Well, it is our last full day in Europe.
Today began nice and late. Just how I like it. Now that is a holiday - you sleep in, and do shit-all, and then get up and go have fun. The important thing on the agenda was that we visited a famous gelati shop called San Crispino.
We first visited the Spanish Steps, which had a church at the top. There were sketch artists at the top, as well as dodgy Nigerian types who try to use the friendship string scam on you. What they do is walk up to you and act all friendly, and then hold out a piece of string. They then tie the string to you, and then ask for a 'donation.' It is all friendly, but you can sense the threat behind that request for a 'donation.' It happened to me in Milan, but I acted like I only had some spare change, so the scammer only got away with 2 euros instead of 10. Nowadays, I am much more wise. As soon as I see a dodgy guy come up to me, up comes the hand, because the face ... it ain't listening.
After a visit to the Spanish Steps, we wandered down along until we hit this huuuge square with an obelisk in the middle, I forget what it is called. But nearby, up a rather tiring climb of steps, was a huge park. It being Sunday, there are lots of people out enjoying the customary day off for many people. There were also places you could hire bikes, roller blades, and tandem bikes.
There were also pedal-powered golf buggies.
Henry and I saw a few people zipping around on them, and decided to hire one for ourselves to try. At 10 euros for an hour, it is a lot of fun.
They basically convert the pedalling you do into electrical power, which then turns the four wheels ... I think. There are two steering wheels, but one is for show, while the other one actually steers. Henry and I had a lot of fun zipping around the park, riding offroad through the bumpy and less levelled parts of the park, as well as powering our way through the soft gravel, and terrorising other parkgoers with our whoops and yells of delight.
Well, my whoops and yells of delight.
Our fun was magnified when we decided to take some of the asphalted roads, and went down a long tunnel. Unsure of whether it was actually for pedestrians or cars, we ended up going down that way before we realised which it was. It was a long, sloping tunnel, which meant that it was a nice, downhill zoom to the bottom of the winding tunnel. However, once we got to the bottom, we found out one very important fact about that tunnel.
It was a carpark tunnel.
As we turned around to go up the other tunnel, we saw ...
A car coming up behind us!
We both screamed 'OH SHIT!!!' and pedalled as fast as our legs could pedal. We were both pedalling desperately, trying to outrun the car that was close behind us going up the tunnel. It was getting closer, closer ...
And it was keeping a leisurely distance from us. It seemed that the owners had a look of real amusement on their faces, as we both desperately pedalled to get up out of the tunnel and where the road would be a bit wider.
Just as it seemed the driver would speed up and run us over, we made it.
We got out of the tunnel, and veered off to the side and let the car pass us before stopping and trying to catch our breaths. We found out it was one way, so it would be hard to go back the way we came without a way to stop oncoming traffic.
In the end, I had to brave the dangers of returning through the tunnel, stopping most of traffic by using myself as a shield, and Henry bringing the buggy back down and around the way we came.
After those hijinks, we hooned around some more in the safer areas of the park, complete with more whooping.
After that misadventure, we decided to leave the park alone, and get some lunch after pedalling hard for an hour on that buggy. A trip to San Crispino later, we were contentedly munching on gelati while we headed for the nearby Fountain of Trevi, which apparently has magical powers. Supposedly, if you throw a coin into the fountain, from your right hand over your left shoulder, and it lands in the fountain, you will return to Rome. If you throw two over, then a wish will be granted. Henry thought it meant that you will be either married or divorced. I did at first too, and first refused to throw a second coin in because I didn't want to be destined to get tied down. However, on consultation of the Lonely Planet guide we had with us, it turned out that a wish would be granted.
After lunch at Burger King, we went to try to find a stone face which supposedly eats your hand if you lie. You are supposed to put your hand in. If you lie, the face supposedly slams shut. Surprise surprise, when we arrive, there is a long line of people wanting to test that theory. In front of the Church of St Valentine, no less. Unwilling to wait in line, we ended up wandering through the streets of Rome until we hit the Altar of the Nation again, and took a bus back to our room.
For our last night in Rome, and in Europe, we will be eating out.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Sunday, February 01, 2009
EuroX Trip: Day 22 and 23
Still in Rome, where it is nice and temperate. I heard that there was a HUUGE heatwave in Australia, with temperatures up in the mid 40 celsius, and minimums in the 30s. Now that is HOT. I am very glad that I am here in temperate Rome, as opposed to being back there in Australia. The pools and beaches must have been veery busy. It would have been hard getting to the gym during those days.
In any case ... Rome has been rather interesting in some cases.
Day 22
After waking up at a more normal time (8:45), and having breakfast, we went to see some of the ancient Roman stuff. Arriving at the Colosseum, we found that surprisingly, there weren't that many tourists around.
There was a very good reason.
The Colosseum was closed for some sort of 'work assembly' and would reopen at '12am' so the notice claimed. I think they meant 12pm, as it would be rather hard to police people about on the Colosseum at midnight. In any case, almost all of the ancient monuments were closed for this 'work assembly.' Henry and I instead chose to wander off and check out Circus Maximus, which was a bit of a crapshoot.
It should really be renamed Circus Minimus. There are hardly any old buildings and stuff, it looks more like a drag-racing strip that nature had reclaimed. There was grass growing all over, only a few sets of steps remained, and there were cigarette butts littered everywhere. Of ancient Roman origin, I'm sure.
Returning to the Colosseum at near 12pm, we both found that there was a HUGE line of tourists lined up to go in - it must have stretched for at least 500m from the entrance where they have metal detectors and things. Getting in was fairly easy - pick a thin part of the line and jump in. Sure, it isn't totally legit to just push in, but all's fair in sightseeing and touring. Particularly the big tourist traps like the Colosseum. We went on a guided tour which was informative, but short. One interesting fact I will impart to you all - the Colosseum is actually not named for its massive size, but instead for the Colossus of Nero that once used to sit near the Colosseum after it was moved from elsewhere. Before, it was known as the Flavian Arena.
After the Colosseum, we went to the Palatine, and spent a good hour or two wandering through the ruins of the Roman Emperor's palace. There was even fruit growing from the orange trees in the gardens, so we stole fruit from the Emperor's Garden and ate of it. Henry remarked ot me that the orange he ate was rather sour.
After that was a stroll up the rode from the Palatine and the Colosseum, and we visited the ancient Roman Forum. A whole lot of ruins and archeological digs, which surprised me. I didn't expect to see an archeological dig in Rome, the capital of Italy. Goes to show you can find things almost anywhere.
Gelati and groceries followed, as well as a hamfisted attempt to cook spaghetti using mince, what we think was pasta sauce, capsicum and tomato. It was a rather interesting experience, going shopping and trying to go by what picture is on the label, and ignoring all the impenetrable Italian surrounding it. It makes cooking a lot more fun, admittedly - you have NO idea what you are putting in if it is canned, and only hoping like hell it has the stuff on the cover.
The spaghetti didn't turn out too badly, although it was rather bland. It needed something more ... like red wine, or MSG.
Day 23
Today was a nice, lazy day.
We got up, and took a bus to see the Pantheon, which to my surprise was actually a Christian temple. I always associated it with the classical Greco-Roman gods, but in this case, it is actually a Christian temple after it was donated to the Pope by the Byzantine emperor Phocas, and redecorated.
Lunch at Mcdonalds followed, as well as a visit to the Piazza Navone, which was a really nice place, with nice atmosphere. There were buskers playing Italian music, lots of artists displaying their wares, as well as sketchers and caricaturists who will draw your mug for a fee. As well as that, there were also a lot of sneaky and crooked Nigerians around, hawking all manner of wares. Bubble-guns which make toy laser gun noises, balls that buzz when you throw them into the air, fake Luis Vutton handbags, cheapo sunglasses, all manner of things.
There were a few fountains there too, it is a really pretty place and definitely a nice place to go with a lover.
If you are into that sort of thing.
Henry wanted to go to a 'famous market' which I objected to, on the basis that it was a market, like other markets all around the world. There was one near our hotel in Paris one day, and it was mostly food, fruit and dodgy goods. The stall owners there were a LOT more aggressive. One guy, when I walked near his stall, shoved a ladle filled with some sort of seed or nut mixture into my face! It was all I could do to raise a hand and gesture 'No, I am not interested in your strange mix of nuts or testing it.' Henry, however, was on a quest to find some fragola, which is some sort of Venetian strawberry liqueur. Instead, we came to a stand where a man of dubious Middle Eastern origin was trying to sell us on various flavoured liequeurs.
There were free samples, and I will hardly say no to free booze.
After some time 'testing' the drinks, I came to the conclusion that I liked the pistacchio liqueur the best. It tasted like pistacchio flavoured gelati, only in alcoholic form. It will go nicely with ice-cream. Henry bought some cream of lemon liqueur because it was on special.
We ended up back at the Vatican, where Henry was asked by a friend to get a poster of some sort for said friend.
It seems it won't fit in his bag.
Soon it will be dinner time, and tonight's menu ... frozen pizzas bought from the supermarket!
In any case ... Rome has been rather interesting in some cases.
Day 22
After waking up at a more normal time (8:45), and having breakfast, we went to see some of the ancient Roman stuff. Arriving at the Colosseum, we found that surprisingly, there weren't that many tourists around.
There was a very good reason.
The Colosseum was closed for some sort of 'work assembly' and would reopen at '12am' so the notice claimed. I think they meant 12pm, as it would be rather hard to police people about on the Colosseum at midnight. In any case, almost all of the ancient monuments were closed for this 'work assembly.' Henry and I instead chose to wander off and check out Circus Maximus, which was a bit of a crapshoot.
It should really be renamed Circus Minimus. There are hardly any old buildings and stuff, it looks more like a drag-racing strip that nature had reclaimed. There was grass growing all over, only a few sets of steps remained, and there were cigarette butts littered everywhere. Of ancient Roman origin, I'm sure.
Returning to the Colosseum at near 12pm, we both found that there was a HUGE line of tourists lined up to go in - it must have stretched for at least 500m from the entrance where they have metal detectors and things. Getting in was fairly easy - pick a thin part of the line and jump in. Sure, it isn't totally legit to just push in, but all's fair in sightseeing and touring. Particularly the big tourist traps like the Colosseum. We went on a guided tour which was informative, but short. One interesting fact I will impart to you all - the Colosseum is actually not named for its massive size, but instead for the Colossus of Nero that once used to sit near the Colosseum after it was moved from elsewhere. Before, it was known as the Flavian Arena.
After the Colosseum, we went to the Palatine, and spent a good hour or two wandering through the ruins of the Roman Emperor's palace. There was even fruit growing from the orange trees in the gardens, so we stole fruit from the Emperor's Garden and ate of it. Henry remarked ot me that the orange he ate was rather sour.
After that was a stroll up the rode from the Palatine and the Colosseum, and we visited the ancient Roman Forum. A whole lot of ruins and archeological digs, which surprised me. I didn't expect to see an archeological dig in Rome, the capital of Italy. Goes to show you can find things almost anywhere.
Gelati and groceries followed, as well as a hamfisted attempt to cook spaghetti using mince, what we think was pasta sauce, capsicum and tomato. It was a rather interesting experience, going shopping and trying to go by what picture is on the label, and ignoring all the impenetrable Italian surrounding it. It makes cooking a lot more fun, admittedly - you have NO idea what you are putting in if it is canned, and only hoping like hell it has the stuff on the cover.
The spaghetti didn't turn out too badly, although it was rather bland. It needed something more ... like red wine, or MSG.
Day 23
Today was a nice, lazy day.
We got up, and took a bus to see the Pantheon, which to my surprise was actually a Christian temple. I always associated it with the classical Greco-Roman gods, but in this case, it is actually a Christian temple after it was donated to the Pope by the Byzantine emperor Phocas, and redecorated.
Lunch at Mcdonalds followed, as well as a visit to the Piazza Navone, which was a really nice place, with nice atmosphere. There were buskers playing Italian music, lots of artists displaying their wares, as well as sketchers and caricaturists who will draw your mug for a fee. As well as that, there were also a lot of sneaky and crooked Nigerians around, hawking all manner of wares. Bubble-guns which make toy laser gun noises, balls that buzz when you throw them into the air, fake Luis Vutton handbags, cheapo sunglasses, all manner of things.
There were a few fountains there too, it is a really pretty place and definitely a nice place to go with a lover.
If you are into that sort of thing.
Henry wanted to go to a 'famous market' which I objected to, on the basis that it was a market, like other markets all around the world. There was one near our hotel in Paris one day, and it was mostly food, fruit and dodgy goods. The stall owners there were a LOT more aggressive. One guy, when I walked near his stall, shoved a ladle filled with some sort of seed or nut mixture into my face! It was all I could do to raise a hand and gesture 'No, I am not interested in your strange mix of nuts or testing it.' Henry, however, was on a quest to find some fragola, which is some sort of Venetian strawberry liqueur. Instead, we came to a stand where a man of dubious Middle Eastern origin was trying to sell us on various flavoured liequeurs.
There were free samples, and I will hardly say no to free booze.
After some time 'testing' the drinks, I came to the conclusion that I liked the pistacchio liqueur the best. It tasted like pistacchio flavoured gelati, only in alcoholic form. It will go nicely with ice-cream. Henry bought some cream of lemon liqueur because it was on special.
We ended up back at the Vatican, where Henry was asked by a friend to get a poster of some sort for said friend.
It seems it won't fit in his bag.
Soon it will be dinner time, and tonight's menu ... frozen pizzas bought from the supermarket!
Friday, January 30, 2009
EuroX Trip: Day 19, 20 and 21
Ave to you from Rome!
I haven't been near a computer for awhile, so I haven't been able to update as frequently. In any case ...
Day 19
Our second day in Venice. I liked the place we were staying - it was classy. They were playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons when I arrived at the breakfast table, and there were some nice selections of food available. After breakfast, we left and took a waterbus down to Piazza San Marco, where, much to my delight, it was partially flooded! There were walkways around for tourists to travel through, and with the huge volumes of people trying to make their way around, traffic was fairly slow. There were a lot of Chinese and Japanese tourists around, still playing true to the stereotype. In fact, there was even a whole primary school class around, easily spotted by the large amount of noise and the white marshmallow jackets. Inside the Basilica St Mark, the front was flooded, which I rather liked - it made it feel kind of like something out of an Indiana Jones movie or something.
After some time wandering through St Mark's Basilica and looking at the various religious things, Henry and I amused ourselves watching people in the Piazza San Marco work out whether or not to slosh through the above-ankle high water, or to try to find a way around. It was amusing to see people try to slosh their way through, most of the time by stepping with the heels of their shoes.
After the hijinks in Piazza San Marco, we ended up wandering around for another good hour or so trying to find our way through to some good restaurants. Unfortunately, none were forthcoming. So we ended up heading back to our room because Henry forgot his bus pass (good thing that the Italians don't seem to enforce having valid tickets very strongly), and we ended up eating lunch at a place near our hotel.
After lunch, we ended up taking a long ride out to an island in the sticks of Venice, called Burano. Now, unlike yesterday, where we went to Murano and there were some really nice examples of glasswork, Burano was famous for ... lace.
Lace.
I wonder ... why the HELL would a red-blooded man want to go out for an hour's ride to see ... lace? Because that is apparently what Burano is famous for. The only times that the word lace and man should go in a sentence is if it is man as in WOman, or it involves the giving from the man to the woman of lace unmentionables, or the removal of said unmentionables. I am rather worried about sleeping in the same room with Henry now, since he wanted to go out to an island to see LACE.
It was also pouring with rain.
On our way back, we made sure we were entertained.
Because it was cold and pouring with rain, the windows were fogged up. I was bored, so I started doodling kanji on the windows. Henry dared me to draw a hand giving someone the one-finger salute.
I did.
What I didn't notice was that there was also a little girl doodling on the windows and chatting rather loudly with her father.
She copied me.
Henry and I burst out laughing, and we couldn't stop for a few minutes.
Monkey see, monkey do.
We topped the day off with some dinner along the tourist strip of the Grand Canal, near the Rialto bridge over said canal.
Day 20
Most of it was spent travelling, first in the morning rush onto the waterbus back to San Lucia station, before buying tickets and rushing for the train to Mestre station. After that, a looong, five hour trip to Rome. It was surprisingly warm in Rome, considering how cold it was in Milan and Venice. Rome seemed more like an Australian winter, considering how it is sunny, but slightly cold at the same time.
It also has one of the most confusing metro systems, considering there are only two lines - the A line and the B line. You switch lines at Termini station, so it is one of the largest stations in Europe. Apparently the city council is rather proud of it, but as our host states, it is also the biggest confusion in Europe.
After setting up in our room, we went to get our laundry done, at a place which also doubled as an internet cafe, which was handy. We went grocery shopping, since our place had a KITCHEN this time! The night was spent enjoying the joy of cooking, and watching what cable channels Italian cable gets in English.
Day 21
The day started at 5am.
We got up at 5am, got cleaned up and ready to go, and then went carousing about the city, blindly stumbling through streets in pre-dawn light, looking for the Vatican, and the Musei Vatica. We ended up finding it after an hour or so of wandering the streets, and sitting in the cafe near the entrance to have breakfast and watch for the formation of a line.
The majority of today was spent wandering through the Musei Vatica, and the attached Sistine Chapel, as well as seeing St Peter's Square and the Basilica of St Peter. After lunch, we wandered down to see some fountains, like the Trevoli Fountain, I think it was called, and the Altar of the Nation.
I haven't been near a computer for awhile, so I haven't been able to update as frequently. In any case ...
Day 19
Our second day in Venice. I liked the place we were staying - it was classy. They were playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons when I arrived at the breakfast table, and there were some nice selections of food available. After breakfast, we left and took a waterbus down to Piazza San Marco, where, much to my delight, it was partially flooded! There were walkways around for tourists to travel through, and with the huge volumes of people trying to make their way around, traffic was fairly slow. There were a lot of Chinese and Japanese tourists around, still playing true to the stereotype. In fact, there was even a whole primary school class around, easily spotted by the large amount of noise and the white marshmallow jackets. Inside the Basilica St Mark, the front was flooded, which I rather liked - it made it feel kind of like something out of an Indiana Jones movie or something.
After some time wandering through St Mark's Basilica and looking at the various religious things, Henry and I amused ourselves watching people in the Piazza San Marco work out whether or not to slosh through the above-ankle high water, or to try to find a way around. It was amusing to see people try to slosh their way through, most of the time by stepping with the heels of their shoes.
After the hijinks in Piazza San Marco, we ended up wandering around for another good hour or so trying to find our way through to some good restaurants. Unfortunately, none were forthcoming. So we ended up heading back to our room because Henry forgot his bus pass (good thing that the Italians don't seem to enforce having valid tickets very strongly), and we ended up eating lunch at a place near our hotel.
After lunch, we ended up taking a long ride out to an island in the sticks of Venice, called Burano. Now, unlike yesterday, where we went to Murano and there were some really nice examples of glasswork, Burano was famous for ... lace.
Lace.
I wonder ... why the HELL would a red-blooded man want to go out for an hour's ride to see ... lace? Because that is apparently what Burano is famous for. The only times that the word lace and man should go in a sentence is if it is man as in WOman, or it involves the giving from the man to the woman of lace unmentionables, or the removal of said unmentionables. I am rather worried about sleeping in the same room with Henry now, since he wanted to go out to an island to see LACE.
It was also pouring with rain.
On our way back, we made sure we were entertained.
Because it was cold and pouring with rain, the windows were fogged up. I was bored, so I started doodling kanji on the windows. Henry dared me to draw a hand giving someone the one-finger salute.
I did.
What I didn't notice was that there was also a little girl doodling on the windows and chatting rather loudly with her father.
She copied me.
Henry and I burst out laughing, and we couldn't stop for a few minutes.
Monkey see, monkey do.
We topped the day off with some dinner along the tourist strip of the Grand Canal, near the Rialto bridge over said canal.
Day 20
Most of it was spent travelling, first in the morning rush onto the waterbus back to San Lucia station, before buying tickets and rushing for the train to Mestre station. After that, a looong, five hour trip to Rome. It was surprisingly warm in Rome, considering how cold it was in Milan and Venice. Rome seemed more like an Australian winter, considering how it is sunny, but slightly cold at the same time.
It also has one of the most confusing metro systems, considering there are only two lines - the A line and the B line. You switch lines at Termini station, so it is one of the largest stations in Europe. Apparently the city council is rather proud of it, but as our host states, it is also the biggest confusion in Europe.
After setting up in our room, we went to get our laundry done, at a place which also doubled as an internet cafe, which was handy. We went grocery shopping, since our place had a KITCHEN this time! The night was spent enjoying the joy of cooking, and watching what cable channels Italian cable gets in English.
Day 21
The day started at 5am.
We got up at 5am, got cleaned up and ready to go, and then went carousing about the city, blindly stumbling through streets in pre-dawn light, looking for the Vatican, and the Musei Vatica. We ended up finding it after an hour or so of wandering the streets, and sitting in the cafe near the entrance to have breakfast and watch for the formation of a line.
The majority of today was spent wandering through the Musei Vatica, and the attached Sistine Chapel, as well as seeing St Peter's Square and the Basilica of St Peter. After lunch, we wandered down to see some fountains, like the Trevoli Fountain, I think it was called, and the Altar of the Nation.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
EuroX Trip: Day 18
Three things happened today.
It was Lunar New Year, so Shin-yeng, gong fat hei choi and chuc mung nam moi. It's now the Yes r of the Ox, my animal year.
It was also Australia Day.
We also arrived in Venice.
Venice is a beautiful city. We were lucky enough to arrive when the sun was shining above a beautiful, clear sky. It was a surreal experience, to emerge from the train station and be greeted by the sight of the Grand Canal. Boats going up and down this huge waterway, with houses on either side. The streets were tiny, and wouldn't fit big crowds.
Henry and I spent the day wandering Venice, making a trip to Murano to see the famed Murano glassware, which is really pretty. I imagine that guys who take their girlfriends there would come back with their wallets considerably lighter.
It was a surreal experience, puttering up and down the Grand Canal in valporetos, water buses. They are Venice's equivalent of a metro system, each even having individual lines for the routes they take. They are also rather rickety things, and have a tendency to grind and grunt like you would think they were scraping the bottom of the canal. They also bang up against the pontoon-stops that they periodically stop at along the way, which shows on the pontoons.
Happy New Year of the Ox to you all!
It was Lunar New Year, so Shin-yeng, gong fat hei choi and chuc mung nam moi. It's now the Yes r of the Ox, my animal year.
It was also Australia Day.
We also arrived in Venice.
Venice is a beautiful city. We were lucky enough to arrive when the sun was shining above a beautiful, clear sky. It was a surreal experience, to emerge from the train station and be greeted by the sight of the Grand Canal. Boats going up and down this huge waterway, with houses on either side. The streets were tiny, and wouldn't fit big crowds.
Henry and I spent the day wandering Venice, making a trip to Murano to see the famed Murano glassware, which is really pretty. I imagine that guys who take their girlfriends there would come back with their wallets considerably lighter.
It was a surreal experience, puttering up and down the Grand Canal in valporetos, water buses. They are Venice's equivalent of a metro system, each even having individual lines for the routes they take. They are also rather rickety things, and have a tendency to grind and grunt like you would think they were scraping the bottom of the canal. They also bang up against the pontoon-stops that they periodically stop at along the way, which shows on the pontoons.
Happy New Year of the Ox to you all!
Monday, January 26, 2009
EuroX Trip: Day 17
Today we spent the day at Lake Como.
Despite the fact it was a rather warm 7 degrees, it still felt like a warm summer's day down at Como, which had the real feel of a resort town. It is a very beautiful, picturesque place, sitting on a lake, Lake Como, with boats moored, ferries running around, and against the backdrop of towering mountains. About an hour and a half's train ride from Milan, I get the feeling that life at Lake Como is a lot more relaxed, and the vibe more laidback. Of course, it being Sunday may also help with that, as there were lots of Italians out and about - walking with the family, having a coffee at cafes, or even walking their dog.
If there's one thing I noticed about many Europeans, it's that they love their dogs. Really love their dogs. They take those damn mutts everywhere with them. Onto trains, inside restaurants, and even into bookstores. I am wondering, what the hell has happened to the hygiene code in Europe that they permit dogs into places that they normally aren't allowed? I have only ever seen dogs allowed into places like that when they were seeing eye dogs for the visually impaired, and clearly many Europeans are not visually impaired.
If there's another thing I've noticed, it's that the Italians like their foot pedals. A lot. In many toilets and bathrooms, the toilet has no flusher, and instead just a button you press with your foot. Likewise with washbasins - there is no tap, there is no laser sensor, just a pedal you press with your foot to get the water flowing. I think I also found a pedal that operates a hot air dryer.
But I digress, back to Lake Como.
After getting lost trying to find the cable car, Henry summoned up the courage to approach an Italian mother walking her baby, while I chose to stand around and look cool wearing black and sunglasses. She must have been very impressed, for she suddenly spoke good English and gave us detailed instructions.
The view from the mountain at the top of Como was absolutely breathtaking. Spread out beneath us was the city, all the little houses looking so small and insignificant against the big mountains that surrounded the valley, their snow-capped peaks something that I don't think I would ever tire of looking at. There was also much snow on the way to the panoramic view on that mountaintop, to which I chuckled and laughed like a slightly disturbed schoolchild, stomping in the snow and revelling in the crunching sound and occassional sinking of my boot further into the snow than expected.
After a lunch of spaghetti bolognaise and chinotto, we went to Belaggio, a small town along the banks of Lake Como. It was a nice, tiny place, a perfect place for a romantic getaway. It had those small, ascending stairway streets, all these little shops scattered all over, with the houses painted what is undeniably an earthy Italian orange, and the street network was a real maze. After we tired of wandering around, we amused ourselves feeding the ducks at the lake with a 2-day old sandwich Henry found in his pocket.
On the way back to Como station, Henry went ahead and got on the train while I embarked on the epic quest of finding a toilet. It was surprisingly hard, considering I walked into about four bars before I found one with a toilet. I wondered how the locals got about - did they piss in the lake or something? It would explain why it is so polluted. I know in Amsterdam there are public urinals, but what about in Como?
It boggles the mind.
Despite the fact it was a rather warm 7 degrees, it still felt like a warm summer's day down at Como, which had the real feel of a resort town. It is a very beautiful, picturesque place, sitting on a lake, Lake Como, with boats moored, ferries running around, and against the backdrop of towering mountains. About an hour and a half's train ride from Milan, I get the feeling that life at Lake Como is a lot more relaxed, and the vibe more laidback. Of course, it being Sunday may also help with that, as there were lots of Italians out and about - walking with the family, having a coffee at cafes, or even walking their dog.
If there's one thing I noticed about many Europeans, it's that they love their dogs. Really love their dogs. They take those damn mutts everywhere with them. Onto trains, inside restaurants, and even into bookstores. I am wondering, what the hell has happened to the hygiene code in Europe that they permit dogs into places that they normally aren't allowed? I have only ever seen dogs allowed into places like that when they were seeing eye dogs for the visually impaired, and clearly many Europeans are not visually impaired.
If there's another thing I've noticed, it's that the Italians like their foot pedals. A lot. In many toilets and bathrooms, the toilet has no flusher, and instead just a button you press with your foot. Likewise with washbasins - there is no tap, there is no laser sensor, just a pedal you press with your foot to get the water flowing. I think I also found a pedal that operates a hot air dryer.
But I digress, back to Lake Como.
After getting lost trying to find the cable car, Henry summoned up the courage to approach an Italian mother walking her baby, while I chose to stand around and look cool wearing black and sunglasses. She must have been very impressed, for she suddenly spoke good English and gave us detailed instructions.
The view from the mountain at the top of Como was absolutely breathtaking. Spread out beneath us was the city, all the little houses looking so small and insignificant against the big mountains that surrounded the valley, their snow-capped peaks something that I don't think I would ever tire of looking at. There was also much snow on the way to the panoramic view on that mountaintop, to which I chuckled and laughed like a slightly disturbed schoolchild, stomping in the snow and revelling in the crunching sound and occassional sinking of my boot further into the snow than expected.
After a lunch of spaghetti bolognaise and chinotto, we went to Belaggio, a small town along the banks of Lake Como. It was a nice, tiny place, a perfect place for a romantic getaway. It had those small, ascending stairway streets, all these little shops scattered all over, with the houses painted what is undeniably an earthy Italian orange, and the street network was a real maze. After we tired of wandering around, we amused ourselves feeding the ducks at the lake with a 2-day old sandwich Henry found in his pocket.
On the way back to Como station, Henry went ahead and got on the train while I embarked on the epic quest of finding a toilet. It was surprisingly hard, considering I walked into about four bars before I found one with a toilet. I wondered how the locals got about - did they piss in the lake or something? It would explain why it is so polluted. I know in Amsterdam there are public urinals, but what about in Como?
It boggles the mind.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
EuroX Trip: Day 15 and 16
Salve from Italy! I have arrived in the final country on our merry dance across Europe.
Yesterday, after a hearty breakfast and an amusing conversation with our German host (who seemed to speak more German in her English than English), Henry and I set off for a walking tour of Berlin, joining up with a tour group at Zoologischer Garten station. Our tour guide, surprisingly, was an Australian expat living in Germany, and the rather assuring accent reminded me of home. What also reminded me of home, and which I observed, was the rather large Vietnamese presence in Berlin.
It turns out that apparently a lot of North Vietnamese emigrated to East Berlin during the Cold war as labour, and to join their Communist brothers on the front line against the capitalist pigs. I was rather amused to see that my people had ranged even as far as Germany. Paris is kind of a given considering that Vietnam was a former French colony, but Berlin ... that was an interesting tidbit of knowledge.
That morning, I learned the very definition of cold weather. We spent the morning and most of the afternoon trudging about Berlin, learning about various sites, while freezing our collective arses off. The winds would not let up, and I ended up by the end having numb feet and hands, constantly moving my fingers in an effort to keep blood flowing. The generous fellow handing out free samplse of coffee outside a Starbucks was a real godsend.
Despite the cold, we learned a lot about the history of Berlin, including the looming presence of the Wall, which only fell about eighteen years ago. Berlin is very much a new city. We also visited the infamous Checkpoint Charlie, which was where many foreign diplomats and soldiers moved into and out of East and West Berlin.
After the tour, Henry and I bummed around the city, where I went shopping for a stein, and Henry for some posters or something. Dinner was a nice, traditional German dinner - sausages, steak and sauerkraut, followed up with some nicely brewed beer. After some Haagen-Dasz for desert, it was time for a night at the Philharmonie, listening to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra playing a couple of Schumann's pieces.
I have to say, it was my first time at an orchestral concert, and I began to feel a bit like I was in Nodame Cantabile, mainly because that is the extent of my orchestral concert experience. The concertmaster was even a Japanese guy! Nevertheless, I found that Henry enjoyed it more than I did, probably due to his inclination to classical music, and me to music from a rather different source. It was an interesting experience.
The following day, we were up at 4am to get ready and fly to Milan from Tegel airport. The trip was filled with fun. Firstly, we both got up at 4am after going to sleep at midnight the previous night, so we were both functioning on about 4 hours of sleep. Once we got to Tegel, I panicked and thought that I'd lost my passport. If I had lost my passport, I was screwed. No, make that we were screwed. I couldn't check in, I'd miss my flight, and then I'd have to wait while the mess is cleared up with the Australian embassy and I get a new one or something. Luckily, it seemed that I had just misplaced it somewhere. While I went through the security area, I set off the metal detector too many times, and while the guard scanned me with his metal detector, I frantically wondered why I had set it off, even though I had removed everything that I had thought was metal.
It turns out, it was a 5 cent coin sitting in my pocket.
Always the lsat place you look.
When we arrived in Milan, securing transport was an interesting endeavour. We had to get the Malpensa Express shuttle bus to Central Station. After paying 7 euros and getting on, I slept most of the way there. Once there, we bought our tickets for transport in the rest of Italy via Trenitalia, and then tried to find a place to buy local passes. Unfortunately, there were none. We ended up getting on one of the trams to our hotel anyway, and it was lucky for us there was a friendly old Italian woman on the way to the same place as us. They are very lax about checking passes in Milan - you're just assumed to have one, and to flash it, in the rare event that a transport cop tries to bust you. We later found out you also need one to get on the Metro underground train system. Like in Berlin, each station had big TV screens to entertain commuters with ads, news, and other interesting tidbits. I found this to be quite an innovation, and wish that some of these ideas would find their way back to Adelaide.
After checking in, we visited the Duomo, where some overfriendly Nigerians gave me a friendshop bracelet in exchange for a 'donation' of 2 euros (he originally wanted 10, but I pretended that I only had spare change). We visited the Duomo cathedral, ate lunch at a nearby Mcdonald's (amusingly enough, Henry wasn't big on the idea of lunch when I brought it up, considering pizza too big for lunch. I asked him what would constitute a good size, so he said something like Mcdonald's. It just so happened ... we were standing outside one as he brought that up), and got to witness what appeared to be a Communist rally, supported by feminists and anarchists. I was rather amused, particularly at the idea that there was still Commuist rallies happening. They all had their big red flags with the hammer and the sickle, and were singing songs in Russian. They were also accompanied by heavily armed police wearing riot gear, which was a kick to watch.
Next: a visit to Lake Como!
Yesterday, after a hearty breakfast and an amusing conversation with our German host (who seemed to speak more German in her English than English), Henry and I set off for a walking tour of Berlin, joining up with a tour group at Zoologischer Garten station. Our tour guide, surprisingly, was an Australian expat living in Germany, and the rather assuring accent reminded me of home. What also reminded me of home, and which I observed, was the rather large Vietnamese presence in Berlin.
It turns out that apparently a lot of North Vietnamese emigrated to East Berlin during the Cold war as labour, and to join their Communist brothers on the front line against the capitalist pigs. I was rather amused to see that my people had ranged even as far as Germany. Paris is kind of a given considering that Vietnam was a former French colony, but Berlin ... that was an interesting tidbit of knowledge.
That morning, I learned the very definition of cold weather. We spent the morning and most of the afternoon trudging about Berlin, learning about various sites, while freezing our collective arses off. The winds would not let up, and I ended up by the end having numb feet and hands, constantly moving my fingers in an effort to keep blood flowing. The generous fellow handing out free samplse of coffee outside a Starbucks was a real godsend.
Despite the cold, we learned a lot about the history of Berlin, including the looming presence of the Wall, which only fell about eighteen years ago. Berlin is very much a new city. We also visited the infamous Checkpoint Charlie, which was where many foreign diplomats and soldiers moved into and out of East and West Berlin.
After the tour, Henry and I bummed around the city, where I went shopping for a stein, and Henry for some posters or something. Dinner was a nice, traditional German dinner - sausages, steak and sauerkraut, followed up with some nicely brewed beer. After some Haagen-Dasz for desert, it was time for a night at the Philharmonie, listening to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra playing a couple of Schumann's pieces.
I have to say, it was my first time at an orchestral concert, and I began to feel a bit like I was in Nodame Cantabile, mainly because that is the extent of my orchestral concert experience. The concertmaster was even a Japanese guy! Nevertheless, I found that Henry enjoyed it more than I did, probably due to his inclination to classical music, and me to music from a rather different source. It was an interesting experience.
The following day, we were up at 4am to get ready and fly to Milan from Tegel airport. The trip was filled with fun. Firstly, we both got up at 4am after going to sleep at midnight the previous night, so we were both functioning on about 4 hours of sleep. Once we got to Tegel, I panicked and thought that I'd lost my passport. If I had lost my passport, I was screwed. No, make that we were screwed. I couldn't check in, I'd miss my flight, and then I'd have to wait while the mess is cleared up with the Australian embassy and I get a new one or something. Luckily, it seemed that I had just misplaced it somewhere. While I went through the security area, I set off the metal detector too many times, and while the guard scanned me with his metal detector, I frantically wondered why I had set it off, even though I had removed everything that I had thought was metal.
It turns out, it was a 5 cent coin sitting in my pocket.
Always the lsat place you look.
When we arrived in Milan, securing transport was an interesting endeavour. We had to get the Malpensa Express shuttle bus to Central Station. After paying 7 euros and getting on, I slept most of the way there. Once there, we bought our tickets for transport in the rest of Italy via Trenitalia, and then tried to find a place to buy local passes. Unfortunately, there were none. We ended up getting on one of the trams to our hotel anyway, and it was lucky for us there was a friendly old Italian woman on the way to the same place as us. They are very lax about checking passes in Milan - you're just assumed to have one, and to flash it, in the rare event that a transport cop tries to bust you. We later found out you also need one to get on the Metro underground train system. Like in Berlin, each station had big TV screens to entertain commuters with ads, news, and other interesting tidbits. I found this to be quite an innovation, and wish that some of these ideas would find their way back to Adelaide.
After checking in, we visited the Duomo, where some overfriendly Nigerians gave me a friendshop bracelet in exchange for a 'donation' of 2 euros (he originally wanted 10, but I pretended that I only had spare change). We visited the Duomo cathedral, ate lunch at a nearby Mcdonald's (amusingly enough, Henry wasn't big on the idea of lunch when I brought it up, considering pizza too big for lunch. I asked him what would constitute a good size, so he said something like Mcdonald's. It just so happened ... we were standing outside one as he brought that up), and got to witness what appeared to be a Communist rally, supported by feminists and anarchists. I was rather amused, particularly at the idea that there was still Commuist rallies happening. They all had their big red flags with the hammer and the sickle, and were singing songs in Russian. They were also accompanied by heavily armed police wearing riot gear, which was a kick to watch.
Next: a visit to Lake Como!
Friday, January 23, 2009
EuroX Trip: Day 13.5 and 14
Gutentag from Berlin!
The keyboard here isn't too bad, they only really changed the Z and Y buttons, as well as moving the @ button and the quote buttons.
After my last entry, I went cruising around central Amsterdam with Henry. The sites were many, varied, and interesting. Down one street we walked, we saw a whole collection of green-lit 'coffeeshops' selling many things, least among them coffee. I know that you know what I am talking about.
We also walked past one shop that rather spooked Henry - it was marked 'Gay Cinema,' and it stood out rather blaringly. We ate at a nice Chinese restaurant on the edge of the Red Light District, which we found after walking down a street which had some suspicious black guys mumbling 'coke-hash-ecs' to the passersby.
I also paid a visit to the Amsterdam Sex Museum, which was as informative as it was hilarious. Any museum housing exhibitions on pornography, masturbatory aids and general sex through the ages can never get boring in my opinion.
Afterwards, we went to the Red Light District, just to check it out. True to word, there were the characterstic windows. How it works is, there are red lights on in the lamps attached to the facade and in the windows, with girls standing behind them and doing a variety of things, among them smoking, having a coffee, standing in the window, tapping on the window to get your attention, or even posing sexily. I took Henry down Bloedstraat, which was filled with blue lights, and therefore notorious for being the main thoroughfare of ladyboys and transsexuals, to see how he would react. Funnily enough, we actually saw a man emerge from one of the blue-lit windows. Absolutely hilarious.
Today, we went to Berlin. I like Berlin. It was cold, but sunny, frosty but not too cold. Lots of nice modern buildings, juxtaposed against all the old architecture. Getting to the accomodation was rather tricky, because I didn't have the house number, and I was shitting myself about finding it. We did end up finding it, though, since thankfully the woman had put a sign up on the building. Our host was this nice little old German woman, whose english was just a little bit better than my German. She thought for awhile we were actually sleeping in the same bed, since it seemed strange that it was two guys travelling alone through Europe. After overcoming a few barriers in language, we were able to get settled nicely, in a much bigger room albeit.
Berlin had bits of path and water frozen over. It was awesome. I have never seen proper frost before, and Berlin properly embodied the idea of a cold European city, although it wasn't so bad until it got dark.
I'm sitting in Alexanderplaty typing this, so we will see how things go.
The keyboard here isn't too bad, they only really changed the Z and Y buttons, as well as moving the @ button and the quote buttons.
After my last entry, I went cruising around central Amsterdam with Henry. The sites were many, varied, and interesting. Down one street we walked, we saw a whole collection of green-lit 'coffeeshops' selling many things, least among them coffee. I know that you know what I am talking about.
We also walked past one shop that rather spooked Henry - it was marked 'Gay Cinema,' and it stood out rather blaringly. We ate at a nice Chinese restaurant on the edge of the Red Light District, which we found after walking down a street which had some suspicious black guys mumbling 'coke-hash-ecs' to the passersby.
I also paid a visit to the Amsterdam Sex Museum, which was as informative as it was hilarious. Any museum housing exhibitions on pornography, masturbatory aids and general sex through the ages can never get boring in my opinion.
Afterwards, we went to the Red Light District, just to check it out. True to word, there were the characterstic windows. How it works is, there are red lights on in the lamps attached to the facade and in the windows, with girls standing behind them and doing a variety of things, among them smoking, having a coffee, standing in the window, tapping on the window to get your attention, or even posing sexily. I took Henry down Bloedstraat, which was filled with blue lights, and therefore notorious for being the main thoroughfare of ladyboys and transsexuals, to see how he would react. Funnily enough, we actually saw a man emerge from one of the blue-lit windows. Absolutely hilarious.
Today, we went to Berlin. I like Berlin. It was cold, but sunny, frosty but not too cold. Lots of nice modern buildings, juxtaposed against all the old architecture. Getting to the accomodation was rather tricky, because I didn't have the house number, and I was shitting myself about finding it. We did end up finding it, though, since thankfully the woman had put a sign up on the building. Our host was this nice little old German woman, whose english was just a little bit better than my German. She thought for awhile we were actually sleeping in the same bed, since it seemed strange that it was two guys travelling alone through Europe. After overcoming a few barriers in language, we were able to get settled nicely, in a much bigger room albeit.
Berlin had bits of path and water frozen over. It was awesome. I have never seen proper frost before, and Berlin properly embodied the idea of a cold European city, although it wasn't so bad until it got dark.
I'm sitting in Alexanderplaty typing this, so we will see how things go.
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