JASSENDEAVOR

Surprise! I'm back in the USA!

jjassen — Tue, 9 Jun 2009 12:50:00 GMT

Hello, and guess what?

I am back in the US of A, happy to be visiting my dear folks Kathy and Daryl at their new home in Montana. I decided to visit here first, before and instead of heading directly to Portland, because here I can sit back, relax, and visit with my little nephews and my 8 month old niece, and gradually "plug in" to the world as I knew it before I left :)

So, that's right; I still don't have a phone on me. I am, however, working on some emails and all my law school decisions, visits back home, weddings, etc. will be hopefully planned out from here in the next few weeks.

Once I decide on a new city, I'll go back to Portland, couchsurf for a while and then pick up my stuff from storage and head to the new LUCKY city! Congrats to me for getting into at least one school so far, a minor school in Florida offering a small but respectable scholarship!

As always, email is best for communicating with me, and I look forward to talking with you all, if not in person, in the coming summer months! Get ready for my slide show!

***

From China, where I think I left off on the river cruise on the Yangzi (Yellow) River, we headed to Shanghai. On the train from Wuhan to Shanghai, I got a little sick, and just like most locals, I did get sick on the train. It was messy, but I felt a lot better. I think it was the hotpot soup we had the night before. Shanghai, as the original British settlement (to HOng kong), was expectedly very westernized. The city was pretty cool, and our hostel was right in the thick of things, right on the Bund area where if you need a watch DVD or bag, you are in luck because you will be asked if you need any of these things at least 5 times on every city block. (These people work on commission for a % of whatever is spent by people they "bring in" to the store.) It was, however, in Hong Kong that the real electronics and name-brand shopping can be done. A 24 hour train ride from Shanghai, and we were there! To the Special Autonomous Region (SARs) of China that is autonomous in almost all aspects, run by the British authorities, Hong Kong. Both here and in Shanghai Shawn and I relaxed a little, for him to get ready for his venture into the jungle of southeast asia, and I because I was anticipating the return to the land of commercialism in my own language. (It's easier to ignore commercialism and obnoxious people on the trains alike, when they are in a different language.) In a foreign language, you can imagine that the people around you are talking about erudite subjects all the time, or important global matters. (In fact, one of the first snippets of converstation I heard that I understood came from the Hong Kong airport. A silver haired gentleman and his wife were in front of me in line, and we had just undergone a second security check at the gate to the plane, where liquids you had purchased in the airport - after the first security check, mind you - were taken away, and the man was muttering to his wife, "...really pisses me off..." and I had to laugh. That is exactly the type of comment I had been happy to miss for four months)

So, we enjoyed Pizza Hut pizza (a relatively high-end restaurant in Asia, as it turns out. I think it is because of the expensive imported melted cheese) and also enjoyed some movies - we saw both the Star Trek movie (highly recommend) and the Terminator prequel. Both were good and fun to escape into for a bit.

Shawn left first, flying out of Hong Kong Saturday morning. My own flight home was not until Tuesday morning, and I decided there was not a lot to do in Hong Kong by myself for those 3 days, so I took a high-speed ferry, called a hydrofoil, about 45 minutes away to the OTHER Special Autonomous Region of china, called Macau. Macau is owned and run by Portugal, having been an original Portugese settlement back in the day. I thought it was very fitting to begin and end this trip in areas of the world speaking the same language - and indeed, it was really cool to see chinese and portugese languages everywhere - on traffic signs, on churches, etc. Macau is also "Asian Vegas," home to numerous casinos such as the MGM Grand, the Venetian, Wynn, and of course, Casino Lisboa, which commands the skyline with its golden color and lotus-like flower shape. I went to the Casino Lisboa twice, and though I didn't win big, I enjoyed good free coffee and was entertained for hours. The local favorite, by the way, is a game called Baccarat, a game in which only the Player or the Dealer wins, and sitting at the table one can bet on either for the win. Two or three cards are dealt to each the Player and the Dealer, which are then summed up. (Face cards are zero, everything else face value) and only the first power of the total (the "ones" power; to the immediate left of the decimal point) of the total is taken. The higher number wins. So, a 2+9=11, and the first power is 1, which is very low. The highest possible would be 9, for example: 10+9=19, the first power of which is 9.

Anyway, that is what I played except for a little three card poker, but those tables had minimums that were too rich for my blood. What did make it more fun is that we were using Hong Kong dollars, which are about 7 times the US dollar, so for example a high-rolling bet of $300 felt like a lot more than the ~14.35 it is in USD.

I then spent 30 hours in airports and airplanes to get home on Tuesday, June 9 - a day I lived twice, actually, due to crossing the international dateline Easternly. (One might say I travelled back in time, crossing the dateline as I did.) My lovely mother picked me up at Great Falls International late that night, and now I am resting and relaxing before organizing my summer plans.

Thanks for enjoying my blog! Sorry I did let it get away from me at times... I look forward to sharing some stories in person next time we meet!

Enjoy your day, and take care.
Love,
Justina

Still in China...

jjassen — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:52:00 GMT

Just finished a 3 day cruise with Chinese tourists (and one other "westerner," a Norwegian fellow) down the Yangzi river (also called the Chiantjiang, or Long River) to see the 3 gorges and also finishing at the huge 3 Gorges Dam.

Currently in Wuhan, in the Hubei province, and tomorrow will take a fast train to Shanghai.

Keep you posted!

Love Justina

China

jjassen — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:17:00 GMT

In Beijing, saw the great wall, was amazing. Mostly because it was NOT in a touristy area but a cool out of the way place. Went to the Forbidden City and was not really amazed.
In Xi'an, saw the terracotta warriers, this army of ceramic men an emperor Chin had built to accompany him into the afterlife, which was pretty awesome, but overpirced but still cheap by US standards.

Havent eaten anything too weird yet, but have tons of fun stories of locals just by what they say. "Excuse me, where are you from? Oh, from America? Yes, you look like cool guy!" was what one person told Shawn. Then he asked him if he had an american cigarette. We're having a fun time, for sure.

Turns out, in China there is quite the backpackers network at play,
where basically each hostel is a great restaurant, bar, hostel, and tour
guide/booking agency, all in one. Each one has a courtyard, maybe some pets, cheap and huge Tsingtsao beers, "western" food like omelettes with toast, pizza, musli... and they kind of all have to be similar because each one recommends the next one to you... so once you experience a good one, they all kind of have to share the good qualities or else they'll hear about it.

Each hostel can look up train schedules, and if they can't book the train, they'll write it out in Chinese on a piece of paper what train you need, on which day, and you can give the paper to the ticket office yourself. Similarly, on all of the hostels leaflets somewhere near the bottom it will say in Chinese, "Take me to ___ hostel" so you can always hand it to a taxi driver. It's an incredible way to communicate without even learning "hi," although it's true that now I can say "hi, thank you, and How much is it?" (Ni hao, xiexie, and duoshuan qian, respectively) Everybody understands WC. Almost everybody...

Anyway, as I said, the biggest and arguably best part of the racket is that each hostel sends youto the next one, with free train station pickup, so they meet you with your name and bring you right to the next hostel. (Today, in the shuttle to the hostel, literally five minutes from exiting our train, I pretended to be stressed how by how "difficult" travelling is... because honestly it's been very easy, given this incredible network. Money talks, I guess.

So, right now we're on our third city, and third hostel! It's pretty cool, they are nice and definitely cheap, but starting to be very similar to each other. I've met the same people even, which is actually nice. We're starting to be one group of travelers, instead of many little ones.

I'm trying to talk Shawn into doing this tour of the country where you bicycle through rice paddies and do homestays, but it's a lot of country time and we both want to see Shanghai and some cities. We'll see. Tomorrow we will see the Giant Pandas, which are a hugely exploited commodity here... I don't think they see much of the $$YY (yuan) that they charge for you to a) sit with a panda, b) 1000 Yuan to hold a baby panda... that's like 90 bucks USD... or even to see the compound.

Anyway, I'll know more tomorrow. After Chengdu we will go by boat down the Yangtze river, through the three gorges area, and end at this famous Dam, supposedly built to withstand a 7 richter scale earthquake (my butt)

But the dam is a highlight for me, so you can bet I'll blog about it afterwards. I will re-read about how many million chinese people were relocated to make it, and about how many nuclear power plants it approximates in energy production...

By the way, those pandas, with only something like 1000 in captivity, are net worth sooo much more than, say, your average Chinese person (to the government I mean)... I don't even want to think about security at the Panda base. I heard that at your standard zoos, the living conditions for all the other animals are crappy, but these pandas, because they are such huge tourist attractions and bring so much attention to the country, are treated like kings.... I don't know. I haven't been there yet and I'm rambling.

"What's your cheapest flight out of here?"

jjassen — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:36:00 GMT

Update - After algarve, spent windiest few days in Tarifa, Spain off the strait of Gibraltar, (windsurfing capital of the world) waiting for a day when the winds died down enough for the ferry to run, 35 minutes to Morocco, Africa!

Got our passports stamped on the boat, met two Kiwis and immediately decided to head to where they were headed (with their blessing of course), which was out of Tangier, a cruddy port city, and on a bus to Assilah, a beach town on the coast just an hour or so away.

To sum up - Lisa and I spent a week in Morocco before deciding it was too much harassment and we split in Casablanca airport, tearful (for me - Kiwi's a rock as far as I know) and full of the good feeling of having met a really solid, good mate in meeting each other. I know I'll see her soon :)

In the Casablanca airport, I said; "What's your cheapest flight out of here?"

And the answer came back; "London!"

So, when I never thought I'd make it to the UK, you never can say never, because there I landed, in London! Put on some longs and my new leather jacket, and I fit right in. I really like London. It felt good to hear english and be around somewhat awkward white guys - familiar I guess.

In four days, I tried out three hostels. I even got to go for a run in Hyde Park! Most importantly, I was able to apply for a Chinese Visa at the English - Chinese Consulate! Ended up finding a chill atmosphere in southeast London not far off the map in slightly seedy Deptford. I liked it a lot, but was happy to leave the expensive British pound for the Chinese Yeon, or "RBN" (only left us confused for a few days before realizing they are the same).

So, here I write from Beijing, today I walked through the Forbidden City with my friend Shawn from Portland, tomorrow we take a day trip to the Great Wall! The hostel we found is nice, and it feels great to be in Asia. The best food so far has been thin square shaped (extruded) potatoes that are barely cooked so that they are almost raw, and served with white vinegar. You eat with chopsticks, delicious! I also had a nice milk tea float... nicer than Avocado juice from Morocco, which was surprisingly not bad either...

Enough for now,

Later guys!

Southern Spain - Barcelona to Cadiz: Cadiz to Algarve

jjassen — Fri, 1 May 2009 22:09:00 GMT

I have just had the best 5 days of the trip so far. Rented a car with Lisa and road-tripped through southern spain and portugal, sleeping in the car, waking up to a different beach each morning.

Now, early on in the journey, our first full day to be exact, we were at a gas station and a 20-kilo bag of Valencia Oranges caught our eye. We shared a look that says, ¨Why not?¨and bought the bag. AFter all, we have a car! (It was so nice to be out of the backpack for a while) So we hefted it to our trunk.

Now, I said we woke at a different beach each morning, and that alone was great. But guess what was even better? - Guess what we did each morning, Lisa Graham and I? We ran. Oh, we ran. Yes indeedy. (Not very far or long, but barefoot on the beach is enough!)

Typically, then, we would change (also in the car - probably only gave free shows to one or two guys at the most, the whole time) and then both ate anywhere from 2-4 oranges, before hopping back in the car and navigating onward. (Gas station or supermarket stop for breakfast.) Generally, a few hours later, we would stop at a new beach for some suntan time, to drink some sangria, wine, and eat a few oranges. After that, it was time to find somehwere in which to bed down, so we´d drive for a bit and find a nice new beach to sleep near. Generally we would find semi-private driveways whose owners were out of town, or a local beach access which indicated public lands enough to suit us. Once we did a roadside stop, but that was in the country early on, with no beach concern. Twice was next to a hotel. Once was an actual real beach parking lot. Once we found a spot, if it wasn´t already dark (and it has been getting dark around 9 pm here), we´d recline the seats, roll out the sleeping bags, eat a few oranges, and play some Yuka! - Yuka! is a card game that is very similar to Setback, but unlike cutthroat setback, Yuka! is actually fun with two people. Lisa and I are pretty well matched at Yuka. Then we brush teeth, visit the toilet, and say nighty-night. I should mention that a good toilet nearby (aka, a decent bush, perhaps a grove of trees, or another good cover, qualifies as a good toilet, and something necessary for the night´s spot. In the course of our trip, we both definitely became comfortable with using the ´ole, öpen both the doors on the passenger side and then one person blocks¨as a good toilet spot. After all, we´re in Southern Spain!)

I digress. Only once did mosquitoes find their way to me in the car, and that was my worst sleep. Two nights I slept through. Lisa is convinced vitamin C makes her pee. I guess she heard this from somewhere... I can´t exactly argue. I just know that as sweet as oranges taste to your tongue, they still are heavily acidic in the stomach. I think we did overdose after two days strong of heavy orange-eating, because we were averaging 7 a day and then had a fluke 3 day... yesterday we had an all-day high of 8 oranges apiece, but today it´s 10 PM and we´re only at 5 or 6. Maybe my stomach is just used to it now, or maybe I´m pacing myself better. In any case, each orange now Lisa and I can comment to each other on it´s finer qualities. ¨nice flavor. overripe. too much sugar. tough. compact cells. no flavor. juicy, but not nice orange flavor...¨ We also comment on the peelability of the oranges. Basically, we are orange experts.

Anyway, we returned the car today - we named her Katie after our dear beloved friend Katie Randall who had to leave us to go home to her job in Portland. And now we are in sunny Seville, Spain, back with our backpacks. We only have gotten on each other´s nerves twice, but it was once each today and yesterday.

Anyway, we only have about 15 oranges left so we´re now packing them. We´ll bring them with us to Morocco either tomorrow (Saturday) or the next day, (Sunday). (We´re not sure. Kiwi and I are both glad to be in a country where knees and bikini tops are ok on women.) But, Morocco is supposed to be super cheap, and we figure, in Turkey we were on the Asian continent and that was cool, to look from Europe to Asia, so why not throw Africa into the mix??

Ciao!

Last day in Turkey

jjassen — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:03:00 GMT

Gnyadin! (Good Morning!)

I write havıng just seen Lısa Marıe Graham off at the Bus Statıon ın Istanbul. We feel lıke we are old hands ın thıs cıty... havıng arrıved here two and a half weeks ago ın the same bus statıon, we are now adept at
a) maneuverıng around İstanbul - a cıty of 12 million people, ıncluding traversıng to the ´Asıan Sıde´- the Anatolıan contınent to the East and the European contınent to the west are separated by the Bosphorous Straıt that runs rıght through Istanbul.
b) ignorıng (or maintainıng brevity with) turkısh requests that ınvarıably end ın spendıng money (hınt: turkısh sales pıtches begın wıth not ´hello´ but eıther ´lady!´ or ´yes please´. Not long after that you are asked ´where are you from?´ and ın provıncıal areas ´where are you stayıng, where dıd you come from, where are you goıng, what bus company dıd you book wıth,´ and, of course after that ´I can get you better prıce what dıd you pay yes please?´

c) convertıng Lıra to Euros and then eıther to USD or Australıan dollars ın our mınds - not dıffıcult - but more ımpressıve we have managed to maıntaın ´even´ ın the course of borrowıng change and payıng for food or accomodatıon and breakıng large bılls between the two of us - When Katıe was here, ıt was even more ımpressıve how we could keep track of the amount owed...

I dıgress. There ıs so much to share. Turkey has become the hıghlıght destınatıon of my trıp thus far. Let me gıve you the run-down: from the Greek ısle of Kos ın the fırst week of Aprıl we arrıved ın southern resort-destınatıon Turkısh cıty of Bodrum, ın the south. We stayed only one nıght, had a turkısh meal of lamb shısh served wıth a barley `rıce` enjoyed our fırst turkısh wıne and learned that the letter C ın Turkey ıs pronounced as a J. We also saw our fırst of many, lıterally hundreds by the end, of Mınarets. The mınaret ıs buılt alongsıde the dome-topped mosque. The unıque vısual sıght of the mosque and the mınaret ındıcate that ´Islam ıs here.´ The mınaret ıs a large tower wıth speakers mounted to the top and fıve tımes a day, every day, a man - the rule ıs he has to be lıve, no voıce recordıngs allowed´ - sıngs the Call to Prayer to the cıty. It sounds lıke a lot of hummıng and strung out vowels to me, but ıt ıs nıce. One gırl I met saıd though only the old people actually go to pray at the mosque at that tıme anymore, and the rest of the people go about theır busıness, she says she feels peace every tıme she hears ıt. The number of mınarets on the mosque ındıcates the sıze of the mosque, whıch also has to do wıth the sıze of the town or the people who attend. I am no expert, but essentıally not only wıll a bıg town have multıple mosques dottıng theır landscape, but larger mosques themselves wıll have two or more mınarets. In Bodrum there was just one mınaret on the only mosque I saw, but ın Istanbul for example there are so many people that there are dozens of mosques, and sınce the sultans often dedıcated mosques to theır wıves or relatıves they would often buıld grand versıons wıth many mınarets. The blue mosque has sıx mınarets, and at the tıme of the buıldıng was sacrelıgıous because only Mecca had sıx, and the general feelıng was ´how dare the sultan to make a mosque as great as Mecca... nothıng can be as great´... and so, Sultan ordered a seventh buılt at Mecca. Problem solvıng at ıt´s fınest :)

Whıle I was here I also learned a bıt about

In addıtıon to the great tourıng of Istanbul (much of whıch due to the outstandıng hospıtalıty of Lısa´s and now my frıend Chrıstıne, a canadıan studyıng abroad here) we also dıd a WWI tour of the town of Selçuk, also known ın the Aussıe and Kıwı World as Gallipole. Surroundıng the Dardanelles straıt, thıs tıny area was a strategıc sıte for the Brıtısh allıes to attack ın order to get Germany ın WWI. Unfortunately, both sıdes were underprepared for the length and gore of the trench battles that took place here. Many many ANZACS (and also many Brıtısh and even a few newfoundlanders and ´indıans´though I´m not sure what natıonalıty that ındıcates) dıed here just 90 odd years ago. The war was called the gentleman´s war because both the Anzacs and the Turks found each other very brave and wıth sımılar dedıcatıon to theır cause. Apparently at tımes the bullets were so thıck that many hıt each other ın the aır... whıch are on dısplay at a museum we went to for a quıck fırst stop. Later, Lısa and I got a few mınutes to scratch around some dırt as both of us were really hopıng to fınd a bullet or a bone - both of whıch are not uncommon fınds ın the area to thıs day.

Lısa mıght come back some day and do some dıvıng to see some of the detrıtus underwater as well... as she ıs an avıd dıver and water enthusıast.... I dıgress agaın. But generally, wıthout meanıng to, I have found a great frıend and travel buddy. We know each other very well and fınd many sımılarıtıes. I cant waıt to go to Australıa and New Zealand and do all the sports she does there lıke spearfıshıng and surfıng.

In fact, sınce Lısa was goıng to Barcelona and had the tıcket already, I decıded to tag along and the two of us are goıng to camp ın southern spaın for a week more so she can teach me the basıcs of surfıng - even ıf the water ısnt great thıs tıme of year, we both just want sun and salt water. So our partıng thıs mornıng was sad but we laughed because we wıll see each other tomorrow!

It wıll be a long tomorrow.

There are so many storıes... but I have to sıgn off for now.

Justına

Istanbul Rocks... Turkey is an OK country by me

jjassen — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:46:00 GMT

OK, sorry to all my fans. I know you have been checking regularly.

Unfortanely, traveling and blogging do not go hand in hand.

I am safe and sound in Eceabat, Turkey, on a weeklong tour of immediately-southeast-istanbul regions including Ephasus, Pammakule, and Cappadocia.

Then my new good friend Lisa, the Auswie, and I will do some real vacationing in the way of CHEAP *have been spending MUCH dinero - ok, it's LIRA) in turkey so far. Serious good food, entertainment, etc. But in spain we are determined to rent a car, buy a tarp, and camp through southern spain and southern portugal, which I missed on my first way through, and then Morocco. Then come May we'll split up and I'll go to China.

One Good Friend Later!

jjassen — Sat, 4 Apr 2009 22:45:00 GMT

Actually, one good friend, two new Greek sandals, one Kiwi girl, two greek islands, one rented car, and three* sets of sunburns later... all this girl can say is, Kalispehrah! ("Good evening!")

*Technically, our kiwi friend Lisa does not havea sunburn, since she is pretty tan already, lucky girl! (She thinks she's pale, but then she saw me :)

We three have been having a blast enjoying the greek island life, just shy of the on-season heydey that apparently will begin just after the Easter holiday season in a week or so. (During which time, all island life halts for celebration, so by then we hope to be in Turkey. Lisa will hopefully join us!)

The highlights so far have been Crete, the big island to the south, which one takes by getting on a 9:30 PM ferry from Athens port (Parenias port) and arrives in Crete's port at 5:30... for any non-locals (i.e., us) this means staying on board while everyone else disembarks, as you are moored and the outside is still cold and dark! Finally, at 6:15 we got off the boat, and walked towards the familiar golden arches of a McDonald's... not open :) What can you say besides, Island Time, right? :) So we had our own breakfast on the steps of a bank statue on a lush green lawn as the sun rose, around 7:00 am. (After ascertaining where the car rental place was, so we could hit it, as soon as possible! We only had one night to spend on Crete, and we wanted to find some beaches!) Being pretty prepared ladies as we are, we thought to grocery shop prior to the ferry, and what could have been expensively imported island food... so we had a few grocery bags with fruit, bread, cheese, and jam. We ate a lot of those foods the last few days... with the occasional souvlaki, pizza, cafe frappe, ice cream, and tonight we finally had a huge pasta and salad meal.

(Sidenote: My favorite staple is this weird protein brick, essentially it's tahini and sugar, with nuts in it. It's packed with vitamins, tastes like sweet crystallized nutty sesame seeds. I bought it out of sheer curiosity, resented its weight for three days, but on the fourth day Lisa and I discovered how fantastic eating huge quantities of it is, actually healthy despite the sugary taste, and we killed it all in one day. I believe it was called Halva. Ours was pistachio halva. Delicious, and nutritious.)

For an island that harvests so many olives, the pizzas still lack olives, and 2/4 of my greek salads have also been missing olives! How, Why, Greekies?* I don't know.

*Our tour guide in Athens referred to the Greekies as just that: "The Greekies" - but she was greek, so maybe it was okay for her and not so much for me? I don't think it's a double standard, I'm using it.

So, by the time we had driven the rented Hyundai Atos Prime (stick shift, hatchback, four cylinder... perfect really) all around the island - Lisa from Way Down Under even got a taste of the RIGHT way to drive a car (on the RIGHT side of the road ;) - at least by about 130km we found ourselves on the south side of the island. This meant we had driven inland up through windy mountain towns, past goats, sheep, olive trees, churches, plenty of tiny towns with working bell ringing ropes hanging from the flat topped spires... and plenty of greek orthodox women walking around in many black layers of clothing. It was really beautiful. I felt so happy to be in a semblance of reality, with girls my age, my language, and in control of a vehicle. And every single cretan I have met has been truly kind, with really no skeevy, take-advantage-of-the-tourist feeling whatsoever. I am basically in heaven. Katie's vacation has rubbed off a little on both Lisa's and my own traveling... given our travels each a little more of a laid back feeling that we all enjoy! I was sick of being alone, or only meeting people for a day (OK; in Amsterdam, a week, but still. Friends, girls, are nice)

So, we dipped our toes, we found more than one incredible beaches, we'd pull over, have a dip, a snack... what have you... and we were tired and we found this great little place run by a sweet German woman, in a town called Pitsidia, outside Matala, Crete. The suite was sweet. Two terraces, bathroom, fridge, kitchen, for three beds. For 10 Euros apiece. Chickens in the front yard - and oh yeah, this lady was a Cat Lady, definitely. I'm talking ten, twenty cats everywhere downstairs. Slightly odd at first, but hey! Who's to judge! We all know Cat Ladies exist :) And she gave us oranges when we checked in.

One fun thing was when we pulled over in a mountain village, and walked down the street a ways to see a cemetery, and we saw a donkey! Saddles, tied to a tree, just out of the village. Hanging higher up in the tree was a cane hooked overa branch. Apparently, it's owner had ridden to town, parked his donkey to graze, and (oddly) not used his/her cane to shuffle all the way into town, but it was cute. Also, scrambling up the embankment, that was when we noticed how the netting below the tree catches the olives as they fall. I tasted a black one, but color does not denote ripeness; it was heinous. Almost as sour as the sour "orange" I ate from the orange tree in Athens' city park; not a juice orange, I guess... Lisa knew what it was but I have forgotten...

Well, I know I am rambling, that's just my style. Last night and this morning we took a series of (2) ferries to get to Paros, a small island near Naxos. This island IS the picturesque Cyclades island - all houses are white, with blue shutters. There was one red-shuttered one, but that was like finding Where's Waldo... everything else is white and blue. The police station "Oh right, the white building, with the blue shutters! haha" The church? "The tall building, with the blue dome!" OK, got that at least. They even paint around their stones with white thick outlines, giving a nice impression to their stoned streets. Did you know that much of the marble - like from the Venus de Milo, was quarried from here in Paros? Well, there's plenty of marble here.

OK, time for me to sign off, but I'll leave you with the image of us trying to sleep on the ferry last night... the ferry was overrun with greek teenagers "OPA!-ing" in thehallways... no lie. All night, the biggest party ever was going on, just clapping and music and dancing for hours on end. Made me jealous on behalf of all American teenagers who sulk into cell phones and booze instead of being high on life :)

Also, wanted to say Hi and I have thought of you all, wished you were here as I relax in a truly enjoyable place and time. Plus, oddly, the greenery -that is STUNNING- will leave in a month, as the islands become hot hot hotter and OVERRUN with tourists. It still blows my mind that there are not more tourists who are here, now. It's gorgeous, its not on season yet, but i have a sunburn fosho!

Goodnight Moon!

real traveling: Paris - Thessoloniki

jjassen — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:24:00 GMT

I write this from arguably the best internet cafe I've encountered - plush leather office chairs, euro-style techno music... the almost palpable gamer culture is more evident than the Greek culture... because YES, I'm in Thessoloniki, greece!

In greek, saying "neh" means yes. I have to get used to that. The alphabet is so different too, but because I memorized it in sixth grade, I'm kind of a geek and eager to memorize the symbols as well. P, though, is the symbol not for Pi but for Rho, with the "r" sound... things like that will get me.

Anyway, here I am. I got here from a series of trains and overnights pretty much from Paris. I left Paris on Wednesday late afternoon, sleeping remarkably comfortably on that high speed through the dark mountains to arrive in Grenoble four hours later, 10:30 pm. That train station closes at 11:00... so I was very lucky to get some help from the girl at information. Cynthia. She was, I think, the most beautiful girl ever. And so french. I could tell she didn't usually take the care with people that she was showing me, as she called around to different hotels (no hostels) and found the only one still open, with availability. THEN, when it came time to explain to me how to get there, Cynthia and I both realized that the girl really isn't good with maps. The hotel was nearby... but she couldn't point it out to me, nor describe how to walk there. Since the station was closing, she was getting off of work, so she offered to show me herself. So we said goodnight to the police /security guards, and we chatted in slow english about my trip as I followed her to the locker room, she changed into her street clothes, and then we walked into the street. Here's my car, she said, why don't I just drive you? OK!

I made a sly comment with a smile, "Cynthia, you sure are kind; you treat every tourist this way? Drive them to their hotels?" And she admitted, that no, "Usually, I am not so... sympathetique...? But... I am going to India in one month, and hope to... receive some kindness there."

So. Chalk one up for deliberate karma. Thanks to Cynthia! She offered to show me Grenoble the next day, but alas, I had to run. The town was stunning. I crashed out watching an indian movie in french subtitles, enjoying my own bed and bathroom for once! (Yes, it was expensive). The guy at the desk also took care of me, ruffling my head as I explained in French that I was glad they were not Fermeture... which he thought I was asking for a Fumar... a smoke... but he liked me because I smiled. I will be using this smile for some time to come I think.

So, I walked around Grenoble's river, mountains, and university for a few hours before my train to Zurich. This train was pretty amazing, the views were stunning and I was glad I was awake and the sun was out to enjoy it. I eavesdropped on some British /Aussie snowboarders behind me, but didn't even say hi, I just didn't.

Zurich, I had a few hours at night to have some dinner, before leaving for a direct to Belgrade, Serbia. This was a bonus, because I had planned on going to Zagreb, croatia and changing trains there, but the same train went through Zagreb and continued to Belgrade. So, though the Swiss are known for fondue and chocolate, I ate neither, being sick of those foods from Paris and from Spain (still). Instead I found a delicious, atmospheric, but expensive Sushi place. (6.50 swiss francs for a miso! that's like 4 Euros, which is like 5 dollars!) It reminded me of Railroad street in Great Barrington, with owners and staff who all obviously knew each other, and ridiculously expensive. (Although, Bizen in GB has better sushi, with better sushi chefs: although I was sitting at the sushi bar, I still had to order from the waiters. The most acknowledgement I got from the chefs was a questioning look when my mouth was full :) But hey, it's Switzerland so I'm lucky I got any sushi at all!

OK... where was I... so I walked around Zurich nighttime in the rain, the only person alone with nobody to keep me warm and dry... and boarded a night train for Belgrade. This was only a few nights ago, but already I don't even remember where I sat or how the train was. Oh, that's right. OK, it was decent. But it was a long haul. The conductors on the train and I had some difficulty over undertanding how I should get water :) Tell that story later. I liked that guy though. He was just a little rough around the edges, and I think I'm lucky he didn't wollop me. :) Haha.

So, then I also had a few hours in Belgrade (Beograde) last night before my night train to Thessoloniki. Belgrade was cool! Gritty, but vibrant. Cool nighttime, friday night markets. Popcorn a popular streetfood. I chugged a coke while watching the street sweepers have a laugh amongst all the youth and dating culture. Then I walked around, trying not to appear obvious as I gazed at the signs to all the tiny shops below the huge hotels and bigger buildings... it was a lot to look at. Then I ate some cheesecake... my diet has really not been the best lately, I confess. :)

In belgrade, as I left the walking streets, I headed down a more administrative street, still surrounded by cars and the occasional people, but mostly the big buildings that I"m sure house administrative and municipal offices. Many had roman and greek-esque statuettes adorning them, as well as roman and greek-esque low, flat steps leading up to them, columns on some, though not all. But it was here that you could be walking and have to be careful not to seriously harm yourself on some rough iron piping sticking out of a random wall, or something like that. That's what I mean by gritty. Also, just past one nice park, right in the downtown working district, BOOM! Dog almost bites me, like a junkyard dog on the opposite side of a fence... but minus the junkyard. He was guarding a parking lot, as far as I could tell, and I'm not sure why he wasn't molesting some of the cars' drivers at the other end... but whatever. Belgrade, right?

OK, almost the end of my story.

Belgrade train station is tiny, and there was definitely a medical emergency involving a man down and lots of blood that I almost walked into... but besides that, it felt ok. Good vibe if atmosphere is less than pleasant. Hope that makes sense. I lucked into saying hi to a nice conductor on my train for Thessoloniki, who advised me to another conductor to give me my own couchette for the trip. "My colleague, car 2. He will take care of you" Later, he was about to get off the train in his town, "Like Oregon, with the mountains of snow..." because in Macedonia there are lots of wide mountains.

ok I'm rambling and tired, will have to let this one go for now... and i didn't even tell you about paris!!!!

Tomorrow, Athens. My my. It's going so fast, but so far so good!

Justina

7 weeks... paris finally

jjassen — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:32:00 GMT

After 9 days in Amsterdam, how did I not find more time to write? Haha, it must just be Amsterdam. I was too busy buying bikes off of homeless guys, getting my Dutch on, and in general enjoying myself SLOWING DOWN.

Now, Brugge. Only a day, to see what's so special, and yes, to have a Belgian Beer.

Paris in a few hours, check you later!!!!

Can't wait for Greece and Turkey chapter, which will begin March 27. Finally, some structure! (Thanks Katie! - she'll be my travel companion, much needed and Can't Wait!!!)

Justina

Ned Nederlander

jjassen — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:42:00 GMT

Ned Nederlander... from the Three Amigos... was he Dutch?

Anyway, the Netherlands is so far, definitely living up to my preconceptions about a tolerant, laid-back country, and a great place to go for young people.

I will find it difficult to say exactly how great this place does feel... but it's quite nice. I miss my bike, although of literally thousands of bikes I've seen moving and parked I have only consciously seen one road bike, including the guy on it, in the whole bunch. Definitely a minority. Every bike here is built for commuting, moving small goods, children, etc. nomatter what the style of dress... men on suits, women in skirts (short or long) it's all good. The bikes command respect due to their sheer number. The lanes are sometimes not marked as much as the texture of the brick is different, smoother for bikes, more gentle on ramps (in fact, there are not a lot of curbs, at all, in Amsterdam) and as for cars, those are the least of them all. Cars never have the right of way, practically, since bikes and people outnumber them all. Trams are respected due to their clear rail lanes, weight (certain death to be caught under one), and loud bells.

Dutch people, I have found, to be the kindest people. Many, many people simply smile, if not give you something outright. I also find it's true that speaking English doesn't give you the feeling like you're NOT speaking a foreign language; Dutch people actually prefer you NOT to butcher their native tongue with attempting their language.

That being said, I did learn this word, Gezellig, that means "ä good atmosphere, cozy."

I have met so many great, enjoyable people, that I am postponing Paris for an extra night. I HAVE to go back to this one bar where the bartender last night promised me to show me a good Dutch night :) He also made me the best ham and cheese pancake. (They specialize in waffles, pancakes here. DELICIOUS.)

They also specialize in Jenever, a dutch gin, that supposedly only OLD people drink. Young people drink Jaegermeister... but Jenever is not bad. I mixed it with Port wine and had a delicious apertif.

Also, though JASSEN is not dutch, it does have dutch meaning: it means, A man's coat. Yay!

I went to an American production of an improv comedy show, which was great, they did a skit where they discuss how New York (Manhattan) was originally New Amsterdam, and how even as far back as the 1700s they were referring to it as the Big Apple, because in dutch, the saying for a "bad deal" is that you bought an apple for an egg, or something like that.

And yes, I did walk through the red light district and only did a double take (and not a triple) at the ladies in the windows. Though I've only seen perhaps four? or so, all four have been very tan. One was on her cell phone... that was funny. Reminded me of the poor Japanese tourists I saw in Venice who were being poled through a canal by a guy who, to the best of my knowledge, is supposed to be singing to them, but he was instead talking in loud italian on his cell phone.

OK, more later!

Berlin Schmerlin

jjassen — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:24:00 GMT

Berlin... I am trying to think about what I liked about Berlin, from here in Amsterdam. And due to the contrast, it's difficult.

Berlin was a good-looking, good-feeling city. HUGE. Literally, the buildings, sidewalks, archways, were all huge. It was cold while I was there... I enjoyed taking the U-bahn (underground) and S-bahn (above ground, often literally lifted, off the ground level) modes of transportation. My hostel was in the best neighborhood, north of the historical center, off Edelspleinplaz or something like that...

After a half day of touring the Brandenberg Gates, the main Straats, the book-burning monument, (which are all within a few hundred metres of one another) I decided it would be much more fun to head back to the hostel neighborhood, filled as it was with very cool pubs, bars, cafes, falafel shops, fruit markets, and more. In fact, next door to my hostel was a childcare center, and it was fun to watch the parents drop off their little ones on their bikes, equipped with the telltale child seat in the back.

Little did I know... Amsterdam would trump all cities I've seen so far for 'equipped' bicyles. Babies riding in little adjustable seats up front, two 8 year old sized children riding on the back, one granny sitting on the back... nobody wearing any helmets. Have not seen one bicycle helmet in Berlin and Amsterdam, combined.

But, Berlin... randomly, I will recall with fondness the best baklava I've ever had, from a falafel lunch place in Ederspleinplatz. The nuts and honey were delectable. It is my newfound favorite. Back home I consider baklava typically old, stale, and chewy. This was soooo much better.

Other than that... I found Berlin lacking. I also did not go out, the night scene I know would have been amazing, but I wasn't into it. As I said, I didn't meet anybody amazing... I watched Kill Bill 2 and ate delicous comfort food.

Cheers!

justina

the Czechs like their garlic!

jjassen — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:55:00 GMT

The one thing everybody has told me, in retrospect of their own European trips, is 'I just wish I had spent more time in Prague' ...and they always draw out Praaague with this legit european accent that makes them seem even more wistful than they might be being...

Anyway, I took this as sage indication to leave plenty of time for myself here. Plus, I hated the idea of spending one more $$$ night in Munich! No kitchen is a REAL downer for me, as far as hostels go. Kitchen has pretty much surpassed location for me, (any location is pretty accessible anyway, it's usually the difference between 2 minutes walk or 5 to get to the historical center of these places... rome it was 30 to get to St. Peters Basilica... but that so far has been the city with the most walking. Even Barcelona seemed more accessible on foot, though it was a close second.)

More than the expenses of Munich, which I may be using as an excuse, I was feeling bored... I had mastered the art of arriving in a city, locating the hostel, settling in, touring, etc. It was too rote, too mundane. Hostelworld might be handy on the weekends but it's mostly a rip off as far as I'm concerned. It's few and far between hostels that will really turn away a traveller. (Though I've heard of it happening, I feel a hostel should be primarily a haven and secondarily a business that uses its smarts to run bars onsite and charge unprepared travellers 3€ for sheets, 2€ for towels, 2€ for locks, etc.)

So I decided to fly by the seat of my pants. Shake things up a bit! Armed with a scrappy, hastily-drawn self-made map, set to arrive in Praha at 11 PM with no hostel reservations, it was not without some growing anxiety on the train (much-needed anxiety, mind you) that I realized that the arrival station would be different than the one I expected. That, and I had no local currency! (Thus far the Euro reigned.)

I walked hastily and with purpose to another hostel, for which I did have a map (part of my guide book, thank you Rough Guides!) Found this reception the first to NOT be open 24/7, despite a welcoming sign on the front door that announces it is available all hours. This was about midnight.

I was kindly let into an intermediary entryway by the barkeep of an adjacent bar. I was thus found 10 minutes (20?) later resting my head on the iron bars of the intermediary passageway's locked gate, staring balefully at the dark, closed doors of reception across the locked courtyard, stuck in contemplation mode... The cold, dark alley I was in was at least protected by one locked outside gate, and if there is one reason for me to be lugging around a zero-degree EMS synthetic down sleeping bag, this was it!

But, in walk a happy group of 2 Canadians, 2 Ustatiens (US Statiens), 1 Albanian, all friends on weekend trip from studing in Vienna.

'You need a bed? We got a bed! Come with us!' They said. You didn't need to ask me twice, and in we went. Then, we went out.

I spent most of the weekend with them. The distraction was delicious. I ate it up, just what I needed.

Highlights, which I also ate up: Kozen beer, dark with a slightly coffee aftertaste; real goulash, beef in a dark smooth stew, served with 'dumplings' which are really just crustless, cake-like, almost wet thick bread with which you mop up your goulash.

Also, the Czechs like their gralic! I had one crepe earlier that was heavy on the garlic, and then my meal would have come with garlic soup, but that seemed a little, ummm, garlicy to me. So I used sign language on the menu to swap for plain vegetable soup. The comfort food was perfect.

So: in Prague I loved it - the Krown is cheap, the beer is good, and I stayed a perfect 3 nights before heading to Berlin to round out my german experience... Krakow would be fun, to play with a Zloty, and have more cheap good food... but Berlin next it is.

No Destiny in Vienna - Munich Expensive but Memorable

jjassen — Mon, 9 Mar 2009 21:44:00 GMT

After Vienna, where I didn't find much destiny, I hightailed it to Munich, Germany, AKA Bavaria.

1. I did eat weiss wurst, real sauerkraut, and beer in a beer hall, across from the one where the Nazi Party was born (Haufbrauhaus).

2. Low points involved the incredibly high prices of everything, combined with not meeting anyone particularly cool, except my tour guide Christy, (who is from Montana)... but that was strictly professional. Christy showed us many of the suppossed total 118 small monuments to those who died in WWII around the city; mostly small, mildly unmarked, she said that they are Munich's way of providing a small but consistent reminder everywhere of the nearby atrocities, unlike, she said, Berlin, where they have chosen a few large, obvious monuments. One that was cool was a 's-curve' of yellow (and not gray) bricks within the cobbling of a side street, that curved the way you would walk if you are coming from one corner and heading for the other... this marker is an homage to those who used the sidestreet to avoid walking past a Nazi plaque, because there were apparently Nazi guards stationed at the plaque requiring all passersby to salute.

Side Note: I did not go to the concentration camp Dachau, and nor do I intend to go to any. Visiting one would be interesting, but as I explained to the irish couple on the ferry from Spain, I honestly feel well worn out in the way of respecting and spending time reflecting on the WWII atrocities. In middle and high school, we spent unit after unit studying, reading, and creating and visiting memorials. The museum in Washington DC is powerful and still with me; being inside a box car there or onsite at Dachau (outside munich) or Aushwitz (outside Krakow) is not something I consider a new experience at the moment. I think it's neat to be in, listen to the sounds of, and walk around, the cities, but no need to immerse myself in Holocaust memorabilia... it's rampant here anyway.

Wien - lightning quick, part 2!

jjassen — Fri, 6 Mar 2009 11:21:00 GMT

'My, that's a lovely accent you have. New Jersey?'

'Austria.'

'Austria! Well, then. G'day mate! Let's put another Shrimp on the barby!

------------------------------------

So, then, lightning quick Vienna, and now on to Muchen!! Highlights of Vienna included the Leopold museum, home to manz Gustav Klimts and a new favorite of mine, Egon Schiene. Also enjozed some Soloman Kaslo. Fortunately for the weight of mz pack (kezboards here have Y and Z mixed up, what!) the museum shop didn't have anz of mz favorites bz each of those three artists, otherwise I would have bought some postcards or something.

I didnät make it to Lichtenstein museum, nor the Austrian Folklore museum. It was pouring buckets, so I went to the public museum, found it less enticing than a warm cafe with coffee and a strudel, so I left.

I am a little listless in mz travel at this point. Think it is time for some serious train hopping, waiting for the next period of reallz digging in and growing some roots. (However small one can grow roots in five dazs) If that doesn't happen, I might just head back to Italy.

Munich is up next. Kind of bored now that I know exactly what Im doing and how to do it... need something to shake things up!!!

Miss you all

venizia - lightning quick part 1

jjassen — Thu, 5 Mar 2009 19:34:00 GMT

Lightning quick Venice, now Vienna!

Venice was beautiful, though gray and cloudy and dirty. I took many pictures. I think the grayness of the citz (but with water so amazinglz dark green, I would have thought the city was dying it for the tourists... still do except that would be really expensive...) in part is what inspires the culture to embrace such vivid colors of theatrical masks, glass objects, and other general trinkets and decorations and ribbons. Stores were lit up like mardi gras... but the buildings, the people's clothing, the water, the boats... all gray. The brightest natural color in Venice that I found was some moss growing on the steps in some canals. Even this was rare. I also tried looking for Venetian Blinds, but as far as I could tell, they used regular curtains. (The 'ground' level floors in Venice are often unoccupied, shut up, boarded up, as they flood frequently. Apparently, winter is the water level's high season, and when I asked one very smooth Italian man who spent an hour or so with me, he said that just one month ago the water levels were completely flooded in the streets, record highs that made national news... I told him I missed that news.

Tangent: this man I met works in Hospitality at a hotel, has good english, and was soooo good at his job, because smooth was his first, middle, and last names. Actually his first name was Jamal. Jamal, luckily, became looser with his speech after a glass (ok, 3) of wine than I do, and I really didn't care for his constant talking, blah blah blah blah blah, and obvious egoism. I said Ciao! and was again amazed that Italian men will NOT let you pay for anything. I had to beg Ettore, in Sicily, to let me buy one drink after he had paid for practically everything in three days.)

So that was Vienna for me. I did get hosed on some EXTREMELY expensive nougat. I was taking pictures of the exotic cakes, wondering what Torre de Morbida was, and decided to ask for a taste. This was right in San Polo, where the busiest and most commercial Piazza Rialto is... they were experts there. The woman said No, very matter of factly, and held the tongs and a bag next to the nougat, questioningly, and looked over my shoulder, with a perfectly bored expression in the busy pastry shop. I said, OK, one piece then. (These peices are ginormous.) At 3.20 Euros per 100 grams, I forked over a whopping 8.50 Euros for that nougat!!! I still have some. It IS delicious. I got torre di mortare bianco, a white nougat with almonds. Ask me for pictures later!

Next time, I will stay near venice and take two day trips, to Verona, and to Padova.

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Dopo Di Roma

jjassen — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:09:00 GMT

After rome, I traveled with a guy from the USA to Sicily, where we toured both Palermo and Agrigento in a lightning-quick fashion before headng east on the island to Catania, which I like a great, great deal. Once again, the hostel means so much... this one is Agora Hostel. Today I paid for a relatively expensive trip in a jeep up Mt. Etna, an hour north. (44 Euros was worth it) The active volcano was, really, active. The last eruption was in 2003, and before that, 2001. We crawled over the rocks of the very bottommost lava from 2001, and felt the rocks still warm and steaming where hot lava still lurks below the surface.

I've also taken a liking to Italian, the language. In Rome I felt odd using so much English, and actually began to have a problem with the idea of travelling and not using the language, even using it terribly.

(For example, my traveling partner, Matt, who even LIVED in Rome, will use the English phrase, "Do you speak English?" to begin a transaction or conversation. Traveling with him, I cringed. It's not my way).

Lo and behold, here in Sicily, I made friends with a few people who work here, in the bar and the restaurant, one of whom is a guy who speaks no English and wants to learn. He had already arranged with another woman who works here, an awesome lady named Betti, who speaks native Italian and very good English, to have an informal "meeting-for-coffee language lesson" - anyway, they found I was interested in learning Italian, and they invited me!

So now I will stay a few more days, at least for our first lesson, in which Hector and I will speak the alphabet to each other in our own languages, and Betti, who was a primary school teacher before doing restaurant work, will oversee it. Also, they're taking me to some Mexican place for music. Last night I went to drum&bass and when I asked what they called it, Hector said "drooman bassseh" and it took me a while to figure that one out.

Cheers, Salut, Arrivederci,
Justina

Current Tentative Future Plan: to head north come march; possibly go to Tuscany, where Betti says the people are fantastic, or the obligatory Venice. Then; Vienna (maybe), Munich (maybe), Prague definitely, Berlin definitely, Hamburg (maybe), Amsterdam, Paris. Then; Bangkok!

PPS I think I was lying when I said I found my groove in Granada. Truly, i've got it now. I think it may have started on literally the first day of my fourth week, when I woke up and walked downstairs thinking "Gosh darn, I would like a cup of real, American, coffee. (AKA, grande drip from Starbucks)

Catania

jjassen — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:41:00 GMT

Two night and three days in Rome later, decided it was time to see a different aspect of Italy.

Matt felt the same, (although between you and me (and I've decided not to share the existence of my blog with any of my fellow travellers, since I might talk about them in it) Matt would probably follow me anywhere, he's kind of a pushover regarding where we go, what we do, I can't take more than a day with him before I get mad at something or other... and he lets me)) so together we took the Tuesday night train and arrived in Palermo in the northwest of the island yesterday morning. We toured the capital, then hopped an afternoon train south to Agrigento, which we found expensive and tourist driven, in the off-season, so we didn't stay. It was unfortunate because the remains by the sea are supposed to be spectacular.

Arrived last night in Catania, eastern side of Sicily. GREAT hostel; good food (It's mostly just toast and jam, butter if you're lucky, good coffee if you're lucky. So basically if the bread is good quality, I say the hostel food is good. Sliced white bread = bad hostel food, as does presence of margarine. Just FYI.) This place is big, fun people, late night bar, restaurant attached the hostel with a cave and stream running literally underneath it... beautiful. If they had red and white checkered tablecloths, I'd definitely be a sucker for bringing my baby back here some day.

I am, however, about to kill Matt so today we'll split up and tomorrow we'll probably tour/hike/climb/ride up mt. Etna, an active volcano that essentially formed Sicily, and last erupted in 2003. Before that, erupted in 2001... so possibly it's overdue!

love,

Justina

PS One thing about Palermo is that I finally found the source of all the Carnival Confetti... see, throughout the trip, starting in Spain, I have seen confetti everywhere. But the thing is, it's the SAME confetti. Same shapes and colors. Everywhere. Every city. Random places. I got to feeling like someone was just one step ahead of me, everywhere I went! Not only that, but first, the only evidence of Carnival was kids dressed up every day. Little kids. But then, on the train to Palermo, I saw adolescents dressed up. Big step up. Then, finally, in Palermo, we saw two kids HOLDING BAGS OF CONFETTI. Oddly, the waterfront where we saw them boasted benches that were painted, totally and anachronistically, like confetti. White with colored dots all over them... I digress. Anyway, finally in Catania last night, night of Fat Tuesday, we found Carnival. Adults dressed up. But I was too tired to go out, we just drank a bottle of wine in the hostel and chatted with a French girl who works here and showed up the cave.

catchup blogging: Roma

jjassen — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:00:00 GMT

My hostel method of only booking one night at a time worked extremely well in this case. The Yellow Room, my 7th hostel, was terrible. No common rooms, no kitchen. So I booked my second night in the same hostel as the Irish couple, called Freedom Traveller. Freedom Traveller is pretty much a one-man show, run by a lean older guy who speaks gravelly English and superb Italian and wears a Red Sox baseball cap. He cooks two huge pots of pasta every night for free dinner for his tenants, who I suspect from personal experience he knows are out boozing and not taking care of themselves... just a hunch. It's also the cheapest hostel yet, at 12 Euros.

I had a nice time in Rome. It actually felt good to be able to look like a tourist and not stand out, at all.

Here are some observations:

1. There are cats everywhere in Rome. Even on postcards. Next to the ruins of Largo Argentina, located about 20 feet below current ground level, where you can see the three buildings on the steps of one Caesar was killed (stabbed by every member of the Senate, give or take a few), there is no signs for Caesar but every sign of the cat sanctuary that is here.

2. Spaniards love their ham; Italians do love their gelato (and pizza).

3. Italians do not make good beer. Stick to wine, Italy!

4. Lines for the women's room being longer than men's is universal. (The only place I've ever not witnessed this to be true is in McMurphy's Uptown Tavern, an Irish sports bar in Amherst, MA, where there is no mirror for women to hold their attention for even a split second - this being, I think, the great difference.)

Matt was a great guide for the forums, and the colloseum. We saw them at night, it was quite spectacular. I saw St. Peter's Basilica at night as well. I spent a full afternoon in the Vatican Museum, where I was pleasantly surprised at how the Sistine Chapel was, if you can believe it, actually smaller than I had anticipated it. I particularly enjoyed seeing the forums, with the arc that begins the

But, for me, Rome was enjoyable but not wonderful, and Matt and I schemed up a trip south, to the island of Sicily!

catchup blogging: The Ferry

jjassen — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:04:00 GMT

While in Barcelona, I got out my map and with the help and advice of Niki, I decided against going north to France, opting instead to stay in southern Europe, chasing the sun!

Enter Grimaldi Ferry.

Having overstayed my time in Spain (about a week!) I opted against Ibiza and Mallorca, and instead I took a huge ferry across the Mediterranean to Italy.

The entire ship was comprised of exactly three groups of people- 1. Staff, 2. Italian truckdrivers, and 3. The entire class of some 14 year old Italian kids on a trip home from Spain. Other than these types, there were exactly three people, myself included, who were EITHER in my age bracket, and who were also foreign travellers (who didn't speak Italian) and bless me, they were Irish! I made friends with Louise and Joe immediately and if I didn't I would have had the worst trip EVER.

See, the whole ship was actually amazing, with cozy downstairs bars, great music in the upperdeck bar, a decent but expensive restaurant (no worries, I knew this would be so and packed lots of food), HOWEVER, the one area of the ship that was terrible was where I would sleep. I did not book a cabin, just a seat. Train seats are hit or miss; this ferry seat was a big, big, big miss. The room for us "seater's" was huge, with no individual lighting, just huge neon lights. It boasted a huge flat screen TV, giving the whole thing a movie-theater like feel. And it was cold. No lockers for my stuff. So far OK, right? Wrong. As time went on I realized it smelled TERRIBLY like piss. (Excuse my Froonch.) I only spent five minutes in their and got some real interest from these Italian geeks who were asking allll the wrong questions (like, where are you from, how old are you, are you travelling alone, etc.) without offering up any of their own information... just terrible.

Anyway, Louise and Joe rescued me and just as I was going to throw myself overboard they offered me a bed in their cabin. So sweet of them!

When I woke up, it was 10 AM and I really did feel rested. On deck, the kids weren't up yet and only the least hungover of the truck drivers, so it was relatively calm and peaceful. Better yet, it was exactly the hour of ferrying between French Corsica, to the north, and Italian Sardinia, to the south. (Louise, who shares my ability to get excited about these things, and I had been wondering whether we would be able to see the islands, and if so what time, etc.)

We landed in Italy, in a ridiculously information-less zone of an industrial port, which to it's credit offered a free shuttle bus to the train station, where we all three boarded for Roma, just an hour train ride away...