Hi everybody,
We just wanted to let you all know that we are back in the states, safe and sound. Our trip ended in New Zealand with our friends Walt and Jules, along with their two adorable kids, Gabriel and Amelie (we thought about stuffing them in our packs to bring them back with us). We ended our trip by getting spoiled by friends with home-cooked meals and in a comfortable home. Perfect for the holiday season. Gabriel entertained us by identifying every tree and plant on their block, constantly "burrowing" holes inside and outside, and speaking in the darn cutest little kiwi accent.
We had three flights to get back to Chicago, but we felt already at home by the time we got to Los Angeles. It took about fifteen minutes for us to have a Starbucks in one hand and a burrito in the other. That felt more official than the passport stamp. As we landed in Chicago we saw snow on the ground, and it truly felt like Christmas. Anthony's mom and Aunt Terry braved the cold and the late arrival time to meet us at the airport, and our journey officially ended. We took some last snaps, and, as if on cue, the memory card on our camera filled up (3,000 pictures later.)
We talked on the last plane ride about how we would try to sum up our trip as we excitedly catch up with family and friends in the weeks to come. If you have the time, we would love to sit down with you, tell stories, and go through the pictures. But we know that most people aren't going to have the time. And there will be some stories that will be hard to convey. And we'll probably by nature omit some of the more challenging and scary moments from our time abroad. I think we settled on this starter sentence: "We had alot of fun." We really did. We hope this blog and the pictures spoke to that. We're so happy that we did it.
It was also great to share our trip with people as we were experiencing it, so whether or not you checked this blog once or dozens of times, thanks for checking up on us. We missed people quite a bit, and we look forward to hearing what you all have been up to. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
Love,
Anthony and Michelle
P.S. I think we're ready to start discussing Russia. Maybe.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Australia: Shirt and shoes optional
Hi everybody,
As the title of the post tells you, we are in the land down under. Furthermore, the title tells you a bit about the dress code here: very, very casual. There seems to be a drastic shortage of fabric here, as nobody seems clothed. At all. Which would be a problem in many places, but as apparently the most beautiful people in the world live in Australia, it hasn't been a problem for us. But before we talk about Australia, we'll fill you in the last couple of weeks.
After Claire and George left us in Phu Quoc, Vietnam (tear), we had a weird couple of days of travel. We had to get overland to Bangkok, which was where our next flight was out of, in five days. We first took a boat that looked more like a submarine on the outside but had old airline seats/rows on the inside. The picture on the brochure made it seem like we'd be taking the Trump family yacht, which would make the grand total of times we have been lied to via brochure photo to about 8 million. But it ended up being a pretty fun ride, especially since the tv on board was showing music videos of the Vietnamese equivalent of Justin Timberlake. We met another traveler on board who was heading overland to Cambodia, so we decided to stick with her since she was Vietnamese and could help us navigate the sneaky/complicated/somewhat corrupt border crossing. She was invaluable especially when our bus, which was supposed to drop us at the border and then meet us on the other side, decided that they weren't so interested in the second part of that deal. That company didn't know who they were messing with, because, though I don't speak any Vietnamese, her hand gestures and attitude spoke plenty as she was screaming at them on the phone. Voila! A taxi showed up and drove all of us to the town of Kep, Cambodia. As soon as we got there, though, she left us in the dust as soon as she caught the first glimpse of her boyfriend. But she was a huge help.
This town was really tiny, though, and we were having a tricky time the next day trying to figure out our next means of transport through southern Cambodia and into Thailand. We ended up having to hire two moto drivers who had each of us on the back of their bikes and had our backpacks in between their legs. While it was a bit scary at the beginning, it ended up being a really cool way to see the country and definitely the most unorthodox travel leg of our trip. We ended up in the city of Sihankouville, Cambodia, a small beach town that was recommended by an Australian we befriended back in Turkey a few months back. It was a great spot, with a slew of bbq restaurants on the beach and little kids entertaining guests by twirling and tossing flaming torches. The beaches also had local women constantly selling massages, manicures, and pedicures. Anthony made the mistake of uttering the dreaded words "Maybe later" after two minutes of "No, thanks" to one of them. She walked up and down our little hotel for two days, pointing at him whenever she passed. Finally, she just stayed there until he received his $3 manicure. While the experience was emasculating and humiliating, his nails did look fabulous.
Another shady bus ride and mind boggling border cross later into Thailand (including two fights at the border crossing: one European woman furious at her bus company and taking pictures of every person who worked there, and another lovers' quarrel between two young Thais that ended with the girl breaking a chair over the man's face. How cute!), we ended up in Bangkok. We thoroughly enjoyed the local street food fare of Pad Thai, great noodle dishes, and ridiculously hot spices and sauces. We also toured some amazing temples, including one that housed the biggest Buddha in Thailand. It's called the "Reclining Buddha", and it's over 300 feet long and just has him chilling on his side. We also came upon a strange museum called the Jim Thompson house. He was an American businessman who opened up the world market to Thai silk in the 1950's and '60's. He was a collector, so his house ended up being somewhat of southeast Asian art museum. But more interestingly, especially for Michelle, was that was mysteriously went missing in 1967 in the jungles of Malaysia, and his remains were never found. There are all kinds of conspiracy theories. Now, if you don't know Michelle, you're not aware that "missing", "person", "conspiracy", and "theory" and probably her four most favorite words. Whenever we have access to a computer she's googling this guy, and whenever we see a bookstore she is combing the shelves for a book on him.
From Thailand we flew to Sydney, Australia. Truth be told, while we really enjoyed traveling through the middle east and southeast Asia, Sydney has offered some first-world indulgences that we have thoroughly taken advantage of this week: reliable public transportation, Starbucks, magazines & newspapers, non-life-threatening street crossings, etc. I mean, to make our reorientation back to the west almost complete, Oprah is in Australia when we're here. But traveling here also comes at first world prices, so we have had to take a bit of a step back on where we've been staying and eating. We're back to the rather slummy backpacker haunts that we were happy to dispose of back in Europe (stories upon demand when we return). But we've really enjoyed Sydney and with not feeling bad about only being able to communicate in English. What's been a bit odd is being a part of the Christmas season but in a part of the world that is going through its summer. Here, Santa Clause is usually featured in a short sleeve shirt and shorts (I guess we should give him credit for actually wearing a shirt.) The big excitement in the country right now has to do with a bi-annual (that's the one that means every two years, right?) cricket match that Australia has with England called "The Ashes." Apparently, it's a VERY big deal, and the Aussies are currently getting their clock cleaned. I would explain the sport and the situation that the team is facing right now, but I don't understand the sport or the situation that the team is facing right now. Sorry. All I know is that the tournament lasts for an entire month.
We leave tomorrow for our last country spot: New Zealand. We'll be in some small towns in the center and south of the north island for about five days before meeting up with Anthony's old friend, Walt, and his wife and two little ones in Auckland. He has lived there for about the past ten years, and we'll be very excited to see more familiar faces and to spend time in a non-scary, non-backpacker dump. If I had planned this better, I'd be coming with Walt's favorite White Castle hamburgers to endear myself forever to him. Next time. We'll spend a few days at their home before heading back to the states in time for Christmas and to see Santa Clause in his rightful attire.
Hope everyone is well. Miss and love you all,
Anthony and Michelle
As the title of the post tells you, we are in the land down under. Furthermore, the title tells you a bit about the dress code here: very, very casual. There seems to be a drastic shortage of fabric here, as nobody seems clothed. At all. Which would be a problem in many places, but as apparently the most beautiful people in the world live in Australia, it hasn't been a problem for us. But before we talk about Australia, we'll fill you in the last couple of weeks.
After Claire and George left us in Phu Quoc, Vietnam (tear), we had a weird couple of days of travel. We had to get overland to Bangkok, which was where our next flight was out of, in five days. We first took a boat that looked more like a submarine on the outside but had old airline seats/rows on the inside. The picture on the brochure made it seem like we'd be taking the Trump family yacht, which would make the grand total of times we have been lied to via brochure photo to about 8 million. But it ended up being a pretty fun ride, especially since the tv on board was showing music videos of the Vietnamese equivalent of Justin Timberlake. We met another traveler on board who was heading overland to Cambodia, so we decided to stick with her since she was Vietnamese and could help us navigate the sneaky/complicated/somewhat corrupt border crossing. She was invaluable especially when our bus, which was supposed to drop us at the border and then meet us on the other side, decided that they weren't so interested in the second part of that deal. That company didn't know who they were messing with, because, though I don't speak any Vietnamese, her hand gestures and attitude spoke plenty as she was screaming at them on the phone. Voila! A taxi showed up and drove all of us to the town of Kep, Cambodia. As soon as we got there, though, she left us in the dust as soon as she caught the first glimpse of her boyfriend. But she was a huge help.
This town was really tiny, though, and we were having a tricky time the next day trying to figure out our next means of transport through southern Cambodia and into Thailand. We ended up having to hire two moto drivers who had each of us on the back of their bikes and had our backpacks in between their legs. While it was a bit scary at the beginning, it ended up being a really cool way to see the country and definitely the most unorthodox travel leg of our trip. We ended up in the city of Sihankouville, Cambodia, a small beach town that was recommended by an Australian we befriended back in Turkey a few months back. It was a great spot, with a slew of bbq restaurants on the beach and little kids entertaining guests by twirling and tossing flaming torches. The beaches also had local women constantly selling massages, manicures, and pedicures. Anthony made the mistake of uttering the dreaded words "Maybe later" after two minutes of "No, thanks" to one of them. She walked up and down our little hotel for two days, pointing at him whenever she passed. Finally, she just stayed there until he received his $3 manicure. While the experience was emasculating and humiliating, his nails did look fabulous.
Another shady bus ride and mind boggling border cross later into Thailand (including two fights at the border crossing: one European woman furious at her bus company and taking pictures of every person who worked there, and another lovers' quarrel between two young Thais that ended with the girl breaking a chair over the man's face. How cute!), we ended up in Bangkok. We thoroughly enjoyed the local street food fare of Pad Thai, great noodle dishes, and ridiculously hot spices and sauces. We also toured some amazing temples, including one that housed the biggest Buddha in Thailand. It's called the "Reclining Buddha", and it's over 300 feet long and just has him chilling on his side. We also came upon a strange museum called the Jim Thompson house. He was an American businessman who opened up the world market to Thai silk in the 1950's and '60's. He was a collector, so his house ended up being somewhat of southeast Asian art museum. But more interestingly, especially for Michelle, was that was mysteriously went missing in 1967 in the jungles of Malaysia, and his remains were never found. There are all kinds of conspiracy theories. Now, if you don't know Michelle, you're not aware that "missing", "person", "conspiracy", and "theory" and probably her four most favorite words. Whenever we have access to a computer she's googling this guy, and whenever we see a bookstore she is combing the shelves for a book on him.
From Thailand we flew to Sydney, Australia. Truth be told, while we really enjoyed traveling through the middle east and southeast Asia, Sydney has offered some first-world indulgences that we have thoroughly taken advantage of this week: reliable public transportation, Starbucks, magazines & newspapers, non-life-threatening street crossings, etc. I mean, to make our reorientation back to the west almost complete, Oprah is in Australia when we're here. But traveling here also comes at first world prices, so we have had to take a bit of a step back on where we've been staying and eating. We're back to the rather slummy backpacker haunts that we were happy to dispose of back in Europe (stories upon demand when we return). But we've really enjoyed Sydney and with not feeling bad about only being able to communicate in English. What's been a bit odd is being a part of the Christmas season but in a part of the world that is going through its summer. Here, Santa Clause is usually featured in a short sleeve shirt and shorts (I guess we should give him credit for actually wearing a shirt.) The big excitement in the country right now has to do with a bi-annual (that's the one that means every two years, right?) cricket match that Australia has with England called "The Ashes." Apparently, it's a VERY big deal, and the Aussies are currently getting their clock cleaned. I would explain the sport and the situation that the team is facing right now, but I don't understand the sport or the situation that the team is facing right now. Sorry. All I know is that the tournament lasts for an entire month.
We leave tomorrow for our last country spot: New Zealand. We'll be in some small towns in the center and south of the north island for about five days before meeting up with Anthony's old friend, Walt, and his wife and two little ones in Auckland. He has lived there for about the past ten years, and we'll be very excited to see more familiar faces and to spend time in a non-scary, non-backpacker dump. If I had planned this better, I'd be coming with Walt's favorite White Castle hamburgers to endear myself forever to him. Next time. We'll spend a few days at their home before heading back to the states in time for Christmas and to see Santa Clause in his rightful attire.
Hope everyone is well. Miss and love you all,
Anthony and Michelle
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Mekong, Motos and Marriage Proposals
Hi everyone,
First off, we hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We'll be dreaming of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie over our noodles and spring rolls. Our last post was from Nepal, where we were revving up for some wild travel on our way to meet Michelle's sister Claire and her boyfriend George in Saigon, Vietnam. We arrived in Thailand, where we promptly got on a mini bus on its way to Cambodia. We were told that the drive is about 4.5 hours - our driver made it in 2.5 hours. He was driving as if the car was on fire and the only water was in Cambodia. He dropped us off at the border, where we had to do only a mild amount of bribing to get through. Not too bad. From there we packed into a shared taxi to get us to Siem Reap, Cambodia, home to the Angkor Wat temples. Angkor Wat, known (especially to Cambodians) as the 8th wonder of the world, is the largest religious structure in the world. There are dozens and dozens of Hindu and Buddhist temples stretched out over an immense area. We had a great couple of days there: we rented bikes and toured around floating villages and markets, visited the temples, and ate some of the best food we've ever had - much of it involving fish wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in coconut milk and/or curry. On top of noodles. Michelle took a cooking class so we will hopefully enjoy these in the future.
After another crazy bus ride to Phnom Pehn, we decided to travel by boat to Vietnam along the Mekong river. The first boat was more like a bus on water, packed with people. Thankful that our first boat didn't end up in the bottom of the Mekong, we happily got on our second one - this one was a big step up, and we had some space to stretch out and view the fishing villages and boats that line the river.
We arrived in Saigon to wait for Claire and George, and we had two days to explore the city. We didn't quite know what to expect from Saigon, both in terms of the city itself and in locals' reactions to Americans. Both were great - we enjoyed the markets, the frenetic pace, and the clean, organized nature of the city. Anthony was particularly fond of the "moto culture" there. An alternative to taxis is to rent a motorcycle driver for $1 and just ride on the back of his moto to any destination in the city. After a few days he was looking for any excuse to take a moto trip. Snacks, pagoda visit, whatever. A little scarier was just crossing the street. There are literally thousands and thousands of these mopeds all over the city - way more of them than cars. They're all over the place, but there is a high level of order and flow with how they drive. Locals cross the street simply by walking at a moderate pace, and the motos simply move around them. We were very hesitant in our first attempt to do this, and we were frozen on the side of the street. That is, until, a sweet old lady with her daughter and granddaughter all of a sudden grabbed Michelle's hand, smiled, and led the way. While we tiptoed across the street, they giggled at us nervous Americans. We were constantly treated well by local Vietnamese, who were nothing but open, generous, and inviting to us.
We now would like to introduce our next guess bloggers, Claire and George, to tell about the rest of the Vietnam leg of the trip. Claire might have a difficult time typing with the new RING on her finger...
First, let us say that Anthony and Michelle seem fantastic . Happy, funnier than ever and man do they look good . Anthony is a bit scruffy and it suits him. George and I started the trip at 6 am in Winthrop waiting in the front hall for our cab. George took this wait time to formally propose to me ring and all! ( this is the same hall where Anthony and Michelle met and also were engaged) so, the trip started out pretty well.... 54 hours later we were on the roof of the Rex hotel in Saigon, for our rendezvous with michy and Anthony . After a night in Saigon , watching them wiz away on motos at 2 am (Michelle with a pink helmet) we met up the next morning and flew to phu quoc, an island off the Vietnam/ Cambodian coast for five days. Please don't feel bad for us. We are writing this blog an hour before parting with them. One final round of bananagtams is at hand. Hard to describe the trip in full sentences so I will give you some highlights: The local ladies who give massages on the beach call Anthony " superman" . He earned this moniker when they saw his eyebrows.... I think. In any case there was no end to hearing about "sooooperman" being "very funny" "hee hee hee" But, FYI it turns out superman is terrified of geckos. Just sayin... That's ok because George (or "sougie" a nickname he earned waiting for our standby flights and seeing his name on the board as SOU / G) is terrified of spiders, roaches, geckos, Mosquitos, and icecubes. By last night Sougie was in the mosquito net covered bed like the boy in the bubble.... I am most impressed with Michelle, who overcame her disgust with any card game resembling bridge (ie games with the word " trump" or just plain containing cards. ) Yes, it is possible that Michelle nearly mastered Euchre. As a team she and I put supermans Midwestern customs to shame, and we only cheated a little. At one point I heard Anthony muttering "I can't believe we are going to loose to these ding dongs"... I think that in the end, sougie & anthony were the big winners, but I am going to remember it differently. We are parting with great memories of sun, sand, games and wild creatures. We highly recommend meeting up with anthony and Michelle on any journey. Claire and George
First off, we hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We'll be dreaming of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie over our noodles and spring rolls. Our last post was from Nepal, where we were revving up for some wild travel on our way to meet Michelle's sister Claire and her boyfriend George in Saigon, Vietnam. We arrived in Thailand, where we promptly got on a mini bus on its way to Cambodia. We were told that the drive is about 4.5 hours - our driver made it in 2.5 hours. He was driving as if the car was on fire and the only water was in Cambodia. He dropped us off at the border, where we had to do only a mild amount of bribing to get through. Not too bad. From there we packed into a shared taxi to get us to Siem Reap, Cambodia, home to the Angkor Wat temples. Angkor Wat, known (especially to Cambodians) as the 8th wonder of the world, is the largest religious structure in the world. There are dozens and dozens of Hindu and Buddhist temples stretched out over an immense area. We had a great couple of days there: we rented bikes and toured around floating villages and markets, visited the temples, and ate some of the best food we've ever had - much of it involving fish wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in coconut milk and/or curry. On top of noodles. Michelle took a cooking class so we will hopefully enjoy these in the future.
After another crazy bus ride to Phnom Pehn, we decided to travel by boat to Vietnam along the Mekong river. The first boat was more like a bus on water, packed with people. Thankful that our first boat didn't end up in the bottom of the Mekong, we happily got on our second one - this one was a big step up, and we had some space to stretch out and view the fishing villages and boats that line the river.
We arrived in Saigon to wait for Claire and George, and we had two days to explore the city. We didn't quite know what to expect from Saigon, both in terms of the city itself and in locals' reactions to Americans. Both were great - we enjoyed the markets, the frenetic pace, and the clean, organized nature of the city. Anthony was particularly fond of the "moto culture" there. An alternative to taxis is to rent a motorcycle driver for $1 and just ride on the back of his moto to any destination in the city. After a few days he was looking for any excuse to take a moto trip. Snacks, pagoda visit, whatever. A little scarier was just crossing the street. There are literally thousands and thousands of these mopeds all over the city - way more of them than cars. They're all over the place, but there is a high level of order and flow with how they drive. Locals cross the street simply by walking at a moderate pace, and the motos simply move around them. We were very hesitant in our first attempt to do this, and we were frozen on the side of the street. That is, until, a sweet old lady with her daughter and granddaughter all of a sudden grabbed Michelle's hand, smiled, and led the way. While we tiptoed across the street, they giggled at us nervous Americans. We were constantly treated well by local Vietnamese, who were nothing but open, generous, and inviting to us.
We now would like to introduce our next guess bloggers, Claire and George, to tell about the rest of the Vietnam leg of the trip. Claire might have a difficult time typing with the new RING on her finger...
First, let us say that Anthony and Michelle seem fantastic . Happy, funnier than ever and man do they look good . Anthony is a bit scruffy and it suits him. George and I started the trip at 6 am in Winthrop waiting in the front hall for our cab. George took this wait time to formally propose to me ring and all! ( this is the same hall where Anthony and Michelle met and also were engaged) so, the trip started out pretty well.... 54 hours later we were on the roof of the Rex hotel in Saigon, for our rendezvous with michy and Anthony . After a night in Saigon , watching them wiz away on motos at 2 am (Michelle with a pink helmet) we met up the next morning and flew to phu quoc, an island off the Vietnam/ Cambodian coast for five days. Please don't feel bad for us. We are writing this blog an hour before parting with them. One final round of bananagtams is at hand. Hard to describe the trip in full sentences so I will give you some highlights: The local ladies who give massages on the beach call Anthony " superman" . He earned this moniker when they saw his eyebrows.... I think. In any case there was no end to hearing about "sooooperman" being "very funny" "hee hee hee" But, FYI it turns out superman is terrified of geckos. Just sayin... That's ok because George (or "sougie" a nickname he earned waiting for our standby flights and seeing his name on the board as SOU / G) is terrified of spiders, roaches, geckos, Mosquitos, and icecubes. By last night Sougie was in the mosquito net covered bed like the boy in the bubble.... I am most impressed with Michelle, who overcame her disgust with any card game resembling bridge (ie games with the word " trump" or just plain containing cards. ) Yes, it is possible that Michelle nearly mastered Euchre. As a team she and I put supermans Midwestern customs to shame, and we only cheated a little. At one point I heard Anthony muttering "I can't believe we are going to loose to these ding dongs"... I think that in the end, sougie & anthony were the big winners, but I am going to remember it differently. We are parting with great memories of sun, sand, games and wild creatures. We highly recommend meeting up with anthony and Michelle on any journey. Claire and George
Monday, November 8, 2010
Stuff White People Like: Nepal
Hello!
It's our last full day in Nepal and we are just on the brink of getting sick. We haven't been wearing our Michael Jackson facemasks so perhaps that explains the hacking coughs. Nepal has been great, Kathmandu is kind of a madhouse so we spent most of our time in Pokhara, about 8 hours away.
A few highlights: The first day we got here we got up at sunrise to walk up to the Monkey Temple. We thought that maybe it was named that to honor the animal or for some religious purpose. Oh no, it's named after the hundreds of monkeys that control the temple. If you've ever been afraid of swarms of birds as I am, you've never been swarmed by monkeys at dawn, pre-coffee. They howled and raged around us and all the Nepalese woman laughed at us as we tried to outrun them. The top was amazing - Buddhist monks chanting and monkeys crawling everywhere. We didn't realize it is the morning excercise for many people in Kathmandu, but it's like 1982 calisthenics: jumping jacks, touching toes, and twists. All of these are done with facemasks. We also toured other temples in Kathmandu and dined on delicious momos. This is high season in Nepal, so the city was somewhat swarmed with other western tourists off to the mountains and here to score cheap "North Face" gear in the souvenier shops. After two days we wanted to get a little closer to the mountains and to a smaller town named Pokhara.
In Pokhara we watched the sunrise (that's two sunrises, two more than I've ever done in my life) over the Himalayas and hiked through mountain villages. Little kids swarmed us and asked for candy and to take their picture. Then they wanted to see the camera to critiqe the pictures. Amazing. We hiked up to the Peace Pagoda and were warned about "evil jungle robbers with knives" - that was a little unnerving. Instead we opted for the straight route where 3 year olds were lapping us in bare feet.
Anthony went paragliding one day while I sat in terror watching the chutes all over each other on the mountain. It's not normal and I can't belive he did it, but the pictures are very cool. (Note to Anthony's mother: Michelle is kiding - there is NO WAY that Anthony would ever do anything like that. Disregard the pictures.)
We both got massages at the Seeing Hands Blind Institute. Some day when I can talk about Russia, Anthony can tell you about his massage. It's not funny, but it sort of is.
Next we fly to Bangkok and make our way through Cambodia and then to Vietnam in time to see my sister, Claire. We're very excited!
We miss everyone.
love, Michelle and Anthony
It's our last full day in Nepal and we are just on the brink of getting sick. We haven't been wearing our Michael Jackson facemasks so perhaps that explains the hacking coughs. Nepal has been great, Kathmandu is kind of a madhouse so we spent most of our time in Pokhara, about 8 hours away.
A few highlights: The first day we got here we got up at sunrise to walk up to the Monkey Temple. We thought that maybe it was named that to honor the animal or for some religious purpose. Oh no, it's named after the hundreds of monkeys that control the temple. If you've ever been afraid of swarms of birds as I am, you've never been swarmed by monkeys at dawn, pre-coffee. They howled and raged around us and all the Nepalese woman laughed at us as we tried to outrun them. The top was amazing - Buddhist monks chanting and monkeys crawling everywhere. We didn't realize it is the morning excercise for many people in Kathmandu, but it's like 1982 calisthenics: jumping jacks, touching toes, and twists. All of these are done with facemasks. We also toured other temples in Kathmandu and dined on delicious momos. This is high season in Nepal, so the city was somewhat swarmed with other western tourists off to the mountains and here to score cheap "North Face" gear in the souvenier shops. After two days we wanted to get a little closer to the mountains and to a smaller town named Pokhara.
In Pokhara we watched the sunrise (that's two sunrises, two more than I've ever done in my life) over the Himalayas and hiked through mountain villages. Little kids swarmed us and asked for candy and to take their picture. Then they wanted to see the camera to critiqe the pictures. Amazing. We hiked up to the Peace Pagoda and were warned about "evil jungle robbers with knives" - that was a little unnerving. Instead we opted for the straight route where 3 year olds were lapping us in bare feet.
Anthony went paragliding one day while I sat in terror watching the chutes all over each other on the mountain. It's not normal and I can't belive he did it, but the pictures are very cool. (Note to Anthony's mother: Michelle is kiding - there is NO WAY that Anthony would ever do anything like that. Disregard the pictures.)
We both got massages at the Seeing Hands Blind Institute. Some day when I can talk about Russia, Anthony can tell you about his massage. It's not funny, but it sort of is.
Next we fly to Bangkok and make our way through Cambodia and then to Vietnam in time to see my sister, Claire. We're very excited!
We miss everyone.
love, Michelle and Anthony
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Nepal
Hi everyone,
This is going to be a little short, but we just wanted to let people know that we are safe and doing fine - there was some violence in Istanbul the day we left, but we were already out of the city and on our way to Nepal.
We're currently in Kathmandu and will be in Nepal for the next week. We've already visited some really interesting temples and have been enjoying the Himalayas (from a distance.) We head to a smaller town tomorrow where we can do some hiking in the mountains and get out of the city for a bit.
More later, including (hopefully) some more pictures up on the blog. It's really a pain to do, but we're trying our hardest to get more up.
Hope everyone had a great Halloween! Our costumes: very dirty, but still smiling, tourists.
Love,
Anthony and Michelle
This is going to be a little short, but we just wanted to let people know that we are safe and doing fine - there was some violence in Istanbul the day we left, but we were already out of the city and on our way to Nepal.
We're currently in Kathmandu and will be in Nepal for the next week. We've already visited some really interesting temples and have been enjoying the Himalayas (from a distance.) We head to a smaller town tomorrow where we can do some hiking in the mountains and get out of the city for a bit.
More later, including (hopefully) some more pictures up on the blog. It's really a pain to do, but we're trying our hardest to get more up.
Hope everyone had a great Halloween! Our costumes: very dirty, but still smiling, tourists.
Love,
Anthony and Michelle
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Mıddle East
Hi everybody!
We know that it has been an extremely long time since we last posted an email, and we're really sorry about that. But we're doing well and we keep plugging along on our journey. This is going to be pretty consolidated since much has happened in the last month and we don't want to keep you for too long.
After our last post, which was in Marrakesh, we headed to Israel. Actually, we didn't go to Israel according to our passports. Since we were going to be heading to Lebanon after Israel, where we wouldn't be allowed in if we had an Israel stamp, we had to ask the border control guards (very nicely) to stamp a piece of paper ınstead. Thıs happens quıte frequently, but ıt wasn't the best tıme to be doıng thıs sınce there was a whole lot of tensıon between the Israel government and the Palestınan terrıtorıes the week before we got there. After a stressful hour ınvolvıng some scowlıng, some starıng, some questıons about the Shaker name, and some waıtıng around, we were let ın. Thıs was great news for us, especıally consıderıng the amazıng fıve days we had after. Much of the tıme was spent sımply walkıng around Jerusalem, one of the oldest cıtıes ın the world and undoubtedly the most polıtıcally and relıgıously charged. As you can see from the photos, there ıs so much to see ın the cıty: the Western Wall (the only remaınıng pıece of the Jewısh temple), the Dome of the Rock (rıght next to the Western Wall and one of the holıest sıtes ın Islam), and the Church of the Sepulchre (where Jesus was crucıfıed and burıed and the holıest sıte for Chrıstıanıty). Just to hear all of the church bells ın the cıty rıng at the same tıme along sımultaneously wıth the muslım call to prayer, and to see people draped over the spot where Jesus' body rested before burıal along wıth the passıon people felt prayıng at the Western Wall was remarkable. The cıty ıs dıvıded ınto four quarters, and ıt's easy to tell when you've crossed the lıne from quarter to quarter; the language changes, the food changes, the people change, etc. It was an amazıng couple of days. We were ınvıted by complete strangers to be a part of a Shabbat dınner ın theır home, and ıt was a powerful and unıque experıence - one of the hıghlıghts of the trıp.
From there we had only a brıef stop ın Amman, Jordan. Wıth only one day to work wıth, we decıded to head to Petra - better known as that awesome temple ın the rocky canyon from Indıana Jones and the Last Crusade. We were gıven bad ınfo, so we mıssed our bus ın the mornıng to get there. Undaunted, we headed to the bus statıon to see ıf there was another way to get to thıs Seventh Wonder of the Modern World (we only know thıs because every local person remınded us ıncessantly). In a whırlwınd of weırd conversatıons ın broken englısh over the span of 30 seconds, we found ourselves ın a car wıth two strangers on our way to Petra. Unsure what was goıng on, we asked the drıver ıf he was a taxı. "Sort of", he saıd. We held our breath for three hours before we dıd ındeed arrıve at Petra, spendıng the afternoon sweatıng ıntensely but also enjoyıng the weırdness of beautıful temples and buıldıngs carved ınto the mıddle of a desolate canyon.
From Jordan we were off to Lebanon, whıch was of partıcular ınterest to Anthony sınce the famıly on hıs father's sıde orıgınates from there. Also very excıtıng was that we were goıng to be joıned there by some very ımportant guests: Anthony's mother, Aunt Cathy, cousın Benjamın, and Iranıan Presıdent Mahmoud Ahmadınejad. Surprısıngly, the last guest caused the bıggest stır ın Lebanon, and the country was ın hıgh alert as the dude loves to taunt Israel. Despıte the bıg mılıtary presence ın the country and tensıons that hıs trıp caused for the dıfferent groups ın Lebanon, we werentgoıng to let hıs vısıt prevent us from seeıng the country and enjoyıng ourselves. We attached a separate post authored by my mom and aunt the chronıcles some of our adventures. But one major hıghlıght that I'll add ıs that we were able to lınk up wıth dıstant cousıns ın the weeks and months ahead of our arrıval. We were eager to meet them, see the vıllage where Anthony's great-grandfather was born, and hear storıes about the roots of the Aouad famıly (whıch was the orıgınal surname of Isaac Shaker before ıt was altered at Ellıs Island.) Thıs was an unbelıevable vısıt, hıgh up ın the mountaıns ın a small town called Tulah. We were treated to an amazıng day and an amazıng meal, thanks to famıly who were so hospıtable and excıted to share theır world wıth us. See the other post for more detaıls, but just as our frıends ın Amsterdam and Anthony's sıster provıded welcome energy, company, and laughter earlıer ın the trıp, so too dıd Lucy, Cathy, and Benjamın ın Lebanon.
After our ten days ın Lebanon, we headed south to Caıro for four ıntense days ın one of the world's oldest and most populated cıtıes. Just as St. Petersburg was a strange combınatıon of wealth and poverty, Caıro had the same feel. The Pyramıds, ancıent tombs, museums, and mosques over 1,000 years old are hard to wrap your braın around, but so too ıs the pollutıon, garbage, and poverty created by 25 mıllıon people lıvıng ın small amount of space. But we were thankful that we met some nıce locals who helped us to navıgate all of the bargaınıng and negotıatıng ınvolved ın even the smallest purchase or excursıon. That just doesnt't seem to get any easıer.
From there we headed to Turkey, where we ımmedıately headed from Istanbul to a small town along the Medıterranean named Fetıyhe. From there, thanks to Mıchelle's dogged determınatıon, we were able to hop on the last small boat cruıse of the season. For four days on a 40 foot saılboat we cruısed along the coast, swam ın the sea, toured small fıshıng vıllages, and had great Turkısh food. We're now on our way back to Istanbul for a few days before headıng to Nepal and our month ın southeast Asıa. Should be awesome.
We hope everyone ıs doıng well - we mıss you all.
Love,
Anthony and Mıchelle
We know that it has been an extremely long time since we last posted an email, and we're really sorry about that. But we're doing well and we keep plugging along on our journey. This is going to be pretty consolidated since much has happened in the last month and we don't want to keep you for too long.
After our last post, which was in Marrakesh, we headed to Israel. Actually, we didn't go to Israel according to our passports. Since we were going to be heading to Lebanon after Israel, where we wouldn't be allowed in if we had an Israel stamp, we had to ask the border control guards (very nicely) to stamp a piece of paper ınstead. Thıs happens quıte frequently, but ıt wasn't the best tıme to be doıng thıs sınce there was a whole lot of tensıon between the Israel government and the Palestınan terrıtorıes the week before we got there. After a stressful hour ınvolvıng some scowlıng, some starıng, some questıons about the Shaker name, and some waıtıng around, we were let ın. Thıs was great news for us, especıally consıderıng the amazıng fıve days we had after. Much of the tıme was spent sımply walkıng around Jerusalem, one of the oldest cıtıes ın the world and undoubtedly the most polıtıcally and relıgıously charged. As you can see from the photos, there ıs so much to see ın the cıty: the Western Wall (the only remaınıng pıece of the Jewısh temple), the Dome of the Rock (rıght next to the Western Wall and one of the holıest sıtes ın Islam), and the Church of the Sepulchre (where Jesus was crucıfıed and burıed and the holıest sıte for Chrıstıanıty). Just to hear all of the church bells ın the cıty rıng at the same tıme along sımultaneously wıth the muslım call to prayer, and to see people draped over the spot where Jesus' body rested before burıal along wıth the passıon people felt prayıng at the Western Wall was remarkable. The cıty ıs dıvıded ınto four quarters, and ıt's easy to tell when you've crossed the lıne from quarter to quarter; the language changes, the food changes, the people change, etc. It was an amazıng couple of days. We were ınvıted by complete strangers to be a part of a Shabbat dınner ın theır home, and ıt was a powerful and unıque experıence - one of the hıghlıghts of the trıp.
From there we had only a brıef stop ın Amman, Jordan. Wıth only one day to work wıth, we decıded to head to Petra - better known as that awesome temple ın the rocky canyon from Indıana Jones and the Last Crusade. We were gıven bad ınfo, so we mıssed our bus ın the mornıng to get there. Undaunted, we headed to the bus statıon to see ıf there was another way to get to thıs Seventh Wonder of the Modern World (we only know thıs because every local person remınded us ıncessantly). In a whırlwınd of weırd conversatıons ın broken englısh over the span of 30 seconds, we found ourselves ın a car wıth two strangers on our way to Petra. Unsure what was goıng on, we asked the drıver ıf he was a taxı. "Sort of", he saıd. We held our breath for three hours before we dıd ındeed arrıve at Petra, spendıng the afternoon sweatıng ıntensely but also enjoyıng the weırdness of beautıful temples and buıldıngs carved ınto the mıddle of a desolate canyon.
From Jordan we were off to Lebanon, whıch was of partıcular ınterest to Anthony sınce the famıly on hıs father's sıde orıgınates from there. Also very excıtıng was that we were goıng to be joıned there by some very ımportant guests: Anthony's mother, Aunt Cathy, cousın Benjamın, and Iranıan Presıdent Mahmoud Ahmadınejad. Surprısıngly, the last guest caused the bıggest stır ın Lebanon, and the country was ın hıgh alert as the dude loves to taunt Israel. Despıte the bıg mılıtary presence ın the country and tensıons that hıs trıp caused for the dıfferent groups ın Lebanon, we werentgoıng to let hıs vısıt prevent us from seeıng the country and enjoyıng ourselves. We attached a separate post authored by my mom and aunt the chronıcles some of our adventures. But one major hıghlıght that I'll add ıs that we were able to lınk up wıth dıstant cousıns ın the weeks and months ahead of our arrıval. We were eager to meet them, see the vıllage where Anthony's great-grandfather was born, and hear storıes about the roots of the Aouad famıly (whıch was the orıgınal surname of Isaac Shaker before ıt was altered at Ellıs Island.) Thıs was an unbelıevable vısıt, hıgh up ın the mountaıns ın a small town called Tulah. We were treated to an amazıng day and an amazıng meal, thanks to famıly who were so hospıtable and excıted to share theır world wıth us. See the other post for more detaıls, but just as our frıends ın Amsterdam and Anthony's sıster provıded welcome energy, company, and laughter earlıer ın the trıp, so too dıd Lucy, Cathy, and Benjamın ın Lebanon.
After our ten days ın Lebanon, we headed south to Caıro for four ıntense days ın one of the world's oldest and most populated cıtıes. Just as St. Petersburg was a strange combınatıon of wealth and poverty, Caıro had the same feel. The Pyramıds, ancıent tombs, museums, and mosques over 1,000 years old are hard to wrap your braın around, but so too ıs the pollutıon, garbage, and poverty created by 25 mıllıon people lıvıng ın small amount of space. But we were thankful that we met some nıce locals who helped us to navıgate all of the bargaınıng and negotıatıng ınvolved ın even the smallest purchase or excursıon. That just doesnt't seem to get any easıer.
From there we headed to Turkey, where we ımmedıately headed from Istanbul to a small town along the Medıterranean named Fetıyhe. From there, thanks to Mıchelle's dogged determınatıon, we were able to hop on the last small boat cruıse of the season. For four days on a 40 foot saılboat we cruısed along the coast, swam ın the sea, toured small fıshıng vıllages, and had great Turkısh food. We're now on our way back to Istanbul for a few days before headıng to Nepal and our month ın southeast Asıa. Should be awesome.
We hope everyone ıs doıng well - we mıss you all.
Love,
Anthony and Mıchelle
Lebanon
Guest co-authors: Lucy Shaker and Cathy Shaker-Breit
One mom (Lucy), one aunt (Cathy) and one cousin (Benjamin) joined Anthony and Michelle for a week in Lebanon. What a week it was!!
We were all high-energy tourists who wanted to capture every possible experience in a short time period. We saw impressive historical sites, visited with relatives still living in the same tiny village where Isaac Shaker lived before coming to America and enjoyed the hospitality of the gracious Lebanese.
Some of the week’s highlights: Baalbek’s remarkably well-preserved structures including the often-pictured Roman Temples to the gods Jupiter and Baachus. Please note equal rights were not a priority. Only men were allowed in these temples. The temple to Venus that women were allowed to visit is far off in the distance and only partially excavated. Byblos, which is considered the world’s oldest continually inhabited city, features a market (souk) that has changed little since Roman times. We visited the Jeita Grotto (in competition for one of the modern natural wonders of the world) which is made up of miles of limestone stalactites and stalagmites that have been forming for thousands of years. Cathy reported that although it was eerily beautiful, she was “pretty sure she saw John Lennon’s face in one hanging.”
We all loved our journey to one of the few remaining groves of the famous Lebanese cedars. Sadly, harsh weather and the lumber needs of nearby countries have devastated the forests. Now few of these magnificent symbols of Lebanon remain although the tree depicted on the flag of Lebanon is still standing.
Some Beirut sites that we enjoyed: The National Museum of Lebanon (a must see), the Al Omari Mosque with its spectacular ceiling mosaics and the world’s largest chandelier, the St. Jude Hospital Clinic (doing good works worldwide).
While Beirut seemed like a congested, large city, we greatly enjoyed our journeys outside Beirut through the winding hills of Lebanon. A friend of ours in Oak Park recommended a driver that he used on his trips to Lebanon. Rami was an invaluable resource for us. He shepherded us around providing good companionship and valuable information. Some special lessons we learned from Rami: There are “no rules in Lebanon.” When we asked why people would be walking across the highway dodging traffic and carrying bags of groceries, he would say that “is normal”. He did insist that we stop at a wax museum where he said the 50 most important people in history were depicted. To our surprise 10 of them were sheiks. When we asked Rami, he said (of course) that is normal. Other wax notables: Fıdel Castro, Saddam Husseın, Pope John Paul, Van Gogh, Quasımodo, and a partıcularly haggard lookıng Bıll Clınton. All ın all, one of the more surreal moments of the trıp.
We also learned from Rami and from our experience as passengers on the wild, wild roads that there is a special language spoken by the constant honking horns on the streets of Lebanon. After careful study, we believe we have a pretty definitive list to help future travelers to discern what the particular horn honk might mean…
Hello
Wassup
I’m here
I’m passing you in a non-lane
Meet me later at the club
I’m driving through this broken red light
You, car ahead of me, need to drive through this broken red light
A long horn means…f…you
I’m free and I do whatever I want
You are pretty
I’m a taxi and I am available
I’m at a store and don’t feel like going in, my honk gets the store owner to come to me
I’m going the wrong way towards you
I’m driving on the sidewalk, I hope you don’t mind
I’m aware that you are a pedestrıan with the right of way, but I don’t care and will run you over
I am on a 3 lane highway but am happy to create a few more lanes
Watch out because I am stopping on a highway to let passengers out
I have not honked in a few minutes and need to make sure my horn works
Bottom line..if you visit Lebanon, please avoid the rental car stop. Just call our friend Rami
One very special aspect of our trip was the chance to connect with Shaker Family members living in Toula. The Auoad family welcomed us to their village sharing stories of our shared history. They couldn’t have been more gracious and welcoming. They have kept a scrapbook of photos sent to them from Isaac Shaker (Cathy’s grandfather and the first to come to America) and Joseph Shaker (Cathy’s dad). They also took Cathy and Benjamin to the tiny village of Misthra where both of Cathy’s grandmothers were born.
The Lebanese hospitality is well known by anyone who has a Lebanese acquaintance. Typifying that was when Fr. Alfred (a Lebanese priest and friend with a church in Chicago) invited us to share an evening with his wonderful family. We ate dinner at a restaurant filled with thousands of flowers. There was fabulous Lebanese food and exceptional company…a perfect evening.
It is hard to fit in a few paragraphs all that we experienced, but we did manage to add some culture to our trip: a nightclub singer who knew a little John Denver and ABBA, a visit to Lebanese winery (exceptional local wine called Ksaras), a middle eastern night club act (surprised to see a Russian belly dancer with tattoos), and if anyone gets to the Metropolitan Hotel in Beirut, please tell Roger the Bartender that the Shakers say kifak.
But you can’t talk about a trip to Lebanon without mentioning the extraordinary Lebanese cuisine. Almost daily we sampled kibbee, tabouli, fatoush salad, grape leaves, zata, laban (yogurt), spinach pies and hummus. We are ready to go back for more.
Cathy, Lucy and Benjamin were pleased to be able to share a portion of Anthony and Michelle’s great adventure with them. We can report that Anthony and Michelle are doing very well…thoroughly enjoying the experience. Their energy is invigorating…it was a delight!!! Thanks for the memories!
One mom (Lucy), one aunt (Cathy) and one cousin (Benjamin) joined Anthony and Michelle for a week in Lebanon. What a week it was!!
We were all high-energy tourists who wanted to capture every possible experience in a short time period. We saw impressive historical sites, visited with relatives still living in the same tiny village where Isaac Shaker lived before coming to America and enjoyed the hospitality of the gracious Lebanese.
Some of the week’s highlights: Baalbek’s remarkably well-preserved structures including the often-pictured Roman Temples to the gods Jupiter and Baachus. Please note equal rights were not a priority. Only men were allowed in these temples. The temple to Venus that women were allowed to visit is far off in the distance and only partially excavated. Byblos, which is considered the world’s oldest continually inhabited city, features a market (souk) that has changed little since Roman times. We visited the Jeita Grotto (in competition for one of the modern natural wonders of the world) which is made up of miles of limestone stalactites and stalagmites that have been forming for thousands of years. Cathy reported that although it was eerily beautiful, she was “pretty sure she saw John Lennon’s face in one hanging.”
We all loved our journey to one of the few remaining groves of the famous Lebanese cedars. Sadly, harsh weather and the lumber needs of nearby countries have devastated the forests. Now few of these magnificent symbols of Lebanon remain although the tree depicted on the flag of Lebanon is still standing.
Some Beirut sites that we enjoyed: The National Museum of Lebanon (a must see), the Al Omari Mosque with its spectacular ceiling mosaics and the world’s largest chandelier, the St. Jude Hospital Clinic (doing good works worldwide).
While Beirut seemed like a congested, large city, we greatly enjoyed our journeys outside Beirut through the winding hills of Lebanon. A friend of ours in Oak Park recommended a driver that he used on his trips to Lebanon. Rami was an invaluable resource for us. He shepherded us around providing good companionship and valuable information. Some special lessons we learned from Rami: There are “no rules in Lebanon.” When we asked why people would be walking across the highway dodging traffic and carrying bags of groceries, he would say that “is normal”. He did insist that we stop at a wax museum where he said the 50 most important people in history were depicted. To our surprise 10 of them were sheiks. When we asked Rami, he said (of course) that is normal. Other wax notables: Fıdel Castro, Saddam Husseın, Pope John Paul, Van Gogh, Quasımodo, and a partıcularly haggard lookıng Bıll Clınton. All ın all, one of the more surreal moments of the trıp.
We also learned from Rami and from our experience as passengers on the wild, wild roads that there is a special language spoken by the constant honking horns on the streets of Lebanon. After careful study, we believe we have a pretty definitive list to help future travelers to discern what the particular horn honk might mean…
Hello
Wassup
I’m here
I’m passing you in a non-lane
Meet me later at the club
I’m driving through this broken red light
You, car ahead of me, need to drive through this broken red light
A long horn means…f…you
I’m free and I do whatever I want
You are pretty
I’m a taxi and I am available
I’m at a store and don’t feel like going in, my honk gets the store owner to come to me
I’m going the wrong way towards you
I’m driving on the sidewalk, I hope you don’t mind
I’m aware that you are a pedestrıan with the right of way, but I don’t care and will run you over
I am on a 3 lane highway but am happy to create a few more lanes
Watch out because I am stopping on a highway to let passengers out
I have not honked in a few minutes and need to make sure my horn works
Bottom line..if you visit Lebanon, please avoid the rental car stop. Just call our friend Rami
One very special aspect of our trip was the chance to connect with Shaker Family members living in Toula. The Auoad family welcomed us to their village sharing stories of our shared history. They couldn’t have been more gracious and welcoming. They have kept a scrapbook of photos sent to them from Isaac Shaker (Cathy’s grandfather and the first to come to America) and Joseph Shaker (Cathy’s dad). They also took Cathy and Benjamin to the tiny village of Misthra where both of Cathy’s grandmothers were born.
The Lebanese hospitality is well known by anyone who has a Lebanese acquaintance. Typifying that was when Fr. Alfred (a Lebanese priest and friend with a church in Chicago) invited us to share an evening with his wonderful family. We ate dinner at a restaurant filled with thousands of flowers. There was fabulous Lebanese food and exceptional company…a perfect evening.
It is hard to fit in a few paragraphs all that we experienced, but we did manage to add some culture to our trip: a nightclub singer who knew a little John Denver and ABBA, a visit to Lebanese winery (exceptional local wine called Ksaras), a middle eastern night club act (surprised to see a Russian belly dancer with tattoos), and if anyone gets to the Metropolitan Hotel in Beirut, please tell Roger the Bartender that the Shakers say kifak.
But you can’t talk about a trip to Lebanon without mentioning the extraordinary Lebanese cuisine. Almost daily we sampled kibbee, tabouli, fatoush salad, grape leaves, zata, laban (yogurt), spinach pies and hummus. We are ready to go back for more.
Cathy, Lucy and Benjamin were pleased to be able to share a portion of Anthony and Michelle’s great adventure with them. We can report that Anthony and Michelle are doing very well…thoroughly enjoying the experience. Their energy is invigorating…it was a delight!!! Thanks for the memories!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Camels, turbans, and the desert
We're back from the desert, sore from camel riding with odd burn marks on our bodies. Somehow being back in Marrakesh feels like home which makes zero sense. But our hostel is so amazing that we had to come back to swim in the pool and sleep in a real bed.
We left Marakesh a few days ago and traveled by bus to Zagora. I've heard people recount their stories of terrifying bus rides and I always think that it can't be that bad. This was that bad. The bus kept going up and up through the Atlas mountains and we kept looking down and down. The bus driver honks once before going around a turn, as though thats going to do anything if there is another car, walker (people walk up this) or donkey. The honk is just information that we will hit you. Hey, watch out, we are about to plow through you. On the trip to and from, there were people throwing up. Totally normal to the bus driver. And once one starts... Everywhere, gross, yuck. AND STILL there were people lying on the floor of the bus. Just snoozing. No biggie.
We made it to Zagora and were brought to our hotel by the Kazbah. Its very different from Marakesh. These houses are made up brick, clay and hay? Its the desert and looks like the desert. I still don't totally understand what a Kazbah is. Antoine, the owner of the hotel, gave us a tour and showed us maps. It was interesting though the kids throwing rocks at us were a little unnerving.
The next day we prepared ourselves for the desert, buying wraps for our heads and lathering on sunscreen. How does one pack for the desert? No idea. We met our guides, Mustafa and Achmed at the front of the hotel with three camels just sitting in the shade. We couldn't have been whiter or more UN-Moroccan (see pictures), but we did it. Our guides were hilarious and knew more about America than we did. This seems to be a theme with all the people we meet, but for guys who didn't go to school and trek through the desert 355 days a year, it's pretty amazing. Mustafa and Achmed cooked for us and sang songs. They slept in the sand. We slept outside on tiny mattresses with our blankets over our heads because of my fear of snakes and stories of Jackels they told us. Not to mention the beatles that were the size of my hand. In the middle of the night the moon was so bright and the three camels were just hanging out grunting next to us. It was pretty amazing. I almost forgot about the snakes. Almost.
Our last stop in Zagora was the rug shop that we had promised (never promise anything) to come back to. Anthony haggled for rugs successfully. It was impressive to watch. "But I am just a teacher..." The flies were everywhere and we were drinking extremely sugary tea that I am convinced was making me want to buy more and more silver jewelry that I didn't need. We ended up with two small rugs and some little things that we can barely fit in our bags. Anthony is a prized haggler, so much that I think he should keep it up in Turkey. He says otherwise.
It's our last day in Morocco; we leave for Casablanca today to get our flight to Israel. We're about to start our super fast trip through the Middle East. More later. Love, Michelle and Anthony
We left Marakesh a few days ago and traveled by bus to Zagora. I've heard people recount their stories of terrifying bus rides and I always think that it can't be that bad. This was that bad. The bus kept going up and up through the Atlas mountains and we kept looking down and down. The bus driver honks once before going around a turn, as though thats going to do anything if there is another car, walker (people walk up this) or donkey. The honk is just information that we will hit you. Hey, watch out, we are about to plow through you. On the trip to and from, there were people throwing up. Totally normal to the bus driver. And once one starts... Everywhere, gross, yuck. AND STILL there were people lying on the floor of the bus. Just snoozing. No biggie.
We made it to Zagora and were brought to our hotel by the Kazbah. Its very different from Marakesh. These houses are made up brick, clay and hay? Its the desert and looks like the desert. I still don't totally understand what a Kazbah is. Antoine, the owner of the hotel, gave us a tour and showed us maps. It was interesting though the kids throwing rocks at us were a little unnerving.
The next day we prepared ourselves for the desert, buying wraps for our heads and lathering on sunscreen. How does one pack for the desert? No idea. We met our guides, Mustafa and Achmed at the front of the hotel with three camels just sitting in the shade. We couldn't have been whiter or more UN-Moroccan (see pictures), but we did it. Our guides were hilarious and knew more about America than we did. This seems to be a theme with all the people we meet, but for guys who didn't go to school and trek through the desert 355 days a year, it's pretty amazing. Mustafa and Achmed cooked for us and sang songs. They slept in the sand. We slept outside on tiny mattresses with our blankets over our heads because of my fear of snakes and stories of Jackels they told us. Not to mention the beatles that were the size of my hand. In the middle of the night the moon was so bright and the three camels were just hanging out grunting next to us. It was pretty amazing. I almost forgot about the snakes. Almost.
Our last stop in Zagora was the rug shop that we had promised (never promise anything) to come back to. Anthony haggled for rugs successfully. It was impressive to watch. "But I am just a teacher..." The flies were everywhere and we were drinking extremely sugary tea that I am convinced was making me want to buy more and more silver jewelry that I didn't need. We ended up with two small rugs and some little things that we can barely fit in our bags. Anthony is a prized haggler, so much that I think he should keep it up in Turkey. He says otherwise.
It's our last day in Morocco; we leave for Casablanca today to get our flight to Israel. We're about to start our super fast trip through the Middle East. More later. Love, Michelle and Anthony
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Bar-tha-lona
Hola!
Me llamo Amanda, and I will be your guest blogger for the day.
I’d first like to report how great AJ and Michelle look! It was so great spending time with them and seeing them in their new super-traveler mode.
When I met up with them, they had rented an apartment in a cute residential neighborhood of Barcelona. There, they were able to do laundry, cook and veg out a bit, as Carlos (whose apartment they were renting) had a living room with comfy couches and an impressive collection of American movies, most notably the Godfather, which AJ patiently reminded Michelle and me every 14 seconds who each character was.
After a few days at Carlos’, we stayed at a hotel on the bustling Las Ramblas Street, which was right in the middle of shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. Until about 3 am each morning, you could hear the activity on the street, as well as musicians (usually alternating between Spanish and Beatles tunes).
I can officially report that we conquered Barcelona, primarily by foot and subway – from the Picasso museum to the site of the 1992 Olympics. The city is a great walking city, and man, did we walk it! There was an incredible market with fresh fish (some still alive…yikes), meats and fruits and veggies that we visited daily. Some of the city’s most impressive sites are those architected by Antoni Gaudi, who’s pretty much the Betty White of Barcelona – he’s a HUGE deal and basically all they talk about. His signature piece of work is the Segrada Familia, a cathedral that they’ve been building since 1882. It’s a stunning place that they’re hoping to wrap up in 16 years (which will mark 100 years since Gaudi’s death). I’m not too sure they can hit their deadline, but my first suggestion would be to have the workers stop smoking on the job. One guy working on the altar had a hammer in one hand and a cig in another…nice touch. Another cool Gaudi project is the Park Guell – a huge park that looks very Alice in Wonderland on one side with gingerbread houses and stunning mosaics, while the other side resembles a nature preserve with trails and hills (and stunning views of the city).
On the last night, we attended a Barcelona soccer game (thanks, Kevin, for the amazing tickets!). If there’s anything Barcelonans love more than Gaudi, tapas and smoking, it’s soccer. The energy was heart-racing, and what seems like forever when you’re watching it on TV, went by in no time when you’re viewing live.
Leaving Anthony and Michelle was incredibly hard, but seeing their enthusiasm for the rest of their trip was inspiring and impressive. It was so much fun seeing them, enjoying Barcelona’s beautiful sites, tapas, sangria, etc….did I mention the tapas?
Amanda
Thank you, Amanda! Your quality travel writing is matched only by your tremendous love and consumption of "patatas bravas" (spicy, fried potatoes.) You were a great travel partner, with a wonderful sense of spirit and adventure. Note: if you ever decide to do a trip like this, having periodic visits with people you know is definitely a great way to rejuvinate along the road. We've been lucky to visit some old friends and to have a visit from a family member thus far (with a few more to come!) We could have had a great time hanging with Amanda in a bucket - but we did not stop her from volunteering to use some of her points to stay in a ballin' hotel for a few days. King size bed? Sure! Bathrobe? OK! Slippers with your robe? Porque no? It was a definite step up from some of the other places we've stayed.
And we're now in Marrakesh - we took a ferry from Spain through the Mediterranean to the Moroccan city of Tanger, then an overnight train from there to Marrakesh. We've only been here for a day, but it's a beautiful, mysterious, and pretty intense city. We've had to haggle for about most everything, which is not something that Micelle and I are particularly good at. But we've enjoyed some delicous local food, visited one of the largest mosques in the Muslim world, and spent time at an enormous market full of small stands, story-tellers, snake charmers, musicians, etc. It's definitely a change from where we've been so far in terms of climate, culture, and lifestyle.
We miss you all and hope that everyone is doing well. And by the looks of it, my worry of possibly missing a Notre Dame football championship season by going on this trip didn't take too long to disappear.
Love,
Anthony and Michelle
Me llamo Amanda, and I will be your guest blogger for the day.
I’d first like to report how great AJ and Michelle look! It was so great spending time with them and seeing them in their new super-traveler mode.
When I met up with them, they had rented an apartment in a cute residential neighborhood of Barcelona. There, they were able to do laundry, cook and veg out a bit, as Carlos (whose apartment they were renting) had a living room with comfy couches and an impressive collection of American movies, most notably the Godfather, which AJ patiently reminded Michelle and me every 14 seconds who each character was.
After a few days at Carlos’, we stayed at a hotel on the bustling Las Ramblas Street, which was right in the middle of shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, etc. Until about 3 am each morning, you could hear the activity on the street, as well as musicians (usually alternating between Spanish and Beatles tunes).
I can officially report that we conquered Barcelona, primarily by foot and subway – from the Picasso museum to the site of the 1992 Olympics. The city is a great walking city, and man, did we walk it! There was an incredible market with fresh fish (some still alive…yikes), meats and fruits and veggies that we visited daily. Some of the city’s most impressive sites are those architected by Antoni Gaudi, who’s pretty much the Betty White of Barcelona – he’s a HUGE deal and basically all they talk about. His signature piece of work is the Segrada Familia, a cathedral that they’ve been building since 1882. It’s a stunning place that they’re hoping to wrap up in 16 years (which will mark 100 years since Gaudi’s death). I’m not too sure they can hit their deadline, but my first suggestion would be to have the workers stop smoking on the job. One guy working on the altar had a hammer in one hand and a cig in another…nice touch. Another cool Gaudi project is the Park Guell – a huge park that looks very Alice in Wonderland on one side with gingerbread houses and stunning mosaics, while the other side resembles a nature preserve with trails and hills (and stunning views of the city).
On the last night, we attended a Barcelona soccer game (thanks, Kevin, for the amazing tickets!). If there’s anything Barcelonans love more than Gaudi, tapas and smoking, it’s soccer. The energy was heart-racing, and what seems like forever when you’re watching it on TV, went by in no time when you’re viewing live.
Leaving Anthony and Michelle was incredibly hard, but seeing their enthusiasm for the rest of their trip was inspiring and impressive. It was so much fun seeing them, enjoying Barcelona’s beautiful sites, tapas, sangria, etc….did I mention the tapas?
Amanda
Thank you, Amanda! Your quality travel writing is matched only by your tremendous love and consumption of "patatas bravas" (spicy, fried potatoes.) You were a great travel partner, with a wonderful sense of spirit and adventure. Note: if you ever decide to do a trip like this, having periodic visits with people you know is definitely a great way to rejuvinate along the road. We've been lucky to visit some old friends and to have a visit from a family member thus far (with a few more to come!) We could have had a great time hanging with Amanda in a bucket - but we did not stop her from volunteering to use some of her points to stay in a ballin' hotel for a few days. King size bed? Sure! Bathrobe? OK! Slippers with your robe? Porque no? It was a definite step up from some of the other places we've stayed.
And we're now in Marrakesh - we took a ferry from Spain through the Mediterranean to the Moroccan city of Tanger, then an overnight train from there to Marrakesh. We've only been here for a day, but it's a beautiful, mysterious, and pretty intense city. We've had to haggle for about most everything, which is not something that Micelle and I are particularly good at. But we've enjoyed some delicous local food, visited one of the largest mosques in the Muslim world, and spent time at an enormous market full of small stands, story-tellers, snake charmers, musicians, etc. It's definitely a change from where we've been so far in terms of climate, culture, and lifestyle.
We miss you all and hope that everyone is doing well. And by the looks of it, my worry of possibly missing a Notre Dame football championship season by going on this trip didn't take too long to disappear.
Love,
Anthony and Michelle
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Scrubbing the Russia off of us
We're a little behind in the blog and I'm not sure where to start. We really enjoyed Scandenavia, especially Stockholm. We may be canal toured out as that has been our go-to in most cities. We decided to take an overnight boat to Finland, and we expected a small, simple ferry ride. What we got was the Love Boat - it was more like a Carnival cruise line with lounge singers and a Vegas-style dance show. I'm not sure why Anthony sat up front and center- it was clear he was going to be used as a prop and he was. We also befriended 3 Russians who convinced us we had to stay with them in St Petersburg. Our thought: Russians are so nice! (but more on that later). Mind you this conversation was going on with a translator, Vodka, and scibbles on paper. Even Russian scribbles and arrows make no sense.
We made it to Finland and met up with an old Parker friend, Mimmu, who took us north to her home where we learned about lakes in Finland (there are over 100,000) the intense pasttime of mushroom-gathering, and saunas. Saunas rule. This is because the Fins sauna every day and you literally pass out afterwards. Saunas don't rule if you in there with strangers. Also you swat at each other with branches- a technique we didn't get to take part in . Too bad. We ate really well and slept great. We had to really rest up for our next stop.
Which brings me to Russia. Sigh. We could not wait for this part of the trip and we had heard so many great things about St Petersburg. Now that we're in Spain and in the sun and clean, I don't feel as strongly about Russia, but there were some scary moments I would rather forget. FIRST of all, there are no street signs or numbers so finding our "hotel" took 2 hours. The drunk Russians from the boat were so nice- the ones we experienced were icy at best. We realized quickly that you either stay in the nicest place possible or you stay in a trash heap (you can tell from our tone that we were in the latter. The place was literally crumbling.) Your options are the Ritz or Roxbury. Everything in the city is like this. Cars are either Massarittis or floorless buggies with their wheels coming off. The food options are caviar and vodka at the Astoria or mystery street meat and a bottle of homebrew vodka hanging over the canal. The only thing that seems to be consistently present
is that the women dress like it's 1982 and the men wear the same exact black leather jackets. If we stayed there any longer we would both have to invest in matching acid washed jeans and start street-racing.
Don't get me wrong. We saw some amazing things: the Hermitage museum, some of the churches' architecture, and the WW II historical elements were outstanding. But the general mistrust on their part (and ours) permeated the whole visit. It's hard to feel comfortable when you know the police will never help you-only ask for your papers while twiddling their batons. Spies Like Us and Rocky 4 were not helpful movies in preparation for Russia.
After a dicey bus ride to the St. Pete airport, we had to go through three different security checks before our flight. And the intensity increased at each subsequent one. The first one was manned by a guy whose uniform resembled someone working the fry-o-lator at McDonalds. He asked to inspect Michelle's bag and then just got too tired to do it. The next check was by a woman talking to a friend on the
phone as she worked the x-Ray machine. And the last one involved a very thorough full-body pat down. We had to connect in Stockholm on the way to Barcelona, and our flight was loaded with fans of the '80's Swedish pop duo Roxette (they had a concert in St. Pete the previous night). We didn't know that anybody still listened to them. Somebody wake up MC Hammer. He's going to be HUGE in Russia next year.
And now we're in Barcelona, enjoying the warmer weather, doing some laundry, and feeling refreshed. We're very excited to explore the city and get our hands on some tapas. Anthony's sister, Amanda, is going to join us for the next week, so you can all expect the next post to be written by her; it will no doubt be funnier and more dramatic, including topics ranging from paella to male thong swimwear (it seems pretty popular here.)
Hope you're all doing well! Adios!
Love,
Anthony & Michelle
Editor's note: Michelle has much more to say about Russia, but she had to be censored for the blog. But she encourages all of you to ask her about it someday. We also hope that we're not coming off as "ugly Americans", especially if the Russian government is reading our blog. We loved it!
We made it to Finland and met up with an old Parker friend, Mimmu, who took us north to her home where we learned about lakes in Finland (there are over 100,000) the intense pasttime of mushroom-gathering, and saunas. Saunas rule. This is because the Fins sauna every day and you literally pass out afterwards. Saunas don't rule if you in there with strangers. Also you swat at each other with branches- a technique we didn't get to take part in . Too bad. We ate really well and slept great. We had to really rest up for our next stop.
Which brings me to Russia. Sigh. We could not wait for this part of the trip and we had heard so many great things about St Petersburg. Now that we're in Spain and in the sun and clean, I don't feel as strongly about Russia, but there were some scary moments I would rather forget. FIRST of all, there are no street signs or numbers so finding our "hotel" took 2 hours. The drunk Russians from the boat were so nice- the ones we experienced were icy at best. We realized quickly that you either stay in the nicest place possible or you stay in a trash heap (you can tell from our tone that we were in the latter. The place was literally crumbling.) Your options are the Ritz or Roxbury. Everything in the city is like this. Cars are either Massarittis or floorless buggies with their wheels coming off. The food options are caviar and vodka at the Astoria or mystery street meat and a bottle of homebrew vodka hanging over the canal. The only thing that seems to be consistently present
is that the women dress like it's 1982 and the men wear the same exact black leather jackets. If we stayed there any longer we would both have to invest in matching acid washed jeans and start street-racing.
Don't get me wrong. We saw some amazing things: the Hermitage museum, some of the churches' architecture, and the WW II historical elements were outstanding. But the general mistrust on their part (and ours) permeated the whole visit. It's hard to feel comfortable when you know the police will never help you-only ask for your papers while twiddling their batons. Spies Like Us and Rocky 4 were not helpful movies in preparation for Russia.
After a dicey bus ride to the St. Pete airport, we had to go through three different security checks before our flight. And the intensity increased at each subsequent one. The first one was manned by a guy whose uniform resembled someone working the fry-o-lator at McDonalds. He asked to inspect Michelle's bag and then just got too tired to do it. The next check was by a woman talking to a friend on the
phone as she worked the x-Ray machine. And the last one involved a very thorough full-body pat down. We had to connect in Stockholm on the way to Barcelona, and our flight was loaded with fans of the '80's Swedish pop duo Roxette (they had a concert in St. Pete the previous night). We didn't know that anybody still listened to them. Somebody wake up MC Hammer. He's going to be HUGE in Russia next year.
And now we're in Barcelona, enjoying the warmer weather, doing some laundry, and feeling refreshed. We're very excited to explore the city and get our hands on some tapas. Anthony's sister, Amanda, is going to join us for the next week, so you can all expect the next post to be written by her; it will no doubt be funnier and more dramatic, including topics ranging from paella to male thong swimwear (it seems pretty popular here.)
Hope you're all doing well! Adios!
Love,
Anthony & Michelle
Editor's note: Michelle has much more to say about Russia, but she had to be censored for the blog. But she encourages all of you to ask her about it someday. We also hope that we're not coming off as "ugly Americans", especially if the Russian government is reading our blog. We loved it!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Stockholm
Hi everybody,
Just a quick note to say that we finally got some new photos up. Sorry that it took so long. After a great couple of days with Kevin, Mike, and Greg in Amsterdam, we made it from to the small town of Kirkel, Germany where we visited with Anthony´s German cousins. They were amazing hosts and took us all over the area and to some important family sights. Thankfully, their English was better than our German, so we were able to hear some great family stories and explanations of my roots. From there we went to Berlin to check out the Arcade Fire concert (one of our favorite bands.) We spent a few days in Copenhagen and are now in Stockholm until Monday. We then take a ferry to Finland to visit with Mimmu Hartia-Sloan, our friend from the Parker School who moved back home a few years back. We´re doing well and miss you all. Take care!
Love, Anthony and Michelle
Just a quick note to say that we finally got some new photos up. Sorry that it took so long. After a great couple of days with Kevin, Mike, and Greg in Amsterdam, we made it from to the small town of Kirkel, Germany where we visited with Anthony´s German cousins. They were amazing hosts and took us all over the area and to some important family sights. Thankfully, their English was better than our German, so we were able to hear some great family stories and explanations of my roots. From there we went to Berlin to check out the Arcade Fire concert (one of our favorite bands.) We spent a few days in Copenhagen and are now in Stockholm until Monday. We then take a ferry to Finland to visit with Mimmu Hartia-Sloan, our friend from the Parker School who moved back home a few years back. We´re doing well and miss you all. Take care!
Love, Anthony and Michelle
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Amsterdam
Greetings from Amsterdam, or, should I say, "Groeten uit Amsterdam." Thank you Google Translator - you've come in handy. We got the tip to use Google Translator from our friend Kevin, who we've been crashing with since we arrived. He has been using it, with moderate success, to try to install his cable television settings. It's such a smooth, beautiful language to be exposed to, even more so when you're trying to decode "Voer televisie wachtwoord nu" (enter television password now).
It's good to have friends like Kevin - friends who you could e-mail saying "Hey, how would you like to have a few visitors?", then arrive and say, "Hey, how would you like to have a few visitors for two weeks?", and it wouldn't phase them a bit (we think.) He was relocated here from Baltimore a few months ago for work and seems to be enjoying the change. He and his golden retriever, Willy, have been amazing and patient hosts for our time here. It's been a perfect spot for us to do our laundry, use his computer to organize our next travel steps, and to be in a more residential world for a while. The first thing that Kevin had us do was to rent bikes, which is critical in Amsterdam. Apparently, there are 700,000 people in Amsterdam and over a million bicycles. Everyone uses them, and some in very interesting ways. We've seen people holding infants while riding, people with kids on the front and back of the bike simultaneously, people holding a full load of groceries while riding, and one person who was texting on a cell phone with one hand while talking on their Iphone with her other hand. What's even more interesting is how even though there a people on bikes all over the place and hordes of people passing through intersections all the time, there is some kind of smooth order to how it all flows. People here intuitively know who has the right of way and where all of the other bikes are going to go. The exceptions to this orderly flow are the idiots like us who aren't quite sure who goes where and why. We definitely were causing some problems for the first few days, but we've gotten the hang of it since. This has been a perfect place to be for Michelle, as her back has been hurting her a little bit; most sitting positions have been uncomfortable with the odd exception of sitting on a bicycle. It's been feeling better, though, which is good news since biking around the world would take quite a bit longer than how we planned.
I definitely validated my "history nerd" credentials last week with a visit to The Hague to check out the International Court of Justice, located in the Peace Palace, and with a visit to the Belgian city of Iepres (prounced like it rhymes with "jeepers". Seriously.) to visit the site of a famous World War I battle. While the city had interesting cemeteries and monuments, the crown jewel is a museum devoted to the battle in Flanders Fields. There's nothing quite like a visit to a museum that simulates a mustard gas attack, has random explosions every couple of minutes, and devotes a wing to the recreation of a battlefield, complete with trenches, bodies, barbed wire, and the sound of machine gun fire. Thank you for the nightmares.
Following this incredibly intense museum trip, I met up with Michelle and Kevin in Brugge, Belgium for the weekend, and we appreciated the medieval look of the city and it's fierce obsession with chocolate and waffles (individually and in partnership together.)
Amsterdam has been a great spot to be for a while. Beautiful parks, nice canals, delicious desserts, and occasionally friendly locals. But it's also a way more hip and fashionable place than we had expected, and we are out of league with our grimy travel gear. And since Kevin works for Under Armour, he has really helped to outfit us with comfortable athletic wear. But we would need a whole team of fashionistas to help us to blend in here: we'd need a whole lotta scarves (male and female), thin eyewear, skinny jeans (again, male and female), Italian leather shoes, sportcoats for every day of the week, etc. And that's just for starters.
Two other friends, Mike and Greg, are arriving in a few days to spend the long weekend here, and it should be great to see some more familiar faces and talk ad nauseam about Notre Dame football. We're going to get some more pictures up soon, including ones of Michelle and I visiting with some of her family in Cork, Ireland. We were successful in our second attempt to find her Irish relatives, and they graciously hosted us for an evening and took us to many of the family's historical spots. They were embarrassed that they hadn't cleaned up the house or had any food in the kitchen - I mean, after all, they had absolutely no clue we were coming and we just knocked on their door. They should have been more prepared.
We hope you all are doing well back home. More soon...
Love,
Anthony and Michelle
It's good to have friends like Kevin - friends who you could e-mail saying "Hey, how would you like to have a few visitors?", then arrive and say, "Hey, how would you like to have a few visitors for two weeks?", and it wouldn't phase them a bit (we think.) He was relocated here from Baltimore a few months ago for work and seems to be enjoying the change. He and his golden retriever, Willy, have been amazing and patient hosts for our time here. It's been a perfect spot for us to do our laundry, use his computer to organize our next travel steps, and to be in a more residential world for a while. The first thing that Kevin had us do was to rent bikes, which is critical in Amsterdam. Apparently, there are 700,000 people in Amsterdam and over a million bicycles. Everyone uses them, and some in very interesting ways. We've seen people holding infants while riding, people with kids on the front and back of the bike simultaneously, people holding a full load of groceries while riding, and one person who was texting on a cell phone with one hand while talking on their Iphone with her other hand. What's even more interesting is how even though there a people on bikes all over the place and hordes of people passing through intersections all the time, there is some kind of smooth order to how it all flows. People here intuitively know who has the right of way and where all of the other bikes are going to go. The exceptions to this orderly flow are the idiots like us who aren't quite sure who goes where and why. We definitely were causing some problems for the first few days, but we've gotten the hang of it since. This has been a perfect place to be for Michelle, as her back has been hurting her a little bit; most sitting positions have been uncomfortable with the odd exception of sitting on a bicycle. It's been feeling better, though, which is good news since biking around the world would take quite a bit longer than how we planned.
I definitely validated my "history nerd" credentials last week with a visit to The Hague to check out the International Court of Justice, located in the Peace Palace, and with a visit to the Belgian city of Iepres (prounced like it rhymes with "jeepers". Seriously.) to visit the site of a famous World War I battle. While the city had interesting cemeteries and monuments, the crown jewel is a museum devoted to the battle in Flanders Fields. There's nothing quite like a visit to a museum that simulates a mustard gas attack, has random explosions every couple of minutes, and devotes a wing to the recreation of a battlefield, complete with trenches, bodies, barbed wire, and the sound of machine gun fire. Thank you for the nightmares.
Following this incredibly intense museum trip, I met up with Michelle and Kevin in Brugge, Belgium for the weekend, and we appreciated the medieval look of the city and it's fierce obsession with chocolate and waffles (individually and in partnership together.)
Amsterdam has been a great spot to be for a while. Beautiful parks, nice canals, delicious desserts, and occasionally friendly locals. But it's also a way more hip and fashionable place than we had expected, and we are out of league with our grimy travel gear. And since Kevin works for Under Armour, he has really helped to outfit us with comfortable athletic wear. But we would need a whole team of fashionistas to help us to blend in here: we'd need a whole lotta scarves (male and female), thin eyewear, skinny jeans (again, male and female), Italian leather shoes, sportcoats for every day of the week, etc. And that's just for starters.
Two other friends, Mike and Greg, are arriving in a few days to spend the long weekend here, and it should be great to see some more familiar faces and talk ad nauseam about Notre Dame football. We're going to get some more pictures up soon, including ones of Michelle and I visiting with some of her family in Cork, Ireland. We were successful in our second attempt to find her Irish relatives, and they graciously hosted us for an evening and took us to many of the family's historical spots. They were embarrassed that they hadn't cleaned up the house or had any food in the kitchen - I mean, after all, they had absolutely no clue we were coming and we just knocked on their door. They should have been more prepared.
We hope you all are doing well back home. More soon...
Love,
Anthony and Michelle
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Michelle's thoughts and tips on Ireland
Ireland is expensive. If you have money you should go to Ireland. If you do not have money, you should not.
If you are from Boston the Irish will want to talk to you about three things: Ted Kennedy, The Big Dig, and the Wrentham Outlets.
Tourists in Ireland like to take pictures of sheep. And cows. And castles. And rocks.
If you want to look up your ancestors and you know the town you are from you should visit your local parish. If you are Catholic you might find out that actually you are Protestant. It is ok. You will now have to go to a different church across town. This might give you some time to think about your identity.
If you are making your husband drive down a really tiny road promising that you will find your ancestors and you get to the end only to find a scary barking dog with dreadlocks and an equally scary old man holding a shovel, don't be afraid. He will offer you tea and direct you to the correct driveway.
The Irish like to drink. I think we knew this. But really they like to talk about drinking. They talk about pints all day long. PINTS. PINTS. PINTS.
Ireland is really beautiful. Truly. And there are palm trees here. I definitely did not know this.
If you want to see a Cathedral you will not. But you will see a CaTEEdral. Don't be confused.
You will see people in scully caps and they will actually tip it in your direction. People are so friendly and they unneccessarily touch each other on the arm or back.
It's very possible I'm not Irish.
We are having a blast and want to hear how everyone is doing!
Love, Michelle (and Anthony)
If you are from Boston the Irish will want to talk to you about three things: Ted Kennedy, The Big Dig, and the Wrentham Outlets.
Tourists in Ireland like to take pictures of sheep. And cows. And castles. And rocks.
If you want to look up your ancestors and you know the town you are from you should visit your local parish. If you are Catholic you might find out that actually you are Protestant. It is ok. You will now have to go to a different church across town. This might give you some time to think about your identity.
If you are making your husband drive down a really tiny road promising that you will find your ancestors and you get to the end only to find a scary barking dog with dreadlocks and an equally scary old man holding a shovel, don't be afraid. He will offer you tea and direct you to the correct driveway.
The Irish like to drink. I think we knew this. But really they like to talk about drinking. They talk about pints all day long. PINTS. PINTS. PINTS.
Ireland is really beautiful. Truly. And there are palm trees here. I definitely did not know this.
If you want to see a Cathedral you will not. But you will see a CaTEEdral. Don't be confused.
You will see people in scully caps and they will actually tip it in your direction. People are so friendly and they unneccessarily touch each other on the arm or back.
It's very possible I'm not Irish.
We are having a blast and want to hear how everyone is doing!
Love, Michelle (and Anthony)
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Galway
We spent the better part of 3 days exploring Michelle's family's ancestral home in the towns of Crosmolina and Ballina, located in County Mayo, Ireland. We roamed the countryside, looking at maps, searching for signs, and just aimlessly driving for quite a bit of time. We think the homes and villages no longer exist, but we did take time to appreciate the beautiful scenery and serenity of the area. On our second attempt, we did find people who occupy the land where her family lived, but all we found was an angry dog and a woman who didn't really have much info for us. But she did allow us to drive around and have a peek of the place.
We've met plenty of friendly people who have been offering us all kinds of advice on how to spend our time in the country. We've gotten good tips on hearing some good traditional music and to check out a music fest. The headliners were a U2 tribute band who were trying their absolute hardest to look and sound like U2, down to their outfits, poses, and banter.
We're now in Galway for the next few days before heading off to Cork for our second attempt to track down Michelle's family. We just watched a Hurling match, which if you're unfamiliar with the sport (much like we were prior to two hours ago), then you'd be surprised to discover that a sport exists that blends soccer, rugby, field hockey, lacrosse, and jai alai. No joke. Good luck trying to figure out the scoring.
We're trying to figure out how to post audio and pics, so when we do we'll have some other things for you to check out other than our lame commentary. But we're doing well and starting to get the hang of this traveling thing.
We've met plenty of friendly people who have been offering us all kinds of advice on how to spend our time in the country. We've gotten good tips on hearing some good traditional music and to check out a music fest. The headliners were a U2 tribute band who were trying their absolute hardest to look and sound like U2, down to their outfits, poses, and banter.
We're now in Galway for the next few days before heading off to Cork for our second attempt to track down Michelle's family. We just watched a Hurling match, which if you're unfamiliar with the sport (much like we were prior to two hours ago), then you'd be surprised to discover that a sport exists that blends soccer, rugby, field hockey, lacrosse, and jai alai. No joke. Good luck trying to figure out the scoring.
We're trying to figure out how to post audio and pics, so when we do we'll have some other things for you to check out other than our lame commentary. But we're doing well and starting to get the hang of this traveling thing.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Dublin
After three great days in London, where our friends were kind enough to give us a place to stay and solid advice on what to do there, we arrived in Dublin on Wednesday night. We're here for two nights before we rent a car in search of Michelle's long lost Irish relatives in County Mayo. I'm going to let Michelle do the knocking on doors part of that journey, as I don't think my 2% of Irish blood sticks out all that much in my appearance (sorry, Mom). Michelle blends a bit more than I do. We're doing well and are having a great time - miss you all!
Monday, August 2, 2010
London
Friends and family,
We have arrived in London for the first leg of our trip. We'll be here for a few days before traveling to Ireland, which will be our first extended stop. We're a little jet lagged, but we're excited to be on the road after planning and waiting for the day to come. We have a sinking feeling, too, that the rest of our travel legs won't be as luxurious as our first one on British Airways: two meals, a personal tv with loads of movies and tv shows, comfy socks, toothbrush, a "sleep mask" blindfold, tons of legroom, etc. We're staying with friends for a few days here in a funky little neighborhood named Fulham, but we're about to do some exploring. Hope you're all well.
We have arrived in London for the first leg of our trip. We'll be here for a few days before traveling to Ireland, which will be our first extended stop. We're a little jet lagged, but we're excited to be on the road after planning and waiting for the day to come. We have a sinking feeling, too, that the rest of our travel legs won't be as luxurious as our first one on British Airways: two meals, a personal tv with loads of movies and tv shows, comfy socks, toothbrush, a "sleep mask" blindfold, tons of legroom, etc. We're staying with friends for a few days here in a funky little neighborhood named Fulham, but we're about to do some exploring. Hope you're all well.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Welcome friends!
Welcome to our blog! We haven't left yet, but we're getting very close. Our place is almost entirely packed up, we've started to move some boxes to storage. We say farewell to our dog, Cheyenne, tomorrow, which, as hard as that will be, will be good for her since she's had to live like a mouse in a maze for the last week in our box strewn apartment. She's been staring at us like she knows something's going down. But she's going to our friend Clay's house for while we're away, and she always comes back from his house a little fatter and plenty happy. I think she likes his greyhound more than she likes us, anyhow.
We've gotten all of our vaccinations (seven, in all), took care of all of visas (Russia put us through the ringer. Thanks alot, spies), and charted our course (kind of). We're going to try and keep up with this blog as much as we can, though we're not exactly sure how much access to computers we'll have in certain places. Don't feel like you have to comment on our posts, and if you feel like this blog is too self-indulgent (as we do a little bit), feel free to not follow it. It won't hurt our feelings. We just felt that this was the best way to stay in touch with you all and to give a sense of what we're so lucky to be able to see and do for the next five months. We'll try to upload some pictures when we can, too.
Take care, everyone. We look forward to seeing you down the road...
We've gotten all of our vaccinations (seven, in all), took care of all of visas (Russia put us through the ringer. Thanks alot, spies), and charted our course (kind of). We're going to try and keep up with this blog as much as we can, though we're not exactly sure how much access to computers we'll have in certain places. Don't feel like you have to comment on our posts, and if you feel like this blog is too self-indulgent (as we do a little bit), feel free to not follow it. It won't hurt our feelings. We just felt that this was the best way to stay in touch with you all and to give a sense of what we're so lucky to be able to see and do for the next five months. We'll try to upload some pictures when we can, too.
Take care, everyone. We look forward to seeing you down the road...
Friday, July 9, 2010
A few weeks to go
We are in the last stretch of our planning for the big trip. In the next few weeks we have to pack up our apartment, finalize some of our stops, coordinate a few more travel visas, finish (and start) our packing, and say some of our last goodbyes. This includes saying goodbye to our greyhound, Cheyenne. She's pretty aloof, so it will probably be much harder on us than on her. We finally took care of our visas for Vietnam and Russia, which required way more hassle than we anticipated. The Russians took particular delight in denying us and asking for more money and paperwork. The consulate office was decorated with such warm signs as "Being quiet will make the line move faster."
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