Travels of Yore

Okay, they are not really travels from the distant past, but close enough. My first trip to Europe was in September 1998. I had invited Ron, my nephew who was at that time still in college, to accompany me on a three and half week guided tour of Western Europe. The tour started in London, went through Paris, Lucerne, Florence, Rome, Venice, Innsbruck, Munich, Heidelberg, Cologne, Amsterdam, and back to London. The tour had a lot of side trips such as a boat tour of Paris along the Seine, funicular and gondola ride up to the Swiss Alps, tour of Burano outside of Venice, a boat cruise along the Rhine, canal tour of Amsterdam, and many others. We enjoyed good meals at nice restaurants including a dinner in Rome with opera singers providing the entertainment, special lunch in Lucerne with Alpine music and yodeling, a lunch treat at Munich's Hofbrauhaus, and a dinner at an ornately decorated Chinese/Indonesian restaurant located along the harbor of Amsterdam. Since we were in a tour bus, we got to see a lot of the countryside. I have loads of pictures in neatly organized albums from this trip, but I only have a few digitized pictures.

Ron in London with the Tower Bridge behind:




With the Florence cityscape behind us. You can see the Duomo's distinctive top in the background:




On the Rome leg of the tour, we visited the Colosseum. We had noticed two men dressed in Roman gladiator garb posing for picture with tourists. So I asked if I could take pictures with them while Ron takes the shot, and afterwards, I would do the same for Ron. After my picture was taken by Ron, one of them proceeded to demand money for their deed. I don't remember how much in lira they were demanding, but it was exorbitant enough that I refused to pay. They got angry and tried to scare me. I told them I would gladly call the police (who were conveniently nearby) to settle the issue. They gave up. I gave them about $5 equivalent for their troubles. Nevertheless, I got a picture with them, but Ron never got the chance. I don't have a digitized photo of that particular picture. I do have a picture of the Colosseum.




The Arc de Triomphe:




This trip was a great introduction to seeing the sights of Western Europe. It was also the impetus of me wanting to explore more of Europe on my own, not with a tour group. I have been back several times since with a six other backpackers, with two other backpackers, and in solo travels. I continue to travel the sights of Europe every chance I get. While working in Bosnia, I got to visit a few of the central/eastern European countries (Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic). Since I started working in Germany in July 2007, I have visited and revisited many sights of Western Europe. There are still a lot of places in Europe I would like to visit and revisit.

4 Out of 5 Dentists Recommend ...

My last four postings were all related to Italy (Bologna, San Marino, and Sicily). Even the post titled “Siena” about my great niece is somehow tied to Italy because she is named after the town in Italy. So to break the monotony and get out of the Italy mode …

Parents always tell you to brush and floss, and always wear your retainers. Kids, I suggest you listen to your parents or the following may happen to you:

I pirated the above photo from Rena's flickr page.

Bologna and San Marino

I visited Bologna and San Marino during the President’s Day holiday weekend. As I mentioned in previous blogs, I was looking for a new place to visit – with cheap airfare, small enough to see in three days, and a place warmer than Wiesbaden. The trip met all the requirements.

We arrived in Bologna late Saturday afternoon flying with RyanAir, a low fare airline in Europe. The bus from Bologna airport to the city center was convenient. Shortly after checking in to our hotel, we went directly to the city center and started sightseeing. Bologna is not a big tourist destination. Because of this, most of the tourist sites, businesses, restaurants, etc. are closed on Sundays. Instead of hanging around Bologna for Sunday, we decided to take a day trip to San Marino. San Marino is a small independent republic (second smallest in the world) nestled within Italy not too far from the Adriatic coast. Most of San Marino is located in the Apennine mountains. From Bologna, we took the train to Rimini; from Rimini we took a regular bus service that goes back and forth between San Marino and Rimini. San Marino was a pleasant surprise. The weather was cold up in the mountains, but the view was breathtaking. The top of San Marino affords a scenic view of the nearby mountains, the towns below, and the Adriatic Sea. On the highest point of San Marino are three fortress towers that was used long time ago as lookout towers to protect the republic. In town were the city hall and many shops. Apparently, San Marino is a shopping destination for many Italians because it does not charge sales tax. (See the following link to my flickr page for pictures in San Marino.)

The whole day Monday and a few hours on Tuesday before heading back to Germany were spent walking around the city and seeing its sights. Most of the sidewalks in Bologna city center are “arched” covered (see pictures below). You can probably stay dry walking the streets of Bologna during a rainy day without an umbrella. Piazza Maggiore is the main square. In the main square is the Fountain of Neptune, the basilica of San Petronio, and the city hall. Nearby are two towers from the medieval period that are leaning precariously. Bologna has the oldest existing university in Europe. We visited former a campus building that was used for medical studies. The building, now used as a library and museum, has an ornately decorated covered walkway ceiling in its interior portico. The main market was full of fresh produce. I was amazed at the number of purple colored vegetables such as artichokes, radicchios, endives, salad greens, etc. Bologna is the home of mortadella, the original Bologna sausage. I was not overwhelmed by the taste of Mortadella, but we did manage to get very decent meals in Bologna. (See the following link for pictures in Bologna.)

The Bologna visit was a good break from the cold, gray weather of Wiesbaden. The city can be covered in a day to a day in a half of walking and sightseeing. Would I want to come back again for a visit? Probably not.

The following are pictures from Piazza Maggiore:












Inside the San Petronio Basilica:








The leaning towers of Bologna:






Igor Mitoraj's Tindaro Screpolato Sculpture:






The covered walkways:










Grotesque faces in Bologna:








Market scenes:










Pictures from San Marino:

Siena

I finally got a hold of a few pictures of Siena, thru Jay and Alvie's flickr account. During my Seattle holiday visit, I did not have a camera. I broke the old one and was in the market for a new one. So I did not have any pictures of Siena until recently.

The first photo is a "warholized" image of Siena. The next one is of me and her during the Christmas 2008 party at my house. Click on the photos for a complete view. No, I do not have a forehead story or similar anecdote with this photo as I had with Jayan’s photo. Siena was about to cry, and I was quickly looking for another person to pass her on to. Siena is Jay (my nephew) and Alvie's daughter.

See More of Italy

I will be seeing more of Italy during the President’s Day holiday weekend. I am headed tomorrow, Saturday, to Bologna for a visit and will be there until Tuesday. Bologna is located in the north-central of the country. Why Bologna? I have never been there, RyanAir (the low fare airline) flies there, and the weather is bound to be warmer that Wiesbaden. Weather in Wiesbaden continues to be cold. This past week, we had a few days of snow and blustery winds.

The airfare was only 40 euros and a cheap hotel near the city center was booked for 80 euros total for three nights. You can’t beat that for an extended weekend getaway. Bologna is a university town renowned for its gastronomy, and a bastion of socialism and communism, perhaps like Berkeley with a culinary tradition. If possible, we will try to venture out and take a day trip to a nearby town. I will fill you in with details after I get back.

To get back to the original premise of this blog to share pictures of family and past travels, I provide the following:

With Grace, Mia, Janice, Joyce, and Jason taken early January 2009 at the home of Grace & Jason. Joyce wins the smiling contest. (Click on photo to get entire picture.)

I would guess that the next picture was taken between 1985 -1986. Note the stylish hair styles of Leah and Glen; and the missing upper front teeth of Ed.

For fair play, I offer a late 70’s/early 80’s hairstyle of my own – the frizzy perm. Yes, that is me with the white sweater ready to join a hard rock or a metal band.

I know everyone already knows the negative effects of drinking, but the two following photos should make it outright clear to stay away from alcohol.

But seriously, this coming 16 February would have been Inna’s 87^th b-day. I refer you to my post of last year: http://notesfromelvin.blogspot.com/2008/02/b-days-innas-legacy-and-long-weekend-in.html