And the World Smiled Back

So several weeks ago, my good pal Virginia and I were on a noontime walk and I shared my internal angst about our upcoming travel plans. I explained: To pull this itinerary off, we have planned seven airplane rides, about 1500+ rail miles, many bus and cab rides, and maybe even a vaporetto - that's a lot of dependence on people doing their jobs! She reminded me that every day, even on a typical work day, we count on others to do their jobs. Maybe that doesn't seem profound to you, but it kept me chill on several occasions. Last Monday, for instance. About 1/2 thru our trip, we were railing from Rome to Siena. We had heard murmurs of a nationwide transit strike but were reassured along the way. We had to transfer trains in a smallish town - Grosetto Italy. We had a 40 min layover and we bought waters and cookies. The train was due soon when suddenly, an announcement (only in Italian) that all transit service had stopped for the day - they decided to strike. After much debate about what the announcement said - and also what a distraught Italian woman standing nearby on the platform was saying to us - we followed her gestures and went inside the station and joined a line of tired travelers at the ticketing office. Soon, this woman broke from the line and hurriedly motioned us to join her - Trenitalia had sent a small bus. Okay, we sighed relief...while we didn't know what tomorrow held, we were happy that we had a satisfactory new plan for our destination tonight. We boarded the bus, about 25 of us. We verified: Siena? Shawn purposely sat us near the kind woman. We left Grosetto and soon saw a road sign: Siena 40 km - yay, we thought. More and more passengers were getting dropped off and we were 6 strong, including the bus driver. Then, another road sign: Siena 60 km. What? And the sun was going down. We were traveling the north country and while it was indeed beautiful, Shawn and I shared more than one apprehensive glance. I motioned to the kind lady who knew no English - pointing to my wrist - and she said something to the bus driver who told us in perfect English we would be in Siena within the hour - and we were. We said goodbye to the kind and patient woman and driver. And the trip to that beautiful town was well worth the confusion and delay. While the rail workers didn't "do their jobs" that night - others did, and their kind iassistance was not lost on us. (I didn't write about this adventure en route for obvious reasons). Our trip of a lifetime is over - many people smiled on us and helped us find our way. The kindness of strangers is a beautiful thing and it makes me more confident than ever that traveling feeds the soul.

Impressions

Language barriers were the biggest in France. Really surprising but true for us! In Greece, while their average word seems to be about thirteen letters, most of their signs had English subtitles (very helpful). Barcelona was the grimiest of the cities we visited - although we thoroughly enjoyed their beautiful new beaches.

One thing that really stuck me was the general manner out on the streets at night. Whether in Athens, Rome, Nice, or Barcelona, people enjoyed the warm nights for outdoor dining and strolling but no one misbehaved - not once did I see the routine drunkenness I see in our towns, particularly with young adults. In every city we visited, people were out - sitting on steps or by a fountain, just chatting, laughing, maybe having a wine or a gelato - but zero aggression and no intimidation.

On our way home now, and the comparisons are inevitable. Of course we don't have the evidence of an ancient history, nor the beautiful Mediterranean. But we have some real opportunities, too, and traveling reminds me about why I am a proud American and that I'm a citizen of the world. Besides the biggest advantage of travel (that it is, as Andrew McCarthy has pointed out, fatal to bigotry), it is so fun to discover our sameness, our common humanity: we equally hate long lines and delays, we love a bargain and our families, good food and drink help a celebration, and the human spirit is basically good.

European things we liked (in no particular order): safety in the streets (never once did we feel vulnerable to thugs the way we have in big US cities on occasion), beer sales at McDonald's (we confess to a late night run for fries - once!), strong coffee with a culture of "having a good chat" that accompanies it, their high-speed rail, a more laid-back approach to almost everything, flaky and fresh and cheap croissants and fresh fruit stands on most street corners, amazing olives and cheeses, a kind respect, by and large, for America.

European things we didn't like: pay toilets and their scarcity, high smoking tolerance almost everywhere, the dirt and grime that come with ancient civilizations, really old electrical wiring (I blew fuses on two occasions trying to use my universal hair dryer).

Signing off from Barcelona - next stop, Cedar Rapids!

Barcelona

We had a great Sunday chillin' in Barcelona today. We started with strong coffee and remarked that we haven't seen lids on paper coffee cups - except at Starbucks - and decided it was a cultural difference: coffee here is not on-the-go, or "take away" as they say here. Rather, it is a reason to sit and "have a good chat" - something they seem to do here way more than we do. They are definitely slower here. We went to Cathedral de Barcelona - an ancient church with the paradox of flat screens on the gothic spires so you could see what was happening on the altar. While the Mass was in Catalun, i could decipher that it is Respect Life Sunday and that marriage is key to that value. Amen, I say! We saw some Dali pieces at rhe Art Institute and decided against the 1+ hour wait at rhe Picasso Museum, instead heading to the Platja de la Barcoloneta - we had a lot of fun wading in the Mediterranean again. Tonight, we enjoyed some seafood paella and soaking up the local culture - our last night of vacay and we are feeling so lucky about our time away. Tonight is the El Clasico - an annual grudge match between Barcelona and Madrid - the streets are full of energetic citizens - some say it's a match between Spain and the Cataluns, since the Cataluns have only recently enjoyed legitimacy. Right now, the score is tied. Buenos niches and adios, Barcelona - we have enjoyed you! Tomorrow, back in the USA!

Or we could simply pack our bags and catch a train to Barcelona 'cause this city's a drag.,.

I've been singing that "Holiday in Spain" Counting Crows song forever and now today we're living it - just arrived in Barcelona and hope to enjoy it on a Saturday night! It took a lot of today to reach this happening town - trendy, diverse and steeped in history. Now that the locals are speaking a language I recognize a bit, thank you 4 years of Spanish, maybe I'll be a little less obvious? Not! Actually, almost as we crossed the border into Spain, the train started adding English-speaking people..it is weird how hearing your mother tongue in a foreign land really is comforting. We took three different trains from Nice to reach Barcelona, and traveled most of the day, enjoying each other and the amazing coastal scenery along the way. We love RailEurope, relatively cheap and convenient and fast (149km/hr). Often, we were alone on our cab of the train, which made it easy to stretch our legs. ttyl, Adios!

Sittin at the Med...thinking of you

So Shawn and I are sitting on the shoreline of the Mediterranean in Nice, France. It's, how you say, 75 F. We are drinking some stellar French wine and eating a banette, talking about how beautiful it is here ... and how we wouldn't stay, even if we could swing it financially because, we would miss, in no particular order: Milwaukee, RFC & RFW, Miguel's with Steve & Joni, rest stops on Aspen Hills Circle, catching any activities of Taylor's, seeing Austin run, visiting our Chi-town peeps. Here we are, at the frickin' south of France, I'm realizing the thing we treasure most is you.

Monaco and Antibes

We traveled to both today. Fun trips. Monaco is def for the rich and beautiful (and smokin' thin with good shoes). We felt a bit like peasants but ironically enjoyed our cheapest breakfast ever - amazing flaky and warm croissants and fresh market fruit: total bill? Under €5! We saw the Monte Carlo casino and Shawn told me all about the James Bond movies. We climbed the steps to Prince Albert's castle and took some pretty fine shots.

We really liked Antibes and totally understand why Pablo Picasso spent his final years there - inspirational scenery and kick back atmosphere. If anyone we cared about was planning a, say, honeymoon? Our vote would be Antibes! We swam in a public beach again, with our friend the Mediterranean. I was prepared to do a Kate Middleton, but no one else was, so I went with my Midwest sensibilities and kept my t-shirt on!

Nice is nice!

Favorite place so far - hands down! And we've been to some cool spots, but Nice has it all: sun and the Med, lots of fine shopping and dining and people speaking a variety of languages. The beaches are covered with big smooth stones, which doesn't seem to bother anyone but us.  Tonight we had amazingly fresh salmon, eggs Provençal, and salads and watched the sun sink red into the Côte d'Azur. Another great day!