Before I get into this blog today, I must tell you of a most interesting sight on our flight from Pucket to Bangkok the other night. As we approached Bangkok, we dropped out of the clouds and the sky turned upside down. We were over the Gulf of Thailand and below us were thousands of fishing boats, each with a single bright light. They were spread out randomly as far as we could see and looked like constellations spread in the night sky below us.
It's Thursday morning; we're sitting in Jen & Bruce's apartment organizing our last two days on the road, deciding which tasks we really need to finish before our return home, flight confirmation, last minute souvenirs, a couple of hours for a ski trip at Ski Dubai. Wow! Home seems like a strange thought. Seems like another life. We really haven't been home since the end of June; just a quick organizing and packing stop between Phoenix and this trip.
We've been getting weather updates from home and, to be honest, I don't really want to be there right now. The snow, rain and floods are not very appealing. We have been swimming, sweating and living outdoors for the last couple of months and that is quite pleasant. Last night we had a beautiful dinner in the garden of a nice restaurant, no jackets or sweaters. Very comfortable. This part of the world is just getting into the outdoor season because it is cool enough to go to the beach without frying. Swim-wear ads, gas barbecues in the store; just like summer at home.
Reflecting on our trip, there are some changes we will make when we do this again. Next time, we bring a laptop with us. Because of weight and security considerations, we chose to do without this trip. Although there are internet connections throughout the world, they are not always easy to find, are not easy to use because of language barriers (with people and with keyboards), can be very slow, so you are tearing out your hair and running up a bill for wait time and may not be available when you want to use them.
There is that end-of-the-day, winding down period when you are journaling in your hotel before bedtime, when it would be so convenient to put it all on the computer and organize all the emails and blogs, so you could just upload everything in a very short time when you did get connected.
We will bring a phone with an international calling plan. One of the most frustrating aspects of our trip is phones. Europe is not so bad. You can buy phone cards that work for many of the EU counties, but you still have to deal with which phones will let you use which cards to call which countries. And which phones use cash only or credit cards only.
Many counties have several different companies providing different levels of service at pay phones and you have to learn which ones work for you. Most of the time, you do your learning while you are trying to make a very critical call which can make the difference of having a hotel room for the night or having transportation in the morning. It's kind of a panicky way of learning.
We also ran into phone economics problems in some of our second world locations. We had hotel personnel who could not (would not) make calls which seemed like normal business practice to us. Calls to tour operators who hadn't shown up or calls to airlines to confirm tickets which couldn't be made because the clerk couldn't use the phone until the manager came in to approve the call. The clerk couldn't call the manager to approve the call because he didn't have the manager there to approve the call to the manager. The clerk couldn't use his own phone because calls were too expensive. The last reason we found to be legitimate because some of these people made very little money compared to the cost of a phone call.
The wardrobe held out OK for me. Gail decided she won't bring jeans next time and would bring different tops that could be washed and dried more easily. I brought all nylon and my clothes would dry overnight even in the most humid conditions. Most EU countries had laundromats, but when we got out of there it seems we could do laundry only in our room at night. We haven't seen a laundromat since Palermo, and that must have been somewhere back in 2004, or so. You can find places that will do your laundry for you, if you are going to be around long enough for them to get it back to you. For a long time I really enjoyed doing the laundry in our room at night. It seemed like such a fun little camping trip. But, it sure was nice doing laundry in a real washing machine last night. I guess the fun little camping trip chores wore out.
All of my shoes were comfortable and held up for the trip. None of Gail's shoes were comfortable. Her expensive walking shoes, podiatrist recommended, turned into a bust. Every pair she picked up along the way were blister factories. There were times I thought it would be less expensive and easier to just buy a wheelchair and go barefoot.
I was going to list some of our highlights, but I'm going to save that for another day. See you soon.
Happy travels!
Dan & Gail
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Shallow Tourist's View of Thailand
There is a lot of Thailand we have not seen; so, I can only give a shallow, big resort view of it. Pucket Island is about half way down the country's penninsula on the west coast. It has a variety of spaces, from the very large port-city of Pucket City to water-bound hamlets accessible by only plane or boat. In between are sleepy villages to non-stop rock and roll, girly-bar, red-light districted towns like Patong, where we are staying.
Thankfully, we are in a very expensive (quiet) resort on the edge of Patong Beach. It is a refuge from all the noise and glitter of town. Nightly, in one or another of the restaurants at the resort, there is some soft (read: old-folks) rock till early in the morning. Unlike uptown, where the hard rock goes all night, until the last guy has found his date for the night and the youngsters have drunk themselves into oblivion.
For reasons hinted at but not really clearly expressed, the country's political structure has allowed prostitution to flourish among a people who seem to be so nice, polite and morally uplifted. The whole Buddhist nature of the country directs it towards niceness. As an example, a Japanese tourist was murdered last week at a remote temple site and the government and press followed up with several apologies to her parents from as high as the king and admonishments to the people to keep their faith and do no harm to others.
Patong Beach is a totally tourist based town. Its streets are lined with restaurants (with great food and prices that are good, but high compared to eating in non-touristy places), T-shirt shops, tailor shops, massage shops (mostly real), trinket and souvenir shops, and about every block there is a 7-11. And the street is lined with little Tuk-tuks, the local transportation; small trucks with seating in the back. The drivers and street hawkers are SO polite. They will urge you to come in, to ride, to look or buy: but when you say "No", they say, "Thank you!" and leave you alone.
There is a local T-shirt that says: "NO! I don't want a g*$ #&^m tuk tuk ride, a new suit or a massage!" Kind of rude to my way of thinking. Sure you hear a request about twice a minute, but they are polite.
We visited a Muslim village of the people called "Sea Gypsies" Out on the edge of the sea, picture the mangrove islands which flourish along Thailand's coast. Everything is horizontal, the sea and these long, low islands. Then, these huge limestone mountains (I believe the word is schist?) rise up a thousand feet. They are lone giants, not like a mountain range. You can see several at a time, but they are spread along the horizon.
Behind one of these limestone mountains, we found a village completely on stilts. It is a complete town, with homes, stores, restaurants, schools, children in school uniforms and a mosque. We even heard the call to prayer while we in town. The history is of a couple of fishing families coming into the area from Malaysia and staying to form this community well away from threatening neighbors. No alcohol, dogs or pigs are allowed in the town.
We've done some snorkeling on coral reefs, which is beautiful. We had threatened to get our PADI certification while we were here and do some SCUBA diving, but my asthma kicked in and I'm not sure I want to be underwater and have a coughing spell. I'm not certain how that works with a regulator. Next time. The water is so clear here, and warm, that it really makes you want to be underwater.
All in all- Gail and I think Thailand is wonderful. We are so glad we didn't miss this part of the world and hope we return to see a lot more of it. We leave tomorrow for a couple of days in Dubai, then it's back to Shelton on Dec. 8th. Well, I hate to be repetitive, but it is time to head in to town for a massage. See you soon.
Happy travels,
Dan & Gail
Thankfully, we are in a very expensive (quiet) resort on the edge of Patong Beach. It is a refuge from all the noise and glitter of town. Nightly, in one or another of the restaurants at the resort, there is some soft (read: old-folks) rock till early in the morning. Unlike uptown, where the hard rock goes all night, until the last guy has found his date for the night and the youngsters have drunk themselves into oblivion.
For reasons hinted at but not really clearly expressed, the country's political structure has allowed prostitution to flourish among a people who seem to be so nice, polite and morally uplifted. The whole Buddhist nature of the country directs it towards niceness. As an example, a Japanese tourist was murdered last week at a remote temple site and the government and press followed up with several apologies to her parents from as high as the king and admonishments to the people to keep their faith and do no harm to others.
Patong Beach is a totally tourist based town. Its streets are lined with restaurants (with great food and prices that are good, but high compared to eating in non-touristy places), T-shirt shops, tailor shops, massage shops (mostly real), trinket and souvenir shops, and about every block there is a 7-11. And the street is lined with little Tuk-tuks, the local transportation; small trucks with seating in the back. The drivers and street hawkers are SO polite. They will urge you to come in, to ride, to look or buy: but when you say "No", they say, "Thank you!" and leave you alone.
There is a local T-shirt that says: "NO! I don't want a g*$ #&^m tuk tuk ride, a new suit or a massage!" Kind of rude to my way of thinking. Sure you hear a request about twice a minute, but they are polite.
We visited a Muslim village of the people called "Sea Gypsies" Out on the edge of the sea, picture the mangrove islands which flourish along Thailand's coast. Everything is horizontal, the sea and these long, low islands. Then, these huge limestone mountains (I believe the word is schist?) rise up a thousand feet. They are lone giants, not like a mountain range. You can see several at a time, but they are spread along the horizon.
Behind one of these limestone mountains, we found a village completely on stilts. It is a complete town, with homes, stores, restaurants, schools, children in school uniforms and a mosque. We even heard the call to prayer while we in town. The history is of a couple of fishing families coming into the area from Malaysia and staying to form this community well away from threatening neighbors. No alcohol, dogs or pigs are allowed in the town.
We've done some snorkeling on coral reefs, which is beautiful. We had threatened to get our PADI certification while we were here and do some SCUBA diving, but my asthma kicked in and I'm not sure I want to be underwater and have a coughing spell. I'm not certain how that works with a regulator. Next time. The water is so clear here, and warm, that it really makes you want to be underwater.
All in all- Gail and I think Thailand is wonderful. We are so glad we didn't miss this part of the world and hope we return to see a lot more of it. We leave tomorrow for a couple of days in Dubai, then it's back to Shelton on Dec. 8th. Well, I hate to be repetitive, but it is time to head in to town for a massage. See you soon.
Happy travels,
Dan & Gail
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Dear Bluecross, I'd like a change to my insurance policy.
We think we have finally determined the course of our trip. After getting to Dubai, we were convinced that we were traveled out, that we were headed home ASAP. After resting up for a few days, we thought we would continue as planned; even emailed Jan and Pete Janda to finalize our visit with them in Bangladesh. After dinner one night last week we sat down to rehash all we have done and seen. We found that everything kind of mashed together and we had difficulty differentiating where we had seen and did what. That's when we decided that we needed to save the rest of our tour for another time. We will be going home on December 8, after a couple weeks in Thailand.
We are currently at a beautiful resort in Patong Beach on Phuket Island. The water is warm- we swim every day. The weather is hot and muggy- we sweat every day. A hour of the best massage you can ever think of costs about $7.00- we get massages every day. Dear Bluecross, you currently have a max on massages per year- here's my proposal: at $7 an hour, we could get one massage every day for about fifty bucks a week; less than we pay for one hour at home. Can you change my policy to a max of one massage per day? Thank you!
We accidentally arrived here two days before the Festival of Lights. On the full moon night in November, the Thai people launch candles set in ornate floral wreathes onto the water- a river, lake or sea. Locally, they also lauch small hot air balloons with fires in them. They are made of white kitchen-garbage bags with a small frame inside that holds the opening in a circle with three spokes which hold a cup for burning material. The bag is inverted and one person holds it open as another lights the fire. As the balloon's air heats, it gradually lifts off. There are hundreds of them in the air, each giving off a soft red light until it burns out. (Dave, I thought of your ballon project that was so successful until the airport shut it down!)
The night was a fiesta! Street vendors selling great local foods. Group making the floral wreathes to sell; others with balloons for sale. We noticed that a lot of the foods-grilled corn and tropical fruits- are just like Mexico. Families were out together having wonderful parties on the beach. Local school bands and choirs performed. The party lasted well into the morning.
Well, we've got to head into town now; it's nearly time for a massage. See you soon.
Happy travels,
D&G
We are currently at a beautiful resort in Patong Beach on Phuket Island. The water is warm- we swim every day. The weather is hot and muggy- we sweat every day. A hour of the best massage you can ever think of costs about $7.00- we get massages every day. Dear Bluecross, you currently have a max on massages per year- here's my proposal: at $7 an hour, we could get one massage every day for about fifty bucks a week; less than we pay for one hour at home. Can you change my policy to a max of one massage per day? Thank you!
We accidentally arrived here two days before the Festival of Lights. On the full moon night in November, the Thai people launch candles set in ornate floral wreathes onto the water- a river, lake or sea. Locally, they also lauch small hot air balloons with fires in them. They are made of white kitchen-garbage bags with a small frame inside that holds the opening in a circle with three spokes which hold a cup for burning material. The bag is inverted and one person holds it open as another lights the fire. As the balloon's air heats, it gradually lifts off. There are hundreds of them in the air, each giving off a soft red light until it burns out. (Dave, I thought of your ballon project that was so successful until the airport shut it down!)
The night was a fiesta! Street vendors selling great local foods. Group making the floral wreathes to sell; others with balloons for sale. We noticed that a lot of the foods-grilled corn and tropical fruits- are just like Mexico. Families were out together having wonderful parties on the beach. Local school bands and choirs performed. The party lasted well into the morning.
Well, we've got to head into town now; it's nearly time for a massage. See you soon.
Happy travels,
D&G
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Random Thoughts From Dubai
The weather has been fantastic- mid to high 80s since we've been here. Going out at night without a jacket is nice. The last couple days have been foggy in the morning. I still don't know how those ladies can handle it in those black abayas during the day time.
All of the people love their ruler. Unlike some other countries where the leader's picture is everywhere because of policy, these people have Sheikh Mohammed's picture (and Sheikh Rashid's, his late father) on the back windows of their cars, in their homes, even on T-shirts. Both have led their people out of poverty to wealth in the last 50 years. Where other's power and wealth have led to corruption and terror, these guys chose to share their power and new-found oil wealth to improve the people's lives.
Sheikh Mohammed drives his own SUV around town. When he stops at traffic lights, people come out to his car to greet and honor him. He visited Jen & Bruce's school recently for a huge education convention involving leaders of all the Muslim countries. A huge retinue was waiting for him- he pulled into the parking lot, parked his car, hopped out and joined the group.
The Sheikh's license plate is A1, which makes it easier to pick out his white SUV from all the others. The license plates are kind of interesting. The first plates were issued to the emirates with the most important people getting the lowest numbers. You own your plate for life and it apparently is part of your estate. You can sell or gift your plate to someone else. Low numbered plates have sold for a million bucks. Gail just showed me an article about a recent charity auction in which 87 license plates, including 3 2-digit plates, got 28.8 million durham ($7,900,000), the lowest number selling for $770,000.
Yesterday, we walked to the museum, had lunch along the creek side, did some shopping and went for a boat ride. The museum was much more interesting than we expected, with archaeological evidence of civilization in this area going back to 3,ooo BC. There are great, life size dioramas of life in Dubai in the olden days (before wealth), Bedouin life in the desert and the pearl divers. The dioramas of shops include videos in the background of craftspeople making the items offered in the shop. You actually walk among the displays, which causes some real violations of the "Please don't touch the exhibits" signs as tourists clamber to have photos taken with their arms around camel's necks and standing arm-in-arm with Bedouins making their camps. All we could do was shake our heads in dismay at the lady who tried to climb on the camel for that one great shot.
We spent the rest of the day on the creek, really a 15 mile channel that started life as a shallow inlet. It was dredged in the 1950s to help increase trade. It has since been lengthened to make more waterfront inland. It now extends to the Burj Dubai (world's tallest building) to form the lake surrounding the Burj Dubai and the waterfront for the new Marina Commercial Center.
Lunch was a treat for all the senses. The creek-side restaurant bustled with customers from around the world,some in native dress. Birds circled, swooped and screamed overhead, hundreds of boats maneuvered out of one another's ways on the creek and thousands of little fish swam just under the surface, jumping out of the water to make mass escapes from unseen predators, leaving a silvery, splashy meteor's trail on the water - it really was there, you know you saw it, but it happened so quickly and it's gone.
We took a short ride across the creek aboard an abra, a small, open motor taxi that holds about 20 people. On the north side, the trade wharf is filled with tons of trade goods from macaroni to tires to tank trucks which are being loaded on dhows for trade around the middle east. The activity is non-stop as dhows arrive, off-load, on-load and get under way. The crewmen don't have entry rights, so they live aboard the dhows dockside for three or four days until they get under way again. The dhows tie up five and six abreast, hundreds of them along the wharf.
We spent time on our boat ride photographing all the different shapes of buildings along the creek. The sun was setting as we landed and took a short walk through the silk sukh, dealing on some items Gail needed, then headed for home and a relaxed evening.
Happy travels,
Dan & Gail
All of the people love their ruler. Unlike some other countries where the leader's picture is everywhere because of policy, these people have Sheikh Mohammed's picture (and Sheikh Rashid's, his late father) on the back windows of their cars, in their homes, even on T-shirts. Both have led their people out of poverty to wealth in the last 50 years. Where other's power and wealth have led to corruption and terror, these guys chose to share their power and new-found oil wealth to improve the people's lives.
Sheikh Mohammed drives his own SUV around town. When he stops at traffic lights, people come out to his car to greet and honor him. He visited Jen & Bruce's school recently for a huge education convention involving leaders of all the Muslim countries. A huge retinue was waiting for him- he pulled into the parking lot, parked his car, hopped out and joined the group.
The Sheikh's license plate is A1, which makes it easier to pick out his white SUV from all the others. The license plates are kind of interesting. The first plates were issued to the emirates with the most important people getting the lowest numbers. You own your plate for life and it apparently is part of your estate. You can sell or gift your plate to someone else. Low numbered plates have sold for a million bucks. Gail just showed me an article about a recent charity auction in which 87 license plates, including 3 2-digit plates, got 28.8 million durham ($7,900,000), the lowest number selling for $770,000.
Yesterday, we walked to the museum, had lunch along the creek side, did some shopping and went for a boat ride. The museum was much more interesting than we expected, with archaeological evidence of civilization in this area going back to 3,ooo BC. There are great, life size dioramas of life in Dubai in the olden days (before wealth), Bedouin life in the desert and the pearl divers. The dioramas of shops include videos in the background of craftspeople making the items offered in the shop. You actually walk among the displays, which causes some real violations of the "Please don't touch the exhibits" signs as tourists clamber to have photos taken with their arms around camel's necks and standing arm-in-arm with Bedouins making their camps. All we could do was shake our heads in dismay at the lady who tried to climb on the camel for that one great shot.
We spent the rest of the day on the creek, really a 15 mile channel that started life as a shallow inlet. It was dredged in the 1950s to help increase trade. It has since been lengthened to make more waterfront inland. It now extends to the Burj Dubai (world's tallest building) to form the lake surrounding the Burj Dubai and the waterfront for the new Marina Commercial Center.
Lunch was a treat for all the senses. The creek-side restaurant bustled with customers from around the world,some in native dress. Birds circled, swooped and screamed overhead, hundreds of boats maneuvered out of one another's ways on the creek and thousands of little fish swam just under the surface, jumping out of the water to make mass escapes from unseen predators, leaving a silvery, splashy meteor's trail on the water - it really was there, you know you saw it, but it happened so quickly and it's gone.
We took a short ride across the creek aboard an abra, a small, open motor taxi that holds about 20 people. On the north side, the trade wharf is filled with tons of trade goods from macaroni to tires to tank trucks which are being loaded on dhows for trade around the middle east. The activity is non-stop as dhows arrive, off-load, on-load and get under way. The crewmen don't have entry rights, so they live aboard the dhows dockside for three or four days until they get under way again. The dhows tie up five and six abreast, hundreds of them along the wharf.
We spent time on our boat ride photographing all the different shapes of buildings along the creek. The sun was setting as we landed and took a short walk through the silk sukh, dealing on some items Gail needed, then headed for home and a relaxed evening.
Happy travels,
Dan & Gail
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Fantasyla...no, Disneywor.....no, Las Vegas without casi...no...Boy is this place Hard to Describe!
Being in Dubai is easy. Explaining Dubai is difficult. Let's see if I can even explain my confusion.
We've taken the BIG BUS tours in many major cities, the narrator indicating points of interest, museums and historically significant places, giving dates and names. The Dubai BIG BUS tours from mall to mall, indicating which rank each is in "the largest in the world" category, giving names of designer stores and opening times. Along the way, the narration is of each building that is the largest, tallest, most square footage under one roof, largest indoor span, highest indoor fountain, greatest water flow in a fountain, highest indoor ski hill, most designer stores under one roof..... After each is presented, the notice is given that this information is only temporarily true because the (name goes here) will be completed in 2008 (or 2009 or 2010) which will eclipse all other buildings of it's type in the world.
To be fair, we did pass the Dubai Museum, which is supposed to be quite nice, and the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum's House, dating from 1896, with live portrayals of life before wealth. There is not much old stuff here because the Emirates suddenly had the money to tear down the old and build new. In Europe we found that the wonderful old cities were usually the result of a community going broke and never recovering enough to modernize. It's understandable, if you had lived you life in 120 degrees in a tent, palm-frond or coral-rock walled home with no insulation, you would jump at the chance to tear it down and put up the latest style with unlimited A/C if you could afford it.
We are staying with our Daughter, Jennifer, and Son-In-Law, Bruce, at their apartment in downtown Dubai. It is a large city, 1.2 million, with traffic problems and growing like mad. There is something under construction everywhere you look. We had read that 20% of the world's construction cranes are in Dubai-I just counted 49 from Jen and Bruce's balcony and the sun is in my eye's looking west, so I may have missed a few. Every day the street system changes as new construction gets under way and they are putting in a subway system, so miles of streets are rerouted for that. Even the newest GoogleEarth pictures are out of date.
Now some good stuff. Entry to Dubai was the easiest of any place we've been. You don't need a visa and customs involved "Welcome to Dubai!" Everyone speaks English and all road signs are in English and Arabic. The city is very clean. The taxis are very new and clean. All drivers know where they are going-which is amazing for two very strange reasons. One is the streets are not known by their names. The Emirates have a custom of putting like businesses together, so you have an area where all the banks or all the computer stores or all the car dealerships are side by side and the street becomes known as Bank Street, Computer Street or Car Dealer Street. For instance, the street I'm looking at right now is really "Sheikh Kalifa Bin Zayed Street, but because the World Trade Center is located on it a few miles away, it is known as "Trade Center Street."
The even stranger reason is-THERE IS NO ADDRESS SYSTEM IN DUBAI! The reason still hasn't been explained fully; it has to do with such fast growth and there never having to be a system when the town was small and everyone knew each other. To get around you have to know landmarks. For example, when returning to our apartment, we tell the taxi driver, in stages, depending on how much he already knows: The Centrepoint Apartments (almost all drivers know it)-off Trade Center Road (it's on Kuwait Street, but no one knows that name)-by the new Spinney's (a fairly big food store nearby, but you have to say the "new" Spinney's because there are others)-near Bur Juman (a very upscale mall which everyone knows)-in Al Mankhool (our neighborhood). We haven't gotten lost yet!
We'll continue this later. We've got to get ready for our dinner cruise tonight. Happy travels!
Dan & Gail
We've taken the BIG BUS tours in many major cities, the narrator indicating points of interest, museums and historically significant places, giving dates and names. The Dubai BIG BUS tours from mall to mall, indicating which rank each is in "the largest in the world" category, giving names of designer stores and opening times. Along the way, the narration is of each building that is the largest, tallest, most square footage under one roof, largest indoor span, highest indoor fountain, greatest water flow in a fountain, highest indoor ski hill, most designer stores under one roof..... After each is presented, the notice is given that this information is only temporarily true because the (name goes here) will be completed in 2008 (or 2009 or 2010) which will eclipse all other buildings of it's type in the world.
To be fair, we did pass the Dubai Museum, which is supposed to be quite nice, and the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum's House, dating from 1896, with live portrayals of life before wealth. There is not much old stuff here because the Emirates suddenly had the money to tear down the old and build new. In Europe we found that the wonderful old cities were usually the result of a community going broke and never recovering enough to modernize. It's understandable, if you had lived you life in 120 degrees in a tent, palm-frond or coral-rock walled home with no insulation, you would jump at the chance to tear it down and put up the latest style with unlimited A/C if you could afford it.
We are staying with our Daughter, Jennifer, and Son-In-Law, Bruce, at their apartment in downtown Dubai. It is a large city, 1.2 million, with traffic problems and growing like mad. There is something under construction everywhere you look. We had read that 20% of the world's construction cranes are in Dubai-I just counted 49 from Jen and Bruce's balcony and the sun is in my eye's looking west, so I may have missed a few. Every day the street system changes as new construction gets under way and they are putting in a subway system, so miles of streets are rerouted for that. Even the newest GoogleEarth pictures are out of date.
Now some good stuff. Entry to Dubai was the easiest of any place we've been. You don't need a visa and customs involved "Welcome to Dubai!" Everyone speaks English and all road signs are in English and Arabic. The city is very clean. The taxis are very new and clean. All drivers know where they are going-which is amazing for two very strange reasons. One is the streets are not known by their names. The Emirates have a custom of putting like businesses together, so you have an area where all the banks or all the computer stores or all the car dealerships are side by side and the street becomes known as Bank Street, Computer Street or Car Dealer Street. For instance, the street I'm looking at right now is really "Sheikh Kalifa Bin Zayed Street, but because the World Trade Center is located on it a few miles away, it is known as "Trade Center Street."
The even stranger reason is-THERE IS NO ADDRESS SYSTEM IN DUBAI! The reason still hasn't been explained fully; it has to do with such fast growth and there never having to be a system when the town was small and everyone knew each other. To get around you have to know landmarks. For example, when returning to our apartment, we tell the taxi driver, in stages, depending on how much he already knows: The Centrepoint Apartments (almost all drivers know it)-off Trade Center Road (it's on Kuwait Street, but no one knows that name)-by the new Spinney's (a fairly big food store nearby, but you have to say the "new" Spinney's because there are others)-near Bur Juman (a very upscale mall which everyone knows)-in Al Mankhool (our neighborhood). We haven't gotten lost yet!
We'll continue this later. We've got to get ready for our dinner cruise tonight. Happy travels!
Dan & Gail
Monday, October 29, 2007
Even Dracula's castle looks good on the internet!
Wow! We are in Cairo. We've seen the pyramids and they are super! We are doing fantastically! And now...The rest of the story:
The flight from Tunis to Cairo was only a little late, so that wasn't so bad. It's scheduled arrival was 2:30 AM, that was bad. Tired, dazed and weary from dealing with travel on our own, we were led through customs by a very caring guy, which wasn't bad. Instead of showing us where to catch a taxi into town, he showed us upstairs to his travel office, that was bad. He talked us into a tour of the Giza and Saqqara pyramids of a lot less than we thought we would have to pay AND a car to our hotel (the hotel driver did not show up and we couldn't get through to them on the phone) so that wasn't bad. We arrived at our hotel, in a very seedy, somewhat scary location to find it somewhat of a dump.....no let's be honest here....it was a dump; and this was bad. After a very short night's sleep, we ventured forth in Cairo to find a new hotel. After a somewhat difficult search, Gail and I hit the "do it yourself, budget travel" wall. And this is GOOD!
After two and a half months of do it yourself, budget travel, we are staying in a suite at the four-star Flamenco Hotel for approximately ten times the room cost of our last hotel. We have hot and cold running water 24-7, bath towels, a toilet that flushes, windows that open and close, with the Nile River under our balcony. We even ordered a room service dinner our first night because we didn't want to search for a place to eat.
We have our Egypt itinerary all in order with the help of our new travel agent friend. We visited the pyramids at Giza and Saqqara yesterday. We got to climb down into 4,500 year old burial vaults on our hands and knees (boy are they sore today) just like you see the explorers do it in the movies. And we walked on the pyramids. We didn't worry about getting lost, or how get back to town or where to eat.
Today we had a relaxing day at the Egyptian Antiquities Museum. We spent hours looking close-up at thousands of items. They have the full Tutankamun exhibit there. It's amazing how well these items have been preserved. tomorrow through Sunday we will be at Alexandria and Luxor and the Valley of the Kings and Aswan and then up to Dubai for a visit with Jen, Bruce and Jack and Kim Stracke.
The Egyptian people are amazingly friendy and helpful. They are all trying to make a buck but they are really nice. Cairo is a city of eighteen million people and I think they were all at the main square the last couple of days. It is very, very polluted in Cairo with all the cars running at about eleven miles per hour average. There are water buffalo being herded to the fields in morning rush-hour traffic and donkey carts are a very significant part of the transportation, even right in the city. It is a strange, beautiful place with exotic people dressed in all sorts of traditional dress. We are really happy we are here. Happy travels!
Dan & Gail
The flight from Tunis to Cairo was only a little late, so that wasn't so bad. It's scheduled arrival was 2:30 AM, that was bad. Tired, dazed and weary from dealing with travel on our own, we were led through customs by a very caring guy, which wasn't bad. Instead of showing us where to catch a taxi into town, he showed us upstairs to his travel office, that was bad. He talked us into a tour of the Giza and Saqqara pyramids of a lot less than we thought we would have to pay AND a car to our hotel (the hotel driver did not show up and we couldn't get through to them on the phone) so that wasn't bad. We arrived at our hotel, in a very seedy, somewhat scary location to find it somewhat of a dump.....no let's be honest here....it was a dump; and this was bad. After a very short night's sleep, we ventured forth in Cairo to find a new hotel. After a somewhat difficult search, Gail and I hit the "do it yourself, budget travel" wall. And this is GOOD!
After two and a half months of do it yourself, budget travel, we are staying in a suite at the four-star Flamenco Hotel for approximately ten times the room cost of our last hotel. We have hot and cold running water 24-7, bath towels, a toilet that flushes, windows that open and close, with the Nile River under our balcony. We even ordered a room service dinner our first night because we didn't want to search for a place to eat.
We have our Egypt itinerary all in order with the help of our new travel agent friend. We visited the pyramids at Giza and Saqqara yesterday. We got to climb down into 4,500 year old burial vaults on our hands and knees (boy are they sore today) just like you see the explorers do it in the movies. And we walked on the pyramids. We didn't worry about getting lost, or how get back to town or where to eat.
Today we had a relaxing day at the Egyptian Antiquities Museum. We spent hours looking close-up at thousands of items. They have the full Tutankamun exhibit there. It's amazing how well these items have been preserved. tomorrow through Sunday we will be at Alexandria and Luxor and the Valley of the Kings and Aswan and then up to Dubai for a visit with Jen, Bruce and Jack and Kim Stracke.
The Egyptian people are amazingly friendy and helpful. They are all trying to make a buck but they are really nice. Cairo is a city of eighteen million people and I think they were all at the main square the last couple of days. It is very, very polluted in Cairo with all the cars running at about eleven miles per hour average. There are water buffalo being herded to the fields in morning rush-hour traffic and donkey carts are a very significant part of the transportation, even right in the city. It is a strange, beautiful place with exotic people dressed in all sorts of traditional dress. We are really happy we are here. Happy travels!
Dan & Gail
Friday, October 26, 2007
Yes, and what is your flight number?
"We will be arriving much later than we expected; Can we still check in that late?"
"Oh, yes, that is perfectly acceptable. We can send a car for you. It will be 50£. Is that OK?"
"Yes. We would like you to send a car."
"OK, he will meet you at the airport. What is your flight number?"
"We are arriving by ferry at the port of Tunis."
"Yes, yes, yes; OK. What is your flight number?"
"We are not flying. We have no flight number. We are coming by ferry from Palermo."
"By ferry. OK. What is your flight number?"
"We arrive at the port of Tunis on Grandi, that's G R A N D I, Navi, N A V I, Veloci, V E L O C I ship Majestic. Boat, embarco, ferryboat, ship, OK"
"Uh....yes, yes, yes, I see. Majestic. He will meet you.
That was the conversation I had with our hotel last week. We caught the ferry early Saturday morning in a torrential downpour. Most of southern Europe has been experiencing some funky weather, so we were happy to be heading to Africa. We met some really interesting folks on the ferry, but I spent most of my time asleep. Because of last year's experience with vertigo, I had taken some anti-sea sick med that made me drowzy. Little did I know what was making me so tired.
Two couples we met were headed for a camel ride/camping trip through the desert. I feel for them because the weather followed us here. Thankfully, we had an indoor place to stay; when we finally got there. We really were expecting to see our driver at the ferry dock, but knew there was a pretty good chance he wouldn't be there. After clearing customs, we found several drivers waiting, but none for the Olsons. We eventually found a phone that works, called the hotel and had a conversation similar to the last one: "Our driver isn't here."
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, he is there. He has a sign with your name on it."
"He didn't meet us."
"He called me to say he is there. What is your flight number?"
I grabbed a nearby person who spoke Arabic and French, they spoke for a while and when I got back on the line she directed us to a nearby caffé where our driver picked us up about an hour later. Since then, our Tunisian trip has been less than the best. The weather has been terrible until yesterday and I came down with, what I thought, was the flu.
We did do some traveling here. We visited some Roman ruins in an area that has evidence of population going back 200,000 years. The ruins are very intact of a city of 20-30 thousand people in the B.C. times. This area was a bread basket for the Romans. It is so amazing to think of the extent of the Romans. We stopped at a site (which is being rebuilt) where the Romans captured water out of the Atlas Mountains and sent it by aquaducts to all of there cities in Tunisia. We also passed through the town of Jedidi. The STAR WARS movies were shot in Tunisia and they used a lot of the local names in the movies. A lot of the costuming in the movies looks very similar to the way locals dress in the cold rain.
We did miss seeing the city which was our main reason for coming to Tunisia, because our tour group forgot to pick us up yesterday. This became a good thing. My fever had returned, plus extra symptoms and I would have had a misserable day. It gave us time to go to a doctor where I found that I had picked up a systemic infection and needed to start antibiotics right away. Today I feel great, the sun is shining and everything is fantastic! We are headed to Cairo tonight. See you soon.
Dan & Gail
"Oh, yes, that is perfectly acceptable. We can send a car for you. It will be 50£. Is that OK?"
"Yes. We would like you to send a car."
"OK, he will meet you at the airport. What is your flight number?"
"We are arriving by ferry at the port of Tunis."
"Yes, yes, yes; OK. What is your flight number?"
"We are not flying. We have no flight number. We are coming by ferry from Palermo."
"By ferry. OK. What is your flight number?"
"We arrive at the port of Tunis on Grandi, that's G R A N D I, Navi, N A V I, Veloci, V E L O C I ship Majestic. Boat, embarco, ferryboat, ship, OK"
"Uh....yes, yes, yes, I see. Majestic. He will meet you.
That was the conversation I had with our hotel last week. We caught the ferry early Saturday morning in a torrential downpour. Most of southern Europe has been experiencing some funky weather, so we were happy to be heading to Africa. We met some really interesting folks on the ferry, but I spent most of my time asleep. Because of last year's experience with vertigo, I had taken some anti-sea sick med that made me drowzy. Little did I know what was making me so tired.
Two couples we met were headed for a camel ride/camping trip through the desert. I feel for them because the weather followed us here. Thankfully, we had an indoor place to stay; when we finally got there. We really were expecting to see our driver at the ferry dock, but knew there was a pretty good chance he wouldn't be there. After clearing customs, we found several drivers waiting, but none for the Olsons. We eventually found a phone that works, called the hotel and had a conversation similar to the last one: "Our driver isn't here."
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, he is there. He has a sign with your name on it."
"He didn't meet us."
"He called me to say he is there. What is your flight number?"
I grabbed a nearby person who spoke Arabic and French, they spoke for a while and when I got back on the line she directed us to a nearby caffé where our driver picked us up about an hour later. Since then, our Tunisian trip has been less than the best. The weather has been terrible until yesterday and I came down with, what I thought, was the flu.
We did do some traveling here. We visited some Roman ruins in an area that has evidence of population going back 200,000 years. The ruins are very intact of a city of 20-30 thousand people in the B.C. times. This area was a bread basket for the Romans. It is so amazing to think of the extent of the Romans. We stopped at a site (which is being rebuilt) where the Romans captured water out of the Atlas Mountains and sent it by aquaducts to all of there cities in Tunisia. We also passed through the town of Jedidi. The STAR WARS movies were shot in Tunisia and they used a lot of the local names in the movies. A lot of the costuming in the movies looks very similar to the way locals dress in the cold rain.
We did miss seeing the city which was our main reason for coming to Tunisia, because our tour group forgot to pick us up yesterday. This became a good thing. My fever had returned, plus extra symptoms and I would have had a misserable day. It gave us time to go to a doctor where I found that I had picked up a systemic infection and needed to start antibiotics right away. Today I feel great, the sun is shining and everything is fantastic! We are headed to Cairo tonight. See you soon.
Dan & Gail
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
What day is it? Where are we?
Boy, do we have some catching up to do! Before we do- We must apologize for leaving out part of the trip. When we traveled from Genoa to Sorianno a couple of weeks ago, we stopped for a few days in Cinque Terra. We hiked through each of the villages-took us two days, but we did it. There are a lot more people there than there used to be. Just about everyone in the C.T. was carrying a Rick Steves guide. He is still our travel hero (He has convinced us we can do a trip like this), but he sure has been successful at getting a lot of people into some small, out of the way places and making them very crowded. With all the people, C.T. is still beautiful and the food was fantastic. And in all fairness, there are some pretty crowded places that Rick had nothing to do with.
We followed our week in Sorianno with a few days in Sorrento on the Bay of Naples. We went into Naples for a day to go to their museum. It is SO full of Greek and Roman statues, paintings and murals that were removed from Pompei (Gail's not here check my spelling, so forgive any errors) It is one of the very best museums in Europe. If you are near Naples, do not miss it! Naples is a pretty interesting place to visit just for itself. It is a grimy, gritty real-live city. We have been warned about thieves and pick-pockets, but have never had any trouble there.
While there, we stopped at a typical little bar for a soda while waiting for a special neighborhood gelateria to open. A lady in an upper apartment across the street was yelling, "Geno! GENO! GEEEENOOOO!" Then a guy started yelling the same from the same window. A motorcyclist heard them as he was riding by, spun a u-turn, stopped in front of the bar and yelled in, "Geno!" The owner came out, shouted back and forth with the couple upstairs, walked back inside, came out with a couple of packages, put them in the bucket the couple lowered to him and returned to the bar with a wave and a, "Cioa!" as they raised it to their home.
While in Sorrento (which is so fantastically beautiful with the town built at the edge of a cliff a few hundred feet down to the sea) we went to Capri. It is so beautiful that we will return on a day when all other travelers are banned. It was so crowded that there was a three hour wait for the Blue Grotto (sp?) and you got to see it for about ten seconds. If you go, just take a sight-seeing cruise around the island and go back home. I must say, we did have about the best ever Capresse salad in the Capresse Ristorante.
ON TO THE EAST COAST
We traveled to Bari and found it to be a completely beautiful place. Then, on to a week at the Cala Corvina Resort in Monopoli. It was past their season, so most of the facility was closed. It was too far out of town to walk easily. Two buses a day ran between the resort and town. Most of the staff acted like the 40-50 guests were invading their free time. They have a beautiful infinity pool, but it is unheated and very cold. The week was saved by some wonderful people we shared time with. We now know some really nice people in Kelowna/Phoenix and in Washington, D.C.
We are now on Sicily. We've spent time swimming in the Med., sun-bathing and seeing Greek ruins. We are still amazed that we can be in shirt-sleeves and swimming in the middle of October. Our highlight here has been Syracuse. The old town is on an island surrounded by fortified walls that, today, were battered by huge surf. We are on our way to Polermo to catch a ferry to Tunisia. We have gotten tired of city-hopping in Italy and look forward to being completely lost in a new culture. We will have a week in Tunisia, a couple weeks in Egypt, then; on to Dubai for some R&R (I hope!) Ciao for now!
We followed our week in Sorianno with a few days in Sorrento on the Bay of Naples. We went into Naples for a day to go to their museum. It is SO full of Greek and Roman statues, paintings and murals that were removed from Pompei (Gail's not here check my spelling, so forgive any errors) It is one of the very best museums in Europe. If you are near Naples, do not miss it! Naples is a pretty interesting place to visit just for itself. It is a grimy, gritty real-live city. We have been warned about thieves and pick-pockets, but have never had any trouble there.
While there, we stopped at a typical little bar for a soda while waiting for a special neighborhood gelateria to open. A lady in an upper apartment across the street was yelling, "Geno! GENO! GEEEENOOOO!" Then a guy started yelling the same from the same window. A motorcyclist heard them as he was riding by, spun a u-turn, stopped in front of the bar and yelled in, "Geno!" The owner came out, shouted back and forth with the couple upstairs, walked back inside, came out with a couple of packages, put them in the bucket the couple lowered to him and returned to the bar with a wave and a, "Cioa!" as they raised it to their home.
While in Sorrento (which is so fantastically beautiful with the town built at the edge of a cliff a few hundred feet down to the sea) we went to Capri. It is so beautiful that we will return on a day when all other travelers are banned. It was so crowded that there was a three hour wait for the Blue Grotto (sp?) and you got to see it for about ten seconds. If you go, just take a sight-seeing cruise around the island and go back home. I must say, we did have about the best ever Capresse salad in the Capresse Ristorante.
ON TO THE EAST COAST
We traveled to Bari and found it to be a completely beautiful place. Then, on to a week at the Cala Corvina Resort in Monopoli. It was past their season, so most of the facility was closed. It was too far out of town to walk easily. Two buses a day ran between the resort and town. Most of the staff acted like the 40-50 guests were invading their free time. They have a beautiful infinity pool, but it is unheated and very cold. The week was saved by some wonderful people we shared time with. We now know some really nice people in Kelowna/Phoenix and in Washington, D.C.
We are now on Sicily. We've spent time swimming in the Med., sun-bathing and seeing Greek ruins. We are still amazed that we can be in shirt-sleeves and swimming in the middle of October. Our highlight here has been Syracuse. The old town is on an island surrounded by fortified walls that, today, were battered by huge surf. We are on our way to Polermo to catch a ferry to Tunisia. We have gotten tired of city-hopping in Italy and look forward to being completely lost in a new culture. We will have a week in Tunisia, a couple weeks in Egypt, then; on to Dubai for some R&R (I hope!) Ciao for now!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wow! What a week!
Picture the opening dinner scene from an Agatha Christy murder mystery-set in the castle of a small, foreign village. Accents from around the world are heard as small talk begins around the table. There is the retired military commander who spent his career in exotic foreign postings; the manager of the large international corporation whose territory involves all of Europe and the Near East; the doctor from America; the quiet, prim school teacher from England and the mysterious couple from ....... we're not quite sure, because their accent is unfamiliar and they keep to themselves. This was our week in Sorriano nel Cimino.
After leaving Switzerland, we spent a few days traveling through Aix-en-Province, Genoa and Orvieto on our way to the Palazzo Catalani in Sorriano nel Cimino, Italy. Aix is beautiful. We hit it on a festival week-end which featured every organization in the province putting on a display of their work. It was great fun- lots of good food and entertainment. Genoa has the biggest collection of wealthy yacht owners I have ever seen. There were eight cruise ships in the harbor, besides a few freighters. Orveito is one of those beautiful hilltowns that everyone has discovered with lots of tourist shops and beautiful views of towers, churches and quaint, narrow streets. This leads us to Sorriano.
Sorriano sits high above the Tiber River Valley midway between two main arterials leading to Rome. Because it is not on a main line, it is a little difficult to get to, hasn't grown as much as it should and hasn't been discovered by many.
Our hotel is the only one in town. It has only eighteen rooms of interesting travelers (the characters from our Agatha Christy play) who appreciate what they have found here and a staff that any business would die for. There are no other visitors in this town, unless they are staying with friends or family. The main square is filled with locals until 1:00 pm, at which time everyone disappears and all businesses close (except caffes) until 4:00 pm, when the town gets temporarily crowded.
A great cup of capuccino costs £.90, an out-of-this-world pastry is another £.90; the wine and olive oil are locally produced. A great, multi-course dinner for two with a couple bottles of really good wine can run to £25-30. A really good dinner for two with a bottle of wine can be £12-15.
While here, we have been treated to a night of dinner-opera, tours of a wine cava and olive pressing works and a beautiful park in nearby Bagnaia which was a castle hunting grounds. It has a series of water features cascading down a hillside which was the model for Versaille.
Last night we had dinner in some local people's home. It was the nicest, fun-filled evening. We were treated to home-made aptipasti, tons of home-made wine and , while the homemade sauce cooked, the men had to make the pasta from scatch.
We have walked thousands of steps in and out of our city. We have sat for hours in the square and watched people. We have made a transition from strangers to be watched to visitors to be spoken to. The people here are so friendly and helpful. We have made some new friends from around the world. Interestingly, two of the people we met and enjoyed most tremendously are from Chelan, WA. They are over here on their first visit and we are hoping to spend time with them on their next visit here.
Tomorrow, with a lot (and I really do mean a lot), of sadness we will leave Sorriano. We are headed for Sorrento on the Amalfi coast, probably getting into Naples for a day. They have a good museum that we missed last time because of a labor strike. We are looking forward to more great places and more great people.
Now, disregard all the good things I said about Sorriano nel Cimino. It is a terrible place and you never want to come here. Don't tell anyone else about it and don't look up info or pictues on the internet.
See you!
After leaving Switzerland, we spent a few days traveling through Aix-en-Province, Genoa and Orvieto on our way to the Palazzo Catalani in Sorriano nel Cimino, Italy. Aix is beautiful. We hit it on a festival week-end which featured every organization in the province putting on a display of their work. It was great fun- lots of good food and entertainment. Genoa has the biggest collection of wealthy yacht owners I have ever seen. There were eight cruise ships in the harbor, besides a few freighters. Orveito is one of those beautiful hilltowns that everyone has discovered with lots of tourist shops and beautiful views of towers, churches and quaint, narrow streets. This leads us to Sorriano.
Sorriano sits high above the Tiber River Valley midway between two main arterials leading to Rome. Because it is not on a main line, it is a little difficult to get to, hasn't grown as much as it should and hasn't been discovered by many.
Our hotel is the only one in town. It has only eighteen rooms of interesting travelers (the characters from our Agatha Christy play) who appreciate what they have found here and a staff that any business would die for. There are no other visitors in this town, unless they are staying with friends or family. The main square is filled with locals until 1:00 pm, at which time everyone disappears and all businesses close (except caffes) until 4:00 pm, when the town gets temporarily crowded.
A great cup of capuccino costs £.90, an out-of-this-world pastry is another £.90; the wine and olive oil are locally produced. A great, multi-course dinner for two with a couple bottles of really good wine can run to £25-30. A really good dinner for two with a bottle of wine can be £12-15.
While here, we have been treated to a night of dinner-opera, tours of a wine cava and olive pressing works and a beautiful park in nearby Bagnaia which was a castle hunting grounds. It has a series of water features cascading down a hillside which was the model for Versaille.
Last night we had dinner in some local people's home. It was the nicest, fun-filled evening. We were treated to home-made aptipasti, tons of home-made wine and , while the homemade sauce cooked, the men had to make the pasta from scatch.
We have walked thousands of steps in and out of our city. We have sat for hours in the square and watched people. We have made a transition from strangers to be watched to visitors to be spoken to. The people here are so friendly and helpful. We have made some new friends from around the world. Interestingly, two of the people we met and enjoyed most tremendously are from Chelan, WA. They are over here on their first visit and we are hoping to spend time with them on their next visit here.
Tomorrow, with a lot (and I really do mean a lot), of sadness we will leave Sorriano. We are headed for Sorrento on the Amalfi coast, probably getting into Naples for a day. They have a good museum that we missed last time because of a labor strike. We are looking forward to more great places and more great people.
Now, disregard all the good things I said about Sorriano nel Cimino. It is a terrible place and you never want to come here. Don't tell anyone else about it and don't look up info or pictues on the internet.
See you!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
This has to be the set of "The Sound of Music"
Wow! Can you believe we've been on the road for a month and we're still speaking to one another. We've been too busy to be homesick, so we can probably last another few months. Here's a catch up for everyone.
WE ARE IN HEIDI LAND!!! There is not a flat space in 30 kilometers. We are in a little ski village (winter) that becomes grazing land for cows and goats in summer. Each animal hs a bell on its neck, the bigger the animal, the bigger the bell; so we have a chorus all day and into the night. It is really beautiful music.
We traveled from Paris to Geneva by train last Friday and stayed in a hostel so we could pick up a rental car for this week. We traveled through flat farmland that became rolling hills filled with grape vineyards. Vineyards in every direction as far as you could see. This changed to high hills and mountains with vineyards as high on the mountains as they could be supported. The architecture changed from all stone to stone and wood to mostly wood chalets. It's like a giant Leavenworth.
In Geneva, we stayed in a very nice, clean, efficient hostel. The co-ed shower and toilet rooms were kind of culture shock for us. You yound people are probably used to the co-ed dorm stuff, but for us old-folks, stepping out of the shower to be greeted by a bunch of young people of both genders doing their hair, shaving and putting on make-up at the same sinks is kind of.... uh......... interesting.
We picked up our SMARTCAR and drove beside Lake Geneva with the top down, snow covered mountains above us and a warm sun on us. How can you beat that?
The Alps are so fantastic! I just can't believe how high and steep they are. I really don't think any mountains in the US are as rugged. And I can't believe how high the people live on the sides. We have a 20K, steep, windey drive up out of the valley and and all along it there are driveways that just disappear over the edge of the one lane road. AND I can't believe the number of bicyclists that are riding UP these mountains.
Tuesday, we did the most exciting trip. We went by gondola (two different ones, actually) up from Chamonix, across the Alps to Italy. The ride is straight up, then you cross glaciers beside Mount Blanc. You can almost reach out and touch it. Do not ever miss that ride if you get near Chamonix.
This week end we are off to southern France and on into Italy. See you soon.
WE ARE IN HEIDI LAND!!! There is not a flat space in 30 kilometers. We are in a little ski village (winter) that becomes grazing land for cows and goats in summer. Each animal hs a bell on its neck, the bigger the animal, the bigger the bell; so we have a chorus all day and into the night. It is really beautiful music.
We traveled from Paris to Geneva by train last Friday and stayed in a hostel so we could pick up a rental car for this week. We traveled through flat farmland that became rolling hills filled with grape vineyards. Vineyards in every direction as far as you could see. This changed to high hills and mountains with vineyards as high on the mountains as they could be supported. The architecture changed from all stone to stone and wood to mostly wood chalets. It's like a giant Leavenworth.
In Geneva, we stayed in a very nice, clean, efficient hostel. The co-ed shower and toilet rooms were kind of culture shock for us. You yound people are probably used to the co-ed dorm stuff, but for us old-folks, stepping out of the shower to be greeted by a bunch of young people of both genders doing their hair, shaving and putting on make-up at the same sinks is kind of.... uh......... interesting.
We picked up our SMARTCAR and drove beside Lake Geneva with the top down, snow covered mountains above us and a warm sun on us. How can you beat that?
The Alps are so fantastic! I just can't believe how high and steep they are. I really don't think any mountains in the US are as rugged. And I can't believe how high the people live on the sides. We have a 20K, steep, windey drive up out of the valley and and all along it there are driveways that just disappear over the edge of the one lane road. AND I can't believe the number of bicyclists that are riding UP these mountains.
Tuesday, we did the most exciting trip. We went by gondola (two different ones, actually) up from Chamonix, across the Alps to Italy. The ride is straight up, then you cross glaciers beside Mount Blanc. You can almost reach out and touch it. Do not ever miss that ride if you get near Chamonix.
This week end we are off to southern France and on into Italy. See you soon.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
We know it's not just about the food, but we found the world's best bakery!
PARIS
BIG, BIG, BIG!
Monuments, parks, boulevards and traffic
A bagette under everyone's arm
Everyone carries bags-many stores don't give them away;
We are staying in a suburb east of Paris; Vincennes is noted for it's flowers (tons of beautiful gardens, hanging planter boxes from any type of pole and small floral centers in the middle of any odd-shaped intersection) and it's Bois de Vincennes, the largest forest in Paris. It is a lovely little town with street-corner restaurants, boulongieries (best bread anywhere on Earth), fresh fruit markets and fun little stores. We are 20 minutes from downtown Paris on the Metro.
We have been to see everything and I think we walked everywhere there is to walk in Paris. The Metro system is fantastic. You can get anywhere, quickly and easily. All you need to know is the destination's station name, the number of the line you want to ride and the names of the stations at each end of the line (So you know you are going in the right direction.)
Of everything to see in Paris, do not miss Versailles. This is about the biggest monument we've ever seen. The gardens go on forever and they are all free. You have to pay to see the king's apartments, which are so impressive! Skip the queen's apartments unless you really groove on the historical aspect of being in Marie Antoinette's house. You have to pay extra for it and it's really not that impressive.
Bring a picnic lunch and explore the grounds. There are rental boats available on the lake and hundreds of monuments, fountains, statues and ponds to sit around while enjoying lunch. I bet you couldn't see the whole grounds in a week of hiking.
After a week of non-stop, today is laundry day, internet day, sit and drink coffee on the corner day, with some time out for a relaxing walk in the Bois, stopping to read in the sun when the mood struck us.
We will finish the evening with the very finest bagette, a selection of cheeses, some fresh vegetables and fruit and a couple bottles of wine. We have to have two bottles because Gail likes white and I have found a delightful red table wine that costs less than a buck a bottle.
Tomorrow we are of to Switzerland on the train.
Bye for now!
BARCELONA
We forgot to say anything about Barcelona. We only had one night and one long day of sightseeing, but OH! What a beautiful city! The buildings are soooo beautiful. The Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's fantastic church) and the Piccaso Museum are great. The paseo at night along the mail street was the most beautiful (people, clothing, entertrainers) We will return here!
BIG, BIG, BIG!
Monuments, parks, boulevards and traffic
A bagette under everyone's arm
Everyone carries bags-many stores don't give them away;
We are staying in a suburb east of Paris; Vincennes is noted for it's flowers (tons of beautiful gardens, hanging planter boxes from any type of pole and small floral centers in the middle of any odd-shaped intersection) and it's Bois de Vincennes, the largest forest in Paris. It is a lovely little town with street-corner restaurants, boulongieries (best bread anywhere on Earth), fresh fruit markets and fun little stores. We are 20 minutes from downtown Paris on the Metro.
We have been to see everything and I think we walked everywhere there is to walk in Paris. The Metro system is fantastic. You can get anywhere, quickly and easily. All you need to know is the destination's station name, the number of the line you want to ride and the names of the stations at each end of the line (So you know you are going in the right direction.)
Of everything to see in Paris, do not miss Versailles. This is about the biggest monument we've ever seen. The gardens go on forever and they are all free. You have to pay to see the king's apartments, which are so impressive! Skip the queen's apartments unless you really groove on the historical aspect of being in Marie Antoinette's house. You have to pay extra for it and it's really not that impressive.
Bring a picnic lunch and explore the grounds. There are rental boats available on the lake and hundreds of monuments, fountains, statues and ponds to sit around while enjoying lunch. I bet you couldn't see the whole grounds in a week of hiking.
After a week of non-stop, today is laundry day, internet day, sit and drink coffee on the corner day, with some time out for a relaxing walk in the Bois, stopping to read in the sun when the mood struck us.
We will finish the evening with the very finest bagette, a selection of cheeses, some fresh vegetables and fruit and a couple bottles of wine. We have to have two bottles because Gail likes white and I have found a delightful red table wine that costs less than a buck a bottle.
Tomorrow we are of to Switzerland on the train.
Bye for now!
BARCELONA
We forgot to say anything about Barcelona. We only had one night and one long day of sightseeing, but OH! What a beautiful city! The buildings are soooo beautiful. The Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's fantastic church) and the Piccaso Museum are great. The paseo at night along the mail street was the most beautiful (people, clothing, entertrainers) We will return here!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Beautiful Granada
Granada
Hot! Motorcycles, motorbikes, motorscooters! Plazas, fountains, parks!
Granada is so beautiful. The city is so full of quaint plazas with fountains and outdoor restuarants. Why can´t we have sidewalk restuarants in Shelton? Oh, yeah, I forgot the rain.
We have gotten sprinkled on here in Granada. It clouded up yesterday and the temp dropped to the low 90s. Good thing because I force-marched Gail up a very steep hill to the Moor area of town and to the Gypsy area. More quaint plazas and little stores and shops. There was a great view across the valley to Alhambra.
We did the "complete" Alhambra experience Monday. You can get reservations on-line if you know when you are going to be in Granada, which we didn´t, or you can line up about 7 AM for the 1200 tickets they reserve for same-day sale. When we arrived there were already about 200 people in line for the opening of the ticket office at 8:30. The line grew to a thousand by opening time. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE! A thousand people from all over the world speaking so many different languages. We met some very nice people from Switzerland and a man who is starting to sell wines in the US for a group of wineries in Spain. Our opinion is: Even if you have tickets, go early and enjoy the early morning line.
The Alhambra was an all-day experience. It is huge and beautiful. It was the last stronghold of the Moors in Europe, falling to the Christians in 1492. It was a walled city of 2000 people, their homes and businesses, so you can understand how big it is.
We are off to Barcelona this evening on a sleeper train. We got our reservations too late and the "Matrimonial" car was filled, so tonight we travel separately; Gail in the "señoras´" coach and me in the "caballeros´" coach. We have to be in Paris on Friday, so we will only have one whole day and one night in Barcelona. We have been visiting many cities the last two weeks and staying in many hotels (most of which have been very nice), so it will be nice to call our hotel in Paris "home" for a whole week.
adios
Hot! Motorcycles, motorbikes, motorscooters! Plazas, fountains, parks!
Granada is so beautiful. The city is so full of quaint plazas with fountains and outdoor restuarants. Why can´t we have sidewalk restuarants in Shelton? Oh, yeah, I forgot the rain.
We have gotten sprinkled on here in Granada. It clouded up yesterday and the temp dropped to the low 90s. Good thing because I force-marched Gail up a very steep hill to the Moor area of town and to the Gypsy area. More quaint plazas and little stores and shops. There was a great view across the valley to Alhambra.
We did the "complete" Alhambra experience Monday. You can get reservations on-line if you know when you are going to be in Granada, which we didn´t, or you can line up about 7 AM for the 1200 tickets they reserve for same-day sale. When we arrived there were already about 200 people in line for the opening of the ticket office at 8:30. The line grew to a thousand by opening time. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE! A thousand people from all over the world speaking so many different languages. We met some very nice people from Switzerland and a man who is starting to sell wines in the US for a group of wineries in Spain. Our opinion is: Even if you have tickets, go early and enjoy the early morning line.
The Alhambra was an all-day experience. It is huge and beautiful. It was the last stronghold of the Moors in Europe, falling to the Christians in 1492. It was a walled city of 2000 people, their homes and businesses, so you can understand how big it is.
We are off to Barcelona this evening on a sleeper train. We got our reservations too late and the "Matrimonial" car was filled, so tonight we travel separately; Gail in the "señoras´" coach and me in the "caballeros´" coach. We have to be in Paris on Friday, so we will only have one whole day and one night in Barcelona. We have been visiting many cities the last two weeks and staying in many hotels (most of which have been very nice), so it will be nice to call our hotel in Paris "home" for a whole week.
adios
Saturday, August 25, 2007
London & Spain
LONDON
We are into our third week of travel. We have been in London for a week and Spain for the last two. London was so amazingly full of history. Like one tour guide said, "If you Americans had just paid your taxes, this history could all be yours!" We ran our legs off seeing museums, castles, historical points and attractions. Gail´s favorite was the Tower of London because of all the intrigue, deaths and important decisions about world history that happened there. Dan´s favorite was the Churchill Museum and World War II War Rooms. They captured, so well, the drama and sacrifice that went on in London during that time. The war rooms have been left exactly as they were as the war ended.
There is a computer catalogue of events which happened during Churchill´s life. It is on a table about 50 feet long which is touch sensitive. You touch a file folder for a particular date and it opens with text and photos which you can enlarge. If you happen to open a significantly exciting date something will happen the entire length of the table. For instance, when I opened the day of the Pearl Harbor attack a Squadron of Japenese bombers flew the length of the table with an attack sound track. Someone else opened the day of the first atom bomb test and all of the data was temporarily blown to pieces. I know, it was goofy kid stuff, but it was informative and fun.
The London Metro system was fantastic! You can get anywhere very quickly, very easily and very inexpensively. We rode the bus to see different neighborhoods, but an hour bus ride could be done in 15 minutes in the Tube.
SPAIN
We had planned to see a lot more places in Spain, but everywhere we go turns out to be the most beautiful place we´ve ever been and we spend more time there than planned. Rick Steves would be really mad at how slowly we are traveling, but it sure is nice to linger in beautiful gardens and museums.
MADRID
Madrid has a great Metro system also. We were warned about pick-pockets on the Metro and we were fortunate enough to experience one. We are carefull, especially in crowds, but walking down stairs between trains a lady came down behind us, matching us step for step. We waited for her to pass, but she just stayed behind us. I finally stepped aside to let her by as she was reaching into Gail´s bag. She quickly removed her empty hand and moved off. She had been able to unzip the bag both directions from the middle and reach in without Gail feeling it. Needless to say, we have learned that pick-pockets are not busy just in a crowd.
Our hotel in Madrid was fantastic. It was located near the Prado Museum with tons of restaurants, stores and parks nearby. The management is SO great. Javier, the owner´s son, is so helpful. We arrived late in the day to discover that he had given our room away. A teacher and several students from Italy had arrived and needed to be together, so he gave them our room. That was his first statement to us and you can guess we were a little excited about the situation. Then he told us that they had a nearby apartment they only rent for longer periods, but, as he had given away our room, we got to stay in the apartment for the same price as our original room.
We don´t spend a lot of money on hotels, so it was very nice to have a real one bedroom apartment with kitchen, living room, full bath with A/C for a budget price. It was located on such a nice, narrow street with beautiful apartment buildings, each with wrought-iron balconies.
While in Madrid we visited The Prado. It has such a collection of great art. I am a new enthusiast of El Greco. He does the best eyes and facial expressions! The Royal Palace was beautiful and, for some us, a great amount of money and energy just for a royal family. A day trip to Toledo taught us that it needs more time. Such a beautiful hilltown. It matches anything we´ve seen in Italy.
CORDOBA
Two days in Cordoba was not enough. The history there involves Chris Columbus. We visited the fortress where he negotiated his America trip with Isabella and Ferdinand. The night-life there is great. We´re getting into the land of Flamenco. We attended a Flamenco night in the park. The moon was up, stars were out on a warm night with stone towers as a backdrop to the stage. We need more exposure to Flamenco because it is a very intensely emotional production with the crowd yelling, "Ole!" at crucial moments in each performance while Gail and I just tried to figure out what was going on.
The Mezquita, originally the largest mosque in existence, turned into a Christian cherch, is a most interesting building. It is one story, with 800 columns supporting the roof. Each column is topped with a double arch of red and white striped stone. When we get the photos up you will see how amazing it is.
SEVILLE
This really is the most beautiful place we´ve been. HONEST! The cathedral is the world´s largest Gothic church. It´s bell tower is the minaret of the original mosque which stood there. There are not steps to climb it (except for the 17 right at the top, but they don´t really count when you´re climbing that high.) The top is reached by a 36 flight ramp along the wall of the tower. It was desinged so a rider could go by horseback fives times a day to make the Muslim call to prayer. A hard climb, but the wiew over Seville is marvelous.
We are goofing off today. After a two hour visit to the Alcazar, which was supposed to be a half hour, we´re catching up on the blog, followed by a visit to another garden. The gardens at the Alcazar we visited this morning are about the biggest we´ve ever seen. Besides the orange groves which are getting to be common now, there were pomagranate trees and so many kinds of palm. You could wander those gardens for days. And tonight, we are attending another evening of Flamenco. We intend to be asleep early, but people don´t start coming out until 10 or so and the night life continues until dawn. It´s Saturday and we understand people stay out very late because they don´t have to get up tommorow morning.
We´ll get photos on here as soon as we can.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Last day of school for Dan
June 22, 2007, was Dan's last day of teaching at Evergreen Elementary School. His boss and co-workers had a program at lunch time honoring Dan and several other teachers who were either retiring or moving on after this year. Some of the ladies presented a special, personalized muscical tribute to each of the teachers. Dan was serenaded by "Danny Boy". Therewere props involved and it was lots of fun. Some of the teachers, plus Dan's sister Kathy and her partner Colleen (a retired teacher herself), spent a few hours celebrating the last day of school on the patio at Taylor Towne later that evening.
Not wasting a minute of retirement, Gail dragged him out of bed at 6 am the next day to head out on our first "post-retirement" trip down to Arizona to say good-bye to both our brothers and their extended families before our six month trip overseas. We stopped in Eugene, OR for lunch with Bruce's McCoy family on our way south. It was great to see Art and Peggy and meet Bruce and Jen's nieces and nephew and their Dad and Mom, Doug and Colleen.
We stopped the first night at Redding, CA. then drove on to spend two nights in Yosemite National Park. Just before Yosemite we stopped in San Andreas and Angels Camp, Calaveras County, CA. These are the little towns made famous by Mark Twain and his story about the jumping frog contests. Lots of history there and a great museum.
In Yosemite we rented a "tent" cabin for two nights at Curry's Landing, deep in the Yosemite Valley. It was an unusual experience due to the imminent threat of bears. We couldn't take anything into the soft sided cabin that might have an odor attactive to bears. Think toothpaste, deodorant, sun screen as well as any type of food. We had to keep all that stuff locked into metal bear proof boxes down by the parking lot. That meant a trek down there anytime we needed food or shampoo. Luckily there was a pizza restaurant and a buffet in the little village near our tent since no outdoor cooking was allowed either. We did eat breakfast standing near the bear box each morning.
Yosemite was really amazingly beautiful. We saw El Capitan and Half Dome and as Dan likes to say - we decided NOT to climb either one on this trip.
This morning (Tuesday, June 26) we left Yosemite as we drove east over the park through Tioga Pass. This is the highest point in the California highway system - 9945'. From there we drove east through Death Valley and about four hours later were at the lowest point in the California highway system - (-242)' below sea level. And boy was it hot there - probably 120 degrees. This was actually more comfortable than the last time we visited when our kids were much younger. It was just as hot, but we didn't have any air conditioning in our old Chevy wagonmaster. Our current vehicle doesn't handle 120 degrees very well either, giving us the constant concern about overheating. But it does work off and on - a big improvement.
That evening we hit Las Vegas and checked into Circus Circus for a couple of nights. Wednesday morning we took the Deuce bus down to the far end of the strip and walked our way back in again the 120 degree weather. Dan was determined to gamble a little in each casino.
After dropping $20 in a number of casinos and wandering through his favorite, New York New York, Gail developed a gigantic blister on her foot that forced her to weather her tennies until a new pair of more comfy sandals was purchased in Surprise, AZ. We did NOT hit it big in Las Vegas.
We left Las Vegas on Thursday AM and drove east to Surprise to stay with Gail's brother and sister-in-law, Dale and Carolyn Downing until Sunday. We got to see Jim Olson's new home on the 18th hole at Festival Sun City. He got to move back home a week after we left once the smoke damage was taken care of. He was hit with a utility room fire only a couple of months after moving into his new home in March. His original plan was for us to stay with him this trip but the fire prevented that.
After visiting with the nieces and nephews (Amy and Scott, Hannah and Allison; and Rob and Michele, Bryce and Brodie) we left the Phoenix area after a yummy (and messy) lunch at Jim's restaurant Shane's Rib Shack. We drove north through Jerome and Sedona, AZ on our way up to Flagstaff for the night. That part of AZ is so beautiful with the dramatic red rock formations all around. We decided to cross the Colorado River near the Navajo Bridge Interprative Center. This was the first bridge across the Colorado long ago and the road took us eventually to Mt. Carmel Junction where we spent the night ready to hit Zion National Park the next morning.
This was Dan's first time in Zion and the best part is - it was free. Gail had purchased the senior pass last trip down here in March so all our entrances to the National Parks were free because we're old.
In Zion we parked at the visitor center and rode the shuttle bus up into the Valley for a couple of hikes. This is another beautiful, unique National Park so different from Yosemite and Death Valley. Zion is the middle part in the Grand Staircase - Bryce Canyon formations are the top step with the bottom layer there being the top layer in Zion. Zion's top formation is the second step with its bottom layer being the top layer of the Grand Canyon formations.
That night was stopped in Lehi, UT and the next day was Dan's most memorable event of the whole trip - his first visit to a gigantic Cabela's. This is the outdoor store to top all outdoor stores. We shopped for some travel clothes on sale and spent a couple of hours just wandering around the store. They had several different displays of "stuffed" animals, including one of African animals such as water bufflos, lions, etc. That sort of display isn't for everyone but it was pretty impressive.
Spent the evening of the 4th of July in Idaho Falls, ID and watched their huge fireworks show at a park on the Snake River (along with many thousand others). Before we took off the next day on our way to Salmon, ID we went into the Museum in Idaho Falls to see the national travelling exhibit "Ink and Blood" that was a history of printing and the bible. Saw pieces of the Dead Sea scrolls and lots of historic items relating to the printing of the bible. We drove through Idaho over to the Salmon River through Challis and on to Salmon for the night. The next day we visited the Sacajawea Interprative Center. This was the birthplace of Sacajawea and the history of it was all exciting. Since we've read a lot about the Lewis and Clark expedition, it was pretty exciting to be at the spot where Sacajawea lead them back to her Shoshoni tribe. But the long term story of our government's treatment of that tribe was sad. They were forced off their land and sent over to a reservation in the eastern part of the state at Ft. Hall Reserveation near Pocatello. Another horrible example of greed by the US Government.
We drove from Salmon, ID the next day over Chief Joseph Pass into SW Montana on our way to Victor to visit Dan's uncle and aunt, Ben and Marie Schultes. Each time we've stayed with them over the years has been fun and a lot like sleeping in the middle of a museum. They are the "Antique Sellers" and their beautiful home is filled with antiques in addition to all those for sale in their antique shop nearby.
The next morning found us on the road on our way to visit Jan and Frank Trummel in Spokane.
We got there about 1:00 PM and had a great chance to visit with them and their daughter Sarah and her husband Bob and Anna and Robin. Those little girls are full of life and really cute. Jan and Frank fixed us a delicious dinner and we spent the evening outside on their new patio put in by Frank. We always enjoy spending time with Jan and Frank and hope they will be able to join us in Paris and Switzerland in a couple of months. We're keeping our fingers crossed this will work.
After leaving them we headed north to Deer Lake to say hi to Sandy Summers and her kids out at the summer cabin. We spent the afternoon down at the lake and taking a boat ride around the lake. It was good to spend a little time with the Summers extended family before heading back to Shelton arriving home about 7:00 pm on the 9th of July.
We were gone about two and a half weeks bu it seemed like a long trip. This was just a small warm up for our six month trip starting on August 10. It will be interesting to experience being gone from home for that length of time.
Not wasting a minute of retirement, Gail dragged him out of bed at 6 am the next day to head out on our first "post-retirement" trip down to Arizona to say good-bye to both our brothers and their extended families before our six month trip overseas. We stopped in Eugene, OR for lunch with Bruce's McCoy family on our way south. It was great to see Art and Peggy and meet Bruce and Jen's nieces and nephew and their Dad and Mom, Doug and Colleen.
We stopped the first night at Redding, CA. then drove on to spend two nights in Yosemite National Park. Just before Yosemite we stopped in San Andreas and Angels Camp, Calaveras County, CA. These are the little towns made famous by Mark Twain and his story about the jumping frog contests. Lots of history there and a great museum.
In Yosemite we rented a "tent" cabin for two nights at Curry's Landing, deep in the Yosemite Valley. It was an unusual experience due to the imminent threat of bears. We couldn't take anything into the soft sided cabin that might have an odor attactive to bears. Think toothpaste, deodorant, sun screen as well as any type of food. We had to keep all that stuff locked into metal bear proof boxes down by the parking lot. That meant a trek down there anytime we needed food or shampoo. Luckily there was a pizza restaurant and a buffet in the little village near our tent since no outdoor cooking was allowed either. We did eat breakfast standing near the bear box each morning.
Yosemite was really amazingly beautiful. We saw El Capitan and Half Dome and as Dan likes to say - we decided NOT to climb either one on this trip.
This morning (Tuesday, June 26) we left Yosemite as we drove east over the park through Tioga Pass. This is the highest point in the California highway system - 9945'. From there we drove east through Death Valley and about four hours later were at the lowest point in the California highway system - (-242)' below sea level. And boy was it hot there - probably 120 degrees. This was actually more comfortable than the last time we visited when our kids were much younger. It was just as hot, but we didn't have any air conditioning in our old Chevy wagonmaster. Our current vehicle doesn't handle 120 degrees very well either, giving us the constant concern about overheating. But it does work off and on - a big improvement.
That evening we hit Las Vegas and checked into Circus Circus for a couple of nights. Wednesday morning we took the Deuce bus down to the far end of the strip and walked our way back in again the 120 degree weather. Dan was determined to gamble a little in each casino.
After dropping $20 in a number of casinos and wandering through his favorite, New York New York, Gail developed a gigantic blister on her foot that forced her to weather her tennies until a new pair of more comfy sandals was purchased in Surprise, AZ. We did NOT hit it big in Las Vegas.
We left Las Vegas on Thursday AM and drove east to Surprise to stay with Gail's brother and sister-in-law, Dale and Carolyn Downing until Sunday. We got to see Jim Olson's new home on the 18th hole at Festival Sun City. He got to move back home a week after we left once the smoke damage was taken care of. He was hit with a utility room fire only a couple of months after moving into his new home in March. His original plan was for us to stay with him this trip but the fire prevented that.
After visiting with the nieces and nephews (Amy and Scott, Hannah and Allison; and Rob and Michele, Bryce and Brodie) we left the Phoenix area after a yummy (and messy) lunch at Jim's restaurant Shane's Rib Shack. We drove north through Jerome and Sedona, AZ on our way up to Flagstaff for the night. That part of AZ is so beautiful with the dramatic red rock formations all around. We decided to cross the Colorado River near the Navajo Bridge Interprative Center. This was the first bridge across the Colorado long ago and the road took us eventually to Mt. Carmel Junction where we spent the night ready to hit Zion National Park the next morning.
This was Dan's first time in Zion and the best part is - it was free. Gail had purchased the senior pass last trip down here in March so all our entrances to the National Parks were free because we're old.
In Zion we parked at the visitor center and rode the shuttle bus up into the Valley for a couple of hikes. This is another beautiful, unique National Park so different from Yosemite and Death Valley. Zion is the middle part in the Grand Staircase - Bryce Canyon formations are the top step with the bottom layer there being the top layer in Zion. Zion's top formation is the second step with its bottom layer being the top layer of the Grand Canyon formations.
That night was stopped in Lehi, UT and the next day was Dan's most memorable event of the whole trip - his first visit to a gigantic Cabela's. This is the outdoor store to top all outdoor stores. We shopped for some travel clothes on sale and spent a couple of hours just wandering around the store. They had several different displays of "stuffed" animals, including one of African animals such as water bufflos, lions, etc. That sort of display isn't for everyone but it was pretty impressive.
Spent the evening of the 4th of July in Idaho Falls, ID and watched their huge fireworks show at a park on the Snake River (along with many thousand others). Before we took off the next day on our way to Salmon, ID we went into the Museum in Idaho Falls to see the national travelling exhibit "Ink and Blood" that was a history of printing and the bible. Saw pieces of the Dead Sea scrolls and lots of historic items relating to the printing of the bible. We drove through Idaho over to the Salmon River through Challis and on to Salmon for the night. The next day we visited the Sacajawea Interprative Center. This was the birthplace of Sacajawea and the history of it was all exciting. Since we've read a lot about the Lewis and Clark expedition, it was pretty exciting to be at the spot where Sacajawea lead them back to her Shoshoni tribe. But the long term story of our government's treatment of that tribe was sad. They were forced off their land and sent over to a reservation in the eastern part of the state at Ft. Hall Reserveation near Pocatello. Another horrible example of greed by the US Government.
We drove from Salmon, ID the next day over Chief Joseph Pass into SW Montana on our way to Victor to visit Dan's uncle and aunt, Ben and Marie Schultes. Each time we've stayed with them over the years has been fun and a lot like sleeping in the middle of a museum. They are the "Antique Sellers" and their beautiful home is filled with antiques in addition to all those for sale in their antique shop nearby.
The next morning found us on the road on our way to visit Jan and Frank Trummel in Spokane.
We got there about 1:00 PM and had a great chance to visit with them and their daughter Sarah and her husband Bob and Anna and Robin. Those little girls are full of life and really cute. Jan and Frank fixed us a delicious dinner and we spent the evening outside on their new patio put in by Frank. We always enjoy spending time with Jan and Frank and hope they will be able to join us in Paris and Switzerland in a couple of months. We're keeping our fingers crossed this will work.
After leaving them we headed north to Deer Lake to say hi to Sandy Summers and her kids out at the summer cabin. We spent the afternoon down at the lake and taking a boat ride around the lake. It was good to spend a little time with the Summers extended family before heading back to Shelton arriving home about 7:00 pm on the 9th of July.
We were gone about two and a half weeks bu it seemed like a long trip. This was just a small warm up for our six month trip starting on August 10. It will be interesting to experience being gone from home for that length of time.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Antigua, Guatemala July, 2004
Here we are at the Probigua (Projecto Biblioteca Guatemala) Language School in Antigua. The people of Guatemala were wonderful; the country beautiful. We worked on our Spanish four hours a day for two week. We stayed in Guatemala for three weeks with our friends Jen & Earl Henrikson; their daughter, Sarah, and Pebble & Jack Griffen.We lived in a beautiful home Jen rented for us. Our rent included a maid who also cooked several meals for us.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Post #1 - Retirement trip plans
Retirement trip plans.
We have been busy the past few months making plans for our big retirement trip in August.
Here is our itinerary so far.
August 10, 2007 - We're taking a flight from SeaTac to JFK and then on to Heathrow in London.
August 11, 2007 - We have a studio apartment reserved for one week at Carlton Court, 120 Maida Vale, London. We are planning a few day trips out of London during the week.
August 18, 2007 - We're taking an Aerolineas Argentinas flight from Gatwick to Madrid. We will be touring around Spain and Portugal for two weeks with no prescheduled plans.
August 31, 2007 - We have a one bedroom apartment reserved for one week at the Royal Regency, in the Vincennes section of Paris. Jan and Frank Trummel are coming to spend some time with us in Paris.
September 8, 2007 - We plan to take a train from Paris to Geneva, Switzerland, with Jan and Frank for a week at Portes du Soleil, Val d'Illiez, Switzerland. It is a ski resort (in summer) at the end of a long road up in the Alps.
September 15, 2007 - We'll be saying good-bye to Jan and Frank and head south into Provence, France, as we work our way down into Italy.
September 22, 2007 - We have a studio apartment reserved for one week at Palazzo Catalan, Soriano nel Cimino, near Viterbo, Italy. This is an hour north of Rome by train.
September 29, 2007 - We have a week to travel around southern Italy making our way over to the eastern coast near Bari.
October 6, 2007 - We have a one bedroom apartment reserved at Hotel Villaggio Cala Corvino, Monopoli, Italy. It is on the Adriatic south of Bari.
October 13, 2007 - We have a week to travel farther south in Italy making our way to Sicily.
October 20, 2007 - We plan to travel from Sicily to Tunisia by ferry and spend a week at a one bedroom resort the Residence Hayet, in Hammamet, Tunisia.
October 27, 2007 - We plan to fly from Tunis to Cairo, Egypt for a week during which we'll visit the pyramids at Giza.
October 31, 2007 - We will take a train south to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt and stay there a couple of days sightseeing.
November 3, 2007 - We'll fly from Cairo to Dubai to visit with Jen and Bruce.
After that we have no definite plans, but hope to fly east to India and Bangladesh, then maybe Thailand before we head back to the US.
We have been busy the past few months making plans for our big retirement trip in August.
Here is our itinerary so far.
August 10, 2007 - We're taking a flight from SeaTac to JFK and then on to Heathrow in London.
August 11, 2007 - We have a studio apartment reserved for one week at Carlton Court, 120 Maida Vale, London. We are planning a few day trips out of London during the week.
August 18, 2007 - We're taking an Aerolineas Argentinas flight from Gatwick to Madrid. We will be touring around Spain and Portugal for two weeks with no prescheduled plans.
August 31, 2007 - We have a one bedroom apartment reserved for one week at the Royal Regency, in the Vincennes section of Paris. Jan and Frank Trummel are coming to spend some time with us in Paris.
September 8, 2007 - We plan to take a train from Paris to Geneva, Switzerland, with Jan and Frank for a week at Portes du Soleil, Val d'Illiez, Switzerland. It is a ski resort (in summer) at the end of a long road up in the Alps.
September 15, 2007 - We'll be saying good-bye to Jan and Frank and head south into Provence, France, as we work our way down into Italy.
September 22, 2007 - We have a studio apartment reserved for one week at Palazzo Catalan, Soriano nel Cimino, near Viterbo, Italy. This is an hour north of Rome by train.
September 29, 2007 - We have a week to travel around southern Italy making our way over to the eastern coast near Bari.
October 6, 2007 - We have a one bedroom apartment reserved at Hotel Villaggio Cala Corvino, Monopoli, Italy. It is on the Adriatic south of Bari.
October 13, 2007 - We have a week to travel farther south in Italy making our way to Sicily.
October 20, 2007 - We plan to travel from Sicily to Tunisia by ferry and spend a week at a one bedroom resort the Residence Hayet, in Hammamet, Tunisia.
October 27, 2007 - We plan to fly from Tunis to Cairo, Egypt for a week during which we'll visit the pyramids at Giza.
October 31, 2007 - We will take a train south to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt and stay there a couple of days sightseeing.
November 3, 2007 - We'll fly from Cairo to Dubai to visit with Jen and Bruce.
After that we have no definite plans, but hope to fly east to India and Bangladesh, then maybe Thailand before we head back to the US.
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