LEE-VAISMAN's

How long has it been since I was here Last?

2011-01-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

Okay so it seems that I have been neglecting his Blog-spot for a while now... Looks like 5 years. Huge Changes during that time. Bought a house, got married and now we have a beautiful and very smart boy.

We are still traveling. Last trip was back to San Francisco (Summer of 2010). We had a very different experience than our usual trips. Having a 1-year old with you reconfigures what you need to do and how you spend your time. Scheduling was the most important. Of course, I did a shitass job of it. Lewelyn would ask me where we should go and I would tell her where and then she would verify if we had enough time to do it but I would always say it's all good. Acutally, it wasn't. Z would lose it and we'd have a rough time heading back to our place of stay.

Anyhow, I will see if I can continue to add to this site. (there are 4 other blogs I am currently working on and I feel a little stretched)
Check our website http://bit.ly/hrQt0k

Conclusion

2006-08-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, we admit it, we fell off the track. We failed to conclude our trip and apologize for that, especially for those of you who were reading it religiously. I am going to attempt to recall as much as possible the events from the last few days of our trip. Here goes...

Frankfurt is great city, but we still love Berlin. We did some shopping and ate at new restaurants. The last day before we left, we had dinner at a typical German restaurant. Our waiter was Italian, from Calabria, and suggested an awesome meal for both of us to share. A sausage, potatoes and sauerkraut platter. What a feast! I think we had enough of sausages after that dinner, although we admit it was devilishly delicious! Of course, you cannot have a traditional German meal without Applewine.

With every city in Europe we visit, we try to locate the Jewish Quarters as well as the Jewish Museum. Frankfurt was the least Jew-friendly city, in terms of history. The cemetery was not well kept at all, broken stones piled up in spots and weeds growing everywhere. It is a sad state but we glad to know that it was at least preserved. On the wall that encloses the cemetery (which is under lock and key), are small rectangular metal blocks with names, dates and places engraved in them. Those are of individuals who were sent to the various concentration camps all over Europe. What a touching memorial.

All in all, this year's Europe trip was amazing! We saw a lot of places, learned a lot things, and ate a lot of food. Food and culture will forever be in our hearts wherever we travel.

..and, oh, somewhere during our trip, in Venice, we got engaged! You'll have to visit our E-Wedding site to checkout the details. www.ewedding.com Search for either of our names.

Until next time...

It's been a while since we heard....

2006-08-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Easy Internet claims to have a location in Frankfurt but we arrived at the address to find another internet cafe called Habib Internet Cafe. So here we are. Frankfurt for the past 2 days has been much better, despite the rain, than Prague. Our options are a lot more in terms of what to see and do.

We slept so well in the hotel beds as the matress was firm and the pillows were substantial. Oh, and I just love starched linen! Nothing like lying in bed with starched sheets. Of course, our hotel is away from the centre so we have to take either a tram or a train in to the centre. Fortunately, we only had two weekend days when we would have to walk for 15 min after getting off the tram to get to our hotel. Along the way, we spotted many short-eared, white-tailed rabbits, foraging for food. It's surprising to see so many of them, even in the parks in downtown Frankfurt. They're almost like an epidemic, according to Michael.

Frankfurt, according to a reliable tourist guide, is a haven for food. So, for our first night, we ventured out to Leon Garcias for some tapas. Sitting in the outdoor heated patio was great. With a bottle of house red wine, some chorizo, Morrocan cuttlefish, pork skewers, and great company, we were happy! Service is always included in your bill but it is courteous to round up to the next Euro when paying your bill.

Sundays are truly a rest day here in Frankfurt. We were out of luck in terms of stores to check out so we ended up going to a German pub with a patio to have the traditional weiners with mustard and a beer. Shortly after we sat down, it started to pour - and I mean, pour heavily. We sat under a big umbrella so were relatively dry throughout the hour of downpour. We watched people run through the rain, walk, cycle, and were just glad that we had gotten under a shelter just in time. Beside us was a local German couple who we ended up chatting with. It's always good to talk to the locals as you can find out information you otherwise would not know if you didn't. Locals shop outside of the Zeil, downtown Frankfurt - in Bornheim.

For 2 people who love food so much, we were miserable in Prague. Coming to Germany is such a blessing in that there are so many options for food! We usually survive lunch by eating either street food or purchasing some snacks from our nearby grocery stores - LIDL or Mini Mal. So, again, with the aid of our trusty In Your Pocket guide to Frankfurt, we located MoschMosch. Talk about missing our Asian flavours! Noodle soups and stir-fried noodles. We had dinner there last night and loved the place!!! Decor, staff and all. According to a reliable source, Michael, even the urinals in the bathroom had something to keep you preoccupied - a soccer net with a soccer ball hanging from it so you could aim with your fluid whilst relieving yourself and at the same time, amusing yourself. How do you like that, eh?

Today, we shopped as most museums are closed. Again, a combination of some rain and a little sun is what we had. It didn't stop us from continuing with our mission though. Shops in Germany are bountiful, though some, like Peek and Cloppenburg, do not take MC or VISA. What a disappointment. I found an awesome jacket though at PROMOD. Very funky, leather, with buttons at a diagonal.

Tonight, our dinner was at Doy Doy. You might be wondering right now what kind of names these are. Well, we asked our server who is Turkish. Doy Doy is a phrase that means 'never hungry'. The food was amazing, but more amazing is the decor of the place. It is funky and modern, very unlike other middle eastern food places. Both of us had Turkish coffee for the first time and liked it. Yummy...

I think, our trips are always centred around culinary and cultural experiences. Germany, we ranked is the best for culinary experience. The restaurants are just very sleekly and stylishly designed. It has given us lots of ideas for designing our future house... hopefully, a short time from now.

Karlovy Vary

2006-08-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

Excited, we boarded on a luxurious bus (compared to the other ones we've been on for day trips) to Karlovy Vary. Armed with our mp3 player and books, we anticipated the sight of the famous Karlovy Vary springs. 2 hours and a bit later, we arrived at KV. It was cool there, but the sun was still out and about. Right away, you could tell the difference between Prague and KV. The city was built for tourism, for sure, King Charles IV and Emperor Josef I had planned this along since the 18th century.

We walked around, taking in all the beautiful architecture and the cleanliness of the city. Everywhere we went, there were numerous Russians. As it turns out, a lot of them fly directly from Russia or wherever to KV to soak in the spring waters of the spas. In fact, as we were on our way to find lunch, we bumped into this older couple from TO (Bathurst and Steeles) who have been coming to KV for 9 years now. They stay for 3 weeks at Parkhotel Richmond (http://www.richmond.cz/?lang=en&1155288867).

Finding a hotel was a bit of a challenge, especially when we were both in needing to use the bathroom. We later learned that the reason why most of the 3 star hotels are booked up is because the tour groups book them and they also have spa facilities. We finally found one, a 4 star, for a very affordable price. The hotel had recently expanded and added a new section so we stayed in the new section. The price came with a buffet breakfast and air-conditioning. We were in heaven, as the beds and linens there were far better than what we have been sleeping in at the apartment in Prague.

Of course, seeing all the people sip spring water from these porcelain cups with spouts, we also wanted to see for ourselves. So off we went to find ourselves a cup each. Excitedly, we went in search of these fountains, which were strategically located all over the main area. Prior to drinking the water, we had read that the water had an unusually metallic taste and was saltier than regular water. With this in mind, we took our first sip from a fountain that was about 58 degrees Celsius.

Boy, did it hit us hard in the head! We didn't know what had just happened, but we got an instant headache. I guess the surge of minerals that coursed through our system was a shock! Ignoring this, we tried a few more sips from other fountains, of varying temperatures. We even posed for photos, as if it really made us feel better. Some sources were so metallic that when you brought the cup to take a sip, the smell hit you so hard that it could just as well have been blood you were drinking! (Weird, I know.) About 15 minutes later, we were very exhausted, to the point where we felt sick. So we headed back to the hotel.

At the hotel, we crawl into covers and fall asleep with an hour nap. We woke to our bodies being firy hot, and still feeling exhausted. I felt worse than Michael did and he convinced me that it could just be my body that has reached its maximum with the trip - FATIGUE. Ok, fine, I accept it. In the meanwhile, the TV was on and news of Middle East crisis was showing. We change and head out for dinner.

Dinner was had at a hotel restaurant where they had 2 tourist menus, Menu 1 and Menu 2. We each took a different one to see what it was like and as usual, we figured, for the price we were getting, it wasn't anything fancy. Reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, I learned of many things that happen in a kitchen, some of which I will not mention because it is not in my place to. Meat, in a quiet restaurant, usually sits under the heat lamp until it needs to be served. Fine, that is exactly how it appeared. The red and white cabbage which was suposedly stewed, were really sauerkrauts that had been recooked. And the dumplings, potato and Bohemian styles, were odd. Nevertheless, we left with our bellies full, for less than $25 altogether. After, we took a walk and went back to our hotel shortly to rest for the next day.

The next day, we woke up to rain while we ate breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel. We both felt well rested and ready for another day of adventures, exploring the city. Usual suspects like cold cuts, cheese, breads, yogurt, spreads, coffee, cereal, milk, and the likes were served. Seeing that checkout isn't till another 2 hours, we decided to stay in and relax, watching TV before we headed out again. This time, CNN showed news on the Heathrow Airport security situation. Being on vaction, you sometimes feel out of touch with the rest of the world. Occasionally, we would check the weather forecast in TO to see if we are having it worse here or not.

I felt Well, Michael was brave enough to try the spring waters again, I of course, learned my lesson and vowed not to touch it unless nothing happened to Michael when he drank it this time. As our luck would have it, the same headcahe feeling came over him, a heaviness, immediately after he drank the water. (Just imagining the smell and taste is enough to make me feel sick.) We rushed to eat a wafer, which calms him down and we down some Fanta....ashh. much better. This spring water thing isn't for us, we figured. We will stick to regular exercise, some yoga and eat healthy as much as possible, thank you vbery much, Karlovy Vary!

The funicular ride was a firs time for me and it took us up to the Diana Obseratory Tower as well as an enormous forest which we enjoyed by strolling around in. It felt great to be amongst all the trees. Inhaling the fresh air, listening to the sounds of nature - water dripping down from leaf to leaf, making it sound like rain. It started with just goofy poses and we ended up doing some yoga poses that you could do matless.
The walk through the forest took us to places where there were large growths of fungi, some white and one, a bright yellow orange which resembled a coral. So beautiful.

The path we took led us back to town, exactly where we wanted to be - at St. Peter and Paul's church, an Russian Orthodox church. The exterior was a beautiful blue, white and gold trim. The onion domes and spires really catch your eye and are so beautiful to stare at. The interior was less impressive, especially with the small size and th extremely loud visitors. One would think that you would have to observe silence while inside a church!

Our last visit was the Becherovka factory and museum. The group was aloud one, mostly Canadians. Starting with the history to the tour of the cellars, we ended up in the tasting room. We tasted 3 differect products, the original, bitter and Limet. All 3 were quite strong and very herbal. Becherovka is made with 20 different herbs and plants and takes 2 years to age usually. It has been used as a curative and aperitif, taken twice daily, once before the meal and once in the afternoon to calm the nerves. Slightly sloshed, we head out to find food - McDonalds. We got tired of eating Czech food and just wanted normal food. We headed back to Prague after that.

Comments by non-members

2006-08-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hi all, I know that some of you have tried to leave comments but were unsuccessful. We have now fixed the problem and you are able to leave comments for the blog entries. We'd love to hear from you.

Michael and Lewelyn

P.S. It is raining everyday here in Prague.....

A Thai Massage for Two

2006-08-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

During our regular walks through Prague we noticed the town is asleep on rainy Saturday afternoons. We got out of our neigbhourhood pretty late, interneting took us a while. So, by the time we got to the core, most things were closing up (around 4pm if you can believe it). There wasnt much to do so as we passed a Thai massage parlor, we decided to brave it and see what nastiness it was.

To all those out there who are clueless to what I am saying, here is some background information: Massage in Toronto is not always what is seems. Lots of places (Erin had one above her store) had a very dark reputation.

This place was Great! And not in the dirty way. It was a wonderful experience that left our feet and legs feeling GRRREAT! Costing only 400kc each for a half hour, they worked on our feet and shins so well that we felt like we were walking on the softest shoes in the world. They also used a Thai "Tiger Balm" that left a tingle and a warm sensation that changed to cool after a little while.

We might go back this week and get our backs done. I dont know if we mentioned this before but the pillows provided at our apt were horribly smelly. Thank goodness for our pillows we brought from T.O. and Ikea, where we got a cheap one for me.

Sightseeing and surprises

2006-08-05T03:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our adventures take us to Kutna Hora, an old mining town where the famous All-Saints' Church is, along with the ossuary.
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The bus ride was just over an hour and not bad. When we got there, some people naturally clumped together and decided to stay with us to find our way around. The first couple we met were Marcus and Simone from Colonne, Germany. When we eventually got to the church, we were awestruck by the art work created using human bones. They were just fascinating! Words could not describe what our eyes saw so we took lots of photos. Here is the link: http://www.kostnice.cz/.
On our way to find a bench to consume our home-made deli sandwoch, we met another couple, from Jersey, Steve and Yulia. We found out that Yulia has family friends in TO and so Michael wanted to keep in touch to do the Russian geography sometime.
The weather in Kunta Hora was very wet and cold, and we were dressed for it, thank goodness. All of a sudden, we were craving the warmth we had when we first arrived here in Prague. It turns out that this might be the average seasonal temperatures, since previously, we spoke to a local and they said that the hot weather was unusual for Prague in the summers.
In addition to the ossuary, we also saw the St. Barbara's cathedral, which had an unusual architecture. http://www.travel.cz/guide/126/index_en.html
Returning back to Prague, we caught a bus and sat in the front seats so we would not have to get dizzy looking at the side windows. It turned out to be a good idea, until we realized that the heat was on and we were sitting directly in front of the vent. Our legs were warm and I even managed to fall asleep. So did Michael, except he had a funny episode where his head was leaning on the glass window, but due to the sheer size and weight of it, it slid along the window, allowing his face to drag on the glass pane. There were 2 boys sitting opposite our side and they saw this and started to recap what had happened with Michael. They had a good laugh and Michael also thought it was funny, too.
the bus dropped us off at the last station on one of the lines and we went about exploring the area again. We had been there previously, on a mall hunt but were disappointed with what we found. This time, we had enough time to visit IKEA as well as the adjacent building to the mall. IKEA here is so different, funkier stuff and they already got their NEW items in. If this is the new trend IKEA is coming out with, then we got a sneak preview, otherwise, it was just a tease. Here are some more of the perks at IKEA in Europe:

1. coin deposit lockers to store your bags so yhou can shop comfortably.
2. Free filtered water dispenser to quench your thirst
3. Free refills from the soda fountain
4. good quality schwinnies
Next door, we came across 2 stores of interest. A pet store and a furniture store. Pet stores here, we think, are more like zoos. Instead of just the regular cats, dogs, fish, birds, rabbits and rodents, they also had 2 wild animals such as the marmoset and the patagonium. It looked so wrong to see them in a pet store when we would normally find these animals in the zoo.
Then we enter the furniture store called Jespen (http://www.jespen.cz/). You really have to check out the website. They carry all Italian imported furniture and they are just to die for. Funky and more importantly, functional, unlike some that are funky and useless. When we saw the pieces in the store, we started drooling. Even the kitchen design showroom stores here, which we have looked at the windows of, were gorgeous! This made long for a house to furnish.
Enough of daydreaming....today, we visit the Loretto and perhaps visit the Palace of Books again (this place is so huge, it is bigger than Chapters or Indigo, with 4 floors of books!!!), and just back on the Charles Bridge.

Counting down the days in Prague

2006-08-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

9 more days in Prague and funny enough, we found the Czech Tourism office last night as we wandered around our neighbourhood, looking for a different path to walk. You would not believe how we were the only ones who appeared to be using that office. The lady there was very helpful and extremely nice to us. There were tons of brochures and information pamphlets regarding areas of interest in CZ.

We are planning to spend our last 9 days seeing sights outside Prague, like Kutna Hora (old mining town with an ossuary), Karlovy Vary (famous for its hot springs spas), Cesky Budjejovice (Budweiser origin) and Terezin (one of the Jewish concentration camps). There are other things we learned today, like the fact that there are actually beaches in Prague - only they are river beaches, with sandy shores still. And nude beaches that you have to be careful about!

(Michael thinks that listening to Czech is like listening to terribly pronounced Russian. There are lots of words that are the same but are jumbled up or parts arent pronounced.)

We've decided that the food here is... not good. In the hopes of making lots of money from tourists, Prague has a serious infection of terrible restaurants. Everywhere you look there are restaurants mostly serving pizza and pasta. Dont get us wrong we love Italian food... IN Italy. And the Czech Menu is horrible, they really do not do justice to the food (if it really is any good) with the English description they give you. It's something like 'chicken with tomatoes and potatoes'. We have outsmarted the food system though, by going to grocery stores and taking out their roast chicken and/or pork and have found them to be much better than what it looks like in the restaurants.

Enough bashing of the food, we are having goulash from a packet tonight, just like what they served us in one of the restaurants we went to. We just add water, potatoes, and voila! You have a bowl of delicious goulash, minus the dumplings. But who needs dumplings anyway, when all it is is a ball of dough? We miss our Asian food....Pho, mmmmm....sushi.....mmmmmm.....and Congee Wong....mmmmmm.....

For the last two days, we've been hiking around the Prague Castle. It's really...nice. Well, exept for the fact that there is absolutely no furniture, no decor and no signs telling us which room we're currently looking at. The Golden Lane was the best part. We loved the small cottage style alley with its awesome history of Alchemy. Fools. All they needed to do was invent the ATM. Plastic to money is better than Lead into Gold... Lighter. Speaking of money and metals, we caught a guy fishing for coins in one of the fountains. I guess it's a good way to make money as long as you don't get caught. It buys you a beer or two, maybe even a weiner on the street.

(We are just at an internet cafe, waiting for our photos to be burnt onto a CD, in case anything happens to our camera. It is taking a while since there are over 500 photos and are large files.)

Rabbi Low and the Golem: The Jewish Quarter.

2006-08-01T03:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we decided to visit the Jewish Quarter. It was very impressive. We started out at the Pinkas Synagogue which was no longer used. Instead, the curators of the temple dedicated the whole building to the 77,000 Czech Jews who lost their lives during WWII. They had written all of their names on the walls in calligraphy. It was very humbling to see all the work put into remembering them.
We saw other synagogues as well, the Maisel, Spanish, Klaus and the Ceremonial Hall. Each synagogue was used as a museum to display information such as Jewish Cultures and historical information. There were people scoffing at the circumcision tools, which we found to be offensive - them vocalizing their disagreement with the idea.

In the Pinkas Synagogue, there was a display of the art works from the children in Terezin, a concentration camp in Czech Republic. They gave information on the child's age and what barracks they stayed in the camp. There is even a poetry book that is published to show the poems and artworks done by the kids. It is called "I Have Never Seen a Butterfly".
Adjacent to the Pinkas Synagogue is the oldest cemetery in all of Europe. There we found the resting place of one of the most interesting Rabbis we've come across. Rabbi Loew was famous for his knowledge and support of his community but most importantly for his Golem. Another interesting thing about the graveyard was that "between the 14th and 18th centuries, 20,000 graves were laid in 12 layers.". That is fascinating! We placed our stones for well wishes on Rabbi Loew's tombstone.
Other interesting things about the Jewish Quarters is that every year, 1,000 tombstones are chosen for repair and it costs aboout 1,000,0000 Czech Crowns yearly. This money comes in the form of donations and also the entrance fees to the museums and other sites.
The Spanish synagogue was the most breathtaking one, with ornate paintings all over all the surfaces, including the ceiling, which is the underside of the dome.
On the way home, we coem across another cemetery and it turns out that it is also a Jewish cemetery with a Jewish Museum adjacent to it.
We're looking forward to seeing the communist museum (actually we just like their ads).

Back in Prague...

2006-07-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

Back in Prague, we now appreciate the less humid, no mosquitoes, being able to walk around from the bathroom and the bedroom without having to be fully clothed, and having a clean bathroom. Plus, we enjoy cooking our own dinners.
We visited the Prague Zoo on a rainy daya and got wet. We did bring an umbrella though, on Munkee´s advice. Even though it had rained, we still had a really good time and spent almost 5 hours altogether in the zoo! Our favourite animals included the cockatoos, the North African Macaques - one of whom we caught having sex with another female! - and of course the big cats. We came face to face with magnificent animals like the giraffe, tigers, and leopards, with only a double, sometimes, triple glass pane separating us. It was definitely worth the visit as the layout of the zoo itself was very well designed. Better than the TO zoo, we say.
The next day, we ventured out to Petrin Hill. Climbing and sweating, we finally reached the top, where we saw spectacular views of Prague. What a gorgeous sight! Apart from the mirror maye, there was onlz the mini Eiffel Tower, which we did not bother to climb. The descent was a lot easier, all downhill, leading us to Mala Strana, the Lesser Town, as it is referred to.
That night, we ate out at a place Judy and Ron recommended to us, Giallo Rosso and had pizza and pasta. We each got 30 min free internet with the order of a beverage and food. Then we walked around the Old Town Square and waited for 10 pm since we wanted to see the Astronomical Clock move at the hour.
What we thought was going to be a breathtaking event turned out to be underwhelming. Usually, the 12 apostles take turns and show their faces, while nodding their heads in denial as death rings a bell. The apostles, instead of doing that, just circulated within the clock while nodding their heads. So, they really did not come out of the clock that much.

Smartwings is a misleading name!

2006-07-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

We're back from Venice and now I can complain about Smartwings Airlines without feeling worried about them. What a fiasco!

It started out for us pretty simply: we bought the tickets, celebrated the discount and bragged to all of you about he amount we are saving. "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" is a perfect saying in this case.

We got to the airport and discovered that our flight number was not there. After yelling at an information attendant (she was rude and yelled at me so its only fair that I yell back) I found out that the check-in desk was nearby. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone there, so going back to the info lady, I discovered that we were a little early. We were never worried so when we found out that our flight was delayed and the number was changed. No problem. The next part was a real piss-off. We were redirected to ROME!!! Instead of a simple flight lasting 1 hour, it took us over 5 hours. Looking at Rome from the sky is nice but it really irritated us when we were supposed to be looking at Venice.

The food was ridiculous. A single hamburger bun with a single slice of meat and SAVOY cabbage! Yummy and gassy too. One drink and the rest you must pay for. Horrible. "Yes, I know that it's a discount flight company."

They double booked all the seats and they had to wait for all the people going to Venice from Rome to board. All this resulted with us arriving in Venice at 11pm.

Venice was an unbelievable time, so I am not going to add that part here.

Flying back, I thought I was going to die.

Getting onboard was a little easier but the descent was A TOTAL nightmare! There was enough turbulence to make a milkshake. The plane was pitching left and right. Just before we landed we even wavered a bit prior to touching down. I'm a good flyer and I like to travel but these types of situations always make me dread take off and landings.

So a warning to all: Smartwing is less than good.

If you're budget concerned then good luck and enjoy the flight. For the rest: Take a bus.

Last full day in Venice

2006-07-26T03:05:00.000-07:00

Today is our last full day in Venice and so after seeing the Basilica de San Marco, having a capuccino and getting groceries, we are heading to Lido beach. The day is gorgeously sunny as usual, lots of sweat and water. We have found some easy ways to get around in Venice, like taking the traghetto, which is a gondola essentially. Instead of walking all the way around until we find a brigde, we take the traghetto and it crosses the river for us. Voila! Then, we also avoid the throngs of tourists by taking shaded streets and alleys that lead to magical places like an ATM machine.
We have already visited the Murano island yesterday, and on the way back, we took the long route, and for 5 Euros, we got a round trip along the Grand Canal, the lagoon, and the bay. It was gorgeous.
Going to the grocery store, Billa, which is in Canareggio - same place where you would find the Jewish Ghetto, it is so much fun to shop for food. Everything is so interesting. Like the tuna that we bought, it comes with green peas (Erin, we know you would not like this, but it was good!) and tomato paste. It tasted like the sardines in tomato sauce, minus the fishiness. As well, pasta here is light - unlike the heavy ones we have in Canada. Our lunches are usually salad, cheese and some sort of cold cuts. We go out to eat for dinner.
Last night, we were pressed for time so we went to a Chinese-run Italian restaurant. It had a limited menu selection but had basic stuff like pasta and pizza. Man, we do not recommend anyone to go there - Piccolo Martini. The pasta sauce was runny, and probably ready to pour onto pre-cooked pasta. But we ate it anyway and swore to return to the first place went to.

We are definitely Canadian and made from snow and ice. Everywhere we go, we look at the people around us and see that NO ONE is sweating. We are constantly melting. The water pours right out of us. I know that its hot (around 33 celsius) but this is crazy. I am currently looking at my arm form puddles on the table where my arm rests.

Off we go to the beach!

Venice

2006-07-24T02:17:00.000-07:00

Here we are at an Internet cafe in Venice, just behind our hotel. Our flight here was safe and sound. However, we both decided that we would call yesterday D-Day - for the day of delays. It was a complete write-off yesterday.
We left the apt in Prague a few hours early since we have decided to take the public transportation to the airport instead of a taxi (40 Crowns vs 400 Crowns). We got to the airport 4 hrs early so we just hung out, read, played scrabble, ate our packed sandwich, and roamed around the airport.

Our flight, as it turned out, was combined with anothe flight - a stopover at Rome. We were not aware of this and so changes were made, obviously, much after we had booked the flight. Never mind that, there was also a 50 min delay as well. Great. We go to our departure gate and learn that there is another flight departing from that same gate. We are very confused right now and so we kept waiting. (I am also finished my book that I just started 2 days ago - mostly reading at the airport. Naomi, thanks a lot for the recommendation of a great book, The Kite Runner!). We finally hear our boarding call - at another gate and we finally take off.
Flight was going well, we land in Rome, pick up some more people, who are also going to Venice, and continue on our flight. We even met a really nice couple from California, Ron and Judy, who were sitting in front of us. They gave us some tips about places in Prague to go see and eat at, as well as a hidden laundromat.
Everything was going well until another passenger sat in front of us and the stench was so horrible I was gagging. Can you imagine withstanding a smell for a flight over an hour long?
Phew! We landed finally and I was glad to be our of that plane and smell some new air - even if meant I smelled the canals. A water taxi, we found out, costs 140 Euros from the airport so we opted for the water bus instead, which cost us 22 Euros. Much more affordable. The bus made many stops and we did not know how much longer or many more stops till ours - San Marco. Finally, at 11:50 pm, we arrived at the San Marco docks.
Looking for our hotel proved to be a small challenge, partly because of all the hidden calles, some of which are so narrow you would not even know they were there if you did not look. We stopped in a nice hotel to ask for directions and finally found our hotel. The front desk was unoccupied though so I started getting worried that we might have arrived too late and would have to stay out till the next morning.
We had heard some cutlieries clanging upstairs so I went up to investigate. I found an Indian man and it turns out that he was on night duty at the desk so he came down to help us. Getting into our room, we find 2 single beds on oppsite sides of the room and the door frame was broken. We unpacked anyway and decided to go for a walk - in search of some air and some food.
We were so starving and we walked around but did not find anything open except for a couple of bars. One pizzeria, we walked by were just starting to close up. Too bad for us. We walked to the bar in the San Marco Square, ordered a Fanta and a Coke, had some of the nibblies out, and sat in the patio to enjoy our found food. 6 Euros for 2 glasses of pop. We figured having some sugar would at least give us some energy and eating the nibblies (japanese rice crackers which had gone sticky from the humidity in the air,dried fruits and nuts, and corn nibs) was better than nothing. In fact, it felt satisfying for us.
Sleep last night was almost restful - except Michael was too hot and kept feeling itchy even though there were not any mosquitoes around. This morning, on our way out, we asked the desk if we could switch rooms, and they happily said yes. We are excited at the prospoects of a cooler room.
Off to see more of Venice!

Old Town, Charles Bridge and McD's

2006-07-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

SO, like we said in the last entry we got up late and headed out the door totally off schedule, but thats what it means to be on vacation and not on a schedule.

Our place is so close to the centre of town that when we step out the door, we're practically there already. Actually, the reality is that it takes about 10 minutes to get to the "Powder Tower". Named for holding gunpowder in the past. Once we got there, we headed to the closest information office. It turns out that most of them are runned for profit so they constantly try to sell you something. Maps are like 5 bucks etc. Oh and there are tons of Fake concert sellers who stalk each tourist that walks by.

We decided just to go around and check out all of the sites that are close by. While walking down the amazing streets we found an ice cream parlor that was totally awesome. After spending 150 Krowns, we headed over the the main old square where they have the famous astrological clock and the Tynsky Cathedral. It's really great to see. There are the usual cafes and buskers. But there are lots of differences. All the historic buildings are is very gothic. There are spots where they tell you where people have died defending their religious beliefs and there is also a Meridian marker.

Off we went again in search of interesting things to look at. We wanted to find the Charles bridge but we ended up at a different one. It turned out to be a great spot to shoot the bridge. Finding our way over to the famous bridge we were interrupted by a black man dressed in a sailor\s suit. Very nice guy who offered us to go on a cruise in a small boat for $40 each. Nice but not today.

The bridge was very interesting. Armed with our mini-guide book we went through the whole bridge and knew who all the statues were. There were tons of artisans along the bridge who infact pay for the upkeep of the bridge through their fees. Lots of interesting pieces. We took notes on how they displayed their work. There was also a special Brass plate on one of the statues that was worn shiny by all the people touching it for good luck.

We were getting hungry and tired so we ended up leaving the bridge in search of some place to sit so that we could figure out where to eat. Heading back to the main squre we found a bench next to the observatory. THere we figured out a couple of places to eat. Unfortunately, after going up and down the streets, and trying to find these places we ended up going to the end of the street across from the Museum. There we spotted a lovely restaurant with big umbrellas and lots of people. As we neared it, we were surprised to se ethat is was a McDonalds. Giving up we bought two meals and ate them. The staff didnt understand any English so it was a bit of a challenge telling them that I wanted Tomatoes on my Big Mac. They also gave Lew Fanta instead of Coke. And, on top of that, they charged 33 crowns for ea ketchup packet, which was not even Heinz!

It was 10pm by the time we ate dinner. The ambience though was definitely upscale for a fast-food joint. The furniture was made of either granite or laminate for the tables, and leather for the seats and stools. Talk about fancy!

We walked back after, with our bellies full of food. Unfortunately, we tried to take a short cut and had to go through an underground pass to cut across the park on the way home. Along the highway, Michael spotted inappropriate behaviour in the unlit park. We picked up our pace in hopes of getting home sooner. We are not going to take short cuts anymore.

Sleepless in Prague (Lew's version)

2006-07-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Our regular routine of reading before bedtime was carried out in the apartment, just like back in TO. True enough, this tired out our eyes so we hit the lights, rolled over and fell asleep...or at least we thought so.

2:45 am. Both of us woke up to several noises outside. I was having paranoid feelings of people coming in to our apt, mosquito's biting, and hearing lots of people's voices from across the street in the pub. What we both heard were people's voices talking, some techno music, which we first thought were the slot machines in the pub, and some cars passing by. There were moments of utter silence, with the high frequency white noise, and a loop of techno music playing over and over, no lyrics.

The windows were ajar, for fear of bugs coming in and biting us. We had no fan, or a constant hum that comforted Michael. I was up so that kept him up, too. Funny enough, he claims that my snoring comforts him and lulls him to sleep. So sweet, I think. (I think he also means it sincerely.) So we tossed and turned, with a t-shirt to cover our eyes, our arms to cover our ears, and we still were wide awake.

Since we could not sleep, we ended up talking - Shabbat practices, Kashrut, plans of raising our future families, and about our families. Lots to talk about. When we exhausted our topics to talk about, we thought of a plan for the next few nights to survive the night and have a good sleep. We would go in search of a cheap classical or relaxation CD and play it so we could sleep.

5:00 am Eventually, Munkee decided to just closed the windows, and that did it. It blocked the sounds of the techno loop music and we were able to finally sleep.

Last Night a 2:24am

2006-07-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

No A/C, no Fan, and no loud noise might sound like a really good thing but at 245am I woke up and couldnt get back to sleep. Not really a problem right? What woke me up was a dream that was part reality. I was dreaming that I was Harry Potter (cuz I am reading the fifth book) and Voldemort was attacking me. He forced me to do a challenge involving music. I was to conjure up fake humans who where the notes in the music and then I had to arrange them. I needed some magical software like Garageband for mac so I was off in search of it when I woke up. The music was actually coming from a shop across the street. It was a gambling machine that was constantly playing the exact song that was in my head. EVERY 24 seconds with a 6 second delay. IT was a total nightmare. I obsess (no surprise) over musical noise that repeats itself. Thats one of the reasons I dont go in to Casinos. The music makes me go into looping dreams when I sleep and it drives me crazy. It wasnt going to stop and I wasnt going close the window cuz it was too hot. Lew also woke up but due to all the people that were making noise eariler.

We ended up talking and remaining awake it the sun started coming up. I was wishing for noisy traffic, or static from a bad channel on the TV. Oh it was horrible. Then Lew suggested that I wrap my head with a T-shirt (common activity by me) but that didnt help. The only thing left was to...CLOSE the window and sweat to death. Surprisingly, it wasnt hot and the noise was gone!!! We fell quickly asleep and woke up the next day. AT 12:51!!!!!!!!! Oh crappy. So here we are, 5pm in a internet cafe.

First night in Prague

2006-07-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

Once we landed, the border guard looked at our passports, stamped them and we were off. Easier to get into Czech than Germany. In Frankfurt, we were interrogated, where are we staying, showing the map, how long etc.

We were totally quick getting our luggage. We went in search of our driver. No where to be found, we waited for a little while before he showed up with a sign with Lew's name on it. He was cubby, mustached and very European. He grabbed my luggage (big one) and off he went to his car. At first he wasnt very talkity but I once I told him that I speak Russian, thats when it all started coming out.

Getting to pour apt was not bad by taxi - took about 20 min. The lasy who met us seemed nice and the place was exactly what it looked like on the web. It was clean and the bathroom was almost brand new. We unpacked quickly as sweat dripped down our faces. By the time we finished unpacking, we were cooled off. Showered and changed, we headed out to check the neighbourhood. At this time it was already 9pm and were starving.

There were lots of pubs and small stores but were closed already so we kep walking. We came across this Chinese take-out place, with menus that are pictured and numbered, so that your eyes can communicate to your brain and your stomach whether what you were looking at was appealing or not. We ended up ordering rice dishes - Szechuan beef for M and duck for myself. Add a 0.5 L of beer can with it, we were happy. Not bad for 200 Kcz (which was really $12).

Somewhere between me trying to speak to the lady in Mandarin, askimg her whether we are allowed to take the beer on the street and where good places to eat for breakfast are, she gave us a small discount and charged us 8 Kcz less. We're happy.

That dinner did not feel heavy at all. In fact, as we continued walking, we said to each other how the food we ate a few minutes ago does not even feel like it's there. That's Chinese food for you - easily digestible, and Michael hoped there was MSG in it.

We walked as far as our tired feet could take us, staking out some places we would check out the next day. Saw a couple of nicer hotels (one charged 2200 KZc for 3 nights, ours was 24000Kcz for 27 days) and grabbed some local maps and brochures. We also saw lots of sports stores, pub and bars are crawling everywhere.

On the way home, we decided to sip another can of beer to cool us off as we walked back.

Lufthansa flight

2006-07-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

Our flight from Frankfurt to Prague was uneventful - in a good way. Flight was short and sweet - Lufthansa gives such great service!

We sat beside a japanese lady who fell asleep for most of the flight. The worst part of it was when the flight attendants came around to offer snacks and beverages, we tried to wake her up bec we felt bad that she would miss out. Upon gently touching her and trying to wake her up, she slowly rose from her comatosed position, with eyes still closed. She started fumbling inside the sandwich bag, fishing through it, prob thinking that it was the bag of dried mangos we had offered her earlier. She took the Twix out and said thank you sleepily and proceeded to go back to sleep when I explained to her that it was hers to take. Then, she ate the Twix quickly and went back to sleep.

We found this whole thing really funny. So, here is what she looked like.

Frankfurt for 1.5 days

2006-07-19T04:05:00.003-07:00

Arriving in Frankfurt airport, we were armed with a sign we made so that the lady who was to pick us up could spot us. Her name was Ira, a friend of munkee's uncle's. She was easily spotted while we pushed our luggage cart around slowly looking for a Russian-looking woman. Presto! Found her.

We had 2 things to do before we could leave the airport - confirm our flight was leaving from the same airport as where we arrived at, and check in our big luggage that we did not need for the 1 night we were going to be in Frankfurt. It took us a little longer than it would have if it was just the two of us, but what the heck.

Next challenge was to find our way to the hotel by public transport and again, it took us a little longer than expected. We even went the wrong way at first and had to get off and take the right train.

After much sweating and feeling lost, we found our hotel, which happened to be in area that is mostly commercial buildings. Hotel itself was nice and verz funky. Though it was small, it was functional - bright, happy colours to wake up to and eat breakfast to. We loved it there. And the best part of it all, it was air-conditioned. Goodness knows how hot it was in Frankfurt!

We were starved from walking around so after visiting the Romerplaty, which was gorgeous, we went in search of a place to eat. Has anyone ever told zou how many doner places there are in Germany? Well, that was what we ended up eating! And were the doners gigantic for 4 Euros, too.

On our own we went to walk the streets of downtown Frankfurt some more, until we got tired and decided to head back home. Bussing it sounded like a good idea since our feet were tired, but the bus was taking a while so we walked back instead. Was our sleep that night so restful though!

The next morning, for 6 Euros each, we had breakfast downstairs in the hotel, where the room was so funkily designed and everything was just cool looking. We took our time with breakfast, enjoying the ambience and the food - cold cuts, cheese, bread, yogurt, coffee, tea and hard-boiled eggs. Yum!

We checked out of our hotel by 10:30 am and were on our way to downtown Frankfurt. We walked all around, admiring the shops and having ice cream, and walking by the river. It was a very hot day. Somewhere in the downtown, we saw a metal structure, enclosed, and 4 or 5 men in black suits and sunglasses approach the structure. They had with them a metal briefcase each and proceeded to conduct investigations on the object. We could clearly see that it was all a setup and they were pretending so we went over to look at the laptop and it wasn't even on!

Day of departure

2006-07-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

So, we still packing. We have now progressed to checking things off our list and going through everything to make sure we have what we need. Maybe another 2 more hours of packing....we were also cleaning up the apartment.

Preparing for the Trip

2006-07-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

It is less than 2 days from our flight and we still have not packed yet. Our bags are out though - just needs to be stuffed. Been having a lot of late nights, must be the tea. Had mom over and drank 2 cups of green tea - we were wired till 2:30 am.

We confirmed all our flights and hotels already so we feel safe that everything will be fine.