Cruise - January 2012 - Memphis to New Orleans

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Greetings from N.O.L.A.

We boarded the City of New Orleans train in Memphis, bound for New Orleans, about 8 a.m. this morning.   This was the first problem, since we were supposed to have departed Memphis at 6:50 a.m.  Still, our spirits were high.  The Amtrak personnel had been friendly and courteous, our wait had been pleasant, and we were excited about our getting to our eventual destination, a cruise ship to Mexico.    

My husband’s sister and  brother-in-law are with us, and we four are planning to have a terrific week.

We travelled in the coach section, which we had not done before.  The seats were comfortable, with lots of leg room, and there was plenty of overhead storage for our belongings.   The stewards were friendly, and the general atmosphere was one of excited anticipation, since many of the passengers were traveling to New Orleans to attend football games .  (The Saints were to play the Lions on Saturday night, and the LSU Tigers take on Alabama come Monday.  Judging from the color of their jerseys, most of the football fans on our train were Alabama fans.) 

There was a change of stewards at our first stop in Greeneville, Mississippi.   The pleasant-looking lady steward departed, and in her place came a handsome, well-muscled man who, evidently, had been a Marine drill sergeant in a not-so-distant life.  Soon after departing Greeneville, he made this announcement over the train speaker system:

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please.  Welcome aboard the City of New Orleans.  We’d like to remind you that we are not here to clean up after you.  If you use the bathroom facilities, and you choose the “squat and aim” method, please use the paper seat covers provided for you.  If you cannot refrain from spraying everything in the bathroom, we would prefer that you remain in your seat and defecate on yourself so that you sit in your own feces from here to New Orleans.  Thank you very much.

OMG...What???

The Amtrak station in New Orleans is very close to the Superdome, where the football action was to begin within a couple of hours.  Already, fans were milling around outside the stadium, setting up their tailgate parties for the Saints came.  Banners declaring “Roll Tide Roll” could be seen hanging here and there in anticipation of Monday’s game.  On the platform, one Alabama fan stumbled and fell, scattering her belongings across the concrete.  Back in Memphis, my brother-in-law had struck up a conversation with this lady, having recognized her as a former schoolmate.  When he saw her fall, he stopped to help her.  She hadn’t simply tripped; she was staggering drunk.  He helped her up and helped her gather her belongings.  Meanwhile, the incident had caught the attention of a policeman standing nearby.  He and my brother-in-law helped the lady to a seat near the station entrance.  The policeman quickly assessed the problem and offered my brother-in-law two choices:  (1) take “custody” of this lady, or (2) the lady could go to jail until Wednesday.  My brother-in-law agreed to help get the lady to her hotel.   We got the lady inside the terminal, at which point she realized that she had left her purse and a tote bag aboard the train.  We wanted to go back and search the train, but the Amtrak employees would not let us, since the train had to be moved so that another could take its place on the platform.  Fortunately, just moments later, someone told us that some things had been turned in to “lost and found,” and when the lady checked, some of the items were the ones she was missing.  We helped her gather everything, then accompanied her out to the sidewalk to hail a taxi. 

With that done, it was time to get a taxi for ourselves.  A large SUV taxi pulled up, and the driver, a lady from Haiti, agreed to take us to our hotel in Gretna.  We loaded our bags and set off.  Traffic near the Superdome was a nightmare.   The driver, who spoke English with a very thick accent, misunderstood our instructions and took us to the wrong hotel, despite the fact that two of us had maps to the hotel pulled up on our cell phones.

Finally, at about 7 p.m., we arrived at the correct hotel.  We tossed our bags in our rooms and set out in search of dinner.  Another taxi ride, this time with a local driver who had a delightful “Cajun” accent.  We ate at “New Orleans Food and Spirits.”  The food was good.  The spirits were terrific!   Another taxi ride (with another Haitian driver), and we were back in our rooms, happy and full, and ready to hit the sack.

Georgia 2011

When my boss complained of dreading a long drive to a 3-day conference in Chattanooga, I volunteered to drive her if she'd let me take her car on down to Alpharetta, Georgia to visit a friend.  Surprisingly, she agreed.  We headed out on Tuesday, June 14.  Joel went with us and ended up doing all of the driving.

I'd given my friend a "heads up" that we'd be coming, but I didn't give her an exact date of arrival.  Thus, she was a little surprised when I called her and said that we were one hour away from her house.  I told her not to worry about putting us up, as we planned to stay in a hotel.  She generously offered to let us stay at her house, but I insisted that we would not impose on her.  I had not bothered to make a hotel reservation as I had not anticipated a problem with finding a room in Alpharetta.  Boy, was I surprised when we tried to check into a hotel, only to be told that there were no rooms available.  "Phish concert," the hotel clerk explained.  From that hotel parking lot, I called several other hotels and got the same story: no rooms available.  Thankfully, my friend again offered us a room.  We had a pleasant evening, chatting over drinks on her patio.  The next day we again shopped for a hotel room.  For a while, I feared that we wouldn't find one, as the Phish concert was a 2-night event, and most of the hotels were still full.  After several phone calls, we finally found a room, and we hurried there to check in before someone else could snatch it up.  That evening, we went back to our friend's house for a delicious steak and chicken dinner cooked on the grill. 

On Thursday, Joel and I drove up to Elberton, Georgia to see the "Georgia Guidestones."  This mysterious monument sits at the edge of a field, a little over 7 miles north of Elberton on Highway 77.  I shall not recount here the tale of the origins of this monument, as plenty of information is available with a quick internet search.  Do look it up; it is quite bizarre.

A plaque on the ground said more information could be had at the Elberton Granite Museum, so we stopped there on our way back through town.  We did a quick tour of the place, watched a film on how granite is quarried, finished, and etched, and learned that Elberton is the granite capitol of the world.  Evidently, it is the local granite that will help protect the place from disappearing when the apocalypse comes.  ;)

It was long past lunch time when we left the museum, and we began looking for a place to eat.  Understand that when we travel, we prefer to eat at places that serve local fare, or at least food that we don't typically get around our home; fast food is a last resort.  But we had chosen a route out of town that had virtually nothing but fast food restaurants.  We kept driving.  By the time we reached Athens, Georgia and saw a sign for Krystal, we decided to break our travel rule and stop there.  Following the signs, Joel steered us off the highway, but when we came to the next intersection, there was no Krystal in sight, and no sign pointing the way.  "Turn right," I told him, and we'll see what's over the hill."

He turned right.  Just past the intersection, there were two "quick stop" gas stations, a Mexican restaurant, and this:



He turned on the blinker.  I thought he was just going to turn around, but he pulled into a parking space and turned off the engine.

I gasped.  "We're eating HERE?"

"It's not fast food," he said with a shrug, "and it isn't something we'd get at home."

Reluctantly, I followed him to the door. 

If there was an indoor dining room, I didn't see it.  (I don't know what they'll do when the weather turns cold.)  The lattice-enclosed seating area had picnic tables and a pea-gravel floor.  From the rafter ceiling hung colorful tissue paper party decorations.  There were more picnic tables out back, alongside a small stream.  A chalk board near the kitchen door advertised the day's specials:  jerk chicken, jerk pork, spicy cabbage, rice & peas, squash.  We took a seat at one of the tables by the creek.  Big sticks of incense smoked along the creek bank, apparently functioning as bug deterrents.  We both ordered jerk pork, mine with rice & peas and squash, his with cabbage and lima beans.  Every bite was delicious.  I was glad that Joel had been brave enough to give the place a try. 

We headed home the next day, stopping in Chattanooga to pick up the boss.  We rolled into our driveway at about 5 p.m.  As always, though we'd had a good time on the trip, it was good to be home. 

Baltimore-Washington DC, April-May 2011

Joel had to go to a seminar in Baltimore, Maryland last week.  I went with him.  We left on Tuesday morning in a drizzling rain.  We had a short lay-over in Indianapolis, then flew to DC (for some unfathomable reason, the tickets to DC were cheaper than tickets to Baltimore).  Although we would have taken the train to Baltimore, my sister graciously offered to pick us up at the airport.  That evening, we had a tasty Mexican meal at a nearby restaurant, then Deb and her husband, Jack, drove us to Baltimore in their car.

The conference was at the Hyatt hotel in the Inner Harbor section of Baltimore.  Our 10th floor room had a view of the lovely harbor area. 

On Wednesday morning, I set out walking along the harbor.  From the hotel room, I'd spotted a bookstore, and I made a bee-line for it.  For the past few years I have been collecting cookbooks from each state that we visit.  This bookstore had a nice selection of Maryland cookbooks.  I added one to my collection. 

Just down the street from the bookstore was an aquarium.  I bought a ticket and went in.  The place was crawling with schoolchildren.  In addition to the fish displays, the aquarium had a theatre that offered a "4-D" movie.  4-D?  Not long after the movie started, I found out what the 4th dimension was.  When a polar bear climbed out of its den, a blast of cool air blew through the room.  When a killer whale nabbed a fish by the back of its neck, a blast of air shot out of the back of the seat and hit me in the back of the head.  When the whale splashed in the water, a fine mist sprayed.  The kids squealed with delight.  I probably squealed a little, myself!
After the aquarium visit, I walked a little farther, looking for lunch.  There was an Irish pub close by.  I went in and opted for a seat on the restaurant's second floor patio.  For lunch, I ordered a tasty crabcake sandwich and a Tulley & Ginger to wash it down. 

Later that evening, Joel and I went to a reception at Luckie's Tavern, hosted by the seminar folks.  The whole place had been reserved for us for the entire evening.  Outside on the patio were rows of picnic tables, and on the end of each table was a big basket of steamed crabs and a pile of wooden hammers.  An experienced crab-eater showed us how to crack open the little beasts.  They were tasty, but I was not brave enough to try the "mustard."

On Thursday, the weather was bad.  There were tornado warnings, and it rained off and on all day.  I stayed in our nice, dry room and watched the pre-wedding (Kate & Will) specials.  By late that afternoon, the clouds had moved out.  Joel and I walked along the harbor to a restaurant (Rusty Scrupper), where we had a delicious seafood supper.

The next morning, we packed our suitcases and headed back to DC, taking the train this time.  Deb picked us up at a Metro stop, and we went to her house for the weekend.  We had such a good time with her and Jack.  On Saturday, we visited a garden plant sale, then toured part of the National Arboretum.  The azaleas were in full bloom.  It was beautiful. 

Later that evening, we tried yet another Mexican restaurant, a new one that offered Salsa dance lessons.  Though my feet were itching to join in the dancing, my arthritic knee was not.  Besides, we had heard that there was swing dancing in a pavillion at a place called Glen Echo, and we wanted to check it out before the evening grew too old.  There was a live band at Glen Echo, playing swing music.  There must have been 200 people cutting a rug on the dance floor.  Had we arrived earlier, we probably would have paid our money and joined the dancing, sore knees or no; as it was, we stood on the outside of the pavillion and watched the dancers. 

On Sunday, we drove to West Virginia for brunch at the Bavarian Inn.  Talk about food...they had just about anything a body could want:  omelettes, Eggs Benedict, German sausages with kraut, lamb, roast beef, pork, vegetables and salads and breads of all descriptions....  The desserts were just as plentiful.  Man, oh man...it was delicious! 

We waddled out of the place, got in the car, and drove back into Maryland to the Antietam battlefield (just a few miles away) to have a look around.  Since it was raining and a little chilly, we did not tour the whole place - just watched the film in the vistor center, then drove around a little bit. 

The countryside was so beautiful.  It was hard to imagine that such horrible death and destruction - over 20,000 men died that day - occurred there 150 years ago, a battle that changed the course of the Civil War. 

Having been such pigs at lunch-time, we opted for a light, quiet meal and a glass of wine at Deb's & Jack's house that evening.  We called it an evening before 10 p.m. 

This morning when I awoke and went downstairs, Deb asked if I'd heard the helicopters circling the house during the night.  I had not heard them.  Evidently, the helicopters had been flying in response to the crowd of students which had assembled near the White House in response to the news that a much-wanted terrorist (I shall not even type his name) had been captured and killed.  The students were there to chant "USA!" in support of the feat, pulled off by a group of Navy Seals while most of us had slept.  Good job, guys!

Airport security was a little tighter today for our flight home.  A security guard swabbed my palms, evidently looking for residue of some sort.  I suppose I looked suspicious - a dumpy, middle-aged woman in reading glasses, poring over the pages of a gardening magazine. 

It's good to be home.

Thursday - Sunday - Lucca, San Gimignano, Pisa, Florence, Home

Since our car had died in the road on Wednesday night, and since there was no rental car place in Greve, Bill & Jo took a bus to Florence on Thursday morning and got another rental car.  While they did that, Simon, an employee of the vineyard, gave us a tour of the winery.  When Bill & Jo returned, we all climbed into the car, grabbed a quick lunch in Greve, and started for Lucca. 

The plan was to visit the ancient town of San Gimignano, make a sweep past the Leaning Tower of Pisa, then go on to Lucca. Since we were travelling the backroads, it took us a while to get to San Gimignano, and we didn't arrive until after 3 p.m. San Gimignano is famous for its towers. Once, there were 72 towers in the city. Now, 14 towers remain. We parked the car outside the city walls and went into town. The streets were narrow and hilly.

 

A shopkeeper in San Gimignano recommended that we take the backroads to Pisa, as it would be both shorter and faster because of rush-hour traffic on the big roads between Florence, Pisa, and Lucca.  We punched the address into the GPS and set off.  We drove, and drove, and drove....

Rush-hour traffic in the small towns was no piece of cake, either.  A few miles outside Pisa, we gave up on Pisa (it was already dark) and made a bee-line for Lucca.  In short, getting there was a nightmare.  We finally arrived around 8 p.m.  We were to stay at the La Romea B&B.  We phoned ahead.  Guilio, the owner, said he would meet us just inside the city wall.  We parked in front of a bicycle shop, and within a few minutes, Guilio's car screeched to a stop behind us.  We transferred our suitcases into his little mini-van.  Guilio recommended that we not attempt to drive around Lucca.  "It is a very small town, and the streets are very narrow...."  Narrower than what we'd already seen?  Guilio had no problem convincing us to park the car and walk everywhere we wanted to go, for the day's drive had strained our nerves to the limit!

The hotel was down a tiny alley - we'd never have found it without Guilio's help.  There was a tiny courtyard outside.  A tiny wine shop opened onto the courtyard.  The owner was standing in the doorway when we drove up.  "Stay right there," I told him.  "We'll be back in a minute!"  We took our bags upstairs, dropped them in the floor, then ran backdownstairs, intending to head straight for the wine bar...but he'd already closed up and gone home.  :(  We walked around the corner, found a quiet restaurant, and had an antipasto plate and an entire bottle of wine.  As we were eating, Libby & Jordan came in.  They'd arrived earlier in the afternoon and had already been looking around.  We invited them to join us, but they'd already eaten. 

The next morning, Bill & Jo went for a bike ride around the walls of Lucca.  Joey & I caught a bus to Pisa.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Joey in front of the Leaning Tower

Notice how the Leaning Tower managed to right itself when the camera was in Joey's hands.  ;)

In Pisa, we snapped shots of the Tower, then - what else? - went to find something to eat.  Afterward, we managed to get on the right bus back to Lucca.  We walked around Lucca for the remainder of the afternoon.  I wanted perfume for a souvenier, so we found a perfume shop and I chose a scent.  As we were paying, the clerk reached up and brushed my cheek with the back of her hand.  "Oooooo, so dry!" she exclaimed.  She made tsk-ing noises, reached under the counter, and handed me a little tube of moisturizer.  "For day or night!" she said, dropping it into the bag.  Gee, thanks.  "Grazie!" I said.

Bill and Jo, Libby and Jordan, and Joey and I had dinner that night at La Giglio, a restaurant not far from the hotel.  Joey ordered a pasta dish with rabbit in it and amused the waitress with comments about "bunnies."  When she brought his plate, she told him, "Here's Roger!"  Funny, "Bugs" was the first cartoon rabbit that had come to MY mind.  :)

The next morning, we packed our bags.  Bill, Jo, Libby & Jordan were going on to another town south of Florence, but, alas, Joey and I had to end our trip on Saturday and fly back on Sunday.  Bill & Jo helped us check into a hotel near the airport, then dropped us off in Florence, near the Uffizzi museum.

There must have been a million people buzzing around the Uffizzi. We walked around a while, then got in line for tickets to the museum. After 30 minutes, the line had not advanced an inch. The throngs of people were beginning to get on my nerves, and Joey's too. Noise. Jostling. Pidgeons swooping our heads, even under the porch of the Uffizzi. "Let's get out of here," I said. Joey seconded that motion. We did a little shopping, ate lunch, then started trying to figure out how we were going to get back to the airport hotel.

We walked and walked and walked, looking for a bus station or information on how to get to the bus station. Finally, we found a tourist information center. A clerk showed us a map. We were "here." The l'autobus estatione was waaaaaaay over there. We set off walking. After a good many blocks, Joey spied some taxicabs waiting outside a hotel. Good idea! We hailed one, and rode back to our hotel.

That afternoon, it began to rain, and we were glad we had given up on Florence in favor of the airport hotel. We rested a while, walked a while, went back to the hotel and ate dinner. Our flight was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. We had not been successful at checking in for our flights online, so we decided to get to the airport at 5:30 a.m. We called it an early night, since we had to be at the airport before the crack of dawn.

At the airport, we learned that our flight would not take off until 9:30.

Finally, we were on the airplane. Unlike most trips we've taken, this ride home seemed infinitely longer. As the plane approached the U.S., I'd have gotten out and walked, if I could've. We landed in Memphis just after 5 p.m., and spent another hour or more getting through customs, chasing our bags around the airport, and trying to remember which lot we'd parked our car in when we'd arrived more than a week ago.

It was a great trip - maybe a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip - but we were mighty glad to see Memphis, and even happier to pull into our driveway.  We'd grabbed some fast food on our way through Millington - mmmmmm, hamburgers! - and as soon as we washed off the road grime, we ate and collapsed into our own wonderful bed.  It had been almost 24 hours since we'd last slept. 

My "clock" is still a little messed up.  I woke up ("bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," as they say) at 4 a.m., Memphis time, starved for a good old country breakfast of bacon and eggs.

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Tuesday & Wednesday - Greve, Panzano, Sienna

Corniglia

I'm posting few pictures that should've gone with the "Sunday & Monday" post.  Something screwy happened before I was finished uploading pictures, and I could not get these pictures uploaded.  This first batch is from the Cinque Terra tour - Riomaggio, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterossa. 

Riomaggio



Riomaggio




"Il Gigante" in Monterossa



  

On Tuesday morning, we headed for Greve in Chianti. On the way, we stopped in Varese, where it was market day. Leaving Varese, we drove to Carrera, famous for its marble. We had lunch in a small piazza, then drove up to the quarries, where they are literally carving away the mountains. This part of the tour made me fairly nervous, as we had to drive through long tunnels and negotiate curving roads which were also being travelled by huge trucks carrying marble. I was glad to get out of there!

Market Day in Varese

Outside Carrera

After investigating the quarry, we drove on to Greve. It was almost dark when we arrived, and we could not find the vineyard. Finally, Jo called Alessandro, the owner, and he came to retrieve us (we were only a few hundred yards away from the entrance). We took our bags to our rooms, and since it was too dark to look around, we went back into town for dinner. Our waiter was a jolly fellow, and spoke good English. We drank local wine, ate local cheese and other local dishes. It was yummy.

Grapes on the vine at the Fattoria Viticcio



View from the vineyard

Wednesday morning, it was drizzling rain, but the rain didn't last long. After breakfast at the vineyard, Bill & Jo walked around to investigate the grapevines, almond trees, and olive trees.  Joey & I set off in another direction in the vineyard.  As I was snapping pictures, my camera battery played out. I could not re-charge it without an adapter since the electrical outlets in Europe are different from ours. Bill had an adapter, but he and Jo were hiking, so we could not borrow it. Joey and I drove to Greve, bought an adapter, walked around the town square, then went back to the vineyard. I was able to charge the camera battery a little before the four of us headed to Siena.

On the way to Siena, we stopped for lunch in Panzone and ate on the patio of a tiny restaurant overlooking a beautful hillside. As in almost every place we ate, the food was delicious, but this might have been one of the better meals we had, partly due to the scenery. Joey & I had local sausage with white beans. (If I can figure out how to make this at home, we'll be eating it often this winter!)

In Siena, we went straight to the Duomo (Cathedrale di Santa Maria), a Gothic cathedral built in the 13th century. 
Siena Duomo (Siena Cathedral) - Siena, Italy
It was magnificent! 

Cathedrale di Santa Maria

Joey and I spent almost the whole afternoon inside the cathedral.  Bill & Jo walked around the city a little, then we all met for a cappuccino in the Piazza del Campo.  It was dark when we started back to the car, and we had trouble finding our way back to the Gate of San Marco, the entrance to the city where we'd parked our car.  At last we found the car, and headed back to Greve.

A few miles outside of Greve, the car began to make strange noises, as if the gears were not engaging.  We struggled up a hill on a dark, curving road.  The car began to smoke and roll back down the hill.  We put on the parking brake and got out of the car.  Other cars stopped to help.  One man looked in our trunk, found a caution marker, and set it in the road.  We called the rental car company, and they said they'd send a tow truck.  We had no idea where we were, but, fortunately, we had a GPS with us and were able to give the rental car company GPS coordinates for where we were stranded.  While we waited, about a dozen other drivers stopped to offer help.  The tow truck arrived in about 45 minutes.  The  driver hoisted the car onto the flatbed truck, told Jo and I to get inside the cab, and told Bill and Joey to climb inside the car - while it was ON the flatbed.  With ravines on both sides of the road, the driver turned the big tow truck around in the road, and rushed back to Siena at breakneck speed.  We all just hung on for the ride.  He dropped us off at a train station where taxis were waiting.  One of them (with a driver who we've named "Mario Andretti, Jr.") rushed us back to Greve.  It was almost 11 p.m. when we got back to our rooms.  We staggered up the steps and fell into our beds.
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Sunday & Monday - Florence to Montecatini to Levanto

We were relieved to be reunited with our luggage in Florence. Bill rented a car, and after a slight problem getting the car to go in reverse, we hit the highway to Levanto. We stopped for lunch in Montecatini and picked a restaurant on a whim. The menu had so many delicious dishes that we - especially Joel and Jo - had a hard time choosing. Jo deliberated for a long time, then finally made her choice, whereupon the waiter asked, "For today or tomorrow, Signora?" (Thus began a week-long ragging of J & J about their indecisiveness at mealtime.) ;)   We each ordered something different and passed our plates around the table so that everyone could have a taste.  The food was wonderful! 

After lunch, we encountered the first of several difficulties with Italian plumbing when Jo & I tried to wash our hands and could not figure out how to turn on the water.  (We eventually discovered a button on the floor.)

The drive to Levanto was beautiful. Along the way, we saw vineyards, olive groves, and citrus trees dripping with ripening fruit. As we approached Levanto, the roads became curvy and narrow. In Levanto, the streets were so narrow that it was difficult to navigate without hitting pedestrians or parked cars. The street where our hotel, the Stella Maris, was located was tiny. Determining street names was a real challenge. We drove around the block a few times (narrowly missing bicyclers and walls) before we found our hotel, the entrance of which faced a pedestrian alley. Finally, we found it and hauled our luggage up the stairs.

The building in which the Stella Maris was located was built in the 1700s and still featured original frescoes on the walls and ceilings. Our room was beautiful. The floors were marble. There was a fresco on the ceiling above our bed. 

After we stashed our luggage in our rooms, Joey & I set out to explore.  A few blocks away was the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.  We walked along the waterfront for a while, then met up with Bill & Jo.  We had drinks and antipasto in a little bar, then walked next door for dinner.

On Monday, we bought train tickets and explored the cities of the Cinque Terra.  Joey & I rode past the first few towns and got off the train in Riomaggio.  We didn't see much.  We walked up a very steep hill and saw only houses and little gardens.  Deciding that there wasn't much there to investigate, we walked back down the hill and wandered into a tiny restaurant.  We had bread with pesto, a couple of glasses of local wine, ravioli, and spaghetti with mussels.  Mmmmmm! 

Our next stop was Corniglia (pronounced "Cornelia").  At first, we thought there was nothing to see there, either, but then we walked down some stairs, went underneath the railroad tracks, and came out on the other side to a beautiful view - narrow cobblestone streets lined with colorful houses and shops.  We headed toward the sea, stopping for gelato along the way.  As we sat near the water's edge enjoying our gelatio, we decided that we would eat or drink in every town, all the way back to Levanto, and that's exactly what we did!

This Cinque Terra area was a hiker's dream (or nightmare, depending on which "leg" one took).  As we sat in courtyards, swilling beer or wine and downing pizza, we saw lines of people making their way up paths on the distant hillsides.  Silly tourists...there's a train!  ;)

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Italy - October 2010

My very nice brother, Bill, offered to take Joel & me with him on a trip to Italy.  How could we say no?

Our flight was to leave on Friday, October 8, at 7:30 p.m.  We picked up Bill and his friend, Jo, and hurried to the airport.  Wouldn't you know it...just as boarding time approached, they announced that something was wrong with the airplane, and parts were being flown in from Atlanta.  We hunted up an airport bar, had some dinner and a margarita, and not long after we returned to the gate, we boarded the plane for Amsterdam.

Joey and I barely slept a wink during the night-long plane ride.  We arrived in Amsterdam the next morning.  Unfortunately, our luggage did not.  The airline information desk said Bill's & Jo's luggage had been sent to Florence.  They didn't know where ours was, but said they'd find it and send it on to Florence.

Saturday - Amsterdam

We went to our hotel, spashed some water on our faces, and caught a taxi into the old part of Amsterdam.  The taxi let us out near Dam Square.  We had some coffee in a little corner cafe, then Bill & Jo set off in one direction, and Joey & I set off in another. 

Amsterdam is a beautiful city, full of old buildings and beautiful little canals.  We strolled around for a bit, checking out specific landmarks such as the Anne Frank House, then we wandered aimlessly for a while.

Soon, we found ourselves in the "red light" district, where women, clad in underwear that the parson would not approve of, sat in shop windows advertising their wares.  They reminded us of animals in zoos.

We strolled around a little more, then, looking for a place to rest our aching feet, we hunted up a coffee shop where we could relax.  After that, we were uncommonly hungry, and wanted to try some local food.  Joel had a dish called "hutspot" - mashed potatoes mixed with carrots and onions, with meatballs and gravy on the side.  I had a "pancake" with bacon, mushrooms, and cheese.  Later in the evening, we met Bill & Jo, and the four of us caught a train back to the airport, then a shuttle back to the hotel. 

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