An island of...Tourism

Throughout our travels we have been able to see the difference between authentic culture and artificial tourist traps…which really any one can see the difference.

When traveling on a cruise, or to an all inclusive resort on an island, you are basically placed in a “key west” type environment with colorful buildings, market places selling island t-shirts, bright colored sarongs and of course the all to in your face Duty Free shop. Here you can buy low cost liquor and jewelry and save a few dollars on not paying taxes.

But, what you don’t have time to see, or purposefully don’t take the time to leave the port or resort, is the real and true parts of the islands. Beyond the port gates, and probably on the other side of the island are the homes of the locals, the fruit stands outside of the plantations, and the roadside food stands. 

Cruise Adjustment

Adam and I have spent a lot of time talking about the crew on our ship. They come from many countries from all over the world…many from Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Croatia and India to name a few. We have found ourselves starting a conversation with many of them. They are all more than excited to talk to us about their country…and since we have been to a few of these places, they get even more excited. They have told us that they are onboard working for 7 months and off the ship for 5. Many have wives and children back in their country.

Adam and I though, have been very curious about their first adjustments and education upon arriving on board for the first time. Are they given training about American culture? This we do not know. What do they think about the idea of people paying to go on a cruise? Then, spending $5.95 on a budweiser, when a beer in their country is $0.50.

Count Down to I do…

As the wedding was quickly approaching, last minute details were piling up. Back in March, in Korea, we had planned a December wedding in Florida through email and with the communication help of our parents and friends. We had a vision of a long ceremony, in a beautiful location, without much fuss. We hired a great caterer (Charmaine’s Catering), emailed pictures to the florist (Johnathan’s Flowers), reserved the park (Lake Mary Central Park), chatted with the photographer (Shannon Nicole Smith) , made a call to Ron Duncan for music, and sent emails to the rental company (Rentaland). Everything was in place and all we had to do when we got home were the “extra’s.”

Within the month we were home, we all worked very hard on bagging Lavender, making the programs, putting together the out of town bags, painting Champagne glasses for favors,  water bottles, picking up supplies, painting the sign in board, wrapping presents for the wedding party and making sure that everything was perfect for everyone.

And guess what…

Everything was absolutely Perfect.

Bridal Shower

I am by no means a girlie girl and never really have been. I never thought that I would want a full blown bridal shower with games, finger food and everyone making me the center of attention…but the closer the wedding got, the more into it I was.

My best friend Nicole organized everything.  She made the invitations and partnered with my old boss and friend to make yummy finger foods. She decorated with pictures of Adam and me as we traveled around the world. All of the guests made wedding cakes out of marshmallows and some were definitely more attractive than others.

I received more panties than I know what to do with (but I am very grateful, after 4 months of backpacking, my supply was very limited). I also had the chance to see all of my friends, old and new in one place…and all of them were there to celebrate the idea that I had met the man of my dreams and was so out of my mind happy with life.

To all of my friends: Thank all of you so much for being a part of my life and supporting me through the past and into the next chapter...

A big tree, an old friend, another year older and a happy Chanukah….

 After the festivities of giving thanks were past, Mom made the commitment to deck the halls asap. Literally, the tree was up the day after Thanksgiving and fully dressed by evenings end. It was obviously extra special for both Nicole and I who had missed out on last years decorating ceremonies. The 12 footer was our families tallest ever and with the wedding growing ever closer, it was only fitting that Nicole (the newest Damiano) topped her off with a brand spankin new angel.

The following week was full of last minute wedding preps and a visit from an old from from NY brotha on his way to a cruise leaving from Port Canaveral.  Mom whipped up some fabu Italian and popped a few bottles of vino which made way for a fantastic night of reminiscing and good times with JB and his very cool girlfriend Amanda.

The next day as it happens every year was the b-day. This year’s magic number was 31 which oddly was easier to swallow than 30. 31 is on the low end of the 30’s spectrum and so it felt ok making the jump.

Finding Peace

Being back has been a little hard, I have to admit. For those of you who have traveled away and then come home, hopefully you all understand and I am not alone in this.
Emotions, People, Constant Stimulation and So Much English.
There really isn't a place for you to get lost in yourself when you make it back stateside.

we be home for the holidays....

So....for us, the holiday season last year consisted of a Thanksgiving dinner on a quiet moonlit beach near the coast of Indonesia.....I know...awful.

We powered through it though and made the best of it but as we embark on this years holiday season amongst family and friends (all in the midst of the wedding sha-bang) we feel just plain tickled with the love around us.

In the USA

We have been back now one full week and it has been an interesting adjustment. I am exhausted. I haven't been able to adjust to the time. I feel like I am going 100 miles an hour...for no real reason. I have jumped directly in full force to the "to do's" here.
We now have cell phones, a gym membership, car insurance...all within a few days.
I had my hair done and joined a yoga studio, went to the jeweler and began getting the wedding in order.
In addition, we have spent countless hours with our families and friends dining, chatting and catching up on life.
I never realized how nice it would be to come home.
I think the hardest part of being back is not forgetting where you've been and adjusting to a life that includes more than just the two of us.
Everyone is asking what will we do next, what are our plans...its seems almost impossible for everyone to take a step back and just live in today. We have no idea what is next and for the moment it feels great. We are filtering, seeing and experiencing life here and slowly beginning to intertwine it in with our life for the last 17 months.
Yesterday I took a step back..this is what I have noticed.
I will tell you this, so many people...in my opinion, need to take a step back and find themselves again. I am not sure if it is the economy, the "things" we have here or just the overwhelming desire to have everything bigger, better and the best here, but I feel as if people have elevated themselves above their own bodies and are only looking down at what once was a very fulfilling life.Now, people around us, strangers, old friends, everyone, can't seem to even find time to make themselves happy or relax because they are too busy trying to make money.
I am doing my best to stay lost in this great mindset that I have developed over the year and not be too affected by the changes I see to the society around me.
Through observation, my one piece of advice, step back, look around, open your heart, close your computers and use the very basics you learned when you were two.
Use your words and give your loved ones hugs, as for the rest, it will work itself out.

goin home...

534 days later…here we are..on an Aer Lingus flight home. The in-flight movies are lame and the Aer Lingus crew seems to chime in tryin to sell duty free items every 5 minutes so its really not worth it anyway. So, I’m sitting here with just my thoughts…for 9 hours. The thing is…there’s a lot to think about. We’re going home…we’re going to see everyone, we’re getting married (officially), thanksgiving, my 31^st bday, Christmas….our next job…oyy. With all that though, I’m somewhere else right now.

thanks Dusseldorf...

 
As our final stop, the city of Dusseldorf was a gem. Like most German cities, the cleanliness and feel of the city was top notch.

Prague....

Unfortunately, our experience in Prague was less than stellar due to the absolutely dangerous and quite literally non-existant parking situation for us and our lil red bus. We entered the city at around 10:30am in search of a good spot to lock it up and stroll but as we neared midday, the dream it seemed was not to become our reality.

Auschwitz & Birkenau

We have all learned about the Holocaust in school, some of us twice or even three times. I personally had learned about it in the 6^th grade and then again in high school. I have read the book Anne Frank and seen the movie Schindler’s List. I have been to the Holocaust Museum in Orlando, in Washington DC and also in Israel. But, none of it gave me the knowledge and understanding as visiting Auschwitz- Birkenau.

Life as a tourist

When you go on vacation you see things differently. You have money to spend, you go to the special parts of the city and see the "sights."
For example, if you come to Orlando, you will probably get a hotel down by Disney, spend 4-5 days with your family at amusement parks, walk around I-Drive, go to the shopping outlets, city walk and if you are really adventurous, spend a day in downtown Orlando or head North to see the manatees at the Springs... While spending thousands of dollars.
As a resident, maybe on the weekends we might go to citywalk a few times a year, the springs one weekend with our kids, downtown... Only for work, a magic game, the farmers market or the club and Disney... Only if we have family coming to visit from out of town.

Krakow

Our last stop in Poland before heading to Prague was the beautiful city of Krakow. We arrived on a Saturday night, which meant free parking. We found parking and spent the night beneath the Wawel Castle.

We had every intention of walking around the city and getting some pirogues, but after an encounter with a cracked out man who wanted to watch our vehicle and keep it safe from Banditos (after looking in all the windows) we opted for a nice pleasant drive through tour of the city.

To vignette or not to vignette

FYI: A vignette is a sticker you pay for that sits in a special spot on your window. It is mandatory for driving on highways and in lieu of paying tolls.

We have just left the Czech, I have had a glass of vino (not true, I'm drinking straight from the bottle).
We chose the faster route to Poland by driving through the Czech. We looked in our camping book for driving rules in the Czech and it didn't even have the county listed (remember this statement for later)
At the border we searched all signs looking for the word vignette... We did not see this anywhere. In three previous countries it was well marked (Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia)
I'm sure you can see where this is going...

The RV Lifestyle

Ah yes, life on the road. The initial draw for us was monitary as an RV rental would allow us to save a few precious benjies but over the past few weeks it's become a real insight into the life of an rv traveller.

I think Nicole would agree that far and away the best aspect of this leg has been the freedom. With a home on wheels you can stop and go as you wish. This was especially awesome when picking lunch spots in the French alps which most any hotel would have a hard time competing.

Vienna

According to one of our travel books Europe on a shoestring, "Vienna is a city that straddles the past and present with ease. No other city effortlessly combined a rich history that has left behind such remarkable gifts as gothic Stephansdom or baroque Schonbrunn palace with contemporary gems like the Leopold Museum o MuseumsQuartier."

After the decision was made to cut the trip short by 2 weeks  was made through our trek through Slovenia to in light of our backpacker exhaustion, we decided to make a few stops en route to Dusseldorf, Germany .

One such stop was Vienna, Austria. Now, a few weeks back we were pleasantly surprised with Vienna’s sister city to the west, Salzburg, and so we expected somewhat the same this time around.

Triste

We wanted to make one last stop along the Adriatic coast before leaving Italy and heading into Slovenia. So, we picked Triste...
When we got off the highway, there was a Reindeer training camp... In all honesty, there were families of bucking deer running along a pond.
Then we began the very narrow and steep decent down the mountainside to the coastal town. It was probably another one of those top 100 roads we have driven that should only be done in a tint porsche.
One at the bottom, we drove just out of the main town, found parking and set up a picnic lunch outside along the Adriatic. It was a perfect ending to our stay in Italy.

Slovenia, a Teapot & a Change

We drove into Slovenia, twice, we missed the correct exit after purchasing our traffic vignette and headed for the capital of Ljubljana.  After missing our exit again (we didn’t have GPS for this country so we were on Adam’s navigation), we found a McDonald’s parking lot to power up the computer…except they didn’t have wifi. So we climbed back into the RV to rest.

I was tired and Adam and I began talking and the idea of being exhausted from travel (yes it does happen when you are not relaxing by a beach for 5 days, a 4 month adventure is much different). We talked about not really caring if we walked around Ljubljana and how we had a good 18 days left, where would we go, what would we do.  Then, we still had Ireland and due to our quicker expenditure of our travel funds we were not going to be able to experience Ireland in a way we had hoped. Our zest for adventure just wasn’t the same as before.

So, we made the decision to look into coming home early. We luckly found a little café where the waitress allowed us to plug in, grab coffee and a sandwich and sit online for 5 hours. Here, we went back and forth with our travel agent trying to figure out how to affordably change our tickets and not cause us to have to pay huge fees and new ticket fees seeing as though we wanted to leave soon.

We contacted the RV company and in the end…success!

I have to tell you, calling my mom and telling her…cut your countdown by 12 days, im coming home soon…was the best.

Our waitress shared in our excitement (she worked on a cruise ship based out of Miami and was so nice). She gave us a tea pot for us to remember Slovenia by and we chatted it up.

Adam and I had a great night sleep knowing we only had 6 more days.

Pompeii

Pompeii was a city built on the side of Mount Vesuvius that was destroyed or rather frozen in time when it erupted in 79 AD. The people of Pompeii were obviously devastated when the lava ran over their lives, and maybe wondered why on earth it happened to them. As Adam and I talked about it, we realized that the reason it happened was so that all of us, thousands of years later would be able to see what life was like all over the countryside. Most of the other cities disappeared over time, but this one remained frozen.

Rome

I really believe that if you can only travel to one place in your whole life, Rome should be it. First off, which has nothing to do with the history of Rome, but of all places to find a parking spot… we arrived on Saturday afternoon and immediately found a spot on the side of the road. When I put in 6 euros for parking, it marked us paid until Monday morning! So, we had a prime spot, less than a mile from the Coliseum and Vatican City and for less than 10 dollars. We were set. An extra added bonus was that someone who lived nearby had a nonreliable but unsecured wireless connection. Although we didn’t have power to the RV, so we didn’t have much time on the computer, we were able to use the ipod to post a few emails which was nice.

Siena

Yes, Italy in its own right has been spectacular. But, if you can throw an authentic Bond location into the mix, it pretty much becomes stellar. Such was the case with our next stop in Italia....Sienna.

For those who've had the pleasure of seeing the newest Bond installment, Quantum of Solace, you will know that a fair portion of the movies opening scenes take place throughout the picturesque city of Sienna.

Florence

Firenze!!! Its tough to not get excited to visit these places just sayin the names. Each one seems as legendary as the next especially for first time eurotripper like us.

Florence, a city that goes hand and hand with Renaissance mastery is full of places to appreciate the arts and architecture.

Pisa

Pisa made for a quick stopover. We spent some time lost, trying to find the famous leaning tower. While we were lost we stumbled upon some of Italy’s finest women standing on the side of the road looking for a lttle fun. (The Spanish women looked like more fun). We parked at the entrance to town, walked a few 100 meters and boom, a huge courtyard which made us realize we were in the right place. Through a few arched doorway stood the Duomo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I think this is one of those buildings that they should leave out of tour books, movies and schooling because it all really steals this amazing buildings thunder. Coming to the tower, you know that yes, the tower is leaning and everyone and their mother must get a picture of themselves holding it up.

The building, if learned about in school may not at first appear to be that impressive, honestly because you are expecting more. BUT, Ladies and Gents, I thought that the leaning piece of architecture was absolutely stunning. Both it and the church it stands next to is made from a very white marble that is a great contrast with a beautiful blue skied afternoon.

Po Valley

Although Adam may disagree, due to his yellow face most of the ride, this road was harder to drive than the D900. The SS12 may have been the most beautiful road I have ever driven on. It may have something to do with the air up high, the fall leaves or the little villages that we wove our way through. The Po Valley begins South of Milan and runs, well, south. When you think you have hit the bottom, it just tends to wind its way right back up for a fun 4-5 hours of driving down hill in neutral and up hill in 3^rd.

The scenery was well worth every minute of Adam holding back his breakfast.

Italy's Dark Horse...

In Germany, as previously blogged, we had the opportunity to tour the BMW Welt which highlighted the engineering prowess and precision of the German automotive machine. In Italy, they have auto’s too, except, they use them differently.

Germans want a car that drives nice and will last until the apocalypse is over….and they have built cars that most certainly will do both. Italians however, want a car that can outrun god and look sexy doin it…. should that occasion present itself….and they too have it. It’s called a Ferrari.

Venice

Now we’re getting somewhere. Not that the countries prior were anything less than impressive but this is now Italy….and this, is Venice.

We parked it at a campground to celebrate the occasion with a shower and a shave on my part. Both very much overdue at this point. We relaxed for the afternoon on our arrival day to recharge after some hefty cruisin that left us a bit more exhausted then usual. The campground was conveniently located near a bus that would whirl us away the next morning and and onto the canal filled mystery. 

Salzburg

Salzburg, not Salsburg or Salzberg is in Austria, not the United Kingdom and if you plug it into your GPS you may be in for a surprise should you drive to the wrong one.

For those of you who are fans of The Sound of Music, yes some of it was filmed here in downtown Salzburg, we even visited the abbey where Maria was first found. Salzburg was a quaint town, quite large, clean and full of open squares. I had no idea that Mozart too was from Salzburg. The old city was fairly easy to navigate through, and find parking. The weather was a little grey, but almost fitting for the town.

A Day with Silas

As mentioned, Silas is another friend we met in Vietnam. He is very
good friends with Daniel. He came back to Waldi for the night since we
were in town, from where he goes to school. We met him early, well
9:30 am and took a walk around the village he and Daniel live in. We
are apples, pears, grapes, raspberries and black berries directly from
the trees/bushes. We saw the local pigs, rabbits, ducks, goats, horses
and dogs.

The Werner's Farmhouse

After the nice stopover in Bern, our next desitnation was northward to
visit a new friend we met in Vietnam a few months back. Daniel, had
invited us to come visit his family on their farm when we cruised
through Switzerland and we did just that. After some help from a local
restaurant owner to local Daniels phone number, Daniels lovely sister
came to lead us to the farmhouse.

100 days...

In school, 100 days is a big deal. The 100 days of school is a big
celebration for the students and teachers to count 100 of everything.
Well, yesterday we celebrated our 100 days of travel. I can’t believe
it, 100 days. We have traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos,
Malaysia and Singapore, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France,
Spain and Switzerland. The experiences we have had these last 100 days
are so special and some of the most simple and silly ones are the ones
that will stick in the fronts of our minds forever. We hope that you
have enjoyed reading as much as we have enjoyed sharing. 31 days left
of travel, 6 more countries and countless blogs to come.

Bern baby Bern

Bern has to have been one of my absolute favorite cities so
far. It was nestled in the valleys of Switzerland. It was clean, well
manicured, had a fabulous daily market and a good transportation
system. Bern is the national capital of the Swiss Federation and is
known as the town of bears.

Geneva and Morges..Switzerland!

Overall our observation is that Switzerland is expensive. It is more
expensive than any other European Union Country or really any eastern
country, including Japan, that we have traveled too. Eating out costs
more than 25 Francs per person (McDonalds was 15 pp), a pair of warm
socks was close to 14 Francs. The grocery store was unexplainably
expensive (we walked out with 13 items at over 50 Francs).

The French Alps

There must be a cool office somewhere in the world full of
people that get to name roads. For the most part its probably a pretty
boring job as most roads and highways don’t drum up much excitement or
at least not enough to create a name worthy of such. I bet, however,
that the dudes called upon to drum up a smart name for the roads
winding through the French alps were psyched with their final
decisions.

The BMW Welt....Munich!

Some people associate Germans with brats and beer. This is very much true but as you drive through the streets of German towns, their autobahns and peer into the driveways you will notice another focal point to the German. They love automotive engineering and so they buy Audi, Mercs, Porsches and of course...the BMW.

Spanish Senoritas

Imagine our surprise as we entered Spain and drove down the highway to see tons of these ladies sitting in lawn chairs on the side of the road. Some waved as Adam creepily took pictures, others danced and others texted on their phones. The cops also drove down the road like it was no big thing, so I guess it Spain...the ladies are free to do as they wish.

standing on the shoulders of giants in Monaco...

 

To this point, the trip has been absolutely phenomenal. We have seen some spectacular places and some really inspiring cities along the way. I must admit though, there is something missing for me from time to time as we approach each new marked spot on our travel map. I mean, yes, Barcelona, Paris, and Amsterdam are excellent cities with a vibe and energy that is very unique and memorable but yet, I am still not entirely enthrawled. You see, there is somethong about a city that is defined by the world as a racing mecca, a prestigious exclamation point on ones lifes work in motorsport,....and that place....naturally... is Monaco, Monte Carlo.

Cannes, France

We began our day in Cannes hoping to catch a train from there along the coast to Monaco. I guess it would've worked if we were driving a mini, but of course things didn't go as smoothly for the Americans in an RV.
We drove into the old city of Cannes looking for the train station and saw many old cars and small streets like most of the other French towns we've driven through. We found a few parking lots, but they all had height restrictions of 1.8 meters, us being closer to 3 wouldn't fit below the markers without cutting the RV in half. So, we trucked on and found a spot at the train station. However, you could only pay in coins (we only had bills) and you could only pay for 3 hours at a time (we wanted all day). I confidently walked into the station to the information desk. The not so helpful woman with her permanent frown and made up face only had a few words for me.

Hola Barcelona!

What a change the border of a country brings. As we neared the southern border of France, the buildings took on more of a Spanish flair and the countryside became more arrid. The sprawling fields turned into barren grounds of browns and clays. and then...we were in Spain. We headed down the eastern coast in search of a camp ground in Calella. We found not only a beautiful camp ground on a hillside called the Bonita Buena Vista, but also a street of call girls right out in the open. We unpacked our awning and table and chairs, did some laundry...and then went on search of the train to take us into the city.
We boarded the train in a city called Sant Pol de Mar and it was a beauty, right on the Mediterranean with blue hues, narrow streets and white buildings.

France: The countryside

No, I can't tell you about Spain, Italy or the splendor of the distant Swiss alps....well, because we haven't gotten there yet. What I can tell you is that over the past week, Nicole and I have been engulfed in the marvelous serenity of the french countryside.

Yes, Paris was great. If you have cash, some star-tude and a frilly scarf, it's the place...but if your taste is more visual, hitting cruise control on a rolling highway north of Bordeaux is paramount.

From Paris with Love....

Ok, so we finally snagged some wifi at a McDonald's so i can catch you up on the goings on from Frenchyland.

Ahh Paris, its the sort of place that you imagine stepping into and falling in love with everything all over again....but then you get a whaft of urine and that changes a few things. The city itself is rather picturesque but as in every major metropolis made famous in movies, the actual reality falls a little short. Parts of the city are exquisite while others are somewhat dirty and mildy sketched out.

Mt. St. Michel, France

After our short stopover in Dieppe, we headed to the nearby dramatic site of Mt. St. Michel. The massive building along the dikes of northern France stands 250 above sea level and had been attracting gawking onlookers since its construction completed during the 16th century.

Now, because we are on a tight shoestring, we decided not to pay the 10 euro parking price tag and snap a few illegal photos from the "no stopping" lanes nearby ;) Still a pretty impressive sight

Paris is next!

Waiting for the sunrise (video pending)

It has been hours, I have been sitting on the chair in the Rv waiting for the sun to rise. You see, we are in the middle of these trees and the wind is howling, leaves are flying and acorns or rain or who knows is falling from the sky. My over active imagination has all the huge trees surrounding us trampling down our new home and toto flying by. The sounds of the winds and flying debris remind me of who know what.
I am petrified of storms and have been for as long as I can remember. Summer afternoons in Florida I would spend in the closet with the dogs waiting for the storm to end. So, sitting in an Rv, feeling the wind shake us, is not really my dream morning.
At least the sun has risen so I can stare out the window and see what's going on as I sip my coffee, wait for Adam to wake up and the winds to stop.