Rome ideas

I had coffee with an old friend today and he told me he was going to be visiting Rome in a few weeks - for the first time! I really enjoyed a trip to Rome last September with my wife, and my friend asked for some recommendations - neighbourhoods and restaurants. I compiled the following for him, but it's worth adding a few photos and diagrams...

We stayed close to the Spanish steps which was a short walk away from Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. Some of the narrow streets were jammed with tourists (especially around Trevi Fountain) but taking a side street often led to less crowds and better restaurant choices. A good resto steps away Trevi Fountain is Il Chianti Osteria ($$).  A reservation is definitely needed but we think it was worth it.

On our walks to/from Vatican City we found the very pleasant Piazza Navonna and had a wonderful dinner at Osteria Olimpia ($$). We returned for a drink on another night.  The traditional Roman dish Cacio E Pepe was superb. Service was excellent. 

We enjoyed a drink on the rooftop of the upscale department store called Rinascente. 

We didn’t find many rooftop restos so this was a nice treat. Dinner reservations may be tricker and expensive but we just had a late afternoon drink ($$$).  

This is all in an area generally referred to as Old Rome or the Historic Centre.  

Diagram credit from SantoriniDave.com

Pretty bridges connect Old Rome to Vatican City.  The Vatican Museums (tickets need to be purchased way ahead) were superb and lead you to the Sistine Chapel (a little disappointing).  Saint Peter’s Square and Basilica are must sees.

Ancient Rome is where you’ll find The Coloseum (magnificent) and The Roman Forum (well worth a visit).  

We only had a quick visit to Trastevere for dinner - I didn’t feel that special for us.  

The Urban Cottage Weekend

I don't have a cottage.  I can't afford one and I'm not lucky enough to have one in the family.  I love visiting Ontario's beautiful lakes and enjoying cottage life.  Even a drive that passes through cottage country, freshens my wish list and tints my mood a little green with envy.  However, what many people say and I may have to agree, owning a cottage isn't all it's made up to be.  You have a second home to maintain and tackling the traffic really taints the whole experience.  I recently heard from one Muskoka regular, that he avoids the lakes on the weekend, because of the chaos on the water with the boom in powerboat action.


So, I decided that we'd have an urban cottage weekend.  Of course, we don't have a beautiful (but cold) lake on our doorstep, but there are many things we can simulate in the city that can give us the feel of cottage life.  My daughter wrote up our rules (version 2) and posted it on the fridge.  We managed to do most of the things on the list, including roasting marshmallows (in our living room fireplace) !  And funnily enough, the city on Sunday and holiday morning was quite quiet, maybe quieter that cottage country !

Although not specifically on the list, I avoided checking my Blackberry all weekend and didn't check email, blogs, Facebook and Twitter at all.  Although I felt a little disconnected from the world (isn't that one of the things you enjoy from being at the cottage), the odd feeling was that time slowed down.  I wasn't always distracted by an incoming email and social posts and neve had to say - just a minute, while I check something !  I managed to get outside a lot  and enjoy the glorious weather, which unfortunately limited the time to play one of my favourite games, but we did enjoy some movies and I had lots of time to read. 

November Whirlpool

November Whirlpool - #3 365inCamera, originally uploaded by PJMixer.

A Northern vacation (part 2)

A great break away from city life. Chances to pass the time looking at the clouds or the night sky; enjoying a cold beer or a glass of wine close to the water; reading, doing puzzles and playing board games. And hearing your children's laughter in the background ! We'll be back in the city in about 5 hours with lots of bug bites and 900 photos (new camera experimentation - to be trimmed down) to remind us of our vacation for a little while.

A Northern vacation

On the way home now - should result in about 4,000 kms driving (3 1/2 days). Northern Minnesota and Ontario were the major destinations, but we found some beautiful spots in between including the Lake Superior coast of Minnesota and North-Western Ontario landscapes around Nipigon. Lots of animal sightings (much) to my daughter's delight, incl loons, eagles, turtles, and deer. More later.

Weird weather and golf at the edges of the earth

Yonge and Dundas Streets, Toronto. A few minutes ago.

Olympic View, Victoria, BC. Last week.

Hurst Family, beach on Strait of Juan de Fuca, Victoria, B.C. Last week.

Rocky Crest, Muskoka, Ontario. Summer '07.

A few pics snapped using my low-res Blackberry Pearl camera. I'm finding I snap quite a lot of everday pics with the convenience of always having a camera with me, but it would be nice to up the quality a little. Franky had a nice new Sony (phone) model that seemed to produce some great shots, plus it was super swank.

Lessons from a vacation

• Time passes with ease (especially when you don't have to factor travel times in to your day - the beach is right there !)
• The joy of not having a schedule - hey, anyone feel like dinner yet ?
  
• You don't really need the distractions of normal life like a newspaper, the TV and the news.
• There is an odd feeling of not wishing for anything more - this beer - this view - my family with me - just perfect thanks. The amazing thing is that this can happen even when your mind has all kinds of time to wander.
  
• Laughter comes easier.
• Story telling is a staple activity and is typically better when lubricated by "liquid refreshment".
• Reading a magazine or a book in front of other people is acceptable.
• Fresh air and water is at once invigorating, and wonderfully tiring. Note that feeling tired at the cottage seems much truer than feeling tired at work and in the city.
  

Holiday hangover

I just came back from vacation on Tuesday. It's now Friday. Unfortunately the pleasures of "being away" are quickly evaporating and leaving me with a little bit of a hangover. It's not necessarily the usual, poor old me, back at work blah blah bah. This time, it's man, my city life is so crowded, everything is moving so fast, and it's so noisy. I can actually see what the other people mean ! 3 days back in the big smoke, I'm tired, my nose is being bombarded by pollution, the city seems particularly crazy and ugly and I'm already stressed. Welcome back.

Can we replay or recreate sensual memories ?

I've been struggling for a long time on seeing if there is a way to simulate a vacation, or perhaps recreate that special day from a past vacation, or even trying to recreate the feelings of that beautiful day spent abroad. There are a number of elements that make up a memory. Many of those elements can be recreated, but some are very elusive.

• Music and Sounds. Well you know where I stand on music and the mood it can create. This is the easy one and why music is such a wonderful experience. Whenever I hear La Vie en Rose, I think of walking home from a busy day sightseeing in Venice with my brother. It was getting dark and we were taking a more roundabout way back to the hotel. We'd just walked through a large piazza, which appeared to be the open-air evening entertainment spot for many more locals than visitors. We took a medium sized Venetian street/alley exit from the piazza en route for bed and rest before another busy day. It was very dark and you could just see the faint glow of lighting between shutters from residences on the second floor. And there it was, the clear, beautiful and immediately recognizable Piaf lyric.
  
  Il me dit des mots d´amour, Des mots de tous les jours, Et ca me fait quelque chose...
  
  
• Aromas. Although not easily recreated for an online audience, some of the sensual aromas that fill our memories can be easily recreated in our kitchen, or simply by breathing in the bouquet of a fine glass of Chianti. However many of the aromas we recall from foreign lands are more elusive, like the fragrances in the tropical air from indigenous flora. My mother often says the aroma that was most prevalent in Singapore during our visit in 1975 was frangipane. But is her memory the same as mine ? Who is to know how an aroma is for another ? For me, I remember warm December nights , no breeze, the cacophony of chit chats as a soundtrack, and the comfort of family companions as we soak in the new delights of an exotic tropical land.
  
  
• Tastes. Oh so many to savour. The taste of a pint of Theakstons XB. I was visiting cousin Pete in London with Suzanne. We'd had a few by the river in Richmond, surrounded by people quitting work early and tipping a few pints. We took a short black cab ride up the hill to one of Pete's faves - The Roebuck. We grabbed our pints and casually walked across the road to take in the view of the Thames. It looked with a scene from a Turner painting. The XB was a perfect temperature, still, and with the rich balance of bitterness and a touch of sweetness was liquid heaven. It went down smooth and had me asking for another. More importantly I left a wonderful memory of England, as it should be, with an amber pint of the good stuff in your hand. I think I've had a Theakston's since then, but it will never be the same feeling as that day. Maybe it's the combination of senses that is the essential factor of the moment, not just any one sensual memory ?
  
  
• Touch. I love the feeling of sand between my toes and one of the beaches that I have clearest memories of is at The Coral Reef Club in Barbados. Suzanne and I had stayed there on our honeymoon and then returned for our 10th anniversary in 2001. The casual walk along the beach as the thinning waves tickle your feet is just the thing to wipe away thoughts of business deadlines and big city nonsense. That feeling of alternating damp and hot sand and warm salty water is one I want to remember forever and hopefully feel again. I remember we packed a bottle of 1997 Monsanto Chianti Classico and after another day in paradise we set up on the beach for the sunset. The feeling of nestling that bottle in the sand and the pressure of the chaise lounge on your slightly burnt back and a rock glass in your hand with traces of sand on its bottom (not to mention the sumptuous taste and bouquet of the wine), Simply wonderful.
  
  
• Sites. Quite difficult to pick just one, but one of nature's most glorious sites and one of my favorite places in the world is Whistler. The first time I had the pleasure of skiing in Whistler was in 1989. I remember taking the Village Gondola up Whistler Mountain which actually delivered me to the Roundhouse. From there you get your first glimpse of the true peak and the threat of the high alpine. And from the top, looking across the vast expanse of mountain range is one of those times when you truly get a sense of how small you are and how powerful nature can be. Breathtaking. However, this is the hardest sense to recreate, even with beautiful photography or the latest in high def film, the view is not the same from behind a lens.
  

I'm contemplating writing down the clearest and fondest of memories and trying to capture the sensual experiences of those events. Just writing these down today has taken me around the world and brought back so many wonderful feelings. Perhaps I can venture past capturing old feelings to conjuring new ones.

The Magic of Disney

A long time overdue, but the fact that our trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) in January is still present in my RAM is a pretty good indication that it's worth writing about.

The adjective that keeps coming to mind that best describes WDW is magical. Disney delivers the experience so well that you can actually forget where you are. A true cure for the constant nag of your Blackberry, the water damage in your 70 year old house, or the untastly thought of facing the Amex bill on your return. This is all possible of course if you can find your inner child and let your imagination have a little bit of an unbridled vacation too.

I'm sure most of you have heard how well designed and managed WDW is. The fact you don't see Disney employees loitering around or moving to and from their stations, how clean the place is, the impeccable timing and ways to make the best of your time, like FastPass. All this contributes to keeping the magic alive. My only complaint really was the difficulty in finding good mid priced grub and perhaps a lack of any convenient nosh when you most need it (which was only really noticeable in the Magic Kingdom). Very good food if you're willing to step up a notch.

You walk around the parks, transplanted into whatever magical fantasy world the Disney imagineers have concocted. Whether it be a western town with an seemingly impromptu sing along with Woody from Toy Story or stepping into 1950's Hollywood at Disney MGM Studios. The atmosphere is also appropriately staged with music and "cast members" who are always in character. The whole meet-your-favourite-character was something quite new for me. I remember having my picture taken with a few classic Disney characters when I visited WDW when I was a child, but timed character appearances, photograph and autograph sessions are now a major feature for young visitors (and some older big kids). The characters now extend to all the classic princesses which of course was a major attraction for my little girl, some of the Pixar creations (you gotta see the green soldiers from Toy Story) and even live-action heroes and villains like Luke and Darth Vader (as Stars Wars is a Disney MGM movie). Part of the game is putting a name to the more unusual characters and finding out that Mary Poppins is quite strict with all little boys and girls. (Even writing this now and stepping into the Disney web site for a few references I can easily get swept away into the magic - it's like a some intoxicating drug without a Jim Morrison soundtrack).

If you just have a brief browse through the Disney web site (if you're patient enough to get some of the latest plug-ins) you'll get a good impression on how good Disney are at creating a magical, imaginary world.

Of course Magic Kingdom was, well, magical, but my movie fan side really liked Disney MGM Studios and the live stunt show was superb. This park has a the full spectrum of old Hollywood with the latest in animation and CG. The park actually hosts active studios and a few animators we met had recently worked on Meet the Robinsons. Sidenote: the new Pixar movie Ratatouille looks a winner for grown ups with all the fine dining references, looking forward to seeing this one. One of the attractions at MGM has to be the quietest place in WDW - a learn to draw studio. We sat thru 3 simultaneous sesssions, luckily getting the chance to draw 3 different classic characters. The sessions were ran by Disney animators - great stuff, my Donald effort is above.

It's easy to pick on the money grabbing big business side of Disney, but seeing some of that old video of Walt and his dream, being entertained by Capt'n Jack (the third Pirates movie is coming out next month), watching your daughter pretend feed spaghetti to her toy Lady at Tony's, coaxing your son on to the fastest ride of his life (Epcot Test Track), giving Baloo a big hug, or being enchanted by Belle, it's a lovely feeling to have. Simply magical.