We're home...yay!
We'll fill you in on the last leg of our trip once we've adjusted ourselves to Eastern Standard Time.
xoxoxo
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
It's hot.
"You know it's hot when the sight of chocolate fondue makes you want to die."
This pretty much sums up our thoughts on the heat right now. As Jennifer so eloquently put it, even CHOCOLATE turns us off, especially when it's melted over an open flame.
But aside from the heat, Dubrovnik has been great. We haven't done a single touristy thing since we got here and we have loved every minute of that. We lazed on the beach, went swimming in the Adriatic Sea, ate some awesome seafood. The first night here we had some sure enough fish...head and bones and all. And some fabulous mussels that had to have been made with no fewer than 100 cloves of garlic. The next night, we decided to try some genuine Croatian food. So we found the first restaurant that said "Genuine Croatian Food!" on the door and sat down. On the menu? Fish with head and bones and all and mussels with 100 cloves of garlic. So we had genuine Croatian food twice. And both times it was really good.
Yesterday was the best. We chartered a sailboat and a skipper named Niko and sailed for 4 or 5 hours to the island of Mljet (pronounced myet). Niko filled us in on a couple of island legends and the fact that he heard that women in Maryland have less than stellar bathroom habits ("These a-ladies....they do-a nasty things!"). Other than that, he let us lay out/nap on the deck. Napping while sailing the Adriatic Coast = one of the coolest things ever.
Tomorrow we fly to Rome for our last day of Sisterfest. We don't plan on seeing any of Rome this time though. We do plan on ordering room service at the airport Hilton and swimming in their very chlorinated pool. It's going to be great. We may even order a movie.
We miss you and can't wait to be home in only 2 days!
xoxoxoxoxox
This pretty much sums up our thoughts on the heat right now. As Jennifer so eloquently put it, even CHOCOLATE turns us off, especially when it's melted over an open flame.
But aside from the heat, Dubrovnik has been great. We haven't done a single touristy thing since we got here and we have loved every minute of that. We lazed on the beach, went swimming in the Adriatic Sea, ate some awesome seafood. The first night here we had some sure enough fish...head and bones and all. And some fabulous mussels that had to have been made with no fewer than 100 cloves of garlic. The next night, we decided to try some genuine Croatian food. So we found the first restaurant that said "Genuine Croatian Food!" on the door and sat down. On the menu? Fish with head and bones and all and mussels with 100 cloves of garlic. So we had genuine Croatian food twice. And both times it was really good.
Yesterday was the best. We chartered a sailboat and a skipper named Niko and sailed for 4 or 5 hours to the island of Mljet (pronounced myet). Niko filled us in on a couple of island legends and the fact that he heard that women in Maryland have less than stellar bathroom habits ("These a-ladies....they do-a nasty things!"). Other than that, he let us lay out/nap on the deck. Napping while sailing the Adriatic Coast = one of the coolest things ever.
Tomorrow we fly to Rome for our last day of Sisterfest. We don't plan on seeing any of Rome this time though. We do plan on ordering room service at the airport Hilton and swimming in their very chlorinated pool. It's going to be great. We may even order a movie.
We miss you and can't wait to be home in only 2 days!
xoxoxoxoxox
Thursday, July 26, 2007
And so she went to Dubrovnik....
Our last stop on Sisterfest 2007....Dubrovnik, Croatia! It is incredibly beautiful and we're so glad to end our trip with such an awesome place.
Our flight from Krakow was pretty seamless, except for the fact that we grossly overestimated the time we needed to get to the airport for an 8 am flight. Waking up at 3 am and heading out at 4 just to hang out in an airport is NOT fun, even if you are in Poland. It's just that we didn't know exactly where we were going or how to get there, so we thought being miserable for a couple of hours in the airport was better than being miserable because we missed our flight.
We arrived in Dubrovnik in a very haggard state and in desperate need of a nap. It slipped our minds to bring the hotel ADDRESS with us so that we could tell the cabbie where to go, so there was all sorts of confusion. We told him, "Hotel Smodlaka," quite a few times, and he had no clue where to go. After finding an internet point and getting the address, we showed it to the cabbie. "Ohhhhhhhh," he said. "VILLA Smodlaka! Yes!" When it was a hotel, he had no idea, but a VILLA...yes! he knew exactly where that was located. Good lord.
But we made it and our little apartment in the VILLA (don't call it a hotel) is very cute. We feel like we're staying in a grandmother's house...very cozy and quaint. And then there's the terrace overlooking the Adriatic Sea...breathtaking!
We'll write more soon. We're hoping to get on the water at some point and we may even rent a scooter. Just like Dumb and Dumber.
xoxoxoxoxo
Our flight from Krakow was pretty seamless, except for the fact that we grossly overestimated the time we needed to get to the airport for an 8 am flight. Waking up at 3 am and heading out at 4 just to hang out in an airport is NOT fun, even if you are in Poland. It's just that we didn't know exactly where we were going or how to get there, so we thought being miserable for a couple of hours in the airport was better than being miserable because we missed our flight.
We arrived in Dubrovnik in a very haggard state and in desperate need of a nap. It slipped our minds to bring the hotel ADDRESS with us so that we could tell the cabbie where to go, so there was all sorts of confusion. We told him, "Hotel Smodlaka," quite a few times, and he had no clue where to go. After finding an internet point and getting the address, we showed it to the cabbie. "Ohhhhhhhh," he said. "VILLA Smodlaka! Yes!" When it was a hotel, he had no idea, but a VILLA...yes! he knew exactly where that was located. Good lord.
But we made it and our little apartment in the VILLA (don't call it a hotel) is very cute. We feel like we're staying in a grandmother's house...very cozy and quaint. And then there's the terrace overlooking the Adriatic Sea...breathtaking!
We'll write more soon. We're hoping to get on the water at some point and we may even rent a scooter. Just like Dumb and Dumber.
xoxoxoxoxo
Monday, July 23, 2007
Czech it out!
Yes, we did make the inevitable pun...
So Prague/Praha was awesome. We abandoned the practice of tourism while we were there, perhaps missing some key "sights," but it was a much needed respite. We feel like we experienced Prague more like travelers than tourists, and--yes--there is a huge difference between the two. The first day there was our travel day, including a long nap followed by a wonderful late dinner. The next morning, we bought tickets to Mozart's Don Giovanni and spent the rest of the day shopping for opera clothes. What we didn't know was that tourists almost never dress up for the opera, but the woman we asked at the ticket desk told us that we needed floor-length formal gowns. Yikes! My crappy Target dress just wasn't going to cut it. We hit the stores in Wenceslas Square, the main tourist drag in Prague, and pulled out all the fashion stops necessary to attend such a sophisticated event as the opera. And let me tell you, these two backpackers can clean up goooood.
The opera, which we knew a lot about (thanks to Daddy's obsession with the movie Amadeus and my senior seminar on Don Juan) was so wonderful. It was performed in the same opera house that it debuted in in 1787, and the setting, costumes, and stage directions were all taken from the original performance. We did have one glitch though...I realized, right before the curtain went up, that I didn't have the camera in my purse. "Jamie, do you have the camera?" "No! I thought you had it!" "No! I don't have it; I thought you had it!" The sinking of the stomachs was unavoidable. Not only were we unable to photograph ourselves in this beautiful opera house, but we had left the camera, with full memory card, on my bed in the dorm in our hostel. Any one of the sketchy people staying in our room could have taken it. Luckily, we had yet to encounter "sketchy" types in the Czech Inn (more on that later), so the camera was waiting for us when we rushed back. Thank GOD.
The next morning brought some tough times. Both of our bank cards had decided not to give us cash. With our last two hundred Czech crowns (about 10 dollars), we bought a phone card to call Jamie's bank. After being on hold for several minutes and for some reason not being able to press "1" when prompted, Jamie took out her frustrations on the pay phone (thankfully not on me...there certainly would have been some reconstructive surgery to repair the damage). The pay phone had some choice anti-American phrases written on it, which did not help the situation, and Jamie really let 'er rip on the 'ole pay phone. All I could do was close my eyes, try to find my happy place, and wait for the tirade to be over. Jamie later summed up the situation by saying, "I'm not in a good place right now."
After that debacle, we met up with Emily, an old Albany buddy, at Bohemia Bagel. (We heart Let's Go). She is taking classes at the law school in Prague, so she showed us around a bit. We went to the Jewish museum and saw the famous cemetery with all the headstones squished together. Then we returned to our hostel after making plans to meet Emily for dinner. We went to a wonderful Mexican restaurant (Czech food: not for us), and then went out on the town with Emily and her law school buddies. These three guys, all in their mid-20s with the mindset of 19-year-olds, were just what we needed to perk up. They insisted on us drinking at the pace of college freshmen, and we definitely felt it the next day. At one bar, we were discussing karate (doesn't everyone discuss karate at bars?), and Jamie felt it necessary to let everyone know that she is a Judo "expert." Judo is of course the class she took one summer at camp, not a lifelong passion or anything like that. As she told Trevor, "I have, like.......momentum." She accompanied this statement with a strange arm gesture that looked more like she was dancing to that song "Come On Ride That Train," not kicking someone's ass with her sweet Judo moves. He of course made fun of her endlessly, as did we all.
That night in the hostel, we stayed in a different dorm. This is where the sketchy roommate bit comes in. Let's just say we did not get off to a good start in that room. Earlier in the day, we had both just showered, and I was standing in the room in my towel. A guy we later named "Case of the Stupids" came in and said, "Mmmm, there's nothing better than walking into a room with two good looking women in it." I did not take this as a compliment, and wanted to punch this guy in the face. After talking to him for a little bit, we gathered that he wasn't scary, just a case of the stupids. Unfortunately this was not the worst of our woes in this dorm. When we came in late that night to go to bed, there were two people who had put their names on the two beds we had already claimed. Jamie, using that momentum of hers, promptly ripped the names off and threw them on the floor. We went to sleep, thinking all was well. That was when Jamie was awakened by a smelly man reaching under her pillow for some unidentified object he left there when he claimed the bed. I pretended to be asleep, and hoped for the best. We woke up to the obnoxious sound of someone's cell phone alarm and the smell of manstink. This is similar to hamstink, just with men, not ham. We quickly realized that the manstink was coming from the guy next to us, who was lying on top of his blanket in what can only be described as little baby speedo panties. Despite wanting to sleep more, we packed and got the hell outta there.
That day was our last in Prague, and we did more walking and gawking. We met up with Andrew, my friend from Colby, and took one last look at the city, which we've decided is one of our favorite Sisterfest stops. We headed back to the hostel, grabbed all our stinky clothes and got on the train. We knew there would be no AC on the train, so we tried to live by our motto, which is "Embrace." For example, when a bird poops on your head, just embrace...when you're squished in a subway car with people who smell worse than you could possibly imagine a human being smelling, just embrace....you get the idea. Turns out, with all the windows open, the train was just fine. I actually got cold during the night.
We arrived Sunday here in Krakow, Poland. We are staying in Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter of Krakow, and the center of town is 10 minutes away. There is tons of Jewish history here, so on our first day we went to the Galacia Jewish Museum and saw some photo exhibits. Then we went to Market Square right at sunset, which was beautiful. Krakow is not overrun with tourists, and the weather is perfect, so I pretty much don't want to leave.
Yesterday we went to Auschwitz concentration camp, about an hour away. As you can imagine, it was very upsetting. I won't trivialize it with words, but if you ever find yourself in Eastern Europe, it's definitely a good idea to go.
Last night we searched far and wide to find a good Polish restaurant, and we succeeded. I didn't know what to expect as far as traditional Polish food goes, but it's pretty dang good. Pierogi--kind of like ravioli/dumplings--are mine and Jamie's new fave. We also had some stuffed cabbage (yummy) and pork with walnuts. Paired with a bottle of Australian wine (Polish white wine seems to always be sweet and warm...not good), it was the perfect pick me up to our long day.
This morning, we were supposed to be up and at 'em at 8:30 to go see the famous salt mines outside of Krakow, but a headache and cold kept us in bed. We haven't decided if we're going to go, or if we need one more day of exploring Krakow on foot. This place is making its way up the list of my absolutely favorite cities. The only reason I can justify leaving here tomorrow is because we're going to Croatia. As we've mentioned many times before, now is the time for you to feel sorry for us and our difficult lives. :)
Tomorrow morning we head to Dubrovnik, Croatia, our last stop on the Sisterfest tour. We'll be there for five nights, then spend one night in Rome, then we go HOME! This trip has been so amazing...but it's getting to be that time. The backpack's a little too stinky, and we miss all of you!
We'll let you know how life is on the beach in Croatia. From what I've read and heard, it's going to be pretty awesome. Talk to you all soon!
xoxoxo
Jennifer and Jamie
So Prague/Praha was awesome. We abandoned the practice of tourism while we were there, perhaps missing some key "sights," but it was a much needed respite. We feel like we experienced Prague more like travelers than tourists, and--yes--there is a huge difference between the two. The first day there was our travel day, including a long nap followed by a wonderful late dinner. The next morning, we bought tickets to Mozart's Don Giovanni and spent the rest of the day shopping for opera clothes. What we didn't know was that tourists almost never dress up for the opera, but the woman we asked at the ticket desk told us that we needed floor-length formal gowns. Yikes! My crappy Target dress just wasn't going to cut it. We hit the stores in Wenceslas Square, the main tourist drag in Prague, and pulled out all the fashion stops necessary to attend such a sophisticated event as the opera. And let me tell you, these two backpackers can clean up goooood.
The opera, which we knew a lot about (thanks to Daddy's obsession with the movie Amadeus and my senior seminar on Don Juan) was so wonderful. It was performed in the same opera house that it debuted in in 1787, and the setting, costumes, and stage directions were all taken from the original performance. We did have one glitch though...I realized, right before the curtain went up, that I didn't have the camera in my purse. "Jamie, do you have the camera?" "No! I thought you had it!" "No! I don't have it; I thought you had it!" The sinking of the stomachs was unavoidable. Not only were we unable to photograph ourselves in this beautiful opera house, but we had left the camera, with full memory card, on my bed in the dorm in our hostel. Any one of the sketchy people staying in our room could have taken it. Luckily, we had yet to encounter "sketchy" types in the Czech Inn (more on that later), so the camera was waiting for us when we rushed back. Thank GOD.
The next morning brought some tough times. Both of our bank cards had decided not to give us cash. With our last two hundred Czech crowns (about 10 dollars), we bought a phone card to call Jamie's bank. After being on hold for several minutes and for some reason not being able to press "1" when prompted, Jamie took out her frustrations on the pay phone (thankfully not on me...there certainly would have been some reconstructive surgery to repair the damage). The pay phone had some choice anti-American phrases written on it, which did not help the situation, and Jamie really let 'er rip on the 'ole pay phone. All I could do was close my eyes, try to find my happy place, and wait for the tirade to be over. Jamie later summed up the situation by saying, "I'm not in a good place right now."
After that debacle, we met up with Emily, an old Albany buddy, at Bohemia Bagel. (We heart Let's Go). She is taking classes at the law school in Prague, so she showed us around a bit. We went to the Jewish museum and saw the famous cemetery with all the headstones squished together. Then we returned to our hostel after making plans to meet Emily for dinner. We went to a wonderful Mexican restaurant (Czech food: not for us), and then went out on the town with Emily and her law school buddies. These three guys, all in their mid-20s with the mindset of 19-year-olds, were just what we needed to perk up. They insisted on us drinking at the pace of college freshmen, and we definitely felt it the next day. At one bar, we were discussing karate (doesn't everyone discuss karate at bars?), and Jamie felt it necessary to let everyone know that she is a Judo "expert." Judo is of course the class she took one summer at camp, not a lifelong passion or anything like that. As she told Trevor, "I have, like.......momentum." She accompanied this statement with a strange arm gesture that looked more like she was dancing to that song "Come On Ride That Train," not kicking someone's ass with her sweet Judo moves. He of course made fun of her endlessly, as did we all.
That night in the hostel, we stayed in a different dorm. This is where the sketchy roommate bit comes in. Let's just say we did not get off to a good start in that room. Earlier in the day, we had both just showered, and I was standing in the room in my towel. A guy we later named "Case of the Stupids" came in and said, "Mmmm, there's nothing better than walking into a room with two good looking women in it." I did not take this as a compliment, and wanted to punch this guy in the face. After talking to him for a little bit, we gathered that he wasn't scary, just a case of the stupids. Unfortunately this was not the worst of our woes in this dorm. When we came in late that night to go to bed, there were two people who had put their names on the two beds we had already claimed. Jamie, using that momentum of hers, promptly ripped the names off and threw them on the floor. We went to sleep, thinking all was well. That was when Jamie was awakened by a smelly man reaching under her pillow for some unidentified object he left there when he claimed the bed. I pretended to be asleep, and hoped for the best. We woke up to the obnoxious sound of someone's cell phone alarm and the smell of manstink. This is similar to hamstink, just with men, not ham. We quickly realized that the manstink was coming from the guy next to us, who was lying on top of his blanket in what can only be described as little baby speedo panties. Despite wanting to sleep more, we packed and got the hell outta there.
That day was our last in Prague, and we did more walking and gawking. We met up with Andrew, my friend from Colby, and took one last look at the city, which we've decided is one of our favorite Sisterfest stops. We headed back to the hostel, grabbed all our stinky clothes and got on the train. We knew there would be no AC on the train, so we tried to live by our motto, which is "Embrace." For example, when a bird poops on your head, just embrace...when you're squished in a subway car with people who smell worse than you could possibly imagine a human being smelling, just embrace....you get the idea. Turns out, with all the windows open, the train was just fine. I actually got cold during the night.
We arrived Sunday here in Krakow, Poland. We are staying in Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter of Krakow, and the center of town is 10 minutes away. There is tons of Jewish history here, so on our first day we went to the Galacia Jewish Museum and saw some photo exhibits. Then we went to Market Square right at sunset, which was beautiful. Krakow is not overrun with tourists, and the weather is perfect, so I pretty much don't want to leave.
Yesterday we went to Auschwitz concentration camp, about an hour away. As you can imagine, it was very upsetting. I won't trivialize it with words, but if you ever find yourself in Eastern Europe, it's definitely a good idea to go.
Last night we searched far and wide to find a good Polish restaurant, and we succeeded. I didn't know what to expect as far as traditional Polish food goes, but it's pretty dang good. Pierogi--kind of like ravioli/dumplings--are mine and Jamie's new fave. We also had some stuffed cabbage (yummy) and pork with walnuts. Paired with a bottle of Australian wine (Polish white wine seems to always be sweet and warm...not good), it was the perfect pick me up to our long day.
This morning, we were supposed to be up and at 'em at 8:30 to go see the famous salt mines outside of Krakow, but a headache and cold kept us in bed. We haven't decided if we're going to go, or if we need one more day of exploring Krakow on foot. This place is making its way up the list of my absolutely favorite cities. The only reason I can justify leaving here tomorrow is because we're going to Croatia. As we've mentioned many times before, now is the time for you to feel sorry for us and our difficult lives. :)
Tomorrow morning we head to Dubrovnik, Croatia, our last stop on the Sisterfest tour. We'll be there for five nights, then spend one night in Rome, then we go HOME! This trip has been so amazing...but it's getting to be that time. The backpack's a little too stinky, and we miss all of you!
We'll let you know how life is on the beach in Croatia. From what I've read and heard, it's going to be pretty awesome. Talk to you all soon!
xoxoxo
Jennifer and Jamie
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Get A Taste!!
First of all, we are just so totally honored and EXCITED that we have received multiple requests to update the blog. We're not slacking. We just wanted to see if you were paying attention. Looks like you are. We will proceed.
Turns out though, we were kind of slacking. We had big plans, HUGE plans for our Interlaken post. We were just really busy hurling ourselves off of cliffs and gliding through the air strapped to a parachute and guy named Thomas. Between horse trekking, canyoning and paragliding, our first priority was learning how to walk again (you try bouncing on a saddle for two hours straight on a horse who doesn't know the meaning of the word whoa). This was the land of extreme sports and we felt very, very extreme. I was so proud of Jennifer. Although it took her a while to warm up to the idea of canyoning ("Do they have diaper rentals?") she was a rockstar and only almost got trapped beneath a churning waterfall, never to be seen again. My campaign to get her to skydive with me fell on deaf ears; she would hear nothing of it("Jamie, haven't you noticed that you only want to skydive when you've got a few gin and tonics under your belt?") so I gave up . But it was AMAZING and definitely one of our favorite stops along the way.
After that....Munich, the land of beer and sausage. We spent a very confused first night there - we went to a huge beer garden for dinner and were left to our own devices while ordering from a German menu. Basically, there was a huge display of meat and we just held our breath, hoping that we had chosen the one with the smallest hunk of fat attached to it. I sort of became anti-meat here. We went on a food and beer tour, which was really cool until the schnitzel came out. FRIED COW'S UDDER. I was brave enough to try it and, at first, I actually LIKED it. But then i got ahold of some without the crispy little fried bits and oh my god I really almost made a scene right there at the table. It tastes just like what you might imagine a cow's udder would taste like....So yeah, since then I've been hitting the vegetarian menu like there's no tomorrow.
Munich to Prague....another interesting train adventure. We left Germany at 6am and had a whole compartment to ourselves. With plenty of peace and quiet to snooze away, we thanked our lucky stars only to realize that the reason no one had bothered to come into our compartment was that we were LOCKED IN. Yes, for some reason the conductor locked us in there (we had the curtains drawn, but still he knew we were there!! gah.) After almost blacking out from panic, we managed to summon the attention of the conductor who let us out and then shrugged. He just shrugged, can you imagine?? Oh sorry I LOCKED you in a room the size of shoebox with no way to get out. Moving on....
So here we are in Prague! We're staying in the greatest hostel on Earth...the Czech Inn (pun intended, i think). It's spotless and luxurious AND cheap so we are huge fans. We bought tickets to the opera tonight. Mozart's Don Giovanni is playing here and we could not pass it up even though we know absolutely no italian. So it was a given that, since we had bought the tickets and everything, that we needed opera clothes. So we were forced to go shopping ("I think I feel a Pretty Woman moment coming on.") and if I do say so myself, we looked hot in all our discount finery (at least we think it was discount. who can tell with this funny Czech money?). Hot, at this point, is all relative, but still....
There you go. The Grand Update. We will try to do a better job of keeping up! We love you and miss you!!! Let us hear....
xoxoxo
Turns out though, we were kind of slacking. We had big plans, HUGE plans for our Interlaken post. We were just really busy hurling ourselves off of cliffs and gliding through the air strapped to a parachute and guy named Thomas. Between horse trekking, canyoning and paragliding, our first priority was learning how to walk again (you try bouncing on a saddle for two hours straight on a horse who doesn't know the meaning of the word whoa). This was the land of extreme sports and we felt very, very extreme. I was so proud of Jennifer. Although it took her a while to warm up to the idea of canyoning ("Do they have diaper rentals?") she was a rockstar and only almost got trapped beneath a churning waterfall, never to be seen again. My campaign to get her to skydive with me fell on deaf ears; she would hear nothing of it("Jamie, haven't you noticed that you only want to skydive when you've got a few gin and tonics under your belt?") so I gave up . But it was AMAZING and definitely one of our favorite stops along the way.
After that....Munich, the land of beer and sausage. We spent a very confused first night there - we went to a huge beer garden for dinner and were left to our own devices while ordering from a German menu. Basically, there was a huge display of meat and we just held our breath, hoping that we had chosen the one with the smallest hunk of fat attached to it. I sort of became anti-meat here. We went on a food and beer tour, which was really cool until the schnitzel came out. FRIED COW'S UDDER. I was brave enough to try it and, at first, I actually LIKED it. But then i got ahold of some without the crispy little fried bits and oh my god I really almost made a scene right there at the table. It tastes just like what you might imagine a cow's udder would taste like....So yeah, since then I've been hitting the vegetarian menu like there's no tomorrow.
Munich to Prague....another interesting train adventure. We left Germany at 6am and had a whole compartment to ourselves. With plenty of peace and quiet to snooze away, we thanked our lucky stars only to realize that the reason no one had bothered to come into our compartment was that we were LOCKED IN. Yes, for some reason the conductor locked us in there (we had the curtains drawn, but still he knew we were there!! gah.) After almost blacking out from panic, we managed to summon the attention of the conductor who let us out and then shrugged. He just shrugged, can you imagine?? Oh sorry I LOCKED you in a room the size of shoebox with no way to get out. Moving on....
So here we are in Prague! We're staying in the greatest hostel on Earth...the Czech Inn (pun intended, i think). It's spotless and luxurious AND cheap so we are huge fans. We bought tickets to the opera tonight. Mozart's Don Giovanni is playing here and we could not pass it up even though we know absolutely no italian. So it was a given that, since we had bought the tickets and everything, that we needed opera clothes. So we were forced to go shopping ("I think I feel a Pretty Woman moment coming on.") and if I do say so myself, we looked hot in all our discount finery (at least we think it was discount. who can tell with this funny Czech money?). Hot, at this point, is all relative, but still....
There you go. The Grand Update. We will try to do a better job of keeping up! We love you and miss you!!! Let us hear....
xoxoxo
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Backtracking...
What an amazing few days it has been! We´re a little behind on our posting. After we left Barcelona, a whirlwind of activity occurred and we haven't had a whole lot of time to update.
So let's back up for a moment.....
We left Barcelona in a blaze of glory....on an overnight hotel train. What is a hotel train, you ask? Well, as the name suggests, it is a hotel. On a train. But for two weary backpackers whose train travels until this point consisted of sleeping next to random strangers and being jarred awake by screaming children, the hotel train was, quite simply, awesomeness on wheels.
Ending up on a hotel train was pretty much an accident. We bought our tickets from a very disgruntled ticket man in Barcelona. After denying Jennifer's credit card and accusing her of thievery, he handed over our tickets to Switzerland. Imagine our shock when we realized that we had just paid him well over the price he had quoted us (we kind of think he had his 1's and his 2's mixed up - a minor communication gap). Suddenly, we were the disgruntled ones, cursing him silently and narrowing our eyes at him from behind the plate glass ticket window. We had been hosed by Evil Ticket Man.
"Oh well," we thought, the wind seeping from our sails, "This better be one hell of a train."
We approached our train nervously, fully recognizing that this could either be really good or really, really bad. If Evil Ticket Man was capable of overcharging us just because we were tourists, he certainly had the potential to make our lives miserable in other ways. We had visions of waking up on the train the next morning to signs reading, "Welcome to Baghdad!" while Evil Ticket Man cackled to himself in his Evil Little Ticket Booth back in Barcelona.
But no! A hotel train was waiting for us! We'd only heard of such a thing! And now, we'd actually get to ride one! Sweet!
So maybe Evil Ticket Man wasn't so evil after all. Maybe he looked at us and realized that we needed, nay deserved, a night of luxury on the 10 hour journey to Switzerland. Maybe he was taking matters into his own hands because he knew we'd never spend that kind of money on purpose. Maybe, just maybe.
Either way, it didn't take us long to forgive him. We had our own room (no hamstink!) with a closet, sink and seats that flipped over into surprisingly plush bunk beds. They gave us towels and toiletry kits, complete with earplugs (that we didn't even need!!), toothbrush, comb, sewing kit and little wipies (love the little wipies!). We were just beside ourselves with excitement and if we had had our iPods, we would have thrown a dance party right then and there. There was even a friendly attendant who turned down our beds and made sure that we were, in fact, headed for Switzerland and not Baghdad.
All was wonderful!!! Until....
Instead of being jarred awake by screaming children, we were jolted from a dead sleep by a very aggressive knock at the door and a very aggresive man yelling, "Police!"
My thoughts ran wild....
Had Evil Ticket Man sent the authorities after us? But it's NOT a stolen credit card! Jennifer's NAME is on the card! The same NAME that is on her PASSPORT which also happens to have her PICTURE on it! It all fits together very nicely!! Oh my God, I don't want to go to JAIL!!!!
Turns out, it was no big deal. There was only an evil-doer on the loose who just happened to look a lot like Jennifer and they needed to check things out. At midnight. After studying her passport intently (and only glancing at mine), they allowed us to return to our slumber. Kind of scary, but also very 24-esque.
Apparently, there is something about Jennifer that makes people think "common criminal" when they see her. I guess I can kind of see where they're coming from.
Aside from that little episode, we slept soundly in our room with smiles on our faces all night long. And for this we say...Thank you Evil Ticket Man. It's been our favorite mistake yet.
xoxoxoxoxox
So let's back up for a moment.....
We left Barcelona in a blaze of glory....on an overnight hotel train. What is a hotel train, you ask? Well, as the name suggests, it is a hotel. On a train. But for two weary backpackers whose train travels until this point consisted of sleeping next to random strangers and being jarred awake by screaming children, the hotel train was, quite simply, awesomeness on wheels.
Ending up on a hotel train was pretty much an accident. We bought our tickets from a very disgruntled ticket man in Barcelona. After denying Jennifer's credit card and accusing her of thievery, he handed over our tickets to Switzerland. Imagine our shock when we realized that we had just paid him well over the price he had quoted us (we kind of think he had his 1's and his 2's mixed up - a minor communication gap). Suddenly, we were the disgruntled ones, cursing him silently and narrowing our eyes at him from behind the plate glass ticket window. We had been hosed by Evil Ticket Man.
"Oh well," we thought, the wind seeping from our sails, "This better be one hell of a train."
We approached our train nervously, fully recognizing that this could either be really good or really, really bad. If Evil Ticket Man was capable of overcharging us just because we were tourists, he certainly had the potential to make our lives miserable in other ways. We had visions of waking up on the train the next morning to signs reading, "Welcome to Baghdad!" while Evil Ticket Man cackled to himself in his Evil Little Ticket Booth back in Barcelona.
But no! A hotel train was waiting for us! We'd only heard of such a thing! And now, we'd actually get to ride one! Sweet!
So maybe Evil Ticket Man wasn't so evil after all. Maybe he looked at us and realized that we needed, nay deserved, a night of luxury on the 10 hour journey to Switzerland. Maybe he was taking matters into his own hands because he knew we'd never spend that kind of money on purpose. Maybe, just maybe.
Either way, it didn't take us long to forgive him. We had our own room (no hamstink!) with a closet, sink and seats that flipped over into surprisingly plush bunk beds. They gave us towels and toiletry kits, complete with earplugs (that we didn't even need!!), toothbrush, comb, sewing kit and little wipies (love the little wipies!). We were just beside ourselves with excitement and if we had had our iPods, we would have thrown a dance party right then and there. There was even a friendly attendant who turned down our beds and made sure that we were, in fact, headed for Switzerland and not Baghdad.
All was wonderful!!! Until....
Instead of being jarred awake by screaming children, we were jolted from a dead sleep by a very aggressive knock at the door and a very aggresive man yelling, "Police!"
My thoughts ran wild....
Had Evil Ticket Man sent the authorities after us? But it's NOT a stolen credit card! Jennifer's NAME is on the card! The same NAME that is on her PASSPORT which also happens to have her PICTURE on it! It all fits together very nicely!! Oh my God, I don't want to go to JAIL!!!!
Turns out, it was no big deal. There was only an evil-doer on the loose who just happened to look a lot like Jennifer and they needed to check things out. At midnight. After studying her passport intently (and only glancing at mine), they allowed us to return to our slumber. Kind of scary, but also very 24-esque.
Apparently, there is something about Jennifer that makes people think "common criminal" when they see her. I guess I can kind of see where they're coming from.
Aside from that little episode, we slept soundly in our room with smiles on our faces all night long. And for this we say...Thank you Evil Ticket Man. It's been our favorite mistake yet.
xoxoxoxoxox
Thursday, July 12, 2007
CANYONING!!!
These pictures are from our adventurous day of canyoning in Switzerland. It was so fun, and we will write more details when we get a chance. As for now, enjoy the pictures of us being scared out of our minds. But it was AWESOME. We'll be in touch soon!
xoxoxo
Jennifer and Jamie
xoxoxo
Jennifer and Jamie
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Sisterfest 07: Barcelona Edition
Today is day 3 in Barcelona, and we love it. We arrived on Friday after taking the overnight train from Cannes, and--let's just say we did not want to get off that train. We reserved a couchette, which is like a little room with bunk beds, and we had the cutest couple as roommates. We pretty much fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows, once we got over the excitement of sleeping on a train.
We spent our first day getting oriented to the area of Barcelona around our hostel. We are staying in a very lively area near "La Rambla," which is a big road with a wide pedestrian strip in the middle that is full of people with metallic paint on their faces (these don't annoy me as much as the metallic man in Rome), flower shops, and cafes. There's also a market close by that has the most colorful fruit we have ever seen. Even though it's swarming with tourists, we love it.
Yesterday was our first full day, and we took a bike tour with a bunch of other Americans. We had a very charismatic tour guide named JJ, and quite the variety of personalities on our tour. One lady believed JJ when he joked that catholic clergy in Barcelona sent messages to the Vatican via white doves. She said, "They can fly that far? How do they know which way to go?" This was after she asked JJ if he was going to be our driver for the day. He reminded her that this was a bike tour, and that she was responsible for "driving" herself. He later referred to her and her family as "the family that doesn't listen to a word I say." It was entertaining to say the least.
We loved the bike tour, and definitely want to bike in more cities later on. We saw the highlights of Barcelona, like La Sagrada Familia, the Arc de Triomf (copy of the one in Paris), Ciutadella Park, the Olympic Village, some other churches and museums, and--most importantly--the hotel where Woody Allen is staying right now. We had lunch by the beach, and then headed back to the bike shop. One of the most important things we learned on our tour was that Barcelona is a city that does not like to associate itself with Spain, but Cataluña instead. They speak an entirely different language: a mix of Spanish, Italian, French, etc. So all that Spanish I learned while doing community service in Waterville at the kids' language school isn't coming in handy as much as I had hoped. :)
Last night we went to dinner at one of the fabulous restaurants from our Travel Bible: Let's Go. Then we decided it was time to look in the mirror and tell ourselves, "When in Rome." What I mean is, we made a decision to stay out as late as everyone else in Barcelona, which can be until 6am or even later. We didn't quite make it until 6, but we were satisfied with getting back to the hostel after 2. We went to this club we read about that has salsa dancing on Saturday nights. Of course when we got there, no one was there because it was so early (midnight). We stuck it out for a bit, and right before we left, two obliging gentlemen asked us to salsa. I danced with a man named Sebastian, who had a rosary around his neck....interesting. He had to teach me some moves, but he said I was a good learner. But once he figured out that I am only in Barcelona as a tourist, he wanted to dance a little closer. That was annoying, so I peaced out and went to rescue Jamie from Max, who will be remembered from here on out as "Sour Laudry Man." I didn't notice, but apparently Jamie's Supersonic Sense of Smell (SSS disorder...be glad you don't have it) picked up on it. She said it smelled like Sour Laundry Man had washed his clothes three days ago, but had remained in the washer to sour. I didn't care what he smelled like, I was ready to salsa the heck on out of there. But we were proud of ourselves for going out on a limb. How were we to know that it would smell like moldy socks?
Today we are going to the Picasso Museum (Picasso=my FAVE), and a tour inside La Sagrada Familia. I don't know how much more "going out" we can handle in Barcelona, but we are thinking about a salsa lesson the night before we leave. That way, the terms are clear, because the next time some sketchy dude asks me if I'm a tourist, I'm going to say, "The last man who asked me that ended up on the floor crying and sucking his thumb." This sweet southern belle is not afraid to kick some ass...or at least pretend.
So that's about it for now. We will let you know if we leave any Barcelona men crying and running to their mommy. As for photos, the internet cafe we use won't let us upload any, so you'll have to wait until we get to Switzerland. We are planning on going zorbing. If you don't know what it is, look it up. Then you'll understand why it was Jamie's idea and not mine. :)
We miss you all so much, and we are loving the comments and emails. Keep it up!
xoxoxo
Love,
Jennifer and Jamie
We spent our first day getting oriented to the area of Barcelona around our hostel. We are staying in a very lively area near "La Rambla," which is a big road with a wide pedestrian strip in the middle that is full of people with metallic paint on their faces (these don't annoy me as much as the metallic man in Rome), flower shops, and cafes. There's also a market close by that has the most colorful fruit we have ever seen. Even though it's swarming with tourists, we love it.
Yesterday was our first full day, and we took a bike tour with a bunch of other Americans. We had a very charismatic tour guide named JJ, and quite the variety of personalities on our tour. One lady believed JJ when he joked that catholic clergy in Barcelona sent messages to the Vatican via white doves. She said, "They can fly that far? How do they know which way to go?" This was after she asked JJ if he was going to be our driver for the day. He reminded her that this was a bike tour, and that she was responsible for "driving" herself. He later referred to her and her family as "the family that doesn't listen to a word I say." It was entertaining to say the least.
We loved the bike tour, and definitely want to bike in more cities later on. We saw the highlights of Barcelona, like La Sagrada Familia, the Arc de Triomf (copy of the one in Paris), Ciutadella Park, the Olympic Village, some other churches and museums, and--most importantly--the hotel where Woody Allen is staying right now. We had lunch by the beach, and then headed back to the bike shop. One of the most important things we learned on our tour was that Barcelona is a city that does not like to associate itself with Spain, but Cataluña instead. They speak an entirely different language: a mix of Spanish, Italian, French, etc. So all that Spanish I learned while doing community service in Waterville at the kids' language school isn't coming in handy as much as I had hoped. :)
Last night we went to dinner at one of the fabulous restaurants from our Travel Bible: Let's Go. Then we decided it was time to look in the mirror and tell ourselves, "When in Rome." What I mean is, we made a decision to stay out as late as everyone else in Barcelona, which can be until 6am or even later. We didn't quite make it until 6, but we were satisfied with getting back to the hostel after 2. We went to this club we read about that has salsa dancing on Saturday nights. Of course when we got there, no one was there because it was so early (midnight). We stuck it out for a bit, and right before we left, two obliging gentlemen asked us to salsa. I danced with a man named Sebastian, who had a rosary around his neck....interesting. He had to teach me some moves, but he said I was a good learner. But once he figured out that I am only in Barcelona as a tourist, he wanted to dance a little closer. That was annoying, so I peaced out and went to rescue Jamie from Max, who will be remembered from here on out as "Sour Laudry Man." I didn't notice, but apparently Jamie's Supersonic Sense of Smell (SSS disorder...be glad you don't have it) picked up on it. She said it smelled like Sour Laundry Man had washed his clothes three days ago, but had remained in the washer to sour. I didn't care what he smelled like, I was ready to salsa the heck on out of there. But we were proud of ourselves for going out on a limb. How were we to know that it would smell like moldy socks?
Today we are going to the Picasso Museum (Picasso=my FAVE), and a tour inside La Sagrada Familia. I don't know how much more "going out" we can handle in Barcelona, but we are thinking about a salsa lesson the night before we leave. That way, the terms are clear, because the next time some sketchy dude asks me if I'm a tourist, I'm going to say, "The last man who asked me that ended up on the floor crying and sucking his thumb." This sweet southern belle is not afraid to kick some ass...or at least pretend.
So that's about it for now. We will let you know if we leave any Barcelona men crying and running to their mommy. As for photos, the internet cafe we use won't let us upload any, so you'll have to wait until we get to Switzerland. We are planning on going zorbing. If you don't know what it is, look it up. Then you'll understand why it was Jamie's idea and not mine. :)
We miss you all so much, and we are loving the comments and emails. Keep it up!
xoxoxo
Love,
Jennifer and Jamie
Thursday, July 5, 2007
On the midnight train to Spain....
Cannes was nice, but Antibes was great. Both places are very glamorous and we're forcing ourselves to get out of here before we cave in and peruse the "sale" that Chanel is having. Bargains galore, I'm sure.
We've spent the last couple of days reading on the beach and applying our SPF 30. And showering. Oh, the showering.......
Our hotel is nice enough. Clean and quiet (thank God for that). We were fortunate enough to have a sink AND a shower in our room, with shared toilettes in the hall. All was well until we actually saw the shower. There, in the middle of the room, stood a huge glass box with a shower nozzle in it. And I don' t mean frosted glass; I mean clear glass. I know we're sisters, but gah. Showering is a private affair. So basically, when shower time came around, one of us had to sit facing the wall for about 15 minutes while the other showered. It was no easy feat.
But quirks like this are the reasons we're traveling. It's nice to get to know different places, funky showers and all...and it makes us appreciate the things we have at home even more.
We miss you all and we'll update you when we get to Barcelona!!
PS.... Jennifer is the big 22 today!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!
xoxoxoxo
We've spent the last couple of days reading on the beach and applying our SPF 30. And showering. Oh, the showering.......
Our hotel is nice enough. Clean and quiet (thank God for that). We were fortunate enough to have a sink AND a shower in our room, with shared toilettes in the hall. All was well until we actually saw the shower. There, in the middle of the room, stood a huge glass box with a shower nozzle in it. And I don' t mean frosted glass; I mean clear glass. I know we're sisters, but gah. Showering is a private affair. So basically, when shower time came around, one of us had to sit facing the wall for about 15 minutes while the other showered. It was no easy feat.
But quirks like this are the reasons we're traveling. It's nice to get to know different places, funky showers and all...and it makes us appreciate the things we have at home even more.
We miss you all and we'll update you when we get to Barcelona!!
PS.... Jennifer is the big 22 today!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!
xoxoxoxo
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Arrivederci Italy, Bonjour France
We left Italy today (sad) and just arrived in Cannes.
We are tired after a long day stuck on a train with 4 incredibly obnoxious people. While other passengers on the train had the luxury of sleeping, we were forced to endure nonstop talking and several shin kickings by the 7 year old little boy sharing our car. We watched in horror as he proceeded to eat an apple,one nibble at a time, and then spit each bite out on the fold out table in front of him. Afterwards, he opened a giant package of ham that filled the car with hamstink, at which point we almost lost it. There was nothing left to do but to glare menacingly at him when his parents weren't looking and then laugh quietly to ourselves.
But the views from the train were amazing as we followed the coast the entire time. We feel like we might need to buy a yacht or something. We're excited to explore the French Riviera and will post more as the adventures here come our way.
xoxoxo
We are tired after a long day stuck on a train with 4 incredibly obnoxious people. While other passengers on the train had the luxury of sleeping, we were forced to endure nonstop talking and several shin kickings by the 7 year old little boy sharing our car. We watched in horror as he proceeded to eat an apple,one nibble at a time, and then spit each bite out on the fold out table in front of him. Afterwards, he opened a giant package of ham that filled the car with hamstink, at which point we almost lost it. There was nothing left to do but to glare menacingly at him when his parents weren't looking and then laugh quietly to ourselves.
But the views from the train were amazing as we followed the coast the entire time. We feel like we might need to buy a yacht or something. We're excited to explore the French Riviera and will post more as the adventures here come our way.
xoxoxo
Sunday, July 1, 2007
It's a hard-knock life for us...
Here is a list of the awful things that we've had to endure while in Cinque Terre:
1. Getting sunburned while lying on a sandy beach looking out at the Mediterranean, with majestic cliffs in the background.
2. Getting sunburned again while on a boat riding between the five villages of the Cinque Terre.
3. Dancing on the beach at a party under the stars until 2am, while an Italian DJ played awful but hilarious cover songs, such as the Russian version of "I Will Survive."
4. Running into our five new Italian friends at noon, and having them call us out on just waking up.
5. Having to order four courses at dinner (which began at 10pm) and watching our skinny Italian girl friends devour every morsel and calorie without a thought.
So after reading this list, I hope you feel sorry for us. It's been hard. In all seriousness, this place is amazing, and we hate to leave. We feel really blessed to be able to experience this. But now we have connections with the mayor and his weekend commuter friends, so if you ever want to wine and dine by the ocean in Italy, we'll hook you up.
We'll post more details later! Until then...more pictures at the bottom for your enjoyment.
xoxox
1. Getting sunburned while lying on a sandy beach looking out at the Mediterranean, with majestic cliffs in the background.
2. Getting sunburned again while on a boat riding between the five villages of the Cinque Terre.
3. Dancing on the beach at a party under the stars until 2am, while an Italian DJ played awful but hilarious cover songs, such as the Russian version of "I Will Survive."
4. Running into our five new Italian friends at noon, and having them call us out on just waking up.
5. Having to order four courses at dinner (which began at 10pm) and watching our skinny Italian girl friends devour every morsel and calorie without a thought.
So after reading this list, I hope you feel sorry for us. It's been hard. In all seriousness, this place is amazing, and we hate to leave. We feel really blessed to be able to experience this. But now we have connections with the mayor and his weekend commuter friends, so if you ever want to wine and dine by the ocean in Italy, we'll hook you up.
We'll post more details later! Until then...more pictures at the bottom for your enjoyment.
xoxox
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Open Letter
Apparently, open letters are quite popular in the celebrity world, so we decided to write one of our own. Here goes....
Dear Florentine Duomo Operators,
We LOVE your city. We really do. We love it so much that we woke up way earlier than we would normally wake in order to visit your famous Duomo. Jamie is a big fan of Brunelleschi and the prospect of seeing his masterpiece up close really set her heart to racing.
There is, however, one bone we need to pick with you. While we sincerely appreciate the signs you have so carefully printed in English for our convenience, telling us where to enter,where to exit and especially where to pay, we think it would be helpful for you to give those who may suffer from severe panic and anxiety a heads up when entering the duomo.
We thought we were the luckiest people in the world, getting to enter the duoma ahead of the 400 people in line. But little did we know that the line we were in was the line straight to the top. It's not the fear of heights that concerns us. It's the two foot wide passageways with four foot tall ceilings, poorly lit with little to no circulating air. Dark, dank, and dingy. Stinky, stuffy and spiraling. It's especially difficult given that this limited space is for TWO WAY traffic.
We're talking a major, ugly freakout of "Excorcist" proportions just waiting to happen. See, we don't take kindly to confined spaces, and clearly we were not alone on this matter. Several dozens were on the verge of nervous breakdowns themselves. It's just not healthy.
So from now on, please, oh please, warn people before sending them up this Renaissance tower of terror. Again, we love Florence, we really do. And we're GLAD we went up, we really are. But next time, we'll bring our flask and a maybe a few sedatives.
te amo,
Jamie and Jennifer
Dear Florentine Duomo Operators,
We LOVE your city. We really do. We love it so much that we woke up way earlier than we would normally wake in order to visit your famous Duomo. Jamie is a big fan of Brunelleschi and the prospect of seeing his masterpiece up close really set her heart to racing.
There is, however, one bone we need to pick with you. While we sincerely appreciate the signs you have so carefully printed in English for our convenience, telling us where to enter,where to exit and especially where to pay, we think it would be helpful for you to give those who may suffer from severe panic and anxiety a heads up when entering the duomo.
We thought we were the luckiest people in the world, getting to enter the duoma ahead of the 400 people in line. But little did we know that the line we were in was the line straight to the top. It's not the fear of heights that concerns us. It's the two foot wide passageways with four foot tall ceilings, poorly lit with little to no circulating air. Dark, dank, and dingy. Stinky, stuffy and spiraling. It's especially difficult given that this limited space is for TWO WAY traffic.
We're talking a major, ugly freakout of "Excorcist" proportions just waiting to happen. See, we don't take kindly to confined spaces, and clearly we were not alone on this matter. Several dozens were on the verge of nervous breakdowns themselves. It's just not healthy.
So from now on, please, oh please, warn people before sending them up this Renaissance tower of terror. Again, we love Florence, we really do. And we're GLAD we went up, we really are. But next time, we'll bring our flask and a maybe a few sedatives.
te amo,
Jamie and Jennifer
No rest for the weary, no caution for the claustrophobes...
Today was our big day in Florence, and we LOVE it. The title refers to our very long climb up to the top of the famous duomo in Florence. We didn't feel like waiting in line to see the inside of the church, so we saw it from way up inside the dome, which was painted on the top half like heaven and the bottom half like hell. Complete with naked devils pointing their pitchforks at each others' butts. Then we climbed ever so many stairs in very narrow hallways to get outside on top of the dome. Looking back, the it was worth it, but at the time our bodies were trembling so from the hike up that we had a hard time looking out onto the beautiful view of Florence and the surrounding countryside. We decided, after barely making it down because we almost passed out from being so cramped and crowded that there should be a sign at the ticket booth saying "Claustrophobic Types: BEWARE." Then again, if there had been such a sign, we may not have climbed the duomo at all.
We saw lots of other cool things today besides the entire city of Florence from on top of a church: another Pieta by Michelangelo (this one was my favorite), a wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene by Donatello, some cool paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, and Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and Primavera. After waiting in line for two hours to see the Botticelli paintings, we stared for a while. They were so pretty, I even bought a poster of each one. We also went to an outdoor market, full of leather jackets, pashmina scarves, and a novelty item that Jamie and I had never heard of: surprise ties. These ties look normal on the outside, but once you look on the inside, you get a "surprise." Which can also be called a picture of a naked girl. We were, of course, very disgusted and glad we didn't accidentally buy one for James as a gift. Maybe he isn't so glad. Sorry James.
The best part of our day by far, however, was the cooking class we took tonight. We met three very flamboyant ladies from Texas (who kept trying to eat all the leftovers), a very nice couple from Melbourne, Australia, and a restauranteur from Miami named Ray (aka Renaldo) who said he knew nothing about cooking but everything about eating. We made stuffed tomatoes, homemade gnocchi, sauteed chicken with peppers, and tiramisu. Even though I despise coffee, even I ate all of my tiramisu. For those of you who know me well, this is quite a leap of faith for me. It was absolutely delicious and so much fun. We hope to do more things like this the rest of our trip and not spending all our time in duomos and museums.
Tomorrow we head for Cinque Terre, which is the Italian Riviera. I know, our lives are SO hard. We will be there for four nights, and, for the record there is a nude beach. We haven't decided if we are quite that adventurous or not. Beef carpaccio is one thing, nude beaches are another. If we aren't up for it, there's always pointing and laughing at rotund Italian men in speedos (or with speedos around their ankles heehee). There are five towns in the Cinque Terre, so hopefully we'll be doing some hiking between them. And lounging, since I don't think there's going to be a duomo anywhere in sight.
We will update soon, and we hope you are all doing well.
Love,
Jennifer and Jamie
We saw lots of other cool things today besides the entire city of Florence from on top of a church: another Pieta by Michelangelo (this one was my favorite), a wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene by Donatello, some cool paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, and Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and Primavera. After waiting in line for two hours to see the Botticelli paintings, we stared for a while. They were so pretty, I even bought a poster of each one. We also went to an outdoor market, full of leather jackets, pashmina scarves, and a novelty item that Jamie and I had never heard of: surprise ties. These ties look normal on the outside, but once you look on the inside, you get a "surprise." Which can also be called a picture of a naked girl. We were, of course, very disgusted and glad we didn't accidentally buy one for James as a gift. Maybe he isn't so glad. Sorry James.
The best part of our day by far, however, was the cooking class we took tonight. We met three very flamboyant ladies from Texas (who kept trying to eat all the leftovers), a very nice couple from Melbourne, Australia, and a restauranteur from Miami named Ray (aka Renaldo) who said he knew nothing about cooking but everything about eating. We made stuffed tomatoes, homemade gnocchi, sauteed chicken with peppers, and tiramisu. Even though I despise coffee, even I ate all of my tiramisu. For those of you who know me well, this is quite a leap of faith for me. It was absolutely delicious and so much fun. We hope to do more things like this the rest of our trip and not spending all our time in duomos and museums.
Tomorrow we head for Cinque Terre, which is the Italian Riviera. I know, our lives are SO hard. We will be there for four nights, and, for the record there is a nude beach. We haven't decided if we are quite that adventurous or not. Beef carpaccio is one thing, nude beaches are another. If we aren't up for it, there's always pointing and laughing at rotund Italian men in speedos (or with speedos around their ankles heehee). There are five towns in the Cinque Terre, so hopefully we'll be doing some hiking between them. And lounging, since I don't think there's going to be a duomo anywhere in sight.
We will update soon, and we hope you are all doing well.
Love,
Jennifer and Jamie
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Burnt Siena
We're not sure what we ever did to Saint Catherine to make her hate us so much, but for some reason, she had it out for us while we were in her hometown of Siena. It was such a beautiful city, but all hell broke loose once we entered the city gates. I guess we should have been tipped off by the giant arch leading into the city that read, "Ospedale Psichiatrico," because we sure did feel like we were in Crazytown.
First of all, Siena is proud to call itself a "pedestrian city," meaning that traffic is really not permitted within the town except for residents and hotel guests. We, being hotel guests, thought that meant that we could drive to our hotel. So we're scooting through town and a police officer rolls down his window, shakes his finger at us and says, "No OWto!" aka "No auto!" So we park outside the city and walk. We're thinking, man, they must be serious about this whole pedestrian thing. Not so. We must have dodged 100 cars and trucks and were actually almost killed by a moped while in this so-called pedestrian town. So when they said "No OWto," they just meant ours.
Last night, we were yelled at by the very greasy receptionist at our hotel because we forgot to leave our key with him when we went out for the night. And then today, as we were pulling out of the pay parking lot, our ticket wouldn't work, leaving us trapped for good 45 minutes. Although beautiful, we found it difficult and are glad to be out of there.
But Siena wasn't all bad. We actually met some very cool people while we were there. At dinner on Sunday night, we struck up a conversation with a Parisian couple, Jean-Luc and Bridgitte. They were an older, hippy-ish pair who had driven from their home in Paris to Tuscany on a motorcycle. Jennifer brought out her mad French skills and I nodded along, trying to understand and speak as much as I could. Luckily, Jean-Luc was fluent in English, so we were able to converse in both English and French. After talking and laughing all night, Jean-Luc ordered a round of "digestif" which must be French for "battery acid" because it did not go down easily and I'm not sure our digestif tracks really appreciated it. Great night, good times.
The next night at dinner, we shared a table with a couple from Virginia. Willie and Julia were as southern as it gets and it was nice to hear some familiar accents.
So today, we packed up the Panda and headed for Florence. Florence has already been so much easier to navigate even though it's a bigger town. Sadly, we had to return Francesca to the Hertz office so it's up to the buses and trains to get us where we need to go. Our hotel room here in Florence is much nicer than the one in Siena, which was a cross between a jail cell and the room where Winona Ryder stayed in "Girl Interrupted."
Tomorrow we do the tourist thing one last time. Jennifer and I have decided that we don't really like sight-seeing and are going to try to book activities from now on. Seeing church after church and duomo after duomo can only be interesting for so long. But Florence has so many awesome sights to see that we can't pass it up just yet. We'll save the activities like hiking, salsa dancing, and horseback riding for our other stops.
We'll write more when we can! We miss you all and would love to hear from you!
By the way, James and Erin....you just won major points for being the first to post comments!! We love you!!!
xoxoxoxox
First of all, Siena is proud to call itself a "pedestrian city," meaning that traffic is really not permitted within the town except for residents and hotel guests. We, being hotel guests, thought that meant that we could drive to our hotel. So we're scooting through town and a police officer rolls down his window, shakes his finger at us and says, "No OWto!" aka "No auto!" So we park outside the city and walk. We're thinking, man, they must be serious about this whole pedestrian thing. Not so. We must have dodged 100 cars and trucks and were actually almost killed by a moped while in this so-called pedestrian town. So when they said "No OWto," they just meant ours.
Last night, we were yelled at by the very greasy receptionist at our hotel because we forgot to leave our key with him when we went out for the night. And then today, as we were pulling out of the pay parking lot, our ticket wouldn't work, leaving us trapped for good 45 minutes. Although beautiful, we found it difficult and are glad to be out of there.
But Siena wasn't all bad. We actually met some very cool people while we were there. At dinner on Sunday night, we struck up a conversation with a Parisian couple, Jean-Luc and Bridgitte. They were an older, hippy-ish pair who had driven from their home in Paris to Tuscany on a motorcycle. Jennifer brought out her mad French skills and I nodded along, trying to understand and speak as much as I could. Luckily, Jean-Luc was fluent in English, so we were able to converse in both English and French. After talking and laughing all night, Jean-Luc ordered a round of "digestif" which must be French for "battery acid" because it did not go down easily and I'm not sure our digestif tracks really appreciated it. Great night, good times.
The next night at dinner, we shared a table with a couple from Virginia. Willie and Julia were as southern as it gets and it was nice to hear some familiar accents.
So today, we packed up the Panda and headed for Florence. Florence has already been so much easier to navigate even though it's a bigger town. Sadly, we had to return Francesca to the Hertz office so it's up to the buses and trains to get us where we need to go. Our hotel room here in Florence is much nicer than the one in Siena, which was a cross between a jail cell and the room where Winona Ryder stayed in "Girl Interrupted."
Tomorrow we do the tourist thing one last time. Jennifer and I have decided that we don't really like sight-seeing and are going to try to book activities from now on. Seeing church after church and duomo after duomo can only be interesting for so long. But Florence has so many awesome sights to see that we can't pass it up just yet. We'll save the activities like hiking, salsa dancing, and horseback riding for our other stops.
We'll write more when we can! We miss you all and would love to hear from you!
By the way, James and Erin....you just won major points for being the first to post comments!! We love you!!!
xoxoxoxox
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Who needs jet-setting when you can car-set in your Fiat Panda?
Once we were out of Rome, the relief started setting in. Although Rome was beautiful, we were ready for a change of pace. It didn't take long for us to start gawking at the countryside and squealing because it was so pretty. We zipped along in our Panda, whom we decided to call Francesca, through what our guidebooks call "Hill Towns."
Our first stop was Civita di Bagnioregio, and it was one of the most interesting and incredibly beautiful sights we've ever seen. The city is on top of a mountain, an island surrounded by steep cliffs and the deep valley below. The only way to get to it is by a footbridge, and there are no cars allowed. Once you finally get to it, the entire town is so old, it looks like it was carved right out of the mountain. There are beautiful flowers hanging from every window, and a couple of stores and a snack bar. Jamie was sure we should stay in the B & B, but I was not looking forward to lugging our backpacks up that hill. They may be small, but I was not in the mood to walk back up with mine on my back. However, the more we walked, the wierder the town felt and we both started getting a very creepy vibe from it. First of all, the 15 people who apparently live there were nowhere to be found. All the doors and windows were locked up tight, and the only people around were shopkeepers and tourists. Then a friendly Italian woman said hello to us and beckoned us to see her garden. Although she only spoke Italian, we both felt like we were getting to know a "local." The situation turned sour when we became convinced that this woman was not telling us about her garden, but rather how she was going to lock us up and eat us for dinner. She jingled her pockets, asking me for money. I gave it to her and quickly made my way out of there. Civita was weird like that, but I can honestly say it's one of the coolest places I've ever been.
We spent the night in Bagnioregio and had dinner on a terrace looking up at Civita. The home-made food they serve in the countryside beats anything we had in Rome. The woman who owns the hotel where we stayed gave us a list of towns to stop in on our way out and a delicious breakfast, complete with pizza bread and kiwi jelly (if only we had breakfast this good in the states...I'd never go to Dunkin Donuts again!)
We wanted to end up in Bevagna, the town that holds a Medieval Festival that Jamie had heard about. On our way, we stopped in several little hill towns, and my two favorites were Todi and Trevi. Todi has a beautiful duomo where some people were setting up for a wedding, and the center of town is really lively and friendly. Trevi, the "capital of oil" is on a hill covered in olive trees. The drive up to it was beautiful, and we bought some delicious olive tapenade once we got there. Then we had what may have been the best panini we've ever tasted. Then it was off to Bevagna!
Yesterday, we finally got to Bevagna. Once we got there, it was clear that it would be hard to find a room because of the festival, but we managed to see a brochure (in ENGLISH!?) through the window of the tourist office for an inn about 3 kilometers away. We found it and snagged the last room. The man who owns it is half-Italian, half-American, and the inn is brand new. There is a pool that overlooks an incredible view of farmland, olive groves, and grapevines. Let's just say we were not looking forward to leaving today. Last night we went into town to the Medieval festival, and it was just amazing. We both felt like we had stepped back in time. We were literally the only people there who spoke English, so ordering food from the street fair was quite an adventure. Then after it got dark, we walked down all the streets that were only lit by candle light. It was definitely a highlight of the trip.
So today we drove a bit further, through Assisi (home of St. Francis) and the Chianti Region. We're now in Siena for the next two nights, then it's on to Florence to say goodbye to Francesca. That is, if she doesn't get towed tonight. We aren't so good at translating the parking signs. We're hoping for the best.
It's hard to believe a week has gone by already, but I think we've definitely fit in lots of adventures. We'll fill you in on Siena and Florence in the next few days!
****We think we may have actually fixed it so you can post comments on the blog. The internet is always in Italian in these Internet Cafes, so we did our best. We hope it works! :)
Our first stop was Civita di Bagnioregio, and it was one of the most interesting and incredibly beautiful sights we've ever seen. The city is on top of a mountain, an island surrounded by steep cliffs and the deep valley below. The only way to get to it is by a footbridge, and there are no cars allowed. Once you finally get to it, the entire town is so old, it looks like it was carved right out of the mountain. There are beautiful flowers hanging from every window, and a couple of stores and a snack bar. Jamie was sure we should stay in the B & B, but I was not looking forward to lugging our backpacks up that hill. They may be small, but I was not in the mood to walk back up with mine on my back. However, the more we walked, the wierder the town felt and we both started getting a very creepy vibe from it. First of all, the 15 people who apparently live there were nowhere to be found. All the doors and windows were locked up tight, and the only people around were shopkeepers and tourists. Then a friendly Italian woman said hello to us and beckoned us to see her garden. Although she only spoke Italian, we both felt like we were getting to know a "local." The situation turned sour when we became convinced that this woman was not telling us about her garden, but rather how she was going to lock us up and eat us for dinner. She jingled her pockets, asking me for money. I gave it to her and quickly made my way out of there. Civita was weird like that, but I can honestly say it's one of the coolest places I've ever been.
We spent the night in Bagnioregio and had dinner on a terrace looking up at Civita. The home-made food they serve in the countryside beats anything we had in Rome. The woman who owns the hotel where we stayed gave us a list of towns to stop in on our way out and a delicious breakfast, complete with pizza bread and kiwi jelly (if only we had breakfast this good in the states...I'd never go to Dunkin Donuts again!)
We wanted to end up in Bevagna, the town that holds a Medieval Festival that Jamie had heard about. On our way, we stopped in several little hill towns, and my two favorites were Todi and Trevi. Todi has a beautiful duomo where some people were setting up for a wedding, and the center of town is really lively and friendly. Trevi, the "capital of oil" is on a hill covered in olive trees. The drive up to it was beautiful, and we bought some delicious olive tapenade once we got there. Then we had what may have been the best panini we've ever tasted. Then it was off to Bevagna!
Yesterday, we finally got to Bevagna. Once we got there, it was clear that it would be hard to find a room because of the festival, but we managed to see a brochure (in ENGLISH!?) through the window of the tourist office for an inn about 3 kilometers away. We found it and snagged the last room. The man who owns it is half-Italian, half-American, and the inn is brand new. There is a pool that overlooks an incredible view of farmland, olive groves, and grapevines. Let's just say we were not looking forward to leaving today. Last night we went into town to the Medieval festival, and it was just amazing. We both felt like we had stepped back in time. We were literally the only people there who spoke English, so ordering food from the street fair was quite an adventure. Then after it got dark, we walked down all the streets that were only lit by candle light. It was definitely a highlight of the trip.
So today we drove a bit further, through Assisi (home of St. Francis) and the Chianti Region. We're now in Siena for the next two nights, then it's on to Florence to say goodbye to Francesca. That is, if she doesn't get towed tonight. We aren't so good at translating the parking signs. We're hoping for the best.
It's hard to believe a week has gone by already, but I think we've definitely fit in lots of adventures. We'll fill you in on Siena and Florence in the next few days!
****We think we may have actually fixed it so you can post comments on the blog. The internet is always in Italian in these Internet Cafes, so we did our best. We hope it works! :)
Another day, another Panda....
Rome was amazing, but we were glad to get out of the crazy, touristiness of the city. On Friday, we rented our car - a tiny, silver Fiat Panda which we will post pictures of later. There seems to be a Panda theme following us wherever we go. Hotel Panda, Fiat Panda...
Getting out of Rome was difficult. Humorous, yes, but difficult nonetheless. Jennifer, our official navigator, did the best she could with the ridiculous map with which we were provided. However, this did not keep us from circling the city of Rome no fewer than seven times in our little midget car. Being unfamiliar with the nuances of the Fiat Panda and, of course, unable to read the road signs, I was sweating bullets and eventually lost all feeling in both my upper and lower extremeties. Knowing what a stress-case I can be, Jennifer was prepared at any moment to squirt me with the water bottle should I lose consciousness and swerve into a sea of oncoming Smart Cars.
See, the city of Rome is encircled by a road called the GRA. But, the hard part about getting onto the GRA is that there are signs and then there are no signs. They lead you into the graffiti filled ghettos and then leave you to your own wiles. It's like survival of the fittest. Those who are competent enough to find the GRA make it out, and those who aren't are destined to live as gypsies outside the Coloseum.
Luckily, gypsy-hood was not in our immediate future. We were able to get out of Rome unscathed and after a quick lunch of McPaninis at McDonald's, we were on our way to Cevita di Bagnioregio. Can you believe we actually ate at McDonald's in Italy?? We can't either. But we did and that's just something we're all going to have to deal with. We were vulnerable, hungry and stressed, and it was the closest place we could find without getting off the GRA.
Getting out of Rome was difficult. Humorous, yes, but difficult nonetheless. Jennifer, our official navigator, did the best she could with the ridiculous map with which we were provided. However, this did not keep us from circling the city of Rome no fewer than seven times in our little midget car. Being unfamiliar with the nuances of the Fiat Panda and, of course, unable to read the road signs, I was sweating bullets and eventually lost all feeling in both my upper and lower extremeties. Knowing what a stress-case I can be, Jennifer was prepared at any moment to squirt me with the water bottle should I lose consciousness and swerve into a sea of oncoming Smart Cars.
See, the city of Rome is encircled by a road called the GRA. But, the hard part about getting onto the GRA is that there are signs and then there are no signs. They lead you into the graffiti filled ghettos and then leave you to your own wiles. It's like survival of the fittest. Those who are competent enough to find the GRA make it out, and those who aren't are destined to live as gypsies outside the Coloseum.
Luckily, gypsy-hood was not in our immediate future. We were able to get out of Rome unscathed and after a quick lunch of McPaninis at McDonald's, we were on our way to Cevita di Bagnioregio. Can you believe we actually ate at McDonald's in Italy?? We can't either. But we did and that's just something we're all going to have to deal with. We were vulnerable, hungry and stressed, and it was the closest place we could find without getting off the GRA.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
When in Rome...
So today is our last full day in Rome, so we wanted to fit in as much touristy sight-seeing as possible. We went to St. Peter's Basilica this morning, and it was glorious. The most glorious part was that inside the church it was only 75 degrees as opposed to the 105 outside. That and Michelangelo's Pieta. We got some great photos that will hopefully be posted soon. We then headed to the Musei Vaticana to see the Sistine Chapel. The line outside was short so we, of course, counted our chickens before they hatched and unknowingly embarked on a 12-mile long walk through the museum, passing at least 25 signs saying "Capella Sistina: This Way." Each doorway we went through had confused and sweaty tourists on autopilot snapping away at the ceiling, only to find that it was white stone and not the beautiful frescoes. After many miles through the halls and many flights of stairs both up and down, we finally entered the chapel. It was beautiful, as expected, and I even got a picture of the Creation of Adam before an angry security guard shut down my camera.
Now we are going to walk along the river to the Ancient City to see the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palentine Hill. We still aren't sure what the Forum is...is it all of the ruins? Or just one part? We will find out I suppose. We could take the subway, but we decided that walking along the river beats being squished up against lots of sweaty people with B.O. We are trying to embrace the stinkiness, but it's hard.
We leave Rome tomorrow and literally "head for the hills." We're renting a car and driving through Tuscany and Umbria to get to Florence on the 27th. We're trying very hard to get lost in tiny non-touristy villages, so updating the blog may be difficult.
You may notice the icon at the bottom of each post which reads: 0 comments. Just a thought...maybe we could change that number to, say, 1 or 2. It's up to you. We would like to feel some love from across the pond! Just click on the comments link and comment away! mkay?
Hope to hear from all of you soon!
Ciao!
Jennifer and Jamie
Now we are going to walk along the river to the Ancient City to see the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palentine Hill. We still aren't sure what the Forum is...is it all of the ruins? Or just one part? We will find out I suppose. We could take the subway, but we decided that walking along the river beats being squished up against lots of sweaty people with B.O. We are trying to embrace the stinkiness, but it's hard.
We leave Rome tomorrow and literally "head for the hills." We're renting a car and driving through Tuscany and Umbria to get to Florence on the 27th. We're trying very hard to get lost in tiny non-touristy villages, so updating the blog may be difficult.
You may notice the icon at the bottom of each post which reads: 0 comments. Just a thought...maybe we could change that number to, say, 1 or 2. It's up to you. We would like to feel some love from across the pond! Just click on the comments link and comment away! mkay?
Hope to hear from all of you soon!
Ciao!
Jennifer and Jamie
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Here at last...
We are finally in Rome after quite an annoying fiasco. Our flight from JFK to London went off without a hitch and we were even able to carry on our backpacks. We ended up missing our flight to Rome, along with about 37 other Americans who booked their flights on Cheapticket.com. So they got us on another flight to Milan and we almost missed the next flight to Rome! Unbelievable. But we booked it through the airport, skipped about 300 angry foreigners in the security line and made it just in time. We were picked up in Rome by a fat Italian man with a phat Mercedes who drove us to Hotel Panda.
Our hotel is nice...small, but clean (and we all know how important that is). We are close to the Spanish Steps in a bustling part of Rome but have only just begun to explore as we have been in comas since we got here. Jet lag is kicking our butts. But we love where we're staying....although Jennifer has taken a strong dislike (one might call it hatred) for a man who stands on our corner. His face for some reason, is painted gold. We don't know why he is there. But he is there. And Jennifer doesn't like it.
We hope to post more tomorrow after we've done all the touristy Rome things.
Missing everyone!
we're having some picture-posting difficulties, but you can see our view at the bottom of the page. we'll post more when we can!
Our hotel is nice...small, but clean (and we all know how important that is). We are close to the Spanish Steps in a bustling part of Rome but have only just begun to explore as we have been in comas since we got here. Jet lag is kicking our butts. But we love where we're staying....although Jennifer has taken a strong dislike (one might call it hatred) for a man who stands on our corner. His face for some reason, is painted gold. We don't know why he is there. But he is there. And Jennifer doesn't like it.
We hope to post more tomorrow after we've done all the touristy Rome things.
Missing everyone!
we're having some picture-posting difficulties, but you can see our view at the bottom of the page. we'll post more when we can!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Ready for Takeoff
YAY! Passport is in hand. Now we can officially be excited.
It turns out that the US government was, in fact, planning to hose me, as my passport did not show up today - the last business day before we leave. However, thanks to a very special husband and brother-in-law, the local Norwalk passport agency suffered a giant beatdown and forked over the appropriate documents. I'm convinced that it was pure chivalry that brought James to our rescue and certainly not the fear of losing 6 whole weeks of boys' nights, drinking milk straight from the carton and going to bed without washing his feet.
Tomorrow, we pack. I may even have Jennifer do a dry run up the hills of New Canaan with full cargo. You can never be too prepared.
It turns out that the US government was, in fact, planning to hose me, as my passport did not show up today - the last business day before we leave. However, thanks to a very special husband and brother-in-law, the local Norwalk passport agency suffered a giant beatdown and forked over the appropriate documents. I'm convinced that it was pure chivalry that brought James to our rescue and certainly not the fear of losing 6 whole weeks of boys' nights, drinking milk straight from the carton and going to bed without washing his feet.
Tomorrow, we pack. I may even have Jennifer do a dry run up the hills of New Canaan with full cargo. You can never be too prepared.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Keepin' the Faith
We leave in 6 days. Still lots to do....packing of the backpacks, preparing of the minds, receiving of the passports.
RECEIVING of the PASSPORTS.
As of today, I am not in possession of one. I was told by the kind folks at the US passport agency to "have faith," but instead I'm just hyperventilating. James seems to think that the US government wouldn't possibly hose me by causing us to miss our departure date. We have agreed to disagree on that issue, but I'll keep you posted. I hope he's right. It does happen once in a while. ;)
love, jamie
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