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

Sun Jul 13 09:37:41 EDT 2003

Starbucks need to get with the program! I will take a Grande Northern Lights 
please .  :-)

Wally

>From: Steve Alm <salm at mn.rr.com>
>Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>To: Rhodes <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] What I did on my summer vacation
>Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 14:37:49 -0500
>
>Wally,
>
>The umm...coffee was great.  Many different blends and flavors to choose
>from.  Oh, so civilized.  8-)
>
>Slim
>
>On 7/11/03 7:35 AM, "Wally Buck" <tnrhodey at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Wow sounds like a great trip, thanks for taking the time to post.
> >
> > So how was the coffee in Amsterdam  ......???
> >
> > Wally
> >
> >
> >> From: Steve Alm <salm at mn.rr.com>
> >> Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >> To: Rhodes <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] What I did on my summer vacation
> >> Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2003 12:54:27 -0500
> >>
> >> 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
> >> of
> >> course the famous ½coffee houses.…  We ate most of our meals at 
>sidewalk
> >> cafes.  They arrange the seating so everyone faces the street.  Its 
>like
> >> sitting and watching a movie.
> >>
> >> We visited the Rembrandt Museum where we saw, among others, the 
>wonderful
> >> ½Night Watch.…  Ive only seen pictures before and they hardly do 
>justice
> >> to
> >> 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
> >> of
> >> undress, waiting for customers.  One simply walks up to the window, 
>slips
> >> in
> >> 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.
> >> Even
> >> 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.  Its 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
> >> 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
> >> the
> >> 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 thats 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.  Youd think that theyd 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, ½I think 
>we
> >> should build it this way.… and that the people responsible for 
>approving it
> >> said, ‘Yeah, that looks reasonable.  Go ahead!…
> >>
> >> Paris is extremely expensive so we tried to shop at grocery stores and
> >> bring
> >> food back to the hotel whenever practical--  baguettes, cheese, 
>sausages
> >> and
> >> wine, but it was hard not to stop at the creperies and various other
> >> sidewalk eateries.
> >>
> >> I know youre probably curious how we were treated by the French.  More 
>on
> >> that later--lets go to Lisbon.  Our friend, Eddy Goltz, has been a
> >> professional musician there for 20 years.  He stays with us once a year
> >> when
> >> he comes home to see his family so it was cool to do the reverse.  
>Lisbon
> >> is
> >> a beautiful and very old city.  Founded by the Phonecians thousands of
> >> years
> >> 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 1930s.  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 PWCs.  There are aquaducts, a
> >> middle
> >> 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 didnt 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 ‘em 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 
>wasnt
> >> 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.  Ive seen 
>Flamenco
> >> performances in the States, but like pictures of great art, its a 
>whole
> >> new
> >> experience when youre 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 900s, 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
> >> cant 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
> >> Belfast
> >> and London.  They live in the little fishing village of Ericeira, out 
>on
> >> the
> >> 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
> >> were
> >> able to distinguish between American foreign policy and us two 
>travelers
> >> and
> >> 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
> >> to
> >> 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
> >> thats not French and theyre pretty snobby about it.  But I didnt 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 theyre 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
> >> little
> >> school girls.  Theyre truly horrid people, especially the Lisboans.
> >> Portugal is the most backward country of western Europe and it gives 
>them
> >> an
> >> 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.  Theyre not outwardly rude, but if you go 
>into a
> >> restaurant, the waiter will look at you as if to say, ½What are you 
>doing
> >> here?  Cant you see Im busy being miserable?…  The Spanish were just 
>the
> >> opposite.  Theyre happy and glorious.  We were treated like the king 
>and
> >> queen.  I just cant 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.  Im having them put on a disk too but I dont 
>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 Im thrilled to be home!
> >>
> >> Slim
> >> S/V Fandango
> >>
> >> __________________________________________________
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