Saturday, June 30, 2007 

Venezia and Firenze




Arrived in Florence from Padova today. Train ride was only 2 hrs and it was very comfortable as I took the Eurostar train. From Milan to Venice, I was on the IC train, which was a very UNcomfortable 3 hr trip. When my friend M mentioned how much she liked traveling on the trains in Europe, I couldn't imagine why. My only experience up til then was with Amtrak - which I wouldn't consider enjoyable. Only after the Eurostar train today did I understand what she meant.

After my fiasco in Milan I arrived in Venice, albeit two hours later than planned. I had tried to leave P a message on his cell when I realized I was taking the next train but apparently he didn't get my message. Maybe I misdialed? All I knew was that some voice spoke something in Italian which I thought was asking if to confirm the number I dialed but it may have told me the call couldn't go through as dialed. But it was very wonderful to see P and F meet me at the train station. I hadn't seen P in about a year and a half but it was as if it was only yesterday that he was still in Boston. (Luckily he was home in Italy around the same time I was visiting, so we had the chance to meet up). P is my Italian friend who is not really Italian (or so I tease him). He defies all stereotypes of Italians - an Italian who is tall, calm and doesn't like garlic?!

P's gf F went to school near Venice so she was our tour guide and guided us through the maze of bridges and buildings and masses of tourists. I do believe there were more foreign languages spoken in Venice than Italian. The main tourist attractions in Venice weren't very attractive simply because the hordes of people didn't make it a pleasant experience. However, the buildings and monuments (Palazzo Ducale, etc.) were still impressive in their faded glory. We walked into a museum of violins where it was quiet and Vivaldi was playing - and I suddenly had a sense of what it must have felt like to be Venetian in Venice's days of glory. In the future when I hear Vivaldi, I will probably recall walking along the canals of Venice...

Afterwards, we strolled to the outer perimeter of Venice where few tourists were and it was an oasis of calm. Only then did I truly appreciate Venice beauty and charm. That was the beauty of traveling with a local! I probably wouldn't have found those places as a tourist. In the evening, we had authentic Italian pizza which was very delicious. P used to rave about the Italian pizzas back in Boston, so I finally got a chance to try it. later in the evening, I got a chance to try P's mom's desserts which were amazing and very beautiful. i also got to try her homemade limoncello, for which i had the recipe. P mentioned to his mom that i was the Boston friend who had requested the recipe a couple years back. don't worry - i also requested the famous tiramisu and apricot tart recipe this time too! =)

it was really wonderful seeing P again and i hope i will have the chance to either visit him in the future or see him when he visits the Stati Uniti again.

It's finally starting to feel like summer. All of last week, I was half freezing. Temps were high of low 70s or high 60s, and it was quite windy as well. While in Lisbon, I wore a skirt while waiting for my pants to dry (which is a BAD idea when you're in a windy city). it's now mid 80s in Florence and it may be even warmer when i get to Rome in a couple days. Only drawback is I'm starting to collect another souvenir - mosquito bites. =(

6:50 AM | |

Friday, June 29, 2007 

Portugal







At the beginning of my trip in Paris, I tried to cram in so much that I was exhausted. Also, the last night I spend in Paris at the Aloha Hostel, which was terrible. The place itself was so so and not super conveniently located. The worst thing was that the people there were so noisy! The music was blasting at the downstairs "bar" and people were running around, banging doors and talking loudly up til the wee hours (i stopped bothering to check the time after 3am). Unfortunately, all the loud obnoxious people I heard were American. No wonder why we have a bad reputation abroad, especially among the other young European travellers! At least my 3 other roommates were very nice.

My last day in Paris I went to the Pompidou Center and the Les Halles area. I wasn't so taken in by the area since I've visited more interesting, charming areas earlier. I don't understand much about art, particularly modern art, so the Pompidou was more of a must do touristy thing than something I really wanted to see. I returned to Notre Dame and toured the inside of the church. I have a feeling that 'll be visiting more churches these weeks of this Europe trip than I will or ever have throughout my lifetime.

Once I got to Portugal, it was very relaxing. I arrived in Porto, where I met up w my friend E. After having to figure out my itinerary and plan how to get from A to B in Paris, it was so relaxing to not have to worry about any of that. I had a tour guide, translator and chauffeur! Makes a huge difference when you're visiting friends vs. travelling on your own. Porto was very charming, esp. the Douro wine area. I did a tour of theFerreira house and sampled some port. The tour wasn't terribly informative but I did learn that there is a white port (aperitif) in addition to the tawnies and rubies (digestif).

ok, i'll have to continue about Portugal later as I've got a train to catch.

6/30/07
Rewind to Portugal...
I'm so glad I was w E the first day or so because when I was in Lisbon I was able to understand some words based on listening to his conversations. Whereas in France I could get by w my French, in Porto E was there, in Lisbon it was more difficult. I should've gotten Portugese, Italian and German phrase books before I left for my trip. Just knowing the basics would've really helped. Damn.

the train ride to Lisbon was long and boring. made me wish A could've come on this trip with me. too bad timing didn't work out for her. traveling is fun but it's so much better with friends. it sometimes gets lonely when you're traveling by yourself - esp. during train rides or flights. i've spent a small fortune on english language magazines to pass the time already... another advantage of traveling with friends is that you can wander off to places late at night and not worry as much. another thing is that you can try nicer restaurants or share dishes you wouldn't order on your own. so glad i'm meeting up with friends throughout different legs of my trip!!!

Lisbon reminds me a lot of San Fran. It's a rather hilly city and they also have cable cars! They even have a bridge that looks almost exactly like ours (I don't know what it's called). Some of the streets are really narrow. When you're riding the cable car, you can see buildings on either side of the street practically a foot away from either side of the car. It's a little scary, actually. When you're high up in the hills, you can look across and see the coastline below. They have some nice beaches there, which unfortunately I didn't have a chance to visit. I actually did pack a swimsuit but I doubt I'll actually get to use it.

I went to Belem, where the Jeronimos monastery was located. It is a beautiful building, all white with elaborate carvings throughout. The Portugese explorer Vasco da Gama's tomb is there. I visited the cafe where the famous Pasteis de Belem is sold too! That was one of the food places I was really looking forward to visiting. And yes, their pasteis de nata is the best I've had (not that I'm an expert or anything). On the subject of food, I also tried a Francezinha for dinner while in Lisbon. It's a Porto speciality I think but we didn't have enough time to try it in Porto. Since E mentioned it, I figured it was worth trying and my curiosity promped me to order it. It's like a sandwich, which looks like a lasagna when it's served and to me, tastes almost like a pizza. The sandwich part is chorizo and steak between grilled pieces of bread. The whole thing is covered with a layer of cheese and topped with a tomato based sauce. It was similar to what I had tried at E's place which was a sandwich of steak between pieces of fried bread, topped with a fried egg and some sauce (made of butter, port and worcestershire sauce). And E's family were amused when they heard about him attempting to cook. He claims he does from time to time...I have only witnessed it once. =)

It's too bad I didn't have time to visit Sintra, a world heritage site. Hopefully I will be able to do so in the future, when I visit M in Portugal when she's back.

1:38 AM | |

 

Milan

Italy has been frustrating so far. I flew in from Lisbon last night and arrived around 11:30pm. the hotel i booked was nearby but the hotel shuttle wasn't running anymore at that time. since it was late and my options were limited, i decided to take a cab. for literally a 5 minute cab ride, i was charged 20 euros! i couldn't believe it and i told the cab driver to wait while i went inside the hotel to ask if the price was reasonable. apparently, unfortunately, it was correct. in Milan at the airport, the drivers can sometimes wait hours for a customer and the minimum fare is 20 euros. what the hell? the shuttle, had it been operating, would've been 3. =( also, the hotel i booked was the priciest place i'll be staying at throughout the trip, essentially because it was close to the airport and i was arriving so late in Milan. in addition, the front desk requested that i show my passport, which they KEEP until the next morning. after being ripped off for the cab ride and then having them ask for my passport, i was appalled. if the receptionist didn't show me the other passports he had, i think i would've walked outta there. that is because of security purposes and some new law i'm told.

furthermore, the smell of cigarettes was so strong in the room i could't really sleep. it's hard to sleep when you can't breathe clean air!!! to add insult to injury, i wake up early to catch the 7:30 hotel shuttle to the airport so i can get to the Milan central train station to catch my 9:05am train to Venice. but the train from the airport (took 50 minutes!) doesn't go directly to central station so i need to transfer to the metro afterwards. (i opted out of the bus from the airport directly to the central station because i was warned that would take longer because of the morning commute). so i finally get to the train station, buy my ticket, only to MISS the damn train by two minutes! ugh. the next one is two hours later - so i wandered outside and found this internet cafe.

i'm spending so much $ and wasting time for a detour from Milan to Venice. had i known earlier, i would've paid more to fly straight to Venice. =( hopefully, this info is of use to someone who travels to Milan in the future.

ok, enough venting. i just hope the rest of Italy makes the unfortuitous beginning worthwhile...

1:18 AM | |

Sunday, June 24, 2007 

Versailles and more




yesterday morning, i visited notre dame. there was a procession going on and i asked a reporter there (in french!) what was going on. he told me that they were ordaining a new priest that day. the whole ceremony inside the church was also being broadcast live on a large screen projection outdoors.

ile st louis was very quiet and charming. you're hard pressed to not find a charming area in this city. if you think about all the charming areas you enjoy visiting anywhere and concentrate all those characteristics into one city, you've got paris. at least that's my impression. the whole foodie cafe bistro culture was established here ages ago. i'm a fan.

i continued to the latin quarter and rue de mouffetard area in the morning. (rue de mouffetard is someplace i wouldn't mind spending more time wandering around it. very cute.) i went to the louvre and i know i didn't give the louvre it's due as i only visited the denon gallery but i visited the must sees and that was good enough for me. i wanted to enjoy the nice weather (it had been chilly and somewhat rainy the day before) and just wander around the neighborhoods and absorb the ambiance and experience the city rather than being in museums all day...


from the louvre, i walked through the lovely jardin des tuileries to the musee d'orangerie. then i was off to rue de faubourg - the ritzy shopping area. lots of $$$ shopping and places so exclusive you have to be buzzed in (jewelry shops). cartier, longchamps tiffany, chanel, armani, etc. needless to say, i window shopped.

later in the evening, i went to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur - sat on the church steps to admire the view of paris. the place du tertre area was bustling and the cafes and restaurants were candlelit and packed with customers.

i took the train to Versailles this afternoon. the grounds are vast and the palace is well - palatial. it makes the Vanderbilts who owned the Breakers mansion look like paupers. the grounds are well manicured and there are lovely fountains and even a manmade canal. it was very beautiful and impressive but somehow i found it a little disappointing. i don't know - i expected it to be larger, more grand, etc. that's the problem about visiting places you've heard so much about - you tend to render them so impossibly grand in your imagination that the real thing seems unimpressive in comparison. ok, it's a lesson in managing expectations...

afterwards i went to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the stairs to the top. i'm used to walking nowadays but i was still a bit winded when i reached the top. the view was nice and i'm sure it's even better if you go in the evening to admire the nightlights. i walked along rue de Champs Elysees - more expensive shopping here. i stopped by Laduree and bought some macaroons (this was a must-do for me) and was slightly shocked at how expensive they were. i followed rue champs elysees toward place de la concorde and near rue tronchet (madeline metro stop) i saw Laduree, fauchon and hediard all located within a few blocks of each other. Cool! only unfortunate thing is that these shops were closed as it was a sunday evening. i need to revisit during open hours.

Tonight I'm staying at the Aloha hostel. i'm in a room with three other girls from Belgium. They're just visiting Paris for the weekend since it's only a 2-3 hr drive from where they are. imagine being able to go to Paris for the weekend...i'm very jealous. They recommended that i visit brusges and ghent, which i think i will be visiting in a little more than a week. i'm leaving my belgium itinerary with A and T's capable hands. i'm not sure if i'll like it here at the hostel - they're blasting music on the main floor now where i'm clacking away at the keyboard. um, i really hope i won't hear it when i'm sleeping. the cool thing is that they are located within walking distance of a pierre herme and close to several bakeries. but i'm not so sure if it's that centrally located. at least it's closer to the orly airport train line, where i need to head tomorrow early afternoon.

i hope to see the pompidou center and les invalides before i head out to portugal tomorrow.

so far, the french have been very kind. maybe it's because i've been trying to practice my rusty high school french...though a few times i think they take pity on me (or want to stop my mangled french) and start talking to me in english. i did notice this morning that if i speak in english (before my caffeine, it's more difficult to converse in a foreign language!) the service i received wasn't as good as when i spoke French. i know that they have a lot to be proud of (historically, culturally, PARIS alone is enough to give them something to be proud of) but still...

1:20 PM | |

Saturday, June 23, 2007 

in Paris




cool, i finally stumbled upon an internet cafe so i can post and catch up on email.

i arrived yesterday afternoon and found my hotel with no problem. the hotel is pretty spartan and everything is quite old but it's not that bad. the location is convenient, just a few minutes walk from the Metro and quite close to the Gare du Nord. it costs a bit more than a hostel but all the hostels i tried to reserve were filled. for 10 more euros, at least i have my own room and sink. the shower and toilets are shared but are decent.

one of the best things about Paris is that cafes and patisseries are EVERYHWERE. i'm in heaven. people really seem to enjoy lounging around and people watching. i think in the US i'm more used to seeing people in a hurry and on the run. i haven't lounged around in the cafes yet since i'm mostly grabbing un express and un pain au chocolat a porter in the morning. this saves me some time to get to my sightseeing destination. i figure i'll enjoy the cafes later in the afternoon when my energy wanes or my legs get tired. there's a LOT of walking.

i went to see the Tour Eiffel last night and it was very beautiful all lit up against the night sky. i went to the second level to see the view from there but it was quite chilly and rainy. i kind of felt like it was one of those must do things but it wasn't all that. i walked along the Rue St. Dominique and Rue St. Cler as well.

this morning i went to Notre Dame and there was a ceremony going on - a new priest was being ordained. there was a procession of priests and music. i guess it's sort of like mass only it's not Sunday and the ceremony was broadcast on a big screen outside as well. i visited Ile St.Louis which was very quaint. there were many restaurants, cafes, gourmet shops, boulangerie/patisseries. actually, the area around Notre Dame pretty much has all that.

i think Ste. Chapelle and the Louvre is next. perhaps i'll also do a night tour tonight as well. i've got two more days in Paris before I head over to Porto.

2:50 AM | |

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 

Paris

I leave for Paris tomorrow evening. On Friday, I will be in Paris! =) I think I've wanted to go visit Paris since forever (ok, well since at least high school). Have you ever felt an affinity toward a place? Some inexplicable pull or influence on your imagination? It's something like that for me.

My french would've been so much better had I gone after AP French with Madame Puretz. I've forgotten so much but I think I'll manage to get by.

Plus de chocolat, s'il vous plait!

4:29 PM | |

Monday, June 04, 2007 

I Quit To Bake Cupcakes

apparently, i'm not the only one who thinks about baking for a living. only thing is, i don't like to wake up super-early so i don't know if this bakery business would work out for me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/fashion/03cupcake.html

11:38 AM | |