TravelStream™ news feed for member royv1 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/royv1 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:10:07 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258841278/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258841278/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258841278/tpod.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:10:07 -0500 New England Road Trip

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Montpelier, Vermont, United States

With a long travel day ahead of us, we set out early in the morning for our drive across Massachusetts and into Vermont. Up until today, we really had not seen much of the changing fall colors. The drive through Massachusetts changed all that once we started driving through the western part of the state. Closer to the coast, most of the trees along the highway had still not changed colors. As we drove further inland, this started to change. Once we hit western Massachusetts; bright yellows, golden oranges, and deep reds became the norm. While driving along Massachusetts Route 2 near the towns of Erving and Gill, we crossed a bridge with the best fall foliage scenery we had seen thus far. The bridge is called French King Bridge and crossed the Connecticut River. I pulled the car over so we can walk across the bridge and enjoy this view. Quite a few other people had this same idea as there were about 20 other vehicles parked there. I guess we weren't the only leaf-peepers out today. We spent about 15 minutes here taking photos and admiring our first taste of New England fall foliage. From here Kevin took over the driving duties as we entered Vermont. Driving through Vermont was absolutely beautiful. The small towns set amongst hillsides ablaze with color made the drive absolutely enjoyable. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of billboards along the interstate. In fact, I later learned that Vermont was the first state to completely ban roadside advertising. After switching drivers near the town of Rockingham, I veered off the interstate and headed through the mountains along Highway 12. The congestion along this one-way road began to increase as we neared the town of Woodstock. Viewed by many as being the quintessential New England town, Woodstock is filled with typical Americana icons such as a covered bridge, a central green surrounded by restored homes, and a town crier. Today being Columbus Day, many people flocked to Woodstock to enjoy their day off. We walked along with the crowds along the main street passing by local boutiques and shops. There wasn't really anything out of the ordinary here just establishments you would normally find in small towns that cater to tourism. We passed a town crier which I found to be really neat. Not the typical town crier, which is a person who yells out the day's news but a board were local events, yard sales, and auctions are posted. After strolling through the central green, we concluded that there wasn't really much to do here if you weren't interested in antiques or art galleries so we returned to our car and continued on with the journey. From here we drove up to the ski resort town of Killington. The town was pretty dead but I'm sure the activity will increase once the first snow falls in a couple weeks. The fall colors here were even more vibrant probably due to the higher elevation. We stopped to have a late lunch at the Grist Mill where I had a great Turkey Pot Pie. The service was rather slow and there were flies that seemed to annoy all the patrons but the atmosphere was relaxed. It probably would have been a nice place to relax after a day of snowboarding on the local slopes. From Killington, we made our way to the number one tourist attraction in all of Vermont, The Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. This is one of my favorite companies as it is a company with a social conscience. It was a quick tour, only about 45 minutes and cost 3 dollars. The tour began with a quick film about the history of the company and it's goals. Then we moved to a room overlooking the factory floor where the guide explained the entire process from the beginning to the packaging. Then we moved over to a sampling room where we all had a small sample cup. Once the tour was over, we wandered around the gift shop and purchased a few trinkets. I thought about getting some ice cream but it was a bit cold and it's not like I can't buy Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream at home. It had been a long day of driving so we decided to check into our hotel, The Hilltop Inn in Montpelier. The GPS which had been really accurate the past few days, was totally off when it gave us directions to the hotel. We were stopped at a light when I saw the hotel on the corner. However, the GPS was instructing us to go straight on the road. Thinking that the GPS was taking us to some hidden entrance, I followed it's directions. This thing lead us back onto a highway towards the town of Barre for about 5 miles with no place to U-turn. Realizing something was wrong, I took the first U-turn I could find and made our way back to the hotel we saw on the corner. The weather had changed quickly since Waterbury. Clouds had rolled in, the temperature dropped, and it started to sporadically rain. We wanted to quickly get inside the hotel and warm up. The hotel looked quite run-down from the outside but once we got inside, our perceptions changed. It was actually quite charming. The staff was friendly and there was a restaurant, computer room, an indoor pool, and a game room with tea, coffee, and complimentary cheese cubes. By no means was this place anywhere close to being fancy but it turned out to be very good despite the exterior. The rooms had also seen better days but they were spacious so we really couldn't complain. After relaxing and freshening up, we decided to head out and see what we could of Montpelier, America's smallest capital city. First we hit up a local grocery store called Shaw's to pick up some snacks and some drinks. Just like in Massachusetts, alcohol is not sold in grocery stores but only in liquor stores. They really regulate their alcohol in this part of the country! Once we got into Montpelier, it was already dark. It didn't take us long to drive around the downtown area but since it was dark, we couldn't see anything anyways. We ended up stopping at a liquor/souvenir store to pick up a few things before heading back towards the hotel to have dinner to a nearby Applebee's. From what I've seen driving around Vermont, I leave quite impressed. The lifestyle here is so easygoing and laid back. Most of the state is very rural and traditional but with a liberal twist. Driving around seeing organic farms, rainbow flags in the middle of nowhere, a large number of Obama bumper stickers, and of course the liberal icon Ben and Jerry's; gives you the sense that this state is definitely left of center. My kind of state!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258834679/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258834679/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258834679/tpod.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:20:37 -0500 New England Road Trip

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North Truro, Massachusetts, United States

This morning we left Boston and headed off to Cape Cod. First stop this morning was the coastal town of Plymouth which is where the Pilgrims landed back in 1620. Once we secured parking for our car, we got out to do a little exploration of the area. Our first goal was to locate the Plymouth Rock, an important symbol in American History. The location of the rock was quite obvious from the moment we arrived. Along the shore, there was this structure that looked like a miniature version of the Lincoln Memorial. We all immediately knew that this is where the rock had to be. Carved into the rock was the date 1620, the year of the Pilgrims' arrival. It was much smaller than I had envisioned it to be and I could tell from looking at the other visitors that they too were just as unimpressed. This original location of the rock was about 650 feet away but it was moved into this protective structure back in 1920. As kids growing up, we hear so much every Thanksgiving about the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and Plymouth Rock. It was great to finally see some of this stuff that we keep hearing about as school children. After checking out the rock, we made our way over to the Mayflower. Actually, this isn't the original Mayflower. It is officially called the Mayflower 2 and is an exact replica of the Mayflower ship that the Pilgrims sailed on. We paid our entrance fee of $10 and walked through a quick exhibit on the history of the Pilgrims before getting on the ship. Almost immediately, I was struck by how small the ship actually is. It's hard to imagine all those people sailing across the Atlantic in such tight quarters. Aboard the ship were a few people playing the roles of Pilgrims on the ship. They were interesting to listen to as they told stories in their faux British accents. There was no organization to touring the ship, not even a sign or two to explain what things are. You just walked around and tried to envision what it must have been like to be crossing the ocean in such a cramped vessel. Once disembarking the ship, there was a cheesy immigration re-enactment. You had to fill out fake immigration form while an immigration officer representing the Wampanoag tribe determined if you were eligible to set foot on Indian land. Of course, I was granted entry but Kevin was declined.

From Plymouth, we continued on our journey into Cape Cod. Crossing the Sagamore Bridge, we encountered some major traffic. I thought that we were starting to hit the Columbus Day weekend traffic jam. Thankfully, it was just a temporary slowdown as the traffic crossing the bridge was being squeezed into one lane due to construction. While driving up the cape, one of the first things you notice is the inability to see large stretches of the landscape. Driving in California, the rugged terrain and relatively low numbers of trees allowed you to see large distances. Here, the landscape was flat and covered with trees which didn't allow you to see for large stretches into the distance. When we finally pulled into the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitors Center in Eastham, we pulled over in order to get some information. Since it was already 2pm, I wanted to ask the rangers what recommendations they have as far as things to see before it gets dark. They had given us some great information to some good beaches and lighthouses that we should visit. Just up the road from the Visitor's Center, was Nauset Light Beach. It was a nice sunny day but still with a slight chill in the air. Not the best weather for a beach trip. I decided that I would test out the waters by pulling my jeans up to my knees and dipping my feet in. This was my first taste of the Atlantic Ocean not counting my visit to the Caribbean. The beach itself and the water reminded me of any beach that we have back in California so I wasn't overly impressed. Just like in California, the water was cold and there were even a few wet-suited surfers attempting to ride what little waves were crashing. After enjoying the beach, we walked over to the Nauset Lighthouse. This half white, half red lighthouse was approximately 4 stories tall and is the most visited lighthouse on Cape Cod. The lighthouses are one of Cape Cod's major attractions. This lighthouse and others we would see in Cape Cod were all quite charming but somewhat disappointing. They were all rather short compared to how I had imagined them to be. Back in the mid 1990's, the Nauset Lighthouse was moved inland to protect it from coastal erosion. There was a line to enter the lighthouse so due to our limited time, we skipped that and walked over to the Three Sisters Lighthouses. This is a group of 3 very short white lighthouses which are no longer in use. Like the Nauset Lighthouse, these 3 were all moved from their original location. Continuing our drive up the cape, we made a stop at the Marconi Station site in the town of Wellfleet. There wasn't really much to see here but it was recommended by the ranger at the Visitor's Center. The area's claim to fame is being the site of the first transatlantic wireless station. Today only a small shelter containing a model of the original station remains. Set high up on a bluff, the view here of the Atlantic Ocean is incredible. We continued our drive through the town of Truro where we stopped at Cape Cod's tallest lighthouse, the Highland Lighthouse. From there we continued on to Herring Cove Beach on the western edge of Cape Cod. The beach here was absolutely beautiful with sand dunes but the beach itself was quite rocky. I can easily see why this is one of the more popular beaches in the area. We walked around the beach and enjoyed the quiet and serenity. We got back in the car and drove through Provincetown, a town well known in the area as being a very gay tolerant place. Almost immediately you notice the large numbers of art galleries and rainbow flags. We finally pulled into our accommodations for the night, the Seagull Motel in North Truro. Stepping onto the property, it felt as if we had just stepped back into the 1970's. Once we got our room that feeling was even more amplified. The room was very cold and the comforters, the furniture, and the carpeting all appeared as if they have seen better days. The avocado green bathtub was straight out of the disco era. We took everything in stride and went around the room making fun of everything. The only plus for the motel was it's location. It was set right on the shoreline with the water's edge just a few minutes walk from our room. Before heading out to dinner in town, we relaxed out on the patio and at the water's edge and enjoyed the sunset over Provincetown. For dinner we headed into Provincetown in order to dine at the Lobster Pot, a well known local seafood restaurant. While walking down Commercial Street, there were a large number of lesbian couples walking hand in hand. I knew that Provincetown had a large gay community and attracted a large number of gay visitors but it was rather strange to see an absence of gay male couples. After putting our names on the waiting list at the Lobster Pot, we went back out to explore more of Commercial Street. The weather tonight was freezing and it made walking around unbearable at times. We came across this bar with a huge sign hanging outside that said "Welcome Women to Women's Week". This explains the huge number of lesbians out tonight. Commercial street was an eclectic mix of small bars, souvenir shops, adult stores, and art galleries. It would have been a great place to wander during a warm summer day. With the cold temperatures starting to get the best of us, we headed back to Lobster Pot to wait for our table. Once seated we ordered a few local brews and for dinner I had the Seafood Fettuccine which turned out to be absolutely delicious. Any other day, we might have stayed out a little longer to check out the nightlife scene here but it was so cold that we just wanted to go somewhere warm. We chose to go back to the motel and relax the rest of the night.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258788271/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258788271/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258788271/tpod.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:58:57 -0500 New England Road Trip

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Boston, Massachusetts, United States

It was a drizzly morning today as we made our way over to Penn Station to catch our Amtrak train to Boston. It was only a 4 hour trip and we were excited to get out of New York and start exploring Boston. The first half was rather uneventful as we crossed through various small towns in Connecticut. The train didn't seem to be going as quickly as I thought it should and every now and then, it would completely stop for a few minutes. One of the stops seemed to be lasting for quite a while. I looked out the window and we were definitely out in the middle of nowhere. I believe we were somewhere in eastern Connecticut. As time ticked by and we were still not moving, the passengers started to become restless. The temperature of our train car was starting to rise as were some of the people's tempers. People started to wonder aloud if there was anyplace we could even walk to if we had to abandon the train. Word got around that the train was experiencing technical malfunctions and that we would shortly be on our way. Of course, we all knew that was the standard response in order to calm the passengers. After about an hour and a half, the train finally continued it's journey. It seemed to be going even slower than it was in the beginning and every time it slowed down, we all feared it would break down again. Eventually, we traveled through Rhode Island and into Massachusetts before finally arriving at Boston's South Station at around 3:30pm. Our 4 hour train ride in the end took almost 7 hours!

It was still sporadically raining when we arrived in Boston. Now it was off to the Enterprise Rental Car to pick up our vehicle for the next 5 days. After a smoke break for Shea and Kevin, we caught the T which is what the subway system in Boston is called. Unlike New York, the subway system here in Boston seemed much more manageable and much easier to navigate. The T took us through Boston's northern suburbs before we reached our station in Malden. I strategically chose this rental place due to it's close proximity to a subway stop. We could have easily walked to Enterprise but since they provide free rides, I called them for a pick-up. We ended up with a dark gray Toyota Camry, not bad for 5 days and for $180. Next on the agenda was to check into our hotel, The Fairfield Inn in the town of Woburn. Initially, we had some difficulty getting out of Malden. Trying to figure out Kevin's navigation system proved a little difficult at first but we eventually made it to Woburn. The Fairfield Inn was probably the nicest hotel of the trip. The room and bathroom were spacious and modern, the staff was very friendly, and breakfast was provided. Not wanting to waste any more of the day, we decided to get into the car and check out the city after freshening up. The next hour would easily be the most frustrating time during the entire trip. We decided to go downtown and have dinner at the Union Oyster House which is famous for being the oldest continuously opened restaurant in the United States. As we drove into central Boston, the sporadic rain had increased in intensity and Friday evening rush hour traffic was at it's worst. Going against my best senses, I put all my trust in the navigation system to get us to our destination. Normally, I will also have a map with our destination marked out. I entered 41 Union Street as the address to the restaurant. I misunderstood the directions that the navigation system had given us and accidentally took the wrong highway. I was not worried, knowing that it would recalculate our location and redirect us to the best route. For the next half hour to 45 minutes, the navigation system directed us through numerous residential side streets. I felt like we were going in circles. Add in the rain which made it quite difficult to see the street signs, the pedestrians walking everywhere which I had to be careful not to hit, and the fact that the navigation system constantly referred to some of the streets as "unnamed" streets; I was stressed out beyond belief. Shea and Kevin seemed to be taking it all in stride and were laughing at the whole situation. This contributed greatly to my stress level. While driving down Beacon Road, things started to calm down a bit. We started seeing a large number of ethnic restaurants and I had the feeling we were in a university area. I began to think that we were nowhere near where we needed to be. It seemed to me that we were somewhere near Cambridge and Harvard University. Finally, the navigation system lead us to our destination, 41 Union Street in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Somehow the navigation system lead us to the correct address but in a different city! Eventually we managed to find our way downtown to the Union Oyster House. We parked at a parking garage and walked over to Faneuil Hall. The night air was cool and crisp, perfect New England weather in my opinion. We arrived at the Union Oyster House only to find out that the wait was 1 1/2 hours! Hungry and tired, we chose not to wait and settled on an Irish pub called PaddyO's that was right next door. The service left a lot to be desired but the food was good. We consumed a couple of Sam Adams during the meal and debated whether to stick around and watch the Red Sox vs Angels game that they were setting up to watch. We ended up leaving and were intending on going back to the hotel but during the walk back to the car, Kevin decided that we should watch the game at the Hard Rock Cafe. So instead of watching the game with a bunch of rowdy locals, we watched it with a bunch of tourists who could really care less. When we pulled out of the parking garage to pay our fee, we got hit with the ultimate in sticker shock. We were totally ripped off! Not even 3 hours and we had to pay $31. When we arrived, we failed to take into account the exorbitant parking fees of downtown Boston. Before heading back to the hotel, Shea wanted to find a Walgreen's and Kevin needed to pick up some drink. We found a local supermarket called Market Basket that was still open at this late hour. Kevin searched high and low throughout the store but did not find any alcohol. I inquired and apparently they don't sell alcohol in grocery stores in Massachusetts. We would have to locate a liquor store which by now were all closed. We made it back to the hotel around midnight and spent the rest of the night watching Wanda Sykes' stand up comedy.

Since we had a late arrival yesterday due to the mishap on Amtrak, today was basically our only full day to explore Boston. The plan for today was to check out the historical sights along the Freedom Trail. We didn't want a repeat of last night's outrageous parking fees so we chose to drive the car over to the Oak Grove T station in Malden and take the T all the way into Boston. So after a quick breakfast at the hotel, we headed out around 9:30am. Yesterday's rain had somewhat dissipated and despite the cloudy skies, the sun was trying to break through. We caught the T all the way to the Downtown Crossing stop right outside of Boston Common. However before following the Freedom Trail, we decided to make a stop at the place where everybody knows your name, Cheers. We walked up to Beacon Street where we had a great shot of the gold domed Massachusetts State House. Continuing west on Beacon Street we walked passed the famous Beacon Hill neighborhood known for it's rowhouses, gas lit streets and brick sidewalks. The Cheers restaurant was the inspiration for the hit 80's TV show by the same name. It was really just another tourist hot-spot. A lot of people came here just to take a picture of the Cheers sign and then move on. Of course, we were no different. We cut through the Boston Common, a large urban park and one of the oldest in the United States. We checked out the Soldiers and Sailors Monument within the park before walking over to the Park Street Church to begin following the Freedom Trail. After Park Street Church, we followed the red path that is marked on the sidewalk. This path is the Freedom Trail which takes you to all the significant historical sites in downtown Boston. Right after the Park Street Church is the Granary Burying Ground. I just love old cemeteries. This one was founded back in 1660 and definitely fit the bill. Here lies the final resting place for some notable revolutionary era patriots including three signers of the Declaration of Independence. We just wandered the grounds and tried to find the oldest gravestones. Next stop on the Freedom Trail is the King's Chapel. I'm not quite sure of it's significance but I believe that it is still an active church. From there, we made our way over to a statue of Benjamin Franklin on the grounds of the Boston Latin School, Boston's first public school. Moving on, we made our way to the Old South Meeting House. This building was made famous as being the site where colonists gathered to organize the Boston Tea Party. It was at this point that I realized that all these historical sites were towered over by all these modern skyscrapers. It was an interesting mix of past and present. The trail next lead us to the Old State House, a very significant monument of the revolutionary era. The ancient brick facade set amidst towering downtown skyscrapers makes this site stand out in the area. History happened here as colonists gathered inside to debate the future of the colonies and outside was the site of the Boston Massacre. We entered the building thinking that it would be free to tour. However being the cheapskates that we are, we immediately turned around when we learned there was a fee. Next the trail lead us to where we were last night, Faneuil Hall. It was near lunch time so we decided to check out the Quincy Market and eat at one of the food stalls inside. The seating area was absolutely crammed with people so when I saw an open table, I had to quickly grab it. Kevin and Shea went to get their food while I saved our spot. I ended up getting New England Clam Chowder in a bread bowl as well as some baked clams. Across from us, some tourists from Italy were quite amused to see me eating soup out of a bread bowl. Apparently they had never seen such a thing before! After lunch we wandered around the little shops and stalls in the area shopping for little gifts for friends and family back home. Before returning to the Freedom Trail, we stayed and watched a group of acrobatic street performers in front of the Quincy Market. They were quite entertaining and kept us entertained for about 15 minutes before deciding to move on.

From the Faneuil Hall area, we continued on the trail through Boston's North End passing the Union Oyster House and a cool looking tavern called the Green Dragon Tavern. From here the trail was interrupted by a farmers market that sidetracked us for a bit before we eventually found our way to the Paul Revere House. The house was a three story home built around 1680 on a cobblestone street. We chose not to pay the fee to enter but chose to just admire it from the outside. From here we walked through some of the streets of the North End. This area has a strong Italian influence evidenced by all the Italian restaurants and bakeries. This was easily my favorite part of Boston. We visited a few souvenir shops along the way before arriving at the Old North Church. This site is famous for being the source for the "one if by land and two if by sea" signal that is associated with Paul Revere's midnight ride. From here we wandered past the Paul Revere statue and made our way over to the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. This was another of Boston's revolutionary era cemeteries. Like at Granary Burying Ground, we wandered the grounds examining all the old gravestones from the 1800's and 1700's. We ended our walk along the Freedom Trail here. The trail actually continues over the river into Charlestown but our travel weary feet were just not in the mood. Instead we just sat around the waterfront taking in the cool air and admiring the views of Bunker Hill Monument as well as the new Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. We had initially wanted to make a drive down to the Sam Adams Brewery sometime today for a brewery tour. However, early evening was approaching and it would be quite a while before we would get to our car. Instead we chose to pay a visit to Fenway Park, one of America's most famous baseball stadiums. On our way to the subway we cut through an area of the waterfront containing abandoned and condemned buildings. Some lady was looking at us and when she approached us, she said "aren't you guys from the train yesterday?". She was the woman who was sitting directly across from us on yesterday's Amtrak ride. How strange to run into her in of all places, the abandoned waterfront buildings. We caught the subway from the North Station right outside of TD Garden, home of the Lakers' archrivals the Boston Celtics. From the North Station we rode all the way to the Kenmore stop on the other side of town. While walking to the stadium, I noticed a large number of nightclubs and bars. This neighborhood must have a really vibrant nightlife scene. Barricades and security agents were everywhere at Fenway Park. Security was tight as a huge playoff game was scheduled to be played here the next day against the Angels. While taking photos and walking the perimeter of the stadium, I found a bar that was open that a view of the playing field. I wanted to go inside to have a look. I thought that I would have to be stealth and slyly sneak my way in but I surprisingly just walked right inside and had a look of the field trough a chain-linked fence. Afterwards, we visited the official Red Sox fan store. This store was huge and devoted to anything and everything that was Red Sox; posters, jerseys, caps of all colors and sizes, memorabilia; you name it and this place had it. Shea was on the hunt for a Red Sox cap for her brother. It was quite funny to learn that all these years she thought the "B" on her brother's Red Sox cap stood for his name, Brent. After Fenway, we all had sight-seeing fatigue so we made our way back to the subway to get tour car and returned to the hotel to relax. It was a quiet night tonight as we chose to stay local for dinner and just went to a local Chiplotle's.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258787897/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258787897/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/5/1258787897/tpod.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:22:02 -0500 New England Road Trip

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New York City, New York, United States

Our flight to New York was a red-eye from LAX to JFK on the new airline, Virgin America. Since I had been impressed on my two flights with Virgin Atlantic, I thought this new airline must be just as great. Immediately after a full days work; Shea, Kevin, and I headed straight to the airport to catch our 9:25pm flight. Kevin's sister, Wendy, drove us to the Van Nuys Flyaway where we would catch a shuttle bus to LAX. The check in at Virgin America was the quickest and most stress-free check-in I had ever experienced. The ticket counters were brightly lit, flowers decorated the area, a red-carpet was placed on the floor leading to the ticket counter, and music was playing. If I didn't know any better, I would think I was about to enter a night-club. Once inside the terminal, we passed the time by having a few drinks at the Gladstone's Restaurant before boarding the flight. When we finally boarded, I was quite impressed with the plane. The cabin was lit with purple lighting, the seats were leather, and each seat was equipped with it's own personal entertainment device. Unfortunately, the seats in our row did not recline and it made for a quite uncomfortable flight. Also, typical with all the flights I have taken in my life, I was unable to sleep on the plane. This means I'll have an entire day in New York with no sleep. However, there was good news. For some reason, our flight would be arriving at JFK almost an hour early. A 4 hour flight to go from coast to coast.

Our flight arrived shortly after 5am. Despite the early hour, the first thing that I noticed in the terminal was how muggy and humid it was. It reminded me of arriving at some tropical third world country. After collecting everyone's bags and going outside so Shea and Kevin can have a quick smoke, we caught the AirTrain to Howard Beach where we would then catch a subway into Brooklyn. While waiting for the subway, we met a really nice guy who lives in LA but is originally from New York. He gave us all sorts of ideas as to what to do and see while in New York. Another woman who spoke with a russian accent entered the conversation and gave us even more recommendations. We were not even in New York for an hour and already we've encountered 2 friendly locals. Who says the people here are rude? Once on the subway, it was a long ride to our stop, Hoyt-Schermerhorn in Brooklyn. I had called our hotel, The Holiday Inn Express, to see if we were able to check-in at such an early hour. We would have to pay for half a day but at least we were able to store our luggage until the 3pm check-in time. The hotel was a bit of a walk from the subway station and was located in a rather sketchy industrial neighborhood. However, the reviews that I had read prior had said not to be intimidated by the neighborhood so I was not worried. After dropping off our bags, we decided to explore the neighborhood to look for breakfast. Since Fourth Street looked like a major road, we made our way there and walked amidst people going about their daily routine. We were about to settle on a McDonald's when one of us spotted a cafe that was just opening up for breakfast. Despite our sluggishness, we decided to venture out into the city to do some exploring after breakfast. So we got back on the subway and chose to start our exploration of the city in Times Square. Even though it was early in the morning, Times Square was as bustling as ever with people heading off to work. We walked around trying to soak it all in. Everywhere you looked there was a huge neon advertisement with blinking lights. It's as if every corporation in the world had bought advertising space in Times Square with each one trying to outshine the others. One can only take so much of the neon advertisements, huge crowds, incessant honking of the taxis, and constant sales pitches from the touts trying to get you to buy a seat on the double-decker tour buses; before sensory overload begins to set in. Thankfully in the middle of all this chaos, there was an area set aside for a few tables and chairs. We sat here for a good half an hour just observing all the madness unfolding around us. Shea and I decided that it would be good for our sanity as well as our feet if we bought tickets aboard the Hop-on Hop-off double-decker tour buses. These buses took you all around the city and dropped you off in front of all the major attractions. However for $54, the price was quite steep. Kevin didn't seem fond of the idea at first. I could tell that he was very hesitant about shelling out that much money. However, we did convince him that this would be our best bet to see as much as we can of the city in our limited amount of time. Later he would finally admit that the $54 was money well spent as it saved us a lot of time and we got some good information that we probably wouldn't get if we saw the sights on our own.

So after paying our $54 and collecting our 2 day pass, we jumped aboard and began seeing the sights. We drove by such notable landmarks such as Madison Square Garden, Macy's, the Empire State Building, and the Flat Iron Building. Our guide was giving us some great background information on the landmarks we were driving by. He had a thick New York accent and had a sarcastic sense of humor which I very much appreciated. Continuing on, we drove by Greenwich Village which the guide would inform us has great nightlife and outrageous property values and rents. We drove by Washington Square Park and City Hall before arriving at the stop for Ground Zero. None of us really wanted to check it out. After all, it is just a huge hole in the ground. I had seen it during a previous visit and Shea thought it would be way too depressing. So we continued on to Battery Park where we eventually got off. Battery Park is a small park at the southern tip of Manhattan. Here you could catch a ferry to visit Ellis Island and see the Statue of Liberty up close. We were just content with just seeing her from the shoreline. It was probably a good idea that we chose not to go out to the statue. The waters of New York Harbor were extremely choppy and Battery Park extremely windy. A sculpture that was in the World Trade Center Plaza and survived the events of 9/11, was moved to a temporary location in Battery Park. Along with an eternal flame, they both serve as memorials to the events of September 11th. Battery Park was a nice quiet urban escape an a good place to relax despite the high winds. Back on the double-decker bus, we drove towards the South Street Seaport with great views of the East River and Brooklyn Bridge. The bus route continued into China Town and Little Italy. Apparently New York's Chinatown is one of the largest chinatowns in America. Driving through here, it appeared authentically chinese and very congested. Much of the housing here appeared to consist of cramped tenement buildings and according to our guide, many of them having common bathrooms in the hallways for all to share. I couldn't imagine living in such cramped conditions.

As the bus tour continued, whatever energy we all had left began to wane. Fatigue started to set in but it was way to early to head over to the hotel to check in. We continued through the East Village and had a great view of United Nations Building. Once we finally arrived at Rockefeller Center, we decided to get off and do a little exploration. By now, I can tell everybody was running on empty so I decided after this we would catch a subway and head back to the hotel. Rockefeller Center was bustling with tourists as expected. Ocean Spray was having some kind of promotional seasonal display in the plaza. They had a cranberry bog set up with displays on how cranberries are harvested. However, everybody seemed to be more interested in the free Ocean Spray juices they were distributing. The plaza was decorated with hundreds of flags from the various nations of the world. It was as if we were at the United Nations. We just walked around the plaza admiring all the flags and checking out the skating rink which had yet to be set up. We saw the barricades that they put up when Al Roker comes out to film the Today Show as well as huge advertisements of various NBC shows. By now we had all had enough, so we caught the nearest subway back to Brooklyn to check in. If any of us thought the subway ride back would be quiet, we would be in for a wake up. While sitting there zoning out, 2 guys boarded our subway car and began to sing. I knew what their motive was so I just looked down and pretended to sleep. Who knew the subways would feature live entertainment? Not long after, a homeless man came in and loudly asked for any change we could spare. Can't I just enjoy this ride in peace? Once things had finally quieted down a bit, I hear a woman yell "What the fuck are you looking at?......Who are you?........ I immediately look over and think to myself, oh no, Puerto Ricans gone wild. All of a sudden I see her spit in the face of the guy she was yelling at. The guy retaliated in turn by hitting her with his umbrella. I thought a huge skirmish was about to break out in the subway before a huge guy got in between them to break things up. Just as quick as everything unfolded, it was quickly over. Everyone on the subway went back to minding their own business as if such skirmishes break out all the time!

We spent the next few hours just relaxing back at the hotel room. The room was rather tight and small but we were all too tired to really care. About 8pm, we finally decided to venture back out to find some dinner. The long day was still taking a toll on us and we didn't really have the energy to go back into the city. Since Kevin had wanted to check out some authentic New York style pizza, I decided that we should go to Grimaldi's which was here in Brooklyn. I had done a little research and discovered that Grimaldi's was rated one of the best pizza places in all of New York City. It was a bit of an ordeal to get there as it was quite a walk from the nearest subway stop. There didn't seem to be much action on the streets during our walk so I was beginning to worry if the place would even be open. Once we arrived, I thought for a second that all our walking was for not as it looked to be closed. Thankfully, they were still open and didn't close until 11pm. I don't know if it was because we were all starving at this point, but the pizza at Grimaldi's was delicious. We all shared a large pepperoni pizza which we devoured rather quickly. Thinking that a few slices of pizza would not be enough, Shea and I ordered an antipasto salad that we thought we saw on the menu. It turns out that the antipasto on the menu wasn't a salad at all. We just assumed that antipasto referred to a salad. Instead, we received a plate of about 4 slices of salami, a chunk of mozzarella cheese, some marinated tomatoes, a few olives, and a basket of toasted bread. We had thought this was mistakenly brought to our table. However when we looked back at the menu, we learned that it wasn't a salad after all. Antipasto simply refers to something before the main meal. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise as we placed pieces of the salami, cheese, and tomatoes on top of the bread topped off with some olive oil. After dinner I figured since the Brooklyn Bridge was close by, we might as well take a stroll across it. Walking across the bridge is one of those really touristy things that most visitors do and we were going to be no exception. Since it was almost midnight, there were very few people walking across. However, that made it more enjoyable as it seemed like we had the bridge all to ourselves. We walked about halfway across and had some great views of the Manhattan skyline. After soaking it all in and trying to take a bunch of night photos, we just decided to call it a night and head back. Getting back to the hotel was much more difficult than we anticipated. Since it was after midnight, the subways switched to a late night schedule where some stations were no longer serviced. Of course, the station closest to our hotel was one of them. We figured out an alternative route and eventually made it back around 2am.

The next morning, we had a bit of a late start. We deserved to sleep in considering how little sleep we had the day before. It wasn't until about 10am that we finally made it out of the hotel. The plan this morning was to walk up to Atlantic Street and catch the hop-on hop-off bus at the intersection of Atlantic St and Court St. This area is known for it's plethora of middle-eastern restaurants and as being an antique furniture district. When we arrived at the intersection, we sat around and waited for a bus to arrive that would never come. Eventually, we decided to stop waiting around and walked up Court Street to catch a subway over to Battery Park in Manhattan. Once there, we joined our hop-on hop-off bus to the South Street Seaport where we joined the Brooklyn Tour. We really had not intentions of getting off at any of the stops in Brooklyn. We just wanted to get a feel of what Brooklyn was like. The tour through Brooklyn lasted about an hour and we drove through such neighborhoods as Brooklyn Heights and Flatbush. We also drove by such landmarks as the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. I didn't really have the best impression of Brooklyn prior to visiting here. However from what I've seen in these past two days, I've been rather impressed. It seems as if Brooklyn is on the up and up. Neighborhoods appear to be gentrifying as those priced out of the expensive Manhattan market look to Brooklyn. When the Brooklyn tour ended back at the South Street Seaport, we decided to explore the area a bit more before returning to the hop-on hop-off buses. South Street Seaport is just south of the Financial District and features a modern tourist mall as well as many food and shopping choices. While in the area, Kevin was looking for a place to eat but all the places we checked out appeared to be overpriced so we just decided to wait and go to Lombardi's in Little Italy. Since we were in close proximity to the Financial District, we chose to check out the sights of Wall Street. The center of America's financial dominance was a strange mixture of camera toting tourists and well dressed Wall Street employees on their lunch breaks. We arrived at Federal Hall where the first congress met and where George Washington took the presidential oath. After snapping a few photos with the statue of George Washington, we continued to the New York Stock Exchange just around the corner. This is where it all happens, the symbol of American capitalism and financial strength. However in some circles, the symbol of all the world's evils. A huge American flag drapes the front of the building and it's hard to imagine that all those scenes on TV of stocks being bought and sold was taking place right inside that building. Security had a huge presence here as everywhere you looked it seemed there was a machine gun toting security agent. After getting our fix of capitalism, we walked back to the South Street Seaport and got back on the hop-on hop-off bus to reach our next stop.

We got off at the Chinatown stop in order to make our way to Little Italy where we would have lunch at Lombardi's. Chinatown was heavily congested with chinese people going about their day shopping at all the various markets selling exotic fruits and seafood. All the signs including the street signs were in Chinese giving the area the feel of being somewhere in Hong Kong. Slowly, the storefront signs began to change from Chinese to more Italian names and we knew that we were transitioning into the Little Italy neighborhood. We really had no clue where Lombardi's was located. All I knew was that it was on Spring Street. Nobody seemed to take any initiative in finding the place and I was starting to get really irritated with both Shea and Kevin. It's seems as if they're just playing follow the leader. I feel like i'm doing all the work and making all the decisions as to where we go and what we see. I intentionally did not ask for directions just to see who would take the initiative and ask. Once I realized that I had to take control again, I got really upset. I asked a few people where Spring Street was located and took off without any regard as to whether Shea or Kevin were following. I was so annoyed that I didn't care if any of them got lost. Eventually I made it to Lombardi's and not too long after, Shea and Kevin showed up as well. Lombardi's pizza was also regarded as one of New York's best. Like at Grimaldi's, we ordered the pepperoni pizza which turned out to be quite difficult to cut with our knives. In the end, we all agreed that the pizza at Grimaldi's last night was far superior to that of Lombardi's. While hanging around outside Lombardi's, Kevin and I were approached by some guy with 2 black eyes, a bunch of scratches on his face, and bloodied clothes. He kept insisting that I take his photo but I really didn't want anything to do with him so I just kind of walked off. He and Kevin started to chat and the guy layed out his entire story of what had happened. In the end, he eventually asked for some money to which Kevin politely declined. Kevin was actually kind enough to give the man a cigarette. After Lobmardi's, we retraced out steps back through Little Italy and Chinatown to reboard our hop-on hop-off bus. The buses were jam packed. When one finally came that we were able to board, we had to cram into the lower level like a bunch of sardines where it was as hot as a sauna. After a few stops, a large group of people got off at the Waldorf-Astoria. We rushed to the grab their seats on the upper level to enjoy the cooler outdoor air. When the bus arrived near Central Park, we decided to get off and explore. The park was an oasis of calm and tranquility right in the middle of one of the most congested cities in the world. We wandered through the various paths that took us by ponds and over bridges. It was really nice to kind of get back to nature even though the huge skyscrapers of Mid-Town that towered over the park kept reminding you of it's urban setting. It was getting dark and we were starting to walk through some not so well-lit areas. Some of us started to get a little nervous recalling all the horror stories we've heard during our lifetime about muggings and killings in the park. There were still lots of joggers and bike riders on the trails so I wasn't worried about our safety. I knew that Central Park was much safer these days than in days past. Kevin and I wanted to make our way over to the Great Lawn. It was such a long and tiring trek to get there from where we started at the south end of the park. It ended up being a waste of time. When we got there, it was completely dark and nothing could be seen. In need of some rest, we just sat quietly on a bench and wondered aloud about who ever would have thought we would be sitting in Central Park after dark!

After Central Park, we caught the subway over to Penn Station. Tomorrow we had reservations for an Amtrak ride to Boston. We wanted to avoid any potential delays tomorrow by picking up our tickets tonight. Penn Station was an utter madhouse! Huge throngs of people were moving in every direction. If you stopped to try and get your bearings, you were bumped into and in some cases almost knocked over. Eventually, we located the Amtrak ticket kiosks and printed out our tickets for tomorrow. Walking through Penn Station, I did notice a K-Mart inside the train station. Such a strange place to have a K-Mart! In fact, it was one of probably 4 that I had seen throughout the city. Here I thought that all of those stores had gone out of business. After Penn Station, we walked over to the nearby Macy's. This was apparently the largest of all the Macy's stores. Since I had somehow forgotten to pack pants, I had to buy a pair or two for the duration of the trip. One of the guides on the bus tour had mentioned that if you proved you were an out of state resident, your purchases at Macy's would be tax free. So of course, even more incentive to purchase something. This Macy's was bustling with tourists from all over the world. Their selection of clothing put to shame anything we have back in California. I seriously could have spent a few hours browsing through the men's department but I came here for one thing only, some pants. Kevin even got into the act and purchased an Addidas jacket. With that out of the way, we decided to end our time in the city where it all began, back in Times Square. It was ten times more chaotic in Times Square at night than during the day. All of the tourists, neon lights, and overall congestion quickly started to give me a headache. We made our way over to the tourist hot spot, the Hard Rock Cafe where we would have dinner. Afterwards, we just made our way back to the hotel to soak up everything we had seen the past 2 days. We all agreed that New York is a great city but we found it to be really draining. Living here is something none of us could imagine ourselving doing. Perhaps if we didn't cram everything into 2 days and spread it out more, we would feel differently. All in all, I would definetly return to New York but see things at a much more relaxed pace.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/2/1127534400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/2/1127534400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/2/1127534400/tpod.html Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:30:18 -0500 London to Athens- 6 Americans on tour in Europe!

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Rome, Lazio, Italy

Today was Clay, Suzanne, Mar, Amy, and Patrice's last day with the tour as they chose not to continue to Athens. Suzanne and Clay had a few extra days here in Rome to themselves but everyone else would be flying home tomorrow morning. Today was a full on day of sightseeing. It was yet another early wake up as we were to be met at the Vatican for our tour of the Vatican Museum. We caught the public bus to the stop for Vatican City and rushed to get in line. It was still quite early but the line was already really long. Our guide was an older woman who kept saying "Mama Mia" with every sentence. At first it was kind of humorous but eventually got quite irritating. Once inside, we had to go through an enormous amount of security which was understandable considering the enormous amounts of historical artifacts here as well as this being the center of Catholicism. It was quite irritating trying to get everyone in order for the tour. People were either wandering off or their headsets didn't work. It must have taken a good 20 minutes once inside, to get everything settled. We were led through various halls, galleries, and courtyards. Each was filled with intricate statues, ornate ceilings, and faded paintings and tapestries that you could immediately tell were hundreds of years old! Many of the male statues had the genitalia removed which left a huge hole in that area. Quite a funny sight! I guess someone in power must have taken huge offense to this back in the day. None of the pieces of art caught my attention as they were nothing that I could immediately identify. I was actually getting a bit bored with the tour. The slow pace and the guide weren't helping matters much either. I could have easily done without the tour and walked around at my own pace. I would have enjoyed just wandering all the various room and soaking everything in. We finally arrived at the museum's main attraction, the Sistine Chapel. It was stuffy and warm inside as it was jam packed with tourists looking up at the ceiling. Every 5 seconds, you would hear the noise police saying "quiet, no photo". However, this didn't stop people from trying to steal a photo or take a video. I was standing with Amanda who tried to take a photo and was immediately approached by a guard who told her to refrain from taking a photo. She was really intent on getting a photograph, so she pretended to put her camera away and moved to another spot in the room when she attempted another shot. The same guard, angrily approached her and was threatening to remove her from the museum. I really wanted a shot as well but was far too nervous to even attempt pulling my camera out. It seemed like every time I looked up, there was a guard watching me. With all our concentration on trying to get a photo, we seemed to not notice the commotion on the other side of the room. The guards had pounced on someone for apparently trying to pickpocket. These guards really do have their eyes on everyone in this room! Just as we had tired of gazing up at the ceiling, we learned that the doors had been closed. Apparently, some important bishop was passing through a nearby hallway and they had to shut the place down. We had no idea how long we would be stuck inside there. It started to get really stuffy and claustrophobic. Roz even started to feel sick and had to sit down. Thankfully, they finally opened up the doors and we were able to proceed. The tour guide wanted to avoid the crowd and the possible detours created by this visiting bishop so she decided to take us on a short-cut. This short cut eventually led us outside into the square. Her short cut caused us to completely miss walking through St. Peter's Basilica. I was very annoyed and pissed off at this point. I had wanted to climb to the top of the dome and possibly visit Pope John Paul's tomb. Once the tour was over, I was more than grateful that we could finally be left to our own devices. It was now about lunch time and we wandered the area looking for someplace to eat. Being a very touristy area, I knew the food in the area wouldn't be that great. We ran into Rebecca and Julie who were also looking for something to eat. We settled on a small restaurant where the tables were right in the street. After lunch Amy, Mar, and Patrice wanted to do a little shopping before continuing with our sight-seeing. Since our tour guide prematurely guided us out of the Vatican, we weren't able to browse the gift shop. So they decided to trek back to the museum to see if they can get into the gift shop. Suzanne, Clay, and Julie decided they were going to get a head start on the Collisseum. I agreed to stay back here and wait for the others to finish their shopping and we'd meet at the Collisseum. After about a half an hour, I started to get ancy so I thought I'd kill some time and have another gelato. There's nothing worse than waiting around when you have such limited time. When they finally arrived, we made our way to the nearest metro stop 3 blocks away. We were all very aware of our surroundings as we had heard all the stories about public transportation in Rome being hot spots for pickpockets. The subway system in Rome has very few stops compared to other European cities. This must have something to do with all the archaeological sites in the city and ruins. They must not want to dig underground for fear of undermining the ancient sites. The metro stop for the Collisseum was pretty awesome. The second you step out, the Collisseum is right there in front of your eyes. We dodge the cheesy men dressed in gladiator outfits who were posing for pictures and made our way to the ticket booth. Today must be our lucky day as it was Roman Heritage Day and it was free to enter! I guess a lot of people had heard that it was free as it was absolutely packed inside. The 4 of us walked around dodging tourists and soaking it all in. We stopped at a couple of viewing spots and just imagined what it must have been like inside here with thousands of spectators cheering a gladiator match. The place was pretty much in ruins now with all of the marble removed from the facade. We met up with Suzanne and Clay who had spotted us from above. Walking around the upper levels was also pretty cool as I imagined sitting up here with all the other peasants. After the Colliseum, we took a walk through the Roman Forum. This area was the center of Ancient Rome. Walking along the cobblestone streets was very difficult as I had to tread carefully as not to fall flat on my face. We saw the Arc of Titus, the home of the Vestal Virgins, the Temple of Saturn, as well many other noteworthy ruins. We climbed to the top of Palatine Hill which was much cooler, shadier, and quieter. This was a nice little peaceful spot to enjoy the views of the Roman Forum below. It was here that we lost Clay, Suzanne, and Patrice. They had went ahead to do a little more exploring. Amy, Mar, and myself decided to stay back. After waiting for probably half an hour, we decided to go on our separate ways. I really hope Patrice was with Clay and Suzanne. Knowing how bad she was with directions, I can just imagine her reaction if she was lost and by herself. Continuing on, we wandered more through the Roman Forum and ended up at the Piazza del Campidoglio. Having remembered the Vittorio Manuele Montument from the night before, we decided to take the relatively short walk to check it out. Along the way, we ran into Michael, Claire, and Tina. They were lost and were trying to figure out the bus schedule. We tried our best to assist but I was in no mood to figure out someone else's dilemna. Especially since the 2 girls were not being friendly. Neither one of them even gave a hello to us. We arrived at the monument and started to climb the steps. This monument was also the home to the italian version of the tomb of the unknown soldier. The tomb had an eternal flame and was guarded by a few soldiers. Some of them even had machine guns! Amy, Mar, and I wanted to take a quick little rest and sat down on the steps. Almost immediately, we were being yelled at by one of the machine gun toting soldiers. Apparently, it is prohibited to sit here. I guess it makes sense, as this attraction would then just be another place for people to hang out like the Spanish Steps. Not sure of what to do next, we decided to walk Via del Corso for a bit and eventually ended up getting another gelato. It was getting close to dinner time, so we decided we would try to make our way back around towards the Vatican. We backtracked and walked through the Roman Forum again hoping we would run into Clay, Suzanne, and Patrice. No such luck so we caught the subway at the Colliseum back to the Vatican. We wandered around looking for a decent place to have dinner. At the same time, we did a few last minute souvenir shopping. We settled at this one restaurant with sidewalk seating. After sitting for a while, it was noticeable that the only people here were tourists. I immediately knew my dinner would probably be sub-par. After dinner and yet another gelato, we made our way back through St. Peter's Square to the bus stop that would take us back to the hotel. Once back at the hotel, we were wondering if Patrice, Suzanne, or Clay had made it back. None of them had yet arrived back. I was really starting to get worried if Patrice was even with them. Would she even be able to find her way back to the hotel? Does she even know the hotel name? After resting in our rooms for awhile, we decided to walk over to the neighboring hotel to use their internet access. While walking up the driveway to the road, we heard the sound of voices coming our way. Sure enough, it was Clay, Suzanne, and Patrice. They had apparently gotten lost and couldn't find us so they proceeded to continue on. With that worry out of the way, we made our way over to the other hotel. This was such a plush and upscale hotel. I was starting to get jealous that we weren't staying here. They had valet, porter service, a piano bar, huge lounge area, and a fancy restaurant. Why couldn't we have taken a tour that stayed at these types of places? After checking our e-mails and Amy confirming her flight info for the next day, we made our way back to the reality of our hotel to call it an early night after such an exhausting day. After hanging out in my room for a while, I started to get bored. I decided to go and visit Mar and Amy's room. They were on the second floor and when I went to knock on their door, I realized it was the wrong room. I correctly knocked on Mar & Amy's door but before she could open it, Amanda and Jess answered the other door. Eventually, me and Amy ended up in their room catching up on more gossip and learning Australian slang words like "cozzies" and "yurt". The night ended when Mar came out looking for Amy. He yelled to her "Come back in here". It was all pretty funny to see quiet little Mar come out yelling. With that, we called it a night and retreated back to our rooms.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/3/1085284800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/3/1085284800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/royv1/3/1085284800/tpod.html Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:00:43 -0500 2 Weeks in Spain!

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Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Today was our full day in Barcelona. We had another early wakeup but not as early as some of the other days. Colin was going to lead a morning walk tour through the Gothic Quarter. Since last night was a big night for some, the turnout this morning wasn't too big as only about 10 of us showed up. We walked down to the Ramblas and headed into the Gothic Quarter which is the oldest part of the city. One of the first things I noticed was the plethora of bakeries with the sweet smell of pastries, bread, and other treats that filled the air. There was a lot of activity going on in the Gothic Quarter. One memorable sight was 5 women walking down the street in traditional Flamenco attire. The Gothic Quarter was a maze of small streets and alleyways in which one could easily get lost. We saw the Barcelona city hall and the Place del Rei which was the place where the King and Queen received Christopher Columbus after he discovered America in 1492. One of the most shocking sights was the facade of a church which was riddled with bullet holes from a massacre by the dictator Franco. Unfortunately one of the great sights of the Gothic Quarter, the Barcelona Cathedral, was completely covered in scaffolding. Judging by some of the pictures I had seen of it, it is indeed one of the most beautiful of all gothic cathedrals. However, we were able to walk around the cloisters and see the resident geese. Hilary had mentioned how awesome it would be to attend a mass at the cathedral since one was taking place as we walked by. She asked me if I was interested but I declined as there was too much to see in Barcelona today. The cathedral was the end of our walking tour of the Gothic Quarter. Colin gave us all some advice as to what to see and Shea and I obtained directions on how to get to the Parc Guell. We strolled around the Ramblas for a bit to retrieve some money from an ATM. Afterwards, we walked up towards the Plaza de Catalunya where some sort of Grand Prix was taking place. There was a lot of activity going on around the Plaza de Catalunya and I started to notice many American tourists walking around. They were probably here as part of a day trip on one of the cruise ships that stop here. Since it was getting close to lunch time, Shea and I decided to hit up the nearby Hard Rock Cafe.

At the Hard Rock Cafe, I tried the famous spanish soup known as gazpacho. I wasn't too impressed as it was just cold soup with vegetables added. After lunch, we followed Colin's directions and caught the Metro towards Parc Guell. The park was up in the hills and was created by the famous artist Antoni Gaudi. We got off the metro and continued following the signs towards the park. Since the park was in the hills, the walk was all uphil and a bit strenuous. Definitely not for those who have difficulties walking. Once the trail starting to meander up into the hills, we were able to see into the backyards of many hillside homes to Barcelona residents going about their daily lives. Further along the trail as we started gaining in elevation, we were able to see the entire Barcelona skyline including the famous Sagrada Familia and the Mediteranean Sea. Unfortunately the skies today were very overcast. We approached a dry stone tower called the Calvary which I climbed and had even more views of the city of Barcelona. As we continued on the trail, we were starting to sweat and wonder if this park was really worth all this effort. Finally we came to the main part of the park and the first thing we see was this huge open space atop a huge balcony with a mosaic tiled bench winding along the outside. We were so exhausted by this point that we just sat on the bench relaxed, people watched, and enjoyed the views of Barcelona. Supposedly this bench that we were sitting on is the longest bench in the world. We continued exploring the park and saw more of Gaudi's strange creations including the gecko and the 2 "gingerbread houses" at the park entrance. I wanted to go inside the gingerbread house until I discovered that entrance was not free. It would have been awesome to see what kind of unique and funky things Gaudi had inside. There were a lot of tourists here and we decided to keep moving to the next sight. Parc Guell seemed like it came straight out of the game Candyland and was an awesome and amusing place to visit. Despite the hordes of tourists, it was a nice excursion away from the chaos of city. Once we exited the park, we discovered that we had taken the long route. Apparently if you take the bus instead of the metro, the bus would drop you off right at the entrance and you could avoid that long strenuous walk.

Continuing with our sight seeing, we made our way over to another Gaudi monument, the famous Sagrada Familia. This unfinished church is also one of the most unconventional churches in all of Europe. To many people of Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia is such an ugly eyesore that should just be torn down. However, since Gaudi was unable to complete it prior to his death, work still goes on today but is financed through public donations. We walked around the exterior of the church and it was also swarmed with tourists. In order to avoid the crowds, we just decided to walk around and not pay to enter. You could see just how much work was put into making the exterior as the detail was absolutely detailed and ornate. Especially impressive was the Passion facade at the main entrance. With so much still left to see and do in the city, Shea and I decided to just walk around for a bit and get lost. We eventually found ourselves at the Christopher Columbus Monument at the base of the Ramblas. This area was absolutely swarming with people and combined with the heat, it was starting to get irritating. We decided to stroll up the Ramblas which is Barcelona's most famous tree-lined pedestrian thoroughfare. The Ramblas consisted mainly of hotels, tourist shops, street performers, flower stands, and overpriced restaurants which cater to tourists. I had read that the Ramblas was teeming with pickpockets so I was aware of who was around me at all times. Shea and I decided we would do some souvenir shopping here so we split up to purchase the usual stuff like t-shirts, postcards, shotglasses, and magnets. While Shea was still shopping, I started exploring a little more and found the Plaza Real which was just off the Ramblas. Once Shea was done, she decided that she wanted to go back to the hotel and relax before our evening excursion to see some Flamenco dancing. I however, still wanted to soak in as much of Barcelona as possible.

I started walking aimlessly east from the Ramblas with really no idea as to where I was going. It wasn't until I found the Arc de Triomf that I looked on my map and found where I was. From here I continued walking over to the Parc de la Ciutadella. There were tons of people hanging out in the park today and I noticed that many of them were young hippie types. They were just sprawled out everywhere hanging out and lounging on their blankets. As I continued on amidst the sweet smell of marijuana, I found the reason why they were all here. There was some free concert going on in the park. I sat around and listened to some of the music and people watched. It was at this moment that I realized that I loved Barcelona. It has such an awesome forward moving vibe to it. There is so much history here but yet they are so modern and cosmopolitan. After soaking it all in, I decided to start making my way back to hotel so I can freshen up and relax before our Flamenco dinner and dance show.

Those of us who decided to go to the Flamenco dinner and dance show all met up in the hotel lobby. I think all but 3 of us decided to do this optional trip. We all boarded our coach for the quick drive over to the Poble Espanol. What probably should have been a 15 minute drive took about 45 minutes as there was massive traffic everywhere due to a nearby football match. To make matters even worse, when driving down through the congested Placa D'Espanya, a car had stalled blocking the flow of traffic. It wasn't until a group of about 10 guys took it upon themselves to physically move the car out of the way that we starting moving again. We arrived at the Poble Espanol which is a little village created to showcase all the different architectural styles found in Spain. It was pretty dead in the village until we arrived at our Flamenco show at Tabloa de Carmen. We appeared to be one of the last groups to arrive and we all took our seats in front to be served dinner. Dinner was pretty bland and included gazpacho and some chicken concoction. The Flamenco show was quite interesting. There were 4 dancers, 2 men and 2 women, and 3 guitar players. The clanging of the castanets were mesmerizing however one of the great things about Flamenco dance is the passion exhibited by the dancers. After the Flamenco performance, we went back out on the street to wait for our bus. The streets were filled with raucous and jubilant football fans who were celebrating the local team's victory in a very important match. With all this celebration in the street, it took us forever to get back to our hotel. The rest of the night was just spent hanging out in the hotel lobby where we chatted with some of our fellow tourmates as well as some other American tourists staying at the hotel.
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Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Another early morning wake up this morning as we headed towards Barcelona. By mid-morning we had arrived in Pamplona to have a quick look around. We walked the narrow streets where every July they hold the famous running of the bulls. The streets are barricaded and lined with thousands of people who watch brave, if not crazy people, risk their lives being chased by bulls. We walked down some of the streets where the bulls run. They were mostly lined with tourist shops that sold every imaginable kind of bull related trinket. There was nothing too exciting here, just more shops like they have in every other city. Just knowing that this is where that famous annual event takes place was the real significance. We continued our walk to the stadium where the bull running finishes up. The stadium was disappointing as it was closed up and plastered with a lot of posters and ads. After the bullring, we were free to wander the streets before we had to get back on the coach. Most people went into a few of the many souvenir shops. After we bought our typical souvenirs, me and Shea started to retrace our steps. However, we had made so many turns that we couldn't remember exactly where to turn and every store was looking like every other store. When we hit a particular fork in the road, we were stuck as we both had different ideas as to which way to go. Shea said that I was usually right and we were just about to go the direction I had suggested, when we hear Colin calling out to us from behind. Apparently he had been looking for us as everyone was already gathered at the designated meeting spot. He led us in the direction that Shea had suggested. Thank god he found us when he did. Otherwise we would have gone in completely the wrong direction and who knows where we would have ended up. We were soon back on the bus for a few hours on the way to Zaragoza.

After maybe two hours, we arrived in Zaragoza. This city was mainly just a lunch stop. At least we were dropped off in the main part of town so we can see the city's main attraction. We were dropped off in the plaza where the huge Basilica de la Nuestra Senora Del Pilar was located. This basilica was large and stunning. I'm still trying to learn the differences between a church, basilica, and cathedral. We wandered the length of the plaza where at the eastern end was a very modern landmark which included a waterfall. After taking a few photos, most in the group looked for a place to have lunch. A group of around 10 of us decided on a place where we were able to eat outside. Most of us had pizzas, myself included. When the bill came and everyone pitched in their money, we were a few euros short. Why does this always happen when you have a large group? I ended up paying around 5 more euros than I should have. After lunch, it was pretty much time to reboard the bus. However, we had a couple more minutes to kill. I decided to enter the Basilica and to have a look. Apparently, inside there was a place where if you kissed it, all your sins would be washed away. The inside of the basilica was beautiful, very traditional, and of course filled with catholic imagery. I think there was communion going on based on the many children dressed in suits and white dresses with their families videotaping. I was about to leave when Hazel and Shane came in looking for the place to wash their sins away. We walked towards it and Shane decided to have a picture with it as he kissed it. He handed me the camera and as I was focusing, I accidentally pressed the release button. I think I might have yelled "shit" when that happened. I'm not sure if I did say that but how blasphemous would that have been.

On our way to Barcelona, I started to feel my stomach acting up. I was hoping and praying that I was not about to have a diarreah attack. All these thoughts kept going through my mind like would I have to ask Pedro to stop the bus. How embarrassing would that have been. Since we did not have a bathroom on board, a possible disaster was looming. I took an Immodium hoping that this would do the trick. I sat there very still hoping not to stir something up and praying that we would arrive soon. As I sat there, I realized that it must have been the ice in the soda that I purchased at the rest stop. I was just not thinking when I picked up those tongs and grabbed 2 ice cubes. I was now paying the price for my lapse in good judgement. We finally arrived in Barcelona, but it would still be a while before we arrived at the hotel as we had our orientation tour. We climbed the winding road to the top of Montjuic where we had absolutely stunning views of the Barcelona skyline. I wished we could have stopped to take a few pictures. We saw the diving venue for the 1992 Olympics, complete with the famous backdrop view that became famous during the games. I remember Colin, telling us that this was the place where Greg Louganis hit his head during a dive. I thought to myself, "No it's not. That happened at the Seoul Olympics." Then we stopped in front of the Olympic Stadium. We had a few minutes to go inside and take a few photos. Looking inside, it was not as large as I had envisioned. If I was never told that this was the Olympic Stadium, I probably would have never known. We also saw the Olympic Cauldron that became famous for the way it was lit during the games. Back on the bus, we descended Montjuic and stopped for a brief moment in front of the Royal Palace which was also stunning. Apparently at night, they have fountains that are all lit up which draw thousands of visitors. We drove around Barcelona and saw the Sagrada Familia, the Ramblas and the Christopher Columbus monument. We arrived at the hotel which we were told is brand new. It was very modern looking on the outside and the inside looked just as new and modern. Our room on the second floor was again small yet quite nice. However, the view from our window sucked as it was just a back alley. Dinner was downstairs in the dining room which was in the lobby. This made for quite a weird feeling. Everyone was making a huge ruckus over the way Rochelle did her hair before dinner in preparation for tonight. She had he hair all up and going in every which direction. It was really kind of cool. Me and Shea sat with Karl, Pam, Nikki and the Chinese couple. While the other two tables were quite loud and animated, our table was rather subdued and quiet. There were quite a few moments of uncomfortable silence. After dinner, we again all gathered in the lobby where Colin would take us down to the Maremagnum area for some good night life. The walk was around 20 minutes and when we got there, I realized what a fabulous setting for a clubbing/bar district. The Maremagnum area was completely above the water and to get there you had to cross a bridge. There were quite a few bars and clubs to choose from. Most everyone decided to start off upstairs at an Irish bar. However a few of us decided to get some money from the ATM. This turned out to be a disaster as only Pam was able to retrieve money out of the ATM. For the rest of us, we were not able to even insert our cards. Those of us who used the ATM; Carl, Pam, Nikki, Rochelle, Nicole and myself, decided to forego drinking and head straight to the dance floor. We entered a club called Tequila. There weren't that many people here as the dance floor was only sparsely filled. At least they were playing some current hits that I knew. We were immediately led to the bar where we were given some complimentary shots. Nicole grabbed my hand and I had no idea what she was doing. She put some salt right below my thumb and I realized that she was prepping me for a tequila shot. Since I had never done this before, I had to watch how she did it. I saw her lick the salt, take her shot, and bite into a lemon slice. So then, I followed and was expecting it to be rather nasty but it wasn't too bad. Perhaps it was poor quality tequila. For maybe about an hour we danced mostly amongst our group. However, a few of the locals would try to get in with us but we still kept on dancing and having a good time. The rest of the group starting filtering in and we continued dancing and drinking the rest of the night. While dancing, an Indian girl from the UK approached me to dance. She was with the group of women who apparently were here for a bachelorette party and were dressed in Hawaiian themed attire. The dance was unspectacular as I had no interest in her. Maybe she sensed that as once the song ended, she decided to leave. Carl thought that I was maybe going to be the stag for their bachelorette group. Thank god that never happened. The place was filling up to near capacity with mostly young Spanish guys. Quite a few of them were really good dancers and one in particular would not leave Nicole alone as he kept hounding her for most of the night. After a while, I was getting a bit bored and decided to leave with Carl, Amanda, Rochelle, Pam, and Nikki. It was around 2am but most everyone else seemed to have a couple more good hours left in them, including Shea.
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Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Today was another early wake up as we had to reboard our bus for the drive back to Madrid. Before leaving, the entire group gathered in front of the bus for a group photo. Since we were such a small group compared to most Contiki tours, an "official" group photo was probably cancelled. We drove for most of the morning back to the capital, arriving in Madrid just before noon. We were finally back to where it all started almost 2 weeks earlier at the Hotel Praga. The rest of today was a free day as there weren't any planned activities. However, the group was going to get together later in the evening for dinner.

Shea and I decided to venture into Madrid and visit a few of the famous museums. We knew that they were going to close early today so we pretty much set out right after arriving at the hotel. Today was a warm muggy day in Madrid and the line to enter the Prado Museum stretched pretty far. While in line, we discovered that there was no admission fee to get into the Prado. This must have explained why there was so many people there. The Prado is one of Europe's best known museums. Many famous works of art are on display from famous Spanish artists. However, I was only vaguely familiar with a few works by Goya and Picasso. We spent about an hour just walking around the museum and admiring all the paintings and statues. There wasn't anything in particular that we wanted to see. It was just nice to just wander one of the world's greatest museums. After spending time at the Prado, I wanted to visit the Reina Sofia Museum to see my favorite painting, Pablo Picasso's Guernica. Painted in the late 1930's in response to the bombing of the small Spanish town of Guernica, the painting has become the world's most famous artistic representation of anti-war sentiment. After paying our entrance fee, we headed straight for the painting on the third floor. It was much larger than I had anticipated, roped off from the public, and closely guarded by security. The no photography rule was strictly enforced as every time I thought it was safe to sneak a non-flash photo, it seemed like security was looking right at me. So I refrained from sneaking a photo and just settled on admiring the painting and examining all it's details. We were at the Reina Sofia Museum no more than 30 minutes. With the exception of the Guernica painting, there weren't any other notable works to see. After leaving the museum, we just wandered the immediate area trying to decide where to go next. We stumbled across the Atocha train station which was where a few of the bombs exploded during the Madrid train bombings just 2 months prior. Just a few minutes from one of the world's most famous anti-war symbols, we run into the site of one of Europe's deadliest terrorist attacks. It was a moment of tragic irony and a reminder of the times in which we live.

We made our way back to the hotel as Shea wanted to relax a bit before dinner. Earlier in the day, I had overheard Mike talking about seeing a bull match this evening. I had thought about it during the day and decided that I wouldn't mind seeing one as well. Although I am personally against the sport, it remains a very important part of Spanish culture. I was looking for Mike back at the hotel but was unable to find him. So I just decided to make my way to the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas by myself. I took the metro to the bullring and was a bit nervous doing it myself. I was paying close attention to every stop and kept looking at the map to ensure I was going in the right direction. When I made it to my stop and exited the station, I was surprised to see just how many people were here to see the bullfight. I made my way over to a ticket counter but was getting a little intimidated by all the Spanish being spoken around me. That's when I noticed a sign stating that all tickets were sold out. I settled on just walking around the stadium, taking photos, and purchasing a few bull fighting related souvenirs before making my way back to the hotel.

At around 7pm, most everybody in the group met up in the hotel lobby for dinner. Not really knowing where to go, we basically wandered the surrounding area and settled on a small tapas bar. It took them awhile to find a place to seat all us. It was a bit difficult as the waitor did not speak any English and most of us did not speak much Spanish. There wasn't really much to choose from. I only ordered a few tapas, some kind of fish, some sausage, and some manchengo cheese. Afterwards, some people went back to the hotel to hang out in the bar. Others were a bit more adventurous and wanted to go to a local bar in town. I went out with the more adventurous lot. We wandered aimlessly around the streets of Madrid searching for a watering hole that had some dancing. After about 2 hours of walking and checking out a few places, we settled on just going back to the hotel bar. The rest of the night was spent here just hanging out and drinking with some of the tour members.
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Valencia, Valencian Country, Spain

4 days of relaxing and lounging in the Balearic Islands have come to an end. This morning was an early wake up as we had to catch our morning ferry to take us back to the mainland. Once we all boarded the ferry, everybody pretty much crashed for the duration of the trip. Back at the port at Denia, we reboarded our Contiki coach which seemed like it had been forever since we were last on it. We continued down the coast to the city of Valencia which is Spain's third largest city. Valencia was the only one night stop during the entire tour and nobody really knew what to expect. The only thing about Valencia that I knew was that it was home to Paella. We arrived in Valencia and headed straight for our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express which was located next to a huge commercial mall and near the brand new Ciutat De Les Arts I De Les Ciencies.

After dropping our bags and freshening up ourselves, we all got back on the coach to explore Valencia. We were dropped off in the city center and Colin pointed out a few points of interest such as the Bull Ring, the basilica, and the tower. We walked over to the Basilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados. We had a look inside the cathedral which contained a cup which locals claim to be the Holy Grail. Not being too interested in religious imagery, I went outside to wait for everybody and had a brief look around at all the shopping stalls. At this point, people in the group started to split off and go in different directions. Shea and I decided to go with a group that was going to the Torres de Serranos, just a few minutes walk from the Basilica. A few of us decided to climb the tower and have a nice view of the surrounding Valenica skyline.

We left the tower not really knowing where to venture off to next. The group decided to walk back towards the city to do a little shopping. Everybody had their own specific items to look for so we all decided to meet back at a designated spot in half an hour. Shea and I didn't really feel like shopping so we spent the next half hour just relaxing at a tapas bar while enjoying a nice cold beverage. Once everybody was back together, we decided to search for a nice place to have dinner. We stumbled upon a small restaurant along some side street called Palacio de la Bellota. Most of us ordered the local specialty, paella along with some red wine. I shared a seafood paella dish with one of the Australian girls and it was absolutely delicious. After dinner we just made our way back to the bus stop to catch a bus to our hotel. Everybody seemed really tired after such a long travel day.
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Zion National Park, Utah, United States

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