DUBAI
The arrival to Dubai was ROUGH! Our flight from Istanbul was at midnight so we thought we would grab a delicious bite to eat at trusty ol' Starbucks before our voyage. Well, deli sandwiches at 11 at night are a terrible idea. I've never actually seen anyone have to use that little white bag that they so wisely tuck into the backseat pocket of the airplane for you, until after I retreated to the oh so luxurious and refreshing airplane bathroom to release some of nausea where I met a very flustered Becca handing hers to the flight attendants. Those flight attendants were angels! I don't think I would even be able to stomach the ailed attendees much less show the compassion that they did. So it was a rough first day in Dubai. We stepped off the plane into this sauna of a city where everyone greeted us with incredible enthusiasm at 5:30 in the morning. Unfortunately, we were not able to return the warm fuzzies on day one. I spent the day horking up any rancid meat that was possibly left in my stomach while Becca mustered up the strength to wander over to "Hyper Panda", the Festival City Mall's grocery store, and bought some 7up, light snacks and medications. We attempted a lay by the pool which lasted about ten minutes. The 100 plus degree weather is not good for rehydration.
Following our recovery, we visited the Gold Souk and the Spice Souk. At the Spice Souk I was persuaded into buying a bag of coffee beans from Yemen first, because I could not think of a better gift for my coffee-obsessed parents, and because I couldn't look at all those huge jars of pumice stones, cinnamon sticks, assorted teas and colorful spices without getting something seemingly exotic. Becca and I wandered around the Gold Souk dodging the insanely persistent sales men who were determined to sell us their "designer" handbags and we just went window shopping. I have never seen so much bling in my life, fortunately I did not feel any burning desires to embellish myself with large rocks and gold treasures.
After the markets we went on a safari in the desert (I highly recommend!) Mohammed, our driver, picked us up in his four wheel drive Toyota SUV where we joined two married couples (story of our lives) for about an hour of dune bashing followed by a desert BBQ. We jammed to 104.4 Virgin radio as we risked our lives to the sand dunes of Dubai, but i would absolutely do it again. Dont worry becca has videos for facebook. We arrived safe and sound at the feasting grounds where we were joined by the rest of the caravan. Before dinner we went for a 'brief' camel ride which was okay with me. I was pretty determined to ride a camel in Dubai but a one minute ride does the job. They are so adorable but they sure do smell! And I'm pretty sure our camel did not enjoy having Becca and I on his back because it stood up real quick as soon as we got on, against the camel whisperer's command and then it kept reaching it's head back to sniff our feet. After the camels we hit up the henna tattoo hut where we got henna ALL the way up our arms! Then, everyone was called to sit around a stage area which was really just a large rug on the sand surrounded by seat pillows, and a man in a large fancy skirt came out spinning around in circles for ten or so minutes. Our adorable new Turkish friends informed us that it is a Muslim prayer custom where men will spin for hours with a hand raised to the sky. This was obviously for show and the man had ten, give or take, different fancy skirts on, one of which had led lights. But he just spun around in circles forever and showed us all his skirts. After we ate dinner we got another show on the carpet-stage from a belly dancer. She was ... Uhmm workin it. Good for her. Becca and I weren't enthralled by the performance but she had some men rocking in their pillow seats and clapping a little too enthusiastically. I don't think their conservatively dressed wives were impressed. The safari concluded there but our night did not. When we got back we went to check out the hotel bar scene which was just poppin with middle aged men. Lovely. So we had a couple drinks and decided we should check out the clubs in Dubai instead but every time we decided we were going we found ourselves being awkwardly escorted by a man wishing to keep our company. So we opted out of the sexual slavery boat and called it a night.
The next day we went to check out the Dubai mall, the largest mall in the world, which is located at the bottom of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. We went to "the top" which is really only half way, and then wandered around the mall. We checked out the aquarium which is a huge tank full of big ugly fish and little sharks and sting rays! Loved. Then we wandered over to the fountains where they have fountain shows every half hour at night. I'm not sure if you can call it choreography since it's water, but I dont really know how else to tell you that the water was spewing up in the air artistically to Whitney's I Will Always Love You. Again, romantic honeymoon with my wife Becca.
On our last day, we wandered around Festival City mall, picked up any last minute souvenirs and enjoyed our last moments to soak up the sun in the outdoor sauna that is Dubai. Over all, Dubai is really nice and provided an experience unlike any of the other cities. It's a very clean and new city; the technology is really advanced as is the architecture. It was also a different cultural experience because although America has surely left it's footprint, as can be found almost anywhere, and certainly in Dubai, we found ourselves wondering a lot more about the customs of conservative Muslim dress as well as various other aspects to the Emirate lifestyle including heat management.
The UAE is also an interesting place because the a lot of the Emirates receive oil income and do not have to work and most of the working class are immigrants from India or the Philapenes. Therefore a lot of different customs and cultures are all intermingled in Dubai.
ISTANBUL
I absolutely fell in love with Istanbul and I hope to go back for a visit soon. There is way too much history and too many sites or things to do that simply cannot be covered in a short five days! We stayed on the Asian side of the city and had to take cabs and ferry rides to see a lot of the things we wanted to see every day but I really actually enjoyed our daily ferry commute across the Bosphorus. We were first lucked out in Istanbul with the happiest, most enthusiastic cab driver I've ever met. On our drive from the airport he started a little dance party in the car and fist pumped his own "I love America" chant. He taught us how to say 'thank you' which was our only Turkish word until we found the hotel cheat cards with short phrases.
We spent our first two days in Istanbul seeing what we could in Old Town. We went to Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cistern, the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and soaked up all we could of the history of the city. The Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi palace were my favorite historical sites to see. The palace had lots of things on display from the ottoman royal residence. In one courtyard there was a display of the sultans' clothing throughout the centuries, there were other displays of swords, crowns, jewelry, thrones etc. Everything was intricately decorated and plated with gold or made from emerald or other precious stone. The Hagia Sophia was also a really cool site to see; it had the clear evidence of it's time as a church with some uncovered remnants of mosaic imagery of Jesus, Mary, or the saints which were all covered when it was converted to a mosque. The only original mosaics that were allowed to remain were geographic designs.
But, Istanbul was more than just site seeing... I'll let Becca tell the rest though. For now that's all I have!
G
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Bringing everyone up to date on our whereabouts!
So while we were in Florence, besides stalking Ronnie (haha) and biking to Tuscany, we shopped and took trips to Lake Cuomo, and then a longer stay in Cinque Terre. Lake Como (we did instead of going to Capri or Venice) was absolutely gorgeous, even though we were there on a rainy day. We got off the train and walked right into the lake basically. From there, the shops, churches, and other beautiful places are in walking distance. This town was so friendly and not filled with all the typical italian hustle and bustle that we had seen so much of in Rome and Florence. We walked around pretty much all of Como and thought about taking the ferry tour but we didn't have enough time. They did have GREAT gelato there though and we spent the day in a cafe admiring some nautical souvenirs (ITB ladies!) and then browsing through beach attire at the local shops. We even got to see part of a wedding reception with a gorgeous bride outside right on the lake.
After the day trip, we were off to Cinque Terre for 3 days. This was the MOST amazing part of Italy in my opinion (thanks Kristin and Gwennie for the suggestion). We tried to stay at Hotel Pasquale but they didn't have any space but recommended us to a woman they knew who rented out an apartment. Our "landlord", Carolina, was so freaking cute and awesome. She is the epitome of an older Italian woman. She is 84 and did not speak one word of English but we managed to communicate with her pretty well. She actually lived across the street and one floor up from where we were staying and kept a pretty watchful eye on us which made me feel super comfortable. We also had a fully stocked kitchen and a supermarket across the street so we were able to do groceries and make some home cooked meals for ourselves. There was also a washing machine in the apartment so we were able to do some much needed loads of laundry! Things were starting to get a little bit smelly...
As for Cinque Terre itself, the villages are absolutely breathtaking. Our first day there we got settled, did groceries, and laid out at the beach for hours. The water is crystal clear blue and even though the sand is made up of big chunky rocks, after a long day of tanning swimming in that ocean was pure bliss. We stayed in the village called Monterosso del Mare, but there see 4 other ones to choose from that each have their own uniqueness to offer. On our second day here we woke up early and did the hike between Monterosso and the next village, Venazza. Cinque Terre is connected by hiking aths as well as trains, so there are 4 different paths that take about 5 hours altogether to hike. we were feeling ambitious and wanted to so the whole thing, but the two middle passes were closed due to land slides.
So our hike from Monterosso to Vernazza took 2 hours. It's supposed to be the hardest out of the 4 hikes, loaded with lots of ancient steps and steep cliffs/edges that are tricky to navigate with oncoming hiker traffic. It was definitely worth it to go. After a long day of hiking, we refueled with some delicious pizza and hopped on the train back to Monterroso. We headed straight for the beach again, and spent the rest of the day tanning! (much needed)
Our last day in Italy, we left Cinque Terre early because there was a serious mass of rain falling and we didn't see it letting up any time soon. We flew out the next day to Mykonos!
Well first off,We had a 5 hour layover in Athens so took that as an opportunity to have Greek salads, do our eyebrows and get manicures!
Then, my mom and sister surprised us and were waiting in the lobby of the hotel when we arrived! BEST FAMIY EVER I was thrilled and she brought us tons of shampoo and conditioner which we really needed. And if you know how close me and my mom are you know why I was so thrilled (Grace gets it cause she knows I'm a freak who talks to my mom about 10 times a day- I love her!!!) It was really awesome to see familiar faces and they had already figured out public transportation and the bus routes so we didn't feel as lost as we usually do. Our first dinner in Mykonos we went to Kounelas Fish Market where you can pick your own fish from these drawers and they cook it for you right on the spot. All the food in Greece was so fresh and delicious that we ate all the time. Instead of Gelato, the big dessert in Mykonos were crepes so you can imagine how many of those we had.
The next day, we went to paradise beach which is pretty famous and that was really cool too. We laid on the sand and read books, had some slushy drinks from the bar and spent the day in complete relaxation. At night, we all got dressed up and went to this restaurant called Joanna Niko's that is rated as the number one restaurant in Mykonos on trip advisor. The view of the ocean is absolutely spectacular but we had a unique experience because a huge cockroach was crawling by our table and the hostess pretty much just stomped on it and kept on walking like if nothing had happened. Everyone was really nice about it though, they comped our meal and we went into Mykonos town for crepes (yay!)
The next day, we visited a famous Monastery, Ano Mera, and even got to take pictures with one of the monks! Did I mention Mykonos has a serious cat infestation problem? Well that included this monastery but it was still simple and beautiful. We walked about two miles to Elia beach after that which was my favorite beach In Mykonos. We rented beach chairs and lounged around, had milk shakes and some baked feta and Greek salad at the beautiful Oceanside restaurant there. The next morning, my mom and sister left which was sad but grace and I had the day to ourselves. We lounged around all day, sat by the pool in our hotel (vanilla which was amazing and lights vanilla scented candles at night time), and we walked to Ornos beach that day for lunch. At night, we were going to go to Mykonos Bar, and Caprise which was highly recommended to us by most of the young peole we met. But we ended up not going because as we were taking out money from the ATM for the night, graces debit card was forever swallowed by a Greek ATM and we had to handle that situation.
The next day, we flew to Istanbul and we are exploring this wonderful city now! This Saturday marks the halfway point of our trip. Isn't that so weird?? I'm having mixed feelings about it. And no, Grace and I have not killed each other yet, surprisingly. We have been doing a really great job at this whole traveling thing and I am really going to miss her when we are not with each other 24/7!
More updates on Istanbul soon. Thinking of you tons while we are here, ASH!
xoxo
BECCA
After the day trip, we were off to Cinque Terre for 3 days. This was the MOST amazing part of Italy in my opinion (thanks Kristin and Gwennie for the suggestion). We tried to stay at Hotel Pasquale but they didn't have any space but recommended us to a woman they knew who rented out an apartment. Our "landlord", Carolina, was so freaking cute and awesome. She is the epitome of an older Italian woman. She is 84 and did not speak one word of English but we managed to communicate with her pretty well. She actually lived across the street and one floor up from where we were staying and kept a pretty watchful eye on us which made me feel super comfortable. We also had a fully stocked kitchen and a supermarket across the street so we were able to do groceries and make some home cooked meals for ourselves. There was also a washing machine in the apartment so we were able to do some much needed loads of laundry! Things were starting to get a little bit smelly...
As for Cinque Terre itself, the villages are absolutely breathtaking. Our first day there we got settled, did groceries, and laid out at the beach for hours. The water is crystal clear blue and even though the sand is made up of big chunky rocks, after a long day of tanning swimming in that ocean was pure bliss. We stayed in the village called Monterosso del Mare, but there see 4 other ones to choose from that each have their own uniqueness to offer. On our second day here we woke up early and did the hike between Monterosso and the next village, Venazza. Cinque Terre is connected by hiking aths as well as trains, so there are 4 different paths that take about 5 hours altogether to hike. we were feeling ambitious and wanted to so the whole thing, but the two middle passes were closed due to land slides.
So our hike from Monterosso to Vernazza took 2 hours. It's supposed to be the hardest out of the 4 hikes, loaded with lots of ancient steps and steep cliffs/edges that are tricky to navigate with oncoming hiker traffic. It was definitely worth it to go. After a long day of hiking, we refueled with some delicious pizza and hopped on the train back to Monterroso. We headed straight for the beach again, and spent the rest of the day tanning! (much needed)
Our last day in Italy, we left Cinque Terre early because there was a serious mass of rain falling and we didn't see it letting up any time soon. We flew out the next day to Mykonos!
Well first off,We had a 5 hour layover in Athens so took that as an opportunity to have Greek salads, do our eyebrows and get manicures!
Then, my mom and sister surprised us and were waiting in the lobby of the hotel when we arrived! BEST FAMIY EVER I was thrilled and she brought us tons of shampoo and conditioner which we really needed. And if you know how close me and my mom are you know why I was so thrilled (Grace gets it cause she knows I'm a freak who talks to my mom about 10 times a day- I love her!!!) It was really awesome to see familiar faces and they had already figured out public transportation and the bus routes so we didn't feel as lost as we usually do. Our first dinner in Mykonos we went to Kounelas Fish Market where you can pick your own fish from these drawers and they cook it for you right on the spot. All the food in Greece was so fresh and delicious that we ate all the time. Instead of Gelato, the big dessert in Mykonos were crepes so you can imagine how many of those we had.
The next day, we went to paradise beach which is pretty famous and that was really cool too. We laid on the sand and read books, had some slushy drinks from the bar and spent the day in complete relaxation. At night, we all got dressed up and went to this restaurant called Joanna Niko's that is rated as the number one restaurant in Mykonos on trip advisor. The view of the ocean is absolutely spectacular but we had a unique experience because a huge cockroach was crawling by our table and the hostess pretty much just stomped on it and kept on walking like if nothing had happened. Everyone was really nice about it though, they comped our meal and we went into Mykonos town for crepes (yay!)
The next day, we visited a famous Monastery, Ano Mera, and even got to take pictures with one of the monks! Did I mention Mykonos has a serious cat infestation problem? Well that included this monastery but it was still simple and beautiful. We walked about two miles to Elia beach after that which was my favorite beach In Mykonos. We rented beach chairs and lounged around, had milk shakes and some baked feta and Greek salad at the beautiful Oceanside restaurant there. The next morning, my mom and sister left which was sad but grace and I had the day to ourselves. We lounged around all day, sat by the pool in our hotel (vanilla which was amazing and lights vanilla scented candles at night time), and we walked to Ornos beach that day for lunch. At night, we were going to go to Mykonos Bar, and Caprise which was highly recommended to us by most of the young peole we met. But we ended up not going because as we were taking out money from the ATM for the night, graces debit card was forever swallowed by a Greek ATM and we had to handle that situation.
The next day, we flew to Istanbul and we are exploring this wonderful city now! This Saturday marks the halfway point of our trip. Isn't that so weird?? I'm having mixed feelings about it. And no, Grace and I have not killed each other yet, surprisingly. We have been doing a really great job at this whole traveling thing and I am really going to miss her when we are not with each other 24/7!
More updates on Istanbul soon. Thinking of you tons while we are here, ASH!
xoxo
BECCA
Sunday, June 12, 2011
It's been too long...
Grace and I have been doing a horrible job of keeping up with this blogging business. Although it will be beneficial for us also, its difficult to give up precious time in foreign countries to sit at the computer and type, but we want everyone to feel like they are along on the ride with us, so here is an update of what we have been up to. It's been a long road since the end of May so sit tight and enjoy the stories!
I think the last update ended with Prague, so I will elaborate on that more (I was going to cleverly name this post Czech-x Mix bur never actually got around to writing it)...
En route to prauge, we took an overnight train from Frankfurt and pictured us falling soundly asleep on the train ride and waking up to magically find ourselves with no disturbances whatsoever. Boy were we wrong. The overnight train is a NIGHTMARE, for those looking to ever take one. If you have the option, take the bunk bed and not the reclining chair. People wake up at the crack of dawn (the sun rises around 3:30 or4 am mind you) and there is virtually mp way to get any sleep. We ended up making it there early in the morning and navigated the underground metro rail until we made it to the stop for our hotel. We wandered in circles for nearly two hours looking for the right street, unbeknownst to us that were pronouncing it vy incorrectly. Fortunately, we got it all settled and found it. The Best Western on Na Morani, definite recommend it and they give free wifi on all devices which is a luxury we haven't seen too often overseas. We spent our days seeing the sights: Charles bridge, the castle, the Vysherad old castle and the cemetery accompanying it, and we spent our nights salsa dancing with Czech men and getting much too drunk. We found a Cuban bar (of course haha) named Bodeguita del Medio and after some flirtatious exchanges with our waiter, we made friends with pretty much the entire staff. From the bar manager, Jirka (George in Czech, to the bartender Karel (who liked for us to call him Maxamillion), we had so much fun with them that it kept us coming back...eve...single....night. Oops! We even went out with them after Bodeguita closed down at 4 am and wet to some local Czech hot spots (Harley Bar) which turned out to be really fun. Needless to say, we had a difficult time waking up at 6:30 am the next day to catch our train back to Germany. We actually missed it, but all was well and we just jumped on the next. Thank God for EU rail passes.
Oh before I forgt, we also spent a night with this man who actually has a house in my neighborhood in Miami, but lives in CR. Arthur, if you are reading this we had the best time ever with you! Arthur took us for dinner and listened to us ramble on about all that we have seen so far, and then gave us our own personal tour of old town Prague where we were able to see the famous astronomical clock and the castle that inspired the Disney one (I think).. He also introduced us to his step som Andrew. We all went to a bar together for drinks, and had a blast laughing and taking about all sorts of things (mainly miami and how awesome it is). They were both very gracious hosts and we appreciated their efforts a TON, so thanks again! :)
After we left the CR, we spent one more night in Framkfurt (my biggest trip planning regret up to this point has been not picking Berlin instead) and the next day departed to italia!
I wish I could express to you how much of a fight I put up with my parent when planning this trip because I NEEDED us to have 10 days in Italy. Don't get me wrong, I loved our time there but it definit took me some time to warm up to it. We started off in Rome for three nights. Upon arrival to fuimicino airport, we took the train all the way to Termini and actually had a pretty easy time locating our hotel - Domus Mea. As we went to check in, we found that the hotel was located on th 5th floor of a pretty delapidated building with an old creaky elevator that barely worked, and "hotel domus mea" written in faded sharpie on the doorbell. We tried very hard to give it the benefit of the doubt until I got in the shower, started washing my hair, and turned around to find cocaroaches crawling up the back of the shower door. My head is itching now just thinking about it! Needless to say I called my mom and broke the news, so we ended up switching hotels and got to stay right on Via Nazionale, just a few blocks away from the Colloseum - rough huh? :)
We spent our days in Rome navigating through the hustle and bustle of the crowds at every single tourist attraction, and fending off street dealers that can really become overwhelming. By night we wet too much Gelato, and bought beers to sit by "our" fountain and hang out wth the locals. We ate lots of delicious pasta (and really took everyone's #1 advice to stay off the beaten path and find delicious food in different places). When people say this, they mean it. The food was so much more delicious and affordable on the small side streets. We immedialtely became attached to our favorite pasta place, and a gelato place called Beebop where we were allowed to they ALL the flavors we wanted (it won us over really).
On our last day in Rome, my dads italian colleague, Gian Franco came down to Rome with his daughter Eleonora and gave us our own personal tour of all of the ruins, the colosseum, and pretty much the whole rest of the city.
After 3 nights, we moved onto Florence. You will NEVER guess who we ran into there. Well two sets of shocking people actually. The first was the cast of Jersey shore who we actually were inches away from right off a street by the duomo. We saw them and grace must have been star struck and in awe because right after that we walked into a store full of gorgeous Italian leather boots and... Well I'll let her tell you about that herself. We also spent an entire day biking to Tuscany where we saw lots of grape and olive branches and learned the ways and regulations of growing grapes and making them into Chianti Classico wine, and the steps in pressing olive oil. We also got to have a real 3 course Italian meal, complete with wine tasting and all. It was really such an aWesome experience, but I did have to get off my bike and walk it down some of those massive hills because I was scared of face planting.
The second shocking person was...Toni! Weird huh? Of all places, we ran into her in Florence which was fun and unexpected, and really shows how there are foresters EVERYWHERE we go! ;)
There is still more to tell about the rest of our time in Italy, and all of Greece, but we are headed out now so I will update more later! Enjoy!
Oh and PS: leave comments because we really miss everyone and love to know that people are following our blog and miss us too :)
Xo
BECCA
I think the last update ended with Prague, so I will elaborate on that more (I was going to cleverly name this post Czech-x Mix bur never actually got around to writing it)...
En route to prauge, we took an overnight train from Frankfurt and pictured us falling soundly asleep on the train ride and waking up to magically find ourselves with no disturbances whatsoever. Boy were we wrong. The overnight train is a NIGHTMARE, for those looking to ever take one. If you have the option, take the bunk bed and not the reclining chair. People wake up at the crack of dawn (the sun rises around 3:30 or4 am mind you) and there is virtually mp way to get any sleep. We ended up making it there early in the morning and navigated the underground metro rail until we made it to the stop for our hotel. We wandered in circles for nearly two hours looking for the right street, unbeknownst to us that were pronouncing it vy incorrectly. Fortunately, we got it all settled and found it. The Best Western on Na Morani, definite recommend it and they give free wifi on all devices which is a luxury we haven't seen too often overseas. We spent our days seeing the sights: Charles bridge, the castle, the Vysherad old castle and the cemetery accompanying it, and we spent our nights salsa dancing with Czech men and getting much too drunk. We found a Cuban bar (of course haha) named Bodeguita del Medio and after some flirtatious exchanges with our waiter, we made friends with pretty much the entire staff. From the bar manager, Jirka (George in Czech, to the bartender Karel (who liked for us to call him Maxamillion), we had so much fun with them that it kept us coming back...eve...single....night. Oops! We even went out with them after Bodeguita closed down at 4 am and wet to some local Czech hot spots (Harley Bar) which turned out to be really fun. Needless to say, we had a difficult time waking up at 6:30 am the next day to catch our train back to Germany. We actually missed it, but all was well and we just jumped on the next. Thank God for EU rail passes.
Oh before I forgt, we also spent a night with this man who actually has a house in my neighborhood in Miami, but lives in CR. Arthur, if you are reading this we had the best time ever with you! Arthur took us for dinner and listened to us ramble on about all that we have seen so far, and then gave us our own personal tour of old town Prague where we were able to see the famous astronomical clock and the castle that inspired the Disney one (I think).. He also introduced us to his step som Andrew. We all went to a bar together for drinks, and had a blast laughing and taking about all sorts of things (mainly miami and how awesome it is). They were both very gracious hosts and we appreciated their efforts a TON, so thanks again! :)
After we left the CR, we spent one more night in Framkfurt (my biggest trip planning regret up to this point has been not picking Berlin instead) and the next day departed to italia!
I wish I could express to you how much of a fight I put up with my parent when planning this trip because I NEEDED us to have 10 days in Italy. Don't get me wrong, I loved our time there but it definit took me some time to warm up to it. We started off in Rome for three nights. Upon arrival to fuimicino airport, we took the train all the way to Termini and actually had a pretty easy time locating our hotel - Domus Mea. As we went to check in, we found that the hotel was located on th 5th floor of a pretty delapidated building with an old creaky elevator that barely worked, and "hotel domus mea" written in faded sharpie on the doorbell. We tried very hard to give it the benefit of the doubt until I got in the shower, started washing my hair, and turned around to find cocaroaches crawling up the back of the shower door. My head is itching now just thinking about it! Needless to say I called my mom and broke the news, so we ended up switching hotels and got to stay right on Via Nazionale, just a few blocks away from the Colloseum - rough huh? :)
We spent our days in Rome navigating through the hustle and bustle of the crowds at every single tourist attraction, and fending off street dealers that can really become overwhelming. By night we wet too much Gelato, and bought beers to sit by "our" fountain and hang out wth the locals. We ate lots of delicious pasta (and really took everyone's #1 advice to stay off the beaten path and find delicious food in different places). When people say this, they mean it. The food was so much more delicious and affordable on the small side streets. We immedialtely became attached to our favorite pasta place, and a gelato place called Beebop where we were allowed to they ALL the flavors we wanted (it won us over really).
On our last day in Rome, my dads italian colleague, Gian Franco came down to Rome with his daughter Eleonora and gave us our own personal tour of all of the ruins, the colosseum, and pretty much the whole rest of the city.
After 3 nights, we moved onto Florence. You will NEVER guess who we ran into there. Well two sets of shocking people actually. The first was the cast of Jersey shore who we actually were inches away from right off a street by the duomo. We saw them and grace must have been star struck and in awe because right after that we walked into a store full of gorgeous Italian leather boots and... Well I'll let her tell you about that herself. We also spent an entire day biking to Tuscany where we saw lots of grape and olive branches and learned the ways and regulations of growing grapes and making them into Chianti Classico wine, and the steps in pressing olive oil. We also got to have a real 3 course Italian meal, complete with wine tasting and all. It was really such an aWesome experience, but I did have to get off my bike and walk it down some of those massive hills because I was scared of face planting.
The second shocking person was...Toni! Weird huh? Of all places, we ran into her in Florence which was fun and unexpected, and really shows how there are foresters EVERYWHERE we go! ;)
There is still more to tell about the rest of our time in Italy, and all of Greece, but we are headed out now so I will update more later! Enjoy!
Oh and PS: leave comments because we really miss everyone and love to know that people are following our blog and miss us too :)
Xo
BECCA
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
The World So Far
...AMAZING!
Sorry everyone, I have been slacking, but I'll catch you up (even though becca has done a good job of keeping you filled in) So far we have done Copenhagen, a quick stop in Frankfurt, then on to Prague and now Rome. Tomorrow we leave for Florence. So I'll give you a little of each!
COPENHAGEN
With Copenhagen being our first stop, and not really knowing what to expect, we of course were keeping an open mind. We landed, got on the trAin to our hotel, took some roundabout way to the hotel which allowed us to see the area a little bit and we quickly discovered that we were staying in a *liberal* part of town ... If ya know what i mean!
We checked into Hotel Abs Elon which was endearingly decorated with yellow and green floral curtains, carpeting and bedding, and had a white and orange color scheme going on in the bathroom. We dumped the bags and hit the streets. We walked past Tivloi, the amusement park, said we'd go back, although we never did, and went to Streckers. Silk, our bartender, was very sweet and served us our first carlsburg followed by a beer tasting of five different draughts. Yumm. Day one was pretty relaxing.
Day two we took a bike ride led by Steiner/not sure what his Danish name is butnhe said it meant stone or rock. Someone else called him Peter so really any of the above. I honestly don't think he cared what we called him. He was an anarchist, keen to hear our thoughts about 911 and bin ladens death. We didnt have ,much to say but he was a good guide for the day. The Danish bike around Copenhagen as a way of life he said they are determined people, even in the winter. He tooknus to see some of the monuments, the opera house, the royal residence, Christiania (a magical place), and the little mermaid statue.
That pretty much sums up a lot of Copenhagen.
FRANKURT
We stopped over in Frankfurt for a night before we took a train to Prague, we stayed by the airport to make transportation convenient. We were surprisingly impressed with the campgrounds across the street from our hotel. Mustafa, our concierge, hooked us up w a free glass of prosseco at Tomassi a little Italian hut on the camp/farm grounds. The food was delish! Then we worked up the motivation to work out. We ran around one square of the farm about five times. One time we thought that two men carrying fishing poles actually had rifles? Why, I'm not sure but maybe bc there were no bodies of water in sight. So we had a great day but hit the hit road real quick.
PRAGUE
We got off the train to Prague and had to find the next train to our hotel, got off of that train and spent the next two hours walking around this park clueless as to how to orient ourselves and find our street. I swear, the signs and arrows point in all the wrong directions and everything is 200 meters away; except not.
After all that though we had the best time. We hit up this Cuban bar that was recommended on the web and by our concierge called La Bodeguita del Medio. Oh yah, and don't worry we went all three nights. Apparently Czech waiters love to have an American girl flirt w them (maybe I'll try being so forward w the American boys). Jirka (pronounced Yerka, but w a Czech accent) was actually our favorite. He was some kind of manager and he looked sooo serious but after seeing us for three nights there was no doubt that the love was mutual.
Night two in Prague was the best, we hung w the locals, thanks Marek and Filip for taking us out til 5 or 6 in the morning it wad great to see the local dives. But, they can't hang; we went back to say goodbye on our last night and found that everyone had showed up to work late that day, or in one poor girls case not at all. She probs got the boot! I know, I know, I'm not perfect either but these ppl don't work til 4 pm!!!
In also can't write about Prague without at least mentioning the little Spanish man who goes to bodeguita every night and dances the night away with all the young girls. Good for him. At first I thought creepy then realized he's harmless and so much fun!
ROME
Now were in Rome and it's been great, but not what I expected at all. We got tons of good tips from everyone so thanks for that! We have avoided a lot of tourist traps ... Except for Becca's wooden turtle that she bought off of Willy on night one. Woops. But the food is great, the gelato is ... Well we're up to two a day now :/ that's embarrassing. Hazelnut is by far the best, but I couldnt find the heavenly honey fig flavor that Charlie and Areti have been raving about. We frequent Beebops which is across the little street from our humble fountain that we found where the locals hang out and drink beer. We haven't made any friends here like we did in Prague but were okay with that because Italian men are ... Different. And aggressive.
We have lots of pics put on FB so keep your eyes peeled!
Miss you all!! Xx
G
Sorry everyone, I have been slacking, but I'll catch you up (even though becca has done a good job of keeping you filled in) So far we have done Copenhagen, a quick stop in Frankfurt, then on to Prague and now Rome. Tomorrow we leave for Florence. So I'll give you a little of each!
COPENHAGEN
With Copenhagen being our first stop, and not really knowing what to expect, we of course were keeping an open mind. We landed, got on the trAin to our hotel, took some roundabout way to the hotel which allowed us to see the area a little bit and we quickly discovered that we were staying in a *liberal* part of town ... If ya know what i mean!
We checked into Hotel Abs Elon which was endearingly decorated with yellow and green floral curtains, carpeting and bedding, and had a white and orange color scheme going on in the bathroom. We dumped the bags and hit the streets. We walked past Tivloi, the amusement park, said we'd go back, although we never did, and went to Streckers. Silk, our bartender, was very sweet and served us our first carlsburg followed by a beer tasting of five different draughts. Yumm. Day one was pretty relaxing.
Day two we took a bike ride led by Steiner/not sure what his Danish name is butnhe said it meant stone or rock. Someone else called him Peter so really any of the above. I honestly don't think he cared what we called him. He was an anarchist, keen to hear our thoughts about 911 and bin ladens death. We didnt have ,much to say but he was a good guide for the day. The Danish bike around Copenhagen as a way of life he said they are determined people, even in the winter. He tooknus to see some of the monuments, the opera house, the royal residence, Christiania (a magical place), and the little mermaid statue.
That pretty much sums up a lot of Copenhagen.
FRANKURT
We stopped over in Frankfurt for a night before we took a train to Prague, we stayed by the airport to make transportation convenient. We were surprisingly impressed with the campgrounds across the street from our hotel. Mustafa, our concierge, hooked us up w a free glass of prosseco at Tomassi a little Italian hut on the camp/farm grounds. The food was delish! Then we worked up the motivation to work out. We ran around one square of the farm about five times. One time we thought that two men carrying fishing poles actually had rifles? Why, I'm not sure but maybe bc there were no bodies of water in sight. So we had a great day but hit the hit road real quick.
PRAGUE
We got off the train to Prague and had to find the next train to our hotel, got off of that train and spent the next two hours walking around this park clueless as to how to orient ourselves and find our street. I swear, the signs and arrows point in all the wrong directions and everything is 200 meters away; except not.
After all that though we had the best time. We hit up this Cuban bar that was recommended on the web and by our concierge called La Bodeguita del Medio. Oh yah, and don't worry we went all three nights. Apparently Czech waiters love to have an American girl flirt w them (maybe I'll try being so forward w the American boys). Jirka (pronounced Yerka, but w a Czech accent) was actually our favorite. He was some kind of manager and he looked sooo serious but after seeing us for three nights there was no doubt that the love was mutual.
Night two in Prague was the best, we hung w the locals, thanks Marek and Filip for taking us out til 5 or 6 in the morning it wad great to see the local dives. But, they can't hang; we went back to say goodbye on our last night and found that everyone had showed up to work late that day, or in one poor girls case not at all. She probs got the boot! I know, I know, I'm not perfect either but these ppl don't work til 4 pm!!!
In also can't write about Prague without at least mentioning the little Spanish man who goes to bodeguita every night and dances the night away with all the young girls. Good for him. At first I thought creepy then realized he's harmless and so much fun!
ROME
Now were in Rome and it's been great, but not what I expected at all. We got tons of good tips from everyone so thanks for that! We have avoided a lot of tourist traps ... Except for Becca's wooden turtle that she bought off of Willy on night one. Woops. But the food is great, the gelato is ... Well we're up to two a day now :/ that's embarrassing. Hazelnut is by far the best, but I couldnt find the heavenly honey fig flavor that Charlie and Areti have been raving about. We frequent Beebops which is across the little street from our humble fountain that we found where the locals hang out and drink beer. We haven't made any friends here like we did in Prague but were okay with that because Italian men are ... Different. And aggressive.
We have lots of pics put on FB so keep your eyes peeled!
Miss you all!! Xx
G
Friday, May 27, 2011
GERMANY
So after we left Copenhagen we spent one day in Germany. We went to the Holiday Inn Express by the airport and had a jet lag day where we recovered from the time differ de. Across the street is this amazing camping ground area (the hotel is off the highway in the middle of nowerhere). In the middle of the camping area is an amazing little restaurant called Tomasi - highly highly recommend it to anyone who's going to Frankfurt anytime soon haha. They use natural local ingredients and are so AWESOME. Our concierge gave us coupons for free champagne and we sat outside in the sun and enjoyed the day! Livin the life haha
Then we napped and went back out to the camp grounds to work out! It was sweet we did a jog/sprint workout through these feilds and saw a big herd of sheep (even a black one) grazing in this huge field like area with a creek. It was beautiful. After we did some workouts on these cut down stumps that were outside.. We really had to sit back and appreciate that we were making nature our own personal gym haha despite the stares of locals while we were doing squats and lunges.
Seriously though, being in Europe makes me feel like a fat American. They don't super size ANYTHING here. We order a sandwich or some kind of meal, and it's not served with a huge side. It's kind of nice. At hotel breakfast, it's all mini food served with small plates and small juice glasses. Little pre served packages of Nutella, small bread slices. It's still filling and yummy and makes our diets a little bit easier - let's be serious we aren't trying to gain a thousand pounds!
Later in the night we got ready to take the overnight train to Copenhagen. Let me tell you - nobody had any idea where the EU rail station was and we were FEEAKING out, but ended up finding an info desk and got it all worked out. Overnight trains are brutal - do not recommend that to anyone traveling haha. We had these big half moon/ alien chairs and the train wasn't til 1 am so everyone in the cabin was already sleeping when we got in. It was a funny experience but if you want a good nights sleep definitely do the train bunk bed option.
Made it to Prague safely. Will update more later. Oh, and still trying to get Grace to blog!
Then we napped and went back out to the camp grounds to work out! It was sweet we did a jog/sprint workout through these feilds and saw a big herd of sheep (even a black one) grazing in this huge field like area with a creek. It was beautiful. After we did some workouts on these cut down stumps that were outside.. We really had to sit back and appreciate that we were making nature our own personal gym haha despite the stares of locals while we were doing squats and lunges.
Seriously though, being in Europe makes me feel like a fat American. They don't super size ANYTHING here. We order a sandwich or some kind of meal, and it's not served with a huge side. It's kind of nice. At hotel breakfast, it's all mini food served with small plates and small juice glasses. Little pre served packages of Nutella, small bread slices. It's still filling and yummy and makes our diets a little bit easier - let's be serious we aren't trying to gain a thousand pounds!
Later in the night we got ready to take the overnight train to Copenhagen. Let me tell you - nobody had any idea where the EU rail station was and we were FEEAKING out, but ended up finding an info desk and got it all worked out. Overnight trains are brutal - do not recommend that to anyone traveling haha. We had these big half moon/ alien chairs and the train wasn't til 1 am so everyone in the cabin was already sleeping when we got in. It was a funny experience but if you want a good nights sleep definitely do the train bunk bed option.
Made it to Prague safely. Will update more later. Oh, and still trying to get Grace to blog!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Biker's Paradise
First stop: Copenhagen, Denmark!
We were welcomed to Copenhagen by a really sweet Danish security officer. She directed us to our hotel once we got off the train, and we walked right into what seems to be Copenhagen's sex district. There are "free sex shows" and stores that sell dildo's all around us, and we were quite surprised! But we were excited about being in a new place.
The hotel is really located in a central area (besides the whole sex thing) it was so easy to get around especially by foot. We are right next to Tivoli, an outdoor amusement park that has tons of different little restaurants and beer gardens inside. We were on our way there when it started pouring rain so we ran into a bar across the street called Streckers. We met our bartender, Silke, who is the definition of a Danish beauty. Then we did beer tasting and Grace and I got a liitttllleeee drunk. Apparently the alcohol content in Danish beer is higher...who knew? (hahaha) It was an early night for us.
Today we went on a bike tour all around the city and saw lots of different parts. People here ride bike EVERYWHERE. There are separate lanes on the sides of the roads for bikers and something like 36% of the population uses biking as their main way of getting around. We biked through all these historic landmarks and we also visited Christiania which is sort of an anarchist neighborhood. This group of people moved in to old military barracks and created their own neighborhood within a city. They are secluded and sell pot down the main street. It was SWEET and there was tons of graffiti everywhere. After 3 hours of biking our butts were so sore! We ditched the bikes and ended our night with a stroll in Nyhvnd (new hound, a beautiful harbor near the central city.
More updates soon! Pictures aren't working for some reason but we will try and get that all figured out soon.
BECCA
We were welcomed to Copenhagen by a really sweet Danish security officer. She directed us to our hotel once we got off the train, and we walked right into what seems to be Copenhagen's sex district. There are "free sex shows" and stores that sell dildo's all around us, and we were quite surprised! But we were excited about being in a new place.
The hotel is really located in a central area (besides the whole sex thing) it was so easy to get around especially by foot. We are right next to Tivoli, an outdoor amusement park that has tons of different little restaurants and beer gardens inside. We were on our way there when it started pouring rain so we ran into a bar across the street called Streckers. We met our bartender, Silke, who is the definition of a Danish beauty. Then we did beer tasting and Grace and I got a liitttllleeee drunk. Apparently the alcohol content in Danish beer is higher...who knew? (hahaha) It was an early night for us.
Today we went on a bike tour all around the city and saw lots of different parts. People here ride bike EVERYWHERE. There are separate lanes on the sides of the roads for bikers and something like 36% of the population uses biking as their main way of getting around. We biked through all these historic landmarks and we also visited Christiania which is sort of an anarchist neighborhood. This group of people moved in to old military barracks and created their own neighborhood within a city. They are secluded and sell pot down the main street. It was SWEET and there was tons of graffiti everywhere. After 3 hours of biking our butts were so sore! We ditched the bikes and ended our night with a stroll in Nyhvnd (new hound, a beautiful harbor near the central city.
More updates soon! Pictures aren't working for some reason but we will try and get that all figured out soon.
BECCA
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Five Star Backpacking
So, it will be my fourth time leaving the United States (outside of Canada ... what is that anyways?!), but the FIRST time I will be making it to 12, maybe 13 destinations, all in one go! My head is spinning thinking about it! In just a few short days we will be shopping in Europe, eating the best food in the world, visiting ancient historic sites and of course participating in the modern cultures of our various destinations.
I'm not quite sure how to prepare for this; we're departing this weekend with just the bags on our backs and each other. Stilettos and other fabulous accessories are not invited; yeah, we're roughin' it! NOT! I think we'll be okay as long as we don't get sold into slavery for a couple of camels or arrested for unlawful gum-chewing. People here tell me they like when I come back ... so we'll do our best not to be detained, but I can't promise I wont fall in love with the local culture, or maybe just the locals (oops, btdt) and stay voluntarily.
But I'll stop bragging ... until we get there ;)
Until then, I cannot wait for happy hour on Thursday to say farewell to all of my wonderful coworkers (SUCKAHHHHS!) And, of course since my boss promised everyone I'd be taking souvenir requests, I sure will listen to them, but after all those drinks I'm not too sure I'll remember them!
G
I'm not quite sure how to prepare for this; we're departing this weekend with just the bags on our backs and each other. Stilettos and other fabulous accessories are not invited; yeah, we're roughin' it! NOT! I think we'll be okay as long as we don't get sold into slavery for a couple of camels or arrested for unlawful gum-chewing. People here tell me they like when I come back ... so we'll do our best not to be detained, but I can't promise I wont fall in love with the local culture, or maybe just the locals (oops, btdt) and stay voluntarily.
But I'll stop bragging ... until we get there ;)
Until then, I cannot wait for happy hour on Thursday to say farewell to all of my wonderful coworkers (SUCKAHHHHS!) And, of course since my boss promised everyone I'd be taking souvenir requests, I sure will listen to them, but after all those drinks I'm not too sure I'll remember them!
G
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