San Francisco Bound!

I figured I'd post a little something before I left for vacation. The first week and half back on WW went well. I lost 3.5  pounds. So, I'm thinking that I was bloated when I weighed myself on my start day. Honestly not too much else going on. We leave for San Francisco today. So, I've been planning things and doing a little research on what we'd want to do once we get there.

We are definitely going to a baseball game since my friend has "visit all the MLB stadiums" on his bucket list and that's one of the main reasons he brought up taking a trip. We are also doing a winery tour. The bus picks us up at 8:30 on Wednesday morning. We make a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge and Muir Woods on the way. Then, we visit three wineries... One in Sonoma and two in Napa. Alcatraz is right out since we didn't plan far enough in advance... and who knew that Anchor Brewing requires a reservation weeks in advance? I called and well... The next available date was September. Oh well... It's not like those tours ever tell me anything I haven't already heard from the other 4 or so brewery tours I've been on. The only difference is the beer you get to taste at the end.

I think I'm all set and ready to go. Though I'm always anxious that I'm going to forget something. Like underwear... or miscounted the shirts and end up with not enough clothes... All I have to do is wait out the next 3.5 hours to be on our way to the airport.

That's it for now. I'll post all about the vacation when we get back!

Rome! Finally!

I know this is really overdue... So, here it goes. We leave the hotel in Prague kind of early to make our 11:50 am flight... and 30 minutes before we're supposed to take off we find out our flight has been delayed 6 hours because Roman Airlines went on an 8 hour strike that morning... Lovely! It did give us time to spend some of our left over crown. I bought a few bracelets and some candy and water.

We got to Rome around 8ish? Then, went to dinner at a restaurant that over looked the Colosseum... Again... No picture because night shots suck on my camera. You'll just have to go there and see it yourself. :P After that we went to the hotel and checked in.

**Just a note- The hotels got progressively worse in each city. The hotel in Rome was the worst. First, there were rumors of bed bugs... (I didn't get any bites so we're good there) The bedspread was quite worn. There was mold on the ceiling in the bathroom. The room was so small that I would wake up and get ready. Then, I would wake Dave up and he would get ready. There wasn't enough room for the two of us to be roaming around the room at the same time.

Okay.. Moving on... We spent two full days in Rome. We got up early the first day. It was a Wednesday and the Pope just happened to be in Rome doing his weekly general audience. So, we hopped on the Metro and were on it for 2 minutes... Got off and one of the girl's we were traveling had her bracelet stolen... That quickly. She saw it falling off and before she could grab it, it was gone...

Anyway we first checked out the Capuchin Monks. You can't take pictures inside. So this is from a google image search. If you didn't know... There aren't any living monks at this place. It's a crypt and the whole place is decorated using human bones... of about 4000 dead monks. It was kind of creepy.

Then, another short trip on the metro... And a semi short walk to the Vatican... God it was *bleeping* hot!! We had a Vatican tour planned later in the day so we were all in "church dress" (which is shoulders covered and nothing above the knee). So, St. Peter's square wasn't as crowded as we thought it would be. Even our tour manager was surprised. I got a pretty good look at the pope as he was riding around the square in his pope-mobile. Unfortunately, I'm too short and couldn't snap  a picture fast enough. I did manage to get a picture of everyone else trying to get a picture. LOL!!

There was this one little asian dude who was so excited to get a picture of the Pope... He was squealing like a little girl.

The picture is about as zoomed in as I could get. The dude in the white in the middle of the stage is the Pope. We stayed for a while and listened to him talk. It wasn't in english and we weren't waiting around for him to get to the part where he gives the address in english. We were hungry and it was pizza time!

Per our tour manager's recommendation, we went this pizza place near the Vatican. They have all these different types of pizza and you say "a little of that one." "A bigger piece of that one" "Oooo! That looks good! No... a little smaller.. Perfect!" Then, they weigh it and you pay. It was freaking cheap ass pizza and it was the best pizza I've ever had!

With our tummies full, we took another metro ride over to the Spanish Steps.

Then hauled buns over to Trevi Fountain... In the spirit of the legend and coin throwing into the fountain, I made a wish, turned around and threw a Euro over my left shoulder with my right hand. I faced the fountain again and threw a second coin to ensure I'd return to Rome. I didn't throw a third. Legend has it the third coin is to bring a nice Italian boy into your life that you'll fall in love with... Well... I already have a husband and I wasn't risking another crazy man to come into my life. LOL!

Then, we booked it back to the Vatican for our tour. Sorry, no pictures of the Sistine Chapel. You're not allowed to take pictures there. Here are some of the best pictures I got during the tour.

 This next one is of a statue of Mary holding Jesus. It's in St. Peter's Basilica behind bullet proof glass because people have tried to destroy it... and by destroy, I mean that in 1972  "Laszlo Toth, 33, a Hungarian-born Australian, had leaped over a guard rail in St Peter's crying, "I'm Jesus Christ!" and attacked the statue with a hammer." (http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/Pieta/Pieta.htm)  It's kind of fuzzy. Sorry!

After that I was done and it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. That night (again no pictures) we went to an Italian Folklore Dinner Show. It was totally random and I have no idea what they were singing about because...well.. It was all in Italian. It was alot of fun though.

The next day we went to the Pantheon and the Colosseum. I still have to steal those pictures from a friend since I was too lazy to take my camera that day.

** Note- all these places were insanely crowded. At one point on the Vatican tour, there was a lady walking so close behind me that I could feel her rather large breasts pressed up against my back... And I won't even get started on the lack of personal space on the Metro. Also, there were gypsies everywhere and not like the nice ones in Berlin. There were old ladies with "babies" but they didn't throw any at us. Then, there were the deformed ones... These guys mostly hung out around the Vatican. I guess it's the best place to get handouts from good Catholics who just saw the "holiest" man in the world... Away from the Vatican, most of them were playing music in one of the many squares to earn your money.

Welcome to Prague!

Our travel day to Prague was gorgeous! This is a view from the bus. We were maybe an hour or so outside of Prague when we passed this castle on a cliff.

We get off the bus for a walk, a mini tour of sorts, across the Charles Bridge and to our hotel.

We passed this gorgeous synagogue!

Stopped in Old Town Square to look at the astronomical clock. It goes off every hour and the square fills with people to see it. We saw it... Honestly... It's just a clock. However, it is the third-oldest astronomical clock and the only one still working.

It was about this point when I realized that our Tour Manager has a skewed perception of what would be considered a walkable distance. I also swear that she took us the long way around to get anywhere... More on that when we get to  Rome. :P

That night we went out to this place called the "Beer Factory." So you sit at your table, and there is a tap in the middle. They give you a glass and you pour away! It has a digital display that shows you how much the table drank. Then you pay. :P It was pretty cool not having to 1. wait on a waitress to bring you a beer and 2. not having to get up to go to the bar to get a beer. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of the beer in the tap and you don't get a choice of what kind of beer comes out. Our table engaged in a riveting game of "Crowns," which is quarters played with Czech crowns. Poor Al was on the floor all night looking for the crowns that she had bounced off the table.

The next morning we had an 1.5 bike tour of the city. This one was very different from the tour in Edam. Prague is a city full of cobble stoned streets and traffic and narrow streets with traffic. If you're not used to riding a bike, let alone riding one on a busy road, this tour might make you a little panicky. Anyway here are some of the sites we saw. Unfortunately, I don't remember what these buildings are.. They did have some sort of significance since the guide did stop and talk to us about them.

We stopped here... and saw this sculpture by David Cerny. You'll have to look closely because my camera sucks. :P It's a man hanging from the building in the middle. He's made of fiberglass and swings when it's really windy. I can't remember what he symbolizes, but honestly I think it looks like he's just chillin'.

Then, we move onto the Tower Babies by the same artist. These guys are a little freaky. They're babies with USB-like plugs for faces and they symbolize how children in our time are educated by TV and media. These particular ones are bronze, but there are about 12 fiberglass ones crawling up the Žižkov Television Tower in Prague.

A picture of a castle from a distance in the castle district that we didn't get to because it was (insert expletive if you'd like) raining! Ok.. Mom... I didn't actually write it. Is that better? LOL!!

I believe this is the opera house? Damn! I really can't remember.

Then we moved onto the lunch cruise and the point when it started raining. The next group of pictures are just what we saw floating down the river. The buildings were gorgeous! You don't see these kinds of architectural details in the States. There was a tour guide who talked to us about the history of Prague. Unfortunately, I could barely understand anything she was saying. So, I just took pictures.

 I didn't take any pictures after the lunch cruise. It started raining and we spent the rest of the afternoon ducking between bars and souvenir shops. It got quite cold and none of us were prepared for that... So not only were we wet, but we were also freezing. Just a note. The cobblestone streets and sidewalks are very slippery in the rain. Most of us came close to taking quite a spill. The weather cleared up around 7 as we were having drinks in a hole in the wall bar. Unfortunately, all of us were spent by that point. We got dinner and went back to the hotel early. The next morning was our flight to Rome. YAY! We're finally going to get to Italy!

Prague, Here We Come!

So, on our way out of Berlin we stopped at the East Side Gallery. It is a section of the Berlin wall that is covered in murals. Unfortunately some of them are covered in graffiti. Here are a few of my favorites... and the last one is kind of a famous one so I had to include that one. Just Google "East Side Gallery Kiss" and you can get details on that one.

On our way to Prague we also stopped in Dresden for lunch. A little bit of history. Dresden was destroyed by the Allied forces in a bombing raid during WW II. However, unlike Berlin, Dresden has been completely rebuilt to its former glory. It was absolutely stunning!

The black stones on this church are the original stones that survived the bombing.

And here we have a statue of Martin Luther... Hopefully you know who he is, but that church behind isn't where he nailed his 95 Thesis.

We had lunch in the square under the white umbrellas. It was probably the best meal I had on the trip. Plus the weather was perfect for outdoor dining.

We saw alot on this particular travel day. To avoid one humongous and ridiculously long post, I'll post our day in Prague on it's own post. Up next, Welcome to Prague!

Next Stop, Berlin!

After our late night in Amsterdam, we had to be up bright and early for the bus ride down the Autobahn to Berlin. Honestly, I felt like shit that day and vowed to not stay up so late when there was a travel day the next morning. I stuck to it too! No more over imbibing for me on this trip. I wanted to enjoy the little time we had in each city and not be all crabby and tired while trying to sight see.

It was one long ass bus ride! We stopped twice because apparently there are laws in Europe that we had to make two 45 minute stops on the way. It was nice to check out the country side.

We got stuck in traffic on the way there and arrived later than originally planned. So, our first night in Berlin consisted of a walk to a restaurant for dinner with the group and then bed.

The following day was a 3 hour walking tour... And you can cover alot of ground in 3 hours with a tour guide. It was abso-fucking-lutely amazing and exhausting! and really sunny... What was my souvenir from Berlin you ask? Some bitchin' sunburn! :P

Alright so... Now is the time that I try and remember what the fuck all the places are in the following pics.... He he!

First off... The Walk/Don't Walk lights in East Berlin are awesome! He's called the Ampleman. Berlin has whole stores dedicated to selling Ampleman paraphernalia. I got myself a key chain. He's so cute! Our tour manager is obsessed with the Ampleman.

Ok... Now I'll get to the sights the tour guide took us to. First, we met him in a park where he talked about the early history of Berlin and Germany. Basically, the whole history of Germany as a unified country is quite short and very tumultuous. Consisting of Emperors and well.... Hitler and all that... You'll have to Wiki "History of Germany" to learn about it... It's just too confusing to try and explain. :P

First we went to the Marx-Engels Forum. Just a short walk across the park. These two "lovely" men are the fathers of Communism. This statue used to be in the middle of the park. However, it has been moved to a more concealed location surrounded by trees. Berlin is trying to forget some of it's not so pleasant history.

Next up... The Berlin Cathedral or Berliner Dom. Big important men used to walk across the street, which used to be a garden of some sort and attend church services here.

Here's the National Memorial to the Victims of War and Tyranny. It's just a big room with this statue in the middle of it. You can obviously take pictures, but no talking is allowed inside. When you think about context of German history, this statue is quite moving.

Here we have Humbolt University. In the square in front of this building, is where the Nazis burned all books that weren't Aryan enough... Or some shit like that... Big bonfire... Huge book burning. Hey! This was a 3 hour tour... Please forgive my lack of remembering the details. I didn't take a notebook with me. :P

 Long ass walk down Unter Den Linden, and we reach the Brandenburg Tor (Gate). Crowded as hell and watch your wallets and bags people! The gypsies were everywhere in this square.

A short walk from there, we reached the Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe. I'm going to paste a description right out of Wikipedia about the symbolism of this memorial because I feel it's important to understanding all these blocks of concrete. It was "designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold."

"According to Eisenman's project text, the stelae (concrete slabs) are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason."

As you can see... Nothing is quite straight or level here. While walking through it, you get the feeling that you're kind of ricking back and forth...

We then stopped at a location full of nice new apartment buildings that used to be this building... Hitler's New Reich Chancellery... This thing was fucking huge! It's not there anymore but we stood on the corner as the tour guide told us where each of the corners were. There is one bunker cell left underground somewhere, but only because it was forgotten about.

Hitler's defiant nature is represented in this building right here... The Ministry of Aviation... After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from having an air force and this building was built for the sole purpose of developing and producing aircraft... I believe that the tour guide told us that important government officials from around the world were housed here during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin... Shame no one said anything about the violation of the Treaty of Versailles...

 Now we've got the Berlin wall...

The last stop was Checkpoint Charlie. This is the checkpoint between the American Sector and the Russian Sector of Berlin. American being part of West Berlin and the Russian Sector being East Berlin... and I don't have a good picture of it... So thank you Wikipedia! On the American side is a picture of the last Russian soldier stationed there and on the Russian side you'll see a similar picture of an American soldier.

So after a long day... We did the Eye Spy Tour that night... Again night time + my camera = crap... so no pics...

 We started at the Berlin Wall at the last tower the remains... or bought from ebay and installed... LOL! The guide talked about the wall and it's history. Then took us to this park where the wall was marked with bricks. Located there is Tunnel 57, which is a location where a tunnel was that allowed 57 people to escape East Berlin. The history is pretty in depth about microphones being installed so that the Russians would hear if anyone was digging a tunnel under the wall (which was actually two walls with what is known as the Death Strip in between). So, anyway... escaping involved spies and dead letters and what not that we got to reenact...

So we split up into two teams and head to the first bar where we have a drink. Then we were off to follow clues. That lead us to an alley where we have to find a letter on the ground. This letter shows us the location of the second bar and we have to follow the map to find it... which was eaten by one of the people in our tour since he was nuts and that's what the recipients of the dead letters did with them... When you get to the second place, another drink was included... It was a small place with clubby music playing. We stayed there a while and we were then transported to a true blue, raving, techno club.... Not my cup of tea and a perfect way to get a migraine if you want one. Never the less it was fun...

So, that was Berlin... and these things are getting long. LOL!! The next day was a travel day... Prague, here we come!!