Daz 9 Train Daz and Milan Cathedral; July 24, 2008

Todaz we went to Switzerland! We got up super earlz so we could meet at 6:00 A.M. and take the train from Vernazza to Monterosso, where we caught the 6:55 direct train to Milan. Direct does not mean that there are no stop+ It stopped probablz 20 times. Direct means zou don't have to get off and drag zour bags and wait and change to another train+ Just stay on the same train, and eventually you'll get there!
In Milan we took 2 1\2 hours and zipped downtown to see the Cathedral. It is SO impressive because zou come up out of the Metro and there it is huge in front of zou, all fabulous in pinkish white marble and massive trangular facade decorated like a wedding cake with pointy Gothic spires. Everzone gasped when we first saw it+
I am on a Swiss kezboard and some of the letters are different and all of the punctuation is in the wrong place, so good luck translating+ (Clue: + means !)
The best part of the cathedral is the roof. Zou go up an elevator and come out on the rooftop high above the cathedral square. Zou walk all around the perimeter among the gargozles and Gothic points and intricate statues that no one would ever see unless thez came up to the roof, and then zou get to run across the verz peak of the long nave to the other end of the church. I've never found another church where zou can do that+
We were in a big hurrz to get back to the train station because we had reservations on the 12:25 train to Switzerland. That was a gorgeous ride. The train stopped for 45 minutes for no reason. Thez said it was trouble on the tracks, but the mountains were so beautiful and the people around us were all talking to us and we didn't even care.
In the mountains we passed white marble quarries. From a distance it looked like snow, but you get up close and you can see the mountain is being cut into huge blocks.
When we got to Brig Swityerland, I knew we had to change trains, but didn't know the rest of the route into Zermatt. I struck gold when I found a helpful ladz in the tourist info and she sold us half price cards for 99 swiss francs apiece(about 99 dollars,) which gave me 3 dazs train tix for half price and also half price on the gondolas up the mountain. So I am reallz pleased. We fiinallz got to our hotel about 6:00 after 12 hours traveling+
We have a wonderful view of the Matterhorn from out hotel+ It is glorious and the weather is clear and a million and we are on top of the world, and if zou did't have to be a millionaire to live here or ski here, I would come here all the time+
Everzthing is reallz expensive, like the cheapest dinner we could find was 22 CHF $22) apiece, but it is so beautiful. This is a ritzy ski town in the winter. Can zou imagine skiing with views of the Matterhorn?
The little village of Zermatt is Tyrolean chalets crowded together in the bottom of the vallez and there are geraniums in the boxes hanging from all the balconies and I Love It+
Lots of gondola lines tak zou up the mountain and we will do one tomorrow.

Day 8 All Day Travel, Cinque Terre to Utrecht; June 23, 2008

How many different modes of travel can one person do in one crazy long day? We decided the number is TEN different legs, because that's what we did yesterday! 14 hours in transit, oh my heck we're tired!
This was our Monday:
1. Cinque Terre regional train to Sestri Levante
Lots and lots of tunnels, because the mountains drop right down to the sea, and the train wants to travel on the flat! Tunnel through every mountain. When we get an opening to the sea, it's glorious!
2. Sestri Levante to Genoa, regional train (read, slow and makes tons of stops)
Gorgeous views of the sea and the Italian Riviera. Lots of yachts on the smooth blue sea, purple bouganvilla and flat-topped pines, and sun-drenched houses of yellow, tan, pink, and coral hues all crammed together. Red tile roofs. Genoa is the home town of Christopher Columbus, and you can understand why he loved the sea. It is so beautiful here!
3. Genoa to Milan, faster IC train. Nice airline seats, everyone has a seat reservation.
Traveling north now, through open fields and small Italian workaday towns. We try to sleep sitting up facing strangers in the seats across from us. Hmm . . . not very successful.
4. We're in Milan, let's take this chance to go see the Milan Opera House! Maybe the greatest opera house in the world. In an 1880's building, with a lovely ballroom on the second floor similar to the Paris Opera House. We eavesdropped on a lady giving an English tour to a couple in the next box. Fabulous horseshoe shape, five tiers high, red velvet draped with gold. The stage area has all been redone to make it competitive with other worldwide opera venues. Stage area is as large as the audience, and can have 3 separate sets going at once. They have over 150 feet of fly space, meaning they can raise very tall sets up into the rafters with a touch of a button. For theater people, this is way cool. I really enjoyed it because I've heard about this place forever, and I finally got to go see it!
Took the Metro subway from the train station to downtown Milan.
5. Had lunch in a huge glassed atrium in the center of Milan. Right in the center, 80 feet to the ceiling, and we found the prime table. The stores facing us were Mercedes Benz, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and us. Guess where we ate? McDonald's! Absolutely prime real estate, the atmosphere was fabulous, and the price was right!
Did our spin on the testicles of the bull in center of the atrium. Supposed to bring good luck!
Dashed back past the white marble Milan Cathedral on our way to the Metro back to the train station.
6. Took a big shuttle bus from the station to the airport: the Malpensa Express. I like the jazzy velvet seats and the footrests! Stash your luggage underneath, this is like a tour bus.
7. Checked in for our EasyJet flight to Amsterdam. This was definitely not easy! The airport was packed, there was no place to sit, they changed our gate 3 times, and it's cattle car seating like Southwest airlines. AACK! They piled us all in low-slung busses to take us out to the plane.
8. Flight from Milan to Amsterdam. Quite pleasant, only 90 minutes. Shelley wanted the aisle and I wanted the window, so we got a great lady between us and yakked up a storm. She's from Utrecht and gave us can't-miss-it directions to our hotel. Well, we missed it. Anyway, she is a translator from German to Dutch, and she edits and translates for an auxiliary services health magazine.
9. VISA cards have given us grief this whole trip. Sometimes one of ours will work. I don't think it's really the fault of America First. I think VISA International is doing wierd things, taking money from savings instead of checking, then switching it, etc. We finally got train tickets from AMS Schipol airport to the central train station in Utrecht. What a wonderful ride!
The train was new and sleek with a pointed nose, smooth and clean and fast. It was 9:00 at night, and the light was golden and it played sunset symphony for an hour as we sped through the countryside.
I love The Netherlands! The old parts of the cities look like right out of the year 1600, with tall skinny buildings and canals everywhere.
The rest of the country is absolutely like living in Tomorrowland! Fast trains link the cities, busses run on their own dedicated roads, and there are huge modern buildings everywhere. The flat ground is landscaped with many uniform rows or trees, and the green flat ground is still laced with canals.
10. Arrival in Utrecht. Finally! The station is really an upscale shopping mall, with the trains coming in underneath. We try to follow the several sets of directions we have. we walk about a mile, and finally see the sign four our hotel in an unexpected spot. Try to check iin. Confusion. Guess what? There ar two NL hotels in Utrecht! We are supposed to be at the other one!
We finally give up and have the desk call us a taxi. Mercedes Benz, nice taxi. I thought it would cost more, but it was only €7.50. We finally arrived at the correct hotel, in the center of the old city, and right across the street from the oldest church in town.
So that was our ten travels for the day! May you always have shorter travel days, and may they be as varied and exciting as this one was!

Day 4 Amsterdam to the Cinque Terre; June 19, 2008

Tonight during dinner we watched the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea. The bright umbrellas over our table and a handsome Italian waiter were the finishing touches. What a life!
We are in Vernazza, which is a tiny little town in the Cinque Terra, on the Northern coast of Italy. The buildings are quaint and colorful. The painted stucco is peeling in a charming way.

The day began at 5:00 am in Haarlem, when I woke up to take a shower before Shelley knew the world was turning. We left our hotel at 6:30 am to drag our bags one kilometer over cobblestones to the main station. We got back onto our friendly red bus 300 for the forty minute ride to the airport. The bus has a special lane the whole way or it would take a lot longer. We checked in with plenty of time for our flight from Amsterdam to Milan. The sky was threatening rain and we were glad to leave for sunny Italy.
In Milan we decided to stop and go see the cathedral. It's huge! It's twice as wide as a normal cathedral. It looks like a spiky, flamboyant pink monolith. We toured the inside in about ten minutes flat. It is dark and grand with pillars the size of giant sequoias.

The most amazing part, though is the roof. For 7 euros, we took the elevator up to the roof (you can save a couple of euro by taking the stairs... no thanks). I've never seen so many ornate spires. Not even in Oxford. Every one is different. There are over 2000 statues, all unique. We stayed on the roof until we absolutely had to split for the train to Vernazza.

We figured out that the guy who sold us the train ticket took a bit off the top for himself. The route he sent us on was shorter, and he reserved seats for us which made our trip MUCH easier. So as it turns out, we would have tipped him anyway and we weren't upset a bit that he did it for us.

Four hours later, we were in Vernazza, met at the station by a friend of our landlady. That could have been a real bomb, but it turned out just fine. She showed us to our quaint room overlooking the main street of Vernazza.

Shelley is looking forward to a relaxing time. So far it's been delightful.