Portuguese People are Awesome!
Getting Some Color in Porto
6/29/2008 11:54:12 AM - Day 104 - Porto, Portugal
I was caught off gaurd from this pic. Hello!
I can see myself coming back to Porto (Porto, Portugal Travel Information). This place is so relaxed, the people are super friendly and getting around is a snap. This is the first place I have been to in Western Europe where as a tourist, you don't feel like another face in the crowd that gets treated indifferently by most of the locals (of course, not all). For example, in Porto, they have a guy at the train station whose job it is to help tourist by metro tickets. Seriously, I was really impressed that the government made this much of an effort to look after it tourists. Maybe it is because Portugal isn't inundated with tourists, but whatever the case, it is a very tourist friendly country.
Getting to my hostel the "Oporto Sky Hostel" (Oporto Sky Hostel Review) was really easy using the tram system that Porto has. I heard that the hostels in Portugal were nice (another example of how they look after tourists) and I have to say, after staying there, I would have to agree. The staff was super friendly, the place was really clean and it had a very nice atmosphere to it. It was also very close to a supermarket so the first night I was there I went and bought up some groceries to make myself a nice dinner. I also bought a nice bottle of "Porto" (also known as Port wine or simply "Port"). I figured if I was in the city the wine was named after, I had to try a nice bottle of it out. It wasn't like most wine that I was used to, being much sweeter and viscous. One of the Portuguese owner's of the hostel told me that Port is meant to be drunken after or before dinner, but not with it since it doesn't compliment the food very well.
I looked into what there was to see in Porto as far as sights go since I was going to be here for a couple of days. After a bit of research, I found there wasn’t much but the usual old churches and palaces that you find all over Europe. Having already seen a million of each, I decided to spend most of my time at one of the other "sights" of Porto, its beaches. They were nice, but you have to stay away from the main one because Porto has a strong wind, and the main beach has very fine sand which equates to having a lot of sand blown in your face.
Other than spending time at the beach, I did a bunch of work on my laptop for my company back in Orange County. The one other thing I did was head out to the clubs one night during the weekend. Most of the clubs are concentrated near the main bridge of the city at the docks. Being a weekend, the place was somewhat dead. I was a bit surprised. I did find a cool rock bar though where the owner would take a shot with you after which we would both break our shot glasses on the ground behind the bar. Good times!
Also, I want to dispel a myth. From what I saw, the Portuguese girls don't live up to their reputation of being incredibly hot as I would so often hear back home (although there were some pretty ones here and there). I'm still not in a frame of mind to really care either way (still dealing with a recent breakup) but I thought I would mention this since I am getting asked about it so much. Sorry guys, but from what I saw, no dice on the ladies. However, others may feel differently and regardless, they are super cool and friendly!
My next stop is the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. I'm looking forward to seeing what it is all about.
A video pan of a club in Porto, Portugal. It was a fun place, but for the most part played only Brazilian Meringue music that everyone synchronized danced to. Personally not my thing. Still a fun night however!
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i love me some churros con chocolate
Family Roots in Toledo
6/25/2008 5:02:34 AM - Day 100 - Toledo, Spain
It feels good to be in Toledo, a place my Spanish ancestors used to call home.
I have reached a milestone on my trip having hit the 100 day mark of my travels. This is the longest that I have ever traveled and so far it has been one hell of an amazing trip. It is fitting that I reached this milestone here in Toledo (Travel Information on Toledo, Spain), leaving one home for another, since Toledo was the hometown of my Spanish Ancestors on my mother's side. Being such a small town in such close proximity to Madrid (only about an hour train ride away) most people only come here for a daytrip. I however decided to stay for two nights and I am glad I have done so because it was nice to relax in this small town having just spent a wild weekend in Madrid.
Getting to my hostel was a bit of a pain in the ass thanks to less than adequate directions coupled with the mid-evil layout of Toledo. I finally found my way to "Hostel Sol" (Hostel Sol in Toledo, Spain Review) though and was very pleased with how nice and informative the staff was. They told me about a couple good places to get some Tapas that were nearby, so since it was late that first night I only went and had some tapas with sangria before calling it a night.
I was only going to have two nights here in Toledo, so the following day I had to make the most of what little time I had. I woke up, had some "churros con chocolate" (churros like the ones you get at stadium without the sugar and hot chocolate) at a nearby park which is a traditional Spanish breakfast and began walking the streets of Toledo checking out some of the sights. Toledo itself is a site all of its own, being one of the best preserved Mid-Evil cities of Europe and was even dubbed a UNESCO "World Heritage Site". The old city area of Toledo is filled with winding cobble-stone streets that are filled with many great examples of Spanish architecture. You have to watch yourself walking around though because you never know when a car is going to come whizzing around the corner. One of the better things that I saw that day was the Cathedral of Toledo. I normally don't care much for Churches and Cathedrals these days having become somewhat numb to them since I have seen so many on my travels (you can't walk more than five minutes in the downtown area of any major European city without coming across some super old Church) but this church was refreshingly incredible with the Church museum exhibiting works from Raphael, Goya, Titian and El Greco. It was pretty nice.
After looking at some of the sites I made sure to buy some gifts for my Spanish side of the family because I knew they would really appreciate it. Once bought, I mailed them off, came back to the hotel to do some work then got some dinner and packed up. Now it is early morning and I am getting ready to catch the train into Madrid from where I'll be flying in Porto, Portugal. I am really looking forward to Portugal because, besides being a really cool place from what I hear, I also won't have to say "except Portugal" to people every time I tell them about the places I have been to in Western Europe. Until next time!
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Madrid is Loco!
My Ear has Finally Healed up here in Madrid
6/23/2008 10:42:51 AM - Day 98 - Madrid, Spain
Madrid has some of the best nightlife in the world. This was inside the club named Kapital.
Madrid (Madrid, Spain Travel Information) has been an alright place. I have always wanted to go here after missing it the first time I was in Europe. I also got some shit about it from my family since I am in fact part Spanish. That being the case, I didn't want to miss it a second time around so after Valencia, I caught a train to Madrid to see what the capital of my forefathers (at least some of them) was all about.
Getting in was pretty simple. Madrid has a pretty solid subway system which makes getting around the city and into it from the train station a snap. I soon found myself settled at my hostel, "Bulls Hostel" (Review on Bulls Hostel in Madrid, Spain) and began planning my next move. After doing a bit of research, I found that for my own personal taste, there wasn't much in Madrid that I really cared to do. I planned on visiting the Prado museum, watching one of the Euro Cup Soccer matches at Plaza de Colon, which is one of the best places to watch a game at and since Spain was in the quarter finals, it promised to be a wild affair, and go to a bullfight. I personally don't find bullfights to be that interesting, but it is/was an integral part of Spanish culture, so I figure if I am going to watch one, there isn't a much better place to do it at then Madrid, Spain.
The first couple of nights were spent watching some other Euro Cup quarter final matches as well as having a few beers at some of the smaller bars in the area. I also went to the Prado and spend a nice day there taking in some culture by viewing some fantastic art. Besides that I got some work done and spent a little time walking around the city.
Luckily, my ear has finally healed up completely (or at least it seems so), and one thing that Madrid is famous for is its nightlife. Now that I could finally hear out of both of my ears again, and having not been able to go out because of the ear infection since I first arrived in Europe some time ago, I gathered up a group of people from the hostel and we set out to one of the best clubs in the city, "Kapital". The place was pretty fucking awesome covering seven stories in one building and we all ended up having a good time (at least at the start of the night). Drinks were pretty expensive though, but after I got my first one I soon found out why. They nearly topped off the cup with alcohol adding only a splash of mixer for a bit of color and taste. It was like drinking a cup of Vodka. Needless to say, that coupled with my enthusiasm to party having not been able to do so resulted in the night ending with me passed out on some of the club's couches at which point I am told the bouncers kicked me out. Luckily some of the people from the hostel saw me, and since it was pretty late anyways, ended up throwing me into a taxi and we all headed back to the hostel to end the night. I felt like an idiot for getting so drunk, it was such a rookie mistake and I should have known better, but in my own defense, it has been awhile since I had been able to go out, I was in one of the biggest party cities on the planet and I felt like rocking out. Next time, I'm going to keep in mind that being served glasses that are topped off with alcohol should be consumed with caution.
The next day I was luckily not hung over at all, which was a good thing since it was the day I was supposed to go watch a scheduled bullfight at the national bullfighting arena. As I was headed over there on the subway I happened to run into some of the same guys from the night before, so we all grouped up and headed to the arena to get tickets. Then on the way to the arena I coincidentally ran into a group of southern girls who I had met at my previous hostel in Barcelona who were also going to be watching the bullfight that day. That is one of the good things about traveling alone is that it forces you to meet people. The girls had already bought their tickets however so when the bullfight started we parted ways and figured we might see them later on.
I didn't know what to really expect from the bullfight, so I crammed into my cheap seat in the rafters (and let me tell you, they really cram people in there) and watched the event unfold. They start off tame enough with the bullfighters and their teams parading around the arena. Then a guy walks into the middle of the arena with a sign stating the coming bull's weight. After which the bull is let out (already injured and tired from what I understand) and is taunted by the helpers of the matador who will get the bull's attention then run behind a wall after which another helper does the same thing until the bull is a bit tired out. After this, the matador comes out to "fight" the bull which is like how you would imagine it. He waves a bright colored piece of cloth in front of the bull while it goes in circles trying to run thru it. Then after each time he really gets the bull to run in a few circles he'll stop, puff his chest out and look to the crowd while he struts in total Machismo as some of the older Spanish people and various tourists cheer. Then, two horses are brought out and there is some rule where the bull has to attack one of the horses but not the other. The horses are decked out in armor so it can handle the bull's attack (for the most part). The bull then charges one of the horses (really knocking the shit out of it) and then the guy on top of the horse spears the shit out of the bull. After the correct horse has been attacked, the matador then begins to stab the bull with some lances that he put in both arms. After he stabs the bull with two of these things, he leaves them stuck in the bull and proceeds to stab him with a couple more until about 6 or 8 are in the bull. After all of this, he'll tire the bull out some more, then proceed with the finishing blow, which is when the bull is so freaking tired out and exhausted, the matador stands right in front of the bull with a long, thin sword, points it at the bull and then lets out a yell as he charges forward trying to drive the sword into the bulls neck in an effort to kill the bull instantly. I am told that a good matador is very skilled at this final move and can do it in one try. The first matador I saw that day took like four tries to make it happen. After the bull slumps over, practically dead, one of the helpers comes over and jams a knife into the base of the bull's skull to make sure he is dead which causes the bull's body to spasm until death. Then some horns are sounded and the bull is then attached by rope to a couple of horses that drag the bull's lifeless body out of the arena. The only chance the bull has is that if it is able to survive for a certain amount of time, then it is spared and the matador then looks like a total goon since he wasn't able to finish off the bull in time.
I never knew that the bull was already exhausted and injured before even entering the arena. I also didn't know that there were dudes on horses that also lanced the bull along with a group of helper matadors that helped the main one. I thought it was a one on one thing between the matador and a healthy bull, but I guess that is too dangerous for the matador. Even after all of this, it is still dangerous, but it seems to lopsided in the matadors favor which makes it the whole spectacle appear to be a bloody slaughter. There was blood everywhere and by the end of the event, the crowd of mostly tourists had quieted down considerably, because I am sure that most, like me were at that point in somewhat of a state of shock from the witnessed brutality. I am happy to have seen a bullfight and being able to witness a major part of traditional Spanish culture (especially here in Madrid), but I don't plan on going to another bullfight any time in the near future.
The guys who I saw the bullfight with all felt the same, and we ended up leaving the arena feeling a little shocked and bewildered. We had somewhere to be though so we had to shake off the cobwebs and get hustling because the Euro Cup quarterfinal soccer match was going on between Spain and Italy. It promised to be one hell of a game and Europeans take their soccer seriously. I found myself in the capital of Spain, so I sure as hell wasn't going to miss an opportunity to watch the game at one of the city's main squares "Plaza de Colon".
At Plaza de Colon, they setup huge screen to watch the game on. Getting there, the place was completely jam packed with Spaniards all decked out in Spanish red and yellow colors chanting team songs in unison as the game wore on. It ended up being a very close game that climaxed with Spain winning the game by penalty kicks. Not only did Spain advance to the Semi Final, it has beaten the World Cup champion team of Italy, so this was one hell of an accomplishment. Let me tell you, the place went absolutely mad! People were jumping up all over the place, hugging one another, screaming at the top of their lungs and just going totally ape shit. It was pretty cool to be there to witness it and I too got swept up in the fervor and was also jumping up and down going nuts. The walk back to the hostel was great with people dancing in public fountains as police simply looked on with smiles since I am sure they too empathized with the celebrations being Spaniards themselves. The whole way back people were honking their horns and going nuts, especially every time we yelled "Viva Espana" to a passing car. It felt great being in such a positive and happy environment. Now if only my San Diego Chargers could win the Super Bowl I might get a chance to experience that in my home city. That night promised to be insane in Spain, but I was pretty tired after the long day and had already partied like a rock star the night before, so I decided to call it a night and get some sleep.
Now after some rest, I am getting ready to catch a train to my family's hometown of "Toledo" since it is only about a little over an hour away from Madrid. I hear it is a really nice and quaint city so I am looking forward to some quiet time after the wild craziness of Madrid. Until then!
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My ear infection is finally starting to go away.
The Holy Grail Isn't Lost, it is in Valencia.
6/19/2008 4:25:04 PM - Day 94 - Valencia, Spain
That is the legendary "Holy Grail" which isn't lost after all, but in Valencia.
My ear infection has finally begun to go away. Thank goodness. Having medical problems when you are on the road is a lot more stressful then back home. It looks like those meds I was prescribed did the trick, it took a lot longer than I thought it would though. Being done with the meds, I was finally able to hit the beach, and the beaches in Valencia (Valencia, Spain Travel Information) are great (much better than Barcelona's beaches).
They were very large, clean and not too crowded. I spent a couple of days at the beach, and figured I would go ahead and do it Euro style by rocking a Speedo. I had one from back home when I was doing a lot of swimming. You'd never find me in a Speedo at the beach back home, but being Europe, I decided to say "fuck it" and roll with it. It was actually pretty nice and liberating minus the fact that my white ass legs got burned to hell.
I ended up staying at a pretty good hostel named the "Red Nest Hostel" (Red Nest Hostel review). If you ever visit Valencia, I would recommend checking that place out. The first day I arrived someone at the hostel showed me around the immediate area. We came across a square that had some pretty nice churches when he motioned to one of them and said "that one over there has the Holy Grail." Excuse me, did you say Holy Grail? It turns out that the Holy Grail isn't lost after all, it is in a church in downtown Valencia. Of course, nobody probably can really say if it is "real" or not, but according to the Catholic Church, that Holy Grail in Valencia is the real deal.
I met some pretty cool people here in Valencia like an Italian guy who was also on a long trip of his own. He told me some pretty funny stories like how in Italy, they have something called "the number" which is the notion that you hit on as many girls as possible until one finally reciprocates. I knew it! That would explain why the guys in Italy seem to hit on any girl within arm's reach. He also told me another interesting story about Italian culture that other Italians I have met since then have confirmed. In Italy, when you are in your senior year of High School, the senior class President one day will lock all the teachers out and the whole school has one big party full of drinking and dancing. This goes on for however long it takes for the police and teachers to get back in. Since it is an Italian tradition, the police don't go ahead and bust the doors down, but instead only try to talk to the students trying to get them to open the school back up. The Italian guy who was telling me about this said that in his senior year, they ended up shutting the school down for two weeks! Crazy stuff!
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Not doing much of anything in Barcelona.
Confound this Ear Infection!!!
6/15/2008 6:09:45 AM - Day 90 - Barcelona, Spain
A group of students from Alabama who were saying in the same hostel as me that I ran into at Guel Park.
This ear infection sucks!
This is the first time I can remember getting an ear infection, and let me tell you, it is fucking shitty. I can't hear out of my right ear, for awhile it was oozing out some sort of milky liquid, it always hurts and gives me headaches. I just finished my dosing regimen for the infection as prescribed by the pharmacist at the Italian/French border, yet I still have this infection. I hope it goes away soon because it really ruined my time here in Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain Travel Information). The staff here at the hostel I am staying at, "Mambo Tango Hostel" (Mambo Tango Hostel Review) recommended that I go to the hospital to see a real doctor since it is free to do so in Spain, even for foreigners. I thought that was pretty cool, but decided to wait it out a couple more days and see if the meds I am on do the trick.
This is the second time I have been to Barcelona and was only coming back to spend some time on the beach so that this white boy could get some color. Because of my meds, I'm not able to go out in the sun so that idea was scratched. I wasn't really interested in going out either because of the pain (and to be honest, I wasn't that interested in raging it up again in Barcelona since the first time I was here I saw the sun rise each of the nine days I was here).
There isn't much to do in Barcelona but go out or to the beach, and since I wasn't going to be able to do either of those, I ended up not really doing much of anything but getting work done on my laptop. I did manage to go to Guel Park though which I missed the first time I was in Barcelona. It wasn't really impressive so if you ever head to Barcelona, I wouldn't have it to high on the "to see" list. Besides that, I managed to eat a big bowl of snails. I hear it is a typical Catalan dish that the locals eat. It was ok, but not really my thing.
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"Fuck you!, I'm French, i'm on Strike!"
Fuck French Rail Workers and Fuck the French Government
6/12/2008 1:02:56 AM - Day 87 - Montpelier, France
Me and my crepe in Montpelier.
Today has been a fucking nightmare.
As a preface, the French Rail Workers are on strike (for the second time in the past couple of months) over planned job cuts (are you kidding me) and because in order to get a full pension employees would have to work one extra year. I started today by heading to the train station in Nice and waiting in line for an hour only to have the retarded lady at the ticket counter sell me a ticket for a train that was already canceled. It seems that most of the trains have been canceled thanks to the French rail workers going on strike. Therefore I find myself in another line where the ticket seller (I made sure to go to different person this time) gives me a ticket for a different train. Thing is, I was taking the train to Montpelier where I was going to do a transfer to the one train to Barcelona, but thanks to my original train being canceled (fucking French rail workers) I will no longer be able to catch the one train to Barcelona leaving from Montpelier."Fuck it" I think, I figure I may as well get as far along towards my destination as possible and sort it out then.
I get into Montpelier and go to the main ticket area where I wait in line for about half an hour to be told that they are not selling anymore tickets to Barcelona thanks to the strike. I ask if I can buy one tomorrow and I'm told that probably won't be a possibility and that I should go to the bus station to figure things out. "Great guy, thanks for the help".
I head to the bus station to speak with the ticket office about getting a ticket to Barcelona. They have me wait about an hour before telling me that tickets for tonight aren't available anymore. I ended up buying a ticket for tomorrow afternoon.
I caught the tram back into the downtown part of Montpelier to begin searching for a hotel to stay at. After the first five hotels being completely booked, I begin to get worried. It's starting to get dark, I don't know where the fuck I am going and I have nowhere to stay. I then find out that there is some huge conference going on in the city which is why almost everywhere I go ends up being booked. After about an hour walking around with my heavy ass bag, I start getting seriously pissed off. I'm tired, I'm sweaty, I'm completely lost and the worst part is that my ear is throbbing like crazy from the infection I have. All this physical activity is really swelling my ear up and it felt like it was going to pop from all the pressure. I'm talking serious pain here which in turn has caused one hell of a headache. By this point, I am cursing the French rail workers to high heaven with my grumblings getting louder and louder with each full hotel that I visit.
I finally spot a back alley with a hotel sign about mid-way down it. I walk into the place, and can tell it is a total dump but the guy told me he had one last bed left, and without hesitation I took it. I couldn't care less about how run down the joint was, I simply wanted a place to sleep. Thanking my change in fortune, I went to my room and finally got settled in.
Tomorrow I leave for Barcelona, so hopefully the French bus drivers don't decide to go on strike.
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Damn this ear of mine!
Missing the Sun in Nice
6/11/2008 1:54:26 PM - Day 86 - Nice, France
Nice has some beautiful beaches. I wish the meds for my ear infection would allow me to be in the sun.
I ended up getting into Nice (Nice, France Travel Information) much later then I had hoped since the French Rail workers went on strike for the second time in the past couple of months. I haven't heard much about why, but it has something to do with the French Government wanting to raise the age of retirement by two years. I hear that most French Rail workers don't even have to work 40 hour weeks. I'm a bit angry at the inconvenience, and I am sure I am not the only one, but what can you do?
I took a tram to a location that my hostel was going to be staying at arranged a pickup at. The tram was pretty funny because at every stop, an announcement would be made over the speakers saying the stop's name in a very cheesy voice that you might here in a cologne commercial with accompanying music. I felt like I was at a modeling show with the music and announcements. So very "French"! I got to the pickup point and was whisked away to my hostel, Villa St Expury (Review on Villa St Expury)O where I would spend the next couple of days. It was actually a pretty cool hostel with a huge bar and restaurant (one of the largest that I have seen in all of my travels). However, I didn't make much use of the bar since my ear is now throbbing and I can no longer hear out of it. Fucking sucks. I went to a pharmacist and was lucky enough to find one who spoke perfect English (she was from California too, go figure). She prescribed some antibiotics that will hopefully do the trick, but one of the side effects was that I couldn’t go out in the sun otherwise risk serious skin discoloration which leads me to another downer.
Nice has some of the nicest beaches I have come across and I can't spend any time enjoying them otherwise risk serious side effects from my medication. Oh well, I just hope that my ear gets better soon because the pain is pretty harsh, plus I can't hear out of it so every time I meet someone I feel like an idiot constantly having to say "What? What? Say that again? I can't hear you."
Other then checking out the beaches I went out in the old town area of Nice which is mainly a path thru an alley that runs along the beach full of shops, pubs and restaurants. I ended up buying a new pair of pants with my winnings from the casino in Monte Carlo since my current pair was now way too big thanks to the weight I have lost traveling.
I didn't do much else because of my ear infection, but I hope these antibiotics the pharmacist gave me does the trick. Tomorrow I leave for Barcelona. This will be the second time that I have been there and I was planning on spending a bunch of time at the beach, but now that I am on these meds, being out in the sun is a big "no-no" thanks to side effects like skin discoloration. In which case, I'll be there for a couple days while my ear heals up and I also plan on getting some work done. I also hope that I don't have any problems getting a train ticket because the French Rail Union is still on strike.
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Euro, Euro bills Yo'!
Making Money in Monte Carlo
6/9/2008 7:49:33 PM - Day 84 - Monte Carlo, Monaco
Monte Carlo, Monaco.
I'm here in Monte Carlo, Monaco getting ready to leave for Nice. I wanted to make a quick stop here in Monte Carlo with the main goal of seeing a small part of the city, the bay full of yachts and make a trip to the world famous casino. I would spend more time here, but accommodation is pretty expensive. Monte Carol is full of rich people because of the countries stance on taxation which equated to a generally expensive time for those who wish to stay here for an extended period of time.
I caught a train in, went and stored my luggage at a nearby hotel for five Euros and made my way to the casino. I am not a big gambler, but I figured the best place to visit in Monte Carlo was the casino so I put aside 50 Euros that I planned on losing, at which point, I would catch the next train to Nice. Things didn't work out how I had expected however.
The casino wasn't like anything that I had expected. I was expecting it to be like the casinos in Vegas, huge with tons of lights and glitz covering every square inch of the place. However it was a pretty classy joint devoid of all the glitz and instead opting for a more sophisticated and quite atmosphere decked out in nice wood and plush carpets. They had a separate area for all the slot machines that was free to get into that was jam packed with people from India. I only spent a couple minutes in there because I didn't come all the way to the casino in Monte Carlo to play the slots. I made my way over to the entrance, had to pay 20 Euros simply to get in as well as show my passport, and soon walked into a very quiet, relatively small place that had around five roulette tables along with a handful of blackjack and poker tables. All the blackjack and poker tables had betting prices per hand that were too high for my taste, so I decided to play roulette.
I was betting small at first and was actually doing pretty well. After about 30 minutes I had made about 20 Euros. I was getting pretty bored though and had a train to catch so I decided to bet it all in the hopes of winning big or losing it all so I could get out of there. Thing was, I won! I got pumped up to play again, played for awhile, one a little bit of money and got bored again. Again, I bet it all, and again I won! Finally, the same cycle repeated itself and after betting it all again, I decided that this would be the final time I would do this since my winnings were pretty sizeable to what I had started out with. Sure enough, I won again! Knowing when to walk away, I tipped the staff at the roulette table and cashed my chips in for 280 Euros and more than quintupled my money. Looks like for once, the house lost (even if just a little).
Nothing like free money! Now I am waiting for a train into Nice, France that was supposed to be here a couple hours ago, but is running super late thanks to the French rail workers going on strike for the second time in the past couple of months. How fucking typical.
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"Have you ever been to Cinque Terre?" YES!
Ok, Now I've Been to Cinque Terre
6/9/2008 8:37:54 AM - Day 84 - Cinque Terre, Italy
The town of Riomaggiore in Cinque Terre, Italy at night. All the towns of Cinque Terre are nestled into the hills like this.
I can't tell you the number of people who told me that Cinque Terre (Cinque Terre, Italy Travel Information) was their favorite place to visit in Italy. It seemed like anyone I met back home who had visited invariably asked me where I went to in Italy, and when I didn't mention Cinque Terre I'd hear something along the lines of "oh, well you should totally visit Cinque Terre because that was the best part of my trip". Wanting to see what all the fuss was about (and also put an end to hearing about how much I missed out on), I decided to visit Cinque Terre now that I had the chance.
Cinque Terre actually consists of five small seaside towns overlooking the Italian Riviera and was at one point, and "off the beaten path" destination. However now thanks to word of mouth, that is no longer the case. During high season the place is booked solid. I learned that the hard way when I was researching accommodation there, however I finally found a place that was open for the two days I planned on spending there, the Mar Mar Hostel (Mar Mar Hostel Review) in the Riomaggiore town of Cinque Terre. It was a cool place mainly because the way it is setup. They own various buildings in the Riomaggiore area each separate from one another, meaning you get a building all to yourself (along with whatever other travelers are in there). If you are with a group of friends and book far enough in advance you will essentially have you own Italian Riviera vacation rental.
The first day I was there I arrived a bit late in the afternoon so I didn't do much but head into a neighboring town to do some work (none of the towns in Cinque Terre seem to be setup for people wanting to use Wi-Fi) and ended the day getting situated at my hostel. The next day I did the hike on the path that connects all five of the towns of Cinque Terre and when I reached my final destination I caught the local train back to Riomaggiore. The hike was pretty easy (especially out of Riomaggiore) and gave me a chance to see the various towns of Cinque Terre. Each one, although somewhat similar to one another, had their own sense of character and charm. I can see how this would be a great destination for couples, but being alone, once the hike was done, I was ready to go. That night I drank some wine with some people I met at the hostel while watching the sun set over the Italian Riviera and concluded the night watching Italy lose in the Euro Cup which was a bummer because I am sure Cinque Terre would have been a blast had Italy won.
Now I am getting ready to catch a train into the South of France to the city of Nice with a quick stop along the way at the casino in Monte Carlo to test out my luck.
On a side note. When I was in Florence, my ear starting hurting and when I got out of the shower a bunch of my earwax started washing out of my ear. I am not sure what is causing this, but it has gotten considerable worse here in Cinque Terre. Whatever it is, I hope it goes away soon.
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I knocked that MF'in tower the hell out!
Saying Goodbye to my Family in Pisa
6/7/2008 9:02:55 PM - Day 82 - Pisa, Italy
"Shoryuken!!!" ...The Leaning Tower of Pisa is no more.
My family and I arrived in Pisa with the sole intention of seeing the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" then getting out. We showed up, dropped our bags off at the train station luggage storage for a couple of Euros and got a taxi to the site.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa was interesting to look at, but not overwhelming. It's one of those places though that you have to see when in Italy because of its infamy. It is one of the most recognized towers in the world, which is ironic because the reason it is leaning is due to a bad architectural design. The tower is actually on a site with a couple of other worthwhile landmarks to visit such as an old church and baptistery, but after seeing so many churches, neither my family nor I felt the need to spend a couple Euros to check out another one. Walking out towards the leaning tower is a funny sight because you see people everywhere standing in awkward poses as they try and get a cool picture with the tower in the background (myself included). There is a sign saying not to walk on the grass but nobody pays attention to it. After we got our pictures, we headed back to the train station where I would be saying goodbye to my family to head out again on my own.
At the train station my grandfather asked me if I was sure that I didn't want to go with them to Rome. It was a pretty temping prospect, and I would have loved to have spent more time with my family, but I simply didn't have time to spend in Rome having spent more time in Africa then I had originally allotted. On one hand, it wasn't easy saying goodbye to my family, they have been the first people that I have met for a couple of months who actually give a shit about me. Traveling around, nobody cares about you, and you begin to miss the feeling you get that you only feel when you are around those that care about you, and those you care about. I can only imagine what it is like for those who go there whole life alone. On the other hand, I am a very independent person, and this trip thus far has only made me more so, therefore I was ready to set out on my own again while only answering to my own travel inclinations.
I had a great time with my family and was even a little envious of them that they would be getting to go home within a week, but it was time for me to go so we said our goodbyes, and I got on my train and waved farewell as I was carted away.
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This is the first time I have stayed in a convent.
Hanging with the Family in Florence
6/7/2008 2:10:41 PM - Day 82 - Florence, Italy
This statue was in the gardens of the Pitti Palace in Florence. i thought it looked pretty cool so I wanted to share it with everyone.
Florence (Florence, Italy Travel Information) is a pretty cool city with narrow alleyways and cobblestoned streets leading to grand cathedrals and renaissance palaces. It is however overrun with tourists (understandably) so it is a bit difficult to gauge what the place is really like. We arrived by train and found our way to a convent that also rented out rooms (staying in a convent is a first for me). One of the cool things about the city is that it has some of the best street performers at nighttime lining its main boulevards.
Having already gone to Florence before, I've already seen Michelangelo's "David" as well as some of the other sites, so this time around, when all my family was out sightseeing one of the days, I stayed in and got some work done. I did go with them to the "Uffizi" museum though, and that was pretty impressive. Besides that, we visited the "Duomo" which is simply the name for the main church as well as another nice church which had the grave of Michelangelo, Dante, Galileo and Machiavelli amongst others. We also visited the Pitti Palace which is pretty similar to all the old palaces you find over Western Europe. Other than that, we had a couple good dinners and didn't do anything that was too extraordinary. Expectedly, while traveling with my family things have been pretty tame, which is a nice change every now and then (especially after the hustle and bustle of Africa). Today we leave for Pisa, to take a quick look at the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" for a couple of hours after which I am going to say a fond farewell to my family and head off on my own once again to Cinque Terre, Italy.
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Finally getting to see some familiar faces.
Meeting My Family in Venice, Italy
6/4/2008 3:17:12 PM - Day 79 - Venice, Italy
My grandfather, cousin Erika and cousin Genna shortly after I met them in Venice.
I easily met up with my family at the train station in Venice (Venice Travel Information). I didn't know what to expect finally being able to see people that I cared about after being alone for so long, but it turned out to be a pretty good feeling. I think the fact that I had gone thru some pretty rough areas the past couple of months made it that much more enjoyable (it's not like I have been drinking Coronas on a Mexican beach for the past couple of months). It was going to be me, my grandfather as well as two of my cousins, one a year older than me named Ericka, and another a couple years younger than me named Genna.
After some initial hellos, we made our way to our hotel that my grandpa so graciously offered to pay for. It was a really nice place, but I felt a little bad since Venice being Venice, it was over the top expensive. I offered to help him out be he wasn't having it. That first day we didn't do much of anything but go out to dinner and exchange travel stories.
At that point I believe that the three of them had been traveling for a couple of weeks in other parts of Europe before meeting me in Venice, and I could already see that tensions were running a bit high. My cousin Ericka means well but can be super stubborn, my cousin Genna seemed like she was a bit sick of all the sightseeing and because of that was a bit grumpy at times, and my Grandfather being the retired military person that he is, can be pretty irritable at times (it must be the Irish in him). He has also been to Western Europe a bunch of times and is very well versed in all of its major sites, and that being so, wanted the girls to see everything, or as much as possible (which is a lot) in order to get the most out of their first trip to Europe which is pretty understandable since in all reality, it could quite possibly be their only trip abroad. Plus, girls haven't ever done any traveling like this so I could tell it was wearing on them a bit and I think the next time they travel they'll have a better idea of what to expect and therefore may not be so irritable themselves. Then you have me, having done a fair share of traveling sometimes I think I know everything there is to know about getting around which most assuredly isn't always the case. Given the circumstances, there were a fair share of arguments, but we're family, and arguments or not, at the end of the day we all love one another and ended up having a great time (and lots of Gelato).
We had a couple of productive days in Venice. The first time I was here, I had no idea how many things there were to see in Venice, and ended up only seeing a minor site or two since I had only spent one day here. This time, having my grandpa with me, a guy who knows all there is to know about Western Europe, I ended up seeing a ton of great things since he had a solid itinerary written up for us to see all kinds of sites that I wasn’t even aware of. I did know about St Mark's square, but for some reason missed out on it the first time I was here. However, I didn't know about St Mark's Church, the Doge's Palace or doing a Vaparetto ride to Lido Island. It was pretty fun. My grandfather even sprung for a gondola ride. It was a neat experience to get to see the hidden waterways of Venice by Gondola and the Gondolier made sure to take us on a route that brought us to a couple interesting sites, the whole way cheesing it up for my two female cousins by singing and making clever remarks. Cheeky bastard!
The last day we spent simply hanging out with one another and enjoying each other's company. It was a good day. Now it's time to leave for Florence, and even though it is a place that I have also already been to, I can't miss a chance to travel with my family, so I'm going to head with them over there to spend some quality time and hopefully see some more sites that I missed initially that my grandfather knows about.
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Verona may be pricey, but it's worth it!
In the City of "Romeo and Juliet".
6/1/2008 12:12:39 AM - Day 76 - Verona, Italy
"Juliet's" balcony. The house of the real Capulet family, but the balcony was added recently for tourists.
I remember the first time I was in Italy taking the train from Venice to Interlaken, Switzerland passing thru the city of Verona, Italy (travel information on Verona, Italy) and kind of regretting the fact that I wasn't going to have a chance to visit it. For those of you that don't know, Verona is the city Shakespeare used as the setting for his play "Romeo and Juliet". I took a class on Shakespeare back in University to fill a pre-requisite and ended up growing very fond of his work. Now that I was here in Italy a second time, having already been to all the majorly touristy cities, I decided it was high time I visit something somewhat off the beaten path in Verona.
Getting there was a cinch. Italy has a pretty extensive and easy to use train system. I ended up staying at a place called "Residence Hotel Castlevechio" (review of Residence Hotel Castelvecchio). It was a really nice place, and a bit more pricey then what I wanted to spend, but Verona didn't have much in the way of budget hostels (I think they had one hostel that was central but it was booked solid) so I didn't really have a choice if I wanted to stay somewhere that was central. I'm actually glad that I stayed here. It has been the nicest place I have yet stayed at, and most importantly I had a full kitchenette all to myself in my room that you can bet I took advantage of.
I have only been here for a couple of days. The first day I was here I walked around the city checking out some of the sites, the most important ones on my list being the houses of "Romeo and Juliet". Of course, they are fictional characters however, the Renaissance families they were supposed to be members of, the Capulets and Montagues were not fictional, and so you could view their houses in the old town of Verona. In the play, the two families are in a bitter feud with one another, which would have sucked if it was true in real life because they practically lived right down the street from one another. The house of Juliet was pretty interesting in the fact that the entire front entrance is completely covered with graffiti. At first I was disgusted by the idea that people would so blatantly deface such a site, but after standing there for less than a minute in shock, I realized that it was all part of tradition. Lovers from all over the world come to Juliet's house and scrawl both of their names along with a message or drawing somewhere on the front entrance. You'd see couples everywhere with sharpies writing on the walls as they exchanged kisses and thoughtful glances.
I saw a couple other cool sites, like the second largest Coliseum in the world, but the coolest part of Verona has been taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the city itself. The Old Town is beautiful and the city if full of Italian tourist with a smattering of other Europeans making me feel like I had fallen upon a hidden gem that most American's never get a chance to experience. I pulled up a seat at one of the cafes in the main square of the city to enjoy one of my favorite pastimes, people watching while having a drink. Everyone here seemed pretty happy, and the atmosphere mixed in with the wonderful architecture along with Shakespeare's underlying theme of love makes for quite the romantic place. Although I had a good time here in Verona, I think it would have been much more enjoyed with someone special. I left someone I was madly in love with to go on this trip and as I sat alone with my drink watching all the cheerful couples walk by it only brought back to light how hard it is sometimes to travel the world on your own. It was a decision I made that I have to live with and I'll leave it at that.
Today I leave for Venice to meet up with my family from back in California who are on a trip of their own here in Europe. It is going to be nice to finally see the familiar faces of the family I love. It's a lonely road I have chosen for myself so seeing those I care about is going to be something special. Most people don't understand it, but one of the hardest things about traveling alone for an extended period of time is the loneliness. Sure, you're always meeting new and amazing (and some not so amazing) people from all over the world, but right after you meet them you have to say goodbye only to repeat the process in the next city, next country, next continent. The whole process gets tiring, always having to say goodbye. If I've already exchanged emails with anyone that I want to keep in contact with, I try to slip out of the hostel without anyone noticing so I don't have to go thru any wearing farewells. This is one of the bad aspects of being on the road, and since I am going to be doing this for such a long time, I am going to have to learn to deal with it, but that being said, for now it sure is going to be nice to see my family.
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