Shelf Beds and Piano-Playing Nuns

7/22/08

The night train to Paris was quite an experience. When the train rolled into the station, the large group waiting ran to the cars and started piling on so fast it surprised us. Luckily we sensed everyone's urgency and quickly climbed aboard because the train hardly stopped for three or four minutes at our station.

Once on we navigated ourselves and our luggage towards our assigned car. We arrived at the door to our car the same time as our other four companions and proceeded to play a sort of backwards Jenga game of inserting people and luggage into the car in turns. This was greatly aided by the fact that our car-mates were from Canada and for the first time in two and a half weeks Bobby and I could properly converse with people other than ourselves.

The night-train car consists of three shelf beds on either side of a small aisle about two feet wide. When the middle and bottom shelves are folded in they make a long bench seat on either side of the aisle, allowing all six passengers to sit down, three on each side facing one another. We talked with our companions for a few hours swapping stories about food, hotels, the mosquitos, crazy train travel and the general lack of sleep, food, and hygiene. Eventually we folded the shelf beds down and attempted to hunker down for a bumpy, cold, cramped and long train journey.

Bobby and I were on the bottom shelf beds which only had about a foot and a half of room between the shelf-bed above us at its widest point. The closer you got to the wall, the smaller the distance in space, resulting in Bobby and I literally being wedged into the seat cushions. The train got very cold as it wound itself through the alps and the compartment got quite stinky with the combined foot odor of six travel-weary passengers. I think I managed to get about two hours of sleep during the eight that I was wedged into sleeping position. In the morning, I joined Bobby for a cappucino in the stand-up dining car/bar. I drank my foamy java with one foot angled against Bobby's so as not to fling my coffee all over the car/bar. The view was beautiful despite our lack of sleep and largely aching bodies. We passed entire fields of sunflowers as we traversed the last miles of French countryside before arriving in Paris.

As the train slowed into the station, the all of the cars began to empty into the cramped hallway as we all attempted to get off the train as quickly as possible. Bobby, as he had been the night before, was recruited by the car next to us to help the six ladies in there get their luggage off the racks at the top of their car. One of the ladies was a piano-playing nun who traversed between Paris and Rome playing the piano and keeping the faith. Because of Bobby's good deed and I suspect his boyish good looks, the piano-playing nun blessed our travels and so we felt quite sure the rest of our journey would be much more smooth!

Too Modest for Church

7/22/08

We arrived in Florence last night and immediately took naps after arriving in our Pensione. At night we ventured out for some very greasy take out pizza that we ate while perched on of the many bridges that traverse the Arno River. Florence is like a mini-Rome but definitely has a unique flair to it. It has a very large section of high-end designer stores and there are many fancy cafes. It is very tourist-laden and the main sights, including churches, seem to charge a pretty penny to let you in. Bobby made the clever insight that Florence would probably be more fun if you had a lot of money to spend(this was said as we crossed through an intersection with a Versace, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and another Italian-sounding designer store flanking a corner a-piece).

Among the sights we shelled out the case to see included:
Palazzo Medici - a big, fancy house that once housed the very powerful Florentine family of the the Medici. The place houses the Chapel of the Magi and a couple of nifty exhibitions on sketching and how the chapel was painted. Other than that it was overpriced and not very cool.

Courtyard of Palazzo Vecchio - our guidebook clued us in that you can go into the courtyard of this palacial home for free to see a replica of Michelangelo's David and some very uninterested security guards.

Church of San Lorenzo - Several euro later and a guide to the works of Art in German we wandered around trying to guess which naves, tombs, and memorails were made by Donatello, Michelangelo or nobody famous. The church also had a very strict dress code and my almost-knee-length shorts (although kosher in the church where they keep St. Peter's chains in Rome) were inappropriate and I was given a blue paper-fabric poncho to wear over myself. It was very unflattering, smelled funny, and made it known to everyone in the church what an immodest heathen you were. Sick of my pouting over my silly garb, Bobby graciously procured one for himself and we walked around together with Bobby looking especially ridiculous with his backpack on underneath the poncho (resulting in Bobby looking a little hunchbacked). At one point, the wardens of the church came over to Bobby to tell him that it was not necessary for him to wear the poncho and as he tried to explain his reason for wearing one, they just insisted louder that he did not need to wear it and so, in our poncho-ed state, we drew a bit of crowd as Bobby was chastised for being too modest in a church.

Ponte Vecchio - a very famous bridge covered in gold and silver jewelry stores. Needless to say Bobby didn't let me linger there very long.

Bargello - a sculpture museum featuring many pieces by Michelangelo and Donatello, including the very famous David. Unfortunately the museum had decided to restore the David so all we got to see was his naked butt as the statue was laying face down on the restoration table.

Duomo - the line to get into this famous church, which was left without a roof until Brunelleschi ventured to Rome, climbed up into the Pantheon and figured out the long-lost engineering of dome-building, was so long that we didn't actually get the chance to go inside. It is one of the most striking examples of the stripey-Florentine marble. You can see in the pictures that the church is very geometirc in its contrasing black and white marble. It is amazingly complex, detailed, and actually quite dizzying to look at. Not helping the dizziness while looking at the Duomo was the tripe sandwich that Bobby had daringly purchased and consumed for lunch. The sandwich was bought off a very highly recommended cart that seemed to be a favorite lunch spot for the Florentine businessmen who joked back and forth with the cart owner. This same man took a large piece of stewing cow stomach and chopped it up, covered it in a spicy tomato sauce and put the mixture into a roll for Bobby. Not for the faint of heart. Or stomach.

We finished up our second day in Florence with a trip to an internet cafe where we finally purchased our last plane ticket from Berlin to Glasgow, so we could actually catch our homebound flight to the states. After our last cone of Italian gelatto (apply pictured being eaten next to a Smart Car in the same color as my Frutti di Bosco), we caught the train out of the Santa Maria Novella station to the smaller train station at the outskirts of Florence to catch our night-train to Paris.

Angela, from Canada.

7/21/08

For our last morning in Rome we had to get some shopping done for Bobby's many, many siblings. We got up early only to find out that very few shops open before 10 or 11. What a nice life the Romans lead! We decided to make the touristy decision to toss coins in the Trevi Fountain. Supposedly if you do so it will insure your return to Rome. Unfortunately, my first toss missed but I was able to get my next two coins in. Bobby has interpreted this to mean that the next time I try to come I won't quite make it but I will the next two times after that.

We returned to our apartment to pick up our bags, return our key and get our deposit back from Francesco. Side Note: Francesco, although soft-spoken and seemingly shy, apparently had no problem chatting up girls because during out weeklong stay he had at least three different overnight visitors. One, we only saw the heels sitting in the hallway. The second was let in on our way to dinner after Francesco had given us each a glass of wine in what seemed like an attempt to make us stay out late. The third, introduced herself to Bobby as "Angela, from Canada" on his way to the bathroom one morning. It was very funny and each morning we would leave his place giggling over that morning's awkward encounter with our host's one-night stands.

We then hopped the train from Rome to Florence. We were both exhausted as Rome had really taken a lot out of us from the walking, heat, and sheer quantity of sights to see. I think Bobby was mildly disapointed that he didn't see everything he wanted to but we really had a wonderful time. The city was absolutely beautiful and it seemed like you could explore it for years and years and still stumble upon a new church, and interesting antiquities market, another delicious delicacy or beautiful view. I know that for both of us it will be a constant attempt for the rest of our lives to return to this city. For now we will simply have to rely on the many pictures and stories we have gathered to continue to remind us of the Roman way of life and the way we felt while living there.

Post-Apocalyptic Rome

7/20/08

Since it was a Sunday we figured that the only appropriate thing to do was to church hop. So we went to St. Ivo (closed despite the sign displaying their apparently incorrect opening hours), Il Gesu (which we caught Mass at but because we know neither Italian or Latin barely understood although Bobby could decipher what part they were at by what the people were doing) and then up to the Quirinale (Bernini decorated this one) and then to Bobby's favorite, Quattro Fontagna. It was done by Borromini and features an oval-shaped dome instead of a circular one. It is quite a small church but it is all white inside and is definitely the most tastefully designed of all the churches we have seen. Bobby got some absolutely awesome shots of the sun coming in through the windows at the top.

After the church we grabbed a quick bite from a student-geared cafe recommended by our guide book. Because we had the book in our hands they gave us free drinks and potato chips. We ate our lunch in the park that sits on top of the ruins of Nero's Golden House. There appeared to be some sort of Mexican or Spanish soccer tournament taking place as huge families speaking Spanish and grilling carne asada were watching the game being played on the dirt field.

After the Nero Soccer Game Bobby and I ventured out to EUR. EUR is Mussolini's exhibition city and is basically a grouping of wide streets, obelisks, mosaic propaganda and large white futuristic looking buildings. The place was eerily empty and so we ended up filming a short film set in our post-apocalyptic surroundings pretending that any car that passed by was full of vigilante with machine guns. After EUR we ventured out for our final dinner in Rome. Traditionally we had some proscuitto pizza and finished the meal with frutti di bosco and chocolate fondente gelato.

New photos!

Hey everyone,

I wanted to let you all know that we have arrived safely back in Glasgow (one, no, two, no three more flights to go before we get back to Arizona!), and we've decided to take this opportunity to update some photos from our blogs. Peruse and enjoy!

Because we have yet to write about France, Florence, and Berlin, here are three photos from those countries (late posts are coming soon!).

Dear Journal (as told by Bobby)

This was really written by Jane.

I spend most of the time she is writing her blog entries in her journal sketching, writing/proselytize about architecture history and urban space (even in the rain), and trying to ensure that I have an appropriate and usually overly-ambitious itinerary for the next day and city.

We are currently in our cheapest and nicest hostel to date in Berlin, and we are waiting for our free laundry to finish in the machine so that we can go to bed in our four person shared room (don#t want to wake them too late). Jane has been typing like a champ so I am giving her a break by typing one of her entries. Here goes:

07/19/08

The day after our trek across Rome we decided that we would sleep in and then spend some time walking the shops to get the presents for everyone. We first got our favorite sandwiches and took them to the Pantheon porch to eat like we have for many days in Rome(Bobby's note: we were sitting behind the Pantheon, on the wall surrounding, the porch is in the front of the Pantheon). There was no one sitting near us and behind the little wall we sit on is the a giant hole but somehow by the end of our picnic lunch my purse was gone. IT had been stolen right from underneath me while we ate while Bobby faced me. It was absolutely infuriating. I immediately started to cry because in my bag was 100 Euros, my credit card, sunglasses and benadryl, chapstick, sunscreen, and not to mention the little Fossil change purse and the actual leather bag itself. I loved that bag and I affectionately referred to it as my Indiana Jones Adventure Bag.

We walked, me bawling to the closest Internet cafe to send e-mails, call the bank, and try to see what we could right. Bobby at one point left, I thought to check our location again, but returned gloriously with a caffe granita to cheer me up. The saving grace was that the day before the trek had been so bad that today Bobby had taken all of the important documents , the video camera, and my little black writing journal in his bag to make my load lighter (Bobby's note: I'm awesome!). It was just so upsetting because I really had been trying to be incredibly careful and I let my guard down once and something so frustrating happens.

Because we had such a terrible day we decided to go out for a nice night and wound up having the most delicious meal. We had spaghetti al gricia (spaghetti, butter, cream, parmegianno, and thick sauteed pancetta) and bombollini, with a zesty light tomato sauce. We bought a bottle of the house white wine and although it was cheap (Bobby's note: it cost 6€, so it was too cheap to be true) it helped me to forget the whole purse fiasco. For dessert we had pannacotta with a chocolate sauce - a custard like dessert and then slowly stumbled our way home playing the smart car game (Bobby's note: I won the game that night).

**That is the end of Jane's entry. Hope it finds you all well.

Do You Have a Place to Stay Tonight?

7/18/08

Today, I officially ran out of clean underwear. I had extended my amount by hand washing two pairs in the sink in Athens but as Bobby had already run out three days ago, we decided to go search out a laundromat. Our guide book seemed to think everyone with dirty clothes had chosen to stay by Termini, the main train station in Rome, so we knew it would be a bit of trek from our side of Rome. We decided to hit up the Campo d'Fiori on our way. The Campo d'Fiori is a piazza that has a fruit, veggie, flower, clothing and miscellaneous kitchen appliances market everyday until 3. We sat with our large backpacks full of dirty clothes and smelly socks, under the large statue of Giordiano Bruno, a heretic who was burned at the stake on that spot. The statue is very brooding and underneath him it shows a relief of the actual burning. While I was sitting there a British family came by. Their little girl of 5 or 6 jumped up on the statues base to get a look at the relief. Her parents had obviously told her to look for the flames because after a few pensive moments she turned to her dad and said, "Dad? Do you think that would have been sore?" It was classic.

After some delicious sandwiches from the corner of the market, we decided to get a slice of watermelon from one of the fresh fruit stands because it looked so amazingly refreshing. Off I went to get it and due to my unbelievably amazing language skills instead of purchasing two slices of watermelon I got half of a watermelon cut into two pieces. There was a lot but it was very delicious and Bobby and I ended up quite pink and sticky. Then we headed up to the Roman Forum and then on to the Colosseum. It's huge and heats up like a big, stone casserole dish in the afternoon and as we ran out of water halfway round, we have some slightly delirious video of us making stupid jokes about the colossal size of the place. We eventually got so dehydrated that we left and went towards the Termini Train station to attempt to make the necessary train reservations to get to Florence, Paris and Berlin with our Eurail Passes. When we got to Termini, there were two huge lines at the only information/ticket desk in the entire place. The line was so long that we decided to come back at 9 when we assumed the line would go down. We got a little lost looking for the laundry place and the weight of our dirty laundry was starting to weigh us down. When we got there it was €7.50 to wash and dry one load and although we were convinced we could pack our stuff in one, the laundromat owner told we had to use two. We refused and so we picked our most dirty items to wash and resigned ourselves to being a little European in our scent for the next week.

After grabbing some pizza, some Internet and getting our laundry we hoofed it back to the train station assuming the line would have gone way down. It looked like the line had never moved. Reluctantly we got in the line marked international since we needed trains out of Italy and hoped they would also book our Rome to Florence at the same time. Five minutes after standing in line a lady came around with cards and gave them to all the legitimate customers remaining in the line and then promptly closed the line for the night. I got the last card. To hedge our bets, Bobby got in the domestic line and again he was one of the last ones allowed in before they closed that line too. At first I thought they seemed to be closing two hours early but after waiting in the slowest line of our lives we realized that they had to start closing that early in order to be done somewhere near closing time. In front of me were three crazy Asian guys who thought it would be fun to pass the time by practicing their audition for America's Best Dance Crew. At that time of night, I thought it would be better to sit on the ground and try to ignore them.

Back to Eurail. When we bought our pass for $350 we assumed it took the place of having to buy tickets so that you could easily just get on board trains, show your pass, and off you went. At least that is what they market it to unassuming Americans. It turns out that you have to get a reservation for every part of your journey and that do that you have to stand in the same line as the people buying tickets and then you have to pay for the reservation itself. Luckily we had decided not to do that extra load of laundry as we spent all the cash we had on us paying €80 in reservation fees. And we were unable to book the Paris to Berlin part because it was already full.
When we left the line we were pretty defeated and it was late. After standing in the line for so long we had to use the bathroom but the station closes the bathrooms at night and then charges money to use them in the day. At that point we decided we would have to take the Metro back because the thought of the two hour walk back was unimaginable. However in Rome they close the Metro at midnight and start closing the entrances at 11:30. So at 11:32 at night with backpacks full of luggage, incredibly sore feet from an already full day of walking and little water, we set off to walk across Rome to get back to the apartment. It was the longest, slowest walk ever. Every 30 minutes or so I had to take my shoes and socks off and rinse my feet in the cold water of the Rome fountains. When we finally made it to St. Peters we stopped to rest a moment on the colonnade steps. Bobby hadn't shaved that day, his hair is looking a little scruffy and I didn't look too hot myself. I had laid my head down on Bobby's lap for a little rest and we must have looked pretty pathetic because a couple that was walking by called out, "Are you okay there?" and after we replied that we were fine and even reassured them a second time, the man was still inspired to ask, "Do you have a place to stay tonight?" Apparently in our dishevelled state with our belongings on our back and collapsed on the church steps, we looked a little homeless or at least in need of charity. Luckily the encounter kept us laughing until we finally made it back. What a freaking night.

Smart Cars and Smarting Buttcheeks

7/17/08

After a late start and some morning espressos (which we seem to order wrong every time and then drink standing up at the bar to avoid paying extra for servicio), we headed up to the Capitoline Hill to see Michelangelo's fancy facades and how the faces on the capital of the columns change on each one. Bobby doesn't think he is any good at explaining to me why each thing we see was actually revolutionary in its time but he actually is. I feel like I'm beginning to understand how cool it is for him to see a building that invented some concept that is now commonplace in our buildings. I have to say that I'm really very jealous of all his knowledge and ability to appreciate these things beyond a normal tourist. But I guess that's why I am just lucky that I get to tag along and have some of his enthusiasm rub off on me.

After the Capitoline we went back to the sandwich place that Professor Morton had showed and then had granitas again while watching the action out front of the Pantheon. It is really pretty funny to see such an awesome and historic, not to mention really old building be turned into nothing more than a veranda to be used for a place of shade.

While watching the hubbub we saw some Tommy-Bahama clad tourists get ripped off by the costumed gladiators (who probably got said costume at an Italian Party City) who lay waiting to charge a fortune for a goofy picture. We also saw the creepiest guy ever. He didn't really look homeless but he was definitely not clean-shaven. He had these super intense eyes and this thin, hungry-looking smile. Bobby noticed him first staring at a girl while we ate our granitas but then we saw him again standing over a group of girls who were sitting, lounging on the steps. HE got super close to one girl, behind her back, and just stood over her staring and smiling without her noticing. I got so freaked out by him that I was about to warn her when he gave up and wandered over to another spot to stare at even younger girls. Mind you that he did all this in a bright yellow track jacket, which is really a poor choice if you are going to indiscreetly leer.

After the creeper incident we wound our way through the city looking for cool, urban spots. We almost went to the Ara Pacis Museum, mostly because they have the only bathroom in Rome or at least it seemed so but once we found out that no student discounts were given to US students we gave up and made fun of the building for being by some Fascist architecture. (For Bobby that is a pretty big insult!) Then we decided to head back to our apartment for a much-needed siesta and because I could not locate a public toilet anywhere.

For dinner we wound up at a place that caters to a student crowd and as it turned out pub crawls. It was a pleasant reminder of why the Ara Pacis museum didn't give discounts to US students. It might be because they are loud, drunk and on the whole a fairly disrespectful lot. On our way to dinner, I invented an awesome game. I had just seen a VW bug and I asked Bobby if he ever played 'Slug Bug', the game where you slug your fellow passengers when you pass a VW bug. He had but under the alternate name of 'Punch Buggy'. I said that we should have a game for Smart Cars because we had seen quite a few in Rome already, but instead of punching we would slap each other's butts. Within the first two minutes of the game it was Jane - 6 and Bobby - 2 and Bobby was thoroughly regretting agreeing to my game. The game, for me, was a godsend because it made crazy Rome traffic fun to watch and gave me a way to cheer myself up when I was sick of walking to another building. As it turns out, Smart Cars are like a dime a dozen!

Caffe Granitas are My New Religion

7/16/08

Today we were taken around Rome by one of the most knowledgeable achitectural historians/archeologists on Ancient Rome. We met Professor Morton at St. Peters and after another look at the church and more specifically at the use of the columns and windows to emphasize the shafts of light, we climbed the dome. It's a pretty intense stair climb of 320+ steps that get more narrow and more twisty the higher you go up. Your first stop is on the inside of the dome where you look down into the church and you realize you were just standing down there and then realize how high up you are. Then you continue climbing up to a viewing deck on the outside top of the dome and have an expansive view of the entire city. It is breathtaking. The skyline of Rome is very different from any American skyline because no buildings are allowed to be built higher than St. Peter's. Thus the highest points of the city are the many other domes of the churches in the city.

After a respite in the shade on the roof of St. Peter's we headed back down to the square and off we went past Castle St. Angelo, across the Tiber River and we started the real work of exploring the streets of Rome through the professional eyes of Professor Morton. We went for lunch at his favorite deli-bakery near the Pantheon. We ordered pizza bianco con prosciutto e formaggio e verde, which is like foccaccia bread sliced open, drizzled with olive oil and salt and filled with bacon, cheese, and arugula. It is quite an amazing sandwich.

After lunch we toured the Pantheon, starting from a distance to get a proper view of the place. Professor Morton did his thesis on the Pantheon and shared with us a thorough history and explanation of the unique building. I could barely keep up - physically, because Prof. Morton walks extremely quickly, and mentally, because I have very little working knowledge of Roman history or achitectural terminology. After the Pantheon tour we went for granitas. It was the best thing I have had so far. At 3 euro a pop they are a bit of a splurge but a caffe granita con panna is absolutely worth every euro cent. It combines three of my favorite guilty pleasures: espresso, crushed ice, and whipped cream. The granita is layered like a parfait. First is a spoonful of thick, whipped cream out of a big bowl that is obviously whipped fresh throughout the day and kept chilled in the ice cream case. Then the clear cup is given a large scoop of the actual caffe granita. Basically it is espresso that is mixed with ice that is chipped off of a large block in the back and re-frozen into type of coffee ice slush. Then another heap of cream and then a thin wafer cookie is added on top for decoration/edible spoon and then they hand you the most refeshing and delightful treat of your life. If I ever am going to be executed, obviously there will have to be some miscarriage of justice, and I am given one last meal, I will definitely ensure that a granita is on the menu.

After the granita we wandered through some of Professor Morton's favorite streets. Streets with ancient archways covered in leafy, green ivy like a little oasis in the hot city. We stumbled across a little church in one piazza. It was fairly unassuming at first but Santa Maria Maddalena was beautifully decorated inside and featured almost entirely female saints and the few tombs seemed to honor nuns. The church had two stained glass red cross that caused red slashes of light to appear on the columns, which was quite dramatic. So far it's my favorite church, mostly because it seemed very feminine.

Then we wandered down "The Corso" or the Via del Corso which has some absolutely beautiful stores with silk ties, scarves, mens suits, shoes, jewelry, paper and stationary, and wedding dresses. The stores are all in the middle of the major summer sales before the entire city vacates for the month of August, so all the store windows proudly proclaim "Saldi - 50%". Professor Morton has a penchant for silk ties so we followed him to his two favorites and watched him nearly purchase a watermelon pink bow tie. I myself was tempted by the stores beautiful scarves. Then we wandered by the Mausoleum of Augustus and the Ara Pacis Museum and up to the Piazza del Popolo and stumbled upon the dress rehearsal of the Miss. Italia regional qualifying beauty pageant. Luckily we arrived just in time to see 20 young Italian divas practice their opening dance number and get yelled at for their sloppy footwork by a cargo man-capri wearing choreographer. I have some beauty pageant experience myself as Miss Arizona 2003 was held at my high school's auditorium. As a theater junkie I got asked to work for a few days running the spotlight for the show. So I simultaneously ran the light and read the latest Harry Potter book while watching Miss Gilbert, Miss Mesa, and Miss South Phoenix dance terribly to Kelly Clarkson's Ms. Independent. Professor Morton, Bobby and I took turns giving our take on which girl had the best turns, runway walk, and sexy free dance. By the time we watched them stumble through the full opening number it was time for dinner.

We went for pasta at a little hole in the wall place near Piazza Navona. We each ordered a different pasta and shared. Bobby had the gnocchi, I had the mushroom and potato ravioli, and Professor Morton had the mushroom, cream and sage-crusted lasagna. They were all fantastic and appropriately portioned to leave you room for a 'dulce'. Bobby had the seasonal cherry and ricotta roman-style tart and I, of course, had the chocolate torte, which interestingly came with multi-colored sprinkles and Professor Morton had the country doughnuts which ended up being a plateful of cookies, biscotti, and some very delicious meringues. We finished with espresso and then we left Professor Morton and after an incredibly full day in Rome.

The Untimely Demise of the Red Hat

7-15-08

Last night we arrived in Rome. We got off the plane and hopped the surburban railway to Roma San Pietro. When we get off our stop and got out of the train station and looked up we immediately saw the lit up dome of St. Peters Basilica. It was absolutely beautiful and much bigger than I imagined it would be. It also surprised me how much of the detailing in the dome you are able to see from a distance. But i guess that's what makes Michelangelo a genious. After a bit of confusion on where the apartment we were supposed to be staying at was we finally arrived at Francescos. The apartment is very clean and the bathroom modern and everything appears to be decorated in IKEA. He gave us a bunch of maps and suggestions on his favorite places to eat and places to go.

This morning we woke up and wandered around to a cafe next to an awesome open-air market a few streets (and steps!) away from where we were staying. Since we are located outside of the city nobody really speaks much English out here. Somehow we muddled through buying two espressos for ourselves, downed them and had to watch a few cusometers before we realized quite how to pay. Then since it was nearing lunch we made our way through the markey and bought four fresh balls of mozzarella cheese, two big slices of prosciutto, four loaves of ciabatta-esque bread (i meant only to get two but my hand symbols were misread) and two peaches. We took our purchases and walked 10 minutes over to St. Peter's square. It is a giant, round square with a billion columns making up a collonnade that makes a perfect, shady place for a picnic lunch.
The food was great and I could tell less-savvy tourists were jealous of our semi-homemade lunch. After that we followed our Rick Steves guide's advice and went to the Vatican Museum in the early afternoon. We faced no line and wandered through the innumerable rooms of the former Papal Palace and saw the most extensive collection of sculpture and paintings from the greeks, romans and the renaissance. We then went through the Raphael-designed rooms that had floor to ceiling murals (to be fair, almost everything in the place was floor to/and including the ceiling). Then we finally got to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. The place was mobbed with all of these people listening to their audioguide headsets, not-so-sneakily taking pictures and craning their necks. The thing is pretty dang impressive, considering that one guy pretty much did the whole thing. It's beautiful and very interesting to look for all the different symbols in the painting that reference interesting things in history, the church, or Michelangelo's own life. Then we took the sneaky, "tour groups only" exit to the actual church of St. Peters.

There are really only two words that can accurately describe St. Peters: ginormous and gilded. It is, without a doubt, the most opulent place of worship I have ever seen. The size alone is impressive but add in the intricately-inlaid marble floors, giant columns, innumerable statues of angels, exorbitantly decorated Pope's Tombs, elaborate and colorful paintings and mosaics, as well as all of the carved moldings, mini-chapels, smaller domes, gilding, and huge 7-feet high Latin inscriptions, you begin to understand why Luther though the church was being a little too "indulgent". (Pun intended- the entire place was funded by the sale of indulgences, aka letting rich people give money to the church to be forgiven for sins.) But regardless of the dubious funding, the place is absolutely amazing. My favorite thing was the sculpted faces in the Bernini-built altar piece that depict a women's face as she goes through the various stages of childbirth. Slightly odd for the the piece that stands over the tomb of the original Saint Peter.

After the afternoon spent exploring the Pope's place, we wandered over to the Pantheon to meet up with Bobby's professor for dinner. We couldn't remember what time we were supposed to meet him so we wound up having some time to kill. After changing into our shorts at the McDonalds at the Pantheon (you have to wear long pants or skirts and cover your shoulders to be let into the Vatican and St. Peter's) we sat on the steps by the big fountain in the middle of the piazza. We decided to eat one of the peaches we bought at the market earlier that day but two bites in a policewoman blew her whistle and shook her finger and said "That is forbidden!". Another poor man with a homemade sandwich was also reprimanded for his senseless act of eating. We were very confused as we looked around and saw people eating gelato, pizza and Big Macs free as birds on the steps. We decided that there must be a rule about eating the food you bring into the piazza, thus driving people to purchase from the marked up, tourist places lining the square! Damn Fascists!

Finally we saw Professor Morton by the Pantheon and we headed straight for his favorite pizza place. We decided to go along with anything he suggested as this was his 20th visit to Rome. The pizza was awesome and we sat inside right next to the chef so we could watch him prepare the pies. After hearing about Professor Morton's travels to Tunisia and Algeria we went for gelato at Giolittis. Bobby and I had chocolate with 'Fruitti di Bosco' (i have now taken to calling bobby by the nickname of Frutti di Bobby) and it was absolutely delicioso. Professor Morton let us in on a secret way to tell whether a gelato place was really good or not by scoping out their banana flavor. If their banana gelato was yellow then it was a bad place because real, fresh, banana gelato will actually be gray in color because the real bananas in it will have turned. Makes you never want to sample the banana flavor!

Sidenote: Bobby, in all his excitement in photographing the dome of the basilica, left behind his famous red hat in St. Peters. Apparently God thought it appropriate to lay the hat to rest among the popes.

Salty Seniorita

7/13/08

Today we went to the City of Athens Museum which is housed in a mansion that was once lived in by King Otto and Queen Amalia. The bottom level had all these paintings and drawings of the famous ruins in the 18th and 19th centuries. The second and third stories of the house had lots of furnishings and items used by the King and queen. The place was pretty cool but like everything else we have come across in Athens, lacking in sufficient explanations of things to make it really interesting.

After the museum and a failed attempt to find an internet cafe (it's a Sunday and about 50% of everything is closed) we decided to spend the remainder of the full day in Athens at the beach, like the rest of the Greeks. We grabbed our swimsuits, sunscreen, and a few euros and hopped the metro to Pireas, a coastal port, and then to a tram that runs between all the beaches . We stopped at the first beach we saw and stumbled upon a very small beach jam-packed with people. The beach had little to no sand but instead was covered in rocks. After a slightly painful walk from our towel to the ocean we got into the very clear Aegean sea and for the first time in 5 days felt truly cooled down. We swam for a bit there and decided to hop the tram to another less-crowded beach. The next one was still rocky but with less people and even clearer water. It was so wonderful to get out of the busy, noisy,hot and dirty city to nap on the beach and cool off in the water. the funniest thing was how salty the water and beach were. The rocks were covered in salt and by the time we left we were perfectly seasoned as well.

Coke Light

7/11/08

So due to European Union restrictions, they are not allowed to call Diet Coke, "Diet Coke", because it is not technically a diet product to be used as part of a regimen. Therefore I had a "Coke Light" with my lunch, which consisted of a spanokipita (flaky pastry filled with spinach and cheese), a small pastry with ham and cheese in the middle and then finished with some of the cherries we bought at the fruit and vegetable market in Omonia. We spent our morning going to the meat, fruit and vegetable markets and perusing the stalls.

Omonia is very non-touristy and in a few of our transactions we had to rely on international hand symbols rather than our English. The meat market consisted of many, many stalls of different cuts of beef, chicken, pork, and probably lamb, veal, and other delicacies. I took some great video of a man cleaving up some meat for a customer. As I chose to wear my cute sundress today, one of the meat market men called out, "Too much beauty," as I walked past. It was then that it occurred to Bobby that bringing me to a meat market full of male butchers (aka a sausagefest as Bobby termed it - get the pun?) was a bad idea. We also bought some cherries, as previously mentioned, but we unsure of how to communicate that we wanted a half kilo. So instead we bought the full kilo (2.2 pounds for you on the non-metric system) and immediately regretted the decision after we saw the fruit man use his hands to measure the quantity.

**As of posting, we still have cherries left despite Bobby pawning them off to anyone willing in the hotel.

As Bobby and I try to write our entries in our journals in the hotel garden at our hotel we have been terrorized by one of the hotel kittens. It has decided to jump between Boby and the table and me, purring like a vespa and rubbing itself all over us. It's totally cute, but also making writing very difficult. Since I am quite allergic I am off to wash my hands and body of all cat-ness and apply benadryl before we hit the pavement again.

It's all Greek to Me!

07/09/08

Our trip to Athens thus far has been pretty damn adventurous. We realized how dire it really was that we didn't know a wit of Greek (our its fraternity-lovin' alphabet) as soon as we landed. Apparently the metro from the airport was down, at least we found out when we approached their closed ticket booths. We decided to wait in line at the suburban rail line and ask there, though the only word I had proved to remember was 'EXODUS' the Greek word for EXIT, picked up while leaving the terminal. Here's how my conversation went with the woman at the ticket counter:

Me: I need to go here (pointing on map to Syntagma)
Her: Uh...Where? (mind you this is in a Greek accent, put in English nonetheless)
Me: Syn TAHG MA?
Her: ...
Me: Syn DHAG ma? (I tried different pronunciations and stresses)
Her: Oh, Syndagma (I still don't know quite how to say it)
Me: Is the Metro closed.
Her: Yes.
Me: ....
Her: .......
Me: How do I get there?
Her: You'll take rail line to Plankentias. Next train leaves in fifteen minutes. I'll sell you ticket in five minutes (booth temporarily closes down).


Through our ingenuity and powers of deduction, we eventually made it to the heart of the city. (PS - our room in which I orginally wrote this post is right next to the WC and showers (public). Jane and I have both been quietly writing while seems to have nearly lost their insides to the bowl (and they can't flush paper, so it will be interesting). The city is rather startling; walking to our hotel we just stumbled upon the Temple of Olympian Ze-us coupled with Hadrians Gate, which happens to be across the street from where we're staying. Ain't no thang, just 50 feet Corinthian columns and what not. The hotel room is great, its on the second-and-a-half story with a little connected balcony running up the side of a building and connected to the garden/patio/breakfast area (all outside, all pleasant), by a spiral staircase. The balcony space outside our room acts as a nice location for laundry, and thus acts as a major thoroughfare for hotelees. In the near distance sits the Acropolis.

Throughout the evening, after taking a nap and sleeping through some Crazy Asians slamming the loud shower doors (accordion doors, no curtain, we floors, great fun (no sarcasm intended)), and an old Greek man attempting to install air conditioning on a building below, with windows open and shirts off, we walked the Plaka.

We continued to see juxtaposed elements of old and new throughout the evening. As the streets of the city are both non-linear (or gridded) and narrow, the random happening upon ancient ruins or Byzantine churches is rather jarring.

We continued through to Ministiraki and then on to Theolissi, and I spent much of this evening attempting to take shots of the lit up Acropolis without tripod. Squeezing through the touristy Plaka we ran across vendors selling everything. The streets of Athens are alive at night, with all restaurant and tavernas activity relegated to the sidewalk (realtively pedestrian friendly). Often we were approached to sit and pay top dollar for our meal, but instead we opted for a cheap hole-in-the-wall that served gyros and Fanta. Throughout these major tourist district, it is apparent that the tourism business thrives. Those visiting are made up of families and as Jane says American women taking 'the girls' out for a night on the town.

I have a bit more to say on my first night in Athens, but it seems that we are almost at the two hour mark on our internet time, and we need to post some photos. I'll finish tomorrow, and write a bit about today. After all, I did make Jane stay on the top of the Acropolis for a bit. Just a bit.

Full to the Gunnels...With Scottish Delicacies.

While we are now in Greece, I thought I still might write a few words on my visit to Scotland. Firstly, the country is decidedly beautiful, the language colorful, the people friendly, and the water freezing (see below for details). Jane's family was both accomodating, funny, and adventurous and showed me the best and the brightest (the sun is out until past midnight!) during my stay.
Jane has done a pretty good job of covering the events that ensued, and has also continued her efforst into our Grecian travels. I have to catch up, so I will simply mention some of the delicacies that I consumed in Scotland as an indication of the near week's events:
Within the category of food:
Fish Pie, fish and chips, Scottish rolls, haggis, white pudding, mushy peas, nougat (two scoops of ice cream squished between two pieces of wafer, one with marshmallow (nougat) inside), sticky toffee pudding, Dairy milk, neeps and tatties, Caramac, Choozies, Bacon Buttery, and of course Skips.
Within the category of drink:
Squash, Deuchars, Belhaven, a local brew from Glasgow called Ubiquitous Chip (I think), IRN BRU, and the cold, North Sea waters.

Stray Dogs and the Erect-a-thon

7/10/08

Today we started our explorations at the New Acropolis Museum. It's a very modern building set below the Acropolis (all the old stuff on the top of a big mountain/rock). The museum happened to be built on the site of more ruins and a good portion of the place is dedicated to glass floors so you can see the ruins below (as pictured with me on the glass). It's not finished yet but it is apparently quite controversial because the museum wants to knock down two Art Deco buildings so nothing blocks the view from the museum of the Acropolis. The buildings are pissed because they were given protected status in 1988 but the government has now stripped it of protection at the urging of the new museum. Who knew architects had such big egos?

At the Acropolis today, while I sat in the shade and drank two water bottles and Bobby took countless pictures of columns and then sketched pictures of the columns, I happened to sit down next to the protectors of the Ancient sites. They may sound intimidating but they are really two old ladies armed with badges and whistles. Their job consists of telling people not to smoke or not to sit in certain places but we happened to catch them chastising a man for having his shirt unbuttoned revealing his not-so-fit physique! I wonder if he had been young and fit if the old ladies would have objected so much. The Acropolis features the Parthenon, the Erechtheion (or Erect-a-thon as I nicknamed it - clever and original, I'm sure) and a giant entryway, a whole bunch of theaters and caves. It also has some of the most amazing views of the city. Bobby took about 4 billion pictures so don't worry about ever needing to take your own if you end up getting to this place. I did my best to be patient (if Bobby reads this he will definitely roll his eyes) but since the only refreshment served here was water, I was itching for lunch!

After the Acropolis, we wandered down to the Plaka for gyros again (they are soooo good) and then over to a little bakery near the hotel and picked up a flaky pastry filled with creme and covered in powdered sugar. Then we went to a coffee shop and ordered "freddo cappucinos" which are literally cold espressos that then have the hot foam of a cappuccino on the top. The result is a layered drink that doesn't mix so as you drink you get creamy foam, then sweet cold espresso. And it looks cool. We ate our pastry and coffees in the terrace garden of our hotel, which is the coolest (or should I say least-hot) place we've found. If I didn't mention it before, you have to pay 10 euros a night for air conditioning from 10 pm to 7 am (they didn't even tell us the price for the daytime), so since we are cheap our room is mildly sweltering.

After a round of cold showers and late afternoon naps, we hit the streets again heading to Hadrians Arch and the Temple of Zeus. The Temple has only 16 of the original 100 giant columns left but the result is still impressive. They are massive in size and beautifully decorated at the tops. If you imagine the place with all of the columns and a giant gold and ivory statue of Zeus in the middle, you can kind of understand what all the fuss about the Greek gods might have been.

Then we wandered through the National Gardens, which should probably be renamed the Forgotten Gardens as they seem very unkempt and neglected. They are huge, and feature plenty of trees for shade and a fountain that turns off just when you are about to take a picture of it (see picture). On the other side of the gardens, we found the Olympic Stadium, which is huge, very marble-y, and quite impressive. After that we wandered up to the trendy district Kolonaki which had all the designer stores, trendy restaurants, and nicely dressed people. I felt a little under dressed in my Merrills, sporty shorts, and stained white tank top compared to all the greek beauties in their short, very sophisticated dresses and sparkly heels.

We found a tiny, roasted-chicken restaurant that was in our guide book and had a delicious dinner of their specialty, the chicken, and a tomato salad with crusty bread. Definitely a good choice for the price and that we got to have a proper seat at a sidewalk table. After a small dilemma on whether to tip or not, we got ourselves quite lost but in the process found a park where many of the cities stray dogs live. I am quite fascinated with the amount of stray dogs in Athens. They roam the streets in packs and seem to know the city so well that sometimes they wait and cross the street with the pedestrian traffic. They are mostly quite big dogs, all very cute, and for the most part seem completely friendly and harmless. You see them sleeping all over the place. I found two that looked just like my dog Molly's cousins and they were taking care of each other at the Temple of Zeus. At the park we found a man with grocery bags full of bits of meat and bones and he was walking around giving some to each dog. He didn't seem very official but rather just a good Samaritan who helped feed the neighborhood dogs. In our wandering we also found a 24-hour Internet cafe and thus the copious posting! Hopefully we will find our way back to the hotel with no trouble and you will see some more posting in few days.

The Backpack Sandwich

7/9/09

We have arrived in Athens. It is quite hot and decidely humid. The metro trip from the airport was enough to soak our backs in sweat. Bobby's condition was worsened by what I have dubbed his "backpack sandwich" which consists of his daypack on his front and his luggage backpack on his back.

Our hotel is in a great location, and is clean, safe, and quite pleasant. Our room overlooks the courtyard garden which we can reach by using the backdoor on our third story room and climbing down a spiral, metal staircase(see picture). Others can also pass by our door - our first visitor included a foreign girl who handed us one of the house kittens, said nothing and walked away. There are two of the hotel kittens, quite cute, that roam about the place but it has left certain areas smelling a bit like cat pee. Another note about our hotel is that our room is conveniently located right next to the bathroom. But the walls are incredibly thin so we not only hear everyone going about their business but are also woken up by the shower doors opening and slamming all the time. In other news, our european adapter does not reach into the recessed wall outlet and therefore I cannot dry my hair in Greece. Luckily, it is so hot that my standby will be the ponytail anyway. I say this, however, so that you will all forgive how dreadful I will look in those pictures!

Upon arrival in Athens, we took a nap after our day of lengthy travel and then roamed the city at night. Athens is so completely confused. There are these ancient stone ruins up on hills that are beautifully lit up at night but then there are even more of them scattered across the city, hidden between metro stations, nightclubs, and stores. There is a sense of classic Greece, (which I equate to the Disney movie Hercules - which incidentally I saw some pots that have the same painted ladies who sing in the movie) but also all the modern restaurants, clubs, graffitti, pollution and trash.

We walked through the tourist markets and bought a gyro and a souvlaki pita from a tiny, hole in the wall stand. It was without a doubt the best pita I ever had. It wasn't really greasy like the American ones. We then finished it off with Orange Contreau gelato, which apparently contains enough liquor that the man behind the counter asked my age. I really like the city. It definitely has a party atmosphere as in the summer all of the activities take place outside - al fresco. Bobby and I literally walked through restaurants that had moved all of their tables outside on the sidewalk. Another thing I really like is how late everyone and everything stays up. I'm such a night person and I love that European city-dwellers are too.

A Chittering Bite

7/08/08

Before we left America, Bobby lost a bet to my little brother over where we were going to have dinner. The loser had to jump in the North Sea in Scotland. So this past Tuesday, on our last day in Scotland Bobby fulfilled his end of the bet. The North Sea may sound like a nice bit of water but since it is basically melted glaciers, the water temperature is very, very cold. So my family all tramped down to the beach (I called my cousins to come watch) with Bobby and a couple of cameras to watch the spectacle. It was about 9:00 at night, completely overcast, and a bit windy. Bobby dutifully stripped down to his shorts, took a few deep breaths and dove headfirst into the freezing water. He came up after his first dip and was already beginning to turn a bit blue. He attempted to swim back in but the water was so cold that his muscles froze up and he wade, chattering back to shore. After a few moments on the beach, we somehow convinced him to go in a second time! Overall, I was very impressed and we ran him back to the house for a hot shower and what my cousin Emma called a "chittering bite" (food you eat when you are cold have chittering teeth). I really couldn't have imagined a better end to the Scottish leg of our trip.

Highland Cooos

July 5, 2008

**As you can now tell, the blogs may not be posted on the day that they were written in my moleskine notebook. Therefore, I will add the date it actually happened to keep everything clear.

Bobby and my first day in Elie and began with Friday night fish and chips eaten on the harbor. We also shared a white pudding, which is a sausage made with lots of oatmeal (that has also been made in chicken fat) and deep fried. It might sound disgustin but it is an absolute treat for any lover of both meat and fried foods...aka Bobby and I. Bobby had been a true culinary adventurer when he dabbled earlier in the day with his first plate of haggis(a sausage-like mixture of sheeps innards, oatmeal, and black pepper cooked in the stomach of a sheep), neeps (mashed turnips and carrots), and tatties (mashed potatoes). I was very impressed and he declared the dish good.

I have also decided that Elie is officially the one place that I immediately feel at home in. For me, although I have probably only spent a total of 10 months here in my whole life, it is the only place that I have 'lived' in as a baby, toddler, child, and now adult. Nothing has changed about the Elie summer sun that keeps the sky lit until the wee hours of the morning. The rolls from the bakery still have the same dusted flour top, fluffy white interior, and perfectly chewy crust. This tiny village filled with stone cottages, narrow streets, and views of the beautiful coast is one of the few places that seems to never change, even if I do. That, to me, is home.

For our second day we took a wonderful hike between Kings Barnes(another tiny village) and Crail (another tiny village) along the coastline. The hike began with searching for crabs, snails, anemone, and prawns in the rock pools created by the tide. We then walked along a beach littered with dead purple jellyfish, which Bobby convinced my little brother could still sting you afterdeath. We then went through a field of cows (pronounced Highland Coooos - please see pictures). We also explored caves, bridges, old gardens and more beaches before ending up drinking coffees in a tiny, stone coffeeshop in Crail. It was a perfect introduction to the natural wonders of Scotland...and it only rained a few times.

Indiana Jonesy

July 3, 2008

Today we flew on a propeller plane from La Guardia to Philadelphia. I honestly expected Indiana Jones to appear and hit the propeller to start the engine. Instead the trip was very noisy and for some inexplicable reason, muggy. Luckily since it is only 45 minutes journey from New York to Philly the sweaty, bumpy ride was over before it started.

Another thing I realized about travelling is that it is impossible to keep organized. There is a certain nomadic quality about it which makes it difficult to properly account for all your world possessions while being constantly in movement. That is the part of travelling I find most nervewracking. I can deal with turbulence, delays, bad food, ear popping and a sore neck from sleeping partially upright, but I have a very hard time having to always know where everything is in my bag, and be able to access it at a moment's notice. I am not good at being so unsettled all the time. How I will survive this feeling the next month I am not sure.

The Atlanta Gypsies

Every time Bobby and I have told someone about our trip to Europe, we have been told horror stories of gypsies, Italian street-kids, metro station thieves, and conniving cabbies. We have been told to invest in bullet-proof money belts and other devices to keep our money and valuables safe while abroad. Needless to say, Bobby and I were prepared to upon arrival immediately switch in to super-safe mode and keep our hand on our wallets at all times. But it was all too late.

Before we even made it to Europe, my debit card was stolen in flight between Phoenix and Atlanta out of my backpack. But at least the thief had good taste, because their first purchase was a $970 flight to France. Luckily with the invention of online banking, I caught the problem and called the bank and I am picking up a new card in Connecticut before we catch our trans-continental flight. And some jerk from Atlanta will not be getting his Paris vacation. This is the first time I have ever been the victim of theft and I am a little worried that Bobby's bad luck with theft is rubbing off on me. He's the one who has had his ipod, playstation, gift cards, and countless studio supplies lifted. But I'm no worse for the wear and will be getting my shiny new card (a temporary one that will probably run out before I make it back!) and we are now off.

Please pray that we make it safely and that the person next to us on the plane does not have terrible BO, a newborn, or the desire to make conversation.

Go FLICKR yourself.

Here's my first post to this co-operative Blog.
If anyone is interested in seeing the many photographs of buildings, architectural details, and overweight men in mesh tank tops that we plan on taking, please, feel free to visit our newly established flickr photostream by clicking here . If the link is doesn't work, search for our account name, yankeeineurope. It will be updated erratically and at odd hours of the night, whenever Jane and I get the opportunity to score some sweet internet connection.
If you have any suggestions for the two of us regarding what to see, eat, read, or do, please don't hesitate to share that with us! Especially if it involves good food, sites or stories.

Still Booking...

Bobby and I are 5 days away from departure and have yet to fully book all of our flights. Bobby is cool as a cucumber about it and I am a little nervous that we might be spending 31 days in Athens trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The itinerary of our trip is fully set now, complete with stops in 7 major European cities and 5 countries thanks to a mixture of trains and easyjet flights. Click on the map to the left to see the journey. Here is where we will be and when:

July 4th - July 9: Scotland - visiting Jane's family and showing Bobby just how legit the Scots are by sailing in the North Sea.

July 9th - July 14: Athens, Greece - staying in a moderately well-rated hotel by the Plaka, hopefully eating the best kebabs in our lives and enjoying the wonders of hosting the Olympics brings to a transportation system.

July 14th - July 21: Rome, Italy - fulfilling Bobby's fantasy to see churches and streets designed by famous Renaissance Architects and Jane's fantasy for espresso and tartufo (dark chocolate gelato). And competing to see who can say "When in Rome' the most times in a day.

July 21 - July 23: Florence, Italy - staying in a river-side hotel very close to Ponte Vecchio pretending we know more about Michelangelo than we do.

July 23 - July 26: Paris, France - staying in the cheapest accommodations Paris has to offer (besides the Gare du Nord train station benches) while eating chocolate croissants and reenacting our mutual favorite movie 'Amelie'.

July 26 - August 1: Berlin, Germany - doing the hostel thing in a renovated, supposedly-historical building while enjoying a slew of World War II memorials, museums and excellent post-Cold War architecture and probably some awesome beer.

August 2 - August 9: Stateside, Connecticut - recharging our batteries visiting Bobby's family before we return to the hardest school year of our lives.

Hopefully we'll be updating our blog as often as possible but no promises on daily updates because our access to the Internet will probably be as bumpy as the beds we will be sleeping in. See you all in a month!