See Me Now

One of my readers has persuaded me to share the embarrassing incidents I endured while traveling. I didn't write about them at the time because they were, well, embarrassing! But with the passage of days, the sting has faded so here goes: The Tour Guide Incident This one occurred at Vatican City when I was exiting the Sistine Chapel. My out-of-date Rick Steves guide book mentioned a door at the rear right of the chapel and said that if you go through that door, it will save you a lot of walking. The door has a sign on it that says it is only for tour groups but, Rick assured me, it is OK for individuals to pass through too. Well, when I found the door, I discovered a guard standing in front of it, and I did not have the moxie to push past him citing authority from Rick Steves. Instead, I decided to wait until a tour group assembled and then I'd walk through with them as if I were part of the group. This strategy worked beautifully, but only for a nanosecond. On the other...

I'm home now folks, exhausted but safe. I wrote the following on Satuday: -------------------------------------------------------------- So far, my exit strategy is proceeding as planned, but not without some anxious moments. After seeing The Last Supper this morning (see prior post), I walked back to my hotel, finished packing and checked out. On the way out the door, I re-checked the info I have on how to take the bus from Milano Centrale train station to Linate airport. It says that the bus runs da lunedi a venerdi . I know that lunedi is Monday, but suddenly, it dawned on me that I didn't know what day venerdi is, and it sounds a lot like the French word for Friday. I fished out my Italian phrase book and to my horror, confirmed that venerdi is Friday and oops, today is Saturday. Thus, according to the info I had, my plan to take the bus to the airport was no good. Still, I reasoned, people have to get to the airport somehow on Saturdays and the best chance of...

Viewing of Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper is carefully controlled, so as to maintain an environment conducive to its continued survival. Only a few people are allowed in at a time and you're unlikely to get in without an advance reservation. I had one for the first appointment of the day at 8:15, and they instruct you to show up 15 minutes early. This in itself is remarkable since, for the most part, nothing seems to happen or open in Italy before 9am. I left my hotel in plenty of time and walked the short distance to Santa Maria delle Grazie . Most everything was closed, but I found an open caffe near the church and got my morning standing cappuccino (I recently learned that the Italian word for caffe has two f's). I stood outside the Cenacolo Vinciano with other early tourists. At precisely 8am, the wood door retracted into the sidewalk, a startling high tech feature built into an ancient building. Inside, they were all efficiency, checking our reserv...

With my departure logistics seemingly resolved (see prior post), I set out to sight-see this morning. I overcame my duomo fatigue and toured Milan's Cathedral/Duomo dedicated to Maria Nascente. Although this structure is referred to as the Duomo, and it does have one, the dome is not obvious from the outside. You have to go inside to see it, which I did. Although the cathedral interior is huge, in my opinion it is the least impressive of the duomos from an artistic standpoint. However, as you can see from the photos, this cathedral is a Gothic cluster-you-know-what. It took several centuries to build and features hundreds of exterior sculptures carved by numerous European artists. There are also grotesque gargoyles all around the exterior – these serve as rainwater downspouts. The cathedral facade was cleaned in 2006, so the marble and concrete looks good for now. The building was constructed with stairway access to the roof so I climbed up. The close-up views of th...

GN: I made it to Milan with no trouble. The train ride was enjoyable and after arriving at Milano Centrale, I quickly figured out the metro and walking route to my hotel. BN: My hotel sucks. I have a room devoid of charm. There is a sink and bidet at the foot of the bed, a tiny shower with not enough water to get my hair wet, and a toilet/bathroom down the hall. GN: they have wi-fi access which I didn't discover until this morning. BN: I realized rather late that I had planned poorly for my Sunday departure. My plane leaves at 7am which means I need to be at the airport ~5:30 am and there is no way to get there that early except pay a taxi an exorbitant amount. Plus, I'd have to worry all night as to whether the taxi would really show up at 4:45 or whatever. I woke up off-and-on all night fretting about this. GN: I got online this morning and made a reservation at the Holiday Inn (thank you very much) near the airport. I'll spend Sat night there and tak...

Today was another warm but rainy day on the Mediterranean. I spent it walking, resting and taking care of logistics. I stopped first by the train station thinking to get my ticket for tomorrow, but it was mid morning and the station was mobbed . Unlike larger train stations, this one does not have self-serve ticket kiosks and there here were at least 30 groups of people lined up at the single ticket window. I decided to come back later and ended up taking a long walk up a hillside road I had never before explored. This took me by quieter B&Bs as well as private residences. Rounding a curve, I discovered a huge and attractive building that I thought must be a resort. However, it turned out to be (I think) a residence for old folks who are without families or other resources. It's beautiful, high up on a hill overlooking Monterosso's new town shoreline. After returning to the lowlands, I stopped at a tabacchi and bought a new international phone card (I quickly u...

A number of hikers I encountered on the Cinque Terre trails were sporting walking sticks. I've seen these occasionally in the US, but they must be more popular elsewhere, because a lot of people had them. At first, it seemed that mainly German hikers use them, but then at least two sets of French speaking hikers clicked past me with their sticks. The sticks come with different types of tips (perhaps interchangeable?). Many of them look just like ski poles and I wondered how those pointy things are allowed past airline security. They are potentially more dangerous than other banned items, such as nail clippers. Finally, I noticed that some of them collapse into about a 2 foot length, which I suppose could be fit into one's checked luggage. Anyway, they were a curiosity that I bet we'll see more of in the US in the coming years. In a few places along the hiking trails, there are clearings where cats congregate and kindly people regularly leave food for them. ...

My time in the Cinque Terre is proving to be as restful as I had hoped. On the first night of my arrival, there were thrilling overnight thunderstorms that woke me up several times. The hotel electricity kept going out and each time, a bright emergency light flickered in my room like lightening. By morning, the thunder had passed, but it was still rainy, windy and overcast. The hiking trails were all closed, so I spent the day alternately snoozing and reading. Today was a gorgeous day and the trails were all open. I decided to hike from here (Monterosso) to Vernazza, the next town over, and then decide if I wanted to keep going. This took me a little less than 2 hours and since I wasn't hungry yet, I hiked to the next town (Cerniglia) where I had lunch at a lovely hilltop restaurant with a great view. Since I had completed the hardest two legs of the five town hike, I decided to do the rest, so I pushed on, making it to Riomagggiore (the southernmost of the fi...

One of the interesting aspects of foreign travel is that one gets an outside perspective on US happenings. To my surprise, I discovered that European countries follow US news much more closely than the US public follows the news of other countries (maybe that shouldn't be such a big surprise). Admittedly, most of what I'm getting on this trip comes from international CNN (usually the only English language TV station the hotels get), but even so, most of the reporters and anchors are from non-US countries. Aside from the world cup qualifying that dominates EVERY news cast, the big stories right now are: Obama's health care speech, the 'you lie' S.C. Senator, Obama's advice to children to stay in school, and Serena Williams' temper meltdown at the US open. I confess, I can't for the life of me understand what could have been controversial about Obama encouraging children to stay in school. International CNN is not showing clips of Rush Limbaug...

As planned, I made my stop-off in Pisa today. The Pisa train station has a 'left luggage' service so I stowed my bag for 3 euro (they take a copy of your passport to do this), consulted a map posted outside the train station, and walked the mile or so to the leaning tower. Predictably, it was swarming with tourists, most of them taking turns posing with mime-hands to get photos of themselves looking like they are pushing the tower back upright. I considered asking someone to take my photo like this, but decided against it, opting to retain this one grain of dignity. But I'm glad I took this detour. Leaving aside that it is substantially akimbo, the tower is beautiful. And I had been clueless about the fact that the tower is adjacent to a gorgeous cathedral and – you guessed it – another impressive duomo. I walked the grounds and snapped the tower from every angle, but I did not climb it or the duomo. Frankly, I've reached a point of duomo-fatigue. Also, I ...

I'm leaving Florence tomorrow, so it's time I gave my fellow travelers a sightseeing update. To be in Florence is to be on sensory overload, however, so it is impossible for me to describe all the walking and viewing I've done. I'm sure you're relieved. I'll describe some of the highlights, and then let you peruse pictures if you're interested. The Duomo, the Cathedral and the Baptistry are probably the most well known sights in Florence (oh, except Michelangelo's David ). The intricate artistry and marble opulence of the Cathedral, in particular, are beyond description – I'll never forget my first heart-stopping glimpse of the moonlit Cathedral when I first arrived in Florence on a trip years ago. I've included a few of my own pictures in the link below, but they don't do it justice. They don't distinguish the detailed carving or the variations in colors of marble. It's possible to climb to the top of the Duomo but I de...

When you travel to historic cities, you have to remember that the buildings are not decades old, but centuries old, or more! And they look it. I have stayed in numerous places that are downright scary – if you saw them in a movie you'd start yelling at the screen: “Don't go in! Don't go in!” Rooms are usually tiny (especially the single rooms I book), and bathrooms are minuscule, having been retrofitted into structures that were built before the advent of indoor plumbing. My current hotel's street entry is not the worst but still, it gave me pause (see photos). It features a steep concrete staircase that seemingly leads to nowhere. At the top of this staircase, I found a tiny elevator marked with the name of my hotel. The door opened and I stepped in – my suitcase and I barely fit. After the doors closed, nothing happened and I had a moment of panic thinking I was stuck in an elevator that didn't even have enough room for me to sit down. After a delay, ...

Today was a travel day and I had an enjoyable and uneventful train ride to Florence. I found my hotel easily enough (more on that in a future posting – this is a great hotel!) and after getting settled, took a walk to find lunch. Sightseeing in earnest will start tomorrow, so in the meantime, I thought I would amuse you fellow travelers with an accounting of some cultural peculiarities. - Tabacchi shops are the convenience stores of Italy. As the name suggests, they sell tobacco products, but they also sell all manner of essentials including bus tickets, phone cards, lotto tickets, candy, lighters and postage stamps. You must buy your bus ticket at a Tabacchi – you can't buy one on the bus or pay cash. -When paying for something at a tabacchi, gelato store or cafe, don't hand the money directly to the seller. Instead, place your money in the small tray or dish that sits adjacent to the cash register. The seller will pick it up from there and place your change...

Hello Fellow Travelers – I didn't have a firm sightseeing plan today, but I ended up seeing a lot. I started off quite early with a walk to the Spanish Steps , only to find that nothing was stirring. This was nice, in that I got to look over the area in its tourist-free state. But there was nothing to do, so after a short reconnaissance, I decided to take care of some logistics. I took the subway back to the Termini station and bought my train ticket to Florence for tomorrow. Next, I walked back to my hotel and got myself situated with a “ Walk and Talk Rome ” tour that I had downloaded to my Ipod before leaving home. I had neglected to download the accompanying map (and could not find it on the internet this morning) so it took me awhile to figure out the starting point for the tour. I finally did however, and pointed myself in the right direction. On the way, I stopped by Capitol Hill which I had somehow missed after the Colosseum and Roman Forum on day one. Th...

Today was Vatican City day, and I took the subway to the vicinity, feeling clever at figuring out how to buy a ticket while also using up a ton of small denomination coins. Upon arrival, I was thankful to have made online reservations beforehand – there was already a huge line snaking around the walled-in Vatican. I bypassed this and walked right in with my printed voucher. I had also signed up for a guided tour of the gardens, and had only a short while to wait for it to begin. In a major contrast to the streets of Rome, the Vatican displays a Disneyland-like attention to cleanliness. Although it is hard to imagine any visitor being crass enough to flick a cigarette butt on these grounds, the streets and pathways are clear of leaves and litter, and gardeners wielding Papal leaf blowers were in evidence throughout our tour. The Vatican City gardens are extensive, including naturally wooded areas as well as sections that are intricately designed and manicured. Buildings are scatt...

I followed Rick Steves' recommendation today and started off at the Colosseum, a.k.a the Flavian Amphitheater, which held 50 – 70,000 sweating Romans (Arco Arena: 17,000). One can only imagine the stadium packed with people seated by class, heating up their bring-along food and watching all manner of grotesque and gruesome scenes on the arena level. The now-exposed underground passages housed animals and elaborate sets that were pulley-ed up to the arena level to stage elaborate scenes, typically ending in the savage death of humans or animals or both. Supposedly this counted as a fun family outing. Next, I made my way up Palatine Hill. This is the area where many an emperor built his palace, affording great views of either the Colosseum or the Roman Forum or both. Today, it is a bewildering spread of ruins with little signage to help decipher what you're looking at. Consequently, everyone (including me) wanders around, consulting his guide book every 50 feet or so....

Things are looking up fellow travelers. The hotel wi-fi is up and I bought a SIM card for my phone which I will test drive shortly. Here is my post, written in the wee hours this morning: My trip halfway across the world went pretty smoothly, but I'll share some details nonetheless. I can see this will be a too-long post as it is, so I'll start after I transferred airlines at JKF airport in New York, itself, a rather hair-raising experience. We pick up when I boarded my Alitalia flight . . . The seat assignment on my boarding pass bore no resemblance to the seat I had carefully reserved by phone the other day. It was a window rather than the aisle I preferred, but that was OK. For me, it's a toss-up as to which is better on a long distance flight. On the aisle, you can get up whenever you want, but you are plagued by people brushing past you all the time, and you've got to stand whenever the middle and window seat people want to get out. I settled...

Hello Fellow Travelers. I am here in Rome, safe and sound, and I even wrote a lengthy blog post last night. However, I've had an electronics meltdown. My cell phone gets no service (thank you AT&T) and the hotel's wi-fi is down. I am right now at an internet cafe, which has all sorts of voodoo set up on its computer and I cannot upload the blog post I saved to my memory stick last night. Sigh. I hope to iron out all these issues in the next day or so and then I will catch you up on my flight out here and my morning of sightseeing today. But for now, all is well (except for all the devices). Ciao!

Those of you following this from work know what I'm referring to. PSI is a big-deal project I've been heavily involved with for months, and it stands for Process and Standards Integration. It's a critical ( critical ! ) project in which we're "providing tools with which to maintain end-to-end throughput of build programs, aligning processes to the new organization structure and identifying synergy opportunities. " Say what!? Well, please just trust me on this, it's, you know, really important! Luckily, the project is winding down so I can go on vacation with few work worries, knowing that our throughput, alignment and synergies are well under control. In addition to not thinking about PSI, here are a few other things I won't be doing in the coming weeks: I won't attend any lockdowns . I won't onboard any resources. I won't incentivize anybody. I won't draw a roadmap or follow a playbook . I won't respond to someone ...

Years ago when I first contemplated traveling to Europe, I realized after awhile that there was a soundtrack playing in my brain and it was Joni Mitchell, singing “ Free Man in Paris .” Now, I like Joni Mitchell plenty, but I'm not a devoted fan, so I thought it curious that this song would surface from the depths of my subconscious. But I did picture myself wandering foreign streets “unfettered and alive,” having left behind work and bills and any other commitments. And truthfully, that's the way it was on that first trip. I was so absorbed with the history and otherness surrounding me (not to mention all the logistical details), that I quite forgot about anything I was supposed to be fretting about at home. One morning, I found myself in a Starbucks in, I think, Edinburgh. (Whatever you think of Starbucks, it was a familiar and welcome refuge all over Great Britain). As I sat there nursing my latte, suddenly, there was Joni singing our song over the PA system. I ju...

I know that travel tips have been done to death, but I can't resist sharing a few of my own. I promise things will get more interesting once I actually get there! - When packing, dump all of your underwear and socks in one of those travel roll up space bags or an oversized Ziploc . Squeeze the air out and then you can cram this in your suitcase wherever it fits, because who cares if your underwear is wrinkled? Then, bring a second space/Ziploc bag to hold your dirty clothes as they accumulate. Again, this can be squeezed and crammed. A side benefit to this method is that your underwear won't spill out everywhere when the TSA opens your luggage to inspect it. - It's kind of embarrassing to fumble around with foreign money, trying to distinguish the unfamiliar coins while you're holding up the gelato line. This time, I'm bringing a little double-wide change purse so I can separate the two- and one-euro coins from all the smaller denominations. - Stuff a bunch ...

One of the intriguing aspects of traveling to a different country is that everything seems novel. Scenes that you wouldn't think twice about in your own country, are somehow poignant and magical elsewhere. This idea is captured in a poem by Stephen Dunn I recently discovered. The effect is magnified outside of the US, where thousands of years of history has become incorporated into modern life. Structures built before there was electricity now house businesses dependent on computers and satellites. And streets teeming with modern commerce are decorated with sculpture and architecture from a distant past. This photo collage shows just a few examples from prior travels.

I'm leaving for Rome in two weeks so today, I decided it would be prudent to learn Italian. Yes, I realize this is like starting a flossing routine on the day before going to the dentist; nobody will be fooled. But I should clarify that I'm not starting entirely from scratch. Before my last trip, I purchased the Rosetta Stone language learning software and I made a pretty decent go of working through the lessons. They did prove helpful and upon my return I vowed to continue, figuring that by now, I'd be prepared to engage in witty repartee with the locals while sipping my morning espresso. Sadly, my Rosetta Stone CDs are buried at the bottom of my 'to do' pile. Nonetheless, I gamely downloaded “ Fodor's Italian for Travelers ,” and fired it up on my iPod during my morning run. Things started out easily enough with simple words and phrases I actually remembered from before. But the lesson quickly moved into phrases that conjure up travel scenarios I'd pr...

Italy is known for the sophistication of its fashion and food, but nothing is more discriminating than the Italian feline. On my last trip, I encountered them everywhere, claiming their rightful place among tourists and locals alike. Though some were homeless, none were wanting, being well tended by shopkeepers, trattorias and one kindly old man. Click here to see i gatti.

When I travel I do a ton of walking. I typically find lodging in the city center, and walk from sight to sight as much as I reasonably can. This comes from my stubborn need to feel independent, as well as to avoid the humiliation of fumbling through an unfamiliar transportation system. But walking is also the best way to get a real flavor for the varying neighborhoods in a city and, of course, provides plenty of exercise while I'm off my regular running routine. This means footwear is a big deal and sure enough, having a good shoe strategy is high on my packing priority list. Thus, I was tickled to see a recent article by the New York Times frugal traveler on just this topic Alas, while reading his otherwise sensible article, I noted that Mr. Gross missed the female perspective here, by give short shrift to the cute factor. Any shoe that meets his criteria of being rugged, waterproof and good for running, will surely fall short of one of mine which is: girly enough to go with...

Ok, this blogging thing is a bit tougher than I expected. After all, it's one thing to blast an email out to your buddies full of blurbs about your daily trials and triumphs. Your friends care, or at least pretend to, and even a brief you go girl reply completes a comforting circuit of validation. But it's quite another thing to lay your words out there for any passer by to see. In fact, it's kind of creepy to think of unknown, lurking eyes with nary an LOL to tip you off to their presence. Blogging, it turns out, amounts to a kind of self-imposed stalking. Also, what seemed before to be fleeting, now takes on a perverse permanence. Your posts become fixed in some mysterious binary-pixelated continuum, perhaps to be electronically excavated and puzzled over years from now. Thus, I proceed with apprehension, wondering if those lurking eyes are rolling skyward.