chamonix

after varenna, we continued on our relaxation binge by spending 3 days in chamonix-mt-blanc, france. for me, it was good to be back in france. chamonix is located at the base of one of the largest mountains in the alpes, mt. blanc. the drive to chamonix consisted of mountain views that take your breath away.

unfortunately, our first night in chamonix we had to do boring things like laundry. but laundry time turned out to be a sort of happy hour. we made friends with some canadians from BC (joel and laura i think), met some brits who broke the coin machine (they made a hasty escape), and waited for the laundrette owner to come fix it with some americans (randy and dave). turns out, randy did a bike ride across america - the same one that jonathan did several years ago - . it's a small world. randy was a great guy who kept us entertained with very colorful stories about every girl he met and seduced while on the bike trip as well as every person who died on the trip. who knew laundry could be so fun?

our second day in chamonix we decided summit the mountain. well not really, at least go halfway. we took a gondola ride up to the middle (do not go if you have any fear of heights), and hiked/walked across a ridgeline. we had breathtaking views of mt. blanc, the chamonix needles, as well as some of the glaciers (called mer du glace or sea of ice). we sung songs from the sound of music. we returned to the base of the mountain via rack-and-pinion train. it was all so very alpine that i wished i owned a pair of liederhosen.

our last day in chamonix we decided to go conquer the mountain. 2 gondolas took us on a crap-your-pants-and-make-peace-with-God ride to about 4000 meters. it was really cold. the views literally took your breath away (the air was thin). we had a panoramic view over chamonix, the valley, and several other mountains. my brother the geologist, courtney, would have loved it (don't worry, mom, we took lots of video). it was really amazing to look out over these mountaintops and wonder why God made this stuff so beautiful. it really was awe-inspiring. after the initial shock of where we were, we explored some. we found the place essentially where mountaineers took off for their summit of mt. blanc. it was really fun to watch them with all their gear: their crampons and ice axes; their caribeaners and climbing ropes. i really don't know of a place like this in the US where novices like us can get so up close and personal with mountaineers. it really didn't look all that bad as long as you had the necessary gear. it actually looked really, really, really fun. it made me think that i might want to try it sometime. i might look into doing something like this stateside. let me know if you want to come too.

in my opinion, chamonix is a must if you like nature or awe-inspiring-take-your-breath-away views. we'll have to go back in the winter when there is more snow and skiing! stay tuned for our next post on the mystical community of taize, france. until then....au revoir.

siena x2 and varenna on lake como

hello friends and family! yes, we are still alive and kicking, although we have been unplugged for a while. let me catch you all up on our adventures....

after florence we had 2 free days to go wherever we wanted in Tuscany. rather than venture to a new location, we thought it best to return to Siena because we loved it so much. our 2 days there were full of good food and fun. on the good food front, we found an amazing sandwich shop with a view over Il Campo. we liked it so much we ate there both days for lunch. similarly, we found a quaint little osteria with narrow tables perched precariously on a very slanted hill. we liked it so much that we ate there both nights. on our second night, we shared a table with Jason and Amanda Phillips. turns out that they were Christians from Indiana, and we had a really good meal with them talking about church, community, and how far away they were from Zionsville where my cousin Becky lives (turns out they knew it....)

on the fun front, we did several things. first, siena is composed of many neighborhoods. the days that we were there just happened to be a celebration of the phoenix neighborhood. a little old italian man tried to explain it to me (in italian of course). from what i gathered, every 40 days each neighborhood takes turns celebrating their neighborhood...the phoenixes like parades so they had a parade about 5 times each day for the two days we were there. pretty neat.

the other fun thing that we did was attend a real italian soccer game. siena vs. milan and it was insane. italians are fiercely proud of their wine, their country, and soccer. we got tickets and got in line to enter the stadium. first observation: italians have no concept of lining up - they just push as hard as they can to get to the front. in fact, we would still be standing in line if we didn't allow ourselves to join in the mayhem. we finally got into the stadium and the game had already begun. second observation: the ushers/ticket takers are not there to do their job, they are there to watch the game and you can only ask them for help when the game is not being played. we had no idea where to go, but after a lot more pushing, we finally found our seats. third observation: italians will squat in whatever seat is empty - you get there late, you have no seat. we stood for the first half of the game next to a very friendly, drunk, chain-smoking italian guy. this guy felt like welcoming us by explaining things to us since we were out of towners. he would start with "youa speaka eenglish? va bene..." and then continue in italian. his fly was down, and he wore a shirt that said "**ck what i say." what a heartthrob. ladies, i think he's single. the game ended in a tie and there was just as much pushing to get out of the stadium and begin singing songs and chants for your particular team. what a cultural experience!

after siena, we made our way to lake como which happens to border switzerland. the lake is kind of shaped like a person. we called varenna, the right hip, home for 3 days. varenna is a quiet fishing village with pretty much nothing to do. it was great. we stayed in an old hermitage with a commanding view of the town and the lake, visited a lovely garden, read a lot, and kept our eyes peeled for george cloony (he lives on lake como...sadly, no george, but we did find out where he lived and for a small price, i may tell you). bellagio, located right in the crotch, is supposed to be the pearl of the lake. our 1 visit there was hilarious. we had a nice lunch and then they skies opened up in a torrential downpour that turned to hail. we got so soaked that i jonathan took a picture of me looking like a drowned rat ringing out my skirt. so romantic! despite the moist day in bellagio, lake como was a perfect last stop in italy as well as an experiment to see how low we could get our pulse.

Back on the road

Hello again. We are back in Siena now (you'll get the full story later) and we're doing our best to get you all caught up again.

From Orvieto we were reunited with our car, which we decided to name Flash. It was a good feeling to be back driving again. I realized that for myself, the car is the one environmental constant that we have, so it is sort of like home to me.

We had a short drive to Assisi, home to St. Francis and the basilica that honors him. Driving up to the city, you see the basilica on one side and can't help but be impressed by the enormity of it. What is also noticeable, and becomes much more so as you walk through the town is that Assisi is on a large incline, and the whole town sits on the hill sloping from one side to the other. Our hotel room was at the low end of the hill, so sightseeing included a good workout for our legs.

St. Francis was a very interesting man, whose ideas Sara and I really appreciated and respected. He was quite counter-cultural. In those days, since the church was such a political as well as religious institution, being a priest also brought some measure of power and esteem with it. St. Francis intentially eschewed priesthood as he sought to build a "lower brotherhood" of monks who were not part of the priesthood. St. Francis was actually part of the elite growing up, the son of a wealthy fabrics merchant. But he turned his back on all of that, stripping himself naked in front of his father and the town and proclaiming God as his only true father, leaving a privileged lifestyle behind. Franciscan monks all take a vow of poverty as part of their vows. It reminds me of the story of the rich ruler who Jesus asks to sell all his possesions to follow him, except in this story, the ruler obeys and follows Christ. His story was really interesting and inspirational to both me and Sara.

From Assisi we headed off to the cultural mecca of Florence. As opposed to Sara's post on Rome, you will be getting the short version of the sights. Being back in a big city we were again greeted with wonderful Italian city drivers. Thankfully I have no problem practicing offensive rather than defensive driving, so we made it through to our hotel without so much as a honk or dirty look.

Florence is the home to many museums, historical sights, and items of cultural importance. We were feeling a bit burned out after Rome and after being on the road for so long, so we decided to focus on only the two major sights that Sara wanted to see. One was the Michelangelo's sculpture of David, in Galleria dell Accademia, and the other was the Uffizi Gallery, which has a vast collection of paintings including Botticelli's Birth of Venus (the one where Venus is standing in a in the clam shell).

We went to Accademia first and I have to agree, David is really quite impressive. David was sculpted by Michelangelo when he was just 26 years old. He was given a piece of marble that had been ruined by another sculptor, and he was able to create David out of that. Pretty amazing. Here's another note that I didn't realize, and helped me as a non-art savvy person. Many of you art buffs will know that David is not proportionally correct, that is, his head and hands are too large for his body, and his arms are too long. This is because the sculpture was originally meant to be displayed high up, with the viewer situated below. Michelangelo compensated for the fact that the head etc. would be farther away from the viewer than the legs etc, and would thus appear smaller. He made those parts of the body larger so that when viewed as intended, David would appear proportionally accurate. Pretty cool huh? The other startling thing is that the sheer scale and detail on the sculpture. David is huge, standing 17 ft tall (thanks Wikipedia) and Michelangelo captured such details as a vein that is visible running from his bicep down across his forearm (anatomically correct according to Sara). David was something that even I could really appreciate.

After David we made our way down to the Uffizi gallery. I feel obliged to offer a bit of advice for anyone of you ever planning on visiting these sites. Call ahead for reservations. Both Accademia and Uffizi run on a reservations system... else you have to wait in a LONG stand by line and hope for no-shows. Believe me when I say you do not want to do that. Those people did not look like happy campers. With the reservations, getting in was a breeze. Just show up about 10 minutes before your reservation and you are good to go.

Ok... back to Uffizzi. It was certainly an impressive building. It is a huge U-shaped building set right on the Arno river with views of the Ponte Vecchio bridge and the Duomo. We opted for the audio guide here, which at least helped me to see some of the progression in the paintings as we progressed chronologically. The artists' use of both perspective and expressions on the subjects faces grew more sophisticated over time. Sara I'm sure could give you pointers about lots more stuff... she especially enjoyed the aforementioned Botticelli's Venus as well as one of her favorite paintings, his 'Primavera'. I think the one thing that stood out to me was Michelangelo's "Holy Family" (I guess I like Michelangelo.... who knew). In it he depicts Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. But unlike his contemporaries, Mary is much more active and realistic looking, not the stoic and 'angelic' Mary seen in many other works. And the infant Jesus is not just sitting in her lap, but rather is climbing over her shoulder to get to Joseph. I can't even really say exactly why, but I just liked this painting.

The icing on the cake of Florence was our final dinner. We decided to just wander down some of the smaller alleyways to find a more off the beaten path sort of restaurant. Our efforts were rewarded. We found a great little restaurant that seemed to fit the bill. Our waitress was just great, really warm and welcoming. The food was excellent. Sara got the riboletta, a thick soup made with beans, spinach, bread, and olive oil... a Tuscan specialty. I got a thin steak and sauteed spinach. Sara finished with flan and I had panna cotta. All in all, a really wonderful meal... another one of our top three, and a must if you are visiting Florence.

Well... that's all for now. Thanks for hanging in with me.

Hasta la bye-bye to Rome

Our last morning in Rome entailed navigating the mass transit system in their version of Grand Central Station. The line at the ticket booth was quite lengthy, and our train was scheduled to leave in 15 minutes, so we decided to use the automated ticket machine... thankfully they have an English option. Even so, once we got our tickets we were less than confident that we had done everything correctly. The tickets we had were much smaller and looked very different from the tickets we had used to get to Rome, and for that matter, much different than the tickets that everyone else in the train station seemed to be holding.

With not a lot of time to get help, we decided to just go with it, and hopped on the train that we thought was headed to Orvieto, where our car and night's lodging awaited us. Nervously waiting for the train conductor to come by (and tell us we were either on the wrong train, or had the wrong tickets), we poured over our guide book in the section about train travel. Again... the ticket in the book looked nothing like our ticket.

All our fears turned out to be unfounded however, as the conductor came by and accepted our tickets without batting an eye. I think we even got the "Nazionale" rate instead of the foreigners rate! So thank God, we made it back to Orvieto without incident.

We were staying in Orvieto for the night because due to our constantly evolving plans, we had accidentally skipped a night when booking rooms ahead, so we had a one night gap between our room in Rome and our room in Assisi. We figured our car was already parked free in Orvieto, and we were in no rush to get to Assisi, so we'd check out that town for a day. And boy were we glad we did.

Orvieto is a small Tuscan town known for its ceramics and its salami. Sara probably appreciated the ceramics more, and I'm sure that I appreciated the salami more. As it turns out, apparently we are on the festival tour, as we keep on arriving in town while there are big parties/celebrations going on. Orvieto's festival consisted of various performers doing there thing in the town squares around town. There were acrobats, drummers, jugglers, clowns etc. So we enjoyed watching one of the clowns do his schtick as we had a nice outdoor lunch on the main piazza.

Regardless of the festival, Orivieto is a wonderfully charming town on its own. It is another picturesque hill town with narrow cobblestone streets and lots of quaint, old town feel. There were a lot of little stores for window shopping and the aforementioned ceramics were neat to peruse through. Because it is built on a hill, there were some really awesome views. We found a park that is high up on the hillside and provided some great expansive views of the Tuscan countryside, which looks just like you would imagine them to. Rolling hills, vineyards and other plots of land clearly marked out across the countryside. Very pretty.

After a nice siesta nap, we were both ready for dinner. We found what would turn out to be one of our top three favorite restaurants to date. The ambiance was just right. It had soft lighting amid the wonderful stone walls and arches, and the natural wooden tables and chairs. There was relaxing, if a little bit new agey, music playing in the background. The only thing we would change would be perhaps the removal of the somewhat creepy 'mardis gras-esque' dolls that were positioned high along the ceiling.

The dinner itself was scrumptious. All the food was great, the bread being especially yummy (we asked for seconds). Orvieto is also known for its white wines, of which we enjoyed a bottle (much more than the half carafe that we usually split). I assert that it was more than just the wine that caused us to have a particularly liesurely and relaxing dinner. A wonderful end to an unplanned, but extremely enjoyable day in Orvieto.

The next morning we were woken around 7 am by the the banging sounds of construction, as the hotel we stayed in was in the midst of a major renovation. A bit earlier than we would have planned, but that was not enough to taint our experience and fond thoughts on Orvieto.

rome day 2 and 3

Disclaimer: we have no idea how this contraband picture of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel might have been taken.

hello again friends and family. i'm continuing and finishing our post on Rome and will try to spare you some of the artsy comments. our second day in rome was full. we went to the Vatican and had a full day of St. Peter's basilica as well as the Vatican museum.

St. Peter's basilica was amazing. but before you go in, you have to pass the "modesty police" - they make sure that your shoulders and knees are covered. after waiting in line for so long, some people were turned away for having shorts or tank tops. there were posters everywhere so you think they would have known....anyway, we passed our modesty test and then went through what was like airport security. thankfully, we got there so early in the morning our wait was about 10 minutes total and then we were in!

St. Peter's is one of the most impressive churches on earth. it is also one of the largest - there are markers in the middle of the nave that show you where the next-largest churches would fit inside. the highlights of this for me were Michelangelo's Pieta and Bernini's starburst dove window at the alter. Unfortunately, the Pieta was behind bulletproof glass after some crazy tried to shoot at it, but i was able to get pretty close and get some pictures without glare.

the Vatican Museum was like running a marathon. the highlight here was Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel as well as Raphael's School of Athens. the museum also has an impressive collection of Egyptian and Mesopotamian art (complete with a real mummy preserved amazingly in her coffin - creepy but cool). of course, most people come for the Sistine Chapel so the museum kind of makes you walk through all the other stuff as a sort of crowd control. after about 2 hours we finally reached the School of Athens (jonathan has a great pic of me which he'll try to post). after that, it was about another hour to the Sistine Chapel, but it was worth it. it's been amazingly restored and there is nothing like seeing it in real life. in case you didn't know, these paintings are frescoes. a fresco is technically not a painting as the color is mixed into the plaster when it is wet basically fusing the paint with the plaster and making it a part of the wall. to make it more difficult, michelangelo had to complete these works on the ceiling. imagine lying on scaffolding with paint dripping on you for 4 years as you complete one little patch of the ceiling at a time. it was amazing. although photos are allowed in other parts of the museum, the company that restored the Sistine Chapel made a deal with the Vatican that forbids any pictures, videos etc. of the Sistine Chapel.....er, however if you turn the flash off of your camera and hold it on your guidebook at waist level, you can still capture this amazing work of art....

our last day in Rome was an ancient Rome day. this is what i had really been looking foward to. i took several classes on ancient Rome - one class was called the Roman Forum and all we did was study architectural plans of Italian forums and compared them to the Forum at Rome. poor jonathan. he was a trooper and willingly listened to me as we walked through the Colesseum and the Roman forum. i won't bore you with the details as you too may be experiencing an "art hangover" but we were able to walk on basalt stones that were the same stones that Cesar himself walked (june, you will be glad to know that i still remembered my piece from English class where we had to memorize that bit from Shakespeare's play...of course jonathan looked at me like i was mad when i started reciting it). other highlights included the grave of julius cesar, the temple of the Vestal Virgins and the House of the Vestal Virgins, columns leftover from the Temple of Saturn. if you want more detail, let me know as we have lots of pictures and notes on what we saw....i know, i'm a dork.

after a long day of walking around and rediscovering the past, we were pooped. our last evening in Rome culminated in an amazing dinner at a place recommended in our guidebook. we really have come to appreciate the way italians treat their meals as experiences....something to enjoy over hours at a time. well, we spent about 3 hours enjoying our last dinner in Rome. it was a great way to wrap up such a whirlwind time. Rome is a crazy city with too much to do and little down-time, but if you're an art/history nut like me, it's a must. you can do what we did and savor some more downtime for Tuscany....our next stop.

things we've learned....

good morning faithful readers! as jonathan is suffering from what i like to refer to as "museum hangover" we thought we would take the morning to discuss some things we have learned while in europe. we hope that you find these amusing and that you can make your own list when you take your own whirlwind vacation someday....

1. COFFEE - coffee is better in europe than anywhere else. yes, this means that european coffee is better than starbucks. in fact, european coffee makes starbucks look like sludge. and starbucks doesn't serve their coffee in those cute little espresso cups that they use in europe. do yourself a favor and just come over for 1 cup of coffee and you will be a changed person.

2. THE EURO - one euro does not equal one dollar. even though the euro system is in similar denominations, that does not mean that is equal to one dollar. the euro, even though it may look like monopoly money, is not monopoly money. you can pretend that the euro is equal to one dollarhowever, be prepared for a shock when you check your bank statement online.

3. CROISSANTS - croissants taste better in France. we think that croissants should only be made in France because they just taste like bread everywhere else. you can order a croissant in other countries, but it will only taste like a croissant if it is made in France. we think that if the French really knew the power of their croissant they would patent it or something and make a killing on tourists coming to eat croissants.

4. EUROPEAN DRIVING - jonathan may have already touched on this, but let me reiterate that italians are bad drivers. additionally, europeans drive really small cars. believe it or not, there are cars even smaller than a smart car here - we like to refer to them as roller skates. these cars make those mini coopers look like an SUV. i wonder what europeans think when they come to the states and see the cars we drive....hmmm....think of that the next time you get into your surburban.

5. ITALIAN FOOD - there really are pizzarias on every street in Italy - yes! even in the small towns. and yes, even in spain and france. italian pizza is everywhere! pizza is an obsession here just as it is at home. italians also seem averse to international food. you are hard pressed to find a restaurant that serves something other than italian food. how can we be sick of italian food, you ask? well, if you eat pasta every lunch and dinner for about 2 weeks you will also be sick of italian food. i think jonathan is turning into a gnocci.

6. SIESTA or the 3 HOUR LUNCH - call it whatever you want, but the siesta (in Italy and Spain) and the 3 hour lunch (in France) is brilliant. towns really shut down from 12:30 until about 3:30 or whenever they feel like getting back to work. we love the siesta and we are going to start a movement to bring it to the states.

7. LANGUAGE BARRIER - speaking English with an accent will get you farther than you think! charades also go a long way - just ask jonathan to demonstrate when we get home. and when in doubt, use as many romance languages as you can at the same time. we had a delightful Latin American meal at a restaurant in Florence, Italy and i ended up speaking a combination of Spanish, English, and Italian - and it worked! and if you don't know how to say "thank you", just do as jonathan does and say the word "beautiful" instead - the nice cashier ladies will still smile and give you your change.

8. AMERICAN TV - american TV in other languages is funny. reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 in spanish are pretty hilarious. and it's creepy because Jessica Fletcher sounds kind of sexy when Murder She Wrote is dubbed into italian.

when in rome....

hello! sara here to update our faithful family and friends on our travels. disclaimer: this post is the first of many that will include lots of reflections and opinions on historical art and architecture because i have a degree in art history, and i like reflecting on historical art and architecture. if you don't like reading about my reflections or opinions on what i spent 4 tedious and years of blood, sweat, and sleepless nights learning about and studying (i.e. historical art and architecture) go read something less stimulating. people.com is a good start. end disclaimer.

as jonathan said, our time in siena was heavenly. i highly recommend at least two nights in siena if you are ever in italy. we are so thankful to have a great guidebook which guided us to NOT drive in rome. instead, we decided to park in the quaint town of orvieto (which had free parking!) and train it into rome for a mere 12,00 euros each. this was definitely the way to go as our hour train ride took us through the beautiful tuscan countryside and right into the termini train station in the center of rome.

we found our hotel pretty easily and took it easy for the afternoon. it was back to the guidebook for a night walk through rome which started out at the Campo di Fiori. we had a great dinner at Magnolia where we had an American waitress (Julianne) from East Lansing, Michigan. we learned a lot about Roman/Italian culture from Julianne. Julianne told us she knew we were Americans right away because it was cold and Jonathan was wearing a North Face fleece. apparently only Americans and Canadians wear those types of things. if we wanted to blend in she said we needed to wear leather. hmm. she also told us that Jonathan could order the girliest drink they offered - with sparklers and umbrellas and fruit in a tall pink glass - and he would still be considered macho in Italy. who knew? but even after Julianne's pep talk, Jonathan still ordered a beer. thanks again, Julianne, for our introduction to Rome. we wish you all the best on your botany degree!

after our colorful dinner we began our walk. in my opinion, Rome is best at night. there is something magical about the way it looks after dark. anyway, our walk took us from Campo di Fiori through the Piazza Navona where there were lots of street painters and musicians. unfortunately, the 4 rivers fountain by Bernini which is located in the piazza was being worked on. from there, we weaved our way to the Pantheon. yes i did spell it correctly - the Pantheon is in Rome, the Parthenon is in Athens. if you don't know what the Pantheon is, go look it up. the Pantheon was constructed in the 1st c. AD (i think). it has a perfect dome that is 142 feet high and wide. even the renaissance guys couldn't figure out how to build a dome this well so the powers-that-be in Rome gave Brunelleschi permission to cut into the dome to see how it was constructed. (if you don't know who Brunelleschi is, shame on you! go look him up too.) across from the Pantheon is also the nicest McDonald's i've ever seen in my life. moving along from the Pantheon we saw an Egyptian obelisk which was taken from Egypt by Augustus after his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra. we then watched the secret service escort some important Italian cabinet members back to their home (i think they thought we were tailing them for a while - don't worry, mom, we didn't get arrested). after a near brush with the law, we found our way to the Trevi Fountain by Nicola Salvi. now i am not a Baroque fan. in fact, i usually detest Baroque art and its way of being too over the top and flashy, but this fountain, in my opinion, redeems the entire Baroque period. if you love Baroque, you'll love this fountain. if you're like me, go see it anyway, but go see it at night. legend has it that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain it means you'll return to Rome soon. our walk ended at the Spanish steps which was good because i was tired of walking. unfortunately, the metro from the Spanish steps was broken so we cabbed it back to the hotel. day 1 in Rome was complete.

Mamma Mia... We're behind in our posts

We've fallen a bit behind on our posts so I will try and catch you up to where we are today, which is Rome.

We last left you in Torino where we had a pretty low key day. The following days would also be filled with rest and relaxation, along with some great views and some hairy driving.

From Torino we left for Corniglia (pronounced Cor-Nee-Lia). Corniglia is on of the Cinque Terra... that is 'the 5 towns'. These towns each a short distance from each other sit in a remote region of the Italian Riviera. They are each quaint and tiny seaside towns with breathtaking views of the oh so blue Ligurian Sea. Corniglia is the only one located high up on a cliff which only added to the views.

Upon exiting the autostrada, the roads to the Corniglia got very tiny, and very curvey. At one point we weren't sure if we were even on a road anymore, or if it was just a cobblestone sidewalk. We had to pull in our mirrors for a little kink in the road that forced us between two houses. After much burning of the clutch, and literally inches of clearance on either side we slipped through. That's when a little old grandma came out to watch, standing right behind the car while we were on a pretty severe hill. I don't think cars are supposed to go through here, and we may have been the first one she had ever seen slip through that crack. In any case, we rejoined the main road after a short stretch and were back on our rollercoaster ride to Corniglia. I think penny may have steered us wrong, but for all the help she's been, I'm not complaining.

As already mentioned... the views to and in Corniglia were awesome. Our room, while a little small, was clean and bonus - had a view out over the town and out to the ocean. We spent the next couple days hiking on trails between each of the towns and exploring each town. Very relaxing. One final note... while Corniglia was very quiet and relaxing most of the time... beware of Tuesday mornings - what I can only assume is recycling day.

6:40 am - recycling truck rumbles up the one road in town and begins emptying the 7 glass bottle recycling dumpsters... there is no way anyone in town could sleep through this
7:00 am - small church bells chime seven times
7:03 am - large church bells ring for about 2 minutes straight
7:04 am - roosters start crowing

After our two days in Corniglia, which we thoroughly enjoyed... we left for Siena. Siena had been a rival city to Florence back in the day until the plague wiped out a third of its population. It never quite recovered its status after that, but we found it all the more charming due to its small, manageable size.

We had accommodations lined up at a convent in town (how cool is that!). We rolled into town after a rainy drive and began our quest for parking. Parking in Europe is a bit hit or miss, and generally costs you between 9 - 15 euros a day. There was no parking in sight as we neared the convent. We circled a couple times and were starting to get a bit discouraged. However, just when hope seemed to be lost, one of the FREE parking spots opened up and we pounced on it (Thank You God!). Siena is famous for having what some consider the best piazza in northern italy. There is also a large gothic cathedral in town that is quite stunning due to what some may consider gaudy use of different color marbles to create a white and green striped interior and exterior.

I agree with the assessment that the piazza is impressive. It's huge and is slightly slanted, ampitheater style, so people just sit themselves down on the cobblestone and hang out. I enjoyed more than one gelato relaxing there. In the piazza is the city hall, which has a huge tower some 10 stories tall tacked on top of one end of the building. We spent much of our time just wandering the small streets windowshopping. The old town of Siena where we were staying is just one restaurant and shop after another in between the major sites. It was another relaxing time and some much needed rest as we prepared ourselves for Rome, which we were sure was going to be a whirlwind.

Well... you're pretty much caught up to where we are now. Just some thoughts about our trip thus far. First off, Sara and I feel very blessed to have this opportunity to travel like this, and we are aware that the Lord has provided for us at every turn. We have been healthy and safe which is a blessing in itself. We have had wonderful accommodations along the way, and many pleasant surprises in that department. We have transitioned through three different languages (four if you count China) and have been holding our own. We haven't gotten lost, nor have we lost any of our luggage/stuff etc. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and your prayers. We think and pray for all of you at home, and as much fun as we are having, we miss you all a lot every day.

Until next time... Ciao

I'm Not Alone

So... I've noticed something during my time to date traveling around europe. A lot of europeans have wrist injuries. I have noticed no less than 10 other people in the last two and a half weeks that have also been in wrist casts. Seems to me like a disproportionately high number given the time that we've been traveling.

Another side note before I take you back to our travels. This should give you an idea of what europeans think about americans. The other day in Arles I got "The American" for dinner. The American is a 14 inch hogie loaded with steak an piled high with fries on top of the steak. Add ketchup and/or mayo.

Ok... back to our travels. From Arles we "set sail" for our first day in Italia. We had a lenghty five and a half hour drive to Torino as we left Arles. As you all know, Torino (also known as Turin) was the site of the last winter olympics in 2006. Anyway, we were looking forward to another somewhat grueling time in the car, just getting from point A to point B. Boy were we pleasantly surprised. We had to cross the Alps to get to Italy, and it provided some truly breathtaking views... the best we'd seen to date. Huge mountains all around us. On top of that we passed through a little town that was situated on a high lake in the alps. The water was so blue, and while perhaps a little bit touristy, the surrounding town looked so quiet and relaxing. It made me wish we had not had reservations in Torino. If you are ever traveling to the area, this would be a must on your itinerary (I'll update the post later with the actual town name).

Torino itself was a bit uneventful, but there was one thing that was a bit of a rude awakening. Italian drivers are crazy. Sara likes to say that lane markers are suggestions, not rules. They don't seem to think anything about just meandering between lanes in the curves. Allow me to illustrate. We had just gotten into town, and were already a little bit stressed out as penny was leading us all over the place (sometimes she has a way of taking us down little side streets instead of the main roads). We pulled up alongside another car that was waiting at the light. It was a three lane road. By the time the light turned green, we were lined up five across... that's right. Two cars had just decided that there was enough room for them, lane or not, and pulled on up.

Sara spent much of the afternoon making reservations for our stays in Italy. She is a real trooper I tell you. Even though she had no prior experience with Italian, she powered through and got us places to stay in Corniglia, Siena, and Rome. Without her, I'd be staying on park benches and eating McDonalds all across europe.

The next day was somewhat of a day off, as I was feeling pretty sketchy due to a surprise allergy attack and thus didn't really feel up for running around to all the olympic sites. Even so, I would say we had a pretty good day. We spent the afternoon relaxing in a park in the center of town. I took a nap while Sara read and people watched.

We were heading out for a quick dinner, intending to return back to the hotel to rest up for the next day. However, we struck up a conversation with Ralph and Denise while waiting for our table, and ended up sharing a table with them. Ralph and Denise are from Toronto Canada, and have taken a trip to Europe every year for the last 20 years. Pretty cool huh. We each got a pizza and enjoyed some good conversation. We got to tell them about China, and our upcoming itinerary, and they shared with us all sorts of ideas for this trip and future trips. At the end of the evening they asked us where we were staying, and would you believe it, we were booked at the same hotel. So we strolled back together before calling it a night. Really a delightful evening.

Two other random side notes before I let you all go. First... it turns out that beer is a good treatment for my allergies, as I had a beer with dinner and my symptoms cleared right up (sara tells me this is not the first time this has happened). Also... I really like the way they serve cafe latte in Torino. They serve you a little cup of espresso, and give you a glass of frothy milk. You combine them yourself. Don't know if it adds to the flavor, but it added to the experience for us. Just a neat little quirk.

vive la france still.....arles

hello again! we are reliving the memories of our trip to arles as we write this post. arles is an amazing city for many reasons. arles is in the provence area of france so you have a sort of country feel that permeates the city as well as it's food. arles was once home to vincent van gogh - he painted the majority of his works - about 200 total - while he was in arles, as well as the home of another famous painter, paul gaugin. one day in the light of the city and you know why these 2 artists called arles home for some time. arles also has a bit of ancient history as well - it houses an ancient roman ampitheatre as well as a decaying roman forum. and let's not forget the bull games as well....

our home for our 3 days in arles was the Hotel Voltaire. if you go to arles, consider staying here. we had a cozy little room with a balcony that opened to a view of a cute square and the old roman ampitheatre one block away. it was a perfect way to relax. now i know why people travel to provence and don't come home.

the food was amazing, we slept with the windows open, there were cafes on every corner beckoning you to just drink some coffee and read a book......but one of the highlights of our trip to arles was the bull games.

the bull games are held in the old roman ampitheatre. now this is NOT a bull fight. there are no swords or dying animals. instead, small ribbons are tied to the horns of the bull. the bull is announced and paraded into the center of the ring. then about 20 young guys in all white taunt the bull so that it charges one of them. instead of side-stepping the bull like a matador, they get as close to the bull as possible without getting gored for a chance to snatch one of the ribbons off of its horns. if they snatch a ribbon, they get some points as well as lots of bragging rights. if they get too close or if the bull comes too fast, they just catapult over the wall like it's no big deal. and you thought you had some cool hobbies. i am sure that all of these dudes have no problem getting the ladies, let me tell you. after a while the bull gets tired so it's apparently easier to get the ribbons. sometimes the bull is just ticked and snorts, drools, paws the earth, and bangs his head into things. if he's REALLY peeved, he runs full speed at the wall, jumps over it, and causes the spectators just outside of the ring to jump INTO the ring. if they don't have time to jump into the ring, then the spectators hide out behind these semi-walls that the bull can't go behind because he's too fat. jonathan and i were lucky enough to be sitting in the first row of "safe" seats, right behind the little spectator wall thingys. we were up by 1 row from the action, yet i still almost peed my pants when the bulls jumped the wall. if the bull does something cool they play that song from the opera "Carmen" and the bull gets points. suffice it to say, it was crazy!

overall, we left with mixed feelings. at first, the whole thing was really cool. but after a while, we started to feel sorry for the poor bulls. they looked kind of stressed out. some of them drooled a lot. and who knows what they do to get them all riled up - maybe it's just their instincts, but who knows. the game for each bull only lasts about 15 minutes, but some of the bulls seemed more scared than others. the guidebooks all assure you that these bulls are well taken care of and that they all die of old age, but we still felt kinda bad for the poor things.

the next day was pretty relaxing. the highlight was running into another traveler from the states. we shared a great dinner with jim. we found out that he was from palo alto, loves bike touring, and has had an amazing career in the medical field. he shared a lot of great stories with us and even paid for our meal! thanks again jim! we hope to see you again sometime back in the states or on another one of your adventures.

vive la france...carcassonne

bonjour encore! although we are in siena, italy at the moment we realize that we are horribly behind on our posts. so let me take you back in time to a little medieval town in france called carcassonne. i don't know a whole lot about carcassonne. i never studied it in school so i will just give you my unbiased impressions. the city is awesome. it's like disney world for the big kids except the castle is REAL. the city is separated into two parts: the new town aptly named because it's -duh- new. then there is the medieval part of the city. it's completely surrounded by a moat and 2 layers of city walls. you'll remember this place if you grew up in the 90's and watched the robin hood starring kevin costner. yeah, they filmed it here.

we walked along one of the outer walls, around the ramparts, and then into the heart of the city. our guide book said that one of the 4-star hotels had a private garden with incredible views. we took advantage of it's open door policy and made ourselves at home. the garden was immaculately sculptured and a terrace allowed for an amazing view of the chateau inside the castle as well as the old city. i'm sure that this is where kevin costner stayed when they were filming. after feeling like a movie star, we re-entered the "real world" outside the hotel. this place really makes you feel like a big kid. big towers, courtyards, and little cobblestone roads make you feel like you are in a real life fairy tale. we took advantage of this special place and got lost wandering the streets. after roaming around aimlessly we realized that we had actually seen it all. as we walked towards the exit/entrance, we saw 3 people setting up for something that looked interesting. we had no clue what to expect, but we decided to hang around. i sat in one of those slits in the wall where you can pour hot oil down onto your enemies. then the show began. disclaimer: i know this may sound dorky, but believe me it was cool. it was a guy playing an accordian singing into a microphone that was hooked up to a megaphone. as he was playing/singing, 2 other people identically dressed -think mimes without the face paint-were pantomiming the words to his songs as a sort of theatre/dance. it was really french.

it was a full day. we took a stroll from our hotel to explore the new town, and we ate dinner in a small town square. i inadvertantly ordered fish which turned out to be calamari. sweet jonathan traded me and i ended up eating a traditional french meal called cassoulet. it's a lovely mixture of white beans, lamb, duck, and duck fat. i know that last part sounds unappetizing, but duck fat is amazing. besides the food, the highlight of the evening was watching a dog thoroughly enjoy himself by swimming in the fountain in the center of the square. the french really love their dogs. i think i've found my home. until next time...which should be in about 2 minutes....sara

Back to France

After an enjoyable three days in Oviedo, we were ready to get back on the road. Our destination was a beachy town just back into France, St. Jean de Luz. On the way however, we wanted to give the Guggenheim in Bilbao a proper visit, not just the drive by we had had a few nights earlier.

In Bilbao we parked the car at the local mall and walked over to the museum. As you approach it, you are greeted by a huge "sculpture" of a dog, made entirely out of flowers. It stands about three stories high and is pretty impressive. The story goes that it was originally supposed to be displayed at the museum just for the opening, and then it would tour; but the people of Bilbao just couldn't let it go and insisted it join the permanent collection, so it did.

We took gobs of pictures of the museum from every angle. The museum itself is an architectural piece of art. It is made out of titanium and incorporates many fluid lines giving it a feeling of motion. As neat as I thought it looked, it was Sara who could really appreciate its artistic significance.

From Bilbao we had an uneventful drive to St. Jean de Luz (thanks penny). As we rolled into town, we saw that every Tues night they have a Pelote match and some display of Basque culture. Pelote is sometimes referred to as Hi Li... it consists of two, three person teams who use large scooped basket type "gloves" to throw a hard ball off a wall. Each team alternates shots until one misses or hits it out of bounds. It's sort of hard to explain but it was a lot of fun to watch.

After walking along the beach for a little while we headed off to the Pelote courts. When we first arrived at the match, we were told that we could purchase English instructions. As neither of us really had any idea how the game was played, we thought that it would be well worth the one euro price. We purchased the program from an old, beret wearing Frenchman at the gate. He told us we would get along great seeing as how we spoke "American". It turns out that he spent a number of years in the US working as an engineer. He even spent some time in Virginia.

As I said, I found the match very entertaining to watch. But almost as much fun, if not more, was that the program seller mc-ed the event, singing french songs and telling jokes in between points. Sara took a bunch of videos of him, and I think she has a not so secret crush on him which I'm sure she'll deny. The match ended 35 to 29, after which there was a dance troop for our entertainment. It appeared as though they were still working out the kinks in their program, so after watching a few dances, we snuck out between acts and headed back to the hotel for a good nights rest.