...llena de lindas mujeres de sangre del sol

A comer, beber, esquiar y gozar que el mundo se va acabar. I had a change of plans for my
Colorado Ski trip.

Nos vemos,

--Joe

Wait...Maine isn't a peninsula?

Dad was doing business in New Brunswick so he asked us if we wanted to head up to the land of Tim Horton's, toonies, and socialized medicine. We all flew into Manchester, NH and drove up through Maine to get there. Since most of our weather maps show the US as an island, I thought Maine was a peninsula, so you can imagine my surprise when we drove across the border. Fredericton is a nice city. We were very centrally located on the river off Queen St. Two blocks from a Tim Horton's which I ate at daily, 10 minutes from a coffee shop called "Crumbs", and literally across the street from a paint your own pottery place (Em's dream come true). There are some nice trails for jogging, walking, and biking in the area although I didn't use much of them because of the rainy weather.

Saturday and Sunday, we all headed out to Alma on the Bay of Fundy, home of the biggest tides in the world. We arrived exactly half way between low and high tide. You can see it literally coming in. Having already been on the road for a while we decided that it would be better to head to Prince Edward Island now and get a hotel there rather than go back to Fredericton and make the trip again. 

I, Em, PEI

So we hit our HI Express breakfast (that's where we get our money's worth ;) ) and headed out toward the Anne of Green Gables house. The grounds around the park are nicer than the actual exhibits. Afterwards we headed to Cavendish Beach where we met a few locals that were soon to be transplants to the Tampa area. The ride back was a long one. Em and I spent the next day locally, packed up and headed back into the states to fly back home.

--Joey

(7/31/08)

Detained in Gatwick

So after my flight from Split landed in LGW, I duly got into my Non-EU, non-CH, passport line which happened to be a bit shorter than the others. U-S-A! U-S-A! I walked up to the desk and gave the guy my passport with a Spanish Passport cover (possibly my first mistake). The guy took it and began the following dialogue:

"Where are you from"
-"The states"
"And are you flying in from Croatia?"
-"Yup, Split"
"How long are you staying in the UK?"
-"About 24 hours then off to home"
"How long have you been here?"
-"In the UK?"
"Well in Europe"
-"Almost 6 months" ( I should have said 5 months but I was tired)
"Oh? That's a while. Just traveling around?"
-"Yup and yeah it has been I am looking forward to heading back home"
"Do you have your reservation for tomorrow's flight?"
-"Umm no, it's an E-ticket"
"So you may not be returning tomorrow?"
-"No I am going home tomorrow unless the flight is overbooked"
"Don't you need to contact the airline days in advance?"
-"No, I don't think so"
"So it isn't an open return ticket?"
-"Nope fixed dates"
"But you don't have a reserved seat?"
-"Nope I will pick my seat when I get to my hostel"
"But you don't have a reservation/confirmation number?"
-"I have it for the flight over not sure if it is the same for the return or not?" (it was)
"Hmmm..."
-"If you have a computer here I can pull it up and make the seat assignment permanent or heck, if it is possible, I will change my ticket and hop the flight today if the option is available"
"Well, you know, this isn't a cybercafe" (What a smug douche)
-"Hehe yeah I suppose not"
"What do you do for a living?"
-"I am a student"
"What and where are you studying?"
-"Electrical Engineering at the Unversity of South Florida"
"And this isn't a problem, you being away for 5 months? Or is not being present for courses not a problem for you?"
-"Well, no it isn't a problem, I will just graduate with my Master's a semester later"
"So it IS going to affect your studies"
-"Yeah I suppose so, but postponing it a semester doesn't bother me"
"How much money do you have?"
-"I don't know 100 USD, 5 GBP, 700 CZK, 30 ZLTY, 10 Euros..."
"So 5 GBP..." (Yeah man, GBP is the only currency worth anything...I get it)
-"And of course, I have a credit card and ATM card...so I will get 50 GBP or so"
"So how much can you get all together?"
-"Not sure I have a limit of something like 250 GBP a day"
"But how much can you get from your account"
-"Um, around 2000 GBP or so"
"Do you have a job when you go back to the States?"
-"No, I will be resuming school and looking for coops, internships etc."
"Have you been working in Europe?"
-"No I wasn't able to get a visa for Spain so I have just been traveling"
"So you don't have a job, you haven't been working yet you have a couple thousand pounds. I don't understand how you can travel for 6 months, without working...how does one fund something like that?"
-"Um, well I still live with my parents so I banked my salary for a year it isn't that difficult...some people buy fancy cars or eat at nice restaurants or have a 5 quid a day Starbucks habit...I travel instead"

(I guess the story sounds improbable to most non Americans. I would have assumed with the exchange rate being 2:1 that EE's in the UK would earn the same amount as we do in USD. After all everything is TWICE as expensive and the taxes are higher. Nope. Even with more experience, they still earn less in gross dollars. Oh...that's right, I forgot they have free healthcare :slaps forehead:)

"Hmm okay, well I got to tell you a lot of your answers are raising red flags so we are going to have to investigate your case and examine your luggage can you go sit in the detainment area"
-"Ummm..really? Okay..."

So I walk over to the detainment area. I was the sole 1st world national there (A few Pakis, West Africans etc). I understand people may be sneaking into Britain but Americans, I am guessing, aren't doing that in any appreciable numbers. So I waited for about 30 minutes before his coworker came to get me. I brought my backpack upstairs and I was thinking man these guys have no sense of humor (being painfully aware of how uptight our own Customs officials are) when I met up with the baggage checkers upstairs. They look into my backpack and conclude within 20 seconds that I am backpacking around Europe.

I think the stale smell of my beaten clothes, maps of 15 cities were tip offs. We were laughing and joking around, I was translating the guy's Japanese tie. It was cool, I just happened to get Gareth Keenan as my inspector downstairs.

He comes back (roughly 90 minutes from getting off the plane) and says "My colleagues examined your case and we have decided to permit you into the country. In the future please do not be so unprepared."

He also said something about how had he arrived in the US with so little documentation that he would have been arrested. Yeah sure you would.

I planned to crash back at Palmer's Lodge off Swiss Cottage but Em logged on to Gmail and sent me a message she wanted to do a curry dinner. It was a strange combination of being elated that she was willing to give that a try and cursing her for not doing it last time. So we headed over to Aldgate East, the closest stop to Brick Lane. Every curry shop has a guy out front hawking their specials. The offer was a meal, appetizer and beer for 9 GBP. Sounds good to me!

I ordered the forehead sweat and nasal drip factory more appetizingly referred to as Chicken Vindaloo. It was nice as whenever you ask for something hot here the cooks always pull the punch. Like a medium steak that gets served medium well, they assume that they will be dealing with a complaining customer if they give them what they ask for. To be sure, that wasn't the case here. Cheryl and Em liked their first real chicken curry so the meal was a success and we headed back through East London and the financial district.

So with our last few hours we headed back to the hostel to make arrangements back home, select my seat and the rest. I was in a 20 bed male dorm that didn't have air conditioning (or it wasn't in use) but it was just for a night and I was already pretty exhausted from the previous day which was starting to run together with this one.

Unlike most days when I need to catch a morning form of transportation in a rather do or die sort of way, I slept incredibly soundly. Em did too. I was actually a little worried she wouldn't make the flight to the point that we took the Gatwick Express instead of the regional train. The extra few quid would be well worth ensuring we didn't have to call Dad from Gatwick...again.

We arrived with about 20 minutes to spare so with that we called the trip a success. I hopped the nonstop flight to Tampa while Em made a stop in Philly. Mom and Granny were waiting for me at the airport and got a kick out of my scruffy beard and long hair. While we waited for Em I got a Sam Adams at TIA. Ahh hops. How I missed thee.

This was arguably the best trip I have taken. It was longer and while I did cover a lot of the same territory again I also saw a lot of new places (Croatia, Montenegro, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic and a variety of new cities Bremen, Berlin, Barcelona, etc). Sightseeing often took a back seat to the journey itself (which I was fine with).

For my favorite cities from before, I have a new appreciation that is a bit more realistic. I made some friends that I will probably see again, I had experiences that were really unique and having worked in real life, I also deeply appreciated what I was able to do...much more so than in 2006. It reinforced that I need to continue backpacking since I am running out of time to do it (or at least do it properly). With some luck, I'll be headed to China in May and the blog will fire back up. In the mean time I have school and a coop in the power industry. Which I am super stoked about, btw.

--Joey

Montenegro, baby why don't we go...

After several days of doing a lot of nothing (well in my opinion having the sole objective for the day be to get a hamburger and some steak shish kebabs for the nightly barbeque is almost nothing) I decided to make a trip to Kotor. The town is a walled medieval city with a really cool wall that runs up to a fort at the top of a mountain overlooking a fjord. Even with overcast weather it was still spectacular.

The buses run between Budva and Herci Nova with a stop at Kotor every hour or so. From the dingy station in Kotor, I walked about half a klick to the Stare Grad entrance. The first thing I come across is a 50 person Japanese tour group. There is something funny about seeing a 60 year old guy in a rice field hat with a 1000 dollar camera, in front of a 700 year old bell tower.

I started walking toward the back of the town toward the mountain. In between two old apartment buildings, there was a trail leading up. A few minutes later I made it to the top of the church (still a ways from the top of the mountain). Magnificent view!

It started to drizzle so I headed back. On the way out I stopped in a church. It was lit naturally and it was completely empty. The altar had a beautiful sculpture. Behind it, the black Madonna and child style that was made famous along Adriatic coast.

Back in Budva, I hit up our butcher and vegetable stand for some bacon wrapped chicken on a skewer and some delicious steak shish kebabs. Buttered carrots, tomatoes and potatoes wrapped in foil and coated with seasoning. A meal for a king all for the price of a supersized Big Mac meal back home. It was a damn good life :)

It was the last night in Budva. Had I been in Europe longer, I am not sure when I would have left the Hippo Hostel. The guests (and owners) were awesome, the town was pretty relaxing, the prices were affordable, and on the off chance you want to go site seeing, you have several UNESCO world heritage sites within daytrip range. Nice!

The next morning I said goodbye to everyone and headed off toward the bus station by way of the post office. I was going to send a postcard to my Spanish host family. It was closed. Oh right! Sunday. So I held on to it and walked toward the bus station. The walk took a little longer than I thought, and I missed my bus to Dubrovnik. I wasn't too worried. They come all the time.

When I got to the window the guy tells me there are no more buses to Dubrovnik until the next day. I told him that wouldn't work since I had to Split from Croatia early the next morning. So, I kept prodding and asked if I could get to Herci Novi. A town right on the Montenegrin/Croatian border. Yup! Sweet. From there there were surely buses to Dubrovnik.

Not on a Sunday there isn't. Similar reaction there. So I walk up to an English speaking driver from Bosnia. 100 Euros to Dubrovnik. I only had 70 and was not going to go to an ATM, so I asked how much to the border. 40-50. Okay. Can we agree on 40? Is there a town close by on the otherside of the border?

Yes, just a short walk.

Okay.

We talked a bit about life in Montenegro, Bosnia etc. Meanwhile I noticed his meter was running a bit slower than the pace needed for forty euros. As we approached the "green zone" (the area between Croatia and Montenegro) he flipped off the meter which was crossing 20 euros. It was Christmas Eve in Sarajevo. I didn't mind getting ripped off to the tune of 20 euros, I did however, mind him lying to me about the town on the other side of Croatia.

He parked, I paid and walked off. The Croatian border guards looked at me like I was crazy. My long hair and beard was probably not helping. They said there was a small town a 5km over the border. Wow, not exactly a short walk. That is about an hour with a 40lb backpack and the sun was setting.

About 20 minutes into my pedestrian paseo I see a car pass me. A few minutes later I see a car coming the other way. The driver yells "Are you going to Dubrovnik?"

"Yes!"

"Want a ride?"

"YES! Thank you!"

Turns out it was an American guy and his Spanish wife on vacation in Dubrovnik. They rented a car to head into Montenegro for the day. Beautiful! My 2nd time hitchhiking and I do it inadvertently! They drop me off literally at the bus station and wish me well...they wouldn't even accept some kuna for the gas.

There were three more buses to Split but they didn't leave for a while so I thought I would eat some food and burn off some of the extra kuna I had (thinking I was returning earlier from Montenegro, I got 100 dollars worth when I arrived). Turns out nothing was open. Why? The Eurocup 2008. Croatia had the first game against Austria. Europe was watching, and Croatia was riveted. By the time I reached the old town (which is a sizable walk from the bus station), I was ready to get some food.

At the back of the town there was a tourist information stand and they advised me to get back to the bus station and take the next bus. Apparently sometimes if there isn't anyone waiting for the bus, they just cancel a route. Plus with the soccer game, many businesses were closing early. Suddenly I had this deja vu nervousness. I stopped off for a pizza and kept checking my cell phone for the time.

15 minutes for the worst case bus ride + 15 minutes to the bus stop + 15 minutes for a worst case delay between buses = 45 minutes. I was at that right then so I boogied out. Along the way, the old town erupts, Croatian flags everywhere! They had beaten Austria 1-0. Hey great good for them.

While waiting outside I see cars come to a halt. Horns honking, soccer balls bouncing off the old walls, chants screams. No one could move. Seriously. I couldn't believe it. If the last bus of the night is canceled, I am not going to be able to make the next to last. The lane begins to back up when some genius decides to let loose a smoke bomb. Oh man oh man oh man. It looked like this...



Fortunately all buses were running so I caught the late bus to Split. It was relatively empty and on the first stop this wacko comes on and sits right behind a guy with his seat reclined...and asks him to sit up. He was mentally unstable and I knew I would be getting off the bus with this guy two cities down...oh great.

I got a little geography lesson on the way up the coast. Bosnia divides Croatia. I was wondering about why we passed through customs but didn't think much of it. The gas price getting cut by a factor of five confused me though.

We finally rolled in to Split around 3a. The bus station was filled with people from our bus, a few other backpackers, a couple of homeless etc. Pretty much a normal night at a mass transit terminal. I tried to sleep and ended up walking outside several times throughout the night to check out the floodlit Diocletian palace and bell tower. I need to return to Croatia.

I ended up meeting an American woman who immigrated from Croatia so we shot the breeze until morning. She was headed back to Gatwick in order to fly to DC. She had three hours between arrival in LGW and take off for DCA. That sounded a bit ambitious to me. You have to go through customs, pick up your bag, exit to the main terminal, get your boarding pass, recheck your bag, go through security etc. That isn't THAT much time for an airport as large as Gatwick.

Murphy's law through the book at her. Our Easyjet flight was delayed 90 minutes. Oof.

When I got off the plane the line for non EU, Brits, and Swiss was fairly long, and ironically the "other" catch all was pretty short. Woohoo for American citizenship once again!

I'll pick it up there next time...




--Joey

Why did I tell you I was going to Shanghai?

After a fair amount of consideration I have decided to postpone*, not cancel, my trip to China. When I initially had the idea of going to the olympics in Beijing (it was just after Torino in 06) I thought it could be like Barcelona in 1992: city changing, memorable, potentially infamous, and an all out party to celebrate China's entrance on to the world's stage. Unfortunately for China, the earthquake and the Tibet crackdown (of course, they had control over that one) are taking the shine off a bit.


China is also cracking down on visas much to the chagrin of businesses and would be tourists. They are terrified of massive protests with the world watching. More and more applicants are getting denied for somewhat arbitrary reasons. Me being a 25 year old student going solo would almost certainly raise an eyebrow or two. Additionally, I would be VERY reluctant to buy a non refundable airplane ticket when it is possible my visa would be rejected which in turn may make them more likely to reject my application. The visa isn't cheap either (roughly $200) and nor does it appear to be refundable.

As I did a little more research, I got equally excited about seeing the Yellow Mountains, Guillin, roaming around the Bund in Shanghai, soaking up the Cantonese sardine can of Hong Kong, taking a boat down the Yangtze to Chongqing, and even possibly seeing Tibet. A lot of those areas are considered to be malarial zones at this time of year. Touring China during the summer is the worst time to visit (much like Florida).

So the question became, how important was seeing the games? It went from being a major reason to visit to just a reason. I came to the conclusion that I would rather do this trip in April or May than July and August. The one remaining question mark was, "Will I have another opportunity to visit China for a prolonged period of time?"

Saying that I can do it after I start working as a few have said was, in my opinion, way too optimistic. One advantage of having worked in the real world is that I recognize how much anguish people (well, Americans anyway) go through to take 2 consecutive weeks off. This is especially true if you are married with kids. Between coordinating your schedule, her schedule, the kids' school and making sure you insulate yourself again possible "emergency deadlines", going on vacation can be exhausting. When I went to Japan, it was only for 10 days, which is pretty short considering how long it takes you to hop the pacific. If this the only time I will have a month to travel, then my saddest-words-of-tongue-and-pen weltanschauung compels me to seize the day... but I don't believe that to be the case. After grad school, I will likely be able to arrange a month off before I start work full time or possibly I will be able to do it between semesters.

That doesn't mean my backpack will be collecting dust for too long, I may be leaving elsewhere fairly soon.

--Joey

*much to the relief some in my family

Accommodation Roundup

Over a few months in Europe I stayed in a variety of places that ranged from personal homes, rented apartments, buses and bus stations, trains, hostels and even a couple of hotels.

In order of usage:

The Generator - London -- In the Russel Square area, cheap party hostel. You either love it or hate it. Personally I felt the police coming every night was a bit excessive. I wasn't a huge fan but under different circumstances I would likely feel differently.

The Globetrotter - London -- In the Ravenscourt Garden area, was a bit quiet back in January. Fairly social (I believe there was a bar downstairs) but it was out in the suburbs in Zone 2. I personally got a better deal by booking online than what they offer at the desk (6.50 GBP vs 19GBP)

Hostal Suizo - Seville -- I think this Hostel was also an Hostal. Centrally located off Plaza Nueva right near Calle Sierpes. It was fairly decent but there are better options

Hostal Santa Maria de la Blanca - Sevilla -- A one star pension on la Puerta de la Carne. Right on the edge of Barrio Santa Cruz closest to Mendez-Pelayo. It was about 40 Euros which is roughly the price for two people at a local hostel. a decent bet for people that want a cheap well located hotel in an authentic setting for poco dinero.

Samay Hostel - Sevilla -- One of the nicer youth hostels I have ever stayed in. Nice deck upstairs with a great view of the Giralda. Best kitchen I have seen. Two thumbs up. Around 18 euros a night. The only downside is that between the deck, kitchen and common room it divides the meeting place up a bit.

Rising Cock Hostel - Lagos -- This may be the best hostel in the world...it is definitely my favorite. Mama's crepes, comfortable clean hostel, with an impressive movie, TV show collection and a big screen plasma. Great eats in the neighborhood. Nanabar (Toucan burger! I recommend ordering it Medium Endangered), chicken man etc. Awesome city, cool beaches, and ubersocial common room make this place top most people's list.

Hotel Olissippo Marquês de Sá - Lisbon -- A kick ass 3 star hotel gotten for us by the Tios. Centrally located (5-10 minutes to two metro stops). Just down the street and to the left (keeping the hotel behind you and on the left) is a tasty Chinese restaurant (I went with lucky #127 on the menu).

Sant Jordi Arago - Barcelona -- Right off of Passeig de Gracias, you can't get a better location if you tried. Small hostel run by a friendly trio. Only downside is the ratio of beds to showers is a little tight so you may have to wait.

Salvia Hotel - Andorra la Vella -- A three star hotel at a hostel double room price. Right in the middle of town (although pretty much any hotel would be). Recommended

Wira Hostel - Hamburg -- Cheap place (10 euros?) but massive refundable key deposit (50E!?!). It is more or less central. Em and I were literally there for a day so the nearly absolute silence and sterile atmosphere wasn't too important.

Circus Hostel - Berlin -- Practically inside the Rosenthaler Platz metro station. In the former East Germany, 24 hour eateries abound some for less than 3 euros. The hostel itself is clean and modern, shared bathrooms are plentiful. There is a bar downstairs with things like a Wii , Karaoke etc. A great option for those wanting to hit up Berlin.

The Wombat City Hostel -- Munich - I have always wanted to be able to say "Everytime I come go to Europe I stay at "X" " The Wombat ist meine haus in Munchen. It seems to be showing slight signs of wear over my last visit but still among Europe's best. The Wombar is usually pretty hoppin downstairs although I didn't use it much on this past stay.

Sir Toby's Hostel - Prague -- Out in Prague VII so you are 30 minutes from the old town and Wenceslas Square (imo a bit overrated) by foot. The hostel itself has great breakfasts for 100 CZK, and a cool basement/bar area.

Flamingo's Hostel - Krakow -- We went from being far from everything to being on top of everything. 50m at most from the main square. Smallish hostel with a TV with cable (handy for those days where it rained from morning until evening) everything is clean, board games the usual. Nice place...

Hostel Ruthensteiner's - Vienna -- We stayed at the Summerhouse but the original is equally nice (if not nicer). Right down the street from the Wombat Lounge and across from Mozart Stuberl.

Hippo Hostel - Budva, Montenegro -- Very cool place along the Adriatic. The hostel is relatively tiny (20 beds?) and like Lagos, the main attraction is the beach and old town so you tend to hang out with the same people all day. Kotor is a good day trip. One of my top 5 hostels for sure. It is a seasonal place and as of now Dave and Nadya appear to be closing shop in November 2008 for good. Get there while you can!

Palmer's Lodge - London -- Big "sleep factory" style hostel (not that there is anything wrong with that). Clean, convenient to Zone 2 metro station Swiss Cottage. 15 minutes or less to Green Park.

--Joey

Back in Tampa

I am still behind on my posts from Kotor, a little of Rome etc. So just a quick update for the time being. We got back safe and sound, the last 48 hours for me was a whirlwind that involved Bosnian cab drivers, Montenegrin border control guards, hitchhiking, sleeping in a Croatian bus station, getting detained in Gatwick, and having the best damn curry of my life. I wouldn't have it any other way.

It has been great to catch up with everyone. Kim had us all over for chocolate fondue and a slideshow. We picked up Dad at the airport and he got to see my scruffiness first hand.
Publish Post
Not sure how long I will be stationary (we are all going to Jacksonville in two days) stateside or internationally for that matter but for the moment I am enjoying the best hostel of all.

Zai Jian,

Joey

Yo Adriatic, it's rocky

I hopped the night train from Rome to Bari in a three person couchette. The sleep on a night train is always hit and miss, if the ride is more than 8 hours you have a reasonable chance at a full night's sleep but when you get one that is 6 hours it just makes you tired. So I walked out of Bari Centrale at 7:30ish and waited for a McDonald's to open so I could sit and rest a little. After three hours I had had enough and walked down to the port to find out about ferries to Corfu, Dubrovnik or to Montenegro. The Corfu ferries start during the high season, Montenegro runs on alternating days so I pinned everything on the Dubrovnik ferry which runs regularly...unfortunately for the company.

I believe there were no more than 12 people on board. I skipped getting a room in favor of sleeping on the deck but I met a few Canadians and Americans so we just stayed back drinking and bsing most of the night inside.

We arrived in Dubrovnik around 8a where I was swamped by older people wanting to rent me their rooms (the cheapest way to stay in Dubrovnik). From the port I headed off to the bus station to catch a ride to Budva, Montenegro. It has a lot of what Dubrovnik offers such as beautiful waters and beaches, a picturesque old town and the like but with two main causal advantages: fewer tourists and lower prices.

The drive in is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. It is like Scandinavian scenery, Iberian weather, Mediterranean architecture and Chinese prices. What's not to love? I ended up staying at the Hippo Hostel, Montenegro's only hostel and planned on staying put for 2-3 days. Turns out I liked it so much I decided that I am not moving until the 8th. We barbecue nightly with finds from the local butcher. Really high quality premarinated steak kebabs, chicken wrapped with bacon, baked potatoes, and local veggies all for 6-8 euros...roughly the cost of a McDs value meal in Rome.

It is also a real convenient place to depart from if you want to visit Croatia, Bosnia, and other cities in Montenegro such as Kotor which I may end up doing tomorrow. All I have to do is get myself to Split on the 9th so with the next 4 days...who knows? My next entry will probably be when I return home, see you all in about a week.

--Joey

On the Road in Munich

The late video is about 100 seconds of our time in Bavaria. Enjoy :)



--Joey

We're in Vienna! Yeah I Donau either...

We decided to waltz down to Vienna after being shut out of our Budapest train. We aren't yet in Europe's peak season but this is closer than I have ever been (while backpacking) so I am still getting used to the idea of hostels/trains/restaurants etc being booked.

Just before leaving Krakow, I messaged a former colleague, Joachim, and told him that I would be in Vienna and that maybe we could meet up for a beer. He ended up treating us to lunch, showing us around the world's oldest zoo at Schoenbrunn and inviting us over to his house. We started off our Viennese tour with a stop at Minoritenkirche right off the Herrengasse metro stop for a look at the Last Supper. Yeah you heard right. Apparently Napoleon was fond of the Da Vinci original in Milan so he commissioned a mosaic copy that he intended to swap out with the original. As a nice surprise, Joachim had never seen this.

He then showed us the oldest cathedral in Vienna dating back to the 1100s. It is easy to miss if you don't know what you are looking for. From the Stephansdom entrance you may notice the outline of a cathedral a few meters away. On that site there was a 12th century cathedral that was torn down in the 1700s. It was largely forgotten about until the metro workers, while tunneling stumbled into an open space...the basement of the cathedral. The remnants are viewable through a window in the Stephansdomplatz metro station but it is tucked away a little and easily overlooked. That night we went to see the Indiana Jones movie in English at a local theater. It was a throwback to the times when megaplexes didn't exist (which has its advantages and disadvantages).

The following day Joachim and his son came with us to the world's oldest zoo at Schoenbrunn. It hosts an impressive array of animals: pandas, hippos, penguins, sea lions, and even bats. In a "Jungle House" exhibit, bats fly freely (though mostly they just hang on the ceiling. But in the Bat Cave exhibit, the lights are off and you can feel then whistling past your hair! We returned to the hostel, Ruthsteiner's Summer house and made a big bowl of fettuccine alfredo with chicken, broccoli and carrots. We had made so much that we had some left over for the two person staff who were awesome during our stay. Luke and Keesha you two rock :)

That night we went to the Opera which is always a great experience regardless of what is happening. As I mentioned on the blog the last time I was in Vienna, if you show up to the ticket counter 2 hours before show time you can usually get a standing room seat for 2-3 euros which is worth it just to see the inside. We were decidedly underdressed for the occasion. The Viennese crowd attends the Staatsopera in business or even formal wear. My travelpunk tshirt and jeans seemed a bit out of place. After the show, the audience gave a 3 minute long standing ovation during which there were no less than four curtain calls. As the applause died down they still came out which was hilariously awkward. So with that we decided to start applauding like ANIMALS in order to coax another trip out. The three of us and another 3-4 wise guys in the standing room only section got them out 2 more times. Each time with less of their costume on!

On the last day in Vienna I was arranging Em and Cheryl's trip to Venice while trying to get myself to Slovenia and still do some laundry that was badly overdue. The washing machine left my clothes soaked since I didn't fully read the instructions which made the drying take hours and they still didn't complete. The damp clothes then smelled even worse. My train to Ljubljana would have required a change in Salzburg and an arrival at 2a. None of that was particularly attractive to me so I was thinking of staying another day in Vienna when I got word from Dad that he had the Holiday Inn points to put the girls up in a Crown Plaza just outside of Venice proper. Hmm...

So the three of us headed to Venice that night :D

Venezia: The Venice of Italy

Last time I was in Venice was during the Torino Olympics and it happened to coincide with the first day of Carnivale which was an extra cool bonus. The weather was a little dreary and my impression of it was a cool little town that was absolutely artificial. Every shop was selling masks, batteries, maps and other touristy kitsch stuff. Restaurants menus resembled the Rosetta stone, Gelaterias were everywhere, and high end clothing shops rounded out the remaining businesses. This time, I felt like people lived in Venice, and while still very touristy, I had a much better appreciation for it. The first order of business was to get some gelato. The creamy Italian specialty that NEVER tastes as good in any other country. I have tried it all over Europe and in the states and there is always something missing.

Em using her mother's spider's sense when it comes to bargains found a garage/chruch sale on the outskirts of town where she picked up a small Carnivale mask at 1/4 price. We wandered back and found a nice Chinese restaurant where we ate some dinner by the canal for a surprisingly reasonable price.

Day two we spent heading toward San Marco square. There are signs in most alleys leading you there, but (un?)fortunately the twisting maze of Venice makes it so easy to lose your direction and yourself that you end up not caring as much about your destination. As a result we ended up arriving a little too late.

The last item on the tourist trap list was a gondola ride. They charge you 80 euros for up to 5 people. As we cringed and divvied it up into thirds we met a couple from Miami on their honeymoon who were thrilled by the idea of splitting it 5 ways. Good luck Steve. We'll post a video somewhat shortly.

We headed back to the hotel and enjoyed lying in bed. I ended up passing on a shower figuring I would do it in the morning. That turned out to be a hilariously bad idea. The next day in Venice we started by eating at a restaurant called Restorante di Bepi. I give it two thumbs down even though the food was ok. I thought we had strayed far enough off the tourist trail (this was in Venice Mestre instead of the Venice everyone thinks of)...

The owner is this obese slob who is rude as hell. Cheryl and I ordered our food and as Em tried to decipher the menu he leaned on his fists breathing heavily. She buckled under the pressure and said just bread. Haha poor Emy. The food came out a little late and as we finished up we had 20 minutes to get back to the train. We asked for the bill. 10 minutes later, in a near empty restaurant, nothing. So we nodded to one of our servers. Still nothing. So I got tired of their crap and went up to get a menu to add it up myself and we left the money on the table. I didn't see a price for the drinks but figured it couldn't be more than the service charge and for such crappy service I wasn't inclined to pay it anyway. So we left and 100m down the street the guy comes waddling out yelling for us to come back that we didn't pay enough.

Our bill was itemized and he said, "You didn'tah pay the cover noabody wants your money". Which wasn't true, he was very interested in my extra 10 euros. He also said he was waiting with the bill for me...if he had been you would think he would have come over when I was doing his job for him. The back and forth escalated to a screaming match where I called him and his restaurant a steaming pile of shit. I hope this fat douche dies of a carbonara induced heart attack at 45. Next time you go to a restaurant in the states and you get service and don't have problems with your meal, try to appreciate it, the rest of the world doesn't always operate that way...

By 2ish I was planning on heading to Trieste then Slovenia but the line for the tickets was too long so I followed Em and Cheryl to Rome. Now I plan to loop the Adriatic and fly out of Venice...for now anyway :D

--Joey

Polishing off Pierogies in Krakow

No trip to Poland should be complete without a plate of boiled or fried pierogies. Krakow, often called "the next Prague", is a bit more expensive than the rest of Eastern Europe but it still offers up some pretty good deals even in the central parts of the city. For example, U Babci Maliny, a small chain of traditional Polish restaurants, sells a massive plate of Pierogies (probably enough for two people) for between 3-7 bucks. Throw on a bowl of hot pea soup and half a liter of Zywiec and you can walk out stuffed for less than 10 bucks. It caters to tourists and locals alike.

Due to the poor weather the three days in Krakow were spent primarily at this restaurant. Day one was a tour of Nowa Huta, the Soviet response to the beautiful architecture of the main square. The goal was to create a centrally planned utopia for the industrial workers. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of this industry and most of the raw materials had to be shipped in from all over the country. Today it attracts tourists interested in the ugly style of communist architecture that cropped up one identical block at a time. We spent the afternoon at a local pizzeria and took advantage of being reasonably far from the center of town. Between the four of us we spent only about 25 bucks, including our transportation to and from.

Day two, as I already wrote, was spent at the Auschwitz memorial and Day 3 rained us out which kept us pretty local to the hostel (which was actually a welcome change). Day 4, Em and Cheryl ended up making an impromptu visit to the castle while the weather briefly cooperated and said it was great. The night train to Budapest was booked so we opted for Vienna instead.

--Joey

From Bed to Wurst

Em and I didn't sleep much our last night in Barcelona. The alarm went off around 4, and I rolled out of the top bunk. We had a 5a bus to Girona and then a flight to Bremen where our friend Wiebke, or VB as we call her, lives. We also had to worry about our weight. You see, Ryan Air, while cheaper than the average night in a hostel for those that book ahead, also charges you about 15 bucks a pound for luggage over 33lbs. So I wore my jacket, moved the heavier items to my day bag and wore two pairs of pants. 15kg exactly. The flight was pretty meh like my last one and I am pretty sure there is no reclining the seats, but I did fly for 20 euros all told.

VB greeted us at the airport and showed us around downtown Bremen and we had a traditional German lunch with a Franizkaner hefeweizen beer. She lives a bit outside the city so we took a train to her village and from there her mom drove us to her farm where we met her brother and father. They are incredibly nice people :)

The weather turned rainy so we bailed on going out. The next day was May 1st; the non American world's labor day. Which is celebrated pretty much the same way we do. Bbq, brats (the best Bratwursts), beer, and the like. We even built a grill for the occasion (VB's dad got it as a gift for his birthday days earlier) and drank the local brew, Becks. They were quite impressed that we had heard/had Beck's in the states. Little do they know that is probably the most famous German brewed beer on our side of the pond. Fat and full we rode out a quick rain storm and had a bonfire in the yard.

Day 3 on the farm was a rainout so we went down to Bremen Haven for a kebab and a look at the North sea. The following day was really cool. In the afternoon we drove out to the North Sea. At low tide you can walk for miles from the coast in ankle deep water. It is really bizarre! That evening we hit up a barn party that brought people from every neighboring village to hear live music in a quasi circus atmosphere.

We took a train to Hamburg and then split ways. Her back to Bremen for her flight and me to Berlin.

--Joey

Auschwitz Tour

This is the 3rd Concentration Camp I have visited (the others being Mauthausen and Dachau) but it was by far the worst, both in terms of its emotional impact and the nature of the camp. Like before, the feeling is undeniably haunting but contrary to the previous visits, the weather was appropriately raw; around 50F and raining. I think God was crying along with us.

There is a visitor's center that serves food (a noticeable difference between Mauthausen and Dachau), a gift shop (which at the onset gave me really mixed feelings. Fortunately it is tastefully done and they offer books, ponchos, batteries, disposable cameras and footage of the liberation), and a projection room that shows footage taken by the Russians on and after liberation day; January 27, 1945.

I have read a fair amount about the Holocaust (and Auschwitz in particular) so there may have been fewer surprises for me than there were for others. For starters, Auschwitz is often incorrectly used as the name for Birkenau and the entire camp complex. There were three camps. The original camp (Auschwitz), the extermination camp (Birkenau), and an industrial work plant that produced synthetic rubber (Monowice-Bunawerke). With the latter being destroyed, visitors can only tour Auschwitz and Birkenau.

A guide speaks into a microphone and we listen through headphones. As I walked through the infamous Arbeit Mach Frei (work brings freedom) sign in Auschwitz I felt a little confused. I believed that sign to have been seen by the millions of victims as they entered. The overwhelming majority never saw the cynical slogan. I felt oddly normal walking on the roads between the housing complexes.

It is easier to forget the atrocities when you are surrounded by 20 other people. But as time and the tour went on it drained everyone in the group. The camp was originally meant for Polish soldiers and then after the September 1st invasion it was used by the Nazis. The barrack tour starts with a little history and maps from Nazi occupied Europe. As it moves on it shows trains of mostly Jewish prisoners arriving. Disturbing photos of families aligned after selection; their death in the gas chambers a fait accompli, horrifically malnourished children, twin victims of Mengele's sadistic experiments along with glasses, suitcases, shoes and other personal artifacts. But it was the hair that was worst.

There is a room with filled with human hair. From ceiling to near floor, and 20 yards long. When you say a million people died, you can just as easily say 100,000, 10,000 or 10 million. Humans don't handle numbers that large very well and orders of magnitude are as easily lost as adding commas and zeros... but the hair both makes it intensely personal and gives you a sense of the scale. 14,000 lbs of hair were recovered from Auschwitz...and that was what was only what was left after it had been used for packing textile industries and the like for the entire course of the war.

Next was a prison within the prison for inmates who broke the rules (which ranged from working too slowly, to relieving yourself outside of the two designated times per day) and horrific punishments (hanging people by their arms, starvation chambers, suffocation rooms) that seem more fitting in a medieval museum than in a 20th century memorial.

The tour finishes the with a reconstruction of the Auschwitz gas chamber and crematory. Nazis sensing the Russians would be in Poland shortly thereafter destroyed as much of the evidence as possible. Some historians believe only 7% of the paperwork to have survived the this coverup. You can only wonder what they were thinking.

We finished the Auschwitz tour and boarded a bus for the roughly 2 mile journey to Birkenau. It was standing room only but there were no complaints. The group reconvened just beyond the infamous watchtower. From there we walked to the barracks to see models of how they lived. Prisoners who worked emptying the toilets had the most desirable jobs because they worked inside and because they smelled so badly, the kapos and other blockfuhrers didn't want to get close enough to beat them.

Finally we ended with the remains of the crematoria which haven't been moved much since WWII. Since we tend to think of trash as needing removal, seeing it as it was in 1945 closed the 63 year gap and made it feel uncomfortably recent.

By this time we were numb both emotionally from the day and physically from the cold, so we headed back. If you climb the watchtower you can see from one end of the camp to the other, something you can't do on the ground. I completely underestimated how large the camp was.

When I hear holocaust deniers coming up with Zionist conspiracies to explain the founding of Israel or at least minimizing numbers suggesting the scope of the crimes was vastly exaggerated, I am strongly sympathetic to the idea this atrocity could not possibly have happened.

How I wish they were right.

--Joey

Bewitching Andorra

If you have heard of this city-state, pat yourself on the back. Outside of countries sharing a border with the Pyrenees, those seeking ski heaven and a tax haven it is relatively unknown...even among our European friends.

The scenery here is really nothing short of spectacular. Due to it's location, and Andorra la Vella's setting in the valley; you can literally see mountains in every direction from every point in town. Anyone spending time in Barcelona owes it to themselves to check out this beautiful place.

Our first night, Joeda had a craving for KFC. The woman at the front desk insisted to me that restaurant didn't exist. 15 minutes later I was walking back through the fancy glass doors with a bucket of chicken. Day two in Andorra la V(B?)ella started with a hearty breakfast of Napolitanas de Chocolate, meats, cheeses, eggs, yogurt, and OJ. From there we headed to Arinsal to take a hike. As amazing as the scenery is in the capital, as you go forward 3 miles or so, it gets mind blowing! After that long tough day, I went to the town's spa called the Caldea which was AMAZING!

Because I got there after 8:30pm, it was only 24 Euros. The building was so futuristic looking. Inside, the stairs were spiraled and illuminated by blue LED's. The dressingrooms were cool: set up like this. From the dressingroom you go through the shower area then into the bathing area. The main lagoon was huge! and the water was perfect - just the way I like it (87-90 degrees). It wasn't too crowded which was awesome so I had a lot of room to swim around - kind of like fountains - overflowed water into the lagoon. There were mini waterfalls that you could go under and the whole lagoon had vanishing edges - REALLY cool idea! The lagoon went outside via a canal that had plastic flaps covering the exit. I swam under it like at the Jacksonville pool (just a Mom and Dad reference). It was probably 60 degrees outside so the hot water felt even better. It reminded me a lot of the night we went to the onsen in Japan. The Caldea has a "fitness" area that was a maze of saunas, blacklight rooms, the desert hot air bath/tunnel, polar room that had snow and ice. This area was really fun to explore. The other really neat area of the Caldea was the Roman baths. At night it is dark with very low lighting (from candles) and I was alone so it was extra meditative. There was a light show in the main lagoon - Actually, it was a little trippy...a big sun face that at the end of the night eventually turned into a moon face and the moonface would nod off and blink its eyes until it fell asleep...and from the ceiling dropped colorfully lit planets with faces in them that spun around. Then an illuminated pirate ship sailed through the air from one side of the lagoon to the other. All to the tune of plunky music from a xylaphone. Some images were projected on the water like the Fantasmic show at MGM. The spa also had a bunch of facial and body treatments. It's a funny thing about pampering and perceptions of luxury. Having Belgian chocolate painted on your body = sophisticated. Having chocolate crummies around the corners of your mouth...not so much. For anyone planning their honeymoon/ anniversary, I highly recommend the Caldea!!

Breaks from hostels can be welcome and this 3 star hotel was the same price as our hostel in Barcelona (if you count the included breakfast) for the low season. Unfortunately, we don't really deserve to stay in nice places. During our stay here I set a croissant on fire, left hair in the bathtub, Joey broke a glass, we checked out late and left finger nail clippings in the lobby. That's how we roll...

--Emily

Bayerning for some Bavaria

These posts are chronologically out of order. I'll go back and cover Berlin and Bremen a little later.

The bus ride from Berlin started at 8:15 and concluded around 4:30p. We had a stop around noonish for "5 minutes" which meant that the rest stop that sold food and the like was 2 minutes too far to go. Then about 25 minutes later there was another 10 minute stop. I don't get it. Since the first one was at a rest stop and the second one was in a town, how about letting us have a 15 minute stop at the next place so we can all get something, you know, to eat? It was the first time I have said to myself "This makes NO sense at all" in Germany. While on board I met a guy who looked uncannily like our roommate for a day in Salamanca, Sebastien. He was from Munich (two stops from Aying) and I think I remember him saying he had a brother. So just out of curiosity I asked this guy if he was originally from Munich. Yup. "By any chance do you have a brother named Sebastien?" No...but my name is Sebastien. That was pretty weird. I showed him a photo that was left on my camera and he agreed so much he wants me to send him a bigger photo of the Sebastien I know.

I went for a walk around the Marienplatz and despite the throngs of tourists (more than I have seen in my last two visits) I still love the area. I got word that Em missed her flight from London but Cheryl didn't so I would meet her at the hostel. Em spent the night in Stansted airport which I am sure she'll tell you about.



The next day we scrapped our plans for a Neuschwanstein visit because of Em getting in a little late. A perfect day for an Aying day trip which happens to be my 4th time to the biervonhimmeldorf. The open air beer garden is so nice. We had half a chicken, some kartoffelsalat, and 1L of a helles good beer. Chamber of commerce weather, great food/beer along with some typical Bavarian music from the accordionist rounded out the gemutlichkeit hat trick. One of best parts of ordering beer in German is that I am quite accustomed to saying "Una mas" to get my next 8oz in Spain, and now I just say "Eine Maß" to get my next liter in Germany ;)

Feeling full we decided to go for a walk to Peiß, the next town over. As rare as it is for visitors to hit up Aying, Peiß makes it look like Zone 1 London. Along the way, Em and I both peed in the same woods (at different times smart ass) that my father took an emergency schieße back 2 years ago.

Since Em was on fumes and Cheryl might be coming down with something we called it an early night back at my home away from home in Germany, the Wombat hostel.


I can't believe I know four people who have been to that rail stop :D

Tschus!

--Joey

Gaudacious!

I am now firmly in the camp with everyone who didn't get robbed (and maybe a few that did) in Barcelona: we love it. It's center oozes "cool". For a place that gave me such a bad first impression, I now consider it among my favorite "big cities" in Europe.

Em and I stayed, primarily, at Sant Jordi Arago right off of Arago and Passeig de Gracias (a main road in town). It is yards away from the Gaudi masterpiece Casa Batllo. It's skeletal frame and soft curves with bright colors give off a vibe that is as whimsical as it is macabre.

The hostel organizes regular events (pub crawls and dinners) so on our 2nd day we headed to Frico's for the FC Barcelona vs Manchester United. It was the game EVERYONE was talking about. The ramblas were overwhelmed by ManU fans supporting their team. Every newspaper, every nook of the city was ready to explode if Barcelona could manage the upset. Naturally, we were root root rooting for the home team. Not because I care about the sport (much less the team) but because I am always a fan of people making noise until 5a. After a hard fought match, the game ended the way it began: 0-0. Excuse me while I hock up a cheek busting 25cl mouthful of loogie and spit it right onto the steps of Sagrada Familia. How can a tie for a game so big possibly be acceptable? This is the champions league! I just don't get it. Games should have winners and losers. A tie should leave everyone feeling miserable and yet there were people still in the streets reenacting parts of the game; "Remember when the guy from Brazil went like this :moves feet around: yeah!" Oh who cares...

The next day we were off to Sagrada familia, Gaudi's most famous work in progress. The Cathedral is expected to be finished in 2026 for the 100th anniversary of his death. The nativity facade is amazing in it's intricacy. It is like Gaudi decided to melt an existing cathedral. When all is said and done it is expected to be 550ft tall. To put that in perspective, the Dom of Cologne is "only" 515ft. Given our extra days in Barcelona we decided not to go inside since we would have only been able to see the first floor (no climbing the towers) and even then we had 30 minutes before it closed. So we instead marveled at it from the outside (apparently the consensus from everyone is that the inside is a bit disappointing).

On Friday, we were rounding out our final day in Barcelona with a girl we met at the hostel. We did a tour of Mont Juic (trying to catch the Magic Fountain which, outside of the summer tourist season, only has shows on Friday and Saturday. The fountain was built in the 20s but suffered from years of neglect. When the olympics were awarded to Barcelona it was fully refurbished and has been wowing visitors ever since with its mix of lights, water and music. Unfortunately, we showed up a little late and only caught the tail end of it. One more thing on the next time list...along with the inside of Sagrada Familia.

The next day we got our bus to Andorra la Vella which Em will tell you about...





--Joey

Quick update

Em and I are in Hamburg. We will update with a post on Andorra, Barcelona, and Bremen shortly. Hang tight :)

--Joey

Life in Spain

Our final day in Salamanca starts with a piso tour of rooms not covered in Life in Spain 6 and continues on through the next morning to show what Salamanca is like on the weekends.



--Joey

100th Post

My lil ol' travel blog has finally reached 100 posts. I feel it is particularly apropo that the milestone be reached in the city where I wrote my first post from the road: Barthelona! Thanks to everyone who has read the 99 ramblas in the interrim. Hopefully I have another 100 in me before my backpacking life ends.

Em and I celebrated our last night in Salamanca with a few of our new roommates. We had a pretty delicious Fettucini Alfredo with some veggies. Not knowing exactly how many people would show up, we prepared for a worst case scenario of everyone we invited coming and we low balled the serving size. Consequently our 12 big appetite servings, 18 for normal people, were shared among the 7 of us. Combined with deviled eggs and finished off with my ersatz bananas foster.

So with that we all sat around and chatted before leaving for a few Salamanca bars like La Chupiteria (literally, the shot place), Cubic, and a few others. Around 3am we had to decide whether to stay up, or head back. The train was at 8a, so we had to leave by 7a meaning to pack up required us back at 6a so sleep was either not going to happen or it had to happen right then. Nahhh....

Exhausted, we headed to the train station and bought our ticket to Barcelona. It was about 9 euros per person more than it said on the website for Saturday. The 12 hour train ride ended with an arrival in Estacio Sants the unofficial parliament for the pickpocketing capital of Western Europe. Ironically, it didn't feel like it. It was mostly empty (contrary to the other three times I have seen it) and but among the very few people there were Vb and Sophie who welcomed two weary travelers to the metropolis. Turned out they lived two stops from our hostel off a back alley of Plaça Reál. On day one we headed out to a greek place that offered up some of the best kebabs ever, and afterwards called it an early night.

Adieu,

--Joey

Life in Spain 7



On this Life in Spain vlog, Em and I head to Avila in search of Yemas and a photo I took 2 years ago.

--Joey

Via Libre

I found this place downstairs (literally) from my apartment (47 Gran Via). I have stopped heading to the Plaza Mayor to do my internet-ing. There you pay 1 Euro per hour for a connection on slightly older computers (still a deal, especially given the location). In the past I would spend about two hours there, get a drink and blow between 3-4 euros. In Via Libre, I get a Ca~a of beer for 1,50 then it comes with a tapa (I usually choose Bacalao--the fried and salty fish goes great with a creamy Estrella Galicia), and for an extra 50 cents I get a potato salad. So for 2 euros I can stay all day long and get some food. Most days I spend around 5 euros and get another beer and tapa or two.

Only downside is I wreak of smoke especially after "rush hour" since Gran Via is on a lot of people's way home.

--Joey

Life in Spain 6



On this life in Spain Salamanca celebrates Lunes de Aguas and the return of prostitutes from the banishment during Lent.

Enjoy!

--Joey

Avila's Home Again

I have mentioned on previous blog entries about my favorite untouristed touristy spot in Spain; Avila. Most Iberian bound travelers will be lucky to see it from the window of their train on the way to Salamanca. It is a either a shame or a blessing depending on your point of view. It is nice to be traipsing around 900+ years of history without every fannypack yellow umbrella follower getting in the way of your photos on the other hand, people are missing out on this day trip gem. Meh, I'm selfish I'll keep it the way it is.

The attraction for non Catholics, is the wall--called La Muralla; Avila is also the home to Saint Teresa of Avila. Em and I took the 12:40 train there for about 16 euros roundtrip. For people that like buses, you can do the same for 10. For people traveling with my sister, you spend the extra 6 euros ;)

The wall is roughly 1 km or so from train station so when you pull up you can see from end to end. Very impressive. Having seen this lovely pueblo twice, like a few things I have revisited, the wow wears off a bit. Although that is to be expected. Jokes aren't as funny the second time around and movies dubbed classics make you scratch your head at times.

Disculpe, donde esta 40.653466, -4.696451?

There is something here I wanted to see which is a bit different than most people. Two years ago, I took a photo that turned out by chance to be possibly my favorite of the thousands I have taken. I didn't realize it fully until I dumped it on my computer almost a week later. So one of my goals was to find this place. A tricky task. When I took it, it seemed good but not thinking much of it at the time, I took no steps to think about where exactly it was. I had a vague idea (which turned out to be right) that it was on the back side of the wall or near the back side of the wall.

Em and I wandered for hours looking for the place. I decided that it was probably not going to happen...at least not in time to see it in different light. Because Angela and I passed by at twilight, it is forever foggily sealed in my imagination the way it exists there. Part of me wondered if I wanted to see it any other way. There is something to be said for keeping it as it was in my mind. If I took a better photo with my better camera, would I really want to replace my first one? It wouldn't represent the same feelings or mentality I had when I took it. The photos I plan on hanging on the walls of my future house, should be more than a pretty picture, I want it to represent about that 1/8th of a second of time when it was taken with all the associated feelings and thoughts that went along with it.

We had lunch/dinner at a cafe called Bar Havana (alas no luck finding Cuban food, just burgers) when I noticed they had a few computers. So I jumped on took a look at the photo on my blog, photoed the screen and headed off with new found energy. I think I had seen the top of the cathedral in the background! Sometimes Dad will tell me he has no idea who he is rooting for in a random football game until one team scores or messes up and the outburst is off the cuff. Similarly, I wanted to find this place. No doubt :)


We got a bit turned around and as we found ourselves near a belltower I recognized from last time and we kept poking around the grounds because it looked promising. Having covered it from every angle I was resigned to not finding it again, only this time I knew I was going to be disappointed. More walking up narrow paths up to the wall and I see a familiar arch, with the top of a tree that doesn't appear to belong in Spain. YES! I ran up and as the road bent around I see a hemisphere of stone.

Bingo! Now that I had found it, I wanted to get some more information. If future generations were to do what I have done with my father's photos I would need to get them some details on what and where this is. I now know exactly what it is and EXACTLY where it is ;)

Turns out it is called El Convento de Nuestra Se~ora de Gracias. The street is Cuesta de Gracias and is a stone's throw from the Muralla. I remember Angela telling me she thought the courtyard felt spiritual and I agreed, and then whipped out the camera. The Convent was from the 1980s. Wow, only as old as me? Kind of a metaphysical bummer. A little more research showed that it founded in the 1500s but burned down in the 1700s. In the 200 years that followed it was decided that it should be a national monument. 40 years later it was reconstructed in its present form.

If you decide to take a day trip to Avila from Madrid (or Salamanca), make sure you take the last train back. The wall at night is really pretty.



--Joey