adventures in venice

My third connection on my way to Venice, a bus, arrived in the station 2 minutes too late for me to catch my next train, so I was stuck in Bellizona for 2 hours. It was actually pretty nice-- I bought some lunch at the local Migros (building shaped like Kresge auditorium) and took an elevator to the top of a castle there. The view was spectacular, and gave me a chance to get oriented and find the train station again. I also bought a skirt at a shop that was having a sale. It proved a wise choice as the hot weather was unbearable in my jeans.
The trains in Italy were hot and running late, and I didn't arrive in Venice until 7pm (I had left Davos at 7:30am). My first purchase was a map. This turned out to be my most valuable possession in Venice. I found out that I wouldn't be able to get into the apartment I was staying in until around 9, so I walked around town and treated myself to some gelato. When Nisha and Laura did get home, Laura and I set out to see Piazza San Marco at night. We also met up with Sarah and Stephen and sat down with them at a café along the Grand Canal. I had my first spritz. We sat there until 1am, then walked home. Laura and I were up at 7:30 the next day to get to the Doge's Palace by 9am. On the way there, we stopped at a little café for a breakfast of pastries. We got to the palace just as it was opening and didn't have to wait in line too long to get in. We bought the recommended audioguide and spent the next 2 hours walking around the palace/museum. We left exhausted and looked for lunch. We finally settled on sandwiches at a restaurant right next to the academia bridge. An American/French couple sat at the table next to ours and chatty. They asked us what we were visiting, where we were from, and even shoed us pictures of their young children. Laura was eager to get away from them. In the afternoon, we did some shopping, and then I went to visit St. Mark's Basilica. It was beautiful inside, everything covered in gold. I paid extra to go behind the main altar and see the gold jeweled altar veil. Back home, we relaxed a little from the heat, and waited for Nisha and Holly to get home. It turned out that they hadn't bought tickets to the show we were supposed to see, so we just went out to dinner instead. The restaurant had great pizza and the wine was cheaper than the water. Then we went for a long walk, with a break for gelato in a little piazza. We finally got home around 1am with very sore feet. I was out the door by 7 the next morning to go to St. Mark's Basilica for Mass. Then I bought my lunch for the train ride and headed home. The train back was just as hot, but fortunately not late, and I got to Davos by 7:30pm.

venice is beautiful

on my 50 cent gondola ride :)








castle in bellizona, switzerland, where I had to transfer

a grocery store with the same shape as kresge auditorium

paris journal part 2

I arrived in Paris on Friday evening, and had some time to kill before I could go to my friend Jenny's apartment. So I took the metro to St. Michel / Notre Dame and walked around. There were several beautiful palaces there, and a long line to get in. I ended up eating some panini with 3 cheeses, it was soo good. Then I met up with Jenny and Fernando and we took off for the Louvre. Anna also explored it with us. I saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and countless other paintings and sculptures. Perhaps the exhibit I was most impressed with was a crown and jewelry collection…
We came out of the Louvre almost three hours later and were ready for dinner. We found a nice italian restaurant on the fifth.
The next morning, Fernando and I woke up early to walk around the city. We walked down Champs-Elysses, the gardens of the Louvre, and Hotel des Invalides. There, I took an auditour and saw Napoleon's (huge) tomb. We went back to Jenny's place and all decided to have a picnic. After shopping in the grocery store and bakery, we sat in a park near the university for a few hours eating baguettes, cheese, and fruit. We bought a bottle of rose, but didn't have a corkscrew to open it. Then we spotted another picnic-ing group who were opening their bottle of wine, and sent Jenny over to ask for their corkscrew. They were pretty amused but we got our rose open. Next, we went to Notre Dame for the vigil Mass, then did some shopping near Notre Dame, and finally climbed up the towers of Notre Dame around sunset. It was a spectacular view of the city.
Back home, we searched the internet high and low for a club to go to that was nearby and didn't have an enormous cover charge. Around 12:30 we headed out for our first Paris discotheque experience. Personally, I wasn't very impressed-- the music was techno and didn't seem to change during the three hours we were there. And it was an hour's walk away. When we finally got back home around 5:30 reeking of cigarette smoke, I packed up my things and set my alarm so I could catch my train at noon. The train ride back was long and uneventful. When I did arrive in Davos, I had to go into the lab to take care of a few things. Between all the travel, climate change, and lack of sleep, I'm not surprised I came down with a cold the next day.

paris part 2

I had another weekend in Paris from July 20-22. I stayed with my friend Jenny who is working there this summer. Some pictures...

at the louvre

Notre Dame

Napoleon's tomb

park where we ate a picnic lunch

view of Eiffel tower during sunset, as seen from towers of Notre Dame

shopping! I wish I could have bought this hat :)

view out the back of my train somewhere in rural France

bike tour

My lab group took a day off on July 13 to go for a bike trip.

4 hours biking

traveled 60 km

We arrived home very very tired and sore...

snow

It snowed in Davos this week. Not down in the valley where the town is, but just a few hundred meters up...

Journal of Paris and London

The night before my departure, I had an awful migrane, so I went to bed really early at 8pm. Waking up at 6, I packed and then went to work. I wanted to have time to eat lunch and be at the train station early so I left work before noon. My train left Davos at 1pm to arrive in Zurich around 3:30. Then I took a train from Zurich to Neuchatel. That was the plan anyway. My first goof during the trip happened when I got off the train, convinced we were in Neuchatel… only to discover that I was a little premature. I was in Biel, which I would later learn is about 20 miles away from Neuchatel. I ran back to the platform, grateful that my train was still there, and boarded right before its departure. It wasn’t until I heard the announcement "next stop Neuchatel" that I was reassured I had hopped back on the right train.
On the TGV I met three American ladies from Flordia traveling around Europe for 5 week. They were nearing the end of their trip and showed me lots of beautiful pictures of Italy. We all stared out the window as the train approached Paris, in awe that we were finally arriving in the magical city.

As soon as I arrived in Paris, I realized my second mistake. I had brought my swiss francs in cash, hoping to exchange them into Euros (and British Pounds) when I arrived. I didn't think that, when I arrived at 10pm on a Thursday night, all of the cash exchanges would be closed. The ticket machine at the metro didn't take American credit cards, so I had to locate an ATM machine, which took about 30 minutes (3 blocks away from the train station). During this time I started to run though crisis scenarios of being homeless and moneyless in a foreign city...

The metro was easy to navigate, and I got to my stop without a problem. Then I started looking for my street… but there were no street signs to be found! I picked a direction and walked a block to find another intersection, perhaps one with street names. I was walking quickly, and as I passed two men on the sidewalk, one of them addressed me in Polish. Totally taken aback, I didn't even hear their names properly to remember them. They were shocked to hear I was alone in the city and insisted that they help me find my hostel. After stopping in two different cafes to ask for directions, we found the hostel-- in the exact opposite direction where I originally headed.

The receptionist at the hostel in Paris was very friendly and helpful. My room ended up being a 4 person dorm style. I was very impressed with how clean everything was, my only complaint would be that the bunk bed didn't seem very sturdy as I climbed on top (without a ladder to help me). The whole thing swung back and forth as I tried to propel myself onto the mattress. A Frenchman in the bunk next to mine tried to talk to me but the language barrier made things tricky. I soon insisted that I had to get some sleep-- tomorrow I would explore Paris!!!

After waking up at 7am, I went to the Gare du Nord train station to pick up my tickets for the Eurostar trip later that day. I also finally exchanged all my money into the currencies I'd be needing. Then I walked to Sacre Coeur, or Sacred Heart Cathedral. A group of African men were in front of the cathedral weaving bracelets for passersby and they pulled me in, literally. It would take me the next 24 hours to finally untangle the bracelet off my arm. Sacre Cour was nice inside (no pictures allowed!) but the best part was the view from outside the cathedral. It is so high up, you could see the whole city before you. Next I took the metro to Arc du Triumphe. There wasn't actually much to see there-- I got my picture like all the other tourists, and then (tried) to be on my way. It was difficult because the Arc is in the middle of a rondo into which like 8 streets feed. By now I'd learned that street names are found on the corners of buildings, so I crossed from one street to the next and approached the closest building to inspect its street. Finally I found the right one, and headed towards the Eiffel tower.

On my way, a man started talking to me in French. I explained that I didn't speak French, and we launched into a conversation. It turned out that this guy is a cardiologist working in the Paris hospital system, on his way to run an errand. I accepted his invitation to coffee (well tea for me, actually) at a café (how cliché!).

Next, I walking through some parks, and looking up to the trees and saw it-- the Eiffel tower. It was so unreal to actually be there! I spent some time in the park across the river, just reading and enjoying the sunny, warm day. I was disappointed when I finally approached the base of the tower and saw the huge lines of people waiting to go up. I was about to give up, but then saw a shorter looking line for manual ascent-- by stairs, that is. 30 minutes and 3 euros later, I was climbing the stairs of the Eiffel tower. I spent at least two hours on the Tower, walking, resting, looking around, and taking pictures like mad. After my descent, I found a spot on the lawn in front of the tower, pulled out my book, and sunbathed. A lazy Parisian afternoon J

I found lunch somewhat randomly, after wandering aimlessly (well, with a general direction of north). The salad was spicy and unusual but very good. Then it was time to catch my train to London!

The Eurostar train from Paris to London wasn't anything special. The tube (underground train or metro) in London was even worse. I stood in line for about 30 minutes to get a ticket (all the ticket machines were broken and there was only one ticket window open!) Then I was shocked to pay 4 pounds for a one way trip! I would not be traveling on the tube very much. The stations were very modern and minimalistic-- a lot of metal, concrete, and empty walls. Not at all like the colorful Parisian metro stops with maps and advertisements covering every cm of wall and ceiling space. Maybe the London tube should get more of its revenue from advertising and rely less on the traveler.

My hostel in London was easy to find, just across the street from the metro stop. The first floor was a pub, crowded and loud when I arrived Friday night. My room was on the 4th floor (which is actually like the 5th floor) with no elevator. I lugged myself up to the 8-bed all-girls room. Staying with me were three American ladies from CA. I got cleaned up and headed out in search of fun (and food). Well there isn't much to see in Hammersmith that late at night, so I finally retreated back to my room with a grocery store sandwich an hour later. Then, my roommates invited me to go out with them and I was happy to join them. We had a great time dancing and meeting real Londoners.

At 7:30am, I popped out of bed for my grand tour of London. I didn't have a map, just knew that I was walking east. When I saw something interesting, I just changed direction. I ended up in Kensington Palace-- the grounds were fantastic. As part of memorial for Princess Di, I got to make a gold-plated flower. After wandering some more, I gave in and bought a map. After that, it was another hour or so of walking to central London. I walked through Hyde Park, where they were setting up for the start of the Tour de France. Next, I saw what must have been the most expensive street in London-- I passed by all the big name designer shops. There were store attendants in suits at all the doors, waiting to open the door for a customer. After a little confusion, I found fellow MIT and AXO friends whom I was meeting and we were off to lunch! We ate Lebanese food, which isn't really unfitting. A big part of London culture does seem to be eating foreign food. I can only imagine why…

The Tour was just awesome! It took us a while to get really good spots to view the race, but eventually we did. Just see for yourself from the pictures. Then we spent some time at Starbucks and checked out the British National Museum. I was very impressed-- I have never been that interested at a museum before. All of the description panels next to the displays were very well done, I'm looking forward to going back someday. The evening ended with a walk through London's artsy/theatre district and dinner of fish and chips (what else?!).

The next day-- back in Paris! I first headed to creperie which had been recommended to me for lunch. My Martinique crepe with bananas, coconut ice cream, chocolate, and rum was set on fire at the table before it was served to me. It was amazing. From there, I walked for about two hours to Notre Dame, passing through the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was easy to spend a few hours at the Cathedral, where I caught Mass. What are the odds that one of the three priests co-celebrating the Mass was Polish?! So I actually heard a few familiar words. The evening in Paris wrapped up with dinner at a French restaurant, where I had a salad with spicy goat cheese (AMAZING!) and traditional beef stew. I finally went back to the train station to get myself home.

My last mistake for the weekend was not checking on the path of my train back home. It turned out that I'd be traveling through Germany where my rail pass isn't valid. I ended up having to pay for two extra tickets. Fortunately, after writing an official letter explaining the situation and making a trip to the train station with my proof later that week, I was refunded the cost of both tickets.

All in all, a great trip, many lessons learned. Can't wait to see London and Paris again!