TravelStream™ news feed for member phileus_fogg on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/phileus_fogg en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:26:28 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1248344684/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1248344684/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1248344684/tpod.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:26:28 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain and Canary Islands

After a 35 minute flight from Girona I landed in Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands. Since leaving Malta six days I’ve been on the go and hadn’t any time to relax, which Mallorca would be perfect for over the next 4 nights. The island is much greener than Malta and has much longer and larger sandy beaches; it’s no wonder why it’s one of the top destinations for European holiday goers, especially the Germans. When making my way out of the airport I counted at least 6 flights due to arrive in the next couple of hours from different cities in Germany.
After a couple of days lounging around the hotel pool and beach I took a city bus into the capital city of Palma to have a look around at the castle, royal palace, and impressive cathedral. To make things easy for me I decided to take a hop-on hop-off city sightseeing bus to take me around. While there wasn’t much to see in Palma the bus did take me up to Castle Bellver where I was able to have a nice look down on the city and waterfront. Being a little churched out from my time in Italy I still had to visit Palma’s landmark cathedral and one of the more impressive I’ve been to on the trip, especially since Gaudi put his mark on it with a funky designed chapel. The city had just enough to keep me occupied for an afternoon away from beach bumming.
I had one last day to relax and now I have to head back to the UAE. I have a short flight back to Girona this afternoon and then have to make my way over to my hotel near the Barcelona Airport where I have an early morning flight tomorrow back to Dubai via Paris. Three weeks seem to fly by and don’t seem to be enough. At least I have 10 days off in both August and September and have my tickets already for Thailand.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247587057/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247587057/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247587057/tpod.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:30:46 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Mellieha, Island of Malta, Malta

I arrived in Malta in the early evening on a flight from Venice and unlike most of my destinations of travel I rented a car for the 5 day duration. As soon as I picked up the car I realized the 165 years of British influence on the island --- right side steering. I decided to wait a couple of minutes before leaving the parking lot so I could see another car on the road to make sure which side of the street to drive on; of course, it was the left side, which would leave me with the little voice inside of my head for the next 5 days that would say "left side of the road Paul, left side of the road".

After getting over my initial driving worries that first evening driving the 20km to my hotel through endless clockwise roundabouts I made good use of the car to explore the tiny Mediterranean island and its many historical sites. Malta's oldest historical sites are the maegalithic temples at Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, they’re the world’s oldest surviving freestanding structures dating from 3000 BC. While they might be the oldest they definitely aren’t the most impressive as they have nothing on either the Pyramids or even Stonehenge, which is what I kept thinking about as I was walking around them. I wondered if my cousin Jenny would come here if she were to visit Malta, since she always laughed at me for wanting to visit Stonehenge when I was in England. Upon leaving the temples I drove up to the town of Mdina to walk around the 3000 year old fortified former capital of Malta. It is nicknamed the “Silent City” and correctly so for the quiet and narrow streets throughout the town.

After a day of relaxing around the hotel and doing a little swimming I headed to the tiny capital of Valletta, which UNESCO has granted World Heritage status, to visit St. John’s Cathedral, the Grand Master’s Palace, Fort St. Elmo (to watch a reenactment of the Knights of St. John military parade), and visit the War Museum to learn about Malta’s strategic geographical importance during WWII as well as during the Siege of 1535 when the Knights of St. John defeated the Turks and “saved the rest of Europe”.

A good thing about the British influence on Malta is the language as the official languages are Maltese (which sounds very similar to Arabic) and English, which comes in very handy when you are asking for directions. The food however is definitely of Italian influence with loads of Pizzerias and Italian restaurants. The nicest things about Malta though are the people. The country is one of the friendliest places I have visited. The people were always greeting you with a smile and willing to help you.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247587340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247587340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247587340/tpod.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:29:02 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Xewkija, Island of Gozo, Malta

After another relaxing day in Malta I headed out for a day trip to see the 4 big sites on the island of Gozo, the second inhabited island in the Maltese archipelago. In total here are seven islands that make up Malta, three of which are inhabited (Comino, being the third inhabited island, but there are supposedly only 4 residents).

To get to Gozo I took a 25 minute ferry boat across the Comino channel. This was something new for me as I've been a foot passenger on many a ferry boat during my days of travel, but never accompanied with a car. It was definitely handy to have the car since the megalithic temples at Ggantija, the Citadel, Ta’ Pinu Church, and the Azure Window were spread out over the island.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247937502/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247937502/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247937502/tpod.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:26:27 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Verona, Veneto, Italy

This is a little detour from my original plans. Before heading off to Malta I knew I would have a couple nights back in Venice before flying off to Spain. Since I did what I wanted to do there before heading off to Malta I had to come up with a plan for something new so I hopped on a train for a 2 hour trip to what my Lonely Planet guide describes as "one of Italy's most beautiful cities". It was so famous back in the 13th and 14th centuries for its savage family feuding that Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet here. Nowadays the city takes full advantage of this with some of its most popular sites being Romeo’s House, Juliet’s House, and Juliet’s Tomb (I’m still trying to figure this all out since Romeo and Juliet was a work of fiction). Apart from the whole Romeo and Juliet stuff Lonely Planet was correct in that Verona is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy and I enjoyed my couple of days here wandering around and exploring something new.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247862461/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247862461/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247862461/tpod.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:22:47 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Figueras, Catalonia, Spain and Canary Islands

I landed in Girona Airport, which is about an hour and fifteen minutes north of Barcelona, as I previously stated "that's Ryan Air for you", but this time around it had its advantages since the town of Figueres is only 30 minutes away. Having been to Barcelona a few times already there were only a couple of things I had yet to do there so two days would be easily be enough to accomplish what I wanted to do. The first of those would be to visit Figueres, the birthplace and home to the Salvador Dali Museum. Growing up in St. Petersburg, the home to the second Salvador Dali Museum I thought it only fitting to visit the original. While I’ve been to the museum back home twice in my life both times I was able to walk up and get in, however, in Figueres I had to stand in line in front of a couple hundred people before I could buy a ticket, which is quite surprising since it’s the only thing to do in the town. The building that houses the museum is definitely Daliesque with its rose color façade and egg shell lined roof. The art inside was just as impressive and contained enough of his work for me to spend a couple of hours viewing before heading down to Barcelona.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247942001/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247942001/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247942001/tpod.html Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:20:08 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and Canary Islands

I arrived in Barcelona in the late afternoon after getting my fill of surrealist art and checked into my hotel on Las Ramblas, the main street in Barcelona filled with tourists, vendors, and street performers. Since it was still light out (doesn't get dark until after 9) I figured I would walk around a little and go check out the progress they’ve made to Gaudi’s masterpiece and symbol of Barcelona the Sagrada Familia. Well the construction cranes are still there and it looks like it will finally be finished soon, although it is reported to be finally completed in 2020, after about 135 years of construction. I bet if they took the Dubai method and had crews working 24/7 it would have been finished about 100 years ago now.

The next morning I woke up with a bit of relief that they refused my entrance into the casino the night before. While St. Peter’s in Rome might have lowered their standards the Grand Casino in Barcelona hasn’t --- No Shorts! I was upset the night before for having travelled all the way out there only to be turned away at the door, but the following morning I felt like the previous night would have been one of those nights I lost big. Anyways, I headed out to the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona to visit the Museum Picasso, a place that had eluded me on my previous visits --- I always seemed to have been here on a Monday before when it was closed. The museum covered his work from throughout his career and focused mainly on his early days, but lacked any of his famous pieces. I was much more impressed with the Dali museum the day before and with the amount of traffic at the Picasso Museum compared to the Dali Museum in Figueres I wasn’t the only one.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247560706/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247560706/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1247560706/tpod.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:12:14 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Venice, Veneto, Italy

The thing with flying Ryan Air is they are super cheap, but they fly at odd times to out of the way tiny airports and have lousy connections, because of this I find myself in Venice for a day before heading out to Malta ---I guess there could be worse places to be for a day.

Since there was a huge difference in the temperature from Rome to Venice I decided to walk to my hotel in St. Mark's Square from Piazza Roma (the last place in Rome where you can drive and where the bus from the airport drops you off). If you were to ask me how to route the walk I wouldn’t have a clue as I just followed the signs that weaved me around the alleyways and the 20 some odd bridges I crossed to make it there after 45 minutes. After checking in I went to the square to get a bite to eat at one of the overpriced cafes and do some people watching in the square. St. Mark’s Square is the heart of Venetian tourism with the Basilica and Palazzo Ducale (Duke’s Palace), the two places I would visit the next day before heading back to the airport.

There is a definite charm about Venice with the canals, boats and gondolas ($100 for a 45 minute ride--- not for me), but 1 day was enough for me since there wasn’t enough to do that I hadn’t already done when I was here before. After Rome and Venice I am really looking forward to Malta and something new.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1246946075/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1246946075/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1246946075/tpod.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:37:45 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Vatican City, Lazio, Italy

Since it is the world's smallest country I figured it deserved its own entry. Since I was last here 14 years ago 2 major changes have occurred: 1. New Pope- Benedict XVI, and 2. they aren’t strict about the no shorts policy in St. Peter’s Basilica. So there I was at 10:30 waiting around St. Peter’s Square in the 100 degree heat wearing my long pants that I packed specifically for this moment and they were letting people in wearing shorts. I guess that’s the extent of the liberalization of the Catholic Church. After walking around the church for about an hour and trying to get a good photo of Michelangelo’s Pieta I headed out back to the Square and await the Pope’s 12 noon blessing of the crowd. I guess the worldwide recession has had its effect on Rome’s tourism as the crowd in the square was only about half the size I remember it to be when I was here back in ’95.

A couple of days later and I was back to visit the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. This was something I passed on back in ’95 due to the large crowds, but not knowing when or if I’ll be back to Rome I decided not to pass on it this time around. The museum was packed with tourists herded through the rooms like cattle making way to the Sistine Chapel; you had to pick your times to stop otherwise you might get trampled by the people behind you. After an hour and a half I finally made it to the Sistine Chapel to view the famous ceiling painting of Michelangelo’s "The Creation" and wall painting “The Judgment”. As I entered the dimly lit chapel there was a sign that shows no photography allowed, however, I guess the thousand odd people in the chapel didn’t notice it as they had their cameras out pointing towards the ceiling and snapping away. As you can see when looking at my pictures I joined in with everyone else and snapped away too --- When in Rome do as the tourists do!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1246600450/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1246600450/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/8/1246600450/tpod.html Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:36:15 -0400 Mediterranean Summer

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Rome, Lazio, Italy

My trip is underway and it starts off in Rome. This is a break from my recent travels as this trip includes stops to places I have traveled to before. I was last in Rome back in the summer of '95 and as you could expect not much has changed in this city except for the money --- the Lira is gone and the Euro is in. Many people I've spoken to over the years have said that Italy took advantage of the currency switch to raise prices and I must agree because I remembered it to be one of the cheaper Western European countries and now it is on par or even eclipsed some of the more expensive ones.
Anyways, I have returned. It might have been that coin I tossed in Trevi Fountain those 14 years ago, legend has it that if you do it guarantees a return trip to Rome. Actually though, I had a craving for some good Italian food, plus it was a good starting point to get cheap plane tickets to other destinations.
In the five days I was here I spent a couple walking around Rome (blisters) visiting the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, as well as plenty of churches, squares, and fountains. It's a good thing I live in the desert and play golf otherwise the heat in Rome (100F) would have been brutal --- 100F in the UAE is a cool day to go play 18 holes.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/7/1232876820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/7/1232876820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/phileus_fogg/7/1232876820/tpod.html Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:41:54 -0400 To Argentina and beyond - adventures south of the equator.

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Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

I arrived in Rio early Sunday morning for the last week of my trip. Being a little safety conscious I got into an official taxi and headed straight to my hotel on Copacabana. Since it was Sunday I looked into going to a soccer match at the world's largest stadium, Maracana Stadium. Unfortunately there was no match on the day, but there would be one the following week which would fit perfectly with my check out times from the hotel and flight departure back to Miami. I quickly booked my ticket for the game as well as made my sightseeing plans for the week. I figured I would get the sightseeing out of the way in the first couple of days and have the rest of the week to bum around the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. The following day I met Robbie, an Australian who was staying at the same hotel, on the day tour of Rio. We came to realize we pretty much had the same plans for the week, so we paired up and hung out together for the week, which came in handy as there was always someone to snap those photos of Sugar Loaf Mountain and Corcovado. Unfortunately my plan of doing the sightseeing first and the bumming around the beach afterwards didn’t work out like I would have wanted it to. After two days of sightseeing, full day Rio and Petropolis, I awoke on the third day to rain showers that would last the next three days. I would find myself heading out to the beach for about an hour each day when the rain would briefly stop. It was quite disappointing to be at some of the world’s most famous beaches only to be rained out.

Since I went to see a tango show while I was in Buenos Aires I figured it was required to attend a samba show --- hands down the tango show was better! One of the most interesting things to do while in Rio was a Favella (shantytown) tour. On the morning of departure and before the soccer match I took an organized tour of 2 of Rio’s Favellas that have been built up over the past 35 years on the mountainsides in and around Rio. When visiting a favella it is recommended to go in a group as they are run by gangs and drug dealers. The police are stationed outside of them and make occasional raids into them but for the most part they bare a non-factor. However, as explained by the tour leader the favellas are quite safe in groups since nobody wants to give the police any excuses to come inside.

Well, this is the end of the trip in South America. I’m heading back to the UAE via the US and a day and a half shopping excursion and to meet up with the folks in Miami.
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