One Crazy Trip

This is me on my birthday last weekend.

This is one of the gifts my friends got me. They thought that at 35 I was wise enough to figure out a 2X2 Rubik's cube. They were wrong. Mind you, they couldn't figure it out either.

This is the gift I'm giving myself. One crazy trip to Cape Town, Amsterdam and Paris with one of my oldest friends. Drop by over the next three weeks as I record my adventures. I'll even have pics...if I can figure out my camera.

Thanks to Evan I have this snazzy blog & photo gallery. Visit http://onecrazytrip.internetfortress.com/gallery/main.php to see where I've been & what I've been up to. (Providing, of course, I'm not so technologically impaired that I can't upload pics.)

Right now you can see pics of my b'day dinner...where I ate other people's food because mine was horrible and was provided many lovely gifts like the 2X2 Rubik's and a guide to finding the best pot shop in Amsterdam.

Six hours to kill and this is my entertainment in the MSP airport.

1. Watch the staggering number of tall women. And the consequently frequent number of unfortunately short pants.
2. By an ipod & all accessories from a vending machine. No, I didn't actually do this, but marvelled at Apples rejigging of the chip machine....until I realized that you could...
3. Buy make up from a vending machine. Isn't half the fun of buying make up trying stuff out?
4. Ride the train up & down the concourse. One brief blast of fresh air while boarding.
5. Curl up in a comfy chair & watch the world go by. I've done a lot of this.
6. Search for about an hour to find this surprisingly confusing computer terminal to update my blog. (This is costing me a small fortunte btw).
7. Shop for Gucci & Dior in the mall like atmosphere of the main concourse. Too expensive for a newly minted backpacker like me.
8. .....I seem to have run out of entertainment options. 2 more hours to go.....

Next stop Amsterdam. By the time I reach Cape Town I'll have spent over 30 hours in airports & airplanes, will probably be very tired, but also very happy.

After 30+ hours of travelling, 3 major airports, lost luggage (Viv's not mine - thank god - sorry Viv) I am sore in places I wouldn't have expected, grungy, tired and I smell bad, but as soon as I got the SA stamp on my passport, it was all worth it. :-)

No pics yet I'm afraid. It's raining & dark, but we're off to scout the city tomorrow so hopefully I'll have some then.

Ironic isn't it? Is it even possible to put on 5 lbs in 24 hours? The food is awesome - such diversity. Even the roti at the convenience store is yummy. Last night we went to the wharf for seafood and feasted on potjie - a traditional spicy South African dish. Today we went wine tasting a route to Stellenbosch - university town & central to the wine region in this area. I'm definitely looking for South African wines when I get home. The fact that I have a cold hasn't detered me from chowing down.

We've been treated extremely well by our South Africa hosts, two government officials who are hosting Viv's conference. They ferried us around all day & took us on a surprise visit to see the penguins. (Cute pics coming soon!) The rest of the international contigent has been steadily arriving and they're a very friendly bunch. Every last one of the 14 on our tour today asked how I was feeling and there was a convoy of pill passing as someone offered me a Tylenol.

I have rather unreliable internet access. It's so slow I haven't been able to send email so I don't think I can upload pics yet. Hopefully when we move to the next hotel things will speed up.

Keep the comments coming! I miss everyone! By the way - when I login to update the blog I often login to my msn so maybe I'll see you there.

Forget high speed, forget easy access to the net, and (sorry dear friends) forget pics of Cape Town. Likely I'll be able to pop back on in Amsterdam, so in the meantime....here's the Coles Notes version of my stay in Cape Town.

Wine tour. Country side. Surprise penguin visit (Happy Feet!). Windy. Cold. Greenhouse. Flowers! Drive, drive, drive. Dirty bathroom in sketchy part of unknown town. Cool pics of landscape from moving van window. Seafood dinner on the waterfront. Much lying awake at night trying to recover from jet lag.

Sweaty seasick ferry ride to Robben Island. (Robben Island is the prison where Nelson Mandela was held. It deserves more than a brief mention really). Cable car up Table Mountain. Fought fear of heights. (Didn't want to look like a wimp; I already proved I couldn't handle the sea.) Viv gets unusually excited about a lizard on the mountaintop. Back to hotel where I crashed & recovered.

Sun. (Finally!) Bartering at Green Market in city center. Lovely dinner in Camps Bay where gorgeous surfer types walk barefoot along the street. (Much of this going barefoot business here for some reason). Crash again.

Cape of Good Hope. See both Indian & Atlantic Oceans at once. Best curry ever. Sit in my seaside room & take in the view. Eat ice cream and a Brie sandwich and wonder why my clothes are snug.

Today's agenda: sit in sun, buy tea to take home from the grocery store, eat fancy supper with international delegates.

After another 12 hour plane ride, 6 of which where next to some doddery old lunatic who elbowed me relentlessly, I've arrived in Amsterdam. I stole African hotel toiletries to remind me of warmer climes...and because I've ran out of Dove. I have so much to say about all the wierd & wonderful things, but am worried that the nice buy slighly crazy looking lady at the laundromat might throw all my clothes in the dryer on super hot. I would then be cold and smelly for a whole week or would be forced to go clothes shopping in Paris. How horrible.

Will write again soon & hopefully will upload pics. (I know, I know, I keep promising that).

Last night I had a crazy time in Amsterdam. A crazy night for a geriatric that is. After a meal of young Dutch cheese on a roll with fries & mayo, I crashed at my hotel by 7.30. Yup - the promiscious city didn't have much appeal for me I'm afraid. After a week of intense sight seeing in Cape Town, a flight with a crazy old guy & navigating the train & tram system in this city, I was wiped. Last night was about recovery & I slept 14 hours...which is kind of embarrassing when I see it in print, but seemed utterly necessary. Also, I'm travelling without a watch (just to add to the excitement, I never know exactly what time it is unless I'm on a computer or near a public clock) so I had no idea really what time it was when I woke up.

Viv arrives this afternoon...so things are about to get a bit more interesting...;-)

A smattering of pics from Cape Town are now available on the gallery. Visit http://onecrazytrip.internetfortress.com/gallery/main.php

My time in Amsterdam got far more interesting when Viv arrived. As tired as she was from the overnight flight, she & I trooped around the Red Light district arm in arm. We marvelled at the salivating men. While my impulse was to avoid the throng...Viv dove right in every chance she got. Alas, I have no pics of that, but you can see other pics now of Amsterdam in the gallary. http://onecrazytrip.internetfortress.com/gallery/main.php

I arrived in Paris yesterday evening and this is what I've learned so far.

Drink Beaujolais - even at lunch. Be unafraid of butter and cheese and croissants. Drink strong coffee. Kiss on the street. Wear lovely shoes. Shop on side streets away from the big labels and tourist traps. Lounge on a park bench with your eyes closed and enjoy the sun. Observe proper etiquette. Greet shopkeepers and waitstaff with 'bonjuor' and 'ouvre' when coming and going. Walk arm in arm. Finally, when you're tired after a long day of walking...take the metro.

While there is a lot of public kissing, which fits the French image, the rumour that Parisians can be rude is a mystery to me. I have yet to encounter one rude person and, in fact, people have gone out of their way to be helpful. The key seems to be to make some effort to speak French, even if it's simply to ask if they speak English. It sounds odd, but it was the advice Fodor's & the hotel owner gave me & it works. Parisians have been gracious and helpful. Chances are tomorrow I'll encounter someone rude, but that could just as well happen in Saskatoon and it could very well be another tourist.