May 9-17; Hungary (Budapest, Esztergom, Visegrad, Danube, Pecs)
fly...
May 17-22; Turkey (Istanbul, Bosphorus Strait, Uskadar)
fly...
May 22-25; Turkey (Selcuk, Ephesus, Selince, Kusadasi)
ferry...
May 25-26; Greece (Islands...Samos, Naxos)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Short greetings from Naxos...
Just a short update on where we've been since the beginning of May. Hungary and especially Turkey really engulfed us (in a good way) and we've got lots to share, including pictures and stories. For now, here's where we were and now are.
May 9-17; Hungary (Budapest, Esztergom, Visegrad, Danube, Pecs)
fly...
May 17-22; Turkey (Istanbul, Bosphorus Strait, Uskadar)
fly...
May 22-25; Turkey (Selcuk, Ephesus, Selince, Kusadasi)
ferry...
May 25-26; Greece (Islands...Samos, Naxos)
May 9-17; Hungary (Budapest, Esztergom, Visegrad, Danube, Pecs)
fly...
May 17-22; Turkey (Istanbul, Bosphorus Strait, Uskadar)
fly...
May 22-25; Turkey (Selcuk, Ephesus, Selince, Kusadasi)
ferry...
May 25-26; Greece (Islands...Samos, Naxos)
Sunday, May 13, 2007
10 May, 2007. Zagreb Center.
Breakfast. Sunny and 10:20am. It’s gonna be a scorcher but right now it’s shady and cool. I just polished off a chocko-croissant and have to note the ratio of chocolate filling is at least double, maybe triple that of chocolate croissants in America. This was also true yesterday morning in Piran, Slovenia, as it poured out of my warmed croissant and onto the plate. Yummm.
Back tracking…
On the 6th we drove from our fairytale castle stay in Sepulje, Slovenia south through the amazing wine region until we decided to hang a right turn into….ITALY! A painless border crossing with passports flashed and we were on our way to Trieste which sadly was a hideous let down from what we could see; a huge industrial port town with pumping smoke stacks, scary freeways built into the side of the mountains before they ultimately descend down to the crammed and viewless waterfront, a sea of city signs in Italian and Slovenian pointing in every which direction. We headed for Muggia and then Koper in Slovenia, with only a few mis-steps. On this gloriously sunny day, the silly Italians packed the coastal “beaches” which were literally cement walls and cement walkways on the other side of the only road the gripped the coast. It was a laughable and almost disturbing that these tanned bodies crammed in here like pigeons scrounging at a garbage heap in such an undesirable location as this. We literally breathed a collective sigh of relief when crossing back into Slovenia and headed towards Koper (Slovenia’s small but serviceable port on their paltry coast) and on to Piran – the coastal jewel of Slovenia.
But that’s another story. Back to Zagreb.
When we arrived in Zagreb, Croatia by train on the 7th, we had no place to stay but as has been our experience, generally we can find a decent place after one to two hours of door to door shopping at hotels, pensions, guest houses, apartments, treehouses, backseats of cars, etc. We’re pros now and even pre-pack little high-energy snacks in our backpacks in the event that during the scramble our blood sugar dips dangerously low and we make a rash decision. A candy bar or a hunk of cheese in these moments can easily mean the difference between settling for a $120 hotel right in front of you vs. a cute guesthouse at the top of a nearby hill for $45.
Our Lonely Planet Europe book has every single European country listed and weighing in at forty five pounds still has managed to earn its keep in my backpack. But a capital city like Zagreb is lucky to have three pages devoted to it. Luckily one tourist agent called EVISTAS was listed, and being just ten minutes from the train station on foot, it was our first stop once we arrived. As we walked there we noticed right away that Zagreb isn’t as pristine as Ljubljana and many of the cool, older buildings are clearly dilapidated with flaking paint, darkened entries, and some looking as if a carefully placed sneeze might bring them down.
We entered EVISTAS and were kindly greeted by a bearded man in his 40’s named Davor. After explaining our needs he sent us off down the street to view an apartment on the ground floor*. This place, while tidy enough, was a mildewy, dank mess with dark paint and painfully un-fengshui’d bed set up that truly creeped me out. You know those times when you walk into a room at a hotel and you feel like someone or something awful happened here? You get the picture.
We left in a hurry and back-tracked to EVISTAS. Molly chatted with Davor and we asked respectfully for something better. M charmed him a little to improve our odds, and he located another unit through switching another reservation and proceeded to start another drawing with verbal directions…which I will detail below in all their splendor.
Davor: Go down the street to the right and pass the ‘new’ doors to the next building with old doors. Use the ‘green’ key and go straight passed the mailboxes and then out through the courtyard (he then scribble doodled a few tree shapes for effect), then up some stairs and into the next building, and up to the second floor** where you look at two doors across from each other.
Molly and David: Yeah, yeah, we got you.
Davor: One door has someone’s name on it. That’s not yours.
David: (looking at M with the ‘why is he telling us about the apartment that is not ours’ look)
Davor: The unmarked one across the way is yours. Use the ‘yellow’ key here, but….it’s a new door painted to look like an old door…
David: (looking again at M with the ‘why is he telling us about the new old door’ look)
Davor: …and the lock is a bit off, so what you’ll need to do is turn the key a half turn to the left, then jiggle the handle before turning the key the remainder of the way.
Molly and David: Um, okay, so that’s…
Davor: Once inside you’ll see another door in front of you. That’s not yours.
David: (thinks to self – a little less of the information we DON’T need might help here)
Davor: There will be another door to the right and that is yours.
David: (thinks to self – yes! That is what I like to hear. The directions I NEED to remember!)
Davor: Take the ‘blue’ key and use it to enter a very small apartment.
M and I looked at each other and thought the same thing. If we find this place we outta get a reward; a pot of gold or something. We asked Davor if there would be a leprechaun awaiting us inside on this treasure hunt. He laughed and laughed and said that there would perhaps be some brandy awaiting us. So M and I left in search of the magical apartment and unbelievably found it on the first try. It was great for us – and cheap. We returned to pay Davor and collect our reward jokingly. He turned out to be serious and without hesitation went into the back room and came out with 3 small glasses and an unmarked bottle with some mysterious clear liquid inside. We asked what it was but he poured first and said ‘you must try.’ As the full shot singed our throats, he explained it was grape brandy made by a friend. It was lethal stuff, and M was gasping for a bit of time. But it was a great lead in to another 30 minutes or so that we stayed to speak with him about Croatia and recent history since the early 90’s when everything turned upside down. It was a wonderfully memorable time and we thanked him as we headed out with treasure map in nad, back to our cheap two night apartment in the heart of Zagreb.
*In Europe, the ‘first’ floor is what Americans call the second floor. Of course this makes complete sense really, but being an American, I am hopelessly confused each time we check into a place and there’s that moment of counting on my fingers as I hesitantly take the key handed to me at reception.
**Remember to do the Europe to America floor conversion, this is the third floor!
Back tracking…
On the 6th we drove from our fairytale castle stay in Sepulje, Slovenia south through the amazing wine region until we decided to hang a right turn into….ITALY! A painless border crossing with passports flashed and we were on our way to Trieste which sadly was a hideous let down from what we could see; a huge industrial port town with pumping smoke stacks, scary freeways built into the side of the mountains before they ultimately descend down to the crammed and viewless waterfront, a sea of city signs in Italian and Slovenian pointing in every which direction. We headed for Muggia and then Koper in Slovenia, with only a few mis-steps. On this gloriously sunny day, the silly Italians packed the coastal “beaches” which were literally cement walls and cement walkways on the other side of the only road the gripped the coast. It was a laughable and almost disturbing that these tanned bodies crammed in here like pigeons scrounging at a garbage heap in such an undesirable location as this. We literally breathed a collective sigh of relief when crossing back into Slovenia and headed towards Koper (Slovenia’s small but serviceable port on their paltry coast) and on to Piran – the coastal jewel of Slovenia.
But that’s another story. Back to Zagreb.
When we arrived in Zagreb, Croatia by train on the 7th, we had no place to stay but as has been our experience, generally we can find a decent place after one to two hours of door to door shopping at hotels, pensions, guest houses, apartments, treehouses, backseats of cars, etc. We’re pros now and even pre-pack little high-energy snacks in our backpacks in the event that during the scramble our blood sugar dips dangerously low and we make a rash decision. A candy bar or a hunk of cheese in these moments can easily mean the difference between settling for a $120 hotel right in front of you vs. a cute guesthouse at the top of a nearby hill for $45.
Our Lonely Planet Europe book has every single European country listed and weighing in at forty five pounds still has managed to earn its keep in my backpack. But a capital city like Zagreb is lucky to have three pages devoted to it. Luckily one tourist agent called EVISTAS was listed, and being just ten minutes from the train station on foot, it was our first stop once we arrived. As we walked there we noticed right away that Zagreb isn’t as pristine as Ljubljana and many of the cool, older buildings are clearly dilapidated with flaking paint, darkened entries, and some looking as if a carefully placed sneeze might bring them down.
We entered EVISTAS and were kindly greeted by a bearded man in his 40’s named Davor. After explaining our needs he sent us off down the street to view an apartment on the ground floor*. This place, while tidy enough, was a mildewy, dank mess with dark paint and painfully un-fengshui’d bed set up that truly creeped me out. You know those times when you walk into a room at a hotel and you feel like someone or something awful happened here? You get the picture.
We left in a hurry and back-tracked to EVISTAS. Molly chatted with Davor and we asked respectfully for something better. M charmed him a little to improve our odds, and he located another unit through switching another reservation and proceeded to start another drawing with verbal directions…which I will detail below in all their splendor.
Davor: Go down the street to the right and pass the ‘new’ doors to the next building with old doors. Use the ‘green’ key and go straight passed the mailboxes and then out through the courtyard (he then scribble doodled a few tree shapes for effect), then up some stairs and into the next building, and up to the second floor** where you look at two doors across from each other.
Molly and David: Yeah, yeah, we got you.
Davor: One door has someone’s name on it. That’s not yours.
David: (looking at M with the ‘why is he telling us about the apartment that is not ours’ look)
Davor: The unmarked one across the way is yours. Use the ‘yellow’ key here, but….it’s a new door painted to look like an old door…
David: (looking again at M with the ‘why is he telling us about the new old door’ look)
Davor: …and the lock is a bit off, so what you’ll need to do is turn the key a half turn to the left, then jiggle the handle before turning the key the remainder of the way.
Molly and David: Um, okay, so that’s…
Davor: Once inside you’ll see another door in front of you. That’s not yours.
David: (thinks to self – a little less of the information we DON’T need might help here)
Davor: There will be another door to the right and that is yours.
David: (thinks to self – yes! That is what I like to hear. The directions I NEED to remember!)
Davor: Take the ‘blue’ key and use it to enter a very small apartment.
M and I looked at each other and thought the same thing. If we find this place we outta get a reward; a pot of gold or something. We asked Davor if there would be a leprechaun awaiting us inside on this treasure hunt. He laughed and laughed and said that there would perhaps be some brandy awaiting us. So M and I left in search of the magical apartment and unbelievably found it on the first try. It was great for us – and cheap. We returned to pay Davor and collect our reward jokingly. He turned out to be serious and without hesitation went into the back room and came out with 3 small glasses and an unmarked bottle with some mysterious clear liquid inside. We asked what it was but he poured first and said ‘you must try.’ As the full shot singed our throats, he explained it was grape brandy made by a friend. It was lethal stuff, and M was gasping for a bit of time. But it was a great lead in to another 30 minutes or so that we stayed to speak with him about Croatia and recent history since the early 90’s when everything turned upside down. It was a wonderfully memorable time and we thanked him as we headed out with treasure map in nad, back to our cheap two night apartment in the heart of Zagreb.
*In Europe, the ‘first’ floor is what Americans call the second floor. Of course this makes complete sense really, but being an American, I am hopelessly confused each time we check into a place and there’s that moment of counting on my fingers as I hesitantly take the key handed to me at reception.
**Remember to do the Europe to America floor conversion, this is the third floor!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Short And Sweet
Updated Tonite:Links to pictures (see right side) for Morocco, Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovenia. Check 'em out if you have a sec.
Time flew tonite so here's a quick list of where we've been the last month. We are off to Budapest tomorrow early and staying there and in Hungary for about a week in all likelihood. Hopefully more internet time soon. We're doing great and having an amazing time exploring, talking with locals and getting a better understanding of the conflicts and recent (relatively) creation of Slovenia, Croatia, etc, and the tensions that still exist, as well as how joining the European Union is positively and negatively impacting the countries.
April 03-17; Morocco (Marrakech, Essaouira, Rabat, Fes, Casablanca)
fly...
April 17-19; Spain (Barcelona)
fly...
April 19-22; Germany (Berlin)
train...
April 22-27; Czech Republic (Prague, Ceske Budejovice, Cesky Krumlov)
train...
April 27-29; Austria (Graz)
train...
April 29-May 07; Slovenia (Ljubljana, Bled, Sepulje, Postoroz, Piran)
train...
May 07-09; Croatia (Zagreb)
Thursday, April 12, 2007
England-Scotland; 21 March - 03 April
I am finally writing from a small internet café in the ‘new town’ in Fes Morocco. Today it’s dreary and actually pretty cold so it’s a perfect time to catch up! This is also the first post to the blog thanks to a hectic schedule of sightseeing in London, followed by a more relaxed time in Scotland, but poor internet cafés that couldn’t load Blogger, and then back into pretty full day-to-day experiences in Morocco.
London – 21-24 March
We landed in London after what amazingly enough felt like a short flight from San Francisco that included flying over northern Canada, the tip of Greenland, then just south of Iceland, before coming down between Scotland and Ireland as the sun rose. Touching down at 6am local time, the temperature was unfortunately frigid – literally!
We spent 3 nights in London and a good amount of time on buses and the tube to the most central and popular spots in London, which run along the river Thames that cuts the city in half running east to west, or maybe west to east, but you get the idea. The best sites are north of the river with south London supposedly more rough and tumble and residential.
London is now officially the most expensive European city and it definitely felt that way. $6 beers, $9 cheeseburgers, $30 to see the Tower of London. Luckily the great museums are all free, and we hit many of them – the best for us being the National Gallery which has entire rooms filled with Rembrandts, Rubens, Rafaels, a couple of Vermeers, and my favorites from the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck.
Our favorite thing to do was catch a double decker bus and sit upstairs in front and sight-see that way. The main reason was to keep warm but it also granted a great perspective on buildings, people, etc.
Highlight: Dazed and confused on our first night from 11 hours of travel and 28 hours without sleep, we crashed almost literally at a local pub in the trendy Carnaby Street area sitting outside in the bracing cold (the smoking laws in public places don’t go into effect until July and pubs are currently just a dense airless fog of smoke). Two older guys from Essex were sitting next to us and we struck up conversation. To toast our first day of the year’s travels, they bought us beers and a shot of whiskey (to warm us up to Scotland where we would be heading next). It was a wonderful gesture and a great way to inaugurate our travels. It also helped our wallets out!
Codicote (outside of London) 24-26 March
We spent two nights visiting an old friend of M’s and her husband and son. It was a nice break from the big city. Nikki and Andy and their son Archie were very generous with their time as we sucked up their entire weekend visiting St. Albans, ordering take away (take out) Bangladeshy-Indian food, etc.
Highlight: Going to a local ‘pints and poems’ event in this little town. The evening featured locals (mostly would-be actors and dramatic types in their 40’s and up) reciting some of their favorite poems and also some songs with acoustic guitar including one of my fave’s “Wild Mountain Thyme” that features a great Scottish melody ‘will ye go lassie go’.
Edinburgh, Scotland 26-30 March
This city is absolutely stunning even when dreary and overcast. The centerpiece of the town is Edinburgh Castle that sits on an extinct volcano and is visible from nearly all parts of town. Luckily M and I found a reasonable hotel that was in the ‘old town/west end’ and literally we could walk out the door and down the street and boom – there it was!
We stayed a bit longer than planned due to a cheaper airfare to our next destination of Morocco – but it worked out great. Each day we’d pile on all of our warm clothes and trek around the old town and the ‘Royal Mile’, gazing at ancient buildings as if looking back to the 17th century. The Scots here are incredibly friendly and we found that even the convenience store attendants went out of their way to comment on the weather or just say hi. We did a ton of walking as usual for us and rarely took a bus. Venturing out to Leith one night we hit the “local-est” looking pub we could find and walked in for a pint. On cue, everyone stopped drinking and gazed towards us, and if I am not mistaken the dart just released by an older gentlemen froze in mid-air. After a good five seconds of uncomfortable silence, life in the pub resumed and we walked up to buy a pint. From there, we sat and spoke with a few of the regulars including the older dart-throwing gent. It was hilarious as we could really only understand about 60% of what they said and more often than not just smiled and laughed when they would finish their garbled mess. As if in a movie, they tried to sell us on the merits of eating haggis as well. Hmm, let’s see pork organs...wrapped in intestine...and mixed with oats… Oats?!!?! Couldn't of seen that extra ingredient coming from a mile away, but if you say so. After a few polite moments, we respectfully declined. They remained genuinely puzzled as to why we would turn down such a delicacy.
Highlight: Taking the bus to nearby Dunfermline, just north of Edinburgh and across the Firth of Forth, to see the town where my musical hero, Stuart Adamson, lived for most of his life, before he unfortunately committed suicide in 2001. The town of Dunfermline has a great older section where the bus dropped us – and where I had arranged to meet a local guy who shares the same respect for Stuart and his incredible talent. Allan “Smid” Smith met us at the bottom of Glen Gates at the 7 Kings pub and we spent the night chatting about Stuart and his bands; the Skids and Big Country. Smid knew Stuart personally for years and it was just phenomenal and moving for me to hear about Stuart’s beginnings in music and also just share a pint with someone as passionate (borderline obsessed). Really, this was a dream come true for me. I’d wanted to visit Dunfermline since 1983 when I first heard Big Country. Smid also showed us Stuart’s old house right near the old Abbey at the end of the evening, before we said goodbye and took the late bus back to Edinburgh.
Fort William, Scotland 30 March – 01 April
Despite the high cost of everything, we splurged and took the train 4 hours from Edinburgh through Glasgow and up the west highlands of Fort William to see more of the less inhabited and beautiful landscapes of the Scottish highlands. It was well worth it for both of us. The train alone was a stunning experience as it cuts through parts of the highlands where there are no roads.
From Fort William, a small seaside town, one can easily hike in the valleys below Ben Nevis; the highest point in the UK at 4,400 feet. We had no intention of hiking it though as it’s covered in snow and can often have sub-arctic temperatures at the top (um, no thanks!). The main valley of Glen Nevis is flat and easy to walk and we had plenty of time to stop and each lunch one beautiful sunny day, as well as stop for me to draw, and for M to read and watch nearby highland cattle with curiosity. Looking like a cross between a cow and a sheep dog, with strands of hair running down over their eyes and faces, it isn’t hard to see why.
The next day we walked again in beautiful sunny weather over to the north side of the loch that Fort William looks upon. The little towns just to the north are really nothing more than a few suburban houses with kids playing football (soccer) in any patches of grass they can find. But with what appeared to be the first really good weather of the season, everyone was out strolling and chatting. It was touching to see the small town vibe in full display where everyone knows each other and shares a genuine interest in one another. With Ben Nevis looming behind us, it was a truly idyllic setting.
Edinburgh, Scotland 01-03 April
Back for a few days to ‘wait’ for our flights to Morocco. The highlight was walking up to Calton Hill where there’s a killer view of old and new town Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth and nearby coastline. We stopped for the afternoon and holed up on the sunny and wind-protected side of a statue so that I could draw a nearby tower for a few hours. It was a stunning day and we both could understand full well why this is such a great town full of history, beautiful buildings, and friendly people. I’d definitely add it to the list of ‘places I could live’.
Next: Morocco 03-17 April…
London – 21-24 March
We landed in London after what amazingly enough felt like a short flight from San Francisco that included flying over northern Canada, the tip of Greenland, then just south of Iceland, before coming down between Scotland and Ireland as the sun rose. Touching down at 6am local time, the temperature was unfortunately frigid – literally!
We spent 3 nights in London and a good amount of time on buses and the tube to the most central and popular spots in London, which run along the river Thames that cuts the city in half running east to west, or maybe west to east, but you get the idea. The best sites are north of the river with south London supposedly more rough and tumble and residential.London is now officially the most expensive European city and it definitely felt that way. $6 beers, $9 cheeseburgers, $30 to see the Tower of London. Luckily the great museums are all free, and we hit many of them – the best for us being the National Gallery which has entire rooms filled with Rembrandts, Rubens, Rafaels, a couple of Vermeers, and my favorites from the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck.
Our favorite thing to do was catch a double decker bus and sit upstairs in front and sight-see that way. The main reason was to keep warm but it also granted a great perspective on buildings, people, etc.
Highlight: Dazed and confused on our first night from 11 hours of travel and 28 hours without sleep, we crashed almost literally at a local pub in the trendy Carnaby Street area sitting outside in the bracing cold (the smoking laws in public places don’t go into effect until July and pubs are currently just a dense airless fog of smoke). Two older guys from Essex were sitting next to us and we struck up conversation. To toast our first day of the year’s travels, they bought us beers and a shot of whiskey (to warm us up to Scotland where we would be heading next). It was a wonderful gesture and a great way to inaugurate our travels. It also helped our wallets out!
Codicote (outside of London) 24-26 March
We spent two nights visiting an old friend of M’s and her husband and son. It was a nice break from the big city. Nikki and Andy and their son Archie were very generous with their time as we sucked up their entire weekend visiting St. Albans, ordering take away (take out) Bangladeshy-Indian food, etc.Highlight: Going to a local ‘pints and poems’ event in this little town. The evening featured locals (mostly would-be actors and dramatic types in their 40’s and up) reciting some of their favorite poems and also some songs with acoustic guitar including one of my fave’s “Wild Mountain Thyme” that features a great Scottish melody ‘will ye go lassie go’.
Edinburgh, Scotland 26-30 March
This city is absolutely stunning even when dreary and overcast. The centerpiece of the town is Edinburgh Castle that sits on an extinct volcano and is visible from nearly all parts of town. Luckily M and I found a reasonable hotel that was in the ‘old town/west end’ and literally we could walk out the door and down the street and boom – there it was!We stayed a bit longer than planned due to a cheaper airfare to our next destination of Morocco – but it worked out great. Each day we’d pile on all of our warm clothes and trek around the old town and the ‘Royal Mile’, gazing at ancient buildings as if looking back to the 17th century. The Scots here are incredibly friendly and we found that even the convenience store attendants went out of their way to comment on the weather or just say hi. We did a ton of walking as usual for us and rarely took a bus. Venturing out to Leith one night we hit the “local-est” looking pub we could find and walked in for a pint. On cue, everyone stopped drinking and gazed towards us, and if I am not mistaken the dart just released by an older gentlemen froze in mid-air. After a good five seconds of uncomfortable silence, life in the pub resumed and we walked up to buy a pint. From there, we sat and spoke with a few of the regulars including the older dart-throwing gent. It was hilarious as we could really only understand about 60% of what they said and more often than not just smiled and laughed when they would finish their garbled mess. As if in a movie, they tried to sell us on the merits of eating haggis as well. Hmm, let’s see pork organs...wrapped in intestine...and mixed with oats… Oats?!!?! Couldn't of seen that extra ingredient coming from a mile away, but if you say so. After a few polite moments, we respectfully declined. They remained genuinely puzzled as to why we would turn down such a delicacy.
Highlight: Taking the bus to nearby Dunfermline, just north of Edinburgh and across the Firth of Forth, to see the town where my musical hero, Stuart Adamson, lived for most of his life, before he unfortunately committed suicide in 2001. The town of Dunfermline has a great older section where the bus dropped us – and where I had arranged to meet a local guy who shares the same respect for Stuart and his incredible talent. Allan “Smid” Smith met us at the bottom of Glen Gates at the 7 Kings pub and we spent the night chatting about Stuart and his bands; the Skids and Big Country. Smid knew Stuart personally for years and it was just phenomenal and moving for me to hear about Stuart’s beginnings in music and also just share a pint with someone as passionate (borderline obsessed). Really, this was a dream come true for me. I’d wanted to visit Dunfermline since 1983 when I first heard Big Country. Smid also showed us Stuart’s old house right near the old Abbey at the end of the evening, before we said goodbye and took the late bus back to Edinburgh.Fort William, Scotland 30 March – 01 April
Despite the high cost of everything, we splurged and took the train 4 hours from Edinburgh through Glasgow and up the west highlands of Fort William to see more of the less inhabited and beautiful landscapes of the Scottish highlands. It was well worth it for both of us. The train alone was a stunning experience as it cuts through parts of the highlands where there are no roads.From Fort William, a small seaside town, one can easily hike in the valleys below Ben Nevis; the highest point in the UK at 4,400 feet. We had no intention of hiking it though as it’s covered in snow and can often have sub-arctic temperatures at the top (um, no thanks!). The main valley of Glen Nevis is flat and easy to walk and we had plenty of time to stop and each lunch one beautiful sunny day, as well as stop for me to draw, and for M to read and watch nearby highland cattle with curiosity. Looking like a cross between a cow and a sheep dog, with strands of hair running down over their eyes and faces, it isn’t hard to see why.
The next day we walked again in beautiful sunny weather over to the north side of the loch that Fort William looks upon. The little towns just to the north are really nothing more than a few suburban houses with kids playing football (soccer) in any patches of grass they can find. But with what appeared to be the first really good weather of the season, everyone was out strolling and chatting. It was touching to see the small town vibe in full display where everyone knows each other and shares a genuine interest in one another. With Ben Nevis looming behind us, it was a truly idyllic setting.
Edinburgh, Scotland 01-03 April
Back for a few days to ‘wait’ for our flights to Morocco. The highlight was walking up to Calton Hill where there’s a killer view of old and new town Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth and nearby coastline. We stopped for the afternoon and holed up on the sunny and wind-protected side of a statue so that I could draw a nearby tower for a few hours. It was a stunning day and we both could understand full well why this is such a great town full of history, beautiful buildings, and friendly people. I’d definitely add it to the list of ‘places I could live’.
Next: Morocco 03-17 April…
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Trip Itinerary
* March
Fly from SF to London (March 20-Tuesday)
o London and burbs
Fly London to Edinburgh 3/26
o Scotland 3/26-31
* April
o Back to London 4/1 or 2
Fly London to Morocco (April 2-Monday)
o Morocco (10 days)
Fly Morocco to Berlin
o Berlin (Andrew/Ljuba) (4 days)
o Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia (15 days)
* May
o Greece, Turkey
Fly from Istanbul or Athens to Cairo (May 28-Monday)
o Cairo/Luxor (Nile cruise, Cairo)
* June
o Cairo/Luxor (more Cairo)
Fly from Cairo to Nairobi (June 7-Thursday)
o Kenya, Tanzania
o More of Africa (Madagascar, etc)
* July
o More of Africa (South Africa, Botswana, etc)
Fly from Nairobi to Addis Ababa (July 17-Tuesday)
o Ethiopia
Fly from Africa (Nairobi or Addis) to Delhi (July 31-Tuesday)
* August
o Delhi, India and northwest areas: Dharamsala/Ladakh (trekking) (8/1-21)
Fly from Delhi to Bangkok to Chengdu (August 22-Wednesday)
o Chengdu/go first to Lhasa, Tibet (8/22-31)
* September
o Chengdu, Xi’an, Beijing, “The Wall” Yangshuo, Guilin (Li River Valley)
o Shanghai?
Fly from Guilin to Bangkok (Sept 19-Wednesday)
o Myanmar (9/24-30)
* October
o Myanmar (10/1-4)
o Laos, Thailand (Luang Namtha, golden triangle, Chiang Rai and back to Bangkok) (10/4-15)
o Bhutan 10/15-20 R/T from Bangkok
Fly from Bangkok to Kathmandu (October 15-Monday)
o Nepal (Kathmandu, Everest Base Camp?) (10/15-31)
* November
o Nepal (Kathmandu, Everest Base Camp?) (11/1-8)
o Bhutan (through Kathmandu)
Kathmandu to Delhi (book on our own)
o India (Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal), Jaipur, Udaipur, Rajasthan area) (11/8-30)
* December
o India (West Bengal, Darjeeling), southern area/beaches? (12/1-29)
Fly from Dehli to Kuala Lumpur (December 29-Saturday)
o Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Borneo, possibly northern beaches) (12/29-31)
* January
o Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Borneo, possibly northern beaches) (1/1)
o Possibly back to Ko Lanta, Thailand
o Indonesia (Sumatra, Sulawesi, Bali, Lombok, Gili Islands)
o Singapore
* February
Fly from Singapore to Sydney (February 7-Thursday)
o Australia (Sydney, Gold Coast, Tasmania, Outback, Brisbane, Cairns, etc?) (2/7-23)
Fly from Sydney to Christ Church, NZ (Feb 23-Saturday)
o Christ Church/South Island (2/23-29)
* March
o Christ Church/South Island
o North Island (Rotorua, Auckland)
Fly from Auckland to Tahiti (March 22-Saturday)
o Tahiti
Fly from Tahiti to LA (March 29-Saturday)
Fly from LA to SF (March 29-Saturday)
REST…..and then
* April-?
o South America!?*
Friday, February 16, 2007
our southeast asia blog
(November 11, 2005-January 25, 2006)
Read accounts from our trip to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Enjoy!
Read accounts from our trip to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Enjoy!
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