Michela illesa...

Bali High?

2008-07-13T07:56:00.008+02:00

No, Lord Howe. Lord Who? An hour's plane ride off Australia's east coast, in the South Pacific, is an almost untouched, pristine, paradise island, which is unbelievably still part of New South Wales (the same state that Sydney is in). With no passport needed, no mobile phone networks, very limited internet and landlines, it is the perfect place to relax and take a break. Nana and I went for 10 days this April for our birthdays (we both turned 21 again...), and of course to do some much needed research on my latest AMS production, "South Pacific": it's the prettiest place I've ever seen. Nana had been several times already with grandpa, and it was a very special place for them, so she was very happy to go and reminisce, and I was very happy to see it for the first time! The view when you land is amazing-- the island is so small you can't miss the two towering mountains on the south end.

Lots of bushwalking trails with fantastic views at the end, not least of which the 3000ft Mt. Gower climb, which has to be done with a guide, and takes an entire day to walk to the summit and back. We left at 7 am, while nana waited anxiously at the bottom, and it involved a lot of climbing and walking along cliff edges, etc. These were all fine for me of course, and it wasn't until the way down when we reached a lake that I decided to fall in, and I have a lovely scar on my knee to prove I did the climb:) At the top of Mt. Gower, you can call the birds down by making any loud noise (in my case, I sang "Amazing Grace") and they will land at your feet. Once there, hey can't really get back up again without climbing a tree, so they don't mind being held and launched back into the air by humans! They were called "providence petrol" birds because they were such an easy lunch for hungry humans back in the day...In the pictures, Mt. Gower is the one on the right.

We also went out on a glass-bottomed boat and saw some sea turtles, and I took an around-the-island boat trip, and snorkeled around Ned's beach, where the fish are so tame they will eat from your hand. Lord Howe apparently has the southernmost reef in the world. The permanent population of the island is about 300 people, so it does get a bit inbred, with a limit of 400 tourists at a time, usually about 50 years old and up (it's an expensive place to be, as most food has to be flown in). The speed limit is 20 kph on the entire island, so you'll get around faster on a hired bike:) We saw the rare wood hen birds, brought back from the edge of distinction by the Lord Howe residents, and lots of other stupidly tame birds and marine wildlife.

The most exciting thing we did (thanks to nana) was go up in a small airplane for aerial views of the island. It's something you have to ask for because they don't offer it on brochures. It's just a stunning view, and much less scary than going in a commercial airplane! It afforded us amazing views of Ball's Pyramid, a triangular rock formation near the island, where only birds and a once-thought-to-be-extinct type of insect lives. Nana said our front-seat pilot was very good and the weather was perfect that day. Even though it was coming up on winter, and the weather could be very tempestuous and tropical-- it had its stunning moments and I got a tan:)

Definitely must go back.

Abu Dhabi & Dubai

2008-02-05T12:39:00.000+01:00

Wow, what can I say about the UAE? It is absolutely unreal. Imagine it, and they can make it happen: hotels made completely of gold, ski resorts in the desert, women in traditional Islamic dress running corporations, investing in real estate, and speaking English with perfect American accents. Thanks to my dear Zayed, my accomodation in Abu Dhabi was a palace known as the "Emirates Palace Hotel", which I got lost trying to find my way out of. Just to give you an idea of the caliber of hotels here, I had a jacuzzi, roses, chocolate with gold-leaf in it and tons of fruit in my room (suite?), a butler, laundry service, flat screen TV/DVD, and the view from my balcony was a palm-dotted clear-blue beach with white sand imported from Algeria.

I got to meet some really kind-hearted members of Zayed's family, and check out the poet section of one of the local bookstore's dedicated to Zayed's dad. We took an abra (small boat, like a gondola) down the river and enjoyed yummy Lebanese food, and of course, room service! The local dress is actually pretty similar for men and women here, just completely different colors, with men in white night-dress type clothing and red-checkered head-scarves, and women in black, often with designer diamonte, feathered or embroidered head-scarves (I got myself an embroidered one:).

Jetting in Zayed's 4-wheel drive Porsch to Dubai, we next checked into the beach resort, Madinat Jumeirah. Our butler there was absolutely burs ting to tell us that Tiger Woods currently occupied the upstairs section of our private villa. We left him alone, which I'm sure is why he won the Dubai Desert Classic while he was there. I loved this hotel though-- it mixed up its opulence with pretty colors, beach themes, and cool oragami towels, man-made canals, abras, pools, palm trees, restaurants, markets, and of course, the beach. We checked out the famous Talisse Spa, the Jumeirah Souqs (Markets), and the Jumeirah Mosque (the biggest Mosque in Dubai, which unfortunately does not admit non-believers outside of certain tour hours, so I only got to see the outside). The other mosques do not admit non-believers at all. Zayed took me to the Virgin Megastore and gave recommendations on the local music, had a beautiful sea-breeze quiet high-tea at the Ritz Carlton, an oasis among the taller than NYC's skyscrapers, and an all-you-can-imagine brunch at the GHP Hotel (yes, the theme here is hotels). But best of all was the desert safari. We "dune-bashed" in 4-wheel-drives (no whip-lash at all!), watched a desert sunset, rode camels (I made good friends with one), visited with a falcon, ate local food, danced with a belly dancer, smoked sheesha-- well, I held it while Zayed took pictures, anyway, got temporary henna tattoos and watched the stars of the desert sky. The weather was perfect when I arrived and I enjoyed a couple of lovely beach walks up to the Burj Al Arab, the tallest hotel in Dubai, shaped like a sailboat and set on a tiny man-made peninsula, so it looks like it's floating in the sea. It's hard to remember that outside your hotel or car, it's just desert:)

Goettingen, Germany

2008-02-05T11:44:00.000+01:00

Next we travelled via Mallorca (and wished we had a longer stop there!) to Dorthmund, from which we trained it to Goettingen, the HQ of the Speyer family, arriving just after midnight. As we dragged our luggage through the pretty university town I suddenly felt a a calming sense of familiarity wash over me; everything here was known to me in an almost unconscious way, even though I had only been to Goettingen once before, it was still the Germany I grew up with.

We got to spend time with Raph's youngest sister Noemi, and hear of her travels to Chile. Andrea and Ken made us feel at home (thank you!), and as per usual, we stayed up late on long talks and long walks with Ken. We also got to have a lovely dinner at Raph's brother Matthew's place, catching up with Anna and their son Nick as well. Despite all the lovely fresh, organic meals cooked at home, I managed to sneak in a real Bavarian Bratwurst when nobody was looking (unfortunately, no Black Forest cake this far north). And no visit to Goettingen would be complete without a gander at the Gaenseliesel, a statue in the centre of town dedicated to a rather feminist fairy-tale heroine, Liesel, who dressed up as a boy to get a job tending the King's geese, so that her family could have enough money (of course, the king finds out she's a girl, falls in love with her, and marries her-- hey, it is a fairy tale!).

London, Brussels & Barcelona

2008-01-26T10:46:00.000+01:00

Next, I flew on to London, where the famed weather did not disappoint, and I was very glad to have brought my rain boots with me from Australia (it seems short retro dresses, tights & rainboots are the combination to sport in London this winter). We stayed with my friend Christina (picture left), who was far too kind and gave us her bedroom for the week (Thank you Stina!), which I thoroughly slept in (recovering from NY food poisoning, which delayed my trip by a day). Raph worked with his company in London, while I skipped the tourist sites for a look at Hackney Life (the part of London where we were staying): I caught up with Stina and another high school friend, Esther at Gossip and Foyle's, had breakfast at Hackney Farm (with real live filthy and happy animals, in the middle of the city), went grocery shopping in markets large and small, and helped cook for the fabulous "Murder Mystery Party" Christina's roomates threw (role play and 'whodunit' combined with dinner, see Raph as the murderous French cook, right). In the evenings, I caved into some tourism and went to see "History Boys" (interesting if unrealistic) and "Stomp" (fun and creative) in the West End, and joined Raph in some pub crawls with his friends and workmates. Most importantly, we had a lovely visit with Raph's brother Johnny, and his two children in Notting Hill.

Early to rise for our flight to Brussels, with Raph's sister Sara, and her partner Jos waiting on the other end. I immediately immersed myself in the chocolate spirit of Belgium, and even went as decadent as a belgian waffle with powdered sugar and pommes frites with mayonnaise at one point. Jos made us wonderful, healthy, from-scratch-meals to make it up to my stomach, and Sarah ensured a luxurious, aesthetic, comfortable and calming environment (Thank you Sara & Jos!). Sara, Jos, Raph and I (left) caught up on the last 2 years, talked meaning of marriage and wedding schedules (with both couples having planned to get married in 2009), and listened to world music in the evenings, adding our own drumming and movement styles. Brussels also gave us the chance to catch up with Marie (who now lives in Luxembourg, picture right), Andre (who now lives in the Netherlands) and Jenny (who was on a business trip from Prague, both picture right), with the five of us up to no good in the Grand Place, the Mannequin Pis, a chocolate cafe, and (of course) a belgian beer bar, after an amazing brunch with Sara & Jos at an out of the way place called "Bla Bla".

OK, Barcelona is so cool!! We were only there one day and two nights, and didn't see but a glimpse of it, but all the Gaudi buildings and influence gives it a character and color where other European cities have only gray. We stayed at a nice hostal called "Hostal Avinyo" which was literally across the street from where Raphael's sister, Tamar, lived (picture left). In the mornings, they would talk to each other from their balconies! Tamar's roommate cooked us authentic Spanish "tortilla patata" and luckily, we got along fine with Spanish, and no one made us speak in Catalan:) Although we had breakfasts and dinners in Barcelona, and even made a night visit to "Sagrada Familla" (sacred family gothic church), most of our one day in Barcelona was spent at Monserrat, a stunning natural wonder of unique rock formations and man-made cloisters about an hour away from Barcelona-- it was breathtaking, and we all wanted to become monks after that (pictures above and below).

New York (home;)

2008-01-13T00:58:00.000+01:00

Raph's workmate Paul (pictured with Raph, left) kindly lent us his beautiful flat in the West Village (on location in Greenwich!) while he was away in Calgary (thank you, Paul!)... and the short breaths continue: saw "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" (fantastic) and "The Young Frankenstein" (awful) on Broadway, saw an amateur Burlesque contest in Brooklyn (Raph tried to photograph the emcee, who promptly dragged him onstage for a better photo, see picture right, whilst I was dragged onstage for an amateur air-guitar contest), went ice-skating in Central Park, flamencoed it up with my fabulous teacher Vittorio and his pink stage lights, feasted at Sardis (pictured left), Cosi, Cafe Lalo, Alice's Tea Cup, Tea & Sympathy (pictured right) & Magnolia Bakery, late nights at The Parlour, The Place, Benny's Burritos and The Blind Tiger, visited with my precious lovelies, Aditi, Anna, Daita, Dani, Joseph, Tania & Zayed (missed you Kaiti & Mor!) and even squeezed in a shopping trip to Macys and a spa visit-- how? Nothing ever closes-- I miss New York!!

Washington, DC

2008-01-04T09:29:00.000+01:00

and Happy New Year!!

2008-01-04T09:22:00.000+01:00

New Year's Eve was spent at Habana Village, a Cuban restaurant & Salsa Club in DC-- my legs are still sore!

Merry Christmas...

2008-01-04T08:47:00.000+01:00

After travelling for 24 hours, we finally arrived in Washington, DC, just after midnight on Boxing Day. Next morning, we open presents and cooked Christmas dinner, and Chris arrived from San Francisco (Kendra got here before us). Next, visit from Mike & Susanna, trip to the Kennedy Centre to see the West End Company in "My Fair Lady", and Mum and Dad's 31st anniversary (with some other Carattinis).

Melbourne-- Dec 07

2008-01-03T07:09:00.000+01:00

In one breath: Central City Shopping, Dandenongs, Grace, Greek Quarter Dinner, Brunch, Rain, Victoria Markets, Italian Quarter Dessert, Picnic, Australian Ballet School Graduation Performance of Coppelia at Meyer Music Bowl, Mornington Penninsula, Arthur's Seat, Strawberry Picking and Ashcombe Lavender Gardens & Maze-- in one weekend!! (Thank you, Grace!)

New Arrival!

2007-11-10T01:31:00.000+01:00

Little Pascha was abandoned with her 3 brothers on the doorstep of my work. They were 2 weeks old and tied up in a rice bag. I could tell immediately she had a beautiful sweet personality-- she was the only one who didn't hiss as me! The other three were adopted, so Pascha came home with me, and Raph had a surprise waiting for him... Raph wasn't "sure about this" at first, but now it's "R + Pascha, sitting on the lounge, K-I-S-S-I-N-G"... after the flea bath, of course. A friend of ours who's a vet checked her out last night, and she's very healthy and doing very well:)
Lots of action this month, with 7 Brides for 7 Brothers performances, exams/essays due, and mum, Kendra and Chris visiting from the US! More info and pictures of that stuff to come...Dad kept well in touch, and sent mum these gorgeous roses for her birthday.
Raph and I are just about to finish our degrees...any second now. Then off around the world-- mum and dad for christmas, new york, london, brussels, frankfurt, and dubai for me and hong kong for raph- phew! Raph starts the new job and the training in India not long after in March 2008.

September Catch-Up

2007-09-09T07:29:00.000+02:00

Now in Ashfield Musical Society's next production: "7 Brides for 7 Brothers". Finally got some pictures of "Forum" (see right and below).
Raph and I both graduate in a couple of months (BSC & MCrim)-yay! We're off to the US and Europe (with stop-overs in Dubai and Hong Kong) for Christmas, and Raph starts a new job at Thoughtworks next April.

Have found a flamenco class that works for me, and enjoying dancing again. Work is still full-on, and I still love it! Looking forward to mum & Kendra visiting next month:)

June Already!

2007-06-09T05:20:00.000+02:00

April brought new excitement with two firsts: the Whitsundays and scuba diving! Whitehaven's white sands are all they are rumoured to be, but you can only get there by boat. Our Reefjet picked us up from Arlie Beach, stopped on Hook Island, where we bushwalked to some fabulous views of the islands, then to Whitsunday Island for snorkelling and Whitehaven beach. Second trip with Cruise Whitsundays we went out to The Great Barrier Reef (Knuckle Reef lagoon) where a pontoon was set up for lots of fun, including scuba diving with a friendly Maori Wrasse swim-way model named "Bubba." We also rented a car and drove to cedar Creek Falls, Coyote Beach and Bowen's Giant Mango and King's Beach.

Marching On...

2007-03-13T09:18:00.000+01:00

What's News? Launched into the second half of my Masters Degree (still procrastinating on the TAFE Aboriginal culture essays though), 7 months on the job and still loving it, can do everything on the left side of the road except parallel park, joined the courtesan chorus of a community theatre production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (can't stay away from skimpy costumes, can I?), cancelled foreign film nights due to lack of interest, started voice lessons with a jazz singer, started and ended salsa and Spanish lessons, lost 10 lbs of weight, gained 3 shades of tan, kissed my Valentine on a Sydney Harbour Showboat, and am mid-plotting an Easter trip to the Whitsunday Islands...

Last weekend I went to visit Nana and we drove to Newcastle to see my great aunt Beryl (aged 95) who hadn't seen me since I was 16, and kept saying, "you can't be 26, can you?" Very sweet lady. But nearly 27, actually, hence the badly needed Easter-birthday break at the Whitsundays:) Speaking of alliteration, the poetry class I teach at The Shop is holding a reading at a cafe this Friday, and one of them is a talented visual artist who will paint live on canvas as well.

What else? Christmas and New Year's in DC and SF, spent some quality with mum, dad, Kendra, Mor and Kaiti, and had lots of fun too! Keeva and Mel threw a few big parties, Mel's birthday a "heroes and villains" costume party in which the totally unbiased birthday girl awarded Raph and I bestly costumed couple: The Goddess Demeter & Dracula. I don't want to hear about whether or not they're actually heroes or villians:P

Oh yeah: BIG SHOUT OUT FROM RAPHA TO THE ANDEL MASSIVE!!!
Love,
M

Merry Christmas 2006!!

2006-12-22T00:32:00.000+01:00

Got my Aussie driver's License, my Medicare card, and even a couple of Ashfield Recreational club cards-- oohh feeling a little permanent...
One semester accomplished with high grades, and loving my new job:)
Also made some headway in cleaning up what was formerly the bachelor den, see pictures from Mormor's birthday dinner below. Raph turned 26, and so finally caught up with me this year;) also getting high grades at uni! After all these birthdays, weddings and christmas parties, time to call in my trainer...I've arrived safetly in the US for Chrissy, and spent a marvelous 5 hours at the Auckland airport, getting a facial and massage, so even the flight wasn't bad!! Merry Xmas, Hannakah, Holidays to all my loved ones out there-- thinking of you and missing you very much!!

For Mike, Mor, Kendra, Patricia, Chelsea and Uncle Tony,

2006-10-04T06:43:00.000+02:00

who are the only ones who still read my blog :-) I'm doing very well-- it's nice to have some money. I've got a plane ticket back to the US for Christmas all taken care of, and so getting some much needed time with the family is no longer a worry either. I will leave Sydney for NZ, and then SF Dec 20th 2006, and return to NZ and then Sydney Jan 5th 2007. I'm extremely happy to be flying Air NZ instaed of United, even if it means I don't get mileage points... It's been hard finding the right flamenco level for me at a good time for me, but we'll see. My essays are all finished, so Raph and I went up to visit Nana on the long weekend. It was really nice, the weather and the beach were perfect, I beat Nana and Raph at Scrabble twice, and we had yummy chicken barbeque and chinese dinners. We visited with uncle tony, aunt meg and hana as well (you guys know this part), and had some really interesting conversations and Hana showed me the Pirateology book she got for her birthday-- VERY cool. AND work gave me the car for the weekend, so I did the 2-hour drive (one way) on the left side of the road all on my own:):) It would've been nice if I had some "foreigner driving" plates, but other than that, no hassles, and Raph stayed very calm:-) Nana gave us some paintings from India that we've put up in our dining room and go perfecly with all of Raph's dancing stuff, and some "ohm" jewlrey that grandpa made for yoga classes that I LOVE.

Now I have final exams coming up. Work is going well; I'm really happy there-- nothing too stressful going on at the moment, and I've talked my boss into leting me use a balance ball as a work chair. Mel (Raph's brother's girlfriend) and I have set a pampering day aside for this Saturday, and Ashfield is having a "Carnival of Cultures" on Sunday, with promises of free plants, African drumming and belly dancing lessons in the park. Raph is trying to get it all done, so I've let him go without shaving for a bit to try and be supportive;-) We saw "An Inconvenient Truth" with his step-dad Dennis last week (surprisingly good), and will go see "Jindabyne" next week, starring one of the aborignal girls from where I work!

Still trying to get logistics done, such as medicare, NSW Driver's License, getting the utilities in our name, etc...but I asked for a slower pace, so here it is. Kind of. :-)

Love,
Michela.

Gots a job (and picked a flamenco studio)!

2006-08-25T15:36:00.000+02:00

...now must figure out how to juggle...I will be working as a community case worker at The Shop Women and Girls' Centre in Redfern-- yay! Money worries are now over, and time management skills need to show their stuff...I will be sad not to be working for ASP as much, but I will still do what I can. Meanwhile, the new chapter continues...

Advance Australia

2006-08-01T08:23:00.000+02:00

It's August 1st, and I've arrived safetly in Sydney, moved in, cleaned and rearranged the house where Raph, Nick, Margot and I are staying, and started classes for my Masters of Criminology. Today I have particularly happy news because I finally found an anti-trafficking NGO in Sydney! Of course, they can't pay anyone, so I'm still looking for a job, but I suppose those things take time, and I am quite bogged down with reading and setting up house anyway. Raph's grandparents have had us over a few times already, and have been really kind to me. I look forward to visiting Nana (my grandmother) this weekend, though-- and running on the beach! Foreign Film night, the disaster I instigated in an attempt to stay connected with the International Artistic community, is in its 3rd week now, changed to Sunday evenings, and still ironing out the wrinkles, but have watched two good Italian films "Pane e Tulipane" and "Malena" already. I had a too-short reunion with Davina before she flew off to Boston for her semester abroad, and more reunions are coming up. Raph has (of course) settled in more quickly, already has a job, and is unendingly supportive-- if a bit nervous that I might actually want to stay in Australia... Some things are still a bit harder to adjust to for both of us. Meanwhile, I met two wonderful girls at my Australian Law Bridging course: Yifat, from Israel, and Helena, from Poland, and they're helping make up for my cultural faux pas:-)

Forgot to Mention...

2006-07-13T23:29:00.000+02:00

Raph and I performed in Prague on June 10th, with our flamenco school at Svandovo Divadlo...it sold out quickly, so none of our friends got to see it, but here is a picture of us doing "Sevillanas" at that performance:-)

Also, my family and I had a great 4th of July at the farm with Mike and Susannah...I'm sure I can dig up a picture of one of his cute cows somewhere...(and for that New Zealander who told me awful things about bull mating habits, you have been authoritatively rebuked!). I picked three kinds of berries with Mike on his gator tractor, and then the whole family went for a modern day "hay ride." We only saw the tops of most fireworks, but the glow bugs and Mike's painful puns provided ample entertainment;)

My musical theatre camp is going well; we're performing from "Once on this Island", "West Side Story" & "Camelot," and then Saturday I'm off to Sydney...

If I made it There...

2006-07-05T18:35:00.000+02:00

It was time to say good-bye to my beloved New York, my home of eight years...and it threw its best and worst at me, just to make sure I'd never forget it:-)

Sitting on the subway on my way to Zayed's, my brain didn't blink-- it submerged. In some blurry recesses, it absent-mindedly erased the past 6 months, and it was as though I never left. But little things, such as my disgust at the dirtiness, my fascination with the non-white-looking people, and the confident, sometimes superficial smirks, smiles, and stature of all around me, gave hints I'd been away. I knew where everything was, I knew how everything worked, it was all terribly, terribly familiar; but it was no longer home. And that was good to know.

I was able to refill the Michela hug-meter for Zayed, Mor, Amy, Kaiti, Aditi, Tania, Chelsea, Lindsay, the CUTTA gang (Daita, Claire, Radu, Quique, Antonio, Kira), Josh-- and even make it to an old flamenco class (though Vittorio had a substitute that day, my friend Ricky was there)!! And NYC is CRAZY: I went to a Broadway show, "Sweeney Todd", starring Patti LuPone and 6 other dark characters who could both sing AND play SONDHEIM on their various instruments (alla Robby Marshall's "Cabaret"). Very well done. I went to see Lindsay's band "Stutter" at Arlene's Grocery in the village as potential label signers looked on (they rocked), and a friend of hers who is a composer, asked me if I would record a demo for him for one of his songs. Well, that didn't work out with the time allocated, but the potential in this city is so full its steaming out of the sewers. Speaking of steaming, Amy managed to get into a fight with this horrible woman on an overcrowded subway, who actually grabbed Amy by the hair. I grabbed the woman by the arm, and told her "You do NOT act like that!" and she backed off. That's something I've never had to do in my eight years in NYC... I visited my old haunts, Tea & Sympathy, Serendipity, Cosi-Cosi, Columbia's Campus, Amir's (twice), Amsterdam Cafe, Max Cafe, and even made it to an all-night diner. Cafe Lalo will have to wait for next time. I saw "The Devil Wears Prada" twice, because Meryl Streep is amazing, and it is so New York...and on the way to see it the second time, I ran into Angel Corella (yes, the world-famous ABT dancer), who looked more than a little surprised at my "Oh my god, you're Angel Corella- I love you." I quickly regained some dignity, took his halfway extended hand and said "Thank you for being a dancer." He said, "Thank you for watching!" as I ran off to let him continue his conversation.

Ah, New York. It won't be the same without you. I'll be healthy;-) And I'll have to stir up some excitement on my own. And I'll be back.

Aack! I'm Back!

2006-06-16T16:28:00.000+02:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I arrived safetly back in the U.S. I am in Virginia (Washington, DC area) now, and will head to San Francisco tomorrow for Kendra's graduation (Masters of Computer Science) ceremony Sunday. Then back to VA, and it looks like I'll be in NYC from June 27th until July 2nd-- so book me now;P
I arrive in Sydney July 17th.

As for everyone in Prague-- I miss you already!! I even miss my potted Basil plant! Everyone gave me presents (dinner, garnet necklace, shell necklace from Africa, chocolate, red roses, trafficking video, tea cup with warmer, coconut cake, blue-beaded bracelet and Prague magnet) and said such nice things...made it much harder to leave...next time you guys should just slap me. Actually, don't.
A reunion is already being planned for an Australian road trip in about 6 months, for those of us in that neighbourhood (i.e., China), and I would also really like to visit India-- more to look forward to!

Krakow

2006-06-06T11:39:00.000+02:00

One last weekend hurrah was in order to get a Polish stamp in my passport, so 12 hours one-way later, Raph and I were in Krakow, an infamous city indeed... We went from Prague's main station to a town divided by the Czech and Polish border, "Czesien/Tsesien." We stopped at "Cesky Czcesien", had a bite to eat, and walked across the border (about 20 mins). I think we were the first non-Euro citizens the foot border guards had seen all week: they made a big fuss changing the dates on their stamps and showing our passports to every guard they could find...
Then we picked up a train in "Polsky Tsesien" and headed on our merry way to Krakow-- through Oswiecen (Auschwitz), among other stops. Although it was a rare opportunity, I didn't have the heart to visit the concentration camp and its museums: the stations themselves were enough for me.
One thing you really notice about the Polish countryside as you are sitting on a rickety old train that conjures images of the 1940s-- it is much shabbier than the Czech countryside. Wild, in a someone started to build something, and then just left it there-- 50 years ago-- kind of way. The exceptions were the churches, which obviously received all the reconstruction Zloty and Groschen. The train stations don't have clocks or directions or signs on the platforms (just numbers), and often are simple rotting wooden shelters that you feel must have looked like this during WWII. Perhaps that, and the gloomy weather and garbage dumps, is why it was so easy for my mind to drift into imagining the deportations of the Holocaust, perhaps even on the very trains I was riding on. That, and the Synagogue we visited in the Jewish Quarter only had Holocaust literature. For all the rich Jewish-American tourists who come there I imagine. For me, it was very hard to escape the Holocaust in Poland. Memories of it are everywhere.
We did spend a wonderful evening in the Jewish Quarter however, listening to live Klezmer music at a restaurant called "Ariel." Absolutely rich, seductive mixture of oboe, base and accordian (sometimes violin), Arabic and Western all at once, sardonic, mournful and celebratory...Raph claims Krakow has the best nightlife in Europe.
Krakow itself was beautiful, if still under construction. It sports the largest medieval square in Europe, a gorgeous castle (not to mention the dragon!) and cathedral that contains the coffins of several popes and kings. Another unique aspect of Krakow is the defense system the castle had in place-- a tiered system of moats and a defense fortress unlike any other; very effective.
Oh yeah, and then there was the searching for Piotrek's (Raph's friend's) apartment in the pouring rain as Raph had insisted he remembered the way...luckily some stranger took pity on us and lent us her mobile phone...Polish is not Czech, but it helped! There was more trauma on the trip home, but you'll have to ask me for that story in person. All's well that ends well.

Miss K and Miss Mum Livin' It Up With the Australian Animals...

2006-05-26T14:44:00.000+02:00

Need I say more?

The Bızaare and the Beautıful

2006-05-22T14:50:00.000+02:00

OK, so let´s set the scene: fırst thıng you notıce ın Istanbul are the horns, ınterlocked ın a nonstop abusıve dialogue, no matter the tıme of day or nıght. Secondly, sıx tımes a day, bull horns blare quotıdian prayers from the mosques-- ıf you are standıng ın the rıght place, you can hear several at once. As you walk through the crowded streets (much more crowded than NYC), an ıce cream truck is churnıng out Für Elıse, and you are overpowerd by savoury waft after wınsome smell. And ıt´s hot. Very hot.

Now imagıne ıt is Saturday, at the world-famous Istanbul Bazaar and Egptıan Market. The crowds swell-- very few of them tourısts-- and you have to push to stand stıll and duck the vendors: "Hello lady." "My store ıs the best store, my store ıs the nıcest store, my store ıs the cleanest store-- but not the cheapest." Row upon row of colourful spıces and candy fill your fıeld of vısıon. $5 watches and scarves that would cost $30 anywhere else trip you up the hıll. "Hello. How can I take your money today?"

A swimwear store sportıng bıkınıs and a full-body ıslamıc swimmıng costume (bathıng suıt) catch your eye, and you glance nervously at the women ın black covered to the brıdges of theır noses, and then at the ones who just have theır hair covered, and then at the ones ın short skırts and heels-- all of them glancıng back at you. Some dust from the broken road flıes ın your face, and you´re grateful you wore glasses. And you haven´t even reached the Bazaar yet.

Insıde the protectıve shade of the offıcıal startıng poınt of the bazaar, mosaıc lanterns of the Moroccan sort, and sılver jewelry are shınıng from most stalls. Musıcal ınstruments, antıques, belly dancing costumes, swords, pottery, tea sets, carvıngs, luggage, paıntıngs, evıl eyes, varıous materıal and beads fıll the others. Never take the fırst prıce you´re offered, dress down, go wıth young people, go wıth locals, tell them someone else gave you a better price, look lıke you,re about to leave-- anythıng that makes ıt look lıke you don´t have money wıll help drıve the price down. Flirtıng helps too. "Mıss, you dropped somethıng!" No I dıdn´t. "My heart." When you agree to a prıce, look paıned. "I haven't done thıs ın my 25 years as a salesman. Here's my card. $10 for the card. Just kıddıng." The guy sellıng honeycomb offers you a chaır and another joke-- about kıllıng your boyfrıend...You need the chaır.

We left laden and lovıng ıt! And fınıshed the exhaustıng day at another restaurant by the Brıtısh embassy.

Sunday we slept late and went to the Ottoman Army Mılıtary Museum wıth Engın. It was the Natıonal Day, so parades had passed by our wındow that mornıng, and the museum was free. The museum held a short concert of the mılıtary band ın traditional costume, complete wıth a vıdeo explaınıng the dıfferent types of ınstruments, rythms, notatıon, etc. After the vıdeo, the projectıon screen and wall peeled away to reveal an outdoor fountaın and garden, through whıch the mılıtary band came marchıng. Thıs spectacular entrance receıved much applause.

Engın had to leave for Ankara after that. Elıf took us to see the sufıs perform a Sema ceremony (also known as "Whırlıng Dervıshes"). It was a very long ceremony, consıstıng of 2 ınstrumental sections, greetıngs and prayers, 4 sectıons of whırlıng, and endıng agaın wıth prayers. The Sema ceremony should represent a mystıcal journey of man's spırıtual ascent through mınd and love to Perfectıon (Kemal). The hats represent the ego's gravestone, the whıte cloaks, ıt's shroud. It felt a bıt odd to me that I should be payıng to watch another's ascent to Love\Perfectıon\God, but the whırlıng was defınately beautıful, and both Elıf and Raph found ıt very spirıtual. Raph even saıd he could see hımself performıng Sema, as a break from lıfe once a week. I can very much relate ıt to the feelıng of beıng freed and completly relaxed ın a very concentrated dıffıcult form of dancıng, lıke ballet or baharata natyam.

Thıs mornıng we paid a vısıt to Europe's bıggest Mall, before Elıf left for Ankara. Another sad goodbye. We wıll head for the aırport around mıdnıght tonıght-- back to Prague and back to work.

Turkish Delight vs. Turkısh Viagra

2006-05-19T21:23:00.000+02:00

Early early Tuesday mornıng we arrıved at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Aırport on the Asian sıde of Istanbul, and took the bus to Taksim on the European side of Istanbul, where my dearest Elıf met us wıth her husband Engın! That was about 5am, so after hugs and ıntroductıons, we fell fast asleep...
We are all stayıng wıth Elıf´s younger sıster, Ece, who works ın Istanbul as an ınterıor archıtect. After much dıscussıon, we decıded to spend the whole week ın Istanbul, ınstead of contınuıng on to Ankara ın a few days, as there ıs just too much to see ın Istanbul, and only tenuous return connectıons back from Ankara.

Later that morning we got to know the neıghbourhood we were stayıng ın, Nışantaşı, and walked through Maçka Park to the Beşıktaş seafront. We passed by the Teşvıkıye Mosque, and were ınvıted ınsıde. It was a pretty lıttle Mosque, the fırst one Raph had ever been in, and we learned about the dıfference between the Turkısh, Arabic and Ottoman languages. We had lunch on the ocean at Ortaköy, by the Boğaziçi brıdge, and then walked through Taksım, the bıggest shoppıng street ın Istanbul, fılled wıth all the candy, chocolate, pastries and delıghts you can ımagıne-- ıncludıng Turkısh Delıght, whıch Raph trıed, and "Turkısh Vıagra," a pastry fılled wıth candied pıstachıos (I thınk ıt´s really called "bird´s nest, but ıt got more attentıon thıs way...), whıch I trıed. McDonalds and Burger Kıng are also available, but are no competitıon to the food of thıs country, even to the locals. We fınıshed up at Galatasaroy Hıgh School, and headed home for dınner.

Wednesday, Elıf made us a typıcal Turkısh breakfast of cucumber, tomatoes, olıves, feta cheese amd tea. We also had simıt pretzels, covered ın sesame seeds. Yum!!!!!! Then we vısıted Dolmabahçe Palace, the second largest palace ın Istanbul, a gorgeous mıx of European and Asıan architecture, buılt on the Marmara sea. We had some authentıc Döner Kebap for lunch and then took a one and a half hour ferryboat out to the Anadolukavağı dıstrict of Istanbul on the Black sea. We walked up to the Cıtadel to take ın the vıew and ıt was sooooooooo beautıful, lıke a Greek Island (well, they´re just on the other sıde of the sea...). We took the ferryboat back and walked home through old Istanbul and Taksım agaın, pıckıng up some more souvenıers and chocolate on the way.

Thursday, we vısıted Topkapı Palace, the largest Palace ın Istanbul, that houses varıous museums of clothıng, weaponary, chına and jewels of the sultans (ıncludıng the skull of John the Baptıst!). Thıs palace was much more typıcal of Mıddle-Eastern and Asıan palaces, and we vısıted the Harem ın thıs one too, whıch we were starkly ınformed was the Sultan´s prıvate lıvıng quarters, not just where he kept hıs 4 wıves, 8-10 favourıtes, usually black eunichs and 300-500 concubınes (who, we were also ınformed, had to learn musıcal ınstruments, could retire at 30, and were not sexual partners)... Next we vısıted Hagıa Sophıa Mosque, a gorgeous buıldıng that was once a basılıca church, turned ınto a mosque, and then ınto a museum when Atatürk formed the Republıc. It sported an amazıng ınterıor wıth unusual juxtaposıtıons of the vırgın Mary and verses of the Koran, etc. Fınally, we walked home through Taksım, and ate at a lovely restaurant called "Vıktor Levi", across from the Brıtısh embassy, whıch was bombed a couple of years ago.

Today we vısıted the Prıncess Islands, agaın reached by ferryboat, and wandered on foot, although there were horse-drawn carrıages to take your money, should you choose on thıs trıp-- no cars allowed. It was a lazy sort of day, though we accomplıshed much walkıng, seafood, baklava, and a dıfferent kınd of Kebap, as ıs the routıne for us here. And ooooooooooh, have we got tans to prove ıt! Out come the sunglasses ın the next set of pıctures...

The Gırl Who Wıll Change the World...

2006-05-18T22:29:00.000+02:00

On our traın rıde from Prague to Berlın, a lovely lıttle four-year old named Hana decıded to grace us wıth her brıllıance by cleanıng our compartment wındows. She was such an astonıshıng talent, that ıt soon became very clear that she deserved her own blog entry...
Tıssue ın hand, she scrubbed vıgorously at spots that were ınvısable to the eyes of mere mortals. After a few mınutes, she dısappeared and then returned agaın wıth a bottle of apple juıce. She astounded us wıth the dılıgence wıth whıch she measured and poured and measured agaın the apple juıce onto her tıssue and contınued to wıpe away at our wındow. A runny nose was no obstacle to a gırl of such determınatıon: she sımply used the same tıssue to attack the snot and contınued cleanıng. Thıs one, although young, clearly held a work ethıc beyond any several tımes her age, and her quırky dıregard of what others thought combıned wıth thınkıng outsıde of the box amused us beyond expectatıon. Raph couldn´t resıst takıng pıctures. She wıll clearly grow up and change the world, he saıd.