I’ve known Jeff for nearly forty years, having worked together for a dozen years or so in the 1970s & 1980s. When Jeff visited here (Sunriver, Oregon) in late February, he told me of the family plan to travel for a year with a 1st October stop in Florence. Having studied in Rome as a student in the middle/ late 1960’s and early 1970’s, in addition to working as a guide in both Rome and Florence, followed by many visits to Florence over the years, at first I told Jeff I could write up some notes for their time in Florence. Long story short, I went over to show the Jordans Florence and her treasures. Treasures I have admired and visited for over fifty years. Continue reading “October 2-10: Florence, Italy with Jeff, Cathy & Mick, by Dan Flaxman”
October 7: Pizza- & Gelato-making in Florence by Mick
Italy, home of pizza, spaghetti, gelato and lots of things that end with “o” or “i.” Our friend and “tour guide,” Dan, (learn more about why he was our tour guide on the Florence post) booked a pizza- and gelato-making class on the beautiful hills overlooking Florence, the Renaissance capital of art, sculpture, and architecture. Continue reading “October 7: Pizza- & Gelato-making in Florence by Mick”
Oct 2-10: Florence by Cathy
The drive from Nice to Florence via FlixBus was beautiful, especially the coastal views on the first leg of the trip from Nice to Genoa.
We arrived ahead of our friend Dan, whose trip had been screwed up due to some kind of strike by KLM, and got settled into our elegant Florentine apartment at 16 Via de Ginori, a few doors down from the Palazzo Medici Riccardi and the basilica of San Lorenzo and the Medici chapels, where most Medici are buried. From there it’s a blur of art, history, churches, gelato, leather, monuments, pasta; animated, hand-flourishing Florentines, and hordes of other tourists. Continue reading “Oct 2-10: Florence by Cathy”
Sept 28 – Oct 2: Nice, France
Four Days in Nice, France, by Jeff
Hard to leave Budapest, but here we go to Nice on WizzAir. We told Mick that we saved a lot of money flying WizzAir, but that we’d need to pitch in for gas. Turns out we didn’t and we arrived safe and almost on time to what is now our favorite Airbnb so far.
Sept 24-28: Budapest
Well, Budapest is (for now) our new favorite city, just barely bumping Prague into the #2 spot. With Buda on the one side of the Danube and Pest on the other, it’s more like two cities. The impressive buildings on both sides of the river look ancient, but many are either relatively new – the Parlaiment Building – or reconstructed after war damage – Buda Castle. Hungary has a long and really interesting history and only became an independent democracy in 1989. Not sure about the rest of the country, but in 2017 Budapest is booming. Big time. Continue reading “Sept 24-28: Budapest”
Sept 20 – 24: Vienna, by Cathy
Ah, Vienna. Home of Mozart, Beethoven, Freud, Klimt, Niki Lauda (who knew?) and, for four days, the Jordan Family. Vienna (or Wien if you speak German) is also known as the birthplace of some of the world’s most famous pastries – Sachertorte, apple strudel, and the kipferl – a crescent-shaped pastry that, with a few changes after being brought by Marie-Antoinette to France, became the beloved croissant. In my Vienna Googling upon arrival, I discovered lots of historical big wigs who’ve called Vienna home. I think this article, about Vienna in 1913, is a good snapshot of the still-present cultural and political diversity of the city. Continue reading “Sept 20 – 24: Vienna, by Cathy”
Auschwitz: Humanity at its Worst, by Mick
In the mid-1900s, as you well know, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis waged a world war that killed millions. The Nazis saw people like Jews, Poles, the Roma gypsies, etc. as inferior, so they used them for slave labor or sent them to death camps, such as Auschwitz. The people that were too weak, too young, or otherwise proven useless were sent to gas chambers, and exterminated. The biggest of these death camps was Auschwitz, located about an hour out of Krakow, where we were staying. Continue reading “Auschwitz: Humanity at its Worst, by Mick”
Prague’s Museum Scene
If you like museums, Prague’s got something for everyone…
Sept. 19-20: Experiencing Technical Difficulties!!
Pictures missing from posts will (hopefully) return shortly. The site’s administrator, who will remain anonymous, removed all pictures from the blog’s “library,” not knowing that that would also remove them from the blog. Pictures will have to be downloaded from Shutterfly, uploaded to WordPress, edited and inserted back into posts. I feel really, really, really sorry for the poor schmuck stuck with that job.
Sept 17-20: Prague
The Prague-nostications were Correct, by Cathy
Prague is, as Mick would say, “Amazing!” Our first day in Prague started with our departure from Krakow – this time on FlixBus (affiliated with Polski Bus). We Ubered to the bus station and boarded the bus with time to spare. Wanting to get some more obwarzanki (like O-shaped soft pretzels) before leaving Poland, I took my change purse (small zippered pouch with my CA driver’s license, one credit card and some cash) out of the zippered pouch where it lives safely in my purse. Three obwarzanki in hand, I returned to the bus, all good. All good at least until we arrived in Ostrava (Czech Republic), where we had a one-hour wait for our train to Prague, and I discovered that my change purse was gone. Continue reading “Sept 17-20: Prague”