barcelona
made it to Barcelona... on Iberian air... one of the most packed flights I have ever been on. my knees hit the seat in front of me, now think about how crammed josh was! the rows of seats were impressively close. good thing it was only a 2 hour flight.
our hotel is very modern with an infinity pool up on the 8th floor.
yesterday we went to a market (st josep). they had everything! baskets of dried mushrooms, thousands of chewy candy bins, fresh squeezed fruit juices of every type, fish large and small, and meat hanging up by the hoof- not kidding. we bought some food there for a picnic and then hiked up to park guell. I am not one to rant and rave about art and architecture, but this gaudi guy is impressive. there was a neat trio that was playing in the square... YouTube them... mala junta trio. some clips will give you a pretty close idea as to what we saw and heard yesterday.
we went to the pool after the park... very relaxing. then to dinner. then to the surprise that josh had been taunting me about all day. we went and watched a flamenco dancing show! it was really interesting the way they keep a beat with the music, while singing, clapping their hands and clicking their heels.
today we went to the segrada familia. my favorite of all the churches we have seen in Europe. the inside is huge, but doesn't seem too big. it also captures your interest to think about how long ago this building was started and how much is still left to go.
we also went to Casa battlo today. in a world of buildings that are made up of only straight lines, it is crazy to go into a home that doesn't have any.
we plan to go to one more gaudi building tomorrow, and the picaso museum... which will wrap up our last day in Barcelona.
we fly out tomorrow night and stop in Dublin for about 12 hours. I think josh did that on Purpose, as he wasn't about to get that close to an authentic Guinness beer and not have time to drink a couple. 8 hour flight to Chicago and then to Cincinnati... the real world is (unfortunately) calling our names.
hopefully our blog has given you a little insight into our trip. of course the pictures are much more telling as to the awesome adventure that Josh took us on.
cheers everyone! see you all very soon!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
grindelwald day 3
grindelwald day 3
yesterday we slept in... felt amazing. we just laid in bed and looked out at the mountains.
yesterday was another day of hiking. rather than hiking down like Monday, we hiked up. much more difficult...yikes! we went up for a good hour and stopped at this place that had a "bobsled"type ride. you get on a little cart and twist and turn down the mountain like you would on a bobsled. only difference is the track is metal and you have wheels on your sled... no ice either. you could go pretty fast, and then at the end of the ride there was a lift that took you back up to the start... no hiking back up. thank god.
we ate lunch at a lookout place where we could see tiny grindelwald down in the valley below. we took a gondola back down to our town after lunch where we hung out on our balcony.
last night (as crazy as this might sound) we had the best pizza of our entire trip. forget Italy. uncle toms hut in Switzerland is where it's at! the place was literally no bigger than a typical log cabin and we ate at the only table up in a loft... VIP style. we met some people at dinner that were from the uk. even teachers, go figure. they were on a hiking holiday... which means that they hike from place to place... and somehow their luggage makes it to the next destination, they don't carry it while they hike. I am not exactly sure how that works. they were fun to talk to-the man had actually been to Cincinnati about 20 years ago to watch opening day... for business I think. small world.
we leave for Zurich in a couple of hours and fly to Barcelona later tonight. this is the last stop on our trip. kinda sad. crazy to think we have almost been gone for a month.
see you in Spain!
yesterday we slept in... felt amazing. we just laid in bed and looked out at the mountains.
yesterday was another day of hiking. rather than hiking down like Monday, we hiked up. much more difficult...yikes! we went up for a good hour and stopped at this place that had a "bobsled"type ride. you get on a little cart and twist and turn down the mountain like you would on a bobsled. only difference is the track is metal and you have wheels on your sled... no ice either. you could go pretty fast, and then at the end of the ride there was a lift that took you back up to the start... no hiking back up. thank god.
we ate lunch at a lookout place where we could see tiny grindelwald down in the valley below. we took a gondola back down to our town after lunch where we hung out on our balcony.
last night (as crazy as this might sound) we had the best pizza of our entire trip. forget Italy. uncle toms hut in Switzerland is where it's at! the place was literally no bigger than a typical log cabin and we ate at the only table up in a loft... VIP style. we met some people at dinner that were from the uk. even teachers, go figure. they were on a hiking holiday... which means that they hike from place to place... and somehow their luggage makes it to the next destination, they don't carry it while they hike. I am not exactly sure how that works. they were fun to talk to-the man had actually been to Cincinnati about 20 years ago to watch opening day... for business I think. small world.
we leave for Zurich in a couple of hours and fly to Barcelona later tonight. this is the last stop on our trip. kinda sad. crazy to think we have almost been gone for a month.
see you in Spain!
Monday, July 25, 2011
grindelwald day 1 & 2
grindelwald
yesterday we made the trek from the beach to the alps. talk about a contrast. when we got off the train and walked through town in our T-shirts and shorts we definitely got some looks. this is a cute little town... touristy, which is cool, and talk about some views. we have a balcony which overlooks the mountains. this is a place where i just cant capture the view on camera... so beautiful and big that a picture can't do it justice.
yesterday we spent some time getting familiar with the city. we stopped into a couple of places to have a drink and munch on some cheese. one of the bartenders said it is about 10 degrees cooler now than it normally is at this time of the year. we aren't freezing by any stretch of the imagination. but it gets chilly when the sun goes behind a cloud and at night. no more flip flops and shorts. we had dinner at a cute place down the street from our hotel. we thought burgers sounded good... after all that fish and pasta in Italy we were really craving something different.
today was full of hiking. we took a train up, up, and up to a stop where we had some coffee outside while looking at an incredible view. then we started our hike down the mountain. we brought a picnic which was fun. after hiking for a good 2 and a half hours we made it to a little town where we got on a gondola (like a large ski lift). we went all the way down the rest of the way to our little town. sounds simple but it was a days worth of adventure.
tonight maybe fondue?
p.s. the culture here is a lot like in Germany... good thing I didn't forget those vocabulary words!
josh: I think there might be some old saying about you finding something interesting about your wife on your honeymoon that you didn't know or something? well I've found it out about Amy... she likes to hike a hell of a lot more than i ever thought she did! number of times spent hiking in America in six years:0. number of times hiking in Europe in two weeks: 3 and counting... and we haven't even been on the cute little paths that you skip down. the tourists here come to hike... hard core hiking boots, jackets, and everyone has the hiking poles. (hot brand not in America: Mammut. has a mammoth as the symbol if I spelled it wrong.) im guessing its a lot like Colorado in the summer? we did encounter some snow at the top of the hill we lifted to... crazy to think it is just now melting and will be snowing again soon.
we have also noticed that the Swiss are super proud of their banking here. money is larger than any money I've ever seen, they have more credit card machines than the rest of Europe and all offer to convert the charge to US dollars. (of course with a 3 percent charge for doing so in small print...they are the best bankers in the world) I talked to Amy and we think we are just going to have our checks from Lakota direct deposited into a new Swiss bank account we set up while we are here. with all this defaulting talk we wantour money to be safe.
we have clung to the BBC network for our news... we just watch it stream to have something in English on the tv. lots of interest in American poltics. John boehner has been mentioned along with Harry Reid... not sure we give that time to other countries leaders.
if you want to look up the route we took today. here it is: grindelwald to kleine scheidegg... hike down to wengen. lift up to mannlichen... lift down to grindelwald. never know how bored everyone might be at work.... I know I like to take a little vacation from the grind when I get a chance.
be back in less than a week...
yesterday we made the trek from the beach to the alps. talk about a contrast. when we got off the train and walked through town in our T-shirts and shorts we definitely got some looks. this is a cute little town... touristy, which is cool, and talk about some views. we have a balcony which overlooks the mountains. this is a place where i just cant capture the view on camera... so beautiful and big that a picture can't do it justice.
yesterday we spent some time getting familiar with the city. we stopped into a couple of places to have a drink and munch on some cheese. one of the bartenders said it is about 10 degrees cooler now than it normally is at this time of the year. we aren't freezing by any stretch of the imagination. but it gets chilly when the sun goes behind a cloud and at night. no more flip flops and shorts. we had dinner at a cute place down the street from our hotel. we thought burgers sounded good... after all that fish and pasta in Italy we were really craving something different.
today was full of hiking. we took a train up, up, and up to a stop where we had some coffee outside while looking at an incredible view. then we started our hike down the mountain. we brought a picnic which was fun. after hiking for a good 2 and a half hours we made it to a little town where we got on a gondola (like a large ski lift). we went all the way down the rest of the way to our little town. sounds simple but it was a days worth of adventure.
tonight maybe fondue?
p.s. the culture here is a lot like in Germany... good thing I didn't forget those vocabulary words!
josh: I think there might be some old saying about you finding something interesting about your wife on your honeymoon that you didn't know or something? well I've found it out about Amy... she likes to hike a hell of a lot more than i ever thought she did! number of times spent hiking in America in six years:0. number of times hiking in Europe in two weeks: 3 and counting... and we haven't even been on the cute little paths that you skip down. the tourists here come to hike... hard core hiking boots, jackets, and everyone has the hiking poles. (hot brand not in America: Mammut. has a mammoth as the symbol if I spelled it wrong.) im guessing its a lot like Colorado in the summer? we did encounter some snow at the top of the hill we lifted to... crazy to think it is just now melting and will be snowing again soon.
we have also noticed that the Swiss are super proud of their banking here. money is larger than any money I've ever seen, they have more credit card machines than the rest of Europe and all offer to convert the charge to US dollars. (of course with a 3 percent charge for doing so in small print...they are the best bankers in the world) I talked to Amy and we think we are just going to have our checks from Lakota direct deposited into a new Swiss bank account we set up while we are here. with all this defaulting talk we wantour money to be safe.
we have clung to the BBC network for our news... we just watch it stream to have something in English on the tv. lots of interest in American poltics. John boehner has been mentioned along with Harry Reid... not sure we give that time to other countries leaders.
if you want to look up the route we took today. here it is: grindelwald to kleine scheidegg... hike down to wengen. lift up to mannlichen... lift down to grindelwald. never know how bored everyone might be at work.... I know I like to take a little vacation from the grind when I get a chance.
be back in less than a week...
Saturday, July 23, 2011
cinque Terre
cinque Terre
amy: we arrived here yesterday, travelled up to the 3rd floor, and opened our balcony door... ahhhhhhhhh! (those were angels singing in case you couldn't hear them.) our view is picture perfect. this place is beyond beautiful.
there are 5 small towns located along the northwest coast of the Italian peninsula. hence the name cinque terre. we are staying in the largest one called monterossa. you can travel between the cities by boat, train, or hiking trails.
yesterday we enjoyed lunch on our balcony and spent some time on the beach. now let me tell you about some unknown rules of a European beach...
1. it doesn't matter how old you are, you can wear a bikini.
2. to go along with that, it doesn't matter how fat you are, you can wear a bikini... preferably string. the more showing the better.
3. if you have a weggie no need to pick it. it is actually somewhat fashionable. this might stem from rule number 2 as larger booties have more tendency to hang outside of the swim suit.
4. wearing a white bathing suit... usually by men in speedos, is the thing to do.
5. if you need to change into street clothes no need to find a changing room. just drop trough and change right in your lounge chair.
6. my favorite. aqua socks are back in style... just like the old school ones that I used to wear to the water parks when I was 10.
our dinner last night was really neat. they brought out a large terra-cotta bowl filled with rice, muscles, prawns, lobster, and calamari. very different and very good flavor.
we came back to our hotel and found a beach party going on... which was cool... until about 2 o'clock in the morning... then the loud dance music and partying that we could hear from our room wasn't so cool anymore. ohh well.
josh: today we woke up and went for hike on one of the five trails that connect the towns together. the original plan was to go to the furthest town by train for and easy hike to the next town, then train home. those plans were quickly dashed when we approached the train ticket window and were informed that the train workers would be on strike today.... making that train wasn't going to be possible. for some reason there was one train that went through and would take us to the next town. must have been scabs running the train. (by the way it is a 24 hour strike... not sure how that works.)
so we eneded up doing one of the tougher hikes...back to our town from the one next to us. great views and pictures to come. all in all it was a two hour hike. makes that hike up to the third floor to our room seem like a piece of cake.
after a picnic lunch we laid on the beach for the rest of the day, before having another great seafood dinner.
if the trains are up and running tomorrow we plan to do a repeat of today... hike in the morning and beach in the afternoon.
p.s. on the train ride into monterossa we ran into a couple from Canada, we told them we were from the u.s. he asked where, we said Ohio. he got excited and asked where in Ohio, we said Cincinnati. not going to believe it, but he is a huge bengals fan. he actually made his family take a detour after a trip to Chicago so they could come to Cincinnati and visit the bengals pro shop. nothing like meeting a Canadian bengals fan on a train in Italy.
amy: we arrived here yesterday, travelled up to the 3rd floor, and opened our balcony door... ahhhhhhhhh! (those were angels singing in case you couldn't hear them.) our view is picture perfect. this place is beyond beautiful.
there are 5 small towns located along the northwest coast of the Italian peninsula. hence the name cinque terre. we are staying in the largest one called monterossa. you can travel between the cities by boat, train, or hiking trails.
yesterday we enjoyed lunch on our balcony and spent some time on the beach. now let me tell you about some unknown rules of a European beach...
1. it doesn't matter how old you are, you can wear a bikini.
2. to go along with that, it doesn't matter how fat you are, you can wear a bikini... preferably string. the more showing the better.
3. if you have a weggie no need to pick it. it is actually somewhat fashionable. this might stem from rule number 2 as larger booties have more tendency to hang outside of the swim suit.
4. wearing a white bathing suit... usually by men in speedos, is the thing to do.
5. if you need to change into street clothes no need to find a changing room. just drop trough and change right in your lounge chair.
6. my favorite. aqua socks are back in style... just like the old school ones that I used to wear to the water parks when I was 10.
our dinner last night was really neat. they brought out a large terra-cotta bowl filled with rice, muscles, prawns, lobster, and calamari. very different and very good flavor.
we came back to our hotel and found a beach party going on... which was cool... until about 2 o'clock in the morning... then the loud dance music and partying that we could hear from our room wasn't so cool anymore. ohh well.
josh: today we woke up and went for hike on one of the five trails that connect the towns together. the original plan was to go to the furthest town by train for and easy hike to the next town, then train home. those plans were quickly dashed when we approached the train ticket window and were informed that the train workers would be on strike today.... making that train wasn't going to be possible. for some reason there was one train that went through and would take us to the next town. must have been scabs running the train. (by the way it is a 24 hour strike... not sure how that works.)
so we eneded up doing one of the tougher hikes...back to our town from the one next to us. great views and pictures to come. all in all it was a two hour hike. makes that hike up to the third floor to our room seem like a piece of cake.
after a picnic lunch we laid on the beach for the rest of the day, before having another great seafood dinner.
if the trains are up and running tomorrow we plan to do a repeat of today... hike in the morning and beach in the afternoon.
p.s. on the train ride into monterossa we ran into a couple from Canada, we told them we were from the u.s. he asked where, we said Ohio. he got excited and asked where in Ohio, we said Cincinnati. not going to believe it, but he is a huge bengals fan. he actually made his family take a detour after a trip to Chicago so they could come to Cincinnati and visit the bengals pro shop. nothing like meeting a Canadian bengals fan on a train in Italy.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Rome day 3
Rome day 3
the day started with josh convincing me to go to just one more ancient ruin site... just like a little kid, "pleeeeese." he said it was right outside of the city and more preserved that anything inside the city. i was up for it, so we hop on the train. 3 switches and a 30 minute train ride outside the city and we were there. a little bit further than josh led on, but that's ok. this place was unreal... so much more to see as lots of the city remained intact. this city was the first city conquered by the Romans...
the city was called ostica antica... not sure of the spelling. it was a port city before the river changed course. what kept the city preserved was that when the river moved, the area became swampy and was covered by mud.
my favorites were the toilet room and a bar. the bar was just like what you would see today. you can picture the bottles displayed behind the bar on little shelves... they did things the same even thousands of years ago. josh liked all the mosaics that were found in places like the market. the mosaics were on the floor in black and white and would picture whatever was sold in that location... wine jar, fish, boats.
tonight we went to a fancy dinner and finished with a trip to the Trevi fountain. we threw coins in which is supposed to guarantee your return to Rome. worth a shot.
food has been pretty good here. we had some great pizza yesterday for lunch. the more we eat the more ideas we get for dishes to try back home. anyone up for dinner parties? ha!
early morning tomorrow as we make the move to the beach! I've heard the weather has been super hot back home... let's keep our fingers crossed for some great beach weather where we are headed.
the day started with josh convincing me to go to just one more ancient ruin site... just like a little kid, "pleeeeese." he said it was right outside of the city and more preserved that anything inside the city. i was up for it, so we hop on the train. 3 switches and a 30 minute train ride outside the city and we were there. a little bit further than josh led on, but that's ok. this place was unreal... so much more to see as lots of the city remained intact. this city was the first city conquered by the Romans...
the city was called ostica antica... not sure of the spelling. it was a port city before the river changed course. what kept the city preserved was that when the river moved, the area became swampy and was covered by mud.
my favorites were the toilet room and a bar. the bar was just like what you would see today. you can picture the bottles displayed behind the bar on little shelves... they did things the same even thousands of years ago. josh liked all the mosaics that were found in places like the market. the mosaics were on the floor in black and white and would picture whatever was sold in that location... wine jar, fish, boats.
tonight we went to a fancy dinner and finished with a trip to the Trevi fountain. we threw coins in which is supposed to guarantee your return to Rome. worth a shot.
food has been pretty good here. we had some great pizza yesterday for lunch. the more we eat the more ideas we get for dishes to try back home. anyone up for dinner parties? ha!
early morning tomorrow as we make the move to the beach! I've heard the weather has been super hot back home... let's keep our fingers crossed for some great beach weather where we are headed.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
No shoes, no shirt (with sleeves), big problems....
Josh: Well, its not everyday that you see the Pope, and today wasnt that day either. ha. (Hope i had you going...) Today was a trip to the Vatican City. Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters Basillica highlighted the trip. No shoes, uncovered shoulders or knees, and you dont get in to see Saint Peters Basicalla. Who does this guy think he is? Oh yes, the leader of the Catholic church, and the man closest to God.... i guess we will abide by his rules.
Needless to say Amy noted several women buying scarves from the vendors and making makeshift dresses and coverings for their shoulders... she got a good chuckle looking at these women on the inside as they tried to hold everything together. No need to worry, we were prepared, and no scarfs were purchased. (We did have a conversation about what street vendor you would be in Europe and Amy said that would be her choice. I choose guy selling tours... more about that in a bit.)
St. Peters is absolutely HUGE and decorated beyond belief... no wonder that Luther fella had such big problems with the Church. Pictures to be seen later... or wikipedia if you cant wait.
The day actually started with a trip to the Vatican museum which contians all the art and sculptures the church had acquired for the Popes. (Egypt, Sumera, Greece, Roman, Sistine Chapel... list goe on.) Clearly the lines were stretching for at least half a mile to get in. Once again we got to cut the lines with the reservation tickets i set up. I must say that it feels incrediable finally being able to cut the people here in Europe. Amy and I quickly realized that Europeans and tourist in Europe have no quams about cutting people. Want to get in on the next video or ride the next bus? At the end of the line? No worries, just wonder towards the front and push your way in through the side, elementary style. haha (Side story: i was standing at the hotel lobby desk, key in hand, waiting to ask a question and turn in my key while someone else finished up. I proceeded to get cut by not one, not two, but three different Italian men coming in for the day. I was in total disbelief that it just happened and Amy the same.) So we go by the old saying, "When in Rome...", in dealing with museums. ("Tour guides" actually sell tickets to cut the line... there is even money being made off this habit. Which would be my street vendor job becase clearly there is a lot of money to be made.)
On to serious stuff... Amy said the highlight of the day was the sistine chapel. You truely cant believe he painted close to a football field sized church ceiling with such great art. Visiting the Pantheon was also a cool specticle as it is the only Roman building that wasnt pillaged for its marble after the fall of Rome. Closest look to what the buildings actually looked like in Roman time... no imagnation needed.
Well thats it for me... more Roman Ruins tomorrow as we visit the old port city of Rome.
P.S. I apologize for the poor spelling and grammer... european keyboard with european spell check doesnt help much. ha.
Needless to say Amy noted several women buying scarves from the vendors and making makeshift dresses and coverings for their shoulders... she got a good chuckle looking at these women on the inside as they tried to hold everything together. No need to worry, we were prepared, and no scarfs were purchased. (We did have a conversation about what street vendor you would be in Europe and Amy said that would be her choice. I choose guy selling tours... more about that in a bit.)
St. Peters is absolutely HUGE and decorated beyond belief... no wonder that Luther fella had such big problems with the Church. Pictures to be seen later... or wikipedia if you cant wait.
The day actually started with a trip to the Vatican museum which contians all the art and sculptures the church had acquired for the Popes. (Egypt, Sumera, Greece, Roman, Sistine Chapel... list goe on.) Clearly the lines were stretching for at least half a mile to get in. Once again we got to cut the lines with the reservation tickets i set up. I must say that it feels incrediable finally being able to cut the people here in Europe. Amy and I quickly realized that Europeans and tourist in Europe have no quams about cutting people. Want to get in on the next video or ride the next bus? At the end of the line? No worries, just wonder towards the front and push your way in through the side, elementary style. haha (Side story: i was standing at the hotel lobby desk, key in hand, waiting to ask a question and turn in my key while someone else finished up. I proceeded to get cut by not one, not two, but three different Italian men coming in for the day. I was in total disbelief that it just happened and Amy the same.) So we go by the old saying, "When in Rome...", in dealing with museums. ("Tour guides" actually sell tickets to cut the line... there is even money being made off this habit. Which would be my street vendor job becase clearly there is a lot of money to be made.)
On to serious stuff... Amy said the highlight of the day was the sistine chapel. You truely cant believe he painted close to a football field sized church ceiling with such great art. Visiting the Pantheon was also a cool specticle as it is the only Roman building that wasnt pillaged for its marble after the fall of Rome. Closest look to what the buildings actually looked like in Roman time... no imagnation needed.
Well thats it for me... more Roman Ruins tomorrow as we visit the old port city of Rome.
P.S. I apologize for the poor spelling and grammer... european keyboard with european spell check doesnt help much. ha.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Rome Day 1
We love seeing your responses to our posts... keep them coming.
We made it to Rome. Today we planned to see the coliseum and the ancient ruins in the Palentie hill. We headed to the subway and asked for a Roma Pass. They only had 1. A Roma pass gets you on and off the subway for 3 days, gets you in to historical sites for free, and gets you a free pass so you dont have to wait in line at the historical sites... that in and of itself is worth the 25 dollar Roma pass. We get off the subway at the Coliseum and ask for another Roma Pass... SOLD OUT. We travel away from the Coliseum and try to find a place that has 1 more Roma Pass... no luck after what seemed like 10 tries. (tobacco shops sell Roma Passes.. and they were 2 every block.) I decided that it would be best for Josh to get on the subway (leaving me at a coffee shop) and try and find another Roma Pass further away from the Coliseum. He was gone for what seemed like forever- but came back with a Roma Pass... he had to go to 3 different places before he found one. VICTORY! (Josh said it was his amazing race moment of the trip.)
We went to the Coluseum and there was a HUGE line (for people without Roma Passes) We were able to cut the line and get in. AMAZING. So cool to think that thousands of years ago people built this place. We listened to a Rick Steves Podcast of course- Josh has all the inside tricks to get us what we want... the quickest and the cheapest way possible.
We ate lunch at a place recommended by Rick Steves and it was soooo good. Left there and went back to the Palentine hill- ancient ruins of a palace for the ceasars. The feeling of walking around where the first civilized people lived is pretty cool. We took lots of pictures. Only in Rome can you have a thousand year old artifact that the every day tourist is allowed to view up close and even sit on... in American this asrtifact would be behind glass for sure...
We came back to the hotel- great... and then dinner- great as well.
Tomorrow is early morning at the Vatican. Josh only has two more museum points left... even though the dessert is good... it isn t extra museum points good.
<he thinks I am just kidding... but Im not!|
Cheers!
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