Oh man! Go to budapest! We spent an awesome four days there and there was so much to do it was mindblowing!
I'm not sure how up to date any of you are on euro weather....but it has been f&%§ing hot! In fact, most people are saying it's been the hottest summer on record. Ever. Budapest was no exception. It was sweltering...dc humid! Hungary is on the end of a long flat plan that extends from the Russia's western border from the Urals and on the other side are the Alps, so although generally very mild, it is not uncommon for weather systems to get stuck, as it were, before making it over the mountains to Austria, hence the hot hot heat and humidity. DC, I know you've been roasting the last couple days....it was about the same temperature here, with no ac =( Needless to say Mike and I enjoyed regular afternoons naps!
There are some great museums in Budapest and the opera house is really gorgeous, but I was super interested in the history!
So the Hungarian empire used to be massive but after WWI (they were the baddies) Most the of the territory was taken away, so they went from being one of the biggest euro powers with tons of coastal territory to an itty bitty land locked state. They were also invaded by the Nazis after a huge siege and then the Nazis and the soviets fought a massive battle for Budapest at the end of WWII, so the city has been blown to smithereens a number of times -although- and this is a tribute to Hungarians, they always rebuild it exactly the same! So there are these beautiful Gothic and Romanesque buildings that are only 60 years old bc they had to be rebuilt. The Hungarians were then oppressed by the commies for another 40 years - they have the highest suicide rate in europe and I blame the Russians!
Somehow though, the people are lovely and friendly and super eager to make you like budapest as much as they do. We went on a super awesome segway tour of the city (donations are currently being accepted for my pwn personal segway) and our guide, Aggie, was keen to show us the beauty of historical budapest, and she did a great job. I was super keen to ask her about the fall of the commies...she is my age, so she had sort of spotted memories. But some of you may be surprised to learn that her older relatives (according to her) are nostalgic to communism. She explained that they felt there was more dignity then. Keep in mind, that although they didn't have freedom of speech, they did have a place to live and food and fuel to keep warm in winter, none of which is guaranteed now. Perhaps it is because of the 50 years of oppression, but Hungarians take their democracy very serriously. Parliment is mostly repected and they aren't above confidence votes if they aren't happy with government, although they have had the same PM for 7 years, he has had to form almost as many governments!
Hungarians are a little bit desperate for you to taste their wine and sing it's praises, it is delicious and you should! They do so many things, music, art, architecture, wine so well it seems as though they are keen for the rest of us to acknowledge it!
Although the entire trip was fantastic, I think the most important thing we did was go to the secret police museum. It is housed in exactly the building where the secret police work from and the exhibits are incredibly chilling. It covers the horrific parts of Hungary's recent history. In one particularly moving video memory, a gulag survivor tells of how the men were starving and given barely enough calories to survive. They were forced to work 12-18 hours a day and at one point he said to the soviet guards, if you just gave us a little bit more we would be able to work twice as hard for you. The guard replied...we don't care about the work, we just want to torture you. There were also personal accounts of the great rape....although most of the (elderly) women broke down much before that point. Essentially, hundreds of thousands of Hungarians were hauled off to work camps by the Russians and less than 500 ever returned....to this day there are disproportionate numbers of men and women. Although it was quite gruesome and unpleasant, it was also fascinating and I firmly believe it is one of those places that I think everyone should go to.
There are also some awesome places in the city - its wicked old - and we were able to tour underground caves and secret passage ways in and out of the castle, which doesn't exist anymore! They even built a hospital in the cave systems during WWII so they would be able to continue treating people...another very cool exhibit.
I think perhaps the most surprising thing about Budapest was not the delicious wine, but the delicious food. I was quite expecting not to like it as meat meat meat potato potato potato...but what they did with it...YUMMY!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Down the coast....and back again!
We arrived in Sorrento via ferry and were greeted with a stunning cliff face! The city rises straight from the sea with no foreseeable way up. Luckily for us there were buses! Our hotel was charming and right in the center of the little town and I do mean little. Much of it has been pedestrianized and so we were able to walk without the normal italian fear of being knocked unconscious by a moped.
We went to pompeii, which is now crossed off my bucket list and climbed mt. vesuvais! Pompeii was really spectacular, it didn't take an active imagination to see how the city would have been 2000 yrs ago. Our guide was excellant and he made sure to point out not only the numerous bars, but the equally numerous brothels! Inside the whorehouses-they had frescos which served as menus and depending on which menu you were into that was the room you entered...brillant! However, as pompeii is an open air musuem, most of the good stuff had been sent to the Natioanl museum in Napoli, so it really is a bunch of ruins....really really cool well preserved ruins. They had plaster casts of bodies that had the expressions of terror still frozen on their faces, it was very touching.
Climbing the volcano was awesome....although I was a little afraid it would blow...this has been the longest period of inactivity in thousands of years and so it was an entirely unfounded fear! It was a perfect clear day and because it's right on the bay there was a perfect breeze!
Sunday was our day of rest and I spent mine laying in a beach chair on a dock in the medd. It was perfect and I felt much rejuvinated! I know I'm on holiday....but as most of you know, traveling is exhausting!!
Today, monday, we took a train to Napoli...which turned out to be more eventful that we'd hoped! About halfway, the engine died and we had to switch trains...luckily there was another waiting, but the train was much more crowded than when we'd boarded and so it was a struggle to fit us and our packs! I was really looking forward to the National Museum, where most of the Pompeii treasures are housed, but...stupid Naples has a stupid strike and we couldn't go in...I'm gutted. There is of course a silver lining...as I was asking the police officer (note: I DO NOT SPEAK ITALIAN!) where the museum was he started talking....I said to him (in italian) I don't speak Italian to which he smiled and nodded and motioned me closer and repeated whatever it was he had just said more slowly and loudly...I wonder if that's where Americans get it from. Anyway, it sort of worked bc I recognized the french word for strike and as I looked around it was obvious that was what was going on.
Disapointed as I was, Mike suggested, we search for the 'best pizza in Naples' as reccomened by my gf D in rome. I was excited...we had been let in on a local's secret! We were walking down this cozy street and there it was...Sorbillo! To be honest, it wasn't quite what I was expecting-which was a dirty tiny mom and pop shop with a menu only in Italian. Instead, it was a clean charming cafe with signs out the front saying BEST PIZZA IN NAPOLI! THE ONLY ORIGINAL SORBILLO IN NAPOLI etc etc. The pizza was, however, excellant, as attested to by all the travel guides and newspaper articles on the shelves.
Tomorrow we're off to Budapest, which according to Lonely Planet is more urban than Vienna and more romatic than Prague...I'll keep you posted!
xxx
We went to pompeii, which is now crossed off my bucket list and climbed mt. vesuvais! Pompeii was really spectacular, it didn't take an active imagination to see how the city would have been 2000 yrs ago. Our guide was excellant and he made sure to point out not only the numerous bars, but the equally numerous brothels! Inside the whorehouses-they had frescos which served as menus and depending on which menu you were into that was the room you entered...brillant! However, as pompeii is an open air musuem, most of the good stuff had been sent to the Natioanl museum in Napoli, so it really is a bunch of ruins....really really cool well preserved ruins. They had plaster casts of bodies that had the expressions of terror still frozen on their faces, it was very touching.
Climbing the volcano was awesome....although I was a little afraid it would blow...this has been the longest period of inactivity in thousands of years and so it was an entirely unfounded fear! It was a perfect clear day and because it's right on the bay there was a perfect breeze!
Sunday was our day of rest and I spent mine laying in a beach chair on a dock in the medd. It was perfect and I felt much rejuvinated! I know I'm on holiday....but as most of you know, traveling is exhausting!!
Today, monday, we took a train to Napoli...which turned out to be more eventful that we'd hoped! About halfway, the engine died and we had to switch trains...luckily there was another waiting, but the train was much more crowded than when we'd boarded and so it was a struggle to fit us and our packs! I was really looking forward to the National Museum, where most of the Pompeii treasures are housed, but...stupid Naples has a stupid strike and we couldn't go in...I'm gutted. There is of course a silver lining...as I was asking the police officer (note: I DO NOT SPEAK ITALIAN!) where the museum was he started talking....I said to him (in italian) I don't speak Italian to which he smiled and nodded and motioned me closer and repeated whatever it was he had just said more slowly and loudly...I wonder if that's where Americans get it from. Anyway, it sort of worked bc I recognized the french word for strike and as I looked around it was obvious that was what was going on.
Disapointed as I was, Mike suggested, we search for the 'best pizza in Naples' as reccomened by my gf D in rome. I was excited...we had been let in on a local's secret! We were walking down this cozy street and there it was...Sorbillo! To be honest, it wasn't quite what I was expecting-which was a dirty tiny mom and pop shop with a menu only in Italian. Instead, it was a clean charming cafe with signs out the front saying BEST PIZZA IN NAPOLI! THE ONLY ORIGINAL SORBILLO IN NAPOLI etc etc. The pizza was, however, excellant, as attested to by all the travel guides and newspaper articles on the shelves.
Tomorrow we're off to Budapest, which according to Lonely Planet is more urban than Vienna and more romatic than Prague...I'll keep you posted!
xxx
Roma
I was gutted to learn that it is actually much cheaper to fly between european capitols than it is to train it...so thats what we did. After a speedy 160 kph ride to the airport from Paris we boarded a plane to Rome. Now, Paris is crazy, romantic, and beautiful. Rome is crazy, romantic, and chaotic!
We stayed in the old part of the city, very close to the spanish steps and Trevi fountain. Although it was crawling with tourists, we were able to find some lovely eats down the side streets....and the wine....yummy!
Day one we had a wander, admired the fountain, the steps and the city in general, we got lost a few times, but who doesn't? Day two we went to the colluseum and the forum-we had pretty good guides to point out the important ruins, but as it was roasting hot (35/95) we mostly stood in the shade and he pointed stuff out from underneath the trees! Day three I defied logical sense and ventured to bring Mike to the vatican. Again, it was incrediably hot and the first 2 hours in the musuem I thought I might melt...keep in mind I am not overly heat sensitive but jesus christ!
The collection is spectacular, as well it should be given how much they've plundered over the years and our giude was quite good. To be fair though, I was quite dismayed when on the musuem tour he skipped right over a room full of Chagall's in favor of some others....I however, paused =)
Mike, was mostly well behaved, although he did say things like, 'is it really a good idae to bring children here?' in the direction of a family with lots of little boys...but I don't think they were english speakers, whew! In the basicalla he did a few naughty things-but didn't get caught so we I can safely say we didn't get thrown out...which as some of you know was a risk I took that day! We also met up with some friends of mine in Rome, D and C whom I had met in france in 2003! We had dinner, drinks, and lots of laughs as Mike questioned them insessently about Papal interference in Italian politics!
The day we were due to leave, there wa s train strike. So, instead of being able to jump on the metro, we ahd a to take a cab. Then, instead of taking the cheap train for ten euro, we had to take the euro star. Of course, we didn't work that out until we'd missed a number of cheap trains to naples. Luckily we finally made it to Napoli, where we boarded a ferry for sorrento for the weekend!
We stayed in the old part of the city, very close to the spanish steps and Trevi fountain. Although it was crawling with tourists, we were able to find some lovely eats down the side streets....and the wine....yummy!
Day one we had a wander, admired the fountain, the steps and the city in general, we got lost a few times, but who doesn't? Day two we went to the colluseum and the forum-we had pretty good guides to point out the important ruins, but as it was roasting hot (35/95) we mostly stood in the shade and he pointed stuff out from underneath the trees! Day three I defied logical sense and ventured to bring Mike to the vatican. Again, it was incrediably hot and the first 2 hours in the musuem I thought I might melt...keep in mind I am not overly heat sensitive but jesus christ!
The collection is spectacular, as well it should be given how much they've plundered over the years and our giude was quite good. To be fair though, I was quite dismayed when on the musuem tour he skipped right over a room full of Chagall's in favor of some others....I however, paused =)
Mike, was mostly well behaved, although he did say things like, 'is it really a good idae to bring children here?' in the direction of a family with lots of little boys...but I don't think they were english speakers, whew! In the basicalla he did a few naughty things-but didn't get caught so we I can safely say we didn't get thrown out...which as some of you know was a risk I took that day! We also met up with some friends of mine in Rome, D and C whom I had met in france in 2003! We had dinner, drinks, and lots of laughs as Mike questioned them insessently about Papal interference in Italian politics!
The day we were due to leave, there wa s train strike. So, instead of being able to jump on the metro, we ahd a to take a cab. Then, instead of taking the cheap train for ten euro, we had to take the euro star. Of course, we didn't work that out until we'd missed a number of cheap trains to naples. Luckily we finally made it to Napoli, where we boarded a ferry for sorrento for the weekend!
J'adore Paris!
God I love Paris! It was exactly as I remember, although I must say infinitely more romantic with a partner! I'm pleased to report that Mike enjoyed Paris almost as much as I did! We did all the usual things, notre dame, la tour eiffel, arc de trimophe, le louvre, d'orssay. But a few less usual things as well.
My personal highlight was the Musee De l'orangerie. It is a space sourced by Monet, specifically to exhibit his waterlillies. I literally had tears in my eyes when I walked into the first gallery. Its all natural light deflected through a skylight and the waterlillies look amazing. We also climbed up the towers of notre damen (significantly less stairs than those I've had to climb to my flat during various floods!) which I'd never done and I was finally able to pay my respects to the Lizzard King, which was memorable!
We induldged in some other truely french experiences, aside from making out all over town, which included wine and cheese along the banks of the seine as well as at the base of la tour eiffel. We also watched some fabulous buskers in the square in front of notre dame fire twirling one night...it was like magic. And oh did we eat! I love eating in Paris almost as much as I love Paris itself =)
Regrettably I don't have the words to explain my deep profound love of this city, but I'm eternally gratefuly I was able to share it with Mike =)
bisous
My personal highlight was the Musee De l'orangerie. It is a space sourced by Monet, specifically to exhibit his waterlillies. I literally had tears in my eyes when I walked into the first gallery. Its all natural light deflected through a skylight and the waterlillies look amazing. We also climbed up the towers of notre damen (significantly less stairs than those I've had to climb to my flat during various floods!) which I'd never done and I was finally able to pay my respects to the Lizzard King, which was memorable!
We induldged in some other truely french experiences, aside from making out all over town, which included wine and cheese along the banks of the seine as well as at the base of la tour eiffel. We also watched some fabulous buskers in the square in front of notre dame fire twirling one night...it was like magic. And oh did we eat! I love eating in Paris almost as much as I love Paris itself =)
Regrettably I don't have the words to explain my deep profound love of this city, but I'm eternally gratefuly I was able to share it with Mike =)
bisous
All's Well in London-town!
It is important to remember that this was my very first trip to London without being insanely hungover, and it was brillant!
We arrived in early afternoon and promptly went to meet up with one of my dear friends Z. We met in Paris and haven't seen each other since a super crazy highly memorable pamplona experience in 2005. I'm sure none of you will be surprised to hear we didn't miss a beat! She has a charming town house in Notting Hill with a very pleasant (illegal) rooftop terrace where the three of us passed a fantastic afternoon drinking screwdrivers. One of my favorite things about English summer, is that is stays light until about 10pm so afternoon generally lasts until 7.
About that time, we hopped a bus to Mike's mate's place, in Chiswick. To be fair chiswick is a bit out of town....but it is right on the water and the train station is very close....so it worked out quite well. J and H made us feel right at home and even welcomed us with a BBQ....Z came along too since she was off to birmingham the next evening and we wanted lots of catch up time! Dinner, drinks and convo were all spectacular and fun was had by all.
The next day we went back to Z's where I made yummy brunch accompained by my signature bloody mary. We had a nice slow morning and we were off! After saying goodbyes-Mike and I commenced to wandering! We had very firm plans with a strict itinary, however as often happens we got caught up in the wander and much was missed! We did in our ramblings end up at Churchills war rooms, which were very cool as they have remained virtually untouched since the end of the war.
London was a lovely mish-mash of sightseeing and catching up, as Mike spent a number of years there. His oldest friend, is a fabulous artist, and you should check him out his stuff is awesome AND he took us to a fantastic viet resto in brick lane...which is traditionally where you'd get curry...but apparently living there you get sick of it quite quickly which is understandable! He also had a fantastic rood terrace, this one legal, where we all enjoyed drinks and sunsets =)
One of my favorite London experiences was absolutely the Tate Modern...I've been a bit intrigued by modern art for awhile ( it grew from disinterest) but the Tate was fantastic! It's in an old factory so the space is spectacular, but the exhibits were really stunning....there are some pictures, look for them on picasa soon. But the highlights were defintiely the VW sculpture art and the Andy Warhols. The Warhol room begin as a total mind fuck-there is color and light everywhere-classic warhol screenprinting as wallpaper with warhol screen printing portraits behind....but once you warm up to it-it is really stunning.
Our last night in London we watched the US play Ghana and a classic english pub-I had fish and chips for dinner and then we went to a late night comedy show. The comedians were hillarious, even when they were taking the piss outta things I didn't understand, I suppose that was mostly because they hada funny accents! Late night comedy is not entirely conducive to an early start which is exactly what we had the next day boarding the euro-star to paris!
xxx
We arrived in early afternoon and promptly went to meet up with one of my dear friends Z. We met in Paris and haven't seen each other since a super crazy highly memorable pamplona experience in 2005. I'm sure none of you will be surprised to hear we didn't miss a beat! She has a charming town house in Notting Hill with a very pleasant (illegal) rooftop terrace where the three of us passed a fantastic afternoon drinking screwdrivers. One of my favorite things about English summer, is that is stays light until about 10pm so afternoon generally lasts until 7.
About that time, we hopped a bus to Mike's mate's place, in Chiswick. To be fair chiswick is a bit out of town....but it is right on the water and the train station is very close....so it worked out quite well. J and H made us feel right at home and even welcomed us with a BBQ....Z came along too since she was off to birmingham the next evening and we wanted lots of catch up time! Dinner, drinks and convo were all spectacular and fun was had by all.
The next day we went back to Z's where I made yummy brunch accompained by my signature bloody mary. We had a nice slow morning and we were off! After saying goodbyes-Mike and I commenced to wandering! We had very firm plans with a strict itinary, however as often happens we got caught up in the wander and much was missed! We did in our ramblings end up at Churchills war rooms, which were very cool as they have remained virtually untouched since the end of the war.
London was a lovely mish-mash of sightseeing and catching up, as Mike spent a number of years there. His oldest friend, is a fabulous artist, and you should check him out his stuff is awesome AND he took us to a fantastic viet resto in brick lane...which is traditionally where you'd get curry...but apparently living there you get sick of it quite quickly which is understandable! He also had a fantastic rood terrace, this one legal, where we all enjoyed drinks and sunsets =)
One of my favorite London experiences was absolutely the Tate Modern...I've been a bit intrigued by modern art for awhile ( it grew from disinterest) but the Tate was fantastic! It's in an old factory so the space is spectacular, but the exhibits were really stunning....there are some pictures, look for them on picasa soon. But the highlights were defintiely the VW sculpture art and the Andy Warhols. The Warhol room begin as a total mind fuck-there is color and light everywhere-classic warhol screenprinting as wallpaper with warhol screen printing portraits behind....but once you warm up to it-it is really stunning.
Our last night in London we watched the US play Ghana and a classic english pub-I had fish and chips for dinner and then we went to a late night comedy show. The comedians were hillarious, even when they were taking the piss outta things I didn't understand, I suppose that was mostly because they hada funny accents! Late night comedy is not entirely conducive to an early start which is exactly what we had the next day boarding the euro-star to paris!
xxx
Meeting the King & CO?
So although it's been a number of weeks....weìll carry on as if it hasn't, ok?
It was nice to be in England with Mike and visit with his parents.....don't tell him I said this ( as he gets the 'live show' he isn'tt a follower!) but it is so easy to see the connection between them all, lol. His 'mum' made a lovely dinner the first night I was there, of course he didn't tell her about the 'meat that swims' thing, so she'd made lamb lasagna....hmmm.
On day two Mike took me on one of his classic pre-gena dates. We went to this adorable village, Henley-on-thames, where Mike rowed me down the thames in a row boat =) it was all very civiliZed and romantic to be sure. Then we had lunch at this charming little french cafe, over which I was rapt until I realized a few days later that it was a chain...boo! Henley-on-thames also happens to be the town where my favorite Beatle, George settled and so we went into stalker mode and made our way up to his house....and by house I mean mansion and by mansion I mean estate. For those of you who may not have seen an estate before, it's the kind of property where you can't see the house from the road. SICK!
Day three with Mike and Fam, his parents took us to Hampton Court...home of intregiue, huge dresses, and clandistine affairs-at least is was 500 years ago! It was, at it's zenith, the most ridiculous of all the ridiculous castles stayed in by the English royal family. For those of you Henry VII fans, it was built by cardinal Wosley and became property of the King when he had 'off with his head'. Unfortunetly, it was all rebuilt in baroque style by Christopher Wren in the 18th cen-so very little remains of the original building. It can, however, boast to having the largest and oldest vine-yes vine in the world as well as the original gardens and tennis courts. To this day, you are only allowed to play on this court if you are a royal....well whoo-wee.
It was a really wonderful day and I'm so grateful that Mike's parents suggested it....after a lovely morning/early afternoon at court Mike and I hopped a train to London-town =)
xxx
It was nice to be in England with Mike and visit with his parents.....don't tell him I said this ( as he gets the 'live show' he isn'tt a follower!) but it is so easy to see the connection between them all, lol. His 'mum' made a lovely dinner the first night I was there, of course he didn't tell her about the 'meat that swims' thing, so she'd made lamb lasagna....hmmm.
On day two Mike took me on one of his classic pre-gena dates. We went to this adorable village, Henley-on-thames, where Mike rowed me down the thames in a row boat =) it was all very civiliZed and romantic to be sure. Then we had lunch at this charming little french cafe, over which I was rapt until I realized a few days later that it was a chain...boo! Henley-on-thames also happens to be the town where my favorite Beatle, George settled and so we went into stalker mode and made our way up to his house....and by house I mean mansion and by mansion I mean estate. For those of you who may not have seen an estate before, it's the kind of property where you can't see the house from the road. SICK!
Day three with Mike and Fam, his parents took us to Hampton Court...home of intregiue, huge dresses, and clandistine affairs-at least is was 500 years ago! It was, at it's zenith, the most ridiculous of all the ridiculous castles stayed in by the English royal family. For those of you Henry VII fans, it was built by cardinal Wosley and became property of the King when he had 'off with his head'. Unfortunetly, it was all rebuilt in baroque style by Christopher Wren in the 18th cen-so very little remains of the original building. It can, however, boast to having the largest and oldest vine-yes vine in the world as well as the original gardens and tennis courts. To this day, you are only allowed to play on this court if you are a royal....well whoo-wee.
It was a really wonderful day and I'm so grateful that Mike's parents suggested it....after a lovely morning/early afternoon at court Mike and I hopped a train to London-town =)
xxx
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Redcoats are Coming!
So now I'm in England and it's adorable!!
I landed on friday morning and spend my first weekend with my friend H and her fiance R. Now H & R met while H and I were traveling through Australia! Then she moved to england to be with him and now they're getting married! How cute is that!?! We had a terrific weekend and although we were all disappointed by England's terrible showing in the soccer, I managed to stay up til the end and sleep through the night....jet lag? Not this girl!
On Saturday we went for a lovely English drive through villages that look like Harry Potter could have stepped out of the door. It took me a while to enjoy it, because a regular road in England is the size of an itty-bitty side street, and the English drive like they're on the bloody autobahn! To be honest it's terrifying, then you remember that nobody wants to crash the car and you loosen up a bit! After life in the sunburnt land of oz the green of england is unbelievably refreshing! It's something you don't notice that you're missing. But my first glimpse of green had me feeling thirsty for more! Apparently it's been raining heaps in England (I hear it does that) but I've had beautiful sunny days so far-lucky lucky me!
On Saturday night we had a bit of an Australia reunion, as the mate R had traveled through oz with came out for drinks....oi was I in trouble! Two shots down and I realized I was screwed! We yanks just can't really hang when the English want to drink...even after three years in oz I was in over my head! After a long fun night came the painful morning =(
Luckily I'm a bloody mary master - J and I sucked one down and felt much better! We were able to have a leisurely morning - which I love - and then I hopped a coach (bus) to Reading (think redding) to meet up with Mike - hurray!
xx
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