As Long As You Follow

"I've been wandering"

Avebury, England

Not all who wander are lost -- J.R.R. Tolkien

Gypsy

"to the velvet underground"

Wales

My son loves all things related to Camelot and King Arthur. He'd been reading the Lost Years of Merlin series by T.A. Barron, Sarah Zettel's In Camelot's Shadow (For Camelot's Honor and Under Camelot's Banner have since been published, and the conclusion "Camelot's Blood" is due in spring 2007), and any other related books he could get his hands on. We'd recently seen the musical of Camelot in London, so then we had to watch the 1967 movie version of the musical and listen to the 1960 Original Broadway Cast CD. So when I asked each of my three older kids to pick one place they'd like to see before we moved back to the States, I wasn't surprised he picked Wales.

We made it a daytrip since we had a little trouble finding a place for a large family to stay and I didn't have much time to book it. I found an enchanting place (Hotel Portmeirion) I would've loved to have checked out, but it was way out of our price range and I didn't know how practical it was with our traveling plans.

It was hard deciding where to go since the places we wanted to see in Wales were spread out so far apart. Tintagel and Glastonbury (both are actually in England, not Wales) were a couple of places we'd considered because of their association with the King Arthur legends, but we weren't sure we wanted to drive that far south. We wanted to pick a region (south Wales, mid Wales or north Wales) and stay within that area. We found a place called King Arthur's Labyrinth in mid Wales that looked pretty interesting, so we decided to plan our trip around that area. Interestingly, when we asked some of our British friends what they recommended, one said nothing in Wales was worth seeing.

Our first impression of Wales was of rolling green hills and many, many, many sheep. I have never seen so many sheep in my life! My husband was surprised to see the sheep still had their tails, and that led to a discussion with the kids about tail removal (docking). They were indignant on behalf of the sheep. But my husband had worked on a dairy farm for many years, and he provided another perspective which made the kids think a little more. Not that they agreed with it, but it helped them understand why they do it.

One of my daughters loves to collect snowglobes, and the only two kinds we saw in Wales were of a red dragon or a sheep! I probably should've gotten both because it was so funny, but she got one with the red dragon.

We went to King Arthur's Labyrinth, and even though it was the middle of summer it was a little chilly down in the old mining caves. You'd feel a cold breeze blowing, and it added to the ambience of the tour. We enjoyed the tour and thought it was a great idea to use the old caves for this retelling of the King Arthur legend. I think I imagined more about a life of mining down in the caves than King Arthur though.

Afterwards, we took a ride on the Talyllyn Railway and saw some lovely views of the countryside. The kids were interested in the fact that it was a steam engine, so we talked about what made it run and how it's different from today's modes of transportation. It moved slowly, but people still used it for their everyday shuttles back and forth to work and home. It was a little bit like a walk back in time.




I thought the slate fencing was fascinating.





We didn't think we had enough time to see the Celtica Heritage Centre, so we decided not to go there. Now I wish we had because I learned they'd closed in March 2006.

Anyway, we ended up driving around Aberdyfi and viewing some more scenery. When I saw people golfing on this cragged landscape, I was reminded of the movie Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius and when he went to Scotland's Old Course. It seemed wild and on the verge of being reclaimed by nature. How small man looks on this windswept promontory.




We stopped in Aberdyfi to see if we could find something to eat, but we were disappointed. It was a pretty and colorful little town, but I guess we hit it at the wrong time.










I love how the towns in England and Wales have a town square with a distinctive landmark or feature.






















We had a nice, long and leisurely drive home while appreciating the scenery and ...

the sheep.

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Seven Wonders

"I'll never live to match the beauty again"

Paris: City of Light

"Wouldn't it be neat if we could actually see into the water through the windows? Like an underwater aquarium?"

We were on the Eurostar train from London to Paris and we'd just gone into the chunnel (channel tunnel) when my daughter's excited little voice conjured up new pictures out the window for us. She and her best friend giggled and wiggled while imagining what they could see in the water. I had a flashback to Jaws 3 and a great white shark smashing into the underwater observatory.

In typical mother-like fashion, I wondered how the dirty the water might be and what refuse could be filling up the English Channel. Nothing as romantic as the Little Mermaid Ariel's cavern, I'm sure. That does remind me of Mark Dion's Tate Thames Dig at the Tate Modern Art Gallery in London. Fascinating.

My daughter's one place she wanted to see before moving back to the States was Paris. We got lucky because her best friend and this friend's mother were able to join us. Another plus was that this friend's mother could speak a little French. My whole two years of French in high school had left me with the limited vocabulary of oui, non, s'il vous plaît, merci beaucoup, je ne parle pas francais and parlez-vous anglais?

Unfortunately, having only recently returned from Venice, I was still responding with si, grazie, prego and other Italian words I'd remembered from when we'd been stationed in Italy. I sounded like I had a stutter when responding to queries.

"Did you enjoy your breakfast, madame?"

"Si, uh, yes, uh, oui!"

I'm just thankful that I hadn't gotten Japanese words jumbled in there, too. I remember saying "Hai domo" a lot after leaving Japan.

We left Waterloo (the ABBA song always pops into my head when I see that) and arrived in Gare du Nord in 2 1/2 hours. Spent a few minutes trying to decide what tickets we wanted for the metro (subway) until deciding upon a carnet of 10 tickets. Hopped onto the metro and rode 10 hot, sticky, sweaty, and smelly stops to Odéon.

I've heard that the Paris Metro is the most efficient and user-friendly subway system in the world, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. The carriages looked like those trams in San Francisco, which could've been charming, I suppose. Maybe it was the heat that detracted from the pleasure of riding on the metro. (Now I've got the Berlin song 'Riding on the Metro' stuck in my head. Since the first song [Waterloo] was from the 70's and this one was from the 80's, I hope the next one will be from the 90's.)

Found our hotel and, since we were early for check-in, left our luggage before heading out to start our sightseeing. We walked to Notre Dame where the girls immediately fell in love with all the sparrows and wanted to feed them. After spending too much time with the birds, according to me, but not enough time with the birds, according to the girls, we headed into the cathedral.

This time there was no requirement to put on a paper skirt (which cost 1 euro at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice) if you weren't properly attired before heading into the church. I was very interested in Notre Dame and probably could've stayed longer, but the others seemed ready to go.




So we went around the cathedral and found a pretty little park in back. Sat at one of the benches and listened to a musical performance there.











From there we headed over to Saint-Chapelle. Lovely.



The girls wanted to find some more birds to feed, so we thought we'd walk to the Luxembourg Gardens.



It was beautiful there, but we were surprised that it cost 1.40 euro for a child to play on a swing.




We'd been prepared for the toilets costing something (0.40 euros), but the swing threw us for a loop.

And the parks do not allow you to sit or walk on the grass.

I saw my first mimosa tree on the walk back to the hotel.





I never can seem to remember names for flowers and plants. Just not a green thumb, I guess.

We ate dinner at a wonderful place called Le Procope in the Latin Quarter. You could have a 3-course meal for 24 euros or a 2-course meal for 19 euros. I started with the melon, but I wish I'd had the French onion soup. My daughter had it, and it was delicious! The chicken was okay, but I loved the crème brûlée for dessert! I think we enjoyed the restaurant so much because of the decor and the atmosphere. It was quite impressive.

After dinner, we walked around the Latin Quarter for a little bit and then thought we'd try to take a boat ride on one of those Bateaux-Mouches along the River Seine. First I had trouble finding the metro station I wanted. And then I think the route we'd planned to take to get to one of the boat docks must've been under construction or something, because we had to ask for directions and were told to take a completely different route. By the time we got there, we saw a beautifully lit-up and sparkling Eiffel Tower *but* ...




we missed the boat!








So we had another long, hot and sticky ride on the metro back to our hotel. I guess I've been spoiled by the subways in Japan and London, because the metro seemed old and outdated. I'm used to the doors to the carriage opening automatically, but on most of the metro carriages you had to pull a lever up to open it. Because it was still so new to me, it was easy to forget about it and then stand there waiting for it to open. And of course when the doors wouldn't open, you'd start to panic and think you were going to miss your stop. The bottle of hand sanitizer was empty before we were halfway through the trip.



The next morning we started at the Arch of Triumph and then walked down the Champs-Elysées towards the Louvre. Had a tasty pain au chocolat on the way.












We found a pretty, little park near Théâtre Marigny where the girls were thrilled to find some birds to feed.






We continued on to the Tuileries Garden where one of the girls had a slushee and the other had an ice cream cone. We saw the carousel on one side of the garden, but I thought I'd read there was another one under the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel so we pressed on. Turns out it wasn't a ride but a shopping gallery (Galerie du Carrousel).

It was a Monday when we went to the Louvre, and I'd read in some guide book that it was open until 9:45 pm. Evidently, that guide book wasn't current because they were closing at 6 pm that day. Wednesdays and Fridays were now their late days. Since we didn't have enough time to see much before closing, we decided to head over to a department store for some souvenirs and ice cream.

After shopping at Les Galeries Lafayette, we took the metro out to the Eiffel Tower and went up. The views were wonderful, and I went crazy taking pictures. After we got back down, we got tickets for the bateaux-mouche because we definitely did NOT want to miss the boat again.




Took the girls on a carousel ride in front of the Eiffel Tower while waiting to board the boat.


I couldn't imagine being able to fit everyone onto the boat, but they did it and there were seats available here and there. We were disappointed that we didn't get a seat outside until it started raining during the boat ride. Then we were very happy with our seat selection!

Afterwards, we took our one and only taxi ride back to the hotel because the girls were feeling a little under the weather. Aha, I just thought of Amy Grant's version of 'Big Yellow Taxi.' No, it wasn't a yellow taxi, and we were surprised it only cost 10 euros. (You'll have to help me come up with a song from the 21st century!)

The next day we thought we'd try to see the view from the department store La Samaritaine, but it was closed. So we walked along the Seine and wondered about the Conciergerie.



We walked back to the Notre Dame to feed the birds again.





This time there was a different man feeding the birds and he was helping others feed them, too. It was such a treat to see the girls' faces beaming when all the birds swooped down to feed from them. I actually found a picture of the same guy online. Guess he's been there quite a while!




When we were able to tear the girls away from the birds, we headed towards the Place de la Bastille. I think I was interested in seeing it because when we'd been planning this trip to Paris, we were wondering what it would be like to visit during Bastille Day.





On our walk (skip for the girls) there, we saw a street performer playing the violin on one of the bridges. The best friend's mother said she thought the performers in Paris sounded a lot better than the ones in London! We tried to scrounge up change for any performers we saw in the metro and around Paris.



After the Bastille, we hopped onto the metro to go see the opera house and then went up to check out the view from the department store Les Galleries Lafayette. I liked the views from the Eiffel Tower much better.

All too soon it was time to go, and I wasn't ready. We'd only gotten a taste of Paris, and it made me want more. Maybe someday when the two best friends are little old ladies wearing purple and a red hat, they'll meet up again in Paris.

written in 2005 and modified in 2006

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Silver Springs

"blue green colors flashing"

Venice: Then and Now
It was a rainy, windy and wild night on Friday the 13th, November of 1992, when my oldest daughter was born at a naval hospital in Naples, Italy. We weren't stationed there, but San Vito Air Station only had an outpatient clinic so I had the choice of flying up to Naples one or two weeks prior to my due date or staying in southern Italy and delivering in the local Italian hospital in Brindisi.

Most women stationed at a military base in southern Italy chose to deliver at the naval hospital because of the horror stories we'd heard about the local hospital, i.e., your husband might not be able to be with you during delivery if there were another woman delivering at the same time because there was no privacy; it was possible you may not have an interpreter with you; hospital practices were equivalent to the stateside medical profession during the 70's; you were still shaved; nurses pressed on your fundus to help deliver the baby; there was no option for pain medication; smoking was allowed in the hospital. Considering the fact that this was my first baby and I was far from home, this naïve and scared little lady chose the road not less travelled.

We left Italy when my daughter was a year and a half old, so she doesn't remember anything about it. She's always been interested in it though and has asked about dual citizenship, visiting Italy, and possibly living there again someday. I asked each of my three older children to choose one place they would really want to go if they could go anywhere in Europe before we move back to the States. She picked Italy, so we started checking out the special airfares at Ryanair. At first she wanted to go to Naples, but I managed to convince her that Venice, Rome, or Florence might be a better introduction to Italy.

I didn't want to tell her that Naples has been called the armpit of the Mediterranean. I can still remember the smell of sulfur or rotten eggs when I stayed at the Stork's Nest in Naples waiting past my due date for this little baby to arrive. And when she and I had to stay in the hospital for a week afterwards because of her pneumothorax and jaundice, my husband, my mother, and my grandmother did some shopping in Naples and even found a shirt that said, "I survived driving in Naples" or something to that effect. Italians are the most aggressive drivers I've ever seen! You know how when you want to pass someone on the road, you wait until the oncoming traffic is far enough away? Not so the larger-than-life Italians! Their national anthem could be, "I feel the need for speed."

Anyway, we decided upon Venice. Hubby and I had gone there in 1994 for Carnevale while we were still stationed in Italy. I dug through my pictures of that trip and realized I'd hardly taken any. Inconceivable! I planned not to make the same mistake again. Armed with my new digital camera, a willing-and-able model, and good walking shoes, I was ready for an adventure.

Ryanair doesn't fly directly into Venice, so we flew into Treviso Airport and then took the shuttle bus to Piazzale Roma (Venice's gateway for land transportation). We were both tired because we'd gotten up so early for the flight. It was also extremely hot in Italy, so we were feeling sluggish on the bus ride. I started perking up when I found I could read the Italian signs and saw so many familiar sights. I didn't think I'd remember much, but I almost felt like I was coming home.

From Piazzale Roma it was either on foot or by boat, so we took the vaporetto (the water bus -- similar to the subway) to the station closest to our hotel. I'd read that water taxis were too expensive, and I knew that Venice wasn't that big so I'd planned to do a lot of walking.

We got lost trying to find our hotel. Up and down all those bridges, and I was so glad we didn't bring too much luggage.


When we finally found the hotel, we were too early to check in. So we left our luggage and headed off for an early lunch at one of the places in Campo San Polo that the clerk recommended. We knew that there was a cover charge just to sit down and eat at most of these places, but we thought it'd be worth it.



My daughter had a delicious margherita pizza, and I helped her eat it. Pizza in Italy is so much better than what passes as pizza today. I also ordered bruschetta because it's one of my favorites. Hubby is amazed that I love it, because I don't like tomatoes.

The best bruschetta I've ever had was in Taormina, Sicily. I would so love to go back to Taormina. The scenery there was absolutely beautiful, and I can remember the sharp, hairpin turns on the drive up the hill to get there. I remember the Woody Allen movie "Mighty Aphrodite" had a scene filmed at an outdoor amphitheatre in Taormina. Stupid movie, beautiful scenery.

I even asked the waitress the correct way to pronounce bruschetta, because I was saying it one way and when we got to England I kept hearing it pronounced another way. I found out I was right! Yee-haw!













It's broo-skay-tah (but I can't roll my r's). The Brits like to pronounce it broo-shet-ah. Reminds me of shed-ule instead of sked-ule. And, just in case, I asked her if it's sometimes pronounced the other way but she said nope.

After rejuvenating ourselves, we were ready for our first foray around Venice. We headed towards Piazza San Marco, stopping to check out the shops on the way. We loved the mask shops and even saw a lady painting a Pulcinella at La Bottega di Pantalone. She let me take a picture of her. Many times the shops have signs saying "No Photos."

If you've seen the children's movie The Thief Lord, you may be interested in the history of the mask that the thief lord wears.

The line was too long for St. Mark's Basilica, so we thought we'd try to get there early the next morning. It was incredibly hot, so my daughter had a gelato (ice cream) and then put her feet in the San Marco Bay.













We walked around some more and tried to get an idea of what gifts we'd like to get for friends and family before heading back to our hotel room for a quick, cool shower.



My daughter thought the room was small, but I thought it was pretty big for European standards. It had a balcony, too, no less. I was impressed. I was also glad we'd found a good deal for it online. It was the Locanda Sant'Agostin.





We headed back out for some more pictures, sightseeing, shopping, and dinner. My daughter saw a Chinese restaurant that she wanted to try, so we braved the cover charge and service charge again for dinner. It was actually pretty good, and my daughter found she liked the lemon soda with the pulp.



She also found her favorite gelato flavors were nocciola (hazelnut), Nutella, and cioccolato (chocolate). We frequently made stops for a scoop or two of gelato for her.








We didn't try the coconuts though, and I wish we had. There were several fruit stands that had a fountain-type stand with sliced coconuts and other fruits like watermelon and grapes on display. Water was kept running over the fruit to keep them cool, and it looked so good!



The next morning we had a nice little breakfast at the hotel before heading out into the growing heat of the day. This time we took the vaporetto from St. Mark's Square to San Giorgio Maggiore Island. I'd been hoping to go up in the bell tower for a view of St. Mark's Square, but it was closed for renovations. We did see the pretty little church though, and it was a little more quiet and peaceful than the hustle and bustle of St. Mark's Square. My daughter was once again mesmerized by the steps to the water and kept making me nervous by how far down the steps she went. Sometimes the vaporetto would slam into the dock and send waves crashing, along with people waiting on the little dock! The algae on the steps was very slippery, so I couldn't relax until she was away from the steps. (If you look closely, you can see mussels on the steps, too.)

After we got back to St. Mark's Square, we grabbed some lunch on the way to the Bridge Accademia. They weren't very good calzones, but we weren't interested in sitting down in a trattoria or ristorante. We saw one guy who'd set up a temporary display for selling his wares running away when the carabinieri walked by. It was funny listening to him yell back to them. It must've been something like, "Oh, yeah, I forgot. I'll take care of it right away." And then it was funny watching the carabinieri decide whether or not it was worth it to chase him up across a crowded bridge in the heat of the afternoon. I think not!

I remember something about vendors having to pay a fee for their space to sell, so the people who haven't rented a space have to be ready to pick up and go when they see the carabinieri. They're usually selling purses and bags, but this guy was selling something that had been hand-made, like birds made from sticks or something. I didn't get a chance to look closely.

Another thing we saw was a lot of was begging. We saw the same people over and over again each day. A lot of the women beggars would come up to you asking for money and talking about their babies. Many people turned away, but I did see some people drop coins into their cups. One lady pressed a 20 Euro note into a woman's hands. The woman beggar said thank you, the note disappeared into a pocket, and she went right on begging again.


Anyway, we visited the Accademia Gallery and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. I preferred the latter. My favorite was Mercury Passing Before the Sun. I had to laugh because when I saw Men in the City, the song "Hot Child in the City" popped into my head.













When we went out to see Peggy Guggenheim's grave, I noticed a tree given to her by Yoko Ono. I pointed it out to my daughter, said she was John Lennon's wife, and then she asked who John Lennon was. That was cause for another laugh, and I told her I'd have to let Grandpa know about that one. (He's a big Beatles fan.)


My daughter had a cola slushee which was much better than the mint slushee she'd had the day before. We headed back to the hotel room for a quick, cooling shower and then headed back out again. We'd gotten tickets for a Vivaldi concert that night so we planned to eat dinner and then feed the birds in St. Mark's Square before going to the concert.


I love this picture and call it "Bird lady in training."






We almost ate at one of those places on the Grand Canal by the Rialto Bridge, but when we found out you had to have at least two courses per person we decided to take our business elsewhere. The clerk at the hotel had suggested we stay away from places near the Rialto Bridge, and now we knew why.

My daughter says Vivaldi's Four Seasons concert at Scuola Grande di San Teodoro was her favorite part of our trip to Venice. The musicians were dressed in period costume, and we felt sorry for them because it was so terribly hot. They had fans, but had to turn one off because it was messing up the sheet music on the stand. They played very well, but when this one man came to join the rest we were blown away. It was lovely to listen to them playing, but he was so wonderful to watch, too. The other musicians seemed like they were just going through the motions, but he really seemed to be enjoying the music all over again. His emotion spoke to us, and we felt it. I imagine it's very hard to do that when you have to play the same pieces over and over again. We were very impressed, and I think that night will stay with us for a very long time.

The next morning we finally went to St. Mark's Basilica. I found it amusing that you couldn't wear shorts into the church even if they were long, but it was okay to wear really, really short skirts.

I also found the sensation of walking along the floor very appealing. The floor had some dips and valleys in places, but they weren't short drops. They were more like waves and lulls, and I found it really fit into the life of this city on water.



Then we went up into the bell tower at St. Mark's Square. My daughter didn't really want to go because of her fear of heights, but she decided to try it. I'm so glad she did, because I really enjoyed it.





We tried to find the Vivaldi Museum in the rear of the Pieta Church, but it was closed both times we checked. We also really wanted to try the Secret Itinerary tour at the Doge's Palace, but we didn't book it the first time we went and the second time we went there was nothing available. We wandered around and happened to find the rear of the Bridge of Sighs. Not as crowded as the front! There we found a little place to eat lunch. My daughter had a margherita pizza and I had gnocchi with a tomato sauce. They were like dumplings which I normally don't like, but these were yummy!

We decided to walk to the New Ghetto, which was the first Jewish Ghetto in history. It was late in the afternoon, so a lot of places were closed.





(In Italy many shops close during lunch and then re-open for the evening hours.)

I did find it interesting that there seemed to be a higher number of security guards walking around the area. It was quiet and empty, so it kind of added to the somberness of the memorial we saw in the square.

On our final day in Venice, there was a vaporetto strike. I'd been thinking about heading out to one of the outer islands or lagoons, but I wasn't sure about taking a water taxi out there and not knowing how much time it would take. I was worried that the strike might affect our transportation prospects back to the airport. The hotel desk kept trying to call and find out, but there was no answer.



So we spent our last few hours walking around and shopping for final gifts for friends and family. I was excited to find a Murano glass puzzle that I'd seen in a window a few days before. I'd been looking for it again and couldn't find it until then.







We ate at the Chinese restaurant my daughter liked so much. Funny how we went to an Italian country and ate Chinese food! I guess it's because we'd lived in Japan and found many favorite foods there.





When we finally walked to Piazzale Roma, we found out the shuttle was working and had no trouble catching our flight home. It was wonderful to re-visit this fascinating city. I think I was most amazed by how little things had changed in the 11 years since I'd been there last.

I believe I'd even found a pizzeria that we'd eaten at before.





I can still hear the gondoliers calling after us,


"Gondola!"




"Gondola!"






Unfortunately, that's one treat we didn't get to experience. The one time we thought about it, the gondolier said it was 100 Euros. After we'd said, "Thanks, but no thanks," he offered it for 80 Euros. I almost wish we had. It was a beautiful night, but c'est la vie!



Hopefully my daughter will be able to go back to Italy someday. She's said that she's thinking about living there, and I told her I'd definitely visit ... maybe even twice a year!

Venice Monuments

written in 2005 and modified in 2006

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