Italy

So the rest of my time in Italy was primarily in Rome and that is a fantastic city. They is so much history and I was staying with a friend, Mariella, and her husband, Silvano while I was in Rome. Mariella is a tour guide so what better person to take one to the Vatican museum, Sistine chapel and Saint Peter's church. Mariella is a wealth of knowledge and I learned so much about Roman history in a few hours then I ever knew before. the Colosseum was spectacular as well as the Roman forum. These are some of the well known sites but there are also some great plazas and fountains....you can see for yourself by looking at the photos.

I had the pleasure to meet the cousins, Laura, Francesca, and Marco,of my aunts friend, Julie, while in Italy as well. We had a nice night out walking along the ancient streets of Trastevere and stopping to enjoy some Italian wine and tasty Italian cheeses. We enjoyed a nice dinner and did a driving tour of some of the other areas around Rome.

Rome has so much to offer and see and I feel like a touched the surface. After all, I did throw coins in the the Trevi fountain with they say means you will one day return to Rome.
Photos at: www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/Italy

In my next life, I want to be Italian and live in Italy....

I love Italy! The food, wine, the people, the culture, history, the style......and yes the gelato! So in my fantasy I drive up on my Vespa wearing my Italian made boots, leather jacket with my hair flowing from under my helmet. I walk along the streets and find a cafe to stop for an espresso or cappuccino and perhaps a yummy pastry to go along with my coffee....okay, I could go on but you get my drift.

So, my time here has been short with only a few more days to go but it has been great and I feel it has been a wonderful introduction to the Italy life and culture. I arrived from Paris on the 3rd of November and dropped off some of my "load" at my friends house in Rome and headed off to Siena. I only spent one day there really and it is a lovely small ancient city(what isn't in Italy)with charm and a sense of wanting to melt into the winding streets of shops, the historic buildings and yes......the gelato shops. I love the gelato here in Italy and am working my way through just about every flavor.

I left the next day by train for Florence. There I met up with my cousins, Morag and Robert, from Glasgow as they were there on holidays in Florence. We had a great time enjoying the view from the top of the Duomo and visiting some of the greatest museums. We went to the Academia which houses "David" by Michelangelo which was amazing. I could have sat and examined that work of art for ages!We ate lots of good pizza and really good pasta and of course great wine.....not to mention...gelato.

I took the train to Venice and got into the water bus made my way to my hotel. What an wonderful city Venice is. I wandered the narrow streets and waterways for the rest of the day and evening until I just felt exhausted from visual overload. The next day I went for an early morning run and it was magical. The sky was cloudy but in the early morning light it made the rust, yellow, peachy colors of the buildings really stand out and the water was a slate blue. Later that morning when I was wandering the streets and getting lost-you really can't get lost since your on a small island-I went into a wonderful art exhibition of a Chinese master and had a conversation with the man there about energy and symbolism.

I then made my way to the boat to take me to Murano; the small island that is famous for making glass. There the windows were exploding with color with some fantastic pieces of art, jewelery, lamps and chandeliers. By this time it was raining cats and dogs and when I returned to Venice and went to San Marcos square it was literally flooded. This is went welly boots would come in handy and a lot of people had them or had plastic bags tied around their feet and legs. For the tourist not in the know, they had a line of table like risers to walk along to stay relatively dry. Not the best of days for sight seeing but still, a wonderful place to visit.

Off to Rome where I'm at now but I'll save that and the photos for the next blog!

"Julie and Julia" in Paris

One of the rainy days in Paris, we went and saw the movie “Julie and Julie” and I loved it. It was so much fun to see some of the same areas we were seeing in Paris that Julia Childs apparently frequented for many years while she lived in Paris. I was also very touched emotionally by the movie. A few weeks ago I had read my friend Jean’s blog (www.lostinthebubble.blogspot.com) that she wrote after seeing the movie and she had expected a light hearted “chick flick” and was balling throughout the movie as it touched some places deep inside her. I felt very similarly; that is made me very emotional….as well as making me laugh….about my life. It was about two women who where searching for a purpose and passion in their life and when they looked at what they really loved to do and they pursed it to the fullest, life become joyous, full and meaningful. Isn’t that what we all truly want but let’s face it so many of us fail to find that meaning and passion.

So, here I am traveling the world. Is that my passion? No,yes...maybe, and in my journey I am finding joy, adventure, new friends as well as the challenges the come along with this sort of journey. In the process, I trust that perhaps some of the passions that are already there or ready to come out, will indeed do so. So, now I have to add cooking school onto my “bucket list”. As many of you know, I love to cook and believe I am quite good at it but I would love to inspire to be even better. Just for the pure joy of it but unlike Amy Peterson in the movie, if I were to cook and eat myself through Julie child’s cookbook, I’m sure I would gain multiple pounds. Would anyone care to fund my culinary passion by sending me off to cooking school….say in Italy? I would gladly practice by cooking for you.

Oh yes, Paris! I was in Paris once, with my Uncle and my friend, Lisa, right after high school. It is a fantastic city and I have to say that looking at Paris through eyes 30 years later is quite different with much more of an appreciation for the city and what it has to offer.

My friend Dave, from Colorado, met me here and we rented a cute little flat in the Montmartre area which is famous for the cathedral Sacre-Couer and the plaza for portrait artists. There is also a steep set up steps going up to the Cathedra(which was where our apartment was)l that Dave and I set out to run 10 times; approximately 150 steps and 100 vertical feel. We worked up to it over the 11 days and we did it and I calculated that in the three days that we ran steps, we did it 19 times total…. So we did approximately 2,850 steps….and that’s just the up part….the down was a cool down. I know, perhaps that doesn’t sound like much fun for most of you but when you are indulging in wine, cheese, bread and decadent deserts, you have to do something to burn off some of the calories. Plus we walked a lot

Unfortunately, I had a tough time physically; meaning that I had an "accident prone" period while in Paris. I first caught my ring on the fence taking a photo of the backside of the Norte Dame and luckily my ring came apart before tearing up my finger instead of tearing OFF my finger. Then three days later I fell down the metro steps…no, I was not drinking…and sprained two of my fingers on the same hand and bruised the rest of my body fairly well. Not the highlight of my time in Paris. They are still sore but will heal in time.

So, I won’t go over all the sights, museums, areas we visited but instead will let you check out the photos and see for yourself. It was a great time in Paris and even though I thought it was still quite crowded, it was a great time of year to be in Paris and only two days of rain in 11 days………..we were very lucky!
www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/paris

Barcelona-The City of Gaudi

It seems like a long time since I’ve written. I have truly enjoyed Barcelona as I had a feeling I would. Unfortunately my Spanish lessons were curtailed by the fact that in Barcelona they speak Catalan so only to confuse me more and believe me it’s quite different. In fact the true Catalans believe themselves to be very separate from the Spanish. At many of the museums they have the headings written first in Catalan and then in Spanish………sometimes English if you’re lucky.

I just loaded my photos from Barcelona on my computer and had a good look. Barcelona is definitely “The City of Gaudi” There are amazing buildings and churches designed by Gaudi and some fantastic designs at that. My photos only captured a small amount of Gaudi as I didn’t go into all the buildings but did have a good look from the outside. Some of the things I saw and/or visited were the La Sagrada Familia church, La Pedrera, Casa Batillo and Park Guell. You will see a number of photos from the park as I went two different times; once when there were a lot of people and then one morning I ran there and it was so peaceful and quiet.

I also went to the Picasso museum and that was wonderful. What a brilliant artist and interesting person he was. I visited monument a Colom, museu naconal d’art De Catalunya

While in Barcelona, I was lucky enough to have a friend to stay with who is American and has been living in Barcelona for about 12 years so knows the city very well. Lucky me! In trade, I was able to cook meals for us and satisfy my culinary desire to cook. One day I walked down the La Rambla-a famous street in Barcelona filled with street performers, flower and live bird stalls and much more. I visited the Mercat de la Boqueria which was fantastic! It was filled with every vegetable, fruit imaginable and more. Then the choices of meat, fish was incredible and some I couldn’t tell you what it even was. There was even a hog’s head which I decided to pass on that for our evening meal. I must have spent more then an hour and had to control myself since I had to carry all I bought onto the metro and buses.

The weekend that I was there, Greg and I headed to the coast to a place called Cadaques which is about 20 kilometers from the border of France.I fell in love with the white washed buildings, the crystal clear blue water, the small winding rock laid streets filled with boutiques, restaurants and art galleries. We hiked and I ran some of the trail out to the lighthouse and you’ll see by the photos how magical Cadaques is. It is known for the wind and boy was it while we were there. The evening we were there we attended a photo exhibition done by a local photographer of the local women of Cadaques in black and white and it was wonderful! Most of the women were in their 50’s and 60’s and she captured the beauty and playfulness of every one of them. The opening itself was very interesting and I wish I had remembered to bring my camera but it was great people watching!

The next day we took a bus to Figures where Salvador Dali grew up. There we went to the Teatre-museu Dali and that was fantastic! What a talented and strange man that was. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

The remainder of my time there was spent wandering around, exploring the city, and getting caught in the rain…and I mean serious downpour. Yes, I had my umbrella but this didn’t stop my shoes and socks from getting totally drenched. This was the day before I was leaving and in Europe dryers aren’t very common so I had my wet clothes draped all over the house radiators in hopes they’d dry by the morning.

So, my time in Spain was wonderful and it felt bitter sweet leaving this morning but to be going to Paris is not a bad thing! The walkabout continues!

photos at: www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/Barcelona

I'm currently in Paris and leaving next Tuesday but will get my blog and photos posted before I leave...next is Italy and not sure about internet connection while I'm there.

The Last Supper

This was the joke I had with the group of Anglos and Spaniards that I spent the week with in Salamanca on the last night of the program. Being that when you travel, sometimes meals take the back burner. It’s not like I starve but I tend to eat simply and sometimes only two meals a day. So, I have to say, in spite of the long hours it had it’s benefits (not to mention my own room, bathtub and wake up calls) and one of which was three meals a day and pretty good food in spite of being a buffet; it always had lots of fresh fruit and a great salad bar at lunch and dinner so I was a happy girl! And as some of you may know, I LIVE for my salads and since I’ve been away my servings of fruits and vegetables have been diminished somewhat. When your traveling for extended periods of time this feels like luxury.

So there I was enjoying my salad and fish (of course wine) thinking about the week. It was really a great experience. Even though my time wasn’t my own and I had to talk and listen all day long at great concentrations, it was really fun. I truly enjoyed meeting new people, having some great connections and learning so much about the Spanish way of life. I truly feel like I made some new friends. We had some funny activities as well, like skits and poems and presentations in the evenings. I even did a yoga presentation and had one man, Lynn, from Wales volunteer to let me lead him through the demo….what a good sport! The last night we had a fiesta with Sangria and lots of dancing and some sad goodbyes at the end of the night.

Once again the partying interfered with my sleep. I had to get up at 4:00am to catch a train to Lisbon, Portugal. At about 12:30 I was almost convinced to just stay up and go out with everyone but I figured a few hours of sleep would probably be a good idea!

I had the train ride from hell. My train left from Salamanca at 5am and it was 7 hours on the worst train I’ve ever experienced. We were squeezed into a compartment like sardines and it was loud, cold and dirty. This was the first time I had experienced a bad train so I was surprised. I survived and arrived to Lisbon at about 12:00 noon and made my way to the hostel. What was really nice is everything seemed a bit easier in Portugal. They actually listed English as well as Portuguese so I could actually figure out what the hell I was supposed to do next and a lot of people spoke English.

The hostel I stayed in was really nice and the people very friendly and helpful. I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 ½ days in Lisbon and got to see a number of sights like the town of Belem which is on the water and had a bridge that reminded me of the Golden Gate bridge. I visited a couple of castles, an old montassary and some great neighborhoods. Also a town called Sentra which was very magical filled with castles and amazing parks and more history then I had time to digest.

Currently I am sitting at the Salamanca train station in the café waiting for my next train to Madrid for a day to visit a friend and then head to Barcelona. I arrived at midnight on the “train from hell” (which wasn’t AS bad this time) and couldn’t catch another train to Madrid until 5:45am. So, here I sit writing about my experiences and wondering if I can curl up on the table and sleep for a few hours. The TV is blaring and chairs uncomfortable so I’m thinking not. Oh well, there’s always 2 ½ hours to snooze on the fast train to Madrid.
View my photos from Salamanca and Vaughan Town at:
www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/SalamancaAndVaughanTown
Also view my Lisbon photos at:
www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/LisbonPortugal
Another note: I posted the Madrid photos on my last blog entry so go there...Madrid
Thanks for letting me share!

Madrid

I've decided that some big cities just don't do it for me at all. Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing buildings and and things to do like the Prado which you really need about two days to see it in it's entirety. I spent two hours! I know but when you only have 1 1/2 days you try to see it all that's about it.

My main reason for coming to Madrid was to meet up with this volunteer group called "Vaughantown" which is a group geared towards Spaniards learning English.
http://www.vaughantown.com/english/newsletter1.pdf
I included the website for information if anyone is interested in reading more.
It seems like a great program for becoming more comfortable with speaking another language. You first need to have a fairly good base of English and once here, it's mostly about speaking and listens with Anglo like myself and others from Australia, England, Wales. I'm actually the only American. Our job is to basically converse with them, it's not about correcting grammar, etc. You get to talk about life, interests, their country, your country and just about anything. We in turn get to stay in a very nice hotel and get feed very well plus wine at lunch and dinners. The people are really nice and so far it has been a great experience....plus I love having my own room after staying in hostels with 3 smelly men. Yep, that's right my experience in Seville didn't stop at staying in mixed dorms....did I not see that in the description?? So needless to say, I'm appreciating the solitude, in my room at least. Salamanca is a wonderful city as well but I'll write more about that at the end of the week.

I finally experienced the "night life" in Spain. After meeting the other volunteers from the program, a few of us decided to go out to a club. Knowing that we had to get up early, I was thinking it probably wasn't a good idea BUT what the heck....you have to experience everything at least once right?
It was wild! I've never seen so many people out at one time and the club was packed but the music was great. Needless to say, I arrived back to my hostel about 4:30am! Okay, so 3 hours of sleep. I slept a bit on the bus but then had to be "on" chatting with Spaniard and believe me it's work when you have to focus so much. I'm truly enjoying meeting them and getting to know them.

Okay, that's all for now. I'm off for more...
No photos of Madrid right now, I have a very weak signal at the cafe and limited time so I'll post soon.
Adios!
here is the link to my Madrid photos www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/Madrid

Hammam.........ahhhhhhhh!

A delicious sensory experience. What is it? It’s an ancient Arabic bath which consists of warm, hot and cold baths along with a wonderful stream room. It is decorated in the Arabic style by its geometrical mosaics, archways, latticework and columns.

As well as soaking in the baths, were you alternate from warm to hot to cold(oh so refreshing…no really it is and really good for you)you can choose to do a traditional “hammam” massage which is an exfoliation of the body and truly an amazing experience.

I was taken it to the main room where the large warm bath is and laid apon a octagonal shaped warm slap of marble. The therapist poured warm water over my body then I could feel something being put onto my back and legs but couldn’t for the life of me tell what it was but it felt wonderful….like light meringue being softly ladled onto my body. I was then scrubbed with some sort of glove that felt like it was gently but firmly taking the top layers of skin, dirt and road wariness away. Then warm water delightfully poured over me again and I was told to turn over and got to experience the front of my body as well…..nice to have two sides of the body! This time I peeked when the substance was ladled over me and it was a thick layer of foam from the soap she used.

Once done there I had the pleasure of receiving a relaxing massage while enjoying the smell of rose oil aromatherapy-my only complaint was that it wasn’t long enough-only 15 minutes. I then got to soak in the pools for at least an hour and a half. While soaking alternating form the different pools and sipping sweet Moroccan tea, I was able to appreciate the architecture, the candles and the sunlight coming in through the star shaped skylights. Also, they had relaxing music playing to harmonize with the sound of tickling water of the fountains.

I hope you now have an idea of my hammam bath experience. Oh and by the way, this was while I was in Cordoba. As you can guess that was the highlight and Cordoba is also a nice, picturesque city as well with an huge ancient mosque/cathedral that took about 300 year to complete. I also visited an old casa in the Arabic style as well as a couple of art museums.

I decided that 2 days was plenty in Cordoba so I’m moving on to Madrid tomorrow.
View my photos of Cordoba at www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/Cordoba
Also, I put my photos from Granada on the web and you can see those at:
www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/Granada