|
| Monday, February 4th, 2008 |
Blurb Italy book has arrived
|
Well, the book is done and is here. It looks great!! The 138 pages was thinner than I thought it would be, but it is still a pretty big book.
see all the sample pics here
So it took about 6 days to print and 8 days to ship. The wait was painful, but it arrived on time. Looking through it I noticed a few things that I would take note of.
1) Quality of the Shot Matters
I noticed that the difference between dull and sharp was highlighted in the book. Those are differences I may have noticed if I had put the book together using better displays, but it should be useful to note that the sharper the print you can get, the better results you'll have. My exceptionally sharp prints seem to just pop out.
2) Print Quality Issues (spots)
Prints on black backgrounds or with lots of black in them seemed to have a tendancy to show spots on them. In my mind this is to be expected, but I mention it so that you aren't caught off guard when your first order arrives. Most of the spots are solo and they only occur on a few pages. There are 2 pages towards the back where the spots are more prominent (see picture).
3) Print Quality Issues (color abnormalities)
I've printed one other book before and it was from Apple. In the book there were 2 shots where a certain shade of blue was missing causing a pixilated effect in 2 areas. Something semi similar occurred this time as well.
The yellow area should have printed white, but came out yellow for some reason. Since this only mildly detracts from the shot and it only happened once, I'll write it off as the gamble of cheap, custom, printing. Since this was the only mistake, I would say that a > 99% success rate is wonderful.
This error turns out to be mine, upon further examination of my original print, there is indeed a tint of yellow in those clouds as you can see here. Sorry blurb! This is another reason why creating a photobook on anything other than the best display is like playing russian roulette.
Summary
So, again, I am very happy with the book. I'm sure it will sit on my coffee table for years to come and be joined by many more creations. For the size and quality, the price can't be beat.
After seeing the results, I would recommend blurb to everyone.
See the Final Product Here:
|
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 3:37 PM [4 Comments] |
digg this blog  | | |
| Monday, January 21st, 2008 |
Italy Book Finally Done - Blurb
|
Wow, so it's been a month since I've been back and it has taken me this long to finish my book. I placed my order yesterday and it will take up to 2 weeks to be printed and shipped here, I can't wait!!
The end result is 138 pages with one or two pictures per page. I decided that I would forego writing a story and just let the pictures speak for themselves. Of the ~1860 pictures I took, only 160 made it into the book. I only put pictures that could stand on their own and I think the overall quality of the book will be improved because of that.
I chose blurb as my publisher. Through their software application I was able to easily create and order my 11" x 14" hard-cover book. The total cost will come out to be $95 including the standard ground shipping, which is not bad considering a 20 page softback by Apple cost me around $20. Extend that out and it would be almost $200.
I'll post a follow-up once the book arrives, I just know it's going to be well worth the time, effort and money. Check out the preview on the right. |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 4:48 PM [1 Comment] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Saturday, December 15th, 2007 |
Italy - Day 10 - Milan
|
This will be my last day in Florence. The stay here has been wonderful with some great opportunities for day trips to other parts of the country. I woke up at 7am and started to get ready to leave.
I got one more of Clara's breakfasts and was sad to learn that I would be missing another dinner that night. I debated staying later to have dinner, but Clara insisted that I go see Milan.
After breakfast, I packed my bags for the trip. I am going to just carry my larger bag like a duffle bag since I don't have far to go. And I'll cary one more bag worth of gifts with me since they wont all fit in my bag. I dropped the keys off on Clara's desk and headed out to do some gift shopping.
My first stop was to head over to Massimo's to get the buttons on my coat re-done. They were coming loose and I wanted him to fix it while I was in town. He was a great guy and took care of it right away. Another plus in my eyes for his store and his service.
Then I went around and picked up various gifts. I won't go into detail about what I got, but I picked up a few Christmas gifts and a few things for myself. I eneded up spending all the cash I have on me (except for about 2 euro). If I can survive on credit card for the next 20 hours I'll be set.
After shopping and getting my coat fixed, I headed back to Albergo Paola for my stuff. I had one heck of a time re-arranging with all the new things I had to carry around now. The airport tomorrow will sure be fun.
I huffed it over to the train station and caught a 1:14pm train to Milan. It is much colder today than it has been. That must explain why I was greeted with the wonderful view of fresh snow about 20 minutes north of Balogna. I should be arriving around 4pm and hope to grab a hotel room somewhere near Milano Centrale.
I was able to find a hotel only one block from the train station. It is called Hotel Florida. I kinda silly name, I know, but it is clean and close and only 70 euro a night, so for my last night I can splurge. I'll get a hot shower and breakfast at 7am.
After settaling in and getting my flight info squared away I went over to a local cafe for some Ravioli and pinaple (called Anana in italian). I then went to check the price for the bus over to the Malpanse Airport and tickets look to be 7 euro. It's a shame because I only have 2.50 euro left, so I had to take out more from the bank and the smallest amount I can get is another 50 euro. This way, however, I can be more certain that I'll have all the cash I'll need to get out of here.
My flight is at 10:40am and I'm going to re-pack my stuff in the morning. I'm hoping to get up at 5am so I'm going to go to bed right after posting this. Italy sure has been quite a trip, but it's not over yet. I still have two more exciting events left, 1) getting to the airport, 2) making it through customs.
As sad as I will be to see Italy go, I'll be glad to be back in my own bed in my own house.
Thanks you all for following along. I'll be putting pictures up in the next few days (and inserting them in these write ups). I'll also do one final recap where I can cover the things that went right and the things that didn't on this trip plus any other learnings I have to share.
Until then...Ciao...Arriverderci!!!
-END DAY 10-
Click here to see day 9
Click here to see day 11 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 9:54 AM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Day 9 - Cinque Terre and Pisa
|
I woke up at 6:30am well aware of the fact that I now have a small cold. Fortunately it is not bad and it shouldn't hinder the rest of my trip. I am sad to miss breakfast today, but I have to catch the 7:51am train to La Spezia. The ticket for the 2 hour ride was 22 euro. The train is older and I'm riding in a 6 person cabin with 2 other guys.
We were delayed 24 minutes leaving Florence and the older gentleman in the car seemed a little bit perturbed. I think he was able to get a refund after talking with the conductor. We picked up 2 more passengers in Pisa (along with another 10 minutes worth of delay).
About 20 minutes outside of Pisa there was a great view of what I assume are the southern part of the Alps. They were gorgeous, I am sad that I wasn't able to get a picture before they went out of view. I am sad that I did not get up to Switzerland for this trip.
 I arrived 27 minutes late in La Spezia which pushed back train rides for the rest of the day. A brief stop into the information center provided me with a map, train-schedule and day pass for Cinque Terre (8 euro). I hopped onto the 11:10am regional train and rode it to the 4th of the 5 cities, Vernazza. Walking all 5 cities is supposed to take 5 hours and doing only 4 should take 3 hours. Since I want to visit Pisa tonight, I'll have to only do the 4 cities.
 Finding the bay was easy enough once getting off the train. The path back to Riomaggiore was tougher to find. I saw a small sign with an arrow pointing up some stairs with the words "Corniglia" on it. Since that was the name of the next city over, I thought would give it a shot. I thought that any second I would wind up inside someone's house, but the stairs ended up taking me to a stone path that lead to an overlook of the city. This is when I realized that my trip here was an awesome choice.
The architecture and ocean were beautiful. The weather too was good, I would guess the high 60s or low 70s. I had to stuff my coat in my bag because the combination of weather and climb made it too hot with the coat on. Let it be known that this is not a trek for the weak hearted. There are some serious elevation changes and it truly is a few hours of hiking, but it was great. Being low season, I only passed about 20 people the whole 3 hour walk back. I felt like I had the trail all to myself.
 One thing that helps to know is that the trail is marked every so often with two parallel lines painted on the walls. The top one red, the bottom one white. These help you know which way to go, especially as the trail cuts through the small towns.
 Everything was beautiful, I particularly liked strolling through the olive groves on the side of the cliffs and my favorite parts of the trail were the views overlooking Vernazza and Manarola.
In fact, one of the more unique parts of the trip was the cemetery that overlooked Maranola and the ocean. It surely would be a beautiful place to be buried. There were a great number who were interned in the early 50's and there probably wasn't a single better view of the Cinque Terre than that point. I would have to say that this ranks right up there as a highlight of the whole trip.
 The walk was supposed to take 3 hours, but I finished in 2h 45m and was able to catch a train to La Spezia shortly after finishing. By now the temperature was dropping and my cold was starting to bug me. I was also a little disappointed that the next train to Pisa was not arriving until 4:06pm and, on top of that, it was 15 minutes late. Since the sun sets at 4:30pm, that guarantees that I won't have any sun for pictures in Pisa. And to top off the disappointment, I purchased some McDonalds at the train station while I waited...what was I thinking!!!!
click here to see all of the Cinque Terre pictures
Pisa
From Pisa Centrale, it is a 20 minute walk straight north (over the bridge) to reach the tower. I was able to use my GPS some here to guide me up to the tower, it took a while to acquire the satellite, but once it did it proved fairly reliable.
The tower is hard to see above the buildings of the town. You actually have to get quite close before you realize you are there. I am sad that both the tower and the cathedral are closed already. This will make 2 times that I've been to the tower and have been unable to go up.
I stuck around for a few pictures that should look good in B&W, but I determined that it was too cold to stick around any longer and for 4.50 euro, I caught the next train back to Florence. I arrived back at Albergo Paola at 8:30pm and was so glad to be back 'home'.
click here to see all of the Pisa pictures
Mama Clara made me some hot water with honey in it for my cold. Yet more proof that this is by far the best place in town to stay and that Clara should be given sainthood. With the cold and the hours of walking, I was glad to get to bed by 11pm after uploading some of the pictures from the vatican. I am so behind on getting pictures uploaded.
Tomorrow is shopping and then to off to Milan for my last night. This trip has indeed gone by fast.
-END DAY 9-
Click here to see day 8
Click here to see day 10 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 9:55 AM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Thursday, December 13th, 2007 |
Italy - Day 8 - Venice
|
I had not originally planned to see Venice on this trip, but after hearing that others had done it in a day from Florence, I figured why not. Since I had not let Clara know that I would be skipping breakfast, I stayed and ate (and that's never a bad thing). After that I caught the 10:38am train and was scheduled to arrive at 1:30pm.
At the train station I ran into Sylvia from Melbourne. Her train was delayed, so we sat and kept each other company while we waited. She had been a dear that morning and given me some throat losenges to help with the sore throat I woke up with, a bad sign of things to come.
I was able to plug-in my laptop on the train which was great because I could write up the summary for a few more days as I traveled. I was also able to work on getting some pictures ready for the web. I had a set of 4 seats all to myself for the whole ride and got to travel through Bologna and Padua before arriving in Venice.
 My trick for finding Piaza di San Marco was to head straight south from the St. Luciano station. After winding through the labyrinth of streets for 45 minutes, I managed to find my destination on the south end of the island. I'm glad I had the setting sun to use as a reference. The secret key for navigating through the city is to know that the big yellow signs everywhere point you to the major landmarks, so as long as you follow them and know where they are in relation to one another, you should do all right.
I walked around the waterfront and enjoyed the good weather. It was no colder than Florence has been. I took a number of pictures before grabbing a bite to eat. My victim for lunch was a huge calzone. They are quite different from calzone's in the U.S. due to the very small amount of sauce used in them.
Unfortunately there was some construction going on. Some on the cathedral and some as preparation for the Christmas season. That will make for some slightly less attractive pictures, but that's the way it is sometimes.
 I decided to walk back over to the Rialto bridge for sunset and am glad that I was there in the off season, that place must be packed in the summer. Then it was back over to Piaza di San Marco for a few night shots. The piaza at night is very impressive. I would love to come back and stay here just to enjoy the atmosphere.
After a few minutes I had to go. I knew that I would probably get lost looking for the Alle Ferrovia and that's just what happened. I ended up a little to the west of where I wanted to be, but could see the train station and made my over with 30 minutes to spare. Definitely give yourself time to get around this city.
So, after another 44 euro, I was on my way back. The power didn't work on the train this time, so I was only able to do 2 days worth of write ups on the charge I had left. I think I got some good pictures on this trip and I am very glad I decided to go over for the day.
click here to see all the pictures from Venice gallery
I let Clara know that I would not be there for breakfast in the morning and was able to post the write-ups for day 3 and day 4 before going to sleep by 1am.
Tomorrow will be early as I head over to La Spezia and then to the Cinque Terre.
-END DAY 8-
Click here to see day 7
Click here to see day 9 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 9:57 AM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 |
Italy - Day 7 - Siena
|
After another amazing breakfast, Aaron and I headed to catch the buss to Siena. The buss station is located just one block south of the train stations and it is in a courtyard which makes it more difficult to find. We did find it however and caught the buss out to Siena. It cost 6.50 euro for the ride which lasted about an hour.
Once we arrived in Sienna, we used the two towers as landmarks as best we could. Siena is very much like Florence except it has more hills. This makes for different pictures, but not so much of a different experience. The pace of the town changed depending on where we were. Some parts were quite crowded and busy, but other places, like the piaza, were quite empty.
We found the Piaze and the cathedral without too much trouble. The 6 euro to get in was worth it, the interior of this cathedral had a unique zebra design inside and seemed much more in-use than the Duomo in Florence. There were more little things to see inside. I'll admit thought, that the ceiling of the dome was not as impressive as the others; and, by this point, one church was much like any other (almost).
We walked back over to the piaza to climb the town's tower. The climb cost 7 euro, but it was worth it. If you are claustrophobic, then I would suggest not going up, there were several points where I can't see how a large person could make it through. The tower just seemed to keep going and the view at the top was spectacular. It makes me wish I had climbed the tower in Florence, but I think the rolling hills of Siena offer a more enjoyable view. The stay at the top is only granted to 5 people at a time and stays are only for 15 minutes, but it was low season so they seemed to be lax on the rules.
click here to see the Siena gallery
After I took a few shots, we headed back to the buss station to get some tickets over to San Gimingano. But when we got there, we couldn't even see anything indicating a buss to Florence, so we went to the counter and asked. Of course there was a buss to Florence and it wasn't until after we purchased our ticket did we realize that there was indeed a buss going to San Gimingano. Oh well.
My overall opinion of Siena is that there are other, better things to do. Perhaps staying there yields a different outlook on the place, but from my short stay, I wasn't able to see how it was so different from Florence.
Durring the buss ride I was almost asleep. I guess that all the walking was catching up with me. We made it back and I headed over to the river to get some more pictures. I then walked back to the hostel for the night.
I went to dinner with Gargi at the Trattoria Nerone. She's an interesting girl. Very unique to share dinner with her and gain some more perspective on how other people live and get out of my box a little.
Then it was sleep so I could be rested for Venice the next day.
-END DAY 7-
Click here to see day 6
Click here to see day 8 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 9:59 AM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 |
Italy - Day 6 - Florence Summary
|
Today was the official tour Florence day. I woke up at 7:45am and stayed for Clara's breakfast. I ate quickly because I had a 9:30am appointment at the Uffizi Museum.
Uffizi Museum
The Uffizi is about a 20 minute walk from where I'm staying located near the Piaze di Signoria. Getting there was a piece of cake even thought I was about 5 minutes behind schedule. That's the price of a good meal I guess.
Click here to read about the Uffizi
Boboli Gardens (again)
 After the Uffizi I headed over across the bridge again to try to get a panoramic of the city. www.Weather.com said that the day would be overcast with a 30% chance of rain in the evening; and, of course, they were wrong. It was a beautiful day with beautiful skies. I headed up a hill to Fort Balvedere hoping to get a good view and stumbled upon the other side of the Boboli gardens. I asked if there was an overlook here and they said yes, so I paid the 7 euro again to get in.
I did indeed find the overlook, it was one of the gardens. There were better vantage points to get the shot I wanted, but I would have had to jump some walls to get there. I decided I would get what I could without risking getting thrown out. I think things will turn out fine, I've still got to stitch together the results, but the lighting was pretty good. I stayed around there for about 2 hours and probably took 60 shots to make sure I had at least one result that was print worthy.
Towards the south-east end of the gardens, directly back behind the palace, was a great overlook viewing the countryside around Florence. I sat up there for a little while and did some more journaling of the days activities while enjoying the view.
After the gardens, I headed back to the hostel where I met some of the new arrivals. One was Kay from California who was over for her first trip to Europe. The other was Georgi (pronounced jargie) whow was from Liverpool.
Several of us went out to eat dinner that night and the food was great. I had a calamari and pasta dish and some tira masu with chocolate gellato for desert. Throw in a bottle of Rosa di Montelcino and I was set.
Upon returning, I finished my writeup for day 2 (finally) and posted it. I also asked Clara for one more night. I figure that 1 day in Milan will be enough and I would rather stay here for one more night where I can keep my stuff secure and then just pony-up for one night at a hotel when I'm in Milan. This also allows me to do another day trip from here.
I have also been adjusting to make room for pictures on the laptop. So far I've taken 1200 pictures and am running out of space for them on the PC. I started with ~9GB, but I've had to free up another 3-4GB since I've been here. I hope I don't need all those programs I've been deleting. That has been a whole lot of fun along with the dirt that I have discovered is on my sensor. From now on I'll have to try to use a low aperture as well as being prepared to do a lot of photoshop work to get rid of dust spots later... Oh well.
Time for bed before my first day excursion tomorrow, Sienna.
-END DAY 6-
Click here to see day 5
Click here to see day 7 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 10:03 AM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Monday, December 10th, 2007 |
Italy - Day 5 - Florence Summary
|
 Clara served us our breakfast to our room at 9am. We had cereal, yogurt, toast, bacon, scrambled eggs, juice and fresh baked bread. Everyone in the room sat around and ate. There was Aaron from Australia, Joss from Australia, Karen and Jennifer from Canada. We all got to chat about our experiences and what we were planning to do that day. After breakfast I headed out to see the town.
I headed straight over to the Duomo. This was perfect because the weather was in the mid 60's and only partly cloudy. Clara had warned us that it would rain later, but thankfully that didn't happen. I took pictures inside and outside the Duomo and then headed over to the Piaza di Signoria where 6 amazing statues are on display. I particularly like the depiction of Hercules killing the centaur. The level of detail that is put into the work is simply mind-blowing.
click here to see more pictures from the duomo (cathedral)
click here to see more pictures from Florence
 I found a coat shop and found a jacket that I liked as much as the 400 euro jacket I found near the square the day before. I'm much more content spending 380 euro than I am spending 600 euro.
I crossed over Ponte Vecchio, the famous shop-covered bridge of Florence. It must be amazing to work in those shops because they all had amazing views of the waterfront.
 After crossing the bridge I began looking for a hill on which I could take a picture of the skyline. While walking I stumbled upon a side entrance to the Boboli gardens. I paid the 7 euro entrance fee and wandered around the beautiful grounds. There was almost no one there and I found a place back off by itself where I just sat down and wrote up notes about what happened during that day and the day before. It was so secluded and peaceful and such a change of pace from the city.
I walked back to the Duomo. The GPS actually kinda worked on the way back. I was able to follow the old city walls back to the river and the over to the cathedral. On the way back I found a shoe shop and picked up a pair of shoes for 20 euro. Much cheaper than the 70 euro they push in the market.
I then headed over to Massimo's Leather shop (click here to see more) and bought my jacket*. Figured it would be good to get it before someone happened on it and stole it out from under me. Not likely, I know, but I'm the type that would rather get something quickly than wait around thinking about it.
dinner
Clara is making us dinner tonight. So I had to be back by 7:30pm. She only makes dinner when she decides she wants to and boy am I glad she wanted to. When I got back, I was able to sample the food and I knew then that it was going to be a very good dinner. Clara let me taste some of the fresh Tuscan olive oil and see why the flavor of the food was so good. So now I have to bring back a few bottles of olive oil with me or else I'll never forgive myself. Even just the oil on a piece of bread was good.
 Dinner was served at 7:15pm and was all that I hoped it would be. We had red wine, vegetable soup, potatoes, Chicken with Sausage and a banana chocolate cake for desert. Clara charged us 10 Euro and let me tell you, that was a bargin. In addition to having a great meal the 9 of us who shared a meal together were able to become well aquainted. There were 4 Ausies, 2 Canadians, 1 Mexican and 2 of us from the U.S. After we finished the meal and the 3 pitchers of wine, we stayed up until 1 talking. We even went out and got 3 more bottles of wine to keep the party going. It was a lot of fun and I'm sad Clara didn't cook more.
Unfortunately, Clara didn't join us. Besides having plans to go out, she makes it a habit to not eat with her clientel. I think that's a shame because we would all be better off having shared a meal or two with her. Like I said before, Clara's a sweetheart.
I tried to help Dina with her memory card problem. She had her pictures burned to DVD and her cards still had the pictures on them, but her camera wouldn't take pictures on the cards. I helped her out by getting pictures off of one of her cards so she could take pictures until the situation was straightened out. Luckily she was able to get everything burned again correctly the next day and the problem was resolved.
Then, with a happy and full stomach, I went to bed. What an awesome day.
-END DAY 5-
Click here to see day 4
Click here to see day 6 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 10:12 AM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Florence - Massimo Leather
|
So when I was in Florence, I got it in my head that I wanted a nice winter coat. I only had one and picking one up when I was there would probably be a good buy. I shopped around the market and went to a few shops to try on coats and found some very nice pieces but at prices that were a little steep for my budget.
Then, on the way to see the city my 2nd day in Florence, I came upon Massimo Leather (website here). Massimo was located conveniently for me, right between my hostel and the heart of florence. Just south of the Piaza di Mercato Centrale.
I had a great experience there. I never felt pressured, the selection is great and Massimo and his wife were blasts to talk to. It did him a great service to constantly have people in his shop who were long-time clients. Several times he would talk about a friend who owned a certain type of coat and then that friend would walk in several minutes later and verify the story.
 I "wrestled" with the idea for a day or so, but ended up going back an purchasing the coat that I wanted. A lovely brown coat with a wool collar. I think that even though I should have haggled a little, I got a pretty good deal. I paid 200 euro for the coat or about $320 and I'll say that I am pleased with it so far.
I was also looking for another coat as a gift. Since I was larger than the person I was giving the coat to, Massimo tracked down several 'models' from the market to come and show me how the coat would look on them (thanks Anka and Carla). This was above and beyond service in my eyes and helped me to know that I wouldn't have to send the coat back, that it would fit right the first time.
The service there was great. Massimo treated me more like a friend than a customer. I even had some buttons that were coming loose before I left and Massimo replaced them all while I did some gift shopping in Florence. He was courteous, fast and did good work.
I would recommend Massimo to anyone going to Florence. You'll find great stuff at a great price and you'll end up making a friend.
- Thanks Massimo
 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 5:12 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Sunday, December 9th, 2007 |
Italy - Florence - Albergo Paola
|
Initial Arrival
The Albergo Paola is located on the 4th floor of a building with no elevator. Once you walk in, you'll see Clara's desk and the sole computer available.
 I met Clara and checked in. She gave me a map and highlighted the points of interest in the town. She then proceeded to go over the rules. Breakfast is at 9am. If you don't want breakfast you have to tell her the day before. You get 4 keys. One for the outer door, one for your door, two for lockers and a code to the hostel's main door.
Beyond that there wasn't much. My room was quite red and I was on the lower bunk of a very comfortable bed.
 Everything was clean, there was free wi-fi, a computer to use that had skype on it. There was fruit available in the kitchen. Basically my first impressions were good enough to make me forget that it was raining and cold outside. Shoot, this place is so good that I would pay just to see the view from the bathroom (literally).
- Go back to Day 4 summary -
click here to see pictures of the Albergo Paola Hostel
Read below to see my overall feelings about the place.
Overall Thoughts/Review
If you stay in Florence, you almost have to stay here, especially if you are traveling alone. For 20 Euro a night this place is a steal. I felt secure, welcomed and compfortable the whole time I was here.
 I guess now is the best time to mention the breakfasts. THEY ARE INCREDIBLE. Scrambled eggs, bacon, cereal, yogurt, toast, fresh bread, juice...everything to make for a good meal. While having to be at the hostel at 9am can be a burden, the home-cooked breakfast makes it a good sacrifice. And in addition to the quality of the food, the fact that she brings it to the room almost forces everyone to sit and talk with one another. It was very easy to get to know the others in my room because of this.
Find out more at the website http://www.albergopaola.com/
THE GOOD -
Just about everything about this place was good. I don't even know where to begin. The bathing facilities are great, very well kept. The food is great. The staff (Clara) is great, she is truly a sweetheart who is willing to help and wants you to feel at home. The lockers are a big plus. It helps going out knowing that your things are secure, especially if you are going to do any shopping in town. It was nice not taking my laptop around every day. The location to the train station is excellent, less than 5 minutes.
THE BAD -
There aren't really any bad items, but, in all fairness, here are my thoughts. There could be more power outlets. They exist, but they are either hard to get to or they are sparsely located. I could also see that the 2 showers are not enough when the place is full in the summer. There are showers in the room, but I don't know who would use those.
So out of a possible ««««« (5 stars):
- Staff - «««««
- Cleanlieness - «««««
- Extras - ««««
- Security - «««««
- Location - ««««
- OVERALL - ««««« (5 stars)
Thanks for everything Clara!!! |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 2:58 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Day 4 - Summary - Florence
|
Today was my last day in Rome. I inteded to get up and catch the 9am train to Florence, but I oversletp and didn't get up until 8:10am. I grabbed a roll, checked out, and headed over to Termini. The walk over was quite easy since the hostel was only 2 blocks away.
I used the auto ticket machine to purchase a first class ticket from Rome to florence. I'm sure I would've figured it out (since it gave instructions in english), but there was a guy who just guided me through it. That appeared to be his racket, he was given donations for his service, so I gave him 1.50 Euro. The ticket itself cost me 47 Euro.
The train arrived on time but moved from terminal 6 to terminal 8 at the last minute. While we rode I was able to get a lot of writing done. The 2 people I was sitting next to were older and quiet. In short it was an uneventful hour-long trip and I arrived shortly after 11am.
When I got off the train I was welcomed to cold and rainy weather. It was probably 5-10 degrees colder than Rome was. I found the street where my hostel was located, but couldn't find the hostel itself and I didn't write down the address before I left. Being cold and frustrated, I stopped into an internet cafe to find out where the Albergo Paola was located. For 1 euro I got an hour of internet, so I got the address and uploaded some of the stuff I worked on during my train ride.
Albergo Paola
It turns out I was only 3 doors down from my hostel, it was just on the other side of the street. I walked up to the 4th floor and entered what would become my home for the next 6 days.
click here to read all about the Albergo Paola Hostel
Seeing Florence
 After getting settled in, I went out for some lunch. Just down the streat was the Trattoria Nerone Pizzeria. A brick-oven pizza joint that was very quaint. When I walked in they litterally stuck me in a corner and couldn't have been happier. I ordered some Penne al pesto and some Chianti Classico and a dissert that was something like scotch and biscotti. I had a great time and think I'll be eating here more than once.
I then wandered the town to get to know the sights. At some point I lost my berrings and trying to make it back after going to the Duomo became next to impossible. I think I made a loop 2 or 3 times before I realized where the train station was. Once I did that I was able to navigate back to Albergo Paola.
I met with an Australian from Sydney, Aaron. He was also on holiday and was going to be gone for about 2 months. I was very jelous to learn that he would be traveling to Egypt. I've really got to do that soon. I am so sad meeting all these people because it makes me realize how short we travel from america. I know that I would have tacked on another 4 days or so had I purchased the tickets on my own, but event then, 10 days is one of the shortest trips I've heard of so far.
Aaron and I went out to Trattoria Nerone for dinner and we grabbed some pizza.
I was able to upload all of day one's pictures that night before I went to sleep. I would say that it end up being a very good day indeed.
-END DAY 4-
Click here to see day 3
Click here to see day 5 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 2:30 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Florence, I have arrived!!
|
I just got to my hostel in Florence, the Albego Paola. This place is amazing. I'll write more about it later, but it's going to be so much fun staying here.
Oh, yeah, I was so excited about this place that I almost forgot that it is raining and cold, but who cares!!!!
More write-ups are coming soon!!! |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 7:07 AM [1 Comment] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Saturday, December 8th, 2007 |
Italy - Day 3 - Summary - Rome
|
Today was tough since I had stayed up until 3am the night before. I woke up at 7:30am and was supposed to meet with Westin to go and see the colosseum. While waiting on him to arrive, I met Ashley, a girl on holiday from Sydney, Australia. She was going to the colosseum as well. Ashley and I went ahead and Westin met up with us at paletine hill. Since it was lightly raining, there was almost no one there when we arrived.
We purchased a paletine hill and colosseum combination ticket for 11 euro. The paletine was nice, but it was very empty. I doubt I would go again. It is where the roman royalty lived, but now it was just like a quiet garden.
After we wandered around paletine for an hour or so, we decided it was time to head over to the Colosseum. By now the skies had cleared and there was some sun for us to enjoy. We waited in the group line to get by security and easily saved ourselves 15-20 minutes of waiting in line. And since we already had our ticket, we didn't have to wait in that line either.
The Colosseum - Inside
I would say I appreciated the view more this time than last time. It is still hard to imagine the place filled, but the partial reconstruction of the floor helps give at least a little feel for the way things might have been in the past.
From there we headed to the forum since the others had not been. We didn't stay long there and that was fine with me since I saw it the day before. I gave them the quick tour of the main sights there. Then we went and grabbed some lunch near the Vittoriano. I had some lasagna and it was pretty good, not as good as dad's though.
 From there we all split up and did our own things. I headed over to the Hard Rock to pick up a gift for a friend. It was easy to find and I guess it was the only time that I 'needed' the GPS. Then, on the way back, I was able to find an internet cafe where I could post some pictures and some blogs. I was there for 2 hours and that cost me 4 euro.
The sun set around 4:30pm as usual and shortly thereafter I left the hostel and headed over to the colosseum for some night pictures. I must have stayed there for at least an hour and a half getting shots from all different angles. They had a large christmas tree up in front. I think I got a few shots that are keepers. I would hope so because I took over a hundred shots while I was there. I'm so thankful that Andy gave me the gorilla-grip tripod as a gift for the trip. It has been more useful than I had imagined. A lot of the shots I'm posting could not have been done without it.
I ate some dinner while watching the vittoriano. It was a very good sandwich with mozzirella and mushrooms and marinara. After a relaxing time eating, I decided to head back to the hostel.
That night I tried to prepare more pictures before going to bed. I was asleep by 1. I also got to briefly meet my new roommates. There were 6 of them, 2 were Koreans who lived in Germany, the other 4 were Koreans who were studying abroad in Germany. They were all very nice and actually left the room when I came in so that I could sleep.
I packed everything in advance to prepare for a 9am train to Florence.
-END DAY 3-
Click here to see day 2
Click here to see day 4 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 5:14 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Friday, December 7th, 2007 |
Italy - Rome - Vatican Museum
|
 After seeing the basilica, it sounded like a good idea to head right over to the Vatican Museum. We didn't get far when we hit the end of the line. It must have been a few thousand people waiting in that line and it was probably about half a mile long line 2-3 people across.
The wait wasn't that bad since Westin was there to keep company with. We probably waited 45min - 1 hour before we got in, but from what I heard the line is about that long at 9am when the museum opens because people start lining up 2 hours before.
There was a large amount of artwork. Some amazing pieces like large tile mozaics, huge and ornate ceiling paintings, and detailed statues. I purchased an audio guide to tell me about some of the pieces that we were seeing. The two stories that I remember the most were the bust of Socrates and how none of his actual words survive, only what was written by Plato. The second story was the depiction of two fighters who struggled, one killed the other by pulling out his intestines; then the referee declared that a cheap move and then awarded the victory to the fighter who was now dead. What a bummer.
We arrived in the museum by 12pm and they closed at 1:30pm, so before we knew it, we were rushing off to see the Sistine Chapel before the place closed. On the way we had to race throught the hall of maps which was a disappointment to miss all the beautiful paintings on the ceiling.
 Compared to what I remember, the Sistine Chapel was a disappointment. The gallery is supposed to be no cameras and quiet, but it was the complete opposite. Everyone was taking pictures (with flash), completely blatant, And everyone was very loud. Those combined with how packed the place was this time, opposed to the last time I went, really lessened the experience. I had hoped that it would be a recent experience, but it was really just an overloaded tourist attraction this time. I had thought that it was a result of us being so close to the closing time, but from what I heard, it was like that the whole time.
I was glad I went, the 11 Euro was well worth it. I only wish that I had gone there before the basilica so that we wouldn't have been rushed.
click here to see pictures from the Vatican Museum
|
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 5:15 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Rome - St. Peter's Basilica
|
There is a reason this cathedral is the center of the Catholic church, it is simply massive. I know that I had seen this place before, but I don't know at all how I could have been so unimpressed. This time I think I appreciated the building appropriately.
Everything has such a huge scale in that building. The statues suspended from the wall, the arches, the text written around the top of the building is all huge.
 There is a prayer room off to the side of the main hall where pictures aren't allowed. Prayerful worshipers were in there praying and I was able to lift up a prayer. It was very reverent and holy in there and wonderfully decorated. There were marble angles praying to a temple made of red and green marble. I wish I could have taken a picture, but it was good that there could be a place of reverence in a building that so many tourists come to see.
There was even a service going on in the left wing of the church. It would have been amazing to see the Basilica and the courtyard filled with people. Even though, I am so glad to go see it, a trip to Rome is incomplete if you don't see this church. In addition to being the largest dome in the world, it has to be one of the largest buildings.
click here to see pictures from St. Peter's Basilica
|
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 5:17 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Day 2 - Summary - Rome
|
Day 2 was awesome, filled with amazing sights, long lines and a little rain, but an experience to remember indeed.
My night in the Alessandro Downtown was uneventful. Having only one sheet on the bed made me a little cold, but I was so tired that I didn't notice. I did learn a lesson that night by being the last one in the room and the first one out. Try to have everything you'll need out of your big bag by 9pm or 10pm. That means laying out sleep clothes, only having essentials & toiletries in your day pack and also having your bed ready to get into. I was disappointed with the amount of noise I made when I went to bed and woke up and I felt bad for my roommates.
I woke up at 5:30am and did a little more work on the Day 1 write-up. The inability to transfer data from my laptop to the web via the computers at the hostel was frustrating to say the least. I tried to re-typing the summary, but the keyboards in Italy are different. For example, the '-_' key is where the '/?' key is. '/' is the shift value for '7'. Other frustrations are that the shift key is smaller and easy to miss. '<' and '>' are on the same key and both '"e;' and '=' are in different places too.
I went and took a shower before grabbing some breakfast and meeting Westin. Let's just say that it was an experience. I definitely did not want to touch anything in that bathroom and it smelled like someone had just used the facilities (yuck). But the water was hot and I did feel cleaner for the experience. I went back to the room and grabbed only my small camera bag instead of my day-pack since I heard that bags were hard to get into the Vatican. Let me clear up that myth. Security at the Vatican was very reasonable and bringing in a normal pack should be no problem.
I partook in the free breakfast that the hostel provided. The meal consisted of a roll, corn-flakes and some juice/coffee. I'll have to say that for how simple that sounds, the roll with some strawberry jelly really hit the spot.
The Vatican
 I met up with Westin and we headed over to Termini to catch a buss over to the Vatican; Westin knew that the #40 buss went there so I played follow the leader. They only sell local buss tickets across across the street at the newspaper stand. Don't know exactly why they sold tickets there, but one way passes cost 1 Euro.
After the packed ride over, we were able to go right into the Basilica without waiting inline. Later, the line would have been at least a 10-15 minute wait. Being inside was an experience that I can't believe I do not remember from the last time I was in Rome. My only thought is that last time it was so crowded that I couldn't enjoy the experience. Either way, this time I was much more appreciative. It is an amazing structure. Click the link below to read more about the Basilica.
click here for the basilica writeup
By the time we left the Basilica, it was about 10:30am and we headed the .6 miles to the Vatican Museum, where the Sistine Chapel is. After about .1 miles, we came upon "the line". There were probably 2000-3000 people in this line to get in and it stretched around 4 corners and went at least .5 miles. We had to wait in it. It was not too bad, Westin and I waited for about an hour before we got in. I am very thankful to Westin for being there to pass the time with, having someone to talk to while waiting helped time fly by for sure. Click the link below to read more about the Vatican Museum.
click here for the vatican museum writeup
 After being herded out of the museum, Westin and I grabbed some pizza on the way to the Castle Sant'angelo. I had a delicious Salami pizza. When I was a kid and over here, I didn't like Italian-style pizza much, but after frequenting restraunts like mellow mushroom, my tastes have changed. And while the U.S. counterparts don't tasted the same, I very much enjoyed the pizza I've had here so far.
We walked over to the castle and bought our tickets, 5 Euro. Which later seemed like a waste because no one actually checked our tickets. The castle was nice. Very interesting to see such a large building with such small rooms. It was almost claustrophobic in the inner rooms. The roof of the castle, however, was very nice and even had a cafe that overlooked St. Peters. It was about this time that the rain started to come down. Westin and I began our trip back through the city on foot.
One of the most enjoyable parts of Rome was the ability to stop by any church along the way and to know that inside you would see an amazing piece of architecture. The 2 that we stopped inside on our way back were just gorgeous inside. I wish I had spent more time going through the city looking at some of the hundreds of churches that there are.
When we got back, I started to work on my blog entries as well as editing my pictures. I stayed up until 3am and only had 13 pictures ready for upload. However, since the hostel wouldn't allow me to upload files, I knew that sometime the next. I felt bad for being 'that guy' going to bed so late, but, what was worse was the fact that I had to get up by 7:30am or so to go see the inside of the Colosseum.
-END DAY 1-
Click here to see day 1
Click here to see day 3 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 7:12 AM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog | | |
| Thursday, December 6th, 2007 |
Italy - Day 1 - Summary - Rome
|
Wow, so Day 1 is done. It has been a blast so far, and, just like everyone said, I am so glad for having decided to come. This experience has taught me so much, but I'll save that for the end-of-trip summary. Here are the juicy details of day 1 - Rome.
** pictures may take until Sunday to get uploaded unless I find an internet cafe, sorry **
All future entries will be formatted like this entry. I will write a summary for the day and have links to each activity that was done. That way each entry doesn't get too long.
Getting out of Atlanta
What a hectic day! I was up until 3am getting last minute planning done for today. That was all a part of my plan since I wanted to make myself tired so that I would sleep well on the flight over.
I got up at 8am and took care of a few last minute things. I got a bike lock for my bag, some bells for guarding luggage at night, a power cord for my GPS, some money out of the bank, and a haircut.
My thanks to Daniel for taking me to the MARTA. He got me there at 12:45p and I made it to the airport by 1:45pm.
Checking in at the airport was easy enough. And even though the security line was much longer than I expected, I still arrived at my gate 2 hours before my 4:40pm flight.
While grabbing a bite to eat before my flight, I had an awesome experience meeting a US Army soldier, Jason Chavis, a nice guy from Suffolk, VA who was heading back to serve the second half of his tour in Iraq.
Read about that awesome grace-experience here
I have had so many ups-and-downs about this trip and that didn't change by being in the airport. I had to go to the bathroom about 3 times while waiting because I was so nervous, but at the same time I was confident in my travel plans. Maybe nervous isn't the right word, maybe it was more excitement than anything else.
 Flight
The flight started boarding at 4:15pm and we left Atlanta without a hitch. Now to the flight...
I would say I mastered the travel part of the trip pretty well so far. There was too much to put here, so you can check out the flight and train details by clicking here
ROME
Since you're reading this, I'd bet you can guess that I made it to town alright. I decided to stop by the hostel around 1pm so I had 5 hours to use sight-seeing. What would be better than a trip over to the Colosseum and the Forum?
 Click here to read about and see pictures of the Colosseum and forum.
Now that my back was killing me to my desired level, it was time to head over to the Hostel to check-in.
I don't know how I walked past the hostel on my way to the colosseum, but I did. I found them on the 2nd floor and was able to store my bag, but had to come back at 3 to gain access to my room. Since I wasn't about to hit up any more landmarks, I thought I should grab some lunch, so I headed over to .....RESTRauntNameHERE.... I ordered some Trefolie al Pesto and a coke. It was great, so great (and so much) that I had the left-overs again for dinner later.
 I headed back and checked into my room. Click here to see how the check-in went and to see more about the Alassandro Downtown Hostel
 After getting my stuff situated into my room I went to what was probably my most enjoyed place of the day, the Pantheon. Click here to read about the Pantheon and to see more pictures.
I headed over to the Trevi Fountain and grabbed a few night pictures before heading back to my room. (click here to read the details)
Once I was back at the Hostel, I decided to take it easy. Even though it was only 8:30pm, a days worth of walking and 2 nights of little sleep have made it feel much later.
 At the Hostel I was able to eat the rest of my lunch for dinner. I was also able to transfer my pictures to the laptop before I started to write up the record of todays activities. All of this was made more enjoyable by having Austin Powers playing on the TV in the common room.
I met a guy named Westin from Colorado who has been traveling around europe for the last 11 weeks and has 5 more weeks left. He has been just about everywhere, spending about 2 days in each city he visits. He arrived in Rome yesterday like me and we are going to travel together over to Vatican City in the morning to see the sights. That will be plesant having a traveling companion for a day or two. We'll see how it goes.
Well, that's about it. I'm headed to bed, it's 12pm now and I'll wait until the morning to take a shower (please have warm water!!). And it's realy hard to get stuff into a bag quietly when there are 5 other people in the room, I'll have to prepare earlier tomorrow so I don't disturb everyone sleeping.
What an awesome day, I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!!
-END DAY 1-
Click here to see day 2 |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 2:17 PM [1 Comment] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Day 1 - All is well across the sea
|
So I have landed safely and made it to my hostel in Rome. Everything seems to be going well. I will try to post some blogs tonight, however my internet use is somewhat restricted, so it may only come in pieces for now. Hopefully Florence will be better.
It's 2pm here so it's 8am there, enjoy your morning, I'm going to get a late lunch...hooray pizza!! |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 12:37 AM [2 Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Rome - Trevi Fountain
|
It gets dark here around 4:30pm, so, I thought it was later than it really was and I was surprised how many people were at the Trevi Fountain. I didn't have any problems seeing the fountain and taking pictures, but it definately was a little more crowded then I was prepared for after the full day I had.
I wish there was more to say about this landmark, but that's really it, I hope to stop by again on Saturday but I'm making no promises.
click here to see more Trevi pictures in the Italy Gallery
- Go back to Day 1 summary - |
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 2:51 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Day 1 - Rome - Pantheon
|
The Pantheon was the one thing that I had not seein in Rome that I was dying to see and I was not wrong for having that desire. This stop and the piatza out front were probably the best embodiement of the excitement and history behind the Rome experience.
I'll have to say that the trip over to find the Pantheon was a pain. That GPS unit really doesn't work well. It's essentially an expensive digital map. And, unlike the Colosseum, the Pantheon is quietly tucked away and you could easily miss it.
The weather was nice while I was there and the restraunts all had christmas lights up adding greatly to the atmosphere.
I grabbed some Banana and Strabery Gelato and ate it on the steps of the fountain.
One of the coolest parts about people watching was seeing how the locals do it. A group of 3 italians sat down with a bottle of wine and just talked. How cool is that to just walk over to an ancient landmark and just hang-out like it's no big thing, so cool.
I would put this down as a MUST on everyones list for things to do when they are in Rome...or Italy for that matter.
click here to see pictures from the Pantheon Gallery
|
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 5:18 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Day 1 - Rome - Alessandro Downtown Hostel
|
Initial Arrival
Having never stayed in a hostel before, I had almost no idea what to expect. I walked back to the Hostel which is only a few blocks from Termini an which is about 1/2 mile from the Colosseum.
 The check-in is on the 2nd floor (3rd floor in the US). When I got there they verified my reservation with my Passport (but did not keep it). Then I paid the remaining 41 Euro I owed for my 3 nights there. Then I was able to put my bag in the baggage room which wasn't the most secure thing, but it got the bag off my back.
They weren't ready for actual check-in until 3pm so I decided that I would grab lunch to kill some time.
When I got back I paid my 5 euro deposit for my key and I was assigned to room 105 (click here to see picture). It was only later, after going to the pantheon and trevi fountain, that I discovered that they put me in the wrong room. I should have been in 107 (click here to see picture) because 105 had been fully booked. That was a minor mixup and I think I wound up better for it in the end.
click here to see more pictures of Alessandro Downtown
Overall Thoughts/Review
Beyond my initial arrival, these are my thoughts about this Hostel. I'll give a short summary and rate them on a few areas.
THE GOOD -
Overall, the stay was OK. I feel as though I am safe at night and the staff is knoweldgeable and helpful. They all speek great english. The rates are good (15 Euro/night). The hot water was awesome and the location was great as well. And let's not forget the included breakfast and dinner (they aren't much, but they are free and good).
THE BAD -
This may be my inexperience talking, but I realy wasn't too happy with the state of the bathroom. Everything about it reminded me of the fraternity in college, and experience I could do without reliving. There was free internet, but, let's face it, access via 4 terminals that don't allow access to g-mail and don't allow access to thumb drives really is kinda useless. I'll have to go to an internet cafe to post these blogs and their pictures.
So out of a possible ««««« (5 stars):
- Staff - ««««
- Cleanlieness - «««
- Extras - «««
- Security - «««
- Location - «««««
- OVERALL - ««« (3 stars)
|
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 3:46 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog |
Italy - Day 1 - Rome - Colosseum and Forum
|
The Colosseum
So what's the first thing everyone should do when they are in Rome? That's right, check into your hotel! If you aren't checking in right away, what's the next thing you should do? Go to the Colosseum of course.
Having been to the Colosseum twice, my main excitement for going again was to take some great pictures and since I had some time on my hands I thought I would go over and get started.
There realy isn't much to mention. I found everything just fine (even though my GPS can't pick up satellites worth a darn. Once I got there I took some pictures and then quickly decided that I would go and see the forum before trying to get tickets for inside.
The Forum
I'll admit that I wasn't a fan of the Forum. To me it's just a hodge-podge of ruins. And I'd say I still feel that way, but I did learn some things That I didn't know before and I'm glad I was able to see them again.
 The firs thing you see when you get there is the Arch of Titus. This was built after stopping the Jewish revolt in Judea (A.D. 70) and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The arch was built by some of the slaves brought back to Rome from that conflict. If you look closely you can see the depiction of the treasures of the temple being carried off. This must have been humiliating for a jew to build.
 The next pice of interest was the Basilica of Constantine. This must be the site that gave rise to the term 'ruins' because it truly looks like the remains of a construction project that no-one finished. What I find interesting is the scale. From a distance, this is an unassuming landmark, but up close you see that those ancient arches are 130 feet tall. And above those arches used to stand another 55 feet tall. Not bad for a structure that is over 1000 years old.
After that though, I'll admit, the rest started to blur together. That, combined with tour groups arriving and my back starting to hurt from carrying my full pack, I was ready to get over to the hostel and check in. And even though I was ready to leave, I guess there was plenty of picture taking to do, because I filled up my 2GB card by this point. Something I thought that wouldn't happen until much later, after all, it wasn't even 1/2 a day.
I was, however, able to test out my international calling by giving my mother a call. It was 5am her time and she was just getting up, but I was able to say hi and to let her know that I had arrived in one piece.
click here to see the Colosseum Galleryclick here to see the Forum gallery
|
| |
| Posted by aparker @ 1:08 PM [No Comments] |
| digg this blog | |
