The March Highlight Package

Yes its come to the end of March, the trip is 1/3 over and there are still many many places to explore. Apparently there are very good things to see in the British Isles, Scandanavia, Spain below Barcelona, Portugal etc but its all having to be ignored in order to preserve our sanity and to see the places we are seeing properly.

The Highs

The entire month has been packed with highlights. It really is amazing how easy it is to travel from place to place when you are viewing sites such as Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Lucerne, Aix En Provence and Barcelona. The favourite must however be Lucerne. An extraordinary town set amongst snow capped hills and filled with helpful Swiss (all tri-lingual) who could not wait to explain to us or show us the mountains and the sites that make it Switzerland´s prettiest town. This is closely followed by Siena. Spending the day with new Canadian friends talking rubbish and looking at one of Italy´s most beautiful towns almost takes the cake.

The new concept of the ¨CNN Weekend¨ This is a concept where we check into 3 star hotels for the weekend on massively discounted deals. This week 72% off the rack rate. In our rooms we get CNN which means we get to hear about the revolutions in Krygystan, the death of Terri Schiavo (finally) and last night the Pope. Strange that no-one really was prepared to discuss the negative impacts of his Papacy last night but my views on this topic are well known. Fortunately this morning some people started talking about some of the more ¨liberal¨ issues that were rejected under his Papacy.

The Low

Only one this month. The Monte Carlo casino. Sorry I don´t have a roll of 500 euro notes ready to plonk down on number 27 on the roulette table. You could however show some interest in my money as I was there to spend a little of it and with 200 euro a hand blackjack being the norm, I had no chance at all.

People of the Month

This one is a no-brainer. On the train from Rome to Florence we met an American couple who were also making the trip. They were visiting Europe for 12 days and seemed amazed that we could take 6 months off from our jobs. The fact they were spending 12 days was not the problem however, it was how they were spending it.

As it turned out, he was an aeronautical engineer from Lockheed who assisted designing military engines. He was 45 or so, balding, pasty, overweight and sweaty. He looked like an American, if you know what I mean. The most excited he got during the whole train trip was when I said I was an IP lawyer and he told me that he had two patents where he was listed as the inventor. His company was spending money bringing his patents to market and he was very proud of his work.

His wife was from Honduras (or as she said it ¨Hon - Doo - Ras¨. She was a dentist. She had camel suede boots which were kinda unsexy but were made more unsexy by the white athletic socks that were poking out the top. She also had the type of high breasts that an American woman of a certain income group can afford to buy for herself. All in all a very interesting specimen indeed but the question remained unanswered ¨how did you two crazy kids get together?¨ I couldn´t bring myself to ask.

I couldn´t ask the question as it seemed obvious to me that some intermediary who makes money introducing Honduras Dentists to Texas based aeronautical engineers had assisted her to meet him and get her green card.

Anyway they were travelling for 12 days. Nice one. How long were they staying in each destination? Rome - One day. Florence - One day. Then an overnight train to Slovenia cos his grandparents came from there. How long were they staying? One day. What are you going to see in Slovenia? ¨We don´t know anything about Slovenia, perhaps we´ll find a walking tour?. Where next? Then an overnight trip to Paris. How long in the city of Love? One day.

Oh but they were also leaving their stuff in their Roman hotel as they paid for it in advance. Plus they had prebought train tickets which they were not using as they couldn´t make a booking. And he slept through the beautiful Tuscany countryside.

So they were paying for a Roman hotel room that they weren´t using, a train fare that they weren´t using and they were trying to cram in 5 major European cities in 7 days without seeing any of them comprehenisevely.

Unbelievable.

Car Update

I certainly love driving around Europe. Today we went through a 6km tunnel (which cost 9,24 euro but was worth it as it saved 2 hours driving). Yesterday I drove into the city of Barcelona as I got too nervous leaving the car at a train station any longer. We parked in the equivalent of Montmerency on the first day in Barcelona and caught the train in. While the parking was free, it certainly can keep you awake at night wondering whether Spain´s equivalent of the Donny Wogs was stripping the car.

French highlights of late.

1. Catching a film in Cannes. We went and saw Ray in a cinema that was tiny. To picture the cinema, try and remember the cinema in the movie Philadelphia where Tom Hanks caught the HIV virus, it was that kind of cinema. The film was great and the experience unforgettable. Definitely recommended.

2. Having a haircut in Aix en Provence from a man who spoke no English. Its amazing that all hairdressers know the words ¨just a bit off the top and the sides¨ even if they don´t speak your language.

3. The crazy medievel village of Carcassane. Sure it looks like it was built by the Walt Disney corporation but who cares. I´ve got no difficulty with traipsing around old French feudal castles set on the top of a hill for hours.

4. Driving in the snow in Andorra. Sure we went there to get a ¨stat¨ on our country count but then we found it has amazing ski fields and cheap petrol. Blokes ski right past the main petrol station on the main highway. Very spectacular indeed. The capital city is set between two mountains in a valley. Worst traffic jam I have ever seen but yet again I found a free park. The story of the trip so far.

Spanish highlights in Barcelona.

Tapas. It really is great how you can order 14 meals for 1.2 euro each and end up full as if you had a 7 course meal. And we kept the menu to try and recreate some at home.

Gaudi. Our new archetect of choice. We love him and his works.

News from home.

Thanks for the notes about Bucks, you can stop telling me anything further about football now.