TravelStream™ news feed for member tomngaynor on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/tomngaynor en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:02:09 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1214843640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1214843640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1214843640/tpod.html Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:02:09 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Koh samui, Thailand

He says:20 hours, 3 planes, 4 airports and many thousands of kilometres later we eventually found ourselves in our hotel at Bophut fishing village on the north coast of Koh Samui...  Thailand was our obligatory stopover in Asia required for our cheap round-the-world ticket, and as it is meant to be the wet season at the moment, I wasn't expecting much other then massages, thai food, beer and sending Gaynor off with the little left of our budget for some shopping therapy.  So the fact that the weather has been great (only rained twice, once during the night and one brief afternoon storm) means we have been able to do  that and quite a bit more...In the end we have had a nice mix between relaxation and adventure...  We have spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool, drinking beer, eating briiliant food, shopping and exploiting the cheap labour for numerous massages, which has all been brilliant and a great way to finish off what, in many ways, has been a hectic 3 1/2 months of solid travelling.  However, I am not one who can just sit around for days on end so we have also hired a jeep and have been on numerous day trips around the island.  I originally wanted to hire a motorbike but the thought of Gaynor screaming and probably choking me to death from behind, eventually made me reconsider...  Feeling pretty happy with my bargaining skills after a days shopping in Chaweng I was determined to find the cheapest deal possible on a jeep.  So finding ourselves in a dodgy shop on a dodgy strip I happily bargained my new friends down to 600 baht a day...  This my friends is the point where I should point out the first law of bargaining, which is, know what you are bargaining for...  As it turned out I had bargained for a rusting old jeep that had holes in the floor (covered by welcome mats), a handbrake that didn't work, windscreen wipers that didn't work, wing mirrors that flapped in the wind and windows that didn't close...  Determined to not admit my mistake, I insisted to Gaynor on the way back to Bophut that 'Bart' was the perfect jeep to explore Koh Samui in and that it all simply added to his character.  The next morning as we pushed (with the help of 3 friendly locals) Bart up a steep hill to the side of the road, where the no longer working jeep would be out of the road of the traffic, I began to see what she meant about Bart being 'a piece of crap'... A quick call to the hire place and a 30 minute wait later a lonely guy on a scooter appeared fiddled with the throttle for a few minutes, insisted that it was all better and swiftly disappeared in the opposite direction...  My confidence in Bart shattered we limped off to explore the island...  That day we circumnavigated the island, going down side roads in the south west, where Koh Samui is the least developed and to keep the Queen happy we went elephant trekking, which was actually quite a bit of fun.  The elephant we had was a character and was quite effective at communicating her displeasure or level of comfort she had with what her mahmoot was asking of her, which was very amusing.  About 10 minutes into our hour long trek the mahmoot got off and invited us up front for what I thought was a photo opp Gaynor, being in a mini skirt, politely declined.  Anyway it turns out he just didn't like riding the elephant, so from that point on it was Tommy the jungle boy controlling the elephant (well not really but it makes for a better story that way) with the mahmoot trailing along behind taking the odd photo and showing off the elephants dexterity and sure footedness on steep slopes and slippery rocks...After the elephant ride Bart was still playing up and as it was looking like we were in for one hell of a storm and we had no windscreen wipers, I'd had enough so we bolted back to the hire place where I had it out with them and we got a replacement...  'Suzie' was all you could want in a jeep and more...  She had working windscreen wipers, floors that stopped water being splashed up your legs and purred like a, slightly asthmatic, kitten...The next day I was feeling slightly immasculated by my failure to secure us a good jeep, so to make myself feel big and tough and more like a man it was off to the shooting range to fire the biggest gun Thailand could provide...  Unfortunately my requests for a rocket launcher and an AK47 weren't realistic so instead I had to settle for the biggest handgun they had.  What can I say but it was fun, and if it wasn't so expensive I'd be up there again today...  Needless to say I impressed them with my skills hitting 11 out of 12 targets with my first pistol shoot ever and with my masculinity restored I was now right to face the day and week ahead...I may have been feeling a little too good about myself, for as we were about to discover, I got us into a bit of a situation...  We drove and walked up to a waterfall, which was meant to be the most beautiful on Koh Samui, though the name escapes me at the moment...  Anyways, we eventually reached the base of the waterfall (which was indeed beautiful, and huge) and as it was about 40 degrees and 150% humidity I was dying for a swim...  Unfortunately the water hole at the base of the waterfall was crowded with tourists and kids and was less than appealing.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view) we decided to walk a bit further along a track and saw a local thai man waving at us from, what looked like, a ledge halfway up the waterfall, gesturing to us that we could swim up there.  Now what follows is one of those experiences that I think you only get while travelling, for I think it requires a combination of language barriers, missunderstandings due to aformentioned language barrier and a complete disregard for any sort of OH&S or insurance...  So blissfully ignorant we headed up to where he was waving to us from, the first thing that struck me upon arriving was the distinct lack of watering holes, the second, and probably the most important, was the strong smell of a particulary sweet smelling tobacco.  Anyway, without a word he began leading us up the mountain side, which didn't end and was so steep that it came complete with climbing ropes, bamboo ladders and precarious rock faces, I should point out at this stage that we were both well equipped for mountain climbing, Gaynor especially so, dressed as she was in mini skirt and thongs...  I kept on assuring her that it had to be around the next bend...  By the 50th bend I was myself begining to have my doubts, but the residual adreniline from shooting a big arse gun and the acute dehydration that was taking hold ensured that I kept following my pot smoking mountain guide higher...Thankfully the trek was worth it and we were rewarded with our own private waterhole, surrounded by dense jungle, flowing out over the edge into, what looked like, a 100 metre drop and was located at the base of a perfect tropical waterfall, which you could swim behind into a cave where another waterfall cascaded in from the back of the cave...   Couldn't have asked for a more cliched or perfect location for a swim in the jungle...I'll leave it up to Gaynor to talk about the shopping if she feels like it, but we have got some tailored clothes while we have been here, so most of our evening have been spent getting fittings and eating fantastic Thai food...  We made the mistake on the first night of going to one of the bigger, more touristy, resturants, and while it was fine, it certainly wasn't great...  Since then we have stuck to the local places and have paid half the price for Thai that is twice as good.  We have spent the majority of nights at a 'no name' place just down the road that has an extensive seafood menu (all at between 70-150 baht a dish) and it has all been fantastic...  After sounding suprised at where we were eating, our tailors gave us another local tip, which we took them up on and was even cheaper and better, though the dishes were so hot that I was at the limits of my tolerance and I don't know how Gaynor survived...So here I am sitting on our deck watching and listening to the ocean, drinking a beer and contemplating another swim...  It's hard to believe that we are less then 3 days from home.  I am currently far less depressed at the thought then I thought I would be...  It'll be nice to be home and see people again, though I am very aware that the Canberra winter and the reality of 9-5 working life will probably sink me into the depths of depression before too long...Oh well, I will just have to start planning the next trip...  I'm thinking SE Asia...  Or Eastern Europe...  Or maybe South America...?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1214054520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1214054520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1214054520/tpod.html Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:00:27 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Vinuela, Spain

She Says: Leaving Ischia we were both extremely relaxed, a little sad to be leaving but very much enjoying what we are now referring to as the "holiday" part of our trip. We left the island at about 11:00am and arrived at Malaga airport at around midnight (after a brief interlude in the London Gatwick British Airways Lounge?!?), so it was a long day in transit and we were fairly exhausted. We were greeted at the airport by Uncle Roger & Norma who had battled the roadworks and crazy car-parking laws (although I'm pretty sure that the car was still illegally parked) to meet us. It was the first time since New York that we were met at the airport by anyone and it was nice to see a familiar face (or two). I was a little worried at first that they had gone to the other terminal (apparently Skype doesn't deliver messages until both of you are online together again....useless!). After brief introducations we rushed back to the car and began the drive to Cortijos Romero, the estate that would become our home for the next 6 nights. We arrived at the villa (kindly organised by Roger & Norma) and collapsed into the bed. The following day was quite relaxing with Tom enjoying multiple swims in the pool, catching up on washing and watching a little bit of TV (I haven't seen an English channel for a while). Later in the afternoon we visited the nearby hotel that overlooks the La Vinuela lake, had some drinks and enjoyed the warm weather. That evening we went to the local bar and had a couple of drinks and planned the following day. The next morning we set off to Ronda, a village that is separated by a gorge with houses and businesses on both sides of the gorge. I've probably got this all wrong but I think it had something to do with the Christians living on one side of the gorge and the Arabs on the other. I'm no histoy buff but it was pretty interesting and quite funny to imagine that rivals lived literally only metres apart. Unfortunately you weren't able to walk to the bottom of the gorge but we found a few fantastic view-points and went inside the "new" bridge so-called because it is the newer of the bridges within the village, built in the 1700's. On the way back we had some dinner at one of the restaurants in Alcaucin where Tom enjoyed some goat whilst I (being as adventurous as I am) stuck with the chicken. For the next couple of days we relaxed around the house. Tom enjoyed swims and provided IT support with Roger whilst Norma and I relaxed, chatting, eating and laughing at Tom and the "IT Wizard". In the evening we ate prawns, drank whiskey and vodka and generally had a good time. On our last day we visited a town called Iznajar which Roger & Norma had driven through with friends previously and thought that it might be a nice place to visit. We had a map printed off the computer (that we didn't really follow) and no-one really knew the way but to my surprise we found Iznajar and after doing a 5-point turn to turn around in a dead-end road (in the middle of the village and with other cars trying to pass) we finally found a park (with assistance from local police) and set off to explore the village. It was quite a warm day and the hike to the centre of town probably felt longer than it was but eventually we got to the top of the hill and found a church and castle. Unfortunately the castle was undergoing renovations and we weren't able to get into it but we had a look around town and then head back to the car. On the way to the car we spotted a "casa cueva" or cave-house built into the side of the rock. Although the house (with thee tourist information sign) was all locked up we managed to get a tour of the neighbouring house by it's inhabitants that Uncle Roger got chatting to. Ignoring the pornographic calendar on the wall the house was pretty cool and reminded me off the houses I had seen in Coober Pedy. The owner of th house explained (in Spanish) that the house remained a constant temperature of 18 degrees regardless of the weather outside. He really was very friendly and the woman in the house (which we assume was his Mother) was even trying to get me to sit down in the lounge room. Only in Spain would someone invite strangers into their house without hesitation to have a look around. After that we head back to the villas for a couple of hours before dinner. For dinner we went to Charco's a restaurant on the top of the mountain. The views were fantastic as was the food. Uncle Roger had pre-ordered seafood paella for Tom and I which we demolished, enjoying every mouthful (and that was just the starter!!!). We both had main dishes as well which we struggled with. After dinner we head to the bar that was closer to the villa and enjoyed a few after dinner drinks, heading home at around 2am well and truly satisfied. This morning we packed our stuff, drove to the airport, said our goodbyes (while a policeman yelled at us for parking illegally) and got on our plane to Zurich which is where I am now, waiting for the flight to Bangkok. Tom is intently watching the European Cup with all the die-hard fans (so he must be bored!!) and the final countdown has begun .... 9 days to go..... :(
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213548840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213548840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213548840/tpod.html Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:18:51 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Ischia, Campania, Italy

He says: So today we say goodbye to Ischia... Sigh... I would love to come back, but part of me is also scared that if we leave it too long the place will just become another Capri...  It is so close and charming that it can't remain undiscovered for too much longer. Outside of Ischia Porto the island is relatively untouched by tourism and the place just felt right, it was so relaxed, genuine and friendly.  We were there 7 nights but it really feels like we arrived yesterday.  We haven't really done much, just relaxed by the ocean, frequented thermal spas, eaten really well and gone on dissapointing day trips (shoulda stayed at home really)...Our accommodation was brilliant, we had thought we were staying at a hostel but turned up and got taken to our actual accommodation, which was an apartment across the road from the sea and with a terrace that looked out over the mediteranian!  It was a hard place to enjoy, what I truly believe, the best sunsets  have ever seen...In no particular order, my favourite moments on Ischia were:1.  Eating Ischia Rabbit at Mamma's Resturant - a local speciality that had to be ordered a day in advance...  Twas good...2.  The boat taxi ride from Sorgeto to San Angelo - After hiking to Sorgeto (a beach with thermal springs) on our first morning we decided to catch a boat taxi instead of climb the 500 odd stairs back up the cliff side.  It was the best 10 Euros I have ever spent...  Without knowing what the hell was going on, we boarded what we assumed was a taxi, got driven to one boat in the bay and got thrown pasta????  After saying thankyou and thinking that was nice, we went to another boat, who took our pasta...  But gave us drinks???  Then we picked up a group of people from the boat and took them to the bay...  And only then did he preceed to drive us to San Angelo, all this was happening in Italian, without us knowing what the fuck was going on;3.  Cooking a pasta dinner and enjoying it on our terrace at dusk - dosen't get much better...;4.  Watching a huge display of fireworks this morning from our terrace - One of the few unfortunate things about our week in Ischia was that we left half way through the San Vito festival and 6 hours before the biggest night of the 4 days...  However, not wanting us to go without a sendoff they put on a huge fireworks display this morning at 10:00??!?!?!  Never seen a fireworks display in bright sunshine before;5.  Thermal Spas - When in Rome...  Not really my thing but on an island that claims to have 100 thermal spas you sort of feel obliged...  And I had Gaynor with me...  However, they were good.  We went to Sorregeto, a very expensive thermal park with numerous different pools, waterfalls and a private bay and some thermal 'showers' that were ment to be good for your skin.  All were good in their own way; and6.  Swimming in the mediterranean - So clear and so warm...  The only let down was the not so sandy beaches...Ischia deserves a much better blog but I am currently sitting in Gatwick BA lounge and am flying to the hills behind Malaga shortly where I suspect wifi will be in short supply, so this will have to do.Be seeing you all soon...She Says:Both of us writing in one entry???  It's almost unheard of and must be exciting for all you blog-addicted individuals and serial procrastinaters (I won't name names but you know who you are).  Tom feels that he has not done Ischia justice with his blog and has insisted on me writing something to substantiate his claims.  So here goes...I'm not going to write much because I don't want any Americans reading this and infesting what is such a beautiful place (I'm not sure if that counts as racism?!?) but what I can say is that I am so glad that we visited Ischia and it is definitely my favourite place so far (I've probably said that about lots of places...i'm a little bit impulsive).  I really enjoyed the change of pace and the complete and total relaxation after what seems like an eternity of museum, church and castle visits.  Although I am glad that I did them this was really my style of holiday and I lapped up every minute of it.So if you are looking for a relaxing, beautiful and friendly holiday and don't mind travelling to Italy to do it I would recommend Ischia....unless you are American and enjoy tour groups....in that case it is dangerous, horrible and bug infested...DON'T GO THERE!!!! Stay in Capri where it is safe and you are able to purchase those Prada shoes that you can't live without...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213254960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213254960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213254960/tpod.html Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:15:07 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Capri, Campania, Italy

He says:I thought I should keep the Capri blog and the Ischia blog seperate, as our impressions of each island were so different.  So today you get another short blog about Capri...  Just to get it out of the way upfront, Capri was busy, touristy, full of Americans and fucking expensive!  It was almost the complete opposite of Ischia...  At every turn you felt like you were being ripped off...  Even on public transport, which we spent fortune on (our transport costs alone for the day were 95 euros!).Capri felt like a large theme park...  There didn't seem to be anyone going about their usual daily routine and everyone seemed to be either a tourist or servicing the tourists.  There were designer stores galor an touts on every corner making you feel harrassed.It was a pity that the culture and atmosphere were so contrived as, while I believe Ischia is more beautiful, Capri was naturally very dramatic, full of huge cliffs, grottos and huge rocks sticking out of the sea.  As mentioned earlier we went to the Blue Grotto, which, despite the cost, was simply amazing!  As was the cliff edge road from Capri to Annacapri...  However, after we had done that and looked around Capri we spent the rest of the afternoon simply waiting for the ferry to take us back to civilised Ischia and trying to avoid being fleeced of anymore money...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213020420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213020420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213020420/tpod.html Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:42:26 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Pompei, Campania, Italy

So apparently some people can't live without their regular travelblog fix.  I hear you so here is a short blog about Pompei...  In short, it was brilliant...  Even having studied it, read about it and seen photos of it, I was totally unprepared for the scale or the preservation of the town. We arrived in Pompei and immediately discovered that the station did not have baggage lockers, so were contemplating the horrible thought of having to lug our backpacks around all day.  However, luckily a pushy taxi driver got our attention and eventually communicated to us that there were lockers at Pompei itself, so we hopped in his taxi and drove to the ruins.  I did pay him 10 Euros for the shortest taxi ride ever (he must do this alot), however, I refused to pay him 2 euros for the 'not for sale' map of the ruins that he tried to sell us...  There, is, however, no escaping tour groups in Italy, so as Gaynor and I watched as the crowds flowed to the left following each other as if they were part of a chain gang we headed in the opposite direction. We wandered down streets completely devoid of people. Alone you feel like an explorer that has wandered on to an undiscovered forgotten city.  It was, however, difficult trying to ignore the large loud tour groups and their guides with portable sound systems and once you got to the more popular sites of Pompeii is was hard to avoid them.  We did finally find a use for tour groups, however,which was if we were interested in something we could wait for a maximum of 10 minutes for an American with an umbrella to come and tell us all about it...Pompeii is so well preserved that you can see every piece of daily life from the baths that they relaxed in, to the bakery and shop's that they worked in.  The bakery even had bread left in the ovens with garlic and figs in them when they were opened up.  Some of the paintings and murals look like they were completed yesterday and the streets bear all the wear and tear associated with a busy thriving town. What I loved most about Pompei, and Rome I guess, was how immediate the  Roman civilisation felt.  Being able to see into their daily lives makes you realise how similar ours and their needs and wants are and if you took away our internal combustion engine and computers a town like Pompei would not be out of place in our modern world.  This from a town that is frozen in time from 2000 years ago...We spent 4-5 hours just wandering the streets and buildings and still didn't see it all (there is still quite a bit to dig up too...).  However, we were exhausted ad the weather was closing in so we left for Naples and Ischia.  Ischia will have to wait for another blog, but as you should have guessed we are loving it...  Naples on the other hand is all that has been described and more.  I have never seen such blatently open racism as when two black Africans got on the metro train we caught to Naples port (even though they were by far the least worrying people in the carriage...).  The train itself was also the first time I have felt dodgy during my travels, and that includes seeing a beating in Prague and witnessing a young punk threaten to kill an old man in NYC for daring to talk back to him... 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213228980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213228980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1213228980/tpod.html Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:18:30 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Ischia, Italy

Our daily drive to the restaurant...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212983520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212983520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212983520/tpod.html Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:53:55 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Ischia, Campania, Italy

To be continued...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212934320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212934320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212934320/tpod.html Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:53:20 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Rome, Lazio, Italy

He says: While Florence was a bit of a let down Rome easily exceeded even my lofty expectations. Rome is, quite simply, awesome... Yes it is grotty, falling apart and fucking insane but it is also vibrant, exciting and so full of history that you are literally tripping over it in the streets. So many people had warned us about Rome and nearly convinced me that the place had been ruined by tourists and hawkers. Blatently not the case... I don't know what it is like in the height of summer but, with the notable exception of the over hyped and dissapointing Sistine Chapel, the crowds were small and the hawkers few. The first morning in Rome we did the "best of" tour of ancient Rome. After an early start, we headed straight to the collosseum. Even after seeing so many pictures and movies of the thing nothing compared with seeing it for the first time in person... The size and presence that it still exerts is overwhelming, what it must have been like to visit it 2000 years ago one can only imagine. As we arrived right at opening time there was no queue and for an hour or so we had the place to ourselves, which was really special. Next we went to Palatine hill and wandered among the ruins, marvelling at the scale and complexity of the buildings and enjoying the views over the city. We then walked down the forum, very impressive also, exiting just as the tour groups descended in their thousands... The Pantheon was next, via the Trevi fountain. Nothing can describe the feeling of steping over the threshold of the Pantheon... Definitely the highlight of Rome for me, It really knocked my socks off. Again I had seen pictures but, again, I was totally unprepared for the aweinspiring dome, the marble and the incredible shaft of light piercing the domes roof. Brilliant! Even more satisfying to know that the christian's couldn't do any better with their domes a thousand years later... Instead having to claim the Roman Pantheon for themselves... After a late lunch, I was still too excited so we needed a change of pace so we went to the Campo de Flori for a look at the markets, visited the Spanish Steps and, the highlight for Gaynor, went to the Cappuchin Monks crypt, which contained thousands of bones and mummified monks, still in cassocks, propped into cautionary poses. Kinda weird, spooky and moving at the same time. The next morning we headed to the Vatican, which in the end was a big dissapointment... After paying 30 euro to get into the museum we were both very underwhelmed by the Sistine chapel. I have seen so many better Frescoes during our travels (including Raphaels in the preceeding rooms) and to have to view it crammed in with thousands of other sweaty and obnoxous tourists was more then I could stand. The Basillica and main square on the other hand were brilliant (and free). After the vatican we headed down to some fort (you have to forgive me... I don't have guide book on me currently so names are excaping me) on the river that used to be Hadrians tomb. It was impressive and provided great views over the city... At this point Gaynor started getting another migraine so after rushing back to the hostel, settling her into bed and enuring she was alright I ventured out on my own for the afternoon. I headed on the metro down to the SE of the city and went to see a section of the old town wall, a tomb in the shape of an egyptian pyrimid, the protesant cemetary and a large unnatural hill made entirely out of broken amphora's on the banks of the river. I then walked back towards our hostel via the Aventine hill (I love the TV show 'Rome' and so wanted to go there...) and circus Maximus. Chilled out in a park with the best view of the city yet, looked through a keyhole, went to the oldest christian church in Rome (designed on the plans for a Roman adminsitrative building (called a basilica BTW) so gave a good indication of what the buildings in the forum would have been like) and marvelled at the chariot raceway... Yesterday we headed to the jewish quarter and Tiber island in the morning and then we headed down towards the Appian way. The jewish quarter and Tiber island were cool, but the Appian way was by far the highlight. We went to the Catacombs of San Sebastian, which were interesting and incuded some perfectly preserved roman tombs from the first century AD that were buried when the valley was filled in to build the San Sebastian church so are now accessed from underground... The Appian way itself was brilliant and really gave you an indication of what it was like to travel it iin Roman times. The basalt flagstones still bear wheel ruts from carts travelling towards and away from Rome, the sides are lined by private villa's, ruins and tombs (unfortunately, due to the grubby hands of the popes the marble has almost all been stolen, leaving only piles of bricks... After wandering the road south for a fe kilometres we headed back to the hostel, packed and got ready for our early train this morning. Today we are currently sitting on a 6:45am train to Pompeii from where we will work our way back towrds Ischia for a week of sun, water and fun. I have done an internet search and there dosen't appear to be any wireless hotspots on the island so I am unsure of when I will get a chance to upload this blog, or whether there will be any photos to go with it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212594600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212594600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212594600/tpod.html Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:01:28 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Florence, Tuscany, Italy

He says: Overall I enjoyed Florence and my time in Tuscany but we found Florence a bit grotty and had shit public transport (first for Europe). It would probably be a bit more exciting for more arty folk I guess... Now I might as well get this out of the way straight away... We did not go to any art galleries or museums while we were in Florence, so anyone in my family who were hoping that the home of the Renaissance would spark some sort of hibernating Marshall gene for art will be disappointed... We briefly thought about going to the Uffizi, but the crowds and lines turned us right off and we thought about going to see David, but, besides the aformentioned crowds, there were numerous, perfectly fne, reproductions scattered throughout the city. Having said that, it is pretty difficult to ignore the miriad of sculptures, frescoes and paintings surrounding you at every turn so I feel like we got our dose of Florentine art. We also marvelled and were pretty impressed with what we saw, so maybe there is hope for me yet... We stayed out of town a little bit, in a village called Girone, in an old converted water mill on the river. The B&B was a touch of luxury, especially after our hostels in Munich and Venice, and was really beautiful but best of all came with 2 dogs for Gaynor to play with (I think they'll be missing her). The local village was holding a Sagra del Fritto while we were there and we managed to catch it one night, which was my highlight for our time in Tuscany. Gaynor was dubious, to say the least, at the prospect of crashing the villages food festival but we went anyway and it was brilliant! We ate so much food, Spagetti al Scoglio, Penne Ragu, Fritto Misto, Funghi Fritto, Seafood Misto, salad and ½ litre of wine each and it all came to less then we have paid for any dinner since we have arrived in Italy... And it was all really good! Ordering and communicating were an amusing challenge, but we managed and noone seemed to mind that we were crashing the party. We eventually sparked up a stilted conversation with a neighbour who, after being assured that we weren't American's, shared some of his food with us. A great night was had and afterwards we stumbled home a little tipsy and feeling like we had had a true Tuscan experience... In Florence we did numerous churches, Basilicas, markets, Piazzas, the Pitti Palace and gardens, ate, apparently, the best gellati in the world, walked over bridges, looked at bridges, viewed incredible views... It was all really old, interesting and beautiful, but to tell you the truth, it all just blurred into one long string of archetecture, sculptures and paintings... I felt like it was missing the spark needed for a truly great city (a bit like how I felt about Vienna), but, as I have said, maybe if I was into art... The two highlights for me were Fiesole and Siena. Fiesole is a small village located on a hill overlooking Florence, which, apart from providing you with unreal views of the Tuscan country side and Florence itself, contained one of the best preserved Roman ampitheatres in existence (they still hold performances there) and a bath and Temple complex. It would be a magical place to see some theatre as the backdrop is Tuscan hillsides and villages... We went to Siena yesterday on a whim... I was kinda over Florence and as mum can attest, I had a fascination with the Palio as a kid and, although we missed the actual event by exactly a month, visiting the town square where it is held was really cool. We also found the town itself far more beautiful then Florence... The Duomo was prettier, the town was better preserved and the views over the surrounding countryside were far more spectacular. However, I think the highlight for Gaynor was the bus ride back (we caught the train there and the bus back) when we sat at the top front of a double decker bus. This gave her a close up birds eye view of the crazy italian driving... With Gaynor's love of unsafe driving this was better then any theme park ride, even if she needed a clean pair of underwear when we got back... Today we are heading for Rome, which, as someone who has always been fascinated by the Roman Empire, is a thrill. After Florence I think I am prepared for the crowds, gypsies and hawkers, but only time will tell... Till next time...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212250740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212250740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/tomngaynor/1/1212250740/tpod.html Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:26:52 -0400 He says: Tom's Pilgrimage to Beer. She says: Oh Dear, I thought this was going to be "our" holiday!

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Venice, Veneto, Italy

She Says: Four days ago I got on a train in Munich went to sleep and woke up in Venice. Venice....what can I say?...it's got to be the most surreal place I have ever been to. We arrived at the train station at about 7:30am and caught the Vaporetto (or boat-bus as I like to call it) to our hostel. My love of stairs continued as I lugged my giant backpack up and over multiple bridges. We arrived at our hostel (an ex-convent) and checked into our seperate dorms (good catholic country) and trustingly left our bags in reception because although you had to check in between 8:00 and 11:00am (or you lost your booking) you couldn't actually go to our room until 5:00pm. So still wearing our clothes from Munich we head out onto the streets of Venice for some sightseeing. We got back onto the Vaporetto and made our way to San Marco. The square was rather impressive with the Basillica, Doge's Palace, shops and museums and was surrounded by many overpriced cafes but, being a once in a lifetime opportunity we decided to sit down and have a coffee, as expensive as it was (8.50 euro each) the atmosphere and people-watching were fantastic. It was early in the morning so it was actually pretty quiet apart from a few asian tour groups that walked quickly through (obviously on whirlwind tours of Europe). The best thing about this was that it allowed me to watch as middle-aged asian ladies tried to attract pigeons while their travel partners took photos...the funny thing was when finally the pigeons did approach (sometimes landing on arms and heads) the ladies would scream and try and bat them away...hilarious. We later visited the Basillica which was huge and by this time was crowded with tourists and were herded like cattle through roped of aisles. For the rest of the day we wandered around the city and visited the Rialto Markets, the Rialto Bridge and various other sights around the city (churches, campos, customs house etc.). The crowds are huge so that evening we had an early dinner by a canal at a really nice vegetarian restaurant and decided that we would call it a day and devote the next day to visiting the islands. The next morning I met Tom in the courtyard to find that he had experienced the worst night of sleep. Both he and an American guy were sitting in the outdoor furniture looking a little worse for wear. That night they had shared the room with 1. Young Italian guys who returned to the dorm at 2:30am and turned on all the lights 2. A young Italian guy who wanted Tom to watch porn with him (wearing only baggy, white, almost see-through briefs) and 3. An Italian man in his 40's who a) talked loudly on the phone until 1:00am (in the room), b) kept turning the lights on when they were switched off (while on the phone) c) got naked showing his "old junk"and to top it all off, d) snored so loudly that noone else could sleep (the reenactment is hilarious but I imagine it's not so funny when you're sleeping). So with Tom a little tired but still in good spirits we headed to the islands. First stop - Murano, the island was beautiful but 90% of the glass was awful. There were some nice things but most had nice price-tags to go with them. While we were there we visited the local green grocer for breakfast and bought some fresh peaches, nectarines, grapes and strawberries and consumed them sitting at the end of a dock overlooking the water (tough life). After this we caught the boat to Burano and then another straight to Torcelli which is an island that was deserted due to plagues many centuries ago (ed: originally home to 20 000) and even now only a handful of residents inhabit it. While we were there we went into the old buildings including yet another church and were looking forward to climbing the bell tower that unfortunately was closed. We then continued to explore by wandered around the island (meeting a friendly goat along the way). After this we returned to Burano to have a look around, we stopped for some lunch and admired the colourful houses and shops that cover the island. It was really beautiful and was my favourite island of the day. Following this we went to Lido (where the venetians go to the beach and play sports) and explored for a while. While on the island we caught a couple of buses which gave me another chance to experience the extreme rudeness of people on public transport. I have always been someone who is very aware of public transport ettiquette such as giving up your seat for someone elderly, holding a child, disabled or pregnant but apparently in Italy it is customary to ignore these facts even when people are packed like sardines into the aisle of the bus (complete with little old ladies almost hanging out the doors). Instead the practice is to not make any eye contact whilst sitting on the aisle seat of a two-seater with a spare seat next to you. Later on that afternoon we caught yet another boat-bus and returned to Venice. That evening we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at a seafood restaurant down a street near the Rialto fish markets. The food was amazing, Tom had the mixed seafood entree (we still have no idea what half the things were) followed by the pasta with clams. I had the shrimp to start(which was a bit disappointing) followed by grilled Sea Bass which was the best fish either of us had ever eaten in our whole lives (good choice Tom!). After dinner we wandered some more and finally ended our day with a couple of Spritz's at a bar close to the hostel (which are also sooo good!). Yesterday morning we visited the Rialto markets to get the full experience of the bustling fruit, meat and fish markets. We examined the live seafood and yet again ate more fresh fruit. We once more wandered around Venice and visited the Jewish Ghetto, which was tiny and allowed us to really appreciate the over-crowding that would have been experienced. Later that afternoon, following tradition, we found a park to lie in. After soaking up the sun for a few hours we treated ourselves to our first Gelati in Italy....white chocolate and hazelnut....mmmm....yum (ed: I seem to remember that ½ the gelati ending up down your arm and over your face). Later that evening we had another seafood dinner, met a mother and son from Canada and finished the night with a couple more Spritz's. Today we make our way by train to Florence for a complete change of pace (and accommodation). Hope everyone is well, G xx
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