indy music and a bikini in Iceland

How´s that for an interesting title?  ha!  you know it´s getting bad when I´m beginning to think I´m witty.

So here I am in Raykjavik, Iceland.  Yesterday I snorkled through the gap between the two technonic plates that are separating here in Iceland, the North American and the Eurasia.  I find that oddly symbolic, don´t you?

Today I rode an Icelandic horse through ancient lava fields, (more than 8000 years old) still jagged and rough and therefore considered 'young´.  I´m turning 29 in a few days... so I suppose I should still consider myself young as well. 

There is an enormous indy music festival here right now, people have come from all around the world to see it.  My hostel is hopping as we speak, with a spunky blond pair singing upbeat music with interesting lyrics in the middle of the front common area.  Just a few minutes ago it sounded like a marching band.  I like these girls better. 

Tomorrow I head to the Blue Lagoon Spa for a day in the hot springs and a two hour massage care of my Mummies (THANK YOU!!).  I have this time to reflect and make plans. 

Odd how after a trip like this a person can feel so different, yet so much the same.

On to Scandinavia

Still with me, eh?

I write today from Oslo, Norway.  It's beautiful here, and feels a lot like home.  After FINALLY getting my pack back (2 days later), I took an overnight ferry here to Oslo.  The trees are stunning gold and oranges and reds, the day today was sunny and crisp.  Honestly, it made me miss home.  I also had an odd side effect, which was the desire for someone to admire it with me.   Though I have missed all of you during these last almost-two months, I have really enjoyed the freedom of travelling on my own again.  Of living on my own schedule, seeing the things I want to without having to compromise, seeking social interaction when it suits me and enjoying the silence when that suits me instead.  Perhaps its a sign that I'm almost ready to rejoin proper society again... or perhaps I still need more potty training, who knows?

A word on Copenhagen. What a wonderful city!  From a sustainability perspective they are miles and miles ahead of the rest of us.  Wind turbines dot the hills and sea scapes and don't even garner a second look from locals because they're so normal to see.  This has resulted in Denmark leading the world in both it's percentage of energy consumption coming from renewables (20%) and Denmark becoming the recognized world leaer in wind turbine technology, bringing significant jobs to the country.  Extensive cleanup efforts of it's previously toxic harbour has resulted in a revitalized harbour area in which residents can fish and swim and again brought a significant number of jobs to the area. 

Who says sustainability will hurt our economies?

I stayed with a friend of a friend named Mikkel, a wonderful host and person who kindly showed me around the city, lent me his cat for morning of play, and helped give me direction for my next steps as I continue to pursue my calling.  It was a wonderful and much needed change from the many hostels and repeated conversations, "where are you from? where are you going? where have you been?"  That litany makes me tired, again telling me it's about time for me to come home.  Mikkel and I had interesting conversations about urban planning , sustainability, and how on earth Danes pronounce those three funny vowels they have, among others.  It was a pleasure.

Thoughts of home have started seeping into my brain... in fact i wrote my first to-do list today.  (dear god).  I also started a list of things that I have learned about myself during this time away.  Perhaps when it is finished I will share it, perhaps I won't (under my promise of no 'too much information' posts... which I hope I have upheld.)

Anyway enough babbling (clearly THAT hasn't changed), I'm off.  Iceland next, and last, then home next Sunday.  Very soon.

A

the ancients and the bikes

So here I am in Copenhagen.  After an all too brief stop in ancient Malta (ruins from 3000BC), I flew to Copenhagen, where I am staying with a friend of a friend who has been absolutely wonderful.  I wish I had had  more time in Malta.. there was something about that place that called to me. 

Copenhagen, however, is a fabulous place!  Hope of Hans Christen Anderson and the oldest Monarchy in the world, as well as the country with the greatest percentage of renewable energy (40% now) and a goal to be 100% renewable by 2020, this place is one of grand plans and good people.  Like Amsterdam, there are a HUGE number of bikes (though I must be getting more savvy, because I had no near-misses today as I wandered), and the transportation systems and urban planning methods are second to none that I've ever seen.  I love the of this city, though the reservedness of is people makes me pause before I say something overly stupid to a stranger. 


Tomorrow Mikkel, my kind host, will take me on a bike tour of the city before I hop on an overnight ferry to Oslo, Norway.  But first, I have to get my freaking backpack from the stupid Swiss Air people who appear to have all the time in the world to deliver it.  Yes, that means I have had no clothes, no medicine, no toothbrush... urgh.  Not bitter in the slightest.

As of today it is 9 days before I come home.  I can't believe how fast it has gone and how much I am missing you all.  Check out the Italy pics here, and enjoy.  For those IBMers... take a minute and take a look.  About half way through I guarentee you'll laugh if you read the captions.

Italy:   share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8Abt2rFw3Yt2FT

Much love, and see you all soon,
Allison

vini, vidi, vici...and then I left for Capri

...where was I last?

Oh yes, Lucca and Florence, then Rome.  Bella, bella, bella.

Lucca, the quiet verson of beautiful Florence.  I loved both, spent my days wandering and eating fabulous pasta (odd, since I rarely eat pasta at home).  Then off to Rome, where I came, I saw, and I conquered (if I may quote my old friend Julius.)  I wandered through the Colsseum, the Vatican and Ballista, and took a walking tour of the city.  I loved the combination of the old and the new, paricularly the area that is still being excavated and is now a cat sanctuary in the meantime.

The Vatican... wow, what can I say?  For someone like me who is not Catholic, or even Christian, it was more of a study of a culture and religion that has had such a tremendous impact on ancient and modern society.  I marvelled at the richness of the sculptures, buildings and paintings, appreciating for the first time why people pay so much money for this stuff.  I watched devout Christians follow their practices of crossing themselves with holy water and eating the cookie (ok, I know I just pissed off a few Catholic friends here... no offense meant, I just cant remember what its called).  And I was struck by the depth of their devotion, the smiles on their faces.  It reminded me that it doesnt matter what religion you are, it matters what that religion encourages you to become. 

Tonight Im in a hotel in Capri.  Now, for those of you that have never backpacked, there is no apt metaphore for the happiness I feel right now knowing I have clean sheets, a tv, and my own bathroom.  Seriously.  Up until now, perhaps youve forgotten, I have been living with at least 5 other people in a room, showering with flip flops on, and listening to other people snore at night.  Tonight is pure bliss.  Dinner was the best Ive ever had, and I wandered through the Piazza watching children chase each other, yelling things in Italian with glee.  A woman walked through the center carrying a stack of full pizza boxes with the Virgin Mary printed on the tops.  This place simply could not get any more Italian if it tried.

Additional picutures added here (Brussels):  share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8Abt2rFw3Yt2E1
And more (Paris, Switzerland):  share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8Abt2rFw3Yt2FC

I hope life is well for all of you, and you know Im not too far away to hear of your trials and successes. 
Much love,
A

ps - apostrophe doesnt work, and neither does spell check... at least for english.  you all are discovering here what a terrible speller I am :)

A Gastronomic Tour of Tuscany

...of my own personal invention.

I am in Lucca for 2 days, headed today for a day trip to Florence.  Lucca is stunning, a medival town surrounded by a 12ft stone wall.  It feels very geninue here, the people slightly annoyed by tourists but still kind enough as long as you don't bucher their language (As I do).  I like that... that tourists are not catered to (or taken advantage of).  I'm staying in a stunning hostel which was converted from an old nunnery.  Their are gorgeous high ceilings, huge rooms with couches to lounge in.  I feel very comfortable here. 

Florence is a short ride away by fast train, so I will explore the city everyone tells me I need to visit for a day knowing I come home to my quiet Lucca tonight.  Tomorrow it's off to Rome before the rail strike for 2 days of busy busy picture and tour taking. 

Hope all is well at home...
A
ps-  as for my title... I don't think there's anything else to say.  The food.... oh, the food....

How could I have forgotten that the down is not any easier than the up?

Those hikers in the house know what I'm talking about.

First, to set the scene:  It's laundry day, so I'm sitting here in my suit writing to you all.  I look out the window and see an old church tower, with the ocean stretching behind it.  It rained about an hour ago, and now the sky has opened up and the sun shines through, like an enormous window to something even more beautiful.

I am in Cinque Terre, one of Italy's National Parks, which consists of 5 small towns that run along a protected coastline.  The hiking here is stunning, and the towns are quaint with great food (and gelato!) with many benches to sit and admire the view.  After a very long day on the train yesterday and a night at a very dodgy hostel last night, I was thrilled to find a new hostel today and head out to hit the trails.  I am pleasantly tired now, ready for my laundry to finish so that I can head out for a nice dinner now that the rain has stopped. 

The thing that has really struck me today is the reminder of those very simple pleasures in life.  It is one of my favourite parts of travelling (not vacationing, but travelling).  Suddenly a nice hot shower, a dry place to stand for a few minutes, or a shared room with no snorers becomes an absolute blessing.  It's amazing the things we take for granted at home, and the things we (I) let irritate me.  Travelling brings me back to appreciating those little things, it makes life so much simpler.  Is there something (or someone?) that you take for granted?  Take a moment to enjoy it.  Just one moment.  Your life will be so much richer for it. 

The art of doing nothing...

Some people have it.  That wonderful ability to simply... well, just be.  Time slips away, and they literally do nothing at all for long stretches at a time. 

I don't.

Today I'm attempting the art of doing nothing, and frankly sucking at it.  The rain has prevented my canyoning, any hiking in these beautiful Swiss Apls, cable car rides (can't see anything) or anything else I deem interesting.  Someone much smarter than myself once said that one can be defined by how a person handles flight delays, rainy days, and long lineups.  Apparently patience and 'the art of doing nothing' are not on my long list of many virtues.