Home...cough...Sweet...cough...Home

Rob and I successfully made it back to the States late Friday night after another great flight on Virgin Atlantic. I actually had fun on both 10 hour flights and that's saying something given my moderate aversion to flying. The upgrade to Premium Economy was (in my opinion) totally worth it.

Our bags popped off in the first couple minutes (another perk of Premium Economy) and we took the train to the rental car stop. We made it out of SFO at about 3pm and arrived in Folsom a little more than four hours later thanks to a stop at In-n-Out and rush hour traffic.

The In-n-Out was fantastic. I didn't miss burgers while in Europe (especially since we ate at McDonald's a couple times in Italy -- don't chastise us for that, btw...it was the only place open until 4am), but once I bit into that sweet double-double I wondered why I hadn't.

After picking up Rob's car and dropping off the rental we met up with Mike, Mark, Mika, and Aiden for a couple drinks and some conversation. It was great to be hanging out with "our peeps" in Folsom.

I woke up early Saturday feeling much more awake than expected. The sore throat that I had had since the day in the Schottenhamel tent was fading...things seemed great! I wasn't exactly productive, but we did manage to make it out to watch some college football games that afternoon (was that Stanford win UNREAL or what?!) and we hit the new Bistro 33 in El Dorado Hills for a late evening snack and some drinks (awesome place - go check it out if you get a chance). This is when the twinge in my throat started to perk up a bit and the congestion in my head that seemed like typical post flying pressure kicked it up a notch as well. Add those fun elements together and throw in a little jet lag and you get one cranky Kipp. Mike, Rob, Mark (and probably our waitress) will vouch for me (sorry guys).

I woke up Sunday morning to a chest and head cold in full throttle. I think America is trying to reject me. To be fair, I probably caught it in Europe, but this was not how I was hoping to spend my first few days back in the U.S. and last few days of sabbatical. I had actually hoped to get back to some regular running and working out. I was looking forward to a little cooking too... I can still do the cooking, but thanks to the cold everything tastes a little bland...unless you do what I did to my chicken soup and just dump in some chili powder. :)

In any case, we're back... I was actually planning to post on how six weeks in Europe had made me think of things a bit differently, but seeing as I've already gone on for so long, I'll save that for another post.

I really hope you all have had some fun reading the blogs. I've actually really enjoyed blogging and I think I will try to keep it up (don't worry, there's no obligation to continue reading it :)). Speaking of reading this blog, thanks to all of you who have read and commented on the posts here - it was nice to stay connected with everyone.

Cheers for now...

Oktoberfest (4)!

Well, we all survived with flying colors! Hell, I was up before 9am drinking coffee and reading the paper in the lobby! My final beer count was either 7 or 8 liters (verified that with several sources). Eric, Jeff, and I set the pace early (and late) - in fact, I was consistantly taking the [lead :)] (also independently verified). :) All in all it was an incredibly fun, zangy night! We've got a couple new German friends and a lot of sore throats from all the drinking, singing, and snorting we did...oh yeah, did I mention we were introduced to a white powdered substance referred to as snuff? It's sold by the equivalent of peanut vendors cruising through the tent floor. It's a mixture of menthol powder and sugar and you inhale it. We have a bunch of pictures documenting the event and we all look like very bad cocaine addicts - me especially, as I took the majority of it on my cheeks. :) Sadly, this is the end of a long, fun trip. I'll do a formal farewell to Europe when I return tomorrow, but I will say a few things now. First, thanks to Dave, Erik, Jeff, Kerry, John, Shaun, and, of course, Rob. I had a great time with all of you - I hope we get to do something like this together again. And I know, I owe all of you some unknown lump of money (my atm card expired Oct. 1) - please send me the bills. :) Thanks again all, next time we "talk", I'll be on US soil (let's hope)! Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Oktoberfest (3)!

Ummmm, I totally just spit my beer all over a local German. He reacted like it happened all the time. Hell, maybe in Germany it does! In any case, Rob bought the guy a beer ( I was out of money) and things seem ok. Now we're singing the Stones with the Germans and I'm trying to avoid beer! I love this place!
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Oktoberfest (2)!

We're all currently singing "Sweet Home Alabama" with around 6000 Germans! Yay Deutschland!!
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Oktoberfest!

Holy crap. It's official, the Germans know how to freaking party!! It's 3:20pm, we've been here in Spaten-Schottenhamel since 10am and wow, it's great!!! The beers are large and fantastic, our German table neighbors are fantastic, and well, so is the freaking day. Kerry Brown is here and she just can't stop saying, "Best...day...ever!" I think she's drunk. Can't blame her, we're about 4 liters...yes, liters...into the day. Ok, I might be drunk...but I carry it well. In any case, we're having a great time! Hope you guys all drink a liter for all of us!!! My German table mate says I have to stop...go everyone...drink...be merry!!! Yay!!!
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On the positive side, Rome's train station uses Intel graphics...

...on the not so positive side, they probably hate Intel graphics. I'm basing this on the giant blue screen we found in the middle of the terminal. Bugcheck code: 0xEA, device: ialmrnt5.dll. I'll be submitting the bug when I get a legit internet connection. :)
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The day the pictures died...

Yesterday we headed back to Rome to see Jeff and Kerry and to get in a couple more sites, namely the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel.

The day started off a bit on the wrong foot for me though when I realized as the train pulled into Rome that I left my camera in the men's restroom in the Florence. I spent about the next hour (or two) cursing my stupidity, which, while it sounds bad, is actually not terribly different than any other morning. Yesterday I just went at it with a little more vigor.

The good news is that I had just cleeared the camera of pics and that it was almost a year old, so it was technologically obsolete anyway...right? ...I hate myself... :)

In any case, the Colosseum was really impressive. I kept looking at it and thinking, "Man, and I thought building my deck was tough!" The Colosseum has stood for almost 2000 years now and it's remarkable how similar it is to current stadiums (it sat around 80,000).

After the Colosseum we wandered through the Palitines which are adjacent to the Colosseum and the forum. I don't know much about it other than it was the center of two Roman eras which is a rough quote from a book. Like I said, we just wandered in so I didn't really do my homework.

Next we went back to Vatican City where Rob and I finally got to see the Sistine Chapel. I have to be honest, it was very different than I had imagined. It was beautiful and on an immense scale to be sure, but I had expected something different in my head. Hard to describe...

We met back up with Jeff and Kerry afterwards since they had already hit the Sistine Chapel the day before and opted to go to the Basilica's cupola which we had hit a couple days earlier. The timing worked out pretty well and we were soon at a nearby ristorante chowing down and drinking a beer which we followed up with a looooong walk back toward the train station and a couple more beers at an Irish pub. :)

Minus the first couple hours of the day, things couldn't have gone too much better. I'm really looking forward to Jeff and Kerry's time in Florence - I think Rob and I will really show them a good time.

I'm going to try to buy my same camera if I can find it somewhere around here. If I do, expect the pics to start back up... Until then, hit Rob's post up for some pictures of yesterday (we should get to the wifi spot tonight or tomorrow night).

Cheers!

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It turns out that Rome wasn't built in a day...

...and it can't be seen in a day either. Still, Rob and I did our best when we dropped in for a day (just a 1.5 hour train ride from Florence). We managed to see the Pantheon, St. Peters Basilica, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. All in all, a pretty busy and productive day for us. We stumbled on the Pantheon, but it was actually one of the cooler sites. It's still used as a church and the architecture was really impressive. I've included a short video I took that very briefly "shows you around."

Next we hit St. Peters. The plaza itself is very impressive, but pales in comparison to the Basilica which is massive and beautiful (if not a little gaudy :). I think I got a little more Catholic as I walked in...don't worry though, it wore off by my second beer in the Irish pub that night. :)

Sadly the Basilica was a little dark so the pictures do not do it justice. Below you'll find a few shots from throughout St Peter's, including the supposed tomb/shrine/remains of St. Peter. We also climbed the dome (which was trippy) and saw the crypt of Popes which did include the late Pope John Paul II where people were gathered, some crying. He was obviously very loved. Lastly we stopped buy the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

Piazzale Michelangelo

Across the River Arno and up a decent hill is a place called Piazzale Michelangelo which sports a scenic outlook, a copy of the David, and a series of gardens.

Rob and I walked over one day (not a bad hike) and wandered around a bit. The view was spectacular.

Not much really needs to be said (which rarely stops me I know, so enjoy it :), just enjoy the pictures (the panoramic was stiched together from 6 photos).

Well, we've "upgraded" wireless places after a series of frustrations at our previous spot which I really wanted to like because it is named Naima, presumably after the John Coltrane song. Unfortunately, Naima never seemed to let us connect if two other people were already connected, so we searched the town for another hotspot and found Moyo, another trendy cafe with free WiFi. We decided to go the next day. There was only one flaw in my plan -- I forgot my passport and there is an Italian law requiring all people using a public/free internet location to register their use of said connection.

So...instead, I'm typing in notepad and drinking a beer. Not a bad consolation, but I've got two sets of pictures and two posts besides this one waiting in the wings.

Rob (proving again that he's the smart one in the bunch) did bring his passport and has successfully scored a wireless access code, but is currently having connection issues (hopefully not caused by me trying to piggy back on his code). So...now our "upgraded" wireless spot is not seeming too "upgraded". Argh.

Hmmm...while I wait for Rob to struggle through things, I'm perusing the magazines on the table and have made quite the discovery -- a woman named Juliana Moreira on the cover of an Italian magazine called Max. I don't know who she is, or what she does, but guys...she looks like she's worth a google. :) Actually, gals...you might want to take a peek too.

Still no luck and ironically we're thinking about hitting the previous wireless place in hopes of it being better...

Bear with us guys - we're trying.

On a related note, Rob and I went to the Uffizi for the third or fourth time to attempt to get the "Friends of Uffizi" pass so that we can pop in there as frequently as we'd like (among other places). The first time it was closed and not providing cards because of a technical problem, the second time it was closed for random maintainance, and this last time we finally got in the door, but were told we needed an appointment...which we made. Too little too late you say? You're probably right, but it's the freaking principle now. I'm going Galvan on this one and won't quit until I "win!"

Also, the girl manning the "Friends of Uffizi" desk was anything but friendly. Maybe friendliness only comes after your membership dues are paid.

Rob is literally pulling out his hair now and cursing at his computer (and he doesn't even have "f*cking Vista!" Which, by the way, after using that for a month now I'm only more convinced it sucks...lots more useless garbage for twice as much inconvenience - yay! Sorry, I digress...maybe I'll come around when they decide to make it not suck.)

Editors note: I have successfully returned to Moyo and acquired an internet access card. The connection is working without a hitch and you all should see a lot more posts! I have posted three new blurbs today (and back-dated them, so scroll through). There's more to come...hopefully readership will pickup again. :)

On the positive side, Rome's train station uses Intel graphics...

...on the not so positive side, they probably hate Intel graphics. I'm basing this on the giant blue screen we found in the middle of the terminal. Bugcheck code: 0xEA, device: ialmrnt5.dll. I'll be submitting the bug when I get a legit internet connection. :)
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Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore

The museum behind the duomo in Florence holds a variety of art and sculptures that were originally created and placed in the nearby Cathedral, Tower, and Baptistery. Many of the pieces come from the well known Donatello (the artist, not the ninja turtle, who while martially artistic does not, to my knowledge, have any artwork displayed in Florence). While each piece in the museum deserves it's own story, I was most interested in one. Michelangelo is credited with two sculptures known as the Pieta. His second piece with this title is housed in the Duomo's Museum and is special for a couple reasons. First, it was intended to be placed within Michelangelo's own tomb. It was started when he was very late in life and the work was never finished (it also never adorned Michelangelo's funerary). Second, you'll notice in the picture that the sculpture is fractured in a couple places, most notably Christ's left arm. This allegedly occured after Michelangelo attempted to destroy the statue in a fit of rage after finding an impurity in the stone. It was later repaired by one of Michelangelo's students, who also died before completing it. Third, and perhaps most interesting is that Michelangelo is believed to have carved his own likeness into the face of Nicodemus (the man holding Christ). Nicodemus was one of the people that is said to have helped bury Christ and was also apparently referenced in some texts as being an artist and sculptor. Michelangelo is said to have identified with Nicodemus in both the artistic sense as well as in a spiritual sense as both men allegedly were "born" into their faith in their later years. Michelangelo's Pieta and Donatello's sculpture of Mary Magdalene (seen below) just seemed to give off a different vibe (to me) than the other sculptures, but there were so many amazing pieces in the museum. The last pieces I'll mention are Lorenzo Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise." These ten bronze reliefs depict the stories of the old testament and they adorned the southern door of the Baptistery (copies of the pieces now hold that place -- see the pictures below). The doors were dubbed "The Gates of Paradise" by Michelangelo. Interestingly the area between a baptistery and a cathedral, which these doors faced, was (is?) apparently often referred to as "paradise." The original works are now encased in nitrogen to maintain their appearance. All in all, I was most impressed with the museum. It was much larger than I expected and housed a fairly vast collection of pieces. A return visit might be necessary. :)

Sorry for the delay...

Hi all! Sorry for the delay on posting - the internet cafe we've been trying to hit was closed. It's open today though and we've got some great pics to post (I even managed to get a couple woth Rob in them).

Couple notes...

Gelato (still) rocks...

No need to order at the cafe - they knew our drinks when we walked in. Winners! :)

Cobblestone is not a good running surface...

We found a shortcut to the Irish pub!
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Up Another Bell Tower...

Rob and I were wandering around and hoping to sneak into the Duomo if the lines were short. They weren't. But, we did find ourselves standing at the entrance of the Campinile (bell tower) of the Duomo and there was not a single person in line. So, we bought a ticket (5 euros) and started the climb. The tower is over 400 steps up and is a combination of narrow switch backs and occasional longer sets of straight stairs -- vastly different than Pisa. It was quite a hike, but well worth it. At the top we were rewarded with some spectacular views of the Duomo, the baptistery, as well as scenic views of the city and surrounding countryside. The climb was also a solid reminder that maybe I should be doing more running and less Irish beer drinking...okay, at least more running. :) (Editor's note: we climbed the tower about 10-11 days ago and I've run about 5 times since then -- even got Rob out for one! No comment on the Irish beer...) We've got a few duomo pictures stashed for a later post. We're saving them for after we get inside the Duomo and get some interior shots as well as shots from the top of the Duomo. In the meantime though, here are some great pics from the top of the tower...

We have WiFi! Rob and I have located a great spot for (free) WiFi...in fact, I'm using it right now. We both have a bunch of pics to post and will prep them tonight for posting tomorrow. Look forward to pics from our climb up two bell towers!! -KO

Teasers...

The Benefits of Being a Regular...

Rob and I had at least one goal when we arrived in Florence: establish ourselves as a regular at at least one local spot. The rationale being that regulars enjoy a variety of priviledges.

For example, as a regular to a local cafe we are able to more easily navigate through some of the varying practices. An interesting thing here is that some cafes require you to pay and order first, then give the receipt to someone else to redeem it for say a coffee or a sandwich. Others ask you to order, receive the food, and then pay before sitting. Still others request you to order, get the food, eat the food, the pay on the way out.

Rob and I are early into it, but we're working on establishing ourselves as regulars at a nearby cafe to avoid this confusion and to provide a layer of comfort and familiarity. We're hoping it helps us avoid situations like our first encounter at said cafe. It went something like this...

(Preface: I studied a phrase book and was eager to try out a simple sentence...)
Kipp: posso avere una bischotti, per favore? [Internal monologue: holy sh*t, that came out way better than expected!]
Cafe worker: (looking slightly impressed) si.
Cafe worker: (something fast, something italian, and something asked directly at me)
Kipp: uh... (Deer in headlights)
Cafe worker: (repeats phrase and a mischevious grin begins to form)
Kipp: (confidence plummeting like a scoop of ice cream heading for the pavement) ...uhhhh...[Stay cool man, staaay cool!]...whaaaaaaat? [Sh*t!!!]
Cafe worker: eat here or take away?
Kipp: oh, um...here...um...per favore. [Real smooth dipsh*t!] (Moves, defeated, to the register where a thoroughly unimpressed cashier awaits).
Cashier: pay after...
Kipp: (still struggling to stay in italian mode) what? [C'mon me! At least say "que?"]
Cashier: pay after...
Kipp: [think man - what could he be saying...think!] Um...what?
Cashier: paaaaaay aaaaaafter
Kipp: [well why didn't he just say so!] Ah! Ok. (Rob and I proceed to sit down)
Kipp: so...that went well. (Pause) Did you hear me totally nail the first part though?!
Rob: yeah you blew me away...and then she talked back...and I laughed because I knew you were done for.

My point though is that when we go back in today, things can't go nearly as badly...right? And everytime after it will get even better. By the time we leave we might even have a couple new friends.

Now you might think this concept is silly, but what I haven't mentioned is that the cafe is our second regular game. Our efforts towards our primary goal are already bearing fruit!!

Two nights ago we went back into the irish pub. We talked a bit more with the bartenders and the owner and we met a cool woman named Whitney. By the end of the night the owner was chatting with us and giving me a hard time for drinking too slowly and talking too much! Sounds like somebody knows me!! :).

Yesterday Whitney went to see the David with us and then shared a few recommended places to get some gelato as well as a great place for dinner that we all ate at that night.

We finished off the night back at the irish pub (english speaking salvation after a day of pointing, gesturing, and being embarrassed). I ordered the first round and the female bartender (different person than the owner) responded with "hey you guys are back! Oh man, it's already 11, think you can finish this pint by 1 when we close?!"

Next we bumped into and received a happy hello from another bartender hanging out while on his day off and an American woman we met a couple days earlier (the one we saved from an anti-bush, anti-gun rant). She has lived here for a long while and gave us a few more tips of things to do..

The kicker though was when I finally did finish my pint, the female bartender spotted me across a packed bar and yelled, "look who finished their beer!!! Yaaay!" I got a scattered round of applause...

It's all about being a regular baby (and maybe a little about being the only people who tip). :)

P.S. The tracker is back up...
P.P.S. Rob's Aunt Joyce, we're getting a ton of sleep... Siestas are in full effect and I think Rob has claimed two 14+ hour nights of sleep.
P.P.P.S. Found a free wifi hotspot! If we can find it again, pictures and blogs will flow!!!
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Sunrise run...

I'm up at the crack of dawn to begin what I hope becomes a daily ritual...a sunrise run along the river Arno and across many of its scenic bridges. I'll upload my course when I can (we think we've worked out a way to get internet access). I'll also get the tracker back up - we're obviously not getting a signal in the apartment. Okay, enough procrastinating for me...running time!
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A long overdue update...

Hi all! My apologies for not blogging more recently. We made it to Florence Saturday morning and so far it's been nothing but impressive! We don't have internet access yet, but we'll take care of that today.

Here's a quick summary of the past two days (it starts slow, but I promise any entertaining end)...

Saturday:
We arrived by train around 2pm and were happy to find the apartment easily. The apartment itself is great - we need visitors! We have room for 6-8 people easy and were surprised to find a third bathroom.

We got unpacked and then went out to check out the surrounding area - mainly to find a place to eat later that night and the irish pub Brenna had mentioned. :) We did a zig-zag through the streets between the train station, our apt, the river, and the Duomo and were amazed at a couple things.

First, the number of shops, cafes, and ristorantes near us is impressive. We're going to eat crazy well as soon as we stop being afraid to embarrass ourselves by slaughtering the Italian language. :)

Second, the architecture, monuments, and statues are just plain awesome. It's a lively, beautiful city.

And third, speaking of beautiful...a ridiculous percentage of women here are just gorgeous! And it's not like they're all Italian. My theory is that beautiful women are more likely to travel. I should elaborate on that in another post. :)

Okay, so we found both a spot to eat and the irish pub (the fiddler's elbow). We changed and hit an outdoor ristorante, passing singers and bands in the streets... The food was outstanding and our waiter bonded with us as we all stared at a woman walking by while he took our order. We had to give it to him four times because he wanted to stay out and "enjoy the view" a bit. He hooked us up with 2 rounds of free limoncello. A return visit might be required. :)

So, now, filled with a ton of great food, vino, gelato, espresso, and limoncello we did what we had to do - we sought out the irish pub.

Despite "knowing where it was" we took a while to get there. We ordered a couple pints and commented on the slow night. A couple beers in and it looked like the beginning of the end of the night. Then a woman started talking to us...she was tired of being the only American and having to constantly explain herself about Bush (the president :) and our politics in general. This ploy worked...because now people wanted *us* to explain ourselves!

...another pint...

So there we are talkng to a guy from London who claims to have been the head of the eastern branch of the "British CIA." He was a very nice guy and we had a good talk. I'm pretty sure Rob and I convinced him that America was the best... :)

...another pint...

Now we run into a very drunk Iranian/American princess and her friiends. Seriously. They're also nice and I snapped a few pictures of them (with the British CIA guy) for them (I forgot my camera and am still kicking myself for it).

So now the bar is pretty happening and we're getting along well with the crowd when run into the Irish.

...another pint...

Sunday:
It's a group of Irish in town for one guy's wedding...who's also there (without the wife just a day after the wedding! Props to her!). Immediately it turns to politics and Rob and I again have to tell them that the US isn't crazy. They love us because we say we're Arsenal fans. We're having a great, rowdy time with them when the bartender actually tells us to keep it down because he's trying to call a cab for someone...it's after 2am - the bar is closed. Leave it to the Irish though - they know a bar open to half five and they want to "take the yanks!"

So...we go. Now we're at a very shady bar that required registration and drinking vodka red bulls and - get this - coronas with the Irish. I learn that a "kip" is slang for a sh*t heap.

...Vodka red bull... (Needed that one)

The ladies of the group are crazy drunk, but not as bad as one of the guys who pulls a Papodaca and falls down without really knowing it.

...Corona...

We outlast all the Irish except the new groom. He's enjoying giving us constant trash on a variety of topics as well as a couple drinks on us...

...Vodka red bull...

Finally we call it a night/morning...we bid farewell to the last remaining Irishman...the sun is rising. We have pt no pot idea where we are. We find a high point and see the duomo across the river. After a loooong journey we reach it and take a few moments to marvel it...

We then proceed to somehow get lost on the short remaining trip back and roll in about 9:30am... After a short sleep we're back up and back at the Irish pub drinking another pint and watching Arsenal take on Portsmouth. Arsenal wins 3-1 and they move into 2nd in the English Premier League.

After that we hit the local grocery store and I made some pasta for dinner... Seem fully recovered now and ready to start another fun day...ithink the next few will be a bit tamer, but we'll let you know!

Until then...ciao!

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RyanAir, Pisa, and the Taxi Driver

Ok, this is long overdue, but I wanted to sneak a quick post in about RyanAir and Pisa.

We arrived in Pisa from the Stenton Airport (North London) on August 31st. I only note that because we took RyanAir and I wanted to provide a couple notes on the "European Southwest."

First, let's talk price... Our tickets were 0.02 Pounds (+32 Pounds of Tax) each. Obviously you can't beat that...

Accomodations: The plane itself seemed newish and in good condition. It was clean and the seats were fairly nice. What was interesting was that the seats do NOT recline (which is fine with me)...and they were incredibly tight. There was not a single way I could position myself in my seat without my knees slamming into the seat in front of me. Forget about sleeping (or even getting comfortable)...I leaned a few inches forward and put my head against the seatback in front of me. :)

Food/Services: I found this the most interesting. The plane itself had ads on the overhead compartments and the intercom was constantly playing sort of an infomercial of the services they provided, which incuded expensive food, drinks, train tickets, etc.

All in all, it was totally worth it (keep in mind it cost two pence). :)

Ok, so after a two hour flight we landed in Pisa. Customs was basically non-existant and we got our baggage quickly and moved out to find two things...an ATM and a taxi. After we toured the airport a bit we found an ATM and successfully withdrew some cash. Then we strolled outside into a beautiful Italian summer day (temperature that morning was a perfect 70ish) to grab a taxi...when it dawned on us. We have to get a taxi...in Italy. We finally mustered up the courage to track one down and jumped in. We successfully told him which hotel we were headed to when the uncomfortable silence started. Anyone who's been around me knows that I do not handle uncomfortable silences well... I normally fill those with a bad joke. In addition, I was starting to feel a littlenervos...which I normally cover with...more jokes. Obviously, I couldn't lead off with a joke, so instead I ried to ask in Italian if the driver spoke English. His response?

"Yes, I speak a little English. It's very important for someone visiting another country to speak the language of the country."

Ok, now I was uncomfortable, nervous, and the taxi driver had just hit my third biggest issue...guilt. We talked a little more and to be fair, his meaning to his first comment seemed to be more "It's important to try speaking Italian while you're here -- it will be appreciated." Still, it was about the worst first exchange I could have hoped for because I was now completely intimidated. :)

That intimidation was apparent later that day when Rob and I, after wandering aimlessly around the outskirts of Pisa (for about 4 hours) refused to ask for directions. The good news though, was that we persevered and finally found the tower. You know, the tippy one. I have to admit the tower and surrounding cathedral and baptistery were more impressive than I originally expected, everything in white marble. The angle of the lean was bigger than I expected as well. After talking Rob into it, we bought some tickets to climb the tower, which was definitely the highlight of the day. Climbing the tower, winding up the tilted, circular stairway, was a bit disorienting. Once to the top, it was just creepy. Onone side you at east leaned inwards, but on the other the outward lean was a recipe for vertigo. After our tower time, we hit a local ristorante and enjoyed a couple of delicious pizzas before concluding our day. We opted for a taxi ride back this time as we had been walking for ~7 hours after a night with no sleep. The rest is history...or at least already blogged in my "Rob's snoring post." :)

An interesting note...

Logging in from Pisa has changed the language for blogger.com to Italian -- which is making a simple post, well...not as simple. :) For example, all but like three words in this post are apparently spelled incorrectly. :)

Rob v. Kipp's Sleep

So far the battle's not even fair -- Rob, is winning hands down. I'm working on about 4 hours of sleep though...over the past 3 nights, which makes me do cranky things like...well, like this :D: Re-live my nights by doing the following: + download this: + set your volume to max + loop the wave file... I tried, earplugs...I tried noise-cancellation headphones...finally, I tried earplugs AND noise-cancellation headphones AND loud music! The last one worked, but it was hard to sleep with... :) He's not a man, he's a snoring machine! To be fair, I think it might have more to do with jetlag, but this is a lot funnier... :)

Ciao!

We made it to Pisa! After a lot of walking we think we've finally stumbled on the tower...long story. Actually, short story...we have not bought a map. I decided to use the "force" to guide me to the tower. Either the "force" is a crock of sh*t or I don't have any...because we got lost. I'm going with I don't have any... Ok, time to see the tower! P.S. Funny story about our cab ride from the airport...to be continued.
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A couple pics to tide you over...

Another busy day is down and Rob and I have <4 hours to sleep (and pack and shower...) before we head to the airport for Pisa. So not much time for a detailed report, but I'll give a quick recap of our last two days. Wednesday: British Museum, a (very) quick jog down Picadilly Circus, a pass through Trafalgar Square, a jaunt through St. James Park, a peek at Buckingham Palace, a lunch at the pub, and the football match... Thursday: A couple quick pints, Tower Bridge, a look at the Thames, Tower of London tour, and dinner... Friday: Current plans are an early trip to the airport and then a relaxing day in Pisa... Rob and I both promise lengthier, more detailed posts when we get a little more time to relax in Florence (or maybe Pisa). Hope all is well in the States! Cheers, Kipp Here are a couple randomly selected pics from the last couple days to tide people over...

Arsenal 3 - Prague Sparta 0!

Well, there was some surrounding drama about how we finally got our tickets, but in the end we got 'em and the game was great!! I promise a more detailed post in the morning (with pictures from a variety of other spots), but for now, enjoy a couple shots and a video from tonight's game (use headphons for the video)! Cheers from London! Kipp and Rob

We're in!

Well, we just got off a very nice, fast flight to London, have our bags, went through customs, and are now awaiting our train to Paddington. All that and we've only been given two dirty looks (that we noticed) - one for saying Heathrow smelled better than SMF and one when Rob said, "Oh man, I don't think my cell ever turned off." :)

Off the train now which emptied nearly directly into the hotel lobby. Fosha already looks like a local - Brits are asking him for directions!

Bangers and mash for me and fish and chips for Rob...welcome to London!

Waiting for the hotel room then it's off to beg for our Arsenal tickets! Bye for now!
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And we're off...almost.

Rob and I are on board and sipping some champagne - woot! 9 hours and 1 minute flying time today... Next time I blog, hopefully, will be from London!
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I'm not even in Europe yet and I'm already the dumb American...

I've run into a couple minor, but humorous, snags trying to secure the apartment in Florence. The initial booking was easy enough, but this week payment in full was required, as was a deposit of 1000 euros. It seemed simple enough. I clicked on a link and some data was requested. All of it was pretty standard. I fumbled a bit when it came to the passport number which is (hopefully) just a 9-digit number found in the back of the passport. Unfortunately, I didn't know that and was trying to figure out how to decipher the 39-digit, 4-character code in the *front* of my passport. :) Still, I persevered and all looked to be in the clear until I came upon the mysterious "Reg. N." field. I had (have) no idea what this could be. So, rather than screwing something up, I emailed the apartment company for some assistance. Perhaps the company is based in Sparta or at the very least lives by their code, because after two days my response was no response at all...which I translated into "You've got to be kidding me...you need to figure that out on your own." And figure it out I did!! ...I think...my guess was that it was my order number from back in May. Fortunately I still had the old email and I punched in the number and happily hit send. Here's where the real fun began. The deposit cleared my card, no problem. "Sweet!" I thought, "This is cake." I moved on to the rent payment. The data (including my possibly bogus "Reg. N." value) was all automatically loaded in! This left me with a quick entry for my credit card (and a completely false sense of security and accomplishment) and voila! I was done...wait...something wasn't quite right. As I stared at the two emails in my inbox it took me a second or two to figure out why they looked a little different. Short story...the rent payment was rejected! Gasp! "Crap," I thought, "I must have entered the wrong credit card number." Attempt 2...rejected. Attempt 3...rejected. "What...the...f*ck!" I exclaimed. As I began the fourth attempt I noticed another email in my inbox. The name looked familiar. "Oh crap." It was the Italian woman assigned to help me a while back with securing the apartment. I won't quote the exact email, but it very politely said basically this: "Dear Chris. I see that you're being repeatedly rejected in your attempts to pay the rent. Maybe it would be a good idea to call your credit card company rather than just submitting the charge over and over again and expecting different results. Just an idea. Best regards." As you can see, I've made a stellar first impression. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm already down two strikes with my new Italian friends. Here's to hoping they like p*nis jokes!! :D

The Mall

As some of you who are familiar with the area have noticed from the tracker, Rob and I are shopping! It's pretty much the best girls' day ever!

I haven't shopped at the mall in a couple of years, but it's still as entertaining as hell (which I imagine would be pretty damn entertaining...pun sadly intended). Basically, it's a bunch of moms, trophy wives, and two 30-something dudes shopping for their european vacation. :| Hmmm, maybe this is hell. Hey at least we're non-threatening... Which was proven when the girl at nordstroms started talking about her super-great boyfriend... Sigh.

I think it's time for a beer...find out where to meet us via the tracker. :)
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Tech Check and Tracking Info

Well, we're just a few days away from the big sabbatical trip and it's time to ensure all my tech is working. This entry is being written on my new Blackberry. If things work correctly we should also get a nice pic of the new toy with this post as well! In addition to the blog test, I'll also be testing the GPS functionality. And good news...you get to have some fun too! You can check in on me and get my current location by going to http://bb.tech9computers.com/login/ and using the following account info: Username: trackrobandkipp Password: track Once in you can "Track Friends!" And follow the next couple links to get my latest location. It's not the most straightforward way to go I know, but it's free and it works worldwide. :) That's all for this experiment. Please be sure to leave some comments about how things work and what else you'd like to see! Cheers! -KO Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T