Wellard in Wonderland

Italy

2009-11-05T08:33:00.001-08:00

Several people involved in Bryan's art foundation had a bit of a retreat in Italy about a week and a half ago. Since I'm married to the CEO, I got to go along as well. Italy is about a 3.5 hour drive from here. We had fun!
I'm about to inundate you with pic
tures...this is a photography kind of blog
anyways.

Walking around the town of Connobio

A view of the Alps from the Italian side

'Nuff said

Thanks, Mom!

2009-11-05T08:32:00.001-08:00

I think you're the only who looks at this blog anymore!

Love you!

Montreux

2009-11-05T08:17:00.001-08:00

Last month, we took a break from the chaos and went to Montreux, which is located in the french-speaking part of Switzerland. It's right along Lake Geneva.

Montreux is a jazz city. The people here love jazz and make it known with so many little tributes all over the city. Here is a sculpture of Mr. Ray Charles. There were also other sculptures of Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald and B.B. King.
We hung out at Sinatra's Bar and enjoyed a couple cocktails as we listened to the fantastic live jazz music.

Chateau de Chillon

One of the best, most interesting castle tours ever!

Enjoying the waterfront

I really love this picture! There's a real serene feeling to it and it feels like something out of a dream to me.

Ballenberg

2009-10-29T00:28:00.001-07:00

Ballenberg is an open air museum in Switzerland
that gives you an idea of what Switzerland used to be like. It features around a hundred or so century-old buildings from all over the country. Also included are farm animals and old-time gardens and some of the old machinery and traditions that were most prevalent in the last couple hundred years.
We spent hours walking around. It's pretty interesting to look at and one of the hugest exhibits I've ever seen. There is so much to see!. I took a ton of pictures but thought I'd highlight some of my favorite parts.

My most favorite part was going to the cheese house and seeing how they made cheese back in the day. You can see in this picture that the cheese maker is skimming the top of the surface of the water in the cauldron and taking the cheese curds. He then puts them into those buckets for cooling. We got to sample some fresh cheese and it was fantastic! One of the rooms in the house was a little cheese store and we bought several different kinds of cheese. They didn't last very long! We at them up pretty quick!

This is an old wine press. I could not believe how large it was!

Here are several cow bells. I couldn't imagine being a cow and having to wear one of these. They are really big and heavy!

An old office/reading room.

If you have any extra time, I'd encourage you to check out the website:

http://www.ballenberg.ch/en/Welcome

Like I said, there's so much to see and the pictures I've shown, along with my description, really don't do it any kind of justice at all.

Summertime

2009-10-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite concerts I played/sang this summer was in August. I had the pleasure to play and sing with a jazz saxophonist from Germany named Uwe Steinmetz. We met in Austria back in May during the arts conference I was at. Since we knew we'd be playing at the same place in Basel in August, we decided to do couple songs together. It was one of those moments where the excitement gets to you and you can't stop smiling like you got the biggest piece of chocolate cake out of everyone else.
I've only written one jazz song in my life and couldn't wait to hear how it would sound with a saxophone. Does it sound stupid that I got goosebumps from my own song? One thing that's so great about collaborating with other musicians is that you get to see them take a song and go some place with it that you could never go. He hit it out of the ballpark. It was a grand slam...a homerun...a plethora of goosebumps...whatever you want to call it. I REALLY wish I had a recording of it, but I don't. My camera ran out of battery power right around that time.
Uwe's choice of song that we collaborated on was "Summertime" by Sam Cooke. Up until that point, I had never heard of it and I really don't know why I hadn't heard it before. What a great song! I downloaded a couple different versions from iTunes. It's more in the vein of a jazz lullaby. My favorite line from it is:

One of these mornings, you're gonna rise up singing
You're gonna spread your wings and take the sky

Just before my camera shut down, Bryan was able to capture a bit of it on video. The sound quality is horrible, but you get the idea and you can hear how obviously talented Uwe is.

Woodstock

2009-10-28T02:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time, I know since this blog has seen any action, but I'm about to update you on some of the things I've been up to the last couple of months...
As I'm sure you know, this year was the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival.
On the same anniversary weekend in August, there was a celebration of it here. I got to be apart of the festivities.

My friend, Luzian, accompanied me on the drums and we had a grand time playing. I ended up doing a cover of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart"...not nearly as good as the original, of course, but A LOT of fun to play and have the crowd singing along.
There were a lot of other great bands and musicians that played and what made it even more enjoyable was how much variety and diversity there was!

And, of course, there was some dancing...

....and great food!

Luzern and David Gray (a lovely combination)

2009-08-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I went to Luzern to go see David Gray at the Blue Balls Music Festival. (yes, that's really the name of the festival...no, I don't know why it's called that) Actually, I should specify that I went to Luzern twice in one week because I somehow had mixed up the dates wrong and didn't even bother to check the tickets when we left the first time around. (sigh) I'm hoping that that was my major blonde moment for the year. But Luzern is absolutely lovely and we made the most of both trips. :) Here are some pics:

You can always count on seeing a plethora of swans there.
It actually made me think of the "Ugly Duckling" story and I had the sudden urge to go and re-read the story.

We saw a very interesting photography exhibit by Olaf Heinie. He's a really great photographer and I found myself taking a lot of time looking at each picture. He's that kind of photographer that captures your interest.

This was one of my favorite ones. I love the feeling of it and also the depth of field.

This is the MTV VIP lounge.....not so VIP...it seemed pretty pretentious. We stuck around long enough to satisfy our curiousity...(which took about 3 minutes) and then left.

I was ecstactic to see David Gray in concert again and so was the rest of the sold out crowd. He sang some of my favorites "Flame Turns Blue" and "This Year's Love" as well as some new songs from is forthcoming album 'Draw the Line'. The new record comes out next month and I can't wait to get it!

As you can see, there were a lot of people at the festival.

I love this night shot.

Just Oustide the Window...

2009-07-30T02:31:00.001-07:00

Right now, people here are gearing up for the big August 1st celebration this Saturday. What are we celebrating? The day that Switzerland became a country...their own independence day. Almost everyday now, an Alpenhorn is brought out and played near the entrance of old town Liestal....just outside my window.
I took a short video of it:

Whenever I see an alpenhorn, I always think of those old Ricola commercials.
Of course, the real thing is so much better!

Train Travel

2009-07-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

I'm heading back to Switzerland tomorrow...just a little more than 8 hours by train. I am hoping that it will be just as enjoyable quick going back as it was coming here to Austria.

Here's a little video to give you an idea of it...

An Afternoon Well Spent in Hintersee

2009-07-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

This last Wednesday afternoon, a group of us had some free time and took a short drive to a place called Hintersee. I had never been there before nor had I ever heard of it. Had I known about it the first time we were here, I would've come here most definitely! After we had parked, I came across a couple horses along the way.

They stood very still as they stared back at me. Such perfect posers!

I think I need to browse through my thesaurus and choose a couple different descriptive words other than "amazing, beautiful, gorgeous" when I try to describe the view.
I don't know if I could really find the right words. Pictures rarely ever do places like these justice.
When you come here, you realize just how small you are.

Not only were there cows, but there were also many goats aimlessy wandering about.

An Austrian View

2009-06-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Check out the view...

Welcome to Austria

2009-06-27T01:30:00.000-07:00

Mittersil, Austria....that is. It is beautiful! At the tail end of our "worldwide wedding tour", we came here to attend an Arts Summit.

Overlooking the valley, we stayed here at Schloss Mittersill...which is an old castle. We ended up sleeping in the room that the Queen of Netherlands stayed in 100 years ago when she came here for her honeymoon! There is another room full of memorabilia, old pictures and historical information of the castle. A random tidbit: back in the day, Clark Gable was here. I wonder which room he stayed in....

This castle even had a couple dungeons. They were cold, damp and creepy....just like you'd imagine them to be. What made it even creepier were some of the stories we heard of prisoners that were thought to be witches and whatnot. They don't call it the Dark Ages for nothing...yeesh!

This is a place where you can really enjoy the quiet.

The castle gardens are quite beautiful.

The view from the patio of our room.

There is a glass house on one corner of the castle that you can just go into to relax and write. It's a fantastic space to soak up the quiet, gather your thoughts, reflect and enjoy the view.

We had a fantastic time at the summit and met a lot of great people and had some really intellectually stimulating conversations. I ended up doing a couple of spontaneous concerts here and they invited me back to play here for an arts conference.

Fastforward a little over a month, and now I'm back here again. It's hard to believe! I came a couple days early and it's nice to enjoy the quiet. It was just a little over an 8 hour train ride to this place. I know that may seem like a really long journey, but the european countryside is just gorgeous and time flew by so fast!

Language Flub of the Moment...

2009-06-27T01:27:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to be better at practicing my German as of late. It can prove to be quite entertaining and confusing at other times for those who can actually understand what I'm saying.

So I was trying to say, "Bryan and I decided" but instead ended up saying "Bryan and I divorced" leaving my german teacher absolutely incredulous which then segued into a giggling fit.

Wedding Pics

2009-05-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

And here you are finally...

World Wide Wedding Tour...WHEW!

2009-05-25T02:01:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone!

We are finally back!
I will try and update the blog soon. There are several wedding pics, pics from Austria and pics of our new place to show you!

Love ya!

And more...

2009-04-17T20:28:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple more pics:

Civil Ceremony in Switzerland

2009-04-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

I will post more pics a little while later, but here are a couple teasers...

Strasbourg at Night

2009-03-29T13:31:00.001-07:00

On the way back to the car, I tried to take several different night shots. Most of them actually didn't turn out very well. At least the rainfall subsided.

Welcome to Strasbourg, France

2009-03-29T12:37:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, a couple of us headed to Strasbourg, France, to see a friend perform in a play. It's about an hour and a half away. We got there a couple of hours early so we could walk around and do some exploring. It was a typical rainy day that felt very similar to Portland. Still, I couldn't for a second let the weather ruin an opportunity to explore. Since we didn't have a lot of time, I was everywhere taking pictures and soaking it all in. I'm pretty sure some of my group found it annoying at times. :)

Strasbourg is basically France's own little version of Venice.

Even on an overcast, rainy day, I still found it to be very beautiful and serene.

Every corner brings something picturesque that's begging to be captured.

It has a definite romantic undertone to it.

As long as I live, I don't think I'll ever tire of cobblestone streets.

After having a quick bite to eat (i.e. some not so great vegetable soup and bread), we headed in the direction of the theater. We weren't exactly too sure where we were going. Luckily, we had some great navigators in our group...(right, Mecky? ;) )

Not wanting to be late to the play, we were in a bit of rush. After leaving the water canals of Strasbourg, we walked further into the city. I tried to take a quick video...the thing was, I was a little too quick. Hopefully, this won't make you that dizzy:

One thing is for sure, you cannot spend only a couple hours in Strasbourg. It is a place that needs time to be explored. I'd like to return sometime and do more of that.

The play I saw was Alice in Wonderland, but it was more of a loose interpretation of it. The first hour was a german interpretation and the second hour was french interpretation. The thing that was very unusual about the play was the fact that the cast was made up of people from mental institutions...both staff AND patients. I really appreciated the way in which the play was done, in that none of the mentally handicapped people were put in position where their disability was highlighted or made fun of. To be honest, most of the time I couldn't really tell who was handicapped and who wasn't. They all did an incredibly great job and played their parts well. At the end when everyone was taking a bow, I almost started crying because it was such a beautiful picture of human decency, kindness and respect. One of the handicapped ladies kept hugging the director and clapping with excitement and he just kept hugging her back as the crowd was clapping for him and giving a standing ovation.

Also accompanying the play was some live music. The musicians were fantastic!

Wine Tasting Along the Rhine

2009-03-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

I love a great wine tasting. What's even better, is a great wine tasting in an unusual way. After the concert, we crossed a bridge over the Rhine River and noticed a boat that was docked.

There were signs all over the boat that said "Wyschiff"...which means wine tasting. Apparently, there were around 300 different swiss wines to be sampled. We decided to check it out.

Both the upper and lower deck were full of people sampling various wines. Just as we reached the door, a lady stopped us and asked us if we'd like a free ticket. Score! As we went to pay for another ticket, the ticket guy waved us off and just told us to go on in since there was less than an hour left. Score again!

The atmosphere was warm and pleasant. Some wine tastings can be really snooty, but it wasn't the case here.

There was an assortment of cheese, deli meats and bread that were a nice compliment.
Soon, we were joining in the wine tasting fun.

You hardly knew where to start. There were so many different booths. I saw one nearly empty and we decided to start there. We ended up having a great conversation with a man who owns a couple vineyards and he shared with us his process of making wine. The first red wine I tasted there was absolutely fantastic! Everything after that didn't compare. We sampled a lot of other different wines, but ended up purchasing the very first wine we tried.

The Winner:
2006 Grain Noir Parfum de Vigne

It's a red wine with a mix of Cabernet, Malbec, Gamaret, Garanoir and Diolinoir.

Fantastic!

A Night in Basel

2009-03-26T00:24:00.001-07:00

Last Friday, I had a wonderful night in Basel. I went to the most unusual CD release party. My friend, Flavian Graber, had his cd release on one of the little river boats that crosses the Rhine River. The boat seats about 20 people at a time. He and a couple other musicians played acoustically as the boat slowly drifted across the river. With candles lit and Basel's night lights as the backdrop, it truly was a gorgeous setting and such a compliment to the music.
It had been a while since I had taken the time to walk around Basel at night and I forgot how beautiful it is! Beforehand, we took a stroll along the river. Of course, I took several pictures.

I love this picture! It feels like something out of painting.

This was the view from the boat. You can see just how beautiful it was.
All the videos I tried to take didn't turn out very well and aren't worth posting. Be sure to check out the link of Flavian's music here.

After riding the river boat and soaking up the music, Bryan and I continued to walk along the Rhine.
As we climbed the stairs to the bridge, we randomly stumble upon a protest that was just beginning!

The protest was about ending racism and prejudice agains the Turkish people.

I took a short video and this one actually turned out:

The Making of the Wedding Bands

2009-03-23T05:09:00.001-07:00

I had a great start to my New Year's when Bryan presented a ring and proposed to me. :) Since then, we've talked about what type of ring he'd like and what type of wedding band I'd like to go with my ring. One of the great things about being engaged to an artist, is how creative they can be. Bryan decided to make our wedding bands. I have to say, it's pretty darn special!

Through a referral, we went to a goldsmith in Liestal. Andreas Peter is a very kind man and wonderful to work with.

I've never before seen how rings are made. It was a really interesting process to watch.
First, white gold is melted.

You can see more in this video:

After the gold has been melted into a small form, it is then cooled briefly in water.

Next, the gold is put through this machine in order to give it form and press it into shape.

The gold must be re-heated on a constant basis to ensure that it will not crack.

Eventually, it is hammered into ring form.

My wedding band ended up being a little too small. Here it is about to be re-sized. It was cut in one part and then more white gold was added to enlarge it a little bit.

Bryan's band was a little too big. A section of it was sawed off so it could be made smaller.

After the re-sizing is complete, this was the result.
The final step is sanding the rings so they have that great shiny finish and polish.

Here's Bryan sanding his ring. You can start to see the final result:

I have to say that there's something so beautiful about sharing in the ring process together....It's really profound to be apart of creating something that not only symbolizes your commitment, but also something that will last for the rest of your life with one another.

Fasnacht by Night

2009-03-23T04:28:00.001-07:00

Around 7:15pm that night, the fire parade began. Here's a video to give you a taste of what it's like:

As the first fire cart is brought in to the city center, you can hear the crowd beginning to cheer.

The first fires started out relatively small.

As time went on, the fires became huge! I could not believe the height of some of these flames. It was a spectacular view to say the least! As you can see in the picture, some of the crowd is pulling back due to the immense amount of heat that's being generated.

These are what some people call "Fire Brooms". You'd see these several times. I don't know how people carried them. Even with all the protective gear, it still must've been smokin' hot!

So...was winter scared away? Perhaps. It got nervous at least and has been slowly disappearing.

Fasnacht by Day

2009-03-23T03:45:00.001-07:00

Every year in Switzerland, around the end of February and beginning of March, there is a celebration called "Fasnacht". During this time, there are parades during the day and even fire parades at night. People dress up in ornate, detailed, and in some cases, scary costumes. All of this is meant to scare the winter away. :) People from all over the world come to see this happen.
And me? Well, I just happen to live where the party's at. Normally, I'm not too crazy about parades and find myself getting bored pretty easily, but it wasn't the case this time around. There were so many interesting things to look at every turn you took. The swiss people were in such good spirits and it was contagious. I took a ton of pictures and videos. It was hard to narrow them down, but here are a few:

I can't tell you how many marching bands there were. The air was filled with music nonstop.

There was something for everyone. Both young and old participated.

How could winter not be scared away by this sight? ;)~

An interesting combination: Smurfs and trombones.

Flowers, confetti, candy and oranges would be thrown from each passing float. As you can see, I was able to experience some of that. You could barely see the streets. There was so much confetti! The best part, was that you could pick up piles of it off the street and throw it at other people. Guess what I did?

Some watched the parade from the windows of their apartments. There were so many people there!

I took a couple videos to give you an idea of the experience:

This video here gives you an idea of how chaotic things got after the parade had ended.

Needless to say, Liestal was pretty trashed after that.

Don't Forget The Garment Bag!

2009-03-08T04:17:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it's March already! Sorry for my lack of blog posts. All this international wedding planning has been crazily consuming.
So much so, that I've started to have dreams about it.
I had this one dream that I arrived to the church holding my wedding dress on a hanger. I noticed that there were many people in the sanctuary already and I was so excited because there were people there that I hadn't talked to for so long. With my dress in tow, I went inside and started chatting with everyone. As I was walking around, the bottom of my dress slowly started to unravel. Not noticing, I kept on walking around talking to people and dragging the dress along on its hanger. All of a sudden, the wedding music was cued and I noticed the bridesmaids were starting to come down the aisle. Frantically, I quickly changed and put on my wedding dress...only to realize that the entire bottom of it had unraveled and it was now a miniskirt! I was so embarrassed. When I woke up, the first thing I said to myself was "Don't forget a garment bag for your wedding dress!"

The most recent wedding dream I had was a bit of a nightmare. I went to go pick up my wedding dress from the place I ordered it from. I picked up the box and left without checking to see if it was correct. When I got back to my place, I opened it up and realized that they had given me the wrong box and it was a flower girl dress and a bridesmaid dress. I went back to the store and they apologized profusely and then gave me the right box with my name on it. Unfortunately, when I opened the box, I realized that they had ordered the wrong dress. Instead of my beautiful wedding dress, I now had a shiny sequined bronze dress with a silk flower wrap. It was the most hideous looking thing! I collapsed in a heap and started crying because the wedding was in 3 days and I didn't know what I was going to do. I woke up from my nightmare whimpering like a puppy and feeling completely stressed out! It had all felt so real.

I think I keep dreaming about my dress because I've ordered it in Portland but won't be able to see it/try it on until I get there next month...3 weeks before the church ceremony. So sometimes if I think about it too much, I get a little worried that something will be wrong with it. Thank goodness I only have to wait a couple more weeks before I'm back in Portland!

I Heart Stephen Colbert

2009-02-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

One of the many things I've noticed here in Swizterland, is that people don't spend a lot of time watching TV. We actually don't even have a TV here at the Villa. There are a couple TV shows I've missed watching since making the move to Europe. I can't go to a show's website and watch episodes online either...every time I've tried, a message always appears saying "Episodes are currently only available to viewers in the United States." Because of this, I now have a newfound love for the Comedy Central network. You can watch full episodes of "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Report" regardless of where you are in the world. I love it! Not only are the episodes free, but they make you laugh as well! And laughter is a very very good thing. If you're unfamiliar with either of these shows, they're basically fake news programs with a satirical comedic take on current news stories, politics, people, national media and various other things.
Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report" especially makes me laugh. I had a great time watching his interview Paul McCartney. I could try and describe it for you, but you really should see it for yourself HERE

Lesson Learned

2009-01-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the simplest way to resolve a conflict is knowing when to say you're sorry.

Strange Reflections

2009-01-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

I was taking some photos the other day and randomly stumbled onto a creative path when I noticed my reflection on this multiple mirror sheet in the living room of the villa.
Intrigued, I took a couple more shots:

These pictures had a bit of an impact and really got me thinking about how we see ourselves....how we reflect on ourselves...what part of our reflection is distorted? What part is an accurate representation? Is our world colorful? Or is it black and white? (or in this case, sepia toned) :)

Something to consider...

Processing

2009-01-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been thinking somewhere within the realms of that old saying "Life is a journey, not a destination."
It isn't so much the place you get to as it is the process that got you there.

How do you enjoy the process of something when it's stressful?
Does anyone have some tips?

Define Insane.

2009-01-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

Definition #1 : Planning a wedding from a different continent.

Definition #2: Planning wedding celebrations in 3 different countries (i.e. Switzerland, USA and Canada)

I've currently lost my mind and have gone to look for it.

Yes!

2009-01-09T06:24:00.001-08:00

I said yes!

New Year's

2009-01-09T06:08:00.001-08:00

For New Year's, a group of us headed to Wolfisberg and stayed at someone's holiday house out in the swiss countryside. It will always have a fond place in my heart since this was where a certain memorable event occurred... (*hint* there was a ring involved)

The view was gorgeous:

It was the perfect place to get in some sledding and tobogganing:

A Swiss Holiday

2009-01-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

The day following the Christmas festivities, several of us decided to go ice skating at an outdoor ice rink. It was the perfect weather to do so. We played a couple games of frozen tag and crack the whip and shot around a hockey puck I had bought in Canada several years ago. It was a blast!

Trying to ice skate, hold someone's hand and take a short video all at once is a bit of a challenge:

After that, I went horse riding with Bryan's cousin, Evelyn. Generally, I feel pretty relaxed around horses, but my horse didn't seem to like me much and its ears seemed to be permanently bent back most of the time.

Luckily, no accidents occurred and I enjoyed galloping through the swiss countryside. But when the sun went down it got REALLY cold.
It was nice to go inside, curl up with a blanket and drink some tea.

A Swiss Christmas

2009-01-09T05:08:00.001-08:00

Several of you have asked me how my first Swiss Christmas was. It was great! I spent it with Bryan and some of his extended family near Zurich. There was a lot of laughter and warmth and they were great company. The food was fantastic as well and I had the best lamb I've ever had in my entire life! I've never seen a christmas tree lit with candles before, so I took this pic.

Before we opened gifts, we sat around the table singing Christmas carols...some in English and some in German. I took a short video:

I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with my family via skype on their Christmas Eve. Since my sister had a webcam, I was able to see all of them and watch them open the gifts I sent. Because of that, I think it helped reduce my feelings of homesickness quite tremendously.

Bells and Lights

2008-12-19T13:17:00.001-08:00

The Chrismas decorations, in my little town, Liestal, are all hung up and ready for the upcoming holiday. I really enjoy walking through here in the evening. It's just beautiful and there's such a warm glow amidst the bitterly cold weather we've been having lately.

I can hardly believe that Christmas is next week!

A European Winter

2008-12-19T12:19:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I forget that I'm in Europe. Yeah, I know...utterly ridiculous. But when things get busy and the days start to blur, sometimes you just forget where you are. The town I live in is fairly small and has a quaint European feel to it but the newness of it has worn off a little. Now that the summer days are over and life has settled a bit, my travel has been less frequent.
Due to immigration processes in conjunction with a certain possible upcoming event on the horizon (*wink*), I had to take the train, on Wednesday, to go to the Canadian consulate in the city of Bern, Switzerland (which, incidentally, is the country's capital).
I have to say that some of my favorite moments in Europe have been the times where I've been able to just wander around, take in whichever sights and discover new places along the way. There were a couple extra hours before my consulate appointment and afterwards to go explore and I was extremely happy that I was smart enough to bring my camera to capture the beauty of winter here in Switzerland.

Welcome to Bern.

I enjoyed the city of Bern very much so, but it was the quieter places that moved me the most.
Warning: I'm going to inundate you with pictures of winter serenity.

Needless to say, it's snowed a lot the last couple of days.

As I was walking underneath the bridge, there were some punk teenagers throwing snowballs at me from up above. Luckily, I'm quick like a ninja and dodged them all. :)

After walking around, the cold starts to get to you. I noticed this cozy looking cafe and decided a hot chocolate was in order. It most certainly hit the spot.

I had no idea, until I took this picture, that Albert Einstein lived here in Bern for 7 years. It was here that he wrote some of his most significant papers on scientific topics like the Special Theory of Relativity and the Light Quantum Hypothesis. My curiosity was piqued and I wanted to go inside and get a glance of his life, but for some reason, it was closed!

When I saw this place, I laughed out loud and then had to take a picture.

Bern is a wonderful place to visit and the winter season just made it all the more magical. There was that moment of renewed excitement where, once again, I pinched myself and said "I'm in Europe."
And Europe is where I'll be.

What's in your yard?

2008-12-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I live in a really big house with 6 other people. One of them decided a couple weeks ago that they were going to throw a snow party in our yard. After a little bit of planning, the big day came. When the Swiss party....they party!
We haven't had a ton of snow yet over here, so they decided to go get some from the local ice arena. 12 truck loads later, we had a yard full of snow. A steep ramp was built along with a couple of jumps and rails. The party soon began and we had snowboarders and skiers coming out to partake in the fun. When you put that together with great food, beer, wine and an afterparty inside with duel karaoke...it amounts to a very entertaining evening. And no, I did not do any snowboard or ski jumping.......that's just a disaster waiting to happen...a little too hazardous to my health, perhaps.

Here are some pics:

A view of the ramp

A view from the ramp

A view from the rail

A view of the jumps

As usual, I took a couple short videos to give you an idea

SMS Dating

2008-11-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

The other day, I decided to browse through a swiss newspaper to see how many german words I could recognize. Flipping through the pages, I came across the classifieds section. There was one particular page that you couldn't help but notice with the big splashy headline: SMS Dating!
"Meet and get to know someone!" was one of the slogan statements.
I guffawed. Yes...I did.
Dating via text message? What will they think of next?
I took a quick glance at some of the text message names listed:

BoneThug
FreeLove
BlueBull

Seriously? Yes, seriously.
Don't those names absolutely compel you to drop everything you're doing just to send off a quick text message so you can seize the opportunity to "get to know" someone? I couldn't help but wonder how much those people paid to actually get their text name onto that page.
It's an odd world sometimes.

Snow

2008-11-23T05:42:00.001-08:00

Some of you have been asking how the weather's been here. It's been snowing a lot of the weekend. I think it's safe to say that winter has officially arrived.

This weather makes me want to drink tea and curl up with a blanket. I've been in my room with a couple cups of tea, reading, watching movies, talking with old friends (by way of skype) and making music. It's been a wonderfully creative and therapeutic weekend.

Early Turkey

2008-11-22T03:46:00.000-08:00

I decided since I wasn't going to be in the states for Thanksgiving this year, I was going to bring Thanksgiving to Switzerland. A couple of us got together and planned it. Due to everyone's schedule's we ended up having an early Thanksgiving. I've never before prepared or cooked a turkey so this was a first for me. The grocery stores where I live actually don't sell turkey's. Bryan ended up going to Germany for half a day to try and find one! After about 3 or 4 tries, he was finally able to locate one and bring it back.
A couple years ago, I had the best turkey I've ever had with my friend Nicole and her mom. I was able to find the recipe they used. In case you're wondering, you can find the recipe here
After thawing the turkey, I unwrapped it and looked inside to try and find the giblets. I didn't see anything and wasn't too sure if I had to go digging for them or something since this was the first time I had ever done it. I ended up calling my mom just to double check. She got a good laugh out of it. As it turned out, the turkey was completely cleaned out already and there were no giblets.

All I had to do was just wash it out, add all the herbs and stuff it.
It went relatively smoothly and soon the turkey was ready to be put in the oven. To spice things up a bit, we added some apple cinnamon cognac to the sauce we were using to baste the turkey with. It tasted great and the gravy was amazing!

Everything was fantastic and full of flavor! The only thing missing was some cranberry sauce to go with the turkey. I love that stuff, but I haven't seen it anywhere around Switzerland.

To top everything off, we had pumpkin pie and apple pie. Afterwards, I was stuffed and ready for a nap!

This year, I am thankful for the simple joys of life...good food, laughter, great company, a roof over my head and a nice bed to sleep in.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Blindekuh

2008-11-02T06:54:00.001-08:00

First of all, thanks to everyone who called me or emailed me wishing me a happy birthday. This last week, I've been feeling homesick so it was especially meaningful to hear from you.

My birthday went well. It started off with a nice brunch with my man and some gifts. Then we headed to Germany...which is just 20 minutes away. :) Unfortunately, everything was closed due to the holiday...All Saints Day or Holy Day..or something along those lines. So we came back to Switzerland and went to the carnival for a very competitive round of bumper cars. I think it's safe to say that it ended in a tie. Bryan got me as bad as I got him and we smashed a couple people along the way as well....which did wonders for my road rage. After that, my man showed off an impressive display of his strength...which won me a stuffed heart. Wahoo!
Since it was pretty cold out, we warmed up with some hot chocolate and good conversation at a cafe nearby. There was some time to kill before our dinner reservation and we walked around for a little while until we couldn't take the cold anymore.
We discovered a great place along the way...I can't even remember the name of it. It had comfortable couches to sit on and the ambiance was great. So we got comfortable and hung out talking about our process as artists.
Before too long, it was time for dinner.

Bryan took me to this one restaurant that I've been wanting to check out for a while now called "Blindekuh".
It is the most unusual dining experience I've ever had. Basically, you eat completely in the dark and your server is a blind person. I wasn't exactly too sure how it was going to work and felt intrigued by the concept and how provocative it is.
Before you are seated or even led into the main dining room, you are given a menu at the front desk and are told to choose which items you would like to eat and to remember them. You are then assigned a locker to place your jacket, purse, wallet and cell phone in. The front desk then tells you who your waiter will be and you wait in the lobby until he or she comes out. They encourage you to use the well lit bathroom before you are seated.
Our waiter's name was Moritz. After a few minutes, he came out to the lobby and asked for us. He told us that he would lead us to our table. The three of us walked in a line...my hand on Bryan's shoulder, Bryan's hand on Moritz's shoulder while Moritz led the way in complete darkness....and we're talking COMPLETE darkness. Where it's so dark, you can't see your hand in front of your face....you literally can't see ANYTHING.
Once we reached our table, Moritz placed our hands on the chairs we would be sitting in. From the sound of it, the place was packed with people. It is a little unnerving to hear, smell and feel the environment around you, but not be able to see it.
"This dining room could be the most ugly cheap looking dining room, but you'd never know it." I said to Bryan.
We felt around our table area and discovered where our silverware, glasses and napkins were placed, along with the appetizer bread basket. :) For the first little bit, the darkness felt a little claustrophobic to me and then my eyes were playing tricks on me. I kept thinking I was seeing a faint hint of light when I wasn't really...it was like blindspots dancing in front of your face. After a while, though, I became pretty comfortable and not so bad about judging distances between my place settings, the bread basket and Bryan.
Moritz came to our table and took our order. He brought us some wine and sparkling water. I'm very please to say that I didn't spill on myself once! And that's a big deal for someone who's as clumsy as me and who as Coincidental Misfortune Syndrome (CMS). The italian red wine was fantastic and before we knew it, our food had arrived. I had a delicious steak with sauteed vegetables and some risotto with this incredible rosemary garlic sauce. Best risotto I've ever had! Eating in the dark was a little bit more challenging, but I was still able to pull it off without spilling on myself. I know...unbelievable!
Moritz was the perfect server and I was amazed at his ability to serve us and bring us our food without any problem at all. He was effortless and charming.
For dessert, I had a chocolate mouse with gingerbread crumbs and red wine fig leaves. AMAZING!
It really was an incredible dining experience and gave me even more respect for people who are blind as well as a glimpse of what it's like to be in their shoes.
After we finished, Moritz led us out of the dining room and back to the main lobby. The light was harsh on our eyes and we were squinting for a little bit.
The whole experience felt a little surreal. I highly recommend it!

Like I said, my birthday went well. :)

28

2008-11-02T01:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 28.

I have a question for all of my 30 year old and over friends. Did it ever start to get to you a little bit...the closer you got to the big 3-0? Did you ever feel panicky or try to start rowing backwards?

The other day, I was remembering a line from Deana Carter's song "Strawberry Wine":

I remember
when 30 was old

I totally identify with that. Now that I'm getting closer to that number, it doesn't seem so old. Or maybe that's just something I like to tell myself so I feel better. ;)
At what point do we grow up? When are we considered to be a grown up? 30 just seems so serious.
Yeah, I know, I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself...it's 2 years away. It just feels so much closer this time around.
There's this movie I watched not too long ago called "The Straight Story". It's about how this old man, Alvin, rides his little tractor hundreds of miles just so he can reconcile with his ill brother. Along the way, he meets a variety of people from all different walks of life. There's this one scene where he's having a conversation with a group of young cyclists:

Alvin Straight: You don't think about getting old when you're young... you shouldn't.
Cyclist #1: Must be something good about gettin' old?
Alvin Straight: Well I can't imagine anything good about being blind and lame at the same time but, still at my age I've seen about all that life has to dish out. I know to separate the wheat from the chaff, and let the small stuff fall away.
Cyclist #2: So, uh, what's the worst part about being old, Alvin?
Alvin Straight: Well, the worst part of being old is rememberin' when you was young.

The hardest part of getting old is remembering that you were young once. I think there's so much truth to that.

Fall...or Winter?

2008-10-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

As I was walking to my German lesson, on Wednesday, I couldn't help but notice the beauty of fall. Fall is my favorite season.
Luckily, I had a my camera with me and took a couple pics.

The next morning, I woke up and there was some snow on the ground. Winter is trying to shove its way in. Right outside my window:

The weather here in Swizterland reminds me of Portland sometimes: the sky can't make up its mind. It frequently changes. You never really know what you're going to get. And the weatherman are rarely right with their predictions.

Artist Party

2008-10-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

It was that time of year again...another artist party was to be had.
This last Saturday, here in Basel, Switzerland, we all gathered and dressed "artistically" and created "artistic" hairdo's in.
My hairdo basically consisted of me flipping my hair over and hairspraying it like crazy. I look like I'm wearing a wig, but really it's just a back comb over and the hairspray fooling you.
You should have seen the looks that people were giving me as we were driving and then walking to the party! I felt like a rebel or some kind of misfit.
There were several other people decked out for the occasion:

There was music

Food

Drinks

And even some breakdancing! There was a breakdancer who came and did some breakdancing and painting simultaneously. I took a video:

It was a smaller turnout than last year, but sometimes smaller is better. :)
I had a great time.

Blue Like Jazz

2008-10-31T08:44:00.001-07:00

While I was on tour, I re-read Donald Miller's "Blue Like Jazz". There's a specific part in the book where he talks about his experience attending Reed College which is in Portland, Oregon. He spoke of how beautiful the campus is and of how one night he was hanging out with a friend and they walked across the Blue Bridge...which he describes as , "a beautiful walking bridge on the campus that stretches across a canyon, fit with blue lights, which, when you look, at them with blurred eyes, feels like stars lighting a path winding toward heaven."
Right after the tour, I was scheduled to head back to Portland for a couple of weeks. While I was there, I played at a festival, spent time with my family and friends and tied up a lot of my loose ends from my 10 year stay there. :)
One particular night, I got together with my friend (and co-producer), Todd (or Mr. T as I like to call him). We went out and had some fabulous ethiopian food at the Queen of Sheba. Afterwards, we were trying to decide what to do. It was a beautiful summer night...perfect for walking.
"What would you like to do?" He asked me.
"This is going to sound really odd." I said. "Have you ever been to Reed College before?"
"Yes. I've played there before." He said.
"I just finished reading a book called 'Blue Like Jazz' and there's one part where the author talked about his experiences at Reed College. He talked about how beautiful the campus was and about this one bridge in particular." I hastily tried to explain. "The way he described it...well, it makes me want to go there, see the campus and find the bridge for myself. Do you mind?"
"Not at all." Todd said (because he's cool like that!) "Let's do it."
So, we went to Reed College, parked and started walking around to try and find it.
Donald Miller wasn't lying when he said how beautiful the campus is. There are several bridges and walking paths there. The landscape was really pretty.
We walked in the afterglow of the sunset and went in search of the bridge.

And we found it! The sky was losing light fast, so I took a couple pics quickly.

I love reading about places and then actually going there myself to see firsthand what the writer is talking about. It's just one of those things that I get some small satisfaction out of.
We came across another bridge too:

This one was lit in a way that felt like the sun was setting behind you and the orange glow was reflecting off of the railings.

It was a fun little adventure.

World Snack Tour

2008-10-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of September, I went on a 2 week tour with a band named "Megalomania" and company. We had gigs in Switzerland and Germany. It was a first for me and there were a lot of new things along the way. I actually didn't really take a lot of pictures, which is a bit surprising. But we were pretty busy and now I totally get why artists who tour don't always remember which city they're in or where they were the day before. It gets crazy and becomes a blur all at once. There were a lot of great times and good laughs...even when things got frustrating or we were tired. We even had matching t-shirts made with the World Snack logo on them. So why World Snack Tour, you might ask? After a lot of the shows, we'd bring out a variety of different snacks and hang out with people and talk for a while. It was great!
I selected a couple of my favorite pics I took:

In Bern, Switzerland, we played in an old 70's disco room. This was during our soundcheck.

Here we are in Freiburg, Germany...

To the left of me, you can see Micha's
shadow...he's playing hand drums with me.

During the encore, we'd all play and sing together. I forgot how great it is to play with a band.

Giselle

2008-10-31T05:09:00.001-07:00

The highlight of my trip to Rome ended up being our last night. After all of us dressed up and had a great dinner, we went to an Italian ballet called "Giselle". This ballet was held outside among these old roman ruins.

It was the perfect, warm summer night.
The moon was out in its fullness, the stars were making an appearance and there wasn't a cloud in sight.

When you go to another country that you've never been to before, you always hope for something extraordinary to happen...to have at least one of those great memories that will stay with you for the rest of your life. The kind where you can say, "When I went to _____, I got to see________."
I love going on vacation and have something out of the norm happen...outside of all the sightseeing, museums, historic landmarks, shopping, wonderful food and touristy things.
I have been to several ballet productions before, but never like this.

After receiving our programs, we headed to the bar that was setup. One of the featured items they had were Ritz crackers! It made me laugh! I really wasn't expecting that.

Once we got something to drink, we found our seats and took in the set design along with the sounds of the orchestra warming up.

You could feel the anticipation.

My lil' sis and I.....happy to be there!

There was no photography allowed during the performance...but you know me. I snuck a couple pictures as well as a video:

It was a magical night...and such a great moment to end on.

The Last Supper

2008-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

For our last supper in Rome, we decided to end where we began....at the good ol' Marconi Pub.

I had some delightfully delectable lamb, rosemary potatoes, garlic beans and a salad. It was the best!

We dolled ourselves up for the evening. I asked a passerby to take a couple pictures of us. Unfortunately, none of the them turned out. This was the best one of the bunch.

St. Peter's Basilica

2008-10-31T04:05:00.000-07:00

After viewing the Sistine Chapel, we decided to head to the Vatican cafeteria for some lunch. When we finished eating, we tried to go back the way we came so we could see St. Peter's Basilica. Unfortunately, security wouldn't let us go back that way and we ended up having to go through the Vatican again just so we could avoid the long lines outside to St. Peter's Basilica!!! It was crowded in the morning...just think what it was like at 2pm! So we went as quickly as we could through everything we had already seen...and tried to navigate through all the people. Eventually we made it back to the Sistine Chapel and took the exit that would lead us to where we wanted to go. Finally, we were on the other side of the Vatican and at St. Peter's Basilica. However, we realized that we had lost one of our own! Trying to find someone at the Vatican is really like looking for a needle in the haystack. Luckily, after about 25 minutes or so, we were able to locate our friend.
The square of the basilica is huge:

I took a ton of pictures, but tried to narrow it down to some of my favorites.

As usual, I took a video:

The Sistine Chapel

2008-10-31T02:57:00.001-07:00

The Sistine Chapel was an interesting experience for me. When I made it there, it was completely crowded. The chapel is a lot smaller than I thought it would be. In some ways, I suppose I had romanticized the moment in my head. I wasn't expecting to have some profound experience, but I did think that I would have some sort of awe filled moment. It was difficult to really take it all in when there were so many people there and they were all talking. There were also numerous security guards milling about who kept shouting, "Quiet!" to the crowd and "No pictures!" A lot of people discreetly disregarded the no picture policy...myself included. How could you not? You're in one of the most well-known chapels in the world, you have a camera in your hand and you probably won't make it back there again. Why wouldn't you take pictures?
Some people, however, do not know the art of being discreet. There were people who got into a couple nasty confrontations with the security guards and had to be forcibly escorted out of the chapel...so perhaps you can understand why you'd have a difficult time really soaking in the grandeur of Michelango's work.

I eventually found my tour group and put my headset back on so I could hear about some of the details regarding the chapel. There were a couple things I was surprised to learn....Michelangelo painted a lot of the Sistine Chapel, but there were also other artists involved: Raphael, Bernini and Sandro Botticelli.

One thing I was not expecting to see was on the main wall of Michelangelo's Last Judgement. I couldn't get a picture of it without being obvious, so I'll just have to describe it to you. The mural consists mainly of people ascending into heaven on the left side and then people descending into hell on the right side. During the time of this painting, there was a certain Vatican official that did not like Michelango and heavily criticized him for how much nudity was in his work. Michelangelo responded by locking himself in the Sistine Chapel and then painted this particular official to be in the Last Judgement....directly in hell. He also painted donkey ears on him as well as painted a snake wrapping itself around the guy and then biting him in his nether-regions. When I saw this, I laughed pretty hard! Imagine being in a really sacred place, looking at the critically acclaimed work of one of the most well know artists in all the world....and all of a sudden you see a painting of some guy with donkey ears and a snake biting him in the crotch! Priceless. You can check out the picture at this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Judgment_(Michelangelo)
It's not close up...but it's found at the bottom of the very right hand corner.

I spent most of my time looking up...and got a cramp in my neck. :)
It was great to finally see something that you've heard about for years.

I took a short video of what I could:

The Vatican

2008-10-27T09:08:00.001-07:00

We reached the Vatican just a little bit after 8am. To our dismay, a very very long line had formed already and we were told it was a 3 hour wait. While we were trying to decide what we should do, we met this lady who was in charge of a tour group. She told us that if each of us payed her $20 extra than the regular admission, we could completely bypass the long line and the 3 hour wait. It really didn't take that much convincing! We paid, waited for some other people to join our group and soon we were passing everyone else in line. For a second, you felt like you were apart of the "cool" group.
Everyone in the tour group was given headsets and our tour guide spoke into a mic to explain some of the individual art pieces within the Vatican.

We walked along through a couple of courtyards.

Everyone was taking pictures madly since there were so many statues around. I tried to keep it simple by taking pictures of ones that stood out to me.

Cleopatra

Apollo: Protector of the artists

We were told by our tour guide, that if you spent at least 1 minute looking at every piece of art in the Vatican, it would take you 12 years to get all the way through!
You didn't see one bare ceiling there. Each one was covered with some painting or carving or decor of some kind.

Since there were so many people there, it was difficult sometimes to really take it all in.
I took a short video:

There were people there of all different ages, nationalities and religions. It was an interesting thing to all be brought together by this one specific place.

After a while, you start to get a little saturated by all the art you see. Things start blurring together a little bit. It was hard to not want to take a picture of absolutely everything, but I tried to take pics of things that I really liked. These are just a few out of the many:

Since there were so many people and so much art, I actually lost my tour group. Luckily we had all agreed to meet at the Sistine Chapel around 12:30pm.

Spanish Steps

2008-10-24T12:12:00.001-07:00

We took the underground subway to go and see the infamous Spanish Steps...or, as the Italians would say, "Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti". These steps are the longest and widest in all of Europe. Unfortunately, you can't truly appreciate them when there's SO MANY FREAKIN' PEOPLE in the way!

I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but the steps were pretty anti-climatic for me. I just kind of stared at them and then the moment was over. Since we had been walking everywhere the entire day, none of us were really motivated to climb the stairs all the way up.

We spent about 10 minutes there and then moved on to see what else was around. For all of you fashionistas or shopaholics, you would've truly enjoyed going down one particular street that was lined with all the popular designer stores: Gucci, Valentino, Louis Vutton, Fendi, Hermes, Prada and Jimmy Choo.

Although the Spanish Steps may have been a little anti-climatic for me, I really enjoyed this particular area of Rome. It was beautifully lit and was also the perfect summer night to be out enjoying it.

Another video to give you an idea:

Fontana di Trevi

2008-10-24T11:26:00.001-07:00

There are many fountains in Rome, but none of them are as impressive as Trevi Fountain....the city's largest fountain. It's truly remarkable.

When I was little, every time we'd go somewhere that had a fountain, I would beg my parents for some spare change to throw in the water just so I could make a wish. When you're at one of the biggest fountain's in the world, you can't help but feel the inner child tugging at you to do it again. At Trevi Fountain, it's a tradition to go to its edge, turn around and throw a coin over your shoulder for good luck. So I went and did that...and made a wish too.
It seemed like everyone else decided to go to the fountain that day as well. I took a short video to give you an idea of the hordes of people:

Old Town Part 2

2008-10-24T10:51:00.001-07:00

As the old saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day"....
There is so much to see. You cannot see Rome in 3.5 days. I still can't believe how much we crammed into our short time!

When you see places like this...it feels almost eerie. It was quiet in a way that was haunting. I could've stayed there all day long and gone exploring...looking for ghosts from history's past.

A video:

Chandeliers

2008-10-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

As I walked around the outside of the museum, I stumbled upon Basilica Di S.Maria in Aracolei. This church was literally lined with chandeliers. I've never seen anything like it nor have I ever seen so many chandeliers all at once.

I took a video to give you an idea :

Feeling Architectual?

2008-10-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

This is one of the museums that we looked at. I didn't find that much inside that interested me nearly enough as the grandeur of architecture on the outside. I spent a lot of time looking up.

Capturing the view from the museum.

Old Town Rome

2008-10-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

After leaving the church, we walked on ahead.....into biblical times it would seem. Taking pictures doesn't do it justice, but these should give you an idea:

Yes...I was there...and it was H-O-T!!! If I ever go back to Rome, I won't be going in August. Not only is August the height of the tourist season, but it is also the hottest time of the year there. All of us were baking. Walking 10 blocks in the heat of the day felt like miles! In this picture, you can see me holding an umbrella. That actually brought some relief from the glare of the sun.

I'm sure that you can just imagine how wonderful and appealing fresh juicy fruit would seem when you're in the heat of the day.

Basilica di Santa Maria Nova

2008-10-14T10:05:00.001-07:00

After the Coliseum, we forged on and stumbled upon the Basilica di Santa Maria Nova.

As we reached the entrance of the church, my lil' sis said to me, "Kinda gives you a new concept of the title 'Men in Black', eh?"I looked to my right and saw these guys. Smiling, I took their picture.

The level of detail in this church was pretty incredible.

The "men in black" followed us in.
I always find it funny to see these guys with modern day technologies like a cell phone or digital camera.

Coliseum By Day

2008-10-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

To avoid the big crowds, we decided to go to the coliseum first thing in the morning.

As a couple of us were heading towards the main entrance, there were some guys dressed up as roman soldiers. I went to take a picture and one of them grabbed my camera out of my hands. I followed him...
"That's MY camera." I said.
He motioned with the camera that he was going to take a picture of me and one of the other soldiers. So I posed and then took my camera back.
"That will be 5 euros." the soldier said to me in a thick italian accent.
"What?" I asked.
"5 euros, please....for picture."
"Wait a second. " I protested. "You didn't tell me it was going to cost anything."
"It's 5 euros!" The soldier said more forcefully and held out his hand.
"I don't have any change on me." I said. "I'm waiting for the rest of my party."
"Then they can pay me 5 euros." He said in a gruff voice.
"You should have told me up front that it was going to cost me money." I told him.
"Now I'm getting mad, lady." The soldier said as he glared at me. "I have a wife. I have kids. I need to put food on my table. I'm sick and tired of you tourists trying to short change me all the time. This isn't free. This is my job!"
"Well, you should do your job more honestly. It's your job to tell me up front that I would be paying for a service" I replied.
"Delete the photo off your camera then!" the soldier yelled at me.
"Fine with me." I went to go do that on my camera when all of a sudden he erupted into a series of expletives.
"You stupid b!tch! You're a f@#kin' &^%*&)(*&)*&)&)(&)(*)(*)#^$^$^@^$^$....etc.!!!!"
Shocked, I started backing up.
"Get out of here you f**kin' nazi!" he said to me and then spit in my direction.
I was so taken aback at how hostile and vulgar he had become that the only response that came out of my mouth was "You're ridiculous!" And with a glare, I turned and walked away.....with the picture still on my camera.
I was so angry about the whole encounter that I had to walk it off. What I really wanted to do was go back and rip him a new one along with a few choice words and a couple other things....
From then on, whenever a roman soldier would approach me about taking a picture with him, immediately I would say, "I don't have 5 euros."

Because we had arrived first thing in the morning, we were able to get into the coliseum almost immediately. The picture taking started right away and continued the rest of the time. The coliseum was spectacular and I loved the way it looked in the morning light.

My sis and I

Inside the hallways of the coliseum are ancient statues and art. You could literally spend a day in there just looking at everything there is.

As we were leaving we noticed the long line that snaked around the outside of the coliseum. I am so glad we showed up early!

All around were tourist carts brimming with roman trinkets.

I took a close up picture of some of the little statues. Bottoms up.

Aside from my nasty encounter with the roman soldier, the coliseum was a highlight for me. Sometime in your lifetime, you should check it out.

October

2008-10-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I'm back finally!
September was a whirlwind. I will post again soon!

On the Road Again

2008-09-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm interrupting my regular blogging to say that I'm leaving on tour today with the band Megalomania. We will be traveling throughout Switzerland and Germany to do a couple gigs. I'm excited! When I return, I will finish blogging about my trip to Rome.

:)

The Coliseum By Night

2008-08-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

So after the pasta, nuns and gelato, we decided to walk to the Coliseum. We ended up walking the long way, but it was well worth it! I was happy to see that there weren't crowds of people there. The Coliseum is spectacular at night! It's no wonder that it's one of the seven modern wonders of the world. Once it is within your sights, you are spellbound and unable to refrain from taking hundreds of pictures. I tried various settings on my camera and really fell in love with the sepia tone. I tried my best to narrow down which pictures to choose:

Since it was so late at night, the coliseum was closed. I walked around the entire thing taking picture after picture...staring at it in wonder. It's weird to think that this building is much older and has been around much longer than the existence of U.S., Canada and Mexico combined. You can't help but realize that North American history is child's play compared to places like Rome.
We stayed at the coliseum for a couple of hours. It was the perfect late summer night to do this. By the time we got back to the hostel, it was well after 1am.
I could hardly believe everything that had happened and what I had seen in Rome and it hadn't even been a full 24 hours yet!

Pasta, Nuns and Gelato

2008-08-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Our hostel had planned a pasta and wine night so people could mingle and meet other travelers from all over the world.
Unfortunately, the pasta and wine were horrible!

As we were trying to eat the un-tasty food, I heard faint singing and looked over. There was a group of nuns sitting on a rooftop singing together. One of them was playing the guitar. I totally wasn't expecting that! You can see them at the center of this picture.

Our unappetizing pasta dinner left us craving for something more...something truly Italian: gelato. There was a place just a little ways down from our hostel that we decided to check out.

Mmmmm...gelato.
I had chocolate, amaretto, tiramisu and rasberry flavors. It was delicious and a fantastic thing to have on a warm summer night!

We sat outside across the street from the Santa Maria Church square and watched the people pass by as the night came.

The architecture in Rome is beautifully lit at night. I love that about Europe in general.

I took a couple pictures with the sepia setting on my camera.

Rome Impressions

2008-08-27T01:09:00.000-07:00

I rung the bell to my hostel and the buzzing sound of the opening door soon followed. It was such a welcome relief to get out of the heat! I climbed the stairs and reached the front desk. The front desk guy took one look at me and then left the room. A minute later, he came back with a refrigerated bottle of cold water.
"Oh my gosh! Thank you SO much!" I said.
"You really looked like you need it." He said.
Come to find out, my sisters and friends hadn't arrived from their flight yet and I wasn't able to check in without them.
"You can store your luggage with us and go hang out on the rooftop if you'd like." he suggested.
"Okay." I said.
Had I know that I would've had to climb up 5 flights of stairs to get there, I probably would have given it a second thought. :)
Reaching the rooftop, I decided to take a couple pictures of the view:

One thing I noticed was that most of the other rooftops had these really ugly anntena things on them. You'd think that you'd need only one of these things. The rooftop horizon was littered with them.
"When did Rome become ugly?" I wondered out loud. Of course, I realized that there was so much more to see and this wouldn't be all there was. Still, my first impression of Rome was nothing of what I thought it would be.
Having had enough of the heat, I went back inside. Going back down the stairs, I ran into the Italian owner of the hostel who started speaking to me in endless Italian. The front desk guy came out and told me that he was suggesting I could get a bite to eat at a pizzeria just around the corner. I could get a special discount there since I was staying at the hostel.
"Ok." I said.
The owner patted the front desk guy's shoulder and pushed him towards me and began making hand gestures.
"He says that I should be your companion and show you where it is." The front desk guy said.
"Uhhh...okaaay." I said feeling a little uncertain.

Armed with a map, we left the hostel. (If you look closely towards the center of the map, you can see that our location is circled.)
As we walked, I decided that introductions were in order.
"My name is Shady." The front desk guy said.
The way his name is pronounced, sounds like the word 'shoddy' and I ended up asking him how he spelled it to try and refrain from laughing out loud.
It turns out that Shady is a writer and he's only been working at the hostel for 2 days. He's Egyptian-Italian and I don't remember for the life of me what his complicated last name is.
He taught me a couple Italian words and laughed at my pronunciation.
"Where are some other great places to eat?" I asked.
"You can eat just about anywhere in Rome and --" he started.
" -- get really fat?" I interjected, thinking again about Elizabeth Gilbert and how she said that she gain 25 pounds in the 4 month period that she lived in Rome.
"Ha ha! Well you don't have that problem at all and don't need to worry about it." He said looking me up and down.
I laughed....'cause I didn't know what else to do.
"So where's this pizza place?" I asked...changing the subject.
Shady looked at the map...looked around...and then looked back at the map.
"It should be around here."
We ended up walking full circle and it was then I realized that he had absolutely no idea where we were going.
"It's okay. Why don't we just head back to the hostel?" I suggested.
"I'm actually off work now." Shady said.
"You are? Oh, I'm sorry." I said apologetically. "I had no idea. So you're leaving now?"
"Yes, but I could show you around Rome. We should go dancing and drinking tonight." he said.
"I really need to check to see if my sisters have arrived and I'll be with them tonight." I said, feeling pretty awkward.
Shady shrugged and said, "Okay. I'm sure I'll see you around." And with a smile, he left.
I burst out laughing...my first 2 hours in Rome were anything but boring.
About 20 minutes later, the rest of my party finally arrived. I was elated to see my sisters! It turned out that they had their own travel stories to tell.
Because the front desk was closed for another hour, we decided to find some place nearby to eat since we were all starving! There was a place I noticed on my walk with Shady that was just around the corner.
"Let's check out Marconi Pub." I said.
We sat outside in the shade and exchanged numerous stories after we ordered some food and drink.

There was a lot of laughter. I snapped this picture and it's one of my favorites.

Romeward Bound

2008-08-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

I saw the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. It's a brilliant, pristine color of sapphire blue.....at least that's how it seems from an airplane window. I smiled a goofball smile to myself as I said quietly, "There's the Mediterranean Sea."
Was I really on my way to Rome? It's a great feeling when I can answer myself truthfully and actually like the answer. :)
Two of my sisters, my aunt, and two other friends were vacationing in Italy and I was on my way to Rome to meet up with them for a couple of days. The flight was only an hour and a half and I smiled another goofball smile as I got the Italian date stamp in my passport. As soon as I got outside, the sun obnoxiously greeted me and let the heat immediately swallow me whole. Even the shade offered little relief.
After waiting around for a half hour, my shuttle bus finally arrived. Luggage was loaded and people began boarding. It would be about a 40 minute ride 'til we reached the city. As the ride began, I started thinking about the book I had read a while back Eat, Pray and Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, who had spent 4 months of her life living in Rome. She had me regaled with ideallyc stories of the city, the italian people, the food and all the sites.
As the bus made its way through the first hints of Rome, I looked out the window and was shocked. This was Rome? Where were all the pretty buildings and gelato shops that Elizabeth Gilbert talked about? The streets were lined with dilapidated buildings and streams of grafitti that seemed to go on forever. Garbage was strewn everywhere and no street corner looked inviting. I realized then that even Rome has a ghetto area. Talk about a rude awakening in pre-conceived notions!
Evenutally, the bus pulled into the train station and after grabbing my luggage, I was soon on my way...except, I didn't know exactly where I was going. Apparently, the hostel I would be staying at was only about 10 blocks away. The train station was filled with wall to wall people. I looked at the directions my sister had emailed me and found the referenced McDonald's to be right in front of me. Having a better idea of my bearings, I started walking. The street curbs were lined with taxis.
"Taxi! Taxi!" some of the cab drivers were shouting.
"Taxi, miss?" One of the drivers said approaching me.
"My hostel isn't too far away from here. I think I'm ok. " I said showing him the address.
"I give you ride!" He said enthusiastically. "Only $15 Euros ($22 US)."
"What?! $15 Euros for only 10 blocks?" I said incredulously. "No thanks. I'll stick with walking."
I couldn't help but wonder as I walked away, what's the point of even having a running meter in a taxi cab if you're not going to use it properly?
Crossing the street, I noticed an italian man coming my way and he was staring at me openly and unabashedly.
"Ciao, bella!" He said with a great big smile.
I couldn't help but laugh. I've heard stories about Italian men and their forwardness. Looks like there's a little truth to that.

When it's almost 100 degrees and you have to walk 10 blocks...it feels like a really long time.

I saw what I considered to be the first nice looking piece of architecture since I had arrived. It was Santa Maria's church. I knew the hostel was close. Thank God! I was parched and beginning to overheat.
When I reached the narrow door of the hostel, I noticed the sign on the door that said "The front desk is closed from 2pm-4pm. If you ring the bell during this time, you will be fined $10 Euros." Scrambling through my purse, I looked for my cell phone to find out what time it was.
It was 1:58pm.
"No way." I sighed with relief. For once, my timing wasn't so bad!

Motorcycle Tour - Day 4 - Sail Away

2008-08-19T00:59:00.000-07:00

The next morning, I woke up late to another beautiful day. Lake Geneva was gorgeous in the morning light. After a pretty laid back morning, we packed up all our stuff and headed to one of the little harbors. Our hosts from the evening before were kind enough to invite us to go sailing at noon.

This picture was taken just as we were getting ready to sail away.
Yes, my legs are really that white.

The view from the water.

Putting the sail up.

One thing I was unprepared for was that I got a little motion sickness. Once the lake settled though and the waves weren't so choppy, I was able to enjoy it a lot more.

I told our "captain" that he looks like Sean Connery. What do you think? Apparently, he's been told this before.
He was kind enough to bring a picnic lunch along. We had some tomatoes, bread, cheese, salami, nuts and wine. It was a great sailor's snack. :)

On the other side of Lake Geneva is the country of France. Here's a nice view of France.
We were out on the water for a couple hours. Most of the time, I sat in the shade of the sail.
However, when we docked the boat....
"You're burnin' up, Wellard."
I actually felt fine, but started slathering lotion all over anyways. As time went on, slowly I started to feel the burn. It turned out I wasn't the only one.
After thanking our host and saying goodbye, we loaded everything up on our bikes and changed into our biker leathers.
Here's a tip about wearing black leather from head to toe: Never wear it when you just got sunburnt....unless your a masochist and you enjoy pain.
We had about a 2.5 hour ride ahead of us and it felt very loooooonnnnnnnnnngggggggggg. Around dinner time, we stopped to have some pizza in one of the lakeside towns. When you're wearing a biker outfit, it garners a certain amount of attention from people and they stop to look at you. Normally, you feel pretty bad ass, but I was grimacing with every move my sunburnt arms and legs made. It was nice to take a break from the bike, though. The pizza was a welcomed distraction.
The evening became cooler and it was somewhat of a consolation.
I was able to distract myself long enough to take a couple of videos:

We reached home around 11pm and I spent the next day in bed recovering from my sunburn. I burnt my arms, shoulders and back pretty bad, so I couldn't really lay on my back....I burnt my thighs really bad, so I couldn't really lay on my stomach. It would've been funnier if it wasn't me! Sailing was still worth it, though.
Overall, the trip was fantastic and I had fun being a bad ass biker chick for 4 days.

Motorcycle Tour - Day 3 - Sun, Curves and Wine

2008-08-18T10:57:00.001-07:00

I awoke in Brunnig the next morning and discovered how beautiful the town looked during the day.

The sun was out and it was the perfect day for a motorcycle ride. After a simple breakfast, we were on our way.

When you ride a motorcycle, you're automatically inducted into a club. This is the club that all motorcyclists are apart of. When you pass one another, you get to do a cool little wave that only club members can do. I had so much fun with it and tried to wave to every motorcyclist we passed.
Riding through tunnels is a blast:

One of the great things about traveling through the Alps are the nice windy roads. I love this video:

After a beautiful day's ride, we arrived in Montreux mid-afternoon and pitched our tents right at the edge of Lake Geneva.
One thing I was not prepared for were all the topless women laying around...this is a common thing in Europe.
"Hey Andrea, are you going to wear your bikini?" Martin (our other traveling companion) asked.
"No." I said. "I don't have one."
"You could just go topless." He suggested.
"Um, no."
"I promise I won't look."
"Heh. Nice try...but hell no!" I exclaimed.
Martin's got such a sense of humor. What a funny guy.

In the heat of the day, a swim (with a top on) was a great idea, though. It was cool and refreshing. The 3 of us then swam to what we dubbed as "Bird Sh*t Island". Yes, folks...even in grand Lake Geneva, seagulls are still making a mess!

After our pleasant swim, we got ready for dinner.
Bryan has relatives near Montreux who own a vineyard. They were kind enough to invite us over. There is a section where the mountains are covered with vineyards and as you make your way down the road, you pass through these little vineyard towns that are tight-knit with bakeries and quaint little shops. You feel like you're in a labyrinth of sorts as you follow the maze of the extremely narrow roads. I wish we would've had more time to explore.

The view was incredible and these pictures don't do it justice for a second. This particular vineyard produces wine that is imported only within Switzerland. 90% of it produces white wine and 10% produces red. Just a little over 55,000 bottles of wine are made here each year.

Our hosts prepared a fantastic meal outside for us. They grilled some meat too! I was a very happy camper...having meat 2 days in a row! We were spoiled rotten.
I started asking questions about the vineyard and what kind of red wines they made.
"A red wine very similar to Beaujolais." they said.
"I love Beaujolais wine!" I said....and I asked my partner to tell me how to tell them in german that I would like to please try a glass. I spoke in some very broken german. Everyone burst out laughing. At first I thought it was because of how poorly I spoke, but the laughter lingered and prompted me to say, "What did I just tell you?"
After the chuckling subsided, I discovered that I was tricked into saying that I wanted a bottle of the red wine all for myself.
Eventually, I did get to have a glass of that red wine. It was very smooth. The food, drink and laughter continued throughout the evening. Even when it began to rain, we took the party inside and had some dessert along with tea and coffee. Before we knew it, it was time to go.
As we left, we once again meandered our way through the labyrinth of the vineyard towns:

Motorcylce Tour - Day 2 - Into the Alps

2008-08-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Anticipation was high as we headed towards the Swiss Alps. I had driven through there last fall, but when you're riding a motorcycle, it all becomes new again. Once the Alps enveloped us and we began our ascent, the sun began to disappear and the clouds soon rolled in. The temperature dropped and then I felt a drop of rain...and then another one...and then another one. Having lived in Portland for the past 10 years, rain is hardly a threatening thing.
I shook my fist at the sky and shouted fearlessly, "I laugh in the face of rain!"
Shortly thereafter, the sky replied with a series of thunder and lightning demonstrations and an increase in rainfall. We ended up having to pull over and seek shelter because it was too dangerous to continue. Ooh, the irony. Apparently, mother nature didn't like my arrogance.

We pulled over near a little mountain restaurant/pub. There was a big storage area in the back where we unloaded our bags and stayed there to wait out the storm. We were joined by an Italian bicyclist named Frederico who was from Venice. He was on vacation and was riding his bicycle up the mountain pass and through the Alps. (Can we say crazy?!) The owner soon came out and joined us as well. He was a 91 year old man who had lived there for nearly 50 years. He had my comrades engrossed with his stories about his life and experiences.
I didn't understand what he was saying, but I was entertained anyways by how much of a character he was.
He noticed that I didn't speak the language and asked if I knew any German at all. I told him a little.
He said to the guys, "Does she know German well enough to know the phrase 'It's time to go to bed?'"
Laughter ensued and I asked for the translation. Apparently, even in the Alps, you can find a dirty old man. I should've been insulted and said something to him, but he was kind enough to give us a place out of the rain and I was just too entertained by him.
Because his hearing wasn't that great, he talked really loudly. I ended up taking a short video:

Giving him my camera, we asked him if he'd take a picture of us and this is how it turned out.

After about a half hour and many thunder/lightning performances, the sky simmered down a little and we decided it was safe enough to continue. We bid the old man farewell, but not before we pulled out some whiskey to toast one another. :)

As we geared up to leave, I quickly ran across the street to take a video of the incredible view:

The further up we went, the more the fog rolled in and the temperature dropped. Thank goodness for the leather I was wearing. It really keeps you warm. But after a while, the cold began to seep in. We had heard that there was a really great restaurant at the top of one of the mountains and it was about that time to eat anyhow. As soon as we saw it, we parked the bikes and went on in.

It was exactly what was needed! There was a roaring fire going and I didn't realize how cold I was until I stood right in front of it. We sat down to order and to my delightful surprise, they had steak available for a very reasonable price! I ordered it and watched as they cooked it over the fire. It's probably the best steak I've had in Switzerland to date. My mouth waters just thinking about it. :)
A little while later, the waitress told us that road we had just come up was completely closed down. There was a sudden avalanche and no one could get through. Talk about timing! Also, the storm had grown increasingly worse...it was raining pretty hard and the fog was in full throttle. We ended up staying at that restaurant for a long time just waiting, eating, drinking hot chocolate, warming up and playing a bunch of card games. It was nice to relax.
Later on in the evening, the weather cleared and it was decided that we would continue on to Brunnig.

As we began our descent, the view became spectacular. There were glaciers slowly melting into rivers and waterfalls at nearly every winding corner. Not another soul was around.
We pulled over so I could take this picture. It was so quiet and beautiful.

After another couple hours, I started to get stiff and numb from being on the bike. Thinking again about that documentary "Long Way Round" where they rode around the world on motorcycles gave me a new admiration for Ewan McGregor and Charley Mooring. I don't know how they could ride their bikes for 10-12 hours day after day after day.
Finally...around 9pm, we reached Brunnig and the festivities were in complete motion.

There were fireworks happening.
We headed to a big circus sized tent where there were friends, skits, concerts, food and drink.
The celebration went into the wee hours of the morning, but around 1am I was completely wiped out and ready for some shut eye. I had no trouble getting to sleep by then.

Motorcycle Tour - Day 2 - Along The Way

2008-08-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

The 2nd day of our trip had us leaving in the late morning. We headed east with Brunnig scheduled as our last stop for the day. The sun played hide and seek during the ride. When you're wearing black leather and you stop for a break....being out in the sun can really begin to fry you!

Here's a self taken photo while in transit. As you can see, I'm enjoying myself. :)

Switzerland is a fantastic place to do a motorcycle trip during the summer. The scenery is absolutely beautiful.

Here is a short video of the ride and view...sorry for the loud noise and shaky camera recording:

To give ourselves a break and stretch our legs, we stopped in a town called Brunnen which is right along Lake Lucerne. It's been said that Switzerland was first founded here.
August 1st is Switzerland's national holiday....the equivalent of what July 4th would be. Practically all the businesses are closed and the streets are filled with celebrations, good food, beer and pure merriment.

Lake Lucerne

Motorcycle Tour - The Beginning

2008-08-06T04:47:00.000-07:00

Anytime you take a trip for a couple of days and you're traveling by motorcycle, packing for it will be an interesting feat; simply because you don't have a trunk to put anything in...just a backpack and a tankpack to share between 2 people and another great way to bond. :)

The first day of the motorcycle trip was relatively low key. We rode out to a town near Zurich so we could meet up with our other traveling companion, Martin.

Martin and his family live here. This house is amazing! We were warmly welcomed and had a great meal.

Later in the evening, we rode into Wadenswil to see a local film that was being shown outdoors at Rosenmatt park. I was totally kicking myself because I forgot to bring my camera. You can get an idea of what it looked like, if you visit their website : http://www.rosenmattpark.ch/ The film, "Heimatklange" (english translation "Echoes of Home") was about the history and current state of Yodeling in Switzerland today. Did you know that back in they day, there were yodeling gangs? They'd yodel at one another and beat eachother up. Most of the time, I find yodeling to be amusing and somewhat goofy. I never thought I'd ever find it beautiful. There were moments in the film where I was really moved by it. I know...it's strange. It's just one of those things you'd have to see for yourself.

Next to the outdoor screen was a restaurant in a tented area. It had some really great ambience and once again, I wish I had my camera so I could show you. After hanging out, having something warm to drink and talking, it was well after 1am and we rode our motorcycles back to the house.

A Harley, Leather and Attitude

2008-08-06T04:22:00.000-07:00

Anytime you ride a Harley and wear a black leather outfit to match, you're destined to feel bad ass and have the voracious desire to take a series of poser pics. As promised, here are the best of the poser pics:

If you're honest with yourself, poser pics are a lot of fun to take! I felt like I was channeling a little bit of the Trinity character from The Matrix.

I will post more later about the actual trip.
:)

Long Way Round

2008-07-31T03:09:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite TV documentaries is called "Long Way Round" which stars actors and best friends Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. They decided that they were going to ride their motorcycles around the world beginning in London, England...traveling east through Europe and Asia...flying in to Alaska and the final destination being New York City. A film crew accompanied them and there's a lot of great footage of their travels. It was a pretty incredible roadtrip complete with all the unexpected things that always seem to happen. I highly recommend watching it.
When you watch something like this, it makes you want to travel and see the world too.
Well, I guess you could say that I'm getting my own little/short version of the "Long Way Round." This afternoon, I'm leaving on a motorcycle tour of Switzerland and I am stoked! Someone was kind enough to lend us a Harley Davidson with all the trimmings...i.e. matching leather outfits, gloves, helmuts, boots and back packs. Yes, I will be sure to post the poser pictures.
I've ridden a motorcycle before, but not a Harley. There will be 3 of us, a couple motorcycles and the open road. Wahoo. Adventure awaits...

Cherry Picking

2008-07-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

To earn some extra cash, I went cherry picking out in the swiss countryside. I had no idea that cherry picking could be so much fun! I was there all day and had a blast picking cherries and taking in the incredible beauty of the swiss countryside. It was so peaceful. Afterwards, we were each given a box of cherries to take home.

As usual, I took a short video of the view. I wish you were here to see it for yourself:

Castle Ruins

2008-07-29T05:26:00.000-07:00

I took a short hike up to Homburg...an old castle that once was.

This was the view at the beginning. Can you believe it? It really feels like a dream here sometimes.

After about a 10 minute hike from that point, the castle is visible.

When I read about the all the earthquakes, fires and wars this castle has survived, I'm surprised there's even anything left standing.

Once you walk through the main entrance, this is what you see.

As you can see, there are no more floors.

...but you can always count on a long winding staircase to the top.

Old church bells rang off in the distance. It was the perfect summer day.

When there's no one else around...it feels like the castle is your own little getaway.

The view is amazing:

On our way back, we ran into some noisy sheep:

Basel

2008-07-29T05:01:00.001-07:00

Last week, I enjoyed a liesurely stroll through the city of Basel. I live in Liestal which isn't too far away. I'd venture to say that Liestal is to Basel what Gresham is to Portland. It was fun to walk around and take in some of the sights. I took more pictures:

This was taken from the highest point in Basel.

Yours truly.

This is the oldest cafe in Basel and was originally started by some jewish people before they were driven out during WWII times.
The cafe has some excellent chocolate cake and tea.

Wherever you go in Europe, no matter the size of the town, you can be sure that the church building will always be outstanding.

I met the guys who's been the caretaker to this church for over 10 years. They've been working on restoring it for a long time. He knows every nook and cranny of this church. He showed me that two people can stand on opposite ends of the big doorframe and whisper things to one another. It's crazy, but you're able to hear what the other is saying. There are also some secret passages too. I love being able to find out about things like this!

I took a couple other shots:

Showtime

2008-07-21T04:53:00.000-07:00

After a week of new friends, great conversations, interesting experiences and endless sights, we were finally gearing up for the big show.

Setting up the stage.

Hanging up balloons.

People begin arriving.

And so we begin....

I played some music.

Some members of the band, Meglomania, also played. And out of no where, we had some fire performers come out.

Bryan had a successful unveiling of his sculpture.

It was a fantastic night where music, art and culture collided....proving to be one unforgettable evening.

The Lithuanian people were attentive and enthusiastic. We all had a great time together!

Dancing

2008-07-21T03:47:00.001-07:00

Next Year, Vilnius will be the European Capital of Culture in 2009. Understandably so. There is so much culture here. Music fills the streets as well as contemporary art in unexpected places. There is also dancing. One evening, the gallery we were at had a night of dance performances. It all started off relatively normal.

There were flamenco dancers:

A Justin Timberlake dancer:

A ballet dancer:

Then came the next, uh, dancer. This was some sort of interpretive dance about the raw human struggle.

So this guy comes out hidden beneath a fur jacket, blowing feathers and has a saw tied around his ankle. Here are a couple more pics:

At times, he looked like something out of the movie The Exorcist.

Didn't know quite what to make of it. At on point, he started waving the saw around in the air like a lasso. Since I was at the very front, I backed up a little bit because he got really close.
His performance lasted 20-25 minutes.

Here's a video of the craziness:

The Food

2008-07-21T03:28:00.000-07:00

Most of the food I had in Vilnius is great. If you're interested in eating food, though, you have to make sure that you order before 10pm. There were a couple times where we'd be working late and when we went to have a late dinner, the waiter would tell us, "Sorry, our kitchen closes at 10pm. All we have available are drinks or dessert." At first, we thought this was just for one particular restaurant...but then we went to another restaurant after that and were told pretty much the same thing...except that all the appetizers were still available. Since the menu was all in Lithuanian and none of us had a clue what the appetizers were, we decided to be adventurous and order every appetizer on the menu. It was funny to see the look on the waitress' face.
So...the appetizers eventually all came and they were so good! The restaurant we were at was called Boheme and I highly recommend it.

The ambience is great too. A couple days later we went back and got to have a full meal there. I ordered some meat! It was tasty. :)

There was a wine bar there too. I love the old time feel of it.

Another great restaurant to go to is the Uzupio Klasika. This is a great place for a romantic dinner for two.

You can get your own private dining room....

...with the option of dim lighting.

wahoo.

The food, drink and dessert were amazing!

Vilnius - Part 3

2008-07-21T02:12:00.000-07:00

There are more than 40 churches in Vilnius. No matter where you are in this city, you're bound to see a church. Some have been restored while others are in the process or are waiting to be restored. Because of Soviet and Russian occupation, some of these churches were used for all sorts of different things like grain stores, galleries, atheist museums or even prisons.
Visiting some of these churches totally enthralled me. They are haunted with history but have maintained such a sacred air about them.
I took so many pictures that it's really hard to narrow it down.

This is St. Anne's Church

A view up into the tower.

The Vilnius Cathedral is one of Vinius' main attractions.

I took a couple short videos to give you an idea:

The Jesuit Church of St. Casimir

While I was visiting this particular church, I noticed that they were about to have a concert there in 15 minutes. So I took a seat and waited for it to begin.
It was a women's ensemble. Sometimes, they were so in sync together that it sounded like one voice singing instead of an ensemble. The acoustics in this church were amazing and their voices were ethereal.
As usual, I took a short video:

Vilnius - Part 2

2008-07-21T01:51:00.000-07:00

This castle is known as Gediminas' Castle and is considered a symbol of Vilnius. It was built at the beginning of the 14th century and has endured several wars. After surviving WWII, it was restored and is now a museum.

There wasn't too much inside that interested me.

I was more interested in climbing to the top of the castle to take in the the incredible panoramic view of the city. Too bad I don't have a panoramic setting on my camera, but you get the gist.

This is the view of old town Vilnius:

This is the view of modern day Vilnius:

This is main street.

One thing I've always enjoyed are the street musicians:

Vilnius - Part 1

2008-07-21T01:09:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd show you around some other parts of Vilnius.

Here is the hostel we stayed in. It was great! The beds were comfortable, the showers were fine and there was complimentary breakfast every morning.

I would walk by this angel statue everyday when I was heading down to the gallery.

The weather here reminded me so much of Portland. A lot of the time it was so sporadic and couldn't make up its mind...rain, sun, rain, wind, sun, rain and so forth.
When the sun was out, though, it was fantastic!

I took this picture because Lithuanians are pretty serious about their alcohol.
I'll never forget walking down main street and hearing someone say to someone else, "Stop your bitching and just start drinking!"

The cemetaries here are pretty raw and unkept. It's strange how something so full of death can look so serene and pretty.

These two buildings were a dormitary for needy Jews until 1941. They were evacuated by the German Natzis to the ghetto and were slaughtered in Ponar. About 400 Jews were murdered in this very place and were buried here in holes in the ground. 80 children were taken to one of the basements and were thrown into fires. Being here was a very sobering experience for me. And the thing that blew my mind was that this was not just an isolated incident in Lithuania. Things like this happened again and again all across Europe.

Capturing an artist in the moment. I love this picture.

A Baltic Festival was happening at the same time that we were there. There was a lot of eating, drinking, dancing and merriment.
Shortly after I took this clip people started dancing. I joined in the fun of course. :)

Taking a walk through the city streets at night.

Holy Matrimony, Batman!

2008-07-21T00:17:00.000-07:00

Getting married in Vilnius, is a very popular thing to do...especially on the weekends in the summertime. I don't think I've ever seen as many brides as often as I did while I was there. At first I started keeping a tally...then it got so ridiculous, I started taking pictures. I saw some of the ugliest wedding dresses I have ever seen...and bridesmaid dresses as well. Or maybe the most diplomatic way to put it is that I saw wedding dresses there that just weren't my style. heh. Not all of them were that bad.
All in all, I probably saw about 30-35 brides. I took pictures of about 10 of them just to prove the craziness. So, in no particular order, I give you some of the brides of Vilnius:

One of the most common wedding traditions in Vilnius is for the bride and groom to purchase a lock and have it engraved with their names and wedding date. After the ceremony, they take the lock and attach it to the railing of a bridge as a seal of their love and commitment.

The bridge railing here are covered with locks.

Life at Uzupis

2008-07-20T23:50:00.001-07:00

Everyday, I would walk down from our hostel to the Uzupis Area and everyday I would be greeted by the same old man who would tell me stories about the KGB and Russian mafia. Back in the day, Vilnius was where the main KGB headquarters used to be when Lithuania was occupied by the Russians. Some of that history still lingers and there are hints of the Russian mafia around here. It really can boggle your mind sometimes.
There's another old man I saw around here and there that I dubbed as the Lithuanian Godfather. He had the same husky sounding voice as Marlon Brando except just with a Lithuanian accent. It cracked me up!
Throughout the entire week, I met people from all over the world. There were artists from Russia, Finland and Georgia (not the u.s. state)...I met tourists passing through from the UK, Italy, Japan and many more. There was such a diversity and it was great!

Local musicians would come and visit us every now and then. We had some really fun jam sessions.

Here's Bryan drawing a crowd with his art. The lady in the pink shirt is a very well known Lithuanian architect that he was working with to make a particular art piece.