6/6/16
Today was also busy, but not quite as much as yesterday. Mama is struggling with the heat and it is zapping her energy very quickly; it worries me, but she states she is ok. I'm praying she really rest tonight and is back to her joking, jovial self tomorrow - crazy and all. So what did we do today? I took several notes as we went along regarding what we did and notes from her talk I wanted to remember so here we go:
As we left the hotel we drove past Fort Tiryns; which was another ancient fort built in the 13th century. The size of the stones these are built with are extremely large. Its amazing. Vivian did share some unique facts about Greece I thought were interesting while we were on the drive this morning. Below are some of the notes I left:
1) Greeks wear rings on the left when they are engaged, but they are on the right after they are married; which is opposite of the US.
2) The God Mother and God Father play a huge roll in children's lives and it is a magnificent honor. They are responsible for buying a cross for the child when they are baptized and the crosses cost 1000+ Euros.
3) Owl shield is Athena symbol of wisdom. So owls are popular gifts for graduations and studying luck. You see owls quite often.
4) The greek alphabet has 24 symbols instead instead of 26. B sound in English is made by the M+the Pie Symbol in Greek.
After our drive we arrived as ceramic workshop. She showed us how the ceramics were made; teh differences in price and why. It was extremely interesting or maybe she just made it so. I personally really liked our hostess there and spent money to prove it :) lol Actually I spent money because I liked the stuff, but she and the people were really nice. One of the staff was male and really thought Beth was gorgeous. He kept hugging and asking her to stay; it was cute and let's face it - he was cute. Sorry though, you are 6 weeks too late you Greek cutie. I bought a vase for myself and a couple of gifts. I also bought a plate and me some earrings... yes I bought more for myself than others... oopsie.
We then drove by the Fortess of Lycadia which I took a picture from the bus of and then we were off for a 2.5 hour drive to Olympia. Most took this opportunity to get some shuteye. Once we arrived we stopped at the village of Olympia. We ate lunch at a little cafe and I tried the Gyros; which were great. And then we walked around the little village; which is very much a tourist town and I bought some post cards, t-shirts, caps, etc.. Yes I love cheap souvenirs that were likely made in China.
We then hopped back on the bus and drove to the site of the first Olympic games which began in 776 BC. They occurred once every 4 years. At that time it was a male only, Greek only competition. The men came 3 months early and had sponsors that paid for them and their families expenses while away. The games were only one week in August, but they needed time to train. The men actually competed naked.
The games were banned in 394 AD to stop the promotion of paganism as the Olympics were to honor the god Zeus. They were a great event with alot of ceremony. There was also only 1 winner - no 2nd or 3rd place and the winner got a crown made of an Olive tree branch. it was a fabulous honor.
The site itself was neat; several columns where the various training facilities were. The temple of Zeus site had one column standing that had been reconstructed for scale; but several of the original training facility columns have been stood back up by the archaeologist. The stone is original though. It was neat to see. The Olympic "stadium" itself was disappointing... or rather not what I expected. I expected stone bleachers; pomp and circumstance; when in reality it was a field with a marble starting line.
Once we left there we went to a wine and olive oil tasting which in reality is not my thing so I kinda checked out for a few and just wandered around.
We then came to our hotel for the evening. The hotel is odd... the floors make no sense in their layout and our room smells slightly when the air is not on; so I expect we will freeze tonight to avoid the smell. However, the grounds are gorgeous. Their are fruit trees - an Olympic size pool that is gorgeous, a view that is out of this world. I'm sitting now on the back patio hearing the pool water lap while looking at fruit trees. It is so relaxing and well that is what vacation is for right :)
But alas it is time to rest so that we can tackle tomorrow. Here is praying Mama gets some good sleep and that you are all well.
Monday, June 06, 2016
Sunday, June 05, 2016
Greece Day 4
6/5/16
Today was a jammed packed day and while it was neat it was also hot - really hot. Poor Mama was about done by the 2nd stop and we had a total of 4, but she toughed through it. The heat here is intense; it may be high 80s, but it's dry and the sun is more intense than it is at home so it very quickly saps your energy. I'm slightly burnt from yesterday - today I put sun screen on, used a hat and stayed under an umbrella, but still got more sun. If I lived over here I would tan or shrivel up like a raisin - only 2 options that would exist.
The day began with breakfast @ 7 AM. For anyone that has known me longer than 5 minutes you know this is insanely early for me. Our bags had to be out by 7 and we were right on the cusp. I have them more ready tonight and a different game plan because tomorrow starts at the same time.
We had a quiet breakfast that I rushed a tiny bit because I wanted to get a good seat on the bus. There is a rotation and I wanted to make sure to not get a bus seat with a window pole in it... makes taking pictures out of the bus easier. We got on the bus right on time and headed out to our first stop of the day - the Corinth Canal.
This was basically a bathroom break, but we did walk over the canal on a walking bridge and took some photos. It was amazing how deep it is. The canal is man made and it connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It was built due to the treacherous ride around the point of the Peloponnese but is only used by smaller ships now - it is too narrow for the huge freighters and cruise ships many use today.
One fun TMI thing to note that has nothing to do with the sites - I had to go bra-less today. It was showing in my tank-top and driving me insane so at the Canal bathroom I took it off. Now that I know how hot I got today I'm so glad I did ... I would have sweated to death.
So now that I was less dressed we headed on... The next was the site of Ancient Corinth; where we found the Temple of Apollo. This is one of the few buildings left from before the Romans took over Greece in 46 BC. It was a fantastic site and I think I got some great photographs. We were lucky, it was not terribly busy so I was able to get a few - a few mind you - without people in them. We also saw the Bema, where Paul spoke and was accused of sacrilege by the Jews. We saw the baths and the ruins from several other buildings in Ancient Corinth. Here is a good mock up of what it would have looked like in the day.
I do have to admit upon walking in Ancient Corinth; the site of the city where Paul founded the Church of Corinth; the city that he wrote the two letters too (1st and 2nd Corinthians) I thought I would have been more moved; but it was ruins. Neat ruins, but I had no spiritual significance to me. There were people there on a type of pilgrimage who were praying and worshiping; another group of school children were putting on a religious play for their parents and all I felt was sorry for them as they stood in the hot sun wearing those extremely hot costumes. I know they had to be sweating to death. But no spiritual revelations or moment of awe - maybe it was just too dang hot.
I did however get in trouble by the tour guide :) They give you these headsets so you can hear her from quite a ways away so I was taking pictures while she was giving her "lecture" on the area and I got in trouble for not being with the group. It was comical and as you know I paid about as much attention to it as I do anything. Came over - smiled - and went right on taking my pictures.
We left Ancient Corinth and headed for Mycenae. The drive between the two was really pretty with rolling hills that consisted of various farms - grapes, olives, oranges. It was really pretty. Once we got to Mycenae Mama was already really hot so I gave her my umbrella and Jack and I shared the other one. I was hoping it would keep the sun off of her enough to at least enjoy it a little bit - not sure if it did but hey - I can only do what I can do. Mycenae is an archictual dig site that in all honesty didn't grab my interest. Just too dang hot, but the view was fabulous.
We only walked up to the first level of hte mountain - you could have gone all the way to the top for a better view, but I just couldn't fathom it in the hat. Mycenae was a great city at one time; now it is ruins that they study. Vivian, our tour guide, told us about the battle over Helen that was won with a Trojan horse. The unique item is -Homer, who we know the story of Helen from lived several hundred years before the war. So no one knows what the war was really about they just tie it to his story because it fit so well. What we saw today at this site was:
1) Grave Circle A - Where the Mask of Agamemnon was found. We saw this mask yesterday at the museum. In this grave there were 19 bodies found and over 31 pounds of gold artifacts found.
2) The Lions Gate - Main entrance into the fortified city that Mycenae once was.
3) Gorgeous view of the fields and the sea
4) Tombs of Mycenae - Gigantic beehive shaped tomb that they have no idea what it was used for. It is outside the city walls and is large. There is one piece of Marble over the door that is gigantic... no idea how they lifted it up to that place.
We left Mycenae and headed to Epidaurus. It was a good half hour drive so all of our crew took a little nap - the sun really does zap the energy right out of you. Epidaurus is most known for it's 4th century theater that is still in use. The acoustics were perfect, which Beth proved by singing the Star Spangled Banner. She did amazing until the guards whistled for her to stop :) She knew she wasn't allowed to sing but our tour guide told her don't do it - I know nothing and then said she was leaving the area, basically telling Beth to enjoy herself until she got caught. It was incredible. Beth is a fantastic singer and the sound was amazing. Everyone kept telling her how great she did.
You could hear the same from everywhere in the theater and they still do performances here in the spring. Near this site is also the site of where they discovered some of the first medical instruments proving that medicine was being practiced long before anyone thought. We walked through the museum and saw some of the instruments they discovered; it was neat.
We then left the area - in our air conditioned bus - which by this time was a vital welcome relief. We went to a little picturesque town of Nafplio. We really only had a few minutes here for photos as it was not officially part of our tour, but I'm so glad she deviated to it for us. It was so pretty - sitting on the water. It just captured your imagination and I really wish we had a few more minutes to wander and maybe shop. It reminded me of Burano in Italy.
We then headed to our hotel where I ran to the shower to get the grime of the sun off of me. After showers we took a short nap before heading down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Dinner was good, it was a buffet and we only stayed a little while. Jack and I then went walking a bit on our own. The hotel itself is fabulous; its an oasis unto itself.
The courtyard has hundreds of birds singing
The pool had a fabulous sunset that was breathtaking
The grassy area was like carpet on your feet
The palm trees were gigantic
The rooms are spacious
And last but not least the bed is comfy and I'm about to roll over and call it a night.
Sleep well dear world - more to come tomorrow :)
Today was a jammed packed day and while it was neat it was also hot - really hot. Poor Mama was about done by the 2nd stop and we had a total of 4, but she toughed through it. The heat here is intense; it may be high 80s, but it's dry and the sun is more intense than it is at home so it very quickly saps your energy. I'm slightly burnt from yesterday - today I put sun screen on, used a hat and stayed under an umbrella, but still got more sun. If I lived over here I would tan or shrivel up like a raisin - only 2 options that would exist.
The day began with breakfast @ 7 AM. For anyone that has known me longer than 5 minutes you know this is insanely early for me. Our bags had to be out by 7 and we were right on the cusp. I have them more ready tonight and a different game plan because tomorrow starts at the same time.
We had a quiet breakfast that I rushed a tiny bit because I wanted to get a good seat on the bus. There is a rotation and I wanted to make sure to not get a bus seat with a window pole in it... makes taking pictures out of the bus easier. We got on the bus right on time and headed out to our first stop of the day - the Corinth Canal.
This was basically a bathroom break, but we did walk over the canal on a walking bridge and took some photos. It was amazing how deep it is. The canal is man made and it connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It was built due to the treacherous ride around the point of the Peloponnese but is only used by smaller ships now - it is too narrow for the huge freighters and cruise ships many use today.
One fun TMI thing to note that has nothing to do with the sites - I had to go bra-less today. It was showing in my tank-top and driving me insane so at the Canal bathroom I took it off. Now that I know how hot I got today I'm so glad I did ... I would have sweated to death.
So now that I was less dressed we headed on... The next was the site of Ancient Corinth; where we found the Temple of Apollo. This is one of the few buildings left from before the Romans took over Greece in 46 BC. It was a fantastic site and I think I got some great photographs. We were lucky, it was not terribly busy so I was able to get a few - a few mind you - without people in them. We also saw the Bema, where Paul spoke and was accused of sacrilege by the Jews. We saw the baths and the ruins from several other buildings in Ancient Corinth. Here is a good mock up of what it would have looked like in the day.
I do have to admit upon walking in Ancient Corinth; the site of the city where Paul founded the Church of Corinth; the city that he wrote the two letters too (1st and 2nd Corinthians) I thought I would have been more moved; but it was ruins. Neat ruins, but I had no spiritual significance to me. There were people there on a type of pilgrimage who were praying and worshiping; another group of school children were putting on a religious play for their parents and all I felt was sorry for them as they stood in the hot sun wearing those extremely hot costumes. I know they had to be sweating to death. But no spiritual revelations or moment of awe - maybe it was just too dang hot.
I did however get in trouble by the tour guide :) They give you these headsets so you can hear her from quite a ways away so I was taking pictures while she was giving her "lecture" on the area and I got in trouble for not being with the group. It was comical and as you know I paid about as much attention to it as I do anything. Came over - smiled - and went right on taking my pictures.
We left Ancient Corinth and headed for Mycenae. The drive between the two was really pretty with rolling hills that consisted of various farms - grapes, olives, oranges. It was really pretty. Once we got to Mycenae Mama was already really hot so I gave her my umbrella and Jack and I shared the other one. I was hoping it would keep the sun off of her enough to at least enjoy it a little bit - not sure if it did but hey - I can only do what I can do. Mycenae is an archictual dig site that in all honesty didn't grab my interest. Just too dang hot, but the view was fabulous.
We only walked up to the first level of hte mountain - you could have gone all the way to the top for a better view, but I just couldn't fathom it in the hat. Mycenae was a great city at one time; now it is ruins that they study. Vivian, our tour guide, told us about the battle over Helen that was won with a Trojan horse. The unique item is -Homer, who we know the story of Helen from lived several hundred years before the war. So no one knows what the war was really about they just tie it to his story because it fit so well. What we saw today at this site was:
1) Grave Circle A - Where the Mask of Agamemnon was found. We saw this mask yesterday at the museum. In this grave there were 19 bodies found and over 31 pounds of gold artifacts found.
2) The Lions Gate - Main entrance into the fortified city that Mycenae once was.
3) Gorgeous view of the fields and the sea
4) Tombs of Mycenae - Gigantic beehive shaped tomb that they have no idea what it was used for. It is outside the city walls and is large. There is one piece of Marble over the door that is gigantic... no idea how they lifted it up to that place.
We left Mycenae and headed to Epidaurus. It was a good half hour drive so all of our crew took a little nap - the sun really does zap the energy right out of you. Epidaurus is most known for it's 4th century theater that is still in use. The acoustics were perfect, which Beth proved by singing the Star Spangled Banner. She did amazing until the guards whistled for her to stop :) She knew she wasn't allowed to sing but our tour guide told her don't do it - I know nothing and then said she was leaving the area, basically telling Beth to enjoy herself until she got caught. It was incredible. Beth is a fantastic singer and the sound was amazing. Everyone kept telling her how great she did.
You could hear the same from everywhere in the theater and they still do performances here in the spring. Near this site is also the site of where they discovered some of the first medical instruments proving that medicine was being practiced long before anyone thought. We walked through the museum and saw some of the instruments they discovered; it was neat.
We then left the area - in our air conditioned bus - which by this time was a vital welcome relief. We went to a little picturesque town of Nafplio. We really only had a few minutes here for photos as it was not officially part of our tour, but I'm so glad she deviated to it for us. It was so pretty - sitting on the water. It just captured your imagination and I really wish we had a few more minutes to wander and maybe shop. It reminded me of Burano in Italy.
We then headed to our hotel where I ran to the shower to get the grime of the sun off of me. After showers we took a short nap before heading down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Dinner was good, it was a buffet and we only stayed a little while. Jack and I then went walking a bit on our own. The hotel itself is fabulous; its an oasis unto itself.
The courtyard has hundreds of birds singing
The pool had a fabulous sunset that was breathtaking
The grassy area was like carpet on your feet
The palm trees were gigantic
The rooms are spacious
And last but not least the bed is comfy and I'm about to roll over and call it a night.
Sleep well dear world - more to come tomorrow :)
Saturday, June 04, 2016
Greece Day 3
6/4/16
Today was our first real full day in Greece and it was really nice. Nice I say? Well that's descriptive... let me tell you about the day.
Wake up call was at 7 AM and we slowly rolled out of bed. I'll be honest; this bed felt good and I was tired; but up we got. We got dressed and headed down for breakfast. Now I'm dreading the coffee at this point - having experienced coffee in other countries it is typically way to strong for me. However, I was so pleasantly pleased. The coffee was good and the breakfast was great. Eggs -- not so much, but over all excellent. I had fruit, toast, sausage, and oj. It's funny things here are sweeter than back home - the OJ and Apple Juice was so much sweeter and we found the ketchup (at another meal - not with breakfast) is also sweet. Oh and the tomatoes- I can't forget about them. They are so fresh over here and well yummy! I could eat just tomatoes.
After breakfast we headed down to get our first taste of Athens and to meet our tour guide for the rest of the trip. Her name is Vivian and she is nice. She is young and has a 2 year old son. I can't imagine juggling this career where you are gone for days and weeks and a son, but she seems happy and is extremely knowledgeable.
Our tour started with her pointing out various highlights of the city and then the first stop was the site of the 1st Modern Olympic games. They started back in 1886 and were held at the Panathenaic Stadium. It was neat to see -- I loved seeing the flags billowing in the wind and seeing how awe inspiring a stadium made of marble looked in the glorious sunlight. It can hold 65000 people and is only used for special events.
After that we toured a bit more seeing unique buildings such as the:
National Historic Museum
Athens University
Catholic Church
before heading to the Greek Parliament to see the changing of the guard. In Syntagma Square they guard the the tomb of the unknown soldiers of Greece. I've been to the changing of the guard in the US as well and this was so different. A) it is ina public square next to busy roads etc... so it wasn't quiet or somber as the one in the US is. People talked and carried on like normal. B) They do this high kick; supposedly symbolic of kicking the Turks out which looks rather silly C) they wear traditional wooden shoes with pompas on them that way roughly 6 pounds a piece! It was hot and I'm sure they were hot in those uniforms, but they had a cover to stand under and even a building they could step in if the weather was bad. In the US our solider stand in the rain, snow, beating sun, it doesn't matter... Maybe it gets hotter here, but I thought that was a significant difference. You could also take a picture with them - you could not post or touch them, but you could stand beside them. I don't remember that being possible or even thought of in the US.
Once we left there we headed to what I thought was the highlight of the day - the Athenian Acropolis. The Acropolis is a fortified hill that only has one navigable side. It houses several temples and was a religious icon during pagan times. We hiked up to the first stop which was the Beule Gate; entrance to the Acropolis. The hike wasn't that bad, but the sun made it rough. Between that and the slippery marble I was surprised we didn't have people falling out by the end of the journey.
The view from the Acropolis was worth it by itself. Fabulous. They have an active out door theater (Odeion of Herodes Atticus) and I could imagine sitting there listening to the music while seeing that view.
We then walked through the Propylaia and she gave us a explanation of what we were seeing The first temple you could see, but not get exceptionally close to was the Temple of Athena Nike. It was pretty and you walked through ruins of another temple to move forward. The architecture and the grandeur of it was impressive. The columns... oh the columns.
And then we went on up to see the Parthenon and the Porche of the Caryatids. Both were amazing, but I actually liked the Porch of the Caryatids better. I loved the statues that were columns and it had windows that were extremely symmetrical (no glass of course). It was just pretty and unique. Don't get me wrong I loved the Parthenon as well and it was pretty... maybe some of it's grace was taken away by the equipment they had inside that you could see - it messed up my pictures, lol.
By this time Mama is miserable with the heat (and I can't blame her) so we headed back to the bottom. Once there we got ice cold fruit drinks (lemonade, strawberry and orange) and just sat for a moment in some very scarce shade.
I should also mention before moving further we could see the Temple of Zeus and the Theater of Dionsys from the top of the Acropolis. I got some pictures of it and hope to go see it closer on the last day of our trip.
We then headed back to the bus and that was the end of the tour, but not the day. By this time it is 1:20 and the rest of the day is ahead of us and it's free. Mama decided to go back to rest and the rest of us headed to grab a bite and then to the National Archaeological Museum.
We ate at a restaurant right outside the museum and as a local told us it was slightly pricey, but not to bad and well it had chairs. The food was good and service was great. I had a salad with pork on it. The pork had a nice flavor and the salad had a sweet vinaigrette dressing that I really liked.
Upon entering we walked into a gallery and I thought ... hmmm. not to big we should wrap this up quickly. Boy was I wrong, it just goes and goes and goes, but it was neat. I especially liked the following:
* Little miniature horses, cows, people and vases, reminded me of doll house furniture.
* The vases were gorgeous and so unique
* Their was a vase in the shape of a pig - I think it was the first piggy bank.
You could take pictures with no flash and I was amazed at how well the museum did the lighting. You couldn't even tell the glass was there in most exhibits so I was able to do photography and get some nice memories. Speaking of photography Beth got in trouble :) lol. She went to smile and point in a picture and was told "no posing". Apparently you can stand beside a statue but not make a funny face at it, very odd.
We spent 2 hours in the museum and didn't see close to all of it, but we were tired and knew we wanted to get rest before dinner tonight so we headed back. Vivian, our guide, had told us 5 Euros for a taxi so when we went to get the first one and he told us 10 we knew better. He tried to haggle, but we didn't have a good vibe so we walked down a ways. The next one was very nice and he told us 5 Euros, we gave him 6 just for being honest. He has family in CT, which is cool. His wife's mother and sisters. Yes I'm with Beth which means we get to know everyone, I love it!
We then took a much needed nap before the scheduled dinner and dance this evening.
Once we got up we headed out again to a greek dinner and dancing excursion. The food was different - mostly good. It consisted of several courses:
1) Starters -
Kidney Beans with a Sauce
Bread
Garlic cream spread - Excellent!
A grit type thing - not sure what it was called but it was ok.
2) Appetizers
Sausage Links
No idea what the other items were that were on my plate. Only that they weren't my favorite.
2) Salad
Again I can't get enough of the tomatoes
3) Main Course
This was a chicken meal with potatoes and a red sauce with cheese. It was ok ... I didn't dislike it, it just didn't really speak to me. I ate enough of it, but I also snacked on more tomatoes and cucumbers.
4) Dessert
Flaffels
Fruit
They also live music and dancers. The Greek customary dances are unique to see. They look simple enough, but my guess is they are surprisingly hard. They asked for active participants several times and Beth went up and danced with them. A couple of them she was by herself, but she did so great and well I loved watching her. She is just fun and full of life. The joy that she has is contagious.
We then headed back to the hotel and we start again at 6:30 in the AM. Hope all is well in blogland - more to come tomorrow :)
Today was our first real full day in Greece and it was really nice. Nice I say? Well that's descriptive... let me tell you about the day.
Wake up call was at 7 AM and we slowly rolled out of bed. I'll be honest; this bed felt good and I was tired; but up we got. We got dressed and headed down for breakfast. Now I'm dreading the coffee at this point - having experienced coffee in other countries it is typically way to strong for me. However, I was so pleasantly pleased. The coffee was good and the breakfast was great. Eggs -- not so much, but over all excellent. I had fruit, toast, sausage, and oj. It's funny things here are sweeter than back home - the OJ and Apple Juice was so much sweeter and we found the ketchup (at another meal - not with breakfast) is also sweet. Oh and the tomatoes- I can't forget about them. They are so fresh over here and well yummy! I could eat just tomatoes.
After breakfast we headed down to get our first taste of Athens and to meet our tour guide for the rest of the trip. Her name is Vivian and she is nice. She is young and has a 2 year old son. I can't imagine juggling this career where you are gone for days and weeks and a son, but she seems happy and is extremely knowledgeable.
Our tour started with her pointing out various highlights of the city and then the first stop was the site of the 1st Modern Olympic games. They started back in 1886 and were held at the Panathenaic Stadium. It was neat to see -- I loved seeing the flags billowing in the wind and seeing how awe inspiring a stadium made of marble looked in the glorious sunlight. It can hold 65000 people and is only used for special events.
After that we toured a bit more seeing unique buildings such as the:
National Historic Museum
Athens University
Catholic Church
before heading to the Greek Parliament to see the changing of the guard. In Syntagma Square they guard the the tomb of the unknown soldiers of Greece. I've been to the changing of the guard in the US as well and this was so different. A) it is ina public square next to busy roads etc... so it wasn't quiet or somber as the one in the US is. People talked and carried on like normal. B) They do this high kick; supposedly symbolic of kicking the Turks out which looks rather silly C) they wear traditional wooden shoes with pompas on them that way roughly 6 pounds a piece! It was hot and I'm sure they were hot in those uniforms, but they had a cover to stand under and even a building they could step in if the weather was bad. In the US our solider stand in the rain, snow, beating sun, it doesn't matter... Maybe it gets hotter here, but I thought that was a significant difference. You could also take a picture with them - you could not post or touch them, but you could stand beside them. I don't remember that being possible or even thought of in the US.
Once we left there we headed to what I thought was the highlight of the day - the Athenian Acropolis. The Acropolis is a fortified hill that only has one navigable side. It houses several temples and was a religious icon during pagan times. We hiked up to the first stop which was the Beule Gate; entrance to the Acropolis. The hike wasn't that bad, but the sun made it rough. Between that and the slippery marble I was surprised we didn't have people falling out by the end of the journey.
The view from the Acropolis was worth it by itself. Fabulous. They have an active out door theater (Odeion of Herodes Atticus) and I could imagine sitting there listening to the music while seeing that view.
We then walked through the Propylaia and she gave us a explanation of what we were seeing The first temple you could see, but not get exceptionally close to was the Temple of Athena Nike. It was pretty and you walked through ruins of another temple to move forward. The architecture and the grandeur of it was impressive. The columns... oh the columns.
And then we went on up to see the Parthenon and the Porche of the Caryatids. Both were amazing, but I actually liked the Porch of the Caryatids better. I loved the statues that were columns and it had windows that were extremely symmetrical (no glass of course). It was just pretty and unique. Don't get me wrong I loved the Parthenon as well and it was pretty... maybe some of it's grace was taken away by the equipment they had inside that you could see - it messed up my pictures, lol.
By this time Mama is miserable with the heat (and I can't blame her) so we headed back to the bottom. Once there we got ice cold fruit drinks (lemonade, strawberry and orange) and just sat for a moment in some very scarce shade.
I should also mention before moving further we could see the Temple of Zeus and the Theater of Dionsys from the top of the Acropolis. I got some pictures of it and hope to go see it closer on the last day of our trip.
We then headed back to the bus and that was the end of the tour, but not the day. By this time it is 1:20 and the rest of the day is ahead of us and it's free. Mama decided to go back to rest and the rest of us headed to grab a bite and then to the National Archaeological Museum.
We ate at a restaurant right outside the museum and as a local told us it was slightly pricey, but not to bad and well it had chairs. The food was good and service was great. I had a salad with pork on it. The pork had a nice flavor and the salad had a sweet vinaigrette dressing that I really liked.
Upon entering we walked into a gallery and I thought ... hmmm. not to big we should wrap this up quickly. Boy was I wrong, it just goes and goes and goes, but it was neat. I especially liked the following:
* Little miniature horses, cows, people and vases, reminded me of doll house furniture.
* The vases were gorgeous and so unique
* Their was a vase in the shape of a pig - I think it was the first piggy bank.
You could take pictures with no flash and I was amazed at how well the museum did the lighting. You couldn't even tell the glass was there in most exhibits so I was able to do photography and get some nice memories. Speaking of photography Beth got in trouble :) lol. She went to smile and point in a picture and was told "no posing". Apparently you can stand beside a statue but not make a funny face at it, very odd.
We spent 2 hours in the museum and didn't see close to all of it, but we were tired and knew we wanted to get rest before dinner tonight so we headed back. Vivian, our guide, had told us 5 Euros for a taxi so when we went to get the first one and he told us 10 we knew better. He tried to haggle, but we didn't have a good vibe so we walked down a ways. The next one was very nice and he told us 5 Euros, we gave him 6 just for being honest. He has family in CT, which is cool. His wife's mother and sisters. Yes I'm with Beth which means we get to know everyone, I love it!
We then took a much needed nap before the scheduled dinner and dance this evening.
Once we got up we headed out again to a greek dinner and dancing excursion. The food was different - mostly good. It consisted of several courses:
1) Starters -
Kidney Beans with a Sauce
Bread
Garlic cream spread - Excellent!
A grit type thing - not sure what it was called but it was ok.
2) Appetizers
Sausage Links
No idea what the other items were that were on my plate. Only that they weren't my favorite.
2) Salad
Again I can't get enough of the tomatoes
3) Main Course
This was a chicken meal with potatoes and a red sauce with cheese. It was ok ... I didn't dislike it, it just didn't really speak to me. I ate enough of it, but I also snacked on more tomatoes and cucumbers.
4) Dessert
Flaffels
Fruit
They also live music and dancers. The Greek customary dances are unique to see. They look simple enough, but my guess is they are surprisingly hard. They asked for active participants several times and Beth went up and danced with them. A couple of them she was by herself, but she did so great and well I loved watching her. She is just fun and full of life. The joy that she has is contagious.
We then headed back to the hotel and we start again at 6:30 in the AM. Hope all is well in blogland - more to come tomorrow :)
Greece Day 1 & 2
6/2/16 and 6/3/16
We woke up and went about our daily lives. I worked from home, Jack went to get a haircut, etc.… but I’ll be honest that I wasn’t very effective at work… just trying not to take a full PTO day. So even though I was scheduled to log off (I worked remote) at 11; I ended up logging at 10:30.
We then loaded up the luggage; said good bye to the fur babies and were off. I drove up to Covington while Jack did some work; then in Covington we ate Chick fila before Jack finished the drive to the ATL airport.
Now the airport was an experience. I have been having issues letting others drive – I hate to drive but have panic attacks in traffic situations if others are driving. So here we are trying to find this new “international concourse” taking the most scenic route possible because we didn’t know where we were and I’m gripping the chair like I’m on the motor speedway seeing my life pass before my eyes. Now don’t get me wrong – Jack drives perfectly safe and we were never in even a slight hint of danger; I just get really panicky.
Well after we found it Jack dropped Mama and I off with the bags and went to get parked. Beth arrived at about the exact same time Jack got back so it was perfect timing. We then went to check in our bags. Jack is a Platinum member who gets 70 Ibs a bag or so we thought. Nope that is only domestic – international it is 70. At this point I’m just like pay the overage – I can’t think – still panicked from the ride over. So I walk away and let Jack just handle it – which he did’ we ended up checking 2nd duffle bags we have at no cost and it all worked out. Just have to do something about the panic – tried Paxil, but had to come back off of it due to side effects… Will talk to the doctor when I get back from Greece.
But on to the trip… after we got checked in we shortly boarded the flight for Amsterdam. It was an 8 hour flight and Mama was in
and out much of it. In a half sleep / half awake place where she says crazy things that make zero sense.
We landed in Amsterdam, but had to sit on the tarmac for an hour while they cleared the gate. Once we unloaded the plane we were walking to the connecting flight for Athens and had to go through Customs. We realized Mama was walking really unstable so I asked the TSA agent if she could sit in a nearby chair while we waited -- instead she fast tracked us to the front which was really nice.
Once we got through there we were walking and still worrying about Mama we borrowed one of the wheelchairs and rolled her to the gate. We chilled there for a good hour before they decided to change our gate. So then we rolled her to another one…. This gate was downstairs and getting there was funny.
In Europe the elevators are very long and narrow; well this one was just narrow – so I go to roll her in and I can’t. I, she, and my book back won’t fit. We get stuck… The elevator is beeping – Mama is trying to get up and I’m telling her to stay … it’s so funny. Well then a Delta person comes by and she steps right in and helps (thank goodness) and I run downstairs to meet them.
We then sit – and sit – and sit. About 30 minutes go by and they roll up these buses. I know buses … odd right? But given I couldn’t see where a plane was going to come to down there it made at least some sense.
They loaded Mama (and us) along with another group using the wheel chairs first onto the bus and then we are off. We drive through active tarmacs to get to our plane which is sitting in the middle of a busy area. We disembark from the bus and get on the plane. Mama said it reminded her of the 1950s plane onboarding.
After we got on the plane we were told we had lost our spot in the take off line due to the delay so then we waited on the plan for another hour to take off. Now me saying this in this matter of fact way and you probably think “Oh My, how horrible” but we didn’t have any more connections and we were also tired it just didn’t matter.
Beth, Mama and Jack all took naps – In fact Mama and Beth didn’t realize we even had a delay till they woke up and we were still on the ground. We finally got off and landed in Greece around 6:20.
We then got our bags, met the Globus representative and headed to the hotel. We got our rooms, met with the Globus person here to get some basic information and went to recoup.
We decided not to go to bed right away as we want to adjust to this time so we all got cleaned up and walked down to a restaurant near here. The menu was in Greek, but the nice man spoke English and was nice enough to explain what they have. I ordered a pork plate and I have to say it was fabulous. I loved it and ate all of it! All of it I tell you.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel and each went our separate ways. Jack is here with me sleeping soundly – as I hope Mama and Beth are. I am typing this up and getting bags ready for tomorrow at which time I’m going to sleep as well. Breakfast is at 8:30 in the am
We woke up and went about our daily lives. I worked from home, Jack went to get a haircut, etc.… but I’ll be honest that I wasn’t very effective at work… just trying not to take a full PTO day. So even though I was scheduled to log off (I worked remote) at 11; I ended up logging at 10:30.
We then loaded up the luggage; said good bye to the fur babies and were off. I drove up to Covington while Jack did some work; then in Covington we ate Chick fila before Jack finished the drive to the ATL airport.
Now the airport was an experience. I have been having issues letting others drive – I hate to drive but have panic attacks in traffic situations if others are driving. So here we are trying to find this new “international concourse” taking the most scenic route possible because we didn’t know where we were and I’m gripping the chair like I’m on the motor speedway seeing my life pass before my eyes. Now don’t get me wrong – Jack drives perfectly safe and we were never in even a slight hint of danger; I just get really panicky.
Well after we found it Jack dropped Mama and I off with the bags and went to get parked. Beth arrived at about the exact same time Jack got back so it was perfect timing. We then went to check in our bags. Jack is a Platinum member who gets 70 Ibs a bag or so we thought. Nope that is only domestic – international it is 70. At this point I’m just like pay the overage – I can’t think – still panicked from the ride over. So I walk away and let Jack just handle it – which he did’ we ended up checking 2nd duffle bags we have at no cost and it all worked out. Just have to do something about the panic – tried Paxil, but had to come back off of it due to side effects… Will talk to the doctor when I get back from Greece.
But on to the trip… after we got checked in we shortly boarded the flight for Amsterdam. It was an 8 hour flight and Mama was in
and out much of it. In a half sleep / half awake place where she says crazy things that make zero sense.
We landed in Amsterdam, but had to sit on the tarmac for an hour while they cleared the gate. Once we unloaded the plane we were walking to the connecting flight for Athens and had to go through Customs. We realized Mama was walking really unstable so I asked the TSA agent if she could sit in a nearby chair while we waited -- instead she fast tracked us to the front which was really nice.
Once we got through there we were walking and still worrying about Mama we borrowed one of the wheelchairs and rolled her to the gate. We chilled there for a good hour before they decided to change our gate. So then we rolled her to another one…. This gate was downstairs and getting there was funny.
In Europe the elevators are very long and narrow; well this one was just narrow – so I go to roll her in and I can’t. I, she, and my book back won’t fit. We get stuck… The elevator is beeping – Mama is trying to get up and I’m telling her to stay … it’s so funny. Well then a Delta person comes by and she steps right in and helps (thank goodness) and I run downstairs to meet them.
We then sit – and sit – and sit. About 30 minutes go by and they roll up these buses. I know buses … odd right? But given I couldn’t see where a plane was going to come to down there it made at least some sense.
They loaded Mama (and us) along with another group using the wheel chairs first onto the bus and then we are off. We drive through active tarmacs to get to our plane which is sitting in the middle of a busy area. We disembark from the bus and get on the plane. Mama said it reminded her of the 1950s plane onboarding.
After we got on the plane we were told we had lost our spot in the take off line due to the delay so then we waited on the plan for another hour to take off. Now me saying this in this matter of fact way and you probably think “Oh My, how horrible” but we didn’t have any more connections and we were also tired it just didn’t matter.
Beth, Mama and Jack all took naps – In fact Mama and Beth didn’t realize we even had a delay till they woke up and we were still on the ground. We finally got off and landed in Greece around 6:20.
We then got our bags, met the Globus representative and headed to the hotel. We got our rooms, met with the Globus person here to get some basic information and went to recoup.
We decided not to go to bed right away as we want to adjust to this time so we all got cleaned up and walked down to a restaurant near here. The menu was in Greek, but the nice man spoke English and was nice enough to explain what they have. I ordered a pork plate and I have to say it was fabulous. I loved it and ate all of it! All of it I tell you.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel and each went our separate ways. Jack is here with me sleeping soundly – as I hope Mama and Beth are. I am typing this up and getting bags ready for tomorrow at which time I’m going to sleep as well. Breakfast is at 8:30 in the am
Sunday, October 04, 2015
Boston Day 8
9/26/15
This post is a little overdue, but I wanted to be sure I captured our last day in Boston.
We got up and left the hotel around 9. We drove up toward and beyond Salem, staying on 1A and just enjoying the coast. It is such a gorgeous area. We didn't really stop anywhere, just drove a couple hours north and then back to the airport. The scenery was peaceful and we enjoyed the relaxing drive. We turned down unknown roads, some private, had residents get angry at us invading their "private road", but hey - we had fun and didn't hurt anything.
We then got to the airport early. I thought our flight left at 4, but it was 5 - so we were there really early. We ate lunch and chilled at the airport. We got home to Augusta around 11:30 PM and were flat exhausted. I don't think anyone moved on Sunday before noon :)
But the trip was worth it - we had fun, we relaxed and we weren't at work - which is really what it is all about, right?
Now we are back in the grind - looking forward to our next trip - Greece in June :)
This post is a little overdue, but I wanted to be sure I captured our last day in Boston.
We got up and left the hotel around 9. We drove up toward and beyond Salem, staying on 1A and just enjoying the coast. It is such a gorgeous area. We didn't really stop anywhere, just drove a couple hours north and then back to the airport. The scenery was peaceful and we enjoyed the relaxing drive. We turned down unknown roads, some private, had residents get angry at us invading their "private road", but hey - we had fun and didn't hurt anything.
We then got to the airport early. I thought our flight left at 4, but it was 5 - so we were there really early. We ate lunch and chilled at the airport. We got home to Augusta around 11:30 PM and were flat exhausted. I don't think anyone moved on Sunday before noon :)
But the trip was worth it - we had fun, we relaxed and we weren't at work - which is really what it is all about, right?
Now we are back in the grind - looking forward to our next trip - Greece in June :)
Friday, September 25, 2015
Boston Day 7
9/25/15
I've officially killed them. Mama and Jack are both crying for mercy / down time. Mama especially, though Jack may have been more vocal. Its sad to see my Mama slow down...she was the one who always said on vacations, you can rest when you get home. Wanted to see and do... now it appears naps will be a vacation requirement. This is ok in itself, but what it symbolizes saddens me.
Anyway, we had a good day, but it was shortened.
We got up, ate, and left the hotel by 9:00. We went down to Copley Square and walked around. We had to sidetrack to hunt down a belt - Mama's pants were super loose on her. Vacationers hunting for a belt in one of the most expensive shopping districts - fun. We finally found one at H&M for $6.
The walk to look for said belt was nice, the shops are quaint and we walked down Commerce Avenue which is pretty. We also saw a couple of churches that are in the area:
1) Old South Church - GORGEOUS - You could go in this one and it really was a pretty site.
2) First Baptist Church - this one was really pretty as well, but closed for visitation.
After walking the Back Bay area a bit we went to join the 11AM tour of the Boston Library. It was pretty - we left the tour about 1/3 of the way through as that woman was just giving too many details about architectural history and honestly we didn't care. We finished touring on our own. The building is well done and pretty, but nothing like the Library of Congress in DC - now that is a gorgeous building.
After the library we walked over to Trinity Church, another gorgeous facility. We attended an organ concert there at 12. It was classical music, so not my thing, but to hear the Pipe Organ in it's full glory was something else and well worth the few minutes. Plus we were off of our feet.
We then went a BBQ Restaurant named Wiskeys and it was really good! I love their spinach/artichoke dip and they have what I consider real Baked Beans.
Then I gave the group a choice 1) Ducks / Swan Boats in the park, 2) Tea Party Site or 3) Hotel and a nap.
Can you guess the choice? We came back to the hotel and rested - I admit I took a 3 hour nap myself, though I would have preferred the boats :)
Jack and I then got up and went for dinner at a restaurant here in Revere, called the Wharf. Food was excellent - service sucked! We brought Mama back a hamburger and now I'm cozy in my bed typing to you all.
Tomorrow I've changed our plans to do a scenic drive up the coast vs. going back into Boston - it will be pretty and well, I think its what our group needs so ... we will change and adapt. Plane leaves at 4 PM tomorrow so this time tomorrow night I'll be traveling home. You all be safe and thanks for listening to my ramblings from Boston.
I've officially killed them. Mama and Jack are both crying for mercy / down time. Mama especially, though Jack may have been more vocal. Its sad to see my Mama slow down...she was the one who always said on vacations, you can rest when you get home. Wanted to see and do... now it appears naps will be a vacation requirement. This is ok in itself, but what it symbolizes saddens me.
Anyway, we had a good day, but it was shortened.
We got up, ate, and left the hotel by 9:00. We went down to Copley Square and walked around. We had to sidetrack to hunt down a belt - Mama's pants were super loose on her. Vacationers hunting for a belt in one of the most expensive shopping districts - fun. We finally found one at H&M for $6.
The walk to look for said belt was nice, the shops are quaint and we walked down Commerce Avenue which is pretty. We also saw a couple of churches that are in the area:
1) Old South Church - GORGEOUS - You could go in this one and it really was a pretty site.
2) First Baptist Church - this one was really pretty as well, but closed for visitation.
After walking the Back Bay area a bit we went to join the 11AM tour of the Boston Library. It was pretty - we left the tour about 1/3 of the way through as that woman was just giving too many details about architectural history and honestly we didn't care. We finished touring on our own. The building is well done and pretty, but nothing like the Library of Congress in DC - now that is a gorgeous building.
After the library we walked over to Trinity Church, another gorgeous facility. We attended an organ concert there at 12. It was classical music, so not my thing, but to hear the Pipe Organ in it's full glory was something else and well worth the few minutes. Plus we were off of our feet.
We then went a BBQ Restaurant named Wiskeys and it was really good! I love their spinach/artichoke dip and they have what I consider real Baked Beans.
Then I gave the group a choice 1) Ducks / Swan Boats in the park, 2) Tea Party Site or 3) Hotel and a nap.
Can you guess the choice? We came back to the hotel and rested - I admit I took a 3 hour nap myself, though I would have preferred the boats :)
Jack and I then got up and went for dinner at a restaurant here in Revere, called the Wharf. Food was excellent - service sucked! We brought Mama back a hamburger and now I'm cozy in my bed typing to you all.
Tomorrow I've changed our plans to do a scenic drive up the coast vs. going back into Boston - it will be pretty and well, I think its what our group needs so ... we will change and adapt. Plane leaves at 4 PM tomorrow so this time tomorrow night I'll be traveling home. You all be safe and thanks for listening to my ramblings from Boston.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Boston Day 6
9/24/15
Today started out with some serious excitement. We all got up to make the 8:30 trolley, I wanted to eat breakfast out ... with waitresses and everything. I don't know I prefer breakfast out over any other meal.
Anyway we hop on the shuttle bus from the hotel, get in the backseat and head on our way. We go by A Concourse, drop off some flight crew and then we are train bound. I'm 1/2 asleep and Jack starts yelling at the driver "You are on the wrong side of the road". I instantly try to quiet Jack thinking we are on one of the roads up here that all go in one direction, but no Jack was right - here we are playing chicken with another car and the driver is busy talking on the radio. Jack is yelling, the driver isn't listening. Well the other car veers and cuts on his police lights - you heard right - our idiot driver was playing chicken with a COP. The bus stops, in the middle of the road, cop yells at him "WHAT IN GODS NAME ARE YOU DOING". Cop tells him to pull into the parking lot to our right and he just starts moving, without looking. At which time the cop goes -wait you have to look first. Well the driver doesn't pull into the parking lot, he just pulls over on the side of the road.
By this time the policeman has gone from shocked at this guys idiot behaviour to aggravated and I am just wanting to get on about our day. I call the hotel and tell them the situation... I explained we needed alternate transportation, immediately! The hotel was flabbergasted at the situation I think. I get "please hold"..... music.... music...."we are on the way". LOL All the while we are watching the man with the police - he can't find or does not have a drivers license.
At this point I realize the train is just a ways away and I want of of this bus so we walk to the front and ask the policeman if we can leave. He says yes, and explains to me, that our driver was not driving on the right side of the road. I tell him we know and thank him for his time -- we proceed to walk away. I don't know what happened with the driver. I do know he should not be allowed to drive for a living. He talked on his cell while driving, then got distracted with hand radio and then failed to listen to his passenger who was yelling at him about being on the wrong side of the road. If any of you know my husband you know his military voice is not something easily ignored.... it goes right to your core. I pray he is fine and that he finds another profession. I can tell you I will never get on a shuttle he is driving again!
So by this point us getting up early and leaving has gotten us know where -- we are still behind our iteniary. Aah well, we get on the train and head to Harvard. The red line is delayed so from leaving the hotel at 8:30 to getting to Harvard yard area for breakfast takes 2 hours. None of us have had breakfast and we are tired and grumpy.
We get off the train and walk to Henrietta's, a breakfast place with great ratings. The food was good -- service was just ok, but the food was good. I had cranberry french toast =yummy :)
We then headed over to Harvard. The daily tour was starting soon so we got our tickets and figured out where we would meet. We then had a few minutes so we walked over to Christ Church. The outside is pretty but the inside is gorgeous. White pillars, beautiful chandeliers - well worth the short walk to see.
We then headed back and joined the Harvard Tour. Our guide was an Israeli Student, whose major is Social Studies. He was very interesting to listen to and gave us a fabulous tour. My favorite building by far was the Memorial Hall. It has no religious meaning - strictly academic stain glass etc... but it was so pretty. The other buildings were ok, old brick - nothing really "special" other than to know their history and the people who had passed through the doors. It really was great to see the campus and how alive it is. To hear it from a students perspective... it was nice.
After the tour we went to the Museaum of Natural History, but it was 12 per person and we only had 45 min to an hour - we or rather Mama decided it wasn't worth it. Her words "If you've seen the one in DC you've seen them all" and given we were mainly going for her we ditched that idea. We then walked around a bit, just meandering really, before heading to MIT.
After arriving at MIT we go to the main reason we are visiting MIT at all - the robotic exhibit. Before we got there though I saw a taco shop and grabbed a taco, my french toast was long gone. Mama and Jack were still full from breakfast, but I was starving - a downside of not being able to eat alot in one sitting.
Anyway the taco place was hot, but the taco was fabulous. I got it and ate right outside the MIT museum, lol. I felt ackward, but dang it I was hungry and the taco shop was the furnace from hell.
After eating my taco we went into the museum. The actually had 4 exhibits:
1) Robotics
2) Little Machines - Mama loved this one.
3) Holograms
4) Light and Flash Photography
5) Berlin Photography
They were all good in their own right. I'm not really a museum person, but Jack and Mama had fun.
By this time it was almost 5 so we decide to find a bite to eat and head home. And this next escapade is why I try to pick our restaurants at least the day before. We had no idea what we wanted or where we wanted to eat at. The little girl at MIT told us to walk Mass Ave and there would be lots of choices. Well there were, but who knew if they were any good. Ther was an Irish Pub we went into, but OMG it was loud and the hostess never showed up so we left.
By this time I'm frustrated and flustered from not having a plan so we just walk. While we are strolling along we spot a Goodwill. Mama has died and gone to heaven, a goodwill :) I sit on the bench and she goes shopping.
I needed the moment - I used it to find us a restaurant, one near a metro with good ratings. Regina's Pizzs.
Mama finishes her shopping and we head to Regina's a few metro stops away. It was loud and confusing to us Southerners, but the food was great! We had the mediterian Pizza and Mama had a Sausage and Onion. The waitress was brusque but when she realized we were a little uncomfy she warmed up and I really liked her. She brougth me a soda in a glass (they typically serve in paper cups) and was kind to Mama when she wanted a pizza with hamburger meet - they dont have on pizza at Regina's, lol.
The food was really good and I am so glad we went.
Now we are back home, safe in the hotel. It's a bit of an early night - only 9 PM, but we need the rest. Walked over 9 miles today alone!
Hope all is well in blogland.
Today started out with some serious excitement. We all got up to make the 8:30 trolley, I wanted to eat breakfast out ... with waitresses and everything. I don't know I prefer breakfast out over any other meal.
Anyway we hop on the shuttle bus from the hotel, get in the backseat and head on our way. We go by A Concourse, drop off some flight crew and then we are train bound. I'm 1/2 asleep and Jack starts yelling at the driver "You are on the wrong side of the road". I instantly try to quiet Jack thinking we are on one of the roads up here that all go in one direction, but no Jack was right - here we are playing chicken with another car and the driver is busy talking on the radio. Jack is yelling, the driver isn't listening. Well the other car veers and cuts on his police lights - you heard right - our idiot driver was playing chicken with a COP. The bus stops, in the middle of the road, cop yells at him "WHAT IN GODS NAME ARE YOU DOING". Cop tells him to pull into the parking lot to our right and he just starts moving, without looking. At which time the cop goes -wait you have to look first. Well the driver doesn't pull into the parking lot, he just pulls over on the side of the road.
By this time the policeman has gone from shocked at this guys idiot behaviour to aggravated and I am just wanting to get on about our day. I call the hotel and tell them the situation... I explained we needed alternate transportation, immediately! The hotel was flabbergasted at the situation I think. I get "please hold"..... music.... music...."we are on the way". LOL All the while we are watching the man with the police - he can't find or does not have a drivers license.
At this point I realize the train is just a ways away and I want of of this bus so we walk to the front and ask the policeman if we can leave. He says yes, and explains to me, that our driver was not driving on the right side of the road. I tell him we know and thank him for his time -- we proceed to walk away. I don't know what happened with the driver. I do know he should not be allowed to drive for a living. He talked on his cell while driving, then got distracted with hand radio and then failed to listen to his passenger who was yelling at him about being on the wrong side of the road. If any of you know my husband you know his military voice is not something easily ignored.... it goes right to your core. I pray he is fine and that he finds another profession. I can tell you I will never get on a shuttle he is driving again!
So by this point us getting up early and leaving has gotten us know where -- we are still behind our iteniary. Aah well, we get on the train and head to Harvard. The red line is delayed so from leaving the hotel at 8:30 to getting to Harvard yard area for breakfast takes 2 hours. None of us have had breakfast and we are tired and grumpy.
We get off the train and walk to Henrietta's, a breakfast place with great ratings. The food was good -- service was just ok, but the food was good. I had cranberry french toast =yummy :)
We then headed over to Harvard. The daily tour was starting soon so we got our tickets and figured out where we would meet. We then had a few minutes so we walked over to Christ Church. The outside is pretty but the inside is gorgeous. White pillars, beautiful chandeliers - well worth the short walk to see.
We then headed back and joined the Harvard Tour. Our guide was an Israeli Student, whose major is Social Studies. He was very interesting to listen to and gave us a fabulous tour. My favorite building by far was the Memorial Hall. It has no religious meaning - strictly academic stain glass etc... but it was so pretty. The other buildings were ok, old brick - nothing really "special" other than to know their history and the people who had passed through the doors. It really was great to see the campus and how alive it is. To hear it from a students perspective... it was nice.
After the tour we went to the Museaum of Natural History, but it was 12 per person and we only had 45 min to an hour - we or rather Mama decided it wasn't worth it. Her words "If you've seen the one in DC you've seen them all" and given we were mainly going for her we ditched that idea. We then walked around a bit, just meandering really, before heading to MIT.
After arriving at MIT we go to the main reason we are visiting MIT at all - the robotic exhibit. Before we got there though I saw a taco shop and grabbed a taco, my french toast was long gone. Mama and Jack were still full from breakfast, but I was starving - a downside of not being able to eat alot in one sitting.
Anyway the taco place was hot, but the taco was fabulous. I got it and ate right outside the MIT museum, lol. I felt ackward, but dang it I was hungry and the taco shop was the furnace from hell.
After eating my taco we went into the museum. The actually had 4 exhibits:
1) Robotics
2) Little Machines - Mama loved this one.
3) Holograms
4) Light and Flash Photography
5) Berlin Photography
They were all good in their own right. I'm not really a museum person, but Jack and Mama had fun.
By this time it was almost 5 so we decide to find a bite to eat and head home. And this next escapade is why I try to pick our restaurants at least the day before. We had no idea what we wanted or where we wanted to eat at. The little girl at MIT told us to walk Mass Ave and there would be lots of choices. Well there were, but who knew if they were any good. Ther was an Irish Pub we went into, but OMG it was loud and the hostess never showed up so we left.
By this time I'm frustrated and flustered from not having a plan so we just walk. While we are strolling along we spot a Goodwill. Mama has died and gone to heaven, a goodwill :) I sit on the bench and she goes shopping.
I needed the moment - I used it to find us a restaurant, one near a metro with good ratings. Regina's Pizzs.
Mama finishes her shopping and we head to Regina's a few metro stops away. It was loud and confusing to us Southerners, but the food was great! We had the mediterian Pizza and Mama had a Sausage and Onion. The waitress was brusque but when she realized we were a little uncomfy she warmed up and I really liked her. She brougth me a soda in a glass (they typically serve in paper cups) and was kind to Mama when she wanted a pizza with hamburger meet - they dont have on pizza at Regina's, lol.
The food was really good and I am so glad we went.
Now we are back home, safe in the hotel. It's a bit of an early night - only 9 PM, but we need the rest. Walked over 9 miles today alone!
Hope all is well in blogland.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Boston Day 5
9/23/15
Today was awesome. It was so relaxing and peaceful. I absolutely love the town of Salem, not for its history but for its laid back, relaxed vibe.
We enjoyed walking the quiet streets --- felt perfectly safe, unrushed, at peace. We meandered shops and bought useless trinkets, we looked at Halloween decor and laughed, and of course we took time to learn about the area and its history. Below is a recap of the day:
1) Breakfast at the hotel. Mama is wearing shorts and I warn her she is going to be cold... this comes into play later in the day so pay attention :)
2) We drive to Salem and find parking right across the street from the visitor center.
3) We go into the visitor center and find a very nice lady who gives us good direction of what to see and do.
4) Salem has a hop on / off trolley and we got tickets. Decided to hear the entire tour before hopping off. It was interesting though you could tell in some areas she was hunting something to talk about. Below is a high level recap of some of the sights.
- gorgeous water views of boats and light houses
- custom house 1 and 2
- narrative of how custom house 1 used to be on water but they filled in the land and now 2 sits near the water
- International Trade began in salem
- Salem Willows Park
- Winter Island
- Chestnut Street
5) There was more on the tour, but she was hard to hear. We went all the way round then hopped off and headed over to the Salem Witch Museum. It was a multi-media exhibit with story telling and was pretty well done. Most of it was history -- the end the museum seemed to try to sway you to be accepting of Wica; was very subtle. However, it was there so I have to say that point dissapointed me, but the history was good. I didnt know that in salem only 19 or so people died vs. thousands in Europe. We also never burned anyone at the stake here.
6) We then went down to restaurnat row as they call it and ate at a hippy type sandwich shoppe. It was interesting. I got artichoke/spinach dip for an appetizer -- interesting is all I'll say. The sandwich Jack and I shared was pretty good though.
7) We then meandered some shoppes and walked to The House of Seven Gables, but on our way we found some other cool stuff.
8) Friendship Ship - a reconstruction of a trade ship and part of the National Park Service.
9) 1st Custom House
10) Site of oldest operating candy store. I got candy :) My own box with my name on it!
11) We then went to the house of seven gables. I need to read the book, but the house was fantastic. The grounds gorgous, the house has real pieces in it - not reconstructions and because it was made into a museum early in the 1900s it has really stayed true to form. The history of it was interesting and you could see the different owners by the the styles of the various rooms.
Next to there is the birthplace of Hawthorne. He wasn't actually born here... they moved the house he was born in to the site to save it from being demolished. It was cool as it had pieces that actually belonged to him and his familiy in it.
Did I mention the grounds ? OMG so pretty and they come with two cats. We got to see one in person - he was super friendly. They sale a postcard of the cats :) is that not awesome!
12) We then walked back toward the car and stopped at the Salem Witch memorial and the Old Burial Point and explored a bit.
13) Then Jack was nice enough to climb the 3 flights of stairs and bring the car to us :) He is such a good man.
14) We then drove down to Pickering Wharf and got ready for our cruise. We meandered the shops a bit while we waited til time to board. When we did board we found it is only 7 total on the boat, so we hadd plenty of room to stretch out and relax. The sunset was gorgous and I know i saw at least 4 light houses. It was so much fun!
Do you remember Mama and the shorts? On this cruise I have my shirt, my zipper sweater and my jacket - Im still cold. Mama is in shorts and a t shirt. Jack gave her his sweater but I know she had to be freezing. It was COLD. Gorgous but cold.
15) After the cruise we had dinner at Sea Level Restaurant. The service lacked a bit but the food was really good. Mama even liked it! We even splurged on desert :)
Now we are tucked safe in our beds and about to rest up for tomorrow. Harvard and MIT :)
Sleep well !
Today was awesome. It was so relaxing and peaceful. I absolutely love the town of Salem, not for its history but for its laid back, relaxed vibe.
We enjoyed walking the quiet streets --- felt perfectly safe, unrushed, at peace. We meandered shops and bought useless trinkets, we looked at Halloween decor and laughed, and of course we took time to learn about the area and its history. Below is a recap of the day:
1) Breakfast at the hotel. Mama is wearing shorts and I warn her she is going to be cold... this comes into play later in the day so pay attention :)
2) We drive to Salem and find parking right across the street from the visitor center.
3) We go into the visitor center and find a very nice lady who gives us good direction of what to see and do.
4) Salem has a hop on / off trolley and we got tickets. Decided to hear the entire tour before hopping off. It was interesting though you could tell in some areas she was hunting something to talk about. Below is a high level recap of some of the sights.
- gorgeous water views of boats and light houses
- custom house 1 and 2
- narrative of how custom house 1 used to be on water but they filled in the land and now 2 sits near the water
- International Trade began in salem
- Salem Willows Park
- Winter Island
- Chestnut Street
5) There was more on the tour, but she was hard to hear. We went all the way round then hopped off and headed over to the Salem Witch Museum. It was a multi-media exhibit with story telling and was pretty well done. Most of it was history -- the end the museum seemed to try to sway you to be accepting of Wica; was very subtle. However, it was there so I have to say that point dissapointed me, but the history was good. I didnt know that in salem only 19 or so people died vs. thousands in Europe. We also never burned anyone at the stake here.
6) We then went down to restaurnat row as they call it and ate at a hippy type sandwich shoppe. It was interesting. I got artichoke/spinach dip for an appetizer -- interesting is all I'll say. The sandwich Jack and I shared was pretty good though.
7) We then meandered some shoppes and walked to The House of Seven Gables, but on our way we found some other cool stuff.
8) Friendship Ship - a reconstruction of a trade ship and part of the National Park Service.
9) 1st Custom House
10) Site of oldest operating candy store. I got candy :) My own box with my name on it!
11) We then went to the house of seven gables. I need to read the book, but the house was fantastic. The grounds gorgous, the house has real pieces in it - not reconstructions and because it was made into a museum early in the 1900s it has really stayed true to form. The history of it was interesting and you could see the different owners by the the styles of the various rooms.
Next to there is the birthplace of Hawthorne. He wasn't actually born here... they moved the house he was born in to the site to save it from being demolished. It was cool as it had pieces that actually belonged to him and his familiy in it.
Did I mention the grounds ? OMG so pretty and they come with two cats. We got to see one in person - he was super friendly. They sale a postcard of the cats :) is that not awesome!
12) We then walked back toward the car and stopped at the Salem Witch memorial and the Old Burial Point and explored a bit.
13) Then Jack was nice enough to climb the 3 flights of stairs and bring the car to us :) He is such a good man.
14) We then drove down to Pickering Wharf and got ready for our cruise. We meandered the shops a bit while we waited til time to board. When we did board we found it is only 7 total on the boat, so we hadd plenty of room to stretch out and relax. The sunset was gorgous and I know i saw at least 4 light houses. It was so much fun!
Do you remember Mama and the shorts? On this cruise I have my shirt, my zipper sweater and my jacket - Im still cold. Mama is in shorts and a t shirt. Jack gave her his sweater but I know she had to be freezing. It was COLD. Gorgous but cold.
15) After the cruise we had dinner at Sea Level Restaurant. The service lacked a bit but the food was really good. Mama even liked it! We even splurged on desert :)
Now we are tucked safe in our beds and about to rest up for tomorrow. Harvard and MIT :)
Sleep well !
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Boston Day 4
9/22/15
Today started out with a bit of disappointment. Mama was sick at her stomach last night and decided to stay at the hotel :(
Jack and I ate breakfast at the hotel and headed out to the JFK Presidential Library. Mama would have really enjoyed this so I tried to take extra pictures. I'm not really a JFK Buff and museums in general are things I speed through - I'm not one to read every fact or ooh and aah over a piece of old silverware. However, I was actively engaged in the JFK Museum and really enjoyed myself. I learned alot about the man and was impressed with his legacy. His inaugural speech -- a thing of beauty.
We spent roughly 2 hours maybe 2.5 going through it -- it could easily have been an all day event.
I then called Mama and determined she was feeling well enough to finish the day with us. I picked her up and we headed out to Lexington. There was a parking snafu and a marital spat and then we continued on our day... Marriage - if you aren't having a spat every now and then, you aren't married.
We took a tour of Lexington and Concord and the narrator was really good. He told us the history and pointed out historical buildings / locations. Everything up here closes at 4:30 it seems, but we saw the highlights.
Highlights included:
1) Slight drive into Minute Man National Park
2) Lexington Battle Green (first casualties of the revolution were here)
3) Outside of Hancock Clark House, Buckman Tavern, Manse House
4) North Bridge
5) Area Shot was heard started around the world -- first time Minutemen were ordered and fired based on orders against the British Crown
6) Minute Men Statue
We also walked the quaint streets of Lexington and enjoyed the crisp fall day before heading back to Boston. I must say I thought the leaves would be turning by now, but everything is still very green.
We then headed back to the hotel. Our day was wrapping up early and Mama was set to go back to Dr tomorrow -- a jamp packed day so we went ahead and stopped in today. They saw her and now she has a clean bill of health - we can change her bandage, no need to go back. YAY
We then took the hotel shuttle to the metro; replaced Mama's lost metro pass (Im keeping the new one) and headed into Boston. We ate at a Irish Pub called Emmetts Irish Pub. It came with a real Irishman :) The food was good, the atmosphere lively and it wasn't a chain we could get at home so WIN :) Mama got a hamburger, Jack a Sheppard Pie and I got a chicken dish. All were really good though I have to admit that I wasn't overly hungry.
We are now tucked safe back in our beds and tomorrow the adventure continues in Salem. Witches - oh my!
Hope all is well with you.
Today started out with a bit of disappointment. Mama was sick at her stomach last night and decided to stay at the hotel :(
Jack and I ate breakfast at the hotel and headed out to the JFK Presidential Library. Mama would have really enjoyed this so I tried to take extra pictures. I'm not really a JFK Buff and museums in general are things I speed through - I'm not one to read every fact or ooh and aah over a piece of old silverware. However, I was actively engaged in the JFK Museum and really enjoyed myself. I learned alot about the man and was impressed with his legacy. His inaugural speech -- a thing of beauty.
We spent roughly 2 hours maybe 2.5 going through it -- it could easily have been an all day event.
I then called Mama and determined she was feeling well enough to finish the day with us. I picked her up and we headed out to Lexington. There was a parking snafu and a marital spat and then we continued on our day... Marriage - if you aren't having a spat every now and then, you aren't married.
We took a tour of Lexington and Concord and the narrator was really good. He told us the history and pointed out historical buildings / locations. Everything up here closes at 4:30 it seems, but we saw the highlights.
Highlights included:
1) Slight drive into Minute Man National Park
2) Lexington Battle Green (first casualties of the revolution were here)
3) Outside of Hancock Clark House, Buckman Tavern, Manse House
4) North Bridge
5) Area Shot was heard started around the world -- first time Minutemen were ordered and fired based on orders against the British Crown
6) Minute Men Statue
We also walked the quaint streets of Lexington and enjoyed the crisp fall day before heading back to Boston. I must say I thought the leaves would be turning by now, but everything is still very green.
We then headed back to the hotel. Our day was wrapping up early and Mama was set to go back to Dr tomorrow -- a jamp packed day so we went ahead and stopped in today. They saw her and now she has a clean bill of health - we can change her bandage, no need to go back. YAY
We then took the hotel shuttle to the metro; replaced Mama's lost metro pass (Im keeping the new one) and headed into Boston. We ate at a Irish Pub called Emmetts Irish Pub. It came with a real Irishman :) The food was good, the atmosphere lively and it wasn't a chain we could get at home so WIN :) Mama got a hamburger, Jack a Sheppard Pie and I got a chicken dish. All were really good though I have to admit that I wasn't overly hungry.
We are now tucked safe back in our beds and tomorrow the adventure continues in Salem. Witches - oh my!
Hope all is well with you.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Boston Day 3
9/21/15
Today was another jammed packed day. We walked a total step count of 21,000 and change - Jack's fitbit says that is 9.08 miles - my feet claim it is more. Keep in mind my 70 year old mother made every step we did - I want to be that active at 70. I will say she is starting to loose a bit of her vibrance - hope it is just this thing on her back bothering her, I would hate to see her love of travel dwindle.
We planned to leave the hotel at 9 but Jack and I were moving a little slow so we left closer to 9:30. This caused us to move forward a bit on our itinerary... below is what we saw / explored today.
1) Omni Parker House - active hotel that is gorgeous on the inside. Wood polished and gleaming - one of the old round elevator monitors that tells you the floor it is on. It's just fabulous.
2)Kings Chapel. We took a private tour of the bell tower and the crypts. It was a gorgeous church - stone outside and wood inside. It is not the oldest church building, but it is the oldest church congregation in Boston. Not sure of the religion though - Utilitarian but on the biblical side of the doctrine? I'd have to study up. The church itself though started in 1686 but in 1749 they built the new stone church around the wood one. Then they took the wood one down and passed its pieces through the windows... the wood church is now in Nova Scotia - where the shipped it after disassembling it.
There a number of tombs under the church and in fact the church's burial ground was or is part of a much older burial ground that dates back to the beginning of Boston -- the British King that demanded the church be started claimed part of the burial grounds as "emmenient domain" and required the city relocate several of the dead.
Our tour guide was very informed and obviously loved the history. She is also in charge of ringing the 2000 pound bell and said she has to get a jump to weigh it down enough to ring it, hee.
There was a ladie practicing the pipe organ... it was fabulous! Plus she had her hair in a bun and was wearing a high collar black shirt - she looked like a puritan lol :)
The church itself was pretty - not the grandous cathedrials in Europe by any means, but pretty. The fact the pews have doors is pretty neat to me.
3) We then visited the Kings Burial site which is right next door. There is a round thing that looks like a crypt -- when you get close you find it is actually the vent shaft of the subway. The tombstones are similiar to those we saw yesterday and are in disrepair - guess I would be too if I was hundreds of years old and kept getting moved.
4) We then grabbed lunch... this was an expierence. Quincy market seemed uncrowded so we figured we would try it. SOOOO many food choices. I walked down and decided I wanted to go back for Pizza, tried calling Jack to let him know but his phone was off so... I walked back down to inform him - in an irritated fashion. Well by then Quincy market had exploded with people and everyone wanted what interested me. I seaprated from the family and ended up ordering a ham / cheese sandwhich... Sometimes having a problem with crowds really sucks... most of the time it doesn't impact my life, but things like Quincy market or busy subways really suck for me.
Anyway we all got our food, met up outside and ate. Jack was nice enough despite me being grumpy to go get me a fresh squeezed lemonade and we just sat and ate and people watched - it was nice.
They have and area where you just borrow a game an play it - give it back when done There were people playing pool, board games, chess, table tennis - mostly young folks. It was really cool; a way to connect with others outside of a cell phone / facebook page.
5) Then we walked to Old North Church. We relaxed and waited for the tour. This one was not as good as King's - the guy was interesting, but it just didn't have the same pazaz. The crypt in this church is actually active and they have a new section for cremated remains... the other sections are cleaner than Kings church, but well just not the same pazaz. Old North Church is actually the oldest church building in Boston.
There was a guy on our tour that lived here, just wanted to take the tour - he added some interesting flavor to the tour. The guide couldn't stop pulling his pants up, lol... he was very ... round :)
One interesting thing about the church is that the bells are rung by the MIT bell ringing club, whe knew that existed?
Old North church is where Paul Revere signaled and the lamps were hung to indicate the British were coming. It is a simple church with out a lot of flair - but pretty in it's on right.
6) We were then heading to Paul Revere's house when we saw a walk in clinic. Mama's bandage was due to be checked and this would save us from rushing back to the one near the hotel. So we went in - we were on the North End and you can tell the income difference. This clinic was much cleaner/nicer... Mama had seen Paul Revere's house before so we left her in their capable hands and walked on down.
7) Paul Reveres house is a wood structure and it looks like they either tore part of it down or something because it joins a newer brick building. It was built in 1860 and was neat. They have some actual items in the house that was not a reproduction so that was nice. Some reproductions, but 3 or 4 real pieces...
8) We then meandered back to the clinic to wait on Mama. One thing I noticed is that they didn't need to call people's names - it seemed they knew all of there patients by sight - it was neat. Mama came out not long after and we were on our way.
9) Copp's burying ground - Yes another cemetary. The graves are much the same as the other 2 except these seemed to have 2 or 3 right on top of each other - I'm assuming families buried in the same section of land. We didn't linger long here.
10) Bunker Hill - We walked over a bridge and to Bunker Hill from here. Went through some quiet neighborhoods and other than getting tired we enjoyed the stroll. The monument itself is neat - very very tall and reminded me of Washington Monument due to it's shape. The view is nice and the green space around it is used by locals ... many were walking their dogs after work and enjoying the nice afternoon.
11) We then walked back to Boston and ate at the Union Oyster House. The oldest restaurant in the US. It was neat... relaxing, food was good -- I got clam chowder as an appetizer, yum! Then a seafood plate and some Boston Baked beans. The seafood was good - the baked beans tasted like pork'n'beans, yuk! The ambiance was nice though and I can now say I've eaten at the oldest restaruant in the US.
12) Now we are back tucked safely in our hotel room with our feet up and resting. Tomorrow will be a bit less walking but still a busy day.
Hope everyone is well in blogland - here in Boston we are fabulous and making the most out of our time.
Today was another jammed packed day. We walked a total step count of 21,000 and change - Jack's fitbit says that is 9.08 miles - my feet claim it is more. Keep in mind my 70 year old mother made every step we did - I want to be that active at 70. I will say she is starting to loose a bit of her vibrance - hope it is just this thing on her back bothering her, I would hate to see her love of travel dwindle.
We planned to leave the hotel at 9 but Jack and I were moving a little slow so we left closer to 9:30. This caused us to move forward a bit on our itinerary... below is what we saw / explored today.
1) Omni Parker House - active hotel that is gorgeous on the inside. Wood polished and gleaming - one of the old round elevator monitors that tells you the floor it is on. It's just fabulous.
2)Kings Chapel. We took a private tour of the bell tower and the crypts. It was a gorgeous church - stone outside and wood inside. It is not the oldest church building, but it is the oldest church congregation in Boston. Not sure of the religion though - Utilitarian but on the biblical side of the doctrine? I'd have to study up. The church itself though started in 1686 but in 1749 they built the new stone church around the wood one. Then they took the wood one down and passed its pieces through the windows... the wood church is now in Nova Scotia - where the shipped it after disassembling it.
There a number of tombs under the church and in fact the church's burial ground was or is part of a much older burial ground that dates back to the beginning of Boston -- the British King that demanded the church be started claimed part of the burial grounds as "emmenient domain" and required the city relocate several of the dead.
Our tour guide was very informed and obviously loved the history. She is also in charge of ringing the 2000 pound bell and said she has to get a jump to weigh it down enough to ring it, hee.
There was a ladie practicing the pipe organ... it was fabulous! Plus she had her hair in a bun and was wearing a high collar black shirt - she looked like a puritan lol :)
The church itself was pretty - not the grandous cathedrials in Europe by any means, but pretty. The fact the pews have doors is pretty neat to me.
3) We then visited the Kings Burial site which is right next door. There is a round thing that looks like a crypt -- when you get close you find it is actually the vent shaft of the subway. The tombstones are similiar to those we saw yesterday and are in disrepair - guess I would be too if I was hundreds of years old and kept getting moved.
4) We then grabbed lunch... this was an expierence. Quincy market seemed uncrowded so we figured we would try it. SOOOO many food choices. I walked down and decided I wanted to go back for Pizza, tried calling Jack to let him know but his phone was off so... I walked back down to inform him - in an irritated fashion. Well by then Quincy market had exploded with people and everyone wanted what interested me. I seaprated from the family and ended up ordering a ham / cheese sandwhich... Sometimes having a problem with crowds really sucks... most of the time it doesn't impact my life, but things like Quincy market or busy subways really suck for me.
Anyway we all got our food, met up outside and ate. Jack was nice enough despite me being grumpy to go get me a fresh squeezed lemonade and we just sat and ate and people watched - it was nice.
They have and area where you just borrow a game an play it - give it back when done There were people playing pool, board games, chess, table tennis - mostly young folks. It was really cool; a way to connect with others outside of a cell phone / facebook page.
5) Then we walked to Old North Church. We relaxed and waited for the tour. This one was not as good as King's - the guy was interesting, but it just didn't have the same pazaz. The crypt in this church is actually active and they have a new section for cremated remains... the other sections are cleaner than Kings church, but well just not the same pazaz. Old North Church is actually the oldest church building in Boston.
There was a guy on our tour that lived here, just wanted to take the tour - he added some interesting flavor to the tour. The guide couldn't stop pulling his pants up, lol... he was very ... round :)
One interesting thing about the church is that the bells are rung by the MIT bell ringing club, whe knew that existed?
Old North church is where Paul Revere signaled and the lamps were hung to indicate the British were coming. It is a simple church with out a lot of flair - but pretty in it's on right.
6) We were then heading to Paul Revere's house when we saw a walk in clinic. Mama's bandage was due to be checked and this would save us from rushing back to the one near the hotel. So we went in - we were on the North End and you can tell the income difference. This clinic was much cleaner/nicer... Mama had seen Paul Revere's house before so we left her in their capable hands and walked on down.
7) Paul Reveres house is a wood structure and it looks like they either tore part of it down or something because it joins a newer brick building. It was built in 1860 and was neat. They have some actual items in the house that was not a reproduction so that was nice. Some reproductions, but 3 or 4 real pieces...
8) We then meandered back to the clinic to wait on Mama. One thing I noticed is that they didn't need to call people's names - it seemed they knew all of there patients by sight - it was neat. Mama came out not long after and we were on our way.
9) Copp's burying ground - Yes another cemetary. The graves are much the same as the other 2 except these seemed to have 2 or 3 right on top of each other - I'm assuming families buried in the same section of land. We didn't linger long here.
10) Bunker Hill - We walked over a bridge and to Bunker Hill from here. Went through some quiet neighborhoods and other than getting tired we enjoyed the stroll. The monument itself is neat - very very tall and reminded me of Washington Monument due to it's shape. The view is nice and the green space around it is used by locals ... many were walking their dogs after work and enjoying the nice afternoon.
11) We then walked back to Boston and ate at the Union Oyster House. The oldest restaurant in the US. It was neat... relaxing, food was good -- I got clam chowder as an appetizer, yum! Then a seafood plate and some Boston Baked beans. The seafood was good - the baked beans tasted like pork'n'beans, yuk! The ambiance was nice though and I can now say I've eaten at the oldest restaruant in the US.
12) Now we are back tucked safely in our hotel room with our feet up and resting. Tomorrow will be a bit less walking but still a busy day.
Hope everyone is well in blogland - here in Boston we are fabulous and making the most out of our time.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Boston Day 2
9/20/15
Today was jammed packed - we left the hotel at 9 AM and didn't get back till 9 PM :)
We started out with breakfast here at the hotel - it was actually a hot breakfast, nothing to write home about but for free it was pretty good. After breakfast we took the hotel bus to the Metro and started our 1st real day of exploration.
We began at the beginning of the Freedom trail and saw the following:
1) Boston Commons - this is a 44 acre park - America's oldest public park. There was a religious group doing a festival in the park (not Christian) so we didn't explore it too much.
2) We then walked up hill to the State house. We didn't go inside but he building is pretty from the outside and the have a monument outside depicting the 44th Regiment. It was one of the carvings that comes out of a wall and I thought it was impressive. Their was a black man there dressed in costume for you to take pictures with.
3) We then walked down and saw the outside of Park Street Church
4) Right beside Park Street church is the Granary burying grounds. The tombstones are so old you can't read most of them. They are kind of interesting though - all of them or a those we could make out have skulls engraved on them.. guess it wasn't a bad symbol in those days. There are several famous people buried here; Paul Revere, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, Benjamin Franklin's parents and Samuel Adams family tomb is here - the Boston Massacre victims are in it. The breeze was blowing, the sun was shining and it was a great day to be outside. The little finches were all in the graveyard - enjoying the grass and munchies from the shade trees.
5) We then went to the Benjamin Franklin Statue that sits out side of a pretty building - old City Hall or something like that. It was also the former home to the first public school in America. The school is no longer there, but there is an awesome mosaic in the ground that is dedicated too it.
6) By this time we were getting hungry so we passed by the Old South Meeting house in search of food. Melinda had told us Quincy market was nearby, so we sat at the Irish Memorial and proceeded to look it up. Google said 2.5 miles -so we kept looking should have trusted Melinda. We kept hunting finally asking for help - only to find ourselves at Quincy Market where Melinda told us to go... it was like a block away. The market inside is PACKED full of people. You order your food from one of the 20 or so food vendors and then go outside and eat it. However, it was just too busy for me - about to have a panic attack from the crowd I escaped outside. There is a Cheers (not the original) restaurant there so we got some ordered our food and proceeded to rest. Right outside the restaurant there was a vendor selling a dress that you could wear 100 different ways - While we waited on the food I went to check it out. I really thought about buying one, but they wanted $130 for the ones I liked and even if they were willing to haggle I didn't think I would wear it that much - I probably wouldn't be able to figure out how to put the thing on.
So I went back to the table and our food arrived. I ate a hamburger and while I've had better it was just nice to not be on my feet.
7) After lunch we back to the Old State House and the Boston Massacre Site. The state house is where they decided many things, including to have the Boston Tea Party. The did a reenactment where a lady pretending to be the daughter of the Governor told us what her thoughts on the current time was. It was during the Stamp act period - I found her telling of it interesting and getting to sit was nice as well.
The building was simple itself, but the staircase was amazing. They also have a handmaid wedding dress from the 1700 sitting in a case which I thought was awesome. It was beautiful!
8) We then hopped on the Old Town Trolley and just rode - listened to his narrative, enjoyed seeing the city and relaxed.
9) Then we got off at the harbor and rode the 45 harbor tour that was included in our Trolley ticket. The view of Boston from the Harbor is nice and the guy narrating was entertaining and informed.
10) After the cruise we walked over to get Italian Food on Hanover Street in the North end. We were going to do Daily Catch, but realized it is a order and sit place - we really wanted table service. So we wound up a a nice restaurant named Trattoria II Panino. The staff were excellent and the food good!
11) We then walked over to Mike's Pastry and got Kanolis. Not really my thing ... Jack got a cookie and it was good. I was shocked at how crowded the place was though - It was a big open room with counters on 2 sides... no real tables to speak of other than 3 or 4 in a corner and it was standing room only!
12) By this time it's getting dark and we are heading back. We missed Paul Revere's house today so I thought we would walk by it - on our way we found 2 great souvenir shops though and just HAD to stop :) I got some t-shirts, a frame, a Christmas ornament, some postcards. I love cheap souvenirs - LOL
Paul Revere's house was impossible to see at night so we headed back to the train. On the way walking by the harbor at night (which is pretty) and the 4 faced lying clock, which is gorgeous at night.
We took the train back to the hotel shuttle (had to wait a bit for it) back to the hotel. Sat our stuff down and then proceeded to head out via car for drinks - $2.5 per coke is outrageous! Got Mama a 12 pack for $3 - got me a Dunkin and am now sitting on my bed, letting my feet rest and talking to you guys :)
All in all it was a nice day. The ambiance of Boston is energetic and relaxed all at the same time (Unless you are on a roadway in which case it's a mad house). I asked the bus driver how he drove in Boston. He said if you can mash the gas, shoot a bird and blow your horn - you can drive in Boston, lol!
And just one more thing and I'll call a close to tonight's journal - but Boston has Dunkin Doughnuts EVERYWHERE - I'm in DD heaven!
Well with that I'll close :) Good night blogland - see you tomorrow for Day 3 of Boston.
Today was jammed packed - we left the hotel at 9 AM and didn't get back till 9 PM :)
We started out with breakfast here at the hotel - it was actually a hot breakfast, nothing to write home about but for free it was pretty good. After breakfast we took the hotel bus to the Metro and started our 1st real day of exploration.
We began at the beginning of the Freedom trail and saw the following:
1) Boston Commons - this is a 44 acre park - America's oldest public park. There was a religious group doing a festival in the park (not Christian) so we didn't explore it too much.
2) We then walked up hill to the State house. We didn't go inside but he building is pretty from the outside and the have a monument outside depicting the 44th Regiment. It was one of the carvings that comes out of a wall and I thought it was impressive. Their was a black man there dressed in costume for you to take pictures with.
3) We then walked down and saw the outside of Park Street Church
4) Right beside Park Street church is the Granary burying grounds. The tombstones are so old you can't read most of them. They are kind of interesting though - all of them or a those we could make out have skulls engraved on them.. guess it wasn't a bad symbol in those days. There are several famous people buried here; Paul Revere, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, Benjamin Franklin's parents and Samuel Adams family tomb is here - the Boston Massacre victims are in it. The breeze was blowing, the sun was shining and it was a great day to be outside. The little finches were all in the graveyard - enjoying the grass and munchies from the shade trees.
5) We then went to the Benjamin Franklin Statue that sits out side of a pretty building - old City Hall or something like that. It was also the former home to the first public school in America. The school is no longer there, but there is an awesome mosaic in the ground that is dedicated too it.
6) By this time we were getting hungry so we passed by the Old South Meeting house in search of food. Melinda had told us Quincy market was nearby, so we sat at the Irish Memorial and proceeded to look it up. Google said 2.5 miles -so we kept looking should have trusted Melinda. We kept hunting finally asking for help - only to find ourselves at Quincy Market where Melinda told us to go... it was like a block away. The market inside is PACKED full of people. You order your food from one of the 20 or so food vendors and then go outside and eat it. However, it was just too busy for me - about to have a panic attack from the crowd I escaped outside. There is a Cheers (not the original) restaurant there so we got some ordered our food and proceeded to rest. Right outside the restaurant there was a vendor selling a dress that you could wear 100 different ways - While we waited on the food I went to check it out. I really thought about buying one, but they wanted $130 for the ones I liked and even if they were willing to haggle I didn't think I would wear it that much - I probably wouldn't be able to figure out how to put the thing on.
So I went back to the table and our food arrived. I ate a hamburger and while I've had better it was just nice to not be on my feet.
7) After lunch we back to the Old State House and the Boston Massacre Site. The state house is where they decided many things, including to have the Boston Tea Party. The did a reenactment where a lady pretending to be the daughter of the Governor told us what her thoughts on the current time was. It was during the Stamp act period - I found her telling of it interesting and getting to sit was nice as well.
The building was simple itself, but the staircase was amazing. They also have a handmaid wedding dress from the 1700 sitting in a case which I thought was awesome. It was beautiful!
8) We then hopped on the Old Town Trolley and just rode - listened to his narrative, enjoyed seeing the city and relaxed.
9) Then we got off at the harbor and rode the 45 harbor tour that was included in our Trolley ticket. The view of Boston from the Harbor is nice and the guy narrating was entertaining and informed.
10) After the cruise we walked over to get Italian Food on Hanover Street in the North end. We were going to do Daily Catch, but realized it is a order and sit place - we really wanted table service. So we wound up a a nice restaurant named Trattoria II Panino. The staff were excellent and the food good!
11) We then walked over to Mike's Pastry and got Kanolis. Not really my thing ... Jack got a cookie and it was good. I was shocked at how crowded the place was though - It was a big open room with counters on 2 sides... no real tables to speak of other than 3 or 4 in a corner and it was standing room only!
12) By this time it's getting dark and we are heading back. We missed Paul Revere's house today so I thought we would walk by it - on our way we found 2 great souvenir shops though and just HAD to stop :) I got some t-shirts, a frame, a Christmas ornament, some postcards. I love cheap souvenirs - LOL
Paul Revere's house was impossible to see at night so we headed back to the train. On the way walking by the harbor at night (which is pretty) and the 4 faced lying clock, which is gorgeous at night.
We took the train back to the hotel shuttle (had to wait a bit for it) back to the hotel. Sat our stuff down and then proceeded to head out via car for drinks - $2.5 per coke is outrageous! Got Mama a 12 pack for $3 - got me a Dunkin and am now sitting on my bed, letting my feet rest and talking to you guys :)
All in all it was a nice day. The ambiance of Boston is energetic and relaxed all at the same time (Unless you are on a roadway in which case it's a mad house). I asked the bus driver how he drove in Boston. He said if you can mash the gas, shoot a bird and blow your horn - you can drive in Boston, lol!
And just one more thing and I'll call a close to tonight's journal - but Boston has Dunkin Doughnuts EVERYWHERE - I'm in DD heaven!
Well with that I'll close :) Good night blogland - see you tomorrow for Day 3 of Boston.
Boston Day 1
9/19/2015
Today was a bit of a bust. Got up at 4:30 AM - flew to Boston. Got rental car & hen had to take Mama to a walk in clinic for a spot on her back. She had had it treated earlier in the week and was told to have it re-examined by a walk in clinic while in Boston.
The clinic was... well it reminded me a bit of a low income clinic, but Mama said they treated her nice. It is part of Mass General... The one thing I thought was neat is that when you visit first time you get a card - you don't have to fill out any paperwork after the first time, just show them the card and confirm some key details.
Anyway... after we got done with the clinic it was 4 PM. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant in th hotel, took a mini nap and then went exploring. We took the subway down to the Gardens, saw where the Swan boats were, walked the area, got Cupcakes on Bolston Street and headed back.
The walk was nice; the city is alive in th evenings, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was glad to get back to the hotel and lie down. Tomorrow we will be rested and it will be better.
Today was a bit of a bust. Got up at 4:30 AM - flew to Boston. Got rental car & hen had to take Mama to a walk in clinic for a spot on her back. She had had it treated earlier in the week and was told to have it re-examined by a walk in clinic while in Boston.
The clinic was... well it reminded me a bit of a low income clinic, but Mama said they treated her nice. It is part of Mass General... The one thing I thought was neat is that when you visit first time you get a card - you don't have to fill out any paperwork after the first time, just show them the card and confirm some key details.
Anyway... after we got done with the clinic it was 4 PM. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant in th hotel, took a mini nap and then went exploring. We took the subway down to the Gardens, saw where the Swan boats were, walked the area, got Cupcakes on Bolston Street and headed back.
The walk was nice; the city is alive in th evenings, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was glad to get back to the hotel and lie down. Tomorrow we will be rested and it will be better.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Thursday in France, 10/16/14
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Today I woke up in castle surrounded by nice antiquities and
dreamed the servant was coming to brush my hair and tie my corset. This place really is something else, grace
and beauty surrounds. Growing up in a
home that was over 120 years old I expected a building that had been renovated
but you could still tell it was old and had lived past its prime. This one though, yes you can tell its old,
but they have done such a wonderful job refurbishing it. It really is like staying in a castle with
all the fuss, awesome sauce.
Today we left for a day excursion because we get to stay two
nights in this marvelous place.
Chateau Chambord was our first stop.
It was really magnificent with towers, walls, motes, and everything you
would expect from a castle. It has a
staircase inspired by Leonardo DiVinci – two spirals that you can see each
other from, marble and beautiful. It
felt very Disney like with the style of architecture etc… I enjoyed photographing it and admiring its
beauty. It was built in originally as a
hunting lodge in the 1500’s by Francis the 1st but my goodness what
a hunting lodge. It is the largest
chateau in the Loir Valley and was really impressive to see. I actually could have spent another 10
minutes here to really get the pictures I wanted, I had to power walk back to
the bus so as not to be late, but I did manage to get at least a couple of
pictures of the police on horseback – maybe from a distance, but I did get it. One other thing I wanted to note on this
property is that it is 11,000 acres – that is the same size as Paris, but Paris
has 2 million people in it, this has 200.
The property is now a game reserve … I didn’t see any animals, but they
stated wild boar are common and you could see where they had been digging in
the grass beside the road.
Then we headed to the Chateau Chenonceau. This Chateau was also built in the 1500s but
the interesting tidbit about it is that Henry the II took possession of it then
gave it to his mistress Diane. After he
died, his widow Catherine de ’Medici forced the mistress to move to a different
chateau. Both ladies had separate
gardens planted and the gardens still exist to today – to the right the
mistress, to the left the Queens.
Different times for sure! The
inside was ok and I loved the tapestries, but the outside and the gardens was phenomenal. I loved the mistress’s garden, probably
because the flowers were still in bloom, but both were pretty.
We toured the inside, went to the cafeteria they have in an
outbuilding and ate lunch and then we went and walked around the gardens and
took some more pictures. The air was
crisp and cool and it was generally just a nice time. For lunch we went simple – HAMBURGER!
After the Chateau we went to a wine tasting. We did the little tour of the cellar, then
went and had some wine – I just tasted the first Rose and then I kind of
checked out mentally as wine is totally not my thing, but Jack got him some red
and we got some as gifts so it was all good.
My favorite part though was the cat, they have this cat who is huge and
so loving. I sat on the ground and
petted him before we did the tour – me and kitties = heaven J He was so sweet with expressive eyes and you
could tell he is used to people, he would meander from person to person to see
who would love him.
We then headed back to the hotel and she was pointing out
how many of the houses are partially underground – dug into the rock, where it
is a constant 58 degrees. It was pretty
cool looking.
It started raining as we got back to the hotel so my idea of
taking more pictures was squished so I decided to get a bath. I was going to get a bath in this enormous
tub they have, but it was filling up so slowly I probably still would be
waiting so I ended up just getting a shower.
We then had dinner downstairs in the hotel restaurant which
was really nice and elegant, not like most hotel restaurants. The food on the other hand – oh my give me
some country cookin. We had some type
of leek soup to start = YUCK. Then we
had bread, which was good, hard like all French bread on the outside but
good. Then we had a main course that had
chicken with herbs, a carrot that had been cooked and some green and orange
stuff that looked like baby food. The
chicken was pretty good, I liked the carrot and the orange baby food stuff was
ok – the green stuff was absolutely nasty.
We then had desert which was strawberries, raspberries and some type of
sour berry in a sauce. Jack liked it a
lot and ate Mama’s – it was ok to me, a little too tart for my taste but I ate
about ½ of it. We then had coffee and
Jack ordered us a coke – a 4.5 Euro Coke.
That’s about 6 or 7 dollars for a 12 oz. bottle of coke – I’m bringing
that bottle home with me dang it. The
only bad thing about being out in the middle of nowhere, no other option…. Well
that and the crappy Internet.
So that was our day – castles and wine. J All in all a good day
that I really enjoyed. Tomorrow we go
back to Paris.
There are a couple of miscellaneous things I want to
remember that I will note here as well:
Many of the people on this trip probably thing we are
absolutely crazy or stupid, not sure which, but it makes for good fun. You all know Mama has very little filter on
what she says – she thinks it, she says it.
Course that being said my filter has gotten thin as of late and I’m not
sure it was ever there as much as some peoples. I think it if I don’t say it you can read
it on my face. Makes for some hilarious
moments. Add to that, we are southern
and I am my mother’s daughter so between the two of us it has been
hilarious. For example everyone is
raving about the food/wine; Mama and I are begging for southern cooking and a
soft drink.
That being said it makes for some good, clean, entertainment
and well we are who we are. I’m
enjoying myself – hope Mama is too.
Everyone is also looking out for Mama which is cool and I
appreciate. She isn’t the oldest by far
and gets along better than many of them, but they watch for her and make sure
they take her under their wing if going somewhere we are not – love it!
There is a couple Jim and Chris that are pretty
awesome. She was an art teacher and him
a salesman, they are both retired now and obviously love to travel. I believe she said they have been to Europe
14 times in their life. I hope Jack and
I are like them at that age – she is in her 60s’s, but you wouldn’t know
it. I figured she was in her 50s with
her energy and togetherness … I hope we are still like that then. She thinks we are funny and probably a
little crazy, but that is ok - crazy is good.
Overall the group is really nice and we have people from all
over. I am enjoying the camaraderie of
the group and hope to stay in touch with some of them after this is over.
Well that is it for today – hope all is well in the
states!
P.S. I love my husband - my devices won't connect to the Internet here so he figured out how to share over blue tooth so I could post this from his laptop tonight. Geeks Rule.
Wednesday 10/16/14
Wednesday 10/15/14
Over half way through our vacation and it feels like it
really just began. I know we have seen
and done many things, but the jet lag is finally wearing off and we are
energized, kind of J
Today was really a travel day. We left St. Mont Michel this morning – I
tried to go get some pictures at dawn but the sun came up later than I expected
and I had to leave with the tour, 15 more minutes and I might have had some
great shots. I have some ok ones to
prove I was there that morning, but 15 more minutes…. There is a lady on our tour I’ve been
calling Dee Dee – apparently here name is Deenie, yea who knew? Anyway, she is tends to run late – marvelous
woman whom I really adore, but a watch is not her friend. So when I returned to the hotel to catch the
bus and found it was running 5 or 10 minutes behind and I could have stayed
longer I looked at her and said I should have pulled a Dee Dee J She probably wanted to kill me, but it was
all meant in good fun – and seriously I should have said screw it they can wait
and got my pictures, ah well. I hate to
be late – it stresses me.
Anyway, on with the story – we left the hotel and drove to
Angers. It is a little village that has
a 13th Century Castle and it also had a market going on today. We took pictures of the castle, walked
through the market and just enjoyed stretching our legs. The market was interesting, you could buy
live chickens and ducks, seafood ranging from crab, to eel to regular fish,
cloths, scarfs, books – all kinds of stuff that was set up in this outside
market place in the middle of the street.
It was raining a bit so I was trying to take pictures while holding a
phone (interesting) but I still enjoyed it.
I bought a scarf and Mama ate a Crepe.
We then hopped back on the bus and drove to a larger town
for lunch. We went to a restaurant that
had English subtitles and ate. Mama and
Jack had steak burgers, basically hamburgers with a higher quality of meat and
I got a ham and cheese sandwich. I had
hoped to get what they got yesterday but ended up with a Croque-Monsieur. They put the cheese on top of the sandwich
though and the bread was soggy, the ham was also different. They again choose well in their menu and I didn’t,
next time I’m just going to order what they do, LOL. I ate my fries, the ham and the apple I had
gotten from the breakfast buffet.
One
thing to note about this town it has a unique wood buildings with lots of
carvings. I need to ask the name of it
and the town tomorrow and will input it then.
After lunch we headed back to the bus and drove 2 hours to
our hotel. I say hotel, but this is so
much more than that. For the next two
nights we are staying in a Chateau, formally known as The Chateau du
Breuil. This place is massive, it is
located on a 45 acre estate and dates back to the XVth century. The central part of the building dates back
to the XVIIth Century and the main building I am in was built in the XVIIIth
Century. It has of course been
completely renovated and is very comfortable, but still has all of its old
elegance. The barn was also renovated
into hotel rooms, but the end of the building is still a barn for the 2
resident horses. There is a dog name
Joseph who is exceptionally friendly and the area is just magnificent. I can’t believe I’m sleeping in a castle –
how cool is that? Maybe not
Cinderella’s castle, but a castle none the less – it belonged to the Marquess
of Meloize Frenayback then to Count de la Salle until 1968. No idea who they are but still cool!
The estate is gorgeous, with walking paths, ponds, weeping
willows, grassy yards, beautiful flowers and the sound of nature lulling you to
sleep! Not to mention it is a 4 star
hotel with 4 star quality.
Once we settled in and roamed the estate for a bit it was
time to get dressed for the extra dinner out.
Mama elected to stay in so it was just Jack and myself (and 20 or 30 of
our new friends). We went to a
restaurant that is owned by a husband and wife where we had authentic French
food, supposedly. It was ok – everyone
was raving but I didn’t really love it all that much and the conversation over
dinner was slightly forced. Just the
luck of the draw on who we sat with, etc… - nice people, just not the conversationalist
of the group, except Deenie – her and her husband Jim can talk to anyone. I want to take them home and keep them, they
are so freaking cute!
Jack didn’t notice the forced conversation so it may have
been all me, but well you know what I mean.
Anyway, given we are in France we did decide to try new stuff.
Jack had the Liver Patee and I had the Fish one – both were
really good with bread, though I liked the fish better. They didn’t give us enough bread though and
without the bread it wasn’t all that.
Then I had the salmon and Jack had the duck, both were good – I wish I
could have had a steak, but alas. And
last but not least we both had a chocolate desert – it was basically scones of
some type filled with ice cream and covered with deep chocolate dessert – rich
but yummy!
Once dinner was done we had coffee, talked for a few minutes
more and headed back to the hotel. I sit
here, nestled in my antique bed with my window open (wood shutters J ) and am listening to
Jack breath. Life is good J
Tomorrow we visit more chateau’s and do a wine tasting -
looking forward to the chateaus J
Also, some interesting tidbits our tour guide told us about
France today:
·
- Ways the French make money:
- Nuclear Power – 55 plants in France, they export power to most of Europe and also help other countries design, build and maintain their plants.
- Oil (refining / processing / etc…)
- Cosmetics
- Hotels
- Transportation – Design / Install subway stations all over the world including Mexico City
- Airbus
- Mineral Water
- French are discrete with their business and are a leader in several industries but they spend too much and national debt is high.
- Taxes:
- Citizens Taxed on almost everything
- Most taxed population in the world behind Sweden.
- Waiters are taxed on 5% of the checks regardless if they made 5% - if they made 2% taxed 5%, if 15% they are taxed 5%. Thus, due to recession waiters are hard to find because they don’t want to be taxed on money they are not making.
- Unemployment Benefits:
- 2 Years – 90% of Salary
- After 2 Years 40% of Salary
- Max is $6,000 Euros a month
- Educational loopholes allow you to collect the 90 for well beyond 2 years so many people don’t want to go back to work – I can see why
- Employment Strikes are Common – Employees have right to strike over anything as long as they told their boss they needed whatever it is 3 weeks before they strike. Strikes are unpaid, but often in the agreement for workers to come back there is a condition all strike days are paid days.
- All workers have a minimum of 5 weeks paid vacation, if you work 39 hours or more a week you have 8 weeks – I need to live in France.
- Worker Minimum Wage – 1,375 Euros a Month
- They don’t have health insurance, part of taxes, as a result all health procedures are free. However, they have some of the best hospitals in Europe thus citizens from many countries come here and they have to compete with those patients for the Drs / Hospital’s time.
- President in office right now if very unpopular because he doesn’t work a lot and doesn’t make any decisions. French have no interest in Presidents personal life, they can be divorced, have girlfriends, mistresses, several kids, no kids etc… just so long as he does his job. They have had a president die in the bed of a prostitute before, no big deal.
- Gas prices right now roughly 6 Euros a Gallon or $10 a gallon.
Well, that is all for tonight, sleep well dear friends.
P.S. This was posted
on 10/16 due to fact I couldn’t get connected to the precious Wi-Fi J
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
France 10/14/14
Tuesday, 10/14/14
We continued our French adventure today by leaving Caen and heading to see the D-Day beaches. We saw Gold beach at Arromanches first - there wasn't much resistance in thee battles on these beaches because the paratroopers had landed earlier and handled much of the battle. The little village was quaint and it was interesting to see. The beach itself was pristine and I would have enjoyed taking a jog on it - there was a sheer mountain that met the ocean, the sky was pink and well it was peaceful.
There is also still concrete out in the ocean that they made in England and floated over here to serve as a makeshift port until a city could be taken that had a port ... think of all that had to go into that planning? 12 countries working together to plan one surprise attack on one day - 12 countries (American, Britain, Canada, Poland, France, Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, New Zealand and Norway) Today they can't even make a decision about if the sky is blue.
We then went to the American Cemetery in Normandy - American soil and a honor to visit. 10,000 American lives lost during WWII, the crosses representing the dead, some named, some not. It was sobering and humbling. Its so easy to take our freedom for granted, but in the end Freedom is never free. To think what would have happened if Hitler had not betrayed Russia and he wasn't divided on the two fronts, or if he had heard about the landing before noon that day? So many little things that made our victory possible, little things that had they not happened the war would have been very different.
We then went to Omaha beach where roughly 1,500 of our men died within minutes and hours of landing. The tanks they were supposed to hide behind sank due to the rough seas and they were little target practice for the Germans. To sit and look on those pristine beaches, so pretty today and to know that 70 years ago they ran red with the blood of American Soldiers fighting for someones right to be free, or even more their right to live. Very humbling. I'm not really a history buff, museums in general are not my thing and I tune out much of the history lectures, but standing there you could not help but imagine. There are still German bunkers in France, one of which can be seen at Omaha beach... relics of the war can still be seen here and there, but overall if not for the memorials you would just see a beach. A pristine beach made for walking and enjoying the crisp air off of the sea.
We then went to Sainte-Mère-Église. It is a little village inside of Normandy France and is best known because John Steele parachuted down and landed on the church steeple - he pretended to be dead for 2 hours in order to survive and was later taken hostage. The stained glass of the church is neat in that it is the Virgin Mary surrounded by paratroopers. Overall the village is tiny and cute. We ate at a little restaurant - Mama and Jack had a ham sandwich and I had lasagna. It was very American, but after not eating very much breakfast this morning we were all hungry.
A few things that were mentioned from a historical point of view that I want to remember so I am including them here:
After we finished up with the D-Day visits we took a hour and half drive through the gorgeous countryside to Mont St. Michel. I absolutely love this place - it was my favorite from my previous visit and so far it still is. I was so happy to get to share it with my family.
It is a monastery that was built due to a dream a monk was given my the Arch Angel Michel - he supposedly put a hole in his head as proof he wanted him to build the monastery on top of the mountain. Thus the monastery was built. We took the walk up the mountain (lots of steps) and saw the various private homes (47 people live on the island itself), the walkways etc... Mama actually made it up all the steps, I was so proud of her. Last time I came we didn't go to see the private homes and I didn't know about the steps - we had gone up the walkway where all the shops were, so I was expecting her to have to do that climb, but she did it and enjoyed one great view because of it.
We had a tour guide that went on and on a little too much for my taste and I really wanted Mama and Jack to enjoy the shopping so we left her about 3/4 of the way through the tour and headed out on our own. The building served as a monastery for years, then a prison and now it is a monastery and a tourist attraction. The monastery itself is impressive, but it is also cold and damp. I love some of the architecture and certainly appreciated it more as an adult, but I had seen enough.
The walk down is filled with shops of various types and restaurants. Last time I came they had more vendors on the streets, but we were here during the busy season and now it is slow for them, but it was still fun and quaint. I just enjoy the feel of the village and meandering in the shops. I was looking for a picture frame but no such luck. Maybe the next city will have one for Mt. Saint Michel, Lord knows Mt. Saint Michel had plenty of Paris stuff. I found it humorous.
The monastery on the mountain with the shops and other buildings going up to it looks like a Disney castle or something from Harry Potter. I just love it, I love the feel of it, the history and the ambiance. It was different that I remember from my youth, but I still loved it!
We then came back to the hotel and met with the group to have dinner. We ate at a restaurant across the way and had a five course meal. It was good but not my favorite one here by any means.. Menu below for memory sake:
Once dinner was over Mama left to go back to the room while we were still visiting. She went the wrong way so Jack went to help her and he had the $$$. We had bought an extra Coke so I ended up borrowing money from a group member, it wasn't a big deal but I'm sure later it will be funny. Teach me not to bring my purse!
After dinner we walked down to the boardwalk with the unobstructed view of Mt. Saint Michel lit up. It was so pretty and the sound of the water hitting the dock was peaceful. I thoroughly enjoyed it - we played with the camera some. I didn't have tripod and I shake so mine weren't great, Jack got a few ok ones though. He used the balcony as a tripod - I'm looking forward to seeing them on a computer screen. I'm sure they aren't print quality but they will be cool and can show we saw it night. Side note we had to come back to the room for a battery because the one I had just changed so we would have a full battery died just a few minutes after we started using it. Murphy's law.
I want to go back in the morning before we leave and get some more pictures in the day light.
Now I'm in bed - about to take my medicine (which seems to really be working well). Tomorrow we go play queen and king in the chateaus :)
Hope all is well in blog land - sleep well!
We continued our French adventure today by leaving Caen and heading to see the D-Day beaches. We saw Gold beach at Arromanches first - there wasn't much resistance in thee battles on these beaches because the paratroopers had landed earlier and handled much of the battle. The little village was quaint and it was interesting to see. The beach itself was pristine and I would have enjoyed taking a jog on it - there was a sheer mountain that met the ocean, the sky was pink and well it was peaceful.
There is also still concrete out in the ocean that they made in England and floated over here to serve as a makeshift port until a city could be taken that had a port ... think of all that had to go into that planning? 12 countries working together to plan one surprise attack on one day - 12 countries (American, Britain, Canada, Poland, France, Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, New Zealand and Norway) Today they can't even make a decision about if the sky is blue.
We then went to the American Cemetery in Normandy - American soil and a honor to visit. 10,000 American lives lost during WWII, the crosses representing the dead, some named, some not. It was sobering and humbling. Its so easy to take our freedom for granted, but in the end Freedom is never free. To think what would have happened if Hitler had not betrayed Russia and he wasn't divided on the two fronts, or if he had heard about the landing before noon that day? So many little things that made our victory possible, little things that had they not happened the war would have been very different.
We then went to Omaha beach where roughly 1,500 of our men died within minutes and hours of landing. The tanks they were supposed to hide behind sank due to the rough seas and they were little target practice for the Germans. To sit and look on those pristine beaches, so pretty today and to know that 70 years ago they ran red with the blood of American Soldiers fighting for someones right to be free, or even more their right to live. Very humbling. I'm not really a history buff, museums in general are not my thing and I tune out much of the history lectures, but standing there you could not help but imagine. There are still German bunkers in France, one of which can be seen at Omaha beach... relics of the war can still be seen here and there, but overall if not for the memorials you would just see a beach. A pristine beach made for walking and enjoying the crisp air off of the sea.
We then went to Sainte-Mère-Église. It is a little village inside of Normandy France and is best known because John Steele parachuted down and landed on the church steeple - he pretended to be dead for 2 hours in order to survive and was later taken hostage. The stained glass of the church is neat in that it is the Virgin Mary surrounded by paratroopers. Overall the village is tiny and cute. We ate at a little restaurant - Mama and Jack had a ham sandwich and I had lasagna. It was very American, but after not eating very much breakfast this morning we were all hungry.
A few things that were mentioned from a historical point of view that I want to remember so I am including them here:
- Germany, while the bad guys in the WWII events it is important to remember that many German soldiers were not there by choice, but were there to avoid being killed themselves by Germany.
- The first victims of Hitler were Germans themselves.
- Russia lost by far the most people in the war - 20,000,000
- In total the war cost the world 2.5% of its population or 60,000,000 - 85,000,000 people estimated.
- One of the famous french actresses fell in love with a German and was put on trial - I loved her come back "My heart is french, but my ass is international"
- Germany actually elected Hitler to be it's leader - he told them what they wanted to hear. Be careful with your vote, it has great power!
After we finished up with the D-Day visits we took a hour and half drive through the gorgeous countryside to Mont St. Michel. I absolutely love this place - it was my favorite from my previous visit and so far it still is. I was so happy to get to share it with my family.
It is a monastery that was built due to a dream a monk was given my the Arch Angel Michel - he supposedly put a hole in his head as proof he wanted him to build the monastery on top of the mountain. Thus the monastery was built. We took the walk up the mountain (lots of steps) and saw the various private homes (47 people live on the island itself), the walkways etc... Mama actually made it up all the steps, I was so proud of her. Last time I came we didn't go to see the private homes and I didn't know about the steps - we had gone up the walkway where all the shops were, so I was expecting her to have to do that climb, but she did it and enjoyed one great view because of it.
We had a tour guide that went on and on a little too much for my taste and I really wanted Mama and Jack to enjoy the shopping so we left her about 3/4 of the way through the tour and headed out on our own. The building served as a monastery for years, then a prison and now it is a monastery and a tourist attraction. The monastery itself is impressive, but it is also cold and damp. I love some of the architecture and certainly appreciated it more as an adult, but I had seen enough.
The walk down is filled with shops of various types and restaurants. Last time I came they had more vendors on the streets, but we were here during the busy season and now it is slow for them, but it was still fun and quaint. I just enjoy the feel of the village and meandering in the shops. I was looking for a picture frame but no such luck. Maybe the next city will have one for Mt. Saint Michel, Lord knows Mt. Saint Michel had plenty of Paris stuff. I found it humorous.
The monastery on the mountain with the shops and other buildings going up to it looks like a Disney castle or something from Harry Potter. I just love it, I love the feel of it, the history and the ambiance. It was different that I remember from my youth, but I still loved it!
We then came back to the hotel and met with the group to have dinner. We ate at a restaurant across the way and had a five course meal. It was good but not my favorite one here by any means.. Menu below for memory sake:
- Cider Again - still taste like bear, hee.
- Appetizer - some little bread things with cheese and etc... in them. Maybe Mini Keeshess?
- Salad Appetizer - beats, cucumbers, and some other stuff I tried and hated.
- Pallet Cleaner - A very strong cognac mixed with ice-cream. Tasted to me like a shot of Seagram Seven Rum, YUCK.
- Main - Fish and Potatoes. The fish was dry but the potatoes were excellent
- Cheese - I gave mine away - Jack seemed to like his.
- Desert - 3 little varieties. I liked the apple and the chocolate. They also had a raspberry thing but it was tart.
- Coffee - little cappuccino cups but was actually good and very smooth.
- Desert shot of something liquor wise - I took a taste, not for me. Too strong and taste like rum. I like my alcohol fruity with the taste of alcohol hidden.
Once dinner was over Mama left to go back to the room while we were still visiting. She went the wrong way so Jack went to help her and he had the $$$. We had bought an extra Coke so I ended up borrowing money from a group member, it wasn't a big deal but I'm sure later it will be funny. Teach me not to bring my purse!
After dinner we walked down to the boardwalk with the unobstructed view of Mt. Saint Michel lit up. It was so pretty and the sound of the water hitting the dock was peaceful. I thoroughly enjoyed it - we played with the camera some. I didn't have tripod and I shake so mine weren't great, Jack got a few ok ones though. He used the balcony as a tripod - I'm looking forward to seeing them on a computer screen. I'm sure they aren't print quality but they will be cool and can show we saw it night. Side note we had to come back to the room for a battery because the one I had just changed so we would have a full battery died just a few minutes after we started using it. Murphy's law.
I want to go back in the morning before we leave and get some more pictures in the day light.
Now I'm in bed - about to take my medicine (which seems to really be working well). Tomorrow we go play queen and king in the chateaus :)
Hope all is well in blog land - sleep well!
Monday, October 13, 2014
France 10/13
10/13/2014
Today was good - a short day, which was nice because everyone needed the rest. We started the morning in Paris and ate the buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was actually pretty good - after eating breakfast in Italy on our last trip I was worried :) This was good though and the coffee was good as well - stronger than I normally take it but still drinkable - bonus for Europe!
After breakfast we headed to the bus and out of Paris. We went to a town called Rouen - it was very quaint with wood buildings that are built something like I would expect to see in a Dutch area. Kinda like Helen, GA really - the architectural style, these were just MUCH much older. This town had a couple of interesting things we saw.
1) Joan of Arc - this was the town she died in. We saw a church dedicated to her, odd looking building that has alot of symbolism attached to it.
2) The town has two gigantic gold clocks that have been around for hundreds of years. You can read more about the here - they were pretty cool, only one still works but still awesome - hundreds of years!
3) There is a church there that is also Notre Dame (my lady) - it was pretty and has a bit of history as Monet used it as subject for several of his paintings. It is a white church and he used it a study for light and how it plays.
We then went and had lunch at a French bar and grill. The waiter was friendly and worked with us on our tight schedule. I had a veggie and ham pizza - the crust is thinner than what we have in the states, airier, but good and it was big! Once we finished eating we met back up with the group and headed to the bus.
We went from there to a little village in Normandy called, Beuvron-en-Auge. It only has 230 people that live there. It is surrounded by pastor land and was really picturesque. I loved it - we drank cider made from the field and wondered around. The cider - reminded me of bear so yuck! But the town was so quaint - I loved it.
Once we left there we headed to the WWII museum in Caen. I'm not a big history person, but it was interesting to see WWII from the eyes of the French. We hear so much history with the American slant, I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle. I made it about 1/2 way through the exhibit and honestly it was sad and I wasn't feeling well so I went out and sat in the cafe. I ate a chocolate filled croissant and rested while Jack and Mama continued. I actually enjoyed my time sitting there watching the people and eating my little snack.
We then headed to the hotel - Hotel Mercure. Jack went to get me some meds from the neighboring pharmacy while I settled in. One thing I have learned in France, go to a pharmacy and you get one choice of meds. Not Sudafed, Tylenol, Etc... - You tell the pharmacist your symptoms, he hands you meds, you leave. One type of tissue, one type of throat lozenge (and it taste like menthol ass). That being said I took that pill and within 20 minutes my nose was drying up and I was feeling better so go France. I may get another box to take home just due to how well it works.
Once I had meds in me and we had rested for a few we went to meet the group for dinner. Dinner tonight was a simple meal in the hotel - it was actually really good and the company was great. We set with some people we hadn't really visited with much and the conversation flowed pretty freely - I really enjoyed it actually.
And now I'm tucked away in my hotel room - just took the nighttime dose of the meds and am about to go to sleep. My nose may be running away, but I'm enjoying the trip regardless. Here's to continuing the adventure.
** One thing to add - Jack kept falling asleep on bus and snoring - he may have a bruise from me having to wake him up so much, hee. Time change is a killer!
Love you blogland - till next time.
Today was good - a short day, which was nice because everyone needed the rest. We started the morning in Paris and ate the buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was actually pretty good - after eating breakfast in Italy on our last trip I was worried :) This was good though and the coffee was good as well - stronger than I normally take it but still drinkable - bonus for Europe!
After breakfast we headed to the bus and out of Paris. We went to a town called Rouen - it was very quaint with wood buildings that are built something like I would expect to see in a Dutch area. Kinda like Helen, GA really - the architectural style, these were just MUCH much older. This town had a couple of interesting things we saw.
1) Joan of Arc - this was the town she died in. We saw a church dedicated to her, odd looking building that has alot of symbolism attached to it.
2) The town has two gigantic gold clocks that have been around for hundreds of years. You can read more about the here - they were pretty cool, only one still works but still awesome - hundreds of years!
3) There is a church there that is also Notre Dame (my lady) - it was pretty and has a bit of history as Monet used it as subject for several of his paintings. It is a white church and he used it a study for light and how it plays.
We then went and had lunch at a French bar and grill. The waiter was friendly and worked with us on our tight schedule. I had a veggie and ham pizza - the crust is thinner than what we have in the states, airier, but good and it was big! Once we finished eating we met back up with the group and headed to the bus.
We went from there to a little village in Normandy called, Beuvron-en-Auge. It only has 230 people that live there. It is surrounded by pastor land and was really picturesque. I loved it - we drank cider made from the field and wondered around. The cider - reminded me of bear so yuck! But the town was so quaint - I loved it.
Once we left there we headed to the WWII museum in Caen. I'm not a big history person, but it was interesting to see WWII from the eyes of the French. We hear so much history with the American slant, I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle. I made it about 1/2 way through the exhibit and honestly it was sad and I wasn't feeling well so I went out and sat in the cafe. I ate a chocolate filled croissant and rested while Jack and Mama continued. I actually enjoyed my time sitting there watching the people and eating my little snack.
We then headed to the hotel - Hotel Mercure. Jack went to get me some meds from the neighboring pharmacy while I settled in. One thing I have learned in France, go to a pharmacy and you get one choice of meds. Not Sudafed, Tylenol, Etc... - You tell the pharmacist your symptoms, he hands you meds, you leave. One type of tissue, one type of throat lozenge (and it taste like menthol ass). That being said I took that pill and within 20 minutes my nose was drying up and I was feeling better so go France. I may get another box to take home just due to how well it works.
Once I had meds in me and we had rested for a few we went to meet the group for dinner. Dinner tonight was a simple meal in the hotel - it was actually really good and the company was great. We set with some people we hadn't really visited with much and the conversation flowed pretty freely - I really enjoyed it actually.
And now I'm tucked away in my hotel room - just took the nighttime dose of the meds and am about to go to sleep. My nose may be running away, but I'm enjoying the trip regardless. Here's to continuing the adventure.
** One thing to add - Jack kept falling asleep on bus and snoring - he may have a bruise from me having to wake him up so much, hee. Time change is a killer!
Love you blogland - till next time.
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