Lisbon

Between cruises, we had to take an international flight from Barcelona to Lisbon, Portugal. Flying is pretty much the same as the US except better food, fun stuff for Brianna from the flight attendant, and they speak Portuguese first, English second. We travelled amazingly well. The only down side was having to pay extra for the luggage. We were way over the allotted weight, so we had to find different counters to pay, then go back to check-in to prove we had paid. Since we had gotten to the airport way early, it was no problem. Security didn't make us remove our footwear. I didn't fear a shoe-bomber. My mom was not thrilled to be in Lisbon for the third time, but I really liked the city!

I got to go on a GreyLine tour which took us to the Coach museum (not purses, but real coaches, furnished with upolstery, tassels, statues even). Next I went to the Jeronimo Monastery (not Geronimo, but Jerome) which was beautiful, and huge. Then I went to the Tower of Belem which is a really neat looking stone castle at the side of the river (it used to be in the middle of the river before it silted up) used as a fort to protect from invasion. Next, I went to the monument of the Discoveries which is a giant angular statue work with Christopher Columbus and other famous navigators lined up (showing one discovery leading to another). The back side is a giant sword and the front side (seen best from the river) is like the prow of a ship. Then I went to a Port Wine store (so yummy!!) Then the bus went across the 25th of April Bridge which is so much like the Golden Gate in San Francisco, its even designed by the same engineers. On the opposite hillside facing the city they have a statue of Jesus with outstretched arms like Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janero. Similar to Brazil, they have the black and white mosaic sidewalks with the wave patterns (see Disney's Saludos Amigos for clarification). It is neat to see how two countries an ocean apart have such similar aspects. It is much more similar than Spain is to Mexico. Last, I got a walking tour of the Alfama neighborhood with its tall buildings and curved maze-like streets. In fact, two tourists got lost here! Fortunately our tour guide found them. The Jacaranda trees were in full bloom. Our hotel room had an amazing view of the Roman Aquaduct that runs through the city. Yes, its 2000 years old and still standing, traffic driving right under it! I really loved Lisbon!

Barcelona

Bri, my mom, and I got off the first ship in Barcelona. I was glad to be done with this particular cruise and itinerary, considering the previous days. My cold was easing up, and the best part was that I only had two things I needed to do in Barcelona: find a Starbucks (for Cynde) and go to the Temple de la Sagrada Familia. I know there is so much more to do in this vibrant city. The last time I was here, I had three full days and I took advantage of them. I went everywhere I could and saw the most amazing things and squeezed every opportunity, walked for miles. This time, I only wanted to revisit the one place I felt I had not squeezed. Fortunately, there was a Starbucks near the Temple - two birds with one stone.
Cynde really wanted unique Starbucks gift cards, and how better to help her than one from Europe. I looked up which of the cities had Starbucks, and made my plan. There were only a two places where this was likely to work: Barcelona and Amsterdam, because most European Starbucks were in France (at the time of my research). While inside the Temple, I saw a girl with a Frappuccino, so I knew I was close. A perimeter search finally paid off, and I entered the Sagrada Starbucks. The cashier was so nice, and between my pitiful Spanish and her admirable (yet incomplete) English, I managed to get change for a Euro bill, and communicate my need for a card. Alas, she finally understood what I wanted, but they didn't sell them. Apparently, the need for a card for purchasing coffee has not made it into the Catalan culture. I know Cynde didn't quite believe me when I told her I came up empty. But REALLY, why does someone need a plastic card for a $4 coffee!?!? I felt very american and wished (briefly) that Cynde were over here making an ass of herself. I can just imagine the stories the shopgirl could tell...
Back to the Temple. The Temple de la Sagrada Familia is one of the most famous sites in all of Spain because of the amazing, complex, and bizarre architecture, created and inspired by Antonin Gaudi. How to describe Gaudi style: bright, colorfull, mosaic-tilework, with smooth curves and unexpected reptilian and tropical elemensts. Wiki him if you want more info. So imagine what is supposed to be a rich family's church decorated with snakes, Jesus, lizards, the apostles, frogs, crosses, pineapples, oranges, palm leaves, the virgin Mary (with a pieta), and on and on stained glass windows, extremely tall spires (topped with fruit baskets or crosses), and you have some idea of the Temple. It was fabulous!

Florence & Rome, from May

There is a reason why it has taken me six months to write about my experiences in Rome and Florence this past May. It is the reason my trip blog totally stalled, and I dropped it for a while. Finally, I am determined to move on. And the only way out is through. After the gorgeous stop in Capri, I was most looking forward to revisiting Rome and Florence, where I had had tours two years earlier. The tours were great! They were the best way to see these two rich cities in only a day. I was so looking forward to going again, and this time doing it on my own, not part of a tour. To get to Rome, my mom and I took a train. To Florence, I went by myself on a motor coach. It was surprisingly easy to navigate to the train station and back. The only problem was there was a lot of walking. (This was much less a problem for me than it was for my mother who uses a cane, and is not as mobile as she wishes to be). The first hard decision was to concede that we could not see as much of Rome as we liked. We didn't have time, and it was simply too big a city to do it all. So we limited ourselves to the Colosseum and the old Roman Forum. This was a place that neither my mother or I had been able to see much of in prior trips. I was happy with seeing these places, but unhappy that I had to be limited. Okay, I did really want to see the Colosseum - and I got to see all of it inside and out, with an english speaking tour guide, and it was awesome. The Forum was less interesting to me, and as the time dragged on became even a trial to be borne. It is just a pile of old columns and arches from thousands of years ago spread over several acres. Its hard to find signs or to know what you are seeing unless you are part of a tour. It was hot. It smelled bad (The Cloaca Maximus is there). My mom stopped part way through and was done for the day. We got ripped off by these assholes dressed as Roman Centurions outside who demanded twenty euros for the privilege of photos with them AFTER I asked them, "Quanto costa?" and they replied, "Niente." And the cab fare (because my mom refused the subway) was twenty euro each way, and the tour cost fifty euro for both of us. And lunch in a cafe was ten euro per entree. So this day was ending up at the $200 range in short order! I felt really guilty. Because I wished my mom could walk more so that we could have spent our money better, so that we could have seen so much more. It was so frustrating. And then I had a total panic attack on the train back to Civitavecchia (the port town) because none of the interim town names were the same, and I honestly thought we got on the wrong train and wouldn't make it back to the ship in time (and my daughter was on board!) When that thought went through my head, I swear my heart clutched so hard I thought I might have to thump myself on the chest to get it going again. But we ended up all right, and the only sequella was a nasty chest cold that I caught and later termed the Roman Flu, but I didn't know about it until I had just started walking in the rain in Florence...
So Florence started off real nice too. I had some advil, but no other medicine. I could feel myself come down with a fever and a tightening across my chest as the virus invaded. It was Sunday so there was no Farmacia open. I went to a gallery of gorgeous art collected by the Medici's and literally got dizzy in there and had to escape. I went to a cafe and ordered a half liter of wine and some pizza from this very cute Italian boy, and all of that made me feel much better. Fortified, I revisited all the places that I wanted to and marveled at the statues and art, the tombs and busts of the famous Florentines, the Duomo and the Santa Croce churches, and was the last one back (only two minutes late). Back on the ship, I crashed, rubbed my aching feet, developed a deep cough, and gave my cold to my daughter. At least I had a sea day to recover, and slept on the hardest bed ever in Barcelona. It was a trial, getting around first Barcelona, then Lisbon with all the suitcases and everything, but things started looking up in Lisbon.
It is such a disappointment when the time you thought would be the highlight turns out to be the nadir of the trip. However, having reached the depths, join me as we climb out of dispair and into the really fun part of the trip...

"Lost" and God

I have been thinking about God lately. I've been reading some interesting books, some verses in the bible with my Jehovah's Witness friends, and thinking about what I am learning. I have also been watching "Lost" (the TV show) for the first time because they are replaying it on SciFi channel - four episodes at a time each monday night. And if you are still reading this, you are most likely thinking "What the....?" Well, thinking about God and watching "Lost", I was realizing that at least one aspect of the TV series shows people relating to God (or something close to a deity)... the Island, itself. How is the Island like God? Firstly, it is large, mostly unexplored (unknown), life-giving, life-sustaining, and ultimately benevolent. Secondly, it seems to speak to certain people who are open to the communication, with the intent of helping them on the island, and forecasting what will be. I was thinking about this because I saw the episode where John Locke has lost his voice following the implosion of the hatch, and he signs to Charlie that he wants to speak to the Island. It is the first time any of them acknowledge that the Island might be a sentient entity, a third party that is not the plane crash survivors and not 'the others.' I am thinking about that, because that is where I am spiritually. I am thinking, "you know, there might be something out there, something that I can really talk to, and something that will communicate with me, and will help me...something that is not 'us' and not 'them'...a third party, a benevolent presence." Of course, John Locke is successful in his communication and in his ensuing action. Will I be?
more on this subject to come...