Tuesday 26 April 2011

Considering a Format Change

Hey guys, just a short post today... for reasons that will become evident as I explore the topic of this post.

With my new job and the extensive commute that comes with it I'm finding myself with a lot let time to work with in the mornings.  As it stands I've just got my usual morning routine dealt with and am ready to settle down and write my blog post... but I've got to get out of here in about 2 minutes.  It's become a bit of a challenge.  I've got two options here and I'd like to put it out to you, the community of readers, to determine which is the best course of action.  I still think my once-per-week format is perfect for when I'm not actually travelling, so I'd like to stick with that.  I can start making my weekly posts on a weekend when I've got more time to really sit down and write.  However, if everyone is pretty keen on the Tuesday posts (which was a pretty arbitrary day for a post anyway) then I can just start writing these things on the weekend and not posting them until Tuesday.  Everyone okay with switching to a Sunday post (no pun intended) or would you all prefer that I left things as they stand and kept posting on Tuesdays?

Okay, thank in advance for the input everyone.  Hope you're all doing very well today!  I know Jay is having a blast down in Fontana, go check his blog out for more details on that.  Stay safe, have fun, and I'll talk to you all again soon.

Tuesday 19 April 2011

Internet Woes

Good morning all. My internet connection was down this morning, and hadn't restored itself by the time I left for work. I'm afraid that today's post will be quite delayed. Hope you're all having a lovely day.

Saturday 16 April 2011

Last Post - Rome

It's hard to believe that this isn't the high season for travel in Rome. It's a zoo out there.

The Vatican was worth doing. Some of the rooms and hallways make even my steely jaw drop. The photos probably won't do it justice, but Susan documented the place like it was a crime scene.
It's fun to see some of the more famous artwork. The old man lent me some nice books so I could get some familiarity with the Italian renaissance, so I could pick out a lot of what I was seeing. It was nice being able to point and say "This wall was painted by Raphael", "That ceiling is from Michaelangelo", or "This piece was crafted by Master Splinter". (Note: too obvious?)

For me the Capuchin monastery was a must see. It's a crypt made out of dead people. Great place for a picnic. Susan liked the chandeliers which I believe were mostly made out of finger bones and vertebrae. Spookiest bit was definitely the skeleton of a small child all done up like The Reaper. He even has a little scale and scythe made out of some other guy. They have a lovely plaque there that reads (approximately) "We were once what you are. You will be what we are."

There are a bunch of hippies outside protesting at some nearby government building. The cops aren't hitting them for some reason. I'm not sure on the details but I think they're protesting the fact that their president is a blatantly criminal fascist. Cry me a fucking river.
They're playing Rage Against the Machine songs now. Ya, that'll show 'em.

We had one more great meal and it was a doosie. The restaurant name was Il Pagliaccio. The service was perfect, and the front of house oozed style out their ears. The food was all about subtlety, but every dish packed some 'wow factor'. Standout dish is hard to pick, but I'm going with the salted cod cannelloni in onion and leek broth, just because the broth was so good it made me feel all emotional. The last dessert came with a small serving of rose hip tea that nearly made me fall asleep in their big comfy chairs. Pagliaccio has swept in at the end and stolen the meal of the trip award away from Moo.
I've noticed a bit of a pattern. We used the Michelin guide a little bit in planning our meals for this trip. The thing is, I'm still yet to really love a 3-star restaurant. 2-stars on the other hand have always been really special. Could it be that 3-star restaurants are crossing some kind of border, and ending up in territory where great noms take second position to dressing up like a douche and having an 'extensive water menu'?

The last two night of the trip have been great. Me and Susan stayed in our room, dined on junk food, and drank beer (Susan drank a whole beer to her self!). I feel strongly that vacationing needs nights like this. No pushing through crowds to look at some church or pile of old rocks. It's a nice change of pace.
This part of the world is a great place to visit... but it gets old. Three weeks may have been a bit too long for this trip. I remember having 'temple fatigue' in Japan, and I feel the same here. All the old buildings are starting to look the same, and I just don't care to look at another painting of Jesus.

Now for something really controversial.
The food in America is better than in Europe (this part of it at least). I'm sorry but it just is. Italy has fresh pasta. So what? It takes like 3 minutes to make fresh pasta. I keep thinking back to Lola's (Knoxville, I think?) An amazing meal for 4 people for just over 100 dollars. For 25 bucks in Europe they won't even heat up your catfood.
Fine dining is on par, not just because you're dishing out the cash, but because if you're going to the trouble of making reservations for a meal, you've probably checked their credentials before hand. When traveling though, you can't eat at a place you've looked into before hand every night. Making reservations for 21 restaurants isn't feasible.
You can't just walk into a restaurant in this part of the world and expect to be served something even remotely edible, because the major cities are riddled with tourist traps. Don't believe the bloggers that tell you if you leave the main tourist districts you'll be fine (I've already discussed my beef with those blogger people.) I've picked a direction and walked for miles, only to find myself with a cover charge and a tourist menu.
If you want to have an amazing food based vacation, it's not far from home. Montreal, Chicago, Boston, any southern state, hell even good old Toronto. The noms may not be perfect, but at least most restaurants aren't specifically there to try and rip you off.

All in all, it's been a great vacation. We've seen and done a lot in 3 weeks, and we've learned a lot about travel in general. Next time I'm doing something less gimmicky than Europe though. English speaking would be a treat. Maybe somewhere where the trees seem to go on forever.
Is it still traveling if you only drive 100km?

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Florence and Naples

We took Florence real easy. Did lots of gawking at old buildings, ate some gelato and pasta, etc. We saw David, he's really super. We also got completely lost and ended up on a big hill with a view of the whole city, and a Medici villa that was converted into a few museums. Them Medici folk sure knew how to live.
We get lost a lot. Europe is hard sometimes, but we always end up at something cool.
Me and Susan attempted to tackle a Florentine steak. It bested us, but we gave it a good go.
We got lots of 'upkeep' done in Florence as well. We did laundry, which was a relief. Back in Venice I had me first 'washing socks in the sink' experience and it wasn't to thrilling. I saw a doctor to, and he gave me some fancy new antibiotics for my stupid ears. Since it was a Florentine doctor I was glad he didn't prescribe a tonic of pomegranates and lead. The antibiotics did resulted in 6 days with no booze allowed (the horror!) I'm in Rome now and will be finishing the dosage in a couple days and intend to celebrate.

I wrote up Naples last night so here it is:

Naples is shitty. I mean that in the literal sense. It's covered in shit. There are also a lot of flowers in the area. The smell reminds me of a woman I once knew. Also, here's a little tip for the government of Naples: (or should I just forward this directly to the Mafia?) If a garbage bin never gets emptied, it's not a garbage bin anymore. It's a garbage pile.
Naples is like Detroit with a view.
I was riding a on a little train today, just a couple stops to get on a bigger train. I thought to myself, "Surely, since commuters need to sit on the bigger train for over an hour, it can't be allowed to smell as strongly as piss as this little train." I was wrong.
I was wrong.
How is it that nobody ever mentions this kind of thing? Of all the magazine articles and blog posts I read in my research, nobody ever used the term "shit-hole". Send a blogger to hell and they would post "It's so warm here LOL! The torture is sooooo authentic LOL!!"
Our 5 star hotel, The Grand Parkers Hotel, could only be described as Naplish (bad smell, overpriced, great view). I think it's like in the Dominican Republic where the rating system is a little skewed.

OK, I'll write some positive stuff now.

Pompeii kicks ass. I loves me a good ruin, and the preserved nature of this one took it to a whole new level. The paintings on a lot of the walls are even intact. The cemetery was a lot like or modern cemeteries, in that there are huge monuments to a couple rich folk, and a couple rocks stuck in the ground for everybody else. We walked through a neat building that was all beds and there were paintings of people doing naughty things on the walls.
The ashy soil and the mountain with a big chunk of it missing add to the eerie effect. The 10000 other tourists not so much. There are also a lot of stray dogs there, so, that's a plus? I think it's a plus anyway.

I just got back from an admittedly bitter-sweet experience: having my first ever pizza that was better than my own. Needless to say, it was very good, and worth the trip to stink-town to try it.

Off-road Riding Training

Good morning everyone!  I hope you've all been keeping up with the posts from Gray and Susan as they progress through Italy.  I believe that they're heading to Rome today and will be remaining there until they return to Toronto on Sunday.  Keep checking in through the week to see if they give us any more updates.

I don't have much to say on this morning's topic, but I wanted to throw it out there anyway to gauge interest.  When I was at the Outdoor Adventure Show I met a guy who runs rider training courses for all manner of off-road vehicles.  He was not the first person to tell me that a motorcycle rider's skills can be greatly improved by learning the techniques necessary to ride a dirt bike.  The primary concern for an off-road rider is maintaining control of the bike when the rear wheel is getting less-than-ideal traction.  The idea here is that riding off-road will establish the knowledge and muscle-memory to deal with a skid on gravel, and make you that much more capable of successfully navigating such an event if you encounter it on your street bike.

So that's why I want to take a course in trail riding.  The benefit to non-riders?  It's supposed to be a TON of fun!

Check out this website:  http://www.cmts.org/

The training facility is located just North of Barrie, which makes it easily accessible from Toronto.  Also, they are recommending the Horseshoe Valley Resort as a nearby place to stay, which could be pleasant if we wanted to get there the night before, since I think the classes start early.

I'd really like to get a group together for this, so if you're at all interested in getting out on the trails and seeing what it's like to ride an off-road motorcycle please let me know.

I'll leave you all to ponder that for the time being, but please get back to me if you're interested in coming out for the rider training.  Keep checking in for updates from Gray and Susan, and I'll talk to you all next week.

Thursday 7 April 2011

Monaco, Venice, Modena

We arrived in Florence today, will be here for 3 nights, and will have an electric socket the whole time. My phone is so happy! We have wonderful things to say about Florence, but that can wait until next post.

In an attempt to catch-up, I'm going to do a multi-city post.
One thing that applies to these cities, and the two prior posts, is that the weather was amazing. It's been 20ish degrees and sunny for this entire trip. Suck it Torontonians.

Monaco was about what we were expecting (it wasn't Susan's first time there). Monte-Carlo was jammed with classic cars and luxury, while the rest of Monaco is a natural paradise. The city is built into a cliff face which makes for some great vistas, and a whole lot of stairs. I'm not going to attach pictures, but we will send some around after we get home and sort through them. Susan took her 500th picture while we were there, so don't worry, there will be lots.
A highlight of the town was their exotic garden (mostly a cactus garden) with it's very deep grotto.
My personal favorite thing about Monaco was our hotel, the Metropole. Our room was all luxury and breakfast was worth waking up for (for a change). It also has a restaurant by Joel Robuchon(sp?) that was once again fantastic but with enormous portions. Susan had her 3rd day in a row of eating duck. They had a duck press in the kitchen, but unfortunately non of the dishes on the menu that day were using it. We didn't have a camera with us so we didn't catch a picture of it, but I assure you it was very cool.

On our way to Venice we stopped in at Padova for another dinner. This time at Le Calandre. It made for a very interesting meal, but a bit more French than we were going for with our first meal in Italy. Highlight of the meal was called the 'plate of chocolate' and consisted of 11 different desserts, and came with a little video that they play on a projector. They liked the tech there, their wine list came on an Ipad app. The app looked really nice, and worked great, it had some data and sommelier notes available for each wine, and I bet it saves a lot of work for the staff.

Venice itself was almost a theme park, but we still had some great pies, and it beats the hell out of Disneyland. The whole gondola thing is an enormous rip-off, but we bit the bullet and did it anyways, and it was a pretty relaxing trip.
I actually bought a couple trinkets, and mailed them to Toronto. The rest of my shopping (if there is any) will likely happen in Rome so I can just carry it back, as mailing from here was a hassle.

Our trip to Modena was primarily food focused, and did not disappoint. We have found that since leaving the tourism focused towns food has gotten better, and a lot cheaper. The number of sports cars in town was cool (out front of the bank may as well have been a car show), but oddly enough I didn't see any of the famous brands that are made in the immediate area.
We had one more big dining meal here, possibly as good as Moo. The place was called Osteria Francesscana(sp?). Highlight dish for me was a fancied up sous-vide version of bolito misto. The only thing that brought this meal down for us was dining fatigue. It's all become too much rich food. Susan was full after the second course, and I'm at the point were I could go for a hot dog. So we might have one more big meal in Rome, but the dining portion of our trip is pretty much complete. On to the tiny trattorias and pizzerias!
I got some balsamic in Modena because it seemed logical. I think I got a good deal. Can anybody think of anything else I should be bringing back? Any souvenir requests? I assume traveling with cured meats is frowned upon.

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Arles

Here is Susan's report on Arles.

After Spain, we were off to France to a small town in Provence - Arles. It was a nice
change of pace going from a bustling city to a small town. Even though there were many
tourists during the day, it was incredibly quiet at night.

We stayed in a hotel close to the Arena and Ampitheatre, both of which were pretty
structures. We wondered around the city by foot, everything was a lot closer than it
appeared on the map. We walked along the harbourfront, which runs along the Rhone. Then
we wondered around town and visted a church, a cloister, and a cryptoportico.
Cryptoportico is an underground gallery, located under the Place du Forum. We also went
to the cemetery where we saw a monument for soldiers who died in the first
World War.

The food in Arles was wonderful, but pricey. While in Arles, Gray noticed
a Michelin star restaurant in which he promptly looked up. Unfortunately, we didn't go
to that one, but we ended up going to another Michelin star restaurant Cilantro. The meal
was HUGE. We thought we were getting a four-course meal with cheese and dessert but it
seemed like it was a 10 course meal with cheese and dessert. We were stuffed.

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Following Jupiter

Pre-post Note:  Gray and Susan are alive, well, and blogging!  They've put a couple of posts up recently, so if you haven't checked in since last Tuesday be sure to scroll down and check out the new content!  Now, on with the show...

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I've decided to try something a little different today: a book review!  Don't worry though, I'm not straying too far from the path here as this is, in fact, a book about travel.

I just recently finished reading Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon, and will give you a quick summary.  The esteemed Mr. Simon set out in 1973 to travel around the world on a motorcycle.  He accomplished this feat on a 500cc Triumph Tiger 100, travelling approximately 103,000km over the course of four years, and detailed the adventure in the aforementioned book.  The route started in London, passed quickly south through France and Italy (familiar territory for Simon) and made the jump into Tunisia.  From there he travelled East along Northern Africa, and then South along the East coast.  When he got to South Africa he got a ship to Brazil and travelled South then North covering a huge amount of South America before heading through Central America and into the United States.  He caught another ship in California to Australia, did a tour of duty there, and then proceeded to hop through Malaysia and into India.  From there it was a straight shot through the Middle East and back in to Europe.  Quite the adventure!

The fascination with this story for me runs very deep, and goes far beyond the simple love of travel and motorcycles.  It's true that I've had a growing desire to get a bigger bike (something I'm actively working on still) and attempt some long-distance travel via motorcycle, and I've got a lot of inspiration just from the logistics of Simon's epic voyage.  Taking the motorcycle out of the equation though, I still find the concept of global travel thrilling, and more than a little intimidating.  It's an amazing thing to be able to walk away from everything and just wander the earth, and I've wondered for a very long time if I could ever have it in me to accomplish a similar task.  Sadly, Jupiter's Travels has failed to answer that question for me.  While there are some hints there about the methods of getting around the world with very limited support and resources, ultimately it's something that still eludes me.  I think I'm starting to understand that such a trip, with all it's limitations also requires a limitation on planning.  I'd always tried to piece together how you can plan things like food and accomodation so far in advance... and you can't.  It just can't be done, and that's the trick.  More than anything else I think that's the hard part of a truly epic adventure - letting go of the plan.  I like to have everything figured out before I go somewhere.  I REALLY like it.  EVERYTHING.  I think that's been my greatest barrier to the concept of true adventure, why the "how" of it has always eluded me.  Even with that revelation it still seems like a slightly alien concept.  I've been trying to divine the key skills that make up the global traveller; what must a man learn in order to successfully make his way around the world?  I'm beginning to wonder if the sole ingredient here is courage.  Perhaps that's all there is to it.  Just jump in with both feet, and once you're on the road the will to survive will keep you going.

Another area of great interest to me in Jupiter's Travels was looking at the book as the work of a fellow travel writer.  I actually had a difficult time writing that last statement... it seems just a bit pompous to suggest that I am in some way the peer of Ted Simon, Patron Saint of Insane Motorcyclists, but a boy can dream.  What really caught my attention as I read Simon's accountings of his journey was the honesty, and it took me awhile to realize it for what it was.  He was not in any way shy about detailing incidences where he was foolish or rude, and made no qualms about describing how despondant he could get at various points along the road.  Just as easily as he would describe a great kindness from one person he would detail the horrible, unjust thoughts he'd have about another just because he was in a black mood.  At first I looked down my nose at this sort of behaviour, as if by writing it about The Hero of the Story he was in some way justifying his thoughts and actions.  It took me awhile to realize that he was just being perfectly honest about the state of mind he was in at any moment in time.  He managed to rise above the temptation to write himself as the Legendary Hero and just showed himself as he was on the journey - the good and the bad.  I've been in some truly remarkable places, been surrounded by calm and beauty and been unable to enjoy it because of some deep shadow over my thoughts that just made me want to go home, sleep in my own bed, and play on my computer.  If nothing else it was very uplifting to know that even one of this world's great adventurers has experienced this same feeling, and is equally as baffled by the experience as I am.

So, as a complete work I found Jupiter's Travels to be quite engaging.  It spoke to me as a traveller, a writer, and a motorcyclist.  If you put yourself in any of those categories I'm sure you'd get a lot of enjoyment out of reading Simon's works.  Little snippets from the book, as well as notes on his more recent journey can be found on Ted Simon's personal page:  http://www.jupitalia.com/default.html

I found it interesting that the entire trip around the world was accomplished on a 500cc bike since that's actually what I've been looking at upgrading to.  I'm currently balancing out the pros and cons of the Kawasaki Ninja 500, and the Suzuki GS500F right now.  Not that I wouldn't mind following in Ted Simon's footsteps and getting a Triumph!

My consumption of media in the Motorcycle Adventure genre has continued since then as I've started watching Long Way Round, a TV show inspired by Jupiter's Travels.  In it actors Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor travel from London to New York on motorcycles.  So far I'm really enjoying it.  Between Jupiter's Travels and Long Way Round I'm absolutely DYING for a road trip right now!

So, that's all for now everyone.  I've read something that's captivated my mind, made me realize areas where I need to grow as a traveller and a writer, made me question my mettle, and ultimately left me inspired.  I hope you all have a lovely week, and again I encourage you to check back regularly for updates from Graydyn and Susan, and don't forget to go read their earlier posts and give them your support on their great adventure!  As for me, I'll see you all next Tuesday!

Monday 4 April 2011

Barcelona

Here is Susan's report on Barcelona:

We're a week into our trip and so far it's been a great experience.
We started off in Barcelona, Spain. Our Hotel is right beside La Rambla, which is a huge tourist area. There are lots of street performers, performers in costume in which you pay to take their picture (some of them were pretty cool), stands selling snacks, souvenirs, and restaurants. There is a marvelous market there selling fresh fruits, meats, cheese, bread, and wine. We took advantage of it, and we created an awesome meal. (Graydyn's note: The meat mentioned above was Jamon Iberico, cut from the leg right before our eyes!)

We took a cable car from the harbourfront to Montjuic, which gave us a bird's eye view of Barcelona. We didn't realize that Montjuic was so huge! Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to take in all of Montjuic but if we did, we'd do it by vehicle rather than on foot.

We also toured around the Gothic Area and saw some cathedrals. We did make a trip to see Sagrada Familia but only from the outside. The lineup to purchase admission and went almost halfway around it and we didn't want to spend so much time in line (we estimate it would be a 2-3 hour wait in line). Even though it's still going under construction, it's still an incredible sight to take in. Hopefully, we'll have a chance to get to go back once it's done.

We also saw some of Gaudi's buildings such as the Casa Batllo. We explored the interior and it was facinating to see so much detail in everything that was inside that building. One of the neat features is the 'water' room on the roof. It's a room that has a silver ball with a light beneath it and the reflection of the water flowing over the ball is reflected on the ceiling.

Now, I know you're wondering how the food was. It was okay but we both felt that because we were stuck in the tourist areas because of language barriers, we couldn't experience the best Barcelona has to offer but Gray booked a table at Moo, which was awesome. All the dishes were so memorable. We were happy that we finally had one good meal in Barcelona.

(Graydyn's note) Where Susan says that Moo was awesome and memorable, she really means it. It was the funkiest molecular gastro influenced meal we've had, and even made our top 10 list of best meals ever.

Updates from on the road.

Me and Susan have decided to start trying to slow the pace a bit. Obviously we want to see as much as possible but our current pace has been a bit much. The upside to this is that we might actually have time to write occasional posts to Colin's blog. We also have reliable electricity now, and the WIFI has gotten a lot better since we left Spain. Susan did a write up on Barcelona last night, that I will post shortly.

I had my first pizza in Italy yesterday. It was magical.

The language thing is working out well. It turns out that Susan speaks good enough French to get by, so I didn't have to call Jay to ask for help. My Italian lessons through Rosetta Stone have helped a bit, and I'm picking it up as I go along.

We have had some trouble dodging tourist traps so far. Barcelona was more of a tourist black hole. We are hoping that things clear up a bit as we move away from Venice and into slightly more obscure cities. Next up is Modena.

I'll end with a point of interest. The old stereotype that French people are rude seems a bit flipped on it's head to us. Everybody in France was really patient with the language barrier and all around friendly. Italian's on the other hand... Jesus. If you walk into an Italian shop, hope for a female attendant. The Italian male is the most aggressive beast on this planet. I have posted a pic of a typical Italian shopkeeper: