Saturday, June 30, 2007
Eric's Thoughts from Venice (part two)
We are having a wonderful time in Venice. This is such a cool city. The one down side about today is that it is Saturday, and the crowds really seemed to have increased. I think a lot of locals come in for the weekend. The main pathways are simply packed with people, but like so many tourist destinations if you are willing to get a little of the beaten path it is not quite as crowded.
Anyway, yesterday was a lot of fun. We simply wandered around the city exploring its sites and streets and canals. We took a boat ride around the city. It was a good way to get a feel for the city as a whole. It is just neat to see that the only forms of transportation within Venice itself are walking and boats. Deliveries are all done by boat; we saw a UPS boat on the canal. It is definitely a unique experience.
Today has been another wonderful day. We actually met some more interesting people at breakfast. Two guys from Paris sat at our breakfast table, and we had a conversation about Paris as well as a few other subjects. It is always fun to meet new people. After breakfast, we went to secret itinerary tour (thanks again to Lillian if you are reading this) of the Doges Palace, the seat of government for this region for hundreds of years. It was a wonderful experience because they take you to the rooms that the public is not allowed into without being on this tour, so it was a lot more peaceful. We saw the place where Cassanova was imprisoned and learned about his escape. Jenny and I think we want to read Cassanova's book when we return to the States.
Well, I know that we are going to go enjoy the rest of our day, so I will stop and post some pictures. I am looking forward to our gondola ride later this evening (thanks again Mom and George if you are reading this). Take care everyone.
Ahhh Venice, Part II
Hi Everyone! Well, I must say that I really love Venice! We have so much fun wandering around and letting the city take us where it may. As Rick Steves puts it, this is an island, so you really can't get lost. We took a canal cruise yesterday and got to see the lagoon (huge!!) and the Adriatic Sea. It is a pretty tourquoise color (I'm wishing I had that box of Crayolas that my dad has mentioned, so I can give you a better description. Maybe you will be able to tell from the pictures.)
Eric is on a quest for the perfect Venetian money clip (his current clip is getting old.) I am personally so happy about this quest because it means that we get to go shopping! :-) The funniest part is that Eric has actually gone into far more stores than I would have, so I'm loving it! It's funny to see the exact same item at many different stores, all for many different prices. So we are having fun trying to bargain hunt.
Last night we wandered back to St. Mark's Square and danced in the moonlight. This is a very romantic city. I've always heard that Paris is the city of romance, and it is romantic, but I think Venice is far more romantic. I highly recommend this incredible place.
Today we ate breakfast with two guys also staying at our hotel, from Paris. It was fun to talk with them and share our experiences with them and hear about what it is like to live in the city. As I've said many times, meeting new people is the best part of traveling. (OK - 2nd best part.. Falling even more in love with your best friend is the best part!) :-)
After breakfast, we enjoyed our Secret Itineraries tour of Doges Palace. We learned so much, especially about Cassanova. Now we are curious to read his book, since we have some interesting background on him. The palace itself is gorgeous, and we got to see all of the secret prison areas and torture chambers, and behind the scenes parts that you don't get to see on the regular tour. We crossed the Bridge of Sighs and sighed. :-)
Now we are headed to the glass making island of Murano, and more adventures. Tonight is our last night in Venice. Tomorrow night, July 1, we board the night train to Paris. It is about a 12.5 hour ride. We will arrive at Paris at 8:35 a.m. and our flight home is at 12:30 p.m. So we will have a little less than 4 hours to navigate our way across the city and to the airport (I know - cutting it close a little bit, but it will be another memorable adventure!) Our hope is that the city trains are not on strike, which is always a possibility. But we have a backup plan involving a taxi and a bus, so we should be good. Otherwise you may be getting some extra posts from Paris! :-)
That's about it for now. I can't believe that our time in Europe is coming to an end. We've learned a lot of great lessons about travel, and will be better prepared next time, or at least can offer some great advice to anyone going on an extended trip. We've also learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I think our spirits have been refreshed and rejuvinated from the past two school years, and we are looking forward to returning to the challenges of the classroom (you may have to remind me that I said this!) Best of all, we've learned that the best part of traveling will be returning to the comforts of home. I am no longer going to write to Rick Steves looking for jobs. We are happy to enjoy travel as a special treat. And we are happy to live in a place with proper air conditioning, two ply toilet paper, and public toilets with actual seats! :-)
Note to Dad - We can't wait to see the book you are working on! Thank you so much for putting this together for us. I stopped writing in my journal back in the early days in Switzerland, so it will be nice to have all of our thoughts in one place. Now can you add our 2,800 pictures??? Just kidding! :-) xoxoxo to you and Mom!
Eric is on a quest for the perfect Venetian money clip (his current clip is getting old.) I am personally so happy about this quest because it means that we get to go shopping! :-) The funniest part is that Eric has actually gone into far more stores than I would have, so I'm loving it! It's funny to see the exact same item at many different stores, all for many different prices. So we are having fun trying to bargain hunt.
Last night we wandered back to St. Mark's Square and danced in the moonlight. This is a very romantic city. I've always heard that Paris is the city of romance, and it is romantic, but I think Venice is far more romantic. I highly recommend this incredible place.
Today we ate breakfast with two guys also staying at our hotel, from Paris. It was fun to talk with them and share our experiences with them and hear about what it is like to live in the city. As I've said many times, meeting new people is the best part of traveling. (OK - 2nd best part.. Falling even more in love with your best friend is the best part!) :-)
After breakfast, we enjoyed our Secret Itineraries tour of Doges Palace. We learned so much, especially about Cassanova. Now we are curious to read his book, since we have some interesting background on him. The palace itself is gorgeous, and we got to see all of the secret prison areas and torture chambers, and behind the scenes parts that you don't get to see on the regular tour. We crossed the Bridge of Sighs and sighed. :-)
Now we are headed to the glass making island of Murano, and more adventures. Tonight is our last night in Venice. Tomorrow night, July 1, we board the night train to Paris. It is about a 12.5 hour ride. We will arrive at Paris at 8:35 a.m. and our flight home is at 12:30 p.m. So we will have a little less than 4 hours to navigate our way across the city and to the airport (I know - cutting it close a little bit, but it will be another memorable adventure!) Our hope is that the city trains are not on strike, which is always a possibility. But we have a backup plan involving a taxi and a bus, so we should be good. Otherwise you may be getting some extra posts from Paris! :-)
That's about it for now. I can't believe that our time in Europe is coming to an end. We've learned a lot of great lessons about travel, and will be better prepared next time, or at least can offer some great advice to anyone going on an extended trip. We've also learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I think our spirits have been refreshed and rejuvinated from the past two school years, and we are looking forward to returning to the challenges of the classroom (you may have to remind me that I said this!) Best of all, we've learned that the best part of traveling will be returning to the comforts of home. I am no longer going to write to Rick Steves looking for jobs. We are happy to enjoy travel as a special treat. And we are happy to live in a place with proper air conditioning, two ply toilet paper, and public toilets with actual seats! :-)
Note to Dad - We can't wait to see the book you are working on! Thank you so much for putting this together for us. I stopped writing in my journal back in the early days in Switzerland, so it will be nice to have all of our thoughts in one place. Now can you add our 2,800 pictures??? Just kidding! :-) xoxoxo to you and Mom!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Ahhh, Venice!
Good Morning Dear Family and Friends!
First, I want to thank all of you for your wonderful messages and wishes. It means a lot to us to have so much love and support from our friends and family. We've talked about all of you this entire trip and wished there was a way that we could bring you along with us. I guess our blog is our best attempt. Although we are concocting plans to rent a big villa in Tuscany for all of us, or a few cabins in Switzerland, or... :-)
After a very long and hard travel day (11 hours from our hotel in Sorrento to our hotel in Venice), we were finally able to relax and enjoy the magic of this city. I have to say that Venice is the coolest place that we've been to. I thought that it was one big island, surrounded by one canal. But it is actually hundreds of little tiny islands with hundreds of canals. So around almost every corner is a bridge or a canal to look at. It's so amazing! Also, the streets are really narrow alley ways that twist and turn, so it's fun to wander around and not really know where you are going.
We love our hotel. It has marble floors and marble tiles on the wall (I have a new and deep appreciation for marble since visiting the quarries). All of the furniture is antique - my mom would love it! And, best of all, we have air conditioning, which was a nice surprise because in our confirmation e mail they said that all of the rooms with airconditioning had already been booked. I haven't mentioned before that the one major draw back for me in Italy has been the mosquitoes. They were worst in Cinque Terre, where we had no a.c. and had to sleep with the windows open, and bad in Sorrento when we would go out to dinner. They leave Eric alone for the most part, but they like to chew on my arms, legs and face when I'm distracted. Ugh! So, hopefully I can avoid those little buggers here.
Anyway.... Venice is so magical at night. There was a full moon, and lots of gondollas on the water. In our aimless wandering, we walked into St. Mark's Square, which is incredible beyond description. We will take pictures during the day to post. It was this huge square filled with amazing architecture and tons and tons of people. There were a few different musical quartets (pianist, violinist and other instruments) playing classical music, and people were randomly dancing in the square. So, of course, we joined in. It was very romantic. The square is lined with shops, so it was fun to window shop and compare the price of Murano glass (very famous and made here), and try to find the best deals (which we realize won't be anywhere near St. Mark's Square). It was just so much fun.
Even though we tried to make it an early evening because we were so tired, it was still after 11 pm before we made it back to our room. Today we are going to wander around and see what else there is to discover in Venice. Tomorrow we have a very exciting "Secret Palace Tour" that our friend Lillian arranged for us (Thank you!!!!) This tour will take us behind the scenes of the Doges Palace, which is also located on St. Mark's Square. We are also looking forward to a romantic nighttime gondola ride that was made possible by Eric's parents (Thank you!!!) And then it's a nighttime train to Paris and back home. It's been a fabulous trip, but we are also very excited to return home. Dad - I can't wait to see what you've done with our blog. You are always so creative and thoughtful. Hope everyone is doing well!
Eric's Thoughts from Venice
Well, we are now in Venice, and I must say that I am enjoying the city immensely. I was a little worried about Venice because I had heard that the canals used to be a brown color and smell, but the canals are a beautiful blue color and there is no smell. This place is so much fun. I have made the comment that it is like a big amusement park for adults. There are no cars, you walk or boat everywhere, and there is something going on all the time. The only people in the city are tourists and people who make their living from the tourist industry. After we arrived late last night, we walked to St. Mark's square, and they had several groups of classical musicians playing music. It was a surreal experience. I am looking forward to the next few days here. It is a very romantic city, and I am really enjoying being here with the woman I love.
My one concern about Venice is that the city is slowly sinking (or the water level is rising, or both), but there are buildings that are slowly being consumed by the sea. It would be sad to see this beautiful city go away. They are obviously making efforts to save what they can, but you can see that some buildings look like they are permanently closed.
Anyway, I think that I am going to cut this short, download some pictures, and go enjoy the day. Take care everyone.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Eric's Thoughts from Serranto (part three)
Yesterday was an amazing day. We went to the island of Capri. It gets a little crowded, but it is beautiful place. Another place that I would recommend if you are planning a trip to Italy. We took a boat ride around the island that was simply amazing. I don't think that I would ever tire of looking at the rugged coastline and the color of the water. I don't know if any of the pictures will do the color of the water justice, but I will post some anyway. The other cool experience we had on the boat ride was a stop at the Blue Grotto, which is a marine cave. I must warn anyone who comes here that you must be prepared to wait to get in the Grotto. There is a line of boats and people anxious to get a peek inside the cave. For me at least, the wait was worth it. The blue water with the light streaming in from the cave entrance was breathtaking. My one complaint was that I would've like to have spend more time in the cave, but as there is a huge crowd outside, you are very limited in the amount of time you can spend in there. I think that I would like to go back someday and swim into the cave, which you can only do after 6:00 p.m.
The other really cool thing that happened on the boat ride was that we met some really cool people. The first was a girl who just graduated from College and was backpacking her way across Europe for eight weeks. The other three were two Italian brothers, currently living in Canada, and the girlfriend of one of the brothers. We ate lunch with them, and it was really fun hanging out with people who speak the language. I always finding meeting people while traveling to be part of the fun of traveling. After all, I met my wife (for two of the best years of my life now) while traveling. Anyway, after lunch Jenny and I headed back to Sorrento and ran into the Italian brothers and the girlfriend again, so we made plans to get dinner together. They were so much fun to hang out with. When they found out that our second anniversary was on the 27th, they treated us to dinner. I thought that was way too generous, but I have found it is very difficult to argue with Italians. Plus, I get the impression these two brothers are doing well for themselves. They own a hairstyling salon in Winnipeg. I am sure that Jenny will add more about the experience, so I will keep it brief, but I must say that yesterday was one of the coolest days on this trip so far.
Well, that is all for now. We are doing laundry at the moment, but then we are going to go enjoy our anniversary. Take care everyone.
The Island of Capri and New Friends
Buon Journo! It is our Anniversary morning and we are having a relaxing day- getting laundry done and blog posts. We'll go down to the harbor this afternoon and swim in the beautiful Meditteranean Sea. On Monday, we were so tired from our Pompeii/Vesuvius adventure that we had what I call a "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Day"- meaning that we layed out by the pool and had sodas delivered to us by waiters in tuxedos. :-) So, not too much to report about Monday, other than it was only our 2nd low key day on this entire trip, and was much needed.
Tuesday, we got up early and headed to the beautiful island of Capri. Our pictures don't do it justice! The water was shades of blue that I have never seen in an ocean before- just absolutely lovely and breath taking.
Now the "thing" to do in Capri is to go see the Blue Grotto, which is a sea cave made of limestone, and when the sun reflects off of the limestone, it turns the water a magical blue color (I have posted a picture from inside the cave.) It's a total tourist trap, but we succumbed anyway. But we were smart. Instead of just going to the Blue Grotto, we took and island cruise, which was only 3 euro more (so I don't know why more people don'e do it that way). We got to take a boat around the whole island and see some amazing vistas and sites. It was about an hour long, and then we got to the Blue Grotto, where we spent an hour waiting for our turn to go in. A tiny rowboat comes to the boat you're on. It can only take 4 people at a time. You have to sit on the bottom of the boat and lay down as you enter the cave. The rower has to wait for the low point of the ocean swell, and then he grabs a chain and pulls the boat through the tiniest opening. It was crazy and we laughed the whole time.
The best part about the hour wait was that we got to know some people on the boat, and ended up befriending them. We all went up to the town of Capri and had lunch together. Later on, we ran into them in Sorrento and ended up having dinner together and then going to a Disco club. It was a lot of fun, and I want to tell you more, but I have to go get the clothes out of the dryer now. Maybe Eric will fill you in.
I hope everyone is well. We are very happy and even more in love than when we got married, if that is possible. :-) We head to Venice tomorrow. It will be about 9 hours of travel (an hour to Naples, 6.5 hours to Venice, and a stopover in Bologna), and that's if we get on the fast train, so we might not get to post anything tomorrow. But we are thinking of all of you and hope that everything is great.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Eric's Thoughts from Serranto (part two)
Well, I am having a wonderful time here, but I am a little worn out today. I know, I know I am usually the gung-ho guy, but we spent almost the entire day out in the heat yesterday hiking up Mt. Vesuvius (Europe's only active volcano) and around Pompeii. Both experiences were amazing, and I recommend them to anyone traveling to Italy, but if possible, I would try to do them in cooler weather.
The hike up Vesuvius was fairly steep with no shade, but the views from the top are incredible (we will post some additional pictures). It was a little hazy, so the views were not as clear as they could be, but it was still cool to get a bird's eye view of the area. The crater was also impressive. I think it is cool to be hiking another volcano so close to our second wedding anniversary. We hiked Fuji on our first date, we hiked Haleakala after we got married, and now we are hiking Vesuvius on our second anniversary. I guess we have a thing for volcanoes.
After Vesuvius, we hiked around Pompeii. I did this as a child, and I have fond memories of this experience. As an adult - as with most of the experiences I have relived on this trip - I enjoyed it even more. It is amazing to walk around in a town that is around 2000 years old that has been fairly well preserved. Granted that preservation was the result of tragic circumstances, but it is still an amazing place. While some of the areas were closed off, we were still allowed to walk around almost the entire town and go into some fairly intact structures. It is very interesting to see how much of the artwork on the walls survived the eruption. I think that I enjoyed this experience more than the ruins of Rome mostly because it was less crowded. I also liked the ever present views of Vesuvius as a constant reminder of what happened to the town.
Well, time to post some pictures. I hope all is well. Take care.
Adventures on Mt. Vesuvius and in Pompeii, and an Upcoming Trivia Challenge!
Well, we didn't post to our blog yesterday because we didn't get home until very late (in fact we didn't even eat dinner until after 10 pm, although that is not late by European standards.)
As I've mentioned before, it is extremely hot here. We knew that both Vesuvius and Pompeii would have us in the direct sun for most of the day. So Eric came up with a very good plan to hike Vesuvius first, because Rick Steves said that it would be cold and windy on top. Then we would go to Pompeii later in the day when it would be cooler.
We had quite an adventure trying to find the bus to Vesuvius. We took the train to Pompeii. The map showed that the bus stop was supposed to be very close to the train station. Somehow, we ended up on the wrong street and wandered for about a mile, in the hot hot sun. (Are you sensing a theme here?) :-)
We finally found the bus stop, after asking some locals. It wasn't very well marked, and the funniest part, is that we were supposed to buy our tickets from the guy across the street who had a little souvenir table, and a very tiny sign. But it all worked out, and about an hour later, we were on the hour-long bus ride to Vesuvius. The bus was air conditioned, so we were very happy. Until about 30 minutes later when the bus pulled into this dumpy souvenir shack and told us we would be staying there for 20 minutes. This cranky old man borded the bus and told us to go outside, where he proceeded to deliver a 10 minute sales pitch to buy his book on Mt. Vesuvius. We felt so scammed. It's obvious that the bus driver gets some sort of kickback from stopping there, but we were surprised, because this was a public bus. Now we understand why it is a 1 hour bus ride, because you are stuck at a dump for 20 minutes.
But aside from that little adventure, we made it to the mountain which was.... very hot! Oh that Rick Steves has fooled us again! We even lugged jackets with us (because Rick recommended it!) Now in his defense, he did say that it was "often" cold and windy. I guess we were just hopeful.
Anyway, the hike to the top was amazing, filled with gorgeous views. It's not a bad hike (either that, or all the other hiking we've done on the trip has gotten me into better shape), but the direct sun and heat made it a bit challenging. It was amazing to see the views from Vesuvius, and also to look down into the crator. Not nearly as big as Fuji or Haleakala, but still impressive. We met a teacher from Georgia on the hike down and had fun talking to her.
Once we got down, we had about an hour's wait for the next bus back to Pompeii. It was a long, hot hour, but finally the bus arrived and we were back in Pompeii in about half an hour. On the bus were several college kids who were doing a semseter abroad. This made me think of my brother. These kids were about his age and were getting some incredible life experiences. Maybe something to look into, Daniel? One guy was an advertising major and he was having a great time studying marketing in Europe. (For example, there are only Coca Cola products here (no Pepsi) and Diet Coke is called Coca Cola Lite. You never see the word diet here. It's interesting.)
The highlight of our day was wandering around the ruins of Pompeii for about 2 hours. Eric's plan worked perfectly, because by the time we got to the ruins, there was plenty of shade and hardly any other people there. The ruins are incredible beyond description! It's a huge city and it's amazing that so much survived. To see mosaics and artwork from a.d. 79 in their original setting is unbelievable. I just can't put into words what an enjoyable experience this was. I had no idea that Pompeii was so large! As much as I loved the Colliseum in Rome, I loved Pompeii even more. This is the first place that I've broken down and bought a book for school. (Julie - when we teach Historical Fiction, we can use "The Dog of Pompeii" story, and the book that I got here (it has a DVD movie with it) and some of the pictures we took. (That is, if we are still teaching 6th grade! Ha! But that's another concern for another day...) :-)
After Pompeii, we were incrediblly exhausted, but it had been a great day. I think it's a lot to try to both in the same day, but I don't know how else you would do both. It truly was one of my most favorite days of this trip, even inspite of the heat!
Today we are having a lazy day...slept in late...and are now just wandering Sorrento a little bit. We'll go back to the hotel to lay out by the pool. Hope everyone is doing great, and by the way. At the end of our trip, I'm going to post a trivia contest for everyone who has been reading our blog. We will have European prizes for the top 3 scores. So be on the watch for that! :-)
As I've mentioned before, it is extremely hot here. We knew that both Vesuvius and Pompeii would have us in the direct sun for most of the day. So Eric came up with a very good plan to hike Vesuvius first, because Rick Steves said that it would be cold and windy on top. Then we would go to Pompeii later in the day when it would be cooler.
We had quite an adventure trying to find the bus to Vesuvius. We took the train to Pompeii. The map showed that the bus stop was supposed to be very close to the train station. Somehow, we ended up on the wrong street and wandered for about a mile, in the hot hot sun. (Are you sensing a theme here?) :-)
We finally found the bus stop, after asking some locals. It wasn't very well marked, and the funniest part, is that we were supposed to buy our tickets from the guy across the street who had a little souvenir table, and a very tiny sign. But it all worked out, and about an hour later, we were on the hour-long bus ride to Vesuvius. The bus was air conditioned, so we were very happy. Until about 30 minutes later when the bus pulled into this dumpy souvenir shack and told us we would be staying there for 20 minutes. This cranky old man borded the bus and told us to go outside, where he proceeded to deliver a 10 minute sales pitch to buy his book on Mt. Vesuvius. We felt so scammed. It's obvious that the bus driver gets some sort of kickback from stopping there, but we were surprised, because this was a public bus. Now we understand why it is a 1 hour bus ride, because you are stuck at a dump for 20 minutes.
But aside from that little adventure, we made it to the mountain which was.... very hot! Oh that Rick Steves has fooled us again! We even lugged jackets with us (because Rick recommended it!) Now in his defense, he did say that it was "often" cold and windy. I guess we were just hopeful.
Anyway, the hike to the top was amazing, filled with gorgeous views. It's not a bad hike (either that, or all the other hiking we've done on the trip has gotten me into better shape), but the direct sun and heat made it a bit challenging. It was amazing to see the views from Vesuvius, and also to look down into the crator. Not nearly as big as Fuji or Haleakala, but still impressive. We met a teacher from Georgia on the hike down and had fun talking to her.
Once we got down, we had about an hour's wait for the next bus back to Pompeii. It was a long, hot hour, but finally the bus arrived and we were back in Pompeii in about half an hour. On the bus were several college kids who were doing a semseter abroad. This made me think of my brother. These kids were about his age and were getting some incredible life experiences. Maybe something to look into, Daniel? One guy was an advertising major and he was having a great time studying marketing in Europe. (For example, there are only Coca Cola products here (no Pepsi) and Diet Coke is called Coca Cola Lite. You never see the word diet here. It's interesting.)
The highlight of our day was wandering around the ruins of Pompeii for about 2 hours. Eric's plan worked perfectly, because by the time we got to the ruins, there was plenty of shade and hardly any other people there. The ruins are incredible beyond description! It's a huge city and it's amazing that so much survived. To see mosaics and artwork from a.d. 79 in their original setting is unbelievable. I just can't put into words what an enjoyable experience this was. I had no idea that Pompeii was so large! As much as I loved the Colliseum in Rome, I loved Pompeii even more. This is the first place that I've broken down and bought a book for school. (Julie - when we teach Historical Fiction, we can use "The Dog of Pompeii" story, and the book that I got here (it has a DVD movie with it) and some of the pictures we took. (That is, if we are still teaching 6th grade! Ha! But that's another concern for another day...) :-)
After Pompeii, we were incrediblly exhausted, but it had been a great day. I think it's a lot to try to both in the same day, but I don't know how else you would do both. It truly was one of my most favorite days of this trip, even inspite of the heat!
Today we are having a lazy day...slept in late...and are now just wandering Sorrento a little bit. We'll go back to the hotel to lay out by the pool. Hope everyone is doing great, and by the way. At the end of our trip, I'm going to post a trivia contest for everyone who has been reading our blog. We will have European prizes for the top 3 scores. So be on the watch for that! :-)
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