today, sunday in cinqueterre, we had a thunderstorm. actually we were sitting in the bar midi, for cappuccini, right under the railway overpass, and the trains thundered over a few times, but then it thundered as well. people were cheering and shouting outside.
and it rained a whole lot, and kept on going most of the day. if one has full raingear one can decide to go on the trails and crawl along the cliff faces. or one could shop for souvenirs in the shops, or drink more coffee, or just plain hit the bars. unless you want to go and eat pizza somewhere for a while. or stand under an bricked archway and observe the raindrops, and then go out and dodge the puddles.
finally i opted for going up to our room and making a hot cup of tea and writing some postcards. too bad i do not have snail addresses for most of the people i know; that is why not many people have gotten them from me...sorry folks. i could send them with american stamps after i get home, but that just is not the same.
i also got out most of my small pocket sketchbooks and went over them for a while. some of the sketches have been done so quickly that i don't get further than the pencil or pen, and if i do not add any color soon, if i plan to, i forget the colors i wanted. sometimes i am able to refer to photos i have in the camera for these details. it is fun to see how they come out. i will try to post a few more on facebook, which i can do without too much computer tech support.
tomorrow we leave cinqueterre for rome, on the train, heading down the coast. it should be a pretty ride. the trains here are very everyday and a bit grungy sometimes, but they run smoothly, quietly, and frequently. people here take them so for granted; i wish i could say the same about ours....maybe someday. they make so much sense.
we will cook ourselves dinner tonite in our little kitchen. i have been ogling the spaghetti w/ sea food at this fancy restaurant, but at 14 euros a head, i will try to make my own. while shopping i picked the brains of the young russian guy working the deli, who seems to know a lot about italian cooking, and the lady cashier, who was coaching him on his english. we bantered about for a while and he told me how to do it.
i also got my 2 chunks of sealed up parmeggiano reggiano to take home.
melda even got us a tiny bottle of the local wine. after looking at all these vineyards on 85 degree slopes, terraced of course, and all the rocky cliffs in between, one has to appreciate that they grow the grapes and make the wine here. i have seen lots of photos of people carrying the freshly harvested grapes down the hill in a big basket, either on their heads, or suppported by a tumpline over the forehead. lots of strong young men. i cannot see any other way to get the grapes down the mountain because it is all small pathways up there, and no place for tractors or trucks!
they also have loads of lemon trees here, on the terraces where there are not grapes or olive trees. very nice lemons. they make a lemon liquer which is a big deal here. i may try to bring a little bit home if i feel like carrying the weight of a bottle.
all for now. i need to get on with more biz...
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
hangin' in cinqueterre
today was a beautiful sunny day in cinqueterre, the 5 towns hanging onto the edge of italy on the ligurian sea. our town, monterosso is relatively flat, and the northernmost town. this morning we got onto the train and went with it to the next town, about 5 km down the line, vernazza. down the hill into the plaza, where i sketched for a while, and got hungry. after a while we found the trail, a steep stair up the cliff, and headed for the next town down the line, corniglia. we went up many steps and along trails on the cliffs for almost 2 miles and something. a real mountain goat walk. a lot of people were going along too.we had breathtaking views of the sea, and eventually the town of our destination. it sits atop a promontory, with vineyards on up the mountains, and down. the houses all seem stacked on one another and are colored pink, yellow, ochre, in many variations, and all seem to have dark green shutters. it is very hard to take a photo of the whole scene because the mountains are so tall, and to get the sea and the top you have very small images. the sea at the base of the cliffs is a lovely blue and blue green.
the seagulls were wheeling about on the breezes. boy are my legs sore tonite! i thought i have been working up to this, but maybe not hard enough!!
i am putting some of my photos on facebook--carol young, talent, oregon. i have been trying to put them in the blog, but can't figure it out. there are a few various ones going on tonite.
the seagulls were wheeling about on the breezes. boy are my legs sore tonite! i thought i have been working up to this, but maybe not hard enough!!
i am putting some of my photos on facebook--carol young, talent, oregon. i have been trying to put them in the blog, but can't figure it out. there are a few various ones going on tonite.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
...and we are almost ready to go home!!!
while in venice last week, i learned that it was the "settimana culturale" which meant that all the state run museums in italy are free this week. of course that probably also means long lines. but we did go to the accademia in venice, and it was free. i went back the next day and started at the final rooms and got to look at a lot of old pictures. i even sketched a couple. one was adam and eve with the fateful apple, i think by titian or tintoretto, not sure. i drew him, and her, and the apple.
adam from the back.
in our touring of venice, we got long term tickets for the vaporetto so we could have unlimited rides for the duration of the ticket. it was lots of fun, and melda liked going for late nite rides around the canals. so one day, we took it out to the lido, which is sort of like newport beach, out on the seaside edge of the lagoon.
out there i was sketching, and dudes in bright colored bikinis hove into view at the cafe we were hanging out in. good thing i had practiced the day before on adam's back!! so the purple bikini dude is in the same book as adam. i also sketched on the late nite vaporetto, a guy on his cell phone. and the houses almost touching and the windows with the flamboyant gothic arches. i have also been trying to draw motorbikes, because they are all over. (speaking of motorbikes, a guy we met last nite who travels all over on one has a website: www.calltofire.com, which is worth checking out--this esp to peter hoyt)
when we got to florence we found our way to a hostel i had heard about. the young people running it are very idealistic and socially conscious, quite wonderful in fact. it is in an old convent and the bathrooms were way downstairs from the beds. that was not easy for me when needing to pee in the middle of the nite. apparently in the old days if you arrived in a town and had nowhere to stay, you went and got a bed in a convent.
we tried to go to the art museums, but the wait was long, the hordes of tourists everywhere, and the streets full of speeding cars and fumes. like venice, the only bathrooms were for pay, or buy something in the bar so you can use it, and very few places to just sit down. i was almost ready to bolt after 1/2 a day. in venice one late nite i went into a very fancy bar and had an 8 euro cup of mint tea, just to use the bathroom.
we did find some handmade paper, and i met up with a guy i had contacted thru couchsurfing.com, and he strolled his city w/ me for an hour or so, and showed me some insider views. i would like to visit florence again when i am not in this mood of too much travelling. we even found an organic restaurant where the people were very nice.
yesterday we took the trains over to the coast, to monterosso in the cinqueterre.
it is very mellow over here. also geared for tourists, but in a friendly way. many people come here for some serious hiking. there are 5 towns to see, by walking, or by train. today i am occupied with my laundry and resting up a bit.
shortly after arriving at cinqueterre, we met an american guy who introduced us to a friend of his, a nice brasilian lady (from salvador) who has a apartment she rents out. we have 2 nice beds and a kitchen, and a real bathroom, all for 70 euros per nite. very comfortable, plus she is nice. her italian hubby has a little bar downstairs and i sat there
for hours last nite talking to some people--the italian neighbor, who is a regular, an american who travels all over on his
bmw (website above), and a young polish lady who builds musical instruments and plays them too. all in english/italian
and some french.--and drinking wine. i think i had too much.
melda and i even cooked ourselves dinner last nite. our eating patterns are all wacky. sort of been on snacking mode,
but w/ this kitchen we can make ourselves good stuff, and got some fresh things at the local growers market today.
there are wild capers here, and they pickle them. i still have not seen the actual plants. they have them on santorini too, but i found out after we left.
i am getting pretty good at shopping in italian, and the vendors try to tell me interesting things, some of which i understand. i have the best conversations when people can speak a little spanish or french, or english, so i can fill in my gaps of italian. then i try to slip in some linguistic questions to get them to give me little language lessons. some people are more amenable to this than others.
we had a thunderstorm here today, so the air is fresh, and the sun is out. i need to walk up the way and take care of more biz.
adam from the back.
in our touring of venice, we got long term tickets for the vaporetto so we could have unlimited rides for the duration of the ticket. it was lots of fun, and melda liked going for late nite rides around the canals. so one day, we took it out to the lido, which is sort of like newport beach, out on the seaside edge of the lagoon.
out there i was sketching, and dudes in bright colored bikinis hove into view at the cafe we were hanging out in. good thing i had practiced the day before on adam's back!! so the purple bikini dude is in the same book as adam. i also sketched on the late nite vaporetto, a guy on his cell phone. and the houses almost touching and the windows with the flamboyant gothic arches. i have also been trying to draw motorbikes, because they are all over. (speaking of motorbikes, a guy we met last nite who travels all over on one has a website: www.calltofire.com, which is worth checking out--this esp to peter hoyt)
when we got to florence we found our way to a hostel i had heard about. the young people running it are very idealistic and socially conscious, quite wonderful in fact. it is in an old convent and the bathrooms were way downstairs from the beds. that was not easy for me when needing to pee in the middle of the nite. apparently in the old days if you arrived in a town and had nowhere to stay, you went and got a bed in a convent.
we tried to go to the art museums, but the wait was long, the hordes of tourists everywhere, and the streets full of speeding cars and fumes. like venice, the only bathrooms were for pay, or buy something in the bar so you can use it, and very few places to just sit down. i was almost ready to bolt after 1/2 a day. in venice one late nite i went into a very fancy bar and had an 8 euro cup of mint tea, just to use the bathroom.
we did find some handmade paper, and i met up with a guy i had contacted thru couchsurfing.com, and he strolled his city w/ me for an hour or so, and showed me some insider views. i would like to visit florence again when i am not in this mood of too much travelling. we even found an organic restaurant where the people were very nice.
yesterday we took the trains over to the coast, to monterosso in the cinqueterre.
it is very mellow over here. also geared for tourists, but in a friendly way. many people come here for some serious hiking. there are 5 towns to see, by walking, or by train. today i am occupied with my laundry and resting up a bit.
shortly after arriving at cinqueterre, we met an american guy who introduced us to a friend of his, a nice brasilian lady (from salvador) who has a apartment she rents out. we have 2 nice beds and a kitchen, and a real bathroom, all for 70 euros per nite. very comfortable, plus she is nice. her italian hubby has a little bar downstairs and i sat there
for hours last nite talking to some people--the italian neighbor, who is a regular, an american who travels all over on his
bmw (website above), and a young polish lady who builds musical instruments and plays them too. all in english/italian
and some french.--and drinking wine. i think i had too much.
melda and i even cooked ourselves dinner last nite. our eating patterns are all wacky. sort of been on snacking mode,
but w/ this kitchen we can make ourselves good stuff, and got some fresh things at the local growers market today.
there are wild capers here, and they pickle them. i still have not seen the actual plants. they have them on santorini too, but i found out after we left.
i am getting pretty good at shopping in italian, and the vendors try to tell me interesting things, some of which i understand. i have the best conversations when people can speak a little spanish or french, or english, so i can fill in my gaps of italian. then i try to slip in some linguistic questions to get them to give me little language lessons. some people are more amenable to this than others.
we had a thunderstorm here today, so the air is fresh, and the sun is out. i need to walk up the way and take care of more biz.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
the news from venice
hello my dear frenz and relations
it has been sketchy lately to get to a proper
access to the internet. tonite i am in a little
shop in venice. a couple of young men are chatting here,
as one works here. just heard a ball bounce down the street.
just outside the window is a small footbridge, and shoppers are strolling by.
the gondolas too. we got the 36 hour pass to ride on the vaporetti as much as
we want for that time. they are like buses, and roar along from stop to stop (i think they have "jimmies"),
crammed with people. there are also smaller cabin cruisers that are taxis-some mahogany veneer-like, and during the week i saw a lot of workboats, carrying luggage, cases of beer, boxes of merchandise, sand for building projects. it warmed my little sausalito waterfront heart to see all the efficient waterborne transport.
my italian is coming along, and gets mixed with spanish a bit. a little french gets used here and there. i did get pretty good at greek before we left there, after 10 days. our last 2 days we spent with panayota, the 80 year old cousin of pano, my mentor in things greekish. she does not speak english, but for us all, the will was strong to communicate, so we spent the time and energy to make it happen. by sunday nite she and i were discussing religion and gardening. finally she broke out her family photos, and showed us some weddings, and pix taken 50 or more years ago. she filled us in on a family scandal in which a 20 year old cousin married a german woman of 65, and they went off to live in germany and got real fat. we all laughed hilariously as we shook our heads.
i have also had my moments when i really want to ask a person a question, and am not sure if i can in their language, like asking for help is especially hard. but, everytime i put myself out, something amazing happens, and results are not always what i was hoping for, but are usually positive. on the ferry to athens i had that sort of thing happen, but finally got into a conversation in greek with a man, and he gave me a wonderful gift, a book of his photographs of his island, naxos.
the greek people are so generous and friendly, and they really appreciated that i am learning to speak their language.
in italy i think it is the same, but here in venice, they are so jaded with tourists and so into making money, that they really don't care who you are or what you do.
we had much more positive contacts when we were in trentino, among the dolomiti (alps). we were there just after greece, in search of further info regarding melda's great grannies who were born there. i think we actually met some of her distant cousins who are now our friends. the local priest looked thru his tomes of church/gov't records to help us find the names. we got our own apartment with a 3 mile vista of 10,000 ft peaks. i was sort of living out part of my youthful heidi fantasy. also, all the way into the dolomiti, and while there, i was drawing. the area is so magnificent to see.
it is getting late, and the guy wants to close up for the nite. we may leave here tomorrow, but we have all sorts of ganas for shopping here. the trick is to be sure if it is made in china or not. what a time. mo' later.....carolhatlady
it has been sketchy lately to get to a proper
access to the internet. tonite i am in a little
shop in venice. a couple of young men are chatting here,
as one works here. just heard a ball bounce down the street.
just outside the window is a small footbridge, and shoppers are strolling by.
the gondolas too. we got the 36 hour pass to ride on the vaporetti as much as
we want for that time. they are like buses, and roar along from stop to stop (i think they have "jimmies"),
crammed with people. there are also smaller cabin cruisers that are taxis-some mahogany veneer-like, and during the week i saw a lot of workboats, carrying luggage, cases of beer, boxes of merchandise, sand for building projects. it warmed my little sausalito waterfront heart to see all the efficient waterborne transport.
my italian is coming along, and gets mixed with spanish a bit. a little french gets used here and there. i did get pretty good at greek before we left there, after 10 days. our last 2 days we spent with panayota, the 80 year old cousin of pano, my mentor in things greekish. she does not speak english, but for us all, the will was strong to communicate, so we spent the time and energy to make it happen. by sunday nite she and i were discussing religion and gardening. finally she broke out her family photos, and showed us some weddings, and pix taken 50 or more years ago. she filled us in on a family scandal in which a 20 year old cousin married a german woman of 65, and they went off to live in germany and got real fat. we all laughed hilariously as we shook our heads.
i have also had my moments when i really want to ask a person a question, and am not sure if i can in their language, like asking for help is especially hard. but, everytime i put myself out, something amazing happens, and results are not always what i was hoping for, but are usually positive. on the ferry to athens i had that sort of thing happen, but finally got into a conversation in greek with a man, and he gave me a wonderful gift, a book of his photographs of his island, naxos.
the greek people are so generous and friendly, and they really appreciated that i am learning to speak their language.
in italy i think it is the same, but here in venice, they are so jaded with tourists and so into making money, that they really don't care who you are or what you do.
we had much more positive contacts when we were in trentino, among the dolomiti (alps). we were there just after greece, in search of further info regarding melda's great grannies who were born there. i think we actually met some of her distant cousins who are now our friends. the local priest looked thru his tomes of church/gov't records to help us find the names. we got our own apartment with a 3 mile vista of 10,000 ft peaks. i was sort of living out part of my youthful heidi fantasy. also, all the way into the dolomiti, and while there, i was drawing. the area is so magnificent to see.
it is getting late, and the guy wants to close up for the nite. we may leave here tomorrow, but we have all sorts of ganas for shopping here. the trick is to be sure if it is made in china or not. what a time. mo' later.....carolhatlady
Thursday, April 9, 2009
a lovely day on an aegean island...
bright and early today, melda and i packed up our lunch and hopped on the bus down by the naxos waterfront, and roared off into the mountains of the interior. the highest one is 3,000 feet, but they are very craggy and rough looking. not sure if they are limestone or what. we got off the bus in the tiny xoriOH"(pronounce the x like the ch in challah) of xalkis (same x sound. wandered about the sleepy place a bit and contemplated coffee, but soon found ourselves on a charming little pathway winding among the olive groves, between ancient stone walls. sunny, springtime, lots of yellow sorrel in bloom. just meandering thru the countryside, following signs in the direction of several tiny byzantine and greek churches. tiny, and locked, but set among the olive trees, and down wandery little paths. after a while our path was following a little creek up the valley, opposite a tall rocky mountain. we spotted a herd of goats trotting along a path across from us, about 1/10 of a mile away. a little vale in between us. we followed our paths, and found the biggest acorn cups i have ever seen. naxian oaks, probably worth eating, at that size!!
soon we plopped down among the lupines, large ones at that. megalo (big) naxian bluebonnets, for you texans out there with your bluebonnets on the brazos!! these are the ones that are texas size! but naxos (well sort of like brazos)
we spotted the fellow and his goats all spread out over the opposite hillside.
the goat bells tinkled and rang for hours it seemed. the young man with them was all over the hillside chiding and yelling at his goats to move along and go here or there where he wanted them. he was all over, and some of the goats seemed to listen and some seemed to ignore him. we watched for a long time, they were so entertaining. melda even recorded some of the sound. quite lovely.
we had our picnic in a sorrel and thistle (yes, ouch) patch in another tiny churchyard, under an olive tree. our tin of dolmadakia, tomato, cukes, cheese. wiped up the extra oil from the can with some of the lovely yellow sorrel blooms. then......we finally broke out our miniscule container of NUTELLA!!! saved for the past week, and smeared it on our biscuits.....well, needless to say, we are now total converts for nutella!!! yes, i know we can buy it in the US, so we will not fill up our suitcases with it. but i have to say, such a simple and yummy addition to an ordinary picnic it will be!!!
we caught a ride back to town on a bus full of high school kids. a very deluxe bus w/ pink curtains and stereo. i think they get it every day!!
we hit the beach when we returned, and it was warm enough to jump in, but we had other priorities at the moment.
the boys here at the naxos internet shop are all going wild on their computer games tonite. totally absorbed and having a blast talking to themselves. i think we are going off to eat some more here soon. melda and i are on a new food plan. not too much at any one time, so maybe more often. yesterday i had such a huge bowl of beans that i was incapacitated for hours. well, it was black eyed pea soup, but a lot, plus potatoes. too much. much better today....
kali--nixta!!!
soon we plopped down among the lupines, large ones at that. megalo (big) naxian bluebonnets, for you texans out there with your bluebonnets on the brazos!! these are the ones that are texas size! but naxos (well sort of like brazos)
we spotted the fellow and his goats all spread out over the opposite hillside.
the goat bells tinkled and rang for hours it seemed. the young man with them was all over the hillside chiding and yelling at his goats to move along and go here or there where he wanted them. he was all over, and some of the goats seemed to listen and some seemed to ignore him. we watched for a long time, they were so entertaining. melda even recorded some of the sound. quite lovely.
we had our picnic in a sorrel and thistle (yes, ouch) patch in another tiny churchyard, under an olive tree. our tin of dolmadakia, tomato, cukes, cheese. wiped up the extra oil from the can with some of the lovely yellow sorrel blooms. then......we finally broke out our miniscule container of NUTELLA!!! saved for the past week, and smeared it on our biscuits.....well, needless to say, we are now total converts for nutella!!! yes, i know we can buy it in the US, so we will not fill up our suitcases with it. but i have to say, such a simple and yummy addition to an ordinary picnic it will be!!!
we caught a ride back to town on a bus full of high school kids. a very deluxe bus w/ pink curtains and stereo. i think they get it every day!!
we hit the beach when we returned, and it was warm enough to jump in, but we had other priorities at the moment.
the boys here at the naxos internet shop are all going wild on their computer games tonite. totally absorbed and having a blast talking to themselves. i think we are going off to eat some more here soon. melda and i are on a new food plan. not too much at any one time, so maybe more often. yesterday i had such a huge bowl of beans that i was incapacitated for hours. well, it was black eyed pea soup, but a lot, plus potatoes. too much. much better today....
kali--nixta!!!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
at naxos...
i was trying to show roze off yesterday, and just now thought i had her photo inside this blog....but no go on that one either....
sorry no pix yet of the trip
but soon i will figure it out!!
we got to naxos yesterday afternoon after a windblown ferry ride. met a french gal ani rose's age and had a good chat. i almost could hold my own in french, and she really wanted to talk to me! i had been trying to do this for the past year, mas o menos.
we drank beer and watched the wake follow us to naxos. it is so beautiful here...the water is deep and blue. she was doing a movie w/ her little digi camera and was planning to speed it up on her computer at home, plus add the music the ferryboat kept playing when they open and close the big hold doors--a very digital version of the "fur elise".
when we landed here, there were a number of people trying to get us to rent their rooms.
i told one guy the name of the place we were trying to find, which was recommended by a friend in ashland.
within 5 minutes she drove up and got us. the other people had told her we were looking for her.
so within our first 15 minutes here we were installed in our room. with a tiny kitchen and bathroom, and windows out to the tiny windy streets, and a roof where we can sit and look over the harbor.
we are just below the kastro, the old venetian fortress. the streets to get up there are like a maze. good thing i have played the game "memory" to remember the order of the clues to follow to get back where i need to be.
today's weather is still cloudy, but with wind and sun. a lot drier than the past few.
i did a lot of sketching so far. one of my little books done in greece has ancient pottery, ruins, landscapes from santorini, and on adjacent pages, the bikini shop at the athens airport, called "sugarfree." i drew it because it was so colorful. what conscientious guy would not want to buy his gal a bright sexy bikini instead of chocolate, if he is listening to her complain about her weight? (right luciene?)
well, enough of this sitting about being a techie. time to go and have more experiences!!
hasta luego amigos!!!>
sorry no pix yet of the trip
but soon i will figure it out!!
we got to naxos yesterday afternoon after a windblown ferry ride. met a french gal ani rose's age and had a good chat. i almost could hold my own in french, and she really wanted to talk to me! i had been trying to do this for the past year, mas o menos.
we drank beer and watched the wake follow us to naxos. it is so beautiful here...the water is deep and blue. she was doing a movie w/ her little digi camera and was planning to speed it up on her computer at home, plus add the music the ferryboat kept playing when they open and close the big hold doors--a very digital version of the "fur elise".
when we landed here, there were a number of people trying to get us to rent their rooms.
i told one guy the name of the place we were trying to find, which was recommended by a friend in ashland.
within 5 minutes she drove up and got us. the other people had told her we were looking for her.
so within our first 15 minutes here we were installed in our room. with a tiny kitchen and bathroom, and windows out to the tiny windy streets, and a roof where we can sit and look over the harbor.
we are just below the kastro, the old venetian fortress. the streets to get up there are like a maze. good thing i have played the game "memory" to remember the order of the clues to follow to get back where i need to be.
today's weather is still cloudy, but with wind and sun. a lot drier than the past few.
i did a lot of sketching so far. one of my little books done in greece has ancient pottery, ruins, landscapes from santorini, and on adjacent pages, the bikini shop at the athens airport, called "sugarfree." i drew it because it was so colorful. what conscientious guy would not want to buy his gal a bright sexy bikini instead of chocolate, if he is listening to her complain about her weight? (right luciene?)
well, enough of this sitting about being a techie. time to go and have more experiences!!
hasta luego amigos!!!>
Monday, April 6, 2009
last day on santorini
this am i am seated in "the pure" a santorini coffeebar that you can find online:
www.thepure.gr. it is a lovely bar, all white,w/ divine cups of tea and free internet.
first time we came in here, and already enchanted. we will try to make it to the archaeological museum today before our ferry. s'posed to meet up w/ christos again too.
yesterday we took the buses around the island to see more. had a brief time at the north tip at oia around sunset, no rain for a change, and the magic of seeing clouds moving over a large expanse of ocean with sunlight and wind and squalls, and the light changing over the nearby islands. a really expansive vista. then the rain came back.
most of the day yesterday, rain actually. first we took the bus to kamari, a touristic beach resort but still shut down for winter. somehow we started talking to a young man outside an internet cafe, and ended up visiting w/ him for hours. he reminds me of several of our friends: jerit and andy for his politics, and he looks like a younger miguel. iergos has a pasta cafe there in kamari but he wants to "homestead" a cave near the beach. his first topic was the film"zeitgeist", which sorry jerit i still did not watch. i think it affected his world view towards greater cynicism. he is a native of santorini and has a lot of critique for his home and country. like the cruise ship that sank in port here, and no one will salvage or touch. he offered us a ride back to fira town, but then we went and drove up the mountain to the ancient thira site, even tho it was closed that day. so we drove up all the switchbacks and stood on the top in the rain and fog and looked around a bit. the only bit of original mountain here from ancient times so the old old town is there. his grandfather helped with the original excavations. later on the way to fira he also took us to "old kamari" --the same town which was ruined in the 1956 earthquake, but was rebuilt on the other site, by the beach.
some of the houses have been rebuilt, but only a few people live there. the old ruined gardens and broken walls, fences, gates. i took a lot of photos. the way they build here: they will carve a cave into the hillside, which is mostly compressed whitish volcanic ash, very firm, maybe leaving a boulder in place and going around it, to create living space inside the hill. one must forget rooms w/ square corners. then they build a front of volcanic rock w/ cement, which contains the ash, with windows and doors. there are a lot of blue outside doors here. have seen many fig trees, wild and not. the famous bouganvillea here is not yet in bloom, but you can see the vines. there was ruta growing in those ruins too, and some pine trees (not like ours).
today has been rain again. but now at 10:30 the sun is coming out. i even used my poncho today, after getting all wet last nite. last nite we went out to a bar and had "SEX ON THE BEACH" cocktails at happy hour, with free shots of some blue liquid that also contained alcohol. some american college girls who are studying in germany,with their lovely blond ponytails were there dancing and drinking and flirting w/ the cute bartender in his tight tee shirt. pix of mel gibson around the bar, since it was scottish theme. pretty fun, and finished off w/ a gooey baklava at the sweet shop across the street (that is the 8 foot wide street--raining in the middle).
one last chunk of time here for some tourism, before our hotel lady takes us to the ferry. her mom, LETA, age 78, was our original contact at the hotel and she is our pal. i took their photo before i left,and leta gave me her shawl she made, lavender and knitted.
these kind people here are helping me try to phone christos again, and then i go. its been fun.
mo' later.......
www.thepure.gr. it is a lovely bar, all white,w/ divine cups of tea and free internet.
first time we came in here, and already enchanted. we will try to make it to the archaeological museum today before our ferry. s'posed to meet up w/ christos again too.
yesterday we took the buses around the island to see more. had a brief time at the north tip at oia around sunset, no rain for a change, and the magic of seeing clouds moving over a large expanse of ocean with sunlight and wind and squalls, and the light changing over the nearby islands. a really expansive vista. then the rain came back.
most of the day yesterday, rain actually. first we took the bus to kamari, a touristic beach resort but still shut down for winter. somehow we started talking to a young man outside an internet cafe, and ended up visiting w/ him for hours. he reminds me of several of our friends: jerit and andy for his politics, and he looks like a younger miguel. iergos has a pasta cafe there in kamari but he wants to "homestead" a cave near the beach. his first topic was the film"zeitgeist", which sorry jerit i still did not watch. i think it affected his world view towards greater cynicism. he is a native of santorini and has a lot of critique for his home and country. like the cruise ship that sank in port here, and no one will salvage or touch. he offered us a ride back to fira town, but then we went and drove up the mountain to the ancient thira site, even tho it was closed that day. so we drove up all the switchbacks and stood on the top in the rain and fog and looked around a bit. the only bit of original mountain here from ancient times so the old old town is there. his grandfather helped with the original excavations. later on the way to fira he also took us to "old kamari" --the same town which was ruined in the 1956 earthquake, but was rebuilt on the other site, by the beach.
some of the houses have been rebuilt, but only a few people live there. the old ruined gardens and broken walls, fences, gates. i took a lot of photos. the way they build here: they will carve a cave into the hillside, which is mostly compressed whitish volcanic ash, very firm, maybe leaving a boulder in place and going around it, to create living space inside the hill. one must forget rooms w/ square corners. then they build a front of volcanic rock w/ cement, which contains the ash, with windows and doors. there are a lot of blue outside doors here. have seen many fig trees, wild and not. the famous bouganvillea here is not yet in bloom, but you can see the vines. there was ruta growing in those ruins too, and some pine trees (not like ours).
today has been rain again. but now at 10:30 the sun is coming out. i even used my poncho today, after getting all wet last nite. last nite we went out to a bar and had "SEX ON THE BEACH" cocktails at happy hour, with free shots of some blue liquid that also contained alcohol. some american college girls who are studying in germany,with their lovely blond ponytails were there dancing and drinking and flirting w/ the cute bartender in his tight tee shirt. pix of mel gibson around the bar, since it was scottish theme. pretty fun, and finished off w/ a gooey baklava at the sweet shop across the street (that is the 8 foot wide street--raining in the middle).
one last chunk of time here for some tourism, before our hotel lady takes us to the ferry. her mom, LETA, age 78, was our original contact at the hotel and she is our pal. i took their photo before i left,and leta gave me her shawl she made, lavender and knitted.
these kind people here are helping me try to phone christos again, and then i go. its been fun.
mo' later.......
Saturday, April 4, 2009
day 6 out on the road....well, water.....
well the trip is going along here! today is number 6 since we took off from eugene to the portland airport with jim and will. after a lovely thai dinner in wilsonville, they left us off outside the airport w/ our small suitcases, and nary a backward glance! surely they miss us by now.....
well, we flew, and then we sat in the chicago airport for hours. almost missed our flight to DC because they changed our gate w/o telling us, and then some filmmakers tried to stop us on the way to the proper gate!! a few more hours in the DC airport, eating and all before the nite flite to rome.
a young texan was getting on the same plane as us and he was sporting a hat people hat!! so i had to chat w/ him. the day he received it a babe he knew gave him a big hug as he arrived at a party and burned a hole in it w/ her cigarette.
the nite flite was long, and they fed us and we slept in the sardine can they gave us. but we did get there and stretch and walked about, finally. rome started off hot and humid. we took the train into the city, found the beehive hotel. ate. rested. and hit the streets to dodge traffic and look at stuff. lots to see. tall old buildings w/ cool windows and shutters. cobblestones. lots of tiny cars going fast, and barely stopping for anyone. whenever it started raining, africans would appear several times on each block to sell you an umbrella. we piled onto the metro underground w/ the romans and tourists and students and zoomed down to the colosseum. it is big. a mine of building materials for the centuries. i think they have stopped that now. most impressive. took photos. constantine's arch. because of him, christianity became the roman state religion--i guess that's how it got big so fast.
we decided to walk back to the beehive and see what sights along the way, w/our trusty map.
strolled by some other ruins not even marked, the baths of triana (?) also in brickish ruins, in a park and w/ some wisteria growing on them. popped into a couple of churches because they were on the map, and not. not real fancy on the outside, but when you get inside they are vast and full of art. if not a painting, a sculpture, or reliquary, artfully designed to contain some morbid bit of a saint or remnant of jesus' trials and tribs. one had 9th century mosaics, of saints and angels. in golden domes and over the altars. this was st. praxedes. it also has frescoes, and marble walls w/ it cut in butterfly filets, and one color framing another. and then there was the floor, also inlaid marble and porphyry, in colors of white, gold, black, red, green--all in patterns--and they change --a different one over each section, plus swirls and oh my goshes. the 3rd church we visited that day was a bigger one, santa maria maggiore--the the mosaics were more worn there. i think they felt the need to redecorate a bit more each century or so. it all built up and is now just plain over the top!
maggiore contained bernini's tomb, but it is so plain i missed it. they had more mosaics on the nave, and gold angelini and lion feet holding up the table, plus a giant marble pope down in a marble tiled crypt--he was kneeling there. confession booths all around, and some fresh young nuns in a side chapel having communion--wearing blue and white. i saw a lot of nuns and priests in various garbs all over the city. i think they are here from all over the world for holy week, soon coming up!
after we visited the vatican museums on thursday, we thought we would try to also go into st. peters's, but we had to sit on the piazza and look at the big screens like at obama's inauguration. the pope was having a special shindig inside the church for holy week prep, w/ dignitaries and opera singers and choirs. a lot of people were out there watching. the circular piazza is surrounded by huge tall marble pillars w/ a walkway along the top--along which stand life size (or larger) statues of the popes (i think that is who they are) lots of them, all around.
our book said that before WW2 on holidays they would have 2 runners w/ torches each run half the circuit and light candles to illuminate it. a race to see who would go the fastest. all lit up columns and statues, i am not sure which, but it must have been lovely.
our 2 nites in rome i ate risotto, which i have learned is a nice warming comfort food. rice w/ cheese and different veggies. i will do it at home. one nite we were in a trattoria---candles, wine, table napkins, mineral water. very nice and quiet. sorta spendy. the other time we were in the cafeteria upstairs in the main train/bus terminal, by our flat. also very good fresh food. you can buy a tiny bottle of wine to go w/the meal. both times we sort of realized we were getting way too tired and hungry and needed to stop before any further exertion or undertaking, like trying to get home or moved into our homebase. important activities for which a clear head is a good idea.
friday a.m., we got on the train for the airport and had a nice chat w/ a young italian man who was going to kazakhstan to see his dad. he will be on facebook w/ us now. luciano.
it was odd to look at all the flights going out of rome that day--to budapest, and moscow, and dubai, and finland, and other places in all those directions. everytime i see someone nearby and who i am curious about i sort of linger near and eavesdrop a bit so i can figure out what language they are speaking. i did that a lot w/ the tour groups in the vatican museum---got tidbits of info from spanish and english ones. it also helps me to talk to some of the same people later if i think i can. i feel that i was starting to get a grasp on italian in the 2 days we were there so far (we are going back), and even in our one day so far in greece, my vocab is growing. our host here in santorini is a very friendly greek fellow and he is helping me a lot; we are talking pretty good w/ some of my greek and his english all mixed up. his helpers gave us a ride this am and they are from georgia, that was part of the ussr. (they are NOT russian--yes, another language) we discussed the '48 chevy. they know the car. and english too.
our hotel here is not on beach as we expected. christos has 2, and since the season is not yet going, he did not want us to stay down at the beach because no one else is around. he feels we are safer at his "dream villa" where he is staying now, to build the new terrace. we have a nice room there. tall french doors, and heavy wooden shutters painted blue. there are geraniums in bloom, and some fruit trees in the garden. the grapevines here are grown looking like baskets. they grow them in a tight spiral to keep them protected from the wind. it looks very cool.
today we are in the town of fira, where you can sit in restaurants on the cliff and look out over the caldera. we are hoping to get a room over here, but a lot of places are still shut down. it seems like it will be crowded this summer. all the shops and hotels are gearing up for the tourists. we had a long chat w/ a man at an art gallery today about history and bringing up kids after the teen years. he spoke good english. his wife is a teacher and has to take jobs on distant islands for several years in order to get one she really wants closer to home in athens.
this blog is now being written in a computer room w/ 10 monitors, in a room w/ a tall ceiling, marble floor, fake roses in jars along the walls, techno music on the stereo, blue curtains, a sea breeze, traffic outside. to get here we come up a tiny spiral staircase w/ a brass rail, from a bar/cafe where we paid the guy 4 euros to use the computer for 2 hours. i still have a few minutes left, so may come back tomorrow. the bar has big square umbrellas and tables out front, young waiters in white shirts and black aprons, coffee in shapely glasses, cocktails, but no granita coffees!
we will take the bus back to christos' place in a little while, maybe after dinner. i am hungry again!! hope to press a few wildflowers here--saw poppies and sage brush, well maybe wormwood. mo' later friends!!!
well, we flew, and then we sat in the chicago airport for hours. almost missed our flight to DC because they changed our gate w/o telling us, and then some filmmakers tried to stop us on the way to the proper gate!! a few more hours in the DC airport, eating and all before the nite flite to rome.
a young texan was getting on the same plane as us and he was sporting a hat people hat!! so i had to chat w/ him. the day he received it a babe he knew gave him a big hug as he arrived at a party and burned a hole in it w/ her cigarette.
the nite flite was long, and they fed us and we slept in the sardine can they gave us. but we did get there and stretch and walked about, finally. rome started off hot and humid. we took the train into the city, found the beehive hotel. ate. rested. and hit the streets to dodge traffic and look at stuff. lots to see. tall old buildings w/ cool windows and shutters. cobblestones. lots of tiny cars going fast, and barely stopping for anyone. whenever it started raining, africans would appear several times on each block to sell you an umbrella. we piled onto the metro underground w/ the romans and tourists and students and zoomed down to the colosseum. it is big. a mine of building materials for the centuries. i think they have stopped that now. most impressive. took photos. constantine's arch. because of him, christianity became the roman state religion--i guess that's how it got big so fast.
we decided to walk back to the beehive and see what sights along the way, w/our trusty map.
strolled by some other ruins not even marked, the baths of triana (?) also in brickish ruins, in a park and w/ some wisteria growing on them. popped into a couple of churches because they were on the map, and not. not real fancy on the outside, but when you get inside they are vast and full of art. if not a painting, a sculpture, or reliquary, artfully designed to contain some morbid bit of a saint or remnant of jesus' trials and tribs. one had 9th century mosaics, of saints and angels. in golden domes and over the altars. this was st. praxedes. it also has frescoes, and marble walls w/ it cut in butterfly filets, and one color framing another. and then there was the floor, also inlaid marble and porphyry, in colors of white, gold, black, red, green--all in patterns--and they change --a different one over each section, plus swirls and oh my goshes. the 3rd church we visited that day was a bigger one, santa maria maggiore--the the mosaics were more worn there. i think they felt the need to redecorate a bit more each century or so. it all built up and is now just plain over the top!
maggiore contained bernini's tomb, but it is so plain i missed it. they had more mosaics on the nave, and gold angelini and lion feet holding up the table, plus a giant marble pope down in a marble tiled crypt--he was kneeling there. confession booths all around, and some fresh young nuns in a side chapel having communion--wearing blue and white. i saw a lot of nuns and priests in various garbs all over the city. i think they are here from all over the world for holy week, soon coming up!
after we visited the vatican museums on thursday, we thought we would try to also go into st. peters's, but we had to sit on the piazza and look at the big screens like at obama's inauguration. the pope was having a special shindig inside the church for holy week prep, w/ dignitaries and opera singers and choirs. a lot of people were out there watching. the circular piazza is surrounded by huge tall marble pillars w/ a walkway along the top--along which stand life size (or larger) statues of the popes (i think that is who they are) lots of them, all around.
our book said that before WW2 on holidays they would have 2 runners w/ torches each run half the circuit and light candles to illuminate it. a race to see who would go the fastest. all lit up columns and statues, i am not sure which, but it must have been lovely.
our 2 nites in rome i ate risotto, which i have learned is a nice warming comfort food. rice w/ cheese and different veggies. i will do it at home. one nite we were in a trattoria---candles, wine, table napkins, mineral water. very nice and quiet. sorta spendy. the other time we were in the cafeteria upstairs in the main train/bus terminal, by our flat. also very good fresh food. you can buy a tiny bottle of wine to go w/the meal. both times we sort of realized we were getting way too tired and hungry and needed to stop before any further exertion or undertaking, like trying to get home or moved into our homebase. important activities for which a clear head is a good idea.
friday a.m., we got on the train for the airport and had a nice chat w/ a young italian man who was going to kazakhstan to see his dad. he will be on facebook w/ us now. luciano.
it was odd to look at all the flights going out of rome that day--to budapest, and moscow, and dubai, and finland, and other places in all those directions. everytime i see someone nearby and who i am curious about i sort of linger near and eavesdrop a bit so i can figure out what language they are speaking. i did that a lot w/ the tour groups in the vatican museum---got tidbits of info from spanish and english ones. it also helps me to talk to some of the same people later if i think i can. i feel that i was starting to get a grasp on italian in the 2 days we were there so far (we are going back), and even in our one day so far in greece, my vocab is growing. our host here in santorini is a very friendly greek fellow and he is helping me a lot; we are talking pretty good w/ some of my greek and his english all mixed up. his helpers gave us a ride this am and they are from georgia, that was part of the ussr. (they are NOT russian--yes, another language) we discussed the '48 chevy. they know the car. and english too.
our hotel here is not on beach as we expected. christos has 2, and since the season is not yet going, he did not want us to stay down at the beach because no one else is around. he feels we are safer at his "dream villa" where he is staying now, to build the new terrace. we have a nice room there. tall french doors, and heavy wooden shutters painted blue. there are geraniums in bloom, and some fruit trees in the garden. the grapevines here are grown looking like baskets. they grow them in a tight spiral to keep them protected from the wind. it looks very cool.
today we are in the town of fira, where you can sit in restaurants on the cliff and look out over the caldera. we are hoping to get a room over here, but a lot of places are still shut down. it seems like it will be crowded this summer. all the shops and hotels are gearing up for the tourists. we had a long chat w/ a man at an art gallery today about history and bringing up kids after the teen years. he spoke good english. his wife is a teacher and has to take jobs on distant islands for several years in order to get one she really wants closer to home in athens.
this blog is now being written in a computer room w/ 10 monitors, in a room w/ a tall ceiling, marble floor, fake roses in jars along the walls, techno music on the stereo, blue curtains, a sea breeze, traffic outside. to get here we come up a tiny spiral staircase w/ a brass rail, from a bar/cafe where we paid the guy 4 euros to use the computer for 2 hours. i still have a few minutes left, so may come back tomorrow. the bar has big square umbrellas and tables out front, young waiters in white shirts and black aprons, coffee in shapely glasses, cocktails, but no granita coffees!
we will take the bus back to christos' place in a little while, maybe after dinner. i am hungry again!! hope to press a few wildflowers here--saw poppies and sage brush, well maybe wormwood. mo' later friends!!!
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