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.