Son Rullan. The l´s come together to form a y sound, in case you were curious. This has been our home for the past...1,2, 10 days already. Angie has already described the scenes so I´ll cover the rest.
My watch crapped out a few weeks back so the sun has become our wakeup call. When our room reaches a dull glow, we know its close to 8am or time to get up. Breakfast is served downstairs at 830am and usually includes coffee and fresh bread and pastries from the local bakery. Besides us 5 there are 4 other volunteers (who have been here over a month) and 2 full time people, our bosses. Angie already mentioned them but they deserve more air time. (This may bore you since I´m describing strangers to you but for us, they have become beautiful friends, ones we wish to remember)
Jorge is a 60 year old Argentinian who lives in a tool shed down the way. For the past 2 years he has leant his time and expertise to Son Rullan as well as doing small outside jobs to stay afloat. Jorge is a skilled builder but his real talent is cooking. We beg for him to cook every night and every few days he rolls his eyes, throws his hands in the air and says one of 7 english words he knows -okay. Typically his creations involve lots of meat cooked slowly over the fire and when I say meat, I mean MEAT. It isn´t until after the hand licking that he informs us what part of the animal our supper came from. Who knew glands could taste so good? Before we arrived another Canadian had been here for 2 weeks and in that time they had struck up a romance. She left the day we arrived but she and Jorge still stay in touch and he is actually flying to London next month to see her again. All of us know in our hearts that things between them will never last, (she is beautiful, eager to travel and 45) but we smile knowing that all we have is today so you go get here Jorge.
Ariel is also Argentinian (no relation to Jorge) and is 23. My first impression of him was a hippie for sure, jerk most likely. As time has passed I was wrong on both accounts. He only knows as much english as Jorge but his eyes light up whenever the group is gathered together eating and he´ll say - familia - gesturing in a circular motion to our kids. He plays his music loud and often, only Bob Marley or monkish spiritual. The first day I was ready to accidently break his Monk and Marley collection but it has grown on me and I now appreciate it and feel its power. One of my big regrets is I cannot communicate with him. I finally broke the ice the other night when we were sitting around the table. He was enaged in a conversation and I was sucking back on my wine (it flows like water in these parts, and is just as cheap) all of a sudden I just lifted my glass and yelled - Canada! It was dumb and random but he loved it, laughing hard then he lifted his own cup and yelled - Argentine! Since then its been good.
Maria is a 30 year old with a quiet soul. She was a Pharmacist in Barcelona for 7 years before realizing she hated her job (and life). Despite investing 12 years in Pharmacy (5 in school) she left it all and came to Son Rullan to rebuild her life. She has a rich soul and talking with her is a pleasure. Teasing her, even more pleasure. She has already picked up on the fact that I like to talk and entertain and one night she finally looked at me as we sat around the fire and said teasingly - you don´t like quiet, do you? haha. oops. Despite her love of quiet we´ve had many conversations about life, careers, spirituality. She´s a good egg.
And then there´s, Tom, a 45 year old German. Angie called him my philosphy buddy and I guess he is. The first day I arrived we were put together for work and have been together ever since. Tom has made my time at Son Rullan incredibly rich. Although our jobs each day are physically draining we spend most of the time discussing spirituality (while we work) so it goes by fast. His spirituality is anything but conventional, but I have still learned a ton from him. The truth is, I have needed a Tom in my life for years, someone I can just spew my spirituality onto and not be judged or misunderstood. Our talks have been epic and usually carry on long after the day´s work is done. Speaking of work, he has quietly taught me to pace myself, SLOWLY, he says. I tell him that in North America, slow is a 4 letter word, (which it is actually.) He nods knowingly and says its the same in Germany, but then he points to the beauty around us and says, enjoy. He is leaving today and I am surprised at how sad I am. We just exchanged emails though so I´m confident our conversations have just begun.
Last but not least are our bosses for the week, Henar and Everest. To say Henar rules the roost is an understatement. She is a 34 year old Spanish woman who exercises more assertiveness then 3 type A men. She zips around the house accomplishing this and that while still finding time to make her workers (that´s us) feel taken care of. She loves Son Rullan and puts all she has into it and because of that can at times seem over the top but its just passion, believe me, I know this passion. Everest is also 34 and is in charge of the work outside. He was born in Nigeria, moved to Spain, married in Soller (10 min away) and has worked at Son Rullan for 10 years. He functions opposite from Henar, very laid back, soft spoken unless politics come up then he turns into a mega church pentecostal pastor proclaiming his political rhetoric to all who will listen. One day he looked at Angie and said - excuse me, are you from Alaska? Angie looked confused until he said - hello Ms. Sarah Palin. hahaha. Not only does he thinks Angie looks like the almost vice president but sounds like her too. Since that day he hasn´t let up calling her Sarah constantly or asking her what things are like or how this and that compares to life in Alaska. Its great seeing your wife bugged by someone else, frees up more time for me to do other things. Today he let us off early at 1230pm. We usally work until 130 or 200pm. He said - just don´t tell the boss. haha, he´s great. And strong, man is he strong. I´ll be jackhammering and pickaxing trying to loosen rock (we´ve been building a chicken house into mountain rock) and he´ll watch me then finally saunter over and well, no more loose rock.
So there it is, Son Rullan. There is much more I could write about including the incredible meals, fires, trails, scenery, sheep, turkeys, even the unique jobs we do each day (Angie and the kids had to clean out the turkey coop the other day. For 3 hours she shoveled and raked through years of poop, mud, grime and poop. When she was done she wasn´t as thrilled as you might think.) Speaking of the kids though, I know its a faux pas to brag on your kids but I have to tell you, for 10 days, 8 of them working days, they have woken up early, then worked for 4-5 hours with very little complaining. When we first arrived, I think the jury was still out on the kids, whether they could hack it our not. After seeing how well and hard they´ve worked everybody sings their praises, gives them first servings at meal times and today Everest said - ok, kids, today you will do nothing. They looked at him blankly not registering until it finally clicked and they celebrated (a little to loudly) - yay, we don´t have to work today. Everyone laughed knowing they deserved a day off. Great kids I have. So easy to forget though.
We fly back to Canada in 6 days finishing our 2.5 month journey across Europe with another exhausting travel day. Bus to Palma, plane to London, bus to different London Airport, plane home. We are scheduled to arrive in Calgary at 9pm next Wednesday night. From there we will be staying with our good friends Hope and Darcy Pawlak until we will most likely head to Vancouver Island the following week. I say most likely because, believe it or not, our future (namely career) is still up in the air. Its a little unerving when we think about it. Seriously though, we should know the first week in December which job works out and which province we´ll be living in. Our preference would be the Island but as Tom says -the universe may have different plans. As long as the Universe communicates, we´ll be good.
If you have followed us this far, wow. Your presence with us via the blog has enriched our experience and we thank you for reminding us of home. If you have become addicted to our life, similar to characters in a TV show, you need help, seriously. Still, we will be continuing this blog as we begin our new adventure entitled - So I need a job, a house because I´m done travelling.
John
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Spain in a nutshell
"For me it is like heaven". That is what Henar, our host, said when she emailed us about volunteering out here and she was so right! We can´t connect our computer to the internet, so only have short little bursts to check our mail, which means posting Spain stuff after we´re back home. This is just me saying hi and that we are all healthy happy and loving our last two weeks here on our Spanish mountain.
I can´t even begin to describe this place with justice, but I´ll try. First of all, the mountains (mist shrouded mountains I might add) are lined with miles and miles of stone walls and paths, weaving in and out of the trees all the way to the top. These were built by the Moors I guess until 1290 and still standing strong (some of the olive trees are over 1500 years old!). This place we are in was built somewhere before then as well, then used as a monastery for a few hundred years before being left to ruin until rescued and brought back to it´s former glory. I don´t really have time, but I have to say something about this place! First of all, come here if you can.
We arrived lost and blurry eyed (John wrote on that, but can´t post it til later. I´ll just say our taxi driver refused to go any further up the mountain road and dropped us off in the middle of who knows where) walking in the pitch black night, feeling a little creeped out by the twisted gnarled trunks of the ancient olive trees (very Sleepy Hollw in the moonlight). We could here sheeps bells clanging along beside us, but couldn´t see them and went along like this for a good ten minutes until we finally saw the lights of what we hoped was the monastery. As we got closer we heard laughter and music coming from inside and knocked on the arched door with the giant iron knocker. Voices from inside yelled familia! Ninos! The door was opened and we were ushered into this huge and amazing stone floored, adobe plastered entryway with arched doors and winding staircases all over the place. We followed our new hosts down to the kitchen that couldn´t be more cozy if you got Disney to sketch it out, with a huge sit in fireplace lined with pillows and benches where they brought us wine and food and babied the kids (and us). You have no idea how nice this was after our twelve hour day of traveling (broken mini van, train, metro, plane, mean and uncooperative taxi drivers and way too much walking)
This is the kind of place with hidden rooms (even a passageway between walls) that lead into other rooms that lead to staircases that wind to the top of the house where there´s a terrace overlooking the sea. It´s crazy. There are some original paintings on some of the walls (is it only me that cares about that???) and when you walk out into the mountains there are strange round stone huts that date back to the dark ages. I can hardly stand it!
We work very hard for five hours a day (weekends off), but they have been great about finding work that the kids enjoy. Lots of burning things in bonfires and picking olives and getting the gardens winterized. When we come in for lunch at two we´re starving and the table is loaded with delicious hot food and wine. After that we do whatever we want, so I think it´s a great set up.
Then there´s the people. It´s an amazing little community here, people staying as long as they want to help (Jorge from Argentina has been here for two years and built himself his own tiny little cottage) and others that, like us, stay for a couple of weeks. John´s found a philosophy buddy in Tom, a 45 year old German guy that´s been here for a couple of weeks longer than us and Maria and Eva- two super sweet and funny girls we sit around the fire with every night. It´s been a great way to meet people from all over, preparing meals together and working every morining. We feel like we´ve known them for ever!
There´s so much more I´d like to say, but it will have to wait. Hi to all of you and see you soon!
Angie
I can´t even begin to describe this place with justice, but I´ll try. First of all, the mountains (mist shrouded mountains I might add) are lined with miles and miles of stone walls and paths, weaving in and out of the trees all the way to the top. These were built by the Moors I guess until 1290 and still standing strong (some of the olive trees are over 1500 years old!). This place we are in was built somewhere before then as well, then used as a monastery for a few hundred years before being left to ruin until rescued and brought back to it´s former glory. I don´t really have time, but I have to say something about this place! First of all, come here if you can.
We arrived lost and blurry eyed (John wrote on that, but can´t post it til later. I´ll just say our taxi driver refused to go any further up the mountain road and dropped us off in the middle of who knows where) walking in the pitch black night, feeling a little creeped out by the twisted gnarled trunks of the ancient olive trees (very Sleepy Hollw in the moonlight). We could here sheeps bells clanging along beside us, but couldn´t see them and went along like this for a good ten minutes until we finally saw the lights of what we hoped was the monastery. As we got closer we heard laughter and music coming from inside and knocked on the arched door with the giant iron knocker. Voices from inside yelled familia! Ninos! The door was opened and we were ushered into this huge and amazing stone floored, adobe plastered entryway with arched doors and winding staircases all over the place. We followed our new hosts down to the kitchen that couldn´t be more cozy if you got Disney to sketch it out, with a huge sit in fireplace lined with pillows and benches where they brought us wine and food and babied the kids (and us). You have no idea how nice this was after our twelve hour day of traveling (broken mini van, train, metro, plane, mean and uncooperative taxi drivers and way too much walking)
This is the kind of place with hidden rooms (even a passageway between walls) that lead into other rooms that lead to staircases that wind to the top of the house where there´s a terrace overlooking the sea. It´s crazy. There are some original paintings on some of the walls (is it only me that cares about that???) and when you walk out into the mountains there are strange round stone huts that date back to the dark ages. I can hardly stand it!
We work very hard for five hours a day (weekends off), but they have been great about finding work that the kids enjoy. Lots of burning things in bonfires and picking olives and getting the gardens winterized. When we come in for lunch at two we´re starving and the table is loaded with delicious hot food and wine. After that we do whatever we want, so I think it´s a great set up.
Then there´s the people. It´s an amazing little community here, people staying as long as they want to help (Jorge from Argentina has been here for two years and built himself his own tiny little cottage) and others that, like us, stay for a couple of weeks. John´s found a philosophy buddy in Tom, a 45 year old German guy that´s been here for a couple of weeks longer than us and Maria and Eva- two super sweet and funny girls we sit around the fire with every night. It´s been a great way to meet people from all over, preparing meals together and working every morining. We feel like we´ve known them for ever!
There´s so much more I´d like to say, but it will have to wait. Hi to all of you and see you soon!
Angie
Saturday, November 15, 2008
somewhere in Spain
Well, cruise days are officially over. We’ve gone from someone putting a napkin on our lap when we sit down for dinner to sweaty hiking and hand washing stained clothes that will never be clean again and eating bread and more bread. Becky took me for a pedicure when we were on the cruise. Chocolates were on our pillows every night. There was lobster. John also surprised me with a facial- my first since after Maddie was born, although now I think I got ripped off on that one. Who knew that it could take over an hour to wash your face? And that it could put you into an almost hypnotic trance and leave your skin feeling baby fresh? (I also didn’t know that they wash your arms when you get a facial. It seemed so random, like getting a free nose rub with your pedicure.)Of course, after wards she proceeded to inform me that my skin was troubled and imbalanced, talking about it like it was an unstable middle eastern country. When I told her what face products I use she shook her head and looked disappointed in me. Like here she had invested a good hour of her day only to realize I would mess it all up again with $15 cleanser. This is the problem with temporary luxury- as nice as it is, you feel like a bit of an imposter, just slightly undeserving. Anyway, super relaxing and rejuvenating and a world away from here.
Being in our little Spanish home, completely solar powered, chilly at night, cold showers, back to hand washing and eating… bread! But I love it. I guess I missed nesting, making soup and tidying up and hanging our laundry out in the hot Spanish sun (or French sun, Italian sun, English… drizzle). It feels good and homey, even though it doesn’t belong to us it’s our home for the week. My feet are a reminder of the luxurious oblivion of the cruise, London Red toes from Becky’s pedicure, matching the Spanish red dirt that’s in between them. I would take a picture except it’s kind of gross.
We went exploring yesterday, finding some abandoned farmhouses that were crumbling back into the ground. The guys that we’re renting from explained how kids inherit these places when their parents pass, but want nothing to do with them. They’ve moved on to the cities and forgotten about these little homes on the side of the mountain. It’s kind of sad because I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to live and if there’s anything I’ve learned about myself on this trip it’s that I’m no city girl. I’ve tried, and I’ve definitely appreciated certain aspects of the city life, but the most beautiful, friendly and genuine places we’ve been to on this trip have been the tiny out of the way towns that take a good long day to reach. To get to this place we took a train, a long walk, metro, another walk and train and then a taxi that got lost and cost us a small fortune. But so worth it.
Tonight we sat in the swing watching the sunset over the mountains with those Dr. Suess looking trees silhouetted against all the crazy colours. And the stars- you forget how many stars are actually out there until you’re one of seven houses on the entire mountain! We came inside and read by our one dim light, to conserve the battery needed for night time. I think John’s mentioned our super amazing hosts, but I feel I need to give them another plug. They’ve gone out of their way to help us out, driving us into town, taking us for coffee, bringing us wine (which you can buy here for 2 euros- what kind of joke is that???) and tomorrow they are making us paella and mussels and quince crumble from their very own quince tree. Plus, when Jeremy came down tonight to tell us they were out for the night, he didn’t bat an eye at John, who was crouched behind the plant in our living room. Jeremy just kept on talking until John stood up, red faced and explained that he was waiting to jump out and scare me. If you haven’t ever seen John embarrassed (a very rare occurrence) then you missed a good one tonight. It basically made my week.
So, as beautiful as Madrid was, this is where it’s really at. For me. I understand a lot of people really enjoy the night life and vibrancy of the city, and I do get it. But if I were to ever do this trip again, I would definitely stick to the little places. Aw- that sounded like such a concluding statement! Goodbye Europe… almost.
Angie
Being in our little Spanish home, completely solar powered, chilly at night, cold showers, back to hand washing and eating… bread! But I love it. I guess I missed nesting, making soup and tidying up and hanging our laundry out in the hot Spanish sun (or French sun, Italian sun, English… drizzle). It feels good and homey, even though it doesn’t belong to us it’s our home for the week. My feet are a reminder of the luxurious oblivion of the cruise, London Red toes from Becky’s pedicure, matching the Spanish red dirt that’s in between them. I would take a picture except it’s kind of gross.
We went exploring yesterday, finding some abandoned farmhouses that were crumbling back into the ground. The guys that we’re renting from explained how kids inherit these places when their parents pass, but want nothing to do with them. They’ve moved on to the cities and forgotten about these little homes on the side of the mountain. It’s kind of sad because I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to live and if there’s anything I’ve learned about myself on this trip it’s that I’m no city girl. I’ve tried, and I’ve definitely appreciated certain aspects of the city life, but the most beautiful, friendly and genuine places we’ve been to on this trip have been the tiny out of the way towns that take a good long day to reach. To get to this place we took a train, a long walk, metro, another walk and train and then a taxi that got lost and cost us a small fortune. But so worth it.
Tonight we sat in the swing watching the sunset over the mountains with those Dr. Suess looking trees silhouetted against all the crazy colours. And the stars- you forget how many stars are actually out there until you’re one of seven houses on the entire mountain! We came inside and read by our one dim light, to conserve the battery needed for night time. I think John’s mentioned our super amazing hosts, but I feel I need to give them another plug. They’ve gone out of their way to help us out, driving us into town, taking us for coffee, bringing us wine (which you can buy here for 2 euros- what kind of joke is that???) and tomorrow they are making us paella and mussels and quince crumble from their very own quince tree. Plus, when Jeremy came down tonight to tell us they were out for the night, he didn’t bat an eye at John, who was crouched behind the plant in our living room. Jeremy just kept on talking until John stood up, red faced and explained that he was waiting to jump out and scare me. If you haven’t ever seen John embarrassed (a very rare occurrence) then you missed a good one tonight. It basically made my week.
So, as beautiful as Madrid was, this is where it’s really at. For me. I understand a lot of people really enjoy the night life and vibrancy of the city, and I do get it. But if I were to ever do this trip again, I would definitely stick to the little places. Aw- that sounded like such a concluding statement! Goodbye Europe… almost.
Angie
Friday, November 14, 2008
Dangerous treks
It’s day 4 in our Villa. The weather is consistently 20 degrees, even at Christmas. Our hosts were complaining the other night about the recent cold snap, 16, 17 degrees. Poor English Spaniards. We live in a 2 bedroom villa below our hosts. They have been super helpful and understanding allowing us to barge in here at the last minute with no food or plan. We are very isolated here; the closest town (Macastre) is 4km away which is next door if you have a car and a half a day’s journey if you don’t. The isolation has been good, especially after a week of Rome and Madrid.
Our front door opens onto a deck overlooking mountains, valleys, forests oh my. We go for walks each day enjoying the red Spanish soil and abandoned houses discarded by unsentimental descendants. Angie has a deep connection to each one of the places, walking through slowly while commentating on this and that to nobody in particular. She wants to buy them all so she can restore them to their former glory. She’s like that with old buildings. To her, they’re still alive, they just need to be loved. I’ve had similar connections to old churches we’ve seen so we’ve learned to humor each other for the sake of the marriage.
We decided to take the journey to Macastre on foot. Our host said it was exactly 4km and "follow the main road.” But he also told us his dog wouldn’t come. The walk began fine albeit with the dog. Half way there, we started to have our doubts. We had run out of walking room which meant chancing it on the fast moving highway or walking in the vineyards, farmlands and mud down below. We chose both depending on how curvy the road was and how beautiful the vineyard looked. As time and 4km passed we still had the dog with no town in sight. The road had gotten curvier, and the valleys deeper which meant our walking space options were now limited to the dangerous highway. After 5km we finally saw the bend up ahead leading into Macastre. It was too late though. 5km one way is a long way for anyone let alone kids clad in crocs and a panicy mother. I had also thrown out my back the day before and was shaped like the letter S, a bi-annual occurrence, and while walking is the best thing for it, I’m not sure if 10k is what Dr.Kraft had in mind. I looked towards the bend and finally admitted what Angie’s body language had been shouting for a couple k’s “yeah, so guys, I’m not sure if this road is exactly safe, I think we probably should turn back.” Angie was already half a k ahead by the time I finished the speech. As we began our walk back I wondered how we’d make it.
Our plan had been to rest and shop and eat in Macastre, energizing up for the walk back. While I was wondering I saw a familiar car and low and behold it was our hosts. Thank God. We piled into their 4 seater car (there were 7 of us including the dog) and headed back home. They couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. It turns out they had been thinking about us after we left and had started to wonder. They later admitted they had never actually walked the road and certainly not with 3 young kids and a road dumb dog. Oh well, just another experience in a land far far away. We have 3 days left that will include more walks, more reading (I just finished the epic Pillars of the Earth and am breezing through the sequel) more movies, they actually have english films, and a trip into Valencia to see their world famous Sea World. We fly to Palma late Monday night. Less than 3 weeks left, can't hardly believe it.
John
P.S. We do have internet but our connection is turtle speed so its difficult to post pics. We have dozens more we want to show so be patient. Also, you'll hear from Angie tomorrow. Ciao.
Our front door opens onto a deck overlooking mountains, valleys, forests oh my. We go for walks each day enjoying the red Spanish soil and abandoned houses discarded by unsentimental descendants. Angie has a deep connection to each one of the places, walking through slowly while commentating on this and that to nobody in particular. She wants to buy them all so she can restore them to their former glory. She’s like that with old buildings. To her, they’re still alive, they just need to be loved. I’ve had similar connections to old churches we’ve seen so we’ve learned to humor each other for the sake of the marriage.
We decided to take the journey to Macastre on foot. Our host said it was exactly 4km and "follow the main road.” But he also told us his dog wouldn’t come. The walk began fine albeit with the dog. Half way there, we started to have our doubts. We had run out of walking room which meant chancing it on the fast moving highway or walking in the vineyards, farmlands and mud down below. We chose both depending on how curvy the road was and how beautiful the vineyard looked. As time and 4km passed we still had the dog with no town in sight. The road had gotten curvier, and the valleys deeper which meant our walking space options were now limited to the dangerous highway. After 5km we finally saw the bend up ahead leading into Macastre. It was too late though. 5km one way is a long way for anyone let alone kids clad in crocs and a panicy mother. I had also thrown out my back the day before and was shaped like the letter S, a bi-annual occurrence, and while walking is the best thing for it, I’m not sure if 10k is what Dr.Kraft had in mind. I looked towards the bend and finally admitted what Angie’s body language had been shouting for a couple k’s “yeah, so guys, I’m not sure if this road is exactly safe, I think we probably should turn back.” Angie was already half a k ahead by the time I finished the speech. As we began our walk back I wondered how we’d make it.
Our plan had been to rest and shop and eat in Macastre, energizing up for the walk back. While I was wondering I saw a familiar car and low and behold it was our hosts. Thank God. We piled into their 4 seater car (there were 7 of us including the dog) and headed back home. They couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. It turns out they had been thinking about us after we left and had started to wonder. They later admitted they had never actually walked the road and certainly not with 3 young kids and a road dumb dog. Oh well, just another experience in a land far far away. We have 3 days left that will include more walks, more reading (I just finished the epic Pillars of the Earth and am breezing through the sequel) more movies, they actually have english films, and a trip into Valencia to see their world famous Sea World. We fly to Palma late Monday night. Less than 3 weeks left, can't hardly believe it.
John
P.S. We do have internet but our connection is turtle speed so its difficult to post pics. We have dozens more we want to show so be patient. Also, you'll hear from Angie tomorrow. Ciao.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Rome and Spain
Hey folks. Sorry for the pins and needles but this past week has been . . . interesting. Angie has already told you tales of cancelled volunteer hosts and wanting to go home and while there was a solid 48 hours of discouragement (even anger, gasp) we’ve bounced back and are really looking forward to ending our adventure strong. As I type this I’m sitting unshowered, un laundried, and unshaven (last shave: Sept 20) on a “bullet” train (high speed) zooming towards Valencia at uh, let me check, 158 km/h. We’re fixed to arrive in 3.5 hours; a regular train would take 7. Poor Ethan, we told the excitable pre-scientist that the train went 220km/h, so for the past hour he’s been staring intensely at the digital speedometer waiting for the moment when we zoar over 200. A few minutes ago he shouted “we’re at 174 Dad.” At least he’s preoccupied though, because let me tell you, a bored Ethan is BAD NEWS. Yes Mom, I realize who his father is.
We decided on Valencia late last night after finally finding a vacant, fully loaded apartment outside a small town (Macastre) 30km west of Valencia, off the coast of Spain. (We’ve had unlimited internet at our hotel which has saved us, seriously) Nicholas, our apartment host, has been FANTASTIC even offering to pick us up???? There’s even a pool which received a collective cheer from our treis ninos. We’re staying for one week to make up for the cancelled volunteering opportunity and as Angie said, the price is ridiculously cheap. Seriously folks, come to rural Europe in October and November and you’ll find cheap luxury everywhere. (Speed update: Ethan just informed me we hit 198. Yay!!!) Once deciding on Valencia, we still had to, oh right, find a train. Not knowing the times or even if there was room I woke up early this morning, jogged to the station and was able to book a train leaving in 2 hours!?. Yikes. I ran back with just enough time to tell Angie, pack, pay and lead my family and our 9 backpacks (we began the trip with 7), to the train. We made it, we always do, but our disheveled look is once again our price.
Angie has deferred Rome to me. Thanks hon. She’s right of course; I have waited my whole life to experience this great city. We arrived in Rome the night before our cruise, I’ve already written about that so I’ll launch ahead to the three days we spent there after the cruise. Our first day in Rome was our best. We were coming off of Cruise leg so I intentionally planned an easy going day. We headed straight for the Pantheon, the architectural wonder of the world. As we walked through the streets of Rome I stopped and asked somebody “which way to the Parthenon?” He looked at me funny, most people do, but in this case it was because I was an idiot (mostly I am). “I mean, Pantheon, which way to the Pantheon? Sorry.” (The Parthenon is in Athens). We found it quickly, after passing by the very touristy Trevi fountain, and went inside. (yes Joan, I did the Trevi coin flip).
We stood inside for over an hour with craned necks and wonder, even the kids were impressed. The secret of the dome’s construction lies in the volcanic limestone they used (very light) as well as thinning out the dome’s walls the higher they built. The walls are 6 metres thick at the base and 2 near the crest. Bored yet? Sorry, I forget not everyone shares my unbalanced love of history (right Becky? ha). Anyways, I found it all fascinating as well as the slick drainage system in the floor, the one piece granite exterior pillars imported from Egypt, and Raphael’s tomb (not the ninja turtle).
After the Pantheon we were starving. We heard that there’s something called pee-tsa in Rome so we wandered a whole block before seeing a cheerful Italian kneading fresh dough (we needed some too, snicker). We stopped and gazed at him through the bay window and nearly wet ourselves when he put the prepared pizza on the shovel and thrust it into the stone oven. The pizza god finally noticed us staring at him, flashed us an awkward smile before continuing to make the world a better place. I quickly ran inside and ordered 2 HUGE for takeaway (European version of “to go.”) 20 minutes later we were making out with the pizza on the Pantheon steps. (sorry if its sounds crass but we kinda were). After the last crumb was gone we remembered Rick Steves saying that “the best coffee in Rome is right by the Pantheon.” Once again we only had to wonder a block. Tazza D’oro. This place has been roasting its own beans since coffee first came to Rome (400 years). The place was packed with locals, always the best sign when looking for quality, and we ordered a cup then a pound. I thought of my coffee loving friends Kyle, Troy and Martin and wished they were there to share the moment.
This post has already gone on too long and I’m only on the first day. Crimminy. I’ll summarize the rest. We finished off Roma day one by staring at the artistically rendered skulls and skeletons of over 4000 monks, at the Cappucin crypt. It was the oddest most fascinating thing these eyes have seen. The bones were arranged symbolically forming pictures of hope, love, redemption and of course, salvation. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures but we did pick up some postcards. It was a great way to end off a great day. Our best day.
Day two we jumped on bus 23 and explored Trastevere (trahs-TAY-vey-ray). This stylish section is medieval Rome seen at its most modernly colorful. We strolled and ate good gelato a whole event in itself. We arrived back at our hotel (Alimandi) and Maddison and I ran out and found, you guessed it – more amazing pizza. The best places actually cut and weigh their pizza selling their narcotic by the gram. Buying pizza by the pound, can life get any better? Btw – for 10 euros, you can get enough pizza to feed 10 people, or 2 Chris Tyssens (haha, love ya Chris).
Day three was reserved for ancient Rome. We beheld the Coliseum before going on a downright disappointing tour of the Forum. It lasted an hour and a half and involved a Swedish host asking elementary questions (as a way to keep everyone involved) but the result was the Forum closed before we even went in. I’m serious; we didn’t even get to walk through the Forum on The Forum tour. We just saw it. “See that, that’s the forum? Neat eh?” Apparently the neat forum closes at 4:30pm, 4:30??? On a Friday?? I waited my entire life to see it. . . . Yeah I was mad. I finally calmed down knowing I’d be back one day. Rome was by far my favorite big city. On the taxi to the airport we drove out on the Appian way, the world’s first Deerfoot. Roma. Fascinating history combined with delicious pizza and ice cream, who could want for anything more?
Anyways, it’s November 12 now and we’re sitting in our villa in remote Spain, where we’ll be hanging out for the next week. The other night our very gracious and English host offered to drive me into town so I could stock up on groceries. I bought 2 cart loads which should last us the week. It cost me 60 euros, or 2 meals at a cheap restaurant. Our place is fantastic, amazing view of the mountains, lots of cats and a very sweet dog named lady. The animals have decided to live with us for the week which is great for the kids especially since they’re been really missing Hugo and Rusty - although a cat just crapped on our bed while I was writing this so perhaps not. Our hosts, Nick and Jeremy, are two blokes who moved here for the view and couldn't be nicer or more helpful. (funny eh, Nick and Jeremy). We head for Majorca on November 17th where we volunteer - picking olives at Son Rullan until we fly back to Calgary December 4. We decided to cut our trip a few weeks short due to the fantastic euro.
And there you have it, we’ll be in Calgary for several days. Hear that Hope? Ha. See you soon everyone. We’ve missed you all very much.
John
We decided on Valencia late last night after finally finding a vacant, fully loaded apartment outside a small town (Macastre) 30km west of Valencia, off the coast of Spain. (We’ve had unlimited internet at our hotel which has saved us, seriously) Nicholas, our apartment host, has been FANTASTIC even offering to pick us up???? There’s even a pool which received a collective cheer from our treis ninos. We’re staying for one week to make up for the cancelled volunteering opportunity and as Angie said, the price is ridiculously cheap. Seriously folks, come to rural Europe in October and November and you’ll find cheap luxury everywhere. (Speed update: Ethan just informed me we hit 198. Yay!!!) Once deciding on Valencia, we still had to, oh right, find a train. Not knowing the times or even if there was room I woke up early this morning, jogged to the station and was able to book a train leaving in 2 hours!?. Yikes. I ran back with just enough time to tell Angie, pack, pay and lead my family and our 9 backpacks (we began the trip with 7), to the train. We made it, we always do, but our disheveled look is once again our price.
Angie has deferred Rome to me. Thanks hon. She’s right of course; I have waited my whole life to experience this great city. We arrived in Rome the night before our cruise, I’ve already written about that so I’ll launch ahead to the three days we spent there after the cruise. Our first day in Rome was our best. We were coming off of Cruise leg so I intentionally planned an easy going day. We headed straight for the Pantheon, the architectural wonder of the world. As we walked through the streets of Rome I stopped and asked somebody “which way to the Parthenon?” He looked at me funny, most people do, but in this case it was because I was an idiot (mostly I am). “I mean, Pantheon, which way to the Pantheon? Sorry.” (The Parthenon is in Athens). We found it quickly, after passing by the very touristy Trevi fountain, and went inside. (yes Joan, I did the Trevi coin flip).
We stood inside for over an hour with craned necks and wonder, even the kids were impressed. The secret of the dome’s construction lies in the volcanic limestone they used (very light) as well as thinning out the dome’s walls the higher they built. The walls are 6 metres thick at the base and 2 near the crest. Bored yet? Sorry, I forget not everyone shares my unbalanced love of history (right Becky? ha). Anyways, I found it all fascinating as well as the slick drainage system in the floor, the one piece granite exterior pillars imported from Egypt, and Raphael’s tomb (not the ninja turtle).
After the Pantheon we were starving. We heard that there’s something called pee-tsa in Rome so we wandered a whole block before seeing a cheerful Italian kneading fresh dough (we needed some too, snicker). We stopped and gazed at him through the bay window and nearly wet ourselves when he put the prepared pizza on the shovel and thrust it into the stone oven. The pizza god finally noticed us staring at him, flashed us an awkward smile before continuing to make the world a better place. I quickly ran inside and ordered 2 HUGE for takeaway (European version of “to go.”) 20 minutes later we were making out with the pizza on the Pantheon steps. (sorry if its sounds crass but we kinda were). After the last crumb was gone we remembered Rick Steves saying that “the best coffee in Rome is right by the Pantheon.” Once again we only had to wonder a block. Tazza D’oro. This place has been roasting its own beans since coffee first came to Rome (400 years). The place was packed with locals, always the best sign when looking for quality, and we ordered a cup then a pound. I thought of my coffee loving friends Kyle, Troy and Martin and wished they were there to share the moment.
This post has already gone on too long and I’m only on the first day. Crimminy. I’ll summarize the rest. We finished off Roma day one by staring at the artistically rendered skulls and skeletons of over 4000 monks, at the Cappucin crypt. It was the oddest most fascinating thing these eyes have seen. The bones were arranged symbolically forming pictures of hope, love, redemption and of course, salvation. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures but we did pick up some postcards. It was a great way to end off a great day. Our best day.
Day two we jumped on bus 23 and explored Trastevere (trahs-TAY-vey-ray). This stylish section is medieval Rome seen at its most modernly colorful. We strolled and ate good gelato a whole event in itself. We arrived back at our hotel (Alimandi) and Maddison and I ran out and found, you guessed it – more amazing pizza. The best places actually cut and weigh their pizza selling their narcotic by the gram. Buying pizza by the pound, can life get any better? Btw – for 10 euros, you can get enough pizza to feed 10 people, or 2 Chris Tyssens (haha, love ya Chris).
Day three was reserved for ancient Rome. We beheld the Coliseum before going on a downright disappointing tour of the Forum. It lasted an hour and a half and involved a Swedish host asking elementary questions (as a way to keep everyone involved) but the result was the Forum closed before we even went in. I’m serious; we didn’t even get to walk through the Forum on The Forum tour. We just saw it. “See that, that’s the forum? Neat eh?” Apparently the neat forum closes at 4:30pm, 4:30??? On a Friday?? I waited my entire life to see it. . . . Yeah I was mad. I finally calmed down knowing I’d be back one day. Rome was by far my favorite big city. On the taxi to the airport we drove out on the Appian way, the world’s first Deerfoot. Roma. Fascinating history combined with delicious pizza and ice cream, who could want for anything more?
Anyways, it’s November 12 now and we’re sitting in our villa in remote Spain, where we’ll be hanging out for the next week. The other night our very gracious and English host offered to drive me into town so I could stock up on groceries. I bought 2 cart loads which should last us the week. It cost me 60 euros, or 2 meals at a cheap restaurant. Our place is fantastic, amazing view of the mountains, lots of cats and a very sweet dog named lady. The animals have decided to live with us for the week which is great for the kids especially since they’re been really missing Hugo and Rusty - although a cat just crapped on our bed while I was writing this so perhaps not. Our hosts, Nick and Jeremy, are two blokes who moved here for the view and couldn't be nicer or more helpful. (funny eh, Nick and Jeremy). We head for Majorca on November 17th where we volunteer - picking olives at Son Rullan until we fly back to Calgary December 4. We decided to cut our trip a few weeks short due to the fantastic euro.
And there you have it, we’ll be in Calgary for several days. Hear that Hope? Ha. See you soon everyone. We’ve missed you all very much.
John
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Quick Update
Just a quick update, since it's been so long! We flew into Madrid after three days in Rome only to find that the first place we were supposed to volunteer at was having some problems. Problems with harvest and health and just about everything else, poor people, so it wasn't the best time for us to come and help. This sent us into a bit of a panic, because here we are in beautiful but expensive Madrid with no where to go. We tried a few other places that weren't too excited about having a family of five move in to "help" (we know how it sounds) and even checked into flights home. This would be the worst way to end our little adventure, of course, a total anti-climax and we were pretty bummed about it until we found a little apartment to rent on the coast of Spain until our next volunteer place opens up. It sounds pretty fantastic, actually, with a pool, hiking trails, vultures, a kitchen (and a nudist beach- yes!)- all week for the cost of one night in Madrid (OK, maybe one and a half, but still). So, back to our Europe adventure, no sad ending where we arrive in Calgary two months early with our head hanging. And we still get to pick olives (we're not giving up on this volunteering thing, we're very slow learners).
Madrid is stunning, though, I feel I should say that. It deserves more than a quick disappointed mention. I feel like I'm always looking up, because everything is so decorative and elaborate, especially the rooftops (elephant gargoyles? I love elephant gargoyles!) We took the kids to the best park we have ever been to. Really, park isn't even the word. I guess it's where the king used to lounge and row his boat and stroll by the many fountains. It was full of people laying on the grass (in a nice, reading a book way, not drunkenly), kids playing, puppet shows, music, food, dancing. It was so huge and fun we're going back tomorrow before our train to Valencia.
I'll leave Rome to John. He's been waiting for Rome his whole life, so be prepared!
Ang
Madrid is stunning, though, I feel I should say that. It deserves more than a quick disappointed mention. I feel like I'm always looking up, because everything is so decorative and elaborate, especially the rooftops (elephant gargoyles? I love elephant gargoyles!) We took the kids to the best park we have ever been to. Really, park isn't even the word. I guess it's where the king used to lounge and row his boat and stroll by the many fountains. It was full of people laying on the grass (in a nice, reading a book way, not drunkenly), kids playing, puppet shows, music, food, dancing. It was so huge and fun we're going back tomorrow before our train to Valencia.
I'll leave Rome to John. He's been waiting for Rome his whole life, so be prepared!
Ang
Cinque Terre Pics... a little late
Putting these pictures on makes me all sniffly eyed for Vernazza, which felt like home to us instantly. These are mostly in backwards order, and sometimes in no order at all, but it was tricky and time consuming so don't complain! We loooooooved the Cinque Terre, especially Vernazza in all it's colour and grit. Enjoy!
On our way to Manarola. By far the easiest hike.
Manarola.
Ababdoned house we explored on our hike to Corniglia. I was ready to move in!
The view from this place was crazy. It actually made my head spin.
Another view of Vernazza.
Behind our place.
The cats rule this town. That mat is his home, put out there by one of the store owners.
On our way to Manarola. By far the easiest hike.
Manarola.
Ababdoned house we explored on our hike to Corniglia. I was ready to move in!
The view from this place was crazy. It actually made my head spin.
Another view of Vernazza.
Behind our place.
The cats rule this town. That mat is his home, put out there by one of the store owners.Pizza in Vernazza, just outside our room.
John the baptizer. In Monterosso.
Our little Vernazza.
Monterosso- beach town!
Arriving in Monterosso after a two hour hike.
We found a way to climb down to the ocean where we had a picnic (foccacia and pesto...mmm!)
On our way back up.
Corniglia!
Lex was pretty brave. This was from our temporary home town, Vernazza, to Corniglia.
Lex was pretty brave. This was from our temporary home town, Vernazza, to Corniglia.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
My soul has a six pack by Becky
I had to entitle my blog with that line because that is the new found joke of our little trip so far! The other day while John, Angie and I were sitting on lounge chairs watching the kids as they dipped in the pool a man walked by carrying a six pack….and I don’t mean in a cooler. I then asked John where his six pack was and that’s when we came up with the line ‘my soul has a six pack’. Maybe you had to be there to enjoy or appreciate it but we all had a good chuckle!
I must say the time on the cruise so far with the Close family has been fun, exciting, exhausting, and life altering. I will only mention a few things as I know that J & A will be sharing stories as well. I first have to mention about the first few hours that we arrived on the ship. We were all so excited to begin our cruise but we were also quite tired (and overwhelmed) of the tour through the Vatican earlier that day and then the wonderful planes, trains and automobile ride to the port in Civitavecchia.
Our first experience of ‘cruisin’ was the fantastic dinner! I don’t think the kids have seen that much food and Ethan amazed me (actually all of us) at what he ordered. His eyes were definitely bigger than his stomach but he ate it all as we heard about it later. I also sat next to Alexa and after she was handed the menu from our waiter Francis, she leaned over and said, ‘Ummm…I can’t read.’ We all had a good chuckle but ever since then, she is still handed the menu. I guess that is so she still feels like she’s a big person.
Mainly I have to tell you about our little fire drill that the ship goes through so we know what Muster station to go to in an emergency. After our wonderful meal we went back to the cabin to rest our bodies and settle our stomachs but Angie and Alexa went somewhere else or couldn’t find our cabin so they didn’t join us. Soon the Director of the ship announced that we needed to get our life jackets that are provided in our cabins and since Angie and Alexa weren’t with us I brought two extra life jackets so I could pass them off….of course, that was under the assumption that they would find us at the Muster station. After a while, John and I were sort of getting worried because we weren’t sure what happened to them and so we stood with Maddie and Ethan amongst hundreds of people wearing our life jackets. By this time Ethan’s stomach started to get sore and proceeded to mention that he was suffering greatly. Now, I’m trying to set the stage here because John and I were sort of laughing (amongst the worry) at the whole situation because we can’t find his wife and child, his son is crying in agony at the meal that could be eaten for a King and to top it off Maddie starts commenting that it would be a practical time for the ship to sink since we already have our life jackets!! Ummm…ya, except for your mother and sister who are lost somewhere on the ship without theirs!! Let me remind you that this is within 24hrs of us hanging out together and we still have another 12 days or so to go! Wow…that was an eye opener. Haha Chaos at its finest! Thankfully Alexa was with Ang because she helped her find where our cabin was!
The other stories that stand out for me are two things…gambling and singing. Now, I can only speak for myself at this point and I’m not much of a gambler but I sort of understand the concept of the slot machine…or so I thought. Angie thought it would be a great idea to just ‘try’ the Casino experience on the ship and I was game (no pun intended) but we had to convince John a little. So, picture this if you will - 3 adults in their 30’s wanting to play some slot machines. Not much of an ordeal don’t you think? Ha! First I should say that the children were at Camp Carnival at the time and they wouldn’t be allowed in anyway but why would we want them to witness what we lived through. The three of us are walking around the Casino (which isn’t really big at all, probably about less than half the size of the church building but I probably shouldn’t compare it to a place of worship….but you know what I mean) like the blind leading the blind. We don’t know where to get the coins or tokens or whatever you use, we don’t know the difference between quarter slots and dollar slots, the black jack dealer who wasn’t busy at the time had to help us with how to USE the machines and finally we just wandered aimlessly about till we asked for help. I’m sure the dealer thought we have been living under a rock because we knew nothing about the whole Casino experience. I didn’t want to gamble much but it didn’t really matter cause I lost it all in about 3 min, Angie won some quarters and I was so excited and the first comment out of my mouth was, ‘hey, we could use that money for the laundry facilities they provide here!’ We were all so excited about that but then Angie lost all that money too. It was short but it sure wasn’t sweet.
As far as the singing goes….well, I’m not sure if all of you know that I had been on a cruise earlier this year but at that time I had the pleasure of experiencing the wonderful art of Karaoke! At that time I won a contest and had to sing on stage at the end of the trip. Now, the last trip I was on a cruise the guests were a little younger than they are on this trip, to the point that I would say easily less than 20% of the people here don’t have to put their teeth in a cup at night! The atmosphere is a little different but John, Angie and I wanted to do some singing or rather, they wanted to see me sing and shake a bon-bon like I did on the last cruise. I have stepped up to the plate to sing a couple times and even tried out for the Karaoke contest but thankfully didn’t win. I will say though….if I hear Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ one more time I might pull my hair out. Actually, I think Angie and I could do a wonderful duet on that one.
Oh yes and Angie has been trying to teach me some pick up lines that I should use to try to find that ‘special someone on the trip’, you know, to make it more exciting! Not only is the selection quite slim (and ew!) but her opening line will have me drunk the whole time and they’ll have to carry me out of here heading straight to a detox facility.
No wait, one more story…..it’s just too cute. We were sitting at the dinner table the other night and I asked John if his meal was ‘mouth-watering good’ and a few minutes Alexa thought she would ask the same thing but it came out like this: ‘Hey dad, is your steak ‘watermouth’ good?’ Too cute!
Overall, it has been lots of fun and we are enjoying each day more and more. The sites are fantastic and at times overpowering with all that there is to take in what with the culture, sites, sounds, language and smells. Hanging with the Close family has been great and the kids are doing so well. It’s also physically taxing sometimes on the 3.5+ hours of walking so I think the kids are doing fantastic. I don’t think I’ve heard them complain once about having sore feet (that’s more me) or being tired or bored….they are just amazing. It’s been a trip of a life time and I’m thankful and blessed to experience it before I have to put my teeth in a cup.
Becky Hammond
I must say the time on the cruise so far with the Close family has been fun, exciting, exhausting, and life altering. I will only mention a few things as I know that J & A will be sharing stories as well. I first have to mention about the first few hours that we arrived on the ship. We were all so excited to begin our cruise but we were also quite tired (and overwhelmed) of the tour through the Vatican earlier that day and then the wonderful planes, trains and automobile ride to the port in Civitavecchia.
Our first experience of ‘cruisin’ was the fantastic dinner! I don’t think the kids have seen that much food and Ethan amazed me (actually all of us) at what he ordered. His eyes were definitely bigger than his stomach but he ate it all as we heard about it later. I also sat next to Alexa and after she was handed the menu from our waiter Francis, she leaned over and said, ‘Ummm…I can’t read.’ We all had a good chuckle but ever since then, she is still handed the menu. I guess that is so she still feels like she’s a big person.
Mainly I have to tell you about our little fire drill that the ship goes through so we know what Muster station to go to in an emergency. After our wonderful meal we went back to the cabin to rest our bodies and settle our stomachs but Angie and Alexa went somewhere else or couldn’t find our cabin so they didn’t join us. Soon the Director of the ship announced that we needed to get our life jackets that are provided in our cabins and since Angie and Alexa weren’t with us I brought two extra life jackets so I could pass them off….of course, that was under the assumption that they would find us at the Muster station. After a while, John and I were sort of getting worried because we weren’t sure what happened to them and so we stood with Maddie and Ethan amongst hundreds of people wearing our life jackets. By this time Ethan’s stomach started to get sore and proceeded to mention that he was suffering greatly. Now, I’m trying to set the stage here because John and I were sort of laughing (amongst the worry) at the whole situation because we can’t find his wife and child, his son is crying in agony at the meal that could be eaten for a King and to top it off Maddie starts commenting that it would be a practical time for the ship to sink since we already have our life jackets!! Ummm…ya, except for your mother and sister who are lost somewhere on the ship without theirs!! Let me remind you that this is within 24hrs of us hanging out together and we still have another 12 days or so to go! Wow…that was an eye opener. Haha Chaos at its finest! Thankfully Alexa was with Ang because she helped her find where our cabin was!
The other stories that stand out for me are two things…gambling and singing. Now, I can only speak for myself at this point and I’m not much of a gambler but I sort of understand the concept of the slot machine…or so I thought. Angie thought it would be a great idea to just ‘try’ the Casino experience on the ship and I was game (no pun intended) but we had to convince John a little. So, picture this if you will - 3 adults in their 30’s wanting to play some slot machines. Not much of an ordeal don’t you think? Ha! First I should say that the children were at Camp Carnival at the time and they wouldn’t be allowed in anyway but why would we want them to witness what we lived through. The three of us are walking around the Casino (which isn’t really big at all, probably about less than half the size of the church building but I probably shouldn’t compare it to a place of worship….but you know what I mean) like the blind leading the blind. We don’t know where to get the coins or tokens or whatever you use, we don’t know the difference between quarter slots and dollar slots, the black jack dealer who wasn’t busy at the time had to help us with how to USE the machines and finally we just wandered aimlessly about till we asked for help. I’m sure the dealer thought we have been living under a rock because we knew nothing about the whole Casino experience. I didn’t want to gamble much but it didn’t really matter cause I lost it all in about 3 min, Angie won some quarters and I was so excited and the first comment out of my mouth was, ‘hey, we could use that money for the laundry facilities they provide here!’ We were all so excited about that but then Angie lost all that money too. It was short but it sure wasn’t sweet.
As far as the singing goes….well, I’m not sure if all of you know that I had been on a cruise earlier this year but at that time I had the pleasure of experiencing the wonderful art of Karaoke! At that time I won a contest and had to sing on stage at the end of the trip. Now, the last trip I was on a cruise the guests were a little younger than they are on this trip, to the point that I would say easily less than 20% of the people here don’t have to put their teeth in a cup at night! The atmosphere is a little different but John, Angie and I wanted to do some singing or rather, they wanted to see me sing and shake a bon-bon like I did on the last cruise. I have stepped up to the plate to sing a couple times and even tried out for the Karaoke contest but thankfully didn’t win. I will say though….if I hear Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ one more time I might pull my hair out. Actually, I think Angie and I could do a wonderful duet on that one.
Oh yes and Angie has been trying to teach me some pick up lines that I should use to try to find that ‘special someone on the trip’, you know, to make it more exciting! Not only is the selection quite slim (and ew!) but her opening line will have me drunk the whole time and they’ll have to carry me out of here heading straight to a detox facility.
No wait, one more story…..it’s just too cute. We were sitting at the dinner table the other night and I asked John if his meal was ‘mouth-watering good’ and a few minutes Alexa thought she would ask the same thing but it came out like this: ‘Hey dad, is your steak ‘watermouth’ good?’ Too cute!
Overall, it has been lots of fun and we are enjoying each day more and more. The sites are fantastic and at times overpowering with all that there is to take in what with the culture, sites, sounds, language and smells. Hanging with the Close family has been great and the kids are doing so well. It’s also physically taxing sometimes on the 3.5+ hours of walking so I think the kids are doing fantastic. I don’t think I’ve heard them complain once about having sore feet (that’s more me) or being tired or bored….they are just amazing. It’s been a trip of a life time and I’m thankful and blessed to experience it before I have to put my teeth in a cup.
Becky Hammond
Cruisin
Cruises. A sequined dream life and a hefty dose of reality on one big floating city. If you want the truth, at first it was a bit of an adjustment. Not the yummy food and the made up beds and clean laundry- that’s pretty fantastic. But the glitzy consumerism, the photographers that make you pose with show girls and gladiators, the line up of big bellied people in robes limping through the pizza stand at three in the morning. We expected some of this of course, but have you seen Walle? Just saying.
There’s a lot of fun to be had on a cruise, but different kinds of people like to have different kinds of fun. I, for example, enjoy a good book and a cup of coffee. Dud city, I know. I’m embarrassed to say that the first thing I did after getting settled was go in search of the library and the coffee bar, while everyone else flitted about with tropical drinks and headed to the casino or the pool (eventually we spent- and lost- $10 each at the casino, at my suggestion, so I’m slowly conforming). It’s not that I don’t want to have this kind of fun. I want to laugh when the bleach blonde cruise director makes another lukewarm, off colour joke. I want to enjoy watching a dozen Asian men impersonate Frank Sinatra during karaoke (and the exact same song- seriously. Watching Becky do her thing totally makes up for it). I want to stop sneaking out of the auditorium every time they threaten to randomly pick people from the crowd to go on stage and do things like drop a spoon down their dress or yodel. Why can’t I get into that kind of thing? Guess I’m just not prime cruise material and I feel kind of bad about it.
I get to see Turkey and Greece, though, which was the entire point of this cruise. Plus I’m trying to be less judgmental (working on it). This is the sort of place I would, I’m ashamed to say, love to mentally tear to shreds the moment I walk in the door (while secretly loving the warm chocolate melting cake and wondering what animal our towels would be folded into when we get back to our room. I’m totally aware of the hypocrisy). But then I sit in the hot tub while we watch a movie on the big screen under the stars- how can a person not love that? Or I take the kids to Camp Carnival, which is like a cross between Disneyland, summer camp and Mad Science. John loves the bean bag toss (John and Becky are the champs, at least in my mind. Aw.) Or we walk around the deck at night with a glass of wine or order room service at midnight just because we can.
I also notice the other people on board. Like the older lady pushing her husband in a wheelchair and I wonder if maybe this is a gift from their kids or their last trip together or just a simple way for them to see some other places in the world. There are some couples on their honeymoon, which is sweet. We met seven young Australians that are taking this cruise half way through their backpacking trip around Europe (one of them sings some pretty mean Elton John, with some dance moves you should ask Becky about). A hippie that lives on a farm in Costa Rica congratulated us on our family trip (“I can tell you guys are some really far out people. Good for you!”) and also on our moving to Vancouver Island where, as everyone knows, you can get the best bud (his words, not mine). The lady at our table is an unpatriotic left wing Christian from North Carolina who takes her grandson on a cruise every year (John basks in her Bush bashing southern drawl every supper with a big grin on his face and has taken her grandson under his wing a bit). We met a couple in their eighties who incorporate the odd cruise into their travels and just returned from backpacking through Peru. Backpacking through Peru! At eighty! Followed by a cruise! Enjoy it all, I say. At least that’s what I want to say. And we have Becky, who is a walking lesson in uncomplicated fun. Cynicism free, which is refreshing. Karaoke with the old men and bean bag toss with John- that’s a girl who knows how to enjoy life wherever she is. Yay for Becky! She also has all our kids in her room at night, would you believe it. We keep insisting to take them back, at least we did once when she was out of ear shot. Just kidding.
And the stops aren’t too bad either. We just spent three days in Turkey where we saw Ephesus (even better than Pompeii, more on that from John), swam in the Mediterranean Sea, walked barefoot through the Blue Mosque and pushed our way through the crowds at the Grand Bazaar. Seriously, that place is crazy. Men shouting over each other at the money exchange, women in head to toe black, everyone inviting you into their shops “just as a friend” (a friend who wants you to drop ten grand on a silk carpet). And, the food. We found the yummiest little shop where the guy pushed three stools up against the wall (the whole bazaar is inside and very crowded) and brought us some kind of savory meaty wraps and fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. Later we bought the lightest, freshest most moist and flaky baklava that made me sad for all the sticky heavy goopy, too sweet excuses for baklava back home. Sad little Canadian baklava. We bought an extra box to take back on the ship. I should add that it broke my heart to try baklava in Greece. After Istanbul I thought that Greece’s sweet little pastries would just blow my mind. Nope. Safeway special all over again. I think I cried.
I did have the most amazing dolmades in Athens, though, but I think that most people aren’t as passionate about food as I am, especially when they’re not the ones eating it. So I’ll leave the two paragraph long description for another time. Just three words: succulent lemony goodness.
The day after tomorrow is Florence. It still feels wrong to say things like that. Like I’m saying tomorrow I take my private jet to a palace on Mount Kilimanjaro where I’ll mine for rare golden diamonds. That’s how crazy this whole trip feels.
The cruise has been a teacher for these two quick to judge, slow to drop stereotypes people. It’s fun. It’s nice to be pampered. Admit it- you like it too. As for the stuff I’m uncomfortable with, like the overpriced jewelry and the bad music? I guess I need to leave some room for slight sarcasm, and who better to pass it on to then John? Just keep it in check, Angie, just keep it in check.
Tonight- the Jive Jump and Wail and group Halloween games. Bring it on, Carnival.
Angie
There’s a lot of fun to be had on a cruise, but different kinds of people like to have different kinds of fun. I, for example, enjoy a good book and a cup of coffee. Dud city, I know. I’m embarrassed to say that the first thing I did after getting settled was go in search of the library and the coffee bar, while everyone else flitted about with tropical drinks and headed to the casino or the pool (eventually we spent- and lost- $10 each at the casino, at my suggestion, so I’m slowly conforming). It’s not that I don’t want to have this kind of fun. I want to laugh when the bleach blonde cruise director makes another lukewarm, off colour joke. I want to enjoy watching a dozen Asian men impersonate Frank Sinatra during karaoke (and the exact same song- seriously. Watching Becky do her thing totally makes up for it). I want to stop sneaking out of the auditorium every time they threaten to randomly pick people from the crowd to go on stage and do things like drop a spoon down their dress or yodel. Why can’t I get into that kind of thing? Guess I’m just not prime cruise material and I feel kind of bad about it.
I get to see Turkey and Greece, though, which was the entire point of this cruise. Plus I’m trying to be less judgmental (working on it). This is the sort of place I would, I’m ashamed to say, love to mentally tear to shreds the moment I walk in the door (while secretly loving the warm chocolate melting cake and wondering what animal our towels would be folded into when we get back to our room. I’m totally aware of the hypocrisy). But then I sit in the hot tub while we watch a movie on the big screen under the stars- how can a person not love that? Or I take the kids to Camp Carnival, which is like a cross between Disneyland, summer camp and Mad Science. John loves the bean bag toss (John and Becky are the champs, at least in my mind. Aw.) Or we walk around the deck at night with a glass of wine or order room service at midnight just because we can.
I also notice the other people on board. Like the older lady pushing her husband in a wheelchair and I wonder if maybe this is a gift from their kids or their last trip together or just a simple way for them to see some other places in the world. There are some couples on their honeymoon, which is sweet. We met seven young Australians that are taking this cruise half way through their backpacking trip around Europe (one of them sings some pretty mean Elton John, with some dance moves you should ask Becky about). A hippie that lives on a farm in Costa Rica congratulated us on our family trip (“I can tell you guys are some really far out people. Good for you!”) and also on our moving to Vancouver Island where, as everyone knows, you can get the best bud (his words, not mine). The lady at our table is an unpatriotic left wing Christian from North Carolina who takes her grandson on a cruise every year (John basks in her Bush bashing southern drawl every supper with a big grin on his face and has taken her grandson under his wing a bit). We met a couple in their eighties who incorporate the odd cruise into their travels and just returned from backpacking through Peru. Backpacking through Peru! At eighty! Followed by a cruise! Enjoy it all, I say. At least that’s what I want to say. And we have Becky, who is a walking lesson in uncomplicated fun. Cynicism free, which is refreshing. Karaoke with the old men and bean bag toss with John- that’s a girl who knows how to enjoy life wherever she is. Yay for Becky! She also has all our kids in her room at night, would you believe it. We keep insisting to take them back, at least we did once when she was out of ear shot. Just kidding.
And the stops aren’t too bad either. We just spent three days in Turkey where we saw Ephesus (even better than Pompeii, more on that from John), swam in the Mediterranean Sea, walked barefoot through the Blue Mosque and pushed our way through the crowds at the Grand Bazaar. Seriously, that place is crazy. Men shouting over each other at the money exchange, women in head to toe black, everyone inviting you into their shops “just as a friend” (a friend who wants you to drop ten grand on a silk carpet). And, the food. We found the yummiest little shop where the guy pushed three stools up against the wall (the whole bazaar is inside and very crowded) and brought us some kind of savory meaty wraps and fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. Later we bought the lightest, freshest most moist and flaky baklava that made me sad for all the sticky heavy goopy, too sweet excuses for baklava back home. Sad little Canadian baklava. We bought an extra box to take back on the ship. I should add that it broke my heart to try baklava in Greece. After Istanbul I thought that Greece’s sweet little pastries would just blow my mind. Nope. Safeway special all over again. I think I cried.
I did have the most amazing dolmades in Athens, though, but I think that most people aren’t as passionate about food as I am, especially when they’re not the ones eating it. So I’ll leave the two paragraph long description for another time. Just three words: succulent lemony goodness.
The day after tomorrow is Florence. It still feels wrong to say things like that. Like I’m saying tomorrow I take my private jet to a palace on Mount Kilimanjaro where I’ll mine for rare golden diamonds. That’s how crazy this whole trip feels.
The cruise has been a teacher for these two quick to judge, slow to drop stereotypes people. It’s fun. It’s nice to be pampered. Admit it- you like it too. As for the stuff I’m uncomfortable with, like the overpriced jewelry and the bad music? I guess I need to leave some room for slight sarcasm, and who better to pass it on to then John? Just keep it in check, Angie, just keep it in check.
Tonight- the Jive Jump and Wail and group Halloween games. Bring it on, Carnival.
Angie
Vatican, Pompeii, Ephesus and Athens.
Note: Internet on our cruise costs .75 a minute so we’ve used it sparingly (check Oilers scores etc.) That being said, Angie and I and Becky too, have been journaling and what exists below is a week’s worth. My post focuses on the wonders of The Vatican, Pompeii, Ephesus and Athens while Angie and Becky will entertain you with stories of Istanbul and the cruise. It’s a lot, a ton actually, but as always, you don’t have to read ok, jk. We’ll be posting a slew of pictures when we get to Rome in a few days. Our hotel will have free internet. If you don’t have time to read, please know, we are all doing quite well and although we have begun to experience the dreaded travel fatigue (it’s been 6 weeks now) we have navigated through it fairly nicely and look forward to our final month volunteering in Spain. The cruise couldn’t have come at a better time actually. Once again, thank you Calgary CofC, for your part in making this cruise happen. We love and miss you all!!!
John
As our funky tour guide irreverently informed us about the history of the world’s wealthiest business / church, I couldn’t help but feel angrily impressed. On the one hand, the sheer splendor of The Vatican is mind boggling. For a place (a country actually) with nearly 2000 years of history, millions of individual cathedrals/ churches, billions of paying customers/followers (although rapidly declining in recent years), and a net worth of over a trillion dollars (give or take) it’s hard not to be impressed. Still, many skeletons fill the Vatican’s closet -some are unavailable even to the paying public lined up outside its walls (the average wait time is 2 hours to tour the museum -close to 4 in peak season, which is why we booked a tour- 5 min wait time) so I went in with mixed feelings. The tour lasted a few hours but by the end I felt the effects of trying to wrap my mind around 1700 years of religious history and art. After the 239th statue I was beginning to feel like I was one, minus the interesting crotch.
The climax was the Sistine Chapel (of course) where I learned that Michelangelo not only resented having to do the job, he painted himself into the ceiling as a way of saying “I’d rather be sculpting.” The chapel lived up to its reputation though and my craned neck is still recovering. Pictures are prohibited in the chapel because the camera empire Nikon has copyrights to the paintings. Yep. I’m serious. So I say boycott greedy Nikon. Anyways. We were exhausted by the end of the tour and so we decided to save the world’s largest church (St. Peter’s Basilica) for next week when we return to Rome for 3 days. Later that evening we boarded Carnival Freedom –thus beginning our 12 day Mediterranean Cruise.
First stop, Pompeii. 1930 years ago the rich residents of Italy’s Pompeii were minding their own posh business when they heard a fierce explosion. The initial eruption had shot volcano guts 12 miles into the sky giving our Roman friends just enough time to finish supper before realizing that they were about to die. The earliest realizers decided not to take any chances with this foreign ash (our ancient friends had no idea they were living at the foot of an active volcano) so they hightailed it out of there. The easy going rest procrastinated too long. Their almost surprised expressions have been captured brilliantly by plastering archaeologists. As I stood over their plastered forms (now encased in glass) I felt an enthralled embarrassment as I looked down at their final moments. Teeth, bones, skulls were not only visible but still intact. The ash had done its work well preserving them for nearly 2000 years and keeping them hidden for 1600 years before being accidentally discovered (as most of these places are). Most people assume Pompeii was done in by hot seeking lava, nope, that was Herculaneum, the next town over. The residents of Pompeii were done in by poisonous volcanic gases. The said ash buried and preserved them -as is- giving today’s world the most complete and accurate information on the life and times of a first century Roman. Walking through this town was more than surreal. It was super surreal. (nice one John)
Most of the houses are still intact, minus the roofs where the ash piled, including the frescoes on the walls and mosaics on the floors. One particular mosaic, on the floor of Pompeii’s largest home (a massive 27,000 square feet) displayed in grand fashion the Victory of Alexander the Great. Its 1.5 million individual tiles -each one the size of my pinky finger nail- was impressive to say the least. In some places, the preservation was so complete it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe the house was left vacant just last year – this was especially true in the bathhouse and brothel. The bathhouse was fantastic - containing a change room with ancient lockers, a warm section where steam was piped through the floors creating a first century sauna experience; a cold section where the residents could cool off under the splash of the fresh water piped in thanks to the smart aqueduct system (we also saw some of the original lead piping). The technology in the bathhouse was impressive right down to the perfectly placed window allowing a ray of sunshine in each day (Angie took a great picture) and the ribbed ceiling preventing the condensation from dripping back down on the bathers, which, I know... I hate that.
I mentioned the ancient brothel which, I’m here, I paid, might as well go in, right? So I did. As I entered this small room I quickly discovered where most of the tourists were. Many were suppressing grins while others were openly laughing at the graphic wall paintings advertising the different services offered. There were 6 stone stalls still containing the original beds and pillow places (minus the mattresses and linens thank God). Not a lot of privacy I noticed and the acoustics were unfortunately brilliant. The brothel was just around the corner from the local bar which was… convenient. The other Pompeian highlights were: a small amphitheatre, temple ruins, first century fast food joints (seriously) and the public toilet. The level of sophistication in this town surprised me and I was reminded once again that ancient doesn’t mean inferior.
A few days later we went to Ephesus. If there had been a “Top Ten Cities of Antiquity”, Ephesus would have been in the top 5, maybe even top 3 after Rome and Athens. As I’ve said before, we signed up for this cruise largely for the ports of call or stops along the way. Although I knew Izmir, Turkey was one of our stops, I had absolutely no idea that it was only 30 minutes from Ancient Ephesus. When I discovered it I told Becky and we danced the Ephesus jig. It needs work. Anyways, we decided to go against our travelling principles and book a professional excursion with the cruise line instead of wing Ephesus on our own. With only 6 hours to see Ephesus, including transportation there and back, we wanted every moment to count. It ended up being great as our Turkish Tour Guide was both a gentleman and a scholar not to mention very passionate and proud of his heritage. He spouted Turkish history and politics on the way there and back as well as the Ephesus tour so we all felt like we got a super sized excursion. Anyways, Ephesus.
For the sake of your time and mine I won’t go into all the history surrounding this great city. Basically, it was a major port town for about 600 years leading up to the time of Christ. As the sea began to recede, so did the ships, its primary business. This caused most of its residents to pack up and move to the next city over leaving Ephesus 1, as our tour guide called it, to slide into decay. As time passed a Roman Emperor decided to resurrect it but built it inland between 2 mountains (his reason was not just practical but religious as he hoped to keep the Ephesians away from Artemis and her holy temple) The people complained, as people do, but in the end they gave in (as people do) and made the mountains their new home. This became Ephesus 2 or the Ephesus from scripture that we all know and have read.
As we stepped off the bus I was greeted by the said mountains and hundreds of men and woman desperate to sell their touristy and always tacky Ephesus wares. Our strong guide bulled his way through the mob creating space for us to follow. Our tour had begun. For the next 3 hours I walked through the town I had only studied in seminary and read about in Acts, Revelation and of course Ephesians. I saw it all, its houses, shops, shrines, temples, statues, altars but if I had to choose my top 3 it would be the marble streets we walked on, the library ruins and of course, the amphitheatre where Paul’s companions were tortured in hopes of smoking out Paul. Paul had wanted to come out of hiding and preach to the raging crowd, but it was too dangerous. You can read all about it in Acts 19, as I did to Angie, Maddie and Becky as we sat and took it all in. The theatre’s design was impressive allowing room for 25,000+ but even better, allowing each of the twenty five thou to hear what the speaker below was saying. One eccentric lady with Shakespeare in hand tested the acoustics repeatedly until finally a local from the same level as us, yelled out the words we all wanted to say “shut up, crazy lady.” Haha, poor embarrassed lady walking away all dejected, she had probably waited her whole life to spout Shakespeare in Ephesus’ theatre (no connection between the two by the way).
The streets of marble were breathtaking, especially the main one leading from the town gate to the great library, even more so as our guide reconstructed the buildings, statues and shrines along its way. The marble has either been taken or worn right down so imagination is key, although in some spots the original remains. As I sat on the library’s steps and looked down the road I realized how beautiful this city must have been. It would have glowed, literally. Once again, Angie took some pictures so you’ll have to check them out. Becky too. (I mean check out her pictures, although she’s pretty impressive too- and single). The library ruins is the structure seen on most Ephesus postcards and for good reason. Even the illiterate would be impressed. At its steps, ancient philosophers would hock their thoughtful wares giving the ancient Ephesians intellectual exercise. I asked the guide if Paul would have hocked his and he said probably not because he would have been killed. Haha, fair enough. One thing that was very apparent was that the cult of Artemis was not only present but integrated smoothly into every aspect of daily life. She was the supreme goddess and deserved total devotion and loyalty. (For all the history lovers - she is called Diana by the Romans and Isis by the Egyptians).
Anyways, as I learned more I felt greater respect for Paul. He was insane to spout off about Yahweh in a land loyal to Artermis alone and he is lucky he made it out alive. (It’s like me trying to convert to the mobs of the Saddledome to the Oilers, kinda). Anyways, at the end of the tour, after we had walked for 3 hours taking in hundreds of buildings, statues and sites our guide looked at us and said “and to think, only 17% of Ephesus has been excavated.” It is one of the seven ancient wonders for a reason. I’ll never forget it.
We went to Athens yesterday and if it wasn’t for the surprisingly huge crowds (in November??) and scaffolding (they are restoring the Acropolis) I would have put it right up there Ephesus. That being said, even a crowded and under construction Athens is remarkable and we had a great day including a walk through the Agora (Acts 17) and a Greek lunch in legendary Plaka. Angie loved the food so much I started to get stuffed vine leaf envy. Anyways, I’m tired of typing which, if you made it here, you must be really tired so I’ll write more later. Tyler asks me how we can type so much on our holiday. I think about how much we’ve taken in and how my heads hurts and wonder “how can we not?” We are truly blessed and are grateful for this one in a lifetime trip. Thanks for sharing it with us, it means the world.
John
John
As our funky tour guide irreverently informed us about the history of the world’s wealthiest business / church, I couldn’t help but feel angrily impressed. On the one hand, the sheer splendor of The Vatican is mind boggling. For a place (a country actually) with nearly 2000 years of history, millions of individual cathedrals/ churches, billions of paying customers/followers (although rapidly declining in recent years), and a net worth of over a trillion dollars (give or take) it’s hard not to be impressed. Still, many skeletons fill the Vatican’s closet -some are unavailable even to the paying public lined up outside its walls (the average wait time is 2 hours to tour the museum -close to 4 in peak season, which is why we booked a tour- 5 min wait time) so I went in with mixed feelings. The tour lasted a few hours but by the end I felt the effects of trying to wrap my mind around 1700 years of religious history and art. After the 239th statue I was beginning to feel like I was one, minus the interesting crotch.
The climax was the Sistine Chapel (of course) where I learned that Michelangelo not only resented having to do the job, he painted himself into the ceiling as a way of saying “I’d rather be sculpting.” The chapel lived up to its reputation though and my craned neck is still recovering. Pictures are prohibited in the chapel because the camera empire Nikon has copyrights to the paintings. Yep. I’m serious. So I say boycott greedy Nikon. Anyways. We were exhausted by the end of the tour and so we decided to save the world’s largest church (St. Peter’s Basilica) for next week when we return to Rome for 3 days. Later that evening we boarded Carnival Freedom –thus beginning our 12 day Mediterranean Cruise.
First stop, Pompeii. 1930 years ago the rich residents of Italy’s Pompeii were minding their own posh business when they heard a fierce explosion. The initial eruption had shot volcano guts 12 miles into the sky giving our Roman friends just enough time to finish supper before realizing that they were about to die. The earliest realizers decided not to take any chances with this foreign ash (our ancient friends had no idea they were living at the foot of an active volcano) so they hightailed it out of there. The easy going rest procrastinated too long. Their almost surprised expressions have been captured brilliantly by plastering archaeologists. As I stood over their plastered forms (now encased in glass) I felt an enthralled embarrassment as I looked down at their final moments. Teeth, bones, skulls were not only visible but still intact. The ash had done its work well preserving them for nearly 2000 years and keeping them hidden for 1600 years before being accidentally discovered (as most of these places are). Most people assume Pompeii was done in by hot seeking lava, nope, that was Herculaneum, the next town over. The residents of Pompeii were done in by poisonous volcanic gases. The said ash buried and preserved them -as is- giving today’s world the most complete and accurate information on the life and times of a first century Roman. Walking through this town was more than surreal. It was super surreal. (nice one John)
Most of the houses are still intact, minus the roofs where the ash piled, including the frescoes on the walls and mosaics on the floors. One particular mosaic, on the floor of Pompeii’s largest home (a massive 27,000 square feet) displayed in grand fashion the Victory of Alexander the Great. Its 1.5 million individual tiles -each one the size of my pinky finger nail- was impressive to say the least. In some places, the preservation was so complete it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe the house was left vacant just last year – this was especially true in the bathhouse and brothel. The bathhouse was fantastic - containing a change room with ancient lockers, a warm section where steam was piped through the floors creating a first century sauna experience; a cold section where the residents could cool off under the splash of the fresh water piped in thanks to the smart aqueduct system (we also saw some of the original lead piping). The technology in the bathhouse was impressive right down to the perfectly placed window allowing a ray of sunshine in each day (Angie took a great picture) and the ribbed ceiling preventing the condensation from dripping back down on the bathers, which, I know... I hate that.
I mentioned the ancient brothel which, I’m here, I paid, might as well go in, right? So I did. As I entered this small room I quickly discovered where most of the tourists were. Many were suppressing grins while others were openly laughing at the graphic wall paintings advertising the different services offered. There were 6 stone stalls still containing the original beds and pillow places (minus the mattresses and linens thank God). Not a lot of privacy I noticed and the acoustics were unfortunately brilliant. The brothel was just around the corner from the local bar which was… convenient. The other Pompeian highlights were: a small amphitheatre, temple ruins, first century fast food joints (seriously) and the public toilet. The level of sophistication in this town surprised me and I was reminded once again that ancient doesn’t mean inferior.
A few days later we went to Ephesus. If there had been a “Top Ten Cities of Antiquity”, Ephesus would have been in the top 5, maybe even top 3 after Rome and Athens. As I’ve said before, we signed up for this cruise largely for the ports of call or stops along the way. Although I knew Izmir, Turkey was one of our stops, I had absolutely no idea that it was only 30 minutes from Ancient Ephesus. When I discovered it I told Becky and we danced the Ephesus jig. It needs work. Anyways, we decided to go against our travelling principles and book a professional excursion with the cruise line instead of wing Ephesus on our own. With only 6 hours to see Ephesus, including transportation there and back, we wanted every moment to count. It ended up being great as our Turkish Tour Guide was both a gentleman and a scholar not to mention very passionate and proud of his heritage. He spouted Turkish history and politics on the way there and back as well as the Ephesus tour so we all felt like we got a super sized excursion. Anyways, Ephesus.
For the sake of your time and mine I won’t go into all the history surrounding this great city. Basically, it was a major port town for about 600 years leading up to the time of Christ. As the sea began to recede, so did the ships, its primary business. This caused most of its residents to pack up and move to the next city over leaving Ephesus 1, as our tour guide called it, to slide into decay. As time passed a Roman Emperor decided to resurrect it but built it inland between 2 mountains (his reason was not just practical but religious as he hoped to keep the Ephesians away from Artemis and her holy temple) The people complained, as people do, but in the end they gave in (as people do) and made the mountains their new home. This became Ephesus 2 or the Ephesus from scripture that we all know and have read.
As we stepped off the bus I was greeted by the said mountains and hundreds of men and woman desperate to sell their touristy and always tacky Ephesus wares. Our strong guide bulled his way through the mob creating space for us to follow. Our tour had begun. For the next 3 hours I walked through the town I had only studied in seminary and read about in Acts, Revelation and of course Ephesians. I saw it all, its houses, shops, shrines, temples, statues, altars but if I had to choose my top 3 it would be the marble streets we walked on, the library ruins and of course, the amphitheatre where Paul’s companions were tortured in hopes of smoking out Paul. Paul had wanted to come out of hiding and preach to the raging crowd, but it was too dangerous. You can read all about it in Acts 19, as I did to Angie, Maddie and Becky as we sat and took it all in. The theatre’s design was impressive allowing room for 25,000+ but even better, allowing each of the twenty five thou to hear what the speaker below was saying. One eccentric lady with Shakespeare in hand tested the acoustics repeatedly until finally a local from the same level as us, yelled out the words we all wanted to say “shut up, crazy lady.” Haha, poor embarrassed lady walking away all dejected, she had probably waited her whole life to spout Shakespeare in Ephesus’ theatre (no connection between the two by the way).
The streets of marble were breathtaking, especially the main one leading from the town gate to the great library, even more so as our guide reconstructed the buildings, statues and shrines along its way. The marble has either been taken or worn right down so imagination is key, although in some spots the original remains. As I sat on the library’s steps and looked down the road I realized how beautiful this city must have been. It would have glowed, literally. Once again, Angie took some pictures so you’ll have to check them out. Becky too. (I mean check out her pictures, although she’s pretty impressive too- and single). The library ruins is the structure seen on most Ephesus postcards and for good reason. Even the illiterate would be impressed. At its steps, ancient philosophers would hock their thoughtful wares giving the ancient Ephesians intellectual exercise. I asked the guide if Paul would have hocked his and he said probably not because he would have been killed. Haha, fair enough. One thing that was very apparent was that the cult of Artemis was not only present but integrated smoothly into every aspect of daily life. She was the supreme goddess and deserved total devotion and loyalty. (For all the history lovers - she is called Diana by the Romans and Isis by the Egyptians).
Anyways, as I learned more I felt greater respect for Paul. He was insane to spout off about Yahweh in a land loyal to Artermis alone and he is lucky he made it out alive. (It’s like me trying to convert to the mobs of the Saddledome to the Oilers, kinda). Anyways, at the end of the tour, after we had walked for 3 hours taking in hundreds of buildings, statues and sites our guide looked at us and said “and to think, only 17% of Ephesus has been excavated.” It is one of the seven ancient wonders for a reason. I’ll never forget it.
We went to Athens yesterday and if it wasn’t for the surprisingly huge crowds (in November??) and scaffolding (they are restoring the Acropolis) I would have put it right up there Ephesus. That being said, even a crowded and under construction Athens is remarkable and we had a great day including a walk through the Agora (Acts 17) and a Greek lunch in legendary Plaka. Angie loved the food so much I started to get stuffed vine leaf envy. Anyways, I’m tired of typing which, if you made it here, you must be really tired so I’ll write more later. Tyler asks me how we can type so much on our holiday. I think about how much we’ve taken in and how my heads hurts and wonder “how can we not?” We are truly blessed and are grateful for this one in a lifetime trip. Thanks for sharing it with us, it means the world.
John
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