Tales for Down Under #3 ("The Final Episode") - 3/8/2004

Although I’ve been back 5 days, I still am finding that I reach for the left side of my steering wheel to turn on the signal indicator. Funny, only once in Australia did I mistakenly turn on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal... I’ve done it 5 times here at home!

To finish up the story of the trip highlights and curiosities…

The Best Little Bridesmaid
I think I already explained about the bad sunburn I acquired in my desperate attempts to bring back some sun back home. This left me with embarrassingly white strap marks for my new sleeveless dress which I was hoping wouldn't call too much attention. However, this blushing bridesmaid fell to lower levels yet! There is a small scar on my left forearm that reminds me that chivalry is not dead, but perhaps grace is. The Best Man, Scott’s brother, James, very kindly pulled back my chair as I came back from the buffet table “fully loaded” with my chicken and salad, etc. Full glasses of wine had been poured for the wedding party, I noticed, while we were getting our food. James’ kind gesture was noticed by everyone but me. I attempted to sit down, missing the chair entirely, and fell toward the floor. The only thing stopping me, thankfully, was my forearm (my hands weren’t available). I then proceeded to knock over all the bridesmaids’ red wine all over and in front of the (yes, you guessed it) white tablecloths. Boy, those Aussies must think us Yanks a bit strange!! My face was probably as red as my sunburn! Probably the only time my coloring matched up all day!

Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach is a fun, laid back beach town with surf shops that are sprinkled all the way around. The kids, instead of little league or soccer, join the Surf Rescue and Live Saving Club. All their little red and gold beanies can be seen all around the water and surf. There are old guys out there too – salty dogs that are still living their teenaged years teaching the young ones how to do certain lifesaving moves. They coached each other all day long.

Paul and I decided to take a turn at this surfing idea, so we went and rented ourselves a board and learned that it’s not as easy as it looks. Especially with the blind leading the blind! Well, perhaps we’ll have another try at it next opportunity… Maui?

Anyhow, our trip back was uneventful and I was happy to start some of my old routines, like checking in on the horse, especially with the nice weather we’ve been having.

In case you’re interested, I’ve attached a link where you can see a small group of the photos we took while there. They are kind of cute. If you have the time…

Thanks, and G’Day, Mate!

BTW – Some Aussie memories to keep in mind should you visit:
“Dinner” = Lunch
“Tea” = Dinner
“Flat mate” = room mate
“Room mate” = live-in girlfriend/boyfriend
“Boot” = trunk of the car
Flies are slow and fearless. Think Ethiopia.
The light switch is on in the down position.
Appliances need to be turned on at the outlet and again on the appliance.
The water swirls the other way down the drain.
The horses run the other way at the racetrack.
They drive on the other side of the road.
The turn signal is on the right and the windshield wipers on the left.
Don't even BOTHER adjusting your left or rear-view mirror - you'll never use them! It just feels wrong.
No, it's not your imagination... the lanes are MUCH smaller down here than at home.
Look to opposite direction you think you should before crossing the street.
Same thing when trying to catch a cab!
Prepare for every sort of weather!!
Bring LOTS of sunscreen – you’ll really burn 4-times as fast.
NEVER ask for a Foster’s! It’s a “New” or “Tooney’s”.

Tales from Down Under #2 - 3/4/2004

The Hunter Valley is the most amazing place we saw in our little tour of Sydney by Car. Imagine that we could have been young enough to have visited Sonoma or Napa Valley before anyone cared to visit... Where the wine is pour generously and at no charge by the family members that make it. No crowds and no lines and life is simple and easy. Although they have a few winemaker names that some of us would recognize (not me), the vast majority of the 130 wineries are small, family owned businesses who all grow their own grapes on their own land. The Hunter Valley is only about 1 1/2 hour drive on the "motorway" (translation "freeway" ), but we decided to take the scenic route, which touches the coast, and is quite arid and thick with rock rather than soil, before diving into the Wollombi Valley where thick crab-grass pastures feed into the well-recognized wine regions of the Hunter Valley, which is best known for it’s Shiraz (pronounced “sheer-raz” instead of “sir-rah”) and it’s Semillon wines.

We started out at a small family winery called Petersons (reminding us of friends at home of the same name) which is perched on a hill overlooking their fields. They have an additional sparking wine cellar in a different part of the valley as well. Lindemans was next, and we noted that they were much more expensive that what we have seen at Trader Joes’s and Costco here in the States. We also stopped by a vineyard owned and operated by, at 25 when he started and 27 now, the youngest winemaker in the valley. He calls his place Pigg’s Peake and has all kinds of cleaver “piggy” names for his wine stock. My favorite was another small, family run business with an Italian theme, called Tintella. Besides their wines, they produce olives and infused olive oil. We bought some of the olives for dinner that night. Although we didn’t have time to go, Wyndham Estate, propped up against the Hunter River, is supposed to have phenomenal grounds.

Manly Beach
Lonely Planet describes this popular beach as “the jewel of the North Shore”. It is a narrow peninsula that has both bay and ocean beaches, although the ocean side is much more popular. It is edged with large Norfolk pine trees and has a fantastic exercise path that winds down to the cliffs at Shelly Beach. We took the ferry over to Manly and that made for an energetic start, as the swells coming in from the head lands – which we crossed – bounced our large ferry (and the catamaran “Fast Cat” on the way home) to large peaks and crashing troughs, making people scream in delight and little kids just plain cry. We got a nice tour of the Sydney Harbor on our way out and soaked in the pedestrian environment at Manly. Today was the first day of un-interrupted sunshine, and I was going to be sure to take advantage of every little ray. It would be shameful to return home with little or no tan, and since the wedding was the following day, it might be my only chance. My enthusiasm was almost as strong as the sun. After just 30-40 minutes of tank-top wearing... There is no joke – the hole in the ozone, they say here, does exist and you are apt to burn up to 4 times more quickly here as in the States, leaving my little shoulders bright red with very distinct strap marks… Not good when you are in a wedding the next morning, in a strapless dress and your hair up. I decided to talk the bride into having my hair down to try to hide the strap-marks as best as I could. Oh, well…

Tales from Down Under #1 - 2/28/2004

We are well into our trip, and haven't yet taken the time to sit down at an internet cafe until now. Therefore, we have seen much, and only have 2 days left of our trip to Oz.

The trip started last Wednesday when we traveled a total of about 26 hours via Vancouver BC and then Honolulu, HI (a stop over we weren't expecting). This is all because we are traveling with frequent flyer miles and therefore weren't given the easiest path. It doesn't bother us much, however. Although our stay in Honolulu was minimal (just enough to refuel and add some passengers), we spent 7 hours in Vancouver. Instead of waiting in the airport, Paul and I rented a car and went for a drive around town. We had lunch on the waterfront and had a look around the Gastown district. Later we toured Stanley Park and found it wonderful!

Arrival
We met my mom in Sydney, who, although leaving SFO 11 hours later than us, arrived in Sydney about an hour before us (gives you an idea of what flying direct is like!). We quickly found our 2-bedroom apartment in downtown Sydney and started to get oriented.

Kitchen Tea Shower and "Buck's Day"
We took the train out to Parramatta where mom and I spent time doing all the traditional wedding shower things. Paul joined Scott (the groom) with the other boys at the Rosehill Racetrack and proceeded to jump into the Aussie traditional Buck's Day (Bachelor Party). The racetrack here is much different than, say Bay Meadows, back home. The gals get really dressed up, including hats and high heels and always dresses. Paul's main observation was that the horses, like the drivers in this country, go the wrong way. Apparently, the horses run clockwise here in New South Wales.

Featherdale Wildlife Park
What trip to Australia would be complete without a cute photo with a fuzzy koala? James, Kim and Nathaniel (Scott's brother, sister-in-law, and nephew) treated us to a trip to the Featherdale park. Here we had a great time seeing all the Aussie natural wildlife, including wombats, dingos, petting the kangaroos and koalas (which roam free around the park), emus and other birds (kookaburras, too), and the boys' favorite, the great big "salty", the salt water crocodiles. The one we saw was about 25 feet long. A baby compared to the largest they've discovered in the north which measured about 60 feet in length!! Wow!
Afterward, our Aussie baptism continued as we were invited for "dinner" at the "barbie" -- a barbecue lunch at their house. Great steaks and a nice visit with friends.

Walking Tour of Sydney
We walked from the downtown district down Hyde Park (a large elongated park with ice water fountains and statutes), past St. Mary's cathedral, crossing the street to another large park area they call The Domain which leads to the Royal Botanical Gardens. In walking this way, we were able to walk in uninterrupted park and greenery for nearly 3 miles. The Botanical Garden gave us a couple surprises. There is a flock of Flying Foxes (bats) that reside in the park and hang on a group of trees to snooze during the daytime. The flock varies between 1,000-8,000 in the group, depending on food availability, and apparently, the food source, with the summer fruits ripening now, is quite good. Therefore, the flock must be in the larger numbers at this point. If you are not watching above, you can still tell when you are near their roost as the guano on the ground can get quite thick. Mom ended up needed to clean her shoes! At the end of the walk, there is a large man-made pond with a sign describing how the eels in it came to live there. They are apparently salt-water eels, but the travel to freshwater to bear their young. The garden keepers have tried many times to drain the pond and "relocate" the eels, but they just jump out of the bay again and slither across the grass to the pond once again. They also, apparently, upset some park goers when they see the new little duckings get taken under by an eel - something out of a Jaws movie. Paul liked that part! Another surprise was a tree laden with wild cockatoos. They were so thick, they looked like Christmas tree ornaments!
We walked down by the harbor side walk that led to the Sydney Opera House. This building, although a true Australian icon, would be a disappointment to some architects as some areas were build very cheaply. The reason being, there were many problems in its building and it went way over budget. They actually had to create a lottery in order to raise the funds to finish its construction (sort of like how California is trying to raise money for the schools with it's lottery). We finished the tour with a trip into the Sydney Aquarium, which despite the price, we really enjoyed. There were some great shark tanks, a nice coral simulation, and, yes... we did find Nemo!

Trip to the Blue Mountains
We picked up a rental car, which we return on our departure, and headed an hour and a half outside of town for the Blue Mountains, a great national park full of a number of interesting sites. Half way up, however, the weather proved uncooperative. By the time we reached the town of Katoomba, the center of the good sites, the rain was so heavy and the fog so thick, we could hardly see across the street much less the rock formations and scenery. Quite a disappointment! It was partially made up for with the best hot chocolate I've ever seen, heard about, or tasted! At Cafe Zuppa, their hot chocolate comes in a bowl with a mountain of whipped cream, 3 good sized chocolate batons, and large pink marshmallows.... enough to be an entire meal! The town is rather "hippie-ish", so the shopping was rather ridiculous... quite junky. Anyhow, the drive was nice.

The Sydney Bridge Climb
Long before we left, I had booked reservations to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge, a rather newish attraction within the last 3 years. Well, wouldn't you know... the weather from yesterday was just a warm up for the storm of today. And, there are no refunds for the Climb, so Paul and I climbed the Bridge in a gusting rain storm!! Quite an event! They did issue good rain gear, so we stayed nice and dry.

Well, that's a long enough email for now. I will write later about other things we have already done. Highlights to include:

• The Hunter Valley
• The wedding and commentaries about Aussie culture
• Bondi Beach
• Manly Beach
• and a really bad sun burn!
  
  Cheers from Down Under!

Next Trip - Sydney, Australia - 2/17/2004

Tomorrow, Paul and I spend a very long time in an airplane in a sort of indirect flight bound for Sydney, Australia. Per the usual tradition, I plan to send email postcards from my yahoo account. If I’ve completely run over the “friendship bounds” of email, let me know. I’ll delete you tonight before the trip. If you’re too busy to read them, no offence will be taken if your fingers *mistakenly* hits the “Delete” button.

If you’re actually aching for a vacation, some of the highlights you should expect from this series include of coarse Sydney, the surrounding area and beaches, as well as the Blue Mountains (Aussie version of Yosemite) and Hunter’s Valley wineries and horse ranches.

Cheers!

Italian Postcards #4 - Arrivederci!! 6/5/2003

Rome

Paul and I finally made it back! And, we have learned a few things about Italian travel along the way: #1) pay a little bit more for the reserved train seats on a long ride – the train ride from Genoa to Rome is 5 hours and was almost a VERRY LONG trip. Most “savvy” train riders book a reserved seat so they are not caught standing in aisle since the rides tend to be full. Paul and I spent the first hour looking for seats and a place to put our suitcases, and were very happy once we finally located a pair of seats in the 2nd to last room of the last car of the train. Whew! Lesson #2) don’t take the early 7am flight from Rome as the train doesn’t start the morning service to the airport until 6am – not enough time to catch the flight. – We instead had to take the train in the night before and attempt to get comfortable in the hard plastic airport chairs with metal armrests that don’t allow any sort of relined position. The consolation was that many people make this same “mistake”, and the company there made for good people watching! The highlight: a young, boastful US Navy soldier attempting to get a group of teenaged Irish kids there on a school field trip loaded off of beer and grappa shots.

Rome

What about Rome….? Rome is for historians and engineers – lucky for us, we are one of each. Our first night there, we proceeded to get lost – Romans are famous, in our book, for creating labyrinths of roads that are all slightly angled and ensured to get you completely turned around. In our frustration in trying to figure out where we were (street names also change every block or so, increasing the confusion and making maps more or less useless), we turned the corner and stumbled upon the oldest piece of history still standing complete, a truly awesome sight (not the typical “California-awesome”, but the stop dead in your tracks and catch your breath “awesome”) – the Pantheon. Being nighttime, the building and the obelisk in front of it were lit up with dramatic floodlights that made the 2,000+-year-old building seem tall and commanding. Hundreds years ago, they re-christened the building to be used as a Christian church, which is another reason it still stands so well, the pagan temples getting much abuse during the religious wars. We returned the next day to view the interior and just stood inside staring at the even more impressive walls and huge oculus with the light beams streaming through. We stood there, practically wordless, for nearly an hour. I can see how it would make a great church, except, perhaps, on a rainy day!!

Another major highlight of Rome was the Trevi Fountain. It’s much larger and grander than I guessed, taking the entire back façade of a large building. The work and detail was amazing, and I couldn’t help but take many photos that detail the King Neptune, Tritons and horses that make up the fountain. Easy to understand how it became such an icon and backdrop for the "La Dolce Vita” movie. We spend an hour or two during the trip sitting by the fountain enjoying huge amounts of gelato.

We were on our feet often, taking walking tours that usually covered about 18-20 miles/day: The Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Emmanuel Memorial, the Forum, Coliseum, Palentine (home for the historical “rich and famous”), and the Vatican. We left the hotel about 10 am daily and usually didn’t return until 11 or so, after dinner.

We ended out trip with a visit to the Vatican and a tour of St. Peter’s. So much to admire there – Michelangelo, Bernini, Raphael, papal crypts, and the remains of martyred St. Peter himself, etc. We climbed the 650 or so steps to reach first the top of the interior dome which gave us a grand look at the floor below and the Michelangelo frescos on the ceiling of the dome, then to the top of the dome outside to get a fantastic view of the City of Rome and the Vatican grounds. The drawback: there is much graffiti all along the stairs and along the outside of the dome as the Italians (didn’t see any writing in any other language) have found it charming to place their name and comments in pen onto the 500-year old “sacred grounds”. While at the top of the church, a mother and son team broker out their pen and started writing. I flicked the back of the teenaged boy’s head (which didn’t even get his attention!) and together with a British couple and another set of Americans, told him off. Strangely enough to us, after first being confused about the complaint, his mother backed him up saying that if the Pope wanted the church to remain clean, they would have cleaned it rather than allowing the graffiti to mount. This tack is common, and even some of Paul’s family in Milan don’t see the problem with people writing graffiti on walls or churches for that matter, which makes Paul’s vocally ashamed of his “countrymen”.

Besides the incredible architecture and historical value of the statues and buildings, Rome is just another big, polluted, bustling city. The most charming and quaint part of the trip was, by far, the Cinque Terre. A close second, Florence. I have planned to drop off my film (all 9 rolls!) tonight and will share them with those interested. Hope you’ve enjoyed the “virtual” vacation and look forward to chatting more personally later on.

Ciao and Arrivederci!

Italian Postcard #3 - Genoa & Milan - 5/29/2003

Nervi

The house in which we are staying in Nervi is quite large and full of history. Until the 1500's the land was owned by the Stinola family who built a giant castle (which we can see from our bathroom window). Sometime in the 1500's, the Carrera family (the same family from the Carrara marble quarry just south of here in the Alps near Lucca) bought it. When their 3 children were grown, they split up the land so that each had some and each built their own house with expansive land to surround it. One of those houses is next to ours. It is a large 4-story mansion with huge gardens and neo-classical fountains and statues. Our house lies just the other side of the gardens and was built to house the gardener. It's a large 2-story, marble inlayed house with it's own garden and a view of the sea. That must have been a happy gardener! The lady who owns our house now has decided to live in the basement part of the year and rent the house out in order to maintain it (must be a huge money pit). She is very protective of the house and is known to come in when we are out to make sure we are treating it well. We're not fond of that and have dubbed her Nurse Rachett. Nonetheless, we enjoy having Paul's family over here for dinner and eatting on the large marble patio that overlooks the infinity pool and the garden of the mansion I explained earlier. We usually have about 15 people and have had as many as 20 for dinner. Only one guest was duplicated, which gives yu an idea of just how many cousins still live near Genoa!


Rondanina
We traveled today to Paul's mom's hometown of Rondanina - a mountain village north east of Genoa that looks just out of the Swiss alps. They host a year-round population of 23 (5 of which are children). It was 72 when she was a child, so she knew most everyone that remains, most of which are relatives! We visited everyone, ate a fantastic meal at the one and only restaurant in town (her cousin's), and even visited her father, Andrea, who's plain, wooden cross is so worn with age, it no longer bears his name. It was tucked in the cemetary with all the other Scrivani's and Casazza's (again, all relatives). A charming town that reminds me of many mountain villages. They have a very impressive church. A cousin is the guardian for the church, thus giving us a private tour.


Genoa
They in return have been showing us around. I like Genoa and am beginning to know the neighborhoods and piazzas quite well. The most surprizing hightlight of the town, though, has been the cemetary. Built in 1840, it houses the important and famous as well as the rich. They waste no money on outdoing the Jones's and the hills have large monument next to huge marble gothic crpyts. Amazing the variety, many of which have been done by famous artists.

Milan was nice, although too abbreviated (if you knew my sister-in-law, you'd know what I'm talking about). We saw the Duomo - the famous gothic church, walked on its roof to see the vast number of spires, statues and flying buttresses, walked by the Galleria, and saw the fort. Very unimpressed with the smog, dog owners who figure pedistrians don't matter, and the incredicle graffitti (puts Watts to shame)!

Didn't get a second to window shop, much less buy anything, so what I missed out in Milan, I will do in Rome. We leave tomorrow, and we plan to see the Vatican, Forum, Palentine, Colesum, Pantheon, , Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps (our "home base" while there).

Ciao, bella! Italian Postcard #2 - 5/25/2003

Ciao! We have just finished a long meal with family and relatives from all over Genova. Paul's father's cousins and their families joined us at the large villa we rented and the meal lasted just under 4 hours. Typical! Last night, we dined at Uncle Gianni's house, with homemade wines and champagnes as well as antipastas and desserts, under a canopy of olive trees with fireflies blinking all around us. An unsual site for us Californians and for Dave's family from Hawaii - their first time seeing fireflies!

The villa which we are staying is absolutely steller. A private inifinity pool (unheard of in Italy) just a few blocks from the ocean beach. It is 4 bedrooms, which is also quite large for here. Most of the beaches here are private clubs where you need to pay a daily tariff to use a space.

We have visited in the last few days both towns in Liguria and Tuscany. We've seen Santa Margherita, Portofino, San Fruttuoso, Camogli, Porto Venere on the coast and Lucca, a renainssance city in Tuscany, as well as the Carrara marble "factories" in between. We will visit Rondanina, the town from where Paul's mother was born, this week and try to sneak in Milan, however, I think this will be a train trip without the rest of the crew as they plan to go Friday when Paul and I go back to Rome.

I have taken lots of photographs (5 rolls in 7 days) and am anxious to see how they turned out. The villa has an internet connection, so I hope to write again with news of more travels later on in the week.

Hope all is well with you, and Buona Serra!

Ciao from the Italian Coast! - 5/21/2003

Cinque Terre

Ciao from the Itailian Coast!

Paul and I write from internet station #5 in the first city of the Cinque Terre (5 Lands). They are a group of "hanging garden" type of towns that hug the cliffs of the sheer marble/granite coast, overlooking the waters that shine 4 or 5 different colors of blue. There is a trail that connects them and we have already hiked it. It takes about 5 hours to complete and can be quite rugged. We returned today after meeting up with Paul's parents. We won't make them hike it, for it can be quite rugged and very taxing in the inclines and descents.

Our first stop to Florence was also very nice. We were surprized by all that we could see in the short amount of time we had there. We had an excellent room with a view of the Duomo -- a famous, almost painted looking church that is made of inlaid marble, each of a different color. We saw the Boboli Gardens and felt as if we should have been walking around in old 18th century costumes, "stealing moments" from behind giant topiaries and white marble statues.

We did the "one-hour" tour of Pisa in between trains. Enough time to see the town, take a few photos, and figure out were to catch our next train. The views from the train have also been great as the poppies are blooming bright red and they are harvesting their rounded bales of hay in the field. Coupled with the Italian cypress trees, it looks straight out of Van Gogh.

We will be here a few more days before heading north. All 8 of us have been doing a lot of walking, eatting and site seeing. Will write perhaps from Milan.

Ciao!

Italy - Well, We're Off! - 5/15/2003

Hello all!
As is my tradition when I travel to interesting or exciting places, I've developed another "group list" to which to write every now and again, when the time proves itself, while stopping at a cyber cafe, etc. Those of you familiar with my trips to Africa, Nicaragua, and Thailand know this routine. If you're too busy at work, don't care, or otherwise just not in the mood to read these, I seriously am not offended -- delete away. For those who are bored, not busy at work, or are craving a vacation yourself, read on, and live vicariously!

This time, I'm off to Italy. Not as exotic, but certainly romantic. Unless, of course, you are traveling with your husband's parents and 4 other members of the family. We will get to sneak off and get some "alone time" (we have 2 nights in particular I'm looking forward sleeping literally a stone's throw from the Spanish Steps in Rome). But mostly, this is a trip to be with the family and meet other family that still live in the northern areas of Italy.

Both Paul's parents are from near Genoa. His father, Elio, is from Genoa and his mother, Mirella, from a tiny village in the mountains east of there called Rondanina. Paul equates it to one of the small towns you pass by as you blink in the fingers near Yosemite. Although both his parents met while living here in San Francisco, they still both have friends and family there.

So, here's the plan: arrive in Rome in the afternoon and take the train immediately to Florence, where we will stay the night and tour both days. Then we will again board the train and head to Deiva, a town in the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera (north). Paul's cousin has a house there and that is where we are meeting the rest of our group: Sylvia and Dave (Paul's older sister and her husband), Dave's sister and her husband, and of course, his parents. Eight of us total.

We will tour the Cinque Terra area in our little rented van (seats 9), visiting little towns along the coast and inland (like Lucca, Portofino, etc.) and then travel up north to where we've rented a family villa near Genoa. More local touring and perhaps a day of shopping in Milan. We will be as a group like this for almost 2 weeks. Then we all part ways again, and Paul and I head back for Rome. We spend about 3-4 days there before the long haul back.

I hope to come up with some interesting stories and anecdotal notes to share along the way. Until then, hope I've packed all necessary (got the passport and my toothbrush) and look forward to the beginning (well, perhaps not the flight, but...)

Ciao!

Next Trip - Paul & Allison go to Italy!

Here are Paul and my plans for Italy….

FRI May 16th – SAT May 17th
LUFTHANSA 455 – SFO-Frankfurt – 2:20P-9:50A
LUFTHANSA 3804 – Frankfurt-Fiumicino (Rome) – 12:00NOON-1:45P

Take train to Florence – stay the night:
Calzaiuoli Hotel

Via Dei CalzaiuoliFirenze, FI 50123Italy

Check in: Sat 17-May-03 Check out: Sun 18-May-03

For reservation questions and other information contact the hotel:Tel: 39055212456 Fax: 39055268310

SUN May 18th
Tour Florence – more than likely, take a late train for Deva that night.

MON May 19th – THURS May 29th or FRI May 30th
Stay with Family in Cinque Terre (Deva) and Genoa (Sylvia has all this information and it will be forth coming)

FRI May 30th – TUES June 3rd
Touring Rome
Have secured some hotels, but am keeping options open as well. The one we did secure:
Principessa Tea Hotel

Via Sardegna 149Roma, RM 00187Italy

Check in: Fri 30-May-03 Check out: Sun 1-Jun-03

For other information contact the hotel: Tel: 39 (06) 484523 Fax: 39 (06) 4885964

TUES June 3rd
LUFTHANSA 3901 – Fiumicino (Rome)-Frankfurt – 7:00A-9:05A
LUFTHANSA 454 – Frankfurt-SFO – 10:00A-12:10P

Thanks and look forward to postcards!!

Coming home from Asia 4/24/2001

I'm writing this last, short email from the international airport in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. The trip here has been extremely interesting. We've learned a lot about the Cambodian education system here and how to help out in future projects. We were flown up to the "model" school by a chartered Cambodian Air Force helicopter. Sounds impressive, but, in reality, it was a really run down old Russian chopper with the leaky fuel tank which was stored in the cabin with us. You could see through the cracks on the helicopter floor and a couple entries had no doors. It ended up being a good way to take photographs of the countryside below, thought! This school was in the rural countryside and was interesting. They have computers and a satelight internet connection donated by supporters of a Japanese foundation. We weren't impressed with the organization and therefore probably won't partner with them to build their libraries, but ended up bonding with a couple of the reporters there, one of which, who is the foreign correspondant for The Washington Post, ended up growing up a few miles frommy house and is a Campolindo graduate a few years behind me. We pal'ed around with him even when we returned to Phnom Pehn. He insisted taking us to the FCC, so we could later say we were truely guests of a foreign correspondant at the Foreign Correspondance Club.

Anyway, I'm on my way to Bangkok now, and tomorrow to San Francisco. The pictures will be available to anyone who expresses interest.

Phnom Pehn, Cambodia - 4/21/2001

I sadly left the little island of Ko Phi Phi yesterday. The diving was absolutely incredible! Iactually was able to (momentarily) overcome my fear of deep water and I did two dives in the area, one in an area called "Shark Reef" because it's frequented by many schools of leopard and reef sharks, which are really quite harmless. We didn't see any sharks, but I did get to see quite a few morrey eels, a lobster, many, many banner fish, clown fish, anemoea (?) fish, pufferfish, groupers, and all kinds of coral, soft and hard. The following day, we rented a local guide and his longtail-boat and went out to Ko Phi Phi Leh (where The Beach was filmed) and picniced and snorkeled there. Our guide, Gip, gave us some toast to feed to the fish. When I feed them, it was like a school of piranha! They actually nibbled the bread clean out of my fingers, sometime mistaking my fingers for food. Their little teeth tickled my hands and the mob, when you're with them underwater, was actually very intimidating. Like being in the middle of an attack from The Birds, only they were fish!

We explored the rest of the island by boat, motoring through exquisite bays of emerald green cliffs, turquoise blue water, and powder white sand. The average water temperature is about 86 degrees, which is actually refreshing from the 100 degree heat and decent humidity.

After landing in Phnom Pehn and going through a12-police person customs, we meet one of our host for the next three days. Today, we traveled with local literacy workers Jon and Sayan who help run theliteracy group for The Asia Foundation in Cambodia. We visited two different schools and discovered how their schools and libraries function here and interviewed some of the teachers, librarians and head masters. We showed them samples of some of the books which Books for Nepal ships and tried to assess if our group could help them in their efforts to provide their students with books to support their work.

I am still taking in a few tourist sites while I'm here. Last night, we went for drinks at the FCC (Foreign Correspondents' Club) which overlooks the Mekong River. They have many interesting photographs inside having to do with international news and wars of past. Later on today, we are going to the area dubbed The Killing Fields. I don't know much about this yet other than this is where much violence happen against any "suspected" intellectual. Sort of like the Salem Witch Trials, but only 20 years ago.

Tomorrow we start "work" again. Another organization, led by a guy named Bernie, has invited us to see some of the schools he has built in rural areas in Camodia. We are flying by helicopter north-west to a village called "Robib" near the Thai border. They have set up a school that has a solar-powered internet connection which the village uses not only for education, but the sale their local wares and handicrafts to the outside world. The profits go to help support their literacy program. Bernie has set up over 200 schools in Cambodia and John is very interested in his work. We are thinking of partnering with Bernie to provide books for some of the schools he's opened. We will stay overnight in the village and return by car Monday. It should prove an interesting outing.

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand - 4/17/2001

Greetings all!

We've made it to Ko Phi Phi (sounds like Pee Pee) and it is absolutely WONDERFUL! A dream come true. From our little hillside bungalow, we can see the entirebay, full of it's little canoe shuttles, and Ko Phi Phi Le, the smaller island where the movie The Beach`was filmed. Very dramatic with sheer cliffs running from the sea to hundreds of feet up. Contrary to the movie, Ko Phi Phi Le is uninhabited and people only goout there for day trips -- it's a protected park land island the rest of the time. We are planning to go scuba diving there tomorrow morning right off the island and then settle into one of the sandy coves where they did the filming for lunch and swimming. We will have another dive afterward; I hope my determination to stay calm in those *deep*, *scary* waters keeps me from instant panic.

However, I will be thus rewared the following day as John as agreed to have me teach him to rock climb (there are a couple of outfitters here). If any of you remembers the begining scene of the IMAX Everest movie, there's a woman rock climbing this insane cliff right off the water. That's where we're going, though I'm sure not to follow the same route. The water here is so wonderful. A multitude of different shades of blue and the temperature of a nicely heated country club pool. You forget that it's salt water because you reason only a lake could be so warm. Anyhow, I'm really enjoying this island. I would highly recommend it to anyone as it is absolute paradise. And, fortunately (Lisa and Natasha can appreciate this one), I did seem to pick the perfect hotel at the end of Long Beach. A huge sigh of relief!

Bye for now!

Greetings from Thailand! - 4/14/2001

I can't believe I'm actually here! It's still a surreal thought. My situation suddenly became clear and boggled my mind this morning while sitting in the Taipei airport at 5:30 am (3:15 pm San Francisco time) -- I'm in China, listening to the announcements in Mandarin, sitting next to other people with US passports but who don't speak English. A strange situation! After the short lay over in Taipei, and losing a complete day, I made it to Bangkok. Here, they almost all speak English! (Oh, Scott -- you can rest assured -- the old Pakistani man who walked all of 1 foot per minute actually did make it in time to board the plane and actually followed me all the way here to Bangkok.)

So, here I am in Bangkok. I, unfortunately, arrived too late in the day to catch an organized city tour, and I'm too tired to try to work it all out on my own (I think I'm also still a little culture shy, too). The currency, layout, etc., is confusing after so much travel. I'm not sure if it's jet lag, sleep deprivation, or culture shock, but I'm just going tolay by the pool at the hotel today or take a long bath. Tomorrow I have arranged to visit Wat Traimit (Golden Buddha), Wat Po (reclining Buddah) and Watr Benchamabopit (The Marble Temple). It is also the Thai New Year right now, and everyone celebrates witha giant water fight. People everywhere gather by the rivers (which flow everywhere) with their water guns and pails of water. Everyone gets very, very wet. A friend of a friend, who lives here now, warned me to bring a couple of the disposable waterproof cameras if I planned on taking photographs. Every other kind of camera would get ruined, he said. This festival lasts 3 days. I do not plan on wearing white as I make my way down there tomorrow!

So far, I like Bangkok. I've heard from some that it's a horribly polluted place. I haven't seen that part yet (perhaps tomorrow when I get nearer the rivers). To me, so far, it looks like a modern city with a couple strangely out of place Asian looking temples. The hotel I'm staying in is like most others I've seen by the convention center (where I am) --tall skyscrapers about 30 stories or so. Very comfortable, huge rooms, internet center, every ammenity. My room is huge with both a shower and an oversized tub -- huge, thick terry-cloth robes. They upgraded me to a superior room that had a fruit basket waiting, complimentary morning meal and evening cocktail hour and snacks. All this plus more for just $37 bucks a night! Unreal!

After my tours tomorrow, I'll met John (who'll becoming from Nepal) and we'll fly to Phuket. No more tall buildings after that. Just the tall limestone cliffs met by the sandy white beaches of Ko Phi Phi. I've decided to try to face my fears of deep water and the ocean again and try to scuba dive. Ko Phi Phi is suppossed to be some of the best diving around.

Anyhow, I'm here, safe and sound (and tired). I hope to write before leaving for Cambodia next week. Until then, take care, and Happy Thai New Year!