[Rhodes22-list] What I did on my summer vacation

[John Tonjes]

Slim,
Sounds like a great trip. I've always wanted to go to Amsterdam, sounds
like a great place. Thanks for the details, I'm sure you had fun.

Rummy


> [Original Message]
> From: Steve Alm <salm at mn.rr.com>
> To: Rhodes <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Date: 7/9/2003 12:54:31 PM
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] What I did on my summer vacation
>
> Hi everybody.
>
> We just got back from Europe and here's how it went.
> Trip overview:
> 3 days in Amsterdam: 3 days in Paris; 6 days in Lisbon; 2 days in Tavira
> (southern Portugal); 3 days in Seville, Spain; 2 days in Ericeira, Port.
>
> Details:
> In Amsterdam, we immediately took to the streets and started just walking
> around, enjoying the sights--and what great sights they were.  The canals
> are loaded with every kind of boat you can imagine.  Even tall-masted
> sailboats that were stranded between two low bridges.  Many were
old-wordly
> looking lap strake vessels with big, fat, high bows. We took a boat tour
> around the canals and went to the house boat museum where we saw
everything
> from old to new, inhabited and abandoned.  The people that still live on
> their boats often sit out on their canal side decks and greet you as you
> boat by.  People were very friendly and inviting and most spoke English.
>
> Our favorite part of the city is an area called Leidesplein, with very
> narrow cobblestone streets lined with shops, restaurants, night clubs and
o=
> f
> course the famous =B3coffee houses.=B2  We ate most of our meals at
sidewalk
> cafes.  They arrange the seating so everyone faces the street.  It=B9s
like
> sitting and watching a movie.
>
> We visited the Rembrandt Museum where we saw, among others, the wonderful
> =B3Night Watch.=B2  I=B9ve only seen pictures before and they hardly do
justice t=
> o
> the real thing.  We also went to the van Gogh museum and ditto to that.
> Mary Ann is something of a painting historian so it was nice to have my
own
> personal docent.  I learned a lot as we both gazed in amazement at these
> extraordinary works.
>
> And speaking of gazing in amazement, we also toured the red light district
> and saw the hookers in their little street-side windows in various states
o=
> f
> undress, waiting for customers.  One simply walks up to the window, slips
i=
> n
> a 50 euro note and gets invited in for about fifteen minutes.  Not very
> romantic but, well...enough said.
>
> They say there are more bicycles in Amsterdam than people.  They have
> parking ramps for bikes instead of cars.  There are no ramps for cars. 
Eve=
> n
> older men and women all dressed up for work in coats and ties or even high
> heels are riding around on bikes.  The public transportation is
incredible.
> trains, trams, metros, busses, you name it.  It=B9s very easy to get
around.
> Nonetheless, we got around mostly on foot and by the third day we had
> blisters, shin splints, aches and pains galore!  We bought foot powder to
> soak our feet at night and I broke down and bought a funky, old walkin=B9
> stick.  More about my cane later.
>
> We said goodbye to the land of tulips and took the high speed Thalys train
> to Paris.  We arrived at the train station and took the metro from there
to
> the city center near our hotel in the Latin Quarter.  Upon emerging from
th=
> e
> underground, my first glimpse was Nortre Damme!  Whew!  We checked in and
> hit the streets.  Mary Ann lived in Paris years ago, so she knew her way
> around and speaks French.  Dining was the first priority so we found a
cute
> sidewalk cafe and indulged.
>
> Napoleon mandated that all buildings be the same height, so all you see
are
> six story (the attic is actually 7, but that=B9s typically reserved for
the
> servants) structures with all that frilly French design.  Again we, the
> intrepid walkers, wondered around the narrow streets, stopping for snacks
> and wine whenever our feet got too tired to go on.  These rest stops
seemed
> to get more and more frequent.
>
> We went to the modern Pompidoa museum where they had paintings by Dali,
> Picasso, others.  At the Louvre, there was a special Leonardo deVinci
> exhibit that was utterly wonderful.  deVinci only painted 30 something
> paintings, but he filled up pages and pages of little technical drawings
of
> everything from human anatomy to flying machines.  Absolutely fascinating.
> We decided not to stand in the long line to see the Mona Lisa which is in
> its own room.  What bothered me about the Louvre is that the labels next
to
> the artwork are only in French.  You=B9d think that they=B9d have several
> languages like they do everywhere else, but no.  Nortre Damme was perhaps
> the highlight for me.  I had no idea that the place is actually still open
> and free to all.  Not only do they still give Mass there (with the
Cardinal=
> ,
> no less, presiding) but they still play the pipe organ which we got to
hear=
> .
> I was profoundly astonished.  It blows my mind to think that before it was
> built in 1133, some architect had to put pen to paper and say, =B3I think
we
> should build it this way.=B2 and that the people responsible for
approving it
> said, =8CYeah, that looks reasonable.  Go ahead!=B2
>
> Paris is extremely expensive so we tried to shop at grocery stores and
brin=
> g
> food back to the hotel whenever practical--  baguettes, cheese, sausages
an=
> d
> wine, but it was hard not to stop at the creperies and various other
> sidewalk eateries.
>
> I know you=B9re probably curious how we were treated by the French.  More
on
> that later--let=B9s go to Lisbon.  Our friend, Eddy Goltz, has been a
> professional musician there for 20 years.  He stays with us once a year
whe=
> n
> he comes home to see his family so it was cool to do the reverse.  Lisbon
i=
> s
> a beautiful and very old city.  Founded by the Phonecians thousands of
year=
> s
> B.C. and subsequently inhabited by Celts, Romans, Moors, Safardic Jews and
> Portuguese.  The antiquity of the place is hard to wrap your mind around
> when you come from a neighborhood that was built in the 1930=B9s.  One of
the
> best natural ports in Europe, Lisbon is a bustling shipping and
> boating/sailing haven.  We saw everything from full rigged tall ships to
> kayaks; ocean going container ships to PWC=B9s.  There are aquaducts, a
middl=
> e
> ages castle, monuments and cathedrals abound, and of course, sidewalk
cafes=
> .
> We took a double decker bus tour where we got to see the sights and get
> ourselves oriented to the city.  There are many lovely beaches along the
> coast but the Atlantic is pretty cold so we only waded a bit which felt
> great on our sore feet.
>
> I got to play three gigs in Lisbon.  The first was a jazz big band that
> played for the Lisboa Escola de Danza (School of Dance).  They were doing
a
> show featuring various selections from American musicals ranging from
> Cabaret to Chicago.  The band was pretty good but the dancers were
> fantastic.  The other two gigs were in nightclubs.  One was a trio--myself
> and two other Portuguese dudes who spoke little English and didn=B9t know
my
> arrangements very well but we managed to speak the international language
> pretty well.  The last gig was a quintet with Eddy and Mary Ann on the 4th
> of July and us Yanks rocked =8Cem good.  Tons of fun!
>
> We left Lisbon to go to the southern Portuguese area called the Algarve,
> known for its quaint villages and beaches.  After quite a mixup in the
> bus/train ride, we finally got to Tavira at about 11 at night.  They
> happened to be celebrating San Pedro that weekend so the town was all
> dressed up and decorated with flowers.  The whole town was out dancing in
> the streets to the various bands, eating sardines and snails and drinking
> beer.  It was really very sweet.  We took the water taxis to the beaches
> which were beautiful indeed but too windy to enjoy for long so it was back
> to the sidewalk cafes for more beer.
>
> We took the bus to Seville in Spain.  Wow, what a fantastic city--my
> favorite of the trip.  Everything is clean and well kept.  We stumbled
> around a little and found a hotel, checked in and then, you guessed it,
hit
> the streets on foot.  What a beautiful and enchanting city!!!  It wasn=B9t
> long before we happened along a group of people at a bar who had spilled
> into the street, all singing in harmony, dancing and playing
> guitars--Flamenco Sevillana!  It was just wonderful.  I=B9ve seen Flamenco
> performances in the States, but like pictures of great art, it=B9s a
whole ne=
> w
> experience when you=B9re there where Flamenco was born.  We went to
several
> other Flamenco shows too and they were all fabulous.
>
> We found the double decker bus tour here as well and the sights were
> spectacular.  The Moorish Alcazar palace from the 900=B9s, the Cathedral
of
> San Cristobal (where Christopher Columbus is buried)--almost as impressive
> as Nortre Damme,  fortresses, a whole modern area built for the world expo
> in 1992 to celebrate 500 years after Columbus discovered America, and yep,
> sidewalk cafes.  We ate lots of tapas and gaspacho to die for.  The
sights,
> sounds, smells, and tastes of Seville are truly a delight for the senses.
=
> I
> can=B9t wait for my next visit.
>
> We bussed back to the Lisbon area and spent our last two nights with two
> newly acquired friends Stephen and Vanessa who are transplanted from
Belfas=
> t
> and London.  They live in the little fishing village of Ericeira, out on
th=
> e
> coast northwest of Lisbon.  Very charming and down scale.  Crab dinners
and
> lots of Irish whiskey.  It was nice to cap the trip off with a couple of
> relaxing days on the ocean front.
>
> People and attitudes:
> There is no shortage of anti-American sentiment in Europe.  Virtually
every
> person we spoke to felt the same about Bush.  Fortunately however, they
wer=
> e
> able to distinguish between American foreign policy and us two travelers
an=
> d
> the image of me in my Panama hat and cane gave most the impression I was a
> Brit or a German--fine with me.  Nobody gave us a hard time about it
> although they all wanted to talk politics.  Most agreed that if there had
t=
> o
> be just one major super power in the world, better the US than Russia,
> China, Japan, or any one else.  In Amsterdam, the folks were very friendly
> and affable.  In Paris, they were just being Parisians--they hate anything
> that=B9s not French and they=B9re pretty snobby about it.  But I didn=B9t
get the
> feeling they were singling out America as the center of their hatred for
> things not French.  In fact President Chirac just gave an address urging
> people to smile and be nice to Americans because they=B9re losing too much
> money in tourism.  Americans are staying away from France in droves.  The
> Portuguese people, on the other hand, make the French seem like happy
littl=
> e
> school girls.  They=B9re truly horrid people, especially the Lisboans.
> Portugal is the most backward country of western Europe and it gives them
a=
> n
> inferiority complex.  They have few natural resources in their little
> country and they view themselves as have-nots.  They take every
opportunity
> to be indignant and sour.  They=B9re not outwardly rude, but if you go
into a
> restaurant, the waiter will look at you as if to say, =B3What are you
doing
> here?  Can=B9t you see I=B9m busy being miserable?=B2  The Spanish were
just the
> opposite.  They=B9re happy and glorious.  We were treated like the king
and
> queen.  I just can=B9t say enough about Seville.
>
> I took about a hundred and fifty pictures with my trusty 35 mm.  After
much
> debate, we decided against a digital camera so we can put the photos in an
> album and pass it around, rather than trying to get everyone to gather
> around the computer.  I=B9m having them put on a disk too but I don=B9t
have a
> web site or anything to post them on.
>
> So there you have it.  It was a great trip with many new memories and
> friends........and I=B9m thrilled to be home!
>
> Slim
> S/V Fandango
>
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