town. Maybe next time. We caught a train back into town around 6. We were going to take the cheap regional rail back to Rome, but we timed it badly and we'd have to wait an hour for the first one to get here. Then it wouldn't even get us home till after 9. So we splurge and get the bullet train back, which gets us into Rome around 7. We can still wander around a bit and get dinner before the sun really sets (which is somewhere around 10 in Europe).
Skip rejoins me and I yell at him to never leave me alone at a ticket machine again and we get on the train. It was a very easy trip to Pompeii - just follow all the other tourists. When we get there it's sprinkling again. Europe is constantly raining. The line for the tickets is a bit long, so we go over to the map window first. We want the map and the free guide that tells you what all the sites are about. She tells us we need to buy a ticket first. K. Stand in line, buy the ticket, want the book. She's out of English maps. It's just barely noon. Seriously? We get stuck with the stupid audio guide we have to pay for and then don't use much because nothing in Pompeii is labeled. You have to figure out what you're looking at from the map. That is in Italian.
We get food at the cafeteria there before walking around some. Pompeii is huge. Half of it hasn't even been dug up yet. We find all the major sites - house of the faun, tons of baths, temple of Jupiter, temple of Isis, the theater, the whorehouse, etc. In the supposed red light district we find a hundred people trying to file through the main whorehouse. I don't know why. Everything's pretty faded and it's barely bigger than a NY studio apartment. Ah well, we came, we saw. It was great, except most of the artwork and furniture that was recovered is now in the Naples National Archeological Museum. Next time we'll go to Herculaneum - supposedly better preserved and very little looting done. But I'm still glad we went to Pompeii - if you get far enough away from the entrance (where all the horrid tour groups gather) you can get down some streets with no one on them. It's pretty nifty walking through god-knows-how-old ruins all by yourself. We didn't get to the Colosseum, cause that was allll the way on the other side of town. Maybe next time. We caught a train back into town around 6. We were going to take the cheap regional rail back to Rome, but we timed it badly and we'd have to wait an hour for the first one to get here. Then it wouldn't even get us home till after 9. So we splurge and get the bullet train back, which gets us into Rome around 7. We can still wander around a bit and get dinner before the sun really sets (which is somewhere around 10 in Europe).
Rome Day 3
While I was in Germany, I made friends with this Australian girl who had just been to Rome before coming to Munich. I was chatting with her about the various tours in Rome and how expensive they were - at least 40 euros a person - when she told me about this awesome 20 euro tour she went on when she was there. All I had to go on was a name - Justin - and the hostel she stayed at - Yellow Hostel. So last night, after dinner, Skip and I journey to Yellow Hostel, which is alllll the way over on the other side of the train station to find out about this tour. We sneak into the hostel and find the front desk, who very nicely books it for us and then tells us where to go to meet the guide. We're feeling pretty good about this - a 20 euro tour in Rome is a darn good price.
In the morning we wake up early and head down to the Colosseum, which will not be included in our tour. It starts to rain. Torrential rain, right as we get inside. Luckily, we get to skip the line outside because we have the Roma Pass. So we get inside, the rain stops a few moments later. We get the audio guide and start exploring. We get through maybe 3/4 of the upstairs when it starts to torrential downpour again. Now we're hiding together under one of the arches, trying not to get too wet. The rain stops again. We finish up the upstairs and continue downstairs. The rain starts again. I'm really hating the weather in Rome at this point. We manage to finish up only slightly soggy and head off to meet our tour guide.
Our tour guide was a guy named Tad and he worked for this company called Rome(ing) Tours. It was a small company generally booked people through Yellow Hostel or the Roundabout Bus Tour thingy (the one where backpackers can jump on and off and go to various hostels). Occasionally they get people through word of mouth, like us.
Tad is very entertaining - he's from Iowa, so not the usual Irish tour guide, but we can forgive him that because he's still pretty entertaining. We start off at the Circus Maximus and learn all about Roman history in the space of 15 minutes. Then we move on back into the heart of town and he tells us about the Mouth of Truth. I've never watched Roman Holiday, but I must after this trip. He tells us all about Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck and how many people come and spend 8 euros just to stick their hand in this stone thingy's mouth. It was discovered in the middle ages and the church came up with the whole 'mouth of truth' explanation. He goes on to explain how it also was most likely used in the water filtration system in the city. Like the kind that filters out toilet contents. He said he'd make fun of us till the end of time if we went and stuck our hand in there. Skip and I agreed to pass.
We move on to the old theater in Rome which is now an apartment building - Sophia Loren lives there among many other rich people. If I win the lottery I'm soo buying a spot there. We see bunch of other monuments and stuff I never would have paid attention to/noticed before. He points out the balcony Mussolini liked to speak from (now covered with scaffolding so we didn't actually see it) and and the pizza parlor that is now over the spot Caesar was killed at. Lots of fun facts like that. We stop at a gelato place along the way and have Oreo gelato - one of the best inventions ever. We stopped by again the next day and the next - but he never had it again. Supposedly the guy that runs the place is mean. We thought so when he didn't bring back the oreo.
We ended up back outside the Colosseum. We try to make a stab at Palatine Hill, but they won't let us in cause they want to close early. Rome really does remind me of Paris sometimes. Feet getting very tired, we head back to the hotel and get pretty good pizza on the way
In the morning we wake up early and head down to the Colosseum, which will not be included in our tour. It starts to rain. Torrential rain, right as we get inside. Luckily, we get to skip the line outside because we have the Roma Pass. So we get inside, the rain stops a few moments later. We get the audio guide and start exploring. We get through maybe 3/4 of the upstairs when it starts to torrential downpour again. Now we're hiding together under one of the arches, trying not to get too wet. The rain stops again. We finish up the upstairs and continue downstairs. The rain starts again. I'm really hating the weather in Rome at this point. We manage to finish up only slightly soggy and head off to meet our tour guide.
Our tour guide was a guy named Tad and he worked for this company called Rome(ing) Tours. It was a small company generally booked people through Yellow Hostel or the Roundabout Bus Tour thingy (the one where backpackers can jump on and off and go to various hostels). Occasionally they get people through word of mouth, like us.
Tad is very entertaining - he's from Iowa, so not the usual Irish tour guide, but we can forgive him that because he's still pretty entertaining. We start off at the Circus Maximus and learn all about Roman history in the space of 15 minutes. Then we move on back into the heart of town and he tells us about the Mouth of Truth. I've never watched Roman Holiday, but I must after this trip. He tells us all about Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck and how many people come and spend 8 euros just to stick their hand in this stone thingy's mouth. It was discovered in the middle ages and the church came up with the whole 'mouth of truth' explanation. He goes on to explain how it also was most likely used in the water filtration system in the city. Like the kind that filters out toilet contents. He said he'd make fun of us till the end of time if we went and stuck our hand in there. Skip and I agreed to pass.
We move on to the old theater in Rome which is now an apartment building - Sophia Loren lives there among many other rich people. If I win the lottery I'm soo buying a spot there. We see bunch of other monuments and stuff I never would have paid attention to/noticed before. He points out the balcony Mussolini liked to speak from (now covered with scaffolding so we didn't actually see it) and and the pizza parlor that is now over the spot Caesar was killed at. Lots of fun facts like that. We stop at a gelato place along the way and have Oreo gelato - one of the best inventions ever. We stopped by again the next day and the next - but he never had it again. Supposedly the guy that runs the place is mean. We thought so when he didn't bring back the oreo.
We ended up back outside the Colosseum. We try to make a stab at Palatine Hill, but they won't let us in cause they want to close early. Rome really does remind me of Paris sometimes. Feet getting very tired, we head back to the hotel and get pretty good pizza on the way
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Rome Day 2
We sleep in a bit on day two because Venice had us completely exhausted. In the morning we buy the Roma Pass from the front desk (still not sure if it was worth it or not) and head over to Capitoline hill. On the way there we hike up the Vittorio Emmanuel II yay-me monument. It's a giant monument-building-thing to himself. It's got an okay view of Rome - we couldn't find the elevator all the way to the top (Italians don't really like signs) but it was still cool. They have a tomb of the unnamed soldier there like the one under the arc du triomphe. Behind it are the Capitoline Museums. They're ok - some good marble sculptures, a couple interesting rooms with weird ceilings, but the only thing really worth it is the straight on view of the Roman Forum. Really awesome, but probably not worth the price of admission.
Afterward we go down into the Roman Forum. We skip the audio guide in favor of our guidebook's explanation of stuff. It's adequate and we're able to make out what most everything is. I also notice that there's no audio guide markers along the way - a common practice in Italia. They give you a map with the numbers on it and expect you to decipher everything. Of course the map is only in Italian. We'll run into this problem again later. The Roman Forum is amazing - everything is so gosh darn old, but pretty well preserved. All dug up thanks to Mussolini. Yay?
Later that night we go to Hard Rock because we're kind of sick of pizza and pasta. The cheap food in Rome is only mediocre anyways. For the good stuff you have to go to the good restaurants, which cost a bit more money than we want to spend at the moment. So it's blessed hamburgers for dinner. And we also run into a new problem - the Italians don't know how to cook french fries. And this is a chain restaurant we're at. But no, everywhere else we get french fries - the Irish pub, cafes, anywhere - they are generally soggy and undercooked. Sad, but true.
Afterward we go down into the Roman Forum. We skip the audio guide in favor of our guidebook's explanation of stuff. It's adequate and we're able to make out what most everything is. I also notice that there's no audio guide markers along the way - a common practice in Italia. They give you a map with the numbers on it and expect you to decipher everything. Of course the map is only in Italian. We'll run into this problem again later. The Roman Forum is amazing - everything is so gosh darn old, but pretty well preserved. All dug up thanks to Mussolini. Yay?
Later that night we go to Hard Rock because we're kind of sick of pizza and pasta. The cheap food in Rome is only mediocre anyways. For the good stuff you have to go to the good restaurants, which cost a bit more money than we want to spend at the moment. So it's blessed hamburgers for dinner. And we also run into a new problem - the Italians don't know how to cook french fries. And this is a chain restaurant we're at. But no, everywhere else we get french fries - the Irish pub, cafes, anywhere - they are generally soggy and undercooked. Sad, but true.
Rome Day 1
My first thought of Rome is it's just like Paris. There's a ton of modern buildings, banks everywhere, people always trying to sell you something, and random ruins just sitting in the midst of it all.
Our hotel was not that hard to find - only a couple blocks from one of the few metro stops. It was more of a chore to get through the train station actually. Half the metro line was under construction, so you had to take a million escalators and u-turns just to reach the proper metro platform. The hotel was ok. But just ok. Window looked out on the stairwell....but at least it had air conditioning that worked well. And the bathroom was clean. The internet was crap and too expensive, but we ended up getting better internet from a random connection anyway. All in all, it would do.
It was situated only a couple blocks from the Trevi Fountain, which ended up being our go-to spot. When in doubt, just follow signs to the Trevi and we could find our way home from there. We never actually spent much time at the fountain because #1 it's just a fountain and #2 there were constantly people trying to sell you stuff and take your picture for money or just generally asking you for money. Go see it, take a picture, and move on before someone can wrench your camera out of your hand and then charge you for it.
We take a detour to an Irish Pub to see US vs. Slovenia - I say Irish pub only very loosely. The staff was entirely Italian (highly unusual for an Irish pub - even the Vienna one was all Irish) and they charged through the nose for everything. They also refused to serve anything but burgers before 5 at night. At 4:55 I ask for a brownie - She looks at the clock and say "not till 5". Like that extra 5 minutes is really going to make the difference. Their loss - never going back there again. Stupid fake Irish pub.
We went to the Pantheon that first day, too. It was also really close and free, so why not. It was humongous and full of people, but really awesome. It certainly doesn't disappoint. I just wish it was still a roman temple to the gods instead of a church. By now I've seen a ton of churches, so one more (even the Pantheon) is just meh.
We wander around some more and get some mediocre food at the Piazza Navona (you really do pay for the view and not the food). Then follows Trajan's column, some more general wandering, lots and lots of marble monuments, and lots of sleep.
Our hotel was not that hard to find - only a couple blocks from one of the few metro stops. It was more of a chore to get through the train station actually. Half the metro line was under construction, so you had to take a million escalators and u-turns just to reach the proper metro platform. The hotel was ok. But just ok. Window looked out on the stairwell....but at least it had air conditioning that worked well. And the bathroom was clean. The internet was crap and too expensive, but we ended up getting better internet from a random connection anyway. All in all, it would do.
It was situated only a couple blocks from the Trevi Fountain, which ended up being our go-to spot. When in doubt, just follow signs to the Trevi and we could find our way home from there. We never actually spent much time at the fountain because #1 it's just a fountain and #2 there were constantly people trying to sell you stuff and take your picture for money or just generally asking you for money. Go see it, take a picture, and move on before someone can wrench your camera out of your hand and then charge you for it.
We take a detour to an Irish Pub to see US vs. Slovenia - I say Irish pub only very loosely. The staff was entirely Italian (highly unusual for an Irish pub - even the Vienna one was all Irish) and they charged through the nose for everything. They also refused to serve anything but burgers before 5 at night. At 4:55 I ask for a brownie - She looks at the clock and say "not till 5". Like that extra 5 minutes is really going to make the difference. Their loss - never going back there again. Stupid fake Irish pub.
We went to the Pantheon that first day, too. It was also really close and free, so why not. It was humongous and full of people, but really awesome. It certainly doesn't disappoint. I just wish it was still a roman temple to the gods instead of a church. By now I've seen a ton of churches, so one more (even the Pantheon) is just meh.
We wander around some more and get some mediocre food at the Piazza Navona (you really do pay for the view and not the food). Then follows Trajan's column, some more general wandering, lots and lots of marble monuments, and lots of sleep.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Recap 2
Verona - I'm tired of saying every town I go to is cute, but it's true. Europe is just generally cute. There's stone buildings everywhere and it's tiny and there are few skyscrapers (none in Rome, which I'll get to later). So Verona is cute. The outside is ugly, but if you're inside the old town it's cute enough. There's not much to do but wander around and gape or shop the high end stores. It's a day trip from Venice - you get in, see the bridge (which is amazing), and see Juliet's Balcony. Which is actually fake, but you're supposed to. There's really not much else. It was a good stop over from Munich, but I definitely wouldn't recommend more than a day here.
Venice - You need at least two days here - one to just wander and gape, and one to see a few sights. There's definitely a few days of stuff to do here - we only did the San Marco stuff and that took a lot of the day. If you want to see any of the markets, far off churches, or art museums, you'll need a few more days. Tip: invest in an expensive hotel with air conditioning. Doesn't matter where really, Venice is pretty walkable. But never open your windows at night. Big mistake. I agree with the guidebooks - it's getting a little bit too touristy, but the sights are totally worth it. The view from the top of St. Mark's was awesome. And we never got out to the islands, which are supposed to be amazing.
And that takes us into Rome, which needs quite a bit of explaining all by itself.
Venice - You need at least two days here - one to just wander and gape, and one to see a few sights. There's definitely a few days of stuff to do here - we only did the San Marco stuff and that took a lot of the day. If you want to see any of the markets, far off churches, or art museums, you'll need a few more days. Tip: invest in an expensive hotel with air conditioning. Doesn't matter where really, Venice is pretty walkable. But never open your windows at night. Big mistake. I agree with the guidebooks - it's getting a little bit too touristy, but the sights are totally worth it. The view from the top of St. Mark's was awesome. And we never got out to the islands, which are supposed to be amazing.
And that takes us into Rome, which needs quite a bit of explaining all by itself.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Extras and Recap
So I have been accused of only telling about the bad stuff and not enough of the good stuff. Apparently I also don't talk enough about Skip. He's here. He exists. Haven't kicked him out yet.
I think the bad stuff just sticks in my head more because it makes a funny story and there's only so many times you can say "this church is gorgeous" before sounding like a broken record. For the sake of posterity, though, I will try to recount some of the good times here.
Geneva: The people were so nice. Incredibly nice. Everyone spoke English and they were very good about it (especially when I would go up to them and start babbling in English like an idiot cause I still hadn't adapted to the different continent). The food was very good - I don't really know what traditional Swiss is, but the pizza and breakfasts were very good. It is really a gorgeous city, and if I had a lot of money I would consider one of the mansions on the lake. And a boat. Cause if you live on a lake, you need a boat.
Lyon - Very quaint and cute. We stayed in the medieval quarter, so all the streets were teeny and most of the buildings looked at least a couple hundred years old. The people were generally very friendly - not like we found in Paris. The church on the hill and the view from it were FANTASTIC. One of the best views on the whole trip, if you don't count the Eiffel Tower. Cause that's just like...cheating. The food....I could pass on the local cuisine. Pig's innards and cow muzzles and grossness. The first night's food was very memorable - pub grub in a very loud, odd setting. The second night I can't recall at all, so it must have been forgettable. Overall, very cutsy city, but I don't know what I'd do in it for more than a couple days.
Paris - There's just too much to say about Paris. The most beautiful city - my favorite church we've visited is still Notre Dame - with awesome museums and churches and palaces. You could spend a couple weeks in Paris and still not see everything you want to - I know we packed our days and still felt like we hadn't seen it all. And yet if I could just do away with the Parisians....their smoking kinda got to me after a while. Tip: always sit in doors in a restaurant. Or anywhere for that matter. Never sit outside. Sad, but true.
Bruges - Just the cutest darn town I ever did see. Definitely stay within the city limits, cause when all the day trippers leave in the late afternoon/evening, the city is nice and quiet and sooo pretty. The food is amazing, too. The fries are skippable - they're not really anything special. The waffles are to die for if you get them made fresh. And the local cuisine - Flemish stew and the like, was pretty darn good, too. The people are also really nice. The guys at the hostel were so helpful and everywhere we went, people would try to help us. It was an awesome place to visit after Paris.
Amsterdam - The dutch were pretty darn nice, too. Our tour there was the most fun we've been on, I think. There's definitely way too much to see in one or even two days. We didn't get to touch Anne Frank's house or any of the museums. But we did meet a bunch of awesome people and have a rollicking good time.
Hamburg - A sedate city (might have just been the constant rain), but still very lovely. There's a lot about WWII here, and if you get a good tour (I recommend the NewEurope one even for the older generation - 'twas a very mixed crowd on our trip) it's really worth it. Plus the gummi bears are awesome.
Prague - In one word - AWESOME. I loved Prague. I wish we could have stayed longer. We didn't get to do the insides of the churches or any of the WWII memorial stuff or any of the museums. It was so incredibly pretty and there was just so much to see, you need to spend at least a day wandering around to just LOOK at everything and get your bearings. The food is good if you steer away from traditional Czech.
Vienna - The underrated city of our trip. Our hostel was just so bad, I know it totally ruined the city for Skip. I am trying to see past that, though. The Shoenbrunn Palace was amazing - beautiful and totally furnished. And the zoo was pretty darn good, too. We didn't get to do any of this other stuff I discovered - the churches, the crypts, the Hofburg, etc. I would love to go back, but it might be hard to convince Skip. Stupid hippie hostel with its hippie drum circles at 3 in the morning....
Munich - Pretty city - we got there during the city's birthday party, so it was a bit more crowded than usual. Everyone is very, very nice. Our favorite cheap accommodation - the hostel was awesome. There's also so much to do. There's all the WWII stuff, the town hall, the churches, and then there's all the stuff outside. I would have loved to see Dachau, but we only had time for one day trip so of course I'm gonna pick the pretty pretty castle over the Nazi concentration camp. But I would like to go back and see it. And the other castles, too. The food was good and the beer was actually drinkable, which is high praise coming from me. I mean, it must be pretty good if the Pope has it shipped to him in the Vatican.
To be continued....
I think the bad stuff just sticks in my head more because it makes a funny story and there's only so many times you can say "this church is gorgeous" before sounding like a broken record. For the sake of posterity, though, I will try to recount some of the good times here.
Geneva: The people were so nice. Incredibly nice. Everyone spoke English and they were very good about it (especially when I would go up to them and start babbling in English like an idiot cause I still hadn't adapted to the different continent). The food was very good - I don't really know what traditional Swiss is, but the pizza and breakfasts were very good. It is really a gorgeous city, and if I had a lot of money I would consider one of the mansions on the lake. And a boat. Cause if you live on a lake, you need a boat.
Lyon - Very quaint and cute. We stayed in the medieval quarter, so all the streets were teeny and most of the buildings looked at least a couple hundred years old. The people were generally very friendly - not like we found in Paris. The church on the hill and the view from it were FANTASTIC. One of the best views on the whole trip, if you don't count the Eiffel Tower. Cause that's just like...cheating. The food....I could pass on the local cuisine. Pig's innards and cow muzzles and grossness. The first night's food was very memorable - pub grub in a very loud, odd setting. The second night I can't recall at all, so it must have been forgettable. Overall, very cutsy city, but I don't know what I'd do in it for more than a couple days.
Paris - There's just too much to say about Paris. The most beautiful city - my favorite church we've visited is still Notre Dame - with awesome museums and churches and palaces. You could spend a couple weeks in Paris and still not see everything you want to - I know we packed our days and still felt like we hadn't seen it all. And yet if I could just do away with the Parisians....their smoking kinda got to me after a while. Tip: always sit in doors in a restaurant. Or anywhere for that matter. Never sit outside. Sad, but true.
Bruges - Just the cutest darn town I ever did see. Definitely stay within the city limits, cause when all the day trippers leave in the late afternoon/evening, the city is nice and quiet and sooo pretty. The food is amazing, too. The fries are skippable - they're not really anything special. The waffles are to die for if you get them made fresh. And the local cuisine - Flemish stew and the like, was pretty darn good, too. The people are also really nice. The guys at the hostel were so helpful and everywhere we went, people would try to help us. It was an awesome place to visit after Paris.
Amsterdam - The dutch were pretty darn nice, too. Our tour there was the most fun we've been on, I think. There's definitely way too much to see in one or even two days. We didn't get to touch Anne Frank's house or any of the museums. But we did meet a bunch of awesome people and have a rollicking good time.
Hamburg - A sedate city (might have just been the constant rain), but still very lovely. There's a lot about WWII here, and if you get a good tour (I recommend the NewEurope one even for the older generation - 'twas a very mixed crowd on our trip) it's really worth it. Plus the gummi bears are awesome.
Prague - In one word - AWESOME. I loved Prague. I wish we could have stayed longer. We didn't get to do the insides of the churches or any of the WWII memorial stuff or any of the museums. It was so incredibly pretty and there was just so much to see, you need to spend at least a day wandering around to just LOOK at everything and get your bearings. The food is good if you steer away from traditional Czech.
Vienna - The underrated city of our trip. Our hostel was just so bad, I know it totally ruined the city for Skip. I am trying to see past that, though. The Shoenbrunn Palace was amazing - beautiful and totally furnished. And the zoo was pretty darn good, too. We didn't get to do any of this other stuff I discovered - the churches, the crypts, the Hofburg, etc. I would love to go back, but it might be hard to convince Skip. Stupid hippie hostel with its hippie drum circles at 3 in the morning....
Munich - Pretty city - we got there during the city's birthday party, so it was a bit more crowded than usual. Everyone is very, very nice. Our favorite cheap accommodation - the hostel was awesome. There's also so much to do. There's all the WWII stuff, the town hall, the churches, and then there's all the stuff outside. I would have loved to see Dachau, but we only had time for one day trip so of course I'm gonna pick the pretty pretty castle over the Nazi concentration camp. But I would like to go back and see it. And the other castles, too. The food was good and the beer was actually drinkable, which is high praise coming from me. I mean, it must be pretty good if the Pope has it shipped to him in the Vatican.
To be continued....
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Venice or the City that is Under Construction
The train ride to Venice was brief - less than an hour, but that was kind of the point. When we get there, it's raining. Full on pouring. Lovely. We were told it would take about a half hour to wind our way to the hotel from the train station. So not happening anymore. So we stand in line for tickets on the waterbus. We should have just walked. We still got wet and it took forever to buy the darn things. Everyone was paying cash until this stupid idiot decided to pay with a credit card and jammed the machine. Then you had two lines converging into one and it was a big mess. In retrospect, he didn't know his card would jam the machine, but at the time I was pretty pissed.
The ride was nice, though. Down the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge, which is only a few blocks from where we want to be. So incredibly crowded, though. The tourists are incredibly annoying. Maybe they're trying to pick the nothingness that is in my pockets (I firmly hold on to my purse, carrying every valuable I own), but I get bumped into a lot. I even get punched in the chest once by some idiot trying to walk and read a map at the same time.
Our hotel was pretty easy to find, though. Venice is actually kind of small. The room was nice enough - big bed, tv, closet, bathroom. What more could you ask for. While we don't look over the canal (too much money), it is on a quiet street, so we're pretty happy. There's free wifi too so yay.
We spend the entire day just wandering around. We get a gigantic lunch at a restaurant - the caprese salad was aaaaamaaaazing, but the pasta was just good. We wander basically all day. We wander into a random church we find - gorgeous and littered with frescoes. Some saint's dad is buried there, but I can't read Italian so it's hard to figure out who.
Wandering around for hours on end may sound stupid, but it was awesome. The only downer was Saint Marc's Plaza - half of it is under construction. Half the Basilica is covered in scaffolding. The Bridge of Sighs is covered in scaffolding. Very disappointing. Anyways, we grab a couple of cheap pizza slices for dinner (very tasty, and very like NY slices). At the end of the day we stop into a bookstore and pick up a Venice guidebook to help plan the next day - this proved to be a fantastic idea because it helped us to skip nearly every line.
We wake up early the next morning and make a beeline for St. Mark's Basilica. The line moves really quickly because it's so early and everyone can just run in. The Basilica is famous for it's decoration and it's inhabitants. A couple of Venetian sailors smuggled Mark's body here from Alexandria way back when. In a barrel of pork. They said they were "rescuing" him. However it went down, the Basilica is amazing. We pay for the museum, which is on the second floor to see the view and the famous gold/bronze horses. They were believed to have been made in Alexander's time and were stolen by Nero and then the Venetians. The doge used to like to make speeches in front of them. I just think they're awesome because they're horses. I snap some illicit photographs while Skip shields me from the guard's eyes.
That's an annoying fact - you can't take pictures inside nearly any building in Venice. Every place we went, you were only allowed to take pictures out the windows, not inside. This didn't really stop me from taking pictures (or from idiots using their flash cameras and then getting yelled at) but it's still annoying.
The view from the top of the Basilica was amazing - half of it was roped off for restoration (good god all of Europe really is under construction), but the other half looked over the doge's palace and the rest of the square. Great photo opportunities there.
We head over to the Correr Museum after that, where we buy a St. Mark's Museum Plus Pass and briefly look through the exhibits there. Now, you have to have a Museum Pass to see the Doge's Palace. You can buy it at a lot of places in Venice. Why people wait in line at the Doge's Palace, which lets people in vveeerrry slowly is beyond me. We bypass the line and go right in. The doge's apartments were pretty impressive - they hold the largest canvas in the world, which was cool - but they aren't furnished, so it's hard to get an image of what happened there. Still, all of the paintings were nifty and the prison was somewhat interesting. The Bridge of Sighs was still covered in scaffolding...annoying.
At this time it's around 2 and we are very tired. We grab pizza and head back to the hotel for food and nap. And just in time, too, because right as we get inside, the skies open up. It pours for a couple hours while we are sleeping, but the sun comes out again when we emerge around 5. We fight through the now giant tourist crowds in St. Mark's Square to reach the bell tower. Amazing views over all of Venice. We stay up there a while because it was expensive and we just don't want to leave. It was compltely enclosed, too, so Skip's not getting the vertigo he usually gets.
When we finally do get down, we hunt all around for a good restaurant. We cross over the Rialto bridge and think "hey, why don't we try one of these restaurants on the canal - you can watch the gondoliers and it'll be fun. Cool." Not so cool.
We had to fight our way through aggressive waiters who wouldn't take no for an answer. "Table for two?" "No thank you." "Sit over there." "No thank you." "Table over there." "No!" It went on and on like this with the waiters getting more and more obnoxious. Finally Skip is just glaring at them all with the New Yorker "get the hell out of my way or I'm gonna break your face" look and we make it through to a quieter street. We read later that this stretch is pretty much an embarrassment to Venice. They're always aggressive, have a minimum price you need to pay, overcharge for everything, and the food sucks. We find a restaurant in a little side street, have more pasta and another yummy caprese. On our way back, Skip glares again and no one comes near us. Yay.
We hunt around for souvenirs for a little while - there's even a Disney Store (there was one in Verona, too) - but don't really find anything. Transporting glass with us for the next two weeks seems problematic.
Wish we could spend more time, since there's so much more we want to do, but we get home to get to bed for the train ride to Rome the next day.
The ride was nice, though. Down the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge, which is only a few blocks from where we want to be. So incredibly crowded, though. The tourists are incredibly annoying. Maybe they're trying to pick the nothingness that is in my pockets (I firmly hold on to my purse, carrying every valuable I own), but I get bumped into a lot. I even get punched in the chest once by some idiot trying to walk and read a map at the same time.
Our hotel was pretty easy to find, though. Venice is actually kind of small. The room was nice enough - big bed, tv, closet, bathroom. What more could you ask for. While we don't look over the canal (too much money), it is on a quiet street, so we're pretty happy. There's free wifi too so yay.
We spend the entire day just wandering around. We get a gigantic lunch at a restaurant - the caprese salad was aaaaamaaaazing, but the pasta was just good. We wander basically all day. We wander into a random church we find - gorgeous and littered with frescoes. Some saint's dad is buried there, but I can't read Italian so it's hard to figure out who.
Wandering around for hours on end may sound stupid, but it was awesome. The only downer was Saint Marc's Plaza - half of it is under construction. Half the Basilica is covered in scaffolding. The Bridge of Sighs is covered in scaffolding. Very disappointing. Anyways, we grab a couple of cheap pizza slices for dinner (very tasty, and very like NY slices). At the end of the day we stop into a bookstore and pick up a Venice guidebook to help plan the next day - this proved to be a fantastic idea because it helped us to skip nearly every line.
We wake up early the next morning and make a beeline for St. Mark's Basilica. The line moves really quickly because it's so early and everyone can just run in. The Basilica is famous for it's decoration and it's inhabitants. A couple of Venetian sailors smuggled Mark's body here from Alexandria way back when. In a barrel of pork. They said they were "rescuing" him. However it went down, the Basilica is amazing. We pay for the museum, which is on the second floor to see the view and the famous gold/bronze horses. They were believed to have been made in Alexander's time and were stolen by Nero and then the Venetians. The doge used to like to make speeches in front of them. I just think they're awesome because they're horses. I snap some illicit photographs while Skip shields me from the guard's eyes.
That's an annoying fact - you can't take pictures inside nearly any building in Venice. Every place we went, you were only allowed to take pictures out the windows, not inside. This didn't really stop me from taking pictures (or from idiots using their flash cameras and then getting yelled at) but it's still annoying.
The view from the top of the Basilica was amazing - half of it was roped off for restoration (good god all of Europe really is under construction), but the other half looked over the doge's palace and the rest of the square. Great photo opportunities there.
We head over to the Correr Museum after that, where we buy a St. Mark's Museum Plus Pass and briefly look through the exhibits there. Now, you have to have a Museum Pass to see the Doge's Palace. You can buy it at a lot of places in Venice. Why people wait in line at the Doge's Palace, which lets people in vveeerrry slowly is beyond me. We bypass the line and go right in. The doge's apartments were pretty impressive - they hold the largest canvas in the world, which was cool - but they aren't furnished, so it's hard to get an image of what happened there. Still, all of the paintings were nifty and the prison was somewhat interesting. The Bridge of Sighs was still covered in scaffolding...annoying.
At this time it's around 2 and we are very tired. We grab pizza and head back to the hotel for food and nap. And just in time, too, because right as we get inside, the skies open up. It pours for a couple hours while we are sleeping, but the sun comes out again when we emerge around 5. We fight through the now giant tourist crowds in St. Mark's Square to reach the bell tower. Amazing views over all of Venice. We stay up there a while because it was expensive and we just don't want to leave. It was compltely enclosed, too, so Skip's not getting the vertigo he usually gets.
When we finally do get down, we hunt all around for a good restaurant. We cross over the Rialto bridge and think "hey, why don't we try one of these restaurants on the canal - you can watch the gondoliers and it'll be fun. Cool." Not so cool.
We had to fight our way through aggressive waiters who wouldn't take no for an answer. "Table for two?" "No thank you." "Sit over there." "No thank you." "Table over there." "No!" It went on and on like this with the waiters getting more and more obnoxious. Finally Skip is just glaring at them all with the New Yorker "get the hell out of my way or I'm gonna break your face" look and we make it through to a quieter street. We read later that this stretch is pretty much an embarrassment to Venice. They're always aggressive, have a minimum price you need to pay, overcharge for everything, and the food sucks. We find a restaurant in a little side street, have more pasta and another yummy caprese. On our way back, Skip glares again and no one comes near us. Yay.
We hunt around for souvenirs for a little while - there's even a Disney Store (there was one in Verona, too) - but don't really find anything. Transporting glass with us for the next two weeks seems problematic.
Wish we could spend more time, since there's so much more we want to do, but we get home to get to bed for the train ride to Rome the next day.
Verona
The train ride to Verona was certainly the most beautiful. It went right through the Alps. It was absolutely gorgeous. The mountains were jaw-droppingly huge and still snow capped, and the little towns all had giant ruins in them. Some even had old giant castles built into the mountains itself. The giant stone bridges between a couple gorges were also cool. You could also tell when you entered Italy - the buildings changed, the landscape got a ton more vinyards and the buildings were slightly more run down. But still cute.
When we arrive in Verona it's hot and just about to rain. We also don't get a very good impression of the town - the station is in the modern outskirts...the very ugly modern outskirts. We trek out to our B&B, which is just outside the old town wall so we haven't seen anything we like yet.
Now we've never stayed in a B&B before, so it's a new experience. The woman didn't speak much English, but she was *so* *incredibly* *nice*. I can't say a bad thing about this place because she was just so helpful. She gave us a map right off and showed us all the main highlights of the teeny-weeny town. Our room was also awesome - fully air-conditioned with a bathroom as big as our entire room in Vienna.
We wander around after a bit of a nap - see Juliet's statue and balcony, flooded with people of course (I refuse to pay for entry to the fake house). I mean, the balcony isn't even that old. It was built in the last hundred years. Maybe that makes me a non-romantic, but I like my ambiance to be genuine. It does make me want to see that movie, Letters to Juliet, though. People really did put letters there. I read later that every month or so they have to clean them all up or else the entire place would be flooded with paper. The graffiti at the entrance is also replaced, too. Rumor is that if you and your lover write your names on the wall, you'll be together forever or something mushy like that. They replace those panels every so often so more people can write their names. Does that mean that you're only together till the panels get removed? Seems kind of risky to me. I decided to pass.
We get some food at a restaurant on one of the squares - pretty good. Nothing earth-shattering, but decent. The castle bridge was the best - it's ginormous and has the best views of Verona. We got there at sunset, so it was particularly beautiful then.
Verona was cute, charming. Definitely not somewhere you'd want to be for more than a day. Maybe two if you like to sleep in a lot. I must be missing something, though, because tons of people flood here every year. Is it the Romeo and Juliet thing? Maybe it's because I've never actually read the play, but it's not even my favorite Shakespeare story. Ah well. On to Venice!
When we arrive in Verona it's hot and just about to rain. We also don't get a very good impression of the town - the station is in the modern outskirts...the very ugly modern outskirts. We trek out to our B&B, which is just outside the old town wall so we haven't seen anything we like yet.
Now we've never stayed in a B&B before, so it's a new experience. The woman didn't speak much English, but she was *so* *incredibly* *nice*. I can't say a bad thing about this place because she was just so helpful. She gave us a map right off and showed us all the main highlights of the teeny-weeny town. Our room was also awesome - fully air-conditioned with a bathroom as big as our entire room in Vienna.
We wander around after a bit of a nap - see Juliet's statue and balcony, flooded with people of course (I refuse to pay for entry to the fake house). I mean, the balcony isn't even that old. It was built in the last hundred years. Maybe that makes me a non-romantic, but I like my ambiance to be genuine. It does make me want to see that movie, Letters to Juliet, though. People really did put letters there. I read later that every month or so they have to clean them all up or else the entire place would be flooded with paper. The graffiti at the entrance is also replaced, too. Rumor is that if you and your lover write your names on the wall, you'll be together forever or something mushy like that. They replace those panels every so often so more people can write their names. Does that mean that you're only together till the panels get removed? Seems kind of risky to me. I decided to pass.
We get some food at a restaurant on one of the squares - pretty good. Nothing earth-shattering, but decent. The castle bridge was the best - it's ginormous and has the best views of Verona. We got there at sunset, so it was particularly beautiful then.
Verona was cute, charming. Definitely not somewhere you'd want to be for more than a day. Maybe two if you like to sleep in a lot. I must be missing something, though, because tons of people flood here every year. Is it the Romeo and Juliet thing? Maybe it's because I've never actually read the play, but it's not even my favorite Shakespeare story. Ah well. On to Venice!
Munich Day 3
The next day we head out to the Neuschwanstein Castle tour - nearly two hours out to Fussen, the town at the bottom of the mountain, but I make friends with an Australian girl and that makes the time pass quicker. On the way, we learn all about "Mad" Kind Ludwig and the building of all his castles (which I must now go back and see immediately).
When we get there, we grab some lunch at one of the cafes and take it to go as we hike up the mountain. First we stop at the lake, where a whole family of swans is clustered around people giving them food. Apparently Kind Ludwig looooved swans. I can totally relate.
The climb up the mountain was a bit of a strainer - took almost 25 minutes, but the view at the top from the bridge was amaaaaaazing. Pictures are forthcoming. The walk to the castle from here was easy. A few people elect not to pay for the tour inside the castle - it's supposed to be dull cause the guides are all bored with it, but hell with that. I came all the way out here, I am going in.
Walking through the gate is like walking into a giant, giant version of the Disneyland castle. It looks exactly like that, but real. It's so well kept and there are people everywhere, but they thin out as tours come and go.
We get into the castle (this is not for people who can't do stairs, because you have to climb up so many freakin' spiral staircases to get anywhere) and start in the throne room. It is totally like stepping inside Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Everything looks new and it's sooo colorful and well preserved - King Ludwig spent so much money building his castles (the only one ever actually finished is one called Linderhof) that the Bavarian government had no choice but to open it as a museum only 6 weeks after his death. They've kept it up pretty well since then.
Every room is amazing and decorated with murals of fairy tales and arthurian legends and tons and tons of swans. Oh, and there's a cave. Randomly, just an artificial cave off his bedroom. I have no idea why.
The tour was brief because there aren't a lot of rooms to go into - like I said, it wasn't ever finished, and construction stopped as soon as he died - but it was awesome nonetheless. I defeinitely need to come back and see his other castle - Hohenshwangau, which we didn't have time to go into. Neushcwanstein is the big deal, anyways.
I get home in time to join Skip on the Beer Challenge, which is chock-a-block full of American frat boys. But we've already paid so we plod on. We try to make friends - it's what you're supposed to do in these situations - but we end up with a bunch of Texans. Not even very good Texans. Half of their group is boisterous and running all over the place, but we get the sad, melancholy Texans. We try to draw them out by talking about Europe, but all they can do is freakin' complain. "Italy was stupid. I didn't like it much. And the food is so tiny. The pasta dishes are so expensive and tiny and not that good. I mean, it's not even as good as what we can get at Olive Garden. I mean, I love Olive Garden!" Wow. We ditched them pretty quick.
We wander through a beer museum, sipping different kinds of beer as we go. So far we've only been given two of Munich's beers and I'm pretty annoyed. I though this would be trying the different Munich beers - 6 in total. Apparently not. It's just those two and the different variations they have. We try the one the pope likes to get shipped to him every month. It was okay, but beer isn't my thing so that might as well be a ringing endorsement. We reach a beirgarten near our hostel and I ditch out, leaving Skip with some Australians who seem fun enough. I go back to pack cause we're moving on to Verona the next day and the beer is just giving me a headache.
I find Skip much later (luckily the tour ended at our hostel) and get him into bed. To Verona tomorrow!
When we get there, we grab some lunch at one of the cafes and take it to go as we hike up the mountain. First we stop at the lake, where a whole family of swans is clustered around people giving them food. Apparently Kind Ludwig looooved swans. I can totally relate.
The climb up the mountain was a bit of a strainer - took almost 25 minutes, but the view at the top from the bridge was amaaaaaazing. Pictures are forthcoming. The walk to the castle from here was easy. A few people elect not to pay for the tour inside the castle - it's supposed to be dull cause the guides are all bored with it, but hell with that. I came all the way out here, I am going in.
Walking through the gate is like walking into a giant, giant version of the Disneyland castle. It looks exactly like that, but real. It's so well kept and there are people everywhere, but they thin out as tours come and go.
We get into the castle (this is not for people who can't do stairs, because you have to climb up so many freakin' spiral staircases to get anywhere) and start in the throne room. It is totally like stepping inside Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Everything looks new and it's sooo colorful and well preserved - King Ludwig spent so much money building his castles (the only one ever actually finished is one called Linderhof) that the Bavarian government had no choice but to open it as a museum only 6 weeks after his death. They've kept it up pretty well since then.
Every room is amazing and decorated with murals of fairy tales and arthurian legends and tons and tons of swans. Oh, and there's a cave. Randomly, just an artificial cave off his bedroom. I have no idea why.
The tour was brief because there aren't a lot of rooms to go into - like I said, it wasn't ever finished, and construction stopped as soon as he died - but it was awesome nonetheless. I defeinitely need to come back and see his other castle - Hohenshwangau, which we didn't have time to go into. Neushcwanstein is the big deal, anyways.
I get home in time to join Skip on the Beer Challenge, which is chock-a-block full of American frat boys. But we've already paid so we plod on. We try to make friends - it's what you're supposed to do in these situations - but we end up with a bunch of Texans. Not even very good Texans. Half of their group is boisterous and running all over the place, but we get the sad, melancholy Texans. We try to draw them out by talking about Europe, but all they can do is freakin' complain. "Italy was stupid. I didn't like it much. And the food is so tiny. The pasta dishes are so expensive and tiny and not that good. I mean, it's not even as good as what we can get at Olive Garden. I mean, I love Olive Garden!" Wow. We ditched them pretty quick.
We wander through a beer museum, sipping different kinds of beer as we go. So far we've only been given two of Munich's beers and I'm pretty annoyed. I though this would be trying the different Munich beers - 6 in total. Apparently not. It's just those two and the different variations they have. We try the one the pope likes to get shipped to him every month. It was okay, but beer isn't my thing so that might as well be a ringing endorsement. We reach a beirgarten near our hostel and I ditch out, leaving Skip with some Australians who seem fun enough. I go back to pack cause we're moving on to Verona the next day and the beer is just giving me a headache.
I find Skip much later (luckily the tour ended at our hostel) and get him into bed. To Verona tomorrow!
Munich Day 2
The next day we head into the city center again for another of the free tours. We get another Irish guy by the name of Keith. He leads us all over the place, telling us all about the war, the founding of the city, etc. My favorite was his little anecdotes about Oktoberfest. Every year, tons and tons of people loose their passports at the festival, but one nation more so than any other. Australia. It's so bad, that the Australian consulate has to send representatives from Berlin down to Munich to process all the new passports needed for the drunken Australians. No other nation needs this, just Australia.
He also tells us all about Hofbrauhaus. Now, I don't know what it is with Europe, but they all seem to be obsessed with going to the bathroom. Particularly guys going to the bathroom. In Amsterdam they had these weird S-curved metal things right out in the middle of the street with a grate at about eye-level. The guy would stand in it and stare out at everyone while he went in relative privacy. Kind of odd. Girls have to pay to pee because all of the girl toilets - kind of like giant yellow tin cans - were closed up in the 70's due to the hard drug problem. The girl toilets were won through a hard-fought battle of over 200 women peeing on different bridges of the city every day until the city decided to give them free public toilets. After this, I didn't think any other peeing story would catch my interest - who could top 200 women simultaneously watering a bridge together? Munich came close.
In the old days, Hofbrauhaus, the oldest beirgarten in Munich, did not have any bathrooms. The men (who were the only ones allowed in) had to go out into the street to pee. Because of this, the street sloped inwards to a drain. It still does, in fact. Now this is not that strange, but it gets better. They finally decided to install an option inside the beirgarten, because people were just too lazy or couldn't hold it or they just wanted to stop peeing in the darn street, I dunno. So they installed a drain beneath each and every table in the joint. When you needed to go you would take your walking stick (most gentlemen had them at this time) and tap your friends discreetly on the legs. They would then move their legs aside so when you went, it wouldn't splash up onto their pants. Some even had a groove carved right into the walking stick so your recycled beer would flow right down the walking stick, neatly into the drain. Very little splash back. So sensible.
It gets better.
Today, there are free bathrooms inside, so normality is restored. But wait, now the beergarden is thinking about all these guys that have to throw up because they drank too much. Each male bathroom has inside it a vomitorium. That's what it's called. It's a little round hole, kind of like a toilet, with a bar surrounding it that's just the right height for you to hold onto, lean over, and hurl your unwanted beer into. Men have to use this option if they need to let it go. They are forbidden from vomiting in the toilets. If an attendant catches you (and there are many bathroom attendants in Germany) you could get kicked out.
Females don't have this problem. They can just vomit right into the normal toilets. I think it's actually unfair that women have to hold on to dirty toilet seats while men get a special bar, but ah well. There's a way around that. Everyone knows how the line for a woman's bathroom can get. Pretty darn long sometimes. Sometimes you just can't hold your puke long enough. If this is case, ladies, you go up to a beirgarten attendant, make the universal sign for "I am about to hurl on your shoes" and he will escort you to the boys bathroom. He will enter the bathroom first and order, not ask, but order, every boy to stop what they are doing. If they're peeing they have to stop mid stream. They are ordered to stare directly at the wall and nowhere else. The attendant will escort the woman in and sometimes even hold her hair back while she uses the well-placed vomitorium. He will then escort her back out again, her dignity and identity fully intact because none of the boys have actually seen what she looks like. The bathroom usually explodes into laughter after this, but whatever. There's no vomit on the floor, so everyone wins. And that is the story of the Hofbrauhaus.
Another favorite feature of mine in Bavaria is the maypole. Maypoles are common in Bavaria. Every Bavarian town has one, actually. If one town manages to steal another town's maypole, the loser has to throw the other town a giant party. Pretty good deal to me. The most recent and famous one of these thefts was that of the airport security's maypole by the city police of Munich. Always nice to know that the police can have some fun, too.
The tour lasts for a while and there are many laughs to be had by all. He also handles the WWII stuff with tact and shows us around a lot of the famous Hitler sites as well. So sad, funny, interesting - the tour is a real hit.
We end the night by getting pub food at our hostel's bar and watching the German/Australia game. Everyone's there for Germany, of course, but we cheer for Australia. Sadly, horrid game for them, but we had fun anyway. I imagine the Australian bar was very drunk and very depressed that night.
He also tells us all about Hofbrauhaus. Now, I don't know what it is with Europe, but they all seem to be obsessed with going to the bathroom. Particularly guys going to the bathroom. In Amsterdam they had these weird S-curved metal things right out in the middle of the street with a grate at about eye-level. The guy would stand in it and stare out at everyone while he went in relative privacy. Kind of odd. Girls have to pay to pee because all of the girl toilets - kind of like giant yellow tin cans - were closed up in the 70's due to the hard drug problem. The girl toilets were won through a hard-fought battle of over 200 women peeing on different bridges of the city every day until the city decided to give them free public toilets. After this, I didn't think any other peeing story would catch my interest - who could top 200 women simultaneously watering a bridge together? Munich came close.
In the old days, Hofbrauhaus, the oldest beirgarten in Munich, did not have any bathrooms. The men (who were the only ones allowed in) had to go out into the street to pee. Because of this, the street sloped inwards to a drain. It still does, in fact. Now this is not that strange, but it gets better. They finally decided to install an option inside the beirgarten, because people were just too lazy or couldn't hold it or they just wanted to stop peeing in the darn street, I dunno. So they installed a drain beneath each and every table in the joint. When you needed to go you would take your walking stick (most gentlemen had them at this time) and tap your friends discreetly on the legs. They would then move their legs aside so when you went, it wouldn't splash up onto their pants. Some even had a groove carved right into the walking stick so your recycled beer would flow right down the walking stick, neatly into the drain. Very little splash back. So sensible.
It gets better.
Today, there are free bathrooms inside, so normality is restored. But wait, now the beergarden is thinking about all these guys that have to throw up because they drank too much. Each male bathroom has inside it a vomitorium. That's what it's called. It's a little round hole, kind of like a toilet, with a bar surrounding it that's just the right height for you to hold onto, lean over, and hurl your unwanted beer into. Men have to use this option if they need to let it go. They are forbidden from vomiting in the toilets. If an attendant catches you (and there are many bathroom attendants in Germany) you could get kicked out.
Females don't have this problem. They can just vomit right into the normal toilets. I think it's actually unfair that women have to hold on to dirty toilet seats while men get a special bar, but ah well. There's a way around that. Everyone knows how the line for a woman's bathroom can get. Pretty darn long sometimes. Sometimes you just can't hold your puke long enough. If this is case, ladies, you go up to a beirgarten attendant, make the universal sign for "I am about to hurl on your shoes" and he will escort you to the boys bathroom. He will enter the bathroom first and order, not ask, but order, every boy to stop what they are doing. If they're peeing they have to stop mid stream. They are ordered to stare directly at the wall and nowhere else. The attendant will escort the woman in and sometimes even hold her hair back while she uses the well-placed vomitorium. He will then escort her back out again, her dignity and identity fully intact because none of the boys have actually seen what she looks like. The bathroom usually explodes into laughter after this, but whatever. There's no vomit on the floor, so everyone wins. And that is the story of the Hofbrauhaus.
Another favorite feature of mine in Bavaria is the maypole. Maypoles are common in Bavaria. Every Bavarian town has one, actually. If one town manages to steal another town's maypole, the loser has to throw the other town a giant party. Pretty good deal to me. The most recent and famous one of these thefts was that of the airport security's maypole by the city police of Munich. Always nice to know that the police can have some fun, too.
The tour lasts for a while and there are many laughs to be had by all. He also handles the WWII stuff with tact and shows us around a lot of the famous Hitler sites as well. So sad, funny, interesting - the tour is a real hit.
We end the night by getting pub food at our hostel's bar and watching the German/Australia game. Everyone's there for Germany, of course, but we cheer for Australia. Sadly, horrid game for them, but we had fun anyway. I imagine the Australian bar was very drunk and very depressed that night.
Munich Day 1
We leave our Vienna hostel very happily for the train to Munich. This train ride was the most comfortable yet - fully air-conditioned and very comfy seats. We arrive in Munich between 3 and 4. Our hostel is only a block from the train station, so it was very easy to find. We're actually at the end of a long row of hostels. All of them are very loud and boisterous, but ours is slightly quieter - I think because the bar is in the back. The world cup of Korea vs. Somewhere was just finishing up and there were only a couple Korean backpackers watching it in the lounge. We ditch our bags in the room - enormous compared to our last place, and blessedly cool. Though, there's no air conditioning, the weather has just gotten a lot colder. If we were there with the same heat wave we had experienced in Vienna, we would probably still be mildly disgruntled. Though, there is a TV that has the game on, so major plus right there.
We get out of the hostel and head down to Marienplatz to watch the USA vs. UK game at the only Irish pub in town worth a darn - Kilians. It is PACKED. Very hot and very crowded. We spy one open table, but it's reserved. The Australian bar next door is even worse. Disheartened, we race back to the hostel, grabbing take out on the way (cause obviously we're starved by now) and manage to snag the last table in the common room before it starts to fill up. As the game progresses, the room fills up more and more, but we have a table, so we're set. Skip really gets into the game - I watch with mild fascination. There's only a couple of Americans that really get into it, but a lot of British fans.
We get out of the hostel and head down to Marienplatz to watch the USA vs. UK game at the only Irish pub in town worth a darn - Kilians. It is PACKED. Very hot and very crowded. We spy one open table, but it's reserved. The Australian bar next door is even worse. Disheartened, we race back to the hostel, grabbing take out on the way (cause obviously we're starved by now) and manage to snag the last table in the common room before it starts to fill up. As the game progresses, the room fills up more and more, but we have a table, so we're set. Skip really gets into the game - I watch with mild fascination. There's only a couple of Americans that really get into it, but a lot of British fans.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Vienna
My first impression of Vienna is boring. We're in the neighborhood right next to Westbahnhof because the area around Stephanzplatz is way too expensive. Our hostel is also crap. We get a teeny weeny, itsy bity little room that can barely fit our packs, let alone us. It also has a junior double, which is somewhere between a single and a double. I tend to roll around and do gymnastics in my sleep, so things aren't looking too good for Skip here. We have our own bathroom, yes, but the shower will only go on for 30 seconds at a time (deliberate, not a malfunction) and you can't open the door to it without forcefully shoving it past the mattress. It also doesn't have windows, so it is boiling hot. What is it with Europe and air conditioning? Even the one in the upscale super-duper Hyatt wasn't as good as my air-conditioning back home. I think Europe just likes to drown in its own sweat every night. The internet also doesn't work in any area outside the common room. Which has a bar. And very noisy people playing the bongos. 'Nuff said.
I also try to do laundry, but the machines aren't big enough to fit more than a couple things - a couple shirts, maybe a pair of pants, so we do enough to survive to Munich and leave it at that. There was also huge line for these two rinky-dink washers and since they close the kitchen/laundry at 10, the only time to do it is during the day. When you want to be out sightseeing. Great sense of planning this place has.
Not wanting to spend any more time in the room than we have to, we hop on the subway up to Stephanzplatz for food.
The next day, there is no real walking tour in Vienna that costs less than 40 euros a person, so we head over to Schonbrunn Palace. There we learn all about Vienna's absolute obsession with Sisi, or the Empress Elizabeth as she is formally known. They are absolutely in love with this woman, who is kind of like the Paris Hilton of her day. She's anorexic, travels with men other than her husband all the time, and constantly complains about everything. I can see the attraction already. The palace itself was very pretty - all the rooms are still pretty much furnished, so you can get a good idea of what they lived like back then.
After that, the sun is absolutely boiling so we head out into the garden which are pretty and mercifully full of shady spots. We slowly make our way over to the other end, where the royal menagerie of days past has been turned into fully-functioning zoo - one of the best in the world. It's about 3 now, and we won't have enough time to get over and see the other palace, the Hofburg, so we stay and see the zoo instead. I'm glad we did because it had some pretty killer views of Vienna. It also had Giant Pandas, which I don't think I have ever seen in person before. And it had penguins, of course. Lots of pictures were taken and lots of money spent on bottle after bottle of water. Don't these people believe in water fountains?
That night we head out to this Irish bar near our restaurant last night to watch the World Cup game of Uruguay vs. France. Nearly everyone in this place is an ex-pat. Even the waitresses are native English speakers. It had great food and TVs everywhere, so we settle in and watch the game with a bunch of drunk Englishmen.
Overall, I would love to come back to Vienna because there are so many other things I would like to see - the Kaisergruft, Michaelerkirche, the Hofburg - but I would definitely stay somewhere else. It's sad, but where you stay kind of influences how you see the city. I'm trying not to, but it's hard to see Vienna without that horrid, horrid room sticking in my mind.
I also try to do laundry, but the machines aren't big enough to fit more than a couple things - a couple shirts, maybe a pair of pants, so we do enough to survive to Munich and leave it at that. There was also huge line for these two rinky-dink washers and since they close the kitchen/laundry at 10, the only time to do it is during the day. When you want to be out sightseeing. Great sense of planning this place has.
Not wanting to spend any more time in the room than we have to, we hop on the subway up to Stephanzplatz for food.
The next day, there is no real walking tour in Vienna that costs less than 40 euros a person, so we head over to Schonbrunn Palace. There we learn all about Vienna's absolute obsession with Sisi, or the Empress Elizabeth as she is formally known. They are absolutely in love with this woman, who is kind of like the Paris Hilton of her day. She's anorexic, travels with men other than her husband all the time, and constantly complains about everything. I can see the attraction already. The palace itself was very pretty - all the rooms are still pretty much furnished, so you can get a good idea of what they lived like back then.
After that, the sun is absolutely boiling so we head out into the garden which are pretty and mercifully full of shady spots. We slowly make our way over to the other end, where the royal menagerie of days past has been turned into fully-functioning zoo - one of the best in the world. It's about 3 now, and we won't have enough time to get over and see the other palace, the Hofburg, so we stay and see the zoo instead. I'm glad we did because it had some pretty killer views of Vienna. It also had Giant Pandas, which I don't think I have ever seen in person before. And it had penguins, of course. Lots of pictures were taken and lots of money spent on bottle after bottle of water. Don't these people believe in water fountains?
That night we head out to this Irish bar near our restaurant last night to watch the World Cup game of Uruguay vs. France. Nearly everyone in this place is an ex-pat. Even the waitresses are native English speakers. It had great food and TVs everywhere, so we settle in and watch the game with a bunch of drunk Englishmen.
Overall, I would love to come back to Vienna because there are so many other things I would like to see - the Kaisergruft, Michaelerkirche, the Hofburg - but I would definitely stay somewhere else. It's sad, but where you stay kind of influences how you see the city. I'm trying not to, but it's hard to see Vienna without that horrid, horrid room sticking in my mind.
Prague
We had a 7 hour train ride to Prague. At first, it wasn't so bad. The train was a little older, but it was still German so it had a dining car, snacks, and usable bathrooms. Then the heat started to set in. The car was not air-conditioned. Apparently we had been assigned one of the few cars where they don't turn on the air conditioning. It was also a very full train so there was no hope of moving. By the end we were absolutely dying of dehydration, soaking in pools of our own sweat. I think the seats were actually pretty damp and sticky by the time we left. Very pleasant.
It was a bit of a walk to our hostel - there wasn't a good mass transportation option that worked for us, so we had to hoof it. Sweat soaked and 15 minutes later we get to our hostel, just on a street off the main square in Prague 1. The room wasn't too bad - not air conditioned again, but the room had a ginormous window, so we got a pretty good breeze. By now we are totally exhausted. I manage a shower before falling down on my bed, but Skip falls asleep the minute he sits down. We are jolted awake nearly 2 hours later by the loudest thunderstorm I have ever heard (and this is coming from living through all those Jersey storms every summer). It lasts for a long, long time, so by the time it slows down, the only thing open is the Hard Rock (thankfully only a couple blocks away) and we dart through the rain to food.
The next day we wake up early for another Sandeman's tour. We get another ex-Irish dude, who is REALLY enthusiastic. I mean, he really gets into his stories. We walk all over Prague 1, hear lots of funny stories - ex: there's a golem in this church tower that will kill anyone who goes into its room, so they actually bricked up the room it's in - and some sad stories - the desecration of one of the WWII memorials, the kid's pictures from the concentration camps, etc.
It was a very enlightening tour, which leads us right into the next one: the castle tour, also offered by Sandeman's. This one takes us up the hill to the castle area and covers all the main areas and buildings around it. My favorite were the beer-brewing monks. They seemed like a lively sort, considering they named their restaurant Hell.
After the tour, which also led us through the main areas around Prague Castle if not in it (apparently the inside is pretty boring - there's only a few rooms to go in and they're all empty), we tramp home for much needed showers and rest (it was very hot today). And of course, another thunderstorm begins as we're cleaning up. Since we're dying of hunger, we huddle under my very teeny umbrella and hunt out a restaurant in the main square. Pricey, but convenient.
I'm sad to leave - I wish we could have stayed another day, but we need to move on to Vienna. Prague was absolutely gorgeous and there was so much more I wanted to see. Not to mention the fact that it was really, really cheap. I think we were getting almost 22CZK to a dollar. I definitely intend to come back.
It was a bit of a walk to our hostel - there wasn't a good mass transportation option that worked for us, so we had to hoof it. Sweat soaked and 15 minutes later we get to our hostel, just on a street off the main square in Prague 1. The room wasn't too bad - not air conditioned again, but the room had a ginormous window, so we got a pretty good breeze. By now we are totally exhausted. I manage a shower before falling down on my bed, but Skip falls asleep the minute he sits down. We are jolted awake nearly 2 hours later by the loudest thunderstorm I have ever heard (and this is coming from living through all those Jersey storms every summer). It lasts for a long, long time, so by the time it slows down, the only thing open is the Hard Rock (thankfully only a couple blocks away) and we dart through the rain to food.
The next day we wake up early for another Sandeman's tour. We get another ex-Irish dude, who is REALLY enthusiastic. I mean, he really gets into his stories. We walk all over Prague 1, hear lots of funny stories - ex: there's a golem in this church tower that will kill anyone who goes into its room, so they actually bricked up the room it's in - and some sad stories - the desecration of one of the WWII memorials, the kid's pictures from the concentration camps, etc.
It was a very enlightening tour, which leads us right into the next one: the castle tour, also offered by Sandeman's. This one takes us up the hill to the castle area and covers all the main areas and buildings around it. My favorite were the beer-brewing monks. They seemed like a lively sort, considering they named their restaurant Hell.
After the tour, which also led us through the main areas around Prague Castle if not in it (apparently the inside is pretty boring - there's only a few rooms to go in and they're all empty), we tramp home for much needed showers and rest (it was very hot today). And of course, another thunderstorm begins as we're cleaning up. Since we're dying of hunger, we huddle under my very teeny umbrella and hunt out a restaurant in the main square. Pricey, but convenient.
I'm sad to leave - I wish we could have stayed another day, but we need to move on to Vienna. Prague was absolutely gorgeous and there was so much more I wanted to see. Not to mention the fact that it was really, really cheap. I think we were getting almost 22CZK to a dollar. I definitely intend to come back.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Hamburg
Hamburg was to be our rest-up stop. We weren't going to do a whole lot except go on a tour and look for gummi bears. My first impression of Hamburg was favorable - it was a pretty, sunny day, and we were in one of the more well-kept areas of Hamburg, right by the train station. I think there were a lot of offices in that district, cause on a Sunday everything was closed and it was pretty dead. We spend most of the rest of the day re-organizing our stuff and taking advantage of the hotel's many, many tv channels. And yay, they have room service, so dinner is taken care of.
The next day we go to the Sandeman's free tour - they did the awesome tour in Amsterdam, so we figured we were safe in going to them again. The girl was an ex-pat from London, and very energetic. She immediately won me over with her story about the swans in Hamburg. A long time ago they instituted a law in Hamburg that if anyone shot, hurt, captured, or even insulted a swan, they would suffer horrible and unspeakable punishment. Probably death. This amused me greatly.
The rest of the tour was just as entertaining, if slightly more subdued than the Amsterdam one. Of course, we're comparing Amsterdam and Hamburg, so of course the former is going to be a bit more lively. It was also drizzling on and off - the gorgeous day we had yesterday turned into thunderstorms over night. I blame Skip. The same thing happened the last time he was in Hamburg, so it stands to reason that he and the city together are cursed. Still, I think he came away with a much more favorable impression than last time.
This tour covered a lot more of WWII than Amsterdam did, as well. I think our guide did a good job of interchanging the serious (the golden plaques on the sidewalk commemorating the Jews of Hamburg that had been murdered) with the whimsical (look up paternosta if you get a chance). Overall, we had a great time and left with a pretty favorable impression - though the weird geometric opera house/entire city they're building is a bit of a head scratcher.
We went hunting gummi bears after that. We found an entire store devoted to these gelatinous creations right on our hotel's street. As we walked around, girls kept coming up to us with free samples, further complicating our choices. At first, I thought we would just get a normal variety bag you would find in the states, but after trying all the weird variations, we ended up with a mishmash totaling almost 3lbs.
Our packs a bit heavier, we head out for Prague the next day on a grueling 7 hour train ride.
The next day we go to the Sandeman's free tour - they did the awesome tour in Amsterdam, so we figured we were safe in going to them again. The girl was an ex-pat from London, and very energetic. She immediately won me over with her story about the swans in Hamburg. A long time ago they instituted a law in Hamburg that if anyone shot, hurt, captured, or even insulted a swan, they would suffer horrible and unspeakable punishment. Probably death. This amused me greatly.
The rest of the tour was just as entertaining, if slightly more subdued than the Amsterdam one. Of course, we're comparing Amsterdam and Hamburg, so of course the former is going to be a bit more lively. It was also drizzling on and off - the gorgeous day we had yesterday turned into thunderstorms over night. I blame Skip. The same thing happened the last time he was in Hamburg, so it stands to reason that he and the city together are cursed. Still, I think he came away with a much more favorable impression than last time.
This tour covered a lot more of WWII than Amsterdam did, as well. I think our guide did a good job of interchanging the serious (the golden plaques on the sidewalk commemorating the Jews of Hamburg that had been murdered) with the whimsical (look up paternosta if you get a chance). Overall, we had a great time and left with a pretty favorable impression - though the weird geometric opera house/entire city they're building is a bit of a head scratcher.
We went hunting gummi bears after that. We found an entire store devoted to these gelatinous creations right on our hotel's street. As we walked around, girls kept coming up to us with free samples, further complicating our choices. At first, I thought we would just get a normal variety bag you would find in the states, but after trying all the weird variations, we ended up with a mishmash totaling almost 3lbs.
Our packs a bit heavier, we head out for Prague the next day on a grueling 7 hour train ride.
Monday, June 7, 2010
XXX is Amsterdam
My first impression of Amsterdam was plain and simply "hectic". The train station was absolutely gorgeous (on the outside), but directions to the trams were vague at best - and yet still better than those blasted French. The day before we got there, the city had instituted a new kind of public transport ticketing device called a "chipkaart". So we have to master this new system that not even the Dutch have figured out yet. Awesome!
On top of this, we have to navigate around "the bikes". The Dutch are CRAZY about bikes. It's the national hobby and pastime of the Dutch, and they take to it with a vengeance. You better have ten sets of eyes to watch out for every body part, or you're losing an arm or at least suffering a crushed foot.
The tram (once we got on and paid an outrageous fee for it) was filled with tourists, who, like us, had absolutely no idea where they were going. Now when I was booking our hotel, I thought situating it in the quiet, slightly removed Museums Quarter was a favorable option. This tram ride made me want to rethink that decision. It was long, very hot, and very crowded. Of course, I was grateful it even had a public transport system, unlike many of the cities we will be going to in Italy.
Our hotel was fine - in a quiet part of the city by a giant park. And orange. How many does this make? Oh yes, three orange rooms. Three out of five so far. What is Europe's obsession with the color orange?? Yes, I know orange is the national color and whatnot of the Netherlands, but it's a really freakin' ugly color for a bedroom. And the rest of Europe has no excuse!
We took some time in our fruity colored room to read up on the cuisine of Amsterdam because by this time it's almost dinner and we're starting to get hungry. Our last real meal was Breakfast in Bruges, so my stomach is starting to complain. The first thing the guidebook tells us is that the food of Amsterdam is entirely underwhelming. In an interview with an Amsterdam-ian, the resident stated that his favorite restaurant in Amsterdam was in Antwerp. Not entirely believing this, we set out to just wing it. Nearly two hours later, utterly starving and horrified by the choices given to us: fast food that looks like it was imported from a Japanese laundromat (who else needs their food constantly prepared and served by robots?), mediocre Italian, and lots and lots of "coffee", we stumble upon a wonderfully familiar sight: The Hard Rock Cafe!
My ode to the Hard Rock: No matter what city I'm in, no matter where in the world, I can always rely on the Hard Rock. I remember stumbling upon it on our last day in Dublin, where the only thing we craved was a freakin' normal hamburger and fries (of course the only places open that morning were traditional Irish breakfast cafes. Black and white sausage anyone?) The Hard Rock in Amsterdam did not disappoint. The wait for inside was up to 50 minutes, so we chose outside and 'discreetly' moved our table as near the heat lamps as we dared. Hamburger, fries, salad, and macaroni and cheese. We were in heaven, literally. That macaroni and cheese was some of the best I have ever eaten, if I didn't count Jiko. If you don't know what Jiko is, just know it has the most amazing steak/mac&cheese combo in the world.
So, saved from hunger, I buy a hoodie on the way out and we call it a night.
The next day, we sleep in a bit before going out to hunt for lunch. We needed something quick and near the train station because we were taking a walking tour at 1. I'm going to spare you from that meal choice...Let's just say Amsterdam food leaves a lot to be desired and fast food is anything but fast when the servers are stoned into stupidity.
Our walking tour was fantastic - our guide was a dude from Ireland and he was very energetic and enthusiastic about the city of Amsterdam. He had anecdotes about absolutely everything. "When you hear the bell, run like hell!" - in relation to the bikes. That one, we got immediately. Also, the canals of Amsterdam are dredged every year to bring up the third layer on the bottom - bikes. Thousands of them are pulled out of the canal every year, refurbished, and sold back into the population. Apparently, if you'd been in Amsterdam over 15 years, chances are you're riding a refurbished bike you also owned 10 years ago. And, if you're really desperate for a bike, you can go stand on a bridge with a bike lock in hand, and a junkie will sell one to you for 15 euros. If he's really desperate, you can get away with a cigarette and pat on the back. Course, this also means that the guy just nipped you a bike from round the corner somewhere. Yeah, don't get too attached to your bike in Amsterdam. You could also get a bike (true story, by the way) by running up to someone on a bike and screaming "THAT'S MY BIKE!" There's a 90% chance he'll get off and run like hell in the opposite direction.
He also told us about the miracle of Amsterdam: a magical, fire-proof, levitating, teleporting piece of bread. True story. Look it up.
Last tidbit: Amsterdam is the city of XXX. And I'm not just talking about porn. The emblem of Amsterdam is actually XXX. They don't know what it means. They have a few theories, but no real idea where it came from. Since Amsterdam used to be a huge exporter of porn, it's believed that XXX came to be associated with sex through mail-order porn from Amsterdam.
Now we come to the juicy stuff: the coffee shops and red light district. From what I'd heard from everyone, I was expecting the Las Vegas of porn streets. Lights, shows, weird instruments of torture everywhere! I was actually kind of disappointed. Yes, the girls in the windows were a bit of a surprise, but other than that it was kind of low key. Or at least, as low key as a sex district can hope to be. Other than the live girls available for your viewing pleasure, it was no different than any other row of porn shops and nude shows.
The coffee shops were interesting, though. The mayor has decided to start cracking down on the number of coffee shops around the city, especially those near schools. In the last ten years, the number has been reduced by half. In the next ten years, he hopes to move the vast majority out of the city center. We were warned that if we came back in ten years, the demographic of Amsterdam could be radically changed. Our guide then took us to the most famous coffee shop in Amsterdam: the one used by Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon in Ocean's 12. Now, I don't really remember that movie so the place itself didn't really enthuse me, but one of it's occupants did. The fattest, most stoned cat I have ever seen. The whole group sat there staring at this ginormous cat for about 10 minutes. It was hilarious in its apathetic-ness. Nothing phased this cat. Now, what the heck is a cat doing in a 'coffee' shop? Apparently Amsterdam has a very big mouse/rat problem. They're everywhere. If you go into a restaurant and you don't see at least one cat around, your food might be a wee bit questionable. So either way, the food in Amsterdam is horrible. Either cat hair or mouse droppings. Pick your poison.
The tour lasted over 2 1/2 hours and was filled with stuff like this - highly entertaining stuff that kept us laughing as we wandered all over inner Amsterdam.
Now, we were supposed to go on the Red Light District tour next - I was kind of disappointed by how tame it was and wanted to hear more of the olden time-y stories. At least those were highly interesting. However, we met up with two guys from New Zealand (lots of talk about WETA) and a girl from Munich and started a weird pub crawl through all of Central Amsterdam.
Lots of hilarity ensued - I didn't drink much since I'm too much of a light weight, but it was lots of fun hanging out with people from different countries. For example, to people in Germany it's too weird to have waffles for breakfast. And Michael Jackson is truly the king of pop. Our New Zealand pals had also traveled throughout Eastern Europe before, namely Croatia, and made us very glad we didn't attempt the train system there. Conversation they had with a train driver: "Where's this train going?" "I don't know. Forward. I drive it forward."
We make our way back to orange-ville in time for some packing, shower, and sleep before our train at 11 the next morning.
-Lauren
On top of this, we have to navigate around "the bikes". The Dutch are CRAZY about bikes. It's the national hobby and pastime of the Dutch, and they take to it with a vengeance. You better have ten sets of eyes to watch out for every body part, or you're losing an arm or at least suffering a crushed foot.
The tram (once we got on and paid an outrageous fee for it) was filled with tourists, who, like us, had absolutely no idea where they were going. Now when I was booking our hotel, I thought situating it in the quiet, slightly removed Museums Quarter was a favorable option. This tram ride made me want to rethink that decision. It was long, very hot, and very crowded. Of course, I was grateful it even had a public transport system, unlike many of the cities we will be going to in Italy.
Our hotel was fine - in a quiet part of the city by a giant park. And orange. How many does this make? Oh yes, three orange rooms. Three out of five so far. What is Europe's obsession with the color orange?? Yes, I know orange is the national color and whatnot of the Netherlands, but it's a really freakin' ugly color for a bedroom. And the rest of Europe has no excuse!
We took some time in our fruity colored room to read up on the cuisine of Amsterdam because by this time it's almost dinner and we're starting to get hungry. Our last real meal was Breakfast in Bruges, so my stomach is starting to complain. The first thing the guidebook tells us is that the food of Amsterdam is entirely underwhelming. In an interview with an Amsterdam-ian, the resident stated that his favorite restaurant in Amsterdam was in Antwerp. Not entirely believing this, we set out to just wing it. Nearly two hours later, utterly starving and horrified by the choices given to us: fast food that looks like it was imported from a Japanese laundromat (who else needs their food constantly prepared and served by robots?), mediocre Italian, and lots and lots of "coffee", we stumble upon a wonderfully familiar sight: The Hard Rock Cafe!
My ode to the Hard Rock: No matter what city I'm in, no matter where in the world, I can always rely on the Hard Rock. I remember stumbling upon it on our last day in Dublin, where the only thing we craved was a freakin' normal hamburger and fries (of course the only places open that morning were traditional Irish breakfast cafes. Black and white sausage anyone?) The Hard Rock in Amsterdam did not disappoint. The wait for inside was up to 50 minutes, so we chose outside and 'discreetly' moved our table as near the heat lamps as we dared. Hamburger, fries, salad, and macaroni and cheese. We were in heaven, literally. That macaroni and cheese was some of the best I have ever eaten, if I didn't count Jiko. If you don't know what Jiko is, just know it has the most amazing steak/mac&cheese combo in the world.
So, saved from hunger, I buy a hoodie on the way out and we call it a night.
The next day, we sleep in a bit before going out to hunt for lunch. We needed something quick and near the train station because we were taking a walking tour at 1. I'm going to spare you from that meal choice...Let's just say Amsterdam food leaves a lot to be desired and fast food is anything but fast when the servers are stoned into stupidity.
Our walking tour was fantastic - our guide was a dude from Ireland and he was very energetic and enthusiastic about the city of Amsterdam. He had anecdotes about absolutely everything. "When you hear the bell, run like hell!" - in relation to the bikes. That one, we got immediately. Also, the canals of Amsterdam are dredged every year to bring up the third layer on the bottom - bikes. Thousands of them are pulled out of the canal every year, refurbished, and sold back into the population. Apparently, if you'd been in Amsterdam over 15 years, chances are you're riding a refurbished bike you also owned 10 years ago. And, if you're really desperate for a bike, you can go stand on a bridge with a bike lock in hand, and a junkie will sell one to you for 15 euros. If he's really desperate, you can get away with a cigarette and pat on the back. Course, this also means that the guy just nipped you a bike from round the corner somewhere. Yeah, don't get too attached to your bike in Amsterdam. You could also get a bike (true story, by the way) by running up to someone on a bike and screaming "THAT'S MY BIKE!" There's a 90% chance he'll get off and run like hell in the opposite direction.
He also told us about the miracle of Amsterdam: a magical, fire-proof, levitating, teleporting piece of bread. True story. Look it up.
Last tidbit: Amsterdam is the city of XXX. And I'm not just talking about porn. The emblem of Amsterdam is actually XXX. They don't know what it means. They have a few theories, but no real idea where it came from. Since Amsterdam used to be a huge exporter of porn, it's believed that XXX came to be associated with sex through mail-order porn from Amsterdam.
Now we come to the juicy stuff: the coffee shops and red light district. From what I'd heard from everyone, I was expecting the Las Vegas of porn streets. Lights, shows, weird instruments of torture everywhere! I was actually kind of disappointed. Yes, the girls in the windows were a bit of a surprise, but other than that it was kind of low key. Or at least, as low key as a sex district can hope to be. Other than the live girls available for your viewing pleasure, it was no different than any other row of porn shops and nude shows.
The coffee shops were interesting, though. The mayor has decided to start cracking down on the number of coffee shops around the city, especially those near schools. In the last ten years, the number has been reduced by half. In the next ten years, he hopes to move the vast majority out of the city center. We were warned that if we came back in ten years, the demographic of Amsterdam could be radically changed. Our guide then took us to the most famous coffee shop in Amsterdam: the one used by Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon in Ocean's 12. Now, I don't really remember that movie so the place itself didn't really enthuse me, but one of it's occupants did. The fattest, most stoned cat I have ever seen. The whole group sat there staring at this ginormous cat for about 10 minutes. It was hilarious in its apathetic-ness. Nothing phased this cat. Now, what the heck is a cat doing in a 'coffee' shop? Apparently Amsterdam has a very big mouse/rat problem. They're everywhere. If you go into a restaurant and you don't see at least one cat around, your food might be a wee bit questionable. So either way, the food in Amsterdam is horrible. Either cat hair or mouse droppings. Pick your poison.
The tour lasted over 2 1/2 hours and was filled with stuff like this - highly entertaining stuff that kept us laughing as we wandered all over inner Amsterdam.
Now, we were supposed to go on the Red Light District tour next - I was kind of disappointed by how tame it was and wanted to hear more of the olden time-y stories. At least those were highly interesting. However, we met up with two guys from New Zealand (lots of talk about WETA) and a girl from Munich and started a weird pub crawl through all of Central Amsterdam.
Lots of hilarity ensued - I didn't drink much since I'm too much of a light weight, but it was lots of fun hanging out with people from different countries. For example, to people in Germany it's too weird to have waffles for breakfast. And Michael Jackson is truly the king of pop. Our New Zealand pals had also traveled throughout Eastern Europe before, namely Croatia, and made us very glad we didn't attempt the train system there. Conversation they had with a train driver: "Where's this train going?" "I don't know. Forward. I drive it forward."
We make our way back to orange-ville in time for some packing, shower, and sleep before our train at 11 the next morning.
-Lauren
An Afternoon in Bruges
So we leave Paris behind for the safety of Bruges, one of the cutest cities/towns I have ever been in. Everything is adorable and manicured and terribly touristy. But the touristy-ness doesn't bother me much cause I'm only there for a day. Our hostel was just a short walk from the train station, which is small enough to be easily navigated. The only criticism I have is that the sidewalks are very, very narrow. Barely enough for one person to fit down, let alone two with ginormous backpacks. We were constantly checking behind us for the teeny cars that liked to whip around street corners.
Our hostel was really great - the staff was so incredibly friendly, even when I asked the stupidest questions. We head into town for some lunch and I can't help all the oo's and ahhh's that constantly escape - the town is just that cute! We get lunch at one of the restaurants in the central square, which doesn't have fries, but it was good enough anyways. At least, the raspberry beer was a pleasant surprise. After that, we chill out in the room for a bit because our train left stupidly early from Paris and we're completely wiped. At least I manage to do all the laundry at the same time.
We walk around some more and go to the french fry museum, where I learn more about potatoes than I ever thought I would need to know. In the basement is one of the famous fry places where we get Belgian fries....that taste just like regular fries. This is not a fluke - we get fries later at dinner as well, and they're just fries. Kind of a disappointment, but better food is still yet to come. For dinner we go to this tiny restaurant where we grab a seat right next to a roaring fireplace - gas, but cute enough to seem almost wood-burning. Both Skip and I get the price fixed menu because it's cheaper than the regular menu, and end up ordering Flemish stew. Now I'm usually not one for stew, but this was pretty darn good. It's pork and beef cooked in a Belgian beer sauce and it was amazing. I also order some cherry beer - amazing stuff and why can't they import more to the states I say. We also get fries, but they are, again, just fries. Nothing really special about them. They might be a bit bigger than normal fries, but that just makes them a bastardization of normal fries and steak fries.
Walking around Bruges at night is absolutely adorable - everything is lit up and all the day tourists are gone, so it's utterly quiet. A great end to the day, and such a great change from Paris. Everyone is so nice and happy and friendly - unlike the dour, surly French we left behind. And thankfully, EVERYONE speaks English. Sometimes we even hear the native dutch speakers speaking in English to each other.
The next morning we have time to get some breakfast before our train, so, of course, we head for some Belgian waffles. Nothing like what we get in the states - they're crispy and fluffy and flaky and drizzled with strawberries and chocolate sauce, which is absolutely heavenly. Bruges is quickly becoming my favorite food city. I grab some chocolate on the way out (AMAZING) and our day is complete. We end up in Amsterdam for dinner, which presented its own set of complications.
Our hostel was really great - the staff was so incredibly friendly, even when I asked the stupidest questions. We head into town for some lunch and I can't help all the oo's and ahhh's that constantly escape - the town is just that cute! We get lunch at one of the restaurants in the central square, which doesn't have fries, but it was good enough anyways. At least, the raspberry beer was a pleasant surprise. After that, we chill out in the room for a bit because our train left stupidly early from Paris and we're completely wiped. At least I manage to do all the laundry at the same time.
We walk around some more and go to the french fry museum, where I learn more about potatoes than I ever thought I would need to know. In the basement is one of the famous fry places where we get Belgian fries....that taste just like regular fries. This is not a fluke - we get fries later at dinner as well, and they're just fries. Kind of a disappointment, but better food is still yet to come. For dinner we go to this tiny restaurant where we grab a seat right next to a roaring fireplace - gas, but cute enough to seem almost wood-burning. Both Skip and I get the price fixed menu because it's cheaper than the regular menu, and end up ordering Flemish stew. Now I'm usually not one for stew, but this was pretty darn good. It's pork and beef cooked in a Belgian beer sauce and it was amazing. I also order some cherry beer - amazing stuff and why can't they import more to the states I say. We also get fries, but they are, again, just fries. Nothing really special about them. They might be a bit bigger than normal fries, but that just makes them a bastardization of normal fries and steak fries.
Walking around Bruges at night is absolutely adorable - everything is lit up and all the day tourists are gone, so it's utterly quiet. A great end to the day, and such a great change from Paris. Everyone is so nice and happy and friendly - unlike the dour, surly French we left behind. And thankfully, EVERYONE speaks English. Sometimes we even hear the native dutch speakers speaking in English to each other.
The next morning we have time to get some breakfast before our train, so, of course, we head for some Belgian waffles. Nothing like what we get in the states - they're crispy and fluffy and flaky and drizzled with strawberries and chocolate sauce, which is absolutely heavenly. Bruges is quickly becoming my favorite food city. I grab some chocolate on the way out (AMAZING) and our day is complete. We end up in Amsterdam for dinner, which presented its own set of complications.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Pictures
For more pictures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/lauren.duch
They're not labeled yet, but I'll try to get around to that soon.
They're not labeled yet, but I'll try to get around to that soon.
Paris Day 5
We're off to Fontainbleau, which quickly became my favorite attraction in France aside from Napoleon's apartments in the Louvre - more on those later. The castle itself is pretty much intact because Napoleon moved into it after the revolution and kept most of the furniture. It was gorgeous with almost no crowds at all. We had a lot of the more gorgeous rooms to ourselves for certain periods (after the tour groups left them) and took a lot of great pictures. The gardens were gorgeous and had a entire swan family I photographed the heck out of.
At lunch we bought more ham and cheese (you think we would have learned by now) only to discover that it was not completely dry, but slathered in mounds and mounds of butter. Just looking at it made my arteries clog up. We ended up eating the half without butter and throwing the rest to the swans, who were very grateful for the handouts.
Back in Paris, we head to the Louvre, which is open till 10 on Wednesdays, to finish up the areas we didn't get to. We finally see the Mona Lisa and a bunch of other Da Vincis, plus more Italian painters I recognized at the time because we studied the heck out of them in college...but now I cannot remember the name of a single one. They were great, none-the-less. We also manage to get through the whole of Napoleon's apartments that were left in tact. They were AMAZING. I could not imagine anything more decorated in my wildest dreams. Velvet and gold and marble everywhere. It was amazing and I could not stop taking pictures. I wish we had been allowed into the servants quarters, but they were closed off for some reason.
Afterwards, we explored the outside of the Louvre a little bit and discovered a back entrance that no one knows about. There's almost an entire mall underground next to the Louvre. It's also got its own entrance to the Louvre that had absolutely no line because obviously no one knows about it. There were a bunch of stores we went into, including a post office, so I could send out some post cards, and a Virgin Megastore, where I bought a French Les Mis album.
Overall, the day was quite a success. Our feet hurt once more, but collapsing on the bed back in the hotel helped quite a bit. We spent the rest of the night packing for our very early day to Bruges the next morning.
At lunch we bought more ham and cheese (you think we would have learned by now) only to discover that it was not completely dry, but slathered in mounds and mounds of butter. Just looking at it made my arteries clog up. We ended up eating the half without butter and throwing the rest to the swans, who were very grateful for the handouts.
Back in Paris, we head to the Louvre, which is open till 10 on Wednesdays, to finish up the areas we didn't get to. We finally see the Mona Lisa and a bunch of other Da Vincis, plus more Italian painters I recognized at the time because we studied the heck out of them in college...but now I cannot remember the name of a single one. They were great, none-the-less. We also manage to get through the whole of Napoleon's apartments that were left in tact. They were AMAZING. I could not imagine anything more decorated in my wildest dreams. Velvet and gold and marble everywhere. It was amazing and I could not stop taking pictures. I wish we had been allowed into the servants quarters, but they were closed off for some reason.
Afterwards, we explored the outside of the Louvre a little bit and discovered a back entrance that no one knows about. There's almost an entire mall underground next to the Louvre. It's also got its own entrance to the Louvre that had absolutely no line because obviously no one knows about it. There were a bunch of stores we went into, including a post office, so I could send out some post cards, and a Virgin Megastore, where I bought a French Les Mis album.
Overall, the day was quite a success. Our feet hurt once more, but collapsing on the bed back in the hotel helped quite a bit. We spent the rest of the night packing for our very early day to Bruges the next morning.
Paris Day 4
On Tuesday, we had planned to do all the Paris-based attractions we couldn't get to on Sunday, but ended up having somewhat of a low-key day instead. The catacombs were mysteriously closed (we never figured out why), so we did the foundations of Notre Dame museum (kinda dull), Notre Dame inside, the Notre Dame Treasury, and the Conciergerie. The most impressive was the inside of Notre Dame itself. It's huge and amazing and I envied the Disney artists that basically lived in Notre Dame for a month in order to study it for the Hunchback movie. I took loads of pictures.
Throughout the day we kept eyeing the line for the Notre Dame towers, which I desperately wanted to climb. I wanted to see the bells up close and go up were the theoretical Quasimodo was and just have an awesome time looking out over Paris. The line started out horrendously long early in the morning when the thing first opened, and slowly dwindled as the day progressed. We went back at almost exactly 5:00pm, a good hour and a half before the towers are scheduled to close....and they had just shut off the line. I was pissed. The line was teeny tiny. There is no way it would take those people an hour and a half to get up and down the stupid stares. The French and their early closing times were really pissing me off.
On the upside, today was the day we discovered the good, cheap food. A bunch of little cafes near Notre Dame served traditional French lunches, and we feel in love with the Croque Monsieurs, which is basically grilled cheese and ham. This is also where we discovered chocolate crepes with real whipped cream. So amazing, I can't believe I never tried them before. Today was a fail as far as attractions went, but awesome from the culinary angle.
Throughout the day we kept eyeing the line for the Notre Dame towers, which I desperately wanted to climb. I wanted to see the bells up close and go up were the theoretical Quasimodo was and just have an awesome time looking out over Paris. The line started out horrendously long early in the morning when the thing first opened, and slowly dwindled as the day progressed. We went back at almost exactly 5:00pm, a good hour and a half before the towers are scheduled to close....and they had just shut off the line. I was pissed. The line was teeny tiny. There is no way it would take those people an hour and a half to get up and down the stupid stares. The French and their early closing times were really pissing me off.
On the upside, today was the day we discovered the good, cheap food. A bunch of little cafes near Notre Dame served traditional French lunches, and we feel in love with the Croque Monsieurs, which is basically grilled cheese and ham. This is also where we discovered chocolate crepes with real whipped cream. So amazing, I can't believe I never tried them before. Today was a fail as far as attractions went, but awesome from the culinary angle.
Paris Day 3
We were supposed to go to Fontainbleu today, but decide to switch it with our Louvre day instead. We check our Paris museum passes, which direct us to a secret entrance for pass holders in the Richelieu passage. No lines! We wait maybe two minutes for an audio guide before breezing in through the ticket entrance. We didn't have to wait in a single line.
The Louvre itself is a bit overwhelming at first. It's inside an old royal palace, and I think it's bigger than Versailles. At least, it took a heck of a lot longer to walk around. We decided to nix out the top floor because there was no way we were doing everything in one day. That still left us with an enormous chunk of museum to explore. We get through all the antiquities - Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Etruscan etc etc and through a tiny bit of the Italian paintings. Throughout this enormous tour we decide to stop and get lunch. Finding the cheaper cafe was a chore. They had also closed off the balcony because it wasn't "tourist season" yet, so there were quite a few people waiting for tables. When we finally sit our aching feet down at a table, they tell us they're out of everything we could possibly want on the menu. Skip nabs the last ham and cheese, and I take a salad. Once more, the sandwich is completely dry and tasteless. No mayo, mustard, nothing. The French like their sandwiches bone dry. It's quite unappetizing.
We eat what we can stomach before heading back out into the museum. We cover quite a huge part that day even though we had to make a pit stop to exchange my audio guide when it froze. We didn't see the Mona Lisa that day, but we did see basically all the other important works - Winged Victory at Samothrace, Venus De Milo, and others I can't really remember right now. We leave around 5:45, make a pit stop at the outside of Notre Dame (very pretty, and imposing) before getting ice cream on the way back to our hotel. Dinner consists of more salad because that's all the French eat. I'm having horrid Florida flashbacks at this point, but that's another story.
The Louvre itself is a bit overwhelming at first. It's inside an old royal palace, and I think it's bigger than Versailles. At least, it took a heck of a lot longer to walk around. We decided to nix out the top floor because there was no way we were doing everything in one day. That still left us with an enormous chunk of museum to explore. We get through all the antiquities - Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Etruscan etc etc and through a tiny bit of the Italian paintings. Throughout this enormous tour we decide to stop and get lunch. Finding the cheaper cafe was a chore. They had also closed off the balcony because it wasn't "tourist season" yet, so there were quite a few people waiting for tables. When we finally sit our aching feet down at a table, they tell us they're out of everything we could possibly want on the menu. Skip nabs the last ham and cheese, and I take a salad. Once more, the sandwich is completely dry and tasteless. No mayo, mustard, nothing. The French like their sandwiches bone dry. It's quite unappetizing.
We eat what we can stomach before heading back out into the museum. We cover quite a huge part that day even though we had to make a pit stop to exchange my audio guide when it froze. We didn't see the Mona Lisa that day, but we did see basically all the other important works - Winged Victory at Samothrace, Venus De Milo, and others I can't really remember right now. We leave around 5:45, make a pit stop at the outside of Notre Dame (very pretty, and imposing) before getting ice cream on the way back to our hotel. Dinner consists of more salad because that's all the French eat. I'm having horrid Florida flashbacks at this point, but that's another story.
Paris Day 2
Today we head to Versailles. It's a relatively pain-free train ride there. We get turned around in the station, but eventually get on the right train and head out to the palace. It's every bit as amazing and huge as you imagine it to be. There's no way you could see it all in one day. It takes over an hour to walk from one end of the gardens to another. On top of the main palace, they also have Marie Antoinette's estate, the petite trianon, and the grand trianon that you can tour. All separated and out in the gardens somewhere. Since we're in the "shoulder season", a lot of the trams aren't running on schedule and there's very few people to point us in the right direction. The French don't seem big on signs or directions.
After the audio-guided tour of the estate, we wander into the gardens for food - pretty good, considering where we are - and off to some of the fountains. We're there on a Sunday, which is one of the fountain show days, so we wander around the various fountains watching the impressive shows they choreograph to music. We follow the map through the gardens, but half the ways are blocked off by huge imposing gates or ditches that require a bridge or at least a rope to cross. Eventually, this leads us out to Marie Antoinette's farm. Over an hour after we were supposed to get there.
Unfortunately, you can't go into most of Marie's buildings as they are not actually owned by the French government. They sold them off when they were in debt and are now private offices. We think some people also live in some of them. Jealous.
By now our feet are absolutely killing us. We breeze through the petite trianon before paying an arm and a leg to get on the tram back to the estate. The grand trianon will just have to wait for another day. We get out around 5:30, when all the fountain shows end and a flood of people swarm into the now-free gardens. We go to bed early that night.
After the audio-guided tour of the estate, we wander into the gardens for food - pretty good, considering where we are - and off to some of the fountains. We're there on a Sunday, which is one of the fountain show days, so we wander around the various fountains watching the impressive shows they choreograph to music. We follow the map through the gardens, but half the ways are blocked off by huge imposing gates or ditches that require a bridge or at least a rope to cross. Eventually, this leads us out to Marie Antoinette's farm. Over an hour after we were supposed to get there.
Unfortunately, you can't go into most of Marie's buildings as they are not actually owned by the French government. They sold them off when they were in debt and are now private offices. We think some people also live in some of them. Jealous.
By now our feet are absolutely killing us. We breeze through the petite trianon before paying an arm and a leg to get on the tram back to the estate. The grand trianon will just have to wait for another day. We get out around 5:30, when all the fountain shows end and a flood of people swarm into the now-free gardens. We go to bed early that night.
Paris Day 1
We're headed to one of the most exciting cities in Western Europe! Paris! Or so I thought. My first impression of Paris: A very confusing mesh of non-existent signs and a lady hitting me with a cane. Yeah, she was getting on the subway and had this big log of a cane that she swung left and right. You got out of the way or got hit. I got hit and felt very violated at the same time.
We make our way to the hotel, which is in a fantastic location, shout out goes to my awesome dad for finding it. It's a Best Western, which means we're pretty safe from the normal "reservation loss" a lot of other low-cost Paris hotels seem to suffer from. Since we're staying over 3 days, they upgrade us to a deluxe at the back of the hotel, away from the somewhat noisy front street. Yay!
The rest of the day, we hunt out the Arc du Triomphe and Eiffel Tower. The Arc was pretty uneventful - we get our Paris Museum Passes there and I cannot recommend these enough. Not including the Eiffel Tower, which it didn't cover, we didn't wait in a single line or pay any additional fees at any of the museums we went to. We were covered.
Now on our way to the Eiffel Tower we are surrounded by different groups: one in yellow and blue, and the other in two colors I can't remember. We think someone just won a very big soccer game. It's all a babble of French to us. They're very loud and very entertaining for about 10 minutes. Then it gets old. Unfortunately, they're all also heading to the Eiffel Tower for some weird stunt show that's happening there today. I bought our tickets online for 6:00 and we're let into the shorter line queuing up for the elevator. No way was I climbing 800 steps on my first day in Paris. Meanwhile, some idiot has set up a huge platform on the other side and is doing some weird stunt-dive thing. We're not really impressed when we see it on TV later (we could only see it from the back when we were there). It's also starting to rain and it's getting very windy.
Now Skip is afraid of heights. I decided, hey, we're here, why don't I get a ticket that'll take us all the way to the top? Brilliant plan! The second tier, our first stop, was relatively uncrowded and had a little snack bar and giant railings, so Skip felt pretty safe. Then we take the elevator to the summit. I think his legs wanted to shake a bit. I'm having the time of my life at the absolute top of Paris, but I don't think Skip enjoyed it as much. Being the brave person he was, he soldiered on. I also managed to get a few candid shots while he was up there. Hilarious when you look at them later. It was an awesome experience, and one I would love to repeat at night. Stuff to keep in mind for next time.
Afterward, we wander around the district a bit (very cute), before heading back to our hotel to get dinner (descent Italian cause all the normal French restaurants in our district are too expensive) and some much needed sleep.
We make our way to the hotel, which is in a fantastic location, shout out goes to my awesome dad for finding it. It's a Best Western, which means we're pretty safe from the normal "reservation loss" a lot of other low-cost Paris hotels seem to suffer from. Since we're staying over 3 days, they upgrade us to a deluxe at the back of the hotel, away from the somewhat noisy front street. Yay!
The rest of the day, we hunt out the Arc du Triomphe and Eiffel Tower. The Arc was pretty uneventful - we get our Paris Museum Passes there and I cannot recommend these enough. Not including the Eiffel Tower, which it didn't cover, we didn't wait in a single line or pay any additional fees at any of the museums we went to. We were covered.
Now on our way to the Eiffel Tower we are surrounded by different groups: one in yellow and blue, and the other in two colors I can't remember. We think someone just won a very big soccer game. It's all a babble of French to us. They're very loud and very entertaining for about 10 minutes. Then it gets old. Unfortunately, they're all also heading to the Eiffel Tower for some weird stunt show that's happening there today. I bought our tickets online for 6:00 and we're let into the shorter line queuing up for the elevator. No way was I climbing 800 steps on my first day in Paris. Meanwhile, some idiot has set up a huge platform on the other side and is doing some weird stunt-dive thing. We're not really impressed when we see it on TV later (we could only see it from the back when we were there). It's also starting to rain and it's getting very windy.
Now Skip is afraid of heights. I decided, hey, we're here, why don't I get a ticket that'll take us all the way to the top? Brilliant plan! The second tier, our first stop, was relatively uncrowded and had a little snack bar and giant railings, so Skip felt pretty safe. Then we take the elevator to the summit. I think his legs wanted to shake a bit. I'm having the time of my life at the absolute top of Paris, but I don't think Skip enjoyed it as much. Being the brave person he was, he soldiered on. I also managed to get a few candid shots while he was up there. Hilarious when you look at them later. It was an awesome experience, and one I would love to repeat at night. Stuff to keep in mind for next time.
Afterward, we wander around the district a bit (very cute), before heading back to our hotel to get dinner (descent Italian cause all the normal French restaurants in our district are too expensive) and some much needed sleep.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Geneva to Lyon
Greetings from Europe! It's Day 10 as I'm starting this, but it's never too late to start blogging! (Especially since we're not even 1/3 done with the trip.) So on with the adventures of Skip and Lauren!
Let's start with Day 1 in Geneva - cute city, and very friendly people. Of course it's raining. We were totally jet lagged when we arrived at 8 in the morning, but our hostel kindly let us stow our bags so we could wander around unencumbered. Not feeling like a long walk, we jumped on this weird bus/trolley/walking tour that hit all the major sites of Geneva. And we barely did any walking, which was the best part. Lunch was a pizza spot near our hostel - very good pizza, but weird eating habits. They just gave each of us a giant pie (thin crust, though) with a knife and fork and expected us to eat it that way. Being New Yorkers we said hell no and cut it up into slices like all normal people. This elicited a few stares, but by then we were too tired to really care. Then it was back to the room for a much needed nap, because by this time we've been up for a long time with very little sleep and we're starting to snap at each other.
The rest of the night we wander around a little and sleep a lot. We wandered up to the train station to buy train tickets for our trip to Lyon so we don't have to worry about that the next day, and then sleep some more. The beds were very hard. And the room is very orange. But we were too tired to care.
On to Lyon!
The next day, Thursday, we jump on the train to Lyon and enjoy a pretty but very foggy ride into France. It's mostly through pretty country with little cute towns dotted up and down the line.
Lyon itself was pretty nifty - good subway system that led us straight to our hotel in the middle of Old Town, which is one giant UNESCO site. We get another terribly orange room. At least we don't get the one with scary David Bowie and Michael Jackson pictures on the wall - we saw those on the website and were horrified, but the location was too good to pass up.
First thing we learned about the French - they don't like shower curtains. What's a shower without a curtain to keep the water in? After a shower we would have to ford through a lake of water if we wanted to use the toilet. If this were Oregon Trail I would have lost an oxen. Still, it was clean and cute and the staff were friendly enough.
We wander over to this hip english pub meets american burger joint kind of restaurant for dinner, and communicate with the waitress through shouted half-French phrases (it was very loud in there) and odd hand gestures. Getting her to figure out we wanted a napkin was a real challenge. That's another thing - teeny weeny napkins at all the eateries in France. All we can figure is that they either lick their hands till they're clean enough or just resort to wiping everything on their pants. Either way is pretty gross. But dinner was a mild success - can't go wrong with weird local beers and a burger if you're starving.
The next day, Friday, we wander down to the huge square in town and find the tourist office. This leads us to the funicular that will take us up the giant hill on the west side of town. At the top, we find huge Roman ruins that are still in use today - a couple amphitheaters that are mostly used for concerts. At the end of that is one of the most amazing churches I have ever seen. It was called Notre Dame somethingsomething - will get the full name later - and it was gorgeous. Tons of stained glass and amazing stonework and it had the most amazing view of all of Lyon. Will get pictures of that place up in a bit.
Then came the walk down through the rose garden - absolutely gorgeous. At the end there was this huge set of stairs that took us the rest of the way down, with a ramp on the right of it that was so steep I couldn't even think of a reason they would have it there. But wait just a minute and what do we see but two insane joggers running down a nearly 80 degree incline at full speed. Skip and I just stand there watching them, thinking we'll see some blood and guts any second, but alas we are disappointed. They safely reach the bottom, all limbs intact and we start the descent down the normal staircase like the sane people we are.
By now we are starving and we're trying to find lunch - just a plain ham and cheese sandwich with some mustard, please. Mustard? Forget it. We're only a little ways from Dijon itself, and yet there is no mustard to be had. We had to make due with a very, very dry ham and cheese sandwich. Don't understand the French. I may not like condiments as much as Skip, but even I understand the need for something goopy on a sandwich.
That night we have worse luck with food. All of the highly-lauded bistros in town that receive such rave reviews only serve the most detestable of dishes - pig's feet, cow's feet, cow's muzzle, various intestinal parts, and cock's comb, to name a few. Now some of these ingredients were those used in that gross Next Iron Chef episode, and even those chefs turned up their noses at them. Why use the worst parts of the animal? We're not in the 1500's anymore. Not every single part of the chicken needs to be used. Chicken feet? Gross. I do not need to experience chicken feet. I'm not in some weird backwater with weird traditions, I'm in France of all places! I just want a stupid steak! I forget where we ended up eating, but it was mediocre at best because I can't remember it. Lyon equaling the gastronomic capital of France was a complete and total lie.
The next day we are on to Paris! Will post more on that later. Must go plug in laptop now as it is going to die. Cheers!
-Lauren
Let's start with Day 1 in Geneva - cute city, and very friendly people. Of course it's raining. We were totally jet lagged when we arrived at 8 in the morning, but our hostel kindly let us stow our bags so we could wander around unencumbered. Not feeling like a long walk, we jumped on this weird bus/trolley/walking tour that hit all the major sites of Geneva. And we barely did any walking, which was the best part. Lunch was a pizza spot near our hostel - very good pizza, but weird eating habits. They just gave each of us a giant pie (thin crust, though) with a knife and fork and expected us to eat it that way. Being New Yorkers we said hell no and cut it up into slices like all normal people. This elicited a few stares, but by then we were too tired to really care. Then it was back to the room for a much needed nap, because by this time we've been up for a long time with very little sleep and we're starting to snap at each other.
The rest of the night we wander around a little and sleep a lot. We wandered up to the train station to buy train tickets for our trip to Lyon so we don't have to worry about that the next day, and then sleep some more. The beds were very hard. And the room is very orange. But we were too tired to care.
On to Lyon!
The next day, Thursday, we jump on the train to Lyon and enjoy a pretty but very foggy ride into France. It's mostly through pretty country with little cute towns dotted up and down the line.
Lyon itself was pretty nifty - good subway system that led us straight to our hotel in the middle of Old Town, which is one giant UNESCO site. We get another terribly orange room. At least we don't get the one with scary David Bowie and Michael Jackson pictures on the wall - we saw those on the website and were horrified, but the location was too good to pass up.
First thing we learned about the French - they don't like shower curtains. What's a shower without a curtain to keep the water in? After a shower we would have to ford through a lake of water if we wanted to use the toilet. If this were Oregon Trail I would have lost an oxen. Still, it was clean and cute and the staff were friendly enough.
We wander over to this hip english pub meets american burger joint kind of restaurant for dinner, and communicate with the waitress through shouted half-French phrases (it was very loud in there) and odd hand gestures. Getting her to figure out we wanted a napkin was a real challenge. That's another thing - teeny weeny napkins at all the eateries in France. All we can figure is that they either lick their hands till they're clean enough or just resort to wiping everything on their pants. Either way is pretty gross. But dinner was a mild success - can't go wrong with weird local beers and a burger if you're starving.
The next day, Friday, we wander down to the huge square in town and find the tourist office. This leads us to the funicular that will take us up the giant hill on the west side of town. At the top, we find huge Roman ruins that are still in use today - a couple amphitheaters that are mostly used for concerts. At the end of that is one of the most amazing churches I have ever seen. It was called Notre Dame somethingsomething - will get the full name later - and it was gorgeous. Tons of stained glass and amazing stonework and it had the most amazing view of all of Lyon. Will get pictures of that place up in a bit.
Then came the walk down through the rose garden - absolutely gorgeous. At the end there was this huge set of stairs that took us the rest of the way down, with a ramp on the right of it that was so steep I couldn't even think of a reason they would have it there. But wait just a minute and what do we see but two insane joggers running down a nearly 80 degree incline at full speed. Skip and I just stand there watching them, thinking we'll see some blood and guts any second, but alas we are disappointed. They safely reach the bottom, all limbs intact and we start the descent down the normal staircase like the sane people we are.
By now we are starving and we're trying to find lunch - just a plain ham and cheese sandwich with some mustard, please. Mustard? Forget it. We're only a little ways from Dijon itself, and yet there is no mustard to be had. We had to make due with a very, very dry ham and cheese sandwich. Don't understand the French. I may not like condiments as much as Skip, but even I understand the need for something goopy on a sandwich.
That night we have worse luck with food. All of the highly-lauded bistros in town that receive such rave reviews only serve the most detestable of dishes - pig's feet, cow's feet, cow's muzzle, various intestinal parts, and cock's comb, to name a few. Now some of these ingredients were those used in that gross Next Iron Chef episode, and even those chefs turned up their noses at them. Why use the worst parts of the animal? We're not in the 1500's anymore. Not every single part of the chicken needs to be used. Chicken feet? Gross. I do not need to experience chicken feet. I'm not in some weird backwater with weird traditions, I'm in France of all places! I just want a stupid steak! I forget where we ended up eating, but it was mediocre at best because I can't remember it. Lyon equaling the gastronomic capital of France was a complete and total lie.
The next day we are on to Paris! Will post more on that later. Must go plug in laptop now as it is going to die. Cheers!
-Lauren
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