The Amazing Race

The day before we were scheduled to leave Italy, Mother Nature decided she was going to throw the world for a loop in the form of an Icelandic volcano eruption. Our trip to Italy was extended a bit longer then we had planned for, but at the time we had no idea how long that would be. Once we received word that our flight was cancelled, we began to look into other means of getting home (in the Pisa airport computer lab). We decided flights were out of the question, since only the volcano knew when it would be safe to fly again. So our goal was to get the coast of France. Unfortunately, we were foiled again. Due to the millions of people attempting to book train tickets online, the website kept crashing, so we decided to drive to the nearest train station across the French/Italian border, hoping that we'd be able to get a pair of train tickets, but prepared to drive all the way to the coast.

Fortunately we were with Brandina's parents and they had already rented a car - which it turns out was a lifesaver, as cars, buses, and other motorized forms of wheeled vehicles had quickly sold out across parts of Europe. So the four of us packed into the standard tiny European car, only slightly bigger then a mini, and tried to outwit mother nature. Starting from Lucca, we drove about 4.5 hours until we hit the border, when another proverbial "speed bump" got in the way. There was a traffic jam at the border and most cars had their engines off. Bryan decided to walk to the border to find out what was going on. After chatting with people from France, Italy, and Norway, all of whom spoke very little English, he thinks that there was accident involving either a train or truck and it was blocking the exit out of the long tunnel in Italy. Either way, after hanging out at the border for about an hour, we continued our journey, problem-free to Grenoble.

We went directly to the train station and after waiting in line for 30 minutes (and watching the number of customer service reps whittle down from six to 2, while the line grew larger), we were told that they don't have access to tomorrow's train schedule until tomorrow! Foiled again! Sooo, we decided to try one of the self-service electronic ticket machines. Using the handy trial and error method, we finally purchased train tickets from Grenoble to Calais!

The next morning our journey continued, as we boarded our first of 3 legs to Calais. The first leg, from Grenoble to Paris, took about 3 hours. When we arrived in Paris, we needed to take the Metro to the other train station, Gare du Nord. Well, as the French like to do, they decided this would be a good day to strike. So the metro line we needed (and only the one we needed) was not operating. We used our "Amazing Race" skills and quickly found an alternative route. As we walked into Gare du Nord, Paris' main train station, we were incredibly happy that we didn't drive to Paris to purchase tickets, as it was busier than Lake Tahoe on the 4th of July. Lines (or ques as they call them here) for tickets resembled those from Disneyland rides. We happily waited for our next train to arrive, though we begin to worry if ferry tickets at Calais would be just as much of a mess.

Our next leg took us to Hazebrouk in about 1.5 hours, which can be summed up by a train station without bathroom facilities. The final leg was a 45 minute, standing room only train to Calais. The "apocalyptic movie" feeling begin to emerge on this train, as people started to push more and run more, as if we were trying to escape the Island before doom set in. We also began to hear more English being spoken, presumably because this was all of the English trying to get back home to the UK. Additionally, we heard murmurs of sold out ferries until Monday...

While the Calais train station is near the port, it's not as close as it seems. Some people decided to try and walk to the port, others tried to hitchhike, and we weighed our options long enough for the "special" ferry shuttle to arrive. As we shuttled to the port, we took inventory of any possible hotels, just in case tickets were in fact sold out. Not sure what to expect, this port was nothing like San Francisco or San Diego's touristy gems - it was more like an industrial shipping port. Nonetheless, as the shuttle arrived, everyone got in "apocalyptic movie" mode again and seemed to run to the two ticket counters. We put on our "Amazing Race" hats again to divide and conquer. Murmurs of people excitedly buying tickets spread through the lines like wildfire, and as we purchased ours, we let out a huge sigh of relief.

We boarded the ferry for our 1.5 hour ride to Dover, UK and were quite surprised at our surroundings. This isn't your run of the mill New York to Staten Island ferry. These are converted cruise ships, albeit a bit smaller, but nonetheless, it was relatively luxurious, complete with duty free shops, arcade, restaurants, pubs, etc. Suffice it to say, we celebrated our triumph with a tasty pint, along with the rest of 200 ferry customers. Beers were flowing on that "cruise", as everyone was quite happy to get home...well that, and the British love their beer.

We weren't home yet though. We then took a bus from the ferry port to the terminal, and another one to the Dover train station, where we caught a 2.5 hour train into London, and finally took the tube to Notting Hill at 11pm Sunday night. Home sweet home...only 2 days and 1020 miles later, though still earlier than we had expected. Brandina even went to work Monday morning!

To put the journey into perspective:

Car Miles
- Lucca, Italy to Grenoble, France: 352 miles

Train Miles
- Grenoble to Paris: 354 miles
- Paris to Hazebrouck: 155 miles
- Hazebrouck to Calais: 50 miles
- Dover to London: 80 miles

Bus Miles:
- Train Station in Calais to Ferry port: 2 miles
- Ferry port in Dover to Dover Train Station: 2 miles

Ferry Miles:
- Calais, France to Dover, United Kingdom: 25 miles

Total Miles: 1,020

View Larger Map

All that said, as we're both optimistic people, we made the most of our adventure and had a great time seeing parts of Italy and France that we've never seen before. We drove through the Marble Quarries of Italy, favored by the famous Michelangelo, through the picture-esque French Alps near the border, across the Italian countryside, and through the French countryside. Grenoble in particular, was a beautiful mountain town, similar to Park City in Utah or Lake Tahoe. The hotel we stayed at was right next to an area where mountain climbers were training and practicing. We also saw a few cyclists pulling into the train station with skis strapped to their backs.

French Alps - on our way to cross the border

Italian Countryside from Car

French Countryside from train

All in all, quite an adventure. Bryan is now even more convinced that we should try out for the "Amazing Race" television show. Brandina, on the other hand, has now officially decided that the "Amazing Race" really isn't that amazing after all :). Mother Nature, you gave us a good run for our money....

- B-squared

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." -Dr. Emmett Brown (Back to the Future)

When in Rome....

Alas, Bryan has been waiting to use that blog title for quite some time now! About a week ago, we returned from a fabulous week-long trek through Italy (during Brandina's spring break from school), over half of which was spent with Brandina's parents, John & Elaine. Our trip was quite diverse - from the majestic, historic city of Rome, to the quaint walled cities of Tuscany, to the beautiful seaside of the Italian Riviera. Needless to say, this trip just about doubled the number of pins in our wall map :).

Rome

For our weekend in Rome, we began with a Friday "Night at the Museum," a new program that just started this month at the Vatican Museum, allowing for Friday evening, pre-booked tickets to the museum. It was excellent - we roamed through the museum at our leisure, often times with rooms of the museum completely to ourselves. We were able to spend at least 20 minutes sitting on the benches inside the Sistine Chapel, mesmerized by Michelangelo's infamous ceiling. For those of you who have been to the Vatican Museum, and know just how crowded and claustrophobic it can be, let me assure you that Friday "Night at the Museum" is a completely different, much more pleasurable experience. We highly recommend it! We spent Saturday in ancient Rome, treking through the cobblestones of the Roman Forum and Colosseum, humbled by the sheer size, complexity, and age of these ancient and impressive structures. Our sunny weekend in Rome was completed by a visit to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo, St. Peters Basilica, St. Peters Square on a Sunday morning (where unbeknownst to us we happened to be there as the Pope gave his Sunday sermon, though we were never able to spot him - he was kind of hidden like the Wizard of Oz), and plenty of pizza and gelato! Our hostel was an experience in and of itself - centrally located (within walking distance of the Colosseum), but with a few cold showers and no electricity one morning. But, at least it was clean, and had free internet!

Spiral staircase (empty!), Vatican Museum

Roman Forum

Roman Forum: Temple of Saturn,
one of the earliest temples in Rome

Roman Forum: Temple of Saturn &
Arch of Septimius Severus,
standing on Via Sacra (Sacred Way,
route taken by generals riding into Capitoline
Hill on horses, carrying the riches of war)

Roman Forum & Colosseum, from viewpoint on Palantine Hill

Palantine Hill, once the wealthiest
residential district of Ancient Rome

The Colosseum, built in 72-80 AD, in all its glory

Trevi Fountain

St. Peters Square on a Sunday morning
(click on the picture to see the enlarged version,
to get a better feel for the size of the crowd!)

Florence

After spending our three nights in Rome, we took the train to Florence (about a 3-hour ride when not on a high-speed, more expensive train). For our half day in Florence, we climbed to the top of the Duomo (463 steps), visited the various piazzas (each accompanied by Bryan's historical narrative from our Berlitz travel guide), viewed and crossed Ponte Vecchio, ventured to the hilltop point of Piazza Michelangelo for yet another expansive view of the city, and settled down at a delightful pizzeria on the south side of the River Arno, where we were served by a Seattle-born American waitress, who is studying abroad in Florence :). As our one day in Florence was a Monday, all of the city's museums were closed....but rest assured, we saw plenty nude Davids around the rest of the city!

View of Florence from top of Duomo - Shades of Red

View of Florence from top of Duomo - Shades of Blue

Still atop the Duomo! (Mind you, it takes some talent
to master the one-armed self-picture with your eyes closed!)

Capturing Florence
River Arno, Ponte S. Trinita
(gentleman rowing towards Ponte Vecchio)

Siena

Following our day in Florence, Brandina's parents picked us up in their rental car, and off we went to Siena, south of Florence, and very Tuscan.

Mom & Brandina, Piazza del Campo

Mom, Dad, and Bryan, Piazza del Campo

Staggered rooftops of Siena

Lucca

For the second half of the trip, we stayed with Brandina's parents in Lucca, a small walled city near Pisa. Living like locals, we visited the weekly street market, walked atop the walls, roamed through the narrow streets, climbed to the top of the Tower Guinigi, and ate at local family Italian restaurants (such as La Cantina di Alfredo, by far the best meal of our entire trip!). Again, plenty of pizza and gelato to go around.

Mom & Dad, standing on the pathway
that sits on top of the city walls

Capturing Lucca

The Street Market

Bryan and Dad, picking out local salami, prosciutto, and cheese
for our Italian breakfasts (in their matching scarves)

View of Lucca, from the top of Tower Guinigi

Sunset outside Lucca

Cinque Terre

Venturing out again in the rental car, we took a day trip to Cinque Terre, driving up to La Spezia on the coast, and taking the train and ferry throughout the 5 small coastal, hilltop, villages. We had an absolutely gorgeous sunny day, as you can see in the photos!

All in all, a wonderful trip! From the ancient ruins, to the seaside, we definitely ate and drank our way through Italy :). Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful Italian holiday!

As our trip came to an end, mother nature decided to sound off in the form of an Icelandic volcano that added a whole new twist to the trip, but that's an entirely different blog entry....stay tuned....

Ciao!

-B&B

“I feast on wine and bread, and feasts they are.” - Michelangelo

A Play Date in Paris

Yesterday we took full advantage of living in London (and Brandina's spring break from school)...when we boarded an early morning Eurostar train to Paris, to spend the day with Bryan's friend from high school, Joanna, and her fiance David, who are vacationing in France for a week or so. After literally hours spent searching for Eurostar deals, day trips, packages, etc, as the Eurostar is not nearly as cheap as you might expect or hope, we found an unescorted Paris day trip package through an organised tour company - including roundtrip Eurostar tickets, vouchers for a cruise on the River Seine, a metro pass, and a Paris map! Given that David and Joanna had spent the previous two days in Paris at full speed, and we had seen many of the sights on our trip last November, we unanimously decided to spend the day relaxing in the warm (but cloudy) Paris weather...and it could not have been more perfect! We returned home on an evening train (after stopping for crepes on the way, of course), crawled into bed, and wondered for a brief moment if it had all been a dream...

A colourful cafe in Montmartre, across from
which we had coffee and croissants
for breakfast

Cruising on the River Seine

Notre Dame through the trees,
as seen from the River Seine below

Notre Dame as seen from the River Seine

Cruising under the many bridges

Taking advantage of the Seine River views

Our early dinner picnic in the beautiful Jardin
du Luxembourg, including fresh baguettes
and quiche from a local boulangerie,
gouda and brie cheeses,
a small package of salami,
and a cheap bottle of Bordeaux wine.

Thank you Joanna and David, for a wonderful play date in Paris!

-B&B

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend." ~John Leonard

The Griswolds err The Uslans Do London!

After five months, my mom and Brian finally decided they couldn't hold out any longer, so they packed their two 50 pound bags (1/3 of which was U.S. "essentials" for us...thanks!) and headed across the pond. According to my mom, it had been 30 years since she was here last and her legs must have had a bit of amnesia as well, as she was pretty sore after their first day exploring the city, though between our 90 steps and our cousins' 5 floors, you can't really blame her. Since I was in the middle of doing some temp work at Burberry for a few weeks (a revealing insight into the world of customer service, but that's another blog entry...), we left them alone to be tourists. I have to admit, I was a bit worried when we said goodbye after that first night together, as I watched them curiously cross the street and look for a way to get back to our cousin Lori's. But Brian turned back the clock and pretended like he was in Boston again, navigating the city and public transportation throughout their stay, like he was Sir Francis Drake.

We decided it was our job to show them where to eat! So we took them to our local pub, The Castle for some good 'ol British food - though I always get the burger there and Brandina gets the veggie platter. We took them to brunch at the Orangery, just a few blocks from us in Kensington Gardens. We went to the Street Market in Bethnal Green, near the farm I volunteer at and noshed on some "beigels" for 20p (about 30cents U.S.). We took them on our favorite walk - from St. Paul's Catheral, across the Millennium Bridge, past the the Tate Modern, past the Globe Theatre, past London Bridge, and past the Tower Bridge to the Borough Market, where we first sampled all of the gourmet food like cheese, olives, bread, granola, and pork loin, then finished it off with a tasty lamb sandwich. Finally, in a country that loves their dessert, we took them to our gelato place for a few scoops of real ice cream, at Gelato Mio. After all that eating, you'd think we would've put on some serious weight by now, but living in a city that facilitates walking everywhere has its perks - remember the U.S. is the one with the obesity problem, but again, thats an entirely different blog.

Greenwich, near the Observatory

In front of our local pub, The Castle

On the Millennium Bridge, with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background

We had a great time with my mom and Brian and it was sad to see them leave - hopefully it won't be 5 months before we see them again...

Up next----a quick jaunt to see some of Bryan's friends in Paris for the day, then on to Italy to spend time with Brandina's parents!

- B-squared

"Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts." ~Author Unknown