Holiday Travels

So Ally has come and gone, and along with her our Christmas Vacation.

My 3-week trip this time around was somewhat different than the one I took back in the Summer of 2005 with my good friend Stephen Kovach.  Filled with laughter, absurdity and shenanigans, it was quite the coming of age story.  Five years wiser, I was happy to "show Ally the ropes," as if I ever really mastered the art of travel.  Even going to some of the same places felt completely new, with a touch of Deja Vu every once in a while - walking into Termini Train Station in Rome, looking upon the impressive Colosseum and the stroll through the Roman Forum, then Nice and the French Riviera.

The Colossus of Nero 

Roman Forum and Via Sacra

One thing I didn't see last time was the Vatican.  The museum there was overwhelming.  We got lost a few times trying to find certain exhibits.  My favorite part by far was learning about the Sistine Chapel from our animated guide.  Michelangelo versus the Warrior Pope, forced to paint the place in the style of Fresco (which is done over wet plaster), never having been a painter before, craning his neck for days at a time painting on the curved ceiling.  His revenge the subtle painting of a boy leaning over the shoulder of a previous pope, Michelangelo being the boy and the current pope as the old pope, giving him the equivalent of the finger at the time.  Not sure if the revenge is equal to the 4 years taken from him, but something is something.  An interesting fact we learned while there, the only piece that has been re-painted in the Chapel is part of one the most famous paintings in the world - The Creation of Adam.  The tip of Adam's finger fell off in an earthquake, and has been redone since.

The Torso - Michelangelo's inspiration to become a sculptor - can be seen painted in different possible positions at the four corners of each scene on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

From busy, cold, impressive Rome, we arrived in Palermo four days before Christmas with sunny skies.  Now this is what you think of when you think "Italy."  Outdoor markets, warm weather, slow lifestyle, the Mediterranean.  The food cheap and delicious, the views simple and breathtaking.  We immediately extended our stay from two to four nights.  We were blown away right from the start when this is what we saw out or hotel window:

This is actually from the roof of the hotel, but our window was quite similar, and this is where we had breakfast every morning.  Turn 180 degrees and you've got the Mediterranean staring back at you.

We spent most of our time here just wandering around and enjoying the amazing food and scenery.  Being Winter and all (A balmy 60), it was impossible to partake in some of the main tourist activities that would have been fun - a trip to one of the many Aeolian Islands, each with their specific attractions to lure all types of interest; nature, great beaches and swimming, mud baths, etc.  We were also counseled into taking a 2 hour bus to Trapani, a nearby city, in order take a gondola up a mountain to see the ruins of Erice - a well preserved medieval castle community.

We departed from the bus when we confirmed we were indeed in Trapani.  As we exited onto the sidewalk, we realized we had no idea where this gondola was, how to get there, nor the Italian word for gondola.  We eventually saw signs for "Erice" and were heading the right direction, when we finally came upon our chariot.  Unfortunately, the gondola was closed to windy winter conditions (it was blowing probably 35+ mph that day so it was probably a good thing).  We couldn't really tell how far up we'd have to hike because we couldn't see anything from the base, so we started walking hoping to get picked up with outstretched thumbs.

We started up the winding road and cars passes by, a few even slowed down or stopped, but I still can't be sure exactly what happened or what the other party was thinking in any of these encounters as they always ended with Ally and I looking back at each other in confusion as the car climbed onward.  The drivers and passengers would either shake their heads or wag their fingers at us as they passed, as if we were doing something wrong. Then an older man was kind enough to stop to say he wasn't going toward the ruins, but to the other mountain, which the road we were on also apparently led to.  He said this before we even said anything, as if just to show us that he WOULD have picked us up had circumstances been different.  I mean, is a little ride up a few of the monotonous switchbacks too much to ask?  You don't have to take us the whole way.  So with this information I began to think these people somehow divined we were stupid tourists walking up to the ruins; my shorts and T-shirt an instant giveaway (Even with the wind blowing fiercely, given the temperature and the fact that we were hiking it wasn't all that crazy...but it makes sense because in my time in Europe so far, I've seen 5 other people in shorts - the opposing team during a futsol match a month earlier), and they were all simply going to this other mountain.

Before we knew it, we had made it pretty far and we made a decision using our reasoning skills this expensive education has afforded me.  The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so we got off the road and hiked along side the gondola posts.  Sure the terrain was a bit more difficult, you know - loose gravel, steep inclines, spiky weeds, locked gates, fences, nothing out of the ordinary, but the payoff was worth it; the serenity of the scenery and the routes directness showed us our quickly rising elevation.

Finally we saw a ridge, and I quoted an old family favorite movie, Homeward Bound "Home is just over that ridge."  Of course, Shadow is always wrong and they are lost in those mountains for a good while, and we were quickly discouraged as that ridge's view gave us the sight of another.  With concerns about getting down in time for the last bus and not knowing really how much farther we had, it was game time.  We stepped it up a notch and stumbled to the summit, our work rewarded with some even more breathtaking views and impressive castle architecture.

The only drawback to our amazing hike was that we were strapped for time for the way down, we had just missed the last bus down the mountain for the day and the sun was beginning to set.  We began our descent into a dazzling setting sun.

We made it down in a fraction of the time despite thinking the steep inclines might have proven treacherous going the opposite direction.  We had a great time booking down the mountain - Ally fell at least 5 times, which made it all the more enjoyable for me.

Well I won't bore with any more stories of such detail because this post would never end, but after Palermo we spent a night in Venice, then, with all paths to Paris full, arrived in Nice, and barely finding a path to Madrid in time for New Years, we made our away across France to Bordeaux, then down to Madrid.  We definitely logged some good hours on the train in those few days.

We screeched into Madrid at 10pm New Year's Eve, so we had to hustle to get to Puerta del Sol (the enormous plaza).  By 11:50pm we were making our way through the packed crowds with grapes in hand (the thing to do in Spain is eat 12 grapes during the countdown, a difficult feat I was unable to accomplish because I didn't have the time to de-seed mine).  It was quite the spectacle.  What really topped it off was the circle of people next to us having a champagne war - our first taste of alcohol on the night.

The night proceeded on as any New Year's Eve would have - Chinos selling beers in the street, hordes of inebriates from all over the globe, sneaking a plethora of beers into a bar and thus having free refills all night, and finally, sleep.

Now I'm back "home" in Jaén, making up a few days at school each week, taking it relatively easy.  Missed all the family during the holidays, but I can't really complain.

Livin' the good life in Madrid.  I'm taking a page out of his book.