whew! what a day!
i have to digress for a moment and talk about the hotel again. we have to walk UP 30 (one flight) stairs to the front desk, where i am writing to you. this is also where we have breakfast--cereal, rolls, croissants, etc. oh, breakfast. i love it here. they have spreadable chocolate. yum!
okay, back to our day. we started out on the metro and headed up two stops to the colosseum. it was huge and beautiful. thanks to our travel guidebook, we passed up the hour-long line by buying our tickets at a different booth. after touring the colosseum, we got a picnic lunch from a little baker, a mom-and-pop place. for about six€, we each had huge ham and cheese sandwiches on home made bread. fabulous.
we then walked through ancient rome. the birthplace of modern civilization. i still get goosebumps....several arches, a huge bascillica built by constantine, and the huge finale--the spot and building where juilius caesar was cremated. there is a small monument there, inside a decaying temple to caesar. the funeral bier is still there and some people bring fresh flowers and place it on the spot of his remains. we walked where emperors trod. it really was awe-inspiring.
after ancient rome, we went to capital hill and the monument to victor emanuel, the first king of italy. we were fortunate to have our guidebook, it saved us from walking up the 242 steps to the monument.
we were crossing the street on the way to the pantheon, when we ran into a group of ladies from seattle, traveling with the same guidebook. so, we walked with them to the pantheon--also an amazing experience. we did not realize raphael was burried there, until we happened upon his tomb. again, goosebumps.
leaving the pantheon, we thought we would head back to the hotel for a siesta, but the trevi fountain was so close, that we headed there. what a huge fountain! it has to be as wide as a city block and 40 feet in depth (not water depth).
just the marble carvings here alone are breath-taking. they are everywhere. we were also blown away by ancient rome--priceless carvings, columns, etchings, bits of statue--just laying in the grass.
oh, we also met a little priest named romano. he asked where we were from and told us detroit is the best! i do not think he has been there...
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Finally!
sorry it has taken so long to post. for some reason the internet in venice was so slow! this blog will not be properly punctuated. the italian keyboard is decidedly different that the american one, and i could be typing lines of hyroglyphics before i realized what is going on. oh, there are not any apostrophes either, so no contractions...get a cup of coffee and a snack--this post is a long one!
so, we landed in paris on sunday. little did we know that the airport transfer we needed to make was a 60 mile adventure. after we bought bus tickets to the airport in beauvais, we had lunch at a charming little parisian cafe. LESSON 1: parisians (and italians) bring their dogs everywhere--even in restaurants. we walk in and there is an english bulldog snoozing under a table while the owners enjoyed a leisurely sunday lunch. then, a second family walked in with their bulldog. we were a little unsettled by this, but we were repulsed when the dog actually got his nose into the salad of his owner. disgusting. tim evened us up the repulsion score when he apparently offended a group sitting by the bathroom door. he accidentally left it open.
we took the irish airline, ryanair, to venice from beauvais. if i thought the smith terminal at metro was a dump, this airport was a pole barn--no joke. and there were no toilet seats. no idea how that works. well, the flight would have been great had a couple of kids in the row behind us were not screaming the whole time. when we deplaned, the woman sitting in our row really let the little girl have it. i have no idea what she said, but tim thanked her afterward.
ah, venice. we spent our first hour there completely lost, but that is okay. it is an island. we were bound to find something sooner or later. and we did. piazza san marco is beautiful, but filled with pigeons. i actually saw a kid kick one. we were not able to make it into the bascillica or the palace of the doge, but we did get to murano, an island famous for blown glass. we toured several factories, amazed by the craftsmanship and beauty. we found a small mom-and-pop bakery and got some sandwiches and a cookie. we sat with our legs dangling over the canal, watching the boats go by. it was fabulous.
venice really is an amazing city. there are no roads anywhere. you really do walk or take a boat. all the bridges are just as charming as the next, with gondoliers taking their passengers around. last night, i was leaning out our window (no screens) and could hear a man signing opera and playing an accordian.
today we tried getting in to the bascillica, but it was a holiday, so it was not available. it is disappointing, but we had to move on. we took the train to rome. on the train, we sat with sisters from australia. they were great. it is so nice meeting people from different countries.
the hotel we are at now, caters to americans. we got a great last minute rate. they serve breakfast on a patio every morning. and the hotel starts on the fourth floor of the building. stairs, stairs and more stairs!
well, we are staving (it is after 9 p.m. and we have not had dinner yet), so we are going in search of pizza. caio!
oh, there are bedaes (butt washers) in EVERY room!
so, we landed in paris on sunday. little did we know that the airport transfer we needed to make was a 60 mile adventure. after we bought bus tickets to the airport in beauvais, we had lunch at a charming little parisian cafe. LESSON 1: parisians (and italians) bring their dogs everywhere--even in restaurants. we walk in and there is an english bulldog snoozing under a table while the owners enjoyed a leisurely sunday lunch. then, a second family walked in with their bulldog. we were a little unsettled by this, but we were repulsed when the dog actually got his nose into the salad of his owner. disgusting. tim evened us up the repulsion score when he apparently offended a group sitting by the bathroom door. he accidentally left it open.
we took the irish airline, ryanair, to venice from beauvais. if i thought the smith terminal at metro was a dump, this airport was a pole barn--no joke. and there were no toilet seats. no idea how that works. well, the flight would have been great had a couple of kids in the row behind us were not screaming the whole time. when we deplaned, the woman sitting in our row really let the little girl have it. i have no idea what she said, but tim thanked her afterward.
ah, venice. we spent our first hour there completely lost, but that is okay. it is an island. we were bound to find something sooner or later. and we did. piazza san marco is beautiful, but filled with pigeons. i actually saw a kid kick one. we were not able to make it into the bascillica or the palace of the doge, but we did get to murano, an island famous for blown glass. we toured several factories, amazed by the craftsmanship and beauty. we found a small mom-and-pop bakery and got some sandwiches and a cookie. we sat with our legs dangling over the canal, watching the boats go by. it was fabulous.
venice really is an amazing city. there are no roads anywhere. you really do walk or take a boat. all the bridges are just as charming as the next, with gondoliers taking their passengers around. last night, i was leaning out our window (no screens) and could hear a man signing opera and playing an accordian.
today we tried getting in to the bascillica, but it was a holiday, so it was not available. it is disappointing, but we had to move on. we took the train to rome. on the train, we sat with sisters from australia. they were great. it is so nice meeting people from different countries.
the hotel we are at now, caters to americans. we got a great last minute rate. they serve breakfast on a patio every morning. and the hotel starts on the fourth floor of the building. stairs, stairs and more stairs!
well, we are staving (it is after 9 p.m. and we have not had dinner yet), so we are going in search of pizza. caio!
oh, there are bedaes (butt washers) in EVERY room!
Friday, April 21, 2006
The night before...
Well, here we are. The night before we go. I don't think we'll sleep very well. We're both pretty excited. Our bags are packed--when I say "bags," I mean our one carry-on each. Yep, that's right, we're traveling for three weeks out of one carry-on bag each. Should be interesting. We'll be well-versed in European Laundromats. That's for sure.
Our travel plans have changed once again. We land in Paris and fly to Venice. Venice is having it's independence celebration on April 25, so if it's tough to get a room, we'll explore the area. I've recently read about a little town to the north of Venice that is half Italian and half German. You can supposedly tell the Italians from the Germans because the Germans wear sensible shoes. I'll let you know if it's true or not.
Anyhoo, after Venice, we go to Rome, the Cinque Terre, Florence, and then a week in Paris. I'm taking a cooking lesson in Florence from an Italian chef, which I'm excited about. And in Paris we've rented an apartment in the Marais district. We're also meeting a high school friend of mine, Coen, and his girlfriend, Lucinda, for the weekend there.
Hope you enjoy the posts. I'll be updating this from now on in Internet cafes. I may not get to one every day, especially if we're in the hilltowns, but try to get to a cafe as often as I can.
Ciao! Au voir!
Our travel plans have changed once again. We land in Paris and fly to Venice. Venice is having it's independence celebration on April 25, so if it's tough to get a room, we'll explore the area. I've recently read about a little town to the north of Venice that is half Italian and half German. You can supposedly tell the Italians from the Germans because the Germans wear sensible shoes. I'll let you know if it's true or not.
Anyhoo, after Venice, we go to Rome, the Cinque Terre, Florence, and then a week in Paris. I'm taking a cooking lesson in Florence from an Italian chef, which I'm excited about. And in Paris we've rented an apartment in the Marais district. We're also meeting a high school friend of mine, Coen, and his girlfriend, Lucinda, for the weekend there.
Hope you enjoy the posts. I'll be updating this from now on in Internet cafes. I may not get to one every day, especially if we're in the hilltowns, but try to get to a cafe as often as I can.
Ciao! Au voir!
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