Between the 2 of us we managed 16 in 8 days. Not a bad average. I think CJ topped the list with 4 tiramisu. I was right behind with 3 cioccolate´s...those are goood! Other flavors we tried included straciatella, melone, vaniglia, pistachio, fruta di bosca, fragola, pompelmo, limone, caramello and a few more...i don´t have my list in front of me. Some were better than others, but none were bad!
Milano wasn´t bad, the cathedral in the main square is massive! Certainly not as much art or history as Florence and Roma, but every is dressed to impress. Would be fun to be there tonight as AC Milan plays Manchester United for the chance to move on to the Champions League Final. It's in Milan so I'm sure the city is buzzing!
We're in Ibiza now for a week at a timeshare and enjoying the stability of one week in the same place! Internet time running out so more later!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
American Samoans in Roma??
Well not exactly, but we did meet up with some friends from American Samoa in Roma! Paul & Barbara are on holiday at the moment and we all arrived in Roma at the same time. After they're long, looooooooong flight from Pago Pago, they still managed to pick us up at the metro and show us around Roma on their first day in the country. Barbara is from Italy and has family in Roma so it was great to have a local tour guide...and a free place to stay!
Roma is full of sights from the Colliseum to the Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica. We saw them all in between stops for pizza and gelato. We had a great 3 days in Roma seeing the sights, eating the food, and catching up on all the happenings in American Samoa.
After Roma we took the train to Siena to explore the medieval town. Siena is very quaint, but also very expensive...our one night stay probably didn't do it justice, but its still a nice place to visit.
Next was Firenze aka Florence where we delved into Renaissance Art and of course more pizza and gelato! Michelangelo was truly amazing. From his sistene chapel, which we saw in Roma, to his David in Florence, and everything in between, he was a true master of painting, sculpting, and architecture. I also went to the Galleria degli Uffizi, which CJ wasn´t too interested in so she went shopping. Boticelli was the highlight of that gallery...his Birth of Venus is pretty damn good.
After a few nights of Renaissance and free happy hour buffets in Florence we headed to Milan for a night mainly just to catch our flight to Ibiza!
Roma is full of sights from the Colliseum to the Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica. We saw them all in between stops for pizza and gelato. We had a great 3 days in Roma seeing the sights, eating the food, and catching up on all the happenings in American Samoa.
After Roma we took the train to Siena to explore the medieval town. Siena is very quaint, but also very expensive...our one night stay probably didn't do it justice, but its still a nice place to visit.
Next was Firenze aka Florence where we delved into Renaissance Art and of course more pizza and gelato! Michelangelo was truly amazing. From his sistene chapel, which we saw in Roma, to his David in Florence, and everything in between, he was a true master of painting, sculpting, and architecture. I also went to the Galleria degli Uffizi, which CJ wasn´t too interested in so she went shopping. Boticelli was the highlight of that gallery...his Birth of Venus is pretty damn good.
After a few nights of Renaissance and free happy hour buffets in Florence we headed to Milan for a night mainly just to catch our flight to Ibiza!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Buon giorno!
Our first stop in beautiful Italia was Assisi...famous for San Francesco di Assisi. It's a beautiful, quaint town in Umbria. We got off the morning train from Ancona without knowing where we were going to stay or what to expect. We started walking through agriculture fields with red poppies popping up all over. After walking for a bit we saw the town of Assisi up on a hill. It was a warm day and our walk was about to get a lot steeper. We persisted though and eventually made it through the steep streets and numerous stairs to a nice pensione. The lady that owned to place greeted us with the most enthusiastic "Buon giorno!" I've ever heard. She showed us the room and through open the curtains with an even more enthusiastic "Sole!" I'm not sure if my italian spelling is correct, but it indeed was a beautifully sunny day and the room was perfect.
After unloading our packs we ate lunch and headed straight for the magnificent Basilica di San Francesco, which is quite impressive. After that we were ready for our first Italian gelato. I got a cioccolato and CJ got tiramisu, 2 great flavors that we happily devoured while strolling the narrow streets of Assisi. We truly enjoyed the small town of Assisi, which was a last minute addition to our itinerary on our way to Roma.
The next day we headed for ancient Rome where we were to meet up with our friends Paul and Barbara who were on holiday from American Samoa. Barbara is from Roma so we were looking forward to an insider's guide to the city...and she didn't disappoint. More about Roma in our next post.
After unloading our packs we ate lunch and headed straight for the magnificent Basilica di San Francesco, which is quite impressive. After that we were ready for our first Italian gelato. I got a cioccolato and CJ got tiramisu, 2 great flavors that we happily devoured while strolling the narrow streets of Assisi. We truly enjoyed the small town of Assisi, which was a last minute addition to our itinerary on our way to Roma.
The next day we headed for ancient Rome where we were to meet up with our friends Paul and Barbara who were on holiday from American Samoa. Barbara is from Roma so we were looking forward to an insider's guide to the city...and she didn't disappoint. More about Roma in our next post.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Viva Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Italia!
Entering Serbia was a blur, we had a cabin of six bunks to ourselves, luckily, and were hoping for a good nights sleep. We were awakened at least 4 times to show ourselves, our passports, run literally through border crossings to get our passports stamped, and then try to sleep again. Finally, as the sun was coming up, we crossed the border into Serbia. I dont remember the blur of handing the passport control officer our passports, but all of a sudden these hands. These massive hands took the passports. I looked up and the officer was well into six feet tall with electric blue eye shadow blazed across her lids. Yup, the huge officer was a woman, I think. She was very nice though, and pronounced my name "tshuooorteees" for Curtis. Wide awake after being transfixed by such bright color in the morning, I noticed some other people on the train were well above average height. Men close to seven feet tall!! Women towering over me, which is rare!! Ryan reminded me this is the home of many a NBA star, Vlade Divac, Peja Novacasomething, and basketball is a big deal in Serbia! That passport control officer could block any shot I put up!!
Having not seen a familiar face in over two months, (but a billion unfamiliar ones in Asia and India) seeing Ryans aunt Chris at the train station in Belgrade, Serbia was like finding gelato on a hot Italian day (more on the gelato later). It was so great!! We showered without shoes on, used free toilet paper, and ate triscuits. Spending time with Keith (Ryans uncle) and Chris was fantastic, they are such great hosts, showed us around, we visited forts and monasteries and listened to Keiths history lessons of Eastern Europe. We reluctantly left after two nights, and I still miss their beautiful house and welcoming spirit. We took another overnight train to Podgorica, Montenegro, and were again in a six person couchette cabin, this time it was filled. The cabins are only about 6x8 feet and hot and stuffy. Ryan fell asleep before we left Serbia, but I was kept awake by a heavy breathing Serbian man in the bunk above us. When we arrived, we met up with Vladan, a worker with USAID and he introduced us to burek, a salty, greasy cheese pie that was great at 6 in the morning. He introduced us to his work in Montenegro, a country that just was recognized by the UN as its own country last year. His environmental work there is considerable, and we were very impressed. Montenegro is growing, and they are trying to keep up with the environmental demands on their beautiful country. A few hours later, we took an absolutely breathtaking bus ride to Kotor Bay on the eastern Adriatic coast. We zipped along the coastline that is jagged mountain that cuts directly down to the sea. We stopped in Kotor and wandered around the old city before hopping another bus to Dubrovnik, Croatia. This is when we slowed down a bit and had ear to ear grins. We were bombarded with pensione offers by people who had private rooms. A tall, very tall, persistent Croatian man with a huge yellow crooked tooth smile offered us a room on the top of the city. We took a chance, and we had the best location in all of town for half the price of a hostel. We watched the most incredible sunset ever and couldnt wipe the smiles from our faces. We drank blood orange juice and ate local cheese on crackers while toasting the red sunset. Just awesome.
Ryan removed me from the grips of the patio railing as we boarded a 4 hour bus to Split. We took an equally big leap when we arrived at the bus station there. Lots of old ladies with bad breath and abundant facial hair. I decided to opt with a lady that was calm, collected, and had excellent use of lipgloss. I dont remember her name but she was very very nice with a house just steps from the old city. We had a great time wandering around Split, and stayed just one night before heading on the overnight ferry ride from Split, Croatia to Ancona, ITALIA!!!
Having not seen a familiar face in over two months, (but a billion unfamiliar ones in Asia and India) seeing Ryans aunt Chris at the train station in Belgrade, Serbia was like finding gelato on a hot Italian day (more on the gelato later). It was so great!! We showered without shoes on, used free toilet paper, and ate triscuits. Spending time with Keith (Ryans uncle) and Chris was fantastic, they are such great hosts, showed us around, we visited forts and monasteries and listened to Keiths history lessons of Eastern Europe. We reluctantly left after two nights, and I still miss their beautiful house and welcoming spirit. We took another overnight train to Podgorica, Montenegro, and were again in a six person couchette cabin, this time it was filled. The cabins are only about 6x8 feet and hot and stuffy. Ryan fell asleep before we left Serbia, but I was kept awake by a heavy breathing Serbian man in the bunk above us. When we arrived, we met up with Vladan, a worker with USAID and he introduced us to burek, a salty, greasy cheese pie that was great at 6 in the morning. He introduced us to his work in Montenegro, a country that just was recognized by the UN as its own country last year. His environmental work there is considerable, and we were very impressed. Montenegro is growing, and they are trying to keep up with the environmental demands on their beautiful country. A few hours later, we took an absolutely breathtaking bus ride to Kotor Bay on the eastern Adriatic coast. We zipped along the coastline that is jagged mountain that cuts directly down to the sea. We stopped in Kotor and wandered around the old city before hopping another bus to Dubrovnik, Croatia. This is when we slowed down a bit and had ear to ear grins. We were bombarded with pensione offers by people who had private rooms. A tall, very tall, persistent Croatian man with a huge yellow crooked tooth smile offered us a room on the top of the city. We took a chance, and we had the best location in all of town for half the price of a hostel. We watched the most incredible sunset ever and couldnt wipe the smiles from our faces. We drank blood orange juice and ate local cheese on crackers while toasting the red sunset. Just awesome.
Ryan removed me from the grips of the patio railing as we boarded a 4 hour bus to Split. We took an equally big leap when we arrived at the bus station there. Lots of old ladies with bad breath and abundant facial hair. I decided to opt with a lady that was calm, collected, and had excellent use of lipgloss. I dont remember her name but she was very very nice with a house just steps from the old city. We had a great time wandering around Split, and stayed just one night before heading on the overnight ferry ride from Split, Croatia to Ancona, ITALIA!!!
View from our balcony in Dubrovnik, Croatia...the magnificent Dalmatian Coast
CJ posing on our brief stop in Bosnia...hence the 'b' symbol
RJ posing with Gandolph in Split, Croaia...well maybe its not really the white wizard, but it sure looks like him!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Business meeting in Podgorica?
Aaaaahhhhhh what a difference a nice bed, clean sheets, clean towels and clean clothes makes! Not to mention the comforting voices of family! Serbia was fantastic too. Our first day there we spent relaxing...didn't do a whole lot of anything. We had a lovely home cooked meal on the balcony overlooking a Serbian forest. It was great to catch up.
The next day I actually got some exercise in the form of doubles tennis on clay courts. That was fantastic...besides walking around every city we've been too, I haven't had much exercise on the trip. Was nice to work up a sweat and I hadn't played on clay in years. Good fun.
After that we got cleaned up and went for lunch in Belgrade and strolled through the walking streets and an old fort along the mighty Danube. There are still bombed out remnants of old government buildings around Belgrade, which is a bit dreary, but overall the city is nice. The weather was beautiful and people were out in full force at the cafe's and walking streets. It does help to know a bit of the local language, which we found out the hard way after our afternoon walk. After some drinks at a local cafe overlooking the Danube and the zoo, Keith and I walked back to the car...except the car was no longer where we had parked it. It had been towed, and it was only then that Keith noticed the "No Parking - Tow Away Zone" parking sign. I had noticed it before, but had no idea what it said....whoops! Not to worry, a short walk and a lighter wallet later we were on our way back to the house.
That night we were heading back downtown for dinner, the four of us and one of Keith's colleague's from Washington D.C., Mohammad Latif. Mohammad is from California via Pakistan and is the Regional Environmental Officer for Eastern Europe and Eurasia with USAID. I had spoken to Mohammad on the phone years before, but never met in person. He just happened to be in Belgrade as we were passing through so it was a perfect chance for us to meet. Mohammad is a whirlwind of a guy! Extremely nice and always on the go. Within 30 minutes of meeting him he was setting up a meeting between CJ and I and one of his colleagues in Montenegro. We were heading that way by train the next night anyway so it only seemed proper for us to meet him. Perhaps we'll be able to get some environmental contract work sometime in the future.
Dinner was good and we got a look at the superb Belgrade nightlife on the walk from the restaurant back to the car. The next day we spent in the back of the car driving through the Serbian country side. We visited a few monasteries and a couple different castle ruins. Serbia is truly a beautiful country. I've already forgotten the names of the villages and sites we saw there though. It's different when you're not planning the route yourself. Pretty nice too, after a couple months of reviewing maps and planning our days, we got to simply sit back and relax and enjoy the sites as they came. I'm sure once I review a Serbian map I'll be able to recall the towns and sites we saw.
Reluctanly we hopped on the train that night and headed towards Montenegro where we would meet up with our new contact Vladan in Podgorica. For the first time in the couchettes we had company...no more cabins to ourselves, this one was packed full with 6 people. On the bright side though, I think it was our last overnight train! Vladan picked us up at the train station in Podgorica, capital of newly independent Montenegro, and took us out for a Burek breakfast. We chatted about the history and environmental issues of Montenegro for a couple hours before we had to get on a bus to Kotor and head towards the Dalmatian Coast. The meeting went well and we hope to see Vladan again in the near future.
Next stop the Dalmatian Coast...which I think CJ already posted about...so perhaps the next stop will be Italia!
and by the way...we didn't get a chance to post any new photos or videos from Serbia...it'll have to wait a bit longer....apologies.
The next day I actually got some exercise in the form of doubles tennis on clay courts. That was fantastic...besides walking around every city we've been too, I haven't had much exercise on the trip. Was nice to work up a sweat and I hadn't played on clay in years. Good fun.
After that we got cleaned up and went for lunch in Belgrade and strolled through the walking streets and an old fort along the mighty Danube. There are still bombed out remnants of old government buildings around Belgrade, which is a bit dreary, but overall the city is nice. The weather was beautiful and people were out in full force at the cafe's and walking streets. It does help to know a bit of the local language, which we found out the hard way after our afternoon walk. After some drinks at a local cafe overlooking the Danube and the zoo, Keith and I walked back to the car...except the car was no longer where we had parked it. It had been towed, and it was only then that Keith noticed the "No Parking - Tow Away Zone" parking sign. I had noticed it before, but had no idea what it said....whoops! Not to worry, a short walk and a lighter wallet later we were on our way back to the house.
That night we were heading back downtown for dinner, the four of us and one of Keith's colleague's from Washington D.C., Mohammad Latif. Mohammad is from California via Pakistan and is the Regional Environmental Officer for Eastern Europe and Eurasia with USAID. I had spoken to Mohammad on the phone years before, but never met in person. He just happened to be in Belgrade as we were passing through so it was a perfect chance for us to meet. Mohammad is a whirlwind of a guy! Extremely nice and always on the go. Within 30 minutes of meeting him he was setting up a meeting between CJ and I and one of his colleagues in Montenegro. We were heading that way by train the next night anyway so it only seemed proper for us to meet him. Perhaps we'll be able to get some environmental contract work sometime in the future.
Dinner was good and we got a look at the superb Belgrade nightlife on the walk from the restaurant back to the car. The next day we spent in the back of the car driving through the Serbian country side. We visited a few monasteries and a couple different castle ruins. Serbia is truly a beautiful country. I've already forgotten the names of the villages and sites we saw there though. It's different when you're not planning the route yourself. Pretty nice too, after a couple months of reviewing maps and planning our days, we got to simply sit back and relax and enjoy the sites as they came. I'm sure once I review a Serbian map I'll be able to recall the towns and sites we saw.
Reluctanly we hopped on the train that night and headed towards Montenegro where we would meet up with our new contact Vladan in Podgorica. For the first time in the couchettes we had company...no more cabins to ourselves, this one was packed full with 6 people. On the bright side though, I think it was our last overnight train! Vladan picked us up at the train station in Podgorica, capital of newly independent Montenegro, and took us out for a Burek breakfast. We chatted about the history and environmental issues of Montenegro for a couple hours before we had to get on a bus to Kotor and head towards the Dalmatian Coast. The meeting went well and we hope to see Vladan again in the near future.
Next stop the Dalmatian Coast...which I think CJ already posted about...so perhaps the next stop will be Italia!
and by the way...we didn't get a chance to post any new photos or videos from Serbia...it'll have to wait a bit longer....apologies.
Rj with Uncle Keith and Aunt Chris on the streets of Belgrade
CJ on the banks of the mighty Danube
Burek business breakfast in Podgorica, Montenegro
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Snowy transylvania
We didn't really know what to expect from Romania, but we were happy to get off the train after 20 hours! The train ride wasn't so bad though actually, we had our own cabin which was nice and the scenery through Bulgaria and Romania was quite nice. We were woken up about 6 times in the middle of the night for passport control and customs though, that wasn't too pleasant. But we had plenty of time to catch up on sleep. We left Istanbul around 10pm and didn't arrive in Bucharest until 6pm then next day.
Once in Bucharest we searched for a hotel that took credit cards. Our ATM card hadn't worked since India so we were low on cash. We found one and settled in for the night. By the time we settled into the hotel it was dark and we didn't feel comfortable exploring Bucharest at night. So we flipped on the tube and watched some reality TV that has made its way all the way to Romania.
We probably didn't give Bucharest a fair shake because the next morning we headed back to the train station for a short journey north to Brasov in southern Transylvania. The ride north was spectacular and we were shocked to see snow capped mountains...who knew Romania had snow and even ski resorts! Certainly not us and it was a pleasant surprise. I even thought about going skiing!
Brasov turned out to be a great town. Several gothic sites to see including the Black Church, which got its name when it was torched by fire in the 1600s. We went to the nearby town of Bran to check out the Bran Castle. Legend has it that Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler and the basis for Bram Stoker's Dracula, was once at the Bran Castle protecting the Bran Pass from the invading Turks. The Bran Pass was an important pass for the residents of southern Transylvania. The story goes that ss a youngster, Vlad's father had offered up his son as a hostage to the Turks where young Vlad learned some disturbing methods of torture. When the Turks tried to invade southern Transylvania Vlad was ready and ironically used some of the techniques he learned while in Turkey against them. Legend has it that he impaled around 20,000 of the invaders finally forcing them back south! Hence the nickname.
After 2 days in Southern Transylvania we headed back to Bucharest and caught another overnight train to Belgrade, Serbia where we would see familiar faces in my unlce Keith and aunt Chris who live there. We were looking forward to some home cooking, clean sheets, free laundry, and family hospitality! After over 2 months on the road, we certainly needed it! See
you in Serbia!
Once in Bucharest we searched for a hotel that took credit cards. Our ATM card hadn't worked since India so we were low on cash. We found one and settled in for the night. By the time we settled into the hotel it was dark and we didn't feel comfortable exploring Bucharest at night. So we flipped on the tube and watched some reality TV that has made its way all the way to Romania.
We probably didn't give Bucharest a fair shake because the next morning we headed back to the train station for a short journey north to Brasov in southern Transylvania. The ride north was spectacular and we were shocked to see snow capped mountains...who knew Romania had snow and even ski resorts! Certainly not us and it was a pleasant surprise. I even thought about going skiing!
Brasov turned out to be a great town. Several gothic sites to see including the Black Church, which got its name when it was torched by fire in the 1600s. We went to the nearby town of Bran to check out the Bran Castle. Legend has it that Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad the Impaler and the basis for Bram Stoker's Dracula, was once at the Bran Castle protecting the Bran Pass from the invading Turks. The Bran Pass was an important pass for the residents of southern Transylvania. The story goes that ss a youngster, Vlad's father had offered up his son as a hostage to the Turks where young Vlad learned some disturbing methods of torture. When the Turks tried to invade southern Transylvania Vlad was ready and ironically used some of the techniques he learned while in Turkey against them. Legend has it that he impaled around 20,000 of the invaders finally forcing them back south! Hence the nickname.
After 2 days in Southern Transylvania we headed back to Bucharest and caught another overnight train to Belgrade, Serbia where we would see familiar faces in my unlce Keith and aunt Chris who live there. We were looking forward to some home cooking, clean sheets, free laundry, and family hospitality! After over 2 months on the road, we certainly needed it! See
you in Serbia!The Bran Castle in Southern Transylvania
CJ overlooking the town of Brasov also in Southern Transylvania
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Am I really from Spain??
Every where we go in Istanbul I get people trying to talk to me in Spanish...they're sure I'm from Spain. CJ too. Some are shocked and in disbelief when we say we're from the US. From now on we're just going with it. Maybe we can improve our Spanish that way.
We have a great few days in Istanbul, its a marvelous city right on the water. The weather has been about 40 degrees cooler than India, but its been a welcome change. We finally get to bust out some of our cold weather clothes that we've been lugging around SE Asia and India for the past 2 months...makes the packs a bit lighter, but the new wardrobe that CJ has bought makes up for the difference!
We stayed in the historic part of town with great views of the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque. We've been dining on simit, sort of a turkish pretzel that is sold everywhere, and other tasty goodies from numerous street vendors. We strolled through the Grand Bazaar that has been in action since the 1400s making it the oldest bazaar in the world. Today we took a ferry across to the Asian side of Istanbul and walked around some markets over there.
Tonight we get to take a 20-hour overnight train to Bucharest, Romania! How exciting!! We'll stay in Bucharest for one night, then head up to the Transylvanian town of Brasov and search for remnants of Dracula or the unlucky souls who crossed his path! After 2 nights in Brasov we'll head to Belgrade where we'll get some home cooking and family hospitality from my Unlce Keith and his wife Chris...very much looking forward to that!! At that point we also hope to be able to upload more photos so be on the lookout for new photos on some old posts. Next stop Transylvania!!
Flight from Bahrain to Istanbul...who knows what I'm drinking?!?
We have a great few days in Istanbul, its a marvelous city right on the water. The weather has been about 40 degrees cooler than India, but its been a welcome change. We finally get to bust out some of our cold weather clothes that we've been lugging around SE Asia and India for the past 2 months...makes the packs a bit lighter, but the new wardrobe that CJ has bought makes up for the difference!
We stayed in the historic part of town with great views of the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque. We've been dining on simit, sort of a turkish pretzel that is sold everywhere, and other tasty goodies from numerous street vendors. We strolled through the Grand Bazaar that has been in action since the 1400s making it the oldest bazaar in the world. Today we took a ferry across to the Asian side of Istanbul and walked around some markets over there.
Tonight we get to take a 20-hour overnight train to Bucharest, Romania! How exciting!! We'll stay in Bucharest for one night, then head up to the Transylvanian town of Brasov and search for remnants of Dracula or the unlucky souls who crossed his path! After 2 nights in Brasov we'll head to Belgrade where we'll get some home cooking and family hospitality from my Unlce Keith and his wife Chris...very much looking forward to that!! At that point we also hope to be able to upload more photos so be on the lookout for new photos on some old posts. Next stop Transylvania!!
Flight from Bahrain to Istanbul...who knows what I'm drinking?!?
One of the Spaniards checking out the belly dancing attire at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul
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