Memorable Places, Part 11 (Finale)

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Today is the final entry in the series. Like the 2015 Europe trip, this journey must too come to an end.

Memorable Places, Part 10

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Granada

My time in Granada was something of a second chance for the city. In 2012 I was there, but only for a very short period, so I didn’t see much beyond the Alhambra and a few other sights. In 2015 I came back and had the time to experience more of the city. Granada has become my favorite city in Andalusia, with a nice balance of history and modernity. Everything you could want in a modern city is there for you, and right within it are enough sightseeing attractions to keep you busy all day long. The crown jewel of Granada is, of course, the Alhambra, which is a monument to the last flourish of Moorish culture in Spain before 1492, when the Spanish retook the city. I visited the Alhambra both last year and in 2012, and I personally think it’s better than the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. You could spend half your day up there, and when you come down there’s a vibrant city waiting for you. Whereas Seville has an older, dignified feel to it, Granada’s vibe felt younger and trendier, at least in the central part of the city where I spent most of my time.

Cordoba

Oh, poor Cordoba, you can’t catch a break. Cordoba feels like the least of the trio of larger cities in Andalusia, even though it’s actually bigger than Granada, and gets passed over by a lot of people. I myself only spent two nights there, and when I left I didn’t feel like I had missed out on much. The alcazar of Cordoba isn’t much compared to the one in Seville, or the Alhambra in Granada, and there’s much less to see and do in Cordoba than its sister cities. What Cordoba can claim to its credit is the Mesquita, a former Visigothic church that was turned into a mosque by the Moors, and then turned back into a church when the Spanish reconquered the city. Inside is a forest of columns and arches, which seem to stretch out to infinity. Near the Mesquita you can cross the old bridge and climb a small tower for a good view of the old city. I spent a little while up on that tower, staring back at the Mesquita, the alcazar, and the rest of Cordoba. Long ago it was the foremost city in all of Europe, but today it is a quieter town, and I suspect Cordoba is just fine with that.

On this day, one year ago, I flew from Istanbul to Madrid. Before leaving I acquired the legendary Umbrella of Constantine, and upon arrival in Madrid my first meal was a delicious serving of chocolate con churros. That night I also finally got to see Picasso’s famous Guernica, which I had missed the last time I was in Madrid.

Memorable Places, Part 9

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Seville

Seville (or, Sevilla, as it is properly called) is the largest of what I think of as the big three Andalusian cities—Seville, Granada, and Cordoba. It’s probably the most iconic as well, drawing in visitors from around the world to take in that quintessential Andalusian feel. A decent analogy for Seville would be to say that it is sort of like a well-aged bottle of wine. It doesn’t have the pop and vibrancy of cities like Barcelona or Granada, but has an older and refined charm to it. Seville has a lot of things that attract tourists, such as the fourth largest church in the world and the Royal Alcazar, (palace) but my personal favorite spot in Seville is the Plaza de España (pictured right). I’m not that old and haven’t seen all that much of the world, but I’m fine declaring it to be one of the world’s most beautiful architectural masterpieces. Brick, stone, and tiles are laid out in splendid fashion, the likes of which I’ve hardly seen anywhere else. Seville has tried bringing in some modern art and architecture, such as the giant mushroom structure, the new bridge over the river, and the World’s Fair expo grounds, but I don’t think the city needs it. Seville is all about aged elegance.

Tarifa and Tangier

I have stood at the edge of the world. Ok, so Tarifa isn’t actually the edge of the world, but it feels like it. Down at the southern edge of mainland Europe you can see the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, and the Mediterranean Sea with a single turn of your head. The winds blow in strongly from the Atlantic, bringing in all the kite surfers looking to catch the air.  Across the strait is Tangier, which despite being only a forty-minute ferry ride from Tarifa, feels a world away from Europe. The narrow crowded streets in the old city are bustling with shops and salesmen. Nearby a series of high-rise apartments line the beach, with a new port under construction. Back in Tarifa I saw perhaps the most brilliant sunset of my life, with reds, oranges, and yellows reflected in the clouds and the small pools of water on the beach as the sun went down over the Atlantic. It was the edge of the world, and the sun was saying goodbye.

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On this day, one year ago, I was wandering all around Istanbul. In the morning I ventured into the Grand Bazaar, and in the deep core of it I found a Turkish tobacco pipe shop from which I bought a friend’s wedding gift. For lunch I grabbed a meal with two people from my hostel at a restaurant near the Süleymaniye Mosque, and in the afternoon I went out to the old city walls and also visited the Chora Church. From up on the walls I strained looked around in every direction but couldn’t seen an end to the city.

Memorable Places, Part 8

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Madrid

A friend of mine once described Madrid as the “Denver of Spain,” by which he meant it was just another city with nothing particularly remarkable about it. While I wouldn’t completely agree with him, I can understand why he would say that, as Madrid probably was the least unique of the larger cities I visited in Spain. Even so, I would never have an objection to coming back to Madrid in the future, and whenever I do, I will always start it the same way—with chocolate con churros. This very Spanish dish of pastry and warm chocolate can be found all across Spain, but for whatever reason I really go overboard with it when I’m in Madrid. Granted, I don’t eat it in anywhere near the same quantities as I eat gelato when I’m in Florence, but I did six or so servings during my time in Madrid last year. As for the city itself, Madrid reminds me of the sun, in that you have the center at Puerta Del Sol and the rest of the city seems to radiate outwards from that point. Walk west and you hit the royal palace, walk east and you hit the Prado Museum and Retiro Park, walk north and you hit Gran Via, and walk south you hit El Rastro. You can walk everywhere, to the point where the only time I use the metro is if I have to get to Charmatin Station, the far northern train station, or to the airport. But wherever I walk, I always wind up back where I started, at Puerta Del Sol. A similar thing seems to happen when I’m traveling around the rest of the country. No matter where I go in Spain, I always find my way back to Madrid.

Salamanca

Some people say Salamanca is the best city in Spain. The locals seem convinced of it. I really can’t say myself, partly because I was only there for two nights, and partly because my first concern in Salamanca was not assessing the city’s travel-worthiness. No, I was there to find a bench. A bench a friend of mine sat on years ago while being enraptured by the magnificent light he experienced back then. I couldn’t find the exact bench he sat on, so I just settled on a random bench in town and declared my search over. Perhaps it’s fitting that I was checking out benches, as I found Salamanca to be a place of rest while I was there. I slept in, kept a slow pace, and tried to not exert myself too much. It was late October when I was in Salamanca, so there weren’t too many other tourists, and it was midweek, so there weren’t many visitors from other parts of Spain. I stopped by the university, the cathedral, a few museums, and some other places in town, but unlike most other cities I felt no rush to get anywhere. Things were quiet at my hostel too, which was mostly empty, and in my own room there was only one other person occupying one of the beds. Maybe this relaxed pace is what people love of Salamanca, or maybe that was just my particular experience. If Madrid is the Denver of Spain, then perhaps Salamanca is the bench of Spain.

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On this day, one year ago, I was in Sarajevo, making the most of my short time there. Among other things, I visited the street corner where Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, thus sparking World War I, and later that evening I ate some Bosnian food with two other people from my hostel.

Memorable Places, Part 7

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Sarajevo

I skipped over Sarajevo on my 2012 trip across Europe, which in retrospect was a mistake, but last year I made up for it and journeyed to the city. Sarajevo is a city of culture, history, and scars. It’s one of the few where you can walk in one direction and move through multiple distinct historical periods, and you’ll know by the architecture. Throughout central Sarajevo you’ll also see memorials to the siege in the 1990s, the longest urban siege in modern history. Among the most prominent are the mass graves, which were dug into parks and other open spaces in a disorganized fashion. But the city has rebuilt, to the point where if there were no monuments and you were historically ignorant you might not guess anything had happened, and with the rebuilding has come modernity. You can still purchase locally made wares, but western firms have moved in and staked their claim. Even McDonald’s is now there, and yes, I did eat at the Sarajevo McDonald’s. It was the best McDonald’s I’ve ever had. If you want something more traditional, there are plenty of local Bosnian restaurants throughout the city, though if you’re vegan or vegetarian you might have trouble, as the Bosnian diet is very meat heavy. Also be aware that there are packs of stray dogs wandering about in certain areas near the old city. They’re not a threat, but it’s not the sort of thing someone like me is used to seeing.

Istanbul

The great metropolis. Istanbul is one of the largest cities on the planet, to the point where it covers almost the entire strait between Europe and Asia. One day I took a cruise up the Bosphorus that went north for an hour before turning around, and I never saw the end of the city. And yet, somehow, despite overflowing with millions upon millions of people, Istanbul keeps running every single day. Traffic jams are terrible, but people still get to where they are going. Each day I woke up to the Muslim call to prayer at sunrise, which is projected over loudspeakers across the city. I wouldn’t call it culture shock, but more than anywhere else on the trip, Istanbul made me aware of just how far from home I was. Whereas in many European cities the skyline is punctured by church towers, in Istanbul it is minarets and mosque domes that stand out. You can also buy just about anything if you know where to look, and things are generally cheaper than what you’d pay in the West. In the old city you can visit places like the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace, but if you take a walk north and cross the Galata Bridge in the direction of Taksim Square, you hit modern, western Istanbul. There Starbucks has your coffee ready and not as many women are wearing the hijab. Hagia Sofia was a definite highlight of my time in Istanbul, even with all the scaffolding from the restoration work being done on the inside. I also was able to purchase a Turkish tobacco pipe as a wedding gift for a friend of mine, thus completing one of the main tasks from the entire 2015 trip.

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On this day, one year ago, I started my day in Mostar, Bosnia. I had a few hours before my bus to Sarajevo, and I spent it around the town’s famous bridge (I even got to see one a guy take the leap off of it and dive into the river below). Later that day I got on the bus to Sarajevo and arrived there in the late afternoon.

Memorable Places, Part 6

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Dubrovnik

Already popular with tourists before Game of Thrones brought in even more of them, Dubrovnik is the Venice of Croatia in that it’s the most expensive city in the country. Unlike Venice, however, there’s no point spending extra money to stay within the old city walls, as you can easily walk into the old city at any time. When I think of Dubrovnik, I think of stairs, toasty walls, and roof tiles. I think of stairs because the steep terrain means lots climbing. I think of toasty walls because the stone walls of Dubrovnik have almost no cover and can be like an oven in warm weather (bring water!). I think of roof tiles because if you look at the city from up on the walls you’ll notice the different color tiles, which are a result of the city being under siege in the early 1990s. The brighter, newer tiles mean that a roof took a hit from the shelling and duller, older tiles mean the roof escaped the worst of it. With the small size of the old city, there’s no escaping the tourist horde, which shows up each morning by the busload and surges onto the main thoroughfare before fanning out in every direction. It’s quite a sight to observe from up on the walls, but also means you can’t really find a spot of your own in the city. Still, there’s an undeniable beauty and charm to Dubrovnik, and if you ride the gondola up the hill next to the city at close to sunset you can get some spectacular views.

Kotor

Montenegro seems to be next in line to get thoroughly redeveloped for and invaded by tourism, and Kotor will be one the country’s star attractions when that happens. Kotor lies in the Bay of Kotor, which is a lot like a fjord you would find in Norway, but without any glaciers. I only got a few hours in and around Kotor, so I can’t say too much about it, but Kotor has earned a spot on my list of places that I really want to come back to. This is partly because of how scenic the area is and partly because I didn’t get any good photos due to really bad weather. The walls of Kotor run up the mountain behind the old city and remind me of the Great Wall of China, but on a much smaller scale. Had I not been in Kotor during a torrential downpour, I would have climbed them. Hopefully I can one day return to Kotor and get a better feel for it, and hopefully I’ll walk away thankful that I did.

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On this day, one year ago, I took a day trip from Dubrovnik down to Montenegro and while there I visited Kotor. Seriously, I didn’t realize when I was planning out these writing pieces that the timing for certain ones would align such that I’m publishing on the exact anniversary of being there. Anyways, it rained nonstop from sunrise to sunset that day, so I got pretty wet, but it was still a worthwhile trip.

Memorable Places, Part 5

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia and one of the country’s three major cities (the others being Split and Dubrovnik). It is the most modern looking city of the three and I remember it also having the largest population of young people of all the places I visited in Croatia. Zagreb seems to be for Croatia sort of like what New York City is for America—the place where young people go to find jobs and keep up with all the latest trends. Even in the old town that youthful spirit pervades, with new, trendy shops and businesses popping up. I don’t normally eat fast food too often, but in Zagreb I found myself trying out some new places that I had never heard of before, like an establishment that specialized in pairing french fries with other foods. There’s also an outdoor market near Zagreb’s tallest church that I like to visit, though I’ve never actually bought anything. When you’re done sightseeing in Zagreb, and to be honest, there’s not too much sightseeing to do in Zagreb, you can make use of the city’s transportation hub to visit other places, like Plitvice Lakes National Park (which I highly recommend).

Split

Split just might be the most appropriately named city in Europe. I don’t know what the name Split means in Croat, but it is quite fitting for a city that can’t seem to figure out what sort of town it is. A coastal resort town? A historic site? A modern city? An industrial port? Split is all of these things and more, but no single aspect dominates the city. This split personality (pun intended) does have the benefit, though, of allowing a visitor to easily do lots of different things in a single day. You can visit some old buildings in the morning, then have lunch by the sea, explore the modern part of Split in the afternoon before going for a swim, and after dinner you can hit the town for some nightlife. When I think of Split I also think of traditions, namely the ones that have developed from my two visits there. I always climb the hill west of the old town, I always grab a meal from a particular seaside restaurant, I always stay at the same hostel, and I always go for a swim at the beach near that hostel. Oh, and since this is Croatia, that meal by the sea costs a fraction of what it would have in Western Europe. I would never do such a thing in France.

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On this day, one year ago, I was in Split, so how about that for a coincidence? I visited Diocletian’s Palace, hiked up to the top of the hill directly west of the old town, and even took a dip in the sea.

Memorable Places, Part 4

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Florence

Florence is sometimes referred to as the birthplace of the Renaissance. It is one of the most popular destinations in Europe, and for good reason. Michelangelo’s David, the Florence cathedral, and the old city hall are just a few of the many attractions people visit Florence to see. All of those things are great and I make sure to set aside time for them, but my first priority in Florence is just one thing: gelato. Florence is the holy land of gelato and when I come to Florence I’m guaranteed to eat a few thousand calories worth of it before leaving. You can hardly walk 100 feet in any direction without passing a gelato shop, but not all gelato is made equal. The best gelato in Florence, in my opinion, is on the south side of the Arno River, which can take a little while to walk to from the city center but is completely worthwhile. My personal pick for the best gelato shop in town is an establishment called La Carraia, but with such a large selection of shops I would encourage people to try lots of places and find their own favorites. Also when you’re on the south side of the Arno be sure to walk up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where you’ll find a large parking lot with probably the best view in the city.

Venice

The city of dreams. Venice is my favorite city in Italy, which doesn’t make much sense considering how expensive and inconvenient it is. Everything costs more there, you really need a detailed map to find anything other than the most prominent of landmarks, the only public transit options are the expensive waterbuses, and during the day sections of the city are completely overrun with tourists. And yet in spite of all that, Venice has this almost magic quality to it. The canals, the architecture, the beauty of the city both during the day and the night; it’s not like me to get mesmerized, but Venice does it. Most people, however, only see a small part of Venice, since most people day trip into the city from the mainland or they arrive on a cruise ship. Staying on the main islands is very expensive, but it is one of the few cases in travel where splurging gets you something significantly better than the cheaper option. You get to see Venice when most of the tourist horde is gone, and if you stay several days you can get out beyond the tourist zones to really appreciate the entire city. Walk out east to the tail end of Venice (the main islands are shaped similar to a fish) and see the quiet residential zones, or take the waterbus out to the more distant island clusters. There is so much more to Venice than San Marco Square and the Grand Canal, and the more effort you put into exploring the city, the more it rewards you for your efforts.

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On this day, one year ago, I arrived in Split, Croatia. I was staying at the same hostel I had stayed at back in 2012, and when I knocked on the door I found that the same lady was still running it. “I have returned.” I said. “So you have.” she replied.

Memorable Places, Part 3

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Cinque Terre 

Thanks to Rick Steves and other travel guides, the five small villages on the Cinque Terre have been thoroughly discovered by the tourist horde. Most visitors are day-tripping from other cities in Italy, so if you spend the night there you’ll find the place a lot emptier at night. Then again, there’s not much to do after nightfall. Hiking the scenic trails and exploring the quaint little towns is the name of the game in that part of Italy. When I was in the Cinque Terre I stayed in Vernazza, and it was the most expensive accommodations of the entire 2015 trip. My room costed $50 per night, but it was an absolute steal compared to all the other listings I investigated, which averaged $75 to $80 per night. My room was on the fourth floor of a hotel at the top of a ridge that slopes down into the sea, so every day I got some intensive stair climbing action, but on the plus side it had a small balcony with an epic view. My days in the Cinque Terre were spent visiting the five towns and hiking the trails between them, and each day ended with a dinner I’d prepare for myself in an open-air part of the hotel overlooking the sea. Fruit, bread, cheese, meat - the most basic of meals, but when you’re feeling that sea breeze and watching the sun go down, any type of food will suffice.

Siena & Nearby

I’ve described Siena to some people as something of an alternative to Florence. Both are major cities in Tuscany, but Siena is smaller, has fewer sightseeing attractions, and doesn’t get quite as many tourists (to be sure, it still gets a lot). The historic core of Siena feels much more stuck in the past (in a good way) than Florence does, and apparently we can thank the Bubonic Plague for that. Siena’s main square is one of the few in Europe where you can just take a seat on the ground and no one bats an eye. It’s almost like a beach, but made of brick and you’re expected to keep your clothes on. For me Siena also functioned as a launchpad for day trips to other towns in Tuscany, namely Volterra and San Gimignano, but if you read my travelogue post titled The Battle of Tuscany, you know I had some issues with the local bus system. San Gimignano is the famous town with all the towers that’s would die overnight if tourists stopped coming and Volterra is the lesser known town that hasn’t completely sold out to tourism because it doesn’t get enough tourists to be able to do such a thing. I don’t mean that as a disparaging statement about either town, and if you were in Tuscany I wouldn’t feel any regret in suggesting you visit either of them, but just know what you’re getting into.

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On this day, one year ago, I was in Croatia and took a day trip from Zagreb, the capital, down to the land of lakes and waterfalls, aka Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Memorable Places, Part 2

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location - just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Lyon 

Lyon is urban France. Paris may be bigger and more populous, but Lyon does not have Paris’ building restrictions, so it feels more modern and crowded. When I think of Lyon I think of tall apartment buildings, shopping malls, busy streets, and masses of people with places to go. But with all its modernity, Lyon is still a city with a long history, and past and present are oftentimes not far from one another, as in the case of the remains of the second oldest church in Western Europe being right across the street from a courthouse. This merging of antiquity with modernity is probably best symbolized by the confluence of the two rivers that divide the city. I walked down to the point where the rivers come together and found it sort of mesmerizing to watch the faster, clearer Rhone merge with the slower, murkier Saone. Also there are mysterious tram tracks down there that go directly into the water. That’s probably symbolic of something but I don’t know what.

Cote d’Azure

The waters of the French Riviera are so beautiful that it’s a shame they don’t have good sand beaches to go with them. Growing up in Southern California, I thought all beaches were as nice as that ones I knew from back then, but that is not the case. In all honesty, the pebble beaches in and around Nice are fine, and I can understand why this part of France has been a resort for the rest of Europe for the last 200 or so years. Warm, sunny days. Leisurely strolling by the beach. Stunning blue waters. Look around and you’ll see Belgians, Germans, Russians, and other visitors who escaped colder lands in order to soak up the sun. Nearby in Monaco you can stand outside the famous casino and see an unending train of expensive cars rolling in to pickup and offload people with too much money on their hands. I don’t have that kind of money, so instead I took a swim in the Mediterranean during the day and satisfied myself with a gelato or ice cream at night. The French Riviera might not be as good as SoCal, but it’ll do.

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On this day, one year ago, I bought a 24-hour water bus pass and maxed it out exploring the Venice lagoon. In doing so I found one my favorite places in Venice, a small park with a vineyard on the Mazzorbo island cluster.

Memorable Places, Part 1

A year ago I was in Europe and lately I’ve been thinking over some of the places that were the most memorable from that trip. If you read my travelogue posts from back then you already know the details of each place I visited, but I thought I’d do a series of short writing pieces over the next three or so weeks where I give my thoughts on particular cities or regions as a whole. I’m not going to talk about every location; just the ones that have been on my mind. The order that I write about them will be in the approximate chronological order of when I visited and each writing piece will feature two locations with a photo from the trip to accompany each of them. As a bonus, at the end of each writing piece I’ll note where I was, one year ago that day.

Paris

Paris is one of those cities you can keep coming back to over and over again and it never gets old. I’ve been to Paris on three separate occasions and at the end of each time I was thinking about when I would next be coming back. There’s so much to see and do, but at the same time it’s one of those cities where you could spend a few hours just wandering and not feel like you had wasted your time. On one particular day I walked from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe, to the Louvre, to the Bastille, to Notre Dame, and finally getting off my feet at the Chatelet metro station (that’s a 6.5 mile circuit, in case you were wondering). Paris can be whatever you want it to be. It can be a hectic sightseeing marathon, or it can be a mellow lifestyle of slow meals and leisurely strolls along the Seine. When I remember Paris I often think of the first day of my first visit, when I hiked up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower in the late afternoon and then stayed up there for two hours. I was sitting on a bench on the second level, watching the setting sun bathe the skyscrapers of La Defense in a fiery glow. The lights were starting to come on in the city, a cool breeze was blowing, and I knew I would soon be making my way down the tower, but I didn’t want to leave, so I sat there and savored the moment as long as it lasted. It was a good beginning to the week I would be spending in Paris.

Normandy

The Normandy region of France is something of a fascination for me. As a student of history there are certainly plenty of things like D-Day and William the Conqueror that I’m interested in, but there’s something about this rural, rainy, and profoundly peaceful part of France that I gravitate towards. While Paris is a city that I could enthusiastically visit many times over, if I actually lived in France I would pick one of the towns of Normandy as my home. Green pastures. Gentle hills. Smaller towns. Not the sort of place you might think a city boy like me would choose to settle down in, but especially if I had a family I could see myself buying a house in a place like Bayeux and laying down roots. The land is good and the people are friendly. The weather is a lot like the Pacific Northwest, but that’s price I’d be willing to pay.

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On this day, one year ago, I arrived in Venice and commenced the standard Venetian process of setting my wallet on fire.

Europe 2015 Finished

With the publishing of yesterday's final side story from the 2015 Europe trip, this blog will revert back to its usual purpose of me writing about various topics as I think of them. I probably won't be publishing every day, but I'm going to try to get something out at least once a week. Thanks for reading.

The Worst Part of Travel

We've finally reached the end of the road in terms of posts related to my time in Europe last year. I think it's fitting for this post be on my least favorite part of overseas travel; returning to America. While the end of a journey is certainly a sad thing in of itself, what I'm referring to in particular is going through immigration and security when I arrive at the (American) airport. For some reason, it always takes longer and is harder for an American to come back to America than it is for one of us to enter Europe. It always takes an hour or more and for some reason it's not enough that I went through security at the airport in Europe. I understand that in our post 9/11 world, airport security is more extensive and rightfully taken more seriously, but we've got to find a way to speed up the process for American citizens coming home. When I was in Paris in November and looking ahead to the end of my journey, I was feeling a little down. Part of it was the knowledge that the dream was coming to an end, but the other part was knowing what was waiting for me upon arrival back in America.

Traditions

Having traveled to Europe twice now, there's a number of things that I noticed I did on both trips. I guess in a sense I now have things that can be called traditions with regards to European travel, and I thought I'd share a few of them.

* Going up the Eiffel Tower on my first day in Paris
* Eating an absurd amount of gelato in Italy and beyond
* Going for a swim in the Adriatic Sea while in Split, Croatia
* Hating Venice when I first arrive, but then loving it after getting settled in
* Getting pooped on by a bird
* Taking thousands of photos, and still wishing I had taken more
* Walking until my feet and legs feel like they're going to give out
* Missing at least one train or bus
* Reading through the Old Testament Book of Psalms
* Keeping a journal of my experiences
* Wishing I had spent more time in one place and less time in another
* Having a train ride in Spain that was as long or longer than the flight to Europe
* Eating unusually good fast food in the Balkans
* Slowly recovering my Spanish language skills while in Spain and then completely forgetting them after leaving Spain
* Walking from the Pisa train station to the Leaning Tower, getting some photos, and then leaving Pisa because there's nothing else there even remotely interesting
* Unintentionally having ten euro left over at the end of the whole trip
* Falling behind on blog writing
* Brainstorming the next trip before the current one is even over

The Umbrella of Constantine

If you read my post on my time in Istanbul, you might remember that before I left for the airport I bought a small umbrella in expectation of rainy weather in Spain. You might also remember that I ended up never using the umbrella in Spain, as everywhere I went the rain would either stop when I arrived or any rain in the weather forecast would suddenly disappear. Although I would eventually use the umbrella while in Paris before returning to America, the uncharacteristic lack of rain during my time in Spain led me to jokingly say that I had in fact bought some sort of magical Turkish umbrella with the power to stop rainfall. Perhaps it was some sort of ancient relic. Every relic needs a legend behind it, so over the course of my time in Spain I concocted such a story, and below is what I came up with.

This is no ordinary umbrella. It belonged to the Byzantine Emperor Constantine. Hence, it is known as the Umbrella of Constantine. Blessed by the patriarchs of the eastern church, the Umbrella of Constantine can stop rainfall and divert storm clouds away from the one who wields it. Lost after the capture of Constantinople in 1453, the Umbrella of Constantine faded into memory and legend and was believed to be gone forever, until it inexplicably came into the possession of an Istanbul umbrella merchant, who unwittingly sold it to an American tourist. That tourist, at first not realizing the sacred relic he now possessed, traveled onward to Spain, where the Umbrella of Constantine finally exerted its power again after hundreds of years of remaining in dormant obscurity. Today it hangs in that American's closet, waiting to again do battle with rain clouds.

"One day, I will write my story"

Each day while I was overseas, normally before going to bed, I would spend some time writing about the day's experiences in the notebook I had brought with me. I didn't try to hide my journal writing and inevitably a few people asked me about it when they saw me writing. Most people, after I had told them what I was doing, would give me a reply along the lines of "Oh, ok." Sometimes they would compliment me for my diligence and sometimes they would just move on to talking about something else. There were, however, a few times where someone would take a genuine interest in what I was doing and talk about their own writing or aspirations for writing. The one that stands out the most is a person who told me "One day, I will write my story." I guess this person felt inspired to see me writing about my travels or just reminded of an old goal of they had set. Whether or not that person will ever do the writing they want is beyond my knowledge, but from my own experience I have to say I have my doubts. Writing seems to be one of those activities that if you continually postpone, will simply never happen. If you want to be writing in the future, you need to start writing today.

Room full of thieves

I have never had anything of mine stolen from a hostel room. In fact, I don't think I've ever been in a room where someone else got something stolen them. Despite this track record, in every hostel I stayed in I still acted like I was in a room full of thieves. At all times anything of mine was locked down, directly on me, or at least within my sight. We've all heard or read stories of people getting their stuff stolen from their hotel/hostel room and that may have been part of what drove my security paranoia. Whatever the case, I trusted no one. Perhaps I was excessive in my vigilance, but on the positive side I never misplaced anything because I always knew where everything was.

Carnivore

My normal diet has little meat in it. This is not because I'm opposed to eating meat, but because I'm not willing to put in the time and money to purchase and properly prepare it. When I was in Spain, however, this policy was completely upended, and I found myself eating meat almost every day. Spain, as some of you know, has a strong tradition of producing high quality meat, particularly the various sorts that come from pigs. Perhaps most famous is Spain's Iberian Ham, which comes from pigs that are given a lifelong diet of only acorns. Within the first few days of arriving in Spain I had tried out a few different kinds of meats and liked them so much that I kept buying more during the rest of my time in Spain. Along with Iberiam Ham, another favorite of mine was the Spanish Chorizo, which if I remember correctly, is smoked pork. When I left Spain my meat consumption returned to it's normal levels, but for those three or so weeks while I was there, I was a carnivore.

It's ok not to like it

I, like many people, oftentimes feel the need to justify my purchases even when they don't turn out as expected. This is especially true when I travel. Because travel doesn't happen all the time and requires a major investment of planning and money, the thought of spending funds on something that ends up not being worthwhile is anathema. And yet, despite all my research and investigation, there were a few times where I spent money on something while overseas and was not satisfied with the final result. When this happened my immediate psychological reflex was to put a positive spin on it and try to prove that I had in fact not wasted money. It took awhile to finally break out of that tendency and allow myself to just admit that something was either not to my liking or not worth the time and money I used on it. "Remember," I would tell myself, "it's ok not to like it."

Pro

I take a lot of photos when I travel. Lot's of other people do the same, and if you're observant you'll notice that different people have different levels of seriousness about their travel photography. While I generally take my photography seriously and think a fair amount about what I'm going to photograph and how to compose the the shot, there are others that take it more seriously than I. And then there are people who take their travel photograph way too seriously. It's not hard to see them, as they stand out in a crowd. You'll see some people (normally men) walking around with a fully extended tripod over their shoulder and the camera already attached to it, so it looks like they are always carrying a strange looking staff. When composing photos they also have this visible look of impatience and/or disgust on them, like they are on the cusp of taking the cover photo for National Geographic, but everyone and everything around them is screwing up the shot. I refer to people like this as "pro," and I mean it purely sarcastically as they are trying to look the part of a professional photographer but are clearly not. Oftentimes when I noticed a pro trying to get a "perfect" shot but being frustrated by whatever he perceived was getting in the way, the thought in my head was "Hey, relax pro, you'll get your National Geographic cover photo yet."