It was wonderful spending almost 2 weeks with Mary, Joe, and little Samuel!! We hung out at home, went to restaurants, Pakistan National Museum, a day at the beach wıth a British famıly, had street food (mmmm), went to the community to see Mary's work, Waldo saw a bit of another NGO. Compared wıth the cıtıes ın India, Karachi seemed a bit more organized, clean, and generally less chaotic. Waldo and I managed to get around on rıckshaws, goıng to the Cathedral, shoppıng areas, and the Masoleum (where the foundıng father of Pakıstan ı [View Full Entry]

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There are only 2 ways to cross the India-Pakistan border: walk across in the north at the Wagha border or take the train across the south. We heard about the Thar Express (train that crosses border once a week) from a CSer but could not find hardly any information on it online or at train stations in India. Finally, in Jodhpur (where the train departs from) we found the nearly abandoned station that is only in use for the special Thar express. From the time we arrived at the train station in Jodhpur at 10 pm to the time we arrived [View Full Entry]

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Pretty sure this is my favorite place of the trip!! Coincidentally, we were in Cinque Terre for two special occasions - my birthday and Waldo's and my 1 yr anniversary. It was wonderful to be in such a beautiful place and share the time with some really nice CSers. Cinque Terre is 5 small towns on the coast of northwest Italy. To walk from the first to the last takes about 5 hours. Unfortunately, we only had time to go to three of them. I didn't notice huge differences between the different towns but they all have their own unique feeling [View Full Entry]

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For many public places where lines are necessary, well... the lines are there but there's another style of making sure you are served. I call it pushing and squishing. Especially when in line for train tickets, people just can't seem to wait their turn. Luckily, there is one separate line just for women that goes quicker and is a little more organized. The trick is that you can't leave too much space in between yourself and the person in front of you because then someone else will cut you in line. But for me, I like to have at least a [View Full Entry]

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Soo many different kinds of transportation: taxis: normal auto rickshaws: can be quite the adventure. A motor cart type of thing which weaves in and out of traffic. cycle rickshaws: three wheeler with a cart in the back. cheaper than an auto rickshaw but can take a lot longer. TRAINS: so many different expereinces! #1 - from Kolkata to Delhi (about 17 hours). 8 beds in a compartment and you get served a snack, dinner, and breakfast. really comfortable and nice. #2 - little over two hours from Delhi to Agra. I would compare this to a regular sitting train in [View Full Entry]

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So missed a couple weeks of Europe, but thought I would skip ahead to the more interesting part and as I have time go back and write about my favorite places during the second half of Europe. Arrived two days ago in India, spent a few hours in Delhi, and then flew to Calcutta. Waldo and I are CSing and staying with a really nice guy who I think will let us stay with him all 8 days. It's a weird mix of poverty and riches (geographically) that we don't have in the US. Usually, there are the poor neighborhoods and [View Full Entry]

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For those who don´t know, Lourdes is a popular pilgrimage place for Catholics from all around the world. In 1858, an apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to a 14 year old girl in this small town. I had a great day - not really relaxing because I still did a lot of walking, but it was wonderful to have a day to slow down a bit, to pray, go to mass, etc. There is one main church but it also has another chapel upstairs, and another church in the area that is underground. Everything is beautiful and everyone who is [View Full Entry]

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Paris... was nice. I don´t really know what to say about Paris. It has a lot to offer but I didn´t really feel the magic that is "Paris." All the main attractions are impressive - Louvre (huge!! saw the Mona Lisa though I liked a lot of the other paintings much more), Eifel Tower, walk by the river, Notre Dame Cathedral (guy with a gorgoues voice sang for mass), Sacred Heart Church (beautiful on the inside but can´t take pics and had a wonderful view of the city). I was really turned off by the rudeness and unwillingness to help of [View Full Entry]

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Going from Bergen to Oslo, I took the ¨special¨route which includes a regular train, a special train called the Flambana which stops along the way at the points with great views, a 2 hr boat ride through the fjords, a bud around the hills and waterfalls, and a train to Bergen. Altogether took about 14 hours, but it was really pretty! Bergen is a small city - very quaint, quiet, relaxing. I would have loved to spend more time there but only had one day, half of which was rainy. When the rain stopped, went to the castle and top of [View Full Entry]

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Stayed with a CSer the first night and we cooked a delicious meal of pasta, chicken, and tons of veggies!! Finished it off with some fine Swiss chocolate :) The next day, was out and about most of the day, really just enjoying walking around. I don't think Oslo is a very pretty city in terms of architecture but I did really like it. Went to the botanical gardens for awhile... I think the STL one is better but this was still very good. There were lots of cute kids - two girls learning to ride bikes, another girl playing with [View Full Entry]

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