Europe – Page 8

May 20, 2016May 20, 2016

Dogs of Venice

I came to Italy to view the Giro d’Italia bike race. I could not help but notice the many dogs. Italians love their pooches very much. They have more mutts than in France. I especially enjoyed the dogs of Venice. I saw all of these dogs in one long walk.

Venice is becoming a kind of National Trust like amusement park. Fewer people actually live here full time. I saw one sign that expressed one Venetian’s anger at tourists who stay at AirBnB because people are buying up homes to let out. There are still a lot of dogs!

The most popular dog in Italy appears to be the Jack Russell terrier. There were also a surprising number of Boston terriers throughout Tuscany.

Seeing all of these dogs makes me miss Lulu! I will be home soon.

May 14, 2016May 21, 2016

Only 5 Hours in Florence, Oh My!

It always a little discombobulating when you arrive somewhere for the first time ever in your life and everywhere you look it feels like déjà vu. Such is my experience in Florence or Firenze. Blame it on Epcot. Everywhere looks so quintessentially Italian I feel like I have already been here.

Do not misunderstand. It is wonderful. In fact, I am thankful it rained so I could remember that this is not a movie set. There really are gelato shops and piazzas everywhere. The church bells do ring on the hour. Pigeons do amass where tourists are dining al fresco.

I did not have time to gawp. I had just a little over 5 hours in Florence to try to see as much as I could. Since I was time limited I prioritized the must-dos.

1. See Michaelangelo’s David sculpture in the Accademia. Our group split up, each to our own agenda, in Piazza della Repubblica. I walked straight to the Accademia and got in line for tickets. I was originally going to buy the Firenze pass (Rick Steves highly recommends if you are going to see most of the major museums and churches.) Once I realized that in 5 hours I was only going to see a few places, I decided to buy single tickets. The regular (non-reserved line) was down the block and around the corner and hardly moving. I stepped into the end as it began to pour rain. A entrepreneurial young woman offered a reserved ticket for E22. This was only 9,50 more than a regular priced ticket and it would cut my wait time dramatically. I exchanged money for time and proceeded to the reserved line and was inside within about 15 minutes.

I was really impressed with all of the Michaelangelo carvings including the ones that appear unfinished. The David is a wonder. I am so glad I saw it in person. I quickly cruised through the rest of the Accademia and then continued my Firenze blitz.

I walked all around the Duomo but did not have time to wait in line to enter.

I walked all around the outside of the Duomo. The stripes surprised me.
I continued on to the Uffuzi art museum. I spent more time looking at the amateur artists painting in the courtyard and perusing in the gift shop than I did looking at the collection.
I found a little café run by a local family and enjoyed a delicious and simple pasta lunch—just a plate of tortellini al ragu with bread and sparkling water.
My friend Faith told me about the School of Leather and I was intrigued. It is located in the back part of the Basilica San Croce. It was off beat and interesting and it is heartening to know people are continuing to learn this trade.

I can understand why people need 2.5 to 3 days to see Florence. I barely scratched the surface. Must return one day.

May 13, 2016

How to Keep Your Sense of Humor Whilst Traveling

After 24 hours on the road it can start to become a challenge to see the lighter side of situations. I like to laugh instead of getting angry, but sometimes your nerves get frayed from crying babies keeping you awake and one too many hurdles to overcome. This is when a great travel book comes in handy. Sometimes it is enough to know that someone had it worse than you. Even sweeter, if the travel book is also full of humor.

Dribbling It was serendipitous that on the afternoon that my travel plans dissolved like sugar in hot tea, I discovered Bill Bryson has a new travel book. If you have never read Notes from a Small Island or Walk in the Woods (or any of his dozen books), then you have many great days of reading ahead. Just one warning: do not read in public because you will laugh out loud so hard you will snort embarrassingly. I had no idea that it has already been 20 years since his memoir of tramping around the UK was published. He did some more long walks to celebrate and captured his misadventures in The Road to Little Dribbling.

I was in the Gatwick airport bookstore and it was already past the 24-hour mark since I departed from Sacramento when I discovered Bill Bryson wrote a new book. My flight had already disappeared from the marquee, and I knew it had been rerouted to Pisa and was delayed 2 hours. I was going to miss dinner with my cycling fan friends but still had hopes of getting to the Villa I Barronci before midnight.

As soon as I boarded the sauna like Vueling flight and wedged myself in the middle seat, I cracked open the Bryson cure. If anything could inoculate me from grumpiness, reading Dribbling would. Sure enough before they could circulate the air in the cabin I was smiling. I did not worry about my fellow passengers noticing my mirth as they were so absorbed in their electronic gadgets that they did not even acknowledge me.

I am so glad I had taken the cure because as we stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac it began to rain in Pisa. I made friends with Janet from Cambridge, England and we helped one another figure out where to catch the bus to Florence. As she predicted, there was much faffing around before everyone collected their bags, and the airline provided us buses, and we loaded on, and they counted people and we finally began the journey to Florence.

I was punchy by the time I collapsed into a taxi at midnight and gave him the Villa’s address. I thought if my mom was with me we would have been side-sore from giggling as the GPS sent my driver on U turn after U turn. I called Jacinta my tour guide when we turned on the road to Rome. Once she put us in touch with Leonard from reception to speak to my driver in Italian, we course corrected and arrived about 30 minutes after we should have. The driver took 20 Euros off the bill, which was very decent of him.

Leonard was handsome and welcoming and made more attractive by bringing me a plate of Italian ham and cheese with bread. My room is so comfortable and this morning I discovered the views just shout “Tuscany!”

View from the gate of the Villa I Barronci.

We cannot control very much when we travel. We do get to choose our attitude. I am so glad Mr. Bryson gave me a much needed assist so I could see the brighter side of the situation.

April 30, 2016April 30, 2016

Super Travel Shoes: allbirds

I just finished canvassing for Sacramento Mayoral candidate Darrell Steinberg. It meant walking door-to-door for over 6 hours with a few breaks for coffee and lunch. In the past I might have worn running shoes, but on my Australia adventure I got sore feet. So I started a search for better travel shoes.

I saw an ad for allbirds–a shoe made with New Zealand wool–and ordered a pair. I loved the packaging.

I started wearing them and they were instantly comfortable. There was no awkward break in period.

Today was the real test. I walked all day on pavement and while my feet are not singing they are not barking either. I am excited to take them to Italy in May.

They are just funky enough to be stylish.

April 20, 2016April 17, 2016

Sharing Travel Resources

13015258_10207513270544254_5391024314956779880_n — Over New Zealand; photo by Sarah Clare

My son Tevis is spending 4.5 months in Southeast Asia on a backpacker’s holiday. He made all of his own travel arrangements. I was having difficulty finding flights from London to Florence and Venice to London. I sent Tev a WhatsApp message asking for advice.

When Tev worked at Google he used a travel hack that was first available to Google employees then to public. Go to Google.com/flights and then search for flights. It is an amazing summary of available flights without all the palaver you find on Travelocity and similar sites. I was able to fix my flights in no time.

I also rediscovered a copy of Smithsonian Journeys, a travel quarterly magazine, that I had saved. It appears to be a new venture. You can buy each issue for $13.99 but cannot subscribe yet. My copy is Fall 2015 and the theme is “The Inca Road.” All of the articles are about the history of the Inca empire and all sorts of interesting articles from Ecuador, Peru and Argentina. It is an interesting approach that plays to the Smithsonian’s strengths. Priced like a paperback, it is worth saving. They also have tours and other services.

I just discovered a local Jane Austen Reading Group at my local library. As I was leaving I mentioned that I would miss the next month as I will be in Italy and then spending a few days in London. One of the members recommended Walking Jane Austen’s London. Sometimes the best resources are found by word of mouth from other traveller’s.

December 30, 2014December 29, 2014

How Trek Travel Surpasses Expectations

Complimentary photo book of Tour de France adventure in Yorkshire — Complimentary photo book from Trek Travel

I picked my mail up from the post office and what did I find? A surprise from Trek Travel. They put together a beautiful photobook of our Tour de France adventure in Yorkshire. It was very satisfying to go through the photos and see pictures of all of us riding our Trek bikes, meeting our favorite riders, standing on the podium in London, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, of course.

I loved my Trek Travel experience and this is just another example of how they surpassed my expectations.

P.S. Trek Travel has also added Jens Voigt to their team. He will be joining a handful of trips in 2015!

P.S.S. Read more about my Tour de France adventure–from Leeds to Paris–in my earlier posts.

November 22, 2014November 22, 2014

Art of the 101st Tour de France

Supporting Greig Leach’s Kickstarter campaign to bring his beautiful drawings together in a book was a no-brainer. I’d seen some of his drawings in the news. We were both following the entire tour. I like how he captured pivotal moments of each day in line drawings with watercolor in his Book du Tour. I received my copy about 2 weeks ago and I have been going through it slowly. It brings back so many great memories.

It is also time to sign up for cycling tours at the 2015 Tour de France. I can personally recommend either Trek Travel or Thomson Bike Tours.

If you are interested in a spectator tour, then Thomson is the only one offering these. The brilliant Jacinta McHale is returning to lead them.

And on a completely silly note, those of us who traveled with Jacinta in 2014 were thrilled to see Enriique Iglesias’ song Bailando won the Song of the Year at the Latin Grammys.

October 26, 2014

#LeTour2015: The Big Route Announcement

The 2015 Tour de France route was announced this week. It is moving counter-clockwise this year. The Grand Depart is in Utrecht, Netherlands. The Bon Voyage Utrecht organizers released the funny video above. Looks like the host city is putting the same level of effort that Yorkshire did in 2014. This video suggests it will have its own quirky personality.

If you are planning to watch a Tour stage in person and without a tour company, make your hotel reservations now. I suggest you focus on host towns that have a finish and a start.

The other big Tour news this week is the new point system for the green jersey. After three uncompetitive years when Peter Sagan repeatedly ran away with the jersey, the organizers have returned to an approach that rewards sprinters who win stages. You can read the details here.

September 12, 2014September 12, 2014

3 Great Places to Buy Wool in Oslo for the Hip and Chic Knitter

If you knit (or crochet) and you are visiting Oslo for a day or more, then you have three great options for wool shopping. In Norway, if you see “strikke” on the shop window then it is probably a wool or yarn store as we know it in North America.

If you are cruising the Nordic countries and docking briefly in Oslo, there are two shops within walking distance of the port. The first, Strikkedilla (translated as Knitting Craze) is conveniently located in the Oslo City mall (a highrise next to the main train station). The mall includes a grocery store, so be sure to check out the aisle dedicated to nut butters! The knit shop is the smallest of the three and jam-packed with colorful fun projects children would like to wear.

The second shop is my favorite of the three, Husfliden. It is inside the department store Glasmagasinet at Stortorvet 9. I was a little befuddled at first by this idea of a department store; it was a bit more like a mall without walls. In the basement I found the yarn, buttons, traditional costumes, and many other beautiful textiles. It was a feast for the eyes and fingers. They also offered readymade Oleana sweaters. If you only have time to browse one store, make it Den Norske Husfliden.

If you are taking a day trip to see the Vigeland Sculpture Park, there is a yarn shop a stone’s throw from the metro station (Majorstuen) for the sculpture gardens. I did not spot Tjorven at Valkyriegata 17 right away, so I have included a photo. The clerks were friendly and the yarn lucious. They did not offer any patterns in English (they call them recipes). I realized too late that it would have been smart to look for some patterns on Ravelry before I went shopping. The store clerk showed me a website that has language choices including English. These are the same Norwegian inspired (modern, not traditional) patterns featured in Drops magazine.

There are also two readymade wool shops that offer beautiful, albeit expensive, sweaters and other wool garments. Dale of Norway at Tullins gate 5 offers more classical sweaters and made me want to go skiing. Oleana garments are inspired by traditional Norwegian design updated with a modern twist and a more colorful palette.

It is Dah-ley, not Dale like Yale next to the Hard Rock Cafe in Oslo. No yarn for sale here.

One challenge with yarn shopping in Norway is the patterns are almost all in Norwegian, of course. I bought a couple of patterns with yarn to make them, thinking that between Google Translate, friends who speak Norwegian and my knitting experience I could figure them out. Hah! Not yet. When I return to Norway I am taking some patterns that I want to make and then shopping for wool. All of these shops are perfect if you need a tool, or inspiration.

I visited these three shops in July 2013, and I have just checked and they are all still in business. I also used Linda Marveng’s blog post as my guide. She lists additional shops and I visited a few others; however, I am including my favorites here. Linda Marveng is also enthused about Norway Designs, just know that there is nothing knitting related in the shop.

Norway can be one of the most expensive countries to visit in Europe, so I was very pleased to find wool prices a comparative bargain. Shops are both plentiful and the ones mentioned here carry a good variety of quality yarn. It is good to be in a country where a lot of people still knit. There were some awesome patterns, if I only spoke Norwegian.

September 6, 2014September 6, 2014

Oslo Defying 3 Stereotypes

Norway has been on my list of high priority destinations for a while. Walking around Oslo it quickly became obvious that I was operating on some old stereotypes. The Norway I discovered is delightful, modern and much more complex than these 3 stereotypes I packed in my bags.

1. Not Frozen.

Disney's Frozen animated fairy tale stars Olaf the snowman. — Disney’s Frozen animated fairy tale stars Olaf the snowman.

The Visit Norway folks are using the movie Frozen in much the same way the New Zealand tourism industry is marketing Lord of the Rings/Hobbit. There are some challenges. First and foremost, Frozen is a cartoon. Also, much of the story’s action takes place in deep snow; whereas, most visitors plan their trips in summer–a time when the animated snowman Olaf would be distinctly uncomfortable. Modern Norway is a progressive democracy no longer ruled by royalty–even spunky princesses.

They do have reindeer. Frozen’s Sven is a very charismatic reindeer. I did note the reindeer in photos tweeted along the route of the 2014 Arctic Race of Norway, the world’s northern most bicycle race held over several days each August. Makes me want to go watch this race in person. (Adding to personal list.)

Sven the charismatic reindeer from Disney's Frozen animated film. — Sven the charismatic reindeer from Disney’s Frozen animated film.

2. Not Vikings.

Many people in Europe can trace their ancestry back to a Viking invader. My grandfather was 100% Norwegian, and very proud of the accomplishments of the ancient Vikings. Norwegians are not the only Scandinavians who can claim to descend from the seafaring and conquering Vikings–the Swedes and the Danes can too. Because of my grandpa Olson, if you say Viking, I think Norway.

You can certainly see Viking ships and buy an impressive variety of souvenirs with Viking stuff on them in Norway. Grandpa loved the Hagar the horrible comic strip. I have since learned that Hagar’s classic horned hat is an inaccurate depiction of what a Viking might have worn. And the modern Norwegian is more known for peace than pillage.

This did not stop me from romantically seeing these Viking laws as part of my DNA influencing my own values:

Viking Laws
1. Be Brave and Aggressive
Be direct
Grab all opportunities
Use varying methods of attack
Be versatile and agile
Attack one target at a time
Don’t plan everything in detail
Use top quality weapons (or technological tools)
2. Be Prepared
Keep weapons (or tech equipment) in good condition
Keep in shape
Find good battle comrades
Agree on important points
Choose one chief
3. Be a Good Merchant
Find out what the market needs
Do not promise what you can’t keep
Do not demand overpayment
Arrange things so you can return (do business another day)
4. Keep the Camp in Order
Keep things tidy and organized
Arrange enjoyable activities which strengthen the group
Marke sure everybody does useful work
Consult all members of the group for advice

(From postcard purchased in Viking Ship Museum)

3. Not my Grandfather’s Norway.

My grandpa was called “Ole” by his friends and he was an active member of Sons of Norway in Santa Rosa. His grandfather immigrated from Lillehammer to Donaldson, Minnesota in the 1880s. It took me a few days to realize that the things my grandfather cherished as Norwegian are actual artifacts of Norwegian life in the 1880s. These traditions of drinking coffee morning, noon and night; lutefisk, and saying “Uffda!” are carefully preserved pieces of culture that my great-great grandfather brought in his luggage and passed on to his children and grandchildren. Meanwhile, Norway’s culture continued to evolve.

The Norway we discovered is more ethnically diverse, a World War II survivor, a titan of the merchant marine and an oil producing state.

Hope you discover Norway sometime soon. If you have been to Norway, what was your biggest surprise? What was your favorite memory?