Venice

Wow! This, unbelievably, was my second time to Venice, and to my surprise, I was amazed by it as much as I was the first time. Ahhh, Venezia! You just want to sigh at every charming moorish window and laquered gondola. We were there for 2 days, and luckily, a third because we missed the train to Vienna.

When we first arrived, we enjoyed drifting down the grand canal to the Rialto. We walked to our hostel, Forresteria Valdese, which was in a huge, beautiful venetian church building. We were seperated into male and female dorms. My room had 10 women, two balconies and a fresco of maidens on the ceiling. The thunder storm at night made it seem like I was in a haunted mansion.

The next day, we did the ferry ride to the islands. First we went to Guidecca, which might be the old Jewish section, anyone know? We had a cheap pasta lunch there and had to keep our feet up because we were constantly getting splashed by the water. It was bizzare, like a game and eating all in one. Take a bite, dodge a wave, take a bite, etc. By the way, get to Venice while you can, because it is definately sinking! Then we went to the other islands. Murano, where we saw glass being blown. Burano, with it's colorful cottages, and Torcello, a somewhat abandoned island with a very old church that was closed when we got there.

Yesterday, we went to St. Mark's Church, which Jon was so glad he didn't miss. It is stunningly decorated with gold leif mosaic frescos. This is my favorite church, not that I've seen that many. I am also enchanted by the symbol of venice, the golden flying lion. I love him!
We ate a recommended pizza and gelatto joints and ended our time at the Peggy Guggenheim museum of modern art. Can you believe she named her daughter Pegeen? Yuck. It was a nice collection including Magritte, Pollock, and one Dali and Picasso. There was also a sculpture garden. I would like to see more surrealism works by Dali and Magritte.

We are now in Prague, which we arrived at via overnight adventure train from Venice. I was worried about another bumpy, sleep shattering ride like the one we had from Paris to Madrid, but this one was much smoother. We were in a little cabin with six beds, and four train roomates from Czech Republic.

Hangliding

Here are my pics! My guide took them on an extension pole. Very fun and a great way to see Interlaken.

Vernazza- after 5 days beach bumming

This is our favorite of cinque terre's little villages, Vernazza.We had great pizza last night and spoke to some Italians on vacation from Florence who wondered why americans would come all the way here for this and why not go to Florence or Rome because there's nothing to do here. And while it is small, to us it's been a hit of a cultural experience being surrounded by italians on vacation. The food is awesome because it has to please all the italians who are on vacation. We have seen naked babies running from fathers with diapers in their hands, kids screaming and diving into the water, people talking all at once right over eachother, and naked boobs. Not unlike the states, except it is because it all has an italian twist on it.
The beach here is amazing. First of all, it's warm. A culture shock in itself to us New Englanders that go to Hull and other frigid atlantic waters. Secondly, it's light to dark aquamarine blue, a color of pure paradise. Third, THERE ARE NO LIFEGAURDS yelling at you to stop or to move. You can be free and use your on god forsaken common sense. So, we can: swim in the boat lane, swim under boats, and jump off of 10 foot walls into calm water or whitewater smashing rock (whichever strikes the mood). You could swim all the way out to the middle of the sea and no one would stop you. It's bliss.
The only problem is the "medusa", red jellyfish that sting. they came out of no where and lingered fortunately for only one day. I got stung lightly on the hand. Another poor soul got stung bad on the neck. Babies were screaming. It was a ferocious day. Luckily, a 10 year old girl worked all day to fish them out with a net. She made a sickly red jelly pile on the wall, a pulsating mass. ick.
Jon and I did venture to other villages. We hiked to Corneglia, and took the ferry to Riomaggiore. We decided Vernazza was the best especially for swimming. We loved it here and finally, after admiring bronzen bodies and spending for some "burrococoa" (cocobutter tanning lotion) I too am now tan enough to somewhat count.

Vernazza Beach Bums

See Jon's latest update with pics on our time in Vernazza, Italy!

http://newtlog.blogspot.com/2006/08/vernazza-italy.html

We are having such a great time kickin' back relaxin' besides the warm, aquamarine waters of cinque terre- Vernazza to be specific. I love being a fish in the water. This is by far the laziest part of our trip, and culturally, we are actually surrounded by italians on vacation, not many americans or aussies in sight.

Our battery charger got stolen in Interlaken, so we might not be posting more pics for a while, although we do have a disposable camera, so we'll show ya back in the states!

Swiss Motorcycle Ride

We went on hands down the most incredible motorcycle ride ever. And we though the Kangamagus Highway in NH was cool- not at all compared to Susten Pass through the swiss Alps. The other cyclists are insane- they lean into the steep, sharp, switchback curves; toes practically rubbing into the pavement, like it's no big deal. We rented a BMW bike that was light and comfortable- jon might have to trade in his Suzuki cruiser when we get home! Anyhow, the Susten pass goes up through the mountains until you are in the snow caps and passing glaciers. It was so scenic and steep, you have to do one full nod "yes" to percieve the entire height of the canyon to the mountain tops. We drove through tunnels that blended in so naturally with the mountain that there was vegetation and waterfalls coming of the top and sides. We came back through Farka and Grimsel Pass and the three billy goats gruff with bells on were walking in the middle of the steep mountain road. We also passed a cow standing on a garage, like it thought it belonged there. It rained on us a bit and we were cold from the elevation, but so enjoyed the scenery. I took some snapshots along the way. This was certainly the most scenic way to cover a lot of ground, via motorcycle. You should try it!

Barcelona, Spain

Just some quick highlights of Barcelona. it is a cool CATALUNIAN city, NOT spanish, and don't you forget it or you might insult someone from catalunia. The first night we got there we did another fat tire bike tour of this amazing city. Please see more photos at http://flickr.com/photos/miltown77/sets/72157594233457756/

We loved Anotoni Gaudi's crazy structural dreams. Check out these gingerbread and whipped cream houses.

Gorgeous Switzerland!

CHECK OUT JON SKYDIVING AT
newtlog.blogspot.com

Interlaken- Day 3

This is a picture of me really excited to arrive in Interlaken, Switzerland.

It is so gorgeous here with the natural scenery, not to mention all the quaint swiss chalets and cows with ringing bells. Yesterday, we went back to the same area. We took mountain bikes on the cable car up to Gimmelwald and biked uphill to Murren where we had sausage and rotsi (hash browns) as we overlooked the snow covered mountains that we were directly across from. We then mountain biked down. Mountain biking down the swiss alps is hard! We were on bikes 70% and walking down steep stairs 30%. I feel off maybe 10 times and have bruises, but felt like a little kid, it was a blast, I was so proud that we made it down.


It just keeps getting better here. Today, I went hangliding over the mountains and turquiose lakes. It was quite exhilerating, but not scary. I loved swooping through the air like a bird. Jon chose the most extreme option offered here for adventures- skydiving. He was awesome and loved the experience, although complains it was a little cloudy.

Willkommen Switzerland

hello, we are in Interlaken Switzerland, which is nestled in the swiss alps. Arriving on the train, both of our jaws were hanging open at the dramatic mountain views. The next day after hearing about all of the opportunities to bungie jump, hang glide, etc, Jons eyes were bugging out of his head in excitement. We are definatelz at the best hostle yet, the warm welcoming and liveley Balmers Herberge. Its a huge place and tons of socializing happening all the time, we have meet some great people so far. Today we went for an awesome hike to Gimmelwald (thanks maryann), a small village at the top of a mountain. It was by far the best hike we have ever been on. besides the incredible backdrop of the swiss alps, glacier included, we also saw many other sights along the way. There were amazing gushing water falls, steep drops, pretty chalets, and cows with ringing bells at the top of the mountain. We also met an adorable cat that followed us for lovin. We avoided the tendedious hike downhill by taking a cable car in a quick descent to Stechleburg.

Segovia, Spain

On our second day in Madrid, we craved an authentic old-world spanish town, so we headed for a day trip to amazing Segovia. It was like a trip in a time machine.

We saw a majestic cathedral,
a "cute"(my words) and "deadly"(Jon´s words) castle called Alcazar. Alacazam and Alca-Seltzer´s entemology stems from this castles name ;)

This is our view from the top of the castle "torre" (tower)

Finally, we saw the roman aquaduct. (No mortar used here folks!) It was burning hot and we had a great time exploring.

Madrid Day 1- My Birthday!!

We are staying in plaza cruz at a cute hostel Cruz-Sol with a little balcony. This is our view.
After we found our hotel, we walked around the corner to Plaza Mayor and sat at outdoor tables to admire the view and eat paella. Jon had the accordian player played happy birthday! We also found out about verano en la villa which is a summer concert series. So, we got tickets for an incredible show with singing and flemeco dancing. It was outside in the Sabatini gardens under a full moon. The flamenco dancing was captivating. The dancers (2 men, one woman) and their band (2 singers, guitar, violin and percussion of simple tapping on a wooden box) were incredibly talented. That´s us at the top all dolled up for the night of entertainment. Note the cute french dress.

Madrid Day 3

From whichever country, spanish speaking people say that my spanish is good. I find this very flattering, especially when I have struggled. Finally, I now know what kind of food they are referencing when they say "bocadillo, rationes, pinchos." Jon and I thought it would be simple to find a tapas bar last night, but not all cafes say "tapas" on the menu, they say one or more of the three mentioned before. We finally ended up with a great meal with tapas of potato and sausages. Then today, we walk around and see THREE cafes with the word Tapas in huge letters on the sign. So, finding cena tonight will be much easier!!

Today, we went to a FANTASTIC PICASSO exhibit at the Prada Museum. The gaurds will smash your camera if you take pictures, so you'll just have to check out a link for my favorite painting The Three Musicians

Last day in Paris!

I´m on a blog marathon, so I hope you all loved the photos. Last entry for today. On the last day we decided to see two places that we learned about on the bike tour. Musee Rodin and Saint Chappelle.

Saint Chapelle has huge towering walls of stained glass all around. It is so vivid and eye popping it was like a midevil 3D movie!

Here is Augustus Rodin´s most famous sculpture "the thinker".

France loved their artist so much they offered him this chalet with incredible surrounding gardens on the condition that he leave his house and sculptures for a museum when he died. What a deal, huh mom?Here are two wierd people imitating some of Rodin´s sculptures.

Paris Day 3

Great day- we slept late and the rest of the day was as easygoing and relaxing a parisian vacation as possible. First, we bought some lovely baguette and cheese sandwiches, chocolate ganache and relaxed in this park with a well dressed parisian guitar player and a gothic church in the background.
Next, we went on a four hour bike tour of Paris with Fat Tire Bike tours. We loved it so much that we might do the one in Barcelona. Four hours on a bike sounds like a lot, but actually, it was quite casual. We meandered on "beach cruisers" and stopped every tenth of a mile for a history lesson from our texas tourguide Ziggy.

This is a shot of him leading us through the Toullerie Gardens in front of the Louvre. This was after we sat and ate at a cafe in the gardens for an hour. Jon and I loved chatting with the aussies in our group. One was teaching in London for a few years.

Our evening ended with a picnic on the Champ du Mars as we watched the eiffel tower sparkle. There is a sparkling light show for 10 minutes every hour from 9-12pm. How romantic can it get!

Paris Day 2 Continued

We also ate small sweet strawberries from a Marche and the best pasteries from a Boulangerie-Bakery (which is now my favorite french word-ask Jon I drove him mad repeating it over and over). We sat next to some New Yorkers and chatted it up!












After eating, we finally made it to the Eiffel Tower via the Metro (subway). When we got off the Metro, this is what we saw. Ugly buildings, kids spray painting and ahh oui, "Metal Asparagus". We could understand why some french named it the latter.
Aren´t we cute!

But the bottom is much better than the top in my opinion. It was the "gateway" for the worlds fair in the late 1800´s. Aren´t we cute?

Pairs day 2

Ok, today, I was reeeealy tired. My body need to let the jetlag and walking tour all catch up with me. Jon and I walked to the Louvre and then we walked right back to the hotel to put me and my exhausted self back in bed. It was a beautiful french nap, and then we had a good afternoon.



Beautiful Louvre without contreversial pyramid.

Here are some places we saw.

This is the Carousel Arc of Triumph (smaller than the Arc which is near a 12 lane rotary and you´ll get run over at) that Napolean and crew would parade around .







Notre Dame:
Here are some French fire fighters "practicing."It was very outward bound-I should have asked to try it. You jump onto a swinging ladderover the water and climb up, then your co workers pull you over the fence.

Paris-day 1

Paris was stunning. It really blew Boston, I mean England out of the water. It was completely different. We got to take the chunnel and arrived at the Ile de Cite (center of the city?) on the island with Notre Dame and Saint Chappelle with the river Seine flowing on either side. We sat on the steps of a bridge in awe and shoved cadbury chocolate (the real English kind) in our mouths as we oggled at the view. This is where we sat and this is part of the view.

Cool, huh? Everywhere you look it is gorgous in Pareeeee. Jon and I had to look really hard to find an ugly building.

Next, we found our hotel room, Hotel Henri IV (booked in french by Beverly Kienzle, thank you). It was too charming. This is the view of the little plaza and buildings that the large french windows overlooked, although the windows are about the size of the whole room.

That evening we went to a traditional french restaurant that was recommended by our travel guide. After the hostess realized that I had know idea what she was saying, she kindly got an English speaking waiter to help and luckily placed us next to a couple from England who now live in Paris and helped us with the menu.

I had never been out to a french restaurant before. I´ve heard people say that you only get a little bit of food for a lot of money. What people don´t include is that it is a little three course meal with wine. Having an appetizer of duck pate and vegetable terrine, an entree of lamb and steak, and a dessert with burnt sugar and fresh whipped cream and raspberries was plenty to eat. Here is the outside of the restaurant, and a picture of us with full bellies.