Hello from Heathrow! And the travels of 2008 in review . . .

December 31st, 2008 7:45am Heathrow, London

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist.

I feel as if the entirety of the past year has been a lesson in this message from The Alchemist. Again and again this year I have decided what I want and have worked towards it successfully. I feel so blessed to have had such a fantastic 2008, and I have no idea how 2009 could ever top it!

First a quick sum-up of the last 24 hours or so . . .


For a major international airport, things certainly were dead last night in Heathrow Terminal 3. Apparently all of Heathrow shuts down at midnight and there is an 11:30pm landing curfew for arriving planes. While it is a very civilized way to run a business, it seems like a rather odd way to run such a major airport.

Things were open and bustling this morning when I arrived just past 6am on the shuttle from the Heathrow Lodge Hotel. While I had hoped to sleep a bit later since my British Airways flight to Istanbul doesn’t depart until 9:45am, all the later shuttles from the motel were booked when I checked in at 1am last night. The plane from Chicago arrived just under curfew into Heathrow . . . an hour later than expected because there were some last minute repairs done to our flaps (better to have things repaired than not, I think). The motel was a bit on the dirty and dodgy side, but it was very cheap and I did manage to sleep for about three hours.

British Airways check-in was blessedly quick and easy with a personal attendant who did everything for me. Such a difference from the madhouse that Laguardia was at 6am yesterday (*shiver*). In a couple of hours I fly to Istanbul, and I am growing more and more excited by the minute.

Yesterday I realized that since I will arrive in Istanbul today (December 31st) it will in fact be the 17th country I will have been in during 2008 (including the US). Last year on this date I was in County Clare, Ireland with my parents, Nick and Eric. That trip was an amazing way to start 2008, and I can't imagine a better way to finish it than by visiting a country I have never been to.

An attempt to quantify the level of spectacularness that was 2008:
17 countries
26 (+?) airports
15 major world cities (NYC, DC, Galway, Lima, Buenos Aires, Auckland, Canberra, Florence, Krakow, Budapest, Prague, Stockholm, Paris, Reykjavik, Istanbul)
Countless new friends
14 hours of graduate school courses completed


I can't help but feel ridiculously blessed and happy. What has made this year possible?

A loving and supportive family.
A belief that the universe is constantly conspiring with me towards my dreams and the greater good.
A general avoidance of guilt, fear and worry whenever possible (its not like they really help anything).
Regular attempts to give back to the universe.
A whole lot of prayer.




Hopefully I will be blogging again soon in Istanbul.

A Happy New Year to all!!

Remember: Life really is generous to those who pursue their destiny.

Love,
Anna

And She's Off . . .

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
~ Goethe ~

December 29th, 2008.

I should be asleep but I'm not quite yet . . . tomorrow in the early morning I head out on my January adventure. First a quick overnight near Heathrow followed by two and a half days in Istanbul. On January 3rd I will arrive in Baku, Azerbaijan where I have an internship for the month. I'll be returning to the states on February 1st!

Stay tuned for pictures and travel tales!

"Load the ship and set out. No one knows for certain whether the vessel will sink or reach the harbor. Cautious people say, 'I'll do nothing until I can be sure.' Merchants know better. If you do nothing, you lose. Don't be one of those merchants who wont risk the ocean!" – Rumi

(unless you are in charge of the financial future of the global market . . . )

There and Back Again.

"I should like to spend the whole of my in life traveling abroad, if I could anywhere borrow another life to spend afterwards at home." — William Hazlitt

"A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places."
-Isabelle Eberhardt


I'm well into my first semester as a graduate student at the Center for Public Policy and Administration at UMass, Amherst. Although I'm very much enjoying my studies I am also missing traveling very much. I'm generally trying to plan my future career plans around the possibility of continued travel.

I hope to use this blog on occasion to document short trips abroad that are in the works.

Top of the List for future adventure travels:
1)Peru
2)India
3)Trans-Siberian Railroad

Adventure traveling may have to wait unfortunately while I focus on career-oriented traveling.

As a final note- I would HIGHLY recommend traveling alone to all considering it. I discovered so much about myself, my own abilities, and my own general awesomeness. The four months I spent traveling solo were the best of my life.

"Dream big, and dare to fail."
~ Norman Vaughan ~

Fun Feature

Back home, and since I still haven't completely processed everything I haven't written a final blog. I have, however, found a website (http://wordle.net/) that will cleverly sum-up my travels in a fun format. Without further ado I give you . . .
Europe . . .

Iceland . .. cold, sun, Björk

"Better weight than wisdom a traveller cannot carry. The poor man´s strength in a strange place, worth more than wealth."
and
"He is truly wise who´s travelled far and knows the ways of the world. He who has travelled can tell what spirit governs the men he meets." - both from Hàvamàl Eddaic poems (AD 700-900) (Viking sayings)

(oh! if you want to smile watch the videos on wherethehellismatt.com)

Reykjavik, Iceland June 29th, 2008
9:30pm

Somehow when I was planning this trip (errr . . .. "planning") I somehow forgot to even think about Iceland. It wasn´t until I was in a library in New Zealand that I even picked up a guidebook to see what things there were to see and do in this far-north country. I definitely did not look up what the average temperature would be here in June. So . . . as it turns out . . . it is COLD. Seriously cold for someone who mostly has a summer wardrobe. As luck would have it, I managed to buy a nice coat and sweater in the Paris sales immediately before arriving here. The biting wind and 8° C weather didn´t catch me unprepared! Just surprised.

In addition to cold weather, Iceland at the moment has 24 hour sunlight. Pretty wild, when you think about it. I´ve only stayed up past midnight one night, but sure enough it was still bright and light out. It darkens slightly between midnight and 2am, but not enough to really obscure anything. The amount of partying that goes on here is madness . . . such intense nigth time debauchery that even the grocery stores can´t bring themselves to open before 10 am. It is a bit strange, however, to see people stumbling about drunk in full light . . . that sort of thing should really be hidden by darkness, shouldn´t it?

So, cold weather, sunshine and . . . CRAZY expensive prices!! When I calculated that the shuttle bus from the airport to downtown Reykjavik was going to cost $30 and that a regular take away type meal would cost close to $20 . . . well the nice young man selling me my shuttle bus ticket said, "I hope you brought your platinum!" Sure enough, Chase Rewards is going to be quite happy with me. Even eating cheaply and self-catering are still pricey in this island country. A beer is easily $10 making Iceland one of the most expensive places to go out in the world. Apparently it is second only to Tokyo.

Despite all this I have been enjoying Reykjavik and using it as a quite time to reflect and enjoy being by myself. I have had some seriously lovely days wandering around, having a coffee (about all I can afford), sampling a cheap hot dog (I got one from the same stand that Bill Clinton did on his visit), and strolling around the wharf and flea market. I visited the National Museum and learned that the majority of women in Iceland share genetic markers with women from the British Isles, but the majority of men share genetic markers with men from other Nordic countries, mainly Norway. What does this suggest? You guessed it . .. vikings settling here with their Irish brides. It makes sense that Icelandic people are ridiculously gorgeous - possibly even more beautiful than the Swedes although it is a tight race. Blond, blue eyed, with the occasional ginger splash and freckles . . . everyone is über-good looking. Also . . . they all speak English in addition to Icelandic, which is quite helpful!

On Saturday night I went to the free Björk concert here in Reykjavik, which was really quite a big deal for Iceland. Björk and Sigur Ròs got together with some other artists to do the concert as an environmental awareness statement. Here in Iceland they are worried about their natural resources being destroyed for aluminum smelters and big ugly hydroelectric plants, etc. Anyway, the crowd was HUGE, Björk´s outfit was WILD and of course it was sunny out for the whole thing. And freezing.

Today I went on a tour of the so called "golden circle" which visits three of the most important natural sights of Iceland all in one day. First the Gullfoss waterfall which was big and beautiful, followed by the geothermally active area of Haukadalur. This area reminded me of Roturua in New Zealand . . . bubbling mud, steaming hot water, sulphur smell . . . but Haukadalur was different. Mainly the geyser, Strokker, which every four minutes or so hurled boiling water up to 20 meters high. Pretty amazing stuff, folks.
Oh! And I got to have some traditional Icelandic meat stew for lunch (lamb) and it was delicious.

We ended the day with my favorite place - Þingvellir National Park. Not only is this the spot on which Iceland´s parliament started meeting in 930 (it is one of the oldest parliamentary institutions in the world), but it also happens to be where the continental plates of North America and Euro-Asia meet. Err, well, they aren´t so much as meeting as tearing away from each other. So basically, today, I stood on the continental rift and looked down into the canyon separating North America from Europe. I found this fairly exhilarating.

The only thing that kept me from jumping for joy was the extremely sobering thought that tomorrow I will be back in the U.S.

That´s right folks, Anna´s great round the world adventure is coming to an end. I imagine I will post at least once more with conclusions, overviews, etc. (plus I have a ton of quotes still to use), but this will be my last post from the road.

While I am looking forward to seeing people, and to living in one place for awhile, I have to admit that I am sad that this adventure is over. The past four months have easily been the best of my life. I just have to remember that as this door closes another opens . . . this is just one more beginning, one more fresh start.

Thank you, for traveling with me. Hopefully I will see you soon!

Lots of Love! Anna

and maybe . . .
". . .the grand tour is just the inspired man's way of heading home."
- Paul Theroux

Paris!! (a quick review) (in more ways than one)

"Paris is always a good idea." - Sabrina (the movie)

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” - Miriam Beard

(Reykjavik, Iceland June 30)


Last Wednesday I took the train (Castillion to Bordeaux, Bordeaux to Paris) up to Paris. I met Dorothee, a German friend I had made in New Zealand, at our hostel in Montmarte around 4pm . . . and we didn´t stop going until Thursday night! With only a day and half in Paris we made every moment count! Luckily Dorothee knew Paris well enough to get us quickly and efficiently to the main sights, and we managed to spare plenty of time to wander through small charming streets and stop regularly for coffee and or crepes. Thursday we wandered around Montmarte, visited Sacre Coeur, saw the Arc de Triumph on Champ Elysses (many apologies for poor French spelling!), passed by the Grand and Petit Palais, saw the Eiffel Tower, grabbed cheese, baguette and wine and picnicked in the Tuilleres, and went out to a Jazz club in Montmarte. Quite amazing for having only arrived at 4pm!

Thursday we headed out to the Louvre first thing and arrived around 9:30. No waiting in lines for us, we got our tickets and headed straight in! We only spent about two hours there, not wanting to be completely overwhelmed. We did the obligatory Da Vincis, and visited a lot of other important and interesting bits. The whole time I kept thinking "I am in the Louvre!!!!!"
The whole Paris/Louvre thing felt fairly surreal to be honest. One of the places you hear about all your life, and then . . . to actually BE there. Well, anyway . . . it was fantastic.

After the Louvre we headed over to the Left Bank for some shopping and gallery hopping. The Paris sales had JUST started so we enjoyed quite a bit of poking in shops. We had lunch near Sainte Michel Boulevard (I think!), followed by a visit to Notre Dame. By this point there were lines, but they moved relatively quickly. Then we headed to Sainte Chappelle which was beautiful. More leisurely walking on the islands was followed by a coffee & creme brulee stop and then more shopping!

Friday morning before my flight I headed back over to the Left bank and visited St. Sulpice . . . of Da Vinci Code fame. Took a picture of the "rose" line and headed off to Charles de Gaul . . .

Wwoofing at Chateau Brandeau, otherwise entitled, "Whatever you´re doing - stop doing it!"

June 29th, Reykjavik, Iceland.

I spent almost two weeks working (volunteering in exchange for room and board, really) at Chateau Brandeau, in Castillion, France. Castillion is a small area in the Bordeaux region, in between Libourne and Bergerac, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Despite the fantastic countryside, after three days of partying in Stockholm, facing a seven hour work day of hard labor in the vineyard was a bit shocking. On Friday we working in the pouring rain for hours, weeding, grabbing, pulling, bending, clipping. At the end of seven hours of work I was ready to get on the next train out of there . . . I didn´t really care where to, just anywhere I wouldn´t have to work so hard!

Luckily Saturday and Sunday turned out to be lovely days. The family who runs the organic vineyard at Chateau Brandeau is really very nice, and they took us Wwoofers to Sainte Foy for the market on Saturday morning. Wandering through this 12th century French town, amidst the cheese stands, butchers, spices, books . . . I fell in love with southern France. Everything was lovely, old, and just full of character, romance and beauty. I had never really been interested in France before, but a love affair was just beginning. My interest more than doubled the next day when we attended the féte in Saint Emillion. For 2€ each we sampled dozens of Saint Emillion wines, including some Grand Cru. There was also cheese, olives and chocolate to sample, and the entire experience was a ton of fun. In addition to the wine tasting, we also had time to explore the town, which was even lovelier than Sainte Foy. We explored caves underneath the town that had been turned into wine cellars, a lovely cloister and a gorgeous church. Live music and lovely cookies with marzipan added to the glory of that Sunday.

The next week was filled with 7 hours work days, long delicious lunches, dinner full of wine, clue tournaments, cards, conversations and friends. I really enjoyed the people I met at Brandeau. I wish I could say I enjoyed the work, but to be honest it was the hardest physical labor I have ever done. I definitely think it was character-building, however. Every day I wanted to just bolt and go back on vacation, but I stuck it out . . . I could just feel my character growing!

In addition to working in the vines (levage, relevage and enpomprage) I also helped feed the chicken & collect eggs. Some Canadians and I had the fun task of labeling and packaging bottles of wine for a large Japanese order. I´m not being sarcastic, it was actually really fun playing with the giant labeling machine, however finicky its behavior!

I was lucky enough to get to meet up with my brother Nick and his girlfriend Valerie at the end of my time at Brandeau. It was amazing to see them and to meet Valerie for the first time (she is terrific!). They are planning on working at Brandeau for THREE months. All I can say is that I couldn´t do it. My love and best wishes are with them and the family at Brandeau - thank you!

Stockholm: Beer, Chokladbollar, and Meatballs

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” - Tim Cahill

“I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” - Mark Twain

June 29, 2008 Reykjavik, Iceland

I am very late in updating my blog, but the last few weeks of my trip have just been too fun and busy to be sitting at a computer!

Stockholm, Sweden - June 9-12

Early on a Monday morning I took a cab from Hostel Elf in Prague to the airport. I arrived in Stockholm and was greeted at the airport by Josephine (see: New Zealand) and her mother, Suzanne. It was fantastic to be met at an airport and driven home- I felt so well taken care of! We picked up Michael, Josephine´s brother, and went out to lunch at a terrific seafood restaurant on the water. The whole time I was in Sweden it was spectacularly sunny . . . that first day was fairly warm despite a breeze. I had some amazing salmon, and the restaurant even served me an individual Swedish meatball when Suzanne told them I had never tried one before. It was delicious as well, served with gravy and some cranberry sauce.

The four of us picked up some pastries on the way to Josephine´s grandfather´s house in Saltsjöbaden. Thus, my introduction to the glorious world of Swedish sweets began . . . chokladbollar, biskvier, kanelbullar . . . it was an absolute delight and everyone stuffed their faces! I also tried some pickled mackerel, but did not find that quite as enjoyable :-)

Josephine and I caught the train back to Stockholm and headed out to the Gondolen . . . a bar/restaurant high above the city with fantastic views. We had cosmos while we enjoyed the view and then headed to Josephine´s father´s pup to catch the end of the Holland euro cup game (her father, being Dutch, was very excited for this initial win!). We finished the evening at Little Persia where we devoured some delicious hummus, tahini, stuffed grape leaves, etc.

On Tuesday Josephine and I took the ferry over to Djurgården and had a walk. I tried a typical Swedish hot dog wrapped in some kind of a strange pita-like bread that also held lettuce, tomatoes, mustard and . . . mashed potatoes!! It was yummy, but strange and a little heavy on the carbs! We ferried back to the mainland and explored the old town a bit . .. saw the castle, cathedral, lovely little cobblestone streets, etc. Some beers by the water proceeded dinner at Herman´s vegetarian restaurant that overlooked the city. The vegan garlic butter absolutely blew my mind! That night we hoped to watch the Sweden-Greece match on the big screen downtown, but it was all full-up by the time we got there. We headed back over the river and found a bar to watch the game - there was much celebration in Stockholm after Sweden won!

On Wednesday we slept in and then went out to lunch with Suzanne (who, by the way, looked exactly like the actress Lena Olin) for typical Swedish meatballs (yum!). Josephine then taught me how to make Havrebollar or Chokladbollar, or Chocolate Balls. Yum!!! So good! We spent some time shopping and sampling various Biskvier (I will miss this pastry forever, and I do not think I can recreate it) and coffees. We had dinner at her father´s pub and met up with Josephine´s friend Jonathan. It was an absolutely amazing few days and I was so sad to leave! I can´t wait to go back and visit!

Early on Thursday morning I headed for Arlanda airport to catch my flight to Bordeaux . . . .

Castles, Churches, Communism, Oh my!

"Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out." -Vaclev Havel



Prague, Czech Republic June 8, 2008 10:30 pm

Greetings from beautiful Prague, with its winding medieval streets, lovely old churches, art nouveau stained glass windows, and live jazz bands on Charles Bridge. This city is gorgeous, and the old town is overflowing with a character unique and fabulous, despite the throngs of humanity that fill it up every day.

[Quick wrap-up on Hungary: My last night in Budapest I went climbing up to the top of the Citadel, which afforded a lovely view of the city at night. I went with a girl I had met at the hostel, and we wandered back down to the hostel around 10:30 or so. I managed to sleep, and I got up before 6am to take public transport to the bus station. The metro turned out to be reasonably navigable, and the bus to Prague was lovely . . . I slept during much of it. The countryside wasn't as beautiful as I expected, maybe because we were on a major highway. My hostel in Prague (Hostel elf) turned out to be VERY close to the bus station, so that was lovely.]

My first day in Prague I was still feeling a bit rough from the bus ride, so I just had a bit of a wander down through Stare Mesto (old town) and through the big old square. I got to watch the astronomical clock change the hour, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock), had a bite to eat, and wandered back to the hostel to get a good night's sleep.

Yesterday was a big full day! I crosses Charles Bridge and headed to Prague Castle at around 10 in the morning. On the walk there I bumped into a Canadian from the hostel and we explored around the castle together for a bit. We saw the changing of the guard at noon, that included lots of marching and a brass band. After that the Canadian took off and I bought a discounted student ticket to see a bit more of the castle. The most exciting part was the cathedral of St. Vitus which had an incredible Art Nouveau stained glass window by Alfons Mucha. I also came across a toy museum within the castle grounds/area, that advertised a Barbie exhibit. Well, this may come as a surprise to some of you, but I actually collected Barbies when I was younger. I was thrilled to visit the Barbie exhibit, which started with the very first Barbies (from 1959) and worked up to the present. The outfits were fun, and it was interesting to see how Barbie had changed . . . I was exceedingly happy after viewing it! It made me want to go home and get out my Czechoslovakian Barbie (which was only possible in the short few years after communism fell but before the Velvet Divorce -- the split between Czech Republic and Slovakia).

I grabbed a gelatto to keep me going, and I headed for the Loretta, a Baroque place of pilgrimage, filled with religious bits and pieces. The most exciting parts were the skeletons of two saints that had been dressed in outfits, and had wax melted over their faces. Also their was a large painting of St. Starosta, a crucified bearded lady. The Loretta treasury was filled with gold, silver and diamond monstrosities that were somewhat interesting to look at.

Next, I headed further into Mala Strana and visited the Strahov Monastery which looks down on Prague. In addition to affording lovely views and photo ops, the library of the Strahov is particularly impressive. Although the libraries themselves were gorgeous, I think the most interesting bit were the whale penises that were on display amidst other strange things from the sea.

At this point it was almost 4pm and I was desperate for food. I ate in Maly Buddha (little Buddha) and had some delicious eastern food. Before crossing back of the Charles Bridge I visited St. Nicholas Church which was large and lovely. I think I visited a couple more churches as well on the walk home, but at this point it was mostly a blur :-)

This morning I took a guided tour of the Municipal building, which had been highly recommended by lonely planet. Mucha was heavily involved in the decoration of this building which was built at the beginning of the 1900s and was an important work of Czech nationalism. It was lovely, although I'm not sure it was worth the $10 tour. It did get me fairly excited about Mucha, however, and later in the day I visited the Mucha museum which was lovely. I had a traditional Czech lunch . . . beer, beef and bread dumplings. I spent a good bit of the day wandering, visiting random churches (including, Our Lady of the Snows), and stopping at cafes for a cappuccino. I spent the early evening poking around in English language bookstores before getting some food at a vegetarian cafeteria for dinner.

Tomorrow morning I fly to Stockholm to visit Josephine!

Lots and lots of love
Anna

The midnight train to Budapest

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt

"Two of the greatest gifts we can give our children are roots and wings." –- Hodding Carter

June 5, 2008, 11am Budapest, Hungary


Okay, so it was a 10:30 train. Now that I am safely in Budapest I have to admit how absolutely freaked I was to take a night train in Eastern Europe. The stories you hear are not good, and contain all sorts of crazy tales of druggings, robbery, rapes, murder, gang muggings and of course the big scary story- gassing! When I wrote my last quick blog in Krakow I was already gripped with fear having googled "night train krakow to budapest" over and over in different variations. I was of course slightly relieved to be reassured by some that the idea of a "gassing" is ridiculous- how could someone actually manage to pull it off without killing people (unless they had been trained in anesthesia), how could people actually acquire and lug that much gas around, etc. Of course the idea of organized pickpockets, etc., is warned about in Lonely Planet, etc., so you know to be on your guard. At some level I knew that it was highly unlikely that the train ride would be anything but uneventful, but I managed to work myself into a minor dither. The only thing that kept me calm was that I saw a "damski" notation on my ticket, suggesting that I would be in one of the nicer cabins with all women . . . and possibly a door that locked!

When I asked the guy working at the hostel about a taxi to the train station (it was 10:00 at night!) he laughed and said I would be fine walking the 5 blocks there. Even though I was a little nervous about it (and I knew my mom wouldn't be happy), I walked there anyway. Of course it turned out to be ridiculously well lit and the last couple blocks were in this extremely fancy mall area, complete with H&M and other fun western stores. When I got to the train I was guided to by car by the porters . . . the train car was filled with retired Americans chatting in the hall . . . English everywhere. I was in a lovely three-bed room that I shared with Barbara, a Brit with Polish ancestry. The bed was comfortable and the door locked- quite a relief! I felt very foolish for having been frightened!

At about 1 am when the train pulled to a stop in the middle of nowhere and the porter began slamming all the windows in the entire car shut. The slam woke me up, and my first thought was "they must be shutting the window's for safety since we are stopped in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night." Then the air conditioner turned on. My second thought was, "Shit! We're being gassed! The porter has organized with local hooligans and they are going to break in and . . ." at this point the thought ended because I realized we had both a bolt lock and a chain lock on the door and it would take a lot of time for them to break in, etc., people would have to be pretty drugged to not wake up with doors crashing, how could they really get THAT much gas, etc.

I still cracked open the window and kept my head by the fresh air :-) I went back to sleep after the train started moving again.

I slept terribly and woke up feeling foolish for all my fears. For awhile I thought I had lost one of my camera's memory cards (which I had cleverly(?) kept with my cash and credit cards in my bra, just to fool those train thieves!), which upset me a good bit. Just as I had come to the conclusion that, as we all know, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" and I should be lucky to be safe and healthy . . . I found the memory card in my wallet. Phew.

I'm not sure why I was so much more nervous about this trip then about any of the traveling I did in South America. I was in Lima for goodness sakes, and I'm afraid in Poland? It hardly makes any sense, and I'm trying to figure out where that fear came from. Maybe I just need to avoid websites discussing backpacker myths!

Anyway . . . Budapest is beautiful. I'm still not feeling my best so I won't manage the full Budapest-tour, but the buildings are absolutely gorgeous. Yesterday I walked to St. Steven's Basilica which was amazing, and the practicing choir made the experience even better. I walked up to the Parliament building and could not decide whether it was gorgeous or an architectural monstrosity. Pretty amazing, no matter what. There were great memorials to the 1956 uprising, and I remembered learning about Hungarian history under communism during college. The Imre Nagy monument was my favorite, and I enjoyed reading up on him again. Nagy was an anti-soviet communist who believed in freedom of thought and expression, and that the market needed room to grow on its own a bit. His "new course" communism helped Hungary for a couple of years but ultimately the soviets invaded, shot innocents, and executed Nagy. His monument portrays him standing on a bridge with his back to the Soviet monument in the square behind him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Imre_Nagy%2C_Budapest_statue.jpg

The hostel I am staying at has possibly the worst beds ever, but I finally managed to sleep aided by antihistamine. Today I had a long wander which included visiting the large marketplace, sampling some gulash stew, some cherry and poppy seed strudel, and some marzipan. This afternoon I may either go see the castle over in Buda (I've been in Pest so far) on the other side of the Danube, or take the metro up to the baths. Tomorrow I take a 7am bus to Prague!

Lots of Love, and hopefully I will blog on my trip with my mom soon!
Anna

Krakow and back again

But do not ask me where I am heading,
As I travel in this limitless world
Where every step I take is my home
~ Portion of a Poem by Eihei Dogen ~

Krakow, Poland June 3, 2008 9pm

Here I sit in the basement of lovely Mama's hostel waiting to depart for my night train to Budapest. There is so much to cover from the trip across southeastern Poland and eastern Slovakia, that there is no way I can do it justice at the minute. My mom and I had a fantastic amazing time, and the rural areas of these two countries were beautiful! I have many pictures and stories to share, and I think my mom may even be contributing some! I have been back in Krakow for the last two days nursing a cold I picked up in Slovakia and planning my next two weeks before I begin my Wwoofing at Chateau Brandeau in the Bordeaux region of France. Krakow is lovely, but having spent over 5 days here, I am ready to move on!

I will update more in Budapest! Lots of Love!
Anna

Florence . . . .

(posted June 3, in Krakow, Poland)

Florence, Italy- May 19th- May 22

I arrived in Florence on May 19th (my dad's birthday) and was THRILLED to see my parents at the train station! It was so fantastic to see them and 4 days were not enough to catch up on almost three months! They took great care of me, and my dad wore my huge pack all the way to the hotel (a good 12 blocks or so . . . and its a HEAVY backpack!). Hotel Bretagna was gorgeous - converted out of an old Gianfigliazzi family palace it sits right on the Arno river and was decently close to everything. Our room was full of character, and the breakfasts were good! It was so nice to be in a hotel instead of a hostel, I couldn't get enough of it!
(sideways parents in hotel room)

Okay- Florence was incredible. The buildings, the museums, the FOOD, and just the general atmosphere. It was definately a strolling-around kind of place, and we planned our days by when and where we would stop for our next cappacino/gelatto/pizza/pasta, etc.

We celebrated my dad's birthday the first night I was there, and we shared a few seafood dishes. I finally tried a little pulpito (tiny little baby octopus), after having only eaten a leg in Lima, Peru. It wasn't too bad actually. The squid was better, however :-) I couldn't handle the after-dinner grappa, however, and my dad had to finish mine!

Museums included the Uffizi where we saw Leonardo da Vinci's, Botticelli's, Michaelangelo's, Raphael's and Rembrandt's. If only there had been Donatello's we would have had all 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle's spoken for! The Botticelli's were amazing and definately my favorite.

We also visited the Galeria del Accademia where Michaelangelo's "David" is housed. I had no idea how HUGE the statue of David was, and it was really fairly incredible to behold. The detail on the arms and hands was amazing, but very much lacking on the legs. We came back there a second time after my parents randomly made friends with the manager of the museum bookshop in a nearby park.

Many beautiful churches were also visited, and other museums, but I didn't keep a running list as I should have!!

Our favorite cafe (I think) was Za-Za, which I would highly reccomend. Everything was fantastic, the bread, steak, wine, truffle ravioli, walnut ravioli, appetizers- everything! The decor inside was fun and quirky as well, absolutely perfect!

The hot chocolate at various cafes was definitely on par with anything I tasted in South America. Its amazing how terribly we do hot chocolate in the U.S.!

The people in Florence were not particularly friendly but the men were solicitous enough. Not in an offensive manner, but in a sweet flirtacious kind of way. The waiters were generally very nice and helpful, and many people spoke English. Most of the menus had English translations as well, which helped a great deal. I had actually spent time trying to learn some basic Italian while I was in Canberra, but in the end it wasn't really needed.

I had an absolutely incredible time with my parents, and my mom and I were sad to say goodbye to my dad on the 22nd. She and I took a train to Bologna where we caught a flight to Krakow.

Well, I've been at this internet cafe for over 2 hours and I need a break . . . Mom, Dad, maybe you would like to add comments with other places we visited? Other adventures had?

Anna with Florence behind her

Anna and Dad with the Ponte Vecchio bridge and the river Arno behind them

Canberra, revisited

(posted June 3, 2008 in Krakow, Poland)

Hi folks! I know I should be terribly ashamed of how far behind in my blog!! How are you going to know what amazing places I've been visiting if I don't tell you? Well luckily for you (although rather unluckily for me) I've been stuck in Krakow with a nasty cold, so I finally have time for some blogging!

Canberra- May 6-May18!

I had a grand time with Annika and Michaela who took super good care of me. It was great to spend time with them and get to know them better- I miss them already! Their boyfriends, Rob and Nick, respectively, were lovely as well. I spent a lot of time wandering around the National Gallery which was fantastic, and I spent a lot of time in downtown Canberra where the shops and cafes are! Canberra has some great cocktail lounges- I didn't even realize I like cocktail lounges, but I do!

For my birthday Annika, Michaela, boyfriends and roomates took me out to a restaurant where I got to sample some native Australian food. In one meal (including various appetizers) I samples crocodile, emu, kangaroo, baramundi, and king prawns (big shrimp!). The emu was a proscuitto and was delicious, and I enjoyed the crocodile and the fish. The kangaroo was good, but I felt to weird about eating it to really enjoy it! I mean . . . they are so cute!! Also, they were hopping all over the place in Canberra after dark . . . like deer in Westchester, NY!

There were many fun and varied excursions with Michaela and Annika including the National Museum, a fun trip to the zoo (we saw a snow leopard!!!) where I was frightened by strange small monkeys, and a trip to Cockington Green Gardens which is filled with miniature buildings of famous edifices from Britain and around the world.

sideways Annika and Anna on the little train at Cockington Green (the nice conductor took us around a second time for free :)

People were friendly in Australia, and the food was lovely. The girls took me to many cafes that were surprisingly upscale and served amazing food (especially breakfasts!). I made cookies twice at Michaela's and Annika taught me a number of recipes (she's a fantastic cook!).



Michaela, Anna and Annika

I was sad to leave Annika and Michaela, and not at all prepared for my 33+ hour trip to Florence (although I was excited about Europe and seeing my family!). I had a 3 hour bus from Canberra to Sydney, 3 hours at the Sydney airport, a 15 hour flight to Abu Dhabi, a 2 hour layover in Abu Dhabi (NOT my favorite airport!! I was so miserable I was forced to purchase junk food from the duty free shops!), a 7 hour flight to Milan, a 1 hour bus trip to the train station, and a 3 hour train to Florence. Whew.

On to Florence!

Canberra, Florence, Krakow

"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend." -Robert Louis Stevenson

"A good traveler has no fixed plan and is not intent on arriving."
- Lao Tzu

quick posting from Krakow, Poland Saturday May 24th 11:15pm

So, I know I've been very very neglectful of the blog, but I wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive and kicking! I had a fantastic time in Australia with Annika and Michaela. It was like a 12 day slumber party only with cocktail bars and kangaroos hopping all over the roads (seriously- even in Canberra)! Great food, great times, great fun . . . hopefully I will post some pictures soon!

Annika and Michaela-- THANK YOU!!!! You were both terrific hosts, I love you both and can't wait to see you again- come visit in the U.S.!!!!

I traveled for over 36 hours to get from Canberra to Florence (Etihad airlines were fantastic, although the Abu Dhabi airport was not my personal fave) . . . but it was worth it!!! Florence was incredible and it was fantastic to see my parents again. Oh, the food!!! The art! The buildings! More later :-)

My mother and I have spent the last few days in Krakow . .. churches, castles, medieval squares . . . it is gorgeous. Tomorrow we're heading into the Polish countryside to visit the towns that my mother's family came from. Then we'll head down into Slovakia and then back up into Poland again next week. It is not really planned, we will go where the spirit takes us, and we are sure it will be a grand adventure!

Later on, when I have more energy, there will be more updates! Love to all!

On the Road Again

new yealanPaihia, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, Sunday May 4th, 2008 7pm

"I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad." ~George Bernard Shaw

"I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine." ~Caskie Stinnett

Hello from wet and rainy Paihia! After a lovely time Wwoofing at Waihoihoi Lodge I am back on the road again. A big thanks to Rosemary for her hospitality at Waihoihoi. I was more than well fed and taken care of in exchange for work in the garden and lodge. I had fun cooking scones, paella, cookies, salads, fruit compotes and all sorts of fun things. It was fantastic to have my own room and bathroom, to be able to sleep in past 7am, and to be in one spot for a while. It did start to get a bit too comfortable though, and the open road was definitely calling. I was anxious to head out traveling again!

Yesterday morning Rosemary and I walked the dogs on the beach and then she took me out to breakfast in Waipu. I had a delicious meal of mushrooms, spinach and toast . . . really quite delicious. I said goodbye to her and the dogs as I waited for the Stray bus to pick me up. I had been told to be at the BP in Waipu at 11:30. Well, sometime after 12:15 I got a bit nervous and phoned the Stray office. Somehow I had never been put on the manifest, and the bus was over an hour past at that point. The lovely ladies at Stray saved the day, however, and booked me onto an Intercity bus that left at 3:50pm.

I spent the day in tiny little Waipu, which was generally lovely. The helpful folks at the museum/information center stored my bags for free so I could wander unencumbered. I learned (at the museum) that Waipu was founded by a Scottish reverend and the 800 highlanders following him. After Culloden things got rough in Scotland, and this group moved to Nova Scotia. They didn't quite fit in there, and things were rough so they headed for Australia. Australia was in the middle of a gold rush and they didn't quite fit there either . . . . they sailed to Waipu, and ever since it has been a Scottish town! They have highland games every summer, tartan days in the winter, and lots of pale people with freckles.

I got a bit nervous when the 3:50 Intercity bus hadn't shown up by 4:45. A shopkeeper had lent me her cell phone to call Stray and find out what was going on . . . just then the Intercity rounded the corner and came up the drive! Two hours later I was in Paihia. It was a short hike to the Pipi Patch Hostel where I am staying. I read my book and was asleep by 9:15pm!

Today was fantastic. I was on a day trip up to Cape Reinga that was booked through Stray. We left at 7:15 and headed north, stopping at a Kauri forest and a cafe on the way (there are always plentiful tea/pie stops with these bus tours). We made it up to Cape Reinga just before noon-- it was pouring rain and there was lots of mood-enhancing fog. As the most sacred place in all of New Zealand, the fog and rain really felt quite appropriate. Cape Reinga is a little peninsula sticking up at the very extreme far north of the north island of New Zealand. The big attraction (for me at least) is that you can see the waves meeting . . . . on each side of the peninsula the waves are moving in opposite directions and they crash and meet at Cape Reinga. I was thrilled that we could see it despite the fog, and was quite happy afterwards.

We headed over to the giant sand dunes, and the skies cleared just in time for us to go sand boarding. You lie on your belly on a body board and fly down the sand. It was terrific fun, but I only went twice as the climb up the sand dune was pretty killer!

The driver, Spike, took the 4x4 bus through a stream and onto 90-mile beach. We caught shellfish (rather like mussels) with our toes, cracked them open and ate them raw. Yes, you read that correct, folks! They were actually quite delicious- rather sweet!

Continuing down 90-mile beach (which is actually 64 miles, but who's counting?), we found a stranded little blue penguin (known as "fairy penguins" in Australia) and our driver moved him to safety in the dunes. Hopefully he'll be alright!

After the long drive down the beach we got back on the main road and headed toward a fish and chip shop (supposedly the best in the world . . . or at least in New Zealand!). The fish was actually pretty spectacular and we all filled up.

I'm still completely full-up from the fish and will probably miss dinner tonight! Tomorrow I'll have a lazy day around Paihia (hopefully it won't be pouring anymore!), as my Stray bus leaves at 4pm for Auckland. I have a 6am flight on the 6th to Sydney where I will catch a bus straight over to Canberra- can't wait to see Annika and Michaela!!

Lots and Lots of love to all!

Anna

New Zealand Picture Bonanza take 1!

Thursday May 1, 8:45pm Waihoihoi Lodge

Just wanted to share some photos stolen from others via facebook, and some I managed to actually get up from my own camera . . . just a mish-mash of new zealand- more to come! Visit facebook for more pictures!



British girl, Miriam, Anna and Sebastian tasting ice cream toppings after having a lovely wine and schnapps tasting in Marlborough country.
Sebastian, Melissa, Ben and Anna in the thermal pools in Taupo- was a fantastic place!
Josephine and Anna with the big orange bus - this was taken just after the yoga retreat upon our joining up with Stray once again!
Sorry about the sideways shots folks! Anna in little hut on beach in Abel Tasman National Park
Geysers at Hell's Gates in Rotoroa
Anna hugging one of the ancient twin Kauri trees
Rachel, Anna and Helen after swimming at Hot Water Beach
Another thermal pools in Taupo shot- Melissa, Ben, Anna, Josephine, and two strangers
Fabulous jumping shot taken by Ben at Cathedral Cove, from left to right, Melissa, Josephine, Anna
A night in Queenstown included a stop at the World Bar where they serve cocktails in teapots, Anna and Josephine pictured
Josephine, Prince (the bus driver) and Anna out in Queenstown (possibly a self-portrait)
Josephine and Anna at what looks like the bar at Base. Love Josephine's excited eyes!
A night out at Franz Josef, featuring, Bundy (another bus driver), Josephine, Angelo, Anna, Jon, and Kim
Barrytown hilarity- we all had to dress up in silly costumes and the guys had to dress as girls . . . Josephine, Anna, Prince
Anna and Josephine all blissed out during yoga retreat at Anahata in Golden Bay
Adorable puppy that climbed on my lap at a fish and chip shop in Marahau
Josephine and Anna with sign in Wellington that should have served as a warning of what was to come after crossing over to the south island!

Ceid Mile Failte!

April 27, 2008 8:30 pm, Waipu, New Zealand (North Island)
Waihoihoi Lodge

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your inner contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments." -Elizabeth Gilbert "Eat, Pray, Love"

Yesterday I arrived at Waihoihoi Lodge, a gorgeous women's retreat center in Waipu, about 2 hours north of Auckland. It is a beautiful building, with vaulted ceilings, ocean views, and a huge organic garden outside. Most importantly . . . . I have my own room and bathroom!! I am WWOOFing here . . . which means I am working in exchange for room and board. For about 4 hours work a day I am fed delicious meals and I get my own room. So far work has included cleaning, cooking, and gardening. It feels rather like a weekend at home. I have plenty of free time, I get to sleep in (breakfast isn't until 8:30), and there are two dogs to play with. Free internet, cable TV, tea time all day . . . today we visited the beach, went for an amazing bush walk along the coast, and then we came back to the lodge and I baked cookies. I also helped Cerridwen make Spinach and Feta scones which turned out fabulously.

Needless to say, I am happily enjoying myself. It is such a blessing to be in one place, able to relax into my settings and feel at peace. I am really enjoying the work, both digging in the dirt, and the normal routine of cooking and cleaning. It does make me miss my parents house and their garden! I'm looking forward to enjoying it this summer. Mom and Dad- make sure to plant some Lemon Verbena so I can make that cream&fruit dish!

Oh! And this morning I went to mass with Danielle in a nearby town. Some of the prayers were said in Maori, which was very interesting. I was so happy to be at mass, and the priest (who had met me before mass), made sure to welcome anyone from abroad, "especially visitors from Massachusetts." The three women here are a mix of Catholic and Anglican. Today a guest arrived, a young Anglican woman priest who works in Wellington. The whole retreat has a lovely spiritual feel to it, and the mealtime conversations can be intense.

Funny note: Upon entering Waipu, you are greeted with a sign, "Waipu, Cead Mile Failte!" What is the Gaelic for "A Hundred Thousand Welcomes" doing in this small New Zealand town? It turns out that this was originally a Scottish settlement, and there is a strong Celtic heritage here. While playing with the dogs at the beach today, we actually saw a bagpipe practice!

I will check in again (trying to keep in touch more, obviously!!! Love you Mom!!!!!) soon!

Lots of Love
Anna

In Which We Learn that Anna is in fact Still Alive . . .

April 24, 7:30 pm
Greetings from Wellington!


"Load the ship and set out. No one knows for certain whether the vessel will sink or reach the harbor. Cautious people say, "I'll do nothing until I can be sure". Merchants know better. If you do nothing, you lose. Don't be one of those merchants who wont risk the ocean!" – Rumi

Having spent maybe two hours total (or less) on the internet during my entire visit to the South Island, it is only now . . . upon my return to the North Island that I have a moment to blog. The South Island was crazy. Yoga crazy, party crazy, mountains crazy. I'm exhuasted, but happy!

The ferry from Wellington to Picton afforded us fantastic views, and the drive to Marahau (Abel Tasman) was also lovely. We stopped for a wine/shnapps tasting which was delicious, and stayed at Old MacDonald's farm right on the edge of Abel Tasman National Park. It was rustic, and away from the tiny town. Quiet, dark and lovely. We stayed there two nights and then Josephine (Sweden), David (from Vancouver) and I headed up to Takaka for the Yoga retreat.

The retreat at Anahata was amazing. It was quite like an Ashram actually, with bells waking us at 5:30 and chiming the times for food, meditation, etc. The two resident swamis dressed in orange robes, we held silence from 6pm to 8:30am every night. We were "fasting" so breakfast was nuts and fruits, lunch was veggies and maybe a grain, dinner was soup. It was wild.

The retreat was one of the most intense things I've ever done really, but in a really positive way. The first couple days I was really glad I was only staying for 6 days, but by the end I could see some of the attraction of staying longer. My favorite part of the whole experience was the silence. It was amazing!!! I LOVED it! You were basically forced to be by yourself and inward for all that time . . . something I had never experienced in that way. I was surprised at how enjoyable it was, and I firmly intend to pencil in time into my planner when I get home for silence. I slept incredibly well there, usually falling asleep at 9pm. The location was stunning with mountains and ocean views, and lots of cute sheep :)

We chanted "om" all day long and did a lot of work on Chakra clearing and opening.

The chanting was incredible . . .every morning we had yoga (asanas and pranayama) at 6am for an hour followed by chanting. We chanted the 32 names of Durga 9 times every morning, followed by 15 verses from some huge ancient chant. We had two amazing fire ceremonies that were mind blowing.

The night after the retreat Josephine and I headed down the nearby town to catch an early morning bus. We stayed in a lovely hostel and made garlic bread which we had been craving. Then we tried to go to sleep. And I couldn't sleep. At 2 am when the air raid alarm went off (calling the local fire crew), I gave up and got up and showered. Finally at 4:30 I managed to sleep for an hour before I had to get up to catch the bus. It was so strange. It almost felt as if I had been on super duper relaxing drugs for the previous 6 days, and I was in withdrawl with my nervous system all ramped up.

The next day we hopped back on the Stray bus, heading down the west coast. Our first night was in Barrytown, where we stayed at an old Miner's pub. Happy hour didn't start until everyone put on wacky outfits . . . it was one big silly party! The next day we headed down through amazing scenery to Franz Josef. I took it easy the next day and took a small walk to see the glacier, but I didn't walk on it. After the amazing glacier walk I had in Argentina, I decided to save my money and not walk on this one. Franz Josef was a lovely small town with a good bar at the hostel.

The next night we saw all sorts of beautiful natural phenomena, like the Pancake rocks, as we drove through to a small lodge in the middle of no where. Angelo, the Italian, taught Josephine and I how to make risotto, just like Mama made it. It was delicious. Then there was karaoke night (I actually sang, folks, beleive it or not), and both Josephine and Angelo were in the top three. It was a another fun time.

Queenstown was amazing, great nights out, incredible burgers (the Fergburger), and an outstanding day trip out to Milford sound. The scenery was dramatic, breathtaking, and everything that I wanted when I came to New Zealand. There were dozens of dolphins swimming along with the boat, jumping, playing, and having fun. It was fantastic, and I got that natural-world-high that I'm always looking for. It was sad to leave Queenstown for the long ride to Christchurch. The views on the way to Christchurch were amazing, however, with stunning views of Mount Cook, and gorgeous green-blue lakes.

I rested in Christchurch, ate Chinese, and went to bed early!! The last two nights I spent in Kaikora, which is a gorgeous small seaside resort, filled with dolphins, seals, and cute cafes. Today I am in Wellington, and tomorrow I have a 12 hours bus ride up to Auckland!! Then I head up to Waipu for wwoofing at a women's retreat center. I am very much looking forward to the down time!

Sorry that the descriptions of New Zealand have been so brief- everything here is so busy and crazy that there isn't a whole lot of time for interneting!! I'm missing everyone and sending my love! I'm looking forward to seeing my parents in Europe, and I can't wait to see Florence and Krakow!

Lots of Love!
Anna

Kiwi-Land, Northern Style

Motueka, South Island Wednesday 4-09-08, 3:00pm

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” - Bill Bryson


Hello all, after a long absence! Things have been busy busy, go go go here in New Zealand, but I think its time to play some quick catch-up!

Auckland was a big city, which is never my favorite, but some good times were had. Cooking with new friends, a bit of shopping, some sight-seeing. The Museum was amazing, and walking across the bridge was incredible. Auckland is full of lovely little volcanic hills, and I got to climb a few for some gorgeous views of the city (pictures eventually). I stayed at Base Auckland, which was hopping with backpackers, and I found myself constantly heading out with someone, or chatting over drinks in the evening. There was a hot tub which I rented out for myself and spent a lovely hour in looking out over the city.

After some debate about how to get around NZ, I finally decided to join a backpackers bus. There are three main ones, Kiwi Experience, Magic and Stray. Kiwi is known for its young, rowdy, partying crowd, so I skipped that one. Stray had a special discount going, and it is the only one that actually has stops inside of the National Parks, so most of the lodges are actually in the bush/on the ocean, as opposed to in a city. Stray has been spectacular, and I'm very glad I joined on.

The way these buses work is that you can hop off at any point in time and then hop back on, as long as you complete your circuit within a year. No problem for me, since I'm flying to Sydney on May 6th!

Okay, quick recap of what you've missed:
On Monday March 31st we headed out of Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsula. We visited gorgeous Cathedral Cove and swam at Hot Water beach (the water was steaming!!!), but because of some tidal weirdness we couldn't dig the tubs and soak (does it still count, Michelle? I have pictures!). We had a lovely BBQ at our beach side lodge in Hahai and got to know each other.

Tuesday we drove to Raglan, which is a surfing town. On the way we hugged some giant Mauri trees that were at least 600 years old, and had a fun photo shoot. In Raglan Helen and I, who had met back at Base Auckland, hitched for the first time in our lives, to get down to the surf beach and watch our fellow travelers try it out. That night we had fish and chips, I lost in a poker tournament and we did a really really long fast zip-line (they call them "flying foxes" here) in the pitch black . . . I was shaking for at least 20 minutes, but it was great. They love their adrenaline rushes here! Amazing stars that night in Raglan.

Wednesday I had a sore throat so opted out of the wet and wild caving expeditions in Waitoma, and instead had some of the most delicious garlic bread of my life with Josephine, a lovely Swedish girl on the bus. We stayed close to Rotorua in the house of a Maori tribal leader. We had a traditional Kiwi roast, learned some traditional Maori dances, and the girls learned some Poi. It was very friendly, enjoyable, and didn't feel exploitative at all (I had been worried!).

Thursday I hopped of in Rotorua for a night (as did a number of people on the bus including Rachel, Helen and Josephine). I went of to Hell's Gates and saw incredible thermal activity including mud volcanoes, steaming sulphur lakes and pools so hot the water cooks a full size pig in 30 minutes. I had a lovely mud bath, followed by a dip in the sulphur pools--- absolutely amazing!! It was great to have some quite time to myself to relax!

That evening the girls and I ate massive amounts of nachos at the bar attached to Base Hot Rocks hostel, and then went to the movies to watch "The Eye." It was scary and freaked us out, which was fun.

The next day Josephine and I walked up to our new Stray bus and were greeted by blasting Japanese reggae music and a full-on dance party spilling out of the bus. We all danced in the aisles, introduced ourselves, and took at least thirty minutes to settle down. Great group.

We landed in Taupo, where there is a gorgeous volcanic lake, skydiving, bungee jumping and hot springs. A group of us headed up to the natural hot springs, which were absolutely amazing. Right in the middle of the town park are these hot waterfalls spilling into hot-tub temperature pools (surrounded by palms and ferns of course), which tumble town into a lovely cool river fit for swimming. We loved it so much we came back that night and sat back in the hot pools while enjoying a gorgeous view of the stars!

Saturday was intense, with a 7 hour climb on the Tongariro crossing- up past Mount Doom (from Lord of the Rings) and its neighbor mountain. The uphill was grueling, but the views fantastic, and amazing red craters and emerald lakes rewarded you when you reached the top. The last hour on the way down tested my attitude, but happiness prevailed and I was still pleasant and happy when we reached our gorgeous lodge within Tongariro national park. We all piled into the hot tub, and later enjoyed delicious food, wine and desserts at the lodge's bar.

Sunday we headed to Wellington, where a group of us checked out the Te Papa museum, which was incredible. Internet, laundry, and phone calls were all priorities, and it was nice to get things done. In the evening we headed down to the bar (we stayed at another Base hostel) and lost in a very fun bar quiz. My team did win for the best name however (why the judge thought that "Sasquatch Sexual Rebellion" was a good name beats me), and won free tequila shots. We danced until we couldn't dance anymore and then crashed into bed.

Monday the 7th we took the ferry over the South Island (yay!), had a fantastic wine and schnapps tasting in Marlborough area, and then headed to Marahau in Abel Tasman National Park. Yesterday I slept in and wandered about with Josephine and Shevonne, a lovely Irish gal. We walked about an hour (the park is soooo beautiful!) and found a lovely little beach on a bay where we camped out for about two hours, sun bathing, reading and relaxing. The day was restful and relaxing and much needed!

Today I am in Motueka waiting for a 4pm bus to Takaka. In Takaka, Josephine, David from Vancouver and I will be heading up to Anahata Yoga Retreat center for the next 6 days or so. There is a retreat going this weekend, and I am very much looking forward to some meditation, yoga, vegetarian food, and beautiful scenery (we will be up on Golden Bay in Abel Tasman National Park).

Next Tuesday or Wednesday I will be getting back on the Stray bus and heading down the West Coast of the South Island!

Hopefully pictures soon!

Michelle-- I'm hoping you'll count me in for Hot Water Beach, and I'm working on the others . . . I already missed Lake Taupo, maybe I can make it up somehow (preferably with something OTHER than skydiving :).

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Anna

some Auckland photos

Can we say "Jet Lag?"

Whew.

Friday March 28th, 10:45am, Auckland, NZ.

For most of you, it isn't even Friday yet.

I think its sometime last evening for my body

Anna is
1)hoping to write a food review for Colonia del Sacramento but not able to at the moment because she is
2) so seriously jetlagged that the world is spinning around her and also
3) the internet is wicked expensive here which will make it difficult to continue
4) planning her NZ trip, since she hasn't really done any planning yet.

Also--
It turns out I need a visa for Oz, luckily it took me only $20 NZD and about 5 minutes.

Also ---
Aerolineas Argentinas made a big deal about checking out my plastic-baggied lip gloss and tiny tube of sunscreen, but let me walk right by with two bottle of water poking out the sides of my daypack. Yay! Safety!

Also ---
We left during a thunder and lightening storm and at times I think we all thought the plane was just going to fall apart.

Now, I am going out in search of Chinese food, because the internet is wicked expensive at the hostel so I can't stay on long, also I am desperate for Chinese food and maybe a nap because the world won't stop spinning!!!

love!

Big City, Little City

Tuesday March 25, 8:30pm Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilization, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints."
- Robert Louis Stevenson

On the ferry to Uruguay this morning I was struck by a powerful emotion that I have experienced a number of times already on this trip - intense joy. It is a joy that fills the body with warmth and excitement, that brings a goofy smile to my face, and makes me do a victory dance in airplane bathrooms. There is something about traveling, about actually moving (as Stevenson suggests), that is exhilarating, thrilling and rewarding. Knowing that I am alone, having left new friends behind, once again starting another small adventure, another small life . . . it is freedom, joy, anticipation of what is just around the corner . . .

I am so happy to be out of Buenos Aires! The city was actually quite lovely for the most part- the shopping (as previously mentioned) excellent, the neighborhoods charming, and the booze flowing. Generally, however, I am more partial to cobblestone streets, small cafès oozing with character and meringue, beautiful sunsets and quiet. So anyway, yay for Uruguay!

I spent the last few days in B.A. a bit more calmly, taking time to sit, relax, get laundry done, etc. I saw a Tango show at the historical Cafè Tortoni which was lovely, and I went with some locals and an American girl from my hostel to a really fun punk rock show in a small emo-type venue. On Easter I attended mass at the cathedral with two women from Columbia who were in my room at the hostel. We arrived early and prayed the rosary for thirty minutes, not my normal style but very nice. Still having a bad taste in my mouth from the map-mugging, I was happy for a chance to pray to the Virgen for safety during my travels.


After mass (which was of course in Spanish and only partially comprehensible . . . although I could recognize some of the readings . . . "this is the day that the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it" etc.), I called my parents and then headed to the San Telmo street fair.

You may remember San Telmo as the neighborhood of terrible late night food and muggings, but it is actually quite charming during the day. The streets are filled with artisans selling their wares, bands (pianos and everything on the sidewalk) playing for change, tango dancers asking for a few pesos in return for a show.



I walked along and heard from the sidewalk, "Hello! Are you American?" It was Democrats Abroad, wearing Obama t-shirts and registering voters for mail-in ballots. We had a fun discussion, and as always I was intrigued by the idea of living abroad.

Yesterday I went with Stuart the Scot and a Brazilian women from the hostel to the protests held in Avenido del Mayo/Plaza del Mayo. Argentina had some very rough political years in the 1970s which included mass murder and thousands of people "dissapearing." The mothers of the people who dissapered keep constant vigil in Plaza del Mayo, and are the focus point for demonstrations throughout the year. The march included all sorts of leftist groups, including Peronistas, Socialists, and Anarchists. Good times, good times.

I need to make a few notes here before I forget (this is random, please don't mind)
- I can't get spell check to work for blogger. Sorry all.
-There are loose dogs everywhere.
-When you use the bathroom you throw the toilet paper in the basket, not the toilet.
-Everywhere is flooded with young Israeli backpackers, taking some time abroad between military service and college.

Excellent. Now that I've shared those, back to our story . . .

I had a couple drinks the other night with Omri, an Israeli guy I met with my family in a tiny pub in the tiny town of Doolin over New Years vacation. He happens to be working this summer at a camp about five minutes from my parents' summer house . . . if I see him there too, we will have seen each other on three continents. Pretty nifty, hmm?

So today I hopped on the ferry (which was lovely, well organized and desperate to sell you fancy expensive, yet duty free perfumes and booze) to Uruguay and arrived in lovely, small Colonia del Sacramento. This town was colonized back in the 1600s as a base4 for the Portuguese smuggling goods into Buenos Aires. The houses are old, there are seven historical musuems, a few lovely green squares, lovely views over the river separating Uruguay from Argentina, and charming cafès. My hostel is gorgeous, old, with cathedral ceilings, tiled floors and it just bursting with character, only in an elegant gentle way.




I had a great day just strolling the streets, visiting some hitorical bits, eating incredible meals and desserts, and watching a gorgeous sunset of the water.



I am so greatful for this trip, for these experiences and for my life. ¡Gracìas a Dìos por todo! I have spent the evening ready my new book (having finally finished the Coehlo), "eat, pray, love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. So far it is fantastic and perfect . . . a woman gets divorced and travels the world searching for pleasure and divinity. Excellent.


Tomorrow at 5pm I take the ferry back to B.A. and I have an 11:59pm flight to Auckland with Aerolineas Argentinas. I arrive at 6am in Auckland on the 28th. I haven't actually figured out how long the flight is, I'm not sure I want to know!


Thank you all so much for the comments, they make me so happy! I appreciate each one and am glad to have you on the journey with me, keep them coming!

Lots of Love!

Anna

Anna Goes Shopping

Saturday March 22, 3:45 pm, Buenos Aires, Argentina

"Your true traveler finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty-his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure." - Aldous Huxley


Hello from Buenos Aires! I arrived in the capital city on a very hot Thursday afternoon. I took a cab to my hostel, Che Legarto, dropped my things and had a shower. I was happy for a new adventure, but a little unsure about the hostel which seemed to be in a slightly dodgy area, and was fairly unclean. I was in a HUGE dorm room with over 20 beds!! I only had to spend one night in that room, and yesterday I was switched to a more reasonable 8 person room.

I was starving so I headed out into San Telmo looking for food . . . I found a nice cafè and chatted with a young man from Belgium who had just finished some volunteer work in Cusco, Peru. The more I hear about Peru, the more I want to go there! I had some empanadas (as per usual), only this time they were only 2 pesos a piece (US $.65) as opposed to the Calafate empanadas which were 6 pesos (US $2). Delicious as usual! It was already evening when I headed to Florida Avenue for some serious shopping. I have been living in clothes more suited to hiking in Patagonia then bumming around a big stylish city like Buenos Aires, and I needed some nice tops. I spent the evening browsing through shop after shop and had a great deal of fun buying a skirt, two tops, a headband (I keep losing headbands!!!) , and a scarf. Very good time!

I grabbed a taxi back to the hostel where I met a young Scottish guy heading out to dinner. We walked back to the big square in San Telmo where there was drumming, music, and everyone was speaking Spanish (we may have been the only gringos). The service was absolutely atrocious and after an hour we were served something different than we had ordered, and it was the worst meal either of us had eaten in as long as we could remember. Luckily, Stuart, was at the end of his round the world trip and regailed me with tales of ridining on the backs of buses in Northern India, accidentily going to Mangalore instead of Bangalore and other such misadventures. I can't wait to go to India! Especially MacLeod Gange, Dharamasala, Shimla, and those other northern towns near the mountains.

We got back to the hostel around 1am, I wrote some emails and went to sleep around 2am- just when everyone else was heading out for the evening!

Yesterday (Good Friday) I had an absolutely lovely time walking around Buenos Aires. I started with the Recolleta Cemetary where Evita is buried. The cemetary was huge, the monuments immense, and very interesting. I visited the nearby church (really really dark bloody statues, very strange), and strolled through the open air artisan market on my way down to Palermo.

I visited MALBA the Museum of Modern Latinamerican Art, which was delightful, especially the Frida Kahlo. Some of the art was very moving, and some was that wacky modern kind that I don't quite understand!

Then I walked up to Palermo Soho and Palermo Viejo where I poked around in shop after shop and eventually had some salad at around 5pm. All in all I think I walked for 8 hours yesterday. Needless to say sitting in an internet cafè sounded pretty good for today!

I got caught in the rain yesterday but managed to grab the Subtè, or subway back to the center where I caught a cab back to the hostel. I had dinner by myself at an old historic cafè right on Avenido de Mayo, where people like Jorge Luìs Borges used to hang out. Not great food, but nice to be there. They have cheap tango shows and I'm hoping to catch one this evening. Then I headed back to the hostel and slept until 2am when my roomate woke me up and convinced me to go out to the bar. We were at this local bar with folks from the hostel until almost 5am, at which point we headed back to the hostel.

Okay, so prepare yourselves folks, this part is a little dodgy. On the way to the bar to meet up with the others, Billy, my British roomate and I were sort of mugged. Luckily all the guy got was a map of Buenos Aires, which we think he probably assumed was a wad of cash. Neither of us were hurt, and the guy didn't even touch me . . . he just dug into Billy's pockets grabbing what he could. I was glad I wasn't carrying a purse with me so there was nothing to grab. He was a big guy dressed in a nice suit, looking like he was heading out to a club. Very strange. He had something that looked like a gun, but in retrospect we don't think it really was. Obviously, this left a bad taste in our mouths, and we walked home in a larger group (it was only maybe 6 blocks to the bar).

So, I'm fine, a little wiser, and soooo not interested in walking around Buenos Aires in the middle of the night.

Also, I'm fairly lucky really.

This morning I headed down to buy a boat ticket over to Urugauy. On Tuesday morning I'll take an hour ferry over to Colonia del Sacramento, a supposedly lovely, quaint colonial town on the river. I'll stay the night and I have a boat back on Wednesday evening and then I'll head to the airport for my midnight flight to Auckland!

Well, I'm off to see the Cathedral, the Casa Rosada, and probably do some more shopping. I'm really enjoying not having a set schedule and just meandering about the city and seeing what I like, at the pace I like. I am however a bit lonely for the first time since Lima, but in exactly the sort of way I had hoped for . . . I'm spending significant time with myself and its a very good thing.

Happy Easter!

Love!
Anna