TravelStream™ news feed for member dlinsalata on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/dlinsalata en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:31:06 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1216575240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1216575240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1216575240/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:31:06 -0400 Blitz through Europe - Spain to Croatia!

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Paris, Île-de-France, France

Long time no type!  And therefore, long blog post to catch up.  (Written from Jeremy Doutte's place in Paris - he says hello to everyone...except Wardle. (joke!))Back to Biarritz...  Located in the south of France in the Basque region (an area that stretches down to include San Sebastian as well), Biarritz is a beautiful, if expensive, beach town.  It was completely crushed with French people from all around when we arrived - it was Bastille Day, as we found out later - but still a fun time. Highlight of the first day was the women's surfing longboard world championship and subsequent Bastille Day fireworks.  The surfing, frankly, wasn't anything crazy - no huge waves like you see on TV.  The fireworks were pretty good, though - although there wasn't any music, they were choreographed very well...small fireworks building to bigger ones.  A definite difference compared to US ones that tend to go big almost right from the start and indicate a finale with just a faster pace of explosions.The next day was surfing.  Yes, this Boston boy did get up on a board (FYI, the Guiness Book of Records holder for most consequetive days of surfing did it in Maine.  GO EAST COAST!), as did Lisa. We only had 1.5 hours to learn, including some stuff on land, but we both surfed (if you can call it that) in a bunch of times.  Tons of fun, although we found surfing requires a surprisingly large amount of flexibility (to get up on the board) and strength (to paddle back out to the waves every few minutes).  Needless to say, we were bushed after, which helped us sleep on the overnight train despite our 4 compartment mates and their various snores. (I barely fit in the bunk.)  We arrived early in Paris and immediately woke up, though, when we were met at the train station by none-other-than Doutte. After some incredible croissants (one of the best pastries here, even considering the crepes you can get everywhere), we headed to his place, regrouped, and started exploring the city.  Highlights of the first day include the Luxembourg gardens and some incredible dinner food (the french onion soup in Paris, which is incidentally Paris' only food creation...they just import and improve everything else from the Provinces...was beyond delicous).  The following days were a mix of museums, monuments, cathedrals, palaces, and gardens (see pictures in the gallery of this entry).  Mixed in throughout was shopping (Lisa bought 3 purses...I bought 1 set of coasters...see any difference?) and plenty of sore feet.  Each night was also capped with some incredible food, although the huge swings in price really demonstrated that higher cost does not equal higher quality.  (As a heads up, never confuse "frankfurter" in France with bratwurst or the equivalent.  It's literally 2 hotdogs on a bed of French fries.) Perhaps the most impressive site of the city, though, was actually outside the city - Versailles. The palace itself was impressive - created for Louis XIV and open to the public, you can see how this palace would have awed nobles and peasants alike...as well as incite the French populace to revolt against such extravagance.  The chapel and hall of mirrors, for instance, were mindblowingly beautiful and absolutely dripped gilt and royalty.Even most impressive were the gardens.  Huge - they rent bikes and golf carts so you can easily see all of it - they contain over 20 "sitting rooms" (individual garden areas split by paths), almost an equal number of fountains , a fake lake, over 750 hectares of carefully manicured woods OUTSIDE of the "sitting rooms" area, and a grand canal (why go to Venice...just build your own canal!). Definitely worth the day trip for anyone coming to Paris.But I've written long enough, so Lisa and I are off to see a few more sites before our final night.  We managed to sneak in the Eiffel Tower at a distance last night, so I'll leave you with that image.  Until next time (I head to Poland at 7 am on Tuesday, so will likely hold off posting for a few days), and thanks for reading! 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1216131840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1216131840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1216131840/tpod.html Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:28:11 -0400 Blitz through Europe - Spain to Croatia!

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Biarritz, Aquitaine, France

Just a quick entry to put a new pin in the map!  2 hours until surfing, and since our bags are all packed up...including my camera cable...just a quick note.  More tomorrow when we qrrive in Paris after an overnight train with 4 strangers in our cabin!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215983280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215983280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215983280/tpod.html Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:54:35 -0400 Blitz through Europe - Spain to Croatia!

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San Sebastian, Spain and Canary Islands

Time to do some catching up... The Guggenheim was great! The art wasn´t much better than what I´d expect comes in any top museum (MoMA, Louvre, etc.), but the building itself was beautiful.&nbsp; Crazy - very few straight lines anywhere - but beautiful.&nbsp; It was designed to resemble a ship, although the materials reflected more of a fish.&nbsp; (As intended - Frank Gehry apparently loved fish and used to take the fish his mom would buy for dinner, alive, and put it in his bathtub to play with it as a kid...at least, up until dinnertime.)&nbsp; There were two pieces by Jeff Koons that I really liked - one a giant dog made of flowers (named ¨Puppy¨) and another a seemingly light-as-air set of balloons that were actually titanium (I think) metal pieces. Lisa enjoyed one on the stairs leading in that she felt she had something in common with... There was also a mind-bending set of walk-through sheets of metal set up in vertical spheres, ellipses, and ovals by Richard Serra.&nbsp; Unfortunately, we couldn´t take pictures inside...but if you are there, it´s worth walking through....end Bilbao...cue 1.25 hr bus ride and start of San Sebastian, last stop in Spain!...In perhaps the best culinary experience of the trip, our first night in San Sebastian was filled with tapas-bar-hopping.&nbsp; Essentially, there are a number of little bars (few if any seats) where they serve a huge variety of tapas (little spanish dishes...a few bites, max...you eat a bunch of them to comprise a dinner).&nbsp; You go to one bar, order a dish of tapas, maybe a drink, eat/drink/be merry, and then repeat the process at the next bar down the street. &nbsp; We had one that wasn´t so great (a crab tart) but many more that were good (an incredible shrimp dish) and surprisingly tasty (foie gras...yuck, but actually yum.)&nbsp; And as Lisa observed, it´s somewhat on the honor system since you pay after you eat, and you could easily step out, but the crowds are fun, lively, and seem to be honorable. Later that night, Lisa and I saw a very creepy play performed in a plaza.&nbsp; (It´s apparently theater week, so some nights have free plays performed.)&nbsp; Ours was...how shall I say this...very interpretive.&nbsp; We´ve narrowed it down to the story of a woman who was forced to conform as a girl and was perhaps sexually abused; she then lashed out at her peers, tried to regain her innocence, and finally broke free to accept herself and be happy with who she was.&nbsp; At least, that´s what we got from a play with a heavily-make-up´ed lady in a nightgown who orchestrated the dancing of 4 creepy white-faced girls in school girl uniforms and 5 mannequins (1 child mannequin) dressed the same way.&nbsp; And if you don´t think it was creepy, picture this woman dancing herky-jerky along in the middle of the night to thumping techno music.&nbsp; ....moving right along... Unfortunately, despite the fact that San Sebastian is <i>the vacation town of Spain (it was unknown until a Spanish queen was told by her physican to summer here in order to recover from a sickness, which drew her court and inevitable hangers-on), it was a bit cool and drizzly the next day.&nbsp; So, instead of hitting the beach, Lisa and I wandered around the relatively small town and coastline, grabbing a picnic by a scenic spot by the ocean. That night was relatively uneventful - some more pretty good food and a bunch of reading.&nbsp; As a side note, I have now consumed 1/3 of a book on tape that I started before the trip (so about 13 hours since I left Boston) and 3 books.&nbsp; I am now down to old newspapers and some more audiobooks.&nbsp; All this in a week!&nbsp; ...I´m loving it!&nbsp; Time to hit the bookstore, though.)And that brings us to today.&nbsp; Waking up to more rain, we grabbed a quick breakfast when I suddenly noticed that a rowing-like race on the TV in the restaurant was taking place in a harbor that looked suspiciously like San Sebastian´s.&nbsp; Turns out I was right!&nbsp; We scarfed down our breakfast and hoofed it to the harbor where we watched a couple races of what resembles the offspring of a mating between a Samoan dragon boat and an 8 man&nbsp;racing shell. These guys were impressive, doing 4 lengths in the open sea with decently high waves.&nbsp; And the crowd was very into it - we suspect they were all regional or city teams, so each boat had 10 or 20 people with flags, horns, and very loud grandmothers screaming their hearts out.&nbsp; Great fun.Finally, <i>finally!, the sun came out during the race as well, so Lisa and I hit the beach for a few hours.&nbsp; No sunburns to report (at least none that have caused us to hurt that badly yet)...although we did see some unfortunately topless women and, later, one unfortunately bottomless man, waltzing around the beach.&nbsp; To clear your mind of that thought, I´ll leave you with a great view of the harbor of San Sebastian.&nbsp; Tomorrow it´s shopping in the morning and a 2 hour bus to Biarritz, France.&nbsp; Happy Sunday!&nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215715980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215715980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215715980/tpod.html Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:55:46 -0400 Blitz through Europe - Spain to Croatia!

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Bilbao, Basque, Spain and Canary Islands

Got into Bilbao earlier today.&nbsp; Using my Starwood Starpoints, so we´re staying in a fairly posh room in the Sheraton.&nbsp; Apparently the city doesn´t have much to see, except the Guggenheim, so we´re going to take it easy tonight (although it´s 9 pm, so we are right on time for eating per the Spanish schedule), hit the museum tomorrow, and then head to the beach at San Sebastian tomorrow evening.ttfnD
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215640740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215640740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215640740/tpod.html Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:42:47 -0400 Blitz through Europe - Spain to Croatia!

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Granada, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

(Updated with pictures) I continue to be amazed that I end the day tired after sleeping over 9 hours the night before.&nbsp; I´m fairly sure, however, that this is more of a testament to the full days and over 100 degree heat, rather than to the lack of sleep. Continuing from where I left off...Sevilla was a blast.&nbsp; We hit up flamenco the last night ...ironically, it was the same place that I went to the last time I was in Sevilla, back during my junior college semester abroad.&nbsp; The show was as good as I remember it, though. Even more interesting was the fact that there was a decent range of experience and age of dancers, and you could tell that experience matters - the oldest dancer was a lady in her mid 40s or 50s, but she had a grace that none of the other dancers could even approach. We headed to Granada the next morning.&nbsp; Granada is not a town that, by itself, has much to offer.&nbsp; The cathedral is nice - more so in how it manages to loom over the city as a beautiful backdrop instead of as a hulking mass. Surrounding it are a number of spice sellers, as well. Their stalls smell incredible due to over 50 or so different spices, ground flowers, and herbs. Another interesting scenic element to the cathedral area are the Gypsy women trying to hand you a branch from some local tree.&nbsp; If you accept, they grab your hand, read you fortune, and demand money.&nbsp; And since coins are bad luck, and the smallest bill is 5 euro...well, you don´t get your hand back until you pay. (Needless to say, I didn´t pay.&nbsp; I still remember my lecture from Italy about gypsies..¨if you see gypsy kids start coming towards you, start swinging, or prepare to lose your wallet.¨ hah.) Clearly the best part of the city, though, is the Alhambra, the best example of Moorish architecture left standing. An ancient palace + fort that was built in the 12th century, it had been expanded and conquered by everyone from the Moors to the Visiogoths to the Catholics.&nbsp; And while there have been a lot of changes, one of the most beautiful parts still standing is the Nazaries Palace.&nbsp; The detailed plaster work that was done in the walls and the ceilings has a level of detail that blows the mind. It´s a gorgeous, relaxing place. When I think of relaxing places, my top three are: * A certain Shinto shrine I know in Kyoto * The olive grove at the Villa Fiesole in Florence, Italy. * Uncle Charlie´s brick and exposed rafter den in Vermont. With that said, the Nazaries Palace isn´t far behind. If you are in Spain, it is a must see. (Speaking of Italy, I had some Spanish pizza today.&nbsp; Ugh!&nbsp; What I wouldn´t give for a little thin crust from Fiesole or Florence...although I will admit that the Tapas here are delicious.) Off to sleep.&nbsp; Flying to Bilbao tomorrow and won´t be online for a day or two...have a good one! Dave
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215381900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215381900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215381900/tpod.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:25:43 -0400 Blitz through Europe - Spain to Croatia!

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Seville, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

Hola!According to my watch, it is now past midnight.&nbsp; According to my body, it´s some other time.&nbsp; To be expected, of course, but mixing in a full half day and night of walking around Sevilla after nearly 19 hours of travelling tends to screw one´s body up something wicked.The trip itself wasn´t bad at all...the plane from Miami was delayed an hour, and the tvs didn´t work, and all the reading lights were broken as well...but past that, it was actually fine.&nbsp; I´m a little pissed at American, though, because they broke one of the buckles on my (Nick´s) sleeping bag.&nbsp; [Nick - I´ll be getting it fixed. Don´t cry.]But I love Sevilla.&nbsp; It reminds me, in fact, of Italy...but definitely has a different flavor to it.&nbsp; I´ve tried, lamely, to pick up some Spanish from a book on tape and from Lisa, but I keep thinking in Italian, or worse, Japanese.&nbsp; That definitely has not worked.Our hotel here is in the Old Town / Historic town.&nbsp; Tons of the roads here are too small for even the mini-cars here, and the locals call them ¨Kissing Lanes¨ given how close the buildings on either side come to each other.&nbsp; &nbsp; They are beautiful, though, and feel authentic in a way that reminds me of the back streets of the North End...times 10.&nbsp; Compared to the touristy parts of so many other cities, Sevilla seems legit.&nbsp; And as my main man Rick Steves says, Sevilla ¨doesn´t just have ambience - it IS ambience.¨Unfortunately, I can´t get Lisa´s pictures off her camera right now...otherwise I´d be showing you a picture of our dinner...which included ¨fried weeds.¨ I have no idea what that means, but it tasted like seaweed tempura...it wasn´t bad, actually.&nbsp; Unfortunately, they were out of their speciality - deep fried sardines - but I´m not too broken up about missing that.OK - off to pop a sleeping pill in order to beat jet lag and then hit the sack.&nbsp; Hope everyone had a good Fourth!p.s. ¨Into Thin Air¨ is a great read...halfway through it already!&nbsp; (Thanks D-hizzle!)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215257340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215257340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215257340/tpod.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:56:01 -0400 Blitz through Europe - Spain to Croatia!

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Weston, Massachusetts, United States

Thanks to a leisurely dinner with my brother, watching the Boston Pops fireworks on TV, and then getting caught up in a Dirty Jobs marathon, I finally closed my eyes around 2 am or so...maybe later...and woke up 4 hours later to do the final touches. Given that I'm using a full-size camping backpack, and that I ended up packing fairly light (taking out some items I didn't think I really needed), my backpack is /maybe/ half full.&nbsp; It comes in around 25 pounds or so...which is a bit more than I'd be able to take without checking the bag on some budget airlines in Europe.&nbsp; It actually doesn't close quite right on the top, since the stuff doesn't reach up to the top of the bag, even when I crank the straps!&nbsp; (yes, I'm pretty proud of that.)Even my backpack is fairly empty...and even though I have this feeling like I've forgotten something, I'm sure I can buy it over there.OK - time to tweak my fantasy baseball teams a bit and then head to the airport...after a quick stop to get some more deodorant, since I remember having trouble finding a brand I liked last time I was in Europe.Happy July 5th!
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Weston, Massachusetts, United States

I've got everything I need!&nbsp; In fact, I may have a couple extra items.&nbsp; Since my pack (courtesy of Nick Zeckets - thanks dude!) is large enough to store a small panda cub in with room to spare, I've been lulled into overpacking a bit.&nbsp; Thankfully, having spent a week in Utah not showering and changing clothes only when my camping buddies started to faint, I'm comfortable with being pretty stinky...so I'll probably pull out a few items of clothing. And worst comes to worst, I'm sure I can figure out how to work a washing machine in Hungary.&nbsp; After all, I took Japanese in high school - I'm sure that prepares me well for this trip!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215191520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215191520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dlinsalata/1/1215191520/tpod.html Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:13:41 -0400 Blitz through Europe - Spain to Croatia!

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Weston, Massachusetts, United States

Ever have one of those days were you realize you are about to go on a 4 week trip, but you have about 100 things to do before you go?
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