After narriving in Munich at 6:30 am, we walked across the street from the train station to our hostel and checked in. We couldn't get into our rooms until 2pm, so we sacked out on the hammocks in the hostel atrium for a few hours. Today was a mellow day of rest. We really didn't do much except a load of laundry, some email, getting unpacked, grocery shopping, and eating pizza for dinner. There's a pizzaria across the street that has the most exotic pizza in their display window! I was ordering and Abel was taking pictures when a lady scolded him. "No pictures!" She said. We asked the nice young man who was serving us why not and he said it's because someone might copy their pizza. I wonder if they've thought that someone could just buy a slice and then take a picture. Oh well - it was good pizza!
Tonight we are relaxing in our room. I'm getting caught up on my blogging and Abel is resting on the bed. I think he's tired from trying to keep up with me the last 16 days! Don't tell him I said that.
Tomorrow, it's off to Innsbruck and the Austrian Alps. Hooray!!!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, June 7th (Day 15)
It is hard to leave Rom when there is so much to see, but Venice is calling and today is our travel day. We took a train (about a 4.5 hour ride) to Venice today. I got to ride in first class, which was pretty nice. Mainly it meant a bigger seat. The trip was uneventful except for the part where I got off at the wrong Venice station. I didn't realize there were two stations and Abel and I didn't sit together. After I got off and couldn't find Abel, I found out that I should have waited 10 minutes to exit the train. I had to hop on another short shuttle to get me to the other station. No harm done - just a half hour delay and a good laugh for Abel. Apparently he saw me out the train window as it was leaving the station, so he knew to wait for me to arrive at the next stop.
You walk out of the train station and you find yourself in the heart of Venice. Canals, ships, mobs of tourists. This is a hopping place! We didn't know where our hostel was located and after some research we discovered it was a ways away and we would have to take a boat (E6.50 each way) to get there and also take a boat any time we wanted to sight-see. We anticipated spending about 40 Euros each on boat rides, so we questioned whether staying in Venice was a good idea. Things like Internet access and phone calls were quite expensive, but food and hotel rooms (a cheap one for 70 Euros/night) weren't too bad.
After some deliberation and Abel's strong opinion, we decided it would be best to take an overnight train to Munich. So we cancelled our hostel reservations and got a ticket. Before leaving, we had time to walk around the city to get a flavor of Venice. I also took a boat ride through the Grand Canal and listened to Rick Steves' audio tour. That was very good! We left town about 11pm, so we had a good 8 hours in Venice - enough to say we've been there!
The train ride was grueling! We had regular seats (they wanted to charge me E105 or E45 for a bed) that didn't recline, six people in a small room with three facing the other three. It wasn't easy to sleep. I also had an incident with a very overzealous ticket man who fined me E50 for not writing the date on my rail pass. This is something you are supposed to do, but up until now nobody seemed to care. This guy cared deeply! He reprimanded me several times, to the point where I thought I was going to spend the night in a German prison camp. I paid my E50 and tried to act respectful, though I must admit that when he said "Do you think I am stupid?" I was tempted to say "I'm going to assume that is a rhetorical question."
Abel was in the cabin next door and the ticket monster hadn't gotten there yet, so after he was done with me, I went over and warned Abel to put the date on his ticket. Of course, Mr. Crabby Ticket Man saw me do that and I got another lecture. However, it paid off because Abel got his date recorded and didn't get fined.
Abel had interesting conversation in his cabin with a guy from Nigeria and some other college age folks about everything from politics to religion. They ended up talking almost all night. We drove through the Alps in Austria (Innsbruck) around 4am. They were spectacular! That's were we intend to stay Tuesday and Wednesday night - about two hours by train from Munich.
We arrived back in Munich at 6:30 am.
You walk out of the train station and you find yourself in the heart of Venice. Canals, ships, mobs of tourists. This is a hopping place! We didn't know where our hostel was located and after some research we discovered it was a ways away and we would have to take a boat (E6.50 each way) to get there and also take a boat any time we wanted to sight-see. We anticipated spending about 40 Euros each on boat rides, so we questioned whether staying in Venice was a good idea. Things like Internet access and phone calls were quite expensive, but food and hotel rooms (a cheap one for 70 Euros/night) weren't too bad.
After some deliberation and Abel's strong opinion, we decided it would be best to take an overnight train to Munich. So we cancelled our hostel reservations and got a ticket. Before leaving, we had time to walk around the city to get a flavor of Venice. I also took a boat ride through the Grand Canal and listened to Rick Steves' audio tour. That was very good! We left town about 11pm, so we had a good 8 hours in Venice - enough to say we've been there!
The train ride was grueling! We had regular seats (they wanted to charge me E105 or E45 for a bed) that didn't recline, six people in a small room with three facing the other three. It wasn't easy to sleep. I also had an incident with a very overzealous ticket man who fined me E50 for not writing the date on my rail pass. This is something you are supposed to do, but up until now nobody seemed to care. This guy cared deeply! He reprimanded me several times, to the point where I thought I was going to spend the night in a German prison camp. I paid my E50 and tried to act respectful, though I must admit that when he said "Do you think I am stupid?" I was tempted to say "I'm going to assume that is a rhetorical question."
Abel was in the cabin next door and the ticket monster hadn't gotten there yet, so after he was done with me, I went over and warned Abel to put the date on his ticket. Of course, Mr. Crabby Ticket Man saw me do that and I got another lecture. However, it paid off because Abel got his date recorded and didn't get fined.
Abel had interesting conversation in his cabin with a guy from Nigeria and some other college age folks about everything from politics to religion. They ended up talking almost all night. We drove through the Alps in Austria (Innsbruck) around 4am. They were spectacular! That's were we intend to stay Tuesday and Wednesday night - about two hours by train from Munich.
We arrived back in Munich at 6:30 am.
Saturday, June 6th (Day 14)
Today was another stellar day of sightseeing. We started at the Vatican Museum. Besides the E14 entrance fee, it was a great visit. We first walked through a large collection of Christian art from the Dark Ages. We were impressed (or depressed) with the mournful looks on the faces of everyone. Even a lion in one of the paintings had the most mournful look on its face. Not being art critics or experts on the paintings of that day, we toured the images pretty quickly on our way to the main attraction of the day: the Sistine Chapel!
The walk to the Sistine Chapel was filled with anticipation. We followed the signs indicating the Chapel was just around the corner, but we had to walk through several large art exhibits, some narrow hallways, stairways, and more before we finally reached it. We kept wondering each time we entered a new hall if this was really it. If you have to ask that question, you are not there. I think they build the anticipation by forcing you through mutiple exhibits of lesser art, which heightened the impact of the Chapel when we finally got there. The room was packed with people, literally shoulder to shoulder in most places. The art was breathtaking. We used the Rick Steves audio tour to give us an interpretation of the paintings and some history.
Michealangelo was commissioned by the Pope to paint the chapel. It is a chronological series of paintings depicting creation to the last judgment. There are some very interesting subtle details which you wouldn't see unless someone pointed them out, such as a self-portrait of Michaelangelo in the last judgment. It would be easy to stand and gawk at the paintings for hours, but we had other things to do, so we moved on.
We next toured St. Peter's Basilica, including a walk through tombs of the popes and the alleged tomb of the real St. Peter. The basilica itself is a pretty amazing work of architecture. It's loaded with statues, tombs, and of course there is the dome itself which makes you dizzy while looking at it.
After a brief rest in our room, we made our way to the last significant stop in Rome: the Pantheon (greek for "all gods"). This was one of the most amazing sights we've seen on our trip. The Pantheon has been in continuous use for various purposes for over 2000 years. The structure and symmetry of the building is unbelievable. The 16 pillars in the entrance came all the way from Egypt, are made of solid one-piece granite, and weigh over 55 tons each. How they got them there, I have no clue. It turns out that when they arrived, they were not the right size, so they had to adjust the building to match them!
It was a busy day and a lot to take in! We relaxed in the evening and went out for dinner at a restaurant (they are everywhere in Rome!). Abel had pizza (real Italian pizza, which is different than ours) and I had lasagna. We also got salad, pork and gravy, french fries, potatoes (like tater tots), and a bowl of fruit with our meal. Everything seemed very Italian except the french fries.
What a day! Our last day in Rome. In the morning it's off for Venice.
The walk to the Sistine Chapel was filled with anticipation. We followed the signs indicating the Chapel was just around the corner, but we had to walk through several large art exhibits, some narrow hallways, stairways, and more before we finally reached it. We kept wondering each time we entered a new hall if this was really it. If you have to ask that question, you are not there. I think they build the anticipation by forcing you through mutiple exhibits of lesser art, which heightened the impact of the Chapel when we finally got there. The room was packed with people, literally shoulder to shoulder in most places. The art was breathtaking. We used the Rick Steves audio tour to give us an interpretation of the paintings and some history.
Michealangelo was commissioned by the Pope to paint the chapel. It is a chronological series of paintings depicting creation to the last judgment. There are some very interesting subtle details which you wouldn't see unless someone pointed them out, such as a self-portrait of Michaelangelo in the last judgment. It would be easy to stand and gawk at the paintings for hours, but we had other things to do, so we moved on.
We next toured St. Peter's Basilica, including a walk through tombs of the popes and the alleged tomb of the real St. Peter. The basilica itself is a pretty amazing work of architecture. It's loaded with statues, tombs, and of course there is the dome itself which makes you dizzy while looking at it.
After a brief rest in our room, we made our way to the last significant stop in Rome: the Pantheon (greek for "all gods"). This was one of the most amazing sights we've seen on our trip. The Pantheon has been in continuous use for various purposes for over 2000 years. The structure and symmetry of the building is unbelievable. The 16 pillars in the entrance came all the way from Egypt, are made of solid one-piece granite, and weigh over 55 tons each. How they got them there, I have no clue. It turns out that when they arrived, they were not the right size, so they had to adjust the building to match them!
It was a busy day and a lot to take in! We relaxed in the evening and went out for dinner at a restaurant (they are everywhere in Rome!). Abel had pizza (real Italian pizza, which is different than ours) and I had lasagna. We also got salad, pork and gravy, french fries, potatoes (like tater tots), and a bowl of fruit with our meal. Everything seemed very Italian except the french fries.
What a day! Our last day in Rome. In the morning it's off for Venice.
Friday, June 5th (Day 13)
Today had to be the best day of sightseeing we've had so far. I started the day with a very long run of maybe 10 miles, from about 6am to 7:45am. It felt good to run after a couple days off. I started by running through St. Peter's Square - just a stone's throw from our hostel. From there I ran through a very nice neighborhood full of wrought iron fences, 20 foot brick walls (very old brick), and nice homes. I ended up in a very large park that had some really amazing statures and a building and yard with some incredible hedges trimmed in a random weaving patterm. I wished I had my camera!
From there I ran back through Rome to Vatican city and completed a loop around the outside. I ran around the perimeter of an entire country this morning! The city was already bustling with activity by 7am and people were lining up to get into the Vatican Museum by 7:30, thought it doesn't open until 8:45.
Abel and I got ready for a day of sightseeing and took the Metro to the Roman Colloseum. We stepped out of the Metro station, and there it was, looking as big as the Metrodome, but 2000 years older! We used the Rick Steves' audio guide, which helped us understand a little better what we were looking at. The lines were long, but after a half hour or so, we found ourselves inside and it was quite the experience. The Colosseum was built around 70 AD and took about 10 years. To think that the Romans built this gigantic structure without modern equipment is unfathomable. There is apparently some doubt about whether Christians were actually thrown to the lions in this Colosseum or not, but they certainly were in others.
After wandering around the first and second level of the Colosseum, we made our way out to the Roman Forum. This huge area of ruins was the center of ancient Rome and the imagination runs wild thinking of what it was really like. Temples to various gods and Caesars, a main street, court yards, arches, and lots of other ruins are everywhere. A person would need a full day and a really good book to do justice to this place. The history represented here is absolutely unbelievable.
It was a very hot day - sunny and perhaps in the 90s, so by the time we took the Metro back to the hostel around 3pm, we were tired! We ate a late lunch, lounged around a bit, and then decided to head to a neary by castle (St. Anthony's) right on the Tiber river. Near the castle was an outdoor market where vendors were selling anything from clothing to jewlrey to dried fruit. We had a very relaxing time of meandering around the castle, market, and a nearby building (gigantic) which we supposed was the Roman courthouse.
We got home around 7pm and had a quiet evening of reading and I took a stroll around the neighborhood.
From there I ran back through Rome to Vatican city and completed a loop around the outside. I ran around the perimeter of an entire country this morning! The city was already bustling with activity by 7am and people were lining up to get into the Vatican Museum by 7:30, thought it doesn't open until 8:45.
Abel and I got ready for a day of sightseeing and took the Metro to the Roman Colloseum. We stepped out of the Metro station, and there it was, looking as big as the Metrodome, but 2000 years older! We used the Rick Steves' audio guide, which helped us understand a little better what we were looking at. The lines were long, but after a half hour or so, we found ourselves inside and it was quite the experience. The Colosseum was built around 70 AD and took about 10 years. To think that the Romans built this gigantic structure without modern equipment is unfathomable. There is apparently some doubt about whether Christians were actually thrown to the lions in this Colosseum or not, but they certainly were in others.
After wandering around the first and second level of the Colosseum, we made our way out to the Roman Forum. This huge area of ruins was the center of ancient Rome and the imagination runs wild thinking of what it was really like. Temples to various gods and Caesars, a main street, court yards, arches, and lots of other ruins are everywhere. A person would need a full day and a really good book to do justice to this place. The history represented here is absolutely unbelievable.
It was a very hot day - sunny and perhaps in the 90s, so by the time we took the Metro back to the hostel around 3pm, we were tired! We ate a late lunch, lounged around a bit, and then decided to head to a neary by castle (St. Anthony's) right on the Tiber river. Near the castle was an outdoor market where vendors were selling anything from clothing to jewlrey to dried fruit. We had a very relaxing time of meandering around the castle, market, and a nearby building (gigantic) which we supposed was the Roman courthouse.
We got home around 7pm and had a quiet evening of reading and I took a stroll around the neighborhood.
Thursday, June 4th (Day 12)
Despite our attempts at a good night's sleep, it wasn't. There were some noisy people in the room next to us, and the walls don't go all the way to the ceiling. This is the first time this has happened on our trip. They would leave, come back, leave, come back. Before I know it, it was 1am and had only dozed a little. Then I think I slept for a few hours before Abel woke me up at 4am to head for the airport.
We walked to Barceloneta, a place where a shuttle bus was supposed to pick people up for a 30 minute ride to the airport at 5:05. We talked to a bus driver who told us the bus came at 5:30! We were already cutting it close with a 5:05 bus! After some deliberation, we decided to take a taxi. It would cost us 25 Euros instead of 2.60 Euros, but it was worth it (in my estimation) to avoid missing our flight. We didn't know our way around the Barcelona airport, and our ticket didn't even tell us a terminal or provider. The taxi got us there in 15 minutes and we managed to get to our gate in plenty of time. Abel and I are still debating if we would have made it on time had we taken the bus. You decide who takes which side on that issue!
The flight was about 90 minutes and uneventful. We arrived at the airport, found our way to a shuttle that brought us to the train station in Rome, bought our tickets for Venice on June 7th, and hopped on the Metro to our hostel. It's a nice place, and we're right across the street from Vatican City. Tomorrow we will probably see the Vatican Museum, including the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.
We took an afternoon nap, walked around town, bought some groceries at a "supermarket," and just finished a really nice meal of cheeseburgers, fruit, iced tea, a rice dinner, and (for me) a bananna. I went from being starve to stuffed in about 30 minutes. Tonight we will probably walk around Vatican City (the world's smallest nation with 550 residents).
We walked to Barceloneta, a place where a shuttle bus was supposed to pick people up for a 30 minute ride to the airport at 5:05. We talked to a bus driver who told us the bus came at 5:30! We were already cutting it close with a 5:05 bus! After some deliberation, we decided to take a taxi. It would cost us 25 Euros instead of 2.60 Euros, but it was worth it (in my estimation) to avoid missing our flight. We didn't know our way around the Barcelona airport, and our ticket didn't even tell us a terminal or provider. The taxi got us there in 15 minutes and we managed to get to our gate in plenty of time. Abel and I are still debating if we would have made it on time had we taken the bus. You decide who takes which side on that issue!
The flight was about 90 minutes and uneventful. We arrived at the airport, found our way to a shuttle that brought us to the train station in Rome, bought our tickets for Venice on June 7th, and hopped on the Metro to our hostel. It's a nice place, and we're right across the street from Vatican City. Tomorrow we will probably see the Vatican Museum, including the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.
We took an afternoon nap, walked around town, bought some groceries at a "supermarket," and just finished a really nice meal of cheeseburgers, fruit, iced tea, a rice dinner, and (for me) a bananna. I went from being starve to stuffed in about 30 minutes. Tonight we will probably walk around Vatican City (the world's smallest nation with 550 residents).
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3 (Day 11)
Our last day in Barcelona was spent separately again. We've both enjoyed the freedom to wander and do whatever interests us. I had a desire to excape from the big city, so after the customary free hostel breakfast, I packed my things for the day and headed out in search of Parc de Naturale Mountsenery (or something like that). It's about 50 km from Barcelona, by a town called Sant Celona (or something like that). The information I had was sketcy, but I knew where the town was and the description of the park sounded fantastic. High in the mountains and very scenic. More importantly, not in a big city!
I took the Metro to the train station and stood in three lines before I finally got a ticket to my destination. The train ride was less than an hour, but after waiting in line for a ticket, I had to wait for the train to come. It was almost 1pm before I finally headed out of town. I think many Europeans learn patience because they use public transportation. We are so accustomed to just hopping in a car and going anywhere we want. The price of gas in Europe is about triple what it is in the US, and public transportation is much more developed. So standing in line and waiting for trains to come is just part of life for many folks over here, I think. I've gotten into the habit of having a good book along to make use of the time spent waiting.
The train ride was scenic and uneventful. We passed by some very nice mountains, but none as large as those in Sant Celona. I was so excited when I saw those mountains, but I also realized they were a long ways from where the train dropped me off. There was no way I'd walk to the mountains with the time I had! I was hoping there would be a train or shuttle that would take me to the park. There was a bus stop, but I couldn't decipher the information, and I tried talking to several people, but nobody spoke a word of English. I felt like I was really in Spain now! That was a great feeling!
So, I took a walk around town. This was very different from Barcelona. This was small-town Spain. There were old men playing dominos in a bar. There were schoolkids playing on recess. There was only one stop light in town. I tried to find an English speaker, and the best I could do was a young woman who knew a few words. I asked her about the park, and she pointed to the highest mountain peak and nodded her head. I asked if there was a bus to the park, and she said no. She looked at me like I was a little crazy and smiled. I thanked her and went on my way.
By now it was approaching 3pm and I knew I didn't have much time for the park anyway. It was a fun day's adventure. Very different from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and very relaxing. Relaxing until I tried to take a picture of the mountains. I realized I had left the memory card from the camera in the computer at the hostel the night before. So, I decided it was time to go anyway! I didn't want to lose my memory card! I quickly bought a ticket back to the station and hopped on the next train. I took the metro back to the hostel and fortunately, my memory card was still in its place!
Abel and I ate some leftovers for dinner and went to bed early. We have an early flight to Rome on June 4th - 6:25am. We plan to get up at 4am to make it to the airport on time. Our last day in Barcelona!
I took the Metro to the train station and stood in three lines before I finally got a ticket to my destination. The train ride was less than an hour, but after waiting in line for a ticket, I had to wait for the train to come. It was almost 1pm before I finally headed out of town. I think many Europeans learn patience because they use public transportation. We are so accustomed to just hopping in a car and going anywhere we want. The price of gas in Europe is about triple what it is in the US, and public transportation is much more developed. So standing in line and waiting for trains to come is just part of life for many folks over here, I think. I've gotten into the habit of having a good book along to make use of the time spent waiting.
The train ride was scenic and uneventful. We passed by some very nice mountains, but none as large as those in Sant Celona. I was so excited when I saw those mountains, but I also realized they were a long ways from where the train dropped me off. There was no way I'd walk to the mountains with the time I had! I was hoping there would be a train or shuttle that would take me to the park. There was a bus stop, but I couldn't decipher the information, and I tried talking to several people, but nobody spoke a word of English. I felt like I was really in Spain now! That was a great feeling!
So, I took a walk around town. This was very different from Barcelona. This was small-town Spain. There were old men playing dominos in a bar. There were schoolkids playing on recess. There was only one stop light in town. I tried to find an English speaker, and the best I could do was a young woman who knew a few words. I asked her about the park, and she pointed to the highest mountain peak and nodded her head. I asked if there was a bus to the park, and she said no. She looked at me like I was a little crazy and smiled. I thanked her and went on my way.
By now it was approaching 3pm and I knew I didn't have much time for the park anyway. It was a fun day's adventure. Very different from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and very relaxing. Relaxing until I tried to take a picture of the mountains. I realized I had left the memory card from the camera in the computer at the hostel the night before. So, I decided it was time to go anyway! I didn't want to lose my memory card! I quickly bought a ticket back to the station and hopped on the next train. I took the metro back to the hostel and fortunately, my memory card was still in its place!
Abel and I ate some leftovers for dinner and went to bed early. We have an early flight to Rome on June 4th - 6:25am. We plan to get up at 4am to make it to the airport on time. Our last day in Barcelona!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 2nd (Day 10)
Wow! Today is the halfway point of our trip! We're getting along fine in Barcelona. The weather is fantastic. We've forgotten what rain or cold are. We just assume every day is sunny and in the upper 70s. We started today with no plan at all, which is great! It turned out that Abel and I split up for most of the day, so I'll give my side of the story.
I went for a morning run of about 4 miles along the boardwalk by the beach. The sun was pretty high already as I overslept and didn't get out running until about 8am. We had breakfast at the hostel. It was missing fresh fruit, which really hurts. Otherwise it was fine. Toast and jelly, ceral, milk, lots of choices of juice. Basically a very high carb diet!
I took a nap after breakfast. I don't know why, but it lasted about an hour and felt good. When I woke up, Abel had left for his day's adventure. I took the Metro to the Sangrada Familia, Barcelona's most famous tourist attraction. I guess I've seen so much spectacular architecture on this trip that I wasn't as impressed as I should have been. This structure is still in progress and is predicted to be over 20 years from completion. It think what's missing is a courtyard or large garden around the structure. The building is impressive enough, but right across the street on all four sides are shops and restaurants (even a McDonald's!).
I'm glad I saw it, but I was told it would be breathtaking and it didn't do that for me. When I got back, I rented a bicycle and toured the city for a while. It was great fun to ride around the sidestreets of Barcelona. You can cover a lot of ground on a bicycle! I also missed riding a bike, so it felt good to pedal again.
When I got back, Abel and I went out for dinner. We haven't had many sit down meals on this trip, but we were both in the mood. We both had Paella, but different kinds. It was very tasty!
Today was a pretty slow moving day. No hurry to get anything done - a very nice pace. Tomorrow, if it works out, I plan to visit Parc Natural del Montseny, which is about 50 km from Barcelona and has some very nice hiking trails. The big cities are getting to me and I'm craving some trees and trails and water and open space!
That's all for now!
I went for a morning run of about 4 miles along the boardwalk by the beach. The sun was pretty high already as I overslept and didn't get out running until about 8am. We had breakfast at the hostel. It was missing fresh fruit, which really hurts. Otherwise it was fine. Toast and jelly, ceral, milk, lots of choices of juice. Basically a very high carb diet!
I took a nap after breakfast. I don't know why, but it lasted about an hour and felt good. When I woke up, Abel had left for his day's adventure. I took the Metro to the Sangrada Familia, Barcelona's most famous tourist attraction. I guess I've seen so much spectacular architecture on this trip that I wasn't as impressed as I should have been. This structure is still in progress and is predicted to be over 20 years from completion. It think what's missing is a courtyard or large garden around the structure. The building is impressive enough, but right across the street on all four sides are shops and restaurants (even a McDonald's!).
I'm glad I saw it, but I was told it would be breathtaking and it didn't do that for me. When I got back, I rented a bicycle and toured the city for a while. It was great fun to ride around the sidestreets of Barcelona. You can cover a lot of ground on a bicycle! I also missed riding a bike, so it felt good to pedal again.
When I got back, Abel and I went out for dinner. We haven't had many sit down meals on this trip, but we were both in the mood. We both had Paella, but different kinds. It was very tasty!
Today was a pretty slow moving day. No hurry to get anything done - a very nice pace. Tomorrow, if it works out, I plan to visit Parc Natural del Montseny, which is about 50 km from Barcelona and has some very nice hiking trails. The big cities are getting to me and I'm craving some trees and trails and water and open space!
That's all for now!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Monday, June 1st (Day 9)
Wow, our trip is almost half done! On one hand, I feel like we've had more experiences than we can remember and on the other hand, there is so much to do that I feel like it's passing me by and I should be doing more. Then I remind myself that a major goal of this vacation is to rest. If there are things I don't do, that's just an excuse to come again!
Today was a very mellow day. We woke up in the Center Point hostel knowing we'd have to move to our new home for three days - the Sea Point hostel. I went for a nice 4-5 mile run around the streets of Barcelona, down by the Mediterranean Sea, and had a great time. We had a good breakfast - free in most hostels we've stayed at - and packed our bags for a 10am checkout.
We decided to walk instead of taking the Metro. Partly because we are travelling cheap and partly because it's good exercise and also because it's a great way to see the city. Never mind that we were carrying a 5 liter bottle of water and a bag of a dozen or more oranges. It's just fun to walk and see the sights!
Our new hostel is very nice. Right on the beach, located close to lots of restaurants and two supermarkets, it's about as convenient as you can get. It's pretty clean and has free wireless Internet and even a kitchen with refrigerator (shared by everyone in the hostel).
After arriving checking in around noon, we spent the afternoon on the beach. I did some reading and Abel walked around. I also went for a swim. The water is pretty cool, but I got used to it after a little while. The sun is very direct here. I had my shirt of for maybe an hour and got pretty red. I guess that's what sunscreen is for! I brought some along and have only used it on my face so far.
This evening we went to the market, made some dinner. Abel cooked a pizza and I ate fruit, bread, and juice. We plan to hit a local restaurant for some authentic food tomorrow night. We also had a nice conversation with a couple named Brendan and Kath from Melbourne, Australia. They are touring Europe, so we shared tips about places we've been.
Speaking of Abel giving my things away, last night he gave away his free Internet access card to a young lady at the hostel (notice the 'young lady' theme?) because he doesn't need it. Wireless access for his computer is free. Trouble is, if you want to use the hostel's computers, you have to pay after you've used up your 20 free minutes. Abel gave away his 20 free minutes (on a card) before even asking his good old dad if he might want them. You see, I have to use the hostel computers a lot because Abel is on his computer so much when we are at the hostel. It didn't even cross his mind that I might interested in having his free minutes. When I commented on this incident, along with his giving away my map of Paris, his reply was something like this: "Well, in the first case it was something of yours that you didn't need any more and in the second case, it was something of mine that you wanted. In both cases, it was OK." That's typical Abel logic.
I better be careful. I guess Abel is writing up a journal article about me. I can't imagine what he'd write, but I bet it will be a good one! Can you tell we're getting one each others' nerves?
Today was a very mellow day. We woke up in the Center Point hostel knowing we'd have to move to our new home for three days - the Sea Point hostel. I went for a nice 4-5 mile run around the streets of Barcelona, down by the Mediterranean Sea, and had a great time. We had a good breakfast - free in most hostels we've stayed at - and packed our bags for a 10am checkout.
We decided to walk instead of taking the Metro. Partly because we are travelling cheap and partly because it's good exercise and also because it's a great way to see the city. Never mind that we were carrying a 5 liter bottle of water and a bag of a dozen or more oranges. It's just fun to walk and see the sights!
Our new hostel is very nice. Right on the beach, located close to lots of restaurants and two supermarkets, it's about as convenient as you can get. It's pretty clean and has free wireless Internet and even a kitchen with refrigerator (shared by everyone in the hostel).
After arriving checking in around noon, we spent the afternoon on the beach. I did some reading and Abel walked around. I also went for a swim. The water is pretty cool, but I got used to it after a little while. The sun is very direct here. I had my shirt of for maybe an hour and got pretty red. I guess that's what sunscreen is for! I brought some along and have only used it on my face so far.
This evening we went to the market, made some dinner. Abel cooked a pizza and I ate fruit, bread, and juice. We plan to hit a local restaurant for some authentic food tomorrow night. We also had a nice conversation with a couple named Brendan and Kath from Melbourne, Australia. They are touring Europe, so we shared tips about places we've been.
Speaking of Abel giving my things away, last night he gave away his free Internet access card to a young lady at the hostel (notice the 'young lady' theme?) because he doesn't need it. Wireless access for his computer is free. Trouble is, if you want to use the hostel's computers, you have to pay after you've used up your 20 free minutes. Abel gave away his 20 free minutes (on a card) before even asking his good old dad if he might want them. You see, I have to use the hostel computers a lot because Abel is on his computer so much when we are at the hostel. It didn't even cross his mind that I might interested in having his free minutes. When I commented on this incident, along with his giving away my map of Paris, his reply was something like this: "Well, in the first case it was something of yours that you didn't need any more and in the second case, it was something of mine that you wanted. In both cases, it was OK." That's typical Abel logic.
I better be careful. I guess Abel is writing up a journal article about me. I can't imagine what he'd write, but I bet it will be a good one! Can you tell we're getting one each others' nerves?
Abel's Journal #3 - Day 4
So they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For some reason, today we managed to also make it the only meal of the day. Now yes, we are trying to travel on a budget, but I would have thought that cutting 2 out of 3 meals would be going a bit far. Almost like something that the city administration of Duluth would propose. But the Wombat's City Hostel has converted me, at least for one day, to being a one-meal man.
Some hostels have a free breakfast, which means that the price is built in to your night's lodging. Wombat charges 3.50 Euro (just shy of $5) for the most substantial breakfast I have ever encountered. First of all, breakfast is held in the downstairs WomBAR. In my experience, anytime you stumble out of bed and eat breakfast in a bar, you just know it is going to be a great day. To explain my enthusiasm over Wombat's breakfast, I feel obliged to set a little background by reminding you that a typical continental breakfast at an American hotel consists an assortment of dry cereals, which are invariably Raisan Bran, Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, and, if you have really hit the jackpot, Fruit Loops. Your other breakfast choice is white toast with little condiment packets, which are invariably honey, butter, and jelly. Similar to Henry Ford's early cars, you can have any flavor jelly you want, as long as it is grape. For beverages, you have milk and juice. The juice dispenser has two sides, one of which says "Orange Juice." The other side says "Your Favorite Kind of Juice EVER, Which You Desperately Crave Right Now," BUT it has a Post-It on it that says "Out of Order...Sucker." The milk used to be a hearty skim, but after aggressive dilution, it now tastes like diet paint thinner. Anyways, although it does not take much to impress me with a hotel/hostel breakfast, Wombat's breakfast was simply stellar.
A sign said that it was all-you-can-eat buffet, and I followed those instructions quite literally. There was coffee, orange juice, and milk for beverages, so I had a glass of each. An abundance of food was arranged on a tabletop that was draped in a white tablecloth. I was quite impressed with the classy presentation until it dawned on me that under that tablecloth was a sheet of plywood. And under the plywood was WomBAR's pool table. This, however, did not stop me from gorging on the sumptuous feast that had been laid before me. I made a bee-line for the croissant sandwich rolls (the kind that are hard on the outside so that you end up with flaky crumbles all over your lap) because I am a sucker for good bread. I adorned my sandwich with slices of real salami, ham, and Swiss cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes. My final creation rivaled anything Dagwood has ever even dreamed of. Instead of cold cereal, there was oatmeal granola with craisans and raisans, along with yogurt to add to it. I topped off my plate with canned peaches and pears. I seriously considered adding a cup of the pear syrup to my meal as a 4th beverage.
After several repititions of this process, I waddled out of the WomBAR, and made it back to my 2nd floor room by way of the elevator. At this time, my dad informed me that he would like to go to the English Garden, that it is a long ways away, and that we are walking. Perfect. Actually, the English Garden was perfect. It is in the middle of the huge and bustling city of Munich, and it is at least several hundred acres. Maybe millions, I am not sure. I do know that it is about twice as big as New York's Central Park. It is mostly woods, with intermitant rolling green clearings the size of several football fields. There is also a medium-sized lake at one end of the park. It is filled with elegant white swans, and you can rent paddleboats with which to chase them. In between the clearings and throughout all the woods, there are winding cobblestone pathways and winding rivers and waterfalls. This place is as serene as it is enormous. Out of the kindness of their hearts, the good people of Munich decided to put beer gardens at several spots on the edges of the park (plus one large one right in the middle) just to be sure that no one goes thirsty.
Now there are a couple things that I saw along our walk to, through, and from the English Garden that are a bit baffling to me. First of all, there is some kind of fashion trend that is growing in popularity with the male Munichers (Munchens? Munchkins?). It is a vest that looks for all the world like fishing apparel. Anyone who wears that in Northern Minnesota is either on their way to a lake, or coming from one. These vests are tan, green, or some other earthy color. They have several pockets of varying sizes on each half of the front, and are often worn either fully unbuttoned, or only half-buttoned. What seems strange to me about these vests, for starters, is that no one is fishing. Apparantly the Munchkins just think that they are a cool style. Secondly, the pockets are not being used. See, a Minnesotan would pack those pockets chock full o' mini Planar tackle boxes, spools of fishing line, pliers, a stringer, and a lutefisk hotdish. But a Munchkin is content with the pockets' simple existence on his clothing, never giving thought to their intended purpose. However, I cannot be too harsh on these men, for the hey day of cargo pants in America was only a short time ago. I am still not sure why they were considered cool. Maybe male humans thought that increasing their appearance of utility would therefore increase their chances of attracting a mate. "Hey baby... You look like you need some help carrying that suitcase. Lucky for us both I have this suitcase-sized pocket here on the side of my leg."
Another thing that caught my eye was a large sculpture near a street corner in the city. Now, it is not out of the ordinary in Munich to see a ridiculously ellaborate sculpture, fountain, or some other ornate piece of art on the side of the street. But what made this one stand is that it was not ornate, not beautiful, not clever, and not even attracting the attention of the tourist cameras. All it was was big and ugly, sitting on a street corner. It was a red circle about 40 feet tall. The only thing this giant red "O" is actually doing is catching pigeon poop. So I started to theorize about the hows and whys of the presence of such an eyesore in the center of a city so known for its beautiful architecture. Theory number one is that when they held the 1972 Olympics in Munich, someone accidentally made six rings for the Olympic logo, instead of the necessary five, and, being German, they were too practical to let anything go to waste. Theory number two is that someone at Kool-Aid (Munich branch) had the idea to start a revolutionary ad campaign that utilized 40-foot steel letters. Unfortunately, they never got any further than the "O," because Kool-Aid Corporate cut their funding before they could construct the subsequent "YEAH." Speaking of Kool-aid, I have always thought that if I owned a demolition company, the first thing I would do is paint the wrecking ball to look like the Kool-Aid Man. Imagine that thing busting through your wall. Oh YEAH!
Well this latest journal installment is taking forever to get nowhere, so I'm going to call it a night. I am on an overnight train to Paris right now, and after a long day of eating and walking, I am ready to hit the hay. I am pretty excited to see the sights of Paris. I hear that the food and shopping are the best in the world. I still am not hungry, thanks to the omnipotent Wombat bar breakfast buffet, so I am not really in the mood for food. As for shopping, I may have to pick me up one of them fishing vests. Paris chicks dig those. Oh YEAH!
Some hostels have a free breakfast, which means that the price is built in to your night's lodging. Wombat charges 3.50 Euro (just shy of $5) for the most substantial breakfast I have ever encountered. First of all, breakfast is held in the downstairs WomBAR. In my experience, anytime you stumble out of bed and eat breakfast in a bar, you just know it is going to be a great day. To explain my enthusiasm over Wombat's breakfast, I feel obliged to set a little background by reminding you that a typical continental breakfast at an American hotel consists an assortment of dry cereals, which are invariably Raisan Bran, Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, and, if you have really hit the jackpot, Fruit Loops. Your other breakfast choice is white toast with little condiment packets, which are invariably honey, butter, and jelly. Similar to Henry Ford's early cars, you can have any flavor jelly you want, as long as it is grape. For beverages, you have milk and juice. The juice dispenser has two sides, one of which says "Orange Juice." The other side says "Your Favorite Kind of Juice EVER, Which You Desperately Crave Right Now," BUT it has a Post-It on it that says "Out of Order...Sucker." The milk used to be a hearty skim, but after aggressive dilution, it now tastes like diet paint thinner. Anyways, although it does not take much to impress me with a hotel/hostel breakfast, Wombat's breakfast was simply stellar.
A sign said that it was all-you-can-eat buffet, and I followed those instructions quite literally. There was coffee, orange juice, and milk for beverages, so I had a glass of each. An abundance of food was arranged on a tabletop that was draped in a white tablecloth. I was quite impressed with the classy presentation until it dawned on me that under that tablecloth was a sheet of plywood. And under the plywood was WomBAR's pool table. This, however, did not stop me from gorging on the sumptuous feast that had been laid before me. I made a bee-line for the croissant sandwich rolls (the kind that are hard on the outside so that you end up with flaky crumbles all over your lap) because I am a sucker for good bread. I adorned my sandwich with slices of real salami, ham, and Swiss cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes. My final creation rivaled anything Dagwood has ever even dreamed of. Instead of cold cereal, there was oatmeal granola with craisans and raisans, along with yogurt to add to it. I topped off my plate with canned peaches and pears. I seriously considered adding a cup of the pear syrup to my meal as a 4th beverage.
After several repititions of this process, I waddled out of the WomBAR, and made it back to my 2nd floor room by way of the elevator. At this time, my dad informed me that he would like to go to the English Garden, that it is a long ways away, and that we are walking. Perfect. Actually, the English Garden was perfect. It is in the middle of the huge and bustling city of Munich, and it is at least several hundred acres. Maybe millions, I am not sure. I do know that it is about twice as big as New York's Central Park. It is mostly woods, with intermitant rolling green clearings the size of several football fields. There is also a medium-sized lake at one end of the park. It is filled with elegant white swans, and you can rent paddleboats with which to chase them. In between the clearings and throughout all the woods, there are winding cobblestone pathways and winding rivers and waterfalls. This place is as serene as it is enormous. Out of the kindness of their hearts, the good people of Munich decided to put beer gardens at several spots on the edges of the park (plus one large one right in the middle) just to be sure that no one goes thirsty.
Now there are a couple things that I saw along our walk to, through, and from the English Garden that are a bit baffling to me. First of all, there is some kind of fashion trend that is growing in popularity with the male Munichers (Munchens? Munchkins?). It is a vest that looks for all the world like fishing apparel. Anyone who wears that in Northern Minnesota is either on their way to a lake, or coming from one. These vests are tan, green, or some other earthy color. They have several pockets of varying sizes on each half of the front, and are often worn either fully unbuttoned, or only half-buttoned. What seems strange to me about these vests, for starters, is that no one is fishing. Apparantly the Munchkins just think that they are a cool style. Secondly, the pockets are not being used. See, a Minnesotan would pack those pockets chock full o' mini Planar tackle boxes, spools of fishing line, pliers, a stringer, and a lutefisk hotdish. But a Munchkin is content with the pockets' simple existence on his clothing, never giving thought to their intended purpose. However, I cannot be too harsh on these men, for the hey day of cargo pants in America was only a short time ago. I am still not sure why they were considered cool. Maybe male humans thought that increasing their appearance of utility would therefore increase their chances of attracting a mate. "Hey baby... You look like you need some help carrying that suitcase. Lucky for us both I have this suitcase-sized pocket here on the side of my leg."
Another thing that caught my eye was a large sculpture near a street corner in the city. Now, it is not out of the ordinary in Munich to see a ridiculously ellaborate sculpture, fountain, or some other ornate piece of art on the side of the street. But what made this one stand is that it was not ornate, not beautiful, not clever, and not even attracting the attention of the tourist cameras. All it was was big and ugly, sitting on a street corner. It was a red circle about 40 feet tall. The only thing this giant red "O" is actually doing is catching pigeon poop. So I started to theorize about the hows and whys of the presence of such an eyesore in the center of a city so known for its beautiful architecture. Theory number one is that when they held the 1972 Olympics in Munich, someone accidentally made six rings for the Olympic logo, instead of the necessary five, and, being German, they were too practical to let anything go to waste. Theory number two is that someone at Kool-Aid (Munich branch) had the idea to start a revolutionary ad campaign that utilized 40-foot steel letters. Unfortunately, they never got any further than the "O," because Kool-Aid Corporate cut their funding before they could construct the subsequent "YEAH." Speaking of Kool-aid, I have always thought that if I owned a demolition company, the first thing I would do is paint the wrecking ball to look like the Kool-Aid Man. Imagine that thing busting through your wall. Oh YEAH!
Well this latest journal installment is taking forever to get nowhere, so I'm going to call it a night. I am on an overnight train to Paris right now, and after a long day of eating and walking, I am ready to hit the hay. I am pretty excited to see the sights of Paris. I hear that the food and shopping are the best in the world. I still am not hungry, thanks to the omnipotent Wombat bar breakfast buffet, so I am not really in the mood for food. As for shopping, I may have to pick me up one of them fishing vests. Paris chicks dig those. Oh YEAH!
Sunday, May 31st (Day 8)
I've finally discovered my favorite thing about Europe. It's the cereal spoons. I've long been frustrated by our small cereal spoons. I'm sitting in the breakfast area in our hostel in Barcelona, and I've just finished eating cereal, toast with jelly, an apple, lots of juices, and a cup of tea. I was most impressed by the size of the cereal spoons. I'd say they are 2-3 tablespoons in size. I get frustrated at home eating cereal with a tablespoon, to say nothing of a teaspoon. These are my kind of cereal spoons! I even celebrated by having a bowl of the European equivalent of Cocoa Krispies. I would never do such a thing at home, but here it seemed OK.
Time to write about yesterday. We arrived in Barcelona after an all night train ride in recliner chairs. It wasn't the best night's sleep ever, but it was OK. We stopped for 90 minutes at a small station called Port Bou and waited for the next train. While waiting, we had breakfast in a small cafe. It was bacon, sausage, fried eggs, and very good bread. A good substantial breakfast that would sustain us through most of the day.
From Port Bou we hopped on the train for a short ride to Barcelona. Unfortunately, the train was delayed along the way for a couple hours, so we arrived in Barcelona later than expected and didn't make it to our hostel (Center Point) until about 3pm or so. It's fun navigating the train stations and Metros. Abel claims that he is in charge and I'd never make it through these places without him. I'll let him think that. The truth is that his legs are so long that I have trouble keeping up with him. Plus, he commandeered the map in Paris and wouldn't relinquish it until we were leaving and he gave it to a nice looking European woman on rollerblades. I informed him that it was MY map, but that didn't seem to trouble him at all!
We had a few opportunities to walk around Barcelona. It's a very nice city. Wide streets, very clean, and just a very comfortable feeling here. We weren't feeling real energetic, so it was a pretty slow day. We walked to a market to get some groceries and had sandwiches for dinner. We also bought a bag of oranges and five liters of water. We payed E1.5 for 5 liters of water. We've payed twice that much for a half liter in some tourist traps. Location is everything! I should get in the habit of carrying five liters of water in my backpack. If I get desparate for cash, I can sell it for a big profit!
Our hostel (Center Point) is very nice. It's right in a nice downtown area. It's very clean, has lots of nice comforts (Internet, foosball, large screen TV), and feels very safe. There are families with children here, and senior citizens, but mostly young folks in their 20s. My biggest complaint is the size of the shower in our room. My feet are one foot long, so they are good for measuring things. I measured our shower at less than two by two feet. Imagine what happens when you drop your soap on the floor. I did that more than once!
Saturday, May 30th (Day 7)
I'm sitting in a little restaurant in a train station in PortBou, Spain. We just spent all night on a train from Paris and we are waiting for our connecting train to Barcelona. Instead of couchettes, we had reclining chairs for this trip. I definitely prefer the couchette. The train chairs are a little more spacious than airline seats, but it's still a recliner and not a bed.
It's the start of a new day (Day 8), but I must first begin by recounting yesterday. It was our last day in Paris and more relaxing than the first two. We woke up in a hostel (Le Village) in an area called Mont Marchet (Mountain Market). It's filled with shoppers during the day and is on a pretty steep hill. The hill leads up to a church which is one of the top 10 sights in Paris - Sacre Coeurs (Sacred Heart). I started my day with a jog/walk up the hill to this church, which has one of the most spectacular views of Paris other than the Eiffel Tower. There were only a couple of people around in the early morning, and the remains of an apparently huge party were everywhere. The church is a huge dome cathedral with marvelous green statues outside.
We had a good French breakfast (hard roll with butter, croissant with jelly, milk, cereal, orange juice), packed up our bags, and left them in storage while we expored Mont Marchet and Sacre Coeurs. By the time we got back up to the church, it was buzzing with people, musicians, street vendors, etc. We walked through the church, which was typical Catholic. Dark, mysterious, spooky, and solemn. We spent quite a bit of time enjoying a harp player who also had CDs for sale. We also sat by a guy playing guitar and singing familiar songs.
We picked up our luggage at the hostel and carried it with us the rest of the day. This is when packing light comes in really handy! It would have been a long trip back to the hostel to pick up our luggage, so we took it with us, knowing that we wouldn't be doing a tremendous amount of walking today. We hopped on the Metro and went to the Eiffel Tower. This 1000 foot structure is massive and impressive. There is a very nice park around it and thousands of people. We spent a few hours just lounging and napping in the park in close view of the tower. A great place to people watch - or people listen. I enjoy hearing the many different languages being spoken as people mozy by.
One thing I've noticed about France is the low profile and relative absence of bathrooms. I'm becoming convinced that people in France rarely need to go to the bathroom. At a tourist location of this magnitude in the US, you'd have a huge, prominent building with large signs pointing to the bathrooms. You wouldn't be able to miss them. I went out in search of a bathroom and found only one small, coin operated unit that didn't work. For Abel, this isn't a big problem. But for a 51 year old guy, going to the bathroom is a more frequent event in life. It wasn't until a few hours later, on the way out of the park, that we noticed the bathrooms. They were underground, like a metro station, and still surprising very small for an attraction of this size.
We moved from the Eiffel tower to Napoleon's Arc Triumphon. This was about a half mile hike through town. It's a pretty spectacular monument build by Napoleon in the 1600s to commemorate his many victories. The most interesting thing about this place was the difficulty we had getting to it. The arch is surrounded by a circle drive, kind of like a roundabout but bigger. The traffic is moving really fast and weaving in and out at a remarkable pace. Once in a while, a group of brave tourists would run across the road and narrowly escape being run over by the chaotic traffic. There were five or six lanes of traffic on this circle. Surely all those people under the arch didn't get there this way? Or maybe they did and they've been trapped there for days? We walked around for a while and finally discovered stairs leading to an underground passage to the arch. The travel book told us all kinds of interesting historical facts about the arch, but failed to tell us how to get there.
After the Arch, we took the Metro for the last time to the train station. We stopped at a very nice park for an hour or two to kill some time and relax. This idea of killing time has been a refreshing change to me. At home, I usually have 50 things to do and time for about 10 of them in any given day. On this trip, though we've been busy, it's been a self-imposed busy-ness with significant down time. Nice! We were both starving so after the park we stopped at a street vendor who cooked us up a nice salad, steak burger (we ordered chicken, but he didn't speak English), and fries. I don't know how classical French this meal was, but we didn't really care. We were both famished! Besides, they were FRENCH fries. We walked by a McDonalds in our search for food and I'm ashamed to admit that we were both so hungry that we had desparate thoughts that we might have to eat there! A big Mac super sized combo meal was about $9.
We then waited at the train station (Abel gave away our map of Paris to a young lady who asked for directions) and boarded our train for the overnight trip to Spain! Wow! Another country! Another language! Another adventure!
It's the start of a new day (Day 8), but I must first begin by recounting yesterday. It was our last day in Paris and more relaxing than the first two. We woke up in a hostel (Le Village) in an area called Mont Marchet (Mountain Market). It's filled with shoppers during the day and is on a pretty steep hill. The hill leads up to a church which is one of the top 10 sights in Paris - Sacre Coeurs (Sacred Heart). I started my day with a jog/walk up the hill to this church, which has one of the most spectacular views of Paris other than the Eiffel Tower. There were only a couple of people around in the early morning, and the remains of an apparently huge party were everywhere. The church is a huge dome cathedral with marvelous green statues outside.
We had a good French breakfast (hard roll with butter, croissant with jelly, milk, cereal, orange juice), packed up our bags, and left them in storage while we expored Mont Marchet and Sacre Coeurs. By the time we got back up to the church, it was buzzing with people, musicians, street vendors, etc. We walked through the church, which was typical Catholic. Dark, mysterious, spooky, and solemn. We spent quite a bit of time enjoying a harp player who also had CDs for sale. We also sat by a guy playing guitar and singing familiar songs.
We picked up our luggage at the hostel and carried it with us the rest of the day. This is when packing light comes in really handy! It would have been a long trip back to the hostel to pick up our luggage, so we took it with us, knowing that we wouldn't be doing a tremendous amount of walking today. We hopped on the Metro and went to the Eiffel Tower. This 1000 foot structure is massive and impressive. There is a very nice park around it and thousands of people. We spent a few hours just lounging and napping in the park in close view of the tower. A great place to people watch - or people listen. I enjoy hearing the many different languages being spoken as people mozy by.
One thing I've noticed about France is the low profile and relative absence of bathrooms. I'm becoming convinced that people in France rarely need to go to the bathroom. At a tourist location of this magnitude in the US, you'd have a huge, prominent building with large signs pointing to the bathrooms. You wouldn't be able to miss them. I went out in search of a bathroom and found only one small, coin operated unit that didn't work. For Abel, this isn't a big problem. But for a 51 year old guy, going to the bathroom is a more frequent event in life. It wasn't until a few hours later, on the way out of the park, that we noticed the bathrooms. They were underground, like a metro station, and still surprising very small for an attraction of this size.
We moved from the Eiffel tower to Napoleon's Arc Triumphon. This was about a half mile hike through town. It's a pretty spectacular monument build by Napoleon in the 1600s to commemorate his many victories. The most interesting thing about this place was the difficulty we had getting to it. The arch is surrounded by a circle drive, kind of like a roundabout but bigger. The traffic is moving really fast and weaving in and out at a remarkable pace. Once in a while, a group of brave tourists would run across the road and narrowly escape being run over by the chaotic traffic. There were five or six lanes of traffic on this circle. Surely all those people under the arch didn't get there this way? Or maybe they did and they've been trapped there for days? We walked around for a while and finally discovered stairs leading to an underground passage to the arch. The travel book told us all kinds of interesting historical facts about the arch, but failed to tell us how to get there.
After the Arch, we took the Metro for the last time to the train station. We stopped at a very nice park for an hour or two to kill some time and relax. This idea of killing time has been a refreshing change to me. At home, I usually have 50 things to do and time for about 10 of them in any given day. On this trip, though we've been busy, it's been a self-imposed busy-ness with significant down time. Nice! We were both starving so after the park we stopped at a street vendor who cooked us up a nice salad, steak burger (we ordered chicken, but he didn't speak English), and fries. I don't know how classical French this meal was, but we didn't really care. We were both famished! Besides, they were FRENCH fries. We walked by a McDonalds in our search for food and I'm ashamed to admit that we were both so hungry that we had desparate thoughts that we might have to eat there! A big Mac super sized combo meal was about $9.
We then waited at the train station (Abel gave away our map of Paris to a young lady who asked for directions) and boarded our train for the overnight trip to Spain! Wow! Another country! Another language! Another adventure!
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