Blogs from Europe - page 7

Well, we made it. That’s a bit of an accomplishment in itself I’d say. The kids are off at cool, the grownups are off to work, and, somehow, I’m supposed to be included in that ‘work’ status as well. That is to say that the work has finally begun. I guess there’s some first post explanation that needs to happen … First, Rachel (my beautiful girlfriend) and I are unofficially in Dieppe, France as au-pairs. What is an au-pair? Some people consider it a live-in nanny from another country, others a live-in language tutor. But really what it is is a live-in big brother or sister. Our base obligation is to be liked by the kids, and in doing so they are therefore exposed to a different culture as well as the language experience. Some families ... read more

It didn’t hail or sleet today! A “fine English rain” (the kind that comes straight down) showed up just as we left for Chesterfield to find a battery charger---just minutes after I realized that I no longer had my prescription sunglasses in my purse-or in the rental car—or in my jacket pocket---or in the couch under the cushions or in cousin John’s car. Shit! The good news is that we got a wham-bang-doozie of a universal battery charger that adapts to all of the various worldwide electrical volts that we might ever need. Crazy wonderful, I say! To get the charger we drove to Chesterfield and landed there on yet another Market Day. I was sorely tempted by the ankle length three tiered tie-dyed skirt with the mint green daisy-appliqued tee-shirt. My need to avoid hippy ... read more

Well, I'll just be quick the flight bit...crying all the way to the airport with my mum. So very emotional, but I got chatting to a lady in the queue for luggage check in and started to feel a bit better. All went pretty, smooth. I didn't even bleep when going through customs. Flight was ok, but I can see why Ryan air flights are the cheapest (not that I'm moaning). I got chatting the lady next to me who was lovely and I was getting excited. Arrived in Malaga.. A relief as I collected my backpack, which luckily was the 2nd down the conveyor belt and I strolled out into the foyer, took a deep breath and smiled. Found the taxi rank, the driver did not know where my hostel was so he gave me ... read more

''Then I got word that a loosely organized cybermob known as Anonymous was attempting to crash feminist sites, including Feministe, flooding comments sections with misogynist rants and threatening feminist bloggers with rape and other violence. This had happened before, but never with such organized force. : : A little background I lacked at the time: Anonymous was not formed to carry out an antifeminist agenda. Anonymous exists to create hostile chaos on the web—or, as Anonymous itself likes to put it, to produce “lulz.” Lulz, a corrupted form of “lols” (chat-room speak for “laughing out loud”), at its simplest translates to “laughs.” It’s used by a group of websites and message boards that are dedicated to a very particular brand of humor. What brings on lulz? Teenage suicide attempts, obscene experiments in Photoshopping, and anything else ... read more

Today we headed to the beach in the 5 lands. They are part of the UNESCO world heritage list. We had about 4 hours to explore the small town, and go for a swim/ hang out on the beach. We then travelled on a boat to get to La Spezia where we stayed the night. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling well, must have caught it from as she's just getting over her sickness so I went to bed early that night. It was a nice relaxing day, there wasn't any major sites we saw that day but it was a nice peaceful day.... read more

Today we headed back to Rome through Pisa. We took some pictures with the leaning tower of Pisa and had a competition to see who had the best one (we didn't win). Then we had our last pitt stop at Autogrill which we have been going to for our road breaks (it is also owned by the Pope), it's kind of like a mini supermarket combined with a place to sit and eat. Today is the last day we see our bus driver Alexandro, as his driving hours are up. He is an amazing driver and has to drive the bus down the narrowest streets in Italy (places you'd be scared to take your car down). He is very funny, speaks very little English and has the best fashion sense I have ever seen a bus ... read more

I'm sorry to say that Berlin really held no allure for me at all. Way too much construction, too much traffic, way too much materialism it was just a really a bit too much, with too much on top. The remaining wall with it's artwork was worth the effort and a tour on the Spree River was fun, informative and worth a redo. My trip to the top of the TV tower was exciting and the views were definitely impressive. My stop on Kurfemdamstrasse was a walk down any other major city fashion street complete with The Hard Rock Cafe and pricing astronomical. I would say that my best two experiences were visiting a small cemetery and seeing the beautiful bleeding hearts and my last night having dinner at Merhaba. The Turkish chef prepared wonderful egg ... read more

In an effort to escape the feeling that we are in an adult amusement park I walk into the farther reaches of Cannaregio, known as the original "ghetto". In old times Jews were second class citizens but as merchants and jewelers it was more efficient to have them in the city, but they were relegated to the outskirts. The area was quiet and some facades were crumbling, but it still has charm. We decide to escape the endless crowded alleys of Venice and make good use of our transport passes with a ferry ride to Burano, known for its hypercolorful colors, and Torcello, home of a basilica also with impressive mosaics. The 30 minute ride passes the floating cemetery and Murano, the island of glass blowers. Apparently the heat necessary to glass blowing was too much ... read more