Praha-Roma-Torino-Frankfurt-Montréal-Ottawa: a 2-day end to a 2-week vacation

Well, here I am, in Stittsville, officially concluding my 2-week trip to Europe.

The trip back from Prague was very long; I left my hotel at 9:15, went to the airport, flew to Rome, took the train to Turin, ate dinner, then took a taxi to the hotel. That alone was a 13-hour effort.

I slept at my airport hotel and woke up nice and early Saturday morning. I took a taxi to the airport and started all over again. Flight to Frankfurt, 1-hour layover, flight to Montréal, 1.5-hour layover, flight to Ottawa. A 15-hour journey.

Now I've slept, eaten, and done some laundry, so I have time to reflect on the entire trip.

- I started this vacation the same way I started 2013: with Simona, in a city I've never seen before.
- I've been to Frankfurt 4 times now, but have never seen the city itself.
- Italy still has some of the best food in the world, no matter where you are in the country, but I have had my fill of pizza and pasta for at least a week.
- I have now seen the Cinque Terre, the city of Lucca, and eaten at a Four Seasons hotel (in Prague); strike those off the bucket list.
- I've convinced at least 2 people to come to Canada on a more-or-less permanent basis; I hope one of them will let me have their apartment in Italy/Prague if they do come.
- Trains are a better method of transportation than planes if the train ride is 3 hours or less. Otherwise, it's worth the flight.
- It is totally acceptable to have lunch at 2, and dinner after 8. It's actually preferable, in a way.
- Prague is in my top 5 favourite European capitals. Top 4 if you don't count Istanbul as European.

I am working on getting my things in order for tomorrow's trip to Montréal, and will try to go through pictures today so I can put some online. Back to normal as of Wednesday. Not sure how I will take that. I guess we'll see.

I hope you've all enjoyed your summer! September is just around the corner, so that means it's crunch time. Take care - it might be a while before anything new shows up on here.

3 Days in Prague...Czech!

Good Morning from Vaclav Havel Airport, in Prague!

I am here using the free wifi to write to you about my time in Prague. I will start by declaring that I am very glad I let my friend Zuzana convince me to come back to the Czech Republic after 3 1/2 years away from this wonderful country.

Prague is a modern city. It has road signs, efficient transportation, wireless access, cheap beer, and a wide variety of restaurants, monuments, and other touristy things. I got to spend about 6 hours doing the tourist run on Wednesday, but my trip to Prague doesn't start there.

After arriving one hour late from Rome (who saw that coming?) I took a taxi to the hotel, dropped off my things, and contacted Zuzka so that we could meet up for dinner and drinks. After a hearty meal of typical Czech cuisine, which consisted of a thick slice of ham, half a duck, a Kolbassa sausage, some beef, 3 slices of polenta, 3 slices of bread ("dumplings"), and a healthy serving of sauerkraut, we went to a really cool place called Cross Bar. Imagine, if you will, a basement + 2 floors of night club, where the bottom floor is reserved for awful electronic music and junkies, and the rest is filled with live music, cheap beer, and a very steampunk-like design (using steel rebar, motherboards, bicycle chains, old irons, all stuff out of a junkyard). The terrace/patio/garden/whatever also covered three floors, with an intereting network of stairs, ladders, tables and benches around the outside of the bar. The place was crazy! It was fairly full with people, and I could just not get over how cool the design was. I met a few of Zuzka's friends, as well as another acquaintance from Reims, and we had a few drinks while listening to the night's featured performances. I was very impressed by my first night in Prague, and that set the tone for the rest of the trip.

The following morning, Zuzka had to work, so I did all the touristy things. I saw Wenceslas Square, the lookout tower, the astronomical clock, the Dancing House, and pretty much everything else within a half-hour walk of the riverside. I also found a few places I could go shopping; there was a market in the city centre, a huge shopping mall called Palladium, and a Hard Rock Cafe, where I had a drink and bought some merch.

Some girls just went by me on rollerblades. Awesome.

Anyway, after the Hard Rock Cafe, I went back to the hotel. I dropped off what I'd bought and headed to the official meeting spot for that night's activity. Evin (the girl from Reims/Plzen), Zuzka and I went to a church/cemetery/lookout on top of a wall a mere 1 metro stop from my hotel. Zuzka tells me she loves that spot because tourists don't really know it's there. Well, I can't disagree with that. We had a drink and took in the view, then went for a walk around the area. After making our way to the river and back towards the city centre, we figured it would be best to go eat something (it was about 9:30 at that point). So we went to the Cafe Louvre, which serves French and Czech food, as well as cheap beer. It was a very nice place. I had the chef's interpretation of quiche, and after a few drinks we went to meet up with some other people.

Those people were sitting on a bench looking out onto the old city from beside the river, and they were drinking. So Zuzka and I (Evin went home, tired, not looking forward to work the next morning) went and bought some wine, and rejoined the friends by the river. We were later joined by some other people, from Slovakia, who also had beer and wanted to sit by the river and drink. This is apparently the national pastime of Central Europe.

After a very pleasant evening, I bit adieu to my friends, old and new, and prepared for a trip to Kutna Hora, where there is cheap beer, as well as some churches, art galleries, lots of ice cream (seriously, you couldn't walk more than 50m without seeing at least one store selling ice cream), and an ossuary.

Man, was that place cool! It's not supposed to be cool, really. The bones were collected over the years from those who died in the mines of Kutna Hora, and displayed in grand fashion in the small chapel by the cemetery. It is a tribute to those who worked to build the community, and a reminder that all men and women are equal in the eyes of God.

Following the ossuary, I walked around for a few hours, finding a cathedral, a basilica, and a modern art gallery housed inside a Jesuit College. It was quite a nice visit, and a mere 1 hour train ride from Prague. 1 hour in the other direction is the town of Plzen, which I did not have time to see, but which I will make sure to visit one day.

This morning, I enjoyed the rather nice breakfast prepared by the hotel kitchen staff, made sure everything was packed, and headed to the airport, where, I will remind you, there is free wifi.

Overall, Prague is a clean, safe city. The essentials, such as travel, food and drink, are inexpensive. The public transport system is both efficient and effective. The people are friendly and, let's be honest, the girls are mostly gorgeous. The modern and the traditional (or, in the case of architecture, the Baroque) seem to mix flawlessly to create a city of dreams, so to speak. I really like it here. I am sad to have to leave (and to have to fly via Rome, of all places). Only one more night in Europe, and then I'll be flying home from Torino. Damn.

When in Rome...

...leave ASAP.

I arrived in Rome yesterday around 3:15, a full hour later than my train originally claimed. My plan had been to get to Rome, drop my bags off at the hotel, and go back to the station to catch a train to Anzio. As it turns out, all the streets around the station are not quite named the same thing as Google shows, they all go in different directions, and there are so many tourists and vendors that even if you knew where to go, it would take at least one hour per km travelled to get there.

I found my hotel around 3:45, thankfully, and was checked in by 4. At this point, I thought about my options. Take the 4:30 train to Anzio (1 hour), walk around, then come back for 8, or enjoy the air-conditioned room and later go for a walk around the most poorly-designed capital city in Europe. Pure lack of motivation led me to choose the second option.

Rome is frustrating for many reasons: 1) It was my 4th time there; 2) there are way too many tourists and immigrants (this second group made up mostly of South and East Asians); 3) everything worth seeing is nowhere near the train station, and taking the trams/metros is a nightmare.

When I finally did go for my walk, it was still sunny and hot. I just picked a direction and walked until I saw something interesting. Here's where Rome starts to be not so bad. About 20 minutes from the hotel, I found the street that leads to the Roman Forum and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. As far as war memorials go, the Roman monument, massive and white against the otherwise brown/grey backdrop of the forum, is in my top 3 favourite memorials. It is immense, beautifully-designed, and therefore difficult to miss and equally difficult not to be impressed by.

Where my memory failed (and was soon restored) was when I realized that the monument was sandwiched between a few very impressive churches, piazzas, lookouts, the forum, and the Coliseum. So my reluctant "quick walk" eventually became a sight-seeing joy.

Don't get too excied though. After finding a direct route back to my hotel from the Coliseum, that all went away pretty quickly. A 1.5km radius around my hotel is purely commercial/residential, and mostly Asia-focused. I wouldn't call it a Chinatown, per se, but there were not a lot of white people around. Also lacking were restaurants, and I was hungry, so I again had to walk 20+ minutes before I came across the first restaurant of the evening. Not the first one I liked, mind you, just the first. I settled on one where the waiters were louder and more insistent than the others, which must have meant they had a good product to sell. I won't bother reviewing the restaurant; it was literally the first one I found in over half an hour of walking past jewellery shops, "Hong Kong" restaurants, and "Indian Fast Food".

I was of course treated to that famous Roman customer service, and I did manage to escape after only an hour. I went back to the hotel, not passing a single gelateria along the way, and watched some TV.

I am now at Fiumicino Airport waiting for my flight to Prague. I already know in advance that Prague is going to be awesome, so I am happy so just sit and use the 30 minutes of free internet the airport has so kindly provided (which I will no doubt be charged for in the next 3 minutes).

Good Riddance, Roma.


Note to Mom: Sorry, but Rome is seriously awful. Only Augsburg and New Delhi have been worse in my experience, and neither of those is a European capital.

A Lucca

I was not even remotely surprised when I arrived in the historic centre of Lucca on a beautiful Friday evening and immediately fell in love with the place. With a nice hotel less than 15 minutes from the train station, free wifi, and a totally new experience awaiting me, I was enthusiastic about my opportunity to go exploring.

I dropped off my things, contacted a few key people to coordinate activities both related and unrelated to this trip, and then set out to lose myself in the labyrinth that is Lucca. If you're having a hard time imagining what I mean, check out the Top Gear clip where the boys explore the ancient city in 3 hot hatchbacks. Or, you know, just any aerial view of the city.

When I left the hotel, I took a right, to head in the direction of Porta Elisa, where I would later be meeting my friend Chiara for dinner. I heard the sound of a band playing in a piazza not far away, so I went to check it out. There was a very talented duo playing some soft southern Blues, the kind you just want to stop and listen to to reflect on a good day. But my evening was only just beginning. After throwing a blue piece of paper into the guy's guitar case, I continued walking towards Porta Elisa, passing churches, shops, and many local people out for a walk.

I met up with Chiara and we picked a restaurant which had a 20-minute wait to get in, so we went for a quick walk in the area, to see the old wall, the new wall, the moat, and a few side streets. Back at the restaurant, we were treated to a steak tartare with peach compote (for me), a pizza (for her), an egg pasta with zucchini sauce (for me), and some dessert (I had something with peach in it). The dinner was lovely. We continued our walk afterwards, and Chiara got to be a tour guide, showing me the old amphitheatre (now a very rich and exclusive residential/commercial area), and some gelaterie and bars. We stopped at one of the bars for a typical Lucchese drink, the Peschino, which is basically Peach Schnapps, Prosecco, and a few pieces of peaches in syrup. It was delicious; a shame it was only the size of 2 shots.

We ended our evening when our walk took us back to the front of my hotel, which she found before I knew where we actually were. I figured I would go to sleep, have a nice relaxing morning, and check out omre of Lucca before heading out to another city. Not so.

As I was waking up, I received a text from Chiara saying she was heading to the beach with some of her friends 45 minutes later, and asking if I wanted to join. I figured it was my only opportunity to go to a proper beach and turn into a boiled lobster after a few hours, so I quickly showered, wolfed down the hotel breakfast, and ran to the station. I got my ticket and caught the train just as it was about to leave. Arriving in Pisa, we met up wth one of Chiara's friends, who then drove us to San Vincenzo, where the beaches have sand, and where the Sun always shines. The day was fairly uneventful, as you might expect, until we set off 5 hours later to visit a local attraction, located along a road which divides the hills of Tuscany from the Mediterranean Sea.

The place is an old-style villa overlooking some very impressive scenery. The purpose? It is a small restaurant which sells porchetta (a sandwich with sliced cooked pork) as well as cold cuts, cheese, and several kinds of Italian beer. We went for the sandwiches and beer, watching the sun set over the hills as we ate. Afer an hour or so, it started to get dark, so we decided to leave.

That night was called La Notte di San Lorenzo; I'm not entirely sure of the significance of the name, but it was made into a movie in the 80's, and apparently it is a night where there are many shooting stars, and people make wishes while watching the night sky. Anyway, we drove away from civilization for about 5 minutes, then parked to do some stargazing. We had an incredible view of the night sky, hindered only by the odd passing car with high beams (in Europe, there are no other kinds of lights on a car). I only found out two days later that the night after our stargazing adventure was the Perseid meteor shower. I guess superstition trumps science in Italy. The night ended when Chiara and I got a ride back to Lucca, and I said good night, realizing that I was supposed to check out the next morning and I'd only seen a quarter of what Lucca has to offer.

So when I got back to my hotel, I asked for an extra night. They were more than happy to oblige, so I got to spend my extra day walking outside the walls, on top of the walls, inside the new walls but outside the old ones, and just generally trying to get lost in the labyrinth. It very nearly worked, but I still kept finding things I recognized and I was able to go back to the hotel anytime I wanted to apply sunscreen or use the bathroom or what have you. That's sort of the ultimate in convenience, really. I had a nice lunch in Piazza San Michele, after which I decided to try to re-trace the route from the Top Gear video (admittedly, I was a bit bored by that point). So I spent about 45 minutes looking for the 3 cars they used (which I did find; same model and make, anyway) and then found all the streets they drove on, the restaurants and shops they passed, and went up on the wall to get a view of where they ended the challenge. That was my amusement for the evening.

I then proceeded to wander the streets until about 9 p.m, at which point I went to the restaurant next to my hotel for dinner. It was alright, albeit a bit disappointing and more expensive than most places I'd eaten so far. I went back to the hotel to finish the evening and pack for the next morning.

Goodbye Lucca, Hello Rome.

Una giornata - Cinque Terre

We arrived in La Spezia around 6:30 or 7 p.m., so we had at least 2 hours before dinner. We checked in to the very modern hotel, left our bags, and went out for a walk.

The hotel is conveniently located 15 minutes (by foot) from the train station, and only a short elevator ride to either the city centre (5 stories down) or the Castello San Giorgio (2 stories up, on the opposite side of the street). Since the public elevator for the castle was going to close about 2 hours later, we decided to head that way. The museum was closed, but we were free to walk the ramparts, and enjoy the spectacular views the many towers and high walls offered. The surrounding town and mountains are unlike anything you can see in most of North America, although in Europe, apparently it's nothing special. I took the opportunity to take a few pictures before we went back down into the town square to find a spot for dinner.

After nearly half an hour of discovering each restaurant that was available to us, we decided on a pizzeria, where we ate pizza. I also had Peroni beer on draught for the first time. It's even better than the Peroni Nastro Azzurro I buy back home. We went for a long walk afterwards, to prepare for the dessert and wine bar we had selected to end our evening.

Our walk took us across a bridge, to the pier. La Spezia appears to be a city of rich people, with 6-figure yachts parked in the marina, beautiful cars lining the streets, and restaurants that are a little expensive, even by my standards. We enjoyed the nighttime scene along the docks, and then headed back into town for wine and dessert. We ended up just having a quick drink and heading to the hotel. It had been a long day, to be sure, and the morrow was to be action-packed. The day I came all the way to Italy to experience: Le Cinque Terre.

We got up bright and early (around 9), showered, ate breakfast, then went to the train station. We got our Cinque Terre day passes (a smart idea, as it turns out), and rode the train out to the furthest of the 5 lands, Monterosso.

Monterosso offers great markets, wonderful seaside beaches, and paths into the hills to visit churches or to look out onto the surrounding houses and vineyards. We spent about an hour walking around, before deciding to hike, rather than take the train, to the next town, Vernazza. The hike took about two hours. The trail is generally about 3 feet wide, and about half the way had a bannister or rail on the cliff side for support. Some areas were not quite so easy to walk through. The weather threatened rain, which annoyed Simona, but which also meant we had 25 degrees and a light breeze, with no direct sunlight. Thank God for that one.

We arrived in Vernazza mid-afternoon. The second of the Cinque Terre is equally impressive. It is clear that the 5 lands are quite similar, and it is clear that they run purely on tourism. It is difficult to tell whether the locals mind that or not. Anyway, after our 2-hour hike over a small mountain (or a large hill, not sure which), we were exhausted, and figured we could reward ourselves by sitting down by the docks. I went a step further and had a granita. Once we caught our breath, we went back to walking through the town. We found a place to eat lunch, then walked some more, then took the train to Corniglia.

At this point it started to rain. It was also after 5 p.m., so the sun was low in the sky, behind clouds, and the cold was getting to my Sicilian friend (to be fair, 23 degrees in August is not very hot). Corniglia was the least interesting of the 5 lands, and it was rainy and dark, so there were no real photo opportunities. We quickly walked through the town and went back to the train.

Manarola was a bit nicer than Corniglia. While still dark, the rain had subsided slightly, and the lights started to come on in the city. There were a few nice things to see, but as fatigue set in, each town became less interesting.

The last of the 5 lands, Riomaggiore, definitely made the long day worthwhile. It was 8:30, some of the cloud cover disappeared, the lights were on in the town, and we were able to enjoy our walk. We stopped for a coffee and a hot chocolate, so Simona could warm up (and also so that my sandal-laden feet could rest; that may not have been the ideal choice of footwear given the adventure we had). After our break, we took the last train back to La Spezia.

We arrived at around 10:30, after more than 10 hours of trains and walking, and we were exhausted. I expressed interest in showering before going out for dinner, and Simona was not about to argue with that (I'm not sure anyone would have, given the circumstances). So, we cleaned up, and went for a walk (imagine that) in the city centre. Everything was closed, except for one place, which seemed alright, so we tried it out. Best idea ever. We ate mussels, pasta, and drank wine. I don't know if it was the alcohol or the exhaustion, but we had a very slow-paced, loosened-up and relaxed kind of dinner. At 11:30, mind you. The service at the place couldn't have been better, and frankly, neither could the food. We went back to the hotel afterward and I had the best sleep I've had the entire trip.

The next day was not much of an adventure. We got up at 9:30, ate breakfast, packed, checked out, and made our way into town again, where we sort of just walked in circles waiting for the time we would head to the train station and go our separate ways. After about 4 hours of seeing parks, water, buildings, shops, parks, buildings, and shops, we went back to the hotel to grab our bags. I took the opportunity to use the hotel's wifi one last time to book my stay in Lucca, and to figure out which train to take to get there. We then went to the train station, and said our goodbyes. I found the right train to get to Lucca, got on, and made my way to what has turned out to be one of the most romantic cities....IN THE WORLD.

The Genova Convention

On Monday, Simona and I set off for Genova, a port city in the Northern half of Italy. Her cousin lives there, along with some of their friends, so I didn't have to do much planning. The 90+ minute train ride gave me time to sleep, enjoy the view from my seat, and look out the window at the countryside from time to time.

On our arrival in Genova, we were greeted by Claudio, a friend of Simona's cousin, who lives near the train station, and has August off for vacation. Claudio's friends Simone and Andrea were also there. We left our bags at Claudio's and went off to explore the historic centre of Genova.

The city itself is built on a hill. The buildings are mostly plain and grouped closely together, though there is certainly a lot of beauty in some of the architecture. Claudio proved to be a great tour guide, and it turns out we have a few things in common. In Genova I was introduced to my new favourite "hot day" drink: the Sicilian Granita, which is essentially just a slushie, but it's Italian, so it's better. I also found out that in Genova, like in most of the province of Liguria, the buildings are all built in the same style, using white marble, slate, and sometimes pink granite as well. 

After touring a few piazzas, and seeing some interesting shops and gelaterie as well, we all went to sit in a nice park to wait for Simona's cousin to finish work.

When he finally called to say he was downtown, Simona and I got our things from Claudio's and got in the car with Walter, her cousin. He drove us to his apartment just outside the city centre, and the 3 friends arrived minutes later to make dinner. I played Call of Duty with Claudio while the others (who assured me they didn't want my help) prepared pasta. That night, I discovered EstaThe', the Italian equivalent of peach-flavoured iced tea. Damn is that stuff addictive. 

After dinner we made our way to a lookout area on top of the hill. The view was quite stunning. I had my second granita for the day (naturally) and just sat and enjoyed the cooler weather (Genova was only 26 at night, vs. 31 in Torino).

The next morning, I went with Simona, Claudio, and Walter's girlfriend to a cemetery. I located the CWGC section and asked if we could go. After about an hour of playing tour guide around the older section of the cemetery, Claudio obliged, and let me take over for a few minutes. The cemetery was enormous, with some very impressive monuments, mausolea, etc.

After that, we met up with Simone and Andrea and their other friend who just arrived from Milano, whose name was also Andrea. We all went to the aquarium, where there were different kinds of fish, as well as sea-dwelling mammals. I had a granita before and after the aquarium, you know, to stay cool. 

That night, Simona, Walter, Claudio and I drove outside the city to visit some of Walter's friends, who were borrowing their parents' summer home for a barbecue. We ate a ridiculous amount of hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, and even grilled brie wrapped in speck (there was name for that; I think it was Tommino, but I'm not sure). Apparently, Ligurians and I agree that vegetables are not a necessary part of a balanced meal. Salute.

Feeling full to bursting, we hit the road and went back to Genova to sleep. There was no need for breakfast the following morning. In fact, Simona and I left Walter's fairly early to meet up with Claudio, Simone and Andrea2 for a day in the park. Simona and I were leaving that evening for La Spezia, so we took it easy. A short train ride to the park, a quick lunch, and some soccer/volleyball for an hour or two. A nice end to our time in Genova. After the park, we all went to the train station, and Simona and I bid adieu, or more accurately, arrivederci, to the gang. Next stop, La Spezia.

Shroud

Good Afternoon everyone, and welcome to this edition of "What? He's travelling again? Jerk."

I am writing from my hotel room in Lucca, the great walled city that sits somewhere between Genoa and Rome. It's 35C out and everything is closed (on account of it being time for lunch), so I will take time to write about the first part of my trip. Starting with the home of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, Torino.

I arrived in Torino on a Saturday afternoon, and was greeted at the airport by my friend Simona, who, not coincidentally, is the same friend I travelled with to Berlin.

She drove us to her grandmother's apartment in the city so I could drop off my things. On arrival, we ate lunch, because it was 2:30, and no one had eaten yet. Afterwards, I got changed, and we went for a quick walk in the city. Well, it started as a quick walk. We ended up taking a bus to the centre to see all the interesting buildings, piazzas, and stores that Torino has to offer. As it turns out, the weekend I arrived was also the starting weekend for a worldwide sporting event, this year hosted by Torino. So there was a big parade, with athletes from at least 15 different countries. The 4 most well-represented countries were Italy, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. I swear there were at least 500 Canadians in that parade. It was pretty cool.

After the parade, I was pretty tired, so I suggested we head home and make plans for the next day. I fell asleep before we made any plans, but the obvious activity was to visit the home of one of the most famous Italian soccer teams: Juventus.

So, the next morning (after what I admit was a lazy breakfast and shower), we went to Juventus stadium. The team has had such famous players as Roberto Baggio, David Trezeguet, Zinedine Zidane, a few historically significant guys whose names I cannot recall, and of course, Gigi Buffon. The tour of the stadium was pretty neat; it reminded me of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, though on a slightly smaller scale. The museum put on display the great pride and passion on the Italian people for this team and for the city it calls home. Then, I went to the store and bought a Buffon jersey, which I am currently wearing, as I have now run out of clean shirts to wear.

After buying some chocolate, alcohol, and cannoli at the supermarket next to the Juventus store, we headed home for lunch. That evening, if memory serves, we went for another walk downtown, though we took a slightly different route, along the river Po, and through a very nice park. We then had dinner at a Sicilian restaurant, which was very good, and went for another walk, this time stopping at a bar called Chlorophilia, where I had 2 different mojitos; one very sweet with mint, green apple, lime, and whatever alcohol they used; the second with lime and salvia. Apparently this is a thing people do in Italy. The second was a bit strange it taste, so I washed it down with a shot the bar called "oooh yeah". All I remember about the shot was the lemon, sugar, and hot sauce, but I'm pretty sure there was other stuff in there too.

Anyway, we finished the drinks and went home to sleep. Off to Genova in the morning.

Note for Dad: the museum which houses the Shroud of Constantinople (a.k.a. the Shroud of Turin) was closed due to a fire a few months ago. So I didn't see it. Sorry.

Going for the One - A Concert Review

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Yes.

       Left to Right: Drummer Alan White, Guitarist Steve Howe, Bassist Christopher
Squire, Keyboardist Geoff Downes, and not current singer Jon Davison.

This is a kickass British Prog-Rock band from the 1970s. They have recently been touring to promote their 3 greatest albums: Close to the Edge, Going for the One, and The Yes Album. If you've heard the songs Starship Trooper, Yours is No Disgrace, Owner of a Lonely Heart, or Roundabout, you've heard Yes. As one of my dad's (and my) top 5 favourite bands, we bought tickets to their Montreal show within minutes of seeing they were coming.

This show was spectacular. It was awesome. It was everything a show needs to be. There were decent visual effects, the crowd was into it from start to finish (far less polite and calm than the usual Ottawa octogenarian audience) and the performance was absurdly good. How many bands tour and play their 3 best albums, start to finish, back-to-back-to-back? Yes does. Jon Davison did a pretty damn good job recreating Jon Anderson's angelic voice, and Geoff Downes was unsurprisingly a spot-on replacement for Rick Wakeman.

The show lasted 3 hours. Why not? You need to leave the proper time for pauses between albums, spontaneous solo sections, and an intermission for the Montreal crowd to go and each have their 5th or 6th beer and then use the washroom for the 3rd time (hey, to each his own, right?).

This is a band every fan of prog rock needs to see at least once. I'd go again, if they were to come back. Steve Howe may not be able to play much longer, and it will be a sad day when this group disbands for good. Their sound is unlike any other I've heard. Their use of vocal harmony, ever-changing rhythms and a wide range of instrumentation (partly achieved through effects) creates an aural feast worthy of even the most discerning listeners.

Overall, an amazing experience. Being there with my dad and two of his friends certainly helped; the shenanigans at Buona Notte (very good Italian restaurant where every waitress is a perfect 0 on the beer scale) before the show, followed by W&G and Dunn's after the show, made for a memorable evening.

I'll be heading back to Ottawa briefly after I finish work today. Next up: Torino. Flight Friday, arrival Saturday. Cannot. Wait.

My Old Friend the Blues(fest) - Concert Reviews, Part Deux

Brace yourselves: this is going to be a long one. Week 2 of Bluesfest provided many, many hours of sunburn and entertainment.

Wednesday, July 10

Weezer: I'm not sure if I saw any of the bands that played before Weezer, but it doesn't matter. Weezer is so awesome to see live. Their music is alright; not my favourite but good fun to sing along with. They are an exciting, dynamic band, with a great sound, and pretty cool fans. I enjoyed this one a lot.

Thursday, July 11

Les Mosquitos: This is a band from Aylmer, QC which seems to enjoy reggae and ska a fair bit. I had only seen them perform once before, and I figured it couldn't hurt to see them again. Like Weezer, they are fun to see live. Also like Weezer, I can't listen to their music for more than an hour without getting bored. Les Mosquitos are definitely worth checking out, as an up-and-coming local band (if you're from around Ottawa, that is).

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: This 3-piece, uh, "blues" band is, well, explosive. I wasn't sure what to make of them when I was watching. I believe my exact reaction was "Dafuq did I just watch?!" Combining sounds from The Black Keys, The Rolling Stones, and sometimes Rage Against The Machine, this band took frequent opportunities to yell out the word "Explosion!" and say that "The Blues are #1!". There is definitely talent there; frequent switches in styles put the drummer and guitarist to the test, while the singer basically just strummed open chords and yelled "YEAH!" a lot. The friend who recommended this concert was really into it, and he had a good laugh when I admitted I was unsure of what I was witnessing. Creativity? A crime against eardrums? A drug-fueled EXPLOSION of BLUES#1? I don't know. I still have no idea what they were trying to accomplish, but I'm actually glad I went. YEAH!

The Tragically Hip: Not this again. I left before they started, to the astonishment of everyone walking the other way down Booth.

Friday, July 12

The Waterboys: Didn't watch much of this. It sounded pretty generic (good, but plain), so I checked out this guy instead:

TJ Wheeler: The only jazz musicians to successfully incorporate the banjo into old standards, TJ Wheeler and Friends put on a fun show, featuring pieces like Caravan, and I Really Wish I Could Remember The Other Ones 'Cause They Were Good, Too. I was there for the second half of his set, and from what I heard, TJ and his band played very well.

Great Big Sea: East Coast Party, Part 1. These guys are awesome live. Like Weezer, everyone knows the words to their songs. Unlike Weezer, they are Canadian, and use an accordion on stage. From classics to newer tunes, GBS celebrated their 20th anniversary in the industry with style. After seeing them 3 times, it still hasn't gotten old.

Saturday, July 13 (aka The Longest Day)

Half Moon Run: On recommendation from a friend, I checked out this Montreal alternative band. They are really good. With a sound not entirely unlike The Reign of Kindo (or Karkwa, if you're reading this and are also from Quebec), they played a solid set. Glad I stood in the direct sun in 35C heat for this.

The Dardanelles: East Coast Party, Part 2. Another band from St. John's, this time with frontman Tom Power. There is so much talent, passion, and life in this group, it was an absolute joy to watch. The fast-talking antics of Tom complemented the more serious folk vocals and mind-blowing talent of the fiddler. They added a drum and an accordion as well, just for fun. Loved it.

Mykki Blanco: I don't know what the hell this person's problem is, but it was performing between The Dardanelles and the next group, and I had to walk by the stage. Hard to watch. An assault on my ears and on my values as a musician and a concert-goer. A possible transvestite/hermaphrodite with really awful rap abilities. Just, don't look him/her up. Don't do it. (You've been warned)

The Knocks: A couple of DJs from New York. Dance music. Live drum beats looped into the recording. Not much else to say, really. Hard to judge talent when computers are involved, but they got people dancing, so they did their job. Left halfway through to check out:

Austra: I don't know who these people are or what they were doing. It was like a far less enjoyable version of the Blues Explosion group, except it wasn't even blues. It was both generic and awful.

John Casey Trio: At this point I was too hot and tired to care what I was watching, as long as there was shade and I could sit down. So I went to the Black Sheep stage and enjoyed a pretty sweet blues/r&b group. A pleasant surprise after the whole Austra abomination. Some really nice harmonies, tight rhythms, and a great way to forget the previous band.

Björk: Fucking Björk! The only Icelandic entity more famous than volcanoes that ruin travel plans (ok, maybe Vikings are, too). But seriously, as if I got a chance to see her live! Her music is, well, bizarre, to say the least. However, she had an Icelandic choir on stage, a drummer/guitarist with a looping machine, and a sound engineer who was, at times, controlling a GODDAMN TESLA COIL. This show exuded cool in the best way possible. Some of the music felt like club music, which I didn't mind. Other songs were more like trance or ambient music, with some really disjointed English lyrics, and I still did not mind. Björk and her big, orange afro put on an amazing show. I don't think a single person there was not impressed in some way.

Sunday, July 14 (Closing Day)

JW Jones: A local guy, all about blues. His guitar. Add in a hot bassist and a stupidly talented drummer, and you've got the JW Jones trio. A little bit cocky, very much a showman, and with a penchant for 12-bar blues, JW Jones provided a great started to my blues-themed evening. I will be looking out for more of his performances.

Alice in Chains: A metal band at Bluesfest? Why, yes! And a good one, too! Lacking the general screaming of most hardcore metal bands, Alice in Chains (and their 16+ amplifiers) rocked the Bell stage for a solid hour. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I did. It's heavy, it's bassy, it's awesome.

Serena Ryder: In a total 180, I went to see this Canadian folk rock singer and her band. I only discovered her a few months ago, and decided I liked her studio work. So, how was she live? Pretty friggin' great. She liked to get the audience involved in a number of her songs, and the audience was generally happy to oblige. Nice to see so much up-and-coming Canadian talent, especially from such a looker (and the keyboardist wasn't too bad either). Ms. Ryder, I look forward to your next album.

Yukon Blondes: The band that performed between Serena Ryder and the next guy. Didn't really pay attention, they were kind of loud and generic.

B.B. King: For those of you who don't know already, B.B. King invented the blues. He is now 87 years old, but to see him live, flirting with all the women in the front row, you'd think he was way younger. He can't move much. He didn't even play that much, he mostly just smiled, made faces at people, threw 10-20 guitar picks, necklaces, bracelets and whatever into the audience, and poked fun at some of the folks in the front row. When it came time for his set to finish (a full 4 songs in), he refused to leave. He kept on smiling and waving to wild applause. He did not want to leave his audience, he didn't want his band to stop playing, he just wanted to have fun. Well, thank you, Mr. King, we all had fun, too.

Dog Blood (Skrillex & Boyz Noize): I very nearly went home after B.B. King. I should have. It was the perfect end to a 4-week span of incredible concerts. But no, Skrillex was on, Bluesfest was not officially over, and also a girl wanted me to go with her to the show (totally not my reason for going, by the way). To their credit, Mr. Ex and Mr. Noize waited a full 5 minutes after Mr. King exited the area (already 5 minutes after the time they were supposed to start), showing patience never before exhibited by adolescents. So the show started a little late, and that was fine; the shorter the better. Then they started. There were some cool lights, videos I didn't really understand, and probably around 100 subwoofers cranked all the way up.

At this point, it just became a social experiment. I was more or less posing as someone who enjoys dubstep. I got to see what the dredge of society looks like. I got to see drunk people, people on drugs, people with not enough clothing on, people with bad hair cuts, people with tattoos, people with strange piercings, all grouped together "listening" to the same "music". It was also a test of my patience. I like to think I passed with flying colours, as I not only stayed for the entire 80-minute set, but even danced along with some of the song that they played (the one redeeming quality of dubstep/EDM: you can sort of dance to it, and it feels like you're in a nightclub when you do). Musically, what these guys accomplish is incredibly unimpressive and dull. It's absolute rubbish. If I was to divide musicians into two talent-based groups, I would put Frédéric Chopin, Pink Floyd, B.B. King and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in the same group, and Skrillex in the other. Skrillex is responsible for more crimes against humanity than Pol Pot and Adolf Hitler combined. If Skrillex was a Game of Thrones character, he would be King Joffrey, or maybe Ramsay Bolton. I once ate poorly-prepared tripe, and it was a more pleasant experience than a Dog Blood concert.

On a more positive note, the show did eventually end, and I had a nice walk home with my friend. Bluesfest was over. About 26 concerts over 8 days. Not sure how I managed, to be honest. I've already got my pass for next year, and I'm looking forward to it. The more imminent event is my trip to Europe in 2 1/2 weeks! But I'll save that for later.

Singin' the Blues(fest) - Concert Reviews part 1

Greetings from the exciting metropolis of Ottawa!

Bluesfest has just ended, and so I will now fill you in on the excitement (and sometimes disappointment) it brought. For the sake of my readership, I will divide my reviews in to Week 1 and Week 2. I'm also doing that because I don't have 2 free hours at work to write one comprehensive entry this afternoon.

Let git 'er done, shall we?

Thursday, July 4

The Cat Empire: Wasn't planning on seeing this Australian band, but my Australian friend convinced to watch the first half. Well worth it. This is an exciting band with a cool world music sound, and a good way to start off the festival.

Grand Funk Railroad: Walked into this concert right as a 15-minute drum solo was starting. The drummer is the only surviving founding member of the band, unfortunately. However, the band he was playing with did a great job with some of the classics. I didn't hear enough of the concert to go into more detail, but it was cool to see them in Ottawa.

The Black Keys: I am not sure what to make of this band. I like listening to some of their music, and even playing some of their songs. I was expecting a great show, and unfortunately, the sound was brutal. Technical difficulties aside, the band brought their A game and at least attempted to give the audience a good show. Disappointing for the sound, but pretty awesome to get to see them live.

Friday, July 5 and Saturday, July 6

Happy Birthday Dad! No Bluesfest for me those 2 days. Looking back at the schedule, I missed nothing of great import.

Sunday, July 7

Joe Robinson: Another Australian guy. He was pretty good, playing some fairly generic blues rock with his band. Definitely talented, though left something to be desired in terms of vocals. Worth checking out if you want to discover a new, up-and-coming artist.

Eric Burdon: F**k yeah! The singer from The Animals! This guy is touring with a great band, singing classics as well as new material, and it all comes together in a sweet display of talent and passion. The most fun I had at a show up to that point.

Monday, July 8th

Rush: This was my 5th time seeing the RRHOF-inducted Canadian band. Prog Rock is up there with my favourite genres, and these guys are up there with my favourite artists in the genre. As usual, they had a great light/video display, the music was top-notch, and Neil Peart is still one of the greatest drummers of the last 40 years. Traveling with the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble, they mixed classics with fairly new material, and provide 2 hours of solid entertainment. Although somewhat lacking in energy and showmanship, Rush puts on a great show, every time.

Tuesday, July 9th

NO PROGRAMMING ON THIS DAY

Part 2 to come...

A Transition into Summer, or, JazzFest: a series of concert reviews

Good Morning Folks,

July 1st, 2013 marked Canada's 146th birthday as a country (take that, Angola), and the last day of this year's Ottawa Jazz Festival. This was my first time buying a full festival pass for JazzFest, so I went to a few concerts. Ok, a lot of concerts. Presented below are my findings and impressions of each group I had the pleasure of seeing this year (in chronological order):

Hutchinson Andrew Trio: This group, from Alberta, features a bassist (upright), pianist and drummer. They added a saxophonist for this performance, which was great because their latest album, Prairie Modern, features some great melodic composition for woodwind. This was my first time seeing them perform live, and as an opening concert for the festival, I thought they were fantastic. This is not a particularly experimental band, nor do they stick to standards. They are clearly very talented and have a lot to offer their audience musically.

The Heavy: A Heavy Blues/Rock band from England, The Heavy came out and gave an excellent performance of songs from their first album (The House that Dirt Built) as well as some of their new tracks, from The Glorious Dead. With soulful vocals, and horns backing up the electric guitar and bass, The Heavy make their presence felt with a combination of musicianship and showmanship which makes for a great live show.

Roberto Lopez and the Afro-Colombian Orchestra: Roberto Lopez loves Latin music. He writes and performs many different styles (Bossa, Fandango, Merengue, etc.) and boy is it fun to watch. The different soloists were very talented and it was an evening of fun and dancing. Such a treat to have been there for it.

David Murray Big Band, ft. Macy Gray: This concert was introduced as a "clash of different styles" and a "collaboration of greats". While I have no doubt of the greatness of David Murray, his band, or Ms. Gray's voice, "clash" was an apt term, more than the presenter knew. The Big Band was fantastic, featuring amazing soloists, some great compositions from David Murray, and creating a wonderful atmosphere for the crowd. Macy provided her vocals to a good number of songs, and she nailed it. But it seemed like she didn't know when to stop. Every time she was on stage, she seemed unsure of when it was appropriate to sing, and when it would have been appropriate to shut the f**k up. Here's a hint, Ms. Gray: when in doubt, choose the second option; David Murray's band can more than fill the gaps in melody and harmony. Still, overall, an enjoyable performance.

Mike Murley Septet: Mike Murley plays the saxophone, and he has 6 friends who are willing to perform alongside him. I was quite tired going into this concert, and the music was a lot more "free jazz-y" than Hutchinson Andrew, so Mr. Murley lost me after about 40 minutes. His group was very talented; on any other day I may have stayed longer and enjoyed the music more. The lack of stage presence left something to be desired, but I will be looking up his albums, to see if I enjoy his music more in the comfort of my office. Unfortunately, this concert was not up to the standard I came to expect, and I was not in the mood for this musical style.

Chucho Valdés: This guy is f**king awesome. The 70-something Cuban pianist-composer is a big, happy, music-loving, oh-so-talented genius. His band feature a bassist (upright) a 3 percussionists. 3. There was a drummer on kit, a conga player, and a guy who did vocals and auxiliary percussion. The 4 guys backing Señor Valdés looked like they were having the time of their life. Big smiles, big talent. This was, in my opinion, the best concert of the year. The music was incredible, jazz with a fair bit of African and Latin influence, and everyone was just having a good time. This was my first concert at my favourite Ottawa venue, Dominion-Chalmers United Church. In short, great band, great venue. A perfect concert.

The James Hunter Six: I caught the second half of this show, which seemed to feature a rock/blues band from England. I must admit, I was somewhat distracted by the crew that joined me for the concert, so I didn't pay too much attention. From what I remember (and from the album I subsequently downloaded), I can tell you that this is a band which plays good music, and performs pretty well live. Worth a look, but nothing to write home about if this isn't your usual musical choice, style-wise.

The Doobie Brothers: That's right, the goddamn Doobie Brothers came to Ottawa and put on an incredible show. They played nearly all the old favourites, along with some newer stuff (they actually have a new album, called World Gone Crazy). The vocal harmonies were amazing. The sax player was great, too, though near the end I started noticing that he suffered from Macy Gray Syndrome. Everything about this concert was what it should have been. Big stars coming out, putting on a great performance, and really showing the audience a good time. My favourite outdoor concert of the year.

The Triplets of Belleville: This concert was meant as a tribute to a 2003 cartoon which featured some interesting sound effects and music. They projected the movie onto a screen and had live musicians performing the music. It was OK if you're into that kind of thing, but I've seen the movie about 5 times, and having live music didn't really add much. Left after about 30 minutes.

Boz Scaggs: On the 8th day of the festival, I was finally truly disappointed by a performance. Boz Scaggs, who I knew only by name, turned out to be mostly a country artist, who also performed covers of songs that were better the first time around. I stuck around for nearly an hour, waiting for the second concert, which would surely be better.

Nicolas Repac: It wasn't. Nicolas Repac is a Frenchman who was been making blues, swing, and jazz music for over 10 years, using a limited number of instruments, and lots of cool computer equipment and tech. I have one of his albums and am looking to download more of them. The music in this case wasn't the issue. Mr. Repac does some great things with loop pedals, sampling, auxiliary percussion and vocals. The performance itself fell a little flat in this case. It was a one-man show, about what I was expecting, but most of his loops were pre-loaded onto his Mac. There were some songs where we could see him building the music almost from scratch, playing out each layer before adding it to the loop. It was neat to watch, but that kind of thing gets old after 45 minutes, especially when the musical style doesn't change. There were some neat visual effects, and I did stay the full 90 minutes, but this was a bit of a disappointment. Overall, Thursday the 27th was not a brilliant night for music.

The Bad Plus: These guys are pretty cool. They have the same components as the Hutchinson Andrew Trio, but they seem to take their jobs a bit less seriously. This showed in the performance, but not in the music. It was great jazz, with some hilarious monologues from the bassist. An enjoyable concert, to say the least.

Herbaliser: Now, a band I had not planned on seeing. Hailing all the way from London, England, these guys combine Heavy Blues, Rap, and Ska into a crowd-pleasing wave of sound. I have to give credit where it's due; I really enjoyed this performance. My friends and I only caught about 45 minutes of it (they started before we arrived) but it was a lot of fun.

I unfortunately missed my Saturday concerts, but then Sunday had...

The Wayne Shorter Quartet: Wayne Shorter is an 80-year-old saxophonist. He has written jazz standards and been a pioneer of improvisation for many who followed his tremendous example. He was accompanied by some big names: Danilo Perez (piano), John Patitucci (bass), and Brian Blade (drums). This show was oozing with raw talent and an intense passion for music. Sadly, Wayne himself didn't play much; he mostly let his band do the work. But I was OK with that. This show wasn't quite filled with as much pure joy as Chucho Valdés, but we knew we were in the presence of a legend, maybe even 4 legends. I am not likely to forget this show anytime soon.

For Canada Day, they had a series of free concerts. I saw two of them:

CF Central Band - Jazz Ambassadors: The Central Band of the Canadian Forces has nearly 50 different musicians. Around 25 of them are "Jazz Ambassadors", and so we were treated to a performance of (mostly) swing music. A solid performance and a fun show to see.

Leeroy Stagger: An up-and-coming group displaying their love of music via country-rock, Leeroy Stagger put on a good show at the OLG Stage. This concert was about what I expected from the band's Bio, and it was enjoyable. Worth looking into if you enjoy that type of music.

This concludes my concert reviews for Ottawa JazzFest 2013. I should add a piece about pricing, for those who might be interested for next year: I was able to get a Youth Pass for the festival, at a cost of $87.50. I bought individual tickets for Wayne Shorter and Chuch Valdés, at $35 apiece. The total expenditure for 16 concerts, including taxes and fees, was $160. Not bad, eh?

I will post an update shortly about my upcoming trip to Europe (now featuring Prague!). First, though, Bluesfest begins tomorrow. More concert reviews to come. Stay tuned.

It's About That Time

Good Afternoon.

It's official: work has slowed down for the summer, just in time for music festivals and summer vacation. Here's a recap of my Spring:

...

Ok, well, that's out of the way. So what's next for me, the former World-Traveler and Concert-goer? Let me tell you.

On June 20th, JazzFest starts in Ottawa. This year, it will feature artists such as The Heavy, Wayne Shorter, The Doobie Brothers, Wynton Marsalis, and Chucho Valdés. I bought my pass.

On July 4th, Bluesfest starts. This year, we have JW Jones, The Tragically Hip, Serena Ryder, Great Big Sea, Björk, and B.B. King, among others. I bought my pass.

On July 30th, in Montreal, British Prog Rock giants YES will be performing 3 albums, note-for-note, back-to-back-to-back. It goes without saying, I bought a ticket.

On August 3rd, I will be flying to Torino, IT, because I have not had a proper vacation since January. Luckily for me, I will be spending part of my Italian trip with Simona, the same person I spent New Year's with. This should prove to be the highlight of the summer.

So what of everything else? Well, I still live a shiny new apartment, still work for HayGroup, and still play darts, because seriously, what else am I supposed to do with my spare time?

I hope you have all have a good Spring and are ready for Summer to begin. I know I am.

Cheers!

Frohe Neujahr, Berlin-style

Note: EDITED from home, Midnight EST, January 5th. Keep in mind I've been awake for 24 straight hours.


Guten Abend alles,

I am sitting in the Maple Leaf Lounge at Toronto Pearson Airport. I'm not home yet, and I have over an hour til my next flight boards, so I'll just use that time to write about the trip I just had.

As you may recall, this was not my first time in Germany. I attempted a Christmas trip there 3 years ago, and through poor planning, managed to make Germany seem boring and generally awful. Well, Berlin just might have changed that.

I arrived around noon on December 30th. I managed to find my hotel after taking a bus and getting lost in a Christmas Market (Christkindlmarkt or Weihnachtsmarkt), so business as usual. The hotel was actually an apartment which was great. Friendly and helpful staff, comfortable room, everything I needed for my stay. It was the Citadines just off Kurfürstendamm, in case you were wondering. Anyway, I was pretty tired, but I wanted to see the city at night, and have a fancy dinner, so I walked to the Kempinski Bristol Inn (one of two Kempinskis in Berlin) to eat at Reinhard's.

Although the service wasn't brilliant, the food was quite good. I was treated to a Duck consommé with some pâté and a homemade cracker, then a Duck filet with red cabbage and kale (or something green, anyway), and finally a chocolate cake with homemade apple ice cream and a French-style macaron. A nice way to start the German culinary experience.

The next morning I woke up early to go meet my friend Simona at the airport. This whole thing was her idea (and I suspect I haven't thanked her enough yet) so it was the least I could do. It was easier to find the hotel this time, so after we dropped her things off, we started to explore Berlin.

Berlin is an impressive city. It's kind of big, and sometimes the transit system actually works. Like Paris. There are lots of people, though for New Year's, these were mostly tourists. The monuments are beautiful (I recall seeing a church, a gate, a tower, and a wall on the first day. I think. It's all kind of a blur) and there are a lot of them. The best part is, they're all conveniently located within walking distance of each other (though it should be noted that to Simona, "walking distance" is anything within roughly 10 km).

That night, of course, was New Year's Eve, or "Silvester" in German. We went to Potsdamer Platz, where some crazy people were setting off homemade fireworks (this had started the day before). About a 5-minute walk from Potsdamer Platz is the Brandenburg Gate, where the biggest party in Germany, if not Europe, is held. We went there, too, to enjoy an outdoor club-like atmosphere. All in all, a great night.

Our tour of Berlin continued the next day when we woke up around 4 p.m. The sun was already setting, so we decided to have breakfast at a nearby café. Then, we made our way to the Olympic Stadium. That was pretty cool, but it was also dark and cold, so we went to a Video Game Museum to warm up and play some Mario Kart (SNES). At least, I think that's how it happened. The free alcohol in the Lounge is getting to my head and the order of things is a bit fuzzy.

Anyway, after a Mexican-style dinner, we tried to find a club to go to. Unfortunately, this being Berlin, everything was closed on the 31st and 1st (other than really major tourist places), so we just kind of walked around Potsdamer Platz again for a few hours. Which was actually completely ok, because it produced this picture:

One the 2nd, we woke up at a more reasonable 1 p.m. and decided to take the day to explore Kurfürstendamm, the Champs-Élysées of Berlin. Basically, we went shopping. It was pretty cool. We both found things we wanted to buy, from places I am probably not going to see again for a long, long time. That night, we went to see the Blue Man Group at the BlueMax Theatre. It was quite an entertaining show and I'm glad we had the opportunity to go.

We followed the show with a beer at a local Biergarten (or Bruhaus or whatever it was called). It was our last evening before Simona had to return to Torino. Most of the Berliners' fireworks had subsided by this point.

We managed a solid 4 hours of sleep before getting up and heading to the airport. It was a very sad morning, if I'm honest, so my afternoon pretty much just involved some more shopping, watching some TV, and devouring a container of Southern Italian sweets (ringrazie, Simona, they were delicious!). My own flight home was this morning, and, well, here I am, 15 hours later, still waiting to board the last leg of my trip.

I'm going to go eat now, I'm starving, and it's nearly midnight (in Berlin).

Ciao a tutti, e Buon Anno 2013!

(or was that Auf Wiedersehen?)

Here are some more pictures, mostly of monuments and such:

Otto Von Bismarck Monument

Kempinski's Hotel Adlon

A very large and important Cathedral

Long-distance view of a Synagogue

The Wall on The Wall, Part 1

The Wall on The Wall, Part 2

New Year's Eve Party

Olympic Park

Giant Christmas Store on Kurfürstendamm