Well its been about 1.5 months since we returned from Europe.
Europe is very beautiful... The trip was well worth it.
In two weeks we covered most of the highlights of Europe. Despite our very busy itinerarys I feel like we were never really rushed... We saw everything we wanted to see and to tell the truth I think we could of added more. For example Florence could of been cut to one day instead of two.
Some people have been asking about the costs of doing a similiar trip... I estimate we spent about 3000 each including transportation and airfare. Keep in mind that we were eating at relatively nice restaurants most nights, we all had private rooms in our hotels, and we never skimped on attraction tickets. Probably could of spent significantly less.
The most beautiful attractions to me was the Sistine chapel, and the cathedral of Notre Dame.
The best advice i would give is to pack light. I brought 2 pairs of jeans, 4 undershirts, 5 pairs of socks, 3 shirts, 1 jacket. This was too much stuff still.... I could of done with half the stuff.
Also learn some French, Italian, and Spanish. Few Europeans we encountered spoke English in France, Italy, Spain.
Cheapest Country- Spain
Most Expensive- France
Favorite City- Florence, Venice
Also research as much as you can.... We planned the exact routes for most cities and still we got lost, but if we had not done the planning we wouldn't have seen all the attractions.
-Poon
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Most embarrassing moment award of our Europe trip goes to ...
So by now, we are all back home. Rui is back in San Luis Obispo, Poon is back in Irvine, and I am now again sitting in my room back in Redondo Beach. As each of us start to readjust to our normal lives, I am sure that there will be lots of embarrassing stories told, both on this blog and in real life. With that being said, I thought I'd start out by telling you the most embarrassing one first.
Our entire trip lasted about 15 and a half days and throughout the trip, we each had ample opportunity to try and win the coveted "Most Embarrassing Moment" award. We each made a good effort to win the award while we traveled throughout Europe. We all had our fair share of public humility and so it was unclear about who would win. By the sheer number of entries, it was looking like Rui must have had a winner in there somewhere. However, it wasn't until we were back in the US, with only 6 hours left to go, that one of us decided to end all debate on the matter with a crème de la crème entry.
With just one more airplane ride to go, Poon decided that it was time to stop playing games and win the award once and for all. How could Poon just stay idle and let Rui be the victor? Poon decided to devise a plan so brilliant that even he was surprised when his plan finally materialized.
While we were waiting at the gate to board the plane, Poon decided it was time to unleash his master plan. A Hispanic mother of three was standing behind Poon. She tapped Poon on the shoulder and quietly said "You have paper on your back." Now Poon, being the entertainer that he is, decided that he wanted a larger crowd to witness his plan unfold and so "pretended" that he did not understand the lady. She again said "You have paper on your back" in a louder tone, which quickly brought Rui's and my attention to the unfolding situation at hand. Poon again "pretended" to not understand. She then said for a third time, while pointing at Poon's back, "You have paper on your back".
By this time, half of the people waiting to board the plane were aware there was something going on and so were all staring in Poon's direction. I finally understood what she was saying and so I told Poon to turn around so I could investigate the matter. Poon still "pretended" to not know what was happening and so I was forced to turn him around myself, so that I, and everyone else, could see his back. As I finished turning Poon around, we all finally understood what the lady had meant. About 3 feet of bright white toilet paper was coming from Poon's waist and dragging on the floor. The last sheet or two were crumpled together, evidence that they had gotten wet when the toilet was flushed.
It was at this moment that laughter erupted throughout our gate. It started from 4 very beautiful girls behind us, flowed through the crowd of men, women, and children, and then finally reached an elderly couple. Poon, still unaware of the situation, stood there puzzled. While Rui laughed uncontrollably, I informed Poon of the situation. Poon's puzzled face quickly turned a shade of red I did not think was humanly possible. Poon quickly took care of the toilet paper situation but by then it was too late. Like everyone else, I also erupted with laughter. As minutes passed, the laughter died down, but as soon as one of us heard a chuckle, the laughter was once again in full force.
It was at this time that they started to actually board the plane. They boarded our plane by zones, starting with First class, and then in increasing numerical order (starting with 1 and ending with 9). As fate would have it, we were zone 9, and so we stood there while others laughed and boarded the plane. First the hispanic mother and her children boarded, then the elderly couple, some men and women, and finally the 4 very beautiful girls. Each one of them left us with a smirk on their face knowing that they now had a story to share with their family and friends throughout the world.
The End.
-Ed
Our entire trip lasted about 15 and a half days and throughout the trip, we each had ample opportunity to try and win the coveted "Most Embarrassing Moment" award. We each made a good effort to win the award while we traveled throughout Europe. We all had our fair share of public humility and so it was unclear about who would win. By the sheer number of entries, it was looking like Rui must have had a winner in there somewhere. However, it wasn't until we were back in the US, with only 6 hours left to go, that one of us decided to end all debate on the matter with a crème de la crème entry.
With just one more airplane ride to go, Poon decided that it was time to stop playing games and win the award once and for all. How could Poon just stay idle and let Rui be the victor? Poon decided to devise a plan so brilliant that even he was surprised when his plan finally materialized.
While we were waiting at the gate to board the plane, Poon decided it was time to unleash his master plan. A Hispanic mother of three was standing behind Poon. She tapped Poon on the shoulder and quietly said "You have paper on your back." Now Poon, being the entertainer that he is, decided that he wanted a larger crowd to witness his plan unfold and so "pretended" that he did not understand the lady. She again said "You have paper on your back" in a louder tone, which quickly brought Rui's and my attention to the unfolding situation at hand. Poon again "pretended" to not understand. She then said for a third time, while pointing at Poon's back, "You have paper on your back".
By this time, half of the people waiting to board the plane were aware there was something going on and so were all staring in Poon's direction. I finally understood what she was saying and so I told Poon to turn around so I could investigate the matter. Poon still "pretended" to not know what was happening and so I was forced to turn him around myself, so that I, and everyone else, could see his back. As I finished turning Poon around, we all finally understood what the lady had meant. About 3 feet of bright white toilet paper was coming from Poon's waist and dragging on the floor. The last sheet or two were crumpled together, evidence that they had gotten wet when the toilet was flushed.
It was at this moment that laughter erupted throughout our gate. It started from 4 very beautiful girls behind us, flowed through the crowd of men, women, and children, and then finally reached an elderly couple. Poon, still unaware of the situation, stood there puzzled. While Rui laughed uncontrollably, I informed Poon of the situation. Poon's puzzled face quickly turned a shade of red I did not think was humanly possible. Poon quickly took care of the toilet paper situation but by then it was too late. Like everyone else, I also erupted with laughter. As minutes passed, the laughter died down, but as soon as one of us heard a chuckle, the laughter was once again in full force.
It was at this time that they started to actually board the plane. They boarded our plane by zones, starting with First class, and then in increasing numerical order (starting with 1 and ending with 9). As fate would have it, we were zone 9, and so we stood there while others laughed and boarded the plane. First the hispanic mother and her children boarded, then the elderly couple, some men and women, and finally the 4 very beautiful girls. Each one of them left us with a smirk on their face knowing that they now had a story to share with their family and friends throughout the world.
The End.
-Ed
I put that paper there on PURPOSE!
-Poon
Friday, April 11, 2008
Heading Home
It's now 7:17am in the morning here in Madrid. We are heading home today. Our flight leaves at 1pm. I'm sad to know that our europe trip is over and that in a couple of days, we will be back doing the same thing that we did before we went on the trip. It will be nice, though, to have clean clothes again. Now only a metro ride and about a 15 hour plane trip till we get back to California.
-Ed
MADRID
Madrid was a nice city. We didn't have much planned. We stayed a block away from the famous "Gran Via" and "Puerta del Sol". We headed to the palacio real, crystal house and walked around a park. I bought stuffed bull for Kirby. Ate kahbab at a restaurant .... Where Ed fell in love with the cashier there. The next day we took 3 different metro trains to the airport. There were hookers all over hotel and we were propositioned by many.
Madrid airport was huge and security was very tight. Ed and I made it through security very easy... Rui on the other hand was hasseled. At the checkin line security hasseled him they demanded to see all the receipts from everywhere he had been through out Europe. Something we did not have... eventually they let him through. Apparently I appear to be a local as the security guard came up to me and said "traveling with Japanese friends eh"... "I responded oh there chinese".... his reply " There all the same"... "I busted up laughing".
Inside the airport gate... We suddenly hear over the loudspeaker "RUI XU please come to the gate immediately".... Rui gets taken by security and is led off.... 20 minutes later he is returned to us apparently he was forced to go through all the security checkpoints again... because he's from China. This concluded our time in Europe.
BARCELONA
It was not easy getting to Barcelona....
We had to book a plane from Milan rather than from Vencie. So we took the train from Venice to Milan. At Milan we had to take a bus shuttle to the airport... since Ryan Air doesn't fly out of Milan's main airport it flys out of orio airport. At the airport we checked painlessly. We boarded our plane which looked like the "low class" section in the movie Soul Plane. The entire plane was filled with soccer hooligans from Germany... apparently there was some big match.... They were chanting soccer chants the whole time at the top of there lungs. The flight attendents threatened to call the police if they didn't quiet down, and the pilot came out asking the same thing. This only encouraged the soccer hooligans to shout louder. The pilot himself appeared to be drunk and flew like it as well. I've never been in a plane that took off so steaply and landed shaking the wings back and forth. We made it safely to Girona airport.
Girona airport is about an hour a way from Barcelona. This was one of Rui's planned cities. So instead of taking the Barcelona Bus which takes us directly to Barcelona (1 hour ride).... Rui decided that we should take the Barelona Bus to the city of Girona then take a local train and then Barcelona metro... this took about 3 hours. We arrived at our hotel... where Ed tried to speak spanish... he has the worst spanish I have ever heard... EVER!
We went in search of a restaurant and found a nice place... which is where we realized Barcelona is cheap. 10 euros for a 4 course meal including alcohol. I had a very good lager.
We managed to see everything that barcelona had to offer... at the moment I don't remember the names... but any major attraction in Barcelona Ed and I at least saw it. Rui was lazy one night and went to sleep/picked up a hooker...
-Ed
MADRID
Madrid was a nice city. We didn't have much planned. We stayed a block away from the famous "Gran Via" and "Puerta del Sol". We headed to the palacio real, crystal house and walked around a park. I bought stuffed bull for Kirby. Ate kahbab at a restaurant .... Where Ed fell in love with the cashier there. The next day we took 3 different metro trains to the airport. There were hookers all over hotel and we were propositioned by many.
Madrid airport was huge and security was very tight. Ed and I made it through security very easy... Rui on the other hand was hasseled. At the checkin line security hasseled him they demanded to see all the receipts from everywhere he had been through out Europe. Something we did not have... eventually they let him through. Apparently I appear to be a local as the security guard came up to me and said "traveling with Japanese friends eh"... "I responded oh there chinese".... his reply " There all the same"... "I busted up laughing".
Inside the airport gate... We suddenly hear over the loudspeaker "RUI XU please come to the gate immediately".... Rui gets taken by security and is led off.... 20 minutes later he is returned to us apparently he was forced to go through all the security checkpoints again... because he's from China. This concluded our time in Europe.
BARCELONA
It was not easy getting to Barcelona....
We had to book a plane from Milan rather than from Vencie. So we took the train from Venice to Milan. At Milan we had to take a bus shuttle to the airport... since Ryan Air doesn't fly out of Milan's main airport it flys out of orio airport. At the airport we checked painlessly. We boarded our plane which looked like the "low class" section in the movie Soul Plane. The entire plane was filled with soccer hooligans from Germany... apparently there was some big match.... They were chanting soccer chants the whole time at the top of there lungs. The flight attendents threatened to call the police if they didn't quiet down, and the pilot came out asking the same thing. This only encouraged the soccer hooligans to shout louder. The pilot himself appeared to be drunk and flew like it as well. I've never been in a plane that took off so steaply and landed shaking the wings back and forth. We made it safely to Girona airport.
Girona airport is about an hour a way from Barcelona. This was one of Rui's planned cities. So instead of taking the Barcelona Bus which takes us directly to Barcelona (1 hour ride).... Rui decided that we should take the Barelona Bus to the city of Girona then take a local train and then Barcelona metro... this took about 3 hours. We arrived at our hotel... where Ed tried to speak spanish... he has the worst spanish I have ever heard... EVER!
We went in search of a restaurant and found a nice place... which is where we realized Barcelona is cheap. 10 euros for a 4 course meal including alcohol. I had a very good lager.
We managed to see everything that barcelona had to offer... at the moment I don't remember the names... but any major attraction in Barcelona Ed and I at least saw it. Rui was lazy one night and went to sleep/picked up a hooker...
Venice
They say that Venice is one of the most Romantic cities in the world. Seeing as how we traveled there as a group of 3 males, I didn't find it all that romantic. The sights of the city, though, were amazing. We rode the Vaporetto (water bus) throughout Venice. Cars and motorcycles aren't allowed in Venice, so all the taxis and buses are all waterborne. We also went to an island right off of the main area of Venice called Murano. Murano is famous for it's glass artwork. We went to a glass making factory and saw a Master glass worker make a horse from a glob of molten glass in less than a minute. It was quite impressive. If it hadn't been for our hotel, I would have said that my experience with Venice was wonderful. Before we went to sleep we knew there were mosquitoes in the room, one would expect this being so close to the water. It wasn't until we woke up the next morning that we realized that there were also bed bugs. I, myself, was bitten about 15 times just on my face. All night long, I woke up swatting at what I thought were mosquitoes on my face. The bed bugs and mosquitoes made for a much worse experience than the mouse that was in our room at Amsterdam.
-Ed
-Ed
Venice was a beautiful city. We started the day by checking in at our hotel, which was hidden away from the main streets of Venice in an alley way very close to the hotel. It appeared quite clean, we learned later that the place was anything but that.
Per the recommendation of the hotel front desk we headed to a restaurant that was a little further down the alley towards the main street. It was a very reasonable deal something like 12 euros for a 4 course meal. It was way too much food and we were forced to leave a lot of leftovers.
After this we took the Vaporetto to San Marco's Square/Bassilica via the Vaporetto. It was a 20 minute trip. Having traveled to Rome's Pantheon, Florence's Duermo, Paris' Pantheon, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame just days before, San Marco's Square and Bassilica seemed unimpressive.
Having nothing really on our schedule for the day we decided to take the Vaporetto to a neighboring island called Murano. Murano is where the world famous Venetian glass comes is made. The Vaporetto ride was very long. In fact all 3 of us fell asleep... luckily we woke up about 5 minutes before our stop or we would of missed it. We got off the boat and head to a glass making demonstration. It was amazing how quickly the glass maker was able to make a horse figuerine. Following this 10 minute demonstration we headed to the gift shop where Rui and Ed purchased items. Then we walked around the island of Murano looking into the various glass shops where I purchased a glass dog.
Next we decided we wanted to head to the grand canal, but not wanting to take another 1.5 hour long Vaporetto ride we decided to get off at the first Vaporetto stop on the main island and walk across the island. After a 10 minute ride we got off on the main island. I was tasked with navigating us to the Grand Canal.... this is not an easy task in Venice, many of the streets are not labeled, or end in dead ends into a canal. I pretended i knew where I was going and just started heading south. We made it to our destination... also having accidentally toured the entire city of Venice along the way. We started to get exhausted at this time and headed back to the hotel. That night Rui and I were tasked with buying bottled water. We searched the area around our hotel for a supermarket which is much cheaper than a bakery to buy water from. We searched for a half an hour and could not find a super market finally we bought water at a bakery. Later that night we went searching for dinner and ended up purchasing sandwiches from a small shop. These sandwiches were terrible.
The next day morning we boarded a train and began a day long journey to Spain.
Transportation was very expensive. 15 euros for a day pass on the vaporetto. Vaporettos are very slow. Around the main island its much quicker to walk then to take the Vaporetto. Food was cheap compared to paris, but expensive relative to the rest of Italy.
-Poon
Florence
The museums in Florence were not as impressive as the others that we have previously seen. They were quite small and with the exception of the Statue of David, everything that we saw did not seem to be quite as impressive as the Museums in Paris. However, the Uffizi museum was pretty cool because it housed works from all of the Ninja Turtles. The town of Florence is actually quite small. I liked the small town feel of Florence but on pretty much every street, there was dog poo. I felt like I was constantly in a mine field. If they could just get rid of all the feces in the street, Florence would be that much cooler. The food in Florence and (everywhere else we ate in Italy) was amazing. By far, the food we ate in Italy was the best we had on our entire trip.
-Ed
-Ed
Rome
While in Rome, we did all the usually tourist stuff. We went to the Vatican, saw the Sistine Chapel, saw the Colosseum, saw the Pantheon, saw the Trevi Fountain, and ate Gelato (The first of 5 straight days eating Gelato). Some chick also tried to pickpocket me on the metro. I laughed at her though because I had nothing in my pockets. We also found a very cool family run Italian restaurant that had "Chef Benny" as the cook. The house wine was actually the best tasting wine that any of us had ever had. Plus, they had the grandfather (Pepe) chilling at the front door greeting everyone. He was very cheerful and was the one who grabbed us off the street to go inside and eat. We ended up going there for dinner both nights in Rome because the service was so good.
-Ed
Rome was another great city. It felt like we couldn't walk more than a couple blocks without seeing a famous fountain or building. The city is also relatively small so walking through the city is an option.... in fact one night we were forced to since the Metro closes at midnight.
We started the first day by visiting the vatican. we went to the very top of the basillica which was not an easy task. Then we toured the city and went to the spanish steps. We ate at a authentic restaurant, where I had the best white wine ever. I ordered a 750ml bottle of the house wine... unfortunately though Ed is allergic to wine so he had half a glass... and well Rui is a weakling I had to drink most of the bottle of wine by myself. After dinner we went to the Trevi Fountain and bought several wooden clocks from a clock shop near the Trevi Fountain and ate Gelato.
The second day we were forced to go back to the Vatican as yesterday the sistine chapel was closed and I demanded that we return to see it. The line was very long to get in. The sistine chapel was amazing when you first look at the ceiling it appears as though theres complex pillars built in, but then you look closer and realize that everything there is painted, but amazingly it all looks 3 dimensional. After the sistine chapel we headed ot the colisum. We used the trick of going to Palentine Hill to buy tickets and thus we were able to completely bypass the line to the colisium. We walked through the colisium then headed to the forum. We made the mistake of eating lunch at a tourist restaurant. The food was absolutely terrible and expensive.
After the colisium we walked to the pantheon and continued walking through the city. Ed hijacked us and made us walk back to the Vatican... he claimed there was a spot he had to take a picture at which was the exact symmetrical point. He said there was a circle there. We arrive at the vatican square and well theres like 10 circle things on the ground. We never did figure out the "symmetrical point". Later that night we decided to eat at the same restaurant for dinner again. We each ordered a pizza, which was not quite as good as the pasta. We walked the city again and got gelato at the same spot a very popular place with the locals. As we tried to board the metro we find that its closed so were forced to do a 2 mile walk back to the hotel.
The next day we boarded a 2.5 hour train to Florence.
-Poon
-Ed
Rome was another great city. It felt like we couldn't walk more than a couple blocks without seeing a famous fountain or building. The city is also relatively small so walking through the city is an option.... in fact one night we were forced to since the Metro closes at midnight.
We started the first day by visiting the vatican. we went to the very top of the basillica which was not an easy task. Then we toured the city and went to the spanish steps. We ate at a authentic restaurant, where I had the best white wine ever. I ordered a 750ml bottle of the house wine... unfortunately though Ed is allergic to wine so he had half a glass... and well Rui is a weakling I had to drink most of the bottle of wine by myself. After dinner we went to the Trevi Fountain and bought several wooden clocks from a clock shop near the Trevi Fountain and ate Gelato.
The second day we were forced to go back to the Vatican as yesterday the sistine chapel was closed and I demanded that we return to see it. The line was very long to get in. The sistine chapel was amazing when you first look at the ceiling it appears as though theres complex pillars built in, but then you look closer and realize that everything there is painted, but amazingly it all looks 3 dimensional. After the sistine chapel we headed ot the colisum. We used the trick of going to Palentine Hill to buy tickets and thus we were able to completely bypass the line to the colisium. We walked through the colisium then headed to the forum. We made the mistake of eating lunch at a tourist restaurant. The food was absolutely terrible and expensive.
After the colisium we walked to the pantheon and continued walking through the city. Ed hijacked us and made us walk back to the Vatican... he claimed there was a spot he had to take a picture at which was the exact symmetrical point. He said there was a circle there. We arrive at the vatican square and well theres like 10 circle things on the ground. We never did figure out the "symmetrical point". Later that night we decided to eat at the same restaurant for dinner again. We each ordered a pizza, which was not quite as good as the pasta. We walked the city again and got gelato at the same spot a very popular place with the locals. As we tried to board the metro we find that its closed so were forced to do a 2 mile walk back to the hotel.
The next day we boarded a 2.5 hour train to Florence.
-Poon
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Paris (Update 4/11/08)
So it's been a while since we have had internet access. We are now currently in Florence, Italy. It's our last day here and I already feel like we have done everything. I don't think there is much else to do which is why we came back to our hotel to search the internet on things to do in Florence. But while I have some time, I figure I'll write a little about Paris.
First off, Paris is so far probably the best city that I've been to. The metros are very easy to use and the city has lots to see and do. The women all dress very well and I love them all. Whoever invented knee high boots should get a nobel prize or something of similar value. Now that I'm in Italy, I've noticed the food here is better than in Paris and from what I've seen, cheaper as well. Not to say French food isn't great. I may not have been eating the right things, as I can not read French and just ordered random items from the menu.
DAY ONE
On our first day in Paris, we visited a lot of sights. We first stopped by the Moulin Rouge. We chose to stop by in the day time because Poon said that area was shady at night and we could get jumped. After getting off the metro and standing in front of the Moulin Rouge, the area looked fairly safe and the Moulin Rouge looked quite unimpressive. It is definitely something you want to see at night while it is lit up.
We then walked down the Champ Elysees and grabbed a bite to eat at some pannini place. Luckily we stopped and ate because while we were inside the restaurant, it started to rain heavily. We watched the masses of people try to flee the storm as we happily drank our espressos. On a side note, Poon doesn't drink espressos with sugar, he drinks sugar with a hint of espresso. I can't believe how much sugar he can fit in such a tiny cup.
The Luxembourg Gardens were next on our list. The gardens are very tranquil and a pretty cool place to just hang out. I remember feeling pretty stressfree as we walked through and took pictures. There weren't many flowers blooming yet. I guess we just took our vacation a little to early. If I lived in Paris, I think I would visit the Gardens a lot.
The last place we went to was the Eiffel Tower. During the daytime, the Eiffel Tower is quite unimpressive looking. It's pretty much the same shade of brown all over and just looks plain. However, during the night, with all of it's lights on, it is very beautiful. Like us and every other tourist in Paris, going up the Eiffel Tower is on the to do list. This left us waiting in lines for about 3 hours trying to go up and down the tower. Waiting in line for 3 hours is bad enough, but we were stuck between two high school groups; one from Canada and one from the USA. They ended up singing each others National Anthems, trying to see who could be the louder group and we were stuck in the middle of it all. No wonder europeans have such a bad stereotype of Americans. I just tried to act like the typical Asian tourist, taking photos, so that I would not be mistaken for one of them. Rui just stood there and everyone already knew he was straight from China. Once we got to the top though, the view was quite nice. Pretty much all of Paris is lit up and you can see everything.
I think I'm going to nap now. I'm sure Poon will add more later.
-Ed
DAY TWO (added 4/11/08)
On our second day, we visited the Arc de Triomphe, Musee d'Orsay, and Notre Dame. Apparently, elevators weren't invented when the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame were built and so we had to walk to the top of both using "stairs". There weren't even escalators, can you believe it?
The Arc de Triomphe has a pretty good view of the city. We went there early in the morning and so there weren't too many people there. The Arc de Triomphe is surrounded by a large roundabout and on the day that we went, apparently Red Bull thought it would be a good idea to have some 50+ very attractive women drive some 50+ Red Bull Mini Coopers around in a circle. I enjoyed the sight but as one would think, this caused a huge traffic jam and the French police were soon at the scene. We left the Arc de Triomphe while watching the police give tickets to each Red Bull mini. After all the commotion that Red Bull caused, we didn't even get a free Red Bull. Damn them.
We then went to the Musee d'Orsay. Now art isn't something that I'm particularly knowledgeable about and so all I can say is that I saw some Monet's, Manet's, and Renoir's, being that those are probably the only three artists I knew there. Some of it was impressive, others were not. I pretty much define impressive by whether I can create the same thing or not. 20 foot tall landscapes... impressive, a statue made of stale bread... not impressive.
Our last sight was Notre Dame. Notre Dame was either the most or second most impressive cathedral we saw. There is so much to see, inside and out. The detail of every aspect of the cathedral is quite impressive. We even got to see the stairs leading up to where Quasimoto rescued Esmerelda.
DAY THREE (added 4/11/08)
For our last day in Paris, we decided to visit the Musee du Louvre. From what we have read, it takes about a week to see everything in the Louvre. We saw everything in about 5 hours. Maybe I don't appreciate art as much as I should, but when you see thousands of paintings, it's hard to know which ones to focus on. The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Egyptian Mummies were the highlight of the museum. Every exhibit was pretty much packed except for one which we stumbled upon, the history of African Art. When we walked into it, it was completely bare of anyone, including the museum staff that usually watches guard to make sure we don't touch anything. I guess African Art isn't very desirable to see. We thought it was pretty cool though.
So after walking straight for about 7 hours we finally got on an overnight train that took us to Rome. We shared a coachette that had room for 6 people. When we entered the coachette, we noticed that there were only two beds and 6 seats. We wondered for a long time why there weren't 6 beds, being an overnight train and all. It wasn't until we woke up, an hour into the train ride, that an Italian couple showed us how to convert the 6 seats into 4 more beds. As we were being mesmerized by such an amazing act of ingenuity, the wife started to laugh at us because we didn't know there were more beds. They continued to laugh at us some more throughout the night as "other" things continued to happen.
-Ed
Paris
Day 1
The train from Amsterdam to Paris was suppose to be high speed. It turns out high speed trains in europe are not really very high speed at all. It was about a 4 hour train ride to paris. We had a little bit of trouble finding our hotel, but it wasn't too bad. Arriving at our hotel we began to realize that English is not commonly known in the city. The receptionist at the hotel did not speak English.
We took the metro to the Moulin Rouge.... This was not impressive at all. It looked like a run down vegas casino. After about 5 minutes we took the metro to the Arc de Triumphe which was very impressive. Walked down the Champ Elysees and stopped for lunch. We ate sandwiches at a local cafe... and surprisingly enough I had my first espresso. It was quite bitter, but then I figured out the perfect ratio for every one spoonful of espresso you need two spoonfuls of sugar.
After lunch we continued down the Champs Elysees then tooko the metro to Luxembourg Gardins. Ed seemed to be very impressed by it... but to me it looked like any other park with statues. I was impressed by the large palace and the pantheon located nearby. We went to a random cathedral which turned out to be beautiful and then we headed to the Eiffel Tower.
We saw the Eiffel Tower and decided to come back at night. We went ate at a local cafe. I figured out the best way to order food on a french menu was to twirl my finger around until it landed randomly on something affordable.
After dinner we went back to Eiffel Tower. Getting to the first level of the Eiffel Tower was very easy, but getting to the top is another matter. We waited in a two hour line to take the elevator to the top and then we waited for another 1.5 hours to go back down from the top of the Eiffel Tower. It is a very cold wait. This concluded our first day in Paris.
Day 2
Our stupid alarm clock (my cell phone) didn't go off... We woke up several hours late.
We headed to the Musee de Orsay... supposedly one of the world's finest museums. Really none of us know anything about art so... I can't say whether I agree with that or not. I will say that the museum is very poorly laid out since its a former train station, and was very difficult to navigate.
Following the Musee de Orsay we ate at a cafe behind the museum. The food was just Ok. I was very impressed at how dogs are allowed everywhere in france. A huge german shepard walks up to my table then goes to his right ful place behind the bar. This is a rather upscale cafe.
We went to the cathedral de Notre Dame. It was spectacular. I don't even know how to describe it... I think it was among my favorite things we saw in Europe. After touring the inside of the cathedral we decide to line up to go to the top. While we were in line Rui runs across the street and returns with a Crepe in his hand. A ham crepe of all things. He hands it to me then runs back across the street grabs another one then hands it back to Ed.. this repeated. It took Rui about 20 minutes to get 3 crepes for us... After the 2 hour line we finally get to enter the towers. We walk a couple stories and it ends in a gift shop. We are all pissed! Did we just wait 2 hours to go the gift shop. After about ten minutes of waiting in the gift shop we are informed that they are opening the area to continue up the towers. It is not an easy walk going through those towers. If you've ever seen a movie with stairs leading to dungeons thats what we walked through... about 15 stories of that.
After the cathedral we returned to our hotel and searched for an authentic French restaurant.... This was not an easy task... We walked for about an hour until we spotted Chez Papas. We ended up ordering 4 dishes that were basically stews. Food was not great, wine was even worst.
Day 3
The only thing on our itinerary for the day was the Louvre. We woke up late again thanks to my stupid cell phone alarm. We had museum passes so we never had to wait in line at any attraction. Ran through the museum, accidentally saw the Venus de milo... then ran the Mona Lisa. We wandered around for hours saw the egyptian mummy my only request. Then we decided to leave for lunch... but we couldn't find the exit.
Ed saw an exit and started trying to push through it only to be yelled at my a black women... I assume he was trying to take the emergency exit, but really we have no idea what she was saying.
After lunch Rui was too tired and he left to go sit on the bench for a couple hours, while Ed and I wandered some more. It turns out that the Louvre is part of an indoor mall so we stopped in the Virgin Records. We listened to French pop. I bought some french chocolate at the candy store next door and bought eclairs in a bakery, then we headed back into the Louvre where I fell a sleep on a bench.
Later that night we boarded our overnight train to Rome. For some reason apparently Ed doesn't know what a toilet looks like... I had to go to the bathroom so I asked Ed where it was as he had just returned. He points in a direction I head there ... but theres only a women's bathroom and a wash room. I come back and ask him again, he points me at the same direction. So I go back there and I really have to go so I just go pee in the women's bathroom. It turns out that Ed was very confused because he actually went into the wash room, which has no toilet at all and peed in the sink thinking that was a toilet... I don't know how he managed to get confused since it clearly looked like a normal sink.
-Poon
First off, Paris is so far probably the best city that I've been to. The metros are very easy to use and the city has lots to see and do. The women all dress very well and I love them all. Whoever invented knee high boots should get a nobel prize or something of similar value. Now that I'm in Italy, I've noticed the food here is better than in Paris and from what I've seen, cheaper as well. Not to say French food isn't great. I may not have been eating the right things, as I can not read French and just ordered random items from the menu.
DAY ONE
On our first day in Paris, we visited a lot of sights. We first stopped by the Moulin Rouge. We chose to stop by in the day time because Poon said that area was shady at night and we could get jumped. After getting off the metro and standing in front of the Moulin Rouge, the area looked fairly safe and the Moulin Rouge looked quite unimpressive. It is definitely something you want to see at night while it is lit up.
We then walked down the Champ Elysees and grabbed a bite to eat at some pannini place. Luckily we stopped and ate because while we were inside the restaurant, it started to rain heavily. We watched the masses of people try to flee the storm as we happily drank our espressos. On a side note, Poon doesn't drink espressos with sugar, he drinks sugar with a hint of espresso. I can't believe how much sugar he can fit in such a tiny cup.
The Luxembourg Gardens were next on our list. The gardens are very tranquil and a pretty cool place to just hang out. I remember feeling pretty stressfree as we walked through and took pictures. There weren't many flowers blooming yet. I guess we just took our vacation a little to early. If I lived in Paris, I think I would visit the Gardens a lot.
The last place we went to was the Eiffel Tower. During the daytime, the Eiffel Tower is quite unimpressive looking. It's pretty much the same shade of brown all over and just looks plain. However, during the night, with all of it's lights on, it is very beautiful. Like us and every other tourist in Paris, going up the Eiffel Tower is on the to do list. This left us waiting in lines for about 3 hours trying to go up and down the tower. Waiting in line for 3 hours is bad enough, but we were stuck between two high school groups; one from Canada and one from the USA. They ended up singing each others National Anthems, trying to see who could be the louder group and we were stuck in the middle of it all. No wonder europeans have such a bad stereotype of Americans. I just tried to act like the typical Asian tourist, taking photos, so that I would not be mistaken for one of them. Rui just stood there and everyone already knew he was straight from China. Once we got to the top though, the view was quite nice. Pretty much all of Paris is lit up and you can see everything.
I think I'm going to nap now. I'm sure Poon will add more later.
-Ed
DAY TWO (added 4/11/08)
On our second day, we visited the Arc de Triomphe, Musee d'Orsay, and Notre Dame. Apparently, elevators weren't invented when the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame were built and so we had to walk to the top of both using "stairs". There weren't even escalators, can you believe it?
The Arc de Triomphe has a pretty good view of the city. We went there early in the morning and so there weren't too many people there. The Arc de Triomphe is surrounded by a large roundabout and on the day that we went, apparently Red Bull thought it would be a good idea to have some 50+ very attractive women drive some 50+ Red Bull Mini Coopers around in a circle. I enjoyed the sight but as one would think, this caused a huge traffic jam and the French police were soon at the scene. We left the Arc de Triomphe while watching the police give tickets to each Red Bull mini. After all the commotion that Red Bull caused, we didn't even get a free Red Bull. Damn them.
We then went to the Musee d'Orsay. Now art isn't something that I'm particularly knowledgeable about and so all I can say is that I saw some Monet's, Manet's, and Renoir's, being that those are probably the only three artists I knew there. Some of it was impressive, others were not. I pretty much define impressive by whether I can create the same thing or not. 20 foot tall landscapes... impressive, a statue made of stale bread... not impressive.
Our last sight was Notre Dame. Notre Dame was either the most or second most impressive cathedral we saw. There is so much to see, inside and out. The detail of every aspect of the cathedral is quite impressive. We even got to see the stairs leading up to where Quasimoto rescued Esmerelda.
DAY THREE (added 4/11/08)
For our last day in Paris, we decided to visit the Musee du Louvre. From what we have read, it takes about a week to see everything in the Louvre. We saw everything in about 5 hours. Maybe I don't appreciate art as much as I should, but when you see thousands of paintings, it's hard to know which ones to focus on. The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Egyptian Mummies were the highlight of the museum. Every exhibit was pretty much packed except for one which we stumbled upon, the history of African Art. When we walked into it, it was completely bare of anyone, including the museum staff that usually watches guard to make sure we don't touch anything. I guess African Art isn't very desirable to see. We thought it was pretty cool though.
So after walking straight for about 7 hours we finally got on an overnight train that took us to Rome. We shared a coachette that had room for 6 people. When we entered the coachette, we noticed that there were only two beds and 6 seats. We wondered for a long time why there weren't 6 beds, being an overnight train and all. It wasn't until we woke up, an hour into the train ride, that an Italian couple showed us how to convert the 6 seats into 4 more beds. As we were being mesmerized by such an amazing act of ingenuity, the wife started to laugh at us because we didn't know there were more beds. They continued to laugh at us some more throughout the night as "other" things continued to happen.
-Ed
Paris
Day 1
The train from Amsterdam to Paris was suppose to be high speed. It turns out high speed trains in europe are not really very high speed at all. It was about a 4 hour train ride to paris. We had a little bit of trouble finding our hotel, but it wasn't too bad. Arriving at our hotel we began to realize that English is not commonly known in the city. The receptionist at the hotel did not speak English.
We took the metro to the Moulin Rouge.... This was not impressive at all. It looked like a run down vegas casino. After about 5 minutes we took the metro to the Arc de Triumphe which was very impressive. Walked down the Champ Elysees and stopped for lunch. We ate sandwiches at a local cafe... and surprisingly enough I had my first espresso. It was quite bitter, but then I figured out the perfect ratio for every one spoonful of espresso you need two spoonfuls of sugar.
After lunch we continued down the Champs Elysees then tooko the metro to Luxembourg Gardins. Ed seemed to be very impressed by it... but to me it looked like any other park with statues. I was impressed by the large palace and the pantheon located nearby. We went to a random cathedral which turned out to be beautiful and then we headed to the Eiffel Tower.
We saw the Eiffel Tower and decided to come back at night. We went ate at a local cafe. I figured out the best way to order food on a french menu was to twirl my finger around until it landed randomly on something affordable.
After dinner we went back to Eiffel Tower. Getting to the first level of the Eiffel Tower was very easy, but getting to the top is another matter. We waited in a two hour line to take the elevator to the top and then we waited for another 1.5 hours to go back down from the top of the Eiffel Tower. It is a very cold wait. This concluded our first day in Paris.
Day 2
Our stupid alarm clock (my cell phone) didn't go off... We woke up several hours late.
We headed to the Musee de Orsay... supposedly one of the world's finest museums. Really none of us know anything about art so... I can't say whether I agree with that or not. I will say that the museum is very poorly laid out since its a former train station, and was very difficult to navigate.
Following the Musee de Orsay we ate at a cafe behind the museum. The food was just Ok. I was very impressed at how dogs are allowed everywhere in france. A huge german shepard walks up to my table then goes to his right ful place behind the bar. This is a rather upscale cafe.
We went to the cathedral de Notre Dame. It was spectacular. I don't even know how to describe it... I think it was among my favorite things we saw in Europe. After touring the inside of the cathedral we decide to line up to go to the top. While we were in line Rui runs across the street and returns with a Crepe in his hand. A ham crepe of all things. He hands it to me then runs back across the street grabs another one then hands it back to Ed.. this repeated. It took Rui about 20 minutes to get 3 crepes for us... After the 2 hour line we finally get to enter the towers. We walk a couple stories and it ends in a gift shop. We are all pissed! Did we just wait 2 hours to go the gift shop. After about ten minutes of waiting in the gift shop we are informed that they are opening the area to continue up the towers. It is not an easy walk going through those towers. If you've ever seen a movie with stairs leading to dungeons thats what we walked through... about 15 stories of that.
After the cathedral we returned to our hotel and searched for an authentic French restaurant.... This was not an easy task... We walked for about an hour until we spotted Chez Papas. We ended up ordering 4 dishes that were basically stews. Food was not great, wine was even worst.
Day 3
The only thing on our itinerary for the day was the Louvre. We woke up late again thanks to my stupid cell phone alarm. We had museum passes so we never had to wait in line at any attraction. Ran through the museum, accidentally saw the Venus de milo... then ran the Mona Lisa. We wandered around for hours saw the egyptian mummy my only request. Then we decided to leave for lunch... but we couldn't find the exit.
Ed saw an exit and started trying to push through it only to be yelled at my a black women... I assume he was trying to take the emergency exit, but really we have no idea what she was saying.
After lunch Rui was too tired and he left to go sit on the bench for a couple hours, while Ed and I wandered some more. It turns out that the Louvre is part of an indoor mall so we stopped in the Virgin Records. We listened to French pop. I bought some french chocolate at the candy store next door and bought eclairs in a bakery, then we headed back into the Louvre where I fell a sleep on a bench.
Later that night we boarded our overnight train to Rome. For some reason apparently Ed doesn't know what a toilet looks like... I had to go to the bathroom so I asked Ed where it was as he had just returned. He points in a direction I head there ... but theres only a women's bathroom and a wash room. I come back and ask him again, he points me at the same direction. So I go back there and I really have to go so I just go pee in the women's bathroom. It turns out that Ed was very confused because he actually went into the wash room, which has no toilet at all and peed in the sink thinking that was a toilet... I don't know how he managed to get confused since it clearly looked like a normal sink.
-Poon
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Amsterdam (update 0100 March 31, 2008)
Took the train from Frankfurt to Amsterdam today. It was a very slooow train. Seemed to stop in every city. It was amazing seeing the German countryside, where you'll see a small town over shadowed by an enormous cathedral.
We had quite a bit of trouble getting around in Amsterdam...First we bought metro tickets instead of train tickets... This led to a two hour effort to get them exchange, finally ending in success. We headed to the Van Gogh Museum which was very impressive, the audio tour was well worth the 5 euros.
We took the tram to Westerkerk church. I was very disappointed to see that it was closed. We walked to the anne frank house outside only. Then we headed to Oude Kerk church and walked around Amsterdam.
We ate a hot dog from a stand (behind the Van Gogh Museum) for lunch since we didn't have time to eat at a restaurant. For dinner we ate greek food this was the only place open since we took a long nap in the hostel. Tomorrow its off to Paris...
-Poon
Rui needs Info
As we were heading for the Anne Frank House and Westerkerk Church, we seemed to lose Rui for a moment. As we turned around to find him, we saw Rui looking around at the Gay and Lesbian Information stand. Like a moth to light, Rui was attracted. )
-Ed
UPDATE
It is 0100 Monday, March 31, 2008. We are still in the hostel and just saw a mouse about an hour ago running around. Poon apparently does not believe in garbage cans and thinks the floor is a suitable place for trash. I remember seeing a stray cat earlier today. I think I will go out to find him and bring him back to our room. Our house is right in the middle of the Red Light District so I might have to fight some crazies on my way out.
-Ed
We had quite a bit of trouble getting around in Amsterdam...First we bought metro tickets instead of train tickets... This led to a two hour effort to get them exchange, finally ending in success. We headed to the Van Gogh Museum which was very impressive, the audio tour was well worth the 5 euros.
We took the tram to Westerkerk church. I was very disappointed to see that it was closed. We walked to the anne frank house outside only. Then we headed to Oude Kerk church and walked around Amsterdam.
We ate a hot dog from a stand (behind the Van Gogh Museum) for lunch since we didn't have time to eat at a restaurant. For dinner we ate greek food this was the only place open since we took a long nap in the hostel. Tomorrow its off to Paris...
-Poon
Rui needs Info
As we were heading for the Anne Frank House and Westerkerk Church, we seemed to lose Rui for a moment. As we turned around to find him, we saw Rui looking around at the Gay and Lesbian Information stand. Like a moth to light, Rui was attracted. )
-Ed
UPDATE
It is 0100 Monday, March 31, 2008. We are still in the hostel and just saw a mouse about an hour ago running around. Poon apparently does not believe in garbage cans and thinks the floor is a suitable place for trash. I remember seeing a stray cat earlier today. I think I will go out to find him and bring him back to our room. Our house is right in the middle of the Red Light District so I might have to fight some crazies on my way out.
-Ed
Frankfurt, Germany (Update 0110 March 31, 2008)
During our planning stages Frankfurt had always been just an arrival
point. We weren"t expecting much and definitely were not excited about
it.... However when we arrived we found a beautiful city.... Very
friendly people...all of whom spoke English.
We arrived on saturday morning tired at the airport, took a train to
the city center' and easily found our hotel.
Our hotel which was a small nice place unfortunately in the red light
district surounded by strip clubs .
We then headed to oper house, several churches, and most importantly
Romer the city hall square.
We went to a flea market and purchase+d a brot werst "hot dog". Which
was very good.
For dinner we ate at a local tavern, where we tried wild boar, liver
dumplings, potato dumplings, sour kraut, boiled beef with frankfurt
green sauce as well as a locally brewed lager beer. We did not care
much for the local cuisine, the experience of being in a tavern
surrounded by locals singing gernman beer drinking songs was worth the
50 euro dinner.
As we walked back to the hotel a guy attempted to draw us to his strip
club by yelling "hello" in mandarin, while funny it did not work. As
we walked into our hotel a group of prostitutes propositioned us and
one even ran her fingers through Ed"s hair...while he didn't become a
patron he was very happy.. Hilarious ...
Thus ending our night in Germany.
The next day as we checked out Rui was double charged, for the hotel
He will dispute the credit payment and talk to travelocity.
Currently I'm on a train to Utrect, where we will transfer to Amsterdam.
I"l provide pictures and details later. See our attraction or city
list for details.
-Poon
Bratwurst should be given away during Halloween instead of Candy
Below is a picture of us eating our Bratwurst. It was the longest Brat I have ever seen. I love Bratwurst.
-Ed
point. We weren"t expecting much and definitely were not excited about
it.... However when we arrived we found a beautiful city.... Very
friendly people...all of whom spoke English.
We arrived on saturday morning tired at the airport, took a train to
the city center' and easily found our hotel.
Our hotel which was a small nice place unfortunately in the red light
district surounded by strip clubs .
We then headed to oper house, several churches, and most importantly
Romer the city hall square.
We went to a flea market and purchase+d a brot werst "hot dog". Which
was very good.
For dinner we ate at a local tavern, where we tried wild boar, liver
dumplings, potato dumplings, sour kraut, boiled beef with frankfurt
green sauce as well as a locally brewed lager beer. We did not care
much for the local cuisine, the experience of being in a tavern
surrounded by locals singing gernman beer drinking songs was worth the
50 euro dinner.
As we walked back to the hotel a guy attempted to draw us to his strip
club by yelling "hello" in mandarin, while funny it did not work. As
we walked into our hotel a group of prostitutes propositioned us and
one even ran her fingers through Ed"s hair...while he didn't become a
patron he was very happy.. Hilarious ...
Thus ending our night in Germany.
The next day as we checked out Rui was double charged, for the hotel
He will dispute the credit payment and talk to travelocity.
Currently I'm on a train to Utrect, where we will transfer to Amsterdam.
I"l provide pictures and details later. See our attraction or city
list for details.
-Poon
Bratwurst should be given away during Halloween instead of Candy
Below is a picture of us eating our Bratwurst. It was the longest Brat I have ever seen. I love Bratwurst.
-Ed
Friday, March 28, 2008
A day at the airport
I'm typing this in a hurry... Rui, Ed and I are in Charlotte， North Carolina。。。 possibly the whitest place in America.
This is suppose to be a major international airport yet we are the only asians here. We first noticed this when the country folk started giving us dirty looks. Laterwe ate at the airport Chili's restaurant our table was dirty, food was horrible, food expensive and service was terrible.
More updates to come... we're about to board our flight to Germany.
This is suppose to be a major international airport yet we are the only asians here. We first noticed this when the country folk started giving us dirty looks. Laterwe ate at the airport Chili's restaurant our table was dirty, food was horrible, food expensive and service was terrible.
More updates to come... we're about to board our flight to Germany.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Weather for our trip
This is the up to date weather for our trip...
Only ten day weather is available so I'll update this as the weather channel updates their website.
Saturday March 29th -Frankfurt - Light Rain- 49 high 39 low 60% chance rain
Sunday March 30th -Amsterdam -Light Rain 50 high 42 low 60% chance rain
Monday March 31st -Paris - Partly Cloudy 62 high 46 low 10% chance rain
Tuesday April 1st -Paris - Partly Cloudy 65 high 45 low 10% chance rain
Wednesday April 2nd -Paris - Partly Cloudy 59 high 45 low 20% chance rain
Thursday April 3rd -Rome - Partly Cloudy 63 high 47 low 20% chance rain
Friday April 4th - Rome - Partly Cloudy 65 high 45 low 10% chance rain
(source: weather.com)
Only ten day weather is available so I'll update this as the weather channel updates their website.
Saturday March 29th -Frankfurt - Light Rain- 49 high 39 low 60% chance rain
Sunday March 30th -Amsterdam -Light Rain 50 high 42 low 60% chance rain
Monday March 31st -Paris - Partly Cloudy 62 high 46 low 10% chance rain
Tuesday April 1st -Paris - Partly Cloudy 65 high 45 low 10% chance rain
Wednesday April 2nd -Paris - Partly Cloudy 59 high 45 low 20% chance rain
Thursday April 3rd -Rome - Partly Cloudy 63 high 47 low 20% chance rain
Friday April 4th - Rome - Partly Cloudy 65 high 45 low 10% chance rain
(source: weather.com)
Tourist Scams
Europe is famous for their pick pockets and scams against tourists.
Besides the obvious wearing money belts and neck wallets...
The Rick Steves Website has a great forum post outlining common scams against tourists....
http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/graffiti11.html
Besides the obvious wearing money belts and neck wallets...
The Rick Steves Website has a great forum post outlining common scams against tourists....
http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/graffiti11.html
Monday, March 24, 2008
Some Useful Phrases
While most of the younger generation in Europe do speak basic English, here are some phrases that may come in handy during our trip, Ed and I took Spanish in high school so I skipped it on the list:
Also despite what Rui adamently claims.... Chinese (particularly mandarin) is not a global universal language that will get us around Europe (outside of European Chinatowns).
German
Es tut mir Leid= I am sorry
HALLO= hello
AOF VEE-DER-ZAYN = goodbye
BIT-TE =please
Danke= thank you
NET SEE KEN-NEN ZU LER-NEN= it is nice to meet you
BRING-EN SEE MICH ZU MY-NEM HO-TEL = take me to my hotel
Wo ist die Toilette? = where is the bathroom
VY-VEAL KOS-TET DAS =how much does this cost
Sprechen Sie Englisch? = Do you speak English?
Entschuldigung-Excuse me
Wieviel kostet das?-How much does that cost
Ich heiße... - I am called...
Es tut mir Leid- I Am Sorry
Ich spreche kein Deutsch- I don't speak German
nein- No
Wiederholen Sie bitte - Please repeat
wann-When?
Ja- yes
Dutch
Hallo - Hello
Tot ziens - Good bye
Ja- yes
Nee- No
Alstublieft - Please
Dankuwel - Thanks
Ik heet .. - My name is...
Hoeveel kost het? - How much is it?
Pardon - Excuse Me
Spreekt u Engels?- Do you speak English?
Ik spreek geen Nederlands - I don't speak Dutch
Spreekt er iemand Engels? - Does anyone speak english?
Ik begrijp het niet - I don't understand
Ik kom uit .. - I'm from...
French
Je regrette- I am sorry
bonjour = Hello
s'il vous pla - please
merci - thank you
Parlez-vous anglais? - Do you speak English?
Je ne parle pas français- I don't speak French
Répétez, s'il vous plait- Please Repeat
Mon nom est...- My name is
non- no
Où est la salle de bain?-Where is the bathroom
oui-yes
C'est combien?- How much does it cost
Au revoir- Good bye
Italian
Ciao- hello
Buongiorno - Good day
Buonasera - Good evening/afternoon - it is customary to use one of these greetings when entering small shops
Arrivederci - Goodbye
Per favore - Please
Grazie - Thank you
Mi Scusi - Excuse me
Parla inglese? - Do you speak English?
Non parlo italiano - I don't speak Italian
Dov'è il bagno? - Where's the bathroom
Quanto costa? - How much does it cost?
Mi chiamo... -I am called Non parlo l'italiano- I don't speak Italian
No-no
Mi dispiace- I am sorry
Also despite what Rui adamently claims.... Chinese (particularly mandarin) is not a global universal language that will get us around Europe (outside of European Chinatowns).
German
Es tut mir Leid= I am sorry
HALLO= hello
AOF VEE-DER-ZAYN = goodbye
BIT-TE =please
Danke= thank you
NET SEE KEN-NEN ZU LER-NEN= it is nice to meet you
BRING-EN SEE MICH ZU MY-NEM HO-TEL = take me to my hotel
Wo ist die Toilette? = where is the bathroom
VY-VEAL KOS-TET DAS =how much does this cost
Sprechen Sie Englisch? = Do you speak English?
Entschuldigung-Excuse me
Wieviel kostet das?-How much does that cost
Ich heiße... - I am called...
Es tut mir Leid- I Am Sorry
Ich spreche kein Deutsch- I don't speak German
nein- No
Wiederholen Sie bitte - Please repeat
wann-When?
Ja- yes
Dutch
Hallo - Hello
Tot ziens - Good bye
Ja- yes
Nee- No
Alstublieft - Please
Dankuwel - Thanks
Ik heet .. - My name is...
Hoeveel kost het? - How much is it?
Pardon - Excuse Me
Spreekt u Engels?- Do you speak English?
Ik spreek geen Nederlands - I don't speak Dutch
Spreekt er iemand Engels? - Does anyone speak english?
Ik begrijp het niet - I don't understand
Ik kom uit .. - I'm from...
French
Je regrette- I am sorry
bonjour = Hello
s'il vous pla - please
merci - thank you
Parlez-vous anglais? - Do you speak English?
Je ne parle pas français- I don't speak French
Répétez, s'il vous plait- Please Repeat
Mon nom est...- My name is
non- no
Où est la salle de bain?-Where is the bathroom
oui-yes
C'est combien?- How much does it cost
Au revoir- Good bye
Italian
Ciao- hello
Buongiorno - Good day
Buonasera - Good evening/afternoon - it is customary to use one of these greetings when entering small shops
Arrivederci - Goodbye
Per favore - Please
Grazie - Thank you
Mi Scusi - Excuse me
Parla inglese? - Do you speak English?
Non parlo italiano - I don't speak Italian
Dov'è il bagno? - Where's the bathroom
Quanto costa? - How much does it cost?
Mi chiamo... -I am called Non parlo l'italiano- I don't speak Italian
No-no
Mi dispiace- I am sorry
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Museum Passes
Paris Museum Pass
So we have options here based on our attraction itinerary we don't visit that many museums to save money on a pass in Paris.... So we can individually purchase advance online tickets (If available) for each museum or buy a 2 day museum pass.
http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php (see Site for full list of museums and attractions)
Price for Pass
2-day 30 Euros
4-day 45 euros
The only attractions covered that are included on our itinerary
are the
Louvre, 9 euros (Tickets available online)
Arc de Triomphe, 8 euros (Tickets not available online)
Musee d Orsay, 7.50 euros (Can’t tell if tickets are available online can’t speak French)
Notre Dame, 7.50 euros (Can’t tell if tickets are available online can’t speak French)
Eiffel Tower Tickets CAN NOT BE BOUGHT AHEAD OF TIME!
I'm leaning towards we should get it to save time....
Amsterdam Pass
Includes free use of public transportation system
From our itinerary admission to Van Gogh Museum, Oude Kerk, Rijksmuseum (not on our itinerary but we may want to add.
http://www.iamsterdamcard.com/
I amsterdam Card for 24 hours - €33
I amsterdam Card for 48 hours - €43
I amsterdam Card for 72 hours - €53
Rome
Received this tip
Colosseum: GET YOUR COLISEUM TICKETS AT PALATINE HILL! Apparently the same ticket gets you into both places... but theres no line at Palatine Hill for tickets.
So we have options here based on our attraction itinerary we don't visit that many museums to save money on a pass in Paris.... So we can individually purchase advance online tickets (If available) for each museum or buy a 2 day museum pass.
http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php (see Site for full list of museums and attractions)
Price for Pass
2-day 30 Euros
4-day 45 euros
The only attractions covered that are included on our itinerary
are the
Louvre, 9 euros (Tickets available online)
Arc de Triomphe, 8 euros (Tickets not available online)
Musee d Orsay, 7.50 euros (Can’t tell if tickets are available online can’t speak French)
Notre Dame, 7.50 euros (Can’t tell if tickets are available online can’t speak French)
Eiffel Tower Tickets CAN NOT BE BOUGHT AHEAD OF TIME!
I'm leaning towards we should get it to save time....
Amsterdam Pass
Includes free use of public transportation system
From our itinerary admission to Van Gogh Museum, Oude Kerk, Rijksmuseum (not on our itinerary but we may want to add.
http://www.iamsterdamcard.com/
I amsterdam Card for 24 hours - €33
I amsterdam Card for 48 hours - €43
I amsterdam Card for 72 hours - €53
Rome
Received this tip
Colosseum: GET YOUR COLISEUM TICKETS AT PALATINE HILL! Apparently the same ticket gets you into both places... but theres no line at Palatine Hill for tickets.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
March 1st Meeting Minutees
Ed’s sister to take us to airport
Who will pick us up?
March 28th Friday 5:30-6am leaving from Ed’s house
Once we get to Europe reserve other trains….
Plan Possible Practice Trip (Next Weekend March 8th)
City Itinerary (Subject to change)
Frankfurt
Some local Cafe
City Hall (Romer)
Open time
Amsterdam
Dam Square (5min Central Station)
Van Gogh Museum *10 euros can be purchase online *4 euros audio tour
Anne Frank House
Westerkerk
Oude Kerk
Red Light District
Paris
Eiffel Tower (Up the Eiffel Tower )
*Alternative Rather than go up http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187147-d314450-Reviews-Tour_Montparnasse-Paris_Ile_de_France.html)
Louvre - Venus de milo, Mona Lisa, Egyptian Mummies- The museum is open every day, except on Tuesdays, from 9:00 AM to 18:00 PM. There are also evening openings until 9:45 PM, on Wednesdays and Fridays. Entrance is the pyramid.
Moulin Rouge (See outside only) too expensive to see show
Luxembourg Gardens
Notre Dame
Arc de Triomphe
Champs Elysees
Musee d'Orsay
*RESEARCH MUSEUM Pass
Rome
Vatican – Sistine Chapel, Piazza San Pietro, Basilica di San Pietro
Colliseum
Pantheon
The Forum
Trevi Fountain (Night)
Florence
Piazza del Duomo
Accademia and David statue
Uffizi Museum
Giardino di Boboli
Venice
Basilica di San Marco and Piazza di San Marco
Murano
Milan
Open Day * Only Partial day
Barcelona
Get Tapas
Gothic Quarter
Las Ramblas
Plaça Reial
Ed to follow up with Additional Locations.
Madrid
Plaza Mayor
Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real)
Each person to prepare Assigned City Dossier
For each city:
Includes information on how to get to the city and out of the city
To/From Hotels
To estimate Checkin time and notify hostels
Look up cost of local passes
Order of all attractions
How to get to Attractions
Purchase tickets a head of time if possible
To/From Attraction to Hotel
Attraction summary.
Ed
Frankfurt
Paris
Florence
Poon
Amsterdam
Venice
Madrid
Rui
Rome
Barcelona
Who will pick us up?
March 28th Friday 5:30-6am leaving from Ed’s house
Once we get to Europe reserve other trains….
Plan Possible Practice Trip (Next Weekend March 8th)
City Itinerary (Subject to change)
Frankfurt
Some local Cafe
City Hall (Romer)
Open time
Amsterdam
Dam Square (5min Central Station)
Van Gogh Museum *10 euros can be purchase online *4 euros audio tour
Anne Frank House
Westerkerk
Oude Kerk
Red Light District
Paris
Eiffel Tower (Up the Eiffel Tower )
*Alternative Rather than go up http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187147-d314450-Reviews-Tour_Montparnasse-Paris_Ile_de_France.html)
Louvre - Venus de milo, Mona Lisa, Egyptian Mummies- The museum is open every day, except on Tuesdays, from 9:00 AM to 18:00 PM. There are also evening openings until 9:45 PM, on Wednesdays and Fridays. Entrance is the pyramid.
Moulin Rouge (See outside only) too expensive to see show
Luxembourg Gardens
Notre Dame
Arc de Triomphe
Champs Elysees
Musee d'Orsay
*RESEARCH MUSEUM Pass
Rome
Vatican – Sistine Chapel, Piazza San Pietro, Basilica di San Pietro
Colliseum
Pantheon
The Forum
Trevi Fountain (Night)
Florence
Piazza del Duomo
Accademia and David statue
Uffizi Museum
Giardino di Boboli
Venice
Basilica di San Marco and Piazza di San Marco
Murano
Milan
Open Day * Only Partial day
Barcelona
Get Tapas
Gothic Quarter
Las Ramblas
Plaça Reial
Ed to follow up with Additional Locations.
Madrid
Plaza Mayor
Royal Palace of Madrid (Palacio Real)
Each person to prepare Assigned City Dossier
For each city:
Includes information on how to get to the city and out of the city
To/From Hotels
To estimate Checkin time and notify hostels
Look up cost of local passes
Order of all attractions
How to get to Attractions
Purchase tickets a head of time if possible
To/From Attraction to Hotel
Attraction summary.
Ed
Frankfurt
Paris
Florence
Poon
Amsterdam
Venice
Madrid
Rui
Rome
Barcelona
Awesome! STRIKES in Germany
Public Workers including Airport Workers and Bus Drivers are on strike.
Hope these subside before our trip!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aB4zvdHTrCGQ&refer=germany
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/764ca70c-ead9-11dc-a5f4-0000779fd2ac.html
Hope these subside before our trip!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aB4zvdHTrCGQ&refer=germany
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/764ca70c-ead9-11dc-a5f4-0000779fd2ac.html
Practice Trip
Saturday, March 8th.
Hiking Trip in San Luis Obispo... FULL EUROPE GEAR REQUIRED... If your not bringing it to Europe, you can't take it and If your bringing it to Europe you better bring it on this trip.
Montana del Oro or Bishops Peak.
To celebrate our triumphant return, Smash Bros Midnight Launch at Gamestop... Followed by Smash Marathon at Van's house!!!
Hiking Trip in San Luis Obispo... FULL EUROPE GEAR REQUIRED... If your not bringing it to Europe, you can't take it and If your bringing it to Europe you better bring it on this trip.
Montana del Oro or Bishops Peak.
To celebrate our triumphant return, Smash Bros Midnight Launch at Gamestop... Followed by Smash Marathon at Van's house!!!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
I Found the Perfect Way to keep us from losing Rui
I was looking for a harness for my dog... when I stumbled upon this stylish thing. Now Ed and I
can feel safe knowing Rui will always be secured to us...
can feel safe knowing Rui will always be secured to us...
Believe or not the Ad says its great for kids too.... Interesting target demographic... china men and kids... they're geniuses!
Meeting Schedule Till our Trip
Proposed schedule is below... Please confirm attendance...
March 22nd meeting and/or March 26th meetings based on necessity.
March 17th, 6:30pm- longer meeting to review our city summaries.
March 20th 6:30pm (really 7pm) - Meeting to discuss Poon's itinerary.
March 22nd, 10:00am Follow up on any items from City Summary.
March 26th, 7:30pm Short Meeting make sure everything is in order...******Canceled******
March 27th, Thursday Arrive at Ed's house (Online Check In, Check Flight Status, Documentation Check, items Check, Notify Credit/Debit/ATM Companies, ).
March 28th, 6am arrival at LAX.
March 22nd meeting and/or March 26th meetings based on necessity.
March 17th, 6:30pm- longer meeting to review our city summaries.
March 20th 6:30pm (really 7pm) - Meeting to discuss Poon's itinerary.
March 22nd, 10:00am Follow up on any items from City Summary.
March 26th, 7:30pm Short Meeting make sure everything is in order...******Canceled******
March 27th, Thursday Arrive at Ed's house (Online Check In, Check Flight Status, Documentation Check, items Check, Notify Credit/Debit/ATM Companies, ).
March 28th, 6am arrival at LAX.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
To Do List
List of items that must be done prior to trip.
Please add to list.
1) Consolidate Hotel/Flight/Train Confirmations ****Complete****
2) Pre-Enter Addresses of hotels/attractions into GPS
3) Contact Credit/Debit Card Companies of intent to travel overseas ****Complete****
4) Arrange Travel to/from LAX ***Complete***
5) Research Travel to/from airports ***Complete****
7) Reserve trains (if necessary) ***Complete****
8) Confirm Flights are on time
9) Online Check In
10) Full City Itinerary ****Complete****
11) Documentation Check (Day before Flight)
12) Notify Hostels of time of arrival. *****Complete****
13) Attraction Backgrounds
14) Food Guide ***Complete***
Please add to list.
1) Consolidate Hotel/Flight/Train Confirmations ****Complete****
2) Pre-Enter Addresses of hotels/attractions into GPS
3) Contact Credit/Debit Card Companies of intent to travel overseas ****Complete****
4) Arrange Travel to/from LAX ***Complete***
5) Research Travel to/from airports ***Complete****
7) Reserve trains (if necessary) ***Complete****
8) Confirm Flights are on time
9) Online Check In
10) Full City Itinerary ****Complete****
11) Documentation Check (Day before Flight)
12) Notify Hostels of time of arrival. *****Complete****
13) Attraction Backgrounds
14) Food Guide ***Complete***
Monday, February 18, 2008
Stuff to Pack
Seeing as how we are coming close to packing for europe, we should all start to make lists of what we need to bring. I would suggest that you start making a list of everything you use in the next week or two. Every time you use an item, add it to your list so that you will not forget it. It worked well for me when I moved to college. It'll probably work well for Europe so that we do not forget everyday items.
Meeting March 1st
March 1st, 10:30am, Saturday Meeting.
We missed about 3/4 of the meeting agenda from last time. Let us use that agenda as a springboard for this meeting.
Let us prepare for this meeting under the assumption that we will only have time for one more meeting till we arrive in LA for the trip.
Ed and Poon,
To test "Walkie Talkie" interoperablity in Las Vegas Trip.
****UPDATE FEB 28 Walkie Talkie interoperability confirmed. Must take encryption off Ed's and set correct channel/sub channel****
Please add topics to agenda.
1. Specific Attractions/Days to attend (Remember that museums in certain cities closed during some weekedays)
2. Reservations/prepurchase of tickets to museums
3. Student/Youth Discount Card (See comments area)
4. Review of all pending Action items/Blog notes from previous meetings and posts.
5. Plan "practice" trip / In Person Meeting.
6. Open Topic Discussion
All,
My parents are coming in this weekend so I don't know if I can make this exact time. I will call them to confirm the exact day/time they will be coming.
***UPDATE FEB 28th Meeting Confirmed March 1st*****
-Ed
We missed about 3/4 of the meeting agenda from last time. Let us use that agenda as a springboard for this meeting.
Let us prepare for this meeting under the assumption that we will only have time for one more meeting till we arrive in LA for the trip.
Ed and Poon,
To test "Walkie Talkie" interoperablity in Las Vegas Trip.
****UPDATE FEB 28 Walkie Talkie interoperability confirmed. Must take encryption off Ed's and set correct channel/sub channel****
Please add topics to agenda.
1. Specific Attractions/Days to attend (Remember that museums in certain cities closed during some weekedays)
2. Reservations/prepurchase of tickets to museums
3. Student/Youth Discount Card (See comments area)
4. Review of all pending Action items/Blog notes from previous meetings and posts.
5. Plan "practice" trip / In Person Meeting.
6. Open Topic Discussion
All,
My parents are coming in this weekend so I don't know if I can make this exact time. I will call them to confirm the exact day/time they will be coming.
***UPDATE FEB 28th Meeting Confirmed March 1st*****
-Ed
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Dollar to Euro
Since we frequently post prices/costs in both Dollars and Euros, the current exchange rate should be mentioned.
Currently on February 14th, 2008 the exchange rate is
1 Dollar to .69 Euros
or
1 Euro to 1.46 Dollars
*** Update March 6th, 2008***
1 dollar to .66 Euros
1 Euro to 1.52 U.S. dollars
This sucks About a 4% decrease in value of dollar in just under 1 month.
*** Update March 19th, 2008***
1 dollar to .63 Euros
1 Euro = 1.5787 U.S. dollars
***Update March 26th, 2008***
1 dollar to .6496 Euros
1 Euro = 1.5393 U.S. dollars
Via Google search of Euro to Dollar
Since the US is on the verge of recession and an ongoing subprime mortgage meltdown. US interest rates are very low... so it feels like everyday the Dollar is dropping compared to the Euro. For us this means Europe gets more and more expensive.
Currently on February 14th, 2008 the exchange rate is
1 Dollar to .69 Euros
or
1 Euro to 1.46 Dollars
*** Update March 6th, 2008***
1 dollar to .66 Euros
1 Euro to 1.52 U.S. dollars
This sucks About a 4% decrease in value of dollar in just under 1 month.
*** Update March 19th, 2008***
1 dollar to .63 Euros
1 Euro = 1.5787 U.S. dollars
***Update March 26th, 2008***
1 dollar to .6496 Euros
1 Euro = 1.5393 U.S. dollars
Via Google search of Euro to Dollar
Since the US is on the verge of recession and an ongoing subprime mortgage meltdown. US interest rates are very low... so it feels like everyday the Dollar is dropping compared to the Euro. For us this means Europe gets more and more expensive.
Wednesday February 13th, Meeting Minutes
This was a particularly frustrating meeting....
First we booked an overnight train from Paris to Milan via Rail Europe . The ticket costs 165 total for all 3 of us (This includes a 30 dollar lost train ticket insurance, 18 dollar shipping and includes the rail pass holder discount). From Milan we will take day trains arriving in Rome around 11am.
Train Information
April 2nd
From Paris to Milan
2nd Class; 3 youth
Paris Bercy to Milano Centrale, Couchette T6
Next we found we found out that trains only run from Milan to Barcelona on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Our original plan was to leave Venice to Milan on Tuesday, April 8th around 12pm and catch the overnight train that night to Barcelona (We had already booked hotels for this itinerary).
Luckily for us Ryan Air has a "Pay Only Taxes" special.
While flying directly from Venice was an option, the "Pay Only Taxes'" special only applied to a 9pm flight arriving in Girona (80km from Barcelona) at 11pm. Since we would still be an hour away from Barcelona we decided not to chance this trip so late in the night. (We know that people in Spain eat dinner and go out much later... but we still felt uncomfortable with this time table)
So instead we will fly from Milan. Our flight costs 75 Euros total for all 3 of us including the checked bag costs for three people and a fee for using a credit card to pay. Ryan air requires you to pay 4.5 Euros (4.5 Euros if checked in baggage reserved on line, 6.50 Euros if done at airport) for first three bags checked (combined weight of 15Kg or 33lbs)... unfortunately it costs 7.50 Euros for each additional kg over that 15kg.... so we have to be careful not to check in more than 15kg.
Flight Itinerary
From Milan Bergamo (BGY) to Girona(GRO)
Tuesday April 8th, 2008 Flight
Depart: 4:25pm
Arrive: 5:50
Girona airport is about 80km (50 miles) from Barcelona... theres a Barcelona bus (Website in Spanish) that we'll take to the estacion de Nord in Barcelona (costs about 12 Euros).
Since we are no longer taking an overnight train from Venice to Barcelona (via Milan) we have to book another nights hotel. The hotel we already booked for Barcelona did not have room for this night so we had to book a room at another hotel.
Hotel
Medium Abalon Hotel Barcelona
Tuesday April 8th
Travesera de Gracia 380-384,
Barcelona, 08025
Phone: 34934500460
Tuesday April 8th Price: 99 Eur
Triple room for 3 people. Each room of the hotel is equipped with air conditioning, a private bath with shower, TV with cable/satellite, internet access, a safety deposit box and more.
From our earlier agenda its clear that we only accomplished two of our topics and will need another meeting in the near future to cover the other topics.
-Poon
First we booked an overnight train from Paris to Milan via Rail Europe . The ticket costs 165 total for all 3 of us (This includes a 30 dollar lost train ticket insurance, 18 dollar shipping and includes the rail pass holder discount). From Milan we will take day trains arriving in Rome around 11am.
Train Information
April 2nd
From Paris to Milan
2nd Class; 3 youth
Paris Bercy to Milano Centrale, Couchette T6
Next we found we found out that trains only run from Milan to Barcelona on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Our original plan was to leave Venice to Milan on Tuesday, April 8th around 12pm and catch the overnight train that night to Barcelona (We had already booked hotels for this itinerary).
Luckily for us Ryan Air has a "Pay Only Taxes" special.
While flying directly from Venice was an option, the "Pay Only Taxes'" special only applied to a 9pm flight arriving in Girona (80km from Barcelona) at 11pm. Since we would still be an hour away from Barcelona we decided not to chance this trip so late in the night. (We know that people in Spain eat dinner and go out much later... but we still felt uncomfortable with this time table)
So instead we will fly from Milan. Our flight costs 75 Euros total for all 3 of us including the checked bag costs for three people and a fee for using a credit card to pay. Ryan air requires you to pay 4.5 Euros (4.5 Euros if checked in baggage reserved on line, 6.50 Euros if done at airport) for first three bags checked (combined weight of 15Kg or 33lbs)... unfortunately it costs 7.50 Euros for each additional kg over that 15kg.... so we have to be careful not to check in more than 15kg.
Flight Itinerary
From Milan Bergamo (BGY) to Girona(GRO)
Tuesday April 8th, 2008 Flight
Depart: 4:25pm
Arrive: 5:50
Girona airport is about 80km (50 miles) from Barcelona... theres a Barcelona bus (Website in Spanish) that we'll take to the estacion de Nord in Barcelona (costs about 12 Euros).
Since we are no longer taking an overnight train from Venice to Barcelona (via Milan) we have to book another nights hotel. The hotel we already booked for Barcelona did not have room for this night so we had to book a room at another hotel.
Hotel
Medium Abalon Hotel Barcelona
Tuesday April 8th
Travesera de Gracia 380-384,
Barcelona, 08025
Phone: 34934500460
Tuesday April 8th Price: 99 Eur
Triple room for 3 people. Each room of the hotel is equipped with air conditioning, a private bath with shower, TV with cable/satellite, internet access, a safety deposit box and more.
From our earlier agenda its clear that we only accomplished two of our topics and will need another meeting in the near future to cover the other topics.
-Poon
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Space Saver Bags♦
Linen's N Things Space Saver Bags
I just bought these space saver bags. You put your clothes in them, roll them up, and the air gets pushed out. So far, I've tested some tshirts and a sweatshirt. Works pretty good for the sweatshirt but not so much for the tshirts. It works well for anything that has lots of air. If you buy from lnt.com use coupon code 26620000008 for another 20% off. I picked mine up in store because they are back-ordered for delivery.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Meeting
Meeting
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
7:00pm
1. Whether to modify schedule in light of ryan air's "pay only taxes" special
2. Plan/make reservations on trains/airplanes.
3. Specific Attractions
4. Reservations/prepurchase of tickets to museums
5. Student/Youth Discount Card
6. Review of all pending Action items from previous meetings.
7. Plan "practice" trip.
8. Open Topic Discussion
-Poon
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
7:00pm
1. Whether to modify schedule in light of ryan air's "pay only taxes" special
2. Plan/make reservations on trains/airplanes.
3. Specific Attractions
4. Reservations/prepurchase of tickets to museums
5. Student/Youth Discount Card
6. Review of all pending Action items from previous meetings.
7. Plan "practice" trip.
8. Open Topic Discussion
-Poon
Monday, February 4, 2008
Flight Changes
I checked the online status itinerary and it seems to differ from our original ones we purchased.
Rui,
Please check your latest flight online itinerary to make sure they didn't just move us and not you! (Use the confirmation code you received from US Airways) and compare it to ours (pull up ours and yours and compare)
**Update Feb 5th they moved Rui's seating away from Ed and I. Rui changed it to match us... He will continue to monitor the online reservation for changes.***
**Update Feb 14th we received an email from US Airways they changed flight reservation again...I moved my seat for the flight from Madrid to Philadelphia back to its place next to Ed. Rui will change his to match ours***
http://www.usairways.com/awa/manageReservation/findReservation.aspx?redir=Email&c=eml_sys_travelConf_00000000_manageRes
Use Confirmation Code: in email I sent to you for Ed and myself.
Departure Date: March 28th
No major impact I can see but flight numbers have changed and flight times by an hour or so!
Particularly the return interconnecting flight is now an hour earlier and different flight number, luckily we have a large enough gap in between flights.
So this is a reminder for us to continually check our online itinerary !
-Poon
Rui,
Please check your latest flight online itinerary to make sure they didn't just move us and not you! (Use the confirmation code you received from US Airways) and compare it to ours (pull up ours and yours and compare)
**Update Feb 5th they moved Rui's seating away from Ed and I. Rui changed it to match us... He will continue to monitor the online reservation for changes.***
**Update Feb 14th we received an email from US Airways they changed flight reservation again...I moved my seat for the flight from Madrid to Philadelphia back to its place next to Ed. Rui will change his to match ours***
http://www.usairways.com/awa/manageReservation/findReservation.aspx?redir=Email&c=eml_sys_travelConf_00000000_manageRes
Use Confirmation Code: in email I sent to you for Ed and myself.
Departure Date: March 28th
No major impact I can see but flight numbers have changed and flight times by an hour or so!
Particularly the return interconnecting flight is now an hour earlier and different flight number, luckily we have a large enough gap in between flights.
So this is a reminder for us to continually check our online itinerary !
-Poon
Hotels/Hostels for the Rest of Europe
Hotel Reservations for rest of Europe
( In addition to our Lodging in Italy )
****This resulted from January 28th Emergency Meeting. (Decisions made without Ed) ****
April 2nd (Paris to Rome) and April 8th (Venice to Barcelona) Nights are spent on the Train.
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Hostel)
March 30th
St. Christopher's at The Winston
Warmoesstraat 129
Amsterdam
p. +31 (0)20 623 1380
f. +31 (0)20 639 2308
e. winston@st-christophers.co.uk
3 Bed, Private Room (Private Bathroom) 93 Euro per night
Paris, France (Hostel)
March 31st and April 1st 08
Hotel De La Comete
196 boulevard de la
villette
Paris
p. +33 6 24 88 88 78
or +33 6 50 99 95 91
e. doxa248@yahoo.com
3 Bed, Private Room (Private Bathroom) 75 Euro Per night
Supposedly the people who run this hotel speak very little English.
Barcelona, Spain (Hotel/Pension)
April 9th and 10th
Miami Pensión (Hotel/Pension)
Passatge Sant Bernat 2-4
Barcelona 08001
Phone: 34933017393
Standard Triple Room 84 Euros per night
April 11th
Madrid, Spain (Hostel)
Hostal Luis XV
Montera 47 - 8º
Madrid
p. +34 91 5221350
f. +34 91 5221021
reservas@hrluisxv.net
3 Bed, Private Room (Private Bathroom) 84 Euro per night
-Poon
( In addition to our Lodging in Italy )
****This resulted from January 28th Emergency Meeting. (Decisions made without Ed) ****
April 2nd (Paris to Rome) and April 8th (Venice to Barcelona) Nights are spent on the Train.
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Hostel)
March 30th
St. Christopher's at The Winston
Warmoesstraat 129
Amsterdam
p. +31 (0)20 623 1380
f. +31 (0)20 639 2308
e. winston@st-christophers.co.uk
3 Bed, Private Room (Private Bathroom) 93 Euro per night
Paris, France (Hostel)
March 31st and April 1st 08
Hotel De La Comete
196 boulevard de la
villette
Paris
p. +33 6 24 88 88 78
or +33 6 50 99 95 91
e. doxa248@yahoo.com
3 Bed, Private Room (Private Bathroom) 75 Euro Per night
Supposedly the people who run this hotel speak very little English.
Barcelona, Spain (Hotel/Pension)
April 9th and 10th
Miami Pensión (Hotel/Pension)
Passatge Sant Bernat 2-4
Barcelona 08001
Phone: 34933017393
Standard Triple Room 84 Euros per night
April 11th
Madrid, Spain (Hostel)
Hostal Luis XV
Montera 47 - 8º
Madrid
p. +34 91 5221350
f. +34 91 5221021
reservas@hrluisxv.net
3 Bed, Private Room (Private Bathroom) 84 Euro per night
-Poon
Asking if Someone Speaks English
Considering none of us bothered to learn our assigned foreign language, (See December 1st meeting minutes and I never distributed Rosetta Stone as planned). It is probably too late to start learning for it to be of use on the trip.
So... I've been reading from my guidebooks that people in Europe prefer to be asked if they speak English in there native tongue before speaking to them in English.
I guess its considered rude to just walk up to them and start automatically speaking English.
So below is the phrase "Do you speak English?" translated in our itinerary relevant languages:
German: Sprechen Sie Englisch?
So... I've been reading from my guidebooks that people in Europe prefer to be asked if they speak English in there native tongue before speaking to them in English.
I guess its considered rude to just walk up to them and start automatically speaking English.
So below is the phrase "Do you speak English?" translated in our itinerary relevant languages:
German: Sprechen Sie Englisch?
Dutch: Spreekt u Engels?
French: Parlez-vous anglais?
Italian: Parla inglese?
Spanish: ¿Habla usted inglés?
(Source: http://www.elite.net/~runner/jennifers/english.htm)
-Poon
Friday, January 25, 2008
Emergency Meeting
Emergency Meeting
****MONDAY, January 28th, 2008 7pm *****
Rescheduled from 6:30pm per Rui's Request
Rui and I decided to make a decision without Ed for hotels (confirmed ok with Ed)
(Received Email from Ed... he is stuck in NY for business till Tuesday Night... suggest either we reschedule or perform the research/selection with just Rui and myself.)
Ed and Rui,
Please confirm you are able to make it!
Agenda
Rui's Visa has bee rejected by Italian Consulate.
Must Book all Hotels throughout trip for Rui's Visa....
Rui please confirm that you have all necessary paperwork... We're cutting it close to departure day! This may be the LAST chance to try for Visa considering it is by mail!
Since Ed is out on business... Rui or I will take over his hotel search! Unless we hear from Ed by Saturday night that he is able to accomplish it on his own.
Rui,
do you have time to do it? I'm already doing two cities... if not thats OK I take care of it.
What about the nights we're on the train, Do we need to show proof for those nights?
Same Procedure as last time.
Rui- Amsterdam
Ed- Paris
Poon- Madrid (should it be near the airport or not, Our flight is at 1pm?), and Barcelona.
-Poon
****MONDAY, January 28th, 2008 7pm *****
Rescheduled from 6:30pm per Rui's Request
Rui and I decided to make a decision without Ed for hotels (confirmed ok with Ed)
(Received Email from Ed... he is stuck in NY for business till Tuesday Night... suggest either we reschedule or perform the research/selection with just Rui and myself.)
Ed and Rui,
Please confirm you are able to make it!
Agenda
Rui's Visa has bee rejected by Italian Consulate.
Must Book all Hotels throughout trip for Rui's Visa....
Rui please confirm that you have all necessary paperwork... We're cutting it close to departure day! This may be the LAST chance to try for Visa considering it is by mail!
Since Ed is out on business... Rui or I will take over his hotel search! Unless we hear from Ed by Saturday night that he is able to accomplish it on his own.
Rui,
do you have time to do it? I'm already doing two cities... if not thats OK I take care of it.
What about the nights we're on the train, Do we need to show proof for those nights?
Same Procedure as last time.
Rui- Amsterdam
Ed- Paris
Poon- Madrid (should it be near the airport or not, Our flight is at 1pm?), and Barcelona.
-Poon
Monday, January 21, 2008
Guidebook Tips
Per my guidebook
Most Museums in Paris are Closed on Tuesday!
Most places in Florence closed on monday!
"At Florence's famous galleries — the Accademia (Michelangelo's David) and the Uffizi (the showcase for Italian Renaissance art) — it's smart to book ahead. While hundreds of tourists are sweating in the long lines, you can just show up at your reserved entry time and spend your time in the museums instead of the lines."
"Museum passes (such as the Paris Museum Pass) and combo-tickets allow you to bypass the long admission lines and walk right in."
"Arrive early (or late) at popular sights. If you show up by 8:30 in the morning at Neuschwanstein, Bavaria's famous fairy-tale castle, you'll get a ticket. Come an hour later and you'll either wait a long time or find that tickets are sold out — or worse, both."
- http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/museum.htm
Free Audio Tours for France
http://www.ricksteves.com/news/travelnews/0602/audiotour.htm
-Poon
Most Museums in Paris are Closed on Tuesday!
Most places in Florence closed on monday!
"At Florence's famous galleries — the Accademia (Michelangelo's David) and the Uffizi (the showcase for Italian Renaissance art) — it's smart to book ahead. While hundreds of tourists are sweating in the long lines, you can just show up at your reserved entry time and spend your time in the museums instead of the lines."
"Museum passes (such as the Paris Museum Pass) and combo-tickets allow you to bypass the long admission lines and walk right in."
"Arrive early (or late) at popular sights. If you show up by 8:30 in the morning at Neuschwanstein, Bavaria's famous fairy-tale castle, you'll get a ticket. Come an hour later and you'll either wait a long time or find that tickets are sold out — or worse, both."
- http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/museum.htm
Free Audio Tours for France
http://www.ricksteves.com/news/travelnews/0602/audiotour.htm
-Poon
Friday, January 18, 2008
Suggestions from my Co-Worker
So one of my co-workers is from France (born and raised, and visits every year).
He said in Florence, the one thing we could not miss "The Fortress" and to be there at sunset.
In Venice he said don't miss "Moreno" a glass making island.
He said in Florence, the one thing we could not miss "The Fortress" and to be there at sunset.
In Venice he said don't miss "Moreno" a glass making island.
Hotels/Hostels in Italy
Hotels/Hostels in Italy ROME
Resulted from Second Emergency meeting held at 8pm Thursday January, 17th (Delayed one hour from original 7pm)
We only considered places with triple private rooms (shared bathroom not a concern).
SEE COMMENTS AREA FOR POON and ED's LISTS OF CANDIDATES
Papa Germano - HOSTEL- First Choice from Poon's List
Via Calatafimi 14/a00185 Rome
Rome
p. +3906486919
f. +390647825202
info@hotelpapagermano.com
-Near Termini Rome main station
Booked 3 Bed Private Room (Shared Bathroom)
Price April 3rd 33 EURO per person
Price April 4th 35 EURO per person
FLORENCE
Hotel Sampaoli - HOSTEL- 2nd Choice from Ed's List (Ed's First Choice no availability for April 5th)
Via San Gallo 14 Florence
p. 39 055 284834
f. 39 055 282448
e. hotelinflorence@gmail.com
-Near Florence Main Train Station
Booked 3 Bedroom, Private Room (Shared Bathroom)
Price April 5th, 33 EURO per person
Price April 6th, 35 EURO per person
VENICE
Alloggi Agli Artisti -HOTEL- 2nd Choice from Rui's List (First Choice had no triples)
CALLE PRIULI CAVALLETTI 99
Venice
-Near Venice Main Train Station
1-888-872-8356 (for questions about this reservation)
39041716270 (for other questions about the property)
Booked Basic (with shared facilities) triple. Breakfast included
Price April 7th, $176.09 for entire room
-Poon
Resulted from Second Emergency meeting held at 8pm Thursday January, 17th (Delayed one hour from original 7pm)
We only considered places with triple private rooms (shared bathroom not a concern).
SEE COMMENTS AREA FOR POON and ED's LISTS OF CANDIDATES
Papa Germano - HOSTEL- First Choice from Poon's List
Via Calatafimi 14/a00185 Rome
Rome
p. +3906486919
f. +390647825202
info@hotelpapagermano.com
-Near Termini Rome main station
Booked 3 Bed Private Room (Shared Bathroom)
Price April 3rd 33 EURO per person
Price April 4th 35 EURO per person
FLORENCE
Hotel Sampaoli - HOSTEL- 2nd Choice from Ed's List (Ed's First Choice no availability for April 5th)
Via San Gallo 14 Florence
p. 39 055 284834
f. 39 055 282448
e. hotelinflorence@gmail.com
-Near Florence Main Train Station
Booked 3 Bedroom, Private Room (Shared Bathroom)
Price April 5th, 33 EURO per person
Price April 6th, 35 EURO per person
VENICE
Alloggi Agli Artisti -HOTEL- 2nd Choice from Rui's List (First Choice had no triples)
CALLE PRIULI CAVALLETTI 99
Venice
-Near Venice Main Train Station
1-888-872-8356 (for questions about this reservation)
39041716270 (for other questions about the property)
Booked Basic (with shared facilities) triple. Breakfast included
Price April 7th, $176.09 for entire room
-Poon
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Emergency Meeting Minutes
Here is the official Itinerary (Click to Zoom In)... Not shown above is our arrival to Frankfurt on the 29th of March and departure for Germany from LAX on the 28th.******Itinerary UPDATE Feb 19th, No trains run from Milan to Barcelona on April 8t. Itinerary modified to spend April 8th day in Milan, then fly to Barcelona that night. So arrival in Barcelona at night of April 8th. This update is not reflected on the calendar above!**************
Next meeting Thursday 7pm.
*For future planning look at arrival times and departure times as trains that depart later may arrive earlier.
Itinerary
Research hotels/hostels for the following nights, within Italy:
Each person is to present top 3 hotels/hostels on Thursday at 7pm.
Since Rome is several days possibility of selecting multiple lodgings (one near train station night before departure, others near tourist attractions).
When booking hostels check for curfews.
Poon- Rome April 3rd , and April 4th night
Ed- Florence April 5th and 6th night
Rui-Venice April 7th night
April 2nd and 8th are overnight on train.
Possible trains
Depart Frankfurt to Amsterdam 7:29am or 11:29am
Amsterdam to Paris 6:56 am
Venice to milan 13:51
Milan to Barcelona 19:10
-Poon
The pic for the schedule
This is the image I took. In case you guys can not read the words: it is "B: 135(daily 19.VI--2.1X)"
Monday, January 14, 2008
Emergecy Meeting Agenda
Emergency Meeting Agenda via Skype
Due to misunderstanding of legal interpretation of "main destination", Rui now has to apply for visa in Italy.
Following decisions must be made ASAP
- How many days in each city? (whole trip)
- Booking of Hotels and hostels for all time spent in Italy (specific dates)
Rui,
When are you coming down to apply for visa? (I'm assuming a friday or monday?) We should hang out!
On the note of visa photos... what did you mean "cut down" size?
I worry because I had passport photos previously rejected because of proportion (not size)
-Poon
Ok I can edit now. Meeting time, Tuesday 1/15/07 7pm PST. -Ed
Due to misunderstanding of legal interpretation of "main destination", Rui now has to apply for visa in Italy.
Following decisions must be made ASAP
- How many days in each city? (whole trip)
- Booking of Hotels and hostels for all time spent in Italy (specific dates)
Rui,
When are you coming down to apply for visa? (I'm assuming a friday or monday?) We should hang out!
On the note of visa photos... what did you mean "cut down" size?
I worry because I had passport photos previously rejected because of proportion (not size)
-Poon
Ok I can edit now. Meeting time, Tuesday 1/15/07 7pm PST. -Ed
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