Venice

If you asked me to describe Venice in one word, I would say: overrated. Now, I really enjoyed myself, and the city is really beautiful. However, its such a tourist destination, that you really don't get the feeling that anyone lives there. They just come in service the tourists, which really is how the colony started anyhow. I'm very glad I went, it was charming, but I doubt I'll return.

Let's start with the sketchy late night trip from the airport, shall we? My flight arrived around 11 pm, so by the time I made it to the docks, it was almost 11:30 pm. I get on a water taxi, and prepare for an easy trip across the bay to the city. WRONG. It took forever! Why? Well, you see, the driver preferred to talk on his phone the entire time. Now, seeing as talking on the phone cause him to drive erratically, the police pull us over. Which is really weird--the boat police pull us over. They board, he has to find his registration papers, they write him a ticket. This process takes a good 20 min. By now, there's a Russian (maybe?) couple on the boat, who are getting pissed that this trip is a little long. When we finally get going again, the driver gets back on the phone, and the Russian couple continues to bitch about the guy. Then, we slow down AGAIN, and I think the driver was trying to help a girl in a boat who ran out of gas. I'm not really sure what we were doing, but it took another 20 min. So, the Russian guy starts shouting at the driver, in Russian, and the driver shouts back, in Italian. Now, as you can imagine, this accomplished nothing, except waste another 10 min. listening to a shouting match. We finally get back to boating, and I make it to my hotel at approximately 1:30 am. An hour trip took twice as long. Not very happy about that.

Anyhow, the crown jewel of Venice is San Marcos Square. No matter how much I wandered the small canals, I always found myself back at this beautiful place. There was plenty of people watching to be done, and I don't think you could ever admire the buildings enough.

Most of the beauty of Venice, I think, lies in your ability to just get lost in the maze of canals and small streets, finding that next small shop or gelateria. So, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

The famous Rialto Bridge.

The Grand Canal.

St. Mark's Campanile.

St. Mark's Basilica.

St. Mark's Clock and Clocktower.

The Lion of St. Mark.

One thing that you notice is the severe lack of green space. I mean, the city is completely built in the water, so land to grow things isn't very abundant. These were the only trees I saw the whole time I was there.

All in all, I'm very glad I got to wander around this city, especially considering its probably going to sink into the water very soon. And, it really is beautiful, just extremely overpriced. Glad I went; probably wouldn't go back.

Vienna

Usually when I'm on a plane, I'm asleep before we take off. Unless I'm in business class, in which case I have them serve the meal as quickly as possible and then leave me alone. But, on occasion, I'll look out the window. In this case, I caught quite a nice sunset from above.

Vienna is quite a beautiful, cultured city. Very civilized. So civilized that I was quite surprised to find a stripper pole in my bathroom!

OK, perhaps you're supposed to use that pole to help you get out of the tub, but, when MJ's in town, fill the tub with jello and BAM! Instant strip club...

Now back to civilization.... The world famous Vienna Opera House. Each year, they still have the Opera Ball, which I imagine as straight out of a movie, like Phantom of the Opera.

A pretty statue--I think it might be for Beethoven, but I can't remember. Still, a rather pleasing pic.

Near the Hofburg Palace, there were gardens and cafes.

And inside the Hofburg palace, all the pretty sparklies of the royal jewel collection. A must see for me!!!

More architecture from the Hofburg palace.

A small church in Vienna. With a wedding.

The main cathedral, St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Interesting public clock.

Sunday was the Vienna City Marathon, which draws quite the crowd. My friend Peter was running the half, and my friend Kirstin was there to cheer him on!

It was a great weekend, and really great to pal around with some good friends. Especially since they speak German and could show me the city a bit!

Iceland

You know you're in for a real treat of a weekend, when you arrive late, and wake up to this:

Iceland is a place that I wouldn't typically chose to go. I mean, not a lot going on there, right? But it is a place on Earth like nothing I've ever seen before, and it was all waterfalls and rainbows. Seriously!

First off, there are many lava fields, which kinda makes you imagine that you are on the moon.

The houses, though, couldn't be cuter! They are so brightly colored, and they have corrugated tin on the outside. An odd choice, I think, but the colors really make the countryside pop. And, as a tour guide kept reminding us, they are built to withstand earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 6.5 (or something). Clearly repetition helps you remember things...

The first day, first stop: The Blue Lagoon. It was amazing--the striking electric blue water against the black lava fields. STUNNING!!! The water was a warm 104 degrees, but the air was about 32 degrees. Sounds like perfect weather for a bathing suit!

And, of course, there's silica, or a mud mask, to put on. It was very nice--worked wonders on my skin.

The next day, I took a tour of the south shore, and one of the first things we saw were the lava fields. But not just any lava fields, this particular rift is where the North American and European continental plates are pulling apart. So literally, I was on 2 continents at the same time!

But the beautiful black sand beaches were amazing. Even with the sunshine, it was still too cold to dip a toe in the water.

When you look up to the mountains, you see glaciers. The colors were so striking--the pictures don't do them justice AT ALL.

And then we saw our first waterfall. With a rainbow. This waterfall is named Skogarfoss.

After that, we went to a kitschy south Iceland museum, that was full of items from the old way of living. Interesting.

All around, mountains and glaciers.

Black sand beaches.

On this particular beach, there were vertical lava formations. I think that I might have been able to see something similar at Giant's Causeway in Ireland, if it weren't for the FOOSH!

At one point, we drove right up to a glacier, and walked on the edges just slightly.

To end our perfect day, the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. It was the perfect day for this waterfall, and the perfect time of day. The rainbow was just perfect, and at the picture point, you were actually standing inside the full circle of the rainbow! It was magical! I kept hoping to see a fairy or gnome or unicorn or something.

The next day was not as sunny, and we were at higher altitudes. So, it was much colder. But, we began at the Thingvellir National Park, which is the site of the Great Atlantic Rift and the original site of the world's oldest Parliament.

The most famous waterfalls in Iceland are the Gullfoss falls. It was of course quite cold still, so you can see the ice forming on the rocks.

After the cold, cold Gullfoss falls, we went to the geothermal fields, Geysir. Its the original geyser, from which the English word was taken.

Yes, it was cold, cold, COLD. Sooo cold that I had to buy more layers while out.

The resting geyser...

The exploding geyser...

And, a time lapse video of the whole explosion.

Then, we saw a geothermal power plant that is used both to create electricity and hot water for heating.

Becca, they even have roosters in Iceland!

And finally, a video montage of all the wonderful water features. I really enjoyed my time in Iceland, and would love to return someday!

Patiently Waiting

I know you've been patiently waiting on worldly bloggy goodness, and I have MUCH to share with you! While you're waiting, please talk amongst yourselves. Topic: how cute is my nephew?

Budapest

Budapest is quite the large city, but still has a very small town feel. Actually, it used to be 2 cities, so I suppose that's why its so big.

Anyhow, because its Europe, shops are closed on Sunday, which means I had to get my shopping out of the way on Saturday. So, I wandered down the Váci utca and ended up at the Great Market Hall, full of food on the lower floor, and souvenirs on the top.

BTW, Ben--OMG--they have Rodeo Cheeseburgers! IT REALLY WAS THE RODEO FROM THE DAYS OF YORE!!!

Since I wore out quickly, I went ahead and hopped on a tour, that took me to the main sites of Budapest. First stop, the Hungarian State Opera House, which was quite impressive.

Then off to Heroes' Square, honoring the 7 tribes that formed the first Hungary.

And along the way, we saw a VW Beetle get together. Rather odd, I thought.

The Great Synagogue, which is the largest synagogue in Europe. I wanted to go in and check it out, but it was Saturday, the Jewish Holy day. Shucks.

After that, it was time to cross the Danube to see Buda (the previous sites were all in Pest). And, at one point, you can sit atop a hill, and see both sides of the city, and it was so beautiful on a wonderfully sunny day. Buda on the left, Pest on the right.

Also on that hill, a quirky little WWII wax museum in a bunker. Rather odd, yet entertaining.

On top of the Citadel was a very nice statue, which is visible from the river and most of the city.

St. Stephen's Basilica.

Admittedly, I missed Castle Hill, as I fell asleep on the bus. However, I did take the opportunity to take a night cruise on the Danube, to catch some night time sight seeing. Sorry if the pics aren't perfect...

The beautiful Gothic structure, the Parliament. It really is very impressive at night.

The Chain Bridge, with the castle in the background.

And that does it for Budapest. I enjoyed it, and there was plenty to do. However, I found myself a little tired/lazy to be full on my sight-seeing game! Oh well, there's always next weekend!