Lisbon, Portugal - Spring Break 2010

May 18, 2010 Hi there folks.....sorry it has been longer than promised for this update about my april trip to lisbon, portugal....time in the last month of school just seems to disappear and as i type this update i have 15.5 days of school.....YAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!! it's been a crazy year for me...from my friend judy having her brain explode & live throughit, thank goodness....to a great group of 7th grade (the grade i normally do not like) and a horrible group of 8th grade (usually my favorites)....to making the decision to stay longer than intended because i just didn't feel like job searching....and now i wonder if i made the correct choice....but we live with what we choose....to having only 15.5 more days left and a packed calendar until that date of freedom.....and so it goes..... but onto the update about my trip to portugal....which i took all on my own....many people ask if i get lonely when traveling by myself....well, of course at times....but i really like making my own schedule, seeing what i want to see, eating when i want to eat and having whatever i want....it's a pretty good deal.....don't get me wrong, i love traveling with people too, but you learn quickly if you will travel together again soon after your trip has started and there are folks i will travel with again, and others i will not...i am sure you understand so i like traveling alone.....and with people....so this summer should be a good one....but back to portugal.....wowowowowowow....what a great town this one is....so much old world charm.....they may be in the EU....but its got more soul than many of the polished cities of the EU....with its cobbled stone streets sporting many sea-oriented mosaics...to the old world rickety tram system....and modern underground....to diversity on every corner due to being so close to africa....its a terrific mix of old world and new and i really enjoyed it and may try and get back when its a smidge warmer to be able to go swimming along the coast..... i was in the city for easter....not the greatest time to be there, as it is a catholic country and everything shuts down....but its a fabulous town to wander up and down the streets of and there is lots of music and water to be seen and heard....and it's hilly....really hilly.... the old town is in a valley between two hills...on top of one is the castle and on top of the other is the remains of a burnt out monastery....easter sunday i wandered up and down both of the these hills, took trolleys and explored all over....i even was lucky enough to come across a ben and jerry's that was open....haven't seen one of those is a long time i did get out of the city for one afternoon and what i saw of the coast of this country was stunning...it has a beautiful coastline....some that is the best on the world for wind surfing and some that is great for swimming....and of course lisbon is along a river that empties into the ocean and much of its history is tied into the sea and exploration....it's a cool place that i recommend for tasty food and port, beautiful vistas, and lots of old world charm.....plus, it is a bit cheaper than many other countries of the EU...always a plus :) okay....onto the pictures......the first shot was taken in the old part of town where they have this cool elevator that links the monastery hill to the bottom of the valley...that's the grey thing in between the buildings...i didn't take it, but it's wild, you turn the corner and suddenly see this elevator to a place you can't see at the top....crazy... the second shot is also down in the old town....you are looking at one of the main theaters of lisbon, but i took this picture mostly for the mosaic tile on the square than for the building itself... this tile was everywhere and all of it has a story....this one in particular was made to represent waves of the water....cool huh!!!! the third shot is one of my very favorites....it was easter and i walked into the biggest cathedral, that had just mass, and was closing up....and look at what i saw....it was incredible....this shaft of light....amazing....and what perfect timing....so i lit some candles for my grandmothers....and wished them well and left....loved it :) the next shot was taken up on the hill where the monastery is, looking over the city towards the river....you can see the castle across the city and that is where i walked to next.... this shot was taken from a spot where i stopped to have coffee, read a book & listen to some terrific buskers....they were playing fado....these songs are often played in a minor key and are of course all about love lost and love hoped for....these players were terrific...and an interesting mix of men and women and different ethnicities.... from this almost too perfect stop i hiked up the hills to the castle...where i got to climb the walls and look down on the city and the river...this is one of the towers i climbed and at one point i got the perfect shot of the flag of portugal waving.... after hanging at the castle for the afternoon....reading, catching some sun and watching people, i headed back into the main part of town....took a trolley....these are very similar to the trolleys of san francisco, except no outside seats or hanging off...which means no getting wet in the rain :) the day after easter i toured some places on the edge of lisbon and outside of the city....i took this shot of the maritime museum and monastery of jeronimos from one of those hop on and hop off buses....awesome buildings that i went into the next day....but this was the better picture.... outside of the city i went to sinstra....and the pena palace....a castle up on a hilltop with many different architectural styles....making it seem more like a frosted birthday cake in my opinion....it was wild.... here's a shot from the main entrance the other picture i took here is based on mythology and the sea...they call it the triton - half-man, half-fish....and he watches over the gateway of creation....i loved it! from this incredible palace we drove out to the coast to the farthest point of continental europe without falling into the ocean....here you see me at that spot with the sea and light house behind me...spectacular views here....but really windy....this is the area that is known for wind surfing.....i even got a certificate that said i was at this spot on the globe...pretty cool :) the final day in lisbon i was back on the outskirts of town....in the belem district....i stopped by the monument of discoveries....i loved this statue...it was built to honor the many people who left portugal is search of the passageway to other lands like india and the west indies and parts of africa....even to circumnavigate the globe....i really wanted to show you what the whole thing looked like and this was the best i could do....this was taken from the terrace of the modern art gallery across the street....the gallery itself was awesome!!!! they had this amazing exhibit of soft sculpture made from colored cloth and done as creations people of all ages could snuggle up to & roll around....this next shot is of part of that sculpture....you can get a sense of size with the person standing in the picture....it was fun to watch adults and kids play among this art....and then they had a part where you could create your own....they also had a chandelier made entirely of ob tampons still in their wrappers....you couldn't tell what it was until you got up close....it was wild.... the next shot is the tomb of vasco de gama....the same man who stands at the front of the statue in the last set of pictures....it was in the monastery of jeronimos....and i thought it was neat to see the ceiling and walls have such a sea oriented motif....the entire church did....it was a cool combination of religion and ocean..... the last shot is not from portugal....but i got complaints from people who missed the shot at the end last time of me plus a beer or a drink....so i have included one from the recent labor day celebration here in zagreb....it was saturday and the city makes beans and bread for everyone....so went we and enjoyed the celebration...i didn't have any beans as they were of course cooked with meat (its croatia afterall :) but i did have some of the beer that was being served....and it was a beautiful day.... okay...hope you enjoyed this update....again i am sorry it took a while to get this out..and this will be the last "regular" update....i will be trying to get one or two out over the summer as i have some amazing plans that include sailing in the southern islands of croatia, hanging in boston for a conference and meeting up with friends, and hanging in PA....i may try to hit NJ, NYC and DC too, so if you live in one of those places, you may hear from me saying i am coming your way :) and then i am traveling in europe in august before school starts with a few friends and visiting a few folks :) it should be a blast :) so i hope all of you have a terrific beginning of your summer and that each of you does something fun and different over the summer as well....and i should be dropping you a line at least once over the summer and then will pick updates back up again for the next school year here in croatia...i am hoping to make it to prague, ireland, macedonia, montenegro, and maybe iceland before i am done here in europe....but we'll see what happens....happy summer to you and yours and drop a line and say hi if you get the chance....thanks for reading and looking at the pictures :) Have a fab day :) dani

Update #24 - Kiev, Ukraine

April 11th, 2010 -

hi there folks...how is everyone doing???? enjoying the beginning of a new season???? i think spring has officially started round here finally....we have had a beautiful week off for spring break....and although i was not here for part of it, the part i was here for was lovely... although for the next two days they expect it to rain....a great way to end a vacation *sigh* during this past break i was in portugal....but i will save that for my next update....lisbon specifically....a town with old world charm, tasty port, tiled buildings and amazing hills.... it was very cool and i would go back..... but a few weeks back i was in a snowy and cold kiev for a basketball tournament, and although i didn't see much of the city, i saw enough to know it reminded me of a bigger bucharest....there were dogs and traffic everywhere....although the dogs were mostly curled up trying to stay warm.....some of the buildings were incredible, very russian...and there were even a few statues up honoring lenin....we had some amazing food and drink, especially ukrainian vodka....we had this honey pepper one that was outstanding....much of the food was meat based, like most of the eastern countries, but i found some really tasty treats.....we even made it to canadian night...the canadian embassy hosts a bar night one a month and we just happened to be there for it....they even had north american snacks for sale....it was exciting :) i was there for basketball though and the girls, well, for the first time in AISZ middle school girls basketball, won a game....it was exiting because it happened in the last two seconds with an outside shot from our only returning player this year....it was great to watch.... otherwise we played okay....didn't win any other games, but its a learning experience, as any coach knows....however, i think this will be the last year i coach this sport as it's just not my favorite and it goes forever....now if we had lacrosse, that would be a different story....in the end you never know though..... onto the pictures....the first is a view from the hotel we stayed in....very interesting place.. some aspects of it were modern, like the bathroon, others were not, like the communist style building, lobby and room....very narrow, fit one bed comfortably, just bizarre, but we were told this was a much better choice than the national hotel the coaches stayed at before....i guess there were little old matrons in charge of each floor who took your key from you when you left the room, waited on the floor all day and night and gave you back your key when you came back in.....they just would wait on each floor, watching over the keys and making sure the wrong people weren't coming into the rooms....crazy..... as you can see from the first shot, there was still snow on the buildings and ground and it snowed every day we were there except the last one....

the second shot is of a cool metro stop by our hotel....kiev, like all previous soviet countries, has a great underground

art on the walls, and the stations are usually very different from each other

the third and fourth shot are of an orthodox church that was down the street from our hotel....we went in it and heard a mass going on and the singing was incredible....like all orthodox churches in this area, there are no seats, and you move around the church counterclockwise kissing all of the icons.....i haven't been in one of these since romania, so it was a nice to experience it again....

the fifth shot is one of their science universities....i just really liked the building...

and the sixth shot is of lenin....hard to see, but it's really him...

down from our hotel was the main shopping street....all of the modern stores, in buildings from lenin's and stalin's era....in many of the travel books about kiev, they say this street is a must see, a grand, wide avenue, with lights and beautiful buildings along it....it is a source of pride to ukrainians i think, as it is well kept up and still grand and fun to walk down.....the next three shots are buildings along this street...i really liked the tiling of the first building....and the lights of the second two.....

once we got back to the hotel, i got a shot of the train station down the street....another

grand, well lit building.....

shot number 11 is of my team....goofy girls all of them :) three of

them,on the right side, all korean, were actually from another team...our team was too

small for the tournament, but we really wanted them to play....the rest of the girls are from

our school here in croatia....they are all from different countries....the states, canada,

croatia, austria, israel, and iran.....a multi-national team....i wonder if you could guess who

came from which country :)

the next three shots are along that avenue again...we went wandering there for dinner our

last night in town and had an incredible indian feast....then went to a fun ukrainian beer

hall where everyone was drinking vodka....not sure why it was a beer hall???? but there

were at least 25 different types of vodka and brandy to choose from....it was a good time

had by all.....

the final shot is the morning we were leaving....i had to get a close up of the orthodox domes in the sunlight....soooooooooooo pretty.....

so kiev....i am glad i went, i bet it is much prettier when its not so cold and snowy, but

i am not sure i need to go back....i have been told there are some amazing places in the

ukraine territory, but i am not sure i will get a chance to see them....the only other things

i would really be interested in would be some of the catacombs in the city and chernobyl...

call me a crazy science girl, but i think it's important to see and understand places like

that and then pass on what you learn.....

it was a fun trip....a great learning experience for the kids and on the flight back we met

the bloodhound gang....very exciting....they were on their way to bucharest and then

zagreb....no i did not go see them...but two of the girls did....not sure what possessed

their parents to let them go....if you know them as a band, you know they are some dirty

minded folk.....

anyway....if you head to kiev, i would recommend the spring time....maybe even the

summer...unless you are going to do stuff in the snow, like ski or board....next time i

write....which will be hopefully soon, it will be abut my trip to portugal this past week....

i am not traveling again until the summer, but i just finished arranging a sailing trip thru

some of the croatian islands with friends (even some from boston are coming!)....after

the sailing trip i head to the states.....so i hope to meet up with some of you there....i

will be in the philadelphia area from the beginning of july until the beginning of august,

with one week for a conference up in boston again.....so i am hoping i will get to see some

of you and catch up with your life updates....unfortunately i will not be making it to the

west coast this summer...not enough time or money to make it all work out....and then

i am back in europe, traveling with a friend to see friends for about three weeks....and then

school starts again....

i am planning to be in croatia for only one more school year....and then i hope to head to

africa or asia....so if you are planning to come visit, please do, although the next choice

might be more exotic, and further away :) at least i am hoping for that....and if you live on

one of those continents and hear of a middle school science position...please let me know

about it.....it's time to get out of europe and on with the life plan of living on every

continent....

hope all is well and you have enjoyed this update....i haven't heard from some of you in a

long, long time...please feel free to drop a line and say hi!!!! i will be cleaning my mailing

list sometime this summer....so let me know if you do not want these updates any longer

thanks for reading and happy traveling to you!!!!

Croatian #23 - Budapest & Prague

February 21, 2010

hi there folks....well, i am sitting here watching the olympics on eurosport & have become

a bit addicted....i love the euro TV stations & their coverage, they do not talk as much asthe states people and provide coverage of all sports, not just ones americans are good at!

it's funny how i become addicted every two years concerning the olympics.....maybe you

do too......

sorry it has taken me some time to send out an update, but things have been busy and

i haven't been traveling much....we got a bunch of snow here in croatia, nothing like the

east coast this year, but it was quite gloomy and snowy....and drivers here do NOT do well

in the snow...we finally had a day of sun today and i am hoping that continues for a bit..

all the gloomy weather has been hard to handle....we'll see what happens....

the pictures this time are mostly of prague, where i was this past week.....a lovely

european city....but lots and lots of tourists, even in february....lots and lots of students

too....you hear english everywhere you go....it's a tad bit frustrating....but if you are looking

for the quintessential european town....prague is it....beautiful buildings, excellent beer,

quaint walking streets, lovely bridges, amazing castle.....it doesn't get any better....

the first two shots though are from budapest at night....i was in budapest for a work

conference....what a place to go....stayed at an amazing hotel, had a great conference for

middle school teachers and it ended with a casino boat cruise on the danube at night....

if you have never been to budapest, i can't recommend it enough....it's cheaper than

western european countries/cities and stunning....plus it has tons of baths and hammans,

excellent buildings, and fun night life.....its a great place...

the two pictures of budapest (because i didn't get out of the conference much) are from

our boat cruise on the danube....the first shot is the chain bridge....simply stunning at

night and the second shot is of the parliament building....quite possibly the most

gorgeous of all buildings in the cities here.....love it!!!!!

and then onto prague....i was excited as i toured the castle and cathedral and also did

a jewish quarter self tour....two things i wanted to do....had some tasty food - indian

especially - because you can't find that here in croatia.....and some amazing beer....what

the czechs are known for.....it was a great visit :)

the first two shots are of the cathedral up on the castle grounds....this cathedral is

amazing inside and out....the first shot is the back of it....you can see the difference in

architecture styles....its cool the way it fits together....the second shot is my favorite

stained glass window inside of the cathedral....

the next two shots are also on the castle grounds...i got to see the changing of the guard,

it was pretty cold outside so the band actually was playing out of the windows of the

building behind the group - that was kind of neat....and the fourth shot is of one of

favorite sculptures ever....not really sure how to interpret it....but its just cool in my

opinion....what do you think????

the next shot is taken from the castle as well....over the wall behind me you can see the

city of prague....so pretty....a closer shot is the next one....i am actually along the main

river and am looking at the charles bridge....very famous....the sixth shot is of one side

of the charles bridge....the tower on the end of it.....

and from the bridge i headed toward the main square....the next shot is of the famous

clock in main square....every hour on the hour when the clock chimes, jesus and the

apostles pass by the windows you can see at the top of the clock....i like the beauty

and colors of the clock, as well as the skeleton along the right side that rings it's bell

for the number of chimes of the clock....it's amazing...and always very crowded.....

the next shot is also in main square....the buildings in this town are stunning....i could

have sent many more, as i took lots of pictures....but i didn't want you to get bored...

the next two shots are some of my favorites from the old jewish cemetery....just amazing

how old it truly is....some of the stones are well preserved and they actually are required

to keep the state of them in good condition.....although, due to the people packed in to

the small area, some of the stones are leaning quite heavily....it was very cool to walk

thru this space in the snow....good mood for walking thru such an old cemetery.....

of course prague is also known for kafka....so the second to last shot is one the main

statues of the author....just a really cool statue....and its across from my favorite beer hall

where i stopped in for a drink and a pretzel.....as you can see from the last shot....very

tasty and warm indeed, the pretzel and place, not the beer.....

hope you enjoyed the tour of prague.....a beautiful place, with nice folks and fun

things to see and do....a great place to start a european vacation....very easy to visit,

not much culture shock or discomfort and stunning to look at....get there :)

my next stop is kiev, ukraine....i am headed there in a few weeks for basketball with the

middle school girls....i am not sure we will compete well, but our team has heart....always

a plus....i am hoping i get out to see some of the city, as i have never been there....i

hope to have photos for you in the next update.....

hope everyone is well and happy and enjoying their winter or summer season.....drop a

line if you get the chance and say hi....i have been trying to answer emails that are sent

as not many folks send them anymore....seems like facebook is making email less

and less important....crazy that....if you are on facebook, i will probably post more pictures

there....come be a friend if you choose :)

hopefully next time there won't be such a big wait for an update....but thanks for being

patient....peace out.....

Have a fab day :)

dani

"The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder."

~ Ralph W. Sockman