I was going to let Matt have the last word with his lovely summarizing post, but I feel compelled to share this link with everyone in case you havent seen it yet:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/offbeat/2008/06/12/vo.uk.pig.in.boots.itn?iref=videosearch
For whatever reason I think its the funniest thing ever. Au Revoir!
Friday, June 13, 2008
A fitting end...
So...
the blog in its current "euro bit crazy" form is slowly coming to an end. Today we arrived in Frankfurt on the final stop over of Euro trippin' 2008. To be honest, neither of us are entirely sure that this trip will end tomorrow with a successful AirIndia flight. Chances are good that we'll be in Frankfurt for an additional 48 hours or so, dining on curry while we sit on the Frankfurt tarmac. Not a bad city to end our trip with. We have seemingly come full circle as far as prices take us. Germany, home of the 2 euro sandwhich and 3 euro liter of beer is a fitting end for two budget strapped travelers. We tried to make it through the last 2 days of paris, a trip to frankfurt, and our flight home without spending more than 15 euros total! that sadly didn't work out and we had to shell out some extra cash and ATM fees to make it back...a fun game nonetheless. As we speak, Carlyn is fretting about the Air India website saying our plane will land in Los Angeles, not Chicago! oh no...phew, i think we figured it out. We'll just arrive 4 hours early to the airport to make sure. Bonus, on the train ride to Frankfurt, our train broke down and we all got moved to first class cabins! boo ya. The seats extra wide for those of us who are horizontally challenged.
Our final days in Paris were great. We saw Sacre Couer, a famed basilica made of "self cleansing" white marble that secretes a milky residue when it rains, applying a new coat of paint essentially. Carlyn was a bit disappointed with Moulin Rouge, literally a small theater tucked away in Paris' red-light district surrounded by...well you can imagine the local flavor....we'll keep it pg rated. Last night, we had dinner with two friends from UVA we met up with, some fondue and chocolate mousse, capped off with some banana and nutella crepes, awesome. My favorite part of parisian cuisine was undoubtably the gyros. We had 6 greek gyros stands within a block of our apt. not to mention that our apt smelled of gyros...sweet dreams.
Thanks to everyone for reading the blog. Best of luck with the recovery LK. Carlyn thinks a pig with rainboots on is the funniest thing ever...see the link.
the blog in its current "euro bit crazy" form is slowly coming to an end. Today we arrived in Frankfurt on the final stop over of Euro trippin' 2008. To be honest, neither of us are entirely sure that this trip will end tomorrow with a successful AirIndia flight. Chances are good that we'll be in Frankfurt for an additional 48 hours or so, dining on curry while we sit on the Frankfurt tarmac. Not a bad city to end our trip with. We have seemingly come full circle as far as prices take us. Germany, home of the 2 euro sandwhich and 3 euro liter of beer is a fitting end for two budget strapped travelers. We tried to make it through the last 2 days of paris, a trip to frankfurt, and our flight home without spending more than 15 euros total! that sadly didn't work out and we had to shell out some extra cash and ATM fees to make it back...a fun game nonetheless. As we speak, Carlyn is fretting about the Air India website saying our plane will land in Los Angeles, not Chicago! oh no...phew, i think we figured it out. We'll just arrive 4 hours early to the airport to make sure. Bonus, on the train ride to Frankfurt, our train broke down and we all got moved to first class cabins! boo ya. The seats extra wide for those of us who are horizontally challenged.
Our final days in Paris were great. We saw Sacre Couer, a famed basilica made of "self cleansing" white marble that secretes a milky residue when it rains, applying a new coat of paint essentially. Carlyn was a bit disappointed with Moulin Rouge, literally a small theater tucked away in Paris' red-light district surrounded by...well you can imagine the local flavor....we'll keep it pg rated. Last night, we had dinner with two friends from UVA we met up with, some fondue and chocolate mousse, capped off with some banana and nutella crepes, awesome. My favorite part of parisian cuisine was undoubtably the gyros. We had 6 greek gyros stands within a block of our apt. not to mention that our apt smelled of gyros...sweet dreams.
Thanks to everyone for reading the blog. Best of luck with the recovery LK. Carlyn thinks a pig with rainboots on is the funniest thing ever...see the link.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
mes pieds sont fatigues
Bonjour!
(thats all the French I know. I let Matt do most of the talking...I am still saying "gratzi" instead of "merci" most of the time...kinda a step behind.)
Anyways, we have finally made it to our last stop - Paris! The trip seems to have flown by, but Paris seems like a great way to go out with a bang. We arrived at the train station in Paris yesterday afternoon and walked to our amazing lodging in the 5th arrondissement, courtesy of my dad's very generous cousin, Mitch. The area where we are staying - the latin quarter - seems filled to the brim with bakeries, people in the streets and restaurants of every type of ethnic food imaginable (and affordable too!) A great place to be!
After filling up on gyros and crepes we walked to the Eiffel tower, and discovered that Paris is waaay bigger than any other cities we have wandered around. (It took us an hour to walk about an inch and a half on the map. After that we learned the metro system pretty quickly.) From the top of the tower we could see for miles, an awesome view of the city as it was just before sunset.
Today we ate croissants and meandered the Musee d'Orsay, catching up on the impressionist works of Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and a few of their buddies. The museum was beautifully constructed and well-organized (and was truly appreciated more after we realized there was no line to get in!) Afterwards we walked down the Champs Ellyses and window-shopped, taking note of everything we can't afford, and probably wont be able to afford for a good 15 years. (Even a salad at one of the bakeries on that strip was out of my budget!)
Dinner was at a fun cafe on the street below the apartment, and we then heard some live music at a bar/coffee shop close by.
Look forward to seeing everyone soon!
(thats all the French I know. I let Matt do most of the talking...I am still saying "gratzi" instead of "merci" most of the time...kinda a step behind.)
Anyways, we have finally made it to our last stop - Paris! The trip seems to have flown by, but Paris seems like a great way to go out with a bang. We arrived at the train station in Paris yesterday afternoon and walked to our amazing lodging in the 5th arrondissement, courtesy of my dad's very generous cousin, Mitch. The area where we are staying - the latin quarter - seems filled to the brim with bakeries, people in the streets and restaurants of every type of ethnic food imaginable (and affordable too!) A great place to be!
After filling up on gyros and crepes we walked to the Eiffel tower, and discovered that Paris is waaay bigger than any other cities we have wandered around. (It took us an hour to walk about an inch and a half on the map. After that we learned the metro system pretty quickly.) From the top of the tower we could see for miles, an awesome view of the city as it was just before sunset.
Today we ate croissants and meandered the Musee d'Orsay, catching up on the impressionist works of Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and a few of their buddies. The museum was beautifully constructed and well-organized (and was truly appreciated more after we realized there was no line to get in!) Afterwards we walked down the Champs Ellyses and window-shopped, taking note of everything we can't afford, and probably wont be able to afford for a good 15 years. (Even a salad at one of the bakeries on that strip was out of my budget!)
Dinner was at a fun cafe on the street below the apartment, and we then heard some live music at a bar/coffee shop close by.
Look forward to seeing everyone soon!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Move over Brittany...Carlyn's coming through
I sense a bit of a rivalry starting within the Kener household, and I'm glad to be the instigator and spectator as it plays out. Today, Carlyn and I did a 40'km lap around Lake Brienze, a prettz brutal route with a bit of mountain trail biking and some fast highway stretches. Although battered and broken from yesterdays hiking adventure, Carlyn and I persevered...oh yeah, one of us bonked pretty hard. I got the feeling that Carlyn didn't want to be bested by her sister in law (who I have been told has won quite a few accolades recently on 2 wheels). Regardless, the motivation was there for us to finish the ride just in time to get our bikes back without paying the extra $10 fee (my biggest fear...that money is now put to good use buying beers and thai food).
The sights around the lake were gorgeous. A tourquois blue lake, waterfalls, soaring mountains. Felt like we were riding in the swiss alps...oh wait, we were. Tonight, we watch the holland v. italz soccer game! I already was threatened today by a group of 8 dutch fans who thought I was wearing an italian jersey this morning...i think i could have taken 8 drunk hooligans at 10 in the morning.
breakfast this moring was awesome, some more meat and cheese sandwiches, oj, coffee and apples. carlyn made fun of me because i stole two pads of butter and cheese to hide in our hotel. ok, so i'm a cheap scavenger...proud of it. prices are ridiculous here! our thai dinner will cost$40! you would become a thief too.
-matt
The sights around the lake were gorgeous. A tourquois blue lake, waterfalls, soaring mountains. Felt like we were riding in the swiss alps...oh wait, we were. Tonight, we watch the holland v. italz soccer game! I already was threatened today by a group of 8 dutch fans who thought I was wearing an italian jersey this morning...i think i could have taken 8 drunk hooligans at 10 in the morning.
breakfast this moring was awesome, some more meat and cheese sandwiches, oj, coffee and apples. carlyn made fun of me because i stole two pads of butter and cheese to hide in our hotel. ok, so i'm a cheap scavenger...proud of it. prices are ridiculous here! our thai dinner will cost$40! you would become a thief too.
-matt
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Top of Europe!
Today we made the 4 hour trek up towards Jungfraujoch...The top of Europe. Switz's largest range is capped by a peak standing a paltry 4000m, about 12,000 feet...shy of many of Colorado's peaks. But, the view was amazing and the climb up to the top made us feel like we accomplished a great feat today. Our legs were toasted. Our only reprieve at the top of the climb was a sharing a great $15 bratwurst...expensive but well worth the money. if you can believe it, it was the first brat we've had while in europe, lived up to the hype.
Last night, we watched game one of Euro2008, a huge soccer tourney based in Switz. Last night, the swiss lost 1-0 to czech, pretty awful. Lets just say the town was a bit depressed after the game, but perhaps drunk soccer fans are more fun to watch when they've lost. Talk about taking their sorrows out on a bottle. The game was played on a huge 15 ft t.v. in the town center. we just chilled out there for the night and kicked back a few. Tonight, we'll watch Germany v. Poland, another game which I'm sure will get Interlaken's predominantly deutsche crowd up in arms.
Looking forward to our plush accomodations in Paris...hope all is well.
-matt
Last night, we watched game one of Euro2008, a huge soccer tourney based in Switz. Last night, the swiss lost 1-0 to czech, pretty awful. Lets just say the town was a bit depressed after the game, but perhaps drunk soccer fans are more fun to watch when they've lost. Talk about taking their sorrows out on a bottle. The game was played on a huge 15 ft t.v. in the town center. we just chilled out there for the night and kicked back a few. Tonight, we'll watch Germany v. Poland, another game which I'm sure will get Interlaken's predominantly deutsche crowd up in arms.
Looking forward to our plush accomodations in Paris...hope all is well.
-matt
Friday, June 6, 2008
Yummmm
I am guessing Matt will describe the amazing landscape of Cinque Terre and what we have been up to, so I will give a run-down on the really important stuff...the food!
Cinque Terre is full of tiny cliff-side towns, with the mountain sides covered in olive trees and grape vineyards. Needless to say, local wine and delicious olive oil is plentiful, along with foods containing these things! There are "foccacerias" everywhere selling large pieces of foccacia stuffed with all sorts of things (olives, carmelized onions, pesto, tomatoes, parm, etc.) Pesto is made with the local olive oil and is sold as scoops out of big vasts in all the local markets. There are beautiful lemon trees in everyones yard (along with their own personal gardens growing lettuce and basil) and lemon granitas (slushies) are delicious! Finally, the seafood is amazing! Tonight we had seafood spaghetti- full of mussels, clams, and squid!
Internet here is kinda expensive, but we think we have free use of it in Interlaken, so hopefully we will get pictures posted there! (Matt thinks its kinda ridiculous, but I have taken almost as many pictures of the food we eat as the scenery!)
Cinque Terre is full of tiny cliff-side towns, with the mountain sides covered in olive trees and grape vineyards. Needless to say, local wine and delicious olive oil is plentiful, along with foods containing these things! There are "foccacerias" everywhere selling large pieces of foccacia stuffed with all sorts of things (olives, carmelized onions, pesto, tomatoes, parm, etc.) Pesto is made with the local olive oil and is sold as scoops out of big vasts in all the local markets. There are beautiful lemon trees in everyones yard (along with their own personal gardens growing lettuce and basil) and lemon granitas (slushies) are delicious! Finally, the seafood is amazing! Tonight we had seafood spaghetti- full of mussels, clams, and squid!
Internet here is kinda expensive, but we think we have free use of it in Interlaken, so hopefully we will get pictures posted there! (Matt thinks its kinda ridiculous, but I have taken almost as many pictures of the food we eat as the scenery!)
Cinque Terre...somewhere in South America?
Cinque Terre, perhaps looks more like some subtropic rainforest resort rather than northern Italy! Our destinations seem to be getting better and better. CT is a string of 5 towns right along the coast connected only by a series of "coastal paths". But don't let this fool you, I was expecting leisurely strolls along the beach. The paths are up and down sheer cliffs and through some pretty rugged terrain. A 4km hike took us about 1.5hours! Incredible views all the way. Carlyn has fallen in love with the place, the crystal water, the colorful homes and of course, the amazing seafood and pesto. I am usually turned off by small towns with nothing to do but shop and meander through little streets, but I have to admit, I was presently surprised by our villa. Our hotel window looks right our over the Mediteranean, sea breeze and all. The pictures look straight out of a magazine...to be posted. we even found a small beach this morning...a bit rockier than we expected...water was freezing...but I guess that was the only opp. I got to swim on this trip.
Tomorrow we leave for Interlaken...my long awaited oasis in the hills! I want to hike all day long, we'll see how we fare trespassing the Jungfrau range. I'm sure we'll do our fair share of window shopping in "cute towns", but I guess that's a compromise I'm willing to make. Hope everyone is doing great!
Tomorrow we leave for Interlaken...my long awaited oasis in the hills! I want to hike all day long, we'll see how we fare trespassing the Jungfrau range. I'm sure we'll do our fair share of window shopping in "cute towns", but I guess that's a compromise I'm willing to make. Hope everyone is doing great!
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