Our last post took us up to the day I got back to the Borgo…, which was the 23rd of September. A month has passed since then (I can hardly believe it)…so what have I been doing??
When I first arrived back we spent a few days doing normal house stuff, cleaning after some guests who has just left, putting in the winter garden. All of this was intermingled with our deep, dark secret obsession. 24. Yeah, like, the TV show. Someone had sent the Sada Sats the first two seasons a while ago…and we devoured them. I bought them seasons 3 and 4 for my birthday…and again we went through them at an alarming rate. Sada Sat Singh had picked up the 5th season when he took a short trip to The States and they had been waiting for me to get home to watch it. So, the first 5 or 6 days I was back we spent a lot of time vegging out and watching TV. (Which was certainly something I needed after the go-go-go pace of the trip)
We had a couple from Germany stay with us for two weeks. Had pancakes for breakfast. Got higher speed Internet connection. Did lots of yoga. Spent an insane amount of time on Shutterfly organizing and ordering pictures. Did some more gardening.
Then the Sada Sats and I went to Rome for a weekend of yoga. This was the first of two weekends for the Mind and Meditation module of Level 2 teacher Training. And, it was an intense weekend. As the name implies we did A LOT of meditating…and it was great. This course also covers a lot of really complex and confusing yogic philosophy around the mind…so it was overall an exhilarating and exhausting weekend.
On our way home we stopped at the IKEA just outside of Rome to pick up a few things we needed at the Borgo. Three hours later…we were on the road again in a tightly packed car. J
The next day was Guru Ram Das’s birthday. Guru Ram Das was the 4th Sikh guru and is the one often associated with healing. It is also said that if you pray to him on his birthday he has to answer all of your prayers…so needless to say we all did a lot of praying and meditating on that day.
We went to Arezzo. Saw the Chiropractor. Ate chocolate cake for Sada Sat Singh’s birthday. Watched some movies. Called my sister on her birthday. Went to a food festival in Citerna. Had an AMAZING lunch out. Chilled. Did some yoga. Ran errands.
Then (on October 21st) the SS’s left for a 10-day trip to Switzerland. On the morning they left we woke up to an amazing snowstorm!! There were already about 2 inches on the ground, and more was coming down. I could hardly believe my eyes! As we drove down the mountain to take them to their bus the storm let up some…and by the time we were all the way down in the valley it was just rain. But still!
The next 10 days were pretty chill. It was just me up on the mountain with not a whole lot to do…so…I slept, read, knit, napped, watched movies, did lots of yoga…
I also taught the classes the SS’s usually teach. 2 private lessons a week (in English) and 2 lessons a week at the gym (in Italian!!!). Teaching in Italian is teaching me about what is really important when you’re teaching. (Did I use the word ‘teaching’ enough in that sentence?) Sometimes I talk a lot during my classes and in Italian I am just able to get the basics across. But sometimes that is OK. So it is challenging…but good. I also did a few massages for some of the SS’s friends…. I cannot wait to get back into my full massage practice back home!!
I went to a food festival in Monte Santa Maria Tiberina. (Note: In the fall in Umbria there are more food festivals than you could shake a stick at….). It was pretty fun; I tasted some extra virgin olive oil that had been pressed three days before. (Wow). There were a bunch of people in Renaissance dress, some jugglers some musicians…a good time.
The Sada Sats returned on Halloween. And we promptly spent the next 5 days in front of the TV watching Season 6 of 24, which we had ordered and my darling parents had shipped to us! We went to two different food festivals that weekend. One was featuring Truffles, a specialty of this area. I had never had a truffle before…they’re pretty good…. but I couldn’t believe the prices on some of the things there!! Ay!
Then, last Wednesday the Sada Sats left again. This time for a 2-week stint in the US. I asked them for more projects to do while they were gone this time so I haven’t been quite as bored as last time…I harvested the lavender and when it’s dry I’ll make satchels. I’m painting one of the bedrooms, I did a bunch of stuff to finish up the gardens, and I’m doing a ton of yoga…
And today it is SNOWING!! Started out as just a drizzle this morning but now it’s a full out snow day!! The mountains are really amazingly beautiful covered in snow… J
And that’s about it for me. The SS’s get back in a week…then we have a few days to relax, then another weekend in Rome to finish the Mind and Meditation course, then a few days to get ready…and then back to The States!! I am really ready to be home, to see friends and family and get back into teaching more and really start up my massage practice. Which reminds me!
I am a running a massage special for the first two months I am home…buy one massage and your next is HALF PRICE!! (You can also buy a gift certificate as a holiday present and then YOUR next massage is half price.) Send me an email if you want all of the details (lumpkin_k@yahoo.com) or just go online and make your appointment.
Go to: www.openhandstherapeutic.com . Click on appointments. Make a login name for yourself and then pull up my schedule. Appointments available starting December 2nd! Can’t wait to see you at your appointment!! (Please pass this on to anyone else who may be interested)
Blessings,
KNL
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
And the Crowd Went Wild
We planned to get up around 8 am to begin out Oktoberfest extravaganza...but by 6:15 so many people were up and getting ready in The Tent that we decided to get up too. Apparently we had misjudged how early people will get up to stand in line and wait to drink beer. :)
Once we were on the tram it was easy to find our way to the Oktoberfest grounds. Just follow EVERYONE else. I was amazed by how many people really dress up in the full out Liderhosen and Gertels...wow. We were planning to go see the Opening Day parade...but as we walked through the grounds (at 8am...4 hours before they could begin serving beer) we noticed that the lines for the beer tents were already incredibly long. And after asking around a bit we heard that on opening weekend many tents closed their doors by 11am due to overcrowding. After a bit of hemming and hawing...we got in line.
And so we were a part of the mass crush to get into the hall when they opened the doors at 9:30. You know how you hear about people being crushed to death or trampled in a crowd. I had never before truly appreciated how that could happen. But as my face was smashed into the door frame and my left arm almost removed at the shoulder...I had a new appreciation for "Mob Mentality." Yikes.
Somehow we made it in...and the three of us were still together and we found a decent table. (We found out later you can't get served unless you're at a table.) And settled in to get to know the people around us in the 2 hours before anything would happen. We played cards, ate giant pretzels, tried to figure out how the people next to us got cokes...and then...the band came in.
And the crowd went wild. The band made it's way up to the stage. And the crowd went wild. The president of Haufbrauhause (I think) made a speech that no one could understand. And the crowd went wild. Girls started taking off their underwater and throwing it up onto the giant statue hanging in the middle of the ceiling. And the crowd went wild. They tapped the first keg. And the crowd went wild. They started serving beer. And the crowd (really) went wild.
At Oktoberfest they serve beer in 1 liter beer steins. The glass of the stein is probably 3/4 of an inch thick...and then when it's full of beer....well I had to use two hands just to lift one! I was amazed by the Beer maids who could carry 8 at a time! Yikes! No wonder they all have wrist braces on!
And then it was pretty much what you'd expect. People drank beer. There were beer drinking/toasting (Proust!) songs, which some nice German kids we were sitting with tried to teach us. My favorite toast was explained to us like this:
Julian: It means Cheers to your balls!
Us: Your balls?
Julian: Yes, you know, testicles.
Us: Right.
Julian: You know there is a sack...
US: We know! We know!!!
They also sang really random old American songs while some guys in Liederhosen on the stage lead little dances. Songs like: John Denver "Take me Home Country Road" or the one that goes "Heeeeeeey, Hey Baby! I wanna know, if you'll be my girl."
We were impressed by the bathroom system...even though the lines were long you never actually had that long of a wait. Those Germans sure are efficient! We met some random old guy who had a bunch of food coupons and kept buying us food, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, weird cheese dipping sauce for pretzels.
After awhile...quite awhile...you sort of loose track of time in there. We decided to leave the beer tent and see what else Oktoberfest had to offer. Answer: not much. They have some pretty cool rides (but at 8 euros a ride, we just watched). There is more food and souvenir shopping and that's about it.
AE realized she had left her shirt inside the beer tent. We went back to see if we could get in to go look for it (unlikely). But as we joined the back of the line one of the Beer maids came up to us and asked us if we wanted to go in. We said "Sure" and she lead us in the back door. She was a sneaky one though...she told us we all had to buy a beer (none of us wanted any more beer at that point). So we bought one to split...she was pissed....but, hey! She was the sneaky one. We found AE's shirt, amazingly and I was struck by the difference in the beer hall after only a few hours.
When we were there early in the day it was good, wholesome fun. Sure people were drinking....but it seamed clean, safe and quaint somehow too. Now after 10 hours of steady drinking and being rowdy the place just felt like any other dirty bar with out of control people. I was only too glad to get out of there.
And so concluded our one day extravaganza of Oktoberfest. When someone asked me later if I was glad I went I could wholeheartedly say "Yes." Then they asked me if I would ever go back and again I could answer with a wholehearted "No." It was amazing to experience...but now that I've done it...It's done.
The next morning we were up by 7am and on our way to the train station. After 10 hours on the train I said goodbye to the girls and got off in Arezzo. (They had another 2 hours to Rome, a quick overnight and then early flights the next morning back to the States.)
As I left the Arezzo train station to get my bus back up to my little mountain town, I felt like I had left my arm behind on the train. After spending 6 weeks, day and night with those two girls it just felt...weird that they weren't with me anymore. And even though the trip had ups and downs, it was, in the end, perfect and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
And so concluded the amazing 6 week adventure.
Up next: what HAVE I been doing since my return to the Yoga Borgo.
Blessings,
KNL
Once we were on the tram it was easy to find our way to the Oktoberfest grounds. Just follow EVERYONE else. I was amazed by how many people really dress up in the full out Liderhosen and Gertels...wow. We were planning to go see the Opening Day parade...but as we walked through the grounds (at 8am...4 hours before they could begin serving beer) we noticed that the lines for the beer tents were already incredibly long. And after asking around a bit we heard that on opening weekend many tents closed their doors by 11am due to overcrowding. After a bit of hemming and hawing...we got in line.
And so we were a part of the mass crush to get into the hall when they opened the doors at 9:30. You know how you hear about people being crushed to death or trampled in a crowd. I had never before truly appreciated how that could happen. But as my face was smashed into the door frame and my left arm almost removed at the shoulder...I had a new appreciation for "Mob Mentality." Yikes.
Somehow we made it in...and the three of us were still together and we found a decent table. (We found out later you can't get served unless you're at a table.) And settled in to get to know the people around us in the 2 hours before anything would happen. We played cards, ate giant pretzels, tried to figure out how the people next to us got cokes...and then...the band came in.
And the crowd went wild. The band made it's way up to the stage. And the crowd went wild. The president of Haufbrauhause (I think) made a speech that no one could understand. And the crowd went wild. Girls started taking off their underwater and throwing it up onto the giant statue hanging in the middle of the ceiling. And the crowd went wild. They tapped the first keg. And the crowd went wild. They started serving beer. And the crowd (really) went wild.
At Oktoberfest they serve beer in 1 liter beer steins. The glass of the stein is probably 3/4 of an inch thick...and then when it's full of beer....well I had to use two hands just to lift one! I was amazed by the Beer maids who could carry 8 at a time! Yikes! No wonder they all have wrist braces on!
And then it was pretty much what you'd expect. People drank beer. There were beer drinking/toasting (Proust!) songs, which some nice German kids we were sitting with tried to teach us. My favorite toast was explained to us like this:
Julian: It means Cheers to your balls!
Us: Your balls?
Julian: Yes, you know, testicles.
Us: Right.
Julian: You know there is a sack...
US: We know! We know!!!
They also sang really random old American songs while some guys in Liederhosen on the stage lead little dances. Songs like: John Denver "Take me Home Country Road" or the one that goes "Heeeeeeey, Hey Baby! I wanna know, if you'll be my girl."
We were impressed by the bathroom system...even though the lines were long you never actually had that long of a wait. Those Germans sure are efficient! We met some random old guy who had a bunch of food coupons and kept buying us food, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, weird cheese dipping sauce for pretzels.
After awhile...quite awhile...you sort of loose track of time in there. We decided to leave the beer tent and see what else Oktoberfest had to offer. Answer: not much. They have some pretty cool rides (but at 8 euros a ride, we just watched). There is more food and souvenir shopping and that's about it.
AE realized she had left her shirt inside the beer tent. We went back to see if we could get in to go look for it (unlikely). But as we joined the back of the line one of the Beer maids came up to us and asked us if we wanted to go in. We said "Sure" and she lead us in the back door. She was a sneaky one though...she told us we all had to buy a beer (none of us wanted any more beer at that point). So we bought one to split...she was pissed....but, hey! She was the sneaky one. We found AE's shirt, amazingly and I was struck by the difference in the beer hall after only a few hours.
When we were there early in the day it was good, wholesome fun. Sure people were drinking....but it seamed clean, safe and quaint somehow too. Now after 10 hours of steady drinking and being rowdy the place just felt like any other dirty bar with out of control people. I was only too glad to get out of there.
And so concluded our one day extravaganza of Oktoberfest. When someone asked me later if I was glad I went I could wholeheartedly say "Yes." Then they asked me if I would ever go back and again I could answer with a wholehearted "No." It was amazing to experience...but now that I've done it...It's done.
The next morning we were up by 7am and on our way to the train station. After 10 hours on the train I said goodbye to the girls and got off in Arezzo. (They had another 2 hours to Rome, a quick overnight and then early flights the next morning back to the States.)
As I left the Arezzo train station to get my bus back up to my little mountain town, I felt like I had left my arm behind on the train. After spending 6 weeks, day and night with those two girls it just felt...weird that they weren't with me anymore. And even though the trip had ups and downs, it was, in the end, perfect and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
And so concluded the amazing 6 week adventure.
Up next: what HAVE I been doing since my return to the Yoga Borgo.
Blessings,
KNL
Thursday, October 18, 2007
It Was The Worst Of Times. It Was The Best Of Times.
The Tent in Munich is exactly what I expected it to be. A big-top circus-style tent full of bunk beds. There are two tents, actually, in the one we stayed in (the "higher-end" tent" there were, maybe, 200 bunk beds. In the other (lame-o) tent people were just sleeping on whatever patch of floor they could find. The tent was also, like our entire experience in Germany, cold. Really cold. When we checked in (at 6am) and selected our bunks the reception guy told us that they hoped the Tent Heaters would arrive sometime that day. Boy, so did we.
We headed out for our first day after a considerable period of trying to figure out the public transportation system. Munich has an S-Bahn (Suburban railway), U-Bahn (underground railway), Trams and Buses. All of these systems (being German) run amazingly efficiently and quickly...once you understand which ones you want to use that is. But figure it out we did and, after a bite of breakfast we were off.
About one hour outside of Munich is Dachau, the site of one of the Nazi Concentration Camps from WWII. The camp has been preserved and turned into a museum and memorial site. Visiting this site was one of the things I really wanted to do on this trip. So it was amazing to me that as soon as we were on the train on our way there I had a really visceral and urgent desire NOT to go. I wanted to jump off the train at every stop. I wanted to run away and not force myself to think on these horrible events and how human beings could stray so far from Love. But I managed to allow those feelings to exist...and go forward anyway.
We arrived and had a really great tour guide who gave us a half hour introduction about Dachau. It was one of the first camps of its kind and the model for all camps after that. There were some incredibly inhuman men running the camp who would basically train the humanity out of any Nazi officers or soldiers who came there to be trained. It is really appalling the things that happened on these grounds. We've all heard it before and know it our minds how awful that time way...but to stand there and hear the individual stories of people who struggled and died right on this very spot...it was horrible and I hated it. But I am grateful, beyond words, that I got to have this experience and that these places still exist as a un-ignorable reminder to all of us..."Never Again."
We walked first through several of the camp buildings that has been turned into the museum. A lot of really fascinating information. (Too much information, actually. The museum really needs to be edited down...there is a lot of repetition and after awhile you just can't soak in more facts....). Then we went to "The Bunker" the building used exclusively for the worst kinds of torture. We also toured the barracks were 2000 people were crammed into bunk beds (wooden platforms really) designed for 200. We walked the grounds. Saw the fence that marked the edge of camp and several of the memorial sites and religious sites dedicated to healing the wounds of this place.
We had saved the area of the crematorium and gas chamber for the end of our visit. Just as we were walking over to the gate for that area they closed it and told us we couldn't go in. We had lost track of time and the whole site was being shut down. I was really disappointed that we didn't get to see that area of the camp...but I am sure it was just not something we were meant to see...so there it is.
After that we had some dinner (falaffel)...felt like a**holes for complaining about being hungry or cold or that our feet ached...or anything. We tried to shop for some warmer clothes for the cold night ahead... but only ended up buying a hat. (And Thank God for that hat!). Drank some hot chocolate by the campfire that they have outside The Tent every night. I think the 3 of us pretty much just starred into the fire that night and probably weren't very entertaining...
The next day we set out to see the actual city of Munich. Well, truth be told...there isn't all that much to see. We wandered around the big market, saw some big old places and gardens, went to the English Garden and saw the naked sun bathers, had a giant pretzel. Whoa! Back up there...saw the Naked sun bathers...in the middle of Munich...in Germany...no where near a body of water or temperatures conducive to naked sunbathing?!?!?! Yep. You heard right. For some reason in this normally very button town place...they all go nuders in the park. (Makes it more interesting I guess...)
We got lost trying to find the U-Bahn but finally did make our way back to The Tent and I think we were much more lively at the bonfire our second night. :) Although the boys were trying to show off how 'macho' they were by tending the fire. Clearly none of them have ever had to actually make a fire before because...well...they sucked at it. They would pile all of this wood on the fire and then sit around wondering why it was roaring...I would have to go in, re-arrange, blow on the fire...basic things and then...Boom! things would burn! (Thanks Mom for sending me to camp all those years!)
Our third day in Munich we took another day trip to a place about and hour and a half outside of the city. This is to one of the famous Bavarian Castles...Neuschwanstein. And it just so happens to be THE castle that inspired a certain Walt Disney when he was drawing his "Fairytale Castle." Cool, huh?
After a goodly amount of confusion over the train (part of the rail was down for construction so we had to take a bus the last bit...). We made it up to the castle. The Germans have a very orderly and precise system for getting into the castle. First you MUST take a guided tour. Second you must buy your ticket at the tourist office and your ticket will show a specific time when you are allowed to enter the castle. At your specific time you slide your ticket into the correct turnstile and if you are indeed within your specified time you get to go in. Wow...talk about the antithesis of an Italian system (AKA push and shove and see if there is a way you can get in without paying...).
We decided to be very whimsical and take the carriage ride up the mountain. It was whimsical, charming...quaint...all of those good Disney like things. In the tour of the castle we learned that it was built for a totally nuts-o King who only lived in it for about 90 days before his mysterious death. So only part of the interior or finished...and each room that is finished has a theme from a Wagner Opera, because Crazy King loved Wagner. There were some really amazing views of the castle and the castle from the outside is quite lovely.
Then it was back down the mountain, more forms of transportation than I can remember, a quick dinner and back to the campfire and The Tent. This was the night before the opening of Oktoberfest...so things were starting to reach a bit of a frenzy all over Munich and especially at The Tent where more than 300 people had checked in since we arrived 3 days ago. Wow.
Next Time: Something everyone should do once...and only once, in their lifetime.
Blessings,
KNL
We headed out for our first day after a considerable period of trying to figure out the public transportation system. Munich has an S-Bahn (Suburban railway), U-Bahn (underground railway), Trams and Buses. All of these systems (being German) run amazingly efficiently and quickly...once you understand which ones you want to use that is. But figure it out we did and, after a bite of breakfast we were off.
About one hour outside of Munich is Dachau, the site of one of the Nazi Concentration Camps from WWII. The camp has been preserved and turned into a museum and memorial site. Visiting this site was one of the things I really wanted to do on this trip. So it was amazing to me that as soon as we were on the train on our way there I had a really visceral and urgent desire NOT to go. I wanted to jump off the train at every stop. I wanted to run away and not force myself to think on these horrible events and how human beings could stray so far from Love. But I managed to allow those feelings to exist...and go forward anyway.
We arrived and had a really great tour guide who gave us a half hour introduction about Dachau. It was one of the first camps of its kind and the model for all camps after that. There were some incredibly inhuman men running the camp who would basically train the humanity out of any Nazi officers or soldiers who came there to be trained. It is really appalling the things that happened on these grounds. We've all heard it before and know it our minds how awful that time way...but to stand there and hear the individual stories of people who struggled and died right on this very spot...it was horrible and I hated it. But I am grateful, beyond words, that I got to have this experience and that these places still exist as a un-ignorable reminder to all of us..."Never Again."
We walked first through several of the camp buildings that has been turned into the museum. A lot of really fascinating information. (Too much information, actually. The museum really needs to be edited down...there is a lot of repetition and after awhile you just can't soak in more facts....). Then we went to "The Bunker" the building used exclusively for the worst kinds of torture. We also toured the barracks were 2000 people were crammed into bunk beds (wooden platforms really) designed for 200. We walked the grounds. Saw the fence that marked the edge of camp and several of the memorial sites and religious sites dedicated to healing the wounds of this place.
We had saved the area of the crematorium and gas chamber for the end of our visit. Just as we were walking over to the gate for that area they closed it and told us we couldn't go in. We had lost track of time and the whole site was being shut down. I was really disappointed that we didn't get to see that area of the camp...but I am sure it was just not something we were meant to see...so there it is.
After that we had some dinner (falaffel)...felt like a**holes for complaining about being hungry or cold or that our feet ached...or anything. We tried to shop for some warmer clothes for the cold night ahead... but only ended up buying a hat. (And Thank God for that hat!). Drank some hot chocolate by the campfire that they have outside The Tent every night. I think the 3 of us pretty much just starred into the fire that night and probably weren't very entertaining...
The next day we set out to see the actual city of Munich. Well, truth be told...there isn't all that much to see. We wandered around the big market, saw some big old places and gardens, went to the English Garden and saw the naked sun bathers, had a giant pretzel. Whoa! Back up there...saw the Naked sun bathers...in the middle of Munich...in Germany...no where near a body of water or temperatures conducive to naked sunbathing?!?!?! Yep. You heard right. For some reason in this normally very button town place...they all go nuders in the park. (Makes it more interesting I guess...)
We got lost trying to find the U-Bahn but finally did make our way back to The Tent and I think we were much more lively at the bonfire our second night. :) Although the boys were trying to show off how 'macho' they were by tending the fire. Clearly none of them have ever had to actually make a fire before because...well...they sucked at it. They would pile all of this wood on the fire and then sit around wondering why it was roaring...I would have to go in, re-arrange, blow on the fire...basic things and then...Boom! things would burn! (Thanks Mom for sending me to camp all those years!)
Our third day in Munich we took another day trip to a place about and hour and a half outside of the city. This is to one of the famous Bavarian Castles...Neuschwanstein. And it just so happens to be THE castle that inspired a certain Walt Disney when he was drawing his "Fairytale Castle." Cool, huh?
After a goodly amount of confusion over the train (part of the rail was down for construction so we had to take a bus the last bit...). We made it up to the castle. The Germans have a very orderly and precise system for getting into the castle. First you MUST take a guided tour. Second you must buy your ticket at the tourist office and your ticket will show a specific time when you are allowed to enter the castle. At your specific time you slide your ticket into the correct turnstile and if you are indeed within your specified time you get to go in. Wow...talk about the antithesis of an Italian system (AKA push and shove and see if there is a way you can get in without paying...).
We decided to be very whimsical and take the carriage ride up the mountain. It was whimsical, charming...quaint...all of those good Disney like things. In the tour of the castle we learned that it was built for a totally nuts-o King who only lived in it for about 90 days before his mysterious death. So only part of the interior or finished...and each room that is finished has a theme from a Wagner Opera, because Crazy King loved Wagner. There were some really amazing views of the castle and the castle from the outside is quite lovely.
Then it was back down the mountain, more forms of transportation than I can remember, a quick dinner and back to the campfire and The Tent. This was the night before the opening of Oktoberfest...so things were starting to reach a bit of a frenzy all over Munich and especially at The Tent where more than 300 people had checked in since we arrived 3 days ago. Wow.
Next Time: Something everyone should do once...and only once, in their lifetime.
Blessings,
KNL
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Then We Wandered...and Shopped.
So the next morning we were up early adn ready to get into Venice...problem was we didn't know we had to buy tickets for the shuttle ahead of time...so the 10am shuttle was full. We ended up getting into the city around noon. And then we began what is pretty much the only thing to do in Venice. Wander, shop, get lost and ride the water bus.
I really wish I could report more than that. But that was pretty much it.
Ok, ok, ok...we DID also see St. Marco'square, which was pretty huge and impressive. The thing that made the biggest impression however was not the grand churches and elaborate bell tower but...the pigeons. The square is absolutely covered in pigeons, or as I like to call them 'Flying Rats.' And the grossest part of it was people were actually feeding the pigeons and trying to get the birds to land on them...ewwwwwww! That was just too much for me...so we headed out and got down to some serious wandering, shopping and getting lost. :)
Around dinner time AE and Meg were buying some art work from a street vendor so we asked him for a suggestion of a good (reasonably priced, non-touristy) place to eat. He gave us directions to a "big place, not a small place, a big one" where there were "onyl Venetians, ask any Ventiain, they'll knwo it, only Venitian eat here" and remember its a "big place." So we headed off with our map, his directions adn half a hope of finding the place...but by the miracle of God we walked right to it. And it was a big place and there were lots of Venetians there adn the food was really good and reasonably priced...so we were happy campers.
Then we headed back to the campsight, bought a bottle of wine on the way and spent some time hanging outside with some other folks staying there before heading into bed.
Day two in Venice. Don't get to excited this day consists of a lot of wandering, shopping adn getting lost. Only this time we did most of it on Murano. Murano is one of the islands just outside of the city and it is the one known for all of its glasswork. The amount of glass on this one little island is amazing. I mean, glass everthing...wine bottle stoppers, beads, jewelry, plates, cups, wine glasses, lamps, chess sets, chirstmas ornaments, keychains, etc...and it is all so beautiful. You could easily spend several thousand dollars on stuff here. We, however, treid to contain ourselves a bit more than that. We also got caught in a bit of a downpour in the morning...but after that it cleared up and was really a beautiful sunny day.
Seriously, the whole day was wandering and shopping on Murano. Then back to the main city, dinner at the same place as the night before adn back to the campsight and to bed.
Day 3 in Venice. I think you've got the hang of it by now. Today we wandered and shoppe first at the Rialto market. The famouse outdoor fish adn vegetable market in Venice and then took the waterbus over to Burano, the island just outside of the city known for it's lace. As we headed over to Burano we got caught in another huge downpour...there was even hail! It cleared a bit, but there were several more bursts throughout the day where we'd run into the closest store and buy french fries or a coffee or somethign to wait it out. The we headed back to Vencie proper and (you guessed it) wandered and shopped until it was time for us to go to the train station to catch the overnight train to Munich.
The overnight train was...a trip. (Pun intended). First of all you get these amazingly narrow and short little bunks to sleep in and then you get the strangest Sweedish man you have ever encontered in your entire life...and his wife or mother that share you're compartment. I was SO thanful that I was on the third bunk up becasue I could sort of tune him out. Poor Megan was on the second bunk, right at his head height when standing so she got the brunt of his really fascinating questions. "Whats a Google?" "Who's the Prime Minsiter of Britain?" "How much does and LP cost in America?" I am not kidding.
But we still managed to make it to Munich. We stepped off the train and were immediately struck by how COLD it was. I mean realyl cold. So we stopped at the first coffee/pastry place we found and put on just about ever layer we had with us. And then proceeded to find the tram to our hostel...The Tent.
More about that (and the rest of our German escapade) next time.
Blessings
KNL
I really wish I could report more than that. But that was pretty much it.
Ok, ok, ok...we DID also see St. Marco'square, which was pretty huge and impressive. The thing that made the biggest impression however was not the grand churches and elaborate bell tower but...the pigeons. The square is absolutely covered in pigeons, or as I like to call them 'Flying Rats.' And the grossest part of it was people were actually feeding the pigeons and trying to get the birds to land on them...ewwwwwww! That was just too much for me...so we headed out and got down to some serious wandering, shopping and getting lost. :)
Around dinner time AE and Meg were buying some art work from a street vendor so we asked him for a suggestion of a good (reasonably priced, non-touristy) place to eat. He gave us directions to a "big place, not a small place, a big one" where there were "onyl Venetians, ask any Ventiain, they'll knwo it, only Venitian eat here" and remember its a "big place." So we headed off with our map, his directions adn half a hope of finding the place...but by the miracle of God we walked right to it. And it was a big place and there were lots of Venetians there adn the food was really good and reasonably priced...so we were happy campers.
Then we headed back to the campsight, bought a bottle of wine on the way and spent some time hanging outside with some other folks staying there before heading into bed.
Day two in Venice. Don't get to excited this day consists of a lot of wandering, shopping adn getting lost. Only this time we did most of it on Murano. Murano is one of the islands just outside of the city and it is the one known for all of its glasswork. The amount of glass on this one little island is amazing. I mean, glass everthing...wine bottle stoppers, beads, jewelry, plates, cups, wine glasses, lamps, chess sets, chirstmas ornaments, keychains, etc...and it is all so beautiful. You could easily spend several thousand dollars on stuff here. We, however, treid to contain ourselves a bit more than that. We also got caught in a bit of a downpour in the morning...but after that it cleared up and was really a beautiful sunny day.
Seriously, the whole day was wandering and shopping on Murano. Then back to the main city, dinner at the same place as the night before adn back to the campsight and to bed.
Day 3 in Venice. I think you've got the hang of it by now. Today we wandered and shoppe first at the Rialto market. The famouse outdoor fish adn vegetable market in Venice and then took the waterbus over to Burano, the island just outside of the city known for it's lace. As we headed over to Burano we got caught in another huge downpour...there was even hail! It cleared a bit, but there were several more bursts throughout the day where we'd run into the closest store and buy french fries or a coffee or somethign to wait it out. The we headed back to Vencie proper and (you guessed it) wandered and shopped until it was time for us to go to the train station to catch the overnight train to Munich.
The overnight train was...a trip. (Pun intended). First of all you get these amazingly narrow and short little bunks to sleep in and then you get the strangest Sweedish man you have ever encontered in your entire life...and his wife or mother that share you're compartment. I was SO thanful that I was on the third bunk up becasue I could sort of tune him out. Poor Megan was on the second bunk, right at his head height when standing so she got the brunt of his really fascinating questions. "Whats a Google?" "Who's the Prime Minsiter of Britain?" "How much does and LP cost in America?" I am not kidding.
But we still managed to make it to Munich. We stepped off the train and were immediately struck by how COLD it was. I mean realyl cold. So we stopped at the first coffee/pastry place we found and put on just about ever layer we had with us. And then proceeded to find the tram to our hostel...The Tent.
More about that (and the rest of our German escapade) next time.
Blessings
KNL
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
And Then I Saw Africa
Up early and out on the road to the Rock of Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a UK owned territory and so it felt VERY different than Spain. Which seems odd...but there you have it. We took a mini-bus tour of the "Top of The Rock," and it was a good thing we did because there was no way we could have figured it out on our own...and our bus driver was full of funny stories and facts.
We saw: St. Michael's Caves, a big natural cave with stalactites/mites.... and one of the caverns was even big enough for them to have concerts in there, how cool!! The Great Siege Tunnels, man-carved tunnels made as a war-time bunker. Sort of an odd thing to dig tunnels in this huge rock....but there were some neat views of the ocean.
Of course, we saw the only primates in Europe, the monkeys who live on the top of the rock. They are very domesticated (as there are loads of tourists, like us, who come up to see them everyday). One even sat on my shoulder, I was turning to Allison to get a picture when the girl behind me starts yelling "He's gonna poo! He's gonna poo! He pooed one you!!!" That's right folks, a monkey pooed on me. Luckily, (I guess) it was a firm poo and our tour guy just brushed it off. I definitely think I win the "Craziest Thing to Poop on You During Vacation" Award. :)
One of the cool things about Gibraltar is that it is only (something like) 11 km from Africa, so you can look across the strait to another continent. It was a bit foggy on the day we went....but we could still sort of see Africa, which was also cool. It is also cool because at the top of the rock you look to your left and see the Mediterranean and then look to your right and see the Atlantic. Neat!
That's about all there is to do in Gibraltar so we headed back to our room and we didn't even get lost this time. We made dinner and then went out to see if there was much nightlife in Malaga. Answer: No. So we watched some more movies and went to bed.
Next day was supposed to be a beach day...but it was POURING rain all day...so it ended up being a movie/couch day. Remember this week was our vacation from our vacation and we were all still getting over our colds...so we were supposed to be doing nothing. :) And we did a mighty, fine job of it!
The next day was a travel day. Up pretty early, drove to the airport, metro to the train station, train to Madrid, train to Barcelona. We had one night in Barcelona (and since we were sick the last time we were there) we decided to go out and have a true Spanish Night On The Town. :) And we did. We found a club called "Catwalk" right on the beach, crazy expensive drinks but good music. We had a good time...and we're out pretty late...and....it was good. :)
Next morning we walked to the bus station, had breakfast and saw the Arc De Triumf on the way. (Europeans are really into Arc's...I think this is the 4th or 5th one we've seen). Took the bus to Girona and then flew to Venice. We were flying Ryainair, which is a discount airline within Europe. The problem is, even though you can find flights for 1 cent, you never fly to the main airport, you end up a hour or so outside of the city you are trying to get to...and figuring out how to get in can be challenging.) So we got into "Venice" and then took a bus to the train station and then took another bus to our hostel/campground.
It is crazy expensive to stay in the actual city of Venice, so we were staying in a little cabin at a campground about 20 minutes from the city. It was actually a great place, it had it's own restaurant, bar, grocery store and pretty clean bathrooms/showers etc. So we settled in for the night after a passable meal at the restaurant.
I think I'll end there for now. Only 2 cities left to catch up on: Venice and Munich. And of course all the great things about life back up on the mountain!
Blessings,
KNL
We saw: St. Michael's Caves, a big natural cave with stalactites/mites.... and one of the caverns was even big enough for them to have concerts in there, how cool!! The Great Siege Tunnels, man-carved tunnels made as a war-time bunker. Sort of an odd thing to dig tunnels in this huge rock....but there were some neat views of the ocean.
Of course, we saw the only primates in Europe, the monkeys who live on the top of the rock. They are very domesticated (as there are loads of tourists, like us, who come up to see them everyday). One even sat on my shoulder, I was turning to Allison to get a picture when the girl behind me starts yelling "He's gonna poo! He's gonna poo! He pooed one you!!!" That's right folks, a monkey pooed on me. Luckily, (I guess) it was a firm poo and our tour guy just brushed it off. I definitely think I win the "Craziest Thing to Poop on You During Vacation" Award. :)
One of the cool things about Gibraltar is that it is only (something like) 11 km from Africa, so you can look across the strait to another continent. It was a bit foggy on the day we went....but we could still sort of see Africa, which was also cool. It is also cool because at the top of the rock you look to your left and see the Mediterranean and then look to your right and see the Atlantic. Neat!
That's about all there is to do in Gibraltar so we headed back to our room and we didn't even get lost this time. We made dinner and then went out to see if there was much nightlife in Malaga. Answer: No. So we watched some more movies and went to bed.
Next day was supposed to be a beach day...but it was POURING rain all day...so it ended up being a movie/couch day. Remember this week was our vacation from our vacation and we were all still getting over our colds...so we were supposed to be doing nothing. :) And we did a mighty, fine job of it!
The next day was a travel day. Up pretty early, drove to the airport, metro to the train station, train to Madrid, train to Barcelona. We had one night in Barcelona (and since we were sick the last time we were there) we decided to go out and have a true Spanish Night On The Town. :) And we did. We found a club called "Catwalk" right on the beach, crazy expensive drinks but good music. We had a good time...and we're out pretty late...and....it was good. :)
Next morning we walked to the bus station, had breakfast and saw the Arc De Triumf on the way. (Europeans are really into Arc's...I think this is the 4th or 5th one we've seen). Took the bus to Girona and then flew to Venice. We were flying Ryainair, which is a discount airline within Europe. The problem is, even though you can find flights for 1 cent, you never fly to the main airport, you end up a hour or so outside of the city you are trying to get to...and figuring out how to get in can be challenging.) So we got into "Venice" and then took a bus to the train station and then took another bus to our hostel/campground.
It is crazy expensive to stay in the actual city of Venice, so we were staying in a little cabin at a campground about 20 minutes from the city. It was actually a great place, it had it's own restaurant, bar, grocery store and pretty clean bathrooms/showers etc. So we settled in for the night after a passable meal at the restaurant.
I think I'll end there for now. Only 2 cities left to catch up on: Venice and Munich. And of course all the great things about life back up on the mountain!
Blessings,
KNL
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Why Didn't You Just Say So?!?
After 2 days of near-comatose functioning levels on the beach, sauna and pool...we decided it was time for a day trip. We selected Seville, the birthplace of Flamenco, which is a pretty exciting thing for 3 dance majors.
We were up early in the morning (before the sunrise even....but the sun rises in Spain at like 8am, so that isn't as impressive as it sounds.) Got a map and directions at the gas station and headed out for the 2 1/2 hour drive. In that short time we drove through some beautiful and hugely varied countryside. Beach, mountain ranges, hue dessert plains, olive groves. Got into the town of Seville and were promptly lost, which is a bit more stressful in a car than on foot. After finding a parking garage and tourist office we were off..for a seriously full day of sight seeing.
Plaza Nuova: awesome bull statue. Cathedral: HUGE!, Christopher Columbus' Crypt (say that 5 times fast), climbed to the top of the bell tower. They are really into climbing to the top of things in Europe...I have to say, every time I've made the climb up something it is worth it and totally beautiful, but you could burn yourself out in it, I suppose. Real Alcares: Old, Moorish castle, closed but the outside looked cool, just like the castles you draw when you're a kid. Jardins De Murillo: A beautiful, green oasis in the middle of the city. Plaza de Espana: supposed to be THE thing to see in Seville, I was underwhelmed. The fountain/moats were drained of water and everything was crumbling and falling apart. I could see how it COULD be cool...but it, just, wasn't. Parque de Maria Luisa: just a quick walk through...after awhile you start to burn out on churches, parks and museums...so I could be jaded here, but, it was...just a park. Found the street where Megan's sister lived during her semester abroad. Walked by what we thought was the bullring and were unimpressed...looking at the map later we realized it was the National Theater...oops.
Whew! This is one day! I'm tired just writing about it. Then we found dinner...after a lot of searching. Spain really sucks for vegetarians. I ended up with potato salad and gazpacho, not my top choice, but it was pretty good. During our dinner we saw a bunch of people gathering just down the street so we went down to check it out. They were having a dress rehearsal for some outdoor orchestral concert. It was pretty fun so we hung out for a bit. Then headed off to our waiters recommendation of a Flamenco bar. This was it! This is what we came for....
We almost didn't find the place because there was no sign of any kind on the outside of the building. We came in during a break between shows so we ordered drinks and found a decent spot to see the stage. At the top of the hour three people came on stage and one of the men gave the audience a firm lecture about no filming and being quiet during the show. They played about 4 numbers, some with just singing and guitar and the last 2 with dance. Half way through we got another lecture about being quiet during the show. We even got the "If you guys want to talk, we'll just leave and let you talk." line. I felt like a 3rd grader being scolded...it seriously put a damper on the show for me. (I mean, if you want silence while you perform, got o a concert hall...not a BAR where they serve LIQUOR...what do you expect?)
Overall, (even leaving out the lectures), I was a bit disappointed in the Flamenco. It is supposed to be all about passion...and the female dancer mostly looked bored. I would say that if you are ever in Seville DON"T go to Carboneria to see Flamenco.
It was getting late and we had a bit of a drive in front of us so we headed back to the car. This is where the fun really started. By the time we pulled out of the parking lot it was raining and a few minutes later it was POURING. So we got lost trying to get back to the freeway. Finally we stopped at an Irish Pub (why are those everywhere?) and got directions to what we were pretty sure was the right freeway. Whew...not too much time lost. After 2 hours on the freeway we somehow managed to miss the exit to our resort and get onto a toll road and some other random beach road...and, well we were all over the place. We finally were turned around in what we though was the right direction. As we came through the toll booth we asked the guy for directions...just to be sure. He informed us that the road we had been looking for had a NEW NAME. That bit of information could have saved us a lot of frustrated car time. But, we finally made it back around 5am and crashed.
The next day was going to be a beach day...but it was still cloudy and threatening rain. So we found an Internet point, napped and watched videos. A perfect recovery day.
That's it for now. Next time you'll learn all about our adventures in Gibraltar! Woo-Hoo!
Blessings,
KNL
We were up early in the morning (before the sunrise even....but the sun rises in Spain at like 8am, so that isn't as impressive as it sounds.) Got a map and directions at the gas station and headed out for the 2 1/2 hour drive. In that short time we drove through some beautiful and hugely varied countryside. Beach, mountain ranges, hue dessert plains, olive groves. Got into the town of Seville and were promptly lost, which is a bit more stressful in a car than on foot. After finding a parking garage and tourist office we were off..for a seriously full day of sight seeing.
Plaza Nuova: awesome bull statue. Cathedral: HUGE!, Christopher Columbus' Crypt (say that 5 times fast), climbed to the top of the bell tower. They are really into climbing to the top of things in Europe...I have to say, every time I've made the climb up something it is worth it and totally beautiful, but you could burn yourself out in it, I suppose. Real Alcares: Old, Moorish castle, closed but the outside looked cool, just like the castles you draw when you're a kid. Jardins De Murillo: A beautiful, green oasis in the middle of the city. Plaza de Espana: supposed to be THE thing to see in Seville, I was underwhelmed. The fountain/moats were drained of water and everything was crumbling and falling apart. I could see how it COULD be cool...but it, just, wasn't. Parque de Maria Luisa: just a quick walk through...after awhile you start to burn out on churches, parks and museums...so I could be jaded here, but, it was...just a park. Found the street where Megan's sister lived during her semester abroad. Walked by what we thought was the bullring and were unimpressed...looking at the map later we realized it was the National Theater...oops.
Whew! This is one day! I'm tired just writing about it. Then we found dinner...after a lot of searching. Spain really sucks for vegetarians. I ended up with potato salad and gazpacho, not my top choice, but it was pretty good. During our dinner we saw a bunch of people gathering just down the street so we went down to check it out. They were having a dress rehearsal for some outdoor orchestral concert. It was pretty fun so we hung out for a bit. Then headed off to our waiters recommendation of a Flamenco bar. This was it! This is what we came for....
We almost didn't find the place because there was no sign of any kind on the outside of the building. We came in during a break between shows so we ordered drinks and found a decent spot to see the stage. At the top of the hour three people came on stage and one of the men gave the audience a firm lecture about no filming and being quiet during the show. They played about 4 numbers, some with just singing and guitar and the last 2 with dance. Half way through we got another lecture about being quiet during the show. We even got the "If you guys want to talk, we'll just leave and let you talk." line. I felt like a 3rd grader being scolded...it seriously put a damper on the show for me. (I mean, if you want silence while you perform, got o a concert hall...not a BAR where they serve LIQUOR...what do you expect?)
Overall, (even leaving out the lectures), I was a bit disappointed in the Flamenco. It is supposed to be all about passion...and the female dancer mostly looked bored. I would say that if you are ever in Seville DON"T go to Carboneria to see Flamenco.
It was getting late and we had a bit of a drive in front of us so we headed back to the car. This is where the fun really started. By the time we pulled out of the parking lot it was raining and a few minutes later it was POURING. So we got lost trying to get back to the freeway. Finally we stopped at an Irish Pub (why are those everywhere?) and got directions to what we were pretty sure was the right freeway. Whew...not too much time lost. After 2 hours on the freeway we somehow managed to miss the exit to our resort and get onto a toll road and some other random beach road...and, well we were all over the place. We finally were turned around in what we though was the right direction. As we came through the toll booth we asked the guy for directions...just to be sure. He informed us that the road we had been looking for had a NEW NAME. That bit of information could have saved us a lot of frustrated car time. But, we finally made it back around 5am and crashed.
The next day was going to be a beach day...but it was still cloudy and threatening rain. So we found an Internet point, napped and watched videos. A perfect recovery day.
That's it for now. Next time you'll learn all about our adventures in Gibraltar! Woo-Hoo!
Blessings,
KNL
Sunday, September 30, 2007
They're Healed!
When we arrived in Madrid we could have taken one metro just one stop and gotten off and walked to our hostel. But, somebody misread the directions/subway map (ahem...me) and we ended up taking (I think) 4 trains...for many stops. We were also doing this just before lunch time, when most Spaniards leave their jobs for 3 hours (or so) to go home for lunch and siesta... So it was some hilarious bumper car action with the three of us and all of our bags on our awesome tour of the Madrid subway system. oops.
But we made it there eventually. Settled into the hostel (and since we only had about 18 hours in this city) headed out to see the sights. Saw the Park De Retiro, with an awesome rose garden and a huge man made lake with people out in rowboats. We also took a yoga class with a friend of a friend of Megan's. It was an Anusara class and while I appreciated the attention to correct alignment in the postures, I missed the awareness of a Kundalini Yoga class and I REALLY missed meditation at the end of class. In my mind that is where a lot of the yoga schools in the West fall short. The practice of yoga was originally designed to prepare your mind and body for meditation and many forms of yoga don't include ANY meditation in their classes. I always leave feeling like something was missing...but I am still glad we went. And I think it is good for me to take some other forms of yoga because we focus so little on alignment in KY and I do need the reminders...
Eating, as a vegetarian, is extremely challenging in Spain. Everything has Ham or seafood in it.... but we finally found a Japanese restaurant that had some Vegie choices. We each ordered something and then played musical dishes so we got to try everything. yum! After that we had to go back to the hostel and sleep. Madrid is known for having some amazing nightlife...but we were still feeling like poo...so no nightlife for us. We made up our minds that once we got to Malaga and could seriously relax for a few days we were going to feel better.
The next morning AE and I got up early (Meg decided to keep sleeping) and headed out tosee a few more things before catching our train. We saw Palacia Real, the gardens and the Cathedral. I really like this cathedral because the colors were so bright and everything inside just looked so vibrant and alive...much different than the heavy, ornamental Churchs of Rome. As we were walking back AE noted that this church seemed sort of tacky inside..."almost, Spanish." We had a good laugh at that...
Then it was back to the hostel, grab our stuff and Meg (well, we didn't grab her, I guess), and to the train station for Malaga. In Malaga we took the Subway to the airport and after quite a bit of searching found the car rental place and got our rental car!! We thought we were getting a itty bitty car called a Ford Ka...but we ended up with a really nice (and quite spacious, really) VW Polo. It was WAY nicer than any car I've ever owned. :)
Then we followed the (almost) precise directions to our hotel and checked in. I should mention for those who don't know that we were given an amazing gift from Megan's parents of the use of their timeshare for one week of our trip. So we got to stay at this beautiful resort for free. Wow. The room...was..amazing. Two bedrooms, two bathroom, a fully stocked kitchen, our own laundry, a living room/dining room and a balcony! Seriously the lap of luxury. It was perfect. After about a month of living out of our backpacks and staying in variable conditions hostels...it was SO great to settle into a place for a whole week. :) We also found the grocery store adn loaded up for the week. (how awesome to be able to make our own food!).
The next two days were pretty uneventful: sleeping in, laying on the beach, going to the sauna, going to the pool, watching movies...exactly what we needed. And our colds totally disappeared, YEA!
I'll finish up with what I am sure you've all been waiting for. The Spanish beaches have a reputation for LOTS of naked sunbathers...I mean totally nude, and just on regular beaches not specifically designated ones. I was underwhelmed by the nudity when we got to the beach. There were a few women without their tops on...but not what I had been lead to expect. Then, I went for a walk along the beach. Somehow we had picked the one modest stretch of beach because as soon as I started walking I started seeing nakedness. Lots and Lots of it. Naked walking, Naked swimming, Naked Sand Castle Building, Naked Squatting...oh, yes you heard me. At first I was sort of shocked....but then it wore off and became no big deal. Until I noticed that the naked male sunbathers were periodically shiftingheir penises around to get an even tan. That was too much for this little Midwestern girl and I headed back....
Just so you know...in "real time" (as my Dad calls it) I am back at the Yoga Borgo and loving life. But in terms of the story we still have a lot to catch up on: Sevilla, Gibraltar, Barcelona, Venice and Munich. But we'll get there.
Hope you are all doing well and settling into your Fall routines.
Blessings
KNL
But we made it there eventually. Settled into the hostel (and since we only had about 18 hours in this city) headed out to see the sights. Saw the Park De Retiro, with an awesome rose garden and a huge man made lake with people out in rowboats. We also took a yoga class with a friend of a friend of Megan's. It was an Anusara class and while I appreciated the attention to correct alignment in the postures, I missed the awareness of a Kundalini Yoga class and I REALLY missed meditation at the end of class. In my mind that is where a lot of the yoga schools in the West fall short. The practice of yoga was originally designed to prepare your mind and body for meditation and many forms of yoga don't include ANY meditation in their classes. I always leave feeling like something was missing...but I am still glad we went. And I think it is good for me to take some other forms of yoga because we focus so little on alignment in KY and I do need the reminders...
Eating, as a vegetarian, is extremely challenging in Spain. Everything has Ham or seafood in it.... but we finally found a Japanese restaurant that had some Vegie choices. We each ordered something and then played musical dishes so we got to try everything. yum! After that we had to go back to the hostel and sleep. Madrid is known for having some amazing nightlife...but we were still feeling like poo...so no nightlife for us. We made up our minds that once we got to Malaga and could seriously relax for a few days we were going to feel better.
The next morning AE and I got up early (Meg decided to keep sleeping) and headed out tosee a few more things before catching our train. We saw Palacia Real, the gardens and the Cathedral. I really like this cathedral because the colors were so bright and everything inside just looked so vibrant and alive...much different than the heavy, ornamental Churchs of Rome. As we were walking back AE noted that this church seemed sort of tacky inside..."almost, Spanish." We had a good laugh at that...
Then it was back to the hostel, grab our stuff and Meg (well, we didn't grab her, I guess), and to the train station for Malaga. In Malaga we took the Subway to the airport and after quite a bit of searching found the car rental place and got our rental car!! We thought we were getting a itty bitty car called a Ford Ka...but we ended up with a really nice (and quite spacious, really) VW Polo. It was WAY nicer than any car I've ever owned. :)
Then we followed the (almost) precise directions to our hotel and checked in. I should mention for those who don't know that we were given an amazing gift from Megan's parents of the use of their timeshare for one week of our trip. So we got to stay at this beautiful resort for free. Wow. The room...was..amazing. Two bedrooms, two bathroom, a fully stocked kitchen, our own laundry, a living room/dining room and a balcony! Seriously the lap of luxury. It was perfect. After about a month of living out of our backpacks and staying in variable conditions hostels...it was SO great to settle into a place for a whole week. :) We also found the grocery store adn loaded up for the week. (how awesome to be able to make our own food!).
The next two days were pretty uneventful: sleeping in, laying on the beach, going to the sauna, going to the pool, watching movies...exactly what we needed. And our colds totally disappeared, YEA!
I'll finish up with what I am sure you've all been waiting for. The Spanish beaches have a reputation for LOTS of naked sunbathers...I mean totally nude, and just on regular beaches not specifically designated ones. I was underwhelmed by the nudity when we got to the beach. There were a few women without their tops on...but not what I had been lead to expect. Then, I went for a walk along the beach. Somehow we had picked the one modest stretch of beach because as soon as I started walking I started seeing nakedness. Lots and Lots of it. Naked walking, Naked swimming, Naked Sand Castle Building, Naked Squatting...oh, yes you heard me. At first I was sort of shocked....but then it wore off and became no big deal. Until I noticed that the naked male sunbathers were periodically shiftingheir penises around to get an even tan. That was too much for this little Midwestern girl and I headed back....
Just so you know...in "real time" (as my Dad calls it) I am back at the Yoga Borgo and loving life. But in terms of the story we still have a lot to catch up on: Sevilla, Gibraltar, Barcelona, Venice and Munich. But we'll get there.
Hope you are all doing well and settling into your Fall routines.
Blessings
KNL
Saturday, September 29, 2007
And Then…
The next morning we were up and on our way to the train station to buy our seat reservations for all of the trains we would be taking in Spain. We waited in line for almost an hour, falling back on our standard time-killing games: 20 questions and the Alphabet game where you name a category and then try to come up withsome thing for every letter. Ex.: Songs; All My Life, Baby Got Back, Can’t Touch This…you get the idea). When we finally got up to the ticket window the guy wouldn’t sell us the seat reservations because wedidn’t have our rail passes with us. Grr! (The most annoying part was that when we went back the next day with our rail passes the guy didn’t even ask to see them! Double grr!) Moving on. We walked over to the zoo, which is known for its albino gorilla. But it was 15 euro to get in (that seems ridiculous, right??) So we contented ourselves with looking at postcards of the albino gorilla instead. There is a really nice park right in front of the zoo so we walked around a bit and found a bench to sit and have lunch. We were sitting on the bench in this order: me, Allison then Megan. Just as we were finishing our super-awesome lunch of PB&J a guy rode past us on his bike and stopped just past the bench and asked me something in mumbled Spanish/Catalan. We were all turned looking at him trying to figure out what he wanted when all of the sudden I heard Megan yell “No, no, no, no F**K! No,no, no, no!” I turned to see two guys walking away with her bag and her chasing them. As soon as she dropped the F-bomb the guys just gently set her bag down and walked off. The guy on the bike was gone too. The scary part was the guys with the bag were about 3 steps away form their bikes…and if they had gotten on there would have been nothing we could do. Luckily, Meg got her bag back and everything was still in it and safe. We heard a few other stories of people almost getting pick pocketed…but if you show any resistance they seem to just drop it. I guess there is another, easier, target just around the corner. It isn’t worth it to them to possibly get caught. But our hearts were certainly in our throats,I can tell you that. And anytime for the rest of the trip someone would come up and talk to us we all 3 instinctively held our bags closer. After a lot of freaking out and calming down we made our way over the Picasso museum. The line was about 40 minutes…nothing compared to our saga 3 1/2 hours inline at the Vatican. I found the museum interesting. I was surprised by how much ‘regular’ artwork Picasso created. I knew that he was a very talented realistic artist along with his more known abstract style…but that definitive style was really a rather short period at the end of his life/career. We were also a bit shocked by one room showcasing Picasso’s apparent ‘Porn Period.’ I am not kidding, these drawings were completely inappropriate and…just…dirty. Next on the agenda was to swing by and see the Cathedral. As we rounded the corner we saw, not the cathedral, but stories of scaffolding and advertising banners hanging from them. Apparently the church is under construction…so we didn’t really get to see it. (Which is probably ok since I am still feeling a bit churched-out). As we continued our walk back to our hostel we ran across a HUGE outdoor market. There was every kind of fruit, fish, candy, vegetable, cheese etc. that you would imagine. We stocked up on some fruit and veggies and then ran back to the hostel to drop it off before heading to our… Spanish cooking class. It wasn’t exactly what I expected (it was more of a demonstration than a class). But it was neat to get some history on Spanish food and learn some tips. We made Sangria, Tapas, Paella and Gazpacho. Good stuff. Then we met up with our Portuguese-Barcelona friends from our first night in town and went to a couple of places to hear live music. We heard some really amazing singers and again loved their choices of American music to play “Ride Around Sally.” “Johnny Be Good,” “We Didn’t Start The Fire.” Last day in Barcelona. We planned to get up early and see a bunch of stuff. But after breakfast we all admitted we felt like crap (we just couldn’t shake the colds/coughs) so we went back to bed for a few hours. Then we got up, had lunch, did some laundry…and left the hostel around 4pm. (You can’t be a super-tourist everyday.) First stop, La Sagrada Familia. A massive church tha thas been under construction since 1882 and probably will be for several hundred more years. It is a pretty impressive sight. It’s really cool to walk through the church and see the construction work that is still going on. I feel like most of the amazing churches we saw were finished hundreds of years ago. It was neat to see that there are people who still care enough about this to be building one now… Then to Parc Guell, a famous Barcelona park with these awesome benches designed by Gaudi. As we were getting ready to leave the park we saw our second randomly-walking-around-naked guy. He was just hanging out(excuse the pun) by the staircase…sort of lurking really…he was a bit creepy. Then it was dessert and dinner (just the way Grandpa taught me) and to bed because we had an early morning. The next morning we were up and out of the hostel by 6am. We took the metro to the train station and then the 4-hour train to Madrid. And I think that’s where I’ll end things for now. Still to come: Madrid, Malaga, Barcelona again, Venice, Munich…and back to the Borgo. We’ll get caught up soon. Blessings, KNL
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
A to the B-Town
New photos are up (and hopefully reorganized) on
www.kelseylumpkin.shutterfly.com.
Our last day in Amsterdam (after deciding against the
Dungeon Museum) we headed over to FOAM, one of 3
photography museums in the city. We saw one of the
most interesting photo exhibits that I have ever seen.
The photographs themselves weren’t-t that interesting
(basically like snap shots) but the concept was
awesome. The photographer had taken pictures of
trends in three cities (New York, Paris and Shanghi).
The amazing part was that often you couldn’t tell the
cities apart…everyone is wearing stripped polo shirts
in all three cities or camo…weird. There were also
some funny instances where the different cultures were
painfully obvious…the men sitting in parks on their
lunch breaks: Americans- eating, Parisians- reading,
Chinese- just sitting.
The other really interesting exhibit was a
photographer that traveled to Palestine and Israel.
He took close up face shots of people with similar
jobs making funny faces. He then posted these photos
in public places on both sides of the wall…to show
that people are really all the same, no matter where
they come from. Also, very cool.
Had some falafel for dinner (we ate a lot of falafel
in Amsterdam).
That night we went to the infamous Red Light District.
One guidebook had the interesting comment that “All
cities have prostitutes. In Amsterdam some of them
just stand in windows with red lights.” True, I
suppose…. but it was still deeply disturbing to see
it. After a very short visit we were ready to get out
of there…especially after Megan said “I feel like
we’re the free ones.” Ewww….
The next morning day is what I like to refer to as
The-Longest-Craziest-Day-Of-Ridiculous-Travel. We
were on the following forms on transportation:
Bikes
Walking
Tram
Train
Bus
Airplane
Shuttle Bus
2 Metros
Walking
But in the end we were checked into one of the nicest
hostels of our trip and we were in Barcelona. We
asked at reception for a good place to eat dinner and
headed out for a 10pm meal. This seems very late to
us…but in Spain it is very normal to start dinner at
10 or 11pm…nightlife doesn’t really get started until
3am…
At the restaurant we had some great Spanish
food…paella! And about half way through he meal
started chatting with the group of 4 sitting next to
us. They were all originally from Portugal but had
been living in Barcelona for some time. They were
really friendly and invited us out to a club where
they were going to hear live music. None of us were
feeling that great (the worst of the colds were coming
on)…but how can you pass up an opportunity like
that?!?! So we headed out with our new friends and
heard some AWESOME music. I was surprised that they
mostly played American music…old music like “She’s a
Maniac” and “The Eye of the Tiger” but it was awesome.
We went to bed early by Spanish standards…but 2am
seemed late enough to us after our long day.
First full day in Barcelona. Wandered down Las
Ramblas, a famous pedestrian walkway in Barcelona and
watched the huge array of street performers and human
statues. I have never before seen one of these
performers getting ready on the street or taking a
smoke break…. but it seemed to just be part of the
deal here. It is sort of odd to see a man painting
his baldhead silver…. or a woman dressed up and the
Statue of Liberty smoking a cigarette. Went down to
the port/beach area and saw the picture of Columbus…he
is pointing West…which seems odd to me, but who am I
to say??
As we were walking down the boulevard next to the sea,
in the middle of the morning I noticed a man walking
towards us. He had a lot of funny tattoos and
something seemed to be hanging out of his Speedo….
ohmygodNO! He was naked. Totally butt naked, not one
stitch of clothing on his body naked…walking down a
main area of town…in the middle of the day…NAKED! The
funniest part was we seemed to be the only ones who
thought it was out of the ordinary….
After getting over our shock…we found a company that
did a 1 1/2 hour catamaran tour of the harbor and
decided to treat ourselves since this was the first
day we had really seen the sun in about a week and a
half. It was great…we especially liked when the
deckhands put up the sails… J
Since it had been such a taxing morning we went back
to the hostel and took a nap. Then we made ourselves
some dinner and got ready to go out for a Big Night in
Barcelona. We were meeting up with a friend of a
friend of Megan’s who had been living there for a few
months. (After quite a bit of lost wandering) we
found him at Placa Real. He then got us into one of
the main discos in town…because, he was on the list.
J (Nightclubs in Barcelona are known for having HUGE
cover charges, so we were glad to not have to pay
that. And the drinks were crazy expensive enough to
make up for it…this club was huge! There were 2 large
dance/dj rooms and one smaller one upstairs. The
upstairs room was the only one you could smoke in and
unfortunately played the best music. But we wandered,
danced and had a great time. We made it to about
4am…. still early by Spanish standards…but we were
pleased with ourselves. J
Ok. More next time. Hope you are well,
Blessings,
KNL
www.kelseylumpkin.shutterfly.com.
Our last day in Amsterdam (after deciding against the
Dungeon Museum) we headed over to FOAM, one of 3
photography museums in the city. We saw one of the
most interesting photo exhibits that I have ever seen.
The photographs themselves weren’t-t that interesting
(basically like snap shots) but the concept was
awesome. The photographer had taken pictures of
trends in three cities (New York, Paris and Shanghi).
The amazing part was that often you couldn’t tell the
cities apart…everyone is wearing stripped polo shirts
in all three cities or camo…weird. There were also
some funny instances where the different cultures were
painfully obvious…the men sitting in parks on their
lunch breaks: Americans- eating, Parisians- reading,
Chinese- just sitting.
The other really interesting exhibit was a
photographer that traveled to Palestine and Israel.
He took close up face shots of people with similar
jobs making funny faces. He then posted these photos
in public places on both sides of the wall…to show
that people are really all the same, no matter where
they come from. Also, very cool.
Had some falafel for dinner (we ate a lot of falafel
in Amsterdam).
That night we went to the infamous Red Light District.
One guidebook had the interesting comment that “All
cities have prostitutes. In Amsterdam some of them
just stand in windows with red lights.” True, I
suppose…. but it was still deeply disturbing to see
it. After a very short visit we were ready to get out
of there…especially after Megan said “I feel like
we’re the free ones.” Ewww….
The next morning day is what I like to refer to as
The-Longest-Craziest-Day-Of-Ridiculous-Travel. We
were on the following forms on transportation:
Bikes
Walking
Tram
Train
Bus
Airplane
Shuttle Bus
2 Metros
Walking
But in the end we were checked into one of the nicest
hostels of our trip and we were in Barcelona. We
asked at reception for a good place to eat dinner and
headed out for a 10pm meal. This seems very late to
us…but in Spain it is very normal to start dinner at
10 or 11pm…nightlife doesn’t really get started until
3am…
At the restaurant we had some great Spanish
food…paella! And about half way through he meal
started chatting with the group of 4 sitting next to
us. They were all originally from Portugal but had
been living in Barcelona for some time. They were
really friendly and invited us out to a club where
they were going to hear live music. None of us were
feeling that great (the worst of the colds were coming
on)…but how can you pass up an opportunity like
that?!?! So we headed out with our new friends and
heard some AWESOME music. I was surprised that they
mostly played American music…old music like “She’s a
Maniac” and “The Eye of the Tiger” but it was awesome.
We went to bed early by Spanish standards…but 2am
seemed late enough to us after our long day.
First full day in Barcelona. Wandered down Las
Ramblas, a famous pedestrian walkway in Barcelona and
watched the huge array of street performers and human
statues. I have never before seen one of these
performers getting ready on the street or taking a
smoke break…. but it seemed to just be part of the
deal here. It is sort of odd to see a man painting
his baldhead silver…. or a woman dressed up and the
Statue of Liberty smoking a cigarette. Went down to
the port/beach area and saw the picture of Columbus…he
is pointing West…which seems odd to me, but who am I
to say??
As we were walking down the boulevard next to the sea,
in the middle of the morning I noticed a man walking
towards us. He had a lot of funny tattoos and
something seemed to be hanging out of his Speedo….
ohmygodNO! He was naked. Totally butt naked, not one
stitch of clothing on his body naked…walking down a
main area of town…in the middle of the day…NAKED! The
funniest part was we seemed to be the only ones who
thought it was out of the ordinary….
After getting over our shock…we found a company that
did a 1 1/2 hour catamaran tour of the harbor and
decided to treat ourselves since this was the first
day we had really seen the sun in about a week and a
half. It was great…we especially liked when the
deckhands put up the sails… J
Since it had been such a taxing morning we went back
to the hostel and took a nap. Then we made ourselves
some dinner and got ready to go out for a Big Night in
Barcelona. We were meeting up with a friend of a
friend of Megan’s who had been living there for a few
months. (After quite a bit of lost wandering) we
found him at Placa Real. He then got us into one of
the main discos in town…because, he was on the list.
J (Nightclubs in Barcelona are known for having HUGE
cover charges, so we were glad to not have to pay
that. And the drinks were crazy expensive enough to
make up for it…this club was huge! There were 2 large
dance/dj rooms and one smaller one upstairs. The
upstairs room was the only one you could smoke in and
unfortunately played the best music. But we wandered,
danced and had a great time. We made it to about
4am…. still early by Spanish standards…but we were
pleased with ourselves. J
Ok. More next time. Hope you are well,
Blessings,
KNL
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Amsterdam.
After we had rented our bikes...and had our first near-death experience trying to cross one of the main streets. We headed to the Anne Frank house. This is the actual place where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazi´s during WWII. I was actually surprised at how big the space was, and that 7 people could live there with no one realizing what was going on. Megan said it best when she said that even though I know I am going to a WWII memorial and I know it is going to be overwhelmingly sad...nothing can really prepare you for the shock of how incredibly horrible that time was or the amazing lengths people went both to harm and to protect other people.
Went to the cafe next door to decompress and eat some bagels. :) Our next plan was to hit the Dungeon Museum. (Which sounded like a museum/ride/haunted house combo). But we needed something light...so...we went. But by the time we got there it was closed. So we decided to head over the to old Heineken brewery for the ´Heineken Experience´but by the time we got there, they were closed too! So we did some shopping, AE and Meg bought sweatshirts, because it was crazy cold. Allison got hit on by the sleazy souvenir shop owner. Meg and I laughed. Had falaffel for dinner (we sort of had a falaffel thing happening in Amsterdam). And then...the highlight of my night...we saw the 5th Harry Potter movie!!! YAY!! I had been hopping it would still be in the theaters when we got to Amsterdam because the Dutch don´t dub their movies, so I got to watch it in English! And, I have to say....it was pretty awesome, one of the better movies in my opinion. (Considering how much they had to cover I thought they did a good job).
So, completely filled up with Harry Potter we headed back to the Christian Hostel and went to bed. During the movie Meg had noticed a crack in one of her teeth so we spent the next morning looking for, finding and going to a dentist. He was able to fix her up pretty quickly...so that was good. Then we were off on the bikes again! Headed to the Van Gogh museum. On the way Megan had a little run in with the tram tracks , her tire got caught, she fell off her bike seat and onto the little rack over the back tire, could´t reach the pedal brakes, no handbrakes...ran into a construction barrier. Long story short: She was fine...but had some awesome bruises the next day!
Van Gogh museum was really great. But again...I´m just not much of a museum person... I was surprised by how much of his work is ´normal.´ It really wasn´t until rather late in his life that he started painting in the style I associate with Van Gogh...but it was neat to see his progression.
Then it was off to the Heineken Experience. They´ve turned the old brewery into a museum/ ride/ bar. It was actually quite fun. We got to feel what it was like to be a Heineken bottle going through the conveyor belt. We got to drink 3 beers. We saw the old brewing equipment. We had a good time. We got a free gift! (A bottle opener). After leaving `The Experience´we found an Irish pub for dinner. That night we wanted to go out, maybe hear some live music, just sort of hang out. The only thing we could find to go out was SERIOUS clubbing...and none of us were in the mood for that. So, we people watched for awhile (saw one really intoxicated girl get kicked out of a bar and arrested. Hint: don´t mess with the police in Amsterdam) and then headed back to sleep.
The next day (the 1st of September...I could hardly believe it was really September...and really Back To School Time...and also shows you how far behind I am on this blog, sorry!) We tried to go to the Dungeon museum again...but found out it was like 20 euro to get in...so we bailed. Trying to decide what to do next (we seriously considered the sex museum...) But instead headed for FOAM, the photography museum. And I am very glad we did!
That's it for now. Next time I´ll tell you about the photo museum (preview: it was awesome), the Red Light District, ´The Ridiculous Travel Day`, and hopefully get started on our exciting time in Barcelona.
Miss everyone...would love to get an email telling me what is going on in your life. lumpkin_k@yahoo.com
Blessings,
KNL
Went to the cafe next door to decompress and eat some bagels. :) Our next plan was to hit the Dungeon Museum. (Which sounded like a museum/ride/haunted house combo). But we needed something light...so...we went. But by the time we got there it was closed. So we decided to head over the to old Heineken brewery for the ´Heineken Experience´but by the time we got there, they were closed too! So we did some shopping, AE and Meg bought sweatshirts, because it was crazy cold. Allison got hit on by the sleazy souvenir shop owner. Meg and I laughed. Had falaffel for dinner (we sort of had a falaffel thing happening in Amsterdam). And then...the highlight of my night...we saw the 5th Harry Potter movie!!! YAY!! I had been hopping it would still be in the theaters when we got to Amsterdam because the Dutch don´t dub their movies, so I got to watch it in English! And, I have to say....it was pretty awesome, one of the better movies in my opinion. (Considering how much they had to cover I thought they did a good job).
So, completely filled up with Harry Potter we headed back to the Christian Hostel and went to bed. During the movie Meg had noticed a crack in one of her teeth so we spent the next morning looking for, finding and going to a dentist. He was able to fix her up pretty quickly...so that was good. Then we were off on the bikes again! Headed to the Van Gogh museum. On the way Megan had a little run in with the tram tracks , her tire got caught, she fell off her bike seat and onto the little rack over the back tire, could´t reach the pedal brakes, no handbrakes...ran into a construction barrier. Long story short: She was fine...but had some awesome bruises the next day!
Van Gogh museum was really great. But again...I´m just not much of a museum person... I was surprised by how much of his work is ´normal.´ It really wasn´t until rather late in his life that he started painting in the style I associate with Van Gogh...but it was neat to see his progression.
Then it was off to the Heineken Experience. They´ve turned the old brewery into a museum/ ride/ bar. It was actually quite fun. We got to feel what it was like to be a Heineken bottle going through the conveyor belt. We got to drink 3 beers. We saw the old brewing equipment. We had a good time. We got a free gift! (A bottle opener). After leaving `The Experience´we found an Irish pub for dinner. That night we wanted to go out, maybe hear some live music, just sort of hang out. The only thing we could find to go out was SERIOUS clubbing...and none of us were in the mood for that. So, we people watched for awhile (saw one really intoxicated girl get kicked out of a bar and arrested. Hint: don´t mess with the police in Amsterdam) and then headed back to sleep.
The next day (the 1st of September...I could hardly believe it was really September...and really Back To School Time...and also shows you how far behind I am on this blog, sorry!) We tried to go to the Dungeon museum again...but found out it was like 20 euro to get in...so we bailed. Trying to decide what to do next (we seriously considered the sex museum...) But instead headed for FOAM, the photography museum. And I am very glad we did!
That's it for now. Next time I´ll tell you about the photo museum (preview: it was awesome), the Red Light District, ´The Ridiculous Travel Day`, and hopefully get started on our exciting time in Barcelona.
Miss everyone...would love to get an email telling me what is going on in your life. lumpkin_k@yahoo.com
Blessings,
KNL
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Amazing Lost Bar Tab
We arrived in Antwerp and after quite a bit of lost wandering and map mis-reading we found out hostel. An interesting place to say the least... The name translates as something like ¨The Witches Brew.¨ The first floor is a bar and when we got there the owner informed us that our room was being remodeled and so we would be sleeping in the staff room. As we started looking around we realized they really took this witch theme all out. The were brooms, witches hats and lots of weird weird stuff around. The stairs were so narrow and tightly spiraled that I worried about people falling down...even when sober!
But we settled in and went for a wander around the city of Antwerp. Honestly, not much to see. The cathedral is beautiful (but all of the churches are starting to sort of blend together), we found a store that sells chocolates in the shape of genitalia (amusing...and disturbing, actually), we saw lots of super hip young people and had not-awesome Chinese take away for dinner. Then it was back to the hostel to hang out with the other residents at the bar on the first floor. It was actually a great night. Since it was a Monday the bar wasn't open to anyone but people staying there. So a group of about 10 of us ended up hanging out all night talking, laughing, playing cards...and drinking a bit of beer. (Just a bit really!)
The next morning after a bit of a sleep in we headed off to the Pedestrian Tunnel, which goes underneath the river that runs through town. We had heard that it was one of the coolest things to do in Antwerp, so we were naturally very excited. Well, the coolest part was that to get down to the tunnel you rode on a wooden escalator! That's right! An escalator made out of wood!! Whoo-hooo!!! But then you get down there. And it´s a tunnel. A long tunnel. A long, white tunnel. A long, white, plain and frankly boring tunnel. But we walked it and saw Antwerp from across the river...and then walked back. Checked out the shopping scene...a bit too hip for me. Had lunch at a bagel shop. Had fries. Took showers. Found a place where there was going to be live music that night. Hung out. Went back out and heard live music...it was good, but he sang in Flemish (obviously) but it is not as much fun to listen to folk music if you don't understand the words. Then went to bed.
Antwerp was...not awesome, overall. We were really excited and ready to be heading to Amsterdam the next morning. (Part of the reason we may not have liked Antwerp as much is that we were to the point of no longer being able to deny our colds. We were all coughing like crazy and really not feeling well...). But on to Amsterdam anyway...there is no rest for the weary traveller.
As we were boarding the train for Amsterdam we realized that the Antwerp hostel had lost our bar tab and so we had been drinking for free for two nights! Thanks Kyle!
Got into Amsterdam and headed over to the hostel. We were coming around the corner, smiling and laughing because we could already tell that we were gonna love this town. We saw the sign for our hostel. ¨Shelter Jordan- Christian Hostel.¨ our faces sank. How could we have possibly booked a Christian hostel?!? In Amsterdam of all places!?!
Amsterdam has a reputation for being a city where it is extremely challenging to find a room so we really didn't have a choice...and we checked into the Christian Hostel. (To be fair it wasn't as bad as I expected. I was only asked once to come to Bible Study. The worst part was actually that the staff were such pricks and really uptight about everything...but that didn't necessarily relate to them being Christians...I guess.)
Went out to wander and get a sense of the town. Had fallafel for lunch, checked out a coffee shop, had some fries as a late night snack and then went to bed. The next morning we rented bikes so that we could see Amsterdam the way the locals really see it. People had told me that there were a lot of bikes in Amsterdam...but nothing really prepares you for how much of a biking city it really is...wow. We had a few interesting/scary moments on the bikes...but overall we were really glad we had them because it enabled us to see a lot more of the city.
Well, I think that'll do it for me now. Hopefully I'll be able to finish up Amsterdam soon and then start to catch up on what we've been up to in Spain!
Blessings,
KNL
But we settled in and went for a wander around the city of Antwerp. Honestly, not much to see. The cathedral is beautiful (but all of the churches are starting to sort of blend together), we found a store that sells chocolates in the shape of genitalia (amusing...and disturbing, actually), we saw lots of super hip young people and had not-awesome Chinese take away for dinner. Then it was back to the hostel to hang out with the other residents at the bar on the first floor. It was actually a great night. Since it was a Monday the bar wasn't open to anyone but people staying there. So a group of about 10 of us ended up hanging out all night talking, laughing, playing cards...and drinking a bit of beer. (Just a bit really!)
The next morning after a bit of a sleep in we headed off to the Pedestrian Tunnel, which goes underneath the river that runs through town. We had heard that it was one of the coolest things to do in Antwerp, so we were naturally very excited. Well, the coolest part was that to get down to the tunnel you rode on a wooden escalator! That's right! An escalator made out of wood!! Whoo-hooo!!! But then you get down there. And it´s a tunnel. A long tunnel. A long, white tunnel. A long, white, plain and frankly boring tunnel. But we walked it and saw Antwerp from across the river...and then walked back. Checked out the shopping scene...a bit too hip for me. Had lunch at a bagel shop. Had fries. Took showers. Found a place where there was going to be live music that night. Hung out. Went back out and heard live music...it was good, but he sang in Flemish (obviously) but it is not as much fun to listen to folk music if you don't understand the words. Then went to bed.
Antwerp was...not awesome, overall. We were really excited and ready to be heading to Amsterdam the next morning. (Part of the reason we may not have liked Antwerp as much is that we were to the point of no longer being able to deny our colds. We were all coughing like crazy and really not feeling well...). But on to Amsterdam anyway...there is no rest for the weary traveller.
As we were boarding the train for Amsterdam we realized that the Antwerp hostel had lost our bar tab and so we had been drinking for free for two nights! Thanks Kyle!
Got into Amsterdam and headed over to the hostel. We were coming around the corner, smiling and laughing because we could already tell that we were gonna love this town. We saw the sign for our hostel. ¨Shelter Jordan- Christian Hostel.¨ our faces sank. How could we have possibly booked a Christian hostel?!? In Amsterdam of all places!?!
Amsterdam has a reputation for being a city where it is extremely challenging to find a room so we really didn't have a choice...and we checked into the Christian Hostel. (To be fair it wasn't as bad as I expected. I was only asked once to come to Bible Study. The worst part was actually that the staff were such pricks and really uptight about everything...but that didn't necessarily relate to them being Christians...I guess.)
Went out to wander and get a sense of the town. Had fallafel for lunch, checked out a coffee shop, had some fries as a late night snack and then went to bed. The next morning we rented bikes so that we could see Amsterdam the way the locals really see it. People had told me that there were a lot of bikes in Amsterdam...but nothing really prepares you for how much of a biking city it really is...wow. We had a few interesting/scary moments on the bikes...but overall we were really glad we had them because it enabled us to see a lot more of the city.
Well, I think that'll do it for me now. Hopefully I'll be able to finish up Amsterdam soon and then start to catch up on what we've been up to in Spain!
Blessings,
KNL
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Waffles, Beer and Chocolate...oh yea! I´m gonna like Belgium!
Arrived at¨Snuffle¨our Bruges hostel around midday. And headed out to wander around the amazingly cute streets of this little town. We also figured out why we had been having such a hard time getting a train to Bruges...apparently the two days we were there they were having this huge festival/ historical enactment that only happens once every 5 years. I'll spare you the suspense, we didn't make it. :)
Had dinner at the hostel and met a bunch of other travellers and decided to go out and find the club listed in our ¨You Persons Guide to Bruges¨We got there pretty early by European standards (midnight). So things were pretty dead. We almost left when the crowds showed up...and suddenly the club was bumping! And everyone was MUCH better dressed than us travellers. (Turns out it was good that we showed up early because when we left there was a bounder at the door and people who weren't trendy dressed up enough weren't getting in...ouch!)
Next morning we were out in search of Waffles...and we were not disappointed. Then for lunch we had the other traditional Belgian food. Fries. With Mayo. And they...were...so...good. With a belly full of grease we decided to climb to the top of the belfry for an amazing look over the city of Bruges. (Note: the climb is totally worth it...but save the fries for AFTER).
The Chocolate Museum was next on the agenda. Oh yea...I said chocolate museum! It wasn't as experiential as I would have liked...and we were definitely in need of a nap because we all fell asleep in the ¨how chocolate is harvested´ video. But my favorite quote of the trip so far came from an English boy about 8 as he walked into yet another room with chocolate pots and info on the history of the cocoa bean...said in a think English accent... ¨This hasn't to do with chocolate either!¨ I think, like us, he was hoping to taste more. But we still enjoyed it...and we also enjoyed heading back to the hostel for a nap!
Then we had dinner, ice cream and hot chocolate and called it an early night. This was when we started to ignore the early warning signs that a nasty chest cold was sneaking its way into our trip...there was some coughing...and some phlegm...and a lot of tiredness...but we were not sick, we were super travellers and we would see everything there was to see!! Hmmm...
The next morning we were off to Antwerp! Stay tuned for the lamest city so far...but the coolest hostel. :)
Blessings!
KNL
Had dinner at the hostel and met a bunch of other travellers and decided to go out and find the club listed in our ¨You Persons Guide to Bruges¨We got there pretty early by European standards (midnight). So things were pretty dead. We almost left when the crowds showed up...and suddenly the club was bumping! And everyone was MUCH better dressed than us travellers. (Turns out it was good that we showed up early because when we left there was a bounder at the door and people who weren't trendy dressed up enough weren't getting in...ouch!)
Next morning we were out in search of Waffles...and we were not disappointed. Then for lunch we had the other traditional Belgian food. Fries. With Mayo. And they...were...so...good. With a belly full of grease we decided to climb to the top of the belfry for an amazing look over the city of Bruges. (Note: the climb is totally worth it...but save the fries for AFTER).
The Chocolate Museum was next on the agenda. Oh yea...I said chocolate museum! It wasn't as experiential as I would have liked...and we were definitely in need of a nap because we all fell asleep in the ¨how chocolate is harvested´ video. But my favorite quote of the trip so far came from an English boy about 8 as he walked into yet another room with chocolate pots and info on the history of the cocoa bean...said in a think English accent... ¨This hasn't to do with chocolate either!¨ I think, like us, he was hoping to taste more. But we still enjoyed it...and we also enjoyed heading back to the hostel for a nap!
Then we had dinner, ice cream and hot chocolate and called it an early night. This was when we started to ignore the early warning signs that a nasty chest cold was sneaking its way into our trip...there was some coughing...and some phlegm...and a lot of tiredness...but we were not sick, we were super travellers and we would see everything there was to see!! Hmmm...
The next morning we were off to Antwerp! Stay tuned for the lamest city so far...but the coolest hostel. :)
Blessings!
KNL
Sunday, September 9, 2007
18 Hour in Paris. Wow.
We arrived at our Paris hotel around 6pm, settled in and then headed down the street to meet Daya Kaur, a friend of the Sada Sats who had helped us book our room. She was amazingly helpful in telling us what was most important to see in the short time we had, as well as how to get there, where to eat and lots of other good info. Thank you Daya!
So we were off! We took the metro to Town Hall. Wow. Walked across the river to Notre Dame. Wow. Notre Dame was closed for the day but we walked around the outside, which is pretty amazing. I don't know much about architecture, but this church was SO different than any others that we had seen...more Gothic. (I think) It almost looked creepy...but I still liked it. Then we found the little bistro Daya had recommended for dinner and had a really great meal. I ordered the veggie plate and it was packed with salad, gazpacho, tomatoes in pesto sauce, roasted veggies...whew. To top it off we had the ¨Complete¨crepe for dinner. They are serious about complete...whipped cream, hot chocolate sauce, nuts , ice cream....we made a mess, but thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Being completely sated, we walked back towards Notre Dame to see if we could catch any of the famous street performers we had heard of. There wasn't much, a few guys playing guitar. But for some reason the church was open now...if I thought it was creepy from the outside, going into the church at night with only candle light was SUPER creepy. :)
No time to spare after a quick dash around the church we were off to wander the streets of the Latin Quarter. A very fun place to wander, lots of shops, restaurants, music, people...lots of life. But the clock was ticking so after just a taste of the area we were back on the metro and on our way to...The Eiffel Tower! (Ta-Da!)
I have found in my life that those places that have a reputation for being amazing tend to not live up to my expectations (The Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty). But let me just say that coming around the corner at night and being suddenly in front of a fully lit Eiffel Tower...was more amazing than I can recount in words. It is absolutely beautiful. Wow.
They turn the twinkly lights on for the first 10 minutes of every hour so we walked around until we saw that and then we took the elevator up to the middle of the tower (all of the tickets for the top of the tower were sold out). So we were actually on the tower the next time they turned the twinkly lights on...pretty amazing. And except for all of the couples making out all over the place (I guess this is supposed to be a romantic spot) it was a really amazing night.
We considered staying up all night...but we were all starting to feel a bit under the weather so we went back to the hotel and slept. Not for long though, the next morning we were up early and on the metro heading to the Arc Du Triumf. This is a huge monument to the fallen soldiers and is really quite spectacular. After a look around we headed over to a little cafe and had a pastry and a coffee...wow. I don't think I have ever eaten anything quite as good as that pastry...I mean...wow. And even though I had heard bad things about french coffee, this one was very good.
Once we managed to force ourselves away from the cafe, we wandered through the gardens in front of the Louvre and saw just the outside of the famous museum. I'm not sure if I would really want to go into the Louver anyway...from what I've heard (and from looking at it from the outside) you could spend weeks in there. And I am starting to realize that I am not much of a museum person. As soon as I get into a museum I am cold, my back hurts and my eyelids start drooping...I am much more happy and alive when I am out wandering the streets and getting a real feel for the place where I am. But seeing the outside was impressive and I can say I've been there. (Which I am starting to realize is a lot of peoples motivation for travelling in the first place...which seems sad to me).
Our last stop in Paris was to the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. I loved this place!! It was a bookstore with tiny little aisles and all these nooks and crannies, not much organization and the whole upstairs was books that were not for sale but you could sit and read them for as long as you'd like. There were beds, benches and type writers there as well for yor use ...it was great. If you're ever in Paris you should definitely check it out!
And then it was a mad dash back to the hotel to grab our stuff and check out, to the train station and off to Belgium.
I suppose that is enough for now. Still to come: Brugge, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga. I can hardly believe we are just over half way through our trip...it seems like we've been travelling together forever and it also seems like we just started. Wow.
Hope all is well with you and yours,
Love and Blessings,
KNL
So we were off! We took the metro to Town Hall. Wow. Walked across the river to Notre Dame. Wow. Notre Dame was closed for the day but we walked around the outside, which is pretty amazing. I don't know much about architecture, but this church was SO different than any others that we had seen...more Gothic. (I think) It almost looked creepy...but I still liked it. Then we found the little bistro Daya had recommended for dinner and had a really great meal. I ordered the veggie plate and it was packed with salad, gazpacho, tomatoes in pesto sauce, roasted veggies...whew. To top it off we had the ¨Complete¨crepe for dinner. They are serious about complete...whipped cream, hot chocolate sauce, nuts , ice cream....we made a mess, but thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Being completely sated, we walked back towards Notre Dame to see if we could catch any of the famous street performers we had heard of. There wasn't much, a few guys playing guitar. But for some reason the church was open now...if I thought it was creepy from the outside, going into the church at night with only candle light was SUPER creepy. :)
No time to spare after a quick dash around the church we were off to wander the streets of the Latin Quarter. A very fun place to wander, lots of shops, restaurants, music, people...lots of life. But the clock was ticking so after just a taste of the area we were back on the metro and on our way to...The Eiffel Tower! (Ta-Da!)
I have found in my life that those places that have a reputation for being amazing tend to not live up to my expectations (The Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty). But let me just say that coming around the corner at night and being suddenly in front of a fully lit Eiffel Tower...was more amazing than I can recount in words. It is absolutely beautiful. Wow.
They turn the twinkly lights on for the first 10 minutes of every hour so we walked around until we saw that and then we took the elevator up to the middle of the tower (all of the tickets for the top of the tower were sold out). So we were actually on the tower the next time they turned the twinkly lights on...pretty amazing. And except for all of the couples making out all over the place (I guess this is supposed to be a romantic spot) it was a really amazing night.
We considered staying up all night...but we were all starting to feel a bit under the weather so we went back to the hotel and slept. Not for long though, the next morning we were up early and on the metro heading to the Arc Du Triumf. This is a huge monument to the fallen soldiers and is really quite spectacular. After a look around we headed over to a little cafe and had a pastry and a coffee...wow. I don't think I have ever eaten anything quite as good as that pastry...I mean...wow. And even though I had heard bad things about french coffee, this one was very good.
Once we managed to force ourselves away from the cafe, we wandered through the gardens in front of the Louvre and saw just the outside of the famous museum. I'm not sure if I would really want to go into the Louver anyway...from what I've heard (and from looking at it from the outside) you could spend weeks in there. And I am starting to realize that I am not much of a museum person. As soon as I get into a museum I am cold, my back hurts and my eyelids start drooping...I am much more happy and alive when I am out wandering the streets and getting a real feel for the place where I am. But seeing the outside was impressive and I can say I've been there. (Which I am starting to realize is a lot of peoples motivation for travelling in the first place...which seems sad to me).
Our last stop in Paris was to the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. I loved this place!! It was a bookstore with tiny little aisles and all these nooks and crannies, not much organization and the whole upstairs was books that were not for sale but you could sit and read them for as long as you'd like. There were beds, benches and type writers there as well for yor use ...it was great. If you're ever in Paris you should definitely check it out!
And then it was a mad dash back to the hotel to grab our stuff and check out, to the train station and off to Belgium.
I suppose that is enough for now. Still to come: Brugge, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga. I can hardly believe we are just over half way through our trip...it seems like we've been travelling together forever and it also seems like we just started. Wow.
Hope all is well with you and yours,
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Switzerland to France
Our second day in Switzerland we decided to take a day trip to Lake Lucerne. We had been told that this was a charming little village right on a big, beautiful lake. So we hopped on the train and about an hour later were walking into the (not so little) town of Lucerne.
I had been craving bagels for several days. I mean, a serious go-into-every-bakery-we-see kind of craving for bagels. Apparently bagels are not to be found in either Italy or Switzerland...believe me, I looked. But as we emerged from the Lucerne train station I saw a Starbucks and thought perhaps it was worth another shot... Success! Good old Starbucks had my bagel and cream cheese waiting for me..yay!
After that excitement I’m not sure how the rest of Lucerne stood a chance...but I figured we’d give it a shot since we’d come all this way. We wandered through the outdoor market, we saw the two covered bridges Lucerne is famous for, we took in the quaint little streets and alleyways. By the way Quaint is the word for Lucerne.
Then we headed up to a national geological park. Basically Switzerland used to be covered by glaciers long, long ago. And when these glaciers moved around they created really awesome holes, caves and markings in the rocks of this area. So we spent some time in awe of nature. And then, came the real fun. For some reason the Swiss decided that a good thing to go along with these geological formations would be a House of Mirrors. I am not kidding. I guess this house of mirrors was made in honor of some Swiss Queen...or maybe it was for one of the World Fairs, I forget. But it was totally awesome! We had way too much fun in the house of mirrors... we took lots of pictures but I think they are on someone elses camera...I’ll try to get them up soon.
After we finally managed to pull ourselves away from the mirrors we wandered around some more and saw lots of Cuckoo clocks, Swiss army knives and cowbells... we decided we’d had enough fun and got back on the train to Zurich. That night we took Jen and Roman out to dinner to say thanks for letting us stay. They suggested a really great Asian fusion place...which fulfilled another one of my serious cravings for anything other than Italian food. :) We got home that night and started packing up because we were off and running again the next day. Zurich was great. The perfect place for us to be after Rome. The weather was cool, the people were calm and everything was just a bit more toned down...
The next day it was up early and a series of 3 really short train rides to get to Belfort, France. This is a little, tiny town right on the France-Switzerland border. We were met at the train station by Cyndi (a family friend of Allison's who married a Frenchman and moved here) and her two kids Ariana and Sebastian. After about 20 minutes in the car (through absolutely beautiful, lush, green country side) we arrived at their home. It felt really nice to be in a family home with kids and mess and craziness. Cyndi made fantastically wonderful meals while we were there and we got to sleep in every morning due to their amazingly effective shutters. Also in the french countryside we went one day to the some vineyards and looked at the grapes, wandered around some really cute little villages and had some more awesome food cooked by Cyndi. It was a great 2 days.
And then we were off again. Cyndi's husband (Didier) had helped us figure out the rest of our train schedules and so we were ready to go. We got to the train station and went to the desk to get our seat reservations from Belfort to Paris and then from Paris to Brugge. After much searching the train station lady informed us that there were absolutely no trains to Brugge that night. We would HAVE to stay in Paris. We resigned ourselves to that miserable fate and with the help of the Sada Sats and their friend Daya (who is Parisian) found a place to stay for the night. We had 18 hours to do Paris. (The ironic part is that we had discussed doing Paris in this way before and decided that it wasn't worth it...well, I guess God had decided otherwise.) :)
And there is you're cliffhanger ending. More photos are up on www.kelseylumpkin.shutterfly.com. And next time you'll hear all about 18 Hours in Paris and maybe we'll even get through Brugge, Antwerp and Amsterdam...but then again, maybe not. :)
Love and Blessings,
KNL
I had been craving bagels for several days. I mean, a serious go-into-every-bakery-we-see kind of craving for bagels. Apparently bagels are not to be found in either Italy or Switzerland...believe me, I looked. But as we emerged from the Lucerne train station I saw a Starbucks and thought perhaps it was worth another shot... Success! Good old Starbucks had my bagel and cream cheese waiting for me..yay!
After that excitement I’m not sure how the rest of Lucerne stood a chance...but I figured we’d give it a shot since we’d come all this way. We wandered through the outdoor market, we saw the two covered bridges Lucerne is famous for, we took in the quaint little streets and alleyways. By the way Quaint is the word for Lucerne.
Then we headed up to a national geological park. Basically Switzerland used to be covered by glaciers long, long ago. And when these glaciers moved around they created really awesome holes, caves and markings in the rocks of this area. So we spent some time in awe of nature. And then, came the real fun. For some reason the Swiss decided that a good thing to go along with these geological formations would be a House of Mirrors. I am not kidding. I guess this house of mirrors was made in honor of some Swiss Queen...or maybe it was for one of the World Fairs, I forget. But it was totally awesome! We had way too much fun in the house of mirrors... we took lots of pictures but I think they are on someone elses camera...I’ll try to get them up soon.
After we finally managed to pull ourselves away from the mirrors we wandered around some more and saw lots of Cuckoo clocks, Swiss army knives and cowbells... we decided we’d had enough fun and got back on the train to Zurich. That night we took Jen and Roman out to dinner to say thanks for letting us stay. They suggested a really great Asian fusion place...which fulfilled another one of my serious cravings for anything other than Italian food. :) We got home that night and started packing up because we were off and running again the next day. Zurich was great. The perfect place for us to be after Rome. The weather was cool, the people were calm and everything was just a bit more toned down...
The next day it was up early and a series of 3 really short train rides to get to Belfort, France. This is a little, tiny town right on the France-Switzerland border. We were met at the train station by Cyndi (a family friend of Allison's who married a Frenchman and moved here) and her two kids Ariana and Sebastian. After about 20 minutes in the car (through absolutely beautiful, lush, green country side) we arrived at their home. It felt really nice to be in a family home with kids and mess and craziness. Cyndi made fantastically wonderful meals while we were there and we got to sleep in every morning due to their amazingly effective shutters. Also in the french countryside we went one day to the some vineyards and looked at the grapes, wandered around some really cute little villages and had some more awesome food cooked by Cyndi. It was a great 2 days.
And then we were off again. Cyndi's husband (Didier) had helped us figure out the rest of our train schedules and so we were ready to go. We got to the train station and went to the desk to get our seat reservations from Belfort to Paris and then from Paris to Brugge. After much searching the train station lady informed us that there were absolutely no trains to Brugge that night. We would HAVE to stay in Paris. We resigned ourselves to that miserable fate and with the help of the Sada Sats and their friend Daya (who is Parisian) found a place to stay for the night. We had 18 hours to do Paris. (The ironic part is that we had discussed doing Paris in this way before and decided that it wasn't worth it...well, I guess God had decided otherwise.) :)
And there is you're cliffhanger ending. More photos are up on www.kelseylumpkin.shutterfly.com. And next time you'll hear all about 18 Hours in Paris and maybe we'll even get through Brugge, Antwerp and Amsterdam...but then again, maybe not. :)
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Lot of Trains in 1 Day = Goofy Girls
So for our last night in Rome we were determined to find some nightlife...and find it we did. :)
We had seen advertisements for Pub Crawls where they show you around to all the fun places and you get a bunch of free stuff...but when we showed up we were the only ones there, so they cancelled. We ended up going out to dinner with a kid from our hostel (I had some mind-blowing gnochi). Then we took a bus over to an area we had heard had some nightlife (Campo De Fiori). Well, some nightlife was a bit of an understatement. The streets were full of people wandering from bar to bar and because liquor laws are very lax in Europe people could buy a drink and then come outside and hang out in the square while they drank it. So we wandered around and somehow met up with a group of Italians who were nice and showed us the "good" places to go. Long story short...we made it back to the hostel just before sunrise. Oops. :)
The next day was one I like to call "Ridiculous Amounts of Time on a Train Day." But before that could begin we had to get a taste of the bad side of Italy (specifically Roman men). This story occurs as we were waiting in line to validate our eurail pass. After maybe 20 minutes in line we were about 3 groups away from our turn at the window. Suddenly I realized that there was a new, extra guy in front of us in line. Maybe he was with someone who had been there all along, right? Oh no. Next thing we knew 5 of his buddies all loud, egotistical and annoying were in line too. This is a very Italian thing...if you can get around the system and just walk up to the front of the line instead of waiting for 20 minutes...why would you do anything else? The crazy part to us was that no one else seemed bothered by it...We, however, were done with Rome. It had been great but were were tired of being sweaty and tired and handled by the Italians...and this incident was sort of the icing on the cake.
Just over 4 hours from Rome to Milan in an absolutely packed train...there were people standing in the aisles for the whole trip, yuck! (As divine retrtibution the jerks from line were among those without seats...) And then another train about that long from Milan to Zurich, Switzerland. By the end of the trip we were a bit loopy... you know how you get to that point where EVERYTHING is funny...but it really isn't and you're probably bugging everyone else on the whole train with your out of control giggling? Yea...we were FAR beyond that point.
We reached Zurich and were met at the station by Jen. Jen and her boyfriend, Roman, had spent a week at the Yoga Borgo earlier in the summer and she offered to put us up for a few days. My first impression as we took the tram from the train station to her house was that Zurich was much calmer and cleaner than Rome. (An impression that would be reconfirmed throughout our time in Zurich)
Our first morning in Zurich we were up early and doing laundry. Then we headed out to a yoga class. It was a vinyasa class and was really rather expensive...but it was so nice to stretch and work our bodies in that way. We spent most of the rest of the day wandering around the 'old' part of Zurich. It was beautiful, cool weather and we just fell in love with Zurich. It was the perfect respite after Rome, everything was beautiful but in a much simpler way than in Rome and the people seemed very down to earth and soft compared to some of our experiences in Rome. (I must add that, in general, in my interactions with Italians, including Romans, they have been amazingly helpful, warm and kind hearted).
Then it was back to Jen and Romans to a wonderfully home cooked meal of Leek and Lemon Risotto. And early to bed because we had a big day the next day...which you'll hear all about next time. :)
Still to come: day trip to Lucerne, travel day to France, the French countryside, oops! we're in Paris and Brugge/Antwerp Belgium. I keep falling furhter anf further behind... but never fear you'll get the whole story eventually, just stay tuned. :)
Oh yea! We've decided to give each city one describing word (for more on this read Eat,Pray, Love...a fanastic book that you should read anyway.) So far:
Rome: Bold
Zurich: Practical
Hope you are all doing well,
Love and Blessings,
KNL
We had seen advertisements for Pub Crawls where they show you around to all the fun places and you get a bunch of free stuff...but when we showed up we were the only ones there, so they cancelled. We ended up going out to dinner with a kid from our hostel (I had some mind-blowing gnochi). Then we took a bus over to an area we had heard had some nightlife (Campo De Fiori). Well, some nightlife was a bit of an understatement. The streets were full of people wandering from bar to bar and because liquor laws are very lax in Europe people could buy a drink and then come outside and hang out in the square while they drank it. So we wandered around and somehow met up with a group of Italians who were nice and showed us the "good" places to go. Long story short...we made it back to the hostel just before sunrise. Oops. :)
The next day was one I like to call "Ridiculous Amounts of Time on a Train Day." But before that could begin we had to get a taste of the bad side of Italy (specifically Roman men). This story occurs as we were waiting in line to validate our eurail pass. After maybe 20 minutes in line we were about 3 groups away from our turn at the window. Suddenly I realized that there was a new, extra guy in front of us in line. Maybe he was with someone who had been there all along, right? Oh no. Next thing we knew 5 of his buddies all loud, egotistical and annoying were in line too. This is a very Italian thing...if you can get around the system and just walk up to the front of the line instead of waiting for 20 minutes...why would you do anything else? The crazy part to us was that no one else seemed bothered by it...We, however, were done with Rome. It had been great but were were tired of being sweaty and tired and handled by the Italians...and this incident was sort of the icing on the cake.
Just over 4 hours from Rome to Milan in an absolutely packed train...there were people standing in the aisles for the whole trip, yuck! (As divine retrtibution the jerks from line were among those without seats...) And then another train about that long from Milan to Zurich, Switzerland. By the end of the trip we were a bit loopy... you know how you get to that point where EVERYTHING is funny...but it really isn't and you're probably bugging everyone else on the whole train with your out of control giggling? Yea...we were FAR beyond that point.
We reached Zurich and were met at the station by Jen. Jen and her boyfriend, Roman, had spent a week at the Yoga Borgo earlier in the summer and she offered to put us up for a few days. My first impression as we took the tram from the train station to her house was that Zurich was much calmer and cleaner than Rome. (An impression that would be reconfirmed throughout our time in Zurich)
Our first morning in Zurich we were up early and doing laundry. Then we headed out to a yoga class. It was a vinyasa class and was really rather expensive...but it was so nice to stretch and work our bodies in that way. We spent most of the rest of the day wandering around the 'old' part of Zurich. It was beautiful, cool weather and we just fell in love with Zurich. It was the perfect respite after Rome, everything was beautiful but in a much simpler way than in Rome and the people seemed very down to earth and soft compared to some of our experiences in Rome. (I must add that, in general, in my interactions with Italians, including Romans, they have been amazingly helpful, warm and kind hearted).
Then it was back to Jen and Romans to a wonderfully home cooked meal of Leek and Lemon Risotto. And early to bed because we had a big day the next day...which you'll hear all about next time. :)
Still to come: day trip to Lucerne, travel day to France, the French countryside, oops! we're in Paris and Brugge/Antwerp Belgium. I keep falling furhter anf further behind... but never fear you'll get the whole story eventually, just stay tuned. :)
Oh yea! We've decided to give each city one describing word (for more on this read Eat,Pray, Love...a fanastic book that you should read anyway.) So far:
Rome: Bold
Zurich: Practical
Hope you are all doing well,
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
" I Just Said 'Your Mom' in St. Peters Basilica"
New pics are up at www.kelseylumpkin.shutterfly.com
Day 3 in Rome began with a trip to Campo de Fiori were there is usually a big produce market every morning. Since all Italians go on vacation for most of August the market was rather smaller than we had anticipated: But there were a few stands, so we loaded up on veggies; dried fruit and nuts for snacks and picnics.
We had a nice (although a bit longer than anticipated) walk to the area of town with all of the old ruins. First on the list was Marciellos Theater: Sort of a mini Coliseum in a much more ruined state and with fewer people around. Wandered through a magnificent Piazza designed by Michelangelo and over to the Roman forum.
Let me take a moment here to try to explain how hot it was in Rome, without being overdramatic… Imagine a sauna. You have been trapped in the sauna by someone who thinks this will be a funny joke. The jokester keeps shoveling wood onto the fire and trying to sell you 3 euro bottles of water until you think your skin might begin to melt off and you want to throw the sauna bench through the wall just to get out. But the jokester has taken the bench … your last hope for refuge is gone. Yea, the oppressive, sweltering heat in Rome in August is sort of like that. (To be fair: EVERYONE and EVERY guide book in the world told us emphatically not to go to Rome in August…I guess we're just gluttons for punishment)
So back to the Trio of Travelers in the Furnacious Forum. (Get it? Furnacious? Like –of a furnace…) At this point in the day we were getting pretty hungry, hot, tired of walking and a bit dehydrated because we had been resisting the 3 euro bottles of water. So the Roman Forum (which was nothing like I expected…basically a big field of ruins) passed us by in a bit of a blur. We found a somewhat shady spot and settled into our random assorted picnic lunch items. It's amazing what a little fuel and rest will do to your energy level…
So we were raring to go again. And it was on to the Coliseum. Wow. This place is truly a jaw dropper. It is especially amazing to me that when the Coliseum fell out of use, the Romans of the time plundered it for it's building materials (some of which were used to build the Vatican)…I guess they didn't realize what a beautiful and unique gem they had. I can't pinpoint why exactly…but I just really liked the Coliseum…it was…refreshing.
So then it was back onto the bus and a couple of churches and some mind-blowing cannoli from a Sicilian Pastry shop and back to the hostel. And early to bed because tomorrow was…The Vatican Day.
We got up early on The Vatican Day to get ahead in line for the Vatican museum. We arrived 45 minutes before the museum even opened…seems plenty early enough, right? Well, it seems that everyone else in Rome (and indeed, perhaps all of Italy or maybe Europe) had also decided that this would be an excellent time and day to visit the Vatican Museum. This was partly because the museum had been closed for the previous two days…so; really we were asking for it.
3 hours (I am not kidding) and many games of 20 Questions later…we were in!
Side note: My favorite game of 20 Questions went exactly like this:
Allison: Is it a person?
Me: Yes.
Allison: Is it the Pope?
Me: Yes.
I have heard the Vatican Museum compared to a garage sale…they just have SO much stuff that it is sort of shoved in everywhere and among it are some really amazing things but you have to be willing to sort through the crowds and the junk to really appreciate them. I think one of my favorite pieces was a gigantic acorn statue that used to be the centerpiece of the fountain that was in front of the original St. Peters Basilica. First of all, it was mammoth and the idea of something so obviously pagan and 'of the earth' among the gregarious catholic-ness of it all was very satisfying to me.
After about one and a half hours in the museum you finally reach the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is so much not what I expected that when we walked in I actually said out loud "This isn't it!" But it was. The biggest surprise for me was the shape of the room…I always imagined it to be round…it was a rectangle: Secondly, I thought the iconographic image of God about to touch Adams finger was pretty much the whole ceiling…it was a small portion in the middle of many other things on the ceilings and walls. Hmmm…
After the shock of the museum started to wear off…and we had consumed some seriously large slices of pizza, we were off on a very important mission. I had been given directions from the Sada Sats to the "Best Gelato in Rome." And this was something that had to be found…it was found…and it was…so…good. I almost want to get up right now and take a 12 hour train ride just to go back and have another dish…I mean, this stuff was heavenly.
And on that celestial thought we tore ourselves away from the gelateria and headed back to see St. Peters Basilica, the one time biggest church in the Catholic faith. This was when Megan had her insightful comment that inspired the title of this post. And then, we walked inside. Jaw dropping doesn't quite describe it. I mean truly and utterly amazing. Starting with the vastness of the space and the general hugeness of everything down to the painstakingly beautiful details on a fresco or statue. This place is a marvel. What was especially amazing to me was that despite the hoards of tourists there was still a definite sense of prayer and spiritual power in this place…whew!
We stumbled home in complete overload trying to take in and process everything we had seen. It was an amazing day but the accumulation of three days of serious all day sightseeing were starting to drag on us…so we decided to let ourselves sleep in the next ,morning and just really try to relax. Which is exactly what we did…and it was nice.
OK. That’s it for now. Still to come: going out our last night in Rome, travel day to Zurich, Switzerland and a travel day to France.
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Day 3 in Rome began with a trip to Campo de Fiori were there is usually a big produce market every morning. Since all Italians go on vacation for most of August the market was rather smaller than we had anticipated: But there were a few stands, so we loaded up on veggies; dried fruit and nuts for snacks and picnics.
We had a nice (although a bit longer than anticipated) walk to the area of town with all of the old ruins. First on the list was Marciellos Theater: Sort of a mini Coliseum in a much more ruined state and with fewer people around. Wandered through a magnificent Piazza designed by Michelangelo and over to the Roman forum.
Let me take a moment here to try to explain how hot it was in Rome, without being overdramatic… Imagine a sauna. You have been trapped in the sauna by someone who thinks this will be a funny joke. The jokester keeps shoveling wood onto the fire and trying to sell you 3 euro bottles of water until you think your skin might begin to melt off and you want to throw the sauna bench through the wall just to get out. But the jokester has taken the bench … your last hope for refuge is gone. Yea, the oppressive, sweltering heat in Rome in August is sort of like that. (To be fair: EVERYONE and EVERY guide book in the world told us emphatically not to go to Rome in August…I guess we're just gluttons for punishment)
So back to the Trio of Travelers in the Furnacious Forum. (Get it? Furnacious? Like –of a furnace…) At this point in the day we were getting pretty hungry, hot, tired of walking and a bit dehydrated because we had been resisting the 3 euro bottles of water. So the Roman Forum (which was nothing like I expected…basically a big field of ruins) passed us by in a bit of a blur. We found a somewhat shady spot and settled into our random assorted picnic lunch items. It's amazing what a little fuel and rest will do to your energy level…
So we were raring to go again. And it was on to the Coliseum. Wow. This place is truly a jaw dropper. It is especially amazing to me that when the Coliseum fell out of use, the Romans of the time plundered it for it's building materials (some of which were used to build the Vatican)…I guess they didn't realize what a beautiful and unique gem they had. I can't pinpoint why exactly…but I just really liked the Coliseum…it was…refreshing.
So then it was back onto the bus and a couple of churches and some mind-blowing cannoli from a Sicilian Pastry shop and back to the hostel. And early to bed because tomorrow was…The Vatican Day.
We got up early on The Vatican Day to get ahead in line for the Vatican museum. We arrived 45 minutes before the museum even opened…seems plenty early enough, right? Well, it seems that everyone else in Rome (and indeed, perhaps all of Italy or maybe Europe) had also decided that this would be an excellent time and day to visit the Vatican Museum. This was partly because the museum had been closed for the previous two days…so; really we were asking for it.
3 hours (I am not kidding) and many games of 20 Questions later…we were in!
Side note: My favorite game of 20 Questions went exactly like this:
Allison: Is it a person?
Me: Yes.
Allison: Is it the Pope?
Me: Yes.
I have heard the Vatican Museum compared to a garage sale…they just have SO much stuff that it is sort of shoved in everywhere and among it are some really amazing things but you have to be willing to sort through the crowds and the junk to really appreciate them. I think one of my favorite pieces was a gigantic acorn statue that used to be the centerpiece of the fountain that was in front of the original St. Peters Basilica. First of all, it was mammoth and the idea of something so obviously pagan and 'of the earth' among the gregarious catholic-ness of it all was very satisfying to me.
After about one and a half hours in the museum you finally reach the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is so much not what I expected that when we walked in I actually said out loud "This isn't it!" But it was. The biggest surprise for me was the shape of the room…I always imagined it to be round…it was a rectangle: Secondly, I thought the iconographic image of God about to touch Adams finger was pretty much the whole ceiling…it was a small portion in the middle of many other things on the ceilings and walls. Hmmm…
After the shock of the museum started to wear off…and we had consumed some seriously large slices of pizza, we were off on a very important mission. I had been given directions from the Sada Sats to the "Best Gelato in Rome." And this was something that had to be found…it was found…and it was…so…good. I almost want to get up right now and take a 12 hour train ride just to go back and have another dish…I mean, this stuff was heavenly.
And on that celestial thought we tore ourselves away from the gelateria and headed back to see St. Peters Basilica, the one time biggest church in the Catholic faith. This was when Megan had her insightful comment that inspired the title of this post. And then, we walked inside. Jaw dropping doesn't quite describe it. I mean truly and utterly amazing. Starting with the vastness of the space and the general hugeness of everything down to the painstakingly beautiful details on a fresco or statue. This place is a marvel. What was especially amazing to me was that despite the hoards of tourists there was still a definite sense of prayer and spiritual power in this place…whew!
We stumbled home in complete overload trying to take in and process everything we had seen. It was an amazing day but the accumulation of three days of serious all day sightseeing were starting to drag on us…so we decided to let ourselves sleep in the next ,morning and just really try to relax. Which is exactly what we did…and it was nice.
OK. That’s it for now. Still to come: going out our last night in Rome, travel day to Zurich, Switzerland and a travel day to France.
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The Big Adventure Begins
Allison arrived about 2 weeks ago...so this update is a bit behind. But here it goes…
The last few days at the borgo were full of people, which was nice. But the big arrival was Allison. (My college roommate and one of the girls I’ll be traveling with for the next 6 weeks). She and I had a few days to explore the area; we went to the market, made chocolate chip cookies for her birthday, etc. It was a great wrap up to my time there…for now.
Thursday arrived. AE and I made our way down to Rome (after a bit of a mad dash for the bus and overcoming the ticket confusion at the train station). My first impression of Rome was that it is a place where everyone is trying to fit in and look cooler than they are…and there is this underlying tension or stress. It is so different than the Borgo…
We made it to the hostel and…there was Megan! Yea! (Another college friend who completes the trio of touring ladies). The Rome hostel was actually quite nice and we shared it with 3 people from Finland who were very nice. The only downside was that it was close to the main train station…which is sort of far from everything else, but that ended up being ok, public transport was workable.
We decided to just sort of wander around for our first afternoon in town. Here is what I love about Rome: just wandering around we found some great gelato, a fantastic fountain, two outstanding (and huge) churches and another awesome fountain that looked, to us, like Tritan or Zeus. Awesome.
Day 2 in Rome. Got on one of the hop on/hop off bus tours that go to all of the major sights in Rome. Our first stop was the Pantheon. Wow. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Pantheon but it was really quite amazing. It was a bright sunny day and the light coming through the whole in the roof was spectacular. (New pictures are up at www.kelseylumpkin.blogspot.com). I also liked the big booming voice that announced “Silence” every once in awhile… and then the general murmuring would die down for a few seconds and then swell again.
Made our way over to one of the piazzas where we found a bunch of street vendors selling knock off wears…everyone was willing to give us “beautiful ladies” the “best price” the “very lowest price” on the Prada bags we were eyeing. We got back on our bus tour and got off at Piazza Del Popolo..., which was really quite spectacular. But we were so hungry at this point that we could hardly appreciate it. We found some snacks and a shady bench and pigged out on bread cheese, veggies and granola bars.
Then on to the Spanish Steps. I was a bit disappointed with the Spanish steps, actually. I mean…they were steps. Oh well, not everything can live up to its reputation…
Back to the hostel, showered and headed out to the Traverstre neighborhood, which we had heard, was good area to hang out at night. There were plenty of cafes, bars, restaurants and street vendors selling jewelry, bags and just about everything else you can imagine. We had a great dinner; all bought a knock off bag and saw some tango dancing. So I’d say it was a successful evening. ☺ Topped off by an amazingly fast taxi ride back to the hostel…whew!
OK. I think that’s all for this post. I will try to catch up soon. Still to come: Day 3, 4 and 5 in Rome, traveling day and Zurich! Yea traveling!
Hope all is well with you all back home…
Love and Blessings,
KNL
The last few days at the borgo were full of people, which was nice. But the big arrival was Allison. (My college roommate and one of the girls I’ll be traveling with for the next 6 weeks). She and I had a few days to explore the area; we went to the market, made chocolate chip cookies for her birthday, etc. It was a great wrap up to my time there…for now.
Thursday arrived. AE and I made our way down to Rome (after a bit of a mad dash for the bus and overcoming the ticket confusion at the train station). My first impression of Rome was that it is a place where everyone is trying to fit in and look cooler than they are…and there is this underlying tension or stress. It is so different than the Borgo…
We made it to the hostel and…there was Megan! Yea! (Another college friend who completes the trio of touring ladies). The Rome hostel was actually quite nice and we shared it with 3 people from Finland who were very nice. The only downside was that it was close to the main train station…which is sort of far from everything else, but that ended up being ok, public transport was workable.
We decided to just sort of wander around for our first afternoon in town. Here is what I love about Rome: just wandering around we found some great gelato, a fantastic fountain, two outstanding (and huge) churches and another awesome fountain that looked, to us, like Tritan or Zeus. Awesome.
Day 2 in Rome. Got on one of the hop on/hop off bus tours that go to all of the major sights in Rome. Our first stop was the Pantheon. Wow. I didn’t really know what to expect from the Pantheon but it was really quite amazing. It was a bright sunny day and the light coming through the whole in the roof was spectacular. (New pictures are up at www.kelseylumpkin.blogspot.com). I also liked the big booming voice that announced “Silence” every once in awhile… and then the general murmuring would die down for a few seconds and then swell again.
Made our way over to one of the piazzas where we found a bunch of street vendors selling knock off wears…everyone was willing to give us “beautiful ladies” the “best price” the “very lowest price” on the Prada bags we were eyeing. We got back on our bus tour and got off at Piazza Del Popolo..., which was really quite spectacular. But we were so hungry at this point that we could hardly appreciate it. We found some snacks and a shady bench and pigged out on bread cheese, veggies and granola bars.
Then on to the Spanish Steps. I was a bit disappointed with the Spanish steps, actually. I mean…they were steps. Oh well, not everything can live up to its reputation…
Back to the hostel, showered and headed out to the Traverstre neighborhood, which we had heard, was good area to hang out at night. There were plenty of cafes, bars, restaurants and street vendors selling jewelry, bags and just about everything else you can imagine. We had a great dinner; all bought a knock off bag and saw some tango dancing. So I’d say it was a successful evening. ☺ Topped off by an amazingly fast taxi ride back to the hostel…whew!
OK. I think that’s all for this post. I will try to catch up soon. Still to come: Day 3, 4 and 5 in Rome, traveling day and Zurich! Yea traveling!
Hope all is well with you all back home…
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Friday, August 3, 2007
2 posts for the price of one!!
I took the bus down to Arezzo on Monday. Arezzo is
about an hour away by bus and it is the town that I
pass through anytime I am taking the train anywhere.
So since I have been to Arezzo several times without
actually seeing much of the town…I decided now was the
time.
Once I was in town I consulted my (almost) useless map
from the tourist office and headed up to see one of
the main attractions in the town. I got to the Church
of St. Francis where the Piero Della Francesca (a
famous Arezzo based painter) masterpiece “The Legend
of the True Cross” is housed. This church was a bit
higher up on my list than some because they had a
small display in the front entryway that explained the
story behind each of the 12 panels of this
masterpiece. I think that is one of the reasons I get
so under whelmed and burnt out on churches…I don’t
know any of the background of what the pictures are
about…so they just end up being a blur of pretty, old
pictures. When I had the background story in I
enjoyed the paintings much more.
Then I wandered around some more and saw: The Big
Square (not that big), another church/cloister that
was very pretty, a large park, the fortress, a
gigantic cemetery and the ancient roman amphitheater.
Also squeezed in another chiropractic appointment and
a picnic lunch. I think the cemetery was actually the
most…impressive isn’t the right word but, impactful (I
guess). They are really into the mausoleum thing
here…so this huge cemetery was all about 4 people
deep…and it was just this overwhelmingly sad place. I
guess sad isn’t the right word…more like, empty. It
felt like a big…void. If nothing else it serves to
reinforce that I want to be cremated…I don’t see much
point in a burial. But, obviously, to each his own.
Speaking of cemeteries; Agnes and I were on a hike the
other day and we followed the path behind the little
abandoned church just down the road from us. We found
the 2 old cemeteries back there. The first one was
the mausoleum style and originally held 18 people.
All but one of the tombs had been cleared out. I
guess the land the church is on had officially been
sold and since that is no longer sacred ground…they
had to move all of the bodies. I don’t know why they
left that one guy…May he rest in peace. The other
cemetery was much older (I don’t think I saw any dates
past 1917) and was further back in the woods, the wall
around it was completely caved in and it wasn’t creepy
exactly…but it felt odd. It’s interesting to think
about what happens to us when we die and to look at
all of the ceremony and circumstance that surround
death. I once heard my yoga teacher say this and it
frightened me at the time…but now I think I know what
she means. “Sometimes I can’t wait to get out of this
body and go home.” It isn’t a cry for help or
something dire…it’s just the acknowledgement that this
body is just the vessel and just like the clothes we
put on each day when it is ready to be discarded it is
only because our spirit/soul is ready to leave this
earthly plane and reunite with God. To merge into the
bliss and prem (ultimate love) from where we all
came…it does sound pretty good. And I will be glad to
go, when it is my time. But until then… Wahe Guru!
Thank you for the blessing of this day! (An
interesting side note: I just finished reading Seven
Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. It is his story of
going from a person without faith to becoming a
catholic monk. It was interesting to me how when you
get down to the depths of Catholicism it’s not that
theologically different from what I know of eastern
mystic religions… this just supports my theory that
all religions are basically just different frostings
on the same cake, if you get my drift.)
Back t0 the subject at hand. My next day trip I
planned for a little hill town called Monte Santa
Maria Tiberina. I knew it was a really small town and
would probably only take half a day. But I could
drive there in about 45 minutes so I decided to check
it out. Well, it was REALLY small. There was one
café in town. No restaurants or shops that I saw (and
I literally walked ALL of the streets). There is
supposed to be a church that dates back to the year
1000…but it was closed. And the castle at the very
top of the town was closed for construction. But
there were some great views. Wow. I am living in a
really beautiful place. (Pictures should be up soon).
On the way down from Monte SMT there is a small
nature reserve. So I stopped walked around and had a
picnic lunch. It was a small park but had nice
benches and walking paths so it was definitely worth
the stop.
Today Agnes and I took a nice long hike up to some
ruins on the mountain across the valley from us. It
was quite steep, but definitely worth it. These are
ruins that at one time must have housed a few hundred
people and now they are completely falling apart. You
can see that animals have taken refuge in some places
and every possible entrance is completely overgrown
with brush…isn’t it amazing that a couple of hundred
people just decided they didn’t want to live there
anymore, picked up and left their homes to be taken
over by nature? It just seems so odd to me. Other
than the fact that I have no where near the funds to
do it and I know what a headache it’s been for the
Sada Sats to do the work they’ve done on this
house…except for those two things, it makes you want
to get in there and fix it up into your dream house….
whatever that might be.
That's about it for the update. Other than that I
have been working on cleaning the house and setting up
for when the Sada Sats return from France, making
plans for my 6 week travel extravaganza that begins in
about 2 weeks, watching movies, reading, going for
walks in the mountains, doing yoga…I am constantly
amazed at how incredibly blessed I am. I don’t know
what I did to deserve this blissful space in my life,
but I am unendingly thankful for it.
So what’s new with you? I’d love to hear updates from
everyone: what have you been up to for the summer,
what’s happening in MN or the world in general that I
am insolated from up here…. etc. lumpkin_k@yahoo.com
Love and Blessings,
KNL
about an hour away by bus and it is the town that I
pass through anytime I am taking the train anywhere.
So since I have been to Arezzo several times without
actually seeing much of the town…I decided now was the
time.
Once I was in town I consulted my (almost) useless map
from the tourist office and headed up to see one of
the main attractions in the town. I got to the Church
of St. Francis where the Piero Della Francesca (a
famous Arezzo based painter) masterpiece “The Legend
of the True Cross” is housed. This church was a bit
higher up on my list than some because they had a
small display in the front entryway that explained the
story behind each of the 12 panels of this
masterpiece. I think that is one of the reasons I get
so under whelmed and burnt out on churches…I don’t
know any of the background of what the pictures are
about…so they just end up being a blur of pretty, old
pictures. When I had the background story in I
enjoyed the paintings much more.
Then I wandered around some more and saw: The Big
Square (not that big), another church/cloister that
was very pretty, a large park, the fortress, a
gigantic cemetery and the ancient roman amphitheater.
Also squeezed in another chiropractic appointment and
a picnic lunch. I think the cemetery was actually the
most…impressive isn’t the right word but, impactful (I
guess). They are really into the mausoleum thing
here…so this huge cemetery was all about 4 people
deep…and it was just this overwhelmingly sad place. I
guess sad isn’t the right word…more like, empty. It
felt like a big…void. If nothing else it serves to
reinforce that I want to be cremated…I don’t see much
point in a burial. But, obviously, to each his own.
Speaking of cemeteries; Agnes and I were on a hike the
other day and we followed the path behind the little
abandoned church just down the road from us. We found
the 2 old cemeteries back there. The first one was
the mausoleum style and originally held 18 people.
All but one of the tombs had been cleared out. I
guess the land the church is on had officially been
sold and since that is no longer sacred ground…they
had to move all of the bodies. I don’t know why they
left that one guy…May he rest in peace. The other
cemetery was much older (I don’t think I saw any dates
past 1917) and was further back in the woods, the wall
around it was completely caved in and it wasn’t creepy
exactly…but it felt odd. It’s interesting to think
about what happens to us when we die and to look at
all of the ceremony and circumstance that surround
death. I once heard my yoga teacher say this and it
frightened me at the time…but now I think I know what
she means. “Sometimes I can’t wait to get out of this
body and go home.” It isn’t a cry for help or
something dire…it’s just the acknowledgement that this
body is just the vessel and just like the clothes we
put on each day when it is ready to be discarded it is
only because our spirit/soul is ready to leave this
earthly plane and reunite with God. To merge into the
bliss and prem (ultimate love) from where we all
came…it does sound pretty good. And I will be glad to
go, when it is my time. But until then… Wahe Guru!
Thank you for the blessing of this day! (An
interesting side note: I just finished reading Seven
Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. It is his story of
going from a person without faith to becoming a
catholic monk. It was interesting to me how when you
get down to the depths of Catholicism it’s not that
theologically different from what I know of eastern
mystic religions… this just supports my theory that
all religions are basically just different frostings
on the same cake, if you get my drift.)
Back t0 the subject at hand. My next day trip I
planned for a little hill town called Monte Santa
Maria Tiberina. I knew it was a really small town and
would probably only take half a day. But I could
drive there in about 45 minutes so I decided to check
it out. Well, it was REALLY small. There was one
café in town. No restaurants or shops that I saw (and
I literally walked ALL of the streets). There is
supposed to be a church that dates back to the year
1000…but it was closed. And the castle at the very
top of the town was closed for construction. But
there were some great views. Wow. I am living in a
really beautiful place. (Pictures should be up soon).
On the way down from Monte SMT there is a small
nature reserve. So I stopped walked around and had a
picnic lunch. It was a small park but had nice
benches and walking paths so it was definitely worth
the stop.
Today Agnes and I took a nice long hike up to some
ruins on the mountain across the valley from us. It
was quite steep, but definitely worth it. These are
ruins that at one time must have housed a few hundred
people and now they are completely falling apart. You
can see that animals have taken refuge in some places
and every possible entrance is completely overgrown
with brush…isn’t it amazing that a couple of hundred
people just decided they didn’t want to live there
anymore, picked up and left their homes to be taken
over by nature? It just seems so odd to me. Other
than the fact that I have no where near the funds to
do it and I know what a headache it’s been for the
Sada Sats to do the work they’ve done on this
house…except for those two things, it makes you want
to get in there and fix it up into your dream house….
whatever that might be.
That's about it for the update. Other than that I
have been working on cleaning the house and setting up
for when the Sada Sats return from France, making
plans for my 6 week travel extravaganza that begins in
about 2 weeks, watching movies, reading, going for
walks in the mountains, doing yoga…I am constantly
amazed at how incredibly blessed I am. I don’t know
what I did to deserve this blissful space in my life,
but I am unendingly thankful for it.
So what’s new with you? I’d love to hear updates from
everyone: what have you been up to for the summer,
what’s happening in MN or the world in general that I
am insolated from up here…. etc. lumpkin_k@yahoo.com
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Up on the Mountain….
So it’s been about a week and a half since the Sada
Sats left…and I am amazed at how quickly the time is
passing… I thought I would be going crazy being alone
up here on the mountain. But I am really actually
enjoying myself. And am taking day trips and doing
things in town too…
The Sada Sats left on Monday. The rest of that day
and most of Tuesday I spent reading, watching movies,
laying in the hammock…that sort of thing. I was still
pretty wiped from the Green Group so it was nice to
have a couple of days to totally veg.
And then Wednesday was my 23rd birthday! Yea! Happy
Birthday to Me! And thank you so much to everyone who
called and emailed on (or around) my bday…it really
made me feel connected to home. In the morning of my
birthday I had made appointments at the local spa type
place. I’m not sure if this is just this particular
location or all places like this in Italy…but I found
it a bit odd. Before having any treatments done I had
to get my blood pressure checked by a doctor. And it
wasn’t the lush inviting spa environment you imagine,
it was much more clinical and matter of fact. But
still…
First up was a mud bath. I’ve never done this before
and it always sounded like fun…and you only turn 23 in
Italy once right? Well…it wasn’t really a bath…you
went into this little room and take off your clothes.
Then a lady comes in with a bucket of hot mud, which
she spreads out, on a table. You lay down in the mud
and then she sort of rubs it in to the rest of your
body. Then she covers you up in lots of blankets and
you wait for about 20 minutes. She comes back,
unwraps you and you stand in a corner while she hoses
you down. It was…odd. I might try a mud bath again
if it was more of a bath type experience…I dunno.
Then, on to the massage. They are much less concerned
with modesty here than we are in the States. For
example, the therapist didn’t step out of the room
while I undressed. Second, there was no draping. At
one point when I got cold she did add a sheet… I’m
sure all of my MT friends are dying right now…I guess
they missed the boundaries talk. And, overall the
massage was ok. She used a LOT of oil and very little
pressure…but any kind of intentional touch is
therapeutic so I know I got benefit out of it.
And then on to the pedicure. It was very nice and now
I have pretty pink toes so that’s good. J I had been
thoroughly buffed and so headed into a nearby town
called Citta de Castello for lunch. After wandering
around a bit I chose a place just off the main street
of town. I had a nice lunch of pasta and
bruschetta…and of course stopped for gelato on the way
out. I came home, took a nap relaxed and made myself
a nice salad for dinner. And that’s all there is to a
birthday in Italy. J
The next two days were consumed in the anguish of
knowing that my English version of Harry Potter was
caught up somewhere in customs. This was amazingly
painful. How could the rest of the world know how the
story ends and my book is just sitting there in some
Italian airport waiting for who knows what to happen
so it can come to me! The man who works at the SS’s
real estate agency was helping me try to figure out
the customs stuff and he happened to mentioned that
there was a jazz concert in Castello on Friday night,
which was supposed to be good.
So Friday night I headed out to hear some Jazz. I
happened to notice, as I was walking towards to stage,
a bookstore on the main square that sold some English
books. And as I frantically searched the window…there
it was…in the lower corner…tucked away… the 7th Harry
Potter…in English!! But the store was closed and
didn’t open until 9am the next day. So I went and
enjoyed the concert and wondered if they had more
copies in English somewhere else or if that was their
last one. Gulp!
The concert was actually, very good. There was a nice
size crowd but not so big that it was overwhelming.
And a lot of families were there too. I was actually
amazed at how late the Italians keep their children
out. I was leaving just before midnight and I saw
people walking in with their babies and
5-year-olds…that just seems odd to me. But maybe they
figure it’s summer and their baby really wants to see
some good jazz music.
So the next morning I was up early…and on a mission.
I got to Castello and realized that this was also a
market day. So the whole town was full of people and
booths and general merriment. But I had one goal in
mind. Get to Harry. I walked into the store and
asked for HP in English. The girl went and took the
copy out of the window…it was the last one she told
me. And it was mine! All mine!! Now that I had Harry
properly in my possession I decided not to rush home
and start reading…but to draw out the anticipation.
So I wandered around the market, bought some fruit,
had a café…and when I couldn’t stand it anymore I came
home and sat down to read.
I tried to stretch it out as long as possible. I
tried to make myself get up and do something
productive after each chapter…but c’mon this is Harry
Potter and you really just can’t put it down. So in
about a day and a half I was through the book. Here
are my overall thoughts: not my favorite in the
series, but I was really quite amazed how she managed
to tie in so many things form all 6 previous books.
And she did a great job of tying up a lot of loose
ends. (I won’t say more in case you haven’t read it…I
don’t want to spoil it for anyone).
And I think I’ll end there for now. Next time: a day
trip to Arezzo, a day trip to Monte and other
enthralling tales!
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Sats left…and I am amazed at how quickly the time is
passing… I thought I would be going crazy being alone
up here on the mountain. But I am really actually
enjoying myself. And am taking day trips and doing
things in town too…
The Sada Sats left on Monday. The rest of that day
and most of Tuesday I spent reading, watching movies,
laying in the hammock…that sort of thing. I was still
pretty wiped from the Green Group so it was nice to
have a couple of days to totally veg.
And then Wednesday was my 23rd birthday! Yea! Happy
Birthday to Me! And thank you so much to everyone who
called and emailed on (or around) my bday…it really
made me feel connected to home. In the morning of my
birthday I had made appointments at the local spa type
place. I’m not sure if this is just this particular
location or all places like this in Italy…but I found
it a bit odd. Before having any treatments done I had
to get my blood pressure checked by a doctor. And it
wasn’t the lush inviting spa environment you imagine,
it was much more clinical and matter of fact. But
still…
First up was a mud bath. I’ve never done this before
and it always sounded like fun…and you only turn 23 in
Italy once right? Well…it wasn’t really a bath…you
went into this little room and take off your clothes.
Then a lady comes in with a bucket of hot mud, which
she spreads out, on a table. You lay down in the mud
and then she sort of rubs it in to the rest of your
body. Then she covers you up in lots of blankets and
you wait for about 20 minutes. She comes back,
unwraps you and you stand in a corner while she hoses
you down. It was…odd. I might try a mud bath again
if it was more of a bath type experience…I dunno.
Then, on to the massage. They are much less concerned
with modesty here than we are in the States. For
example, the therapist didn’t step out of the room
while I undressed. Second, there was no draping. At
one point when I got cold she did add a sheet… I’m
sure all of my MT friends are dying right now…I guess
they missed the boundaries talk. And, overall the
massage was ok. She used a LOT of oil and very little
pressure…but any kind of intentional touch is
therapeutic so I know I got benefit out of it.
And then on to the pedicure. It was very nice and now
I have pretty pink toes so that’s good. J I had been
thoroughly buffed and so headed into a nearby town
called Citta de Castello for lunch. After wandering
around a bit I chose a place just off the main street
of town. I had a nice lunch of pasta and
bruschetta…and of course stopped for gelato on the way
out. I came home, took a nap relaxed and made myself
a nice salad for dinner. And that’s all there is to a
birthday in Italy. J
The next two days were consumed in the anguish of
knowing that my English version of Harry Potter was
caught up somewhere in customs. This was amazingly
painful. How could the rest of the world know how the
story ends and my book is just sitting there in some
Italian airport waiting for who knows what to happen
so it can come to me! The man who works at the SS’s
real estate agency was helping me try to figure out
the customs stuff and he happened to mentioned that
there was a jazz concert in Castello on Friday night,
which was supposed to be good.
So Friday night I headed out to hear some Jazz. I
happened to notice, as I was walking towards to stage,
a bookstore on the main square that sold some English
books. And as I frantically searched the window…there
it was…in the lower corner…tucked away… the 7th Harry
Potter…in English!! But the store was closed and
didn’t open until 9am the next day. So I went and
enjoyed the concert and wondered if they had more
copies in English somewhere else or if that was their
last one. Gulp!
The concert was actually, very good. There was a nice
size crowd but not so big that it was overwhelming.
And a lot of families were there too. I was actually
amazed at how late the Italians keep their children
out. I was leaving just before midnight and I saw
people walking in with their babies and
5-year-olds…that just seems odd to me. But maybe they
figure it’s summer and their baby really wants to see
some good jazz music.
So the next morning I was up early…and on a mission.
I got to Castello and realized that this was also a
market day. So the whole town was full of people and
booths and general merriment. But I had one goal in
mind. Get to Harry. I walked into the store and
asked for HP in English. The girl went and took the
copy out of the window…it was the last one she told
me. And it was mine! All mine!! Now that I had Harry
properly in my possession I decided not to rush home
and start reading…but to draw out the anticipation.
So I wandered around the market, bought some fruit,
had a café…and when I couldn’t stand it anymore I came
home and sat down to read.
I tried to stretch it out as long as possible. I
tried to make myself get up and do something
productive after each chapter…but c’mon this is Harry
Potter and you really just can’t put it down. So in
about a day and a half I was through the book. Here
are my overall thoughts: not my favorite in the
series, but I was really quite amazed how she managed
to tie in so many things form all 6 previous books.
And she did a great job of tying up a lot of loose
ends. (I won’t say more in case you haven’t read it…I
don’t want to spoil it for anyone).
And I think I’ll end there for now. Next time: a day
trip to Arezzo, a day trip to Monte and other
enthralling tales!
Love and Blessings,
KNL
Monday, July 30, 2007
Green Food…for a week?!?!?
That’s right folks. The big group showed up on
Saturday and was eating only green food for the entire
week. This is a special fast designed by Yogi Bhajan
to help you alkalize your body. (In yogic terms an
alkaline body pH is healthier than an acid one). And
just so you know, a week is rather extreme for this
diet you could try it for 3 days, or even one day, or
just start with one green meal and build up from
there. SSK made some really amazing food so it
doesn’t all have to be lettuce and steamed zucchini.
(Oh yea! You are also allowed to have garlic, onion,
ginger, organic olive oil and nuts. And you can, of
course, drink water and Yogi tea. (but no the yogi tea
brand…like the bulk recipe you make yourself))
Preparing food for 12 people (15 including us) 3 times
a day is a big enough job…but on this particular diet
it is especially challenging because all of the food
is rather labor intensive. You can’t just boil up
some pasta and toss it with some oil and garlic. So,
basically Sada Sat Kaur and I were in the kitchen from
8-15 hours a day preparing food. (I washed more
lettuce and sliced more cucumber than I think in my
whole life previous combined)
Now, I am enjoying learning to cook with SSK and
recording her recipes and all of that. But this week
was a blessing for me in that it showed me that this
is really not something I would enjoy doing all of the
time. So we can eliminate cook, waitress, chef,
anything to do with a restaurant basically as well as
full time homemaker or mother of a small army from the
infinite list of possible next steps for me.
Because there were so many people in the group I had
to move out of my room and to the trailer at the back
of the property for the week. This wasn’t so bad
because Agnes (the dog) came out and slept with me
there each night. But the trailer was in a spot that
didn’t get much breeze and it was a hot week. I mean,
HOT. I was near 40 degrees Celsius everyday (that is
around 104 Fahrenheit). So we didn’t so much sleep,
as roast in the trailer. And, of course try to avoid
the bugs since there is a small (read: large) ant
problem. But I’m not complaining…. well, ok, maybe I
am a bit.
The group did Sadhana every morning in the meadow and
a bunch of other YOGA classes outdoors. They also did
some painting exercises, took a trip to a pool and a
day trip to Assisi. So all in all it was a busy week
for them. So busy in fact that very few of them got
massages form me…which made me sad because I would
have liked to give more massage…plus it would’ve meant
less time in the kitchen. Oh well, all according to
God’s plan.
The other fun (read: challenging) part about the group
being here was all the stairs. The kitchen is on the
2nd floor and the large dining room is in the
basement. So we were up and down stairs many, many
times for each meal. At least I didn’t feel like I
needed to go to the gym afterwards!
One of the group leaders was from Holland and everyone
else was from Germany. It was certainly interesting
to see the difference between these guests and the
Italian and American guests we have had here before.
Let me preface this by saying: this is commentary
totally in broad strokes and was just my general
observation of the individuals I have had the
opportunity to meet. No more than that. I found the
Germans to be a bit more private and serious than our
other guests. It wasn’t until late in the week that
many of them opened up to each other or to us at all.
I think it was Thursday before we heard laughter
coming from the dinner table. And, Hariang (the Dutch
leader) commented that a German group really likes
order, they want to know the schedule and they want to
know the “right” way to do things…and you bet they are
gonna do ‘em just the way you tell ‘em to.
Interesting….no?
The group left Saturday morning and the three of us
spent the rest of Saturday in a slightly vegetative
state. It was not to last however, because Sunday was
a rush of packing for the Sada Sats. They left Monday
to go to the European Yoga Festival. They run the
children’s camp there so they had another huge chunk
of work cut out for them. They will be gone two weeks
and it will be just me up here on the mountain.
Sometimes I am excited about two weeks to myself to
really do anything I want and to keep directing that
focus inward so I can hear when God calls out that
next step for me. And other times two weeks up here
just seems down right lonely. But I will go into town
a lot and am planning a couple of day trips etc…so
never fear. (Although I’d love some emails to respond
to…)
OK. I think that’s it for now. Next time: My 23rd
birthday! (Am I really that old? Am I really that
young?) And other activities since the SS’s departure.
Hope all is well for you,
Sat Nam and Blessings,
KNL
Saturday and was eating only green food for the entire
week. This is a special fast designed by Yogi Bhajan
to help you alkalize your body. (In yogic terms an
alkaline body pH is healthier than an acid one). And
just so you know, a week is rather extreme for this
diet you could try it for 3 days, or even one day, or
just start with one green meal and build up from
there. SSK made some really amazing food so it
doesn’t all have to be lettuce and steamed zucchini.
(Oh yea! You are also allowed to have garlic, onion,
ginger, organic olive oil and nuts. And you can, of
course, drink water and Yogi tea. (but no the yogi tea
brand…like the bulk recipe you make yourself))
Preparing food for 12 people (15 including us) 3 times
a day is a big enough job…but on this particular diet
it is especially challenging because all of the food
is rather labor intensive. You can’t just boil up
some pasta and toss it with some oil and garlic. So,
basically Sada Sat Kaur and I were in the kitchen from
8-15 hours a day preparing food. (I washed more
lettuce and sliced more cucumber than I think in my
whole life previous combined)
Now, I am enjoying learning to cook with SSK and
recording her recipes and all of that. But this week
was a blessing for me in that it showed me that this
is really not something I would enjoy doing all of the
time. So we can eliminate cook, waitress, chef,
anything to do with a restaurant basically as well as
full time homemaker or mother of a small army from the
infinite list of possible next steps for me.
Because there were so many people in the group I had
to move out of my room and to the trailer at the back
of the property for the week. This wasn’t so bad
because Agnes (the dog) came out and slept with me
there each night. But the trailer was in a spot that
didn’t get much breeze and it was a hot week. I mean,
HOT. I was near 40 degrees Celsius everyday (that is
around 104 Fahrenheit). So we didn’t so much sleep,
as roast in the trailer. And, of course try to avoid
the bugs since there is a small (read: large) ant
problem. But I’m not complaining…. well, ok, maybe I
am a bit.
The group did Sadhana every morning in the meadow and
a bunch of other YOGA classes outdoors. They also did
some painting exercises, took a trip to a pool and a
day trip to Assisi. So all in all it was a busy week
for them. So busy in fact that very few of them got
massages form me…which made me sad because I would
have liked to give more massage…plus it would’ve meant
less time in the kitchen. Oh well, all according to
God’s plan.
The other fun (read: challenging) part about the group
being here was all the stairs. The kitchen is on the
2nd floor and the large dining room is in the
basement. So we were up and down stairs many, many
times for each meal. At least I didn’t feel like I
needed to go to the gym afterwards!
One of the group leaders was from Holland and everyone
else was from Germany. It was certainly interesting
to see the difference between these guests and the
Italian and American guests we have had here before.
Let me preface this by saying: this is commentary
totally in broad strokes and was just my general
observation of the individuals I have had the
opportunity to meet. No more than that. I found the
Germans to be a bit more private and serious than our
other guests. It wasn’t until late in the week that
many of them opened up to each other or to us at all.
I think it was Thursday before we heard laughter
coming from the dinner table. And, Hariang (the Dutch
leader) commented that a German group really likes
order, they want to know the schedule and they want to
know the “right” way to do things…and you bet they are
gonna do ‘em just the way you tell ‘em to.
Interesting….no?
The group left Saturday morning and the three of us
spent the rest of Saturday in a slightly vegetative
state. It was not to last however, because Sunday was
a rush of packing for the Sada Sats. They left Monday
to go to the European Yoga Festival. They run the
children’s camp there so they had another huge chunk
of work cut out for them. They will be gone two weeks
and it will be just me up here on the mountain.
Sometimes I am excited about two weeks to myself to
really do anything I want and to keep directing that
focus inward so I can hear when God calls out that
next step for me. And other times two weeks up here
just seems down right lonely. But I will go into town
a lot and am planning a couple of day trips etc…so
never fear. (Although I’d love some emails to respond
to…)
OK. I think that’s it for now. Next time: My 23rd
birthday! (Am I really that old? Am I really that
young?) And other activities since the SS’s departure.
Hope all is well for you,
Sat Nam and Blessings,
KNL
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