The Colosseum in Rome was always open so mothers would tell their children who left the door open "Do you think you live in the Collosseum?" In Venice they say "Were you born in a Gondola?"
"We have gypsys and pickpockets around, usually they are not Italian."
"Money does not smell" The Roman Emperor Vespasian reintroduced a urine tax on public toilets within Rome's now famous Cloaca Maxima (great sewer) system. When his son Titus criticized him, he supposedly pointed out that a coin did not smell, even though it came from urine.
In June Amelia and I went down to Hilton Head Island for a few days. My cousin Jimmie Lou from Texas and her daughter's family were vacationing there. My cousin had gotten us tickets to a cooking class at the Coastal Discovery Museum. Shirley Ann Robinson was the cook. She was raised on Daufuskie Island, near Hilton Head. When in elementary school, her teacher one year was Pat Conroy who wrote The Water is Wide about his experiences there. She taught us how to make smothered shrimp and grits with bread pudding for desert...wonderful food and entertaining teacher.
The second day we went out on a 42' sail boat. Dick, the skipper was a member of the Power Squadron, my cousin was the National Commander of the Sea Scouts a few years back and mutual friends set it up for Dick to take us out on his boat. We had a nice trip out to Daufuskie Island but there wasn't any wind for the sails. We anchored and had lunch, Jimmie Lou had made a old family recipe, Mexican Salad that really tasted good on the boat. Nice day out on the water.
LEARN to cross the street in Naples, Italy, so it will never ever get any harder to do.It takes guts to practice the “step out in front of the cars and they will stop for you” system.Our guide in Rome said it was best to “never make eye contact with the drivers” as they would know they could bluff you into stopping.Best ideas -- find an Italian to cross with because they know how to do it … or step in front of scooters.They can dodge you better.
DO-- Take a paid tour of Sistine Chapel & Vatican and of Michelangelo’s David in Florence.In fact, don’t go to Italy if you can’t see David in Florence.It’s that great.And to both of these the lines are hours long so the early paid tour is by far the best way to do it.Lines are unreal also at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence but you can call on a Skype phone and make reservations there (and only pay for it if you get there!).
-- Go to VeniceNOW before all the locals leave.Insist on staying on the island.DO NOT settle for staying in Mestre and touring into the city.The evening walks through alleys and winding streets is the best of Italy.DO ride the “vaparetto” (water bus) with the locals … a 24 hours pass will get you everywhere, including nearby islands.
-- Wander up a side street and stop in a local deli.Buy cheese and meat for a picnic.A fun pantomime with non-English speaking, friendly Italians will give you a 5E lunch and a 25E memory plus a photo.
-- Try public transportation – buses in Rome (buy tickets at Tobacco Stores and search for a bus stop.Get the bus going the wrong way and go the whole loop … you’ll see something new at any rate.)
-- Stop at the Autogrill – an upscale truck stop.Good food … especially the risotto!!!
DO NOT -- Buy all those other tours.You can easily do the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, etc. on your own in Rome.You can do Venice, Pompeii, and the Uffizi in Florence with a little courage.
-- Get upset when Italians ignore your line or don’t get to you when you think they should.There is a word for people like that and it is “Italian”.It’s their country; don’t expect them to be “Americans.”
-- Buy into the idea that everyone is a “pickpocket”.Be reasonably cautious – “day wallet” with only basic moneys and ID, big money in money belt or in your right shoe (my favorite place / pry up the inner sole and stick in a couple of big bills).Watch out for one anther.
-- Wait.Tourism is down by 40% or more in Italy which means smaller crowds.
IPOD – Great for travel.Download an audio book or two for the plane, and Italian lessons to make you think you will be able to speak Italian, and travel guides.We had 2 or more pod casts on every town and wonderful guided tours of Uffizi and of Venice by Rick Steves.Free downloads and lots of information.
Insights – Naples is the dirtiest city I’ve ever been in (and that includes all of Central America.)The museum is filled with great things but poorly captioned.Probably a better stay would have been Sorrento and train back up to Pompeii on the “Circumvesuviana” train.
In February we took a trip to NYC to see our new granddaughter, Zemi. During that time we also took a trip to Montreal and Quebec. We left out of Penn Station on Amtrak and took the 11 hour trip to Montreal. Ride on the left side going North to Albany to see the Hudson River, then on the right side to see Lake Placid. We only spent one day in Montreal, walking around to see some of the buildings in the old city and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Then a three hour train trip to Quebec.
In Quebec they were having the Winter Carnival, with ice castles, snow sculptures and other activities. We stayed in a B&B in the old city, near the Carnival sites. After a day and half in Quebec, we returned to Montreal for a night, then back to NYC on the train (a long ride since the scenery was not new.) If you do the train ride, be sure to take food since they only have pre-made sandwiches in the cafe car. In Albany, there is a 20 minute brake but not a whole lot of food in that station either.
Go to the link on the left side of the page for pictures.
We had a great trip to Scandinavia and I will try to expand this later. The picture is at the Russian/Norwegian border near the town of Kirkenes, above the Arctic Circle.
Vicky took a group of us to the Pico Bonito National Forest for a hike. We drove out of La Ceiba, past the airport. We were just going down the road when she stopped and turned into a pineapple field. Then I looked and saw a beat up sign, barely readable. After about a mile we came to a forested area and a gate. We paid $6 US (evidently it is sometimes $8) and drove to a parking area with picnic tables and toilets.
Following the trail, we started uphill through the rain forest. Vines hung down from trees and flowers bloomed here and there. Mostly it was ferns and other tropical species growing between large trees. There were signs every once in a while with information about the plants and animals. The sign about the snakes indicated that if you go past the sign you would be in an area of snakes, some venomous. We wondered how the snakes knew to stay behind the sign? After an hour or so of uphill we arrived at a waterfall and pools. Some of up dipped in the pool but only Lana jumped off of the rock.
After a while we started downhill. Near the bottom we met a group of middle aged people who asked how far up it was...we said they were about a quarter of the way up. Then they asked if it was better than the waterfall at the bottom...we said we hadn't seen the waterfall at the bottom. A few minutes later we came out at the picnic area and Vicky had the best spread laid out and we were making peanut butter sandwiches.
Then she took us to the waterfall at the bottom! After a hike of 200 meters we came to a beautiful pool, at the end of which was a nice waterfall flowing down in a round vestibule. If we had known it was there, we wouldn't have hiked up!
Monday Amelia and I head out to Honduras. We are watching Tropical Storm Fay. It is scheduled to arrive in Miami about the same time we are. Our flight goes to El Salvador, right trough the path of the storm. So we will see what happens then.
The picture on the right is of a house in a village near our friends, Allen and Vicky. They are helping the village re-locate and build better houses. It will be closer to schools so the children can walk in a reasonable amount of time.
