After much thought, and a few flipped coins, I decided to stay at my current company. It came down to a simple question: if it weren't for this current contract I'm working on, would I be thinking about leaving? And the answer was no, that I enjoyed my job before said contract, so I'll be staying on here. I think it's the right decision, as it will give me more exposure to different and cutting edge technologies, and give me a chance to develop myself better than the other job. Only time will tell if it was the right decision, though.
Thanks to everyone who gave advice, and to my friends for offering their support.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Job Offer
So I've been in the process of interviewing for a new job the past two weeks. I was turned down for the job I really wanted (FAE), but later that day offered another role. It's not exactly my dream job, but I think it's a good role, and would provide some new and interesting challenges. The pay is a lot better, as are the benefits, but on the other hand, I feel some loyalty for my current company. They flew me home on short notice for a family emergency, even though I was supposed to come home the next week anyway, and they've treated me very well over the past year.
I have to decide by Monday at the latest, and I really don't know what to do. I'm leaning towards taking the new job, but it's based mainly on the compensation side, not the work side. And the fact that I have so many friends (okay, a couple of friends) at my current company isn't making it any easier.
At times like this I wonder how other people make these choices. I had a friend who used to flip a coin to decided everything (it went so poorly that I was actually supposed to shoot the coin later on). Other people are clinical and place the pros and cons on a chart, mapping out which is the better choice. Some go with their heart. Any advice on how I should approach making these choices?
I have to decide by Monday at the latest, and I really don't know what to do. I'm leaning towards taking the new job, but it's based mainly on the compensation side, not the work side. And the fact that I have so many friends (okay, a couple of friends) at my current company isn't making it any easier.
At times like this I wonder how other people make these choices. I had a friend who used to flip a coin to decided everything (it went so poorly that I was actually supposed to shoot the coin later on). Other people are clinical and place the pros and cons on a chart, mapping out which is the better choice. Some go with their heart. Any advice on how I should approach making these choices?
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Grey Cup 2006
It's that time of year again where my friends and I head out to a Canadian city, and at great expense, freeze our asses off watching a football game. That's right, it's Grey Cup time. This year was no exception, as we spent far more money than we should have, but had a great time. Some of the highlights include an all Thunder Bay pub crawl, GJ puking his guts out on a city bus, beat downs from the bouncers, and Special Ed showing some beer pong magic.
Friday. My flight doesn't leave until 5pm, so I've got time to kill. I get all packed, hope I don't forget anything, then head way the hell out to the back side of Orleans to pick up Jeff. When I show up, he's mostly ready, but forgot about the flag. How could you forget the flag, especially when you paid like $500 for it? After some searching, we ran out of time and had to head for the airport flag-less. Not a promising start, I must admit. Security is a breeze, flight is good, even if the inflight entertainment was broken, and there we are, in Winnipeg. A quick call to Mike, and Brandon is on his way to pick us up. 20 minutes later, he finally shows up, and off to McDonald's we go (none of us have eaten that day).
We get to the hotel, throw our bags in the room, and the beer drinking starts. Mike has a head start on everyone, but it can't last long. Once GJ wakes up, it's funnel time (he came straight from working nights). A few funnels later, it's time to get the gong show on the road, so we head down to a friends place for few more beers and the hallowed shirt ceremony. Every year we get team shirts made, with Thunder Bay Bombed Squad on the front, and Grey Cup (insert year here) on the back. White long sleeve shirts for the bars, blaze orange t-shirts to go over our jackets for the game. GJ and Mike gave small speeches, the shirts got handed out, and we passed out letters as well (captain, and two alternates). Then it was off to the convention center and Riderville.
We get to the convention center and try to find the Saskatchewan party. Thankfully there was some sort of incident going on at the time, so rather than wait in line we managed to walk straight in the back door. Unfortunately, the place is packed, and the bathroom is outside of the hall, so if you need to take a leak, you have to wait in line to get back in. The plus side is that the beer comes in cups, so if you're really desperate, you can always huddle up and refill the cups. Nothing says Grey Cup like a warm cup of piss. At least not with this crew. After about an hour of listening to Beatles covers, we decide it's time to head out to a bar, so off to Cowboy's we go.
With a name like Cowboy's, what kind of bar do you think it would be? A country bar, right? Well, so did we...and apparently it is, most nights. That night, however, it was disco night, complete with $16 cover. We still go in, but it's not what we were expecting. We had a good time (some of us, that is), and left a bit early (2am). A long ass cab ride, and it's back to the hotel for some food and another pitcher, then a good nights sleep.
Saturday. We got up bright and early in the afternoon (well, at 11) when Mike and Jeff's dad knocked at the door. After getting dressed and having a couple of beers, it was off for lunch across the street. More beer, huge burgers (triple fat boy burger anyone?), and a cute waitress later, it was off to the beer store for beer, and the grocery store for jungle juice mix. For those of you who don't know what jungle juice is, it's a case of beer, a 40 of vodka, and 4-6 cans of frozen fruit juice concentrate (no water). Add ice to chill. And that's it...almost pure booze. And it tastes like juice. This stuff is what gets us into trouble every year.
By this time, it's around 1 and we're ready for beer pong. Somehow, Al's buddy Special Ed is a machine at beer pong, going undefeated for most of the day until Mikey finally caught fire. By the end of it, we've gone through most of the juice and about 50 beer, so the guys were pretty good to go. And by good to go, I mean right gassed. During this time, GJ tried to BBQ some sausages for dinner, and manage to burn them all. I at least had the sense to go to Boston Pizza for dinner (mmm...cactus cut potatoes). We've bought tickets for a pub crawl, so it was time to head off to the Tijuana Yacht Club (the starting point).
We get to the TYC, and there is no one there, other than a hockey raffle group. And no one seems to know anything about this pub crawl. Turns out that we and our friends we've called up are the only ones on the damn crawl. Literally, it's all people from Thunder Bay, which means it's bound to get out of hand. We stick around the TYC for an hour or so (we're calling the shots on when we leave and where we go), then head off to Pharaohs. Pharaohs is dead, and entirely rap and R&B, which isn't our kind of music (most guys are wearing cowboy hats). Still, we spend a good 2 hours there, have fun, act like idiots, and get even more gassed. Even I started to partake in the drinking with a few shots.
11pm rolls around, the bus is back, and it's time to go. But not without stopping at the beer store next door to pick up a case, just to make things interesting. After all, it's a 30 minute drive to Silverados, so we need something to tide us over, right? At this point in the trip the TBay-ness starts to show as some of the guys get in a fight in the back (yes, we are all friends, but this is what happens at Grey Cup, every year). No one was hurt too badly, although GJ couldn't really stand without being in pain from a good kidney shot at one point.
A case of beer (and several broken bottles) later, we're at Silverados. This place is packed, and, unsurprisingly, the guys at the door had no idea we were coming, so they had to clear it with their managers to even let us in. Great job, Canad Inns. During this holdup, a couple of guys get in another fight with a random guy in the lineup, and GJ get's the boot. Kevin goes out to keep GJ company, and apparently they picked up another 6 beer, and won some money at the casino. Almost more fun than we had inside. We only planned on staying a little over an hour here, so we spread out, got some drinks, and hit the dance floor. Round up time came, and where is everyone? After some searching, we found Special Ed (I swear I was ready to haul him off the damn patio), then had to head back in for Kenny. Another 10 minutes of searching, we grab Kenny and off we go back to the TYC, but this time with 2 random people in tow. On the way out of the parking lot, the bus just about gets hit so the driver stands on the brakes. This wouldn't have been too bad if everyone was sitting, but a couple of guys went flying down the aisle...very funny indeed.
We finally get back to the TYC, wait in line to get in, then get told by management (literally the same guy who sold us the pub crawl pass) that anyone with the bracelet won't be allowed in, regardless of their current condition. Special Ed has already snuck in, though, so we can't leave without him. A couple of guys are also protesting and won't leave the lineup. After much arguing and posturing, we finally get most of the real agressive guys in a cab and on their way home, just in time. About 2 minutes later, as Mikey is coming out, Gribbs finally chirps the bouncers a little too much and is pulled out of the building. Gribbs pushes back, and next thing I know 6 guys have him on the ground, and one is elbowing him in the back as hard as he can. Most of this I see from the hood of a car as some guy sent me flying, probably because of the team shirt. Such fun. Another 30 minutes of Gribbs fighting with the bouncers, losing his glasses, and finally getting in a cab, and we call it a night.
Sunday. Game day. This is what it's all about. Five years running, and this is the best we've felt on game day by far, which means there's a lot more drinking to do. If only we weren't out of beer. A quick trip to Steve's for breakfast again, then down to the beer store for another case (only 15 beer this time...funds are running low). Combine that with the jungle juice, and it's game time before we know it. We hop on the bus, hit the stadium, and we're ready. While we're waiting outside for Robby to show up, some Argo cheerleaders try to get us to buy a calendar. Kevin tells her that if she can name the #1 reporter on The Score, he'll buy one. From the look on her face, it was "like I asked her the square root of pi or something". Honestly, she didn't even know what TSN was. And she's a cheerleader. Go figure.
A bunch of $7 beer and next thing we know it's kickoff. The game is pretty much covered on TSN and the like, so I'll leave that alone. Suffice it to say, the game was pretty boring with a lot of kicks. More fun was Mikey making an ass of himself, especially since some of his students (he's a high school teacher) were three rows down from us. I feel sorry for him today. I can only imagine what the rumours will be like. After the game, it's back on the bus so we can get changed before heading out to the Palemeno. GJ isn't doing so good right about now, as evidenced by him puking all over the bus. Those people just loved us.
Back at the hotel, we get changed, and half the guys go next door for food, the rest of us head down to the Pal. GJ heads back to the room to puke and die, Kevin and Brando head home, and Jeff joins Mike and I at the Pal. The moment Ms. Skinner sees him, she crawled over the bar and promptly informed Mike and I that "he's going home with me". Thankfully, impaired and all, Jeff had a bit more sense than that. More beer, more dancing, then it was off to the hotel for a nap, up at 7, and off to the airport. Every other year, the airport is packed the day after the game. This year, dead. No line ups, no nothing. I could have slept another hour...damn it. Plane takes off without incident, short flight back, I drop Jeff off, and it's another Grey Cup chapter in the books.
Let the planning start for next year....anyone know a good hotel in Toronto?
Friday. My flight doesn't leave until 5pm, so I've got time to kill. I get all packed, hope I don't forget anything, then head way the hell out to the back side of Orleans to pick up Jeff. When I show up, he's mostly ready, but forgot about the flag. How could you forget the flag, especially when you paid like $500 for it? After some searching, we ran out of time and had to head for the airport flag-less. Not a promising start, I must admit. Security is a breeze, flight is good, even if the inflight entertainment was broken, and there we are, in Winnipeg. A quick call to Mike, and Brandon is on his way to pick us up. 20 minutes later, he finally shows up, and off to McDonald's we go (none of us have eaten that day).
We get to the hotel, throw our bags in the room, and the beer drinking starts. Mike has a head start on everyone, but it can't last long. Once GJ wakes up, it's funnel time (he came straight from working nights). A few funnels later, it's time to get the gong show on the road, so we head down to a friends place for few more beers and the hallowed shirt ceremony. Every year we get team shirts made, with Thunder Bay Bombed Squad on the front, and Grey Cup (insert year here) on the back. White long sleeve shirts for the bars, blaze orange t-shirts to go over our jackets for the game. GJ and Mike gave small speeches, the shirts got handed out, and we passed out letters as well (captain, and two alternates). Then it was off to the convention center and Riderville.
We get to the convention center and try to find the Saskatchewan party. Thankfully there was some sort of incident going on at the time, so rather than wait in line we managed to walk straight in the back door. Unfortunately, the place is packed, and the bathroom is outside of the hall, so if you need to take a leak, you have to wait in line to get back in. The plus side is that the beer comes in cups, so if you're really desperate, you can always huddle up and refill the cups. Nothing says Grey Cup like a warm cup of piss. At least not with this crew. After about an hour of listening to Beatles covers, we decide it's time to head out to a bar, so off to Cowboy's we go.
With a name like Cowboy's, what kind of bar do you think it would be? A country bar, right? Well, so did we...and apparently it is, most nights. That night, however, it was disco night, complete with $16 cover. We still go in, but it's not what we were expecting. We had a good time (some of us, that is), and left a bit early (2am). A long ass cab ride, and it's back to the hotel for some food and another pitcher, then a good nights sleep.
Saturday. We got up bright and early in the afternoon (well, at 11) when Mike and Jeff's dad knocked at the door. After getting dressed and having a couple of beers, it was off for lunch across the street. More beer, huge burgers (triple fat boy burger anyone?), and a cute waitress later, it was off to the beer store for beer, and the grocery store for jungle juice mix. For those of you who don't know what jungle juice is, it's a case of beer, a 40 of vodka, and 4-6 cans of frozen fruit juice concentrate (no water). Add ice to chill. And that's it...almost pure booze. And it tastes like juice. This stuff is what gets us into trouble every year.
By this time, it's around 1 and we're ready for beer pong. Somehow, Al's buddy Special Ed is a machine at beer pong, going undefeated for most of the day until Mikey finally caught fire. By the end of it, we've gone through most of the juice and about 50 beer, so the guys were pretty good to go. And by good to go, I mean right gassed. During this time, GJ tried to BBQ some sausages for dinner, and manage to burn them all. I at least had the sense to go to Boston Pizza for dinner (mmm...cactus cut potatoes). We've bought tickets for a pub crawl, so it was time to head off to the Tijuana Yacht Club (the starting point).
We get to the TYC, and there is no one there, other than a hockey raffle group. And no one seems to know anything about this pub crawl. Turns out that we and our friends we've called up are the only ones on the damn crawl. Literally, it's all people from Thunder Bay, which means it's bound to get out of hand. We stick around the TYC for an hour or so (we're calling the shots on when we leave and where we go), then head off to Pharaohs. Pharaohs is dead, and entirely rap and R&B, which isn't our kind of music (most guys are wearing cowboy hats). Still, we spend a good 2 hours there, have fun, act like idiots, and get even more gassed. Even I started to partake in the drinking with a few shots.
11pm rolls around, the bus is back, and it's time to go. But not without stopping at the beer store next door to pick up a case, just to make things interesting. After all, it's a 30 minute drive to Silverados, so we need something to tide us over, right? At this point in the trip the TBay-ness starts to show as some of the guys get in a fight in the back (yes, we are all friends, but this is what happens at Grey Cup, every year). No one was hurt too badly, although GJ couldn't really stand without being in pain from a good kidney shot at one point.
A case of beer (and several broken bottles) later, we're at Silverados. This place is packed, and, unsurprisingly, the guys at the door had no idea we were coming, so they had to clear it with their managers to even let us in. Great job, Canad Inns. During this holdup, a couple of guys get in another fight with a random guy in the lineup, and GJ get's the boot. Kevin goes out to keep GJ company, and apparently they picked up another 6 beer, and won some money at the casino. Almost more fun than we had inside. We only planned on staying a little over an hour here, so we spread out, got some drinks, and hit the dance floor. Round up time came, and where is everyone? After some searching, we found Special Ed (I swear I was ready to haul him off the damn patio), then had to head back in for Kenny. Another 10 minutes of searching, we grab Kenny and off we go back to the TYC, but this time with 2 random people in tow. On the way out of the parking lot, the bus just about gets hit so the driver stands on the brakes. This wouldn't have been too bad if everyone was sitting, but a couple of guys went flying down the aisle...very funny indeed.
We finally get back to the TYC, wait in line to get in, then get told by management (literally the same guy who sold us the pub crawl pass) that anyone with the bracelet won't be allowed in, regardless of their current condition. Special Ed has already snuck in, though, so we can't leave without him. A couple of guys are also protesting and won't leave the lineup. After much arguing and posturing, we finally get most of the real agressive guys in a cab and on their way home, just in time. About 2 minutes later, as Mikey is coming out, Gribbs finally chirps the bouncers a little too much and is pulled out of the building. Gribbs pushes back, and next thing I know 6 guys have him on the ground, and one is elbowing him in the back as hard as he can. Most of this I see from the hood of a car as some guy sent me flying, probably because of the team shirt. Such fun. Another 30 minutes of Gribbs fighting with the bouncers, losing his glasses, and finally getting in a cab, and we call it a night.
Sunday. Game day. This is what it's all about. Five years running, and this is the best we've felt on game day by far, which means there's a lot more drinking to do. If only we weren't out of beer. A quick trip to Steve's for breakfast again, then down to the beer store for another case (only 15 beer this time...funds are running low). Combine that with the jungle juice, and it's game time before we know it. We hop on the bus, hit the stadium, and we're ready. While we're waiting outside for Robby to show up, some Argo cheerleaders try to get us to buy a calendar. Kevin tells her that if she can name the #1 reporter on The Score, he'll buy one. From the look on her face, it was "like I asked her the square root of pi or something". Honestly, she didn't even know what TSN was. And she's a cheerleader. Go figure.
A bunch of $7 beer and next thing we know it's kickoff. The game is pretty much covered on TSN and the like, so I'll leave that alone. Suffice it to say, the game was pretty boring with a lot of kicks. More fun was Mikey making an ass of himself, especially since some of his students (he's a high school teacher) were three rows down from us. I feel sorry for him today. I can only imagine what the rumours will be like. After the game, it's back on the bus so we can get changed before heading out to the Palemeno. GJ isn't doing so good right about now, as evidenced by him puking all over the bus. Those people just loved us.
Back at the hotel, we get changed, and half the guys go next door for food, the rest of us head down to the Pal. GJ heads back to the room to puke and die, Kevin and Brando head home, and Jeff joins Mike and I at the Pal. The moment Ms. Skinner sees him, she crawled over the bar and promptly informed Mike and I that "he's going home with me". Thankfully, impaired and all, Jeff had a bit more sense than that. More beer, more dancing, then it was off to the hotel for a nap, up at 7, and off to the airport. Every other year, the airport is packed the day after the game. This year, dead. No line ups, no nothing. I could have slept another hour...damn it. Plane takes off without incident, short flight back, I drop Jeff off, and it's another Grey Cup chapter in the books.
Let the planning start for next year....anyone know a good hotel in Toronto?
Monday, November 13, 2006
Weekend-y goodness
This weekend, some friends and I decided to check out Borat. Now, I don't have cable at home, or internet access, and I've been out of the country for most of the past few months, so I know little to nothing about pretty much every movie in theatres now and coming out soon (there's a new Bond?), so it was a bit of a surprise for me.
We all enjoyed the movie as it's the hardest we've laughed in a long time. That being said, it's not a movie that any of us thought that we need to see again. The biggest question we had coming out of the movie is "how is that only rated 14AA?". There were more than a few scenes of questionable content, especially seeing how other media is rated (video games and the like). Why is it the moment there is violence, the rating goes straight to R, but (spoiler warning) you can show a couple of naked guys wrestling and ending up in sexualy implicit poses and still be 14AA? It just doesn't make any sense to me.
Anywho, that's my two cents on it.
We all enjoyed the movie as it's the hardest we've laughed in a long time. That being said, it's not a movie that any of us thought that we need to see again. The biggest question we had coming out of the movie is "how is that only rated 14AA?". There were more than a few scenes of questionable content, especially seeing how other media is rated (video games and the like). Why is it the moment there is violence, the rating goes straight to R, but (spoiler warning) you can show a couple of naked guys wrestling and ending up in sexualy implicit poses and still be 14AA? It just doesn't make any sense to me.
Anywho, that's my two cents on it.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
The reason I'm back
I was supposed to get back to Ottawa this past weekend, but due to a family emergency of sorts (my mom had surgery for a detached retina), I flew in a week early. Everything went smoothly, and she already has some sight back in her damaged eye, so it looks promising. Why bring this up you ask? Because of my girlfriends attitude towards me during the past week.
I came back because my mom was shipped off to Ottawa on a couple of days notice for eye surgery. Her parents passed away in 74 and 05, and my father died in 04. My sisters are stuck at work in Edmonton and Thunder Bay. The rest of the family is scattered throughout Northwestern Ontario. In a nutshell, I'm the only person within a 1000 km. As a result, I asked my boss for an early flight, and my company, thankfully, was very accommodating, so I was on a plane within 2 days (I'd been working in Italy for the previous 5 weeks, minus 8 days in Japan).
When I get back to Ottawa, all I get is pressure from my girlfriend to ditch my mom and spend time with her. Now, I can understand her being happy to see me, and wanting to spend time with me now that I'm back, but she got very upset when I tried to spend even one night alone with my mom. Or at least I interpreted the crying and yelling to be her getting upset...I could be wrong. Does anyone out there think that this is appropriate? I would have thought that she'd be more understanding of how I came back to support my mom. She's in town for maybe a week for surgery, which she is worried about, and all I get is flak about "needing us time".
Does anyone else think this is an unreasonable approach from her? Or am I the one who is overreacting?
I came back because my mom was shipped off to Ottawa on a couple of days notice for eye surgery. Her parents passed away in 74 and 05, and my father died in 04. My sisters are stuck at work in Edmonton and Thunder Bay. The rest of the family is scattered throughout Northwestern Ontario. In a nutshell, I'm the only person within a 1000 km. As a result, I asked my boss for an early flight, and my company, thankfully, was very accommodating, so I was on a plane within 2 days (I'd been working in Italy for the previous 5 weeks, minus 8 days in Japan).
When I get back to Ottawa, all I get is pressure from my girlfriend to ditch my mom and spend time with her. Now, I can understand her being happy to see me, and wanting to spend time with me now that I'm back, but she got very upset when I tried to spend even one night alone with my mom. Or at least I interpreted the crying and yelling to be her getting upset...I could be wrong. Does anyone out there think that this is appropriate? I would have thought that she'd be more understanding of how I came back to support my mom. She's in town for maybe a week for surgery, which she is worried about, and all I get is flak about "needing us time".
Does anyone else think this is an unreasonable approach from her? Or am I the one who is overreacting?
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Japan Pictures
Hakone
Stinky Egg Place
So, which button flushes the toilet?
See? My feet aren't that big
Money Laundering, Japanese Style
As you can see, Brian wishes he had a smaller bill than 10000 Yen (~$100)
I swear I did not photoshop this picture
For afterwork stress relief. And yes, that's 4 litres.
Shopping Street
Downtown Tokyo
Downtown Tokyo II
Rainbow Bridge (and no, I don't know how it got it's name)
Me with the dancing robot
Brian's future father-in-law, now with bullet trains
Bullet Trains II
The Royal Palace
Tamie's dad and me...he rocks
Me and my gracious hosts
Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower II
AsakusaThe conclusion - pictures to come
Thursday.
Thursday was the first day that I had a proper guide (sorry Brian) since Tamie had left for China. Tamie’s dad spent the day with Brian and I, showing us the sights. The day started off quite early with a train ride out to the middle of nowhere, where we met up with Tamie’s dad to grab the bullet train (Shinkansen) back into Tokyo. While it took us an hour and a half to get out there, it was less than an hour to get back into Tokyo, and we started 40 minutes outside of Tokyo, so it was much faster. The train was awesome, and far roomier than any other mode of travel I’ve used, other than a limo. When we arrived at Tokyo Station, we wandered around the platforms taking pictures of the different types of Shinkansen trains as there is apparently more than one. They even have a double decker…it was neat.
After that, it was off to a giant bookstore to pick up a guide book and some postcards for me. A big thanks to Mr. Akimori-san for that. Then off to the Imperial Palace for a quick tour (most of it is closed to the public) and some pictures. Since there isn’t all that much to see at the Palace, we grabbed a cab to the train station, stopping off at the Diet buildings (their Parliament buildings) for some pictures. After quick train trip to Kudanshita (I think, I kinda forget which stations we stopped at), we stopped for a traditional Japanese bento lunch. Or something like a bento lunch…I think bento implies takeout. It was pretty good, although I must admit that I’m not a fan of tofu. Then it was off to Yasukuni shrine, a memorial to all of Japan’s war dead. More pictures, a brief stop at a museum, then off to Asakusa.
Asakusa is a really cool place in Tokyo…there is a large shrine there, but leading up to the shrine is a market street lined with stalls where you can get all sorts of traditional (and not so traditional) Japanese gifts. Again, Mr. Akimori-san was far too generous, and picked up another gift for me. Man, I swear I’ve got to send him half of Ontario to show my appreciation for the time he show me. We wandered around the area for a while, taking lots of pictures and seeing cool things before deciding to call it a night. Rather than just take the train back to Shinjuku, we hopped on a water bus and got a new view of Tokyo. Only problem was the boat was designed for Japanese people…I hit my shoulders on the roof when I stood up straight. At the station, Brian and I parted ways with Mr. Akimori, as we were heading back to Akihabara to find me a maid café.
Getting off at the station, it was promising when there were half a dozen maids passing out flyers outside. We asked for a picture with a group of three, but were quickly informed that had we tried, we would be cuffed and arrested. Either that or they wanted us to handcuff them…I hope we interpreted correctly. After that disappointment, we headed off in search of the maid café from earlier in the week. Problem with finding it is that we didn’t really remember where it was. After about 20 minutes of wandering, we found the place, but to my disappointment, the cute English speaking girl wasn’t working. So we hurried through our drinks and took off, as being ignored wasn’t the experience I was looking for. We then decided to ask all the girls in the street to see if we could find one where they do speak English. Ten minutes later, we discovered how anti-English the maid cafés really are…not a single one spoke English, and all seemed very pleased when we left.
To put this disappointment behind us, I decided that tonight would be the night that I finally try sake, so after a dinner at an Izakaya (Japanese-style bar…we had to take our shoes off), we headed back over to Brian’s usual haunt, Cathy and Edwards. Exxon guy was there when we got there, and I was informed that we would be getting a special sake treat, care of him. He had picked up a bottle of high end sake from a friend, and had given it to the bartender to take care of. Both Brian and I ended up getting two free drinks that evening, which in a normal place would have cost around $40 a glass. Pretty sweet deal, and the sake was awesome. Too bad I’ll never find any near as good in Canada.
All in all, a fantastic day, and a big thank you to Tamie’s dad for being our guide.
Friday.
Friday was a Kevin goes exploring on his own day, as Brian had to go back to work. Up at 9:30, a quick shower, and out the door I go. I decided to check out the beach on my last day in Japan, so it was down to the train station for an adventure. Thankfully all the stars aligned, and I pretty much just had to catch the first train at every station to get where I was going…I swear, it worked out perfectly. If only the weather had been nicer…it cooled off in a hurry in the afternoon. Anywho, I got to the right station easily enough, and then made my way towards the beach by following anyone carrying a surfboard. Worked like a charm. This is where Brian goes surfing, and the waves were pretty good in my opinion, although it was a windy day, so they might have been a bit larger than normal.
Walked down the beach a bit, then walked out to Oceania Island, which is a nice nature preserve and tourist trap rolled into one. A lot of eagles flying around, riding the thermals, and I got one or two nice pictures. Wish I had more optical zoom, though, as the pics could still be better. Up and down the island I walked (a lot of hills and stairs), and I even got to take some pictures from atop a tower on the island…an awesome view, but it was a bit cloudy and hazy, so I’m sure it could have been better. Still, well worth the $5. By this time it’s around 3:30, so I head back towards the beach, stop off at Denny’s for lunch (much different from North America), and give Brian a call to see what the plans for the evening are.
I’m pretty much beached out, and it’s getting cold (at least for the t-shirt I’m in), so we decide to meet up at Machida (station by Brian’s place with a lot of shops) for dinner. A bit of wandering around the area leads us to a mall for dinner. Good times were had by all, although I should have tried harder to pick up the waitress, even if just for funniness factor. We headed back to Shin-Yurigaoka to find a bar, and hit two places. The first was a total sausage party, so we didn’t stay too long, then it was off to the second place where there were at least some women. One of them even spoke English and tried to help us order (the bartender was trying to ditch us). Unfortunately, she turned down my offer to join us . Oh well.
Back to Brian’s where I finished packing and burned a DVD with all of the pictures that both Brian and I took, and it was off to bed. After all, I had to be on the 8AM bus in the morning, so I needed my sleep. I was woken up during the night by an earthquake though, just to make my experience complete.
Saturday.
Up at 7:30, a quick shower, and out the door. Said my goodbyes to Brian, caught the bus with plenty of time, and had no problems at the airport (thankfully). All in all, a great trip, and I can’t wait to go back, whenever that may be.
Thursday was the first day that I had a proper guide (sorry Brian) since Tamie had left for China. Tamie’s dad spent the day with Brian and I, showing us the sights. The day started off quite early with a train ride out to the middle of nowhere, where we met up with Tamie’s dad to grab the bullet train (Shinkansen) back into Tokyo. While it took us an hour and a half to get out there, it was less than an hour to get back into Tokyo, and we started 40 minutes outside of Tokyo, so it was much faster. The train was awesome, and far roomier than any other mode of travel I’ve used, other than a limo. When we arrived at Tokyo Station, we wandered around the platforms taking pictures of the different types of Shinkansen trains as there is apparently more than one. They even have a double decker…it was neat.
After that, it was off to a giant bookstore to pick up a guide book and some postcards for me. A big thanks to Mr. Akimori-san for that. Then off to the Imperial Palace for a quick tour (most of it is closed to the public) and some pictures. Since there isn’t all that much to see at the Palace, we grabbed a cab to the train station, stopping off at the Diet buildings (their Parliament buildings) for some pictures. After quick train trip to Kudanshita (I think, I kinda forget which stations we stopped at), we stopped for a traditional Japanese bento lunch. Or something like a bento lunch…I think bento implies takeout. It was pretty good, although I must admit that I’m not a fan of tofu. Then it was off to Yasukuni shrine, a memorial to all of Japan’s war dead. More pictures, a brief stop at a museum, then off to Asakusa.
Asakusa is a really cool place in Tokyo…there is a large shrine there, but leading up to the shrine is a market street lined with stalls where you can get all sorts of traditional (and not so traditional) Japanese gifts. Again, Mr. Akimori-san was far too generous, and picked up another gift for me. Man, I swear I’ve got to send him half of Ontario to show my appreciation for the time he show me. We wandered around the area for a while, taking lots of pictures and seeing cool things before deciding to call it a night. Rather than just take the train back to Shinjuku, we hopped on a water bus and got a new view of Tokyo. Only problem was the boat was designed for Japanese people…I hit my shoulders on the roof when I stood up straight. At the station, Brian and I parted ways with Mr. Akimori, as we were heading back to Akihabara to find me a maid café.
Getting off at the station, it was promising when there were half a dozen maids passing out flyers outside. We asked for a picture with a group of three, but were quickly informed that had we tried, we would be cuffed and arrested. Either that or they wanted us to handcuff them…I hope we interpreted correctly. After that disappointment, we headed off in search of the maid café from earlier in the week. Problem with finding it is that we didn’t really remember where it was. After about 20 minutes of wandering, we found the place, but to my disappointment, the cute English speaking girl wasn’t working. So we hurried through our drinks and took off, as being ignored wasn’t the experience I was looking for. We then decided to ask all the girls in the street to see if we could find one where they do speak English. Ten minutes later, we discovered how anti-English the maid cafés really are…not a single one spoke English, and all seemed very pleased when we left.
To put this disappointment behind us, I decided that tonight would be the night that I finally try sake, so after a dinner at an Izakaya (Japanese-style bar…we had to take our shoes off), we headed back over to Brian’s usual haunt, Cathy and Edwards. Exxon guy was there when we got there, and I was informed that we would be getting a special sake treat, care of him. He had picked up a bottle of high end sake from a friend, and had given it to the bartender to take care of. Both Brian and I ended up getting two free drinks that evening, which in a normal place would have cost around $40 a glass. Pretty sweet deal, and the sake was awesome. Too bad I’ll never find any near as good in Canada.
All in all, a fantastic day, and a big thank you to Tamie’s dad for being our guide.
Friday.
Friday was a Kevin goes exploring on his own day, as Brian had to go back to work. Up at 9:30, a quick shower, and out the door I go. I decided to check out the beach on my last day in Japan, so it was down to the train station for an adventure. Thankfully all the stars aligned, and I pretty much just had to catch the first train at every station to get where I was going…I swear, it worked out perfectly. If only the weather had been nicer…it cooled off in a hurry in the afternoon. Anywho, I got to the right station easily enough, and then made my way towards the beach by following anyone carrying a surfboard. Worked like a charm. This is where Brian goes surfing, and the waves were pretty good in my opinion, although it was a windy day, so they might have been a bit larger than normal.
Walked down the beach a bit, then walked out to Oceania Island, which is a nice nature preserve and tourist trap rolled into one. A lot of eagles flying around, riding the thermals, and I got one or two nice pictures. Wish I had more optical zoom, though, as the pics could still be better. Up and down the island I walked (a lot of hills and stairs), and I even got to take some pictures from atop a tower on the island…an awesome view, but it was a bit cloudy and hazy, so I’m sure it could have been better. Still, well worth the $5. By this time it’s around 3:30, so I head back towards the beach, stop off at Denny’s for lunch (much different from North America), and give Brian a call to see what the plans for the evening are.
I’m pretty much beached out, and it’s getting cold (at least for the t-shirt I’m in), so we decide to meet up at Machida (station by Brian’s place with a lot of shops) for dinner. A bit of wandering around the area leads us to a mall for dinner. Good times were had by all, although I should have tried harder to pick up the waitress, even if just for funniness factor. We headed back to Shin-Yurigaoka to find a bar, and hit two places. The first was a total sausage party, so we didn’t stay too long, then it was off to the second place where there were at least some women. One of them even spoke English and tried to help us order (the bartender was trying to ditch us). Unfortunately, she turned down my offer to join us . Oh well.
Back to Brian’s where I finished packing and burned a DVD with all of the pictures that both Brian and I took, and it was off to bed. After all, I had to be on the 8AM bus in the morning, so I needed my sleep. I was woken up during the night by an earthquake though, just to make my experience complete.
Saturday.
Up at 7:30, a quick shower, and out the door. Said my goodbyes to Brian, caught the bus with plenty of time, and had no problems at the airport (thankfully). All in all, a great trip, and I can’t wait to go back, whenever that may be.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Japan: Tuesday and Wednesday
Tuesday.
A really late start to the day as there was an accident on the train line. Everything was delayed a few hours, and as a result, we didn’t really start the day until 3 or so. We headed off to Akihabara, which is the electronics district in Tokyo. A lot of big electronics shops selling everything imaginable. It’s also home to a unique type of café called a maid café. In these establishments, the waitresses are all cute young girls dressed up in maid outfits. Naturally, the prices are a bit higher for the atmosphere, but I had a good time. We found a small little place, out of the way, that had a really cute girl who even spoke some English. A good time indeed.
After taking off from Akihabara, we headed off to Tokyo bay and the Odaiba area. There we found a lot of the sights that I wanted to take in the next day, including the Emerging Sciences museum and a car museum. We also got to see the Rainbow bridge (very cool) and a ferris wheel that was all lit up…a striking sight. There was also a huge Coke store in the area that we stopped by, where I got my picture with the famous Coke polar bear. I was in heaven.
Back to the station, back to Shin-yurigaoka, and off to one of Brian’s favourite bars, Cathy and Edwards. It’s name was apparently picked to give it a classy, non-Japanese feel. It certainly was a classy place with jazz playing softly in the background, and a really awesome atmosphere. The bartender was great, and spoke excellent English. We had a few beers/cokes, and I even got hit on my an Japanese woman. If only I had been the one drinking, she might have looked good enough to take home. Not sure that there is enough booze in the world, though, to cover up the chain smoking. A couple of hours later (around 3 am, I think), we extracted ourselves from the bar and headed back home for the night.
Wednesday.
Today is the day for some upper-class shopping. Window shopping, that is. I can barely afford to look at the crap they have on sale here it’s so expensive. Found some really nice jewellery for several thousand dollars, though. After a couple of hours wandering about (and checking out a really cool toystore), it was back to Odaiba to actually make it into the museums, where we got to see Asimo (Honda robot) dance. It was pretty cool. At this point it was starting to drizzle, so we decided to head off to Roppongi Hills for some at home love.
Roppongi Hills is supposed to be where all the ex-patriots go to unwind and enjoy a taste of home. Now, I can’t speak for everyone, but unless you live in a sleazy part of town, it won’t remind you of home. Again, lots of black guys asking you to go to clubs, women offering “services”, and more titty bars than I’ve ever seen before. There is a nice upscale part a few blocks away, though, that offered excellent views of Tokyo and more upscale shopping. Problem is, they kinda frown on two white guys in shorts and sandals there. We did manage to grab dinner, though. It was an awesome restaurant with an indoor waterfall…not really sure why it was there, but it was cool. We were easily the worst dressed in the entire place. Easily.
Then, like every night, after a bit more wandering it was back to Shin-yurigaoka for a night cap (this time at Woodstocks, where we had garlic potatoes and caught part of Goodfellas) and a good nights rest.
A really late start to the day as there was an accident on the train line. Everything was delayed a few hours, and as a result, we didn’t really start the day until 3 or so. We headed off to Akihabara, which is the electronics district in Tokyo. A lot of big electronics shops selling everything imaginable. It’s also home to a unique type of café called a maid café. In these establishments, the waitresses are all cute young girls dressed up in maid outfits. Naturally, the prices are a bit higher for the atmosphere, but I had a good time. We found a small little place, out of the way, that had a really cute girl who even spoke some English. A good time indeed.
After taking off from Akihabara, we headed off to Tokyo bay and the Odaiba area. There we found a lot of the sights that I wanted to take in the next day, including the Emerging Sciences museum and a car museum. We also got to see the Rainbow bridge (very cool) and a ferris wheel that was all lit up…a striking sight. There was also a huge Coke store in the area that we stopped by, where I got my picture with the famous Coke polar bear. I was in heaven.
Back to the station, back to Shin-yurigaoka, and off to one of Brian’s favourite bars, Cathy and Edwards. It’s name was apparently picked to give it a classy, non-Japanese feel. It certainly was a classy place with jazz playing softly in the background, and a really awesome atmosphere. The bartender was great, and spoke excellent English. We had a few beers/cokes, and I even got hit on my an Japanese woman. If only I had been the one drinking, she might have looked good enough to take home. Not sure that there is enough booze in the world, though, to cover up the chain smoking. A couple of hours later (around 3 am, I think), we extracted ourselves from the bar and headed back home for the night.
Wednesday.
Today is the day for some upper-class shopping. Window shopping, that is. I can barely afford to look at the crap they have on sale here it’s so expensive. Found some really nice jewellery for several thousand dollars, though. After a couple of hours wandering about (and checking out a really cool toystore), it was back to Odaiba to actually make it into the museums, where we got to see Asimo (Honda robot) dance. It was pretty cool. At this point it was starting to drizzle, so we decided to head off to Roppongi Hills for some at home love.
Roppongi Hills is supposed to be where all the ex-patriots go to unwind and enjoy a taste of home. Now, I can’t speak for everyone, but unless you live in a sleazy part of town, it won’t remind you of home. Again, lots of black guys asking you to go to clubs, women offering “services”, and more titty bars than I’ve ever seen before. There is a nice upscale part a few blocks away, though, that offered excellent views of Tokyo and more upscale shopping. Problem is, they kinda frown on two white guys in shorts and sandals there. We did manage to grab dinner, though. It was an awesome restaurant with an indoor waterfall…not really sure why it was there, but it was cool. We were easily the worst dressed in the entire place. Easily.
Then, like every night, after a bit more wandering it was back to Shin-yurigaoka for a night cap (this time at Woodstocks, where we had garlic potatoes and caught part of Goodfellas) and a good nights rest.
Friday, October 20, 2006
What a way to start the week
Monday...huh.
Monday morning was another early morning, as we had to pack up (we would be staying at Brian’s place from here on out). The only problem was that the late nights had taken the energy out of Tamie, so she wasn’t feeling too good by the time we got to Brian’s place, and decided to head home for sleep. She felt great the next day, so it was obviously the right decision, especially since she was due back in China on Wednesday (or was it Thursday?).
Anywho, after Tamie took off (around 1), Brian and I headed into Tokyo proper to check out the sights. We hit up Harajuku and the Meiji Shrine there, took some pictures of a family dressed up (I’ll post pics later), did some window shopping in Harajuku (teen fashion place), and grabbed lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s. After that, some more wandering, picked up some allergy pills (I had to cave, my sneezing was just ridiculous), and headed off to Shibuya. Shibuya is famous for it’s bright lights and billboards, like Times Square in New York, so this was my first experience in what I would call “my expected Tokyo”. I also saw the coolest parking garage ever…you drove your car in, where it was lifted away on a ferris wheel like thing, and when you backed out, there was a turntable on the sidewalk to turn your car around. Very cool. We ended up at a pub for dinner, where Brian enjoyed the smallest chicken wings I have ever seen. Honestly, they weren’t much bigger than my pinky finger around.
Then it was off to Shinjuku to (hopefully) find a really tall building to get some pictures of Tokyo from. Problem was, Brian picked the wrong exit from the station, so rather than end up in a brightly lit area, we were in the dark, and no where near where we wanted to go. After some aimless wandering, I ended up following a bright billboard which lead (completely accidentally) to the Park Hyatt Hotel, which was a place I wanted to visit. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed in thanks to Brian’s shorts and sandals, but we got to take some cool pictures. After that, we headed back towards Shinjuku station, where we found all the neon lights and the side of the station Brian was looking for earlier. Much more Tokyo-like in my opinion. Also much seedier as we were approached by hookers and many guys trying to get us to “come, try our club…completely naked nice Japanese girls. All you can drink!”. Very sleazy. I swear, if you see a black guy in Tokyo, don’t make eye contact…they will hunt you down otherwise.
After some searching, we found a karaoke place where we ended the night. A super classy place, it had some naked ladies on the walls, and posted naked pictures of women between songs. Oh, and smelt like an ashtray. Still, it was a good time, and a nice way to end the night.
Monday morning was another early morning, as we had to pack up (we would be staying at Brian’s place from here on out). The only problem was that the late nights had taken the energy out of Tamie, so she wasn’t feeling too good by the time we got to Brian’s place, and decided to head home for sleep. She felt great the next day, so it was obviously the right decision, especially since she was due back in China on Wednesday (or was it Thursday?).
Anywho, after Tamie took off (around 1), Brian and I headed into Tokyo proper to check out the sights. We hit up Harajuku and the Meiji Shrine there, took some pictures of a family dressed up (I’ll post pics later), did some window shopping in Harajuku (teen fashion place), and grabbed lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s. After that, some more wandering, picked up some allergy pills (I had to cave, my sneezing was just ridiculous), and headed off to Shibuya. Shibuya is famous for it’s bright lights and billboards, like Times Square in New York, so this was my first experience in what I would call “my expected Tokyo”. I also saw the coolest parking garage ever…you drove your car in, where it was lifted away on a ferris wheel like thing, and when you backed out, there was a turntable on the sidewalk to turn your car around. Very cool. We ended up at a pub for dinner, where Brian enjoyed the smallest chicken wings I have ever seen. Honestly, they weren’t much bigger than my pinky finger around.
Then it was off to Shinjuku to (hopefully) find a really tall building to get some pictures of Tokyo from. Problem was, Brian picked the wrong exit from the station, so rather than end up in a brightly lit area, we were in the dark, and no where near where we wanted to go. After some aimless wandering, I ended up following a bright billboard which lead (completely accidentally) to the Park Hyatt Hotel, which was a place I wanted to visit. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed in thanks to Brian’s shorts and sandals, but we got to take some cool pictures. After that, we headed back towards Shinjuku station, where we found all the neon lights and the side of the station Brian was looking for earlier. Much more Tokyo-like in my opinion. Also much seedier as we were approached by hookers and many guys trying to get us to “come, try our club…completely naked nice Japanese girls. All you can drink!”. Very sleazy. I swear, if you see a black guy in Tokyo, don’t make eye contact…they will hunt you down otherwise.
After some searching, we found a karaoke place where we ended the night. A super classy place, it had some naked ladies on the walls, and posted naked pictures of women between songs. Oh, and smelt like an ashtray. Still, it was a good time, and a nice way to end the night.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
The weekend
Saturday.
That early start ended up being a bit later than expected as we didn't roll out until 10 or so. Apparently no one wanted to wake me up (go figure). After grabbing fairly quick breakfast (rice, natto, and apples, I think), it was off to Hakone and the Stinky Egg place (it has a real name, but I can't remember it). The drive up to SEP was fun, as it was basically bumper to bumper traffic the entire way up the mountain. If it weren’t for the fact that we didn’t want to abandon Tamie and the car, it would have been much faster to just walk up the hill. Once we finally got to SEP, there were these hot springs in which they cook black eggs. Now, if you eat one of these eggs, it's reputed to add 7 years to your life. Eat two and you add 14 years. Not sure what eating three would get you, other than gas. We ended up getting a dozen (6 for us, 6 for Tamie's dad), and ate the 6. Guess that means I have 7 more years of this life to look forward to, at least. After that, we zipped down the mountain to Hakone where we wandered around, checking out a historic checkpoint that was used to monitor movement around the country. We also took a walk around the area, seeing some ancient redwood trees that were absolutely mammoth.
Back down the mountain we headed, off to check out a Japanese bath house. Not a traditional one, thankfully, as I got to keep a swimsuit on and hang out with women J. This place was huge, with many different pools, each with a theme. For example, there were green tea pools, sake pools, wine pools, and sea salt pools. It was definitely a different experience, and a lot of fun. Even if all the swimming while suffering from jet lag did want to make me hurl.
After all of that, it was off to find a place that serves Kevin-friendly food. This being Japan and all, it’s a bit harder than it sounds, at least outside of Tokyo. After trying an all-you-can-eat place to no avail, we ended up at an Italian place for dinner. Considering I had just flown in from Italy, it was kinda funny. I must say, the Italian on the menu wasn’t all that bad, although they did have a pizza named wrong. After dinner, it was off to karaoke. Who knew you could sing for 2 hours straight? Man was my throat sore. Everyone else's ears, too. It was a great time, though, and I’m glad to have gone.
Sunday.
The plan for Sunday was to head off to Enoshima to check out the beach, as well as head to Kamakura to explore the temples there. We ended up just driving past the beach and focusing on the temples as it was extremely busy (long weekend + nice weather). After parking the car we stopped at this cool store that sold swords and throwing stars. Man, if I could get that stuff through customs, I would have had a field day there. First temple was this place with a huge (and I mean gianormous) statue of Buddha. Very cool indeed. Very popular too. After that, it was off to a second temple where you got to take part in money launderying. Apparently it’s good luck to wash money at this temple, and so we all partook in the activity. It was funny to see the look of fear in Brian’s eyes as he dumped water all over his crisp new 10,000 yen note ($100). The temple itself was cool as it was in the side of a hill/mountain, and the entrance was a tunnel.
After that, it was a quick jog over to the last temple of the day, on top of a hill. Fantastic view, and we got to rub a god of money. Weird tradition, but if it gets me that raise I’m looking for, more power to it. Beautiful temple, lots of statues, and an awesome pond out front. Unfortunately we shows up right at closing, so by the time I headed back to take pictures of the pond, they had already shut off the fountains. I did get to see a turtle, though.
By this time, we’re already a little late for dinner with Tamie’s family, including her sister. We jet back home, stopping at a grocery store on the way. All I can say is Wow, Japanese people must be big drinkers…I saw a 3 litre bottle of whiskey for like $12. Messed up. At dinner Tamie’s sister gave me some gifts (damn it, now I have to get her something) which was very thoughtful if entirely unexpected. After dinner, Brian and Tamie did dishes while I tried to teach Tamie’s sister tongue twisters. Apparently the Japanese aren’t really good at “she sells sea shells by the sea shore”. And trying to explain “how much wood would a wood chuck chuck, if a wood chuck could chuck wood” can be a lot of fun. A few laughs later, and it was off to pool. By this point, though, we are all exhausted, so I don’t remember who won the last game. I do remember kicking Brian’s ass for most of the night, although Tamie wiped the floor with both of us.
That early start ended up being a bit later than expected as we didn't roll out until 10 or so. Apparently no one wanted to wake me up (go figure). After grabbing fairly quick breakfast (rice, natto, and apples, I think), it was off to Hakone and the Stinky Egg place (it has a real name, but I can't remember it). The drive up to SEP was fun, as it was basically bumper to bumper traffic the entire way up the mountain. If it weren’t for the fact that we didn’t want to abandon Tamie and the car, it would have been much faster to just walk up the hill. Once we finally got to SEP, there were these hot springs in which they cook black eggs. Now, if you eat one of these eggs, it's reputed to add 7 years to your life. Eat two and you add 14 years. Not sure what eating three would get you, other than gas. We ended up getting a dozen (6 for us, 6 for Tamie's dad), and ate the 6. Guess that means I have 7 more years of this life to look forward to, at least. After that, we zipped down the mountain to Hakone where we wandered around, checking out a historic checkpoint that was used to monitor movement around the country. We also took a walk around the area, seeing some ancient redwood trees that were absolutely mammoth.
Back down the mountain we headed, off to check out a Japanese bath house. Not a traditional one, thankfully, as I got to keep a swimsuit on and hang out with women J. This place was huge, with many different pools, each with a theme. For example, there were green tea pools, sake pools, wine pools, and sea salt pools. It was definitely a different experience, and a lot of fun. Even if all the swimming while suffering from jet lag did want to make me hurl.
After all of that, it was off to find a place that serves Kevin-friendly food. This being Japan and all, it’s a bit harder than it sounds, at least outside of Tokyo. After trying an all-you-can-eat place to no avail, we ended up at an Italian place for dinner. Considering I had just flown in from Italy, it was kinda funny. I must say, the Italian on the menu wasn’t all that bad, although they did have a pizza named wrong. After dinner, it was off to karaoke. Who knew you could sing for 2 hours straight? Man was my throat sore. Everyone else's ears, too. It was a great time, though, and I’m glad to have gone.
Sunday.
The plan for Sunday was to head off to Enoshima to check out the beach, as well as head to Kamakura to explore the temples there. We ended up just driving past the beach and focusing on the temples as it was extremely busy (long weekend + nice weather). After parking the car we stopped at this cool store that sold swords and throwing stars. Man, if I could get that stuff through customs, I would have had a field day there. First temple was this place with a huge (and I mean gianormous) statue of Buddha. Very cool indeed. Very popular too. After that, it was off to a second temple where you got to take part in money launderying. Apparently it’s good luck to wash money at this temple, and so we all partook in the activity. It was funny to see the look of fear in Brian’s eyes as he dumped water all over his crisp new 10,000 yen note ($100). The temple itself was cool as it was in the side of a hill/mountain, and the entrance was a tunnel.
After that, it was a quick jog over to the last temple of the day, on top of a hill. Fantastic view, and we got to rub a god of money. Weird tradition, but if it gets me that raise I’m looking for, more power to it. Beautiful temple, lots of statues, and an awesome pond out front. Unfortunately we shows up right at closing, so by the time I headed back to take pictures of the pond, they had already shut off the fountains. I did get to see a turtle, though.
By this time, we’re already a little late for dinner with Tamie’s family, including her sister. We jet back home, stopping at a grocery store on the way. All I can say is Wow, Japanese people must be big drinkers…I saw a 3 litre bottle of whiskey for like $12. Messed up. At dinner Tamie’s sister gave me some gifts (damn it, now I have to get her something) which was very thoughtful if entirely unexpected. After dinner, Brian and Tamie did dishes while I tried to teach Tamie’s sister tongue twisters. Apparently the Japanese aren’t really good at “she sells sea shells by the sea shore”. And trying to explain “how much wood would a wood chuck chuck, if a wood chuck could chuck wood” can be a lot of fun. A few laughs later, and it was off to pool. By this point, though, we are all exhausted, so I don’t remember who won the last game. I do remember kicking Brian’s ass for most of the night, although Tamie wiped the floor with both of us.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Japan, Day One
My recap of what happened in Japan, as best I remember it. Or at least, what I can legally tell. I'm going to break this up into a few posts, mainly to give me time to remember what exactly happened. Hopefully I don't screw this up too much.
Friday.
Ah Friday, my first day in the country. I wake up on the plane, going over my directions to Brian's meeting place. This is the time when I realize that I have no idea where he lives, what his address is, or what his phone number is even. We land at the airport on time, a good sign, and I head for customs. "Where are you staying?" I was asked. "With a friend" is my answer...apparently this must be common, as I was only asked to write down his name, nothing else. I guess there aren't that many Brian Estey's in Japan. I pick up my baggage and head for the currency exchange. Fill out some forms, wait in line, and when I get to the counter, what do I find out? I can't use a credit card to get Yen here, I have to use an ATM. Off to find a cash machine I go, and I don't find just one, I find 4. Do any of them accept my credit card, hell no. All I get is "invalid card" messages, and no money. Damn foreign countries. Not a major problem in the short term, though, as I only need 3000 yen to catch the bus to Brian's place, so I exchange the little Euro that I do have on me, hop on the bus, and hope Brian will be there to pick me up.
Two and a half rainy hours later, I get to Shin-Yurigaoka, and sure enough, there's Mr. Estey, big smile and happy to see me. At this point I find out that I actually landed in the middle of a typhoon, and that this is the worst weather Japan has seen in many years. Timing is everything. A quick stop at the post office to grab some cash, a short train trip, and I get to crash at Brian's place for a few hours while he goes back to work. Wake up at 5, quick shower (cold shower as I don't know how to turn on the hot water), and wait around for Brian to show up. At 6, he stops by, and off we go to meet Tamie (we're spending the weekend at her parents place as it's more comfy). This is where Brian's "familiarity" with Japan really shows, as we get on three wrong trains before finally catching the right one, in the process being about a half hour late in meeting Tamie. Must have been the weather. We finally meet up with Tamie, go buy some rain jackets, then grab a cab to her parents place.
I've never met Tamie's parents, so I'm not sure what to expect. What I got was two very friendly and welcoming people who made me feel like family/royalty from the get go. Shows how little they know about me, eh? They had fixed an excellent (and Kevin friendly) meal, which kicked some serious butt. Mainly the evening involved eating dinner, catching up a bit with stories, and heading to bed for an early start the next morning.
Friday.
Ah Friday, my first day in the country. I wake up on the plane, going over my directions to Brian's meeting place. This is the time when I realize that I have no idea where he lives, what his address is, or what his phone number is even. We land at the airport on time, a good sign, and I head for customs. "Where are you staying?" I was asked. "With a friend" is my answer...apparently this must be common, as I was only asked to write down his name, nothing else. I guess there aren't that many Brian Estey's in Japan. I pick up my baggage and head for the currency exchange. Fill out some forms, wait in line, and when I get to the counter, what do I find out? I can't use a credit card to get Yen here, I have to use an ATM. Off to find a cash machine I go, and I don't find just one, I find 4. Do any of them accept my credit card, hell no. All I get is "invalid card" messages, and no money. Damn foreign countries. Not a major problem in the short term, though, as I only need 3000 yen to catch the bus to Brian's place, so I exchange the little Euro that I do have on me, hop on the bus, and hope Brian will be there to pick me up.
Two and a half rainy hours later, I get to Shin-Yurigaoka, and sure enough, there's Mr. Estey, big smile and happy to see me. At this point I find out that I actually landed in the middle of a typhoon, and that this is the worst weather Japan has seen in many years. Timing is everything. A quick stop at the post office to grab some cash, a short train trip, and I get to crash at Brian's place for a few hours while he goes back to work. Wake up at 5, quick shower (cold shower as I don't know how to turn on the hot water), and wait around for Brian to show up. At 6, he stops by, and off we go to meet Tamie (we're spending the weekend at her parents place as it's more comfy). This is where Brian's "familiarity" with Japan really shows, as we get on three wrong trains before finally catching the right one, in the process being about a half hour late in meeting Tamie. Must have been the weather. We finally meet up with Tamie, go buy some rain jackets, then grab a cab to her parents place.
I've never met Tamie's parents, so I'm not sure what to expect. What I got was two very friendly and welcoming people who made me feel like family/royalty from the get go. Shows how little they know about me, eh? They had fixed an excellent (and Kevin friendly) meal, which kicked some serious butt. Mainly the evening involved eating dinner, catching up a bit with stories, and heading to bed for an early start the next morning.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Back in Italy...
Just a note that Japan was awesome, had a great time, big thanks to Tamie and her family for being such fantastic hosts (Brian was okay too), and I can't wait to go back. I'll post more pics and stories later...need sleep first (damn 12 hour flights).
Monday, October 02, 2006
Florence, home of the naked guy
This weekend brings me to the tourist filled confines of Florence (Firenze if you're Italian), where the statue of David is. Unfortunately for me, the lines were a bit too insane for me to even bother trying to see it...instead, I spent the time with a friend of mine, just wandering about and enjoying the atmosphere.
Since it was just a day trip, we only spend about 6 hours there (neither of us were feeling well), so I'm sure we missed a bunch of things. The Duomo was just awesome (huge church, with a big dome), as I haven't seen anything more impressive on the outside, including St. Peters. The inside was a bit understated, though, so the Vatican still takes that award. We also climbed the adjoining bell tower, all 414 steps of it. Beautiful view, well worth the minor heart attack. Definitely not for the clausterphobic, though, as the stairway is about 2 1/2-3 feet wide, and handles both up and down traffic.
I also picked up a cool bottle of grappa there, shaped like a clipper ship (pics when I get back to Canada, I don't want to unpack it). I swear, the staff spent at least 10 minutes trying to pack the bottle in a box, wrapped in bubble wrap and with paper packed around it. It was kinda funny to watch. Oh, and Florence has about the highest per capita of smokin' hot chicks. At least, the highest outside of Sweden, as Jay keeps telling me.
This week, Jay heads back to Sweden, and then I'm off for Japan. I wonder if they have potatoes there...
Since it was just a day trip, we only spend about 6 hours there (neither of us were feeling well), so I'm sure we missed a bunch of things. The Duomo was just awesome (huge church, with a big dome), as I haven't seen anything more impressive on the outside, including St. Peters. The inside was a bit understated, though, so the Vatican still takes that award. We also climbed the adjoining bell tower, all 414 steps of it. Beautiful view, well worth the minor heart attack. Definitely not for the clausterphobic, though, as the stairway is about 2 1/2-3 feet wide, and handles both up and down traffic.
I also picked up a cool bottle of grappa there, shaped like a clipper ship (pics when I get back to Canada, I don't want to unpack it). I swear, the staff spent at least 10 minutes trying to pack the bottle in a box, wrapped in bubble wrap and with paper packed around it. It was kinda funny to watch. Oh, and Florence has about the highest per capita of smokin' hot chicks. At least, the highest outside of Sweden, as Jay keeps telling me.
This week, Jay heads back to Sweden, and then I'm off for Japan. I wonder if they have potatoes there...
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Iceland Pictures
Beginning of the hike towards the pool
Part of the hike leading up to the pool below
A pool inside a narrow crevice which supposedly has healing powers.
The water tanks that supply Reykjavik (Perlan)
One of the big trucks that I love so dearly
Glacier and glacial pool
View from the hill we climbed...it was sweet
One of the taller waterfalls in Iceland
Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall)...the picture doesn't do it justice
Gullfoss part 2
Blue Lagoon (before my camera died)
Geysir (go figure, eh?)
A random crater we stopped at
Part of Thingvellir
Thingvellir
Lake near Thingvellir...I just really like the picture
Pipe organ in the big concrete church
Ducks in the lake outside of City Hall...I couldn't resistIceland, home of the Vikings. And big freakin' trucks :)
Finally, a little vacation time and a chance to see a good friend of mine again, all in scenic Iceland. This will give me a chance to unwind before I head back to Italy again in a few weeks, right?
The trip to Iceland was thankfully the worst part of my entire trip, and it wasn’t even that bad. Hell, if you like rollercoasters, I’m sure you would have enjoyed the flight into Newark and Baltimore. Thanks to the wonderful timing of my trip, I had the exciting experience of flying into the remnants of hurricane Ernesto, which meant some minor delays (thankfully I had a lot of free time in my schedule) and a bit of a bumpy ride. Oh, and thanks to the ground crew’s attentive service, my backpack got soaked, as did a good chunk of my clothes. Meh, I made it to Reykjavik in one piece, and on time, so I’m happy. On the ground through customs (complete with metal detectors for some reason), buy some kroner, and off to catch a bus for the city center.
At the central bus station, the driver stops and starts asking everyone where they are going. Problem is, I left the directions to Jay’s hotel in my backpack. Underneath the bus. So I have no idea, and am told to get off and wait for the “min-ee boose”, which I failed to translate to mini bus. I wait a few minutes, then head inside and ask someone at the desk what’s going on. They explain the mini bus (the other bus is too big to get around the downtown core), and tell me to wait outside. A half hour later, I go back inside ask again, and am told that maybe they can arrange something in 20 minutes. All told, I wait about an hour, and almost get left behind again. When I finally get to the Metropolitan hotel, Jay is just on his way out, so it was rather fortunate timing. We head back up to his room, grab his stuff, and head off in search of our new hotel (supposedly just down the street). After about 45 minutes of wandering and checking maps, we finally get the right street, find the hotel, and are told that we can’t check in until 2 (it’s around 10:30AM). Off with the bags, and out exploring we go.
We mainly just wandered around the downtown area, checking out some shops and the big church (big mess of concrete, but sweet view from the bell tower). Unfortunately, we were up said bell tower at 1PM, so I can tell you exactly how loud those bells are. We both got some nice pictures of the city there, which I hope to post later. More aimless wandering, and it’s back to the hotel to check in. I wasn’t paying attention when we booked the room, but thankfully Jay was. Problem is, twin room and double room are two different things, so rather than two separate beds, we had a single double bed. Nice and cozy. After a bit of explanation, the staff kindly changed the beds for us, and we were back to a good 3 feet of separation. As an aside, if anyone is in Reykjavik, I highly recommend the Hotel Phoenix, as the staff there was just incredible. Then it was off for some more exploring, some more pictures, a quick dinner (I also recommend the restaurant Red Hot for a taste of home, and a hell of a server named Frank), and off to sleep.
The next day (Sunday) was the “Golden Circle” tour, which hits the major highlights of the area around Reykjavik, such as Gullfoss (The Golden Waterfall), Thingvellir (ancient parliament site in a national park…also where the rift between the tectonic plates is) and Geysir, which are geysers. It meant 8 hours on a bus, but it was well worth it as Gullfoss is beyond explanation. I can’t wait to go back and check out some of the more remote falls. Then back to the hotel for a quiet night of vodka and gummy candy. Mmmm…alcoholic gummy candy.
Monday was our walking day, where we checked out everything we could think of around Reykjavik. We took in a few museums (whose names I forget), as well as a volcano show (which I also recommend, although only stay for the 1st hour) and the Blue Lagoon. Not much more I can say about the Blue Lagoon other than it was awesome, especially on a cooler day with the mist rising from the hot water. Just awesome. Tuesday, it was another tour, this time of the southern shore with it’s extremely inhospitable terrain. There were some more beautiful waterfalls, a nice hike up a little hill for some scenic pictures, and a great view of a glacier, all combined with a great commentary from our Icelandic driver. He rocked. Oh, and another short hike up a ravine to a waterfall/well combo that was unbelievable. It’s also where my companion/sidekick Jay hit his head and temporarily knocked his brand new camera out of commission. Not good. We also made a new friend in Dana from Brooklyn, who was more than happy to drink free vodka with us, and show us some sights we hadn’t seen around town (the cemetery is spooky at night).
Wednesday, it was early to rise, packing up, and heading off to the airport for our flights. Jay left much earlier than I, so he was back in Sweden before I even left the ground, but it also meant that I got to check out the water tanks (called Perlen), which offered a different, but much clearer, view of the city than the church tower did. Well worth the ½ hour trek each way. And had I known the bus schedule a little better, I would have also made time to take a swim in the ocean, but things didn’t quite work out L
The flight back to Ottawa was as smooth as it could be, with a minor delay in Boston, which meant my flight from Toronto to Ottawa was held. But I made it home, safe and sound, and even managed to get into work the next morning without incident.
One awesome trip.
The trip to Iceland was thankfully the worst part of my entire trip, and it wasn’t even that bad. Hell, if you like rollercoasters, I’m sure you would have enjoyed the flight into Newark and Baltimore. Thanks to the wonderful timing of my trip, I had the exciting experience of flying into the remnants of hurricane Ernesto, which meant some minor delays (thankfully I had a lot of free time in my schedule) and a bit of a bumpy ride. Oh, and thanks to the ground crew’s attentive service, my backpack got soaked, as did a good chunk of my clothes. Meh, I made it to Reykjavik in one piece, and on time, so I’m happy. On the ground through customs (complete with metal detectors for some reason), buy some kroner, and off to catch a bus for the city center.
At the central bus station, the driver stops and starts asking everyone where they are going. Problem is, I left the directions to Jay’s hotel in my backpack. Underneath the bus. So I have no idea, and am told to get off and wait for the “min-ee boose”, which I failed to translate to mini bus. I wait a few minutes, then head inside and ask someone at the desk what’s going on. They explain the mini bus (the other bus is too big to get around the downtown core), and tell me to wait outside. A half hour later, I go back inside ask again, and am told that maybe they can arrange something in 20 minutes. All told, I wait about an hour, and almost get left behind again. When I finally get to the Metropolitan hotel, Jay is just on his way out, so it was rather fortunate timing. We head back up to his room, grab his stuff, and head off in search of our new hotel (supposedly just down the street). After about 45 minutes of wandering and checking maps, we finally get the right street, find the hotel, and are told that we can’t check in until 2 (it’s around 10:30AM). Off with the bags, and out exploring we go.
We mainly just wandered around the downtown area, checking out some shops and the big church (big mess of concrete, but sweet view from the bell tower). Unfortunately, we were up said bell tower at 1PM, so I can tell you exactly how loud those bells are. We both got some nice pictures of the city there, which I hope to post later. More aimless wandering, and it’s back to the hotel to check in. I wasn’t paying attention when we booked the room, but thankfully Jay was. Problem is, twin room and double room are two different things, so rather than two separate beds, we had a single double bed. Nice and cozy. After a bit of explanation, the staff kindly changed the beds for us, and we were back to a good 3 feet of separation. As an aside, if anyone is in Reykjavik, I highly recommend the Hotel Phoenix, as the staff there was just incredible. Then it was off for some more exploring, some more pictures, a quick dinner (I also recommend the restaurant Red Hot for a taste of home, and a hell of a server named Frank), and off to sleep.
The next day (Sunday) was the “Golden Circle” tour, which hits the major highlights of the area around Reykjavik, such as Gullfoss (The Golden Waterfall), Thingvellir (ancient parliament site in a national park…also where the rift between the tectonic plates is) and Geysir, which are geysers. It meant 8 hours on a bus, but it was well worth it as Gullfoss is beyond explanation. I can’t wait to go back and check out some of the more remote falls. Then back to the hotel for a quiet night of vodka and gummy candy. Mmmm…alcoholic gummy candy.
Monday was our walking day, where we checked out everything we could think of around Reykjavik. We took in a few museums (whose names I forget), as well as a volcano show (which I also recommend, although only stay for the 1st hour) and the Blue Lagoon. Not much more I can say about the Blue Lagoon other than it was awesome, especially on a cooler day with the mist rising from the hot water. Just awesome. Tuesday, it was another tour, this time of the southern shore with it’s extremely inhospitable terrain. There were some more beautiful waterfalls, a nice hike up a little hill for some scenic pictures, and a great view of a glacier, all combined with a great commentary from our Icelandic driver. He rocked. Oh, and another short hike up a ravine to a waterfall/well combo that was unbelievable. It’s also where my companion/sidekick Jay hit his head and temporarily knocked his brand new camera out of commission. Not good. We also made a new friend in Dana from Brooklyn, who was more than happy to drink free vodka with us, and show us some sights we hadn’t seen around town (the cemetery is spooky at night).
Wednesday, it was early to rise, packing up, and heading off to the airport for our flights. Jay left much earlier than I, so he was back in Sweden before I even left the ground, but it also meant that I got to check out the water tanks (called Perlen), which offered a different, but much clearer, view of the city than the church tower did. Well worth the ½ hour trek each way. And had I known the bus schedule a little better, I would have also made time to take a swim in the ocean, but things didn’t quite work out L
The flight back to Ottawa was as smooth as it could be, with a minor delay in Boston, which meant my flight from Toronto to Ottawa was held. But I made it home, safe and sound, and even managed to get into work the next morning without incident.
One awesome trip.
Nice (as in France, not the adjective)
Up at 6AM to catch my 7AM cab to the train station. I’ve had the front desk arrange for the taxi in advance, so there should be no problems, right? Not for me, never for me…the driver starts driving me to Gambro. Which is in the wrong direction…takes me a few minutes to explain that I want to go to the train station, not the office. So I finally get to the train station around ten after seven, which still gives me plenty of time. I leave Mirandola at 7:30, transfer at Bologna (without incident for once) and get to Milan, albeit a half hour late, wiping out the time I had there for lunch. My stomach really isn’t liking me now. A quick stop to grab a chocolate bar and a Coke. Back on the train, and I finally get to Nice around 5PM after a longer than expected 7 hour train ride (just this last leg). All in all, a long day without, especially without air conditioning on the last train (keep in mind that I'm in a suit in preparation for the casino in Monte Carlo, and I don't want it wrinkled) and food (no stop long enough to eat). So by the time I get there, I'm ready to drop. I get a map, find the hotel after a bit of searching (who knew the damn sign would be that small), check in and look for a restaurant. As per usual, my style of restaurant finding is a bit random…I walk around until I find either a) a place with hot waitresses or b) a menu with fries. So when I walked out of the hotel, I had my eyes open, looking around. I made it about 20 feet, and what do I see? A giant comic book shop, complete with action figures displayed in the windows. And not just a small shop, this sucker had 2 floors (that I could see). I swear, these places find me, not the other way around. I finally find a place (good potatoes), grab a bite, and go to get a train ticket to Monaco. Problems, though, are that the automatic ticket window doesn’t accept any of my credit cards, nor does it give out enough change for any of the bills I’m carrying (ie. I have a 20 and the most change it gives on a 7 euro ticket is 5 euro). After waiting a while in line to see a ticket agent, I find out that they are all sold out for Friday night. Damn. So I pick up a return ticket for Saturday, just to get some use out of the trip. Back to the hotel, out of the suit, into shorts, and off to see Nice.
All I can say of the rest of the night was that I’m glad the train was full. Wow, what a beach (all pebbly though, which sucked), lots of hot chicks wearing next to nothing, and a huge boardwalk to rollerblade on. Talk about awesome. I'm not looking for a huge adventure this first night, just going to walk around a bit (my foot was sore from something, not sure what), so I head off down the beach. Problem is, the beach keeps going, and the town gets more and more fun the further I get (more bars, more people). I finally make it down to a point where the shore curls around, and on top of a cliff is this cool waterfall. Damn it, it looked awesome, and I knew I was going to have to climb the thing the next day. I end up spending a little more time wandering around the coast, then down head into a market/downtown area. Bars everywhere, hot chicks everywhere...talk about heaven. All sorts of stores that are still open too, offering plenty to distract and drain the wallet. I wander into a neat little pub (they had this cool traffic light on the ceiling - green = bar open, yellow = last call, red = bar closed), order potato skins (best meal I've had in Europe) and a vodka. The waitress even spoke English and chatted it up with me. Made me wish I didn't look like a bum, and that I wasn't dead tired and needing sleep. I should have stayed, but really did need to get back to the hotel (loser speak, I know). For trips like this, I really do need to bring someone to help draw out the social side in me.
Next day, more of the same. All day is wandering around town, swimming in the sea, and getting a good sunburn. I manage to see the waterfall thing (cool view of the town), take some pictures, and have a good time. That evening, off to Monaco. More sweating, more standing around in the suit, and finally I get to Monaco. My entire reason for going to Monaco is to check out the casino, and pick up a deck of cards for Jenn's mom (she loves gambling, so I thought it would be a neat gift). Problem is, it turns out that the casino doesn't give out cards, they all get destroyed. Wow, what a waste of time. And I couldn't even play any games as the only casino game I play is blackjack, and with a 200 euro minimum, I can't quite afford it. So I wander around downtown Monaco for a bit, then catch a train back to Nice. Wander around Nice for a bit (sweating my nuts off in this damn suit the entire time), and head back to the hotel. Only to find out that the hotel has been having power troubles all day, and that the a/c is out. I finally manage to fall asleep around 1, get up at 8, and head back to Italy, after another 10 hours on trains.
My Weekend in Rome (alternate title: Is That Guy Giving Me The Eye?)
So this weekend, the plan is Rome. You know, ancient Rome, full of history, romance, and tourists. Oh, and money hungry businesses out to suck you dry, but that's another story. It's Friday, I'm all packed (after another night of 6 hours sleep), and ready to go. I get Mike to call me a cab for 5PM so I can make my 5:30 train to Bologna (where I transfer). We call the cab early, and I get out of work at 4:45. When does the cab actually show up? 5:10, at which point I have to run to the hotel (I forgot my passport, which apparently I should bring), then hit the train station. I make it with 5 minutes to spare, so things are still good. I can only get a ticket in Mirandola to Bologna, then have to buy the next leg in Bologna proper. I find an automatic ticket machine, find a train to Rome, and try to buy a ticket. First class only, 50 euro. Okay, I can pay that, it's Rome. Put in the old credit card (it's getting quite the workout, let me tell you), and let's get on with it. Next thing I know, I see the message "Printing error" and no ticket comes out. What the hell? The machine ran out of paper I guess, so here I am with a 50 euro charge on my CC and no ticket. I try to find someone to get a refund, but "me no parlo Italiano" which makes things kinda hard. Three attempts and 20 minutes later, I finally get my refund, and a ticket on a later train. That will take 2 hours longer to get there. As in I arrive at midnight. I'm a little ticked now, but hey, it's Rome. Not quite Vegas, but still.
The train ride there is uneventful aside from me being incredibly hungry. We pull in at 11:30, I find a map, try to locate the hotel, and start walking. Little did I realize that I booked a hotel in the worst part of town. Most people won't try anything with me (nice thing about being 6'2" and surly looking), but it's still not all that nice. The hotel, though, is a nice surprise. It's back from the street, and gated, so it's secure and a good place to stay. I recommend it for someone going to Rome if they don't mind walking (the location sucks). By now it's midnight, so off to bed with a 7:30 wake up call...after all, I gotta make the Sistine Chapel, right? Little did I know how painful that decision would be.
Alarm goes off, up I get, shower, and head down to check out the breakfast buffet. No surprise, nothing there I can eat, so a glass of water and off I go. All I know about the Sistine Chapel is that it's part of the Vatican, which is where I go. The only part listed on my map is St. Peter Basilica, and that's where I end up. After about an hour of walking, that is. Past every cop in the city...I swear, you would think Rome was under siege. I also managed to see almost every other sight in Rome on the way...the ruins, the Panthenon, Venezia Square. Upon arriving, I look for a sign, any sign, telling me where the SC is. Could I find one? No. So into the church I go, thinking maybe there will be signs in there. FYI, St. Peter's Cathedral is worth the price of a stay in Rome...just awesome. And I'm not a religous guy, so when I say this, it must be something. I ended up asking two more people, who pointed me somewhere (just to the left, one kilometer, whatever that means), then said to hell with it and checked out the information center. There I got another small map of the Vatican, and was off to find the Chapel. Or more correctly, the hour and a half long line to get into the Chapel. At least I got to meet two awesome Canadians in line, Frank and his sister who's name I regretfully forget. And as promised, "Hey Ottawa, Frank Washington says hi!". They had to be at the port to catch their ship (heading off on a cruise), so they had a quick run through the museum. I don't know if they got to see everything they wanted (they had about 15 minutes, where as I rushed (kinda) and still took 2 hours) or if they made the ship, but I really do hope so. In my opinion, shared by pretty much no one else, the Chapel itself was so-so...I wasn't quite so impressed. But that's just me, go and form your own opinion on how wrong I am.
By the time I'm out of there, it's 12:30, and I need food. Across the street to this restaurant I go...big mistake. I paid 28 euro for a salad, potatoes (microwaved none the less), a coke and 2 water. Ridiculous. If I hadn't have been so hungry, I would have left everything there and walked away, but much more time without food and I wouldn't have been able to walk away. Semi-satisfied by lunch, it's off to explore the tourist traps of Rome. I headed north along the river, and hit up most of the places marked on my map as I headed south, finally ending up at a pyramid of all things (go figure). Good thing about that was I managed to find a monument to the Devil's Brigade right next to said pyramid. Tres cool. Back north to the Colussem, where I find out it's 11.50 (all in euro) to go inside. I'm a cheap bugger, so to hell with it. I start walking away, and realize, I'm only going to be in Rome once, maybe twice, why not spend the money. So I sign up for a guided tour of both the Colussem and the ruins nearby, and hear some neat stories about the time. All in all, well worth it. By now, it's starting to rain, so I grab the metro back to the train station, walk to the hotel, shower, change, and head out to dinner (it's 8PM by now, I've condensed the hell out of the day).
Finding a good restaurant, not so easy...I walked by about 6-7 on my way to the train station (I wanted to pick up my ticket for the next day early, so I would get a seat), and even stopped in at a supermarket to pick up a pop and some chips for breakfast. I get my train ticket for Sunday and head back to find a place. On the way, I find a strip club, my first in Europe. If I hadn't have been so broke, I would have given it a look, but I had about 8 euro to my name by this point, so no. Dinner was okay, more pototoes, some cheese, and a coke. This time a little more reasonable at 16 euro. Back to the hotel and another nights sleep.
Sunday, the day of relaxation. Which for me meant waking up at 8:30 (so late!) and spending only 4 hours walking around rather than the 14 of the previous day. I head back to the Vatican, and walk down the river lazily, checking out the sights. I randomly pick a street in the southern part, end up back at Piazza Venezia and the ruins...a good place to be. Unfortunately, it also happens to be the place that I get eyed up by the strangest guy I've met: he's staring at me, smiling, and fondling himself. Can you say creepy? I sure can. Thankfully you're never alone in Rome, so within seconds I was in a crowd and out of his sight. I spend a half hour touring the ruins, take a few more pics, then head back to the terminal. Oddly enough, I had misread the ticket (I thought I had booked one for 2pm-ish, and really had, but I read it as leaving at 16:07, which was actually the date, July 16th). Thankfully I happened to be eating lunch at the train station, around 2PM, when I figured this out, giving me 1/2 hour to finish eating and make my way to the train. Worked out perfectly. Trip back was uneventful, much faster, and a good time. Back to Mirandola, walk back to town, shower (again), and head out to dinner. Back to the hotel, talk to Jenn, and off to bed. All in all, a good weekend.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
It's been asked for...
...so here it is. I'll do my best to post all the crap from the last year here, then start chronicling the new adventures that await me.
Until then......
Until then......
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