Moving on up!

This weekend marked yet another milestone...it was move in weekend at Virginia Tech when my girls move into their first apartment. I know what you are doing...you are oooo'ing and saying "awwwww, how cute...." or something to that effect.  Shut it...moving requires well....moving furniture. 

Growing up in New York, one of my favorite TV shows was All in the Family.  As a young boy, I'm sure I didn't understand all of nuances and themes of the show, but I enjoyed it because it made my dad laugh.  He was most tickled when Archie Bunker, a male chauvinist, racist, grumpy old man, ordered  Edith, his wife, to "stifle".  To save you a trip to dicitonary.com, stifle means to stop breathing or suffocate.  Sick, I know, but it was simply hilarious in the moment. You had to be there.

So why am I thinking of All in the Family?  Well, the tune I could not shake from my mind this weekend was the theme song from The Jeffersons called "Movin' on Up". The Jeffersons were Archie Bunker's neighbors and they moved out of the neighborhood and a spin off show was created called, oddly enough, The Jeffersons. They say when you share and think of others, you grow.  Well let me share the tune with you in the hopes that I will be rid of it and grow into another tune:

http://youtu.be/MYcqToQzzGY

The tune helped ease the panicky feeling while canvassing the scene in our living room with all the stuff that had to be moved. I was certain I was going to be proven wrong after declaring a 10' U-Haul truck would be enough for all the stuff.  There was a lot.  My pack rat living style was definitely inherited.  I began to object about a few of the items and I thankfully was smart enough to not actually verbalize any of it. Why pick on the little stuff when the sleeper couch was mocking me from the attic?  

This sleeper couch is a relic from younger days. There it sat, big and bad, taunting me.  I have fond memories of destroying the drywall moving this monstrosity to the attic.  It seemed like a good idea to put it on the top floor at the time.  David, my best friend, who was noticeable absent this weekend, swore he would not be around when it came time to move again.  He is a man of his word.  

I shared his sentiments.  I had sworn that the couch would convey with the house. Never in my nightmares did I envision actually having to move it back down. 

Enter Rob. It is good to have big friends that are well over six feet tall. I unknowingly picked smarter than I thought.  Rob used to be a professional mover in his younger days and that expertise came in real handy.  If I could have just convinced David to help, he and Rob would have done such a great job while I supervised.  Hey, I'm meant for management, ok?

Well the big oaf, the couch not Rob, was tackled.  It wasn't easy nor pretty. Not satisfied with doing it once, we actually did it 1.25 times.  After finally getting it through the narrow attic doorway (with door removed), we got to the first landing and realized it was turned the wrong way.  There is no way to manipulate it around to the next landing with the back of the couch facing the way we had to turn. You should have seen the look on Rob's face when I said "Oh yea, I remember now, we had it the other way when we brought it up."  Good thing the couch was between us and Rob is not quick to anger. 

 

Up the oaf went through the narrow opening, we turned it vertical, rotated it, and brought it back down through the opening.  After that it was smooth sailing...sort of. 

A bit of drywall repair and the house will be fine.  

 

Rob expertly loaded the back of the U-Haul with sofa, two dressers, a book shelf, and a few boxes before I relieved him of duty. As proof of his experience and expertise, he even had his son drop off padded moving blankets to protect the furniture from scratches.  Honestly, I wasn't worried about that thinking the distressed look for furniture was in these days. 

In victory, we were exhausted.  The girls were home by then and my victory speech to them included this line: "Either your boy friend, fiancé, or husband was going to move you out in two years". That is the last time I deal with that couch. Their reply was a simple smile and an "oh, daddy".  I knew then I was going to be moving it out. Their friend Katie, later in the day added "Well, its been twenty years and nothing has happened yet" to the boy friend, fiancé, husband comment. 

The fun part was the actual drive down. It was time to be one with the fellow brotherhood of truckers. I-81 is full of commercial trucking traffic and I was excited to be part of the club instead of the typical "four wheeler".  Then I realized the 10' U-Haul only had four wheels.  It didn't even have double-wide tires in the back!  Umpf. I threatened to get chewing tobacco so I can feel like a trucker. After all, I was only missing a CB Radio (yes, and a few wheels). There was no joy there as well with one look from Ella about the tobacco. Nevertheless, on the road, I felt like a freshmen amongst a sea of senior truckers as I intentionally bounced in my seat.  That was short lived as my butt started to hurt. 

Thanks to Rob's expertise, everything arrived unscratched or damaged. Also, ground floor apartments are a God send when moving in!  Everything is all setup in the comfy, newly renovated (not!) home away from home.  

I wish I hadn't found that YouTube link to Movin' On Up...now it is playing in my head again.  

Two Steps Backwards?

Does becoming one with nature take us backwards as a society?  This philosophical inquiry was initiated by my five star resort frequenting sister-in-law, Amita, during one of our nights in the Montana wilderness as we await our dinner. No, you didn't read that wrong...in wilderness as we await our dinner. Anyway it was rather "roughing it" given we actually had to carry our own stuff and sit on logs to eat dinner.  

Back to the question at hand...Amita took me aside and said something hilarious in Gujarati to keep it super secret from our guides lest they throw an ant or fly into our meal.  Some comedy does not translate well from Gujarati to English, but the gist of the side bar conversation was something as follows.  

"You know, we are so technologically advanced and we have come so far in society.  Why, do we have to do this stuff.  And these people enjoy it!"  By "this stuff", I'm sure she meant swatting mosquitoes, dodging bison droppings as we walk to our tent, sleeping without AC or heat (both were needed), and generally being annoyed with the discomfort of the wilderness.

Minus the humor, it is an interesting question. Why do this hiking and camping stuff?  We can so easily go to Wegman's and get the best foods available to us at any time.  We can sit and talk at the dinner table just as easily as around a log in the woods.  All while in total comfort with no danger of bears or nightly creatures intruding in our space. We have evolved, haven't we?  

There is something very therapeutic of becoming one with the land.  The beauty is in the simplicity, no?  It is similar to the yearning humans have for human to human contact. Despite all of the technological advances in communications enabling us to call, text, email, or Skype anywhere in the world at anytime...we still want to go see people and be with them.  

I held a beautiful stone in a store in Montana.  It felt amazing in the palm of my hand.  It wasn't just the texture or the weight, it was the energy stored in the stone that vibrated just perfectly with my hand and body.  Like the stone, everything in nature has an energy and frequency that resonates when you let it in.  At home, I don't sleep well often - but I slept amazingly well on both nights in the outdoors. The majestic sound of the mountain stream trickling literally 50 feet from our tent blended with the cacophony of the nightlife would inspire Stephen Halpern to new levels.  

Being one with nature isn't for everyone for it can be...

Views to inspire you to do so...

This is the view from our tent area on the first night.

As I lay down by the camp, I took this shot when light was perfect...I didn't quite capture the moment but it is close.

As I observed light dancing through the trees, a bald eagle flew over head.  Are you kiddin' me?  

Nature - its all over me!

Our official hiking adventure began on Sunday night with a mandatory meeting with our trekking guides - Scott and Dean.  Scott is a Montanan who grew up in Missoula. Dean was born in Ireland, grew up in New York, now lives in Oregon and works in Montana - a true traveller.  Both seemed very knowledgeable and serious about the great outdoors.  They read us the riot act on dealing with bears - with which we had achieved expert status given our tourist jaunt to Bear Encounter Park.  

Speaking of riot act, do you know where that came from?  In 1715, Britain passed the Riot Act which wasn't repealed until 1967.  Huh, you would have thunk they would have needed the Act during the 1960's.  It enabled the British government to declare a group of 12 or more people as a riot during much civil unrest in the 1700's.  Luckily we have only 8 in our party so we had minimal threat of authority in Montana actually invoking this act. 

Back to the trek...let me share a few memorable quotes from members of our party -- it will give you a sense of what actually happened during the trek.  We will start with my 16 year old nephew, Kishan who had the quote of the trek that inspired the title of this blog.

"Nature!, it is all over me -- GET IT OFF!" - Kishan

"Stupid bugs" - Kishan

"We go to sleep when nature turns off?" - Amita

"Isn't there a downhill to this mountain?" - Ajay

"AHHHH! There is a spider in my tent.  Oh, it is on the outside." - Kishan

"You guys, these flies are like wild flies." - Amita

"Oh shit, I left the shovel where I went." - Ella

"Oh, I didn't know I was putting on a show." - Kelsey, when peeing in the woods with a hiker approaching. 

"I am trying to enjoy nature and you are talking to me." - Elena to Kishan

Now for a brief picture tour....

No, the picture below is NOT from the hike.  It is from the Bear Encounter park.  But given we only saw one wild bear from a good distance, I wanted to share a close up with you in case you have never seen a bear.  :-)  This by the way is Jake - as introduced in a prior blog. 

The trekkers all suited up and ready to go!  This is the morning of day one.  From left to right, Amita, Kiertan, Kishan, Ajay, Ella, Elena, Shailesh, and Kelsey.  Oh, by the way, Ajay was known as Dundee for the rest of the trek.  He confidently announced he was Crocodile Dundee and then asked for his whip.  To which, Elena or Kelsey replied that it is Indiana Jones that had the whip not Crocodile Dundee.  Crocodile Dundee had the knife. So the name stuck for Ajay and he proceeded both knife-less and whip-less.   The packs ranged from 30 to 40 pounds for the adults.  

Our humble abode for two nights.  Two to a tent.

 

Trekking, trekking, trekking.  The most beautiful views we have all ever seen.  We averaged about 5 miles per day for a total of 14-15 miles.  While the distance doesn't sound that great, it was through some great countryside, rolling hills, ridges, woods, and plateaus.  Carrying 30 to 40 pounds for 5 miles wears on you - trust me.  By the way, you can drive through all of the roads through Yellowstone and only see 2% of the land.  Only the greatest views and experiences are available by foot.  

Bear Encounter

Yes...we thought we would be skunked again in searching for wildlife. Okay, so they were not totally wild grizzly bears, but when we arrived at the Grizzly Encounter Park, the habitat looked empty and we were admittedly anticipating disappointment.  But Maggie and Jake did not disappoint. They were rescued from a wildlife park in Georgia and now spend their years entertaining tourists. To lure them out, the keeper tossed popcorn, grapes, cherries, plums, and watermelon around the habitat and opened the gate. 

Maggie is 7 and Jake is 8 years old - teenagers in bear years.  

Sheena, Lucy, and Brutus were scheduled to address the crowd later in the afternoon. Brutus, incidentally, is a famous actor. He has been in three movies and documentaries. 

Some bear facts: 

- They can run 35 to 40 miles per hour.  Don't let their lumbering gait fool you. 

- Only 11 people have been consumed by bears over the past 100 years.  People have consumed more people than bears during the same period!

- They are mostly herbivores but they do eat fish, ants, rodents, and even other animals.  

- Their sense of smell is 350 times more sensitive than that of a human. They can even smell your mood. They have over a over a billion receptors.  Take a look at the picture below. The tower is at a very long distance. Bears can smell a raisin placed on the that tower!

We learned that bears become aggressive to:

- Protect their cubs

- Defend their food source

- React when you startle them

- Chase you when you run away

- Make sure you are not a threat

So what do you do when a bear has an interest in you? Drop to the ground.  Put your face down and place your hands on head.  Then use your elbows and feet to keep the bear from rolling you over.  The goal is to protect your rib area from the 1,200 pounds of biting force. There, I have performed my public health and safety obligation. 

Here is an appropro joke I heard from a guy on the plane ride here...

Two married couples arrived in Montana and one of the husband asks the other husband "how are we going to protect ourselves from a bear attack?"

The other guy responds by pulling out a nine millimeter hand gun to which the questioner says "You can't stop a bear with that pea shooter. You need at least a .44 magnum."  The gun holder laughs and says "This is not to shoot the bear, it is to shoot my wife in the knee. That way I can out run her and leave her for the bear."

The picture below shows bear spray that we will all carry.  It is a pepper spray that provides a sensory overload for the bear's olfactory system. 

Kelsey posing with the now dead Christie the bear.  

Wimbledon Breakfast - Montana Style

So on the way to Montana, I sat next to a very nice NASA education and outreach consultant.  Her job is to travel to wonderful places and educate people on NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory - not a bad gig.  How cool would it be to go travel to great outdoor places and talk to people about a job you love and get paid to do it? Need to make this happen...put it on the list...

During the conversation, I was introduced to the term Glamping - Glamorous Camping.  Now that would be an experience!  Check out http://www.mtundercanvas.com if you want to learn about this alternative to pooping in the woods in Montana. For those of you with dumb phones (ahem..I won't mention any names other than an initial...SB...to provide proof that people like this exist) here is the first line from this website:  

"Imagine waking up to the sights, sounds and smells of nature in one of the most spectacular places on earth, whilst relaxing in your luxurious Safari tent."

'nuff said. 

We are in pseudo luxury mode this morning. Breakfast and Wimbledon at the sports bar of the hotel because it is the only place to watch Wimbledon finals.  The hotel's EPSN channel only showed CNN - ugh.  Ajay pulled the "hotel owner card" but that only got him a conversation with some young kid who refused to let him into the media room.  But he did manage to have them open the normally closed sports bar so the eight of us can watch. We'll take what we can get. 

Today's plan is to go visit the Grizzly Bear Encounter park and drive around some scenic loops. Hmmm...is it the Grizzly bear that is afraid of noise or the one you play dead to avoid becoming lunch?

Off to Bozeman!

We are off!  What would make this first day of vacation even more exciting is the prospect of actually driving to Montana.  I miss car trips.  Maybe what I miss the most of car trips are the vending machines at rest areas that sold those cheap games and prizes.  I'm not sure why I woke up this morning with this nostalgic but incorrect memory -- when in reality my parents were too cheap to give me any money to buy anything.  Smile.  I know what it is...it is the thought of dealing with airports and TSA agents in badly fitting uniforms that centered my mind on car trips.

Nevertheless, we are on the way to Bozeman, Montana to see what the tour of Heart Lake and Mount Sheridan is all about.  Our tour guides are certainly excited.  One of them texted Ella confirming his excitement.  Funny how he worked out we were just talking about the tip we should leave the guides!

Heart Lake is one of Yellowstone's biggest backcountry lakes.  We are going to start our 3 -day hiking adventure on Monday.  Starting at Heart Lake Trailhead, we'll hike past hot springs and along a creek whose water measures in at over 800 degrees Fahrenheit! We'll see wildlife, trout, awesome views, and geysers.  Hmphf...we always get skunked at the promise of seeing real wildlife so we shall see if we run into anything beyond America's forest rodent -- deer. What? I can't get excited at seeing an animal I come close to hitting with my car every day.  

Anyway, we'll be hiking a total of 24 miles and through beautiful country up Mount Sheridan which is the tallest mountain in the Red Mountain Range at 10,308 feet. The altitude fills us with anxiety given our last trip to these heights resulted in altitude sickness for Ella.  But we are prepared!  We dutifully followed our tour guide's order to drink lots of water during this past week.  What filling your body with water has to do with solving altitude sickness is a mystery.  All I know is that I have to pee. 

Ajay, Amita, Kishan, and Kiertan are joining Ella, Kelsey, Elena, and I on this adventure.  Ajay has worked on his six pack to prepare for this trip and we are all worried.  It may have been multiple six packs - he sounded drunk every time we talked to him on the phone.  We drew short straws on who will carry his backpack -- I think Kelsey wins!  

Oh, did I mention that we have to eat twice as much as normal since we will be burning a lot of calories!  That is a huge bonus.  Unfortunately, we started the eating before actually hiking -- so much for that plan...

So...follow us on this adventure...the posts from the hike will be up after we come back to civilization.  Apparently there won't be any WIFI, cable, or satellite available to us for three days...oh boy...

Here is a map of where we will be...

Italian Excursion Anyone?

With only five days in Rome, each day's agenda was well designed to pack in every square inch of Rome. But plans are sometimes only fun if they are ignored and there is something refreshing in being spontaneous. Cinzia Cortese's infectious love for Italy convinced us to squeeze in a visit to Ostia Antica and Lido Centro. Cinzia was our tour guide yesterday as we discovered the Vatican and other parts of Rome. Ostia is about 1/2 hour train ride south of Rome and Lido Centro is two stops further south. Feeling adventurous the next morning, we queued up at the train station for 45 minutes (or was it an hour?) to buy Italian rail tickets only to find out we needed only to jump on the metro. This was an indication of how our day on Italian public transport would transpire.

Despite this inauspicious start, we successfully navigated the underground metro to the above ground metro at Pyramide to arrive at Ostia. We even knew which stop was ours. We felt a bit strange and initially lonely when the train departed leaving us on an almost deserted station holding our Camel Baks. We shrugged our collective shoulders and meandered into town trying to recall exactly what Cinzia said we should go and see.

We had Pompeii in mind as that is how Cinzia described Ostia. She mentioned that Ostia is quaint and beautiful city and that it is, but the Pompeii part remains elusive. Our goal was to find some kind of port or other historic site. While looking lost at a busy intersection a helpful driver honked his horn and pointed to his right. Fortunately, his right was also our right so our future direction was not vague. Just to be certain, I questioningly pointed right and he confirmed by vigorously nodding his head yes. We smiled and waved confirmation and happily went towards the recommended direction. Now, we didn't think about it at the time but we should have wondered how he knew we were looking for a port or a historic site. Well...he didn't. We continued our long hot walk only to arrive...wait for it...full circle at the train station. It did look oddly familiar as we approached it from a different direction. Ready to admit defeat we decided to continue our journey towards Lido and act as if we meant to do that all along.

One interesting thing about Rome is that you never have to buy bottled water. The Roman aqueduct system delivers cool, crisp, and clean water at fountains throughout Rome and its surrounding area. Here are the girls at of one of these fountains.

After arriving in Lido our independent streak unwisely kept us from following the people on the train with beach gear. How hard can it be to find a beach, right? We studied the bus routes and jumped on Bus 5B towards Mare Russo. "Mare" means ocean so we were rather proud of our achievement if only briefly. It does pay to be nice in life. While on Bus 5B an old man got on with two bags of melons in plastic grocery bags. He set the bags down near Kelsey and I to free his hands to grab a handle. As the bus jerked at a stop, he started to lose his balance as he tried to gather the melons that rolled out of his bags. I reached out to help but he managed to grab the handle on his own but gave a kindly glance. About this point I also started worrying we may not be on the correct bus so I leaned over to Kelsey and whispered how I wished I could speak Italian so we can ask the old man if this is the correct bus. He couldn't have heard me but after a few moments he asked "where you go?" Surprised and not having fully understood his broken english I just smiled and said "I don't understand Italian." To which he said in a bit clearer english "you don't understand me?" Now fully understanding him, I rapidly threw out words like "mare", "lido", and "beach" in case his understanding of english somehow had a time limit. He just shook his head side to side and said "wrong bus" and then he gestured we had to go exactly the opposite direction we were heading. We thanked him profusely as he graced us with toothless laughter and jumped off at the next stop and looked for the bus going the other way -- which by the way is Bus 5. Who knew adding a "B" at the end of the bus number meant it goes the opposite direction from where you would want to go?

Here is a picture of the bus before the old man arrived.

Success! We arrived at the beach and enjoyed the view of the Mediterranean. We had a nice relaxing lunch on the beach as we watched people that should not be wearing what they were.

Even with our transportation challenges, it was a fun day discovering two new towns. Half the fun is in trying to figure out where to go and what to do. We just rolled with it and enjoyed the experience. We returned to Rome, took a nap, and strolled out to find a hidden ristorante and enjoy the evening. This was a pattern we followed every night.

It Is Now or Never...

Today we met our Vatican tour guide, Cinzia. She is bubbly, fun, and very knowledgeable of all things Rome. Well, all things Rome except for Grom - a very creamy Gelato store recommended by several friends and family members. But we didn't hold that against her -- it is a somewhat new store. It was a great time discovering Rome and learning all about the Vatican from Cinzia.

Here is Cinzia and the girls...

One of the first things we learned from Cinzia is the Italian technique for crossing a busy street. You basically pray/say "it's now or never" and take the first step. It works! Cars, scooters, buses, trucks, and bicycles all slow down or stop for you to cross. The thing to remember is be firm, commited, and never change your pace or you throw everything off and could get run over.

From Cinzia we also learned many interesting and amazing things. Here are a few:

- There are four Basilica's throughout Rome and although they look like other Catholic churches, they belong to the Vatican. Meaning that when you step into them, you are not in Rome anymore, you are in the Vatican.

- The Colosseum had a capacity of 70,000 and the grounds are huge; however, it was preceded by a man-made lake that Emperor Nero had built. Talk about a guy that had issues -- Nero virtually burned down Rome to make room for his home which covered four large hills around the current Colosseum. Just one of the hills was large enough for some 200 rooms.

- Mussolini signed the Vatican treaty in 1929 and granted 102 acres -- probably more than sufficient for a single guy. The Vatican consists of its own rail station, Radio Maria, TV station, and two hospitals -- after all it is a city-state that is totally independent of Italy. Radio Maria is boring according to Cinzia!

- The Japanese gave $4.2M in 1964 to the Vatican to clean the Sistine Chapel for royalty rights for postcards, prints, tourist stuff, and later CDs and DVDs. That was smart.

Cinzia made it a fun and enjoyable experience to walk 10 miles through Rome and the Vatican. We learned so many things from her and can't wait to come back and tour other parts of Italy with her guidance. BTW, go to www.roman-gateway.com if you would like to learn about her -- we highly recommend her tours!

One sad observation I must share is my deep disappointment in Italian men. I can see why the Italian soccer team has turned into wusses and constantly dive when merely touched by an opposing player. Yes, it is a rather broad brush I am painting but they definitely threw away the man card here. I mean come on...in the land of gladiators, Ducati, and Ferrari...they wear man bags and capris. I expected Italian leather wearing guys on red Ducati's zipping through the streets stopping at cafes with women at their elbows. What a let down. Take a look at this picture -- these man bags are everywhere!

Italian women on the other hand...gorgeous. There, maybe Cinzia and Morgan won't be too unhappy with me now...

Here are a few pictures of our adventure. The tower below is an actual home today of one of Cinzia's friend. Nobles in the past lived in these towers and there are four of them in Rome today. The design was such to make it easy to defend; each window is a floor with a room. The kitchen is the lowest room.

Here is shot of the inside of the dome in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The entire church is amazing and the size of the building, sculptures, and paintings is unimaginable.

To give you a perspective of the size of the St Peters Basilica, look at the letters forming the ring of the dome. Cinzia informed us that each letter is six feet tall and we didn't believe it. But look closer at the picture and notice the people that are along the railing above the letters...compare the height of the people with the letters!

During the day, we took a lunch break and discovered buffalo mozzarella - made from water buffalo milk. Wow - this was amazing. With Cinzia's help we ordered a great lunch consisting of buffalo mazzarella, tomatoes, bread, olive oil, melon, and proscuitto. She even made sure they brought lots of ice for our "light" Cokes (i.e., no "Diet" Coke).

We ended the day with a treat from Cinzia with a tour of Chiesa Di St. Ignazio a Jesuit church. This church was designed by the Jesuit architect Orazio Grassi and built from 1626 to 1685. What is unique about it is the use of perspective in the paintings on the ceiling. Instead of being domed, the ceiling is actually flat but the paintings make it look domed. The arches also change perspective as you walk across the church -- very neat.

This is Roma...

Oh my...a short two hour Alitalia flight and we were drenched in the Italian sun and accosted by the wonderfully blended aroma of scooter exhaust, pasta, sweat, and coffee.  The flight itself was mercifully uneventful given the rather worn looking Airbus aircraft. The pre-travel research proved handy as we immediately found the Leonardo Express train to Stazione Termini which is only a few blocks from Giovy Bed and Breakfast.  As an anchor for the remaining five days in Rome, it was perfect.  Giovanna and her nieces are amazing hostesses as they settled us in our second floor suite.  Baggage up the stairs? No problem with a neat little one person elevator with a folding door.   


Here is the picture of Leonardo Express at the train station...I love trains...

Our immediate goal for day one was to establish situational awareness and explore the area so we can validate our attack plan each day.  But food is always a priority and we took Giovanna's recommendation to go see Ciro at a pizzeria a few blocks from the B&B.  The pizza was unreal and not surprisingly way better than, oddly enough, the Ciro's restaurant in our neighborhood in Clifton, Virginia. You have to understand, the Virginia Ciro's sets a fairly high bar but it paled in comparison. Two pies later, we continued our day one adventure.

We wandered perhaps a bit further than expected to the Colosseum via a series of cobblestone side streets, moss covered apartments, and an engineering college.  Admittedly a bit lost and disoriented, we turned looking for the Colosseum and there it was filling the frames of our eyes.  Thousands of years of history majestically waiting as it always has for the gladiators and tourists alike. It was an amazing sight to behold and pictures or web site tours before arriving do not prepare you adequately. We resisted the temptation of purchasing tickets and decided to simply walk the grounds of the Colosseum, Palatine, and the Roman Forum -- after all it was only day one. 

Here are a few shots of the Colosseum during this exploration tour...the first picture is from a small bridge we stumbled upon.  

This second is taken as we got closer and tried to figure out how to get down to the lower street where the entrance to the grounds is located.

Being so close to the Vatican, Catholic, Jesuit, Fransiscan churches are on almost every corner. There are some very beautiful locations with intricate details, paintings, and sculptures. I'll talk a bit more about this in my next blog. Here is a photo of one of the churches -- we had to be quick since we weren't very well dressed for churches. Meaning, we had shorts on and the girls had shoulders uncovered -- we dressed better the next day...

The evening snuck up on us quickly but the heat (oh God the heat) mandated a break to the B&B. Re-energized a few hours later we headed for Trevi Fountain for an evening photo tour and dinner. It is said singles will meet the Roman of their dreams with a simple toss of the coin into the fountain and if husbands drink from the fountain they will love their wives forever. Well...there were lots of singles hanging around the fountain that was overflowing with Euros and the husbands were no where to be seen. There were a lot of bars and cafes around Trevi fountain and the water must be disgusting from all the money...I'm just saying...

We avoided the mainstream cafes and restaurants located right on a tourist site and found an alleyway with just enought light to have a sidewalk cafe and restaurant. We wanted local color and we got it in spades. The pasta dinner was amazing in a neverhaditbeforekindofway...really. We must have looked like homeless people that found a Euro because the food lasted oh about 30 seconds. Slowly we came to realize that is not the Italian way. We were supposed to order antipasta, relax, sip wine, eat a bit of bread if they gave it, sip wine, order the main course, relax, sip more wine, order the cappuccino and dessert, relax, ask for the bill (not "check"), and then pay and leave.
We instead, sat, ordered the pasta, became impatient when the bread didn't arrive in time, inhaled the pasta, asked for the bill, became impatient when the bill didn't arrive pronto, paid, annoyed the waiter didn't come to get the money so we walked it inside the restaurant, then left. I can still hear/imagine what was being said as we left..."stupid Americans." But we left with a skip and a smile having eaten the best pasta of our lives and wondering why Italians are not fatter. I think I have a clue as to why...tourist eat all the calories...the pre-travel research also paid off in finding awesome gelato at San Crispino! It too was unlike anything we have had before. To wrap up the food segment of our day...best pizza, pasta, and gelato. This week in Rome is off to a great start...

Olympic Size Experience!

Saturday, July 28, was Olympics day. I wound up getting behind with this blog since we had much to do and prepare for the Rome leg of our vacation. But I get ahead of myself, Rome is the next blog. Today, I share our Olympic experience. In summary -- what fun!

We started the day lingering around Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the London Eye in our matching US flagged Old Navy T-shirts. A traditional English breakfast was served and hungrily consumed at a restaurant within a stone's throw from the London Eye. Of course I gained a stone (14 lbs) with my Super English Breakfast but "when in London"...oh...again I get ahead of myself...not in Rome yet. Scratch that. "Super" only because that was the only dish that offerred Black Pudding. It of course wouldn't be an English breakfast without Black Pudding which consists of a bunch of things that includes pork fat, onions, other stuff (you don't want to know), and blood. You didn't misread that...yes blood...boiled over and over until it is black. Yum. Hope you are not preparing to eat a meal. Really it is good but perhaps an acquired taste or maybe acquired courage. Fully loaded with protein, we were prepared to tackle the throngs going to Earls Court where all the volleyball games are played.

Here is the crowd going from Earls Court to the volleyball stadium.

Our Olympic tickets! We had tickets for the women's Great Britain vs Russian and Italy vs Dominican Republic matches. The thumb I believe belongs to Elena who is badly in need of a manicure. I'm sure that is a Rome foreshadow.

Here is the view from our seats...

Of course, every thing is about precision and practice at the Olympics -- even how they sweep and mop the court at every timeout. Look at these gals...

The Great Britain vs Russia match was exciting only because the home team crowd energized the games. The GB team itself didn't play all too well -- afterall it was their inaugural volleyball event. We had a deja vu moment with Elena and Kelsey's high school volleyball experience when the Russian's walk in...they almost had to duck when they went under the Jumbo Tron in the middle of the court. These ladies were TALL! It also was reminiscent of the East Germany women athletes back in the day -- I know a few of you gray hairs remember that! Recall the fun trying to figure out if the East Germans were men or women? Now we have relegated this fun but cruel game for only the Chinese. The cold war did have its moments...

The several 6' 5" plus Russians quickly dispatched the herioc attempt by the Great Britain team who in comparison could probably walk under the net without ducking. I jest but you get the picture. It was interesting shouting the same things volleyball parents shout at their kids. You volleyball parents will know these..."close the block", "cover the block", "up on it", "just serve it in the court", and "come on ref...you are missing a great game". For you uninitiated, many on the GB side made similar unforced mistakes you see during high school volleyball. I am not implying the GB team was equivalent to high school skill...on the other hand they have amazing skill. The GB setter was just brilliant with jump sets going backwards across the entire court. Skill at this level has to be admired. But unforced errors are frustrating for all -- at one point, GB missed five or six straight serves. But hey, the wave was fun and the crowd, including us, cheered them on. The match was unfortunately won by the Russians in straight sets...on to the Italians and Domincan's. For what its worth, the GB players were prettier.

The Italian vs Dominican Republic game by comparison was amazing volleyball. The offense and defense was great and many volleys went on for what it seemed hours. The Dominican's had 80 mph serves, but as my girls reminded me, they were are the easiest to dig because they have a predictable trajectory. Once you lock in on one of these serves, it is supposedly easy to pass them to the setter. Supposedly because I don't want to be on the receiving end of anything going 80 mph! By comparison, the Italians (and Russians) had float serves that literally seem to shift laterally a foot as it approaches the defensive player. Those by contrast are hard to pass to the setter. The Italians won in four sets but each set was hard fought. It was also fun to be a few rows up from the family of one of the Italian players, #13 Valentina Arrighetti. You can see her at:

http://www.london2012.com/athlete/arrighetti-valentina-1081583/

When we arrived at the stadium, we heard a rumour that tickets were still available for the later matches. That, combined with the fact there were empty seats for the games we watched, encouraged us to attempt the evening game. Afterall, the US and Brazil, amongst others, were going to play in the evening. If you are wondering why we didn't have tickets to watch the US play, it is a result of the lottery system that was used to allocate tickets. When we, mostly Ella, purchased the tickets, all we knew was that it will be first round games and we'll watch two matches. With the rumour freshly in our mind, we attempted to buy tickets for the later matches but were rebuffed. I swear the person in the kiosk giggled and said something like "those silly Americans." The entire stadium was solded out for the evening matches! Annoyed that we didn't act sooner we hustled back home on the Jubiliee line to Edgware to watch the remaining Olympic events on TV. However, we were glad we experienced the event...and that I can share it with you.

Next stop Rome...

Let the Games Begin!

What a uniquely British opening ceremony! Now we see why Slum Dog Millionaire was such a great movie, Danny Boyle is that good. The projection of a host country's image during the Olympics opening ceremony is always interesting. China projected their very controlled society when it was revealed that the tiles of the flooring during their ceremony was controlled by 897 humans when it was assumed it was computer controlled. Great Britain projected the many wonderful instititions and contributions to modern society that enables the country to earn the first word of its chosen name.

Ok, hang on, I have to get something off my chest. Why are Olympic announcements spoken in French before English? Hellllloooo - opening ceremonies are in ENGLAND. Besides, about a quarter of the globe speak or understand English whereas French is 11th on the list of most spoken languages and comprises a very small percentage. If anything Mandarin or Spanish should be used given they have more speakers than any other language! I can even understand if it is in Greek -- after all they started the Olympics.

Ok, off the rant...

Any Olympic ceremony that plays Pink Floyd has my vote! It was truly an awesome spectacle starting with a rapid skim over the Thames across scenic southern England to Olympic park. The Red Arrows flying BAE Systems Hawk T1s flew over each of the capitals of the United Kingdom with the final leg over the park -- I always get goose bumps over flyovers. These ceremonies had it all -- from the Queen "jumping" out of helicopter with James Bond to the comical facial expressions of Mr. Bean.

The stroll through British history with the transformation from agrarian to industrial society was spectacular. Who can argue over the influence of British rock? In this day and age, it was also refreshingly bold to proudly raise smoke stacks while symbolically destroying the country side all while chomping a cigar in front of a global audience. All of the industrialism leading to the forging of the Olympic rings -- absolutely brilliant. I found myself cheering inside for the display of capitalism and industry that resulted in Great Britain's power and influence over most of the world. Only to be brought down by the subtle portrayal of the suit wearing capitalists succeeding over the toil and labor of the common man. But sprinkle in Voldemort, Mary Poppins, Paul McCartney, and David Beckham and I have to say it was all well done.

But really? National Health Service (NHS) in the Olympic ceremony? Looks good in lights but really, if you have used the system, you truly can't be proud of this British institution. Of all the greatness displayed during the ceremony it was an odd choice. It would be something I supposed if Danny Boyle, the Royals, athletes, and other celebrities actually used the NHS. Oh well, even the little boy fell in poop in the outhouse in Slum Dog Millionaire.

Torture and Twitter at the Tower!

Clever alliteration, no?

Plyometrics in the backyard, masala Chai, and off to London, determined to stay out most of the day. I was in full tourist mode with backpack, bottle of water, and 35mm around my neck. Don't worry no Hawaiian shirt or fanny pack...

The feature of the day as you can guess is the Tower of London. Despite having visited many times, I can't get enough of the 1,000's of years of history of this place. There is also something comically sad yet irresistible of all the be-headings, blood, torture, and human turmoil these stones have witnessed. We lined up or as the British say, queued, for a very informative tour with Beefeater Chris Skaife, yeoman.  Chris very eloquently described the many hangings and be-headings of 75 high born lords, ladies, and queens at the Tower of London.  That number seemed eerily low but I wasn't about to become part of another show so I kept silent.

Interestingly, Yeoman Chris is the raven keeper of the Tower which by the way was a neat little tidbit I didn't recall. King Charles II originally had the ravens released from the Tower only to realize later the monarchical superstition that without ravens in the Tower of London, the monarchy will fall and eventually, Britain. Needless to say they rushed in ravens -- six ravens are kept in cages with two in "reserve". The wings are also clipped to avoid flight. The actual history and myth of the ravens is a disputed historical item but interesting and fun nonetheless. Ravens have a special historical role in not only inspiring Edgar Allan Poe but pecking the eyes out of the heads spiked on London Bridge until the heads fell into the Thames. Not sure if there are any more heads in the Thames but the look and smell of it makes me wonder.

Here is Chris Skaife, Beefeater.

Below is a view of the Tower Bridge from the Tower of London grounds.  This picture was taken very close to where Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's other queens were be-headed.  They do have Olympic rings hanging from the Tower Bridge but they are folded up in this shot since the bridge was being opened for a boat to pass through.

The depressing but again interesting close of the tour was in the Chapel of St Peter da Vincula in the Tower of London.  Imagine the sadness of being killed and buried, with no friends at the funeral, no presence of a priest, and no tombstone to mark your place in history. In this little, deceptively peaceful, chapel they found over 1,500 bodies, many stacked up in the stone walls. Only the passing of time lightens the human turmoil and misery. Even this story was woven in a light-hearted and humorous manner -- with a plug for Twitter to boot. The Twitter craze has even cracked this historical site!

Chris, the raven keeper, has a Twitter feed -- follow him at @ravenmaster1! I smiled inwardly wondering what the prisoners in this Tower would have tweeted and what social media policies would be in play if the technology was around then.  Tweets such as "#kingcharles sucks", "Enjoying the dungeon! #wheresthefood", "@colonelblood...enjoying the crown bling?" come to mind. You'll understand this last fictitious tweet in a moment...

We enjoyed seeing the crown jewels, viewing the torture contraptions (no evidence of water boarding), and touring the weaponry displayed in the White Tower. We were also treated to a reenactment of Colonel Thomas Blood's theft of the crown jewels in 1671. It was a humorous and historically accurate portrayal of the brazen scheme by the Irishman. Long story short, he befriended the Master of the Jewel House, Talbot Edwards and his wife, gagged them, stole the jewels, and got busted.  Given that the last be-heading at the Tower of London would not be until 1745 and this period was the prime time of capital murder punishment, he did amazingly well by not only being released but given land in Ireland by King Charles II.  Talk about the gift of gab!  His release and grant of land happened after a supposed one hour conversation with King Charles and no one knows what was said!  If only the stones retained sounds like they retain blood.

We topped off the day by strolling along the Thames and enjoying the river activities.  Ice cream (made from Cornish dairy cream!) and Cadbury Flake sweetened the walk to the Underground. I took lots of landscape black and white pictures -- hopefully at least one will be good enough to enlarge into a poster and frame.

Bracing for a turn of the weather -- glad I packed an umbrella!

Magical World of Harry Potter!

Sprung out of bed this morning with an excitement reminiscent of the first amusement park trip oh so many years ago. It is Harry Potter Studio day -- re-living childhood is so much fun! No breakfast, no work out, no need.

Camera charged -- check
Useless (in England) iPhone in hand -- check
Transportation card in hand -- check
Kids in tow -- check

The adventure begins as we hurriedly try to catch the 142 bus to Watford Junction from Edgware Station. A detour through Marks and Spencer filled the backpack with cold sandwiches -- egg and water crest, smoked ham mayo and mustard, salmon and soft cheese, and tuna with cucumbers -- very English. We almost wanted to picnic at the bus station!  But then we may have had to share with the little old ladies that are always waiting for a bus and that ain't happenin'.

From Watford Junction we spent 15 minutes on a Warner Brothers double decker tour bus to the studio in Leavesden.  We entered through the Great Hall and that was truly magical. We imagined we were Harry Potter walking into the Great Hall to be sorted that very first year at Hogwarts. The Great Hall was smaller then you see in the movies (as is everything) but complete. They fit 400 students in the hall for the wonderful food scenes. The floor is real stone because they anticipated wear and tear over the ten years of filming.  Imagine that, the actors and actresses spent ten years of their lives at this studio - that included going to school here! We enjoy the awesome results on screen, but the hard work it took to make this all happen was evident everywhere.

Overall the whole studio experience was very neat.  It was cool to imagine the movie scenes that we have seen over and over again as we viewed each set.  They pretty much had everything available to the public -- lots of props, clothing, wigs, make up, wands, and brooms.  You really appreciate the minute level of detail that went into each film  There were four directors that brought the eight films and 1,000's of people that worked on all aspects.  They even had kids make bulletin board posters and pin ups like you see at all schools for the Gryffindor common room.  You never see the posters in any of the movies but they added them for realism.   Here are a few pictures...

The girls in Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia!

We had lunch at Privet Drive -- literally.

The set below was perhaps the most impressive part of the tour. It is the full Hogwarts Castle where they shot the aerial castle scenes.  It is amazing how cameras make things look so real. But every brick of this scale model was hand placed.  You can compare the size of this set with the person in the very right side -- it took up a very large room  The entire room had green screen walls so they can overlay the castle on English country side.

We all enjoyed this tour very much and it has a 4-0 vote over the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida.  That was fun too but learning all about the making of the movies was much more thrilling.  They have Butterbeer here too -- although we did not partake this time.  If you are into the movies -- this is the place to visit.

One aside -- I believe the Gulf Stream not only warms the British isles but it keeps ice from forming in ice trays.  I have been absolutely dying for an ice cold Diet Coke in a tall glass filled with ice cubes.  Getting thirsty just writing this blog entry. But no joy. Every Diet Coke I have order is at best slightly chilled.  They just don't like extremes it seems. On the other end of the spectrum, even the Starbucks Chai Latte Soy Extra Hot was warm to hot.  They forgot the "extra".  Oh well, at least the Guinness is best the way it is served here...very English....cheers...

My International Debut...

Here is Arizona Jones a street performer setting up for his show.  He mimics Indiana Jones -- has a whip and everything.  

The crowd around Covent Garden in an unusually nice day in London.

Drum roll please...taking a bow after being picked out by Arizona to help him with his act.  Not sure if there were any agents in the audience. Two days later...no phone calls to join other performers so the answer is a resounding "no".  Grin.

Here is one of the acts I had to perform.  Couldn't quite belch the Tarzan scream that Arizona wanted me to do but mimed it...grin...

Success.  Arizona climbed up using Paul and I.  Paul is the guy who replaced Brian who refused to dance and silly things to mimic Arizona.  Paul was a good sport.

Ella and Elena enjoying the sun after my performance!

Kelsey and I doing the same!

The market...practicing black and white....

Enjoying another treat...ice cream with Cadbury Flake...Flake is gone...

Wicked!

The beginning of a rather bland day ended deliciously Wicked!

Ella spent the day "taking one for the team" and securing Olympic tickets. The tickets were purchased a LONNGGG time ago and today is the first day for pickup -- will call of sorts. Five and a half hours later, tickets were in hand. Apparently the problems with management of people exist everywhere. The company that sorted the tickets the night before in anticipation of us commoners screwed up royally. Oops, didn't mean to bring the royals into this...but it was a frustrating day, particularly for Ella, but for all of us as it ruined the trip to Wembley for Indian food and people watching.

In the mean time, the girls and I gingerly finished a work out. Gingerly due to mild shin splints from I don't know what...greater gravity from a few degrees in latitudes? harder concrete? harder workout in anticipation of higher food volume? Who knows?

Given that Wembley was out of the equation, the girls and I decided to eat the original British delicacy, Fish and Chips. Mr. Chippy's has been in Edgware selling Fish and Chips for a long time albeit under changing management. The original Mr. Chippy was a guy that looked remarkably like Homer Simpon's boss, Mr. Burns. But years blur on and Mr. Burns is no longer and today the store is manned by a punk teenager. The Fish and Chips, drenched with salt and vinegar, didn't last long as we sat outside and watched interesting people. We observed silly teenage girls laughing and screaming too loudly in an attempt to attract boys, a rather non-athletic looking boy skateboarding awkwardly, and other random Edgware locals going about their business. Speaking of Edgware locals, according to my father-in-law, this town has taken a turn for the worse. The window in time observing during Fish and Chips seemingly confirm his rants.

Later in the day, the girls and I joined Ella at Victoria Station in time to have a bite before going into the Apollo Victoria Theater to watch Wicked. Amazing how Hokies travel. Once again, as we were sitting down at a Cafe, a lady gets up and asked my girls, "are you guys from Virginia Tech?" She was eating with her son and unconfirmed family members. Her son, Taneel, a rising Chemical Engineering sophmore had recognized Elena and Kelsey from Virginia Tech. He was too shy to make first contact but a good Indian mom is always ready to meet girls for her boy. Sangita, the mom, seemed nice enough. They are British ex-patriates living in Atlanta for the past 10 years. Go figure.

The play, Wicked, was very entertaining. If you don't know the story, I will try not to ruin it for you -- the wicked witch of the west dies when some kid throws water on her. Oops, I gave it away. It is a fun parallel story to the Wizard of Oz and a must see.

Wicked indeed. There were many neat insights into people and what drives them and how your whole life can change by just meeting someone...