Metafilter Travel

Iowa is for Tourists

whatzit — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:32:39 -0800

A 3-day bonanza in Iowa City and the Quad Cities. Iowa City is easy to love. Day 0
Arrive late night at Cedar Rapids airport. Get lost leaving airport and enjoy dirt roads to the interstate. Find lodgings: couchsurfing! Find beer: old landmark, John's Grocery. Apparently, also known as Dirty John's for being the first place in the area to sell Playboy. According to rumor, you can be kicked out of the store for calling it that while inside the store. Late: go stomping in the flooded parts during the freak rainstorm. Run inside when freak rainstorm turns into freak hailstorm.

Day 1
Friday of the week before school ends. Campus is busy! It's one of those days where you can take pleasure from being places you really shouldn't be, and places you have no reason to be (but also, have nowhere else to be). It's still cold and drizzly today, but that's not going to stop me! As recommended, the campus is fantastic for walking and poking around in. I loved the Boathouse (sideways monolith), and hated the Technology Center (a project Ghery decided not to have his name attached to). The stores selling university-logo stuff are lots of fun. Because life will never be complete without the UI cutting board!

After exploring the campus itself, it's time to go through downtown. Very pedestrian friendly! Lots of independent shops! I was not as thrilled with Prairie Lights the store as I expected to be, but some of the people working were fantastic, making recommendations from the vague notions of interest that people expressed after coming in and saying "I want a book." (No shit, Sherlock). The Strand it is not. Nonetheless, I did drop over $100 on books, as is my wont. Soap Opera does in fact have awesome smelling stuff. It smells awesome. Did you know you can have Margarita soap?? I do now. Also lots of fun in the modern and designy type shops: Akar, Design Ranch, etc. And there's a new knitting store/cafe (near Motley Cow's old location on Market) with a super-friendly owner, nice coffee, and soft, soft cookies. Also, they offer cool craft classes.

Day 2
Saturday is the FIRST farmer's market of the year at the parking lot near the fire station. So every Wednesday (afternoon/evening) and Saturday (~7:30-11:30) in the summer you can buy fresh baked goods, jams, plants, etc. This week featured a cooking demonstration by the chef from the Motley Cow. As far as the baked goods, I heartily recommend Carol from Coralville's strawberry rhubarb pies, and managed to transport two of them for 5 days across 6,000 miles to share them with my colleagues.

This is the day for the Quad Cities. It's hard to believe that even with four of them, there's just not that much to do, and it still looks like countryside or creepy suburbia (if you remember the intro to Eerie, Indiana?). Here, however, I did enjoy the Happy Joe's Taco Pizza on Locust Street. Two pulgares arriba! Also, I got lost in the Target parking lot (huge!!) where a friend spent his high school years pushing shopping carts around with his car at 40+mph. And ran into a Jon-Benet-Ramsey-esque dance competition near the high school *shudder*.

Also, stopped in Wilton for the Wilton Candy Kitchen and the WORLD'S BIGGEST TRUCK STOP.

Also, this was a Saturday. There are great house parties in Iowa City, and if you are youngish and friendly, you can go to any of them. Before or after that, though, return to the Ped Mall and enjoy the weekend zoo that is a mob of frat boys and sorority girls trying to impress each other. Try to keep count of the underwear-exposés and nascent beer bellies. Really, it's entertaining. But I was told - repeatedly, and always with a sense of pride - that the city has one of the highest number of bars per capita in the entire nation, and later that the number of bars was 88.

Day 3
More campus. Finally, sunshine and warmth. Fall asleep on the grass by the river. Walk around some more. Fall asleep on the grass between the Pentacrest and Iowa Book. Shop at the co-op. Eat lunch at Masala. Learn your lesson, that Indian food in Iowa, even cooked by Indians, is just not going to cut it. Would've gone to the Hamburg Inn but it was packed. Apparently this is a typical state of affairs for Sunday afternoon. Get a malt at Whitey's before taking another nap. Late: nighttime bike ride through campus and downtown with a friend and a tape player with speakers, the Police playing loud enough for a good soundtrack. Parks are all flooded. See the Official University of Iowa Marching Band Practice Grounds. No joking. Theorize about how much damage they do to property values around that otherwise lovely green spot of land.

Day 4
Leave for O'Hare at ass-o-clock in the morning, with a juicy cranberry orange walnut muffin from the Java House.

If I didn't do your kinda thing in this weekend, check out the other recommendations given in this thread.

Mexico city trip report.

vacapinta — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:49:45 -0800

Four days in Mexico City. We chose to stay in the Hotel Condesa DF. It's a new design hotel packed into a colonial building. The surrounding area, Colonia Condesa, is an upscale walkable neighborhood. The hotel itself is gorgeous but may not be for everybody. For one, the rooftop bar is a nightlife destination and it can get very very loud, despite the anti-loudness screens and the supplied earplugs.

We arrived on a Thursday night and went out walking in the neighborhood. Condesa is a mix of residential with spots of bars and cafes and bookstores. We were heading for an art opening at kurimanzutto gallery but ended up happily lost instead. Tired, we headed back to the hotel.

FRIDAY
On Friday we took the metro to the Historic Center. We took the subway to Pino Suarez and walked up the street to the Zocalo. There was lots of construction going on. Later, we discovered that it was a skating rink being built. We didn't go into the Cathedral. It was closed because of a recent protest. Later, we would run across other protests or marches, each like a small parade. Police are everywhere in Mexico City, one on every corner it seemed. The sidewalks around the Center at times becoming so crowded that people spill into the streets. Illegal vendors showing their wares. Shoppers with stuffed bags. University students and professors waving their arms in exclamation. At times Mexico city felt as if it was several cities dropped on top of each other, like double-exposed film.

We entered the Palacio Nacional with its walls of Diego Rivera murals. You enter the Palace through a metal detector since it is also a working government building. The tourists snapping pics alongside the sober government workers alongside the soldiers with rifles is the perfect foreground for Rivera's murals. The Templo Mayor, the Aztec ruins next to the Palacio, were closed off but you can still see them from the street.

In this area, do not miss the Colegio de San Ildefonso. I think its where Frida met Diego. But, more than that, it's an impressive art gallery and a beautiful sanctuary from the chaos of the streets. We were awed by the Rene Burri exhibition there. He is most famous for his photographs of Che.

We spent much of the afternoon just strolling in the Historic center. The stone buildings are from the Colonial era, well preserved and colorful. We walked down Calle Donceles with is a street renowned for its booksellers. Blocks of modern and antique book dealers, vendors selling paperbacks on the streets. Donceles is like an enormous open library. I picked up an early edition of a book of Alfonso Reyes poems. C. picked up an old Mexican movie poster. There are other streets with other specialties. A street of pharmacies. A street of hardware vendors. We stopped for beers and snacks at Cafe Tacuba. A bit touristy but also worth it. We also happened to walk by the Post Office, which just might be the most beautiful post office in the world.

We returned home by taking the Metro to Cauhtemoc and then walking through Colonia Roma and then through Colonia Condesa. The metro is highly efficient. We stopped worrying about running to catch a train when we realized that they seemed to arrive every 2 minutes. And each one is packed! Roma is a fantastic walking neighborhood. We stopped at a cafe, wandered by some student parties, went into funky stores until we arrived back at our hotel.

We had dinner at Cafe El Greco, a great hole-in-the-wall where one man made juicy carne asada delivered in pita wrappers with cheese. Likely the tastiest meal we had all week.

SATURDAY
Saturday was for Coyoacan which used to be a small town outside of Mexico city but was consumed. Now, you take the subway there.

We went first to the Trotsky museum. It is the house where Trotsky lived, the house where he was assassinated and the place where he is buried. His house has been kept in a preserved state. It is as if Trotsky might return at any moment. His clothes are hanging in his closet. All of his books are in the bookshelf. You can walk into the study where he worked, with its Edison recorder and map of Mexico. Trotsky's house was one of the highlights of the Mexico city trip. I was disoriented from the sense of having traveled back half a century.

Trotsky's house is only a few blocks, down some quiet residential streets, from the house of Frida and Diego. The blue house. Unlike the Trotsky house, the blue house was more of a museum, displaying Frida's letters and drawings, books from their collections. Also the house where they lived - but with a newly restored, repainted smell. Given the proliferation of Frida objects in the world, the cult-like fascination, we both thought that the gift shop could have done a better job. Still, the garden is a pleasant place to stop and have an espresso.

After the blue house, we strolled down Calle Allende. This will lead you (at least on a Saturday) to the deceptively enormous Coyoacan indoor market. An explosion of vendors in a maze-like space, selling fruits and flowers and candy and chiles and nuts and meats and books and toys and caged birds. Also small counters where you pick your food off of plates piled with seafood. Do not miss this. We weren't hungry yet although just outside the market, C. bought a delicious tortilla/cheese creation from a woman street vendor which we shared. Continuing the walk leads you towards Plaza Hidalgo, a weekend park festival out of a children's book. A wedding was spilling out of the nearby cathedral. Men selling colorful balloons. Ice cream vendors. Nuns selling eggnog. Jewelry and food vendors.

We walked down to Calle Venustiano Carranza and walked to Plaza Santa Catarina Coyoacan is full of bright and colorful old houses. Yellows and Blues seemed to dominate. Walking among those houses, down windy stone streets we arrived at Plaza Santa Catarina and sat down to eat huitlacoche[link?] tacos and margaritas in the small leafy plaza.

We made it back to the subway station. Back to the hotel Condesa where we spent the evening on the rooftop, watching the sunset in the hazy DF sky and drinking and chatting away. And resting our feet. For dinner, we made a trip to Pujol, an acclaimed restaurant. I at least was not highly impressed. It takes a lot to rival even the street food in a place like Mexico city.

SUNDAY
This is the day we went to Chapultepec Park. Go just to see all the Mexican families.

We were heading to the Museo Antropologico but C. noticed all these signs advertising the Mariposario (Butterfly Garden) at the Zoo. We weren't planning to go to the zoo but made a detour anyways. The zoo is free. And it is a great zoo! When I say this, I am comparing it to the San Diego Zoo which I grew up with. The Mariposario was not free but not expensive either. It was a large, humid room full of tropical butterflies. We were told not to touch the butterflies but this becomes difficult when they are landing on your shirt. Afterwards we lost a lot of time wandering through the zoo. I advise getting there early, as we did. We had just walked into the zoo. When we left, lines had formed.

The Museo Antropolgico is an architectural wonder. It is also a great museum. Artifacts found at pyramid sites are brought here where they are displayed theatrically. Aztecs are fine (and they have the Calendar stone here) but equally fascinating are the Oaxacan and Veracruz cultures as well as the Mayan and earlier cultures. From figurines to stone heads and walls of intricate writing, it is easy to spend the entire day here.

Afterwards, we walked through the park to the nearby Rufino Tamayo museum. Tamayo is one of my favorite painters. He was a modernist - his work reminiscent of Miro or Picasso - not a muralist like Orozco or Rivera.

We had planned to go to Chapultepec Castle on the top of the hill, the old castle where the French emperor Maximilian had resided, but we were out of steam. We ate at Casa Merlos, which you should take a cab to because it is a bit out of the way. We had fried crickets as a starter then a Mole tasting. After choosing your favorite Mole, it is served to you with chicken smothered underneath. Delicious.

MONDAY
Besides taking long baths and reading in the tub. We spent the early afternoon at the nearby Libreria Conejo Blanco - a tiny bookstore which is nevertheless probably one of the best bookstores in the city. I bought a few art magazines as well as books by Augusto Monterroso and Goncalo Tavares. Earlier in the week, I was also introduced to Fernando del Paso - now one of my favorite authors.

We had lunch at La Rauxa, a quiet sidewalk cafe which served a 3-course prix-fix meal for 70 pesos (about $7). We caught a taxi to the airport and left. We didnt go to Teotihuacan or Xochimilco or the Basilica or a Lucha Libre match or...a hundred other things. I could have stayed for months.

Any other questions? Feel free to ask.

New York one day

stuart_s — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:51:45 -0800

Went to New York for one day. Took the train because I'm not too smart. I stayed at a Hostelling International hostel. I ate at The Spotted Pig and had ramen at Setagaya. I recommend both restaurants. Count on a wait at The Spotted Pig and also count on being crammed in like a sardine. I guess that's par for the course in New York. The food is good, though. The ramen at Setagaya is very good.

The hostel was everything that I needed - cheap and in a good location. It was clean and comfortable with nice ammenities - wifi, laundry, etc...

The train was less pleasant. I was on the train for longer than I was actually in New York. It's comfortable, most seats have power outlets and you can get spotty reception. All in all, the experience would be great if it weren't so long. Next time the airfares seem too high I think I'll consider swimming.

Chennai, and a bit of Hyderabad: movies, restarants, and miscellaneous

theiconoclast31 — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:03:40 -0800

Stayed at Chennai for almost two months, and visited Hyderabad for a day or two. Restaurants: Palimer, The Crown. Theatres: Devi, Satyam, and PVR Multiplex. And some miscellaneous tips. Plane ride was bearable, but only because Pan's Labyrinth was playing. We stopped by UK. I hear Jet Airways will start flying from Newark airport to Dubai, stopping by Singapore. Next time we go to India, we may take that flight instead.

Chennai is very hot. It's a congested city, lots of people and pollution. The roads are crammed, don't expect to drive. From my experience, Indian cities don't have taxis; they have autos. Yellow autos are for the public - they're basically taxis; non-yellow autos are private, you can't hail them. If you're taking an auto, carry a handkerchief to protect your mouth and nose from smoke.

I saw Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix at Devi Theatres (Cost: 50 rupees/ticket), which I don't recommend. It's a loud theatre, people yelled throughout the movie. If you're looking for a theatre in Chennai, I recommend Satyam Complex theatres (Cost: 50 rupees/ticket, I saw Sivaji: The Boss) - the audience is quiet and I think the screen/sound may have been better quality (don't quote me on that). All the theatres I've visited are very loud. Next time, I may carry some cotton balls to stuff in my ears (No, seriously.) YMMV.

I went to Palimar at the Gemini flyover (I believe there are two 'Palimar's in Chennai). I had the fajitas, which I don't recommend. It was too bland. I recommend sticking to Indian dishes if you go there. It's a comfortable place: air-conditioned. It costs about 200 rupees/person for a meal, an entree's around 100 rupees.

The Crown, which is located in The Residency Towers, was awesome. (Sidenote: if you're visiting and don't have a place to stay, Residency Towers is gorgeous.) An average entree there costs about 200-250 rupees. I had the Ratatouelle, which was delicious. My aunt and uncle ordered Indian food, which was also very good. Best part: the Indian food tastes Indian and the French food tastes French. The restaurant's located on the 20th floor of the building, and you can eat on the terrace (Watch out for mosquitos if you go there in the later hours of the evening). Fantastic view, bring a camera. The building is home to a bunch of restaurants, including a buffet style place downstairs.

I went to Hyderabad for a few days. We flew via Jet Airways, which was excellent. They didnt have the meal I ordered, so the flight attendant brought me a first class meal. In Hyderabad, I saw Cash in the PVR Theatres multiplex. Out of the three theatres, PVR gets my vote. My cousin (who lives in Hyd) tells me that theres a strong movie community in the city, and there are actually three multiplexes in Hyderabad (PVR, Prasads, and something else).

Wherever you go, enjoy the fruit/veggies and the fresh juices. Indians love mangoes, and if you taste them, you'll know why :) Ill post more in the comments if I remember anymore, but thats all for today.

New York food centered detour

stuart_s — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:08:43 -0800

Two days, one night, a couple meals in New York. Sushi, bagels and the Unisphere. I went to Yasuda for dinner and had a nice meal. The sushi conformed to my expectations of what high end sushi should be: smaller pieces not straight out of the refrigerator case. I wish there were some place like that locally but I think in the end I learned that my local favorite is consistently, if not perfectly, competitive in terms of freshness and quality.

Lunch was supposed to be Momofuku but they were closed. I suppose I should have checked. But closed on Wednesday? In the end, I ate way too much at several different places. Doughnut Plant is vastly over rated. Two Boots Pizza is also pretty disappointing. I was suckered in by some award they have posted. I had a couple tacos at San Loco. They were good but I can't put them in context with other New York tacos.

Kossar's Bialys saved the day. The bialys are great and they've been making bagels now for several years and those are also great. A little Taam Tov cream cheese was also fantastic. I have since read an article about Taam Tov's horrific labor practices so...

My hotel was in Queens very close to the Unisphere and the rest of the fairgrounds. There was also some sort of children's science museum nearby in a very interesting building. The park/fairgrounds were serene and calm and the remnants of the World's Fair were fascinating. I only wish that I'd had more time to spend there.

New York food centered trip

stuart_s — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:13:04 -0800

I tried to fit in some cultural activities between meals. I stayed in a youth hostel, took the subway from Queens to Manhattan daily ate a lot, mostly Japanese, and visited a couple museums. I stayed in a hostel in Jackson Heigts, Queens. I'm glad I made that choice. I enjoyed meeting the other guests. The hostel itself was nice, if a little hot. There were several rooms accommodating between three and six people each. It was a house on a residential street. I drove to New York. I parked my car on the street and had to move it twice to deal with street sweeping which didn't really put me out much at all.

The neighborhood was also a pleasant experience. Walking to the subway each morning and returning each evening, I was bombarded by the wonderful smell of Indian food. The manage of the hostel is an acquaintance of Jim Leff, the top dog at Chowhound. Apparently, Leff lives in Jackson Heights because it's the chowiest neighborhood in all of New York.

Aside from moving for street cleaning, I didn't use my car at all. I relied entirely on public transportation. $24 bought one one week pass. Transportation time between boroughs seemed to take slightly less than 45 minutes included walking and waiting. I managed to navigate the system pretty well. I used HopStop and on rare occasions queried a helpful station attendant.

I ate at Momofuku Ssam Bar, Momofuku Noodle Bar, Masa, a sub shop in Corona Heights, Chiyono, Yakitori Totto, Rai Rai Ken, Una Pizza Napoletana, Magnolia Bakery, Chikalicious, Super Taste - a Chinese noodle soup restaurant in Chinatown and Taste Good Malaysian Cuisine in Elmhurst, Queens. Generally none were so disappointing that I would recommend against them. On my way out of town, I picked up some knishes from Yonah Schimmel, assored goodies from Russ and Daughters and a bento from Yagura. I wasn't impressed by Super Taste but Robert Sietsama thinks they're the best noodles in the universe. I've only been to two Malaysian restaurants and Taste Good isn't quite as good as the other (not New York) restaurant. Masa was notable as much for the amazing atmosphere as for the food. If you're not willing to pay exorbitantly for atmosphere I'm not sure that Masa is the right place. I wasn't planning on going to either Magnolia Bakery or Beard Papa but went after just happening to walk by. Both were a little disappointing, especially Magnolia. I've definitely had better cupcakes (again not in New York). Chikalicious was okay. Momofuku Noodle bar's ramen had a very rich broth, lots of delicious stewed pork (in addition to the roast pork) and the poached egg is a great idea. The roast pork in the ramen at Rai Rai Ken was really outstanding. Many items at Yakitori Totto were very good, in particular the chicken meatball with raw egg "sauce". The bento from Yagura was very good - a fried hamburger patty, a tiny speck of salmon, rice and an assortment of very small sides. These last few were the best and really the only ones I'd consider returning to. Still, nothing was really a revelation and in a city like New York I think that's a reasonable standard. Even in the short time since I returned, I've read that one new ramen shop has opened and another has announced an imminent opening. Similarly, I've got great leads on more pizza, smoked fish and countless other things.

Between eating, I went to the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, Tryon Park in Washington Heights and the Staten Island Botanical Gardens. The Staten Island Botanical Gardens has an art gallery and the exhibits that I saw were worthwhile. The Cooper Hewitt was showing the design triennial and an exhibit about clever design in unindustrialized areas. I recommend it if it's still available. Mostly, I think of New York itself as one big museum. Walking from the subway stops to my "destinations" was invariably just as interesting as the museums themselves. Washington Heights, Corona Heights, Midtown, Jackson Heights, even the subway itself. Each was fascinating.

3 Day Car Tour to Kakadu National Park

Jimbob — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:09:41 -0800

Last weekend, we headed out from Darwin to Kakadu National Park for the weekend. Kakadu is Australia's largest national park,and is World Heritage Listed for both environmental and cultural significance. You could easily spend a week there if you take advantage of all the walking trails and spots of beauty, or much longer if you have an off-road vehicle to explore the more distant parts. We decided to see what we could see in our Hyundai in just three days. Kakadu National Park, in the Northern Territory of Australia encompasses a diverse range of habitats; from tropical savannah woodland, to huge expanses of estuarine and freshwater wetland, escarpment, and patches of monsoon vine forest. Much of the park is inaccessible in the monsoonal "Wet Season", which runs from around November to April. The middle of the dry season, June, July, August, is probably the best time to go, although the waterfalls aren't as spectacular without some rain behind them. The park is about a 2-hour drive from Darwin, with main service centres within the park at Cooinda, Jabiru and South Alligator.

First day

Leaving Darwin, we first stopped at Fogg Dam, on the way to Kakadu; this is a small wetland area, packed to the brim with migratory and water birds among the water-chestnuts and waterlillies. You can get some great photos here, and it's easy to get to from the Arnhem Highway. Best to visit early in the dry season, before the water dries up.

We then headed to The Bark Hut for lunch - a roadside service station, caravan park and pub. The beer was cold, the food was generous, basic pub affair (fish and chips, burger and chips, cheese-and-ham toasted sandwiches, you get the idea). The decor was concerning. The Bark Hut has a small...well, I wouldn't call it a "bird sanctuary"...but they seem to have some emus and turkeys running around out the back, which kept the son amused.

We then headed into the park. Entry is now free, due to a dodgy promise made by the Prime Minister last election. I can see this causing problems in the future, but make the most of it while you can. I think they used to charge about $15 for entry. We passed over the South Alligator River. There are no alligators here, just crocodiles. The guy who named it wasn't good recognizing reptiles. A few kilometers beyond that, you turn off to Mamukala; here there is a small billabong packed with birds of all descriptions - you can walk a short distance to a covered viewing hide-out, or take a longer loop walk through savannah and monsoon forest to the billabong.

From here we headed to Jabiru, the main town in the park. The main accommodation in Jabiru is a hotel shaped like a giant crocodile, but prices there are scaled for foreign tourists, so we headed down the road to the Lakeview Park, an aboriginal-owned caravan and cabin park. It was great; the cabins were neat and had cooking facilities and a BBQ, the park was basic but well kept, the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. This park also has "Bush bungalows" - tent-like, transparent-walled structures that are fun to stay in, at least in the dry season when you can do without air-conditioning.

Second Day

At the park we booked a dawn-cruise at Yellow Waters at Cooinda, further south in the park. Allow half and hour to 45 minutes to get from Jabiru to Cooinda for the cruise, which leaves at about 6:30 in the morning, and make sure you book ahead in the peak dry-season. The cruise was amazing; the boats take you out before dawn, and you can watch the sun rise over the South Alligator River wetlands, before a peaceful tour of the wetlands. The bird-life is astounding and plentiful, a photographer's dream, and there are also plenty of estuarine crocodiles to check out, although you'll only seem them eat something if you're lucky. Most likely a smaller crocodile. The cruise lasted for about 2 hours, and was $55 per person, well worth it.

From Yellow Waters we headed to Nourlangie Rock, back up the road to Jabiru. This is an outcrop of rock, providing both a great climb to the top with views over the surrounding woodlands to the Arnhem Land escarpment, as well as walks underneath past ancient and beautiful aboriginal rock paintings. Nearby was Anbangbang billabong, a small wetland with more birds and picnic tables. Abide by the warning signs telling you not to get too close to the waters edge, lest an estuarine crocodile grabs you.

We spent that afternoon relaxing back at Jabiru, doing a bit of shopping in the local supermarket, before heading east to Ubirr Rock in time for sunset. Ubirr is another rocky outcrop, another 30- to 45-minutes from Jabiru. From the top, you get an astounding view over the East Alligator River wetlands, over which the sun sets. To the west, the golden sun lights up the Arnhem Land escarpment. And, again, underneath, amazing galleries of aboriginal rock paintings. The traditional owners of the area implore you not to take alcohol up Ubirr rock. I can understand the temptation, it would be the ideal place to sip a beer or champagne as the sun goes down over the wetlands, but I advise you to take their advice. This appears to be a seriously sacred place, and I have no doubt some ill fate will fall upon you if you ignore the warnings of the locals. Be prepared again, at the peak of the dry season, for a few hundred people to be on top of the rock watching the sunset with you.

Third Day

Time to pack up and go home. We actually went back to Ubirr first, to check out the area in the daylight, and visited the nearby Border Store, and Cahill's Crossing. Cahill's Crossing is the point where you cross the East Alligator River from Kakadu National Park into aboriginal-owned Arnhem Land. Which you can't do, unless you obtain a permit from the traditional owners. Contact the Northern Land Council in Darwin if you want to try your luck, but it's unlikely they'll let you in unless you have a very good reason, although I understand the nearby community of Oenpelli has an open-day once a year where you can meet local artists. In any case, once you get into Arnhem Land, you'll need a serious four-wheel drive to make much progress.

And from there, a long, casual drive back to Darwin, stopping by The Bark Hut once again for a cold beer.

Things to know

Crocodiles. They eat people. Statistically, Australians and Germans appear to be their preferred human prey, but I don't believe they are that picky. So wherever you see a sign advising "no swimming", don't ignore it. In truth, I believe the only places in Kakadu you can swim is in the swimming pools associated with the resorts. The same goes for signs advising you not to get too close to the water.

Driving. The speed limit along most of the roads is a unique 130kph. But you might want to go a bit slower around sunrise and sunset, where unexpected wildlife can get in your way. And if that wildlife happens to be a water buffalo that has strayed in from outside the park, you may be looking at an expensive ~~insurance~~ ~~hospital~~ funeral bull. And pay attention to road conditions - if the sign says it's a four-wheel drive track, you'd better have a Landcruiser.

Jabiru. There's no take-away alcohol available; either drink in the local club, or bring your own from outside the park.

Fishing. It's allowed, and fantastic, just no live bait or nets allowed.

Enjoy!

Chicago Travelogue

Miko — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 08:45:47 -0800

Museum Geek in Chicago. In early May, 2007, I went to Chicago and Oak Park, IL, for a work trip, and got in quite a lot of introductory sightseeing and city highlights. So I had a workshop to attend for my job, and used it as an excuse to take an extra couple days and tour the city. For a four-day trip, it was quite efficient! I was travelling solo, so everything I recommend here is fun to see by yourself, and I also walked almost everywhere, barring travel from my accommodations in Oak Park to the Loop area. (I do like walking insanely, so take that into account - you might not want to walk the couple of miles from the Loop to the History Museum, but there is a train.)

It was a startlingly beautiful city. All I know of Chicago had come from American Studies stuff -- Sandburg, the Jungle, the '68 convention - I always pictured it as gritty, industrial, full of strife. Instead I found a really vibrant, sophisticated, diverse city full of graces: the architecture has to be America's finest in one city center. The public parks and gardens and plantings are gems set everywhere, and people really use them.

I stayed at this B & B in Oak Park. The Josephine Room was just $75 a night, and the place was gracious but comfortable, with big relaxing verandas, nice hosts, and gorgeous Arts & Crafts detail and furnishings. The neighborhood was amazingly walkable, and was like a museum itself of American vernacular architecture including Prairie, Mission, Foursquare, and many more house styles. There's a small but very nice downtown including an old movie theatre, lots of restaurants, a good bookstore, and a nifty paper-arts store. I had dinner the first night at Khyber Pass, which seemed to get good reviews in local papers - the buffet was abundant, but I can't say it was the most amazing Indian I ever had. It was just fine, though, and there was a nice live sitar player providing accompaniment.

Right there in Oak Park there's a lot to do. It was the home of Frank Lloyd Wright for many years, and you can tour his home and studio: highly recommended. There are many other Wright houses nearby, and walking tours are offered, though I didn't take one. One of his most famous public buildings, Unity Temple, is right on the main drag. You can take an architecture tour there for $9, but I opted instead to just attend the Sunday UU service for free (or $1 in the collection plate, anyway). I figured that would give the best sense of the design in action, and indeed it did; also it was a nice way to get a feel for some of the local residents and character of the neighborhood.

Oak Park is connected by the L trains to Chicago. Trains are frequent and the comfortable ride takes only about 15 minutes - providing enough time to make plans using travel guides and local papers.

The History Museum was my first destination - I always like to get a sense of how places tell their own story. I find it really grounds the rest of my visit in an understanding of a city's background. I didn't go through the entire thing - I focused on the general highlights exhibit, including an original L car and some info about Ida Tarbell and the Colmbian Exposition, an exhibit called City in Crisis, and an excellent one all about the music history of Chicago, from blues to folk to polka. That was simple but very effective.

From there, I set out walking across town to the Lake Shore. It was absolutely beautiful, and the combination of beach and paved path is well worth strolling, swimming, biking, or blading. I carried on down the lake to the Navy Pier, your basic honky-tonk tourist area of rides and attractions. I rode the Ferris Wheel to get a nice view of the city and lake. There's a lot you can do there - waterborne tours and boat rides, including the vaunted architecture tour, leave from there. There is also a free stained glass museum on the pier; it was astoundingly good, especially for a free installation that feels like an afterthought in some ways. Examples of stained glass from medieval to contemporary, all beautifully lit.

From the pier I cut over to the Magnificent Mile - basically, upscale shopping, but some nice buildings. I especially loved the lobby of the Tribune Building, which is inscribed with quotations about freedom of speech. Look on the outside for hundreds of rocks from historic sites around the world. The bridges were amazingly beautiful and somewhat reminiscent of (don't laugh) Paris.

I stopped for a Chicago style loaded hot dog at some dog joint whose name I can't remember. It was surprisingly delicious! Thus fortified, I continued my explorations with a visit to the historic Marshall Field's Department Store building (now a Macy's, but mostly preserved). It is truly a consumer palace, with yawning airy atriums (atria?), cafes, marble and painted plaster detailing, and luxury shopping. They give history tours on Saturdays at 1 PM. The Chicago Cultural Center was not far away; this free center (formerly the public library) provides a home for exhibits and events. There seems to be something going on there just about all the time.

From there it was an easy hop into Milennium Park, which has to be the most innovative and yet user-friendly park built in the US since Frederick Law Olmstead's day. Just go -- it's enchanting, pretty, fun, funny - a happy place to be. I spent hours there over the course of the weekend; it became a downtown oasis. The Crown Fountain is a great place to cool your feet and people-watch.

One evening I had dinner at Petterino's in the theater district. Nice atmosphere with a 1900-ish tile floor, marble and brass bar - unfussy Italian food of decent quality - pastas, salads, panini, and some great onion rings.

One full day was spent divided between the Art Institute, where I concentrated on the American 20th century collection (really good, and American Gothic is there and worth seeing) and the Field Museum, which made me want to pack my bags and run away to work there. Their exhibit Evolving Planet is world-class, interesting, thorough, and fascinating - currently it's considered the best exhibit anywhere on the topic of evolution and global change over time. The displays of artifacts left from the Columbian Exposition were awesome - in the Native culture exhibits, towering totem poles were very impressive. I was most blown away by The Ancient Americas, which was far more than artifacts - the exhibit was very philsophical, spending a lot of time on how humans organized into societies, mastered agriculture, and developed hierarchies, economies, and militaries. Very interesting stuff.

Culturally, I found that people were almost a combination of Midwestern (nice, polite, helpful) and Southern (I haven't been 'Ma'am'-ed so much in years, and people were laid back and had a relaxed pace).

I'd go back at the flimsiest excuse, this time exploring more of the outlying neighborhoods. There is far more to do than I could get to in four days, and both the art museum and the Field are the kinds of places you can't even see all in one day. There's a lot of live music, which I didn't see, and apparently interesting ethnic neighborhoods, a particle accelerator, and all sorts of other pastimes which I hope one day to explore. Those of you who live there are fortunate folk!

Solo in Switzerland

madamjujujive — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:09:37 -0800

A recap of two weeks in Zurich, Lucerne, Lugano, and Berne, and many marvelous points along the way. I traveled alone to Switzerland about 10 years ago in May it was an impulse trip because I found a $199 r/t air from Boston to Zurich and grabbed it fast. I still have my notes which I wrote up for a friend who was planning a trip. Hotels all still exist and have websites, but particulars and pricing may have changed. I researched my own lodging, not as easy in my pre-Internet days. Price was important, but since I was traveling alone, centrality was my top priority. Most of the places I stayed had cheaper options for single travelers.

My itinerary was Zurich, Lucerne, Lugano, and Berne. I traveled by train and boat from place to place buy your train pass before you leave the U.S. - it's much cheaper.

Zurich: Hotel Krone, Limmatquai 88
I walked to this small hotel from the train station. It's centrally located, no frills but was clean and inexpensive. You can save 25-40% on your room rate by sharing a communal bathroom. Breakfast in the dining room overlooking the river was a cheery affair where I met a variety of international travelers.

Zurich is a wonderful city, but most people just fly in and out and understandably move on to the grandeur of the Alps. But I think it's well worth visiting for a day or two if you have the time. It's a compact city and you can comfortably maneuver on foot. There are many wonderful museums and the architecture is interesting. Bahnhofstrasse is home to the famous Swiss banks and boasts exclusive shops that rival Rodeo Drive. Aldstadt (Old Town) is a wonderful place to get lost in, full of street performers, antique shops, cafes and narrow, winding streets lined with houses boasting frescoes and oriel windows. The Kunsthaus Zurich is an excellent modern museum with one of the largest collection of works by Edvard Munch outside Norway, as well as works by Picasso and the Expressionists Kokoschka, Beckmann . I was fortunate in seeing a special exhibit of Modigliani nudes. Take a boat trip on the Zurichsee (lake) to one of a number of towns or mountains nearby. As would be expected, Zurich is a major train hub as well. Train trips are one of the true joys in this gorgeous country.

Lucerne - Drei Könige - hotel was comfortable and well-situated, but nothing all that special. It's the only hotel I didn't keep notes on, and nothing much about is was all that memorable - no raves but no memorable complaints either.

Lucerne is story-book perfect with its 4th century wooden bridge. My stay in town was somewhat disappointing because I was in the middle of my first week, and dense cold fog and rain completely shrouded the surrounding Alps. I knew they were there and could feel their presence, but never saw more than the base of any of them during my stay very frustrating! I took a train trip up one anyway, but at the top it was a whiteout and I couldn't see my hand in front of my face but I had a great time meeting the other passengers. So most of my time in Lucerne was spent in shops, museums, and seeing the local landmarks like the famous Lion Monument. I also took a boat ride to the transportation museum, which was rather fascinating the Swiss do transportation well! I moved on early to get to Lugano, when I heard the weather was more promising.

Lugano: Montarina Hotel Via Montarina 1
Small hotel/pensione very close to the RR station. Room was large & attractive but on the first floor and very noisy with guests checking in all night. But it was cheap and clean and rather charming, and they also have more economical hostel-like facilities for backpackers. No breakfast was served with the accommodation, but the RR station across the street had a terrific café. And the city is full of interesting cafes on bustling squares. Or visit one of the markets and get coffee and pastries, and settle in a park to watch a life-sized chess game being played while you sip your coffee. Part of the reason for the bargain price is that this hotel is not in the center of town - it's at the top of the city in the foothills of the mountains - unless you're a power walker, take the funicular to get back and forth. It was under repair while I was there, so I got my exercise.

Lugano is a fabulous city in the gorgeous Ticino region. This part of Switzerland is paradise - lush semi-tropical vegetation with snow capped-Alps in the distance. The region borders Italy, so the language and food are similar to Northern Italy . (Risotto -yum!) You can travel by boat from one lovely town to another .I traveled to charming Ascona on Lago Maggiore for lunch, and spent the afternoon at a stunning botanical garden on an island in the middle of the lake, Isole di Brissago. Or take a few mile hike to the port of Gandria spilling down the hillside. Stop at the lovely Villa Favorita museum for a little culture & lunch along the way. The museum houses a large portion Thyssen-Bornemisza collection and includes works by Durer, Holbein, Van Eyck, Rubens, Tintoretto, Brueghel to name but a few. From Lugano, you can also easily cross into northern Italy for day trips.

Another wonderful way to get around the Ticino area (or anywhere in Switzerland) is to take a postal bus with the locals. I took a bus up to the lovely mountain village of Carona and hiked down the mountain on the well-marked wanderweg or footpath that meandered through farms and towns, about a 3-4 hours through fabulous scenery. I stumbled on one of the world's great gardens, the Parco Scherrer with wonderful nooks and international statuary. The hike ended in Vico Morcote and Morcote where I had dinner and wine at a 4 table cafe on the lake and caught the boat back to Lugano. I would highly recommend devoting a day to this idyllic itinerary.

Berne: Hospiz Zur Heimat, Gerechtigkeitdgasse 50
Excellent location, and a fine little no-frills hotel for an affordable price. Located just a few blocks from the famous clock tower and on a central street, I walked from the train station. It looks like the pensione has been converted to small studios for rent by the week.

Berne is a lovely medieval city with sandstone façade buildings and miles of arcades. It has wonderful museums, restaurants, churches and shops. It also has a host of terrific kellers or subterranean pubs - some of these have been serving quaffs for centuries. The hotel is a short walk to the Bear Pit where locals have been feeding the animals the city is named for since the 1400s. Be sure to catch the mechanical figures perform at the astronomical clock about 5 minutes before the hour. Also, stop by the Minster (Cathedral 39) - a Gothic masterpiece with an awesome depiction of the Last Judgment on its doors. The Art Museum is also noteworthy, housing 2500 works from native artist Paul Klee and the Rupf Collection of Cubist Art (Kandinsky, Picasso, Leger, Braque and more.)

Bern is also a great hub to use as a central point for day excursions to the wonders of the Berner Oberland. I took the train up the Jungfrau (13,642 ft.) for a breathtaking view. I was going to only go halfway up because it was a bit pricey, but I met a fun group of Australians and Koreans who urged me on "when will you get here again?" Glad I did, they were fun travelers and ended up driving me back to Bern where we had dinner and a keller crawl that night. I also took awesome day trips to Montreaux and St. Moritz both highly recommended. Pick almost any direction and take a train - you can't go wrong in Switzerland. The trains are excellent. Lots of people speak English, but you might find it helpful to brush up on German, French and Italian - each is the dominant language in various sections of this picture-perfect country.

I didn't really meet very many locals, but of the trips I've taken alone, it was the best for meeting fun international travelers of all ages to hang out with: a vacationing Libyan husband and wife, both doctors that I met in a restaurant, and who were very familiar with the city and took me on an evening walking tour and pub crawl; I spent an evening over fondue and beers with a group of retired British RAF and spouses who were taking a detour from a vacation of visiting WWII sites; I shared lunch and a museum tour with a single Chinese woman who spoke only a few words of English beyond her native Chinese brave traveler. A gaggle of college students blues & jazz aficionados adopted me into their group one evening in a keller. It was a great trip for meeting fellow travelers - a good solo bet.

Monknash

chuckdarwin — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 04:11:24 -0800

On Sunday, we went to what is probably the most beautiful 'rocky' beach on the South Wales coast: Monknash. It's almost completely comprised of round and oval gray stones (there are small areas of sand at low tide) and hemmed in by tall cliffs with beautiful exposed layers of rock. The way the waves pound the stony outcropping of rock is something to see. The walk through the forest is great, too: there's a ruined building of some sort and nice little brook. Sadly, this beach is best appreciated by very spry young people / adults. The approach has two large stone stiles to get over, so it is not suitable for prams, wheelchairs, or anyone who would have a problem physically climbing over them. The beach itself has no sand at all, and you must walk carefully. Avoid the mossy bits, as they are very slippery. Not suitable for surfing, IMO, unless you are very, very good. Warning. If you do fish around the headland, keep an eye on the tide! We got there by using the sat nav: just set yours for Monknash, and it'll take you straight there. It is situated near the village of Wick on the B4265 about 5 miles south of Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, following the signs for Broughton and Monknash.

There's a really good pub near there called The Plough & Harrow that does Sunday Lunch between 12:00 and 14:30. We had a nice long lunch and pints of Bucking Fastard and Cornish Knocker. The food was pretty good for pub fare, and reasonably priced (most dishes were £6.95).

There is also a Circular Walk from Nash Point to Monknash which you can read about here.

Sofia Bulgaria in 1994

jessamyn — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 10:13:37 -0800

I went to Sofia as a side trip when I was living in Cluj-Napoca Romania in 1994. It was a whole different sort of Eastern Europe than I was used to. I went to a student conference and found a bowling alley. This is from an email I sent home after the trip. December 6, 1994

PECTOPAHT means Restaurant and Other Fine Details of the Bulgarian Experience

Okay, another entry in the travel brochure that is my life. Sorry for being such a slacker about returning email, but I have been in Bulgaria for the last week or so on what was supposed to be a student conference and wound up being in some ways a conference, in some ways a fiasco and in some ways an exercise in diplomacy and sleep deprivation. But let me start at the beginning...

I am writing this Tuesday morning after having just gotten off the train from Bucharest [Romania's lovely, lovely capital city [ha!]]. We were in Sofia for four days and in transit for another three. To get to Sofia from Cluj, you must take a sleeper car to Bucharest [actually a much nicer trip than you might imagine] and then hang out in Bucharest for ten hours [not as nice a prospect as you might imagine] and then grab a night triain to Sofia [something went wrong with our reservations on the way to Sofia and so twelve of us had to ride in second class sleepers which means you have *six* people to a room instead of the first class three or two [as a married couple, Jack and I tend to get cushier sleeping arrangements, though maybe no one wants to be with us...] which is nowhere near as nice. The other downside to second class is that the door to your cabin doesn't lock and there is a persistent rumor in Eastern Europe that if you don't tie your door shut with a scarf or somethin the train people will gas your car with sleeping gas and come in and steal all your loot -- this was not my experience in second class, needless to say]. Anyhow, the trip wasn't too terribly awful, though it is hard to sleep when you know that you are going to be rudely awakened by a border guard at 3 am who will ask you a bunch of questions in Romanian. We made it through all orders safely, though a deranged member of our party who had recently lost and replaced her passport got jettisoned off the train because she had neglected to get another entry slip for her visa and so had a passport which claimed she had never entered Romania. This was a problem and so she got kicked off the train at the Bulgarian border at 3am [with a Romanian student who offered to go along with her since the prof. spoke no Bulgarian and almost no Romanian] with all the money she had with her [not much]. This would have caused more consternation had the woman not been a complete psycho and had we all not secretly been praying for her to fall into the Black Sea. She eventually made it to Bulgaria, but it was two days late since the day she wound up back in Romania was Dec 1, the Romanian national holiday.

We got to Sofia around six a.m. only to be greeted by some 6 foot tall Austrian guy who looked like Matthew Modine weilding a video camera in our direction as we detrained. This was Gerald, CEP director for Bulgaria and general Hapsburg Empire Weirdo. Gerald is the kind of guy who says that we will leave to go to dinner in "about seven minutes". You can imagine how well I get along with this guy. We are put in different hotels from the students. Theirs is in Central Bulgaria and ours is south. South enough that we have the option of taking the train or a taxi to get to the meetings and meals [I never did find out why this was but I must say that navigating the Bulgarian taxi system with a knowledge of about three words of Bulgarian [on of which is the word for coffee -- very essential] is a bit of a trip].

Over 1900 street names have changed in Sofia since 1989, so your chances of getting a map that is halfway accurate are almost nil [there is a story in our travel book about a guy who was given a map of Sofia and tried to find his way around the city with it to no avail for almost two hours before he realized that someone [accidental or not] had given him a map of Varna instead. He arrived at this realization when he looked at the map closer and realized that Sofia was nowhere near the Black Sea [Varna is]]. Even if you *do* get an accurate map, you either get one with the Cyrillic names for everything so you must do a sort of pattern matching deal to determine your location *or* the map is in the Roman alphabet in which case you have the names of all the streets, which bear no resemblance to the names you see on the street signs. It wasn't too tough to eventually get a grip on the lettering system, esp. since many words [coffee, restaurant, Coca- Cola] are similar and some of the letters are the same. Pointing works pretty well and, unlike Romania, people aren't so busy laughing at you that they can't answer your questions. The open souvenir markets are filled with Bulgarians whose only English consists of the phrase "Super souvenir for you my friend" in an attempt to sell us Nazi cigarette cases or busts of Lenin [*lots* of swastikas and skinheads in Sofia]. Cappucino is another word that translates well and Jack and I think we have hit the all time lowest price for a good cappucino at 15 leva [about 25 cents -- a toothless woman even got the steamed milk right] even though it *was* served in a plastic cup you would expect to find Kool Aid in.

Speaking of food and drink, here was another high point of the Bulgarian experience -- Kentucky Fried Chicken. The real thing. Fried. Chicken. Corn. Cole Slaw. Wet Naps. We has heard that there was one there [no other American fast food in this immediate region, though Pizza Hut will be opening soon in Bucharest and there is a McDonalds in Budapest] and skipped out on an interminable lunch [eating a meal with 49 other people pretty much guarantees that your food will be cold and late - eating out is more expensive [costs more that zero, for instance] but infinitely more satisfying]. So we went there with a Bulgarian lecturer [originally from Georgia and really jonesing for good fried chicken] and got chicken, fries, corn and Pepsi [the folks at the register also spoke pretty good English which was another feature of this place -- cartofski is how you say potatoes in Bulgarian, by the way] for about five bucks [astronomical in Bulgaria, remember the 25 cent cappucino] and got back in time for the next series of panels in the conference [topic "East Meets West" many many papers on the topics of integration with the so-called West, critiques of television and discussions of the European Union etc. The students are all super smart, but that doesn't mean they are all super interesting]

So, two days of conference and looking out the window longingly at Sofia [it is a feature of these conferences that they happen in beautiful places that we get no chance to see unless we bag out on the panels [strongly discouraged] or get up really early in the am [completely impossible]. and decided to bail out on the sure-to-be-super-fun ten hour trip to Plovdiv [an allegedly beautiful city about an hour and a half drive from Sofia -- the plan was to put everyone on a bus together and shlep them out there while showing them a video [of course the bus has a tv and VCR] of the conference that Herr Gerald had taken only a day earlier. What fun. We begged off despite threats that there was a mandatory lecturer meeting happening about half way through the day [we countered with the opinion that if there was a meeting so important that it was mandatory, someone should have thought to not put it in the middle of a optional and sure- to-be-awful field trip [not just any field trip, mind you, but one where the whole crew doesn't even get to stop off at McDonalds on the way home as some sort of bribe to get them all through the terrible museum or whatever]]. Anyhow, we hung out in the city instead and met this guy from Missouri who has been in Europe doing some sort of consulting and had been living in Sofia for less time than we had and we hung out with him for part of the day and saw Nostradamus [the film, not the guy -- I recommend this if it ever comes to the US. It is filmed mostly in Romania [though it takes place in France] and has the look of a film made 20 years ago [in a good way]. It has no major stars, but Rutger Hauer and F. Murray Abraham both have small parts. The story line isn't much, but it is beautiful to look at]. We also got wedding rings [very nice looking, 400 leva for both of them [about $6] and had more chicken and WENT BOWLING!

***About Bowling***

As you know, bowling was one of the last things I did in Seattle before hitting the high skies for eastern Europe. Much to my chagrin, there appears to be no bowling alleys in all of Romania [though we have heard rumors of there being some in the resprts on the Black Sea]. An incidental note in our tour book [Berkeley Guide -- I sugest anyone travelling anywhere go purchase this thing] metioned that the Palace of Culture in Sofia [about the only thing that *was* near our hotel] had a bowling alley. Well, the palace is huge and filled with a number of things [all nicely delineated in Cyrillic on the signs] but we found that if we did the bowling pantomime to folks standing around, they would point us in the right direction [or perhaps they were just signalling us away, hard to tell -- anyway we eventually found it]. It is below the bingo parlor [bingo is BIG out here, it seems] and has five pool tables and six lanes [only four of which seemed to work at any given time]. The lanes cost 300 leva an hour [a little under five dollars] and you get to wear your own shoes [probably explaining the worn out patch on each of the lanes on the left hand side where the majority of bowlers make their approach]. The balls look like they were taken directly from the Flintstones and you have to score yourselves. The other Bulgarians we saw playing scored completely wrong [or, in our opinion wrong] -- they only alloted one point per pin, whether they got strikes or spares or whatever... I had 113 in the ninth frame when our time ran out and they turned off the lights in our lane and I wasn't allowed to finish my turn. We actaully bowled three times when we were in Sofia. Once we took the Romanian students who had never been bowling before [and an Australian lecturer as well]. Since then we have heard that there may be bowling alleys in Cluj [though I doubt it] and Bucharest [possible...]

We left Sofia Sunday night after being berated by everyone for not going to Plovdiv and having a shitty time like they did. The border guards did not seem to care or notice that our visas had expired [or they may not have expired, most of the lecturers have different looking visas and it is tough to tell if your visa is valid -- the story we have heard most often is that our visa is valid all year, but ONLY if we leave the country every 30 days [since it is a tourist visa -- does this make any sense at all?] and since we hadn't left since we got here, we were worried we would be in big trouble -- fortunately, as usual, the border guys were too busy laughing when Jack told them he was a professor to pay too much attention after we told them we weren't smuggling heroin or anything [they really ask you if you have any heroin on you!] We got to Bucharest yesterday morning and spent a lot of the day hanging out in the American Cultural Center [mostly a library and, unlike our dinky library here that just has books like "Thomas Jefferson -- A Great Guy" it has a lot of books on philosophy, race issues, feminism and the like. I can even get a library card there and take books back to Cluj with me] and feeling weird about feeling like we were Back Home by being in Romania again [where we understand 40 per cent of the language instead of less than one percent].

We noticed another thing about Bulgaria that seems to be endemic to Eastern Europe and that is the high level of crap in the air. Your skin gets dirty just by standing around outside [sort of like NYC or LA]. We think this has a lot to do with the smokestacks spewing crap into the air alla time. In fact, sometimes it is hard to tell if the smoke you are seeing is a smokestack or a huge fire of some sort, so Jack and I have created a game called On Fire or Not? which came out of a game we made up in Miami called Going Up or Coming Down [since folks were rebuilding after the hurricane, it was tough to tell if buildings were being built or falling down] The trick is to try to tel if a building is on fire or simply spewing its regular noxious fumes into the air. It's tougher than you might think.

Next weekend [or, in three days really] we are going to Timisoara, famous in Romania for being the place where the Revolution started in 1989. There is a Politology Conference there [they call it the Proctology conference -- if anyone knows what politology is, please let me know] and Jack is presenting a paper about mind colonization and the spread of western ideas in eastern europe. We are also going to eat Gyros and check out the supermarket there that allegedly has scanners [tough to belive considering that we hardly *have* supermarkets in Cluj].

Consider sending postcards, I don't get nearly enough non-electronic mail. My home address is now cool for sending stuff to. If you send a package, the trick is to value it *low* since we have to pay tax on the stated cost of the items -- just bit more Romanian trivia for you.

Jessamyn

Grand Canyon Adventure

netbros — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:35:18 -0800

Featuring the Grand Canyon Skywalk and Colorado River Rafting in Arizona. This is a journey to the land of the Hualapai Nation and Grand Canyon West. The Hualapai are a native people of the southwest. At the Hualapai Ranch, we enjoyed a variety of activities including wagon rides, a cowboy cookout and games. The next stop was Eagle Point and the Skywalk. The Grand Canyon Skywalk allowed us to walk beyond the canyon walls, becoming surrounded by the Grand Canyon while standing at the edge of the glass bridge. Suspended more than 4000 feet above the Colorado River, the glass bridge is a horseshoe shaped walk on soft booties. The last stop of the day is Guano Point, yes named for the bat droppings. Guano Point offers breathtaking views of the canyon and river.

The next day, we hop on a converted school bus and head for the only Colorado River access within the Grand Canyon. We experienced whitewater waves and the majestic walls of the Grand Canyon reaching to the sky in all directions. This was a day of unparalleled wilderness beauty and memorable major rapids. Each raft guide has a background in natural history and is a native of the Hualapai tribe. The rafts are motorized and extremely sturdy, holding up to eight passengers. Lunch is included on the banks of the river and snacks and beverages are provided throughout the day. At the end of the rafting adventure, we were lifted out of the canyon by helicopter, another spectacular adventure, allowing great views of the awesome vastness of the Grand Canyon.

Next day we travel through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona and a jeep tour through the Boynton Canyon. We are led by guides in their trademark old western attire ready to inform us about the history, geology and folklore of Sedona. Later that night, along the banks of the Verde River in Cottonwood, we enjoyed western activities including a shooting gallery, train ride, horsehoe pits, a mechanical roping horse, and friendly farm animals. When the dinner bell rang we were treated to an all-you-can-eat chuckwagon supper followed by the harmonic sounds of the Blazin M Cowboys. Their story included music and comedy.

Last stop Phoenix and a trip to Chase Field for a major league baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers. That is one large domed stadium. Boy is it hot in Phoenix in late June.

Enjoying Maui with a toddler

mathowie — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:21:34 -0800

I spent a week this past winter enjoying the sun and the sand, and for the first time with a toddler in tow. This past winter I finally figured out that I suffer from a bit of the winter blues. After a couple months of staying indoors during barely-above-freezing days, I decided we should take a family trip somewhere warm and nice. I picked out Maui in mid-December because I've always wanted to go there and Hawaiian Airlines recently started doing direct flights from Portland to Maui (in about five hours).

Armed with advice from previous MeFi posts about Maui (including mine) and a copy of the highly recommended Maui Revealed, we booked a trip through Expedia including the flight and a hotel. After going through all the choices, I decided to stay at the Westin Maui mostly because I had a lot of previous stays at Westin hotels and the reviews on Expedia said it was right on the beach.

We left Oregon in the morning with temperatures well below freezing and landed in the afternoon to a balmy Maui day. We grabbed a rental car (a Ford Escape 4x4 that we never took off pavement) and made it out to the western part of the island about 45 minutes later. The hotel was a bit too much of a "resort" (where everything is taken care of for you, people compete for spots around the pool, and you can get mixed drinks delivered to you on the beach sand, which seemed nuts to me) but the room was big and nice.

Traveling with a child wasn't too hard, but I learned a few things. We flew with her carseat so we could use that in the rental car. We requested and got seats in the bulkhead of economy on the flights there and back, which mean tons of legroom for adults and our baby didn't kick the back of someone's seat the whole time. We ended up putting a small hotel crib in the opening hallway of the room while we hung out in the main part of the room or out on the balcony. Eating wasn't too much of a problem since our daughter loves fruit and fruit was plentiful at every meal.

We did the road to Hana, which was a beautiful trip but a brutally long, curvy drive. It was probably 2.5 hours of driving to Hana but felt more like double that, and the trip home seemed to take forever. We spent a day in South Maui where the beaches were fantastic (thanks to the Maui Revealed book). We also explored the western side of the island both north and south of where we stayed and had lovely times at the beaches.

Here are a list of things I learned on the trip:

I'm not really a resort type person that pays for everything on a tab that gets paid at the end. Next time we'll rent a house or condo or something

Having a pool was key for our 16 month old that loves to swim. It gave us a way to tire her out at the end of each day, as we took a swim after dinner

The Maui Revealed book was indispensable. We found great hidden beaches, awesome local food, and scoped out places we'll stay next time, all from the book. It's a popular book but it's better than any travel book I've used on a trip. It never let us down.

I wish we took the trip with friends so we could have gotten a free babysitting break once or twice during the week. While we had a good time, we were in parent/baby mode everyday and didn't get to enjoy an amazing meal out without the baby. Next time we'll drag a mother-in-law along or coordinate with other parents so we can switch off a couple nights watching kids and have a parents night out.

If I do the road to Hana again, next time I'll stay in Hana for a night. The trip was too much squirrelly driving for one day (esp. with a baby in the back)

Maui really is a beautiful laid back place. I went to Oahu about ten years ago and it was like an overcrowded Southern California. Maui really is mellow and relaxed is exactly the kind of vacation I was looking for.

Overall, we had a great time, and next trip I know we'll do even better.