Wandering the meandering streets of Europe Kim and I encountered indecent proposals, awe inspiring architecture, marvelous country sides, and all wonderful people.
In all of Europe there was one image that has been burned into my mind and truthfully, the only thing that bothered me for my entire three weeks there. We saw gypsy women using terrible genocide crisis and the "generosity" of English speakers at Notre Dame in Paris, men using children in the streets of Prague, and pickpockets and thieves in Rome, each trying to make their way. None of this really bothered me, the one scene however, after lunch Kim and I were trying to find a Belgian Chocolate Store, there was a little girl no older than five years old walking in front of us with no adult for half of a block. We approached stairs and saw a beggar woman dressed in all black at the very bottom step. The little girl, dressed in a purple and pink sweater and khaki pants went up to the woman and threw her hands out implying she came back with nothing. The woman's although mournful and worried, her eyes said "It's okay, it'll be fine, we will have to figure something else out," as she held out her arms for the child. As we walked away I could not help but turn around, I turned around to see the woman rocking the child in her arms.
I don't know any more of their story.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Fun-sina
The last few days have absolutely deemed an update necessary.
We left you on a train to nice, france. We were waiting for the final train at its assigned platform for 30 minutes, at the time of departure I looked up at the screen and couldn't tell but it looked different. I got up to see and it had changed from "c" to "5". I went back to kim and said "we have to get to 5!!" We took off running with our bags on our back, got to the platform to find our train gone and the next one already there. Defeated literally only by one minute we walked back to the ticket counter to see how we could get to the beach. Turns out all the rest of the trains for the night were full. Our second plan was to get the first train to Nice in the a.m. and beach til the afternoon and make our way to venice. Of course the only thing we were able to do was to get a ticket for the first train with a 15 minute transfer in Nice, and a 10 minute transfer in Milan. We had to find a hotel in Marsilles but all the hotels were full after 5 tries we wandered down a dark alley and found what has become "the worst hotel of our trip". For 45 euro we got a room with blood on the mattress and wall, dead bugs on the sheets, a floor that was at a -45 degree slope, a window screen that may or may not have been holding our building together, and a bullet hole in the wall. The bathroom was a whole 'nother story and is still uncharted territory for both of us.
We had to be at the train station by 545 to get our 6 a.m. train, we woke up by 5 and made our way down stairs to find ourselves locked in the "hotel." We managed to unhook one lock which was a rail road spike that was as far as we got. We were sure we were going to miss our train again and therefore miss the next two to venice. After some time someone else came down to leave the hotel. He also had no idea how to open the door but together we made enough noise to wake up someone with keys who opened the door with a lot of anger. We ran to the train station and saw our train was delayed by an hour and was going to make us miss the next two no matter what. We got our ticket changed and somehow made it to Nice and some how on our train to Milan but that train had accumulated a 50 minute delay during our trip and made us miss our train to Venice. We eventually made it all the way and found a Chinese restaurant where the floor was wet, but the food delicious. After our meal a cook came out and went to the corner by our table and that's when we realized there was a fish tank (aka styrofoam box) for "fresh fish" over flowing making the floor wet. The cook caught a fish with his bare hands and went back to the kitchen.
We waited for over two hours for the bus to the hostel. We made two friends Ryan and Alex from California, they ended up being our hostel neighbors. The hostel was a campground with plenty of mosquitos and no air conditioning to compliment the 100 degree and extra humid air. The island was too hot and humid so by the time we got off the ferry we got lunch toured the basillica got gelato and turned right around for the hot mosquito infested camp ground. Our cabin was too hot so we layed outside and napped. After the nap we made some more friends and got food and spent the rest of the night together which ended up being a lot of fun.
In the morning we got on a ferry and finally made it to a beach for a few hours with some of our new friends. In the evening we made it to florence and hung out there for the night and afternoon. Today we got a bus to a tuscan winery an hour outside the city I bought 17 bottles of delicious wine which I am praying makes it home with me.
On the bus home I realized I left the $50 belgian chocolate at the hostel and had to back track to find it.
We got our train to Rome and are very excited about our 4 star hotel outside the city with a pool, air conditioning, proper beds, and four restaurants to end our backpacking adventures.
Also to end the adventures kim just solved the impossible block and can't explain how it happened.
We will be home in a few days until then keep the peace and stay sane. We miss you all and can't wait to be back home.
We left you on a train to nice, france. We were waiting for the final train at its assigned platform for 30 minutes, at the time of departure I looked up at the screen and couldn't tell but it looked different. I got up to see and it had changed from "c" to "5". I went back to kim and said "we have to get to 5!!" We took off running with our bags on our back, got to the platform to find our train gone and the next one already there. Defeated literally only by one minute we walked back to the ticket counter to see how we could get to the beach. Turns out all the rest of the trains for the night were full. Our second plan was to get the first train to Nice in the a.m. and beach til the afternoon and make our way to venice. Of course the only thing we were able to do was to get a ticket for the first train with a 15 minute transfer in Nice, and a 10 minute transfer in Milan. We had to find a hotel in Marsilles but all the hotels were full after 5 tries we wandered down a dark alley and found what has become "the worst hotel of our trip". For 45 euro we got a room with blood on the mattress and wall, dead bugs on the sheets, a floor that was at a -45 degree slope, a window screen that may or may not have been holding our building together, and a bullet hole in the wall. The bathroom was a whole 'nother story and is still uncharted territory for both of us.
We had to be at the train station by 545 to get our 6 a.m. train, we woke up by 5 and made our way down stairs to find ourselves locked in the "hotel." We managed to unhook one lock which was a rail road spike that was as far as we got. We were sure we were going to miss our train again and therefore miss the next two to venice. After some time someone else came down to leave the hotel. He also had no idea how to open the door but together we made enough noise to wake up someone with keys who opened the door with a lot of anger. We ran to the train station and saw our train was delayed by an hour and was going to make us miss the next two no matter what. We got our ticket changed and somehow made it to Nice and some how on our train to Milan but that train had accumulated a 50 minute delay during our trip and made us miss our train to Venice. We eventually made it all the way and found a Chinese restaurant where the floor was wet, but the food delicious. After our meal a cook came out and went to the corner by our table and that's when we realized there was a fish tank (aka styrofoam box) for "fresh fish" over flowing making the floor wet. The cook caught a fish with his bare hands and went back to the kitchen.
We waited for over two hours for the bus to the hostel. We made two friends Ryan and Alex from California, they ended up being our hostel neighbors. The hostel was a campground with plenty of mosquitos and no air conditioning to compliment the 100 degree and extra humid air. The island was too hot and humid so by the time we got off the ferry we got lunch toured the basillica got gelato and turned right around for the hot mosquito infested camp ground. Our cabin was too hot so we layed outside and napped. After the nap we made some more friends and got food and spent the rest of the night together which ended up being a lot of fun.
In the morning we got on a ferry and finally made it to a beach for a few hours with some of our new friends. In the evening we made it to florence and hung out there for the night and afternoon. Today we got a bus to a tuscan winery an hour outside the city I bought 17 bottles of delicious wine which I am praying makes it home with me.
On the bus home I realized I left the $50 belgian chocolate at the hostel and had to back track to find it.
We got our train to Rome and are very excited about our 4 star hotel outside the city with a pool, air conditioning, proper beds, and four restaurants to end our backpacking adventures.
Also to end the adventures kim just solved the impossible block and can't explain how it happened.
We will be home in a few days until then keep the peace and stay sane. We miss you all and can't wait to be back home.
Paris Blows, period.
Bon jour.
Since our last email kim and I have acquired several more travel stories. I
believe we left you before our midnight stroll through the red light
district. It doesn't get dark here until around 1030. We got to the rld
before dusk and enjoyed a cold beverage while watching holland vs romania
and france vs italy. Soccer is the one thing that brings a whole nation
together regularly in most countries-we racked our minds to think of an
american equivalent and the best I can come up with is when we remember
things like 911 or pearl harbor. We don't unify for anything positive, sad,
really.
Anyway holland and france were victorious which was fun because the streets
of amsterdam immediately turned into a celebratory sea of orange. Darkness
came and we walked around the rld we got pretty turned around and ended up
going through one alley a few too many times. Some people had the wrong
idea...
Brussels was our longest visit yet. We enjoyed an actual traditionally
brewed lambic beer, belgian waffles, chocolates and visited several museums.
We also took a lot of rest because we realized how tired we were during our
free time.
Paris was amazing but we cut our time there from 3 days to 1.5 days after
deciding we couldn't afford it and realizing how bored we were because we
have no money (bored in Paris, I know right!) We went to mass at the notre
dame cathedral, visited the lourve, the arc de triomphe, and watched and
waited for the eiffel tower to glow and sparkle for literally 3 hours. While
we were waiting we made some french friends who were beyond intoxicated but
even more fun.
We decided a beach would be nice to relax on so after much confusion we are
on a train to nice with two transfers because after waiting in line for 40
minutes for tickets we found out all the direct trains were full.
We are a little over halfway done with our trip and with only 7 days
remaining we keep wondering where the time has gone. Soon enough we will be
back in the states. Until then, remain well and we will see you all very
soon.
Since our last email kim and I have acquired several more travel stories. I
believe we left you before our midnight stroll through the red light
district. It doesn't get dark here until around 1030. We got to the rld
before dusk and enjoyed a cold beverage while watching holland vs romania
and france vs italy. Soccer is the one thing that brings a whole nation
together regularly in most countries-we racked our minds to think of an
american equivalent and the best I can come up with is when we remember
things like 911 or pearl harbor. We don't unify for anything positive, sad,
really.
Anyway holland and france were victorious which was fun because the streets
of amsterdam immediately turned into a celebratory sea of orange. Darkness
came and we walked around the rld we got pretty turned around and ended up
going through one alley a few too many times. Some people had the wrong
idea...
Brussels was our longest visit yet. We enjoyed an actual traditionally
brewed lambic beer, belgian waffles, chocolates and visited several museums.
We also took a lot of rest because we realized how tired we were during our
free time.
Paris was amazing but we cut our time there from 3 days to 1.5 days after
deciding we couldn't afford it and realizing how bored we were because we
have no money (bored in Paris, I know right!) We went to mass at the notre
dame cathedral, visited the lourve, the arc de triomphe, and watched and
waited for the eiffel tower to glow and sparkle for literally 3 hours. While
we were waiting we made some french friends who were beyond intoxicated but
even more fun.
We decided a beach would be nice to relax on so after much confusion we are
on a train to nice with two transfers because after waiting in line for 40
minutes for tickets we found out all the direct trains were full.
We are a little over halfway done with our trip and with only 7 days
remaining we keep wondering where the time has gone. Soon enough we will be
back in the states. Until then, remain well and we will see you all very
soon.
Am-sta-dam
Hello all I have been writing long email and just decided a quick update
would be just right.
Kim and I met in rome on friday and took two trains to prague. On our first
night train we put everything of value down our shirts because we heard
rumors of train cars being broken into and the passengers being gassed and
theived. Rumors...
We found prague to be a beautiful and lively place whose architecture and
surroundings were awe inspiring. The people were friendly but only tolerable
of tourists. Wandering from a sketch hostel to one recommended by a 5 star
hotel reception desk I spoke with two women from Belgium in Zulu. So to
those who ask when I'll use such a random language next time I will say
"when I am lost in the streets of Prague."
Prague gave us our first set of non-train friends, Ces and Diana from
Florida. We wandered around Prague and interesting museums, outdoor viewings
of futbol games and eventually to the Charles Bridge at sunset. Then we met
a group of guys dressed up in costumes galore celebrating a bachelor party
and we had a beer with them and made our way home for the night. The next
morning we met up with the girls again and went to a huge zoo. We separated
after the zoo and Kim and I ventured to the Prague palace. It was gorgeous
but we found our prize in the gift shop when we stumbled upon two puzzles
that have yet to be solved and remain to ruin our traveling days.
Our time in Prague was short but packed full of fun. We hopped on another
night train and made our way to Amsterdam making more friends along the way.
We arrived in Amsterdam yesterday and were immediately impressed with the
city and its citizens. We went to the Van Gogh Museum and ran into Jay
Manuel (from Americas Next Top Model) and his posse, we played stalkers for
a while then visited the Ann Frank Museum. It was surreal to be in a place
with such an infamous history. After that we went on a candle light canal
cruise with wine and cheese. While waiting in line for that we met two more
friends Bill and Jennifer from Louisville, KY celebrating their 40th wedding
anniversary. The canal cruise was informing and relaxing. We decided to walk
home and of course got lost because we listened to bad directions eventually
we made it back to the hotel and got a good nights rest. Today we wandered
the streets of Amsterdam and tonight are a adventuring to the Famous Red
Light District for a midnight stroll.
I hope this email was all you hoped for and more. I also hope it finds you
all well. I miss you all but it seems since time is flying I will be back
before anyone knows it.
Stay sane!
Heather and kim (mostly heather...kim has been sleeping this whole time)
would be just right.
Kim and I met in rome on friday and took two trains to prague. On our first
night train we put everything of value down our shirts because we heard
rumors of train cars being broken into and the passengers being gassed and
theived. Rumors...
We found prague to be a beautiful and lively place whose architecture and
surroundings were awe inspiring. The people were friendly but only tolerable
of tourists. Wandering from a sketch hostel to one recommended by a 5 star
hotel reception desk I spoke with two women from Belgium in Zulu. So to
those who ask when I'll use such a random language next time I will say
"when I am lost in the streets of Prague."
Prague gave us our first set of non-train friends, Ces and Diana from
Florida. We wandered around Prague and interesting museums, outdoor viewings
of futbol games and eventually to the Charles Bridge at sunset. Then we met
a group of guys dressed up in costumes galore celebrating a bachelor party
and we had a beer with them and made our way home for the night. The next
morning we met up with the girls again and went to a huge zoo. We separated
after the zoo and Kim and I ventured to the Prague palace. It was gorgeous
but we found our prize in the gift shop when we stumbled upon two puzzles
that have yet to be solved and remain to ruin our traveling days.
Our time in Prague was short but packed full of fun. We hopped on another
night train and made our way to Amsterdam making more friends along the way.
We arrived in Amsterdam yesterday and were immediately impressed with the
city and its citizens. We went to the Van Gogh Museum and ran into Jay
Manuel (from Americas Next Top Model) and his posse, we played stalkers for
a while then visited the Ann Frank Museum. It was surreal to be in a place
with such an infamous history. After that we went on a candle light canal
cruise with wine and cheese. While waiting in line for that we met two more
friends Bill and Jennifer from Louisville, KY celebrating their 40th wedding
anniversary. The canal cruise was informing and relaxing. We decided to walk
home and of course got lost because we listened to bad directions eventually
we made it back to the hotel and got a good nights rest. Today we wandered
the streets of Amsterdam and tonight are a adventuring to the Famous Red
Light District for a midnight stroll.
I hope this email was all you hoped for and more. I also hope it finds you
all well. I miss you all but it seems since time is flying I will be back
before anyone knows it.
Stay sane!
Heather and kim (mostly heather...kim has been sleeping this whole time)
Italia
Oh my $*!/")? God do I hate Italy.
So I arrived in Italy this morning after three delayed flights. Of course no one here speaks any of my languages so it was an experience getting through the airport, which was a breeze compared to getting to this hostel.
From the train station in Rome I was to get on a 427 train to Naples which I couldn't find so I got on a different train to Naples with assigned seats. I must have looked pretty homeless because the lady who was supposed to be in my seat looked at her friend like "maybe we should just sit over here" and thank God they did. My only worry after that was that they might check tickets and not understand English then kick me off the train. My next problem was where to get off the train, I stayed on until there was no one else on the train. I found my way to the plaza to get on a bus, which of course I couldn't find so I walked around til I found the right one.
When I was situated on the bus I got out my phone to look up the directions to the hostel ans all of a sudden a kid no older than 14 grabs my phone out of my hand and takes off running. I chase him for about two seconds before I realize 1 I'm not going to catch him and 2 my camera bag is still on the bus. I turn around to see the bus pulling away, I ran to the door and banged as hard as I could with the biggest look of desperation I could muster and yelled "my bag please" and pointed at it. A man saw me ans yelled for the driver to stop. The door opened, I grabbed my bag and realized I had no idea how to get to the hostel so I figured my best bet was to catch a taxi.
I walked back to the taxi station begging myself not to burst into tears, found a taxi and told him where I needed to go. Just my luck he had no idea what I was talking about and had to ask his taxi driver buddies, he eventually figured it out and we were on our way.
Not a minute later I saw the little fucker who stole my phone, I begged the driver to stop for a minute because my phone was stolen. He was confused but agreed. I asked him to open the trunk so I could grab my camera bag just in case he decided to drive off, but I left my bag with all of my clothes in it so he would know I was coming back. I crossed the street and came up behind the kid and saw he was talking on my brand new $200 phone which roams in Italy at $2 a minute. My adrenaline was pumping, I punched the kid in the side of his head and dug my finger nails into his hand then pushed his hand against a cement block. I said "it's my phone thanks for finding it." He was so confused he just looked at me as I walked away- I turned around to see what he was doing-he still looked dumbfounded, just to make it clear I showed him my little birdy friend ans saw my driver waiting right where he left me. We managed to communicate the story and he kept saying what I think was "your phone got stolen and you got it back, bravo. You must be happy with yourself, bravo."
We got to the hostel and I paid the guy, he told me to wait and he went into some store and came out with a cold water for me, he said thanks and drive off. He was a really nice guy.
I walked into the hostel and two girls and a guy said in Australian accents "hey welcome, don't worry we looked like that five minutes ago. I told them my story and they said "shit mate, that's awesome."
I find my room and knock on the door to find an Italian prancing around in her underwear.
So now I'm sitting in the lounge writing this from my blackberry trying not to think about how much I smell, how hungry I am and how much I'd rather be in South Africa.
I miss you all terribly and want you to know I'm trying to keep the same blog as last year it's at habbosh.blogspot.com.
I will keep in touch as long as I don't lose my phone again. (And yes I will be more careful, it also helps that we have all the rest of the directions printed out.)
So that's all for now...
So I arrived in Italy this morning after three delayed flights. Of course no one here speaks any of my languages so it was an experience getting through the airport, which was a breeze compared to getting to this hostel.
From the train station in Rome I was to get on a 427 train to Naples which I couldn't find so I got on a different train to Naples with assigned seats. I must have looked pretty homeless because the lady who was supposed to be in my seat looked at her friend like "maybe we should just sit over here" and thank God they did. My only worry after that was that they might check tickets and not understand English then kick me off the train. My next problem was where to get off the train, I stayed on until there was no one else on the train. I found my way to the plaza to get on a bus, which of course I couldn't find so I walked around til I found the right one.
When I was situated on the bus I got out my phone to look up the directions to the hostel ans all of a sudden a kid no older than 14 grabs my phone out of my hand and takes off running. I chase him for about two seconds before I realize 1 I'm not going to catch him and 2 my camera bag is still on the bus. I turn around to see the bus pulling away, I ran to the door and banged as hard as I could with the biggest look of desperation I could muster and yelled "my bag please" and pointed at it. A man saw me ans yelled for the driver to stop. The door opened, I grabbed my bag and realized I had no idea how to get to the hostel so I figured my best bet was to catch a taxi.
I walked back to the taxi station begging myself not to burst into tears, found a taxi and told him where I needed to go. Just my luck he had no idea what I was talking about and had to ask his taxi driver buddies, he eventually figured it out and we were on our way.
Not a minute later I saw the little fucker who stole my phone, I begged the driver to stop for a minute because my phone was stolen. He was confused but agreed. I asked him to open the trunk so I could grab my camera bag just in case he decided to drive off, but I left my bag with all of my clothes in it so he would know I was coming back. I crossed the street and came up behind the kid and saw he was talking on my brand new $200 phone which roams in Italy at $2 a minute. My adrenaline was pumping, I punched the kid in the side of his head and dug my finger nails into his hand then pushed his hand against a cement block. I said "it's my phone thanks for finding it." He was so confused he just looked at me as I walked away- I turned around to see what he was doing-he still looked dumbfounded, just to make it clear I showed him my little birdy friend ans saw my driver waiting right where he left me. We managed to communicate the story and he kept saying what I think was "your phone got stolen and you got it back, bravo. You must be happy with yourself, bravo."
We got to the hostel and I paid the guy, he told me to wait and he went into some store and came out with a cold water for me, he said thanks and drive off. He was a really nice guy.
I walked into the hostel and two girls and a guy said in Australian accents "hey welcome, don't worry we looked like that five minutes ago. I told them my story and they said "shit mate, that's awesome."
I find my room and knock on the door to find an Italian prancing around in her underwear.
So now I'm sitting in the lounge writing this from my blackberry trying not to think about how much I smell, how hungry I am and how much I'd rather be in South Africa.
I miss you all terribly and want you to know I'm trying to keep the same blog as last year it's at habbosh.blogspot.com.
I will keep in touch as long as I don't lose my phone again. (And yes I will be more careful, it also helps that we have all the rest of the directions printed out.)
So that's all for now...
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
a few hours a few lessons
While I can put up with it I'm still terrified of flying. The turbulance scares the shit out of me, like really no joke. Last night before getting on the plane I wikipedia-ed the boeing 767...apparently in its 30 some years in operation it has been involved in 39 accidents or incidents. Let me do the math for you that's over one accident a year. So I think to myself, I haven't heard of any in a while...which means its about time for a 767 to blow up.
Great news: on the flight to Rome we had about two hours of heavy turbulance that had me convinced that the wings were being ripped off our jet.
Lesson #1 don't google plane accidents before you get on a plane.
Everyone here speaks Italian even kids and people who look like they could speak Zulu fluentely. I'm good enough to pick out the English speakers but usually they are no help because they are just as lost as me. If they aren't as lost as me they aren't tourists and either aren't willing to help or will just point you in a random direction.
I had a lost looking black girl standing in the middle of the taxi station pegged for an american. I walked up to her and asked "do you speak English?" She said.no and I was a little sad, but she did have a non European accent, so I asked her where she was from she responded "Nigeria." BINGO I thought to myself "I was in South Africa last summer, I speak Zulu!" Then all of a sudden she spoke great English and gave me horrible directions.
Lesson #2: Don't ask for directions, it's probably going to be easier to find your way alone.
Side note: when I was about to get my phone back I ripped my wrap off my head hoping to trick the kid into thinking it wasn't the girl he just stole a phone from. I think it might have worked.
Great news: on the flight to Rome we had about two hours of heavy turbulance that had me convinced that the wings were being ripped off our jet.
Lesson #1 don't google plane accidents before you get on a plane.
Everyone here speaks Italian even kids and people who look like they could speak Zulu fluentely. I'm good enough to pick out the English speakers but usually they are no help because they are just as lost as me. If they aren't as lost as me they aren't tourists and either aren't willing to help or will just point you in a random direction.
I had a lost looking black girl standing in the middle of the taxi station pegged for an american. I walked up to her and asked "do you speak English?" She said.no and I was a little sad, but she did have a non European accent, so I asked her where she was from she responded "Nigeria." BINGO I thought to myself "I was in South Africa last summer, I speak Zulu!" Then all of a sudden she spoke great English and gave me horrible directions.
Lesson #2: Don't ask for directions, it's probably going to be easier to find your way alone.
Side note: when I was about to get my phone back I ripped my wrap off my head hoping to trick the kid into thinking it wasn't the girl he just stole a phone from. I think it might have worked.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Begin Again
First off, I really feel like Rev Run on this new blackberry device.
I love traveling because of the people I come in contact with. Just a minute ago, as I was washing my hands in the bathroom I heard someone as another "do you have a fake I.d. I assumed it was two college girls. The other responded with a snotty "no" as the mother and daughter rounded the bathroom corner. "Ok just wondering," the mom said with a sigh of relief.
I love traveling because of the people I come in contact with. Just a minute ago, as I was washing my hands in the bathroom I heard someone as another "do you have a fake I.d. I assumed it was two college girls. The other responded with a snotty "no" as the mother and daughter rounded the bathroom corner. "Ok just wondering," the mom said with a sigh of relief.
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