As I try to write this blog I have to admit my mind isn't completely with it. I am in the middle of packing and in a bit over 24 hours my feet will be on the ground in San Francisco. It is bittersweet leaving Rome and Europe. I have had a wonderful time these past 10 weeks.
I am really looking forward to returning home and being with family and friends especially for the holidays. It has been nice living a simple life the past 10 weeks with just a few clothes and everything in a backpack. At the same time I have to admit I am looking forward to not wearing my daily uniform of boots, jeans, pink or black scarf, and puffy coat. It will also be nice to walk down the street and not hold my purse for my dear life. I have been anticipating going home for a few weeks now and am excited to be in a public space and understand what people are saying and also to now take the opportunity to better explore the wonderful city and surrounding area that I live in. I now have a greater appreciation for San Francisco.
Art the same time I am scared to get home with all of the unknowns and getting back into everyday life. It also means that this wonderful independent experience that I have had has come to a close which is tough. This adventure has surpassed my wildest dreams and I am so thankful for all of the amazing people I have met along the way. I am a stronger person because of these interactions.
This isn't the end to my blogging days. When I get home and have had some time to get organized Ill put up some pictures and lists of favorites maybe along with some recommendations.
What is exciting is that my travels aren't over and I have three weeks to refresh myself before I head to the Middle East. I am certain that this trip will be another wonderful life changing experience and I look forward to sharing it with everyone.
Ciao from Europe and see you in San Francisco!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Rome, Italy
Rome is a city rich with history with the Roman ruins (Forum and Colosseum), The Vatican, and great Renaissance and Baroque art. However in leaving Rome my greatest memory isnt of any of these but of a crazy night of birds and dinner. Last night mum and I set out across the river to explore Trastevere. Approaching the bridge we looked up to see a lot and I mean A LOT of birds. There were definently a couple thousand of them circling around and flying in paterns. I just asked mum how many she thought were there and she thinks over a million. So there you have it LOTS and LOTS of birds!!! At first we were a little worried thinking it was a bad omen, The area smelled disgusting and at times poop was stacked up on the birdge and cars were covered as if it had snowed. We looked around but had no choice but to go through it all so we put on our hats and ran down the street listening to the sound of poop splatting on the ground around us. It was probably one of the most disgusting things I have seen or ever been in. A man at the front desk of our hotel explained that the birds come from November to December and then head to Africa. So now we know the story, but man was it disgusting!!!
After we made it out alive without getting bombed by the birds we went to a restaurant that was recommended by a number of tourbooks and some friends. They have a sign on the wall than translates in English to "here you.ll eat what we want to feed you" and so we did. There is no menu so your only decision or choice is red or white wine. After that they bring out four courses of food. The experience was great not knowing what you would get next. It was kinda like going to grandmas house for dinner (except that my grandma is a much better cook).
So that is where my adventure ends... In Rome, Italy with disgusting birds and a fun food atmosphere.
After we made it out alive without getting bombed by the birds we went to a restaurant that was recommended by a number of tourbooks and some friends. They have a sign on the wall than translates in English to "here you.ll eat what we want to feed you" and so we did. There is no menu so your only decision or choice is red or white wine. After that they bring out four courses of food. The experience was great not knowing what you would get next. It was kinda like going to grandmas house for dinner (except that my grandma is a much better cook).
So that is where my adventure ends... In Rome, Italy with disgusting birds and a fun food atmosphere.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Florence, Italy
Don't laugh but with only one city remaining to visit on this trip I have to say that Florence just might be my favorite city. I know another favorite but this is it. As one friend said a bit ago you keep saying that you have a new favorite so that must mean that you are having a great trip and that it keeps getting better. This adventure has been wonderful and I have been to so many amazing places and met some incredible people. What i like about Florence is that it combines some of my favorite things from other top cities.
Florence is a relaxed city that looks and has a feel of a village with cobblestone streets and cars unable to drive in the city center. It might be a large city but as a visitor you are not overwhelmed by the city that is so easy to get around on on foot. Today I climbed the 463 stairs to the top of the dome of the great Duomo. The view from the top was magnificant with the mountains in the background lightly sprinkled with snow and in the foreground lines of red tile roofs with towers and domes of churches poking out.
The city is also rich with culture and museums. Visiting the Uffizi and seeing Boticelli's Venus was breathtaking and seeing Michaelangelo's David incredible. Unlike some museums and pieces of art they are dissapointing and not what you imagined or worth the hype. Neither of these great pieces of work were dissapointing. If anything I left appreciating and liking this great work so much more.
The food and wine has also been wonderful and I have enjoyed some of my favorite meals from the trip here in Florence. The food is slightly different from the rest of Italy with more rustic peasant food. I am bringing some recipes back with me and can't wait to give them a try. You can't think of Italy and especially Florence without thinking of gelato. All I can say is YUM! They really do have the best here.
Another favorite event that I have gone to on the trip is visiting Christmas markets. We spent a few hours yesterday browsing the stalls of the market here with yummy baked goods, sausages, and handcrafted work. They call it a German market and it is the best I have seen outside of Austria.
Finally, the great city of Florence is a wonderful place to shop! As many of you know I am not a bit shopper and don't really enjoy it. Florence is big on fashion and with beautiful leather products it is tough not to want to shop and enjoy the items that they sell. I didn't refuse and for the first time on this trip I did a lil shopping and damage.
As I leave Florence and head to Rome I know this is a city I will come back to. Florence is like Paris it is tough to explain just why it is such a special place. I am now on my way to Rome the final stop on this European adventure before I head home for the holidays.
Ciao from Florence!
Florence is a relaxed city that looks and has a feel of a village with cobblestone streets and cars unable to drive in the city center. It might be a large city but as a visitor you are not overwhelmed by the city that is so easy to get around on on foot. Today I climbed the 463 stairs to the top of the dome of the great Duomo. The view from the top was magnificant with the mountains in the background lightly sprinkled with snow and in the foreground lines of red tile roofs with towers and domes of churches poking out.
The city is also rich with culture and museums. Visiting the Uffizi and seeing Boticelli's Venus was breathtaking and seeing Michaelangelo's David incredible. Unlike some museums and pieces of art they are dissapointing and not what you imagined or worth the hype. Neither of these great pieces of work were dissapointing. If anything I left appreciating and liking this great work so much more.
The food and wine has also been wonderful and I have enjoyed some of my favorite meals from the trip here in Florence. The food is slightly different from the rest of Italy with more rustic peasant food. I am bringing some recipes back with me and can't wait to give them a try. You can't think of Italy and especially Florence without thinking of gelato. All I can say is YUM! They really do have the best here.
Another favorite event that I have gone to on the trip is visiting Christmas markets. We spent a few hours yesterday browsing the stalls of the market here with yummy baked goods, sausages, and handcrafted work. They call it a German market and it is the best I have seen outside of Austria.
Finally, the great city of Florence is a wonderful place to shop! As many of you know I am not a bit shopper and don't really enjoy it. Florence is big on fashion and with beautiful leather products it is tough not to want to shop and enjoy the items that they sell. I didn't refuse and for the first time on this trip I did a lil shopping and damage.
As I leave Florence and head to Rome I know this is a city I will come back to. Florence is like Paris it is tough to explain just why it is such a special place. I am now on my way to Rome the final stop on this European adventure before I head home for the holidays.
Ciao from Florence!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Cinque Terre, Italy
The five towns that make up Cinque Terre are all unique from each other but have a common thread that pulls them together. The coastline and towns are picturesque. Unfortunately our one full day in cinque terre began with rain which didn't end until after dinner. Due to the weather the trail from the third to the fifth village were closed so we were only able to hike to the third village and then we took the train to visit the remaining two.
I am sure the views and the sights of these colorful towns are quite different on a clear sunny day. Nonetheless the coastline was beautiful and reminded me a lot of the California coastline south of Carmel to Big Sur. Obviously a big difference between the two is that we don't have little villages with brightly colored pastel houses huddled together with vineyards purched high up on the hills above the water. Instead at home you see large houses with high gates blocking some of the view and access to getting closer to the water in some points.
Despite the weather damper we were able to make it to each of the five villages and explore a bit. Our wonderful day concluded with wine from Riomaggiore (town number one and where we are staying) and homemade pasta (made with chestnut flour) with homemade pesto and claims. Delicious!
I am sure the views and the sights of these colorful towns are quite different on a clear sunny day. Nonetheless the coastline was beautiful and reminded me a lot of the California coastline south of Carmel to Big Sur. Obviously a big difference between the two is that we don't have little villages with brightly colored pastel houses huddled together with vineyards purched high up on the hills above the water. Instead at home you see large houses with high gates blocking some of the view and access to getting closer to the water in some points.
Despite the weather damper we were able to make it to each of the five villages and explore a bit. Our wonderful day concluded with wine from Riomaggiore (town number one and where we are staying) and homemade pasta (made with chestnut flour) with homemade pesto and claims. Delicious!
Transporation- Lake Garda, Milan and Cinque Terre
Taking public transportation throughout Europe the past two months has been relatively easy without many hitches until I got to Italy. I guess with the carefree/easy going Italian attitude they don't really care about times of trains or tickets on buses. I am not as uptight as I used to be but I have become used to trains arriving on time and if you are a minute late you are out of luck. The thought of a huge fine for not having a ticket doesn't sound enjoyable to me.
My good travel luck all changed when we were told that it was easier and faster to get to Lake Garda from Verona by bus not train and that you buy your ticket on board. We climbed on the bus in the pouring rain and tried to buy a ticket, except the driver kept saying something in Italian (which i obviously didnt understand) and would ignore us when we tried to give money. We went and sat down on the bus and tried to pay again at the next stop without any luck. By this point the driver ignored me completely. I sat down with a sign staring at me in the face saying police could get on board and you would get a 50 euro ($75) fine without a proper ticket. There were lots of signs on the bus but this sign was the only one in English. Two Italian guys sitting behind me could tell I was worried so one explained in Italian with the other one translating that I didn't have to worry I didn't need a ticket and the cops probably wouldn't come on board today and the driver wasn't selling them (I still don't know why). We survived and made it to Lake Garda.
Leaving Lake Garda we ran into more hickups in traveling when the train we wanted to Milan to get to Cinque Terre was full. This was the first time on my entire trip I had run into a full train. He got us a ticket to another Milan station and then told us to take another train to the central station to get our connection. Well it just so happened that our first train was 20 minutes late. As a result we missed the train to Milan central. Thank goodness they had another train in 45 minutes and we were originally supposed to have an hour layover in Milan. Well with all our luck on this travel day this train went from 5 mins delayed to 20. If it was going to be 20 we had missed our train reservation. Thankfully it ended up being 15 minutes delayed instead. Our train hit the platform and we ran like bats out of hell. We had 3 minutes to find what track our train was on and run for it. We made it on the train and within a minute our one on time train of the day pulled away with us panting.The Italian train fun didn't end here.
Along the cinque terre we have quickly learned that these trains aren't on time. They come when they want, are delayed, and maybe cancelled.Hopefully our luck will turn with the trains being a little more dependable like the rest of Europe. What I have learned time and time again is that you haveto be flexible to whatever is thrown at you. Things don't always work out how you want or think they will.
My good travel luck all changed when we were told that it was easier and faster to get to Lake Garda from Verona by bus not train and that you buy your ticket on board. We climbed on the bus in the pouring rain and tried to buy a ticket, except the driver kept saying something in Italian (which i obviously didnt understand) and would ignore us when we tried to give money. We went and sat down on the bus and tried to pay again at the next stop without any luck. By this point the driver ignored me completely. I sat down with a sign staring at me in the face saying police could get on board and you would get a 50 euro ($75) fine without a proper ticket. There were lots of signs on the bus but this sign was the only one in English. Two Italian guys sitting behind me could tell I was worried so one explained in Italian with the other one translating that I didn't have to worry I didn't need a ticket and the cops probably wouldn't come on board today and the driver wasn't selling them (I still don't know why). We survived and made it to Lake Garda.
Leaving Lake Garda we ran into more hickups in traveling when the train we wanted to Milan to get to Cinque Terre was full. This was the first time on my entire trip I had run into a full train. He got us a ticket to another Milan station and then told us to take another train to the central station to get our connection. Well it just so happened that our first train was 20 minutes late. As a result we missed the train to Milan central. Thank goodness they had another train in 45 minutes and we were originally supposed to have an hour layover in Milan. Well with all our luck on this travel day this train went from 5 mins delayed to 20. If it was going to be 20 we had missed our train reservation. Thankfully it ended up being 15 minutes delayed instead. Our train hit the platform and we ran like bats out of hell. We had 3 minutes to find what track our train was on and run for it. We made it on the train and within a minute our one on time train of the day pulled away with us panting.The Italian train fun didn't end here.
Along the cinque terre we have quickly learned that these trains aren't on time. They come when they want, are delayed, and maybe cancelled.Hopefully our luck will turn with the trains being a little more dependable like the rest of Europe. What I have learned time and time again is that you haveto be flexible to whatever is thrown at you. Things don't always work out how you want or think they will.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Verona, Italy
Romeo, Romeo, where art my Romeo? Definitely didn't find a Romeo in Verona only a crazy dude (the first one on my trip) that was in my face for awhile even as I ignored him and walked away and only finally backed off when my mum yelled basta! (Which I now know means enough, scram) Hopefully I won't have to use this much in Italy.
Despite this run-in Verona is a beautiful picturesque town that is outfitted to please the tourists with quaint alleys filled with designer shops. As the holidays are upon us the old town is nicely decorated with beautiful Christmas trees and lights and I was happy to find another Christmas market but wasn't up for trying the punch after the one in Vienna but I did enjoy some tasty food.
Sadly, the gelato tradition ended today but I'll be sure to make up for it tomorrow when I head to Lake Garda.
Despite this run-in Verona is a beautiful picturesque town that is outfitted to please the tourists with quaint alleys filled with designer shops. As the holidays are upon us the old town is nicely decorated with beautiful Christmas trees and lights and I was happy to find another Christmas market but wasn't up for trying the punch after the one in Vienna but I did enjoy some tasty food.
Sadly, the gelato tradition ended today but I'll be sure to make up for it tomorrow when I head to Lake Garda.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Venice, Italy
Wow, what an awesome city! Alright go ahead with the jokes, I know I keep saying I have a new favorite city but come on Venice is absolutely wonderful with the picturesque canal with palaces and wonderful architecture on either side adn boats of all types steaming down the canal water highway. We are staying at the same hotel we stayed at when my family came in 1990. As such they upgraded my mum and me to a room with a view of the grand canal. The only two routines that we have so far in Italy are to have gelato each day (normally our lunch) and then after dinner we watch the live video on tv of the boats outside our window going under the Rialto bridge as we hear the noise of the boats going by and water splashing on the shore.
Speaking of water it is everywhere! And by everywhere I don't mean just the canals but this time of year it is common for the tide to be high, flooding St Marks square and much of the cities small alleys and streets blocks from the canals. Our first day we saw a bunch of people with rubber boots and we laughed at everyone wearing the same boots (black for women and olive green for men). I am now a proud owner of these same Wellington boots. We gave in and bought them this afternoon after trying to avoid every street this morning but stuck without any choice but to wade through three inch deep alleys of water. Now I know why the lady at the front desk laughed when I showed her my "waterproof" boots the first day. I am looking forward to splashing in some big puddles with my new rubber boots that are the current trend in Venice.
Speaking of water it is everywhere! And by everywhere I don't mean just the canals but this time of year it is common for the tide to be high, flooding St Marks square and much of the cities small alleys and streets blocks from the canals. Our first day we saw a bunch of people with rubber boots and we laughed at everyone wearing the same boots (black for women and olive green for men). I am now a proud owner of these same Wellington boots. We gave in and bought them this afternoon after trying to avoid every street this morning but stuck without any choice but to wade through three inch deep alleys of water. Now I know why the lady at the front desk laughed when I showed her my "waterproof" boots the first day. I am looking forward to splashing in some big puddles with my new rubber boots that are the current trend in Venice.
Rijeka, Opatija, and Kukuljani- Croatia
When we entered Rijeka the third largest city in Croatia and the closest large city to where my great grandparents lived it immediately reminded me a lot of Tacoma. Rijeka is a large industrial city on the water with a huge port, oil refinery, and shipbuilding factory. The buildings in Rijeka and the surrounding area are the most European looking out of all of the cities I have visited in Croatia. This area has a slight European feel as it is very close to both Italy and Slovenia, is a vacation location for many Germans, Austrians, and Slovenians, and the area was under Austrian Hungarian rule at one point.
Our time in the Rijeka area was absolutely wonderful full of many surprises and unforgettable experiences. As many know I have wanted to visit Croatia for a long time to see where some of my family was from and to meet some relatives that we had lost touch with.
The first surprise came our first evening in town when we were walking back from dinner to our hotel. I noticed a family staring at us and then they started calling my father's name. I was the only one paying attention and was very confused on how anyone would know my father's name so I kept walking. They finally got my fathers attention and it was in fact two sets of his cousins. We had told them we were coming to town and where we were staying so they came to greet and surprise us. There were some tears shed and we were all surprised to see each other after over 30 years without any recent communication. This greeting and surprise was only the beginning.
The following day we picked up our translator and set out for a full day of greeting family and investigating our roots. The morning was spent with family and the most common word heard in the air was "I can't belive this", "incredible" and "super". Obviously not all in English. The afternoon we set out to the small village of Kukuljani. The village is in a valley where the river that runs to Rijeka (and gives the city the name) begins. The vilallage is very small with a few houses and some farm land. Soon after entering the village we began talking to three men who lived in the town. Their hands were warn and dark from hard work in the fields and around the house. They were thrilled and surprised to see American Kukuljanis in the town. They invited my father (the country is male dominant) in for homemade grapa (a type of strong alcohol with herbs). I came in to take a picture of the men and had a small sip of the grapa; my throat might still be burning from this. As we walked down the street and spoke with locals you could see heads poking out of doors and windows to see just who we were and what the commotion was all about. It was wonderful speaking with a number of locals and experiencing a small bit of this village. What a wonderful opportunity to see where my family came from and now whenever I hear my lastname Ill think of the village.
Our time in the Rijeka area was absolutely wonderful full of many surprises and unforgettable experiences. As many know I have wanted to visit Croatia for a long time to see where some of my family was from and to meet some relatives that we had lost touch with.
The first surprise came our first evening in town when we were walking back from dinner to our hotel. I noticed a family staring at us and then they started calling my father's name. I was the only one paying attention and was very confused on how anyone would know my father's name so I kept walking. They finally got my fathers attention and it was in fact two sets of his cousins. We had told them we were coming to town and where we were staying so they came to greet and surprise us. There were some tears shed and we were all surprised to see each other after over 30 years without any recent communication. This greeting and surprise was only the beginning.
The following day we picked up our translator and set out for a full day of greeting family and investigating our roots. The morning was spent with family and the most common word heard in the air was "I can't belive this", "incredible" and "super". Obviously not all in English. The afternoon we set out to the small village of Kukuljani. The village is in a valley where the river that runs to Rijeka (and gives the city the name) begins. The vilallage is very small with a few houses and some farm land. Soon after entering the village we began talking to three men who lived in the town. Their hands were warn and dark from hard work in the fields and around the house. They were thrilled and surprised to see American Kukuljanis in the town. They invited my father (the country is male dominant) in for homemade grapa (a type of strong alcohol with herbs). I came in to take a picture of the men and had a small sip of the grapa; my throat might still be burning from this. As we walked down the street and spoke with locals you could see heads poking out of doors and windows to see just who we were and what the commotion was all about. It was wonderful speaking with a number of locals and experiencing a small bit of this village. What a wonderful opportunity to see where my family came from and now whenever I hear my lastname Ill think of the village.
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