Commentary: Airplanes vs Trains

We traveled using both multiple times on this trip.
For those of you who have not taken a train trip, try it. Riding on a train is a very enjoyable process. You can get up and move around during the trip. There is generally larger seating. The seating configurations allow you to actually face the people you are traveling with and have a conversation. You can look out the window and clearly see what the landscapes look like. When you need a snack, just get up and go to the snack car. Security and ticketing are much easier at train stations. In some instances, you can just hop on the train you want to take and pay for your ticket on the ride.
Airplanes are fast. However the process and security at airports has made the act of flying on airplanes tedious and uncomfortable. (There is one exception to this. If you get to fly on the second floor of a plane, it is really nice.)
Airplanes are a quick way to go from one location to another.
Trains are a great way to make the journey from one location to another a fun part of the overall trip.

What is the significance of 13957?

13957 is the total miles traveled not including walking on this trip. To help put this in context, the circumference of the earth at the equator is 24902 miles.

Commentary ...

Expect a few more posts over the next few days. The posts will be largely commentary on other details from our trip. Right now we are just happy to be home.

Home

What a journey this has been. Connor has traveled on planes, trains, automobiles, and boats. Connor has crossed oceans, international boarders, and finally found his way home.

I wonder where he will go next?

Crossing the pond ...

It is finally time for Connor to make his way back to the US. At the airline checkin line, we got an unexpected move to the top floor of the plane.

Smoking

Smoking is very popular in Europe. It is interesting to see how much more smoking there is than in the US. We did notice one interesting detail. The warning labels on cigarettes are very clear.

Trains Rock!

Airplanes are fast but trains are more fun. Expect a longer post on this later. Did you know that you can just walk onto some trains and buy your ticket while in route to your destination? This certainly reduces the waiting time.

Back in London

Our first backtrack of the trip. Connor is back in London. The good news is that London is a great place to be.

Time to move on ...

Rome has been wonderful, but it is time to move on again. This train will take us to the airport.

Open containers in Rome

It would have been better if we took a picture of the scooter but we forgot. This bicycle was the next best thing. If someone left an open container, or basket, anyone in Rome felt it was appropriate to just dump any trash in it.

Dinner in Rome

Dinner in Rome is interesting. Most restaurants have outside seating. The weather is nice so it is the best place to eat. The little detail is that the tables are set up in the middle of streets. While we were eating, cars kept driving by. Even though the cars were just a few inches away no one seemed to think there was any issue.

Rome Hotel

Not much to see from the outside, but the location is great. We are two blocks from the Spanish Steps and four blocks from the Metro. There are shops and restaurants all around. It is also a very easy walk to Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon.

The Metro

We do not have many pictures of this, but we have used public transportation everywhere we have gone. It has been absolutely wonderful. This is Connor and I waiting for the Metro in Rome.

Just how big is Saint Peter’s Basilica …

Look for the blue shirt in the lower right of the picture. That is Connor at the halfway point to the top. This place is huge.

Saint Peter’s Basilica

Wow! This place is huge. This is where the Pope addresses the people, Saint Peter is buried here, and lots of Popes are buried here. It is similar to Westminster Abbey but much, much, bigger.
One of the cool things about Saint Peter’s Basilica is that you can climb to the top and look out if you want to. Some people take the easy way out and use a lift to get halfway up. Not us, we hiked the full 551 steps to the top and back again. It was worth the effort. This is the best view of Rome we have seen. As a bonus for the extra effort, you get to walk along the inside of the dome and get next to the artwork.

The Sistine Chapel

Well, almost the Sistine Chapel. You are not allowed to take pictures, video, or talk in there. There is even a guard who yells in the Chapel to be quite and not take pictures. When the guard is not speaking, there is an automated voice giving the same instructions over the loudspeakers.
We have seen some amazing art on this trip. I will not make any claims of being a knowledgeable art critic, but the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is amazing. We probably spent 45 minutes in the room looking at all of the drawings. The pictures you see do not capture the images properly.

The Blogger

Mary wanted a picture of me working on the Blog. Here it is. The Blog is usually updated at the end of the day, after we have walked for 10+ hours, been outside in the heat, and are just a few minutes away from going to sleep. Enjoy.

Life in Rome

Spending time Rome has been very interesting. We have observed several things we did not expect.
- Trash cans are optional. People drop trash everywhere they can. We saw a scooter that did not have a cover on a back basket. When the owner returns to the scooter, he will find it is overflowing with trash.
- Street Vendors are everywhere. The picture is of the Spanish Steps in the evening. We really doubt this is what the original creators had in mind.
- Americans are everywhere. We have seen more Americans here than any other place on the journey.
- Traffic laws are optional. A prior post addressed this.

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum is a live excavation site for ancient city of Rome. You can see buildings, steps, and columns from Rome. These artifacts are 2000 years old. To help put this in context, the Untied States still has quite a few years to go until it is 300 years old. We measure the United States man-made sites in terms of centuries; Italy measures their man-made sites in terms of millennia.

The Colosseum (Part 2)

We feel the impact of the Colosseum in modern society today. The same principles used to construct the Colosseum are used to construct most modern sports arenas today. More importantly, the Romans did a few things better than we do now.
- The events were free, all day, and included food and drinks.
- The Colosseum was covered with only a small hole for the sun to come in.
- The hole for the sun to come in was dynamically adjusted during the day to keep the sun directly on the arena and not on the crowd. (To the best of my knowledge no modern stadiums do this.)
The Colosseum was originally constructed almost 2000 years ago in 70 AD.
The picture of all three of us was taken by a family from Texas.

The Colosseum

The Metro is an interesting thing. When you get exit the underground, you never know what you will see. Sometimes it is impressive, sometimes it is not. One of the best exits ever is in Rome. When you exit at the “Collesso” in Rome, this is what you will see.

Italian Police

Wow! The Police in Italy get styling cars. They drive Alpha Romeros. This helps the Police have quite a presence everywhere.
This is necessary. Because as best we can tell, the traffic laws in Italy are very flexible. As a pedestrian, when you want to walk across the street, you just jump into traffic and expect the cars to stop. We were stopped at a very busy intersection waiting on a break in the traffic and a very small lady jumped in front of a bus and stopped traffic in both directions for everyone. Thanks for the help!

Spanish Steps

People gather here at all times during the day and night. When we were there, we saw a parade, street vendors, and lots of people. On our way there, while we were reading a map, someone from Los Angeles walked up and asked us for directions. While we were answering, someone from Ohio walked up and pointed us in the right direction. At times, it seems there are more Americans in Rome than Italians.

Trevi Fountain

A source of water for Romans for over 400 years. Legend goes, you are supposed to toss a coin over your shoulder and promise a return trip to Rome.

Italian Meal

One of the fun things about traveling abroad is the new foods that you get to try. We had a wonderful dinner at this restaurant in Rome. There was a full range of vegetables, meats, bread, and pasta.

Trains, Trains, Trains …

We are getting used to this now. We showed up at the train station just as the train started boarding. Trains in Italy are quite interesting. It was not until we were halfway to our destination that anyone even asked for our ticket.

Venice Hotel

It doesn't look like much on the outside but it sure is beutiful on the inside. The inside has marble floors and is decorated well. Our room overlooked the main street below.

Perhaps the best detail, is that it was very easy to find from the train station. For any of you who have been to Venice, you know how difficult it is to navigate the streets.

Gondola Ride

One of the other things you must do here. It was a lot of fun. Keep looking until you find a Gondolier (sp?) that you like. There are quite a wide range of workers. Some Gondoliers can describe the city in English, some only know Itallian and will sing songs during the ride. With all three of us, we needed an English speaking Gondolier.

There are the things that you just have to do ...

We don't know why everyone does it, but they do. So we decided to do it also. Enjoy the pictures.

The Pigeons will hop up on you anywhere that you put the pigeon food. We saw some people brave enough to put the food in their hair.

Grand Canal Crossing

There are just an amazing amount of Americans travelling abroad. We took turns taking pictures with a couple from Alabama. Enjoy one of the few pictures of all three of us.

Lunch on the Grand Canal

We finally got off the train and quickly proceeded to find a place to eat. This is lunch on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy.

Why was the train ride so long?

We had several goals for this trip. The goals included, learning about other countries, navigating international public transportation, dealing with langauge issues, and keeping in touch with home.
The train ride today was a great exercise in learning about other countries. The train was originally intended to arrive at 9:30 AM. Instead, by 9:00 AM we were parked in an unknown train station, not at our destination, with no clue as to when we would resume travel.
It turns out the US President had deciced to visit the same country we were going to. We were nowhere near where President Bush was going. The country decided to throw a protest to President Bush and the rail system was shut down. We waited for hours until the train system was able to restart.
BTW: I checked US Internet media for any reference to the protests. There was no mention. With a quick Google check, the link below was found.
http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2007-06-09_10998217.html

The longest train ride ever ...

We boarded the train at 8:00 PM and did not get off until 1:00 PM the next day. Do the math, that is a 17 hour train ride. Throughout it all, we did well and enjoyed ourselves. We have now slept on a plane and a train this trip.

Expect some follow up blogs on the length of the train ride next.

It is time to move on ...

Our stay in Paris has been wonderful, but it is now time to move on. Where will Connor end up next? Here is a hint, Connor is standing in front of a train station.

Finally a good picture ...

If you keep trying, you will finally get what you are looking for. Enjoy a clear picture of Connor and Mary at the Eiffel Tower.

Paris Hotel

This is the Hotel we stayed at in Paris. It was absolutely wonderful. The hotel was a 5 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower, the staff was friendly, and the rooms were very comfortable. We did sleep until 11:00 AM one day.

Easy Day

We have been moving pretty fast and hard since we landed in Europe. It was finally time for an easy day. We decided to start by sleeping in late. To the shock of us all, we did not wake up until 11:00 AM. (We completely missed breakfast.) After a few hour trip to the Eiffel Tower and clothes washing, the day was done. We needed the easier schedule as we get ready for the next part of the trip.
An accidental discovery occured during the easy day, we went to some of the much less touristy areas of Paris. Paris is wonderful. You can walk down side streets and see bakeries, shops, and people going about thier daily routines.
Off the tourist path, you need to attempt to speak some French. It is surprising how quickly you begin to learn the language. Of all the places we have been, this is the first that made me think, "It might be nice to spend a summer in Paris".
Just a few days is not nearly enough to fully appriciate what this city has to offer. With an entire summer, you could learn the language and explore so much more than we have had time to explore.
BTW: We did get a travel clock today to prevent another 11:00 AM sleep in.

Washing Day!

When preparing for this trip, the one piece of advice we were given over and over again was to pack light. We listened and did. There are many pros and cons to this approach. By packing light, we have been able to keep our bags with us as carry on luggage. However, we were unable to pack enough clean clothes for the entire trip. This afternoon, we washed clothes. Not the most exciting way to spend time in Paris, but I am sure the people around us will be happy we did.

Eiffel Tower

Today, Connor made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We have been to the top of many very tall buildings. The Eiffel Tower is different. Everything is very open. Instead of a box like elevator surrounded by walls you are in a glass walled elevator out in the wide open and the structure around you shrinks the higher you go. When you get to the top it is worth it.

The City of Lights ...

You hear that Paris is the city of lights. That may be true, but our experience is that Paris is the city of light. The sun does not set until 10:30 PM and is up at 6:00 AM.

We did manage to stay up late and see the Eiffel Tower lit up. At times, there is even a light show. The artifact you see in the picture is from the flashing lights being displayed.

Arc de Triomphe

After walking two miles, Connor and I decided it was a wise idea to walk up the 284 steps in a spiral staircase to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It was tough, but we made it. The walk down was much easier.

Champs-Elysees

This is Connor at the start of the 2 mile walk from the Palace de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. The walk is along the Champs-Elysees. There are lots of shops along the way. The most difficult part is navigating the traffic circle to the Palace de la Concorde. The traffic circle is huge, with room for at least 6 cars side by side and no lines for traffic lanes. Somehow the cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians find a way to make it work. But when you are crossing the street it feels like the biggest game of Frogger ever played.

Notre Dame

We made it. We even found someone nice enough to take a picture of all of us. Try as we could, we did not see any hunchbacks while we were there.

This is not the Virgin Mary in a slice of bread ...

Lots of things are different here. When you order a ham and cheese sandwich, the cheese comes on the outside. Connor really liked the way it is made here.

The Louvre

The Louvre is amazing. It is larger than any museum we have seen. There are several key pieces including the Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo. The unfortunate detail is that you walk by so many amazing pieces of art on your way you to see the key pieces that you do not have time to appriciate them all.

We are certainly not art critics, but we could tell we were seeing some amazing work.