Summary: Rome, Italy (6/25/10-6/27/10)

The following is a chronological listing of what I did in Rome. For Rome pictures, click here.

6/25

• Got on the train in Zurich; the (Italian) train was late getting into Milan, so I had to run to catch the connection to Rome!
• Coliseum: was snagged immediately by a tour operator who asked if I wanted to participate in the last English-speaking tour of the day; even though famous stuff is often disappointing in person (looks smaller, duller, or more worn than it does in pictures), I was duly impressed
• Palatine Hill and the Forum: the 20 Euros I paid for the Coliseum tour included this second tour; ruins are so commonplace that they even serve as benches for tourists to sit on; I couldn't help thinking that ancients visiting Rome in its heyday would have been totally blown away by the architectural grandeur
• Every clock on the street showed a different time; Dorothy, we're not in Switzerland any more

6/26

• Vatican City: pleased with yesterday's tour, I decided to go on with the same tour company the next day
• Vatican Museum: so many paintings and sculptures; taking pictures with flash was forbidden, so I had to take videos instead of pictures
• Sistine Chapel: cameras not allowed; shockingly disappointing; small, crowded, dark and unaesthetic
• St. Peter's Basilica: gorgeous, stunning, huge, marble, artful, bright
• Met a 27-year-old project manager from Australia on holiday for -- can you believe it -- seven weeks!
• In the late afternoon, it started to sprinkle; within an hour, it was POURING
• Trevi Fountain: reminded me of a fountain at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, which probably was modeled after the Trevi
• Watched the U.S. lose to Ghana at a local pub; was quite exciting because Americans and Ghanians were both in attendance, and very enthusiastic
• Ate the most redolent pineapple and melon gelato at 11 p.m.; I love being an adult and eating dessert at ridiculous hours!
• Woke up in the middle of the night scratching a newly bestowed bug bite :(
• I can't believe that rain and bugs follow me everywhere, especially when I specifically removed my umbrella (honestly, who thinks it'll rain in Southern Italy at the end of June?) and bug cream (Europeans whom I consulted laughed at the mere idea of bugs in metropolitan Rome) from my luggage

6/27

• Woke up at 7 a.m. to the ringing of a phone in the hall; who puts a phone in the hall that no one answers?!
• Pantheon: mass was being conducted in the morning, so I decided to return in the afternoon
• Mouth of Truth: made famous by Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday"
• Circus Maximum: looking quite minimus now; just a dirt track overgrown with flowering weeds, but it must have been awesome to see the chariot races in Rome's heyday (kind of like watching Formula 1 races today, just with horses instead of cars)
• Pantheon, v2.0: very impressive; loved the spotlight of sun coming through the circular opening in the dome's center; the artful arrangement of variously colored marble was impressive; saw Raphael's tomb
• Piazza Novella: sweaty lunch in 90-degree weather; the heat didn't stop me from having yet another plate of risotto
• Bought a stamp with my initials and red wax to stamp into
• Ate 5 scoops of gelato in a waffle cone; yum
• Relieved to sit down in the train after a total of 17 (out of 48) hours walking, despite a fussy baby that showed up in the same car to and from Rome
• The (Italian) train was late again, so I had to run to catch my connection back to Zurich
• Sank into bed exhausted and happy

Zurich Hauptbahnhof, Switzerland (6/20/10)

Sundays are really quiet in Zurich. All retail shops and even most grocery stores are closed, and people hike or ski in the Alps (depending on the season, of course).

Last Sunday at 6 p.m., I opened my refrigerator even though I already knew what was in it: an apple, a carton of non-fat milk, three containers of yogurt, and several bottles of water. For dinner, I knew I would have to go to the main train station to find food. I put on my Crocs, made sure I had my umbrella, put on an extra cardigan for good measure, and walked down two flights to the front door. The temperature outside took my breath away, and not in the appealing "Top Gun" type of way: it was SO COLD!

When my tram arrived, I pushed on the plastic button encircled by a green border to open the door, since tram doors don't open automatically. At the central train station (Hauptbahnhof), I disembarked and walked slowly down the stairs to look for a grocery mart with ready-to-eat options, which is easy to find in train stations because they get enough traffic to stay open. I was careful to walk in a straight line because I wanted to reduce the chances I'd get lost in the labyrinth before me. I saw a promising mart, and walked through the sliding doors.

Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that the mart specialized in raw meat, bottled wine and pungent cheeses, so I looked for the exit. I stood in front of the sliding doors through which I entered. Nothing. I took another step closer to the glass. Still nothing. I looked for the only other set of sliding doors and encountered the same result. To the right of the doors, I saw a green pole, waist-high, capped by a white, plastic cover featuring a cartoon drawing of a person walking. With my forehead starting to feel prickly from nervous sweat, I pressed on the multi-sided cover. The doors remained resolutely closed. I whipped out my Nexus One, opened the translation app, and punched in the word emblazoned above the cartoon; the app quickly returned "emergency." Ack!

I walked up and down, looking for an exit, and saw only check-out lines and the two sliding doors. I couldn't believe it: was there no way to simply exit? I could feel my face reddening with embarrassment (how dumb am I to get stuck in a mart!) and incredulity (how dumb are they to design such a nonsensical layout!). I seriously considered buying a small box of whatever just to get through the check-out line. Just when I was about to cave, I saw the one and only real exit from the mart: squeezed between a long check-out line and a tall display of crackers, a narrow aisle funneled directly past the produce section. Basically, the mart was employing the "gift shop" technique that every museum and amusement park uses: to exit, you are forced to see stuff that you probably will want to buy.

I scurried out of that mart as fast as I could and didn't look back. Yes, I've had better days.

Reflections: Santorini, Greece

Santorini is a beautiful Greek island that is known for its striking buildings (white with blue accents) and distinctive vistas (precipitous cliffs on one side, and variously colored beaches on the other). Unfortunately, I was not in a proper state of mind to be enamored with anything after 30 unbroken hours of traveling through six airports.

Upon arrival in Santorini, impatient and grumpy from lack of sleep, I watched as everyone picked up their baggage and left for their final destinations in singles, pairs and groups. As I eyed the one lonely red suitcase making its rounds on the carousel, I looked at Josh and said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

To make a long story short, our three checked bags had not made the connection from Athens to Santorini. My headache, which had bored itself firmly into the center of my forehead, got worse when I saw that our airline representative was new to the job. I absolutely see the value of on-the-job training, but my patience had worn thin and I couldn’t help thinking that she had picked the worst time to start. She even spelled my first name incorrectly on some piece of paper that she asked me to sign. I pointed it out and, of course, she had to ask the other representative (who seemed to be quite competent) if that was okay. Strangely, it was okay.

I spent the remainder of the night in muted panic: what was I going to do if my bags were permanently lost? I had three months’ worth of clothes, toiletries, shoes, books and other items upon which I was relying for comfort and use in Zurich; my tactic of separating everything evenly into my two suitcases obviously didn't help here. I was tired and hungry and worried, and poor Josh had the unenviable job of trying to soothe me. Repeatedly, he assured me that everything would be okay and our vacation was not ruined (yet).

I only had my laptop, bikini, jewelry and travel-sized toiletries on this first night -- you can see where my priorities lay -- but this little bit was better than nothing. Case in point: Josh had to borrow my toothbrush. Although our bags were later located, the experience further entrenched my paranoia: going forward, I will always keep essentials with me in my carry-on baggage!

For Santorini pictures, click here.

Rheinfelden, Switzerland (6/19/10)

What do you do when the sky is a cottony shade of gray and the rain is an unshakably cold companion? You go to the spa, of course!

Apparently, thermal waters are popular with the Swiss, who believe in the benefits of soaking in mineral baths and saunas. On 6/19, I joined two of my co-workers, Jenny and Ahmad, in visiting Kurzentrum Rheinfelden -- which, acccording to their website, "boasts a bathing and spa tradition that dates back to the 18th century."

This spa was unimpressively pragmatic in decor, but surprisingly opulent in its variety of options. We first went to the outdoor pool; against what I suspected would be my better judgment, I joined the circular stream that pulled everyone around a nucleus of jets and bubbles. Thankfully, it induced more fun than nausea.

I then went to my hamam massage. I had never had one before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was definitely an experience: before the light massage, I was scrubbed with rose-scented bubbles while lying on an octagonal marble table. The bubbles formed such a pleasant layer of warmth and fragrance that I started asking myself why I don't take more bubble baths at home...and then I remembered that I am "too busy" when in my daily routine.

The most awesome room in the spa, though, was the super-salinated (12%) pool. I passed by multiple signs requesting silence as I descended the stairs, and they were serious -- they even had someone on "shhh" duty. Although the room was constructed of industrial-strength concrete, the gray surface was an unexpectedly suitable canvas for the red neon lights from below and the natural sunlight from above: as I floated on my back and listed to the underwater music, I looked up at the rippled light reflecting from the water and felt completely transported. I didn't even try to take photographs anywhere inside the spa because of practicality and politeness, but I was able to get a picture of this room from their website:

We also visited the indoor pool (usually used for exercise classes), the salt inhalation grotto (Jenny said that she could taste the salt simply by breathing in), the fire-and-ice pool (I sat in the hot tub and avoided the cold counterpart), and tropical rain and alpine waterfalls (again, I stood under the warm water falling from huge circular shower heads and stayed away from the frigid downpour so cold that it gave me goosebumps when I passed by).

We finished at the aromatic steam baths. One room was citrus, another was menthol, and the last was -- WAIT FOR IT -- pastries! Okay, so the official label of the scent was "exotic," but that room smelled like fresh cakes and cookies to me. In fact, I felt like a cupcake baking in the oven while I sat in the misty enclosure, and I totally loved it even though I usually don't like either wet or dry saunas.

We stayed a shocking 5 hours at the spa, and it only cost around $65 -- including my massage! In my book, that's money and time well spent. :)

Lucerne, Switzerland (6/13/10)

For Lucerne pictures, click here.

Unfortunately, the weather here (Switzerland and vicinity) is very unpredictable. Last week, I got caught in a cold downpour wearing strappy leather sandals and a summer dress without an umbrella or coat -- and it was a sweaty 80+ degrees earlier that afternoon! On 6/13, the weather forecast was at least straightforwardly gloomy; so, my travel buddy Alex and I decided to go somewhere close to Zurich to hedge our bets.

And we made an excellent choice: if there were ever a charmingly bucolic shire that a translucent curtain of rain actually enhanced, Lucerne would be it. One of its famous landmarks is a lion carved in stone, which commemorates the Swiss Guards massacred during the French Revolution. Mark Twain called this Lion Monument "the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world" and, despite the smile that I have in the picture below, I did feel like hugging the poor thing.

In the many bodies of water, I saw swans, ducks and other water birds. Most were very bold and walked right up to us in search of food. Along the twisting paths around town, I also saw cows with very shaggy coats. I guess that explains why they didn't seem to mind the chilly drizzle that came and went.

Lucerne is such a beautiful town at the perfect distance away from Zurich (45 minutes by train feels just far enough away to escape, but not so far that you've wasted most of your day on travel) that I will certainly go back to visit again.

I particularly enjoyed my lunch at a cute cafe by the river, where a toasted ham-and-cheese sandwich and an earthy vegetable soup warmed me right up. And since I seem to be starting a pattern of ending with desserts, here is the do-it-yourself hot chocolate that I had never before encountered. I loved watching the dark cocoa dissolve into the frothy milk, and nibbling on the chocolate biscuit in anticipation!

For Lucerne pictures, click here.

Strasbourg, France (6/12/10)

For Strasbourg pictures, click here.

It's time for a pop quiz! You know you're in France when:

A: The bread of your sandwich is thickly buttered on both sides

B: Your nap on the train is interrupted by live accordion

C: You have eaten five devastatingly delicious pastries, and it's only 5 o'clock in the afternoon

D: The aroma of freshly baked biscuits beckons you from the front doors of a 13th-century cathedral

Picked your answer?

Okay, so it was a trick question, as you probably suspected. All of the above happened on my trip to Strasbourg, France!

Last week, I serendipitously ran into an old buddy from Stanford, Alex Starns, in the Google cafe. We quickly decided that we'd be good traveling partners because we both recently relocated (i.e., we have no other friends locally) and want to travel on the weekends. Also, he is great with maps and I am not. Based mostly on the weather, we decided our first trip would be to Strasbourg, which is two hours from Zurich by train.

We visited the cathedral and paid 4.70 Euro to hike 66 meters to the observation tower. I was very impressed with the detail and height of this church: I wouldn't say that it gave Paris' Notre Dame a run for its money, but it came mighty close. I actually felt slightly ill walking up and down the stairs because of the tight spiral turns.

Petite France, where the river splits into several canals and winds around half-timbered houses, was cute. I loved the marching band playing on the river bank.

I will end on a sweet note: I had thought that I left French pastries for good when I left Paris. I was wrong, and I took full advantage of this pleasant surprise. I won't go into too much detail because I will devote a full posting to pastries, but this delightful trio was a major part of my lunch!

For Strasbourg pictures, click here.

Introduction (6/11/10)

As you may know by now, I will be spending the next three months in Zurich this summer. What will I be doing, you ask? I will be covering my co-worker's maternity leave; since she and I are both Program Managers and pathologically organized, the transition has been as smooth as transitions can be.

Before starting my work in the Zurich office, I decided to take a vacation with Josh to Santorini and Paris. Not coincidentally, the second of our three days in Paris was my 29th birthday. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the last year of my 20's than indulging in flaky pastries, especially because I normally abstain from my favorite desserts (I guess vanity is stronger than gluttony for me). And oh, did I enjoy the Parisian pastries!

For my trips to Santorini, Athens and Paris, I humbly present to you two types of postings:

• Bulleted summaries, which I have completed (scroll down, or look under the June Blog Archive on your right)
• Prose reflections, which I have yet to write (check back, or request notification)

I will also post on trips that I take during my time in Zurich. I am aiming to post at least one entry per week, so please come back and visit soon!

Summary: Paris, France (6/5/10-6/7/10)

The following is a chronological listing of what Josh and I did on my birthday trip to Paris! For Paris pictures, click here.

6/5

• Train: surprisingly long (two hours from door to door), stiflingly hot, awkwardly crowded; a couple was oddly making out amid the chaos
• Louvre: someone tried to swindle me with a ring trick, but Josh pulled me away; there was, shockingly, no line for tickets; rooms were unevenly cooled and some were very hot; display of Egyptian sarcophagi was our favorite
• Soggy pastry: I shouldn't have waited to eat it
• Dinner: the duck confit was awesome, the steak was inedibly tough; both the creme brulee and lemon tart with raspberry sorbet were divine

6/6

• Awoke on my birthday to a thunderstorm; weather.com reported rain every hour; was really bummed, but had to admit that the rain sounded so pretty on the terrace outside of our window
• Checked online to see what to do during rain, and one posting said "put on a coat, get an umbrella and suck it up -- it's not like you're in a beach town"; I decided to take that advice
• Bought expensive birthday pastries for breakfast (yes, breakfast) from the hotel/Louvre to Champs Elysees; ate the pastries in the Jardin des Tuileries, between the Louvre and Champs Elysees
• Walked down the Champs Elysees and ducked into Louis Vuitton, which was a zoo; Speedy 25 was priced at 440 Euros
• Arc de Triomphe: I disproved the existence of any sense of direction when I asked "oh, is this another arc?" after failing to realize that we were walking in a semi-circle
• Eiffel Tower: walked the first two stages up after waiting only ~20 minutes in line for tickets; the top is not at all picture-friendly
• Seine: took a boat ride to Notre Dame, which was close to our hotel
• Notre Dame: long line that moved surprisingly fast; free entry
• "Rue de Pet Shops": walked down a random street that had several pet stores; such a pleasant surprise; bunnies, kitties, puppies, birds, chinchillas, hamsters, birds, fish, reptiles, mice, chicks, ferrets; quite possibly the best part of my day
• Pastry shop: overwhelmed with the options, I picked a pear tart; it was okay
• Birthday dinner: felt ill from all the butter I ate, and was craving a Japanese dinner; the hot miso soup, crisp salad and clean salmon sashimi tasted awesome; Josh had beef with cheese on a stick; picked lemon sorbet, not a flaky pastry, for dessert
• The rain didn't come back all day after stopping in the morning; happily, weather.com was wrong

6/7

• Sacre Coeur: hawkers everywhere; crypt, to Josh's disappointment, was closed
• Parisian lunch: we sat there for over two hours; the waiter asked, "cafe?" and I said yes, expecting him to ask me what kind of coffee I wanted; the waiter left without asking for details and returned with a small cup of what tasted like the liquid crack kind (the only kind worth drinking?)
• Chairs in the cafes are arranged classroom-style so that diners face out onto the street instead of each other
• Salvatore Dali exhibit: another pleasant surprise; placards were very informative, and I felt like I learned a lot about Surrealism; almost 50 kids swarmed the smallish exhibit, first sketching outside the museum and then listening to explanations inside; Dali loved crutches, spindly legs, drawers; Josh's favorite was the elephant with spindly legs
• Train back to the airport: like an oven baking unwashed bodies; deodorant is apparently not consistently used, and some people really need it

First Day in Zurich, Switzerland (6/4/10)

The following is a bulleted summary of our first day in Zurich. For Zurich pictures, click here.

6/4

• Spent almost 2 hours getting to the office; Google Maps leaves something to be desired; made Josh escort me on the path to/from the office more than once to ensure I could find my way after he left
• Office is awesome: fish tanks and massage chairs, spotless cafe with industrial-strength juicer, slide and firemen's pole for expedited intra-office travel
• Girls at the office bought delicate cookies for me as a welcome present
• Ran into two Mountain View co-workers unexpectedly, which was a nice surprise
• Apartment is wonderful, especially because I got upgraded for free (the person staying in "my" apartment extended his contract); the washer-and-dryer-in-one is appreciated but takes forever
• Am trying not to be scared about the prospect of being by myself, especially when navigating the public transportation system of trams and trains
• Have never before so keenly felt that I come from a car culture
• Saturday morning got a noise complaint, which we later discovered couldn't have been caused by me because the disturbances started before I checked in; but seriously, on a Friday night?!

Summary: Athens, Greece (6/3/10)

The following is a bulleted summary of our short trip to Athens. For Athens pictures, click here.

6/3

• 6.5-hour layover at the airport between Santorini and Zurich, so we decided to visit the Acropolis
• 36-hour strike: buses, metro, all public transportation shut down
• Took a taxi almost one hour each way; fairly cheap (40 Euros each way)
• Aggressive driving, bad congestion, shared taxis
• Huge number of tourists almost ruined the experience; could barely take any decent pictures
• Josh was impressed by the size of the buildings -- apparently, he is usually disappointed because pictures make them seem bigger than they really are

Summary: Santorini, Greece (5/27/10-6/2/10)

The following is a chronological listing of what what Josh and I did on our vacation to Santorini. For Santorini pictures, click here.

5/27

• Traveled 32 hours straight
• Airline lost our checked baggage
• Got multiple bug bites that later turned into bloody blisters
• Checked into the hotel at 9:30 p.m.; was really, really grumpy from lack of sleep; couldn't decide whether I wanted to eat or sleep

5/28

• Akrotiri: closed due to an accident
• Lighthouse at southernmost point of island: could see the other end curling around
• Perissa's beaches: didn't know the protocol of umbrellas and chairs, so ate oranges and drank strawberry juice with feet propped up on rocks
• Hotel pool: awesome

5/29

• Thira: walked a lot; wanted to walk to Oia but found out how far it really was; beggar woman pushed me and scratched my arm with her nails

5/30

• Dives #1 and #2 with the Brits: Caldera and caves; saw fireworms and underwater formations; was extremely dehydrated afterwards; we both slept from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.

5/31

• Oia ("ee-yah"): unique doors and stairs; donkeys; someone's vehicle had flown off the cliff on our way back

6/1

• Dives #3 and #4 with the Swedes: White Island; saw lots of very colorful fish that swam right up to me
• Lunch at Lucky's: the best gyros ever; cashier identified us as Californians right away, and was a really nice smoker dude who once lived in Glendale
• Sunset dinner at Oia: met a WA State Cougar who noticed Josh's UW T-shirt

6/2

• Ancient Thira: very long hike up
• Kamari: Josh decided to buy an Indiana Jones hat because he was sick of the sun; ate dinner at a restaurant on a street where solicitors were engaged in friendly competition with each other in getting customers; our side seemed to be losing
• Epic fail: I tried to drive stick (rental car) and got stuck in the middle of the road; we learned later that I was trying to start in third gear