First Few Days In Dublin November 12, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Dublin , 2comments
- Image by chris181m via Flickr
The last leg of our six month journey is nine days in Ireland. In Dublin, where we are staying, we have met with my mother, Alice, and her friend, Cindi, for what resembles more of a vacation with tours scheduled in advance and the purchasing of trinkets. Its really nice to see familiar faces in the flesh.
We have been treated to tours of the city, including a Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour of Dublin (I recommend this for the first official day in any city since it allows you to get a feel for the area). Then there were other tours that went into the history of the people who inhabited this area. Mostly Vikings, although there have been many others over the centuries.
Today we went on a tour that brought us into a crypt beneath a church where we saw Mummies (Apparently the right combination of dryness, cool temperature, and Methane really preserves a corpse). They even let us touch one of the Mummified corpses, saying that if one shakes hands with the mummified bodies, then it brings good luck (Then again they say that about Blarney Stone and the stone is used every where around here).
Bath’s Music Festival May 28, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath , 1 comment so farThis evening was quite amazing. We went into town for the annual music festival. It was apparently much larger but they have toned it down over the years. It was still great to see and be apart of.
There was a stage set up in the park situated between the river and the Abby. There was a guy playing his guitar when we first arrived. he was very talented but wasn’t that entertaining as a performer. Then a band of Indians started to set up and we weren’t that hopeful. But we were wrong! They were excellent performers that interacted with the crowd and made music that makes you want to dance.
They instructed the crowd in the beginning dance steps to Indian music (such as “changing the light bulb” or “brushing away the clouds”). It was so catchy that there were elderly people were up there “starting the scooter”.
When they finished playing the fireworks began and so we headed up to the Abby. The fireworks display was beautiful! It was very short (only ten minutes) but it was a good end to the evening.
Saturday In Bath May 22, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Bath , add a commentSo today was a lovely sunny day in Bath (and pretty hot) and we spent most of it in the city. We took a tour of the Roman Baths that are in the heart of the town and people watched for most of the early afternoon. Afterward we went to a garden party.
While in Bath it is interestinig to think that the city looks pretty and very old, but we were informed that the city was bombed in WWII and so only half of the old city remains. Bloomfield, the B&B we’re staying in, was not hit directly, but all of the windows facing towards the town were blown out. However, the city has made a great recovery since through its tourist industry (four million tourists a year). The houses in the old part of town are extremely expensive and there is the Royal Crescent which is possibly the most upscale you could get in Bath (an attic apartment costs around 600,000 Pounds). Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp both own houses around Bath.
I have been to the Roman Baths before but Chris had not, so we took an audio guided tour. It was amazing (even seeing it a second time)! However the audio guide was a bit lacking from what I remember the commentary being a couple of years back. A great example is the origins of the wishing well which came from the men throwing coins into the pool to watch the young boy swim after them as a form of entertainment (this has been changed to an offering to the gods).
This Roman Bath is situated on the only natural hot spring in the UK and it became not only a place for recreation but also a temple for Minerva. Many people came to the Bath for healing or,for military personnel, to ask for victory (Minerva is well known for being fond of battle). It was all very interesting and they have made tons of progress in the way of excavating artifacts from the bottom of the main Bath (people were notorious for throwing curses etched in a soft metal or “gifts” to the gods into the waters). Before the Romans, there were the indigenous people who didn’t live near the hot spring but the archeologists have found arrowheads and other small tools in and around the area of the hot spring.
After we found a nice coffee shoppe near the Baths and sipped at tea while people watching. It was hilarious! Some of the people looked as though their three year old dressed them and a hand full of others were in costumes! The people in costumes were looking for donations, so would make sense that they were trying to be eye catching. There were cow costumes, The Mario brothers, Bumble Bees, and many more.
Our host, Rob, has told us about a town near here that would be perfect for an afternoon of people watching. The people who inhabit it are apparently quite daft in the way of dressing. He said that they wear very Harry Potter-esque clothing (with the pointy hats and what not). That should be an interesting thing to see.
The garden party was lovely and primarily a social gathering (it was like a private picnic with only deserts). Our hosts for the evening were nice people. The man originally came from Holland and has the same interest in computers as Chris (they Geek-ed it up a bit talking about the conference Chris was just at in London) and his flatmate, a lovely young lady who is about to finish her degree in language studies.
Our hosts have given us the weekend off to explore and relax (also because Bloomfield becomes completely booked every weekend and so they don’t think they can get much of anything done while taking care of the guests). So, for tomorrow we have no plans yet but we’re thinking about visiting Stonehenge or perhaps one of the other rich and beautiful towns near here.
Looking to London May 14, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Normandy , 1 comment so farSo sorry for not posting in a while, we’ve been very busy between digging the pond and being social. The neighbors, Jeff and Lin, are currently hosting their first work away (he’s from Australia and this is his first work away job), so they have been coming over for tea or dinner. A nice lady from London, Alice, has joined us in our digging and it is her first work away experience also. So, needless to say there are a lot of laughs and stories of travel.
We’ve been experiencing new things with our hosts. They’ve introduced us to Jeeves And Wooster which is a comical show about a rich clumsy man(Hue Lorey) and his genius butler, Jeeves, who always has to fix the social problems that sprout up whenever Wooster is around (if you like Keeping Up Appearances, then you’ll love it). It’s hysterical! Then, there is a game called Tri-ominoes that we have been playing with Bob and Cory. It’s basically three sided dominoes which makes it a bit trickier. It’s a lot of fun though.
After a week’s work on the pond, we’ve finished digging and put the dam in place. We’ve had a lot of laughs in the pond (either get irritated at the amount of mud you get splashed with or you find some humor in the situation). This morning a duck came to inspect our work; it swam around a bit and left. I hope it tells its friends.
There were other animals we have seen while here, such as the Nutria. Also the dairy cows that make famous Normandy cheese (the main culprit of the pond filling with debris). I’ve been keeping my eye out for the cold-footed chicken and the sleeping sheep combination (let’s face it, they were made for each other), but it is just not happening for me.
We’re leaving on Sunday for London via the ferry and then a bus. The trip in total will be about seven hours and it costs around 100 pounds. Compared to the train (400 pounds), it is a good deal.
I can genuinely say I’m going to miss this place. Friendly people, beautiful scenery, and great food. We’ve been given two jars of Cory’s home made Chili Jam (think Chutney and we love it!), two bottles of pure Lavender oil, an oil burner, and a sachet of Lavender as parting gifts which we are mailing home. Somehow I get the feeling we’ve been spoiled which makes me sad for the next people we work for. I just can’t imagine how the next place could top this one, but we’ll see.
P.S. Happy belated Mother’s Day! And happy birthday to my mother. I hope it’s a good one!
Mount Vesuvius April 19, 2010
Posted by Chris in : Naples, Travel Tips , add a commentTo go up Vesuvius, you have to take a bus most of the way up and then hike to the summit. The cheapest way to get the bus is to go to the Ercolano stop where the bus tickets are the cheapest, in addition to the train tickets being fairly cheap. Be wary though because there is a tour that charges extra for a tour guide. It’s a volcano, do you really need a tour guide?
The bus ride up gives you great views over the Bay of Naples in addition to the towns of Pompei and Ercolano. About 4km from the bus stop at the top of the volcano, we stopped at a shop run by a man who has been living and working on Vesuvius for over 40 years, saw the last eruption in 1944 at age 16, and gave us a nice history of the volcano highlighted by pictures out of a book about Vesuvius.
The top of Mount Vesuvius is a National Park that you have to pay 4.50 to 6.50 Euros a person to climb to the top, depending on age and whether or not you are a student.
We paid to exert ourselves and climb to the top and it was worth it. The hike afforded us great views some of the time, odd visions while walking in clouds, and finally, stunning views into the volcano itself.
Along the way, there are several small shops where you can buy nifty figures and souvenirs from the mountain made of shiny volcanic rock and such. There are Roman statues, fairies, and even just plain shiny rocks!
At the top is a shop where you can grab a coffee while admiring the views around and over the mountain and if it’s cloudy when you get to the top, just wait a few minutes, the clouds have a tendency to be only temporary things, passing by and giving you an absolutely stunning view down the volcano.
While taking the climb, Tiff and I got engrossed in looking for shiny rocks of our own so that we wouldn’t have to pay for a rock, shiny or not, deciding that it would be more fun to find our own anyway. What we discovered by the end of our trek up and down the volcano was that there are more shiny rocks at the beginning of the path than at any other point on the climb; however, there were a lot of nifty, shiny, and colorful rocks on the path, just not as many as were at the bottom.
One thing to remember before deciding to climb Vesuvius is to bring a jacket even if it feels nice and warm at sea level; it can be several degrees cooler at the top and is often very windy, there are even signs posted around the entrance to the Park.
While looking into the volcano, we noticed that apparently there are steam vents in the sides of the volcano because there would be steam constantly moving up from the walls of the volcano and joining the clouds, even when there weren’t any clouds anywhere near the volcano!
Vesuvius is definitely something you can’t miss on a trip through southern Italy!
Pompei Ruins April 16, 2010
Posted by Chris in : Naples , add a commentToday, we took a train from Napoli to see the ruins of Pompei; the ruins were very well preserved when Mount Vesuvius exploded in 74 CE which coated everything in the city in ash before sealing everything with a blast of super-hot air coming off the mountain.
Because of the quick preservation, there are a ton of frescoes still visible in the city, spread out through the walls between the buildings, inside the buildings, and even on the ground in some cases! Also clearly visible in Pompei are the Romanesque ruins with columns, a bath house, and amphitheaters scattered throughout.
The city seemed to be designed with carts and pedestrians sharing the roads because there are sidewalks on both sides and wagon ruts can be clearly seen in the streets. Whoever built the streets in Pompei must have been brilliant; the streets were about 12-18 inches above the road and there were stepping stones on the street at the ‘crosswalks’ that were nearly the same height as the sidewalk, allowing us to walk through the city without jumping on and off the sidewalks!
We got lucky with our timing this week as it’s apparently Culture Week which meant that all of the museums in the area (maybe Italy), are free! We still had to get a ticket but we asked for it and they gave us a ticket admitting two people with a price of zero Euros.
Best Of Tuscany Tour April 12, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Florence, Italy , add a commentThe tour started at 8:30 this morning when we boarded the bus and headed to Siena. A native of Siena, our guide, took us through the city; giving us insight into how the inhabitants live both now and in the past. It was very interesting! The city is divided into 17 neighborhoods that compete against each other twice a year in a horse race in the main square (Campo). The only rule is that a rider cannot mess with an opponent’s reigns, so there is a lot of foul play among the different neighborhoods. The winning neighborhood celebrates by drinking, obviously, and putting pacifiers in their mouths to symbolize that a new champion is born (and to put shame in the loosers).
The next stop was a Chianti wine farm that is situated on top of a tall hill in the country. The view was amazing! Rows and rows of Olive trees, Grape vines, and Saffron covered the valley. Also, we could see our next stop, San Gimignano, from there. At the farm we ate lunch of traditional pasta
Ragu, salad, sheep cheese, and bread with Olive oil. About 95% of what we ate came from the farm we were on. We even met the Chianina cows!
So then we got back on the bus and headed for stop number three. San Gimignano is also situated on a hill top and is famous for it’s towers and it is also home of “the best Gelato”. There were once around 70 towers, but now ther
e are a lot less. It was a strange sight to see since the towers look like modern-day sky scrapers. San Gimignano is very small, so it was easy to navigate (20 minutes or less from one side to the other) and the city still has it’s old city walls in tact so it’s not easy to accidentally leave the city. We got there and immediately went to the Gelato shop. There were strange flavors (such as Saffron with cinnamon), interesting flavors , and tasty sounding flavors all ready to be eaten. We tried the Passion Fruit, Mango, and Strawberry.
The next stop was Pisa. We were a wee bit peckish by then, so we grabbed Mc.Donald’s and had a little picnic in front of the Duomo (Nothing says 
Americans in Italy better than a McRoyal at a large tourist destination). The guide said that the marble facade of the buildings came from many different places and we saw that because random bricks that had Celtic knots or Latin written on them, and the pieces were all different colors.
P.S. Our “cat rental” came in through the window yesterday after about two hours of meowing it’s head off on the neighbor’s roof. It was shocking and hilarious.
A Stunning View Of Geneva April 5, 2010
Posted by tiffany in : Geneva , add a commentSo, for our official full day in Geneva we walked across the border to France and took a lift up a small mountain, since apparently the Monday after Easter is a holiday in Switzerland and everything is just as closed as the day before.
It was lovely, there was some snow in the shade(I kind of wished I had worn my long under wear), the sun was beaming, and there were no low clouds to intrude in our time at the park. We hiked around and walked a little ways in a subdivision on the mountain. There were some fantastic views up there of the Alps. When we were done hiking we watched the Paragliders take off. We joked that we left Switzerland, to go to France, to look across Switzerland, to look at France (Geneva is in a valley while the mountains on either side belong to France). I suppose you could also say that the best view of Geneva is in France!
So then we started to get a little bored on the walk back and decided to go snow “bowling” which was basically competitive snow chunk rolling (like you would roll a bowling ball). It was incredibly entertainin
g and we accidentally spooked five kittens that were sun bathing.
P.S. Happy Easter!
Camera Obscura March 15, 2010
Posted by Chris in : Edinburgh , add a commentToday we took a day trip to Edinburgh to visit the Camera Obscura. We had a great time in the galleries and taking a different kind of tour of Edinburgh in the top floor of the building.
The Camera Obscure is located just down the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle and across the street from The Scotland Whiskey Experience.
The show consisted of a tour of Edinburgh, having some laughs with the hostess, and learning how camera obscura works. We were very fortunate that today was not very rainy since the show is apparently fairly lame if the weather’s bad (the mirror fogs up or low visibility due to precipitation). That was not the case for us and it was amazing!
The Camera Obscura is one of several around the world, they are each large pin-hole cameras that project an image in a manner similar to an old film-style camera.
The tour feels like a cross between seeing the city from a low flying plane and being an omnipotent being. We got to see all the major sights in the city plus (since it was a clear day out) we saw islands and the hills outside of the city! And since it’s a real image that’s constantly changing, we got to see the people moving around the city. This is truly people watching in style! We pretend to pick people up off the street with a piece of paper, give them a shake, and put them back (those poor pedestrians, if they only knew).
The galleries are three floors of purely interactive exhibits.
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The first floor of exhibits consisted of all sorts of demonstrations of light play, from holograms to pin-hole photography. 
One of the most visually stunning parts of this floor was the room of lights- a room with a transparent wall blocking a lot of lights, causing the light points to move outward to infinity. Another fantastic aspect of this floor was the stairway to Australia!
The second contained varied optical illusions: everything from Escher prints to ways to visually exchange facial components/faces.
The third floor of exhibits had many fun gadgets and devices including a gigantic lightning ball and other fun toys! There was a crackle ball and a flat lightning ball like thing that responded to noise.
The exhibits mentioned above were fantastic but are merely a way for you to pass your time until your show on the top floor is ready to begin, the camera obscura.
Click to learn more about Camera Obscura.
Camera Obscura gave us free admission to write this review.
