After a wonderful 2 days in Madrid with my own personal tour guide, 4 days in Boston visiting old friends and attending a beautiful wedding, and 19 hours of flying, I am cozy, safe and happy to be back at my parent's house in Spokane. I really did experience the trip of a lifetime and am grateful for the opportunity to travel so much. Thanks so much for all those that made this trip possible (from my boss allowing me to start work late to friends and family providing support). I have 740ish pictures so if anyone has 15 hours to spare, let me know and I'd love to share them :) Thanks for reading the blog and commenting- it was so much fun to read all of the comments! Love you all, can't wait to see you soon!!
Buen Camino :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
the final leg
So Catie and I have enjoyed planning the game we have entitled 'our lives suck' for the past 5 weeks. Things happen that really aren't so bad, but they may stress us out just a tiny bit. Like missing our train because our last train was 20 minutes late. So then we act like our lives suck and just start laughing because no matter what happens to us, we're still backpacking around Europe and doing everything we've ever dreamed of doing! We realized yesterday that we've crammed what most people may do in 10 years of vacationing into 5 weeks and every second of it has been amazing. But it seems that the past few days, our game has occurred a little more often... we've had a couple minor, and amusing, bumps in the road the past few days...
We took a train from Siena to Riomaggiore, which is the first village of five that is considered the Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre in Italian means 5 lands or 5 villages and, obviously, named so because there are 5 villages along the Meditteranean coast of Italy that have a footpath connecting them. This was our last journey in Italy, and really our last journey all together as Michael and Catie flew out this morning to Paris (they leave for Boston tomorrow, I leave Thursday from Madrid). So we got into Riomaggiore where we were going to stay Saturday night. We didn't have reservations anywhere so began asking any place that had rooms available if they had room for 3. The first 3 places were booked, and finally the 4th said they had a dorm room available... which they actually didn't, they only had room for 2. So this italian man and woman formed a huddle, mumbled a few things, and told us that they would give us their 'emergency room'. We had no idea what an emergency room was. She said it was nothing special and at the top of the ville (we thought ville was building, we were wrong). But they seemed emergent about it and we decided YIKES this must be an emergency!! We might not find a place to stay! So we followed a young man up at least 6 flights of insanely steep stairs that were barely wide enough to fit out backpacks, up a hill, to the top of the entire VILLAGE. The 'emergency room' is better described as a cave. It was a small room with 2 beds shoved in it, cement walls, the ceiling maybe 6.5 feet tall, water pipes going around 3 of the 4 walls, and decorated with lace, fish nets, plates, and a little ceramic man sitting on a toilet. There were mosquitos everywhere so Catie quickly decided we needed to shut the door only to find out it barely shut, and it left a 6 inch opening on the top and 3 inches on the side. Worst night of sleep ever. And I can't believe we had to pay 60euro for it after we refused to pay 7 euro numerous times on the camino because it was 'too expensive.'
The next morning we hiked the cinque terre which was BEAUTIFUL! We were along the meditteranean coast nearly the whole time and the little villages were very different than anything else we've seen. It was probably around 90 degrees and extremely humid, but we made it all the way through and it was worth it. After the hike, we caught the train back to the first village, grabbed our swimsuits, indulged in seafood for dinner at the second village, and then jumped in the water for an evening swim. Life definitely was not too tough that day!
Sunday morning we woke up in our much nicer room at 5AM to a thunder and lightening storm. Europe keeps telling us these are unusual but they seem to keep happening. We lost electricity a few times throughout the morning. We went out to breakfast and then wandered into an olive oil store to purchase some olive oil to bring home.. as my credit card was going through the machine, we lost electricity again. The crummy part was we also had laundry in a washing machine (2nd time mine has been washed in a machine since I've been here!!) and of course, that died. The electricity would come back on for a minute, just long enough for us to try to buy the olive oil again, and then die right as it was starting to process. This continued for over an hour. None of us had more than 10 euro on us either, since we're finishing the trip and trying to get rid of money, and we couldn't use ATMS so we were a little concerned we were going to be stuck in this town, unable to get on the train, with no money and wet clothes! Finally the electricity came back on, we sprinted to the olive oil store, bought the oil and were able to finish all of our laundry. It seemed a lot more stressful then :)
Took another train to Milan where the 3 of us had flights out today to our final destination. As we were boarding, we heard a rumor that ryanair, the airline company we're all flying with, was going on strike. Just today. The only day we needed them to NOT go on strike. We got to Milan and began looking for a place to stay for the night but decided we'd double check where our airport was. Turns it it was an hour outisde of Milan.. thankfully we found that out, as Catie and Michael left at 5AM this morning! So back on the train, and arrived at our hotel last night. Catie and Michael haven't come back from the airport yet so I'm assuming ryanair is not on strike, which is great because the trains don't go from Milan to Madrid!!
Despite the minor, pretty much enjoyable stressful moments, we've had a blast and I was really sad to see Catie and Michael leave this morning even though I'll see them in 3 days! Wish us all safe travels!! See you soon!!!!!
Buen camino
We took a train from Siena to Riomaggiore, which is the first village of five that is considered the Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre in Italian means 5 lands or 5 villages and, obviously, named so because there are 5 villages along the Meditteranean coast of Italy that have a footpath connecting them. This was our last journey in Italy, and really our last journey all together as Michael and Catie flew out this morning to Paris (they leave for Boston tomorrow, I leave Thursday from Madrid). So we got into Riomaggiore where we were going to stay Saturday night. We didn't have reservations anywhere so began asking any place that had rooms available if they had room for 3. The first 3 places were booked, and finally the 4th said they had a dorm room available... which they actually didn't, they only had room for 2. So this italian man and woman formed a huddle, mumbled a few things, and told us that they would give us their 'emergency room'. We had no idea what an emergency room was. She said it was nothing special and at the top of the ville (we thought ville was building, we were wrong). But they seemed emergent about it and we decided YIKES this must be an emergency!! We might not find a place to stay! So we followed a young man up at least 6 flights of insanely steep stairs that were barely wide enough to fit out backpacks, up a hill, to the top of the entire VILLAGE. The 'emergency room' is better described as a cave. It was a small room with 2 beds shoved in it, cement walls, the ceiling maybe 6.5 feet tall, water pipes going around 3 of the 4 walls, and decorated with lace, fish nets, plates, and a little ceramic man sitting on a toilet. There were mosquitos everywhere so Catie quickly decided we needed to shut the door only to find out it barely shut, and it left a 6 inch opening on the top and 3 inches on the side. Worst night of sleep ever. And I can't believe we had to pay 60euro for it after we refused to pay 7 euro numerous times on the camino because it was 'too expensive.'
The next morning we hiked the cinque terre which was BEAUTIFUL! We were along the meditteranean coast nearly the whole time and the little villages were very different than anything else we've seen. It was probably around 90 degrees and extremely humid, but we made it all the way through and it was worth it. After the hike, we caught the train back to the first village, grabbed our swimsuits, indulged in seafood for dinner at the second village, and then jumped in the water for an evening swim. Life definitely was not too tough that day!
Sunday morning we woke up in our much nicer room at 5AM to a thunder and lightening storm. Europe keeps telling us these are unusual but they seem to keep happening. We lost electricity a few times throughout the morning. We went out to breakfast and then wandered into an olive oil store to purchase some olive oil to bring home.. as my credit card was going through the machine, we lost electricity again. The crummy part was we also had laundry in a washing machine (2nd time mine has been washed in a machine since I've been here!!) and of course, that died. The electricity would come back on for a minute, just long enough for us to try to buy the olive oil again, and then die right as it was starting to process. This continued for over an hour. None of us had more than 10 euro on us either, since we're finishing the trip and trying to get rid of money, and we couldn't use ATMS so we were a little concerned we were going to be stuck in this town, unable to get on the train, with no money and wet clothes! Finally the electricity came back on, we sprinted to the olive oil store, bought the oil and were able to finish all of our laundry. It seemed a lot more stressful then :)
Took another train to Milan where the 3 of us had flights out today to our final destination. As we were boarding, we heard a rumor that ryanair, the airline company we're all flying with, was going on strike. Just today. The only day we needed them to NOT go on strike. We got to Milan and began looking for a place to stay for the night but decided we'd double check where our airport was. Turns it it was an hour outisde of Milan.. thankfully we found that out, as Catie and Michael left at 5AM this morning! So back on the train, and arrived at our hotel last night. Catie and Michael haven't come back from the airport yet so I'm assuming ryanair is not on strike, which is great because the trains don't go from Milan to Madrid!!
Despite the minor, pretty much enjoyable stressful moments, we've had a blast and I was really sad to see Catie and Michael leave this morning even though I'll see them in 3 days! Wish us all safe travels!! See you soon!!!!!
Buen camino
Saturday, July 4, 2009
under the tuscan sun
I'm in Italian heaven! I'm writing today from Siena, the heart of Chianti county in Tuscany. And the internet is free!!!! That's definitely a first in Italy... the other opportunities for internet were around $3 for anywhere for 10 minutes to 30.
Spent two days in Venice, a city that I absolutely love. I was very excited to see it because that was the one place on this trip that I visited when I came to Europe 9 years ago. So I was anxious to see if the Plaza San Marco was as I remembered, which it was! We stayed in a nice hostel for 3 days with our own private bathroom- felt pretty spoiled. We visited the Friar, a beautiful church that was also the burial ground for many artists/sculptors from the 13th century. Venice is well known for it's glass blowing so we took the "bus" (a boat) to Murano, an island that all the glass blowing was moved to in the 1290s because of fire danger in Venice from the glass blowing process. And to be sure we got our monies worth for the day long "bus" pass, we did a "cruise" on the dirty little boat bus all the way around Venice, which ended up taking almost 2 hours and began to rain on us. But Venice is beautiful at dusk and we enjoyed it nonetheless. I hate to admit but I didn't realize that Venice really doesn't have any vehicles, only boats! These are some of the questions Catie and I pondered while riding the boats: Do they have rush hour? Where are the gas stations? Do they have to take drivers ed? Do they have traffic jams? Does Venice have any drive/swim/boat- thrus? Do kids get boats for graduating from high school instead of cars? Has anyone ever tried to water ski down the channel? How do the ambulances work? What is really at the bottom of that channel? Some of these questions we may never want answered...
The next two days we spent in Florence. Florence has a lot of art and history behind it so we became true tourists for the first time on this trip. We went to the Duomo, the 4th largest cathedral today; visited the Uffizi, an art museum said to rival the Louvre displaying da Vinci and Boticelli; San Lorenzo, the leather capital of the world; and my favorite, the Academie, another art museum where I stood in awe in front of Michaelangelo's David. Everyone said it was amazing but I had no idea. We also ate the best gellato in Florence... 3 times... the best italian food in Florence (agreed), walked across the famous bridge, and drank a beer next to the river.
Yesterday we took a bus an hour from Florence to Siena, where we are today. Siena is in Tuscany (which is actually a region, so Florence is technically in Tuscany also) but Siena is also in Chianti region, of the classic chianti wine. We checked into our FIRST hotel that we've stayed at yesterday and immediately saw a pamphlet for a wine tour around the Tuscan region. We booked immediately- and the lady who spoke no english asked me if we booked it, I said yes and she grabbed my arms and jumped up and down with me (Catie, Michael and I were so excited about this!!!). The tour was everything we hoped it would be; we drove through Chianti vineyards and discovered what makes Chianti wine different than others, then toured San Gimingo, the typical town you picture when you think of Italy with it's stone walls and streets. After came the best part- we visited the winery of a man who bought the farm in 1987 after being a veterinarian for the start of his life, because he wanted to make wine "as a hobby." He now produces wine, olive oil, honey, body lotion, and his true passion- balsamic vinegar. It was amazing!! When he bought the farm, he found an envelope buried under some stones in the house from a priest over 155 years ago. In the envelope was a recipe for a specific wine that included 5 spices, 2 types of honey and I believe 2 grapes. The recipe did not include any quantities though, so he spent over 20 years trying to make the wine. Last year he bottled the first bottle of wine following the recipe, determined by taste. Him and his wife walked us through the winery, talked about the proces of making all these products, fed us and let us sample almost everything. This was my Italian heaven. And I might have a box of his wine and products being shipped to my house.....
I know you're all curious- the food is fantastic. I gotta say though, I have been craving a greek salad ever since I stepped into Italy which makes me think that Greece food was better, but Italian is great. I've had lasagna, spaghetti with clams and mussels, ravioli with truffle sauce, a lot of pizza, and gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. And a ton of gellato! And a few cappucinos :) I'm very curious if I'll continue to drink coffee in the states.....
buen camino!
Spent two days in Venice, a city that I absolutely love. I was very excited to see it because that was the one place on this trip that I visited when I came to Europe 9 years ago. So I was anxious to see if the Plaza San Marco was as I remembered, which it was! We stayed in a nice hostel for 3 days with our own private bathroom- felt pretty spoiled. We visited the Friar, a beautiful church that was also the burial ground for many artists/sculptors from the 13th century. Venice is well known for it's glass blowing so we took the "bus" (a boat) to Murano, an island that all the glass blowing was moved to in the 1290s because of fire danger in Venice from the glass blowing process. And to be sure we got our monies worth for the day long "bus" pass, we did a "cruise" on the dirty little boat bus all the way around Venice, which ended up taking almost 2 hours and began to rain on us. But Venice is beautiful at dusk and we enjoyed it nonetheless. I hate to admit but I didn't realize that Venice really doesn't have any vehicles, only boats! These are some of the questions Catie and I pondered while riding the boats: Do they have rush hour? Where are the gas stations? Do they have to take drivers ed? Do they have traffic jams? Does Venice have any drive/swim/boat- thrus? Do kids get boats for graduating from high school instead of cars? Has anyone ever tried to water ski down the channel? How do the ambulances work? What is really at the bottom of that channel? Some of these questions we may never want answered...
The next two days we spent in Florence. Florence has a lot of art and history behind it so we became true tourists for the first time on this trip. We went to the Duomo, the 4th largest cathedral today; visited the Uffizi, an art museum said to rival the Louvre displaying da Vinci and Boticelli; San Lorenzo, the leather capital of the world; and my favorite, the Academie, another art museum where I stood in awe in front of Michaelangelo's David. Everyone said it was amazing but I had no idea. We also ate the best gellato in Florence... 3 times... the best italian food in Florence (agreed), walked across the famous bridge, and drank a beer next to the river.
Yesterday we took a bus an hour from Florence to Siena, where we are today. Siena is in Tuscany (which is actually a region, so Florence is technically in Tuscany also) but Siena is also in Chianti region, of the classic chianti wine. We checked into our FIRST hotel that we've stayed at yesterday and immediately saw a pamphlet for a wine tour around the Tuscan region. We booked immediately- and the lady who spoke no english asked me if we booked it, I said yes and she grabbed my arms and jumped up and down with me (Catie, Michael and I were so excited about this!!!). The tour was everything we hoped it would be; we drove through Chianti vineyards and discovered what makes Chianti wine different than others, then toured San Gimingo, the typical town you picture when you think of Italy with it's stone walls and streets. After came the best part- we visited the winery of a man who bought the farm in 1987 after being a veterinarian for the start of his life, because he wanted to make wine "as a hobby." He now produces wine, olive oil, honey, body lotion, and his true passion- balsamic vinegar. It was amazing!! When he bought the farm, he found an envelope buried under some stones in the house from a priest over 155 years ago. In the envelope was a recipe for a specific wine that included 5 spices, 2 types of honey and I believe 2 grapes. The recipe did not include any quantities though, so he spent over 20 years trying to make the wine. Last year he bottled the first bottle of wine following the recipe, determined by taste. Him and his wife walked us through the winery, talked about the proces of making all these products, fed us and let us sample almost everything. This was my Italian heaven. And I might have a box of his wine and products being shipped to my house.....
I know you're all curious- the food is fantastic. I gotta say though, I have been craving a greek salad ever since I stepped into Italy which makes me think that Greece food was better, but Italian is great. I've had lasagna, spaghetti with clams and mussels, ravioli with truffle sauce, a lot of pizza, and gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce. And a ton of gellato! And a few cappucinos :) I'm very curious if I'll continue to drink coffee in the states.....
buen camino!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
this is the life!
Things I have learned about Greece:
1. They have potentially the best food I've ever had. I think Italy will give them a run for their money though...
2. There is a weird obsession with cats.
3. Men wear speedos. And no one besides Catie and I think this is utterly wrong.
4. The language is amazing, and there is no way I could ever learn it. I still don't know how to say hello or thank you or decipher anything.
5. Freak thunder and lightening storms occur nearly everyday! Every morning or afternoon, we would take shelter on the balcony, sip tea and watch lightening while listening to the downpour of rain and the loudest thunder I've ever heard. Each time, I thought of being in my pajamas at the Grelle house with Mike and Angie at 3 in the morning watching the thunder and lightening through the 3 big windows over the airport.
6. Everyone smokes.... this is all of europe though, not just Greece.
7. Women go topless. Also, no one else thought this was weird.
8. There is no order to their driving. Mopeds constantly pass cars and busses when they really shouldn't and I've never feared my life so much.
9. This country may love Michael Jackson as much as I do. Last night the resort played 5 MJ songs before the entertainment show began. And then amidst the show, we had a minute of silence for him. Michael snickered.. I was trying not to cry. RIP MJ.
10. The view of the Ionian Sea and Albania from the balcony of room 2212 at Aeolos Beach Resort is breathtaking.
Our 6 days in Corfu passed so quickly!! That may be because each day we did the same thing... woke up, had a nice breakfast, drank tea on the balcony, meandered down to the pool, read a book and soaked up the Greek sun, walked to our favorite Greek restaurant for either a gyro or greek salad for lunch, back to the pool, dinner, bedtime. It was wonderful! We did manage to go into Corfu, the main town, for one day. It was interesting but busy and a little chaotic. We visited the Old Fortress which use to be a jail and a center for the military, a very old church that was destroyed during WWII and some other monuments. Also.... shopping!!! Best reason not to buy a lot? You have to pack whatever you buy on your back for the rest of the trip.
Molly, Catie's sister, and Lauren arrived in Corfu on Tuesday morning. It was fun to have a full house and exchange Europe stories as they've been backpacking through since the middle of May. Molly and Lauren and I decided to splurge on Thursday and pay 30 euro for an all inclusive pass. It meant we could eat as much as we wanted, snacks and drinks all day. We wanted to get the most of it, so we kept a tally- we ended up have 9 meals (this is total between the three of us mind you), 6 snacks, 42 drinks (NOT all alcoholic, don't worry Mom and Dad) and I packed 6 rolls and 3 pieces of fruit from the buffet into my purse. Definitely got our money's worth. And then the next day, we walked by the buffet and the staff ushered us in... apparently they didn't really care that we'd purchased them for the day before, they let us eat again! Best 30 euro I ever spent!!
Great story- we went to our tiny little restaurant for lunch today before leaving Perama, the town where we stayed. We have gone every single day with the exception of all inclusive day! When we walk up the steps to the restaurant, the 3 men that work there also smile and laugh at us. The waiter and we americans have become rather close- he's told us numerous personal stories. Today, we asked if we could get our picture with the 3 of them, including the large greek chef. I'm framing it. After the picture, we said goodbyes and they gave us a bottle of their house wine that we've drank numerous times. It was such a nice gesture, we were very touched.
Catie and Michael and I are in Corfu for the afternoon before we take a ferry back to Brindisi, Italy. I'm dreading it, it was such a miserable trip. Luckily it'll be overnight so hopefully we'll all get to sleep. Then tomorrow we'll take a train from Brindisi to Venice where we have a bed and breakfast for 2 days awaiting us. Our plan as of now is to spend the next 9 days in Italy, before we head back to the states. All of us are thrilled for the cuisine and the wine!! And the culture :)
Buen camino
1. They have potentially the best food I've ever had. I think Italy will give them a run for their money though...
2. There is a weird obsession with cats.
3. Men wear speedos. And no one besides Catie and I think this is utterly wrong.
4. The language is amazing, and there is no way I could ever learn it. I still don't know how to say hello or thank you or decipher anything.
5. Freak thunder and lightening storms occur nearly everyday! Every morning or afternoon, we would take shelter on the balcony, sip tea and watch lightening while listening to the downpour of rain and the loudest thunder I've ever heard. Each time, I thought of being in my pajamas at the Grelle house with Mike and Angie at 3 in the morning watching the thunder and lightening through the 3 big windows over the airport.
6. Everyone smokes.... this is all of europe though, not just Greece.
7. Women go topless. Also, no one else thought this was weird.
8. There is no order to their driving. Mopeds constantly pass cars and busses when they really shouldn't and I've never feared my life so much.
9. This country may love Michael Jackson as much as I do. Last night the resort played 5 MJ songs before the entertainment show began. And then amidst the show, we had a minute of silence for him. Michael snickered.. I was trying not to cry. RIP MJ.
10. The view of the Ionian Sea and Albania from the balcony of room 2212 at Aeolos Beach Resort is breathtaking.
Our 6 days in Corfu passed so quickly!! That may be because each day we did the same thing... woke up, had a nice breakfast, drank tea on the balcony, meandered down to the pool, read a book and soaked up the Greek sun, walked to our favorite Greek restaurant for either a gyro or greek salad for lunch, back to the pool, dinner, bedtime. It was wonderful! We did manage to go into Corfu, the main town, for one day. It was interesting but busy and a little chaotic. We visited the Old Fortress which use to be a jail and a center for the military, a very old church that was destroyed during WWII and some other monuments. Also.... shopping!!! Best reason not to buy a lot? You have to pack whatever you buy on your back for the rest of the trip.
Molly, Catie's sister, and Lauren arrived in Corfu on Tuesday morning. It was fun to have a full house and exchange Europe stories as they've been backpacking through since the middle of May. Molly and Lauren and I decided to splurge on Thursday and pay 30 euro for an all inclusive pass. It meant we could eat as much as we wanted, snacks and drinks all day. We wanted to get the most of it, so we kept a tally- we ended up have 9 meals (this is total between the three of us mind you), 6 snacks, 42 drinks (NOT all alcoholic, don't worry Mom and Dad) and I packed 6 rolls and 3 pieces of fruit from the buffet into my purse. Definitely got our money's worth. And then the next day, we walked by the buffet and the staff ushered us in... apparently they didn't really care that we'd purchased them for the day before, they let us eat again! Best 30 euro I ever spent!!
Great story- we went to our tiny little restaurant for lunch today before leaving Perama, the town where we stayed. We have gone every single day with the exception of all inclusive day! When we walk up the steps to the restaurant, the 3 men that work there also smile and laugh at us. The waiter and we americans have become rather close- he's told us numerous personal stories. Today, we asked if we could get our picture with the 3 of them, including the large greek chef. I'm framing it. After the picture, we said goodbyes and they gave us a bottle of their house wine that we've drank numerous times. It was such a nice gesture, we were very touched.
Catie and Michael and I are in Corfu for the afternoon before we take a ferry back to Brindisi, Italy. I'm dreading it, it was such a miserable trip. Luckily it'll be overnight so hopefully we'll all get to sleep. Then tomorrow we'll take a train from Brindisi to Venice where we have a bed and breakfast for 2 days awaiting us. Our plan as of now is to spend the next 9 days in Italy, before we head back to the states. All of us are thrilled for the cuisine and the wine!! And the culture :)
Buen camino
Monday, June 22, 2009
mmm... gyros...
9 hour overnight train from Santiago to Madrid: 47 euro
2.5 hour plane ride from Madrid to Rome: 59 euro
8.5 hour overnight train from Rome to Brindisi: 30 euro
8 hour ferry ride from Brindisi to Corfu: 24 euro
sipping a pina colada while lying on the beach in Greece: PRICELESS
We thought we were brilliant for our travel plans to get from Santiago, Spain to Corfu, Greece. It was the longest 48 hour period of our lives and I seriously considered jumping off of the ferry after about 5 hours. In Madrid, Pablo, a friend from the camino, picked us up from the train station and took us around Madrid for a few hours before taking us back to the airport. That was the saving grace.. had we had to wait the entire time, we would have been 3 really grumpy kiddos. We realized we conquered all modes of transportation though... we also took the subway from the train station to the airport in Rome, took a van from the train station to the ferry station in Brindisi and a taxi to our place in Corfu. Oh yeah, and we walked all the way to Santiago :) Throw in a horse drawn carriage and we've done it all.
Corfu is beautiful and sooo different than the last 20 days I've been in Spain! We're spending the next 5 days at a resort on the island and couldn't be happier to throw our clothes all over the room and have a fridge to put food in instead of carrying it on our backs. Right now it's just Catie, Michael and I, but Molly (Catie's sister) and Lauren will be joining us tomorrow. Our room is nice but simple. There's one bedroom, a bathroom (with a bathtub!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and a main room with small couches/beds and the necessities for a kitchen. We have a balcony that stands just over the pool and from it, you can see the Ionian sea and just on the other side, about 20km away, is Albania.
We have been here less than 24 hours and have already found our secret hole in the wall diner that we've visited twice. Maybe it's not such a secret hole in the wall, since there's always so many others eating there, but we think it's our little secret. It's fantastic and we're pretty sure the waitstaff loves us! I had a greek salad last night with the house wine and tzatziki, and a gyro today (thought of Kat and Cody while eating it). I'm not going to write anymore about the food because I only have 10 minutes online and I could use it all up on just that... I'm getting a little teary eyed right now because I'm so excited for my next meal from there.
Tomorrow we're planning to go into Corfu town, the capital of the island, and check out what it has to offer. Apparently Corfu has a pretty big night life, so we think maybe we'll teach them how Americans dance? Frightening thought. Also in our plans: possibly rent mopeds to check out the island (depending on price), swim in the sea, drink pina coladas by the pool, challenge people to a ping pong tournament (they have tables!), and Michael proposed kayaking to Albania. I'm thinking that last one may not happen. We'd also REALLY like to go to Athens but we're (maybe just me?) a little naive and thought it would take just an hour or two to get there so it'd be an easy day trip. Apparently it's more like a 8 or 10 hour trip. So we may head there on Saturday when our time here is up and then potentially go straight from Athens back to Venice. I really really hope we make it there for at least a day.
Oh yeah- the last few days in Santiago were wonderful. Thursday we went to the pilgrims mass at noon which was very calming, however all in Spanish. There is something pretty amazing about sitting in a mass service in a language you don't understand. I sat with my Spanish friend, Pablo, and he attempted to translate but it was pretty useful. It's tradition, if they receive enough donations the day before in mass, that they swing a huge ball full of incense between the aisles of the pews. Unfortunately, they didn't on Thursday. Rumor has it that they use to do this because of the stench of the pilgrims. I'm pretty sure that's why they still do it. We're not a good smelling group.
The rest of Thursday and Friday we spent enjoying the city and all our friends from the pilgrimmage. It was fun to just sit in the plaza on Thursday and watch pilgrims we've walked with previously stagger into the city, cheering to greet them. We went to an outdoor concert, ran into some people from Helena that Catie and Michael knew and that taught my cousins (DJ and David Michael) in elementary school, ate octopus which is famous to that region, and even got a free dinner at the 5 star hotel that serves 10 pilgrims dinner every night. And went shopping at the european REI equivalent.
Thanks to everyone reading and commenting on the blog.. I'm having such a blast and don't want this trip to be over but I do miss my family and friends and those that I'm use to talking to. So thanks :) Happy Fathers day to all the dads, uncles, grandpas reading this and to the best dad of all- my papa! Love you!
And of course.. buen camino
2.5 hour plane ride from Madrid to Rome: 59 euro
8.5 hour overnight train from Rome to Brindisi: 30 euro
8 hour ferry ride from Brindisi to Corfu: 24 euro
sipping a pina colada while lying on the beach in Greece: PRICELESS
We thought we were brilliant for our travel plans to get from Santiago, Spain to Corfu, Greece. It was the longest 48 hour period of our lives and I seriously considered jumping off of the ferry after about 5 hours. In Madrid, Pablo, a friend from the camino, picked us up from the train station and took us around Madrid for a few hours before taking us back to the airport. That was the saving grace.. had we had to wait the entire time, we would have been 3 really grumpy kiddos. We realized we conquered all modes of transportation though... we also took the subway from the train station to the airport in Rome, took a van from the train station to the ferry station in Brindisi and a taxi to our place in Corfu. Oh yeah, and we walked all the way to Santiago :) Throw in a horse drawn carriage and we've done it all.
Corfu is beautiful and sooo different than the last 20 days I've been in Spain! We're spending the next 5 days at a resort on the island and couldn't be happier to throw our clothes all over the room and have a fridge to put food in instead of carrying it on our backs. Right now it's just Catie, Michael and I, but Molly (Catie's sister) and Lauren will be joining us tomorrow. Our room is nice but simple. There's one bedroom, a bathroom (with a bathtub!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and a main room with small couches/beds and the necessities for a kitchen. We have a balcony that stands just over the pool and from it, you can see the Ionian sea and just on the other side, about 20km away, is Albania.
We have been here less than 24 hours and have already found our secret hole in the wall diner that we've visited twice. Maybe it's not such a secret hole in the wall, since there's always so many others eating there, but we think it's our little secret. It's fantastic and we're pretty sure the waitstaff loves us! I had a greek salad last night with the house wine and tzatziki, and a gyro today (thought of Kat and Cody while eating it). I'm not going to write anymore about the food because I only have 10 minutes online and I could use it all up on just that... I'm getting a little teary eyed right now because I'm so excited for my next meal from there.
Tomorrow we're planning to go into Corfu town, the capital of the island, and check out what it has to offer. Apparently Corfu has a pretty big night life, so we think maybe we'll teach them how Americans dance? Frightening thought. Also in our plans: possibly rent mopeds to check out the island (depending on price), swim in the sea, drink pina coladas by the pool, challenge people to a ping pong tournament (they have tables!), and Michael proposed kayaking to Albania. I'm thinking that last one may not happen. We'd also REALLY like to go to Athens but we're (maybe just me?) a little naive and thought it would take just an hour or two to get there so it'd be an easy day trip. Apparently it's more like a 8 or 10 hour trip. So we may head there on Saturday when our time here is up and then potentially go straight from Athens back to Venice. I really really hope we make it there for at least a day.
Oh yeah- the last few days in Santiago were wonderful. Thursday we went to the pilgrims mass at noon which was very calming, however all in Spanish. There is something pretty amazing about sitting in a mass service in a language you don't understand. I sat with my Spanish friend, Pablo, and he attempted to translate but it was pretty useful. It's tradition, if they receive enough donations the day before in mass, that they swing a huge ball full of incense between the aisles of the pews. Unfortunately, they didn't on Thursday. Rumor has it that they use to do this because of the stench of the pilgrims. I'm pretty sure that's why they still do it. We're not a good smelling group.
The rest of Thursday and Friday we spent enjoying the city and all our friends from the pilgrimmage. It was fun to just sit in the plaza on Thursday and watch pilgrims we've walked with previously stagger into the city, cheering to greet them. We went to an outdoor concert, ran into some people from Helena that Catie and Michael knew and that taught my cousins (DJ and David Michael) in elementary school, ate octopus which is famous to that region, and even got a free dinner at the 5 star hotel that serves 10 pilgrims dinner every night. And went shopping at the european REI equivalent.
Thanks to everyone reading and commenting on the blog.. I'm having such a blast and don't want this trip to be over but I do miss my family and friends and those that I'm use to talking to. So thanks :) Happy Fathers day to all the dads, uncles, grandpas reading this and to the best dad of all- my papa! Love you!
And of course.. buen camino
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
drum roll please...
WE MADE IT TO SANTIAGO!!
This morning was the longest 12.8 miles of my life. We left our government 120+ person albeurge this morning after a wonderful evening of wine, homemade shrimp pasta and many friends. Our understanding of the last day was that we would walk over a hill and be able to see part of the cathedral in the distance, our final destination. Not the case, but every little hill we climbed we were SURE santiago would be the next thing we saw. Made the morning really drag out :) We finally saw Santiago in the distance and it definitely was not what I thought.. was a loud, busy bustling city. We had to walk a couple of miles through the ¨new town¨of Santiago before we saw the cathedral peeking out behind the old building, 20 minutes later. We walked down a flight of stairs, said hola to all the pilgrims that are filtering into the city from the many different pilgrim routes they´ve all come in from, and under an archway. There was a man playing a bagpipe under the arch and it made the moment even more surreal. Suddenly, with no warning, we were in the middle of a plaza and the cathedral was part of what we just passed under. To our left stood a glorious cathedral that I swear reaches the sky. Took my breathe away a little bit. Catie, Michael and I got the infamous picture taken in front of it and then all of us just sat and stared at it, in awe that we finally reached what we have walked 200 miles (and 375 for Michael and Catie) to find. As we sat, the noon bells of the church rang out to begin today´s pilgrim mass service.
After getting our credentials saying we completed, we found a nice hotel to stay in for the next two days. This afternoon we explored Santiago and ran into so many wonderful friends that we have met along the way. Enjoyed a sangria while watching a tractor parade- I would love to explain this more but we´re really not sure what was going on... there were easily over 100 tractors going around and around a large park, honking and waving at the many onlookers. Weird. We treated ourselves to a fancy seafood dinner (our plan is to try the octopus that the area of Galicia is known for tomorrow) and are going to meet friends at a music festival and for a celebration drink later.
It was a wonderful day and the three of us are so thankful and mesmorized that we are actually in Santiago. Tomorrow we will go the pilgrims mass at noon where they will read our names as the pilgrims that made it safely yesterday and partake in all of the traditions. I don´t know that I´ve explained it before but St. James cathedral is where St. James, one of the apostles and is believed to either be the brother or cousin of Jesus, is buried. It´s a pretty amazing story. We are looking forward to the next few days of relaxation and celebration but it will sure be strange tomorrow to not put on our hiking boots.
Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers to get the 3 of us here safely the past few weeks. I´ll keep you updated as our journey across Europe continues- we´ll be in Greece in 4 days!!
Buen Camino
Monday, June 15, 2009
Santiago... here we come!!!!!
My feet felt GREAT today!! It would make sense that on day 11 with only 2 days left, I figured out the perfect sock/shoe/moleskin combination.
Today I woke up in a cozy little albeurge above a bar in a town called Palas de REI. We were sincerely hoping we´d walk into the town yesterday and see a huge REI store but alas, it didn´t happen. We did take a picture next to the REI sign with all of our backpacks and are pretty sure REI will want to use it for their catalog cover. It was our last long day today, 16 miles. We were going to push for an 18 mile day to cut a little off tomorrow but really liked the albeurge a couple kilometers short so decided to stay with friends here. Met some great people on the trail today; a man from Switzerland that has been on for 2 months but flew home after 1 month for his daughters jr. high school presentation, 2 grandparents from France who just retired and a man from Sweden who met the love of his life on the camino. He said romantic encounter.. I´ve decided love of his life sounds a lot more fun. Today was typically of the last few days for scenery. We did walk through our first eucalyptus forest which smelt FANTASTIC as it covered all of our smells. I think I´ve figured the mystery as to why I don´t smell very good- I think it´s a combination of walking 16 miles a day, the 90 degree weather, and the fact that I´m using laundry detergent to wash my hair and body. Weird that it took me so long.
Speaking of weather, today and yesterday were perfect. The previous few days were close to 90 and we broke into a horrible sweat, but the last two days have been warm with enough of a breeze to keep us cool. We really couldn´t ask for better country, company and weather.
The albeurge we´re in tonight use to be a hospital for pilgrims but now sleeps 80 or so. There´s a river right next to it that we soaked our feet in as soon as we arrived and then spent some time soaking in the glorious sun while writing in our journals. We know almost everyone staying in the albeurge so are looking forward to one of our last nights with our 100 closest friends, some good cheap wine and the beautiful spanish countryside. Tomorrow will be a nice 13 mile day, followed by a 12 mile day that will end in Santiago!!!! Can´t believe we made it this far. Heck, can´t believe I even made it at all.
Buen camino
Today I woke up in a cozy little albeurge above a bar in a town called Palas de REI. We were sincerely hoping we´d walk into the town yesterday and see a huge REI store but alas, it didn´t happen. We did take a picture next to the REI sign with all of our backpacks and are pretty sure REI will want to use it for their catalog cover. It was our last long day today, 16 miles. We were going to push for an 18 mile day to cut a little off tomorrow but really liked the albeurge a couple kilometers short so decided to stay with friends here. Met some great people on the trail today; a man from Switzerland that has been on for 2 months but flew home after 1 month for his daughters jr. high school presentation, 2 grandparents from France who just retired and a man from Sweden who met the love of his life on the camino. He said romantic encounter.. I´ve decided love of his life sounds a lot more fun. Today was typically of the last few days for scenery. We did walk through our first eucalyptus forest which smelt FANTASTIC as it covered all of our smells. I think I´ve figured the mystery as to why I don´t smell very good- I think it´s a combination of walking 16 miles a day, the 90 degree weather, and the fact that I´m using laundry detergent to wash my hair and body. Weird that it took me so long.
Speaking of weather, today and yesterday were perfect. The previous few days were close to 90 and we broke into a horrible sweat, but the last two days have been warm with enough of a breeze to keep us cool. We really couldn´t ask for better country, company and weather.
The albeurge we´re in tonight use to be a hospital for pilgrims but now sleeps 80 or so. There´s a river right next to it that we soaked our feet in as soon as we arrived and then spent some time soaking in the glorious sun while writing in our journals. We know almost everyone staying in the albeurge so are looking forward to one of our last nights with our 100 closest friends, some good cheap wine and the beautiful spanish countryside. Tomorrow will be a nice 13 mile day, followed by a 12 mile day that will end in Santiago!!!! Can´t believe we made it this far. Heck, can´t believe I even made it at all.
Buen camino
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