November 27, 2005

12:43:20 am Southern Africa Diary II  

Friday, November 25, 2005 - Botswana and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe - Overcast, occasional light rains, 70s.

I'll pick up things here again and later Deanna will post on our six-day safari in Botswana, which was incredible--one of the best parts of our year-long tour. After our last safari drive in the morning, we had a charter flight from our last camp to Kasane, Botswana. From there, we were driven about an hour to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, not including 20 minutes to cross the border. We stayed one night at the Victoria Falls Hotel, a British colonial hotel that opened in 1904. I had heard mixed reports that the hotel has declined due to all of the problems in Zimbabwe, but we wanted to stay there, as it is only a 10-minute walk to the falls. While there did not seem to be many guests, and there were some occasional lapses--mismatched silverware at the pool cafe (of course this was Deanna's observation and not mine), overall, the standards are still high and I'm glad we stayed here. The hotel is dripping with character--old framed British travel and propaganda posters line the hallways, extolling the virtues of their African colonies, while mounted wild game trophies would make Teddy Roosevelt feel right at home.

I read parts of a geopolitical book from their library on travel through Europe in 1948 (John Gunther, Behind Europe's Curtain, published by Hamish Hamilton, London, 1949. Other books by the same author include Inside USA, Inside Latin America, Inside Asia, and Inside Europe). It offered a fascinating look on geopolitics in the immediate post-World War II period where it was unclear just how things would turn out in the 40+ year Cold War that was just starting. While today we have the advantage of knowing how history unfolded, we have largely forgotten just how uncertain things were at the time, and how easily an alternative history could have occurred. For example, Italy was in deep poverty, with a high birthrate, and a communist takeover quite possible. Mayors of many Italian cities were communist, and communists controlled about 30% of the seats in parliament. Trieste, on the border of what is now Italy and Slovenia, was divided and belonged to no country. American and British troops controlled one part of the city and Yugoslavian troops controlled the other part, and it was unclear if its future would be on the east or west side of the Iron Curtain. (Churchill's Iron Curtain quote, which I paraphrase here as best I can remember it, was "From Stettin [sp?] in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across Europe.")

Europe recovered of course, in large part due to the US-led Marshall Plan. Italy did not go communist, nor did Greece, or Turkey--other countries in danger of a red future at the time. President Truman, not that highly regarded in his own time, gets high marks today as we realize in hindsight just how dangerous the post-war period was and how well his administration handled things. Italy's birth rate is now too low, ironically, and its population is projected to fall in coming decades. It is prosperous today by post-war standards and Trieste has been a fully Italian city for many decades. The future turned out better than was reasonable foreseeable at the time of the book's writing. The future is often this way--something to remember whenever things like bleak in the here and now.

Victoria Falls were the reason we traveled to Zimbabwe and they were worth seeing. I believe they are the second largest falls in the world behind Iguasu Falls on the Brazil/Argentina border, which we visited over New Year's 2002/2003. Both dwarf Niagara. Of the two, Iguasu are better, but both are spectacular.

Saturday, November 26, 2005 - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe; Livingstone, Zambia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Cape Town, South Africa.

A traveling day. A van picked us up at 11 AM to take us across the border to Zambia to fly out of the airport at Livingstone, the first town over the border. We flew Nationwide Airlines to Joburg, then South African Airlines to Cape Town, arriving around 8:30 PM. We stay four nights at the SAS Radisson in Cape Town, overlooking the ocean.

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November 09, 2005

11:11:54 am Italian Diary IV, French Diary I  

Saturday, November 5, 2005 - Vernazza, Milan, and Finale Ligure, Italy. Rainy, high 50s in Milan. Clear, mid 60s in Finale Ligure.

Left the Cinque Terra early, driving about three hours to Milan to pick up my mom and Bill, who arrived on a 12:40 PM flight. Not far from the airport along the side of the road, they got their first glimpse of local girls "just dying to meet you," which my mom found as humorous as I did when we were in the Czech Republic. The rest of our trip to Finale Ligure was less eventful by comparison. We stayed one night at Hotel Savoia, on the last night before it closed for the season.

Sunday, November 6, 2005 - Finale Ligure, Italy; Monte Carlo, Monaco; and Juan-les-Pins, France. Sunny, 70.

Drove along Italian Riveria, into France, stopped for a few hours in Monte Carlo, and then on to our hotel on the French Riveria. We will stay two nights at Hotel Juana, a splurge hotel for us made more affordable by the off-season rates. In Monaco, we visited the aquarium, which Deanna wanted to see. Although it was not that big, it had many types of fish I had not seen previously. I'm not usually that interested in aquariums, having been to enough of them and having dived around the world. Usually I've seen it all before, but that was not the case here, and the stop was well worth it.

My PC is not working again, which frustrates me more than anyone could imagine! Yesterday, it worked fine after I used the new battery and power adapter my mom brought, but today it failed right out of the gate. It freezes after a few minutes use. I spent a couple of hours trying different things, but I think it is out of commission for the rest of this trip, a real blow to keeping the web site up to date. I often write these logs on my PC in the car, on a plane, or in our hotel room early in the morning or late at night. This is much more convenient than doing all of the typing in an internet cafe. Also, most internet cafes do not have the ability to edit pictures (e.g. crop, adjust contrast, change image file size). Finally, I was counting on using the internet to look up info and make cheap phone calls to initiate services (e.g. DSL, satellite TV, newspapers, health insurance, and numerous other things) in advance of our return home. It's a lot easier to do this from your hotel room, than from an internet cafe. Once you are used to a technological convenience, it becomes difficult to adjust without it. Fortunately, a few days ago, Deanna made our final travel bookings for this trip, so there is nothing more to do there.

Monday, November 7, 2005 - Juan-les-Pins, France. Sunny, high 60s.

Drove to nearby Nice to go to the Matisse and Chagall museums. Jason Busto who is now in Nice with his father, met us at the Matisse Museum. Both museums were small. The Matisse Museum did not have that much interesting work of his. The Chagall Museum was better, although it only had religious paintings, not my favorite art form. After lunch in Nice, we walked along the promenade. The weather was brilliant, sunny with no clouds. There were a smattering of late season sun bathers on Nice´s pebbly beach. Afterward, we drove to Cannes and walked along its beachfront promenade. You would not know that for the past week and a half in France since October 27 there have been riots with hundreds of cars burned each night.

While we know that some people are concerned for us, we are not too worried. So far this year, we were in Belfast the day after several nights of rioting, we were in London a few days after the second attempted subway bombing, we were in Bali a few months before a terrorist bombing, we were in Bolivia a few months before civil disturbances toppled their president, we were in Ecuador a few months before their president had to flee because of street violence, we were in India the week that flooding killed about 2000 people, there were numerous riots while we were in China that have continued sporadically since we left, and we've been in various countries (China, Vietnam, and Romania) that have had bird flu outbreaks while we were there. And 2005 is just a typical year.

Some of the worst violence this year happened in the US, so no country is immune to civil unrest. Having been outside of the US several times when riots have happened there (Rodney King in 1992, New Orleans this year), I have learned that things usually sound worse from far away. You would be shocked to have heard some of the things the UK media said about the US after Katrina. It's not that those were not bad events--they were--but the foreign media made it sound as the entire American society was about to collapse. And of course there were travel warnings then about coming to the US, just as there are travel warnings now about going to France.

As a rule, I've found that Americans overestimate both the safety of the US (which in terms of violence is actually a more dangerous place than most developed countries) and the danger of foreign countries. For example, while I would not downplay the seriousness of the French riots, I would note that over the past 11 nights there has been one-riot related death in the country. I suspect there has been more than one murder in my home city of Chicago during that time. Similar to the US, most of the trouble is in areas where we would never go. I read where cars were burned in Nice and Cannes, but there was absolutely no sign of anything unusual in those two places on Monday. Nevertheless, we do appreciate everyone's concern. And we can always change our plans if we need to.

Overall, I found the Italian Riveria to be good, but the French Riveria to be better: more activity, with bigger, prettier, and nicer towns. Juan-les-Pins like Finale Ligure is at the end of its season with many places closed. That is not the case in the larger coastal cities of Monte Carlo, Nice, and Cannes, but the hotels there are correspondingly more expensive. Real estate, though, seemed surprisingly reasonable to me--considering the desirability of the locale--just looking at the real estate office storefront listings. Prices were below Chicago and certainly less than the California Riveria (south of Orange County to north of San Diego). For example, you could get a 2000-3000 square foot villa with a pool on over an acre of land for around $1.5 million. Not a bargain, but this is one of the top warm weather destinations in the world, so I expected prices to be higher.

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November 04, 2005

11:45:08 am Italian Diary III  

Wednesday, November 2, 2005 - Rome, Italy - Mid 70s

The warmest day in a long time, perhaps since one day in late July in London. With a cloudless sky, it was hot under the sun, but it noticeably cooler by mid-afternoon. Went to Vatican Museum, Pantheon, and Museum of Rome (city history, last five centuries, as told through art, but generally excluding the 20th Century).

Afterward, I spent several hours in an internet cafe, catching up on news. Headlines: Chicago city council to vote on smoking ban for restaurants and bars at the end of this month. Undoubtedly, our web site has pushed them toward this, although I'm afraid they may water down the ban and pass a half measure. The lead story in USA Today is how US house price rises are moderating. Strangely, they fail to credit our site for predicting this back in June.

Over dinner, Deanna and I talked about what country in the world has the best food. Italy for example everywhere has food I like, but little variety--it's all Italian. Many restaurants seem identical. If you want something other than the three Ps--pizza, pasta, or panini--you need to leave the country. Okay, that's an exaggeration (they have meat, fish, and salad also), but try finding a Thai restaurant. You won't. And I would have to say that I have still not found the Italian food in Italy to surpass the Italian food elsewhere in Europe. For example, I think we had better Italian food the nine days we were in Germany than the week we have been in Italy so far. Anyway, after some discussion, the obvious became apparent to me. The best food in the world is in the largest US cities because 1) you can get any type of food from anywhere in the world; 2) innovative new fusion food concepts are most prominent there; 3) the service is the best; and 4) the cost is low for developed countries and the value for money (quality, service, portions) is better than anywhere else. To be clear, I'm talking about large cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles only. I am not talking about the suburbs of these cities, nor am I talking about mid-sized cities (although you will find occasional gem in these places), nor am I talking about rural areas in the US. I will give an honorable mention to Japan for highest quality food preparation.

Thursday, November 3, 2005 - Rome and Vernazza (Cinque Terra), Italy - Mid 60s

Drove to Vernazza, leaving Rome around 8:30 and arriving around 2:30 after lunch. Only got lost once leaving Rome, a tremendous accomplishment. Initial impressions of Cinque Terra: the towns are more rustic, authentic, and smaller than I expected and getting there is more difficult--often a one-lane road clinging to the side of a steep hill. We are staying two nights at Hotel Gianni (I think that is the name--with my PC not working, I am not able to type these posts in my hotel room with all of my guide books and info surrounding me, so I have to guess a lot of place names). Getting to our room involves hiking up three or four sets of outdoor steps, and then two stories of a narrow spiral staircase within the building. Authentic, but tiring.

Friday, November 4, 2005 - Vernazza, Italy - mid 60s.

Hiked to all five Cinque Terra towns. The Cinque Terra is five (cinque) towns terraced (terra) on steep hillsides along the ocean. It takes four to six hours to hike from one end to the other, but also you can take a train or boat between each town. One of the trails was closed and the boat is closed for the season, so we had to take the train twice, each ride only a few minutes. We hiked from Vernazza (town #4) to Monterosso (town #5), a tough 90-minute hike. We then took the train to Riomaggiore (town #1), a ride of 10 minutes or less. We walked an easy 30 minutes to Manarola (town #2), and had lunch there. The path to Corniglia (town #3) was closed for repairs, so we took a 2-minute train ride. We then hiked 90 steep, up-and-down minutes to Vernazza. Being November, more restaurants and stores are closed than open, as tourist crowds are down even though the weather is still good. There is enough still open though to make the stay worthwhile. Tomorrow morning we drive a few hours to Milan to pick up my mom and step-dad Bill, who will accompany us for a final night in Italy, and then on to Monaco, France, Spain, Andorra, and then France again. We all leave from Paris on November 19, Deanna and I to Africa and my mom and Bill back home to the US.

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11:44:28 am Italian Diary II  

Saturday, October 29, 2005 - Florence, Italy - Low 60s.

Took three-hour walking tour of Florence, including Accademia where Michelangelo's David sculpture resides. Had lunch then took guided tour of Uffizi, the best Renaissance art museum in Italy. The tours were expensive and somewhat long, but they were the only way to see these museums on short notice--reserve tickets were sold out until Tuesday--or without waiting in line, perhaps for several hours.

Sunday, October 30, 2005 - Florence and Rome, Italy - High 60s.

Drove about three hours to Rome. I had always read how awful the Rome traffic is, but traffic was light the entire way from departure point to destination, and especially in the city. It is Sunday, but still Rome seemed surprisingly empty. We are staying four nights at Hotel Veneto. In the late afternoon, we walked a short distance to the National Museum of Rome, full of impressive statues, busts, mosaics, and coins. Deanna especially liked the mosaics that were 20 centuries old. At night in our hotel, we received an email from Jason Busto, a friend of Deanna's from high school, responding to our last email update from the web site. Jason met up with Bill Carlson and I in China in April 2004. By coincidence, Jason in now in Rome on a trip through Southern Europe with his father Pete. We were in Florence at the same time, but did not know it. It turns out he is about a five-minute walk from our hotel. We will join them tomorrow.

Monday, October 31, 2005 - Rome, Italy - Mid 60s

Met Jason and his father after breakfast. Went to EUR, a planned suburb created by Mussolini in the 1930s. The Facist architecture is quite good. We'll post a picture or two in the Image Gallery once our PC is working again. In the afternoon, we went to St. Peter's Cathederal in Vatican City. At night, the four of us had dinner at the Forum Hotel, overlooking the ruins of ancient Rome. We found out that once reason traffic was light yesterday is that tomorrow is a holiday, and many people are away for a four-day weekend.

Jason will say that he only knows two languages, English and Spanish (actually he knows Latin and Russian also), but, in reality, once he is in a country for a few days he can carry on a conversation with about anyone in the local language. I've watched him maneuver around Beijing, giving destinations to taxi drivers who don't speak and English and today I observed him order meals in Italian without using English. Now this is a useful skill to have, but we do not possess it. Fortunately, much of the world does speak our language.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 - Rome, Italy - 70

Took a three-hour Rome Walks tour of Colosseum and Forum. Expensive, but worth it, as the guide has a PhD in archeology. These are the most impressive archeological sites we have seen on our trip. Contrasting with Machu Picchu provides perspective on just how incredible ancient Rome was. Relative to Machu Picchu, the area in Rome is bigger, the sites are grander, the engineering is even more impressive (e.g. running water, heated pools, invention of concrete, elevators), and Rome was built 1200-1500 years earlier! Machu Picchu itself is big, grand, with impressive engineering, and well worth a visit, but Rome exceeds everything else we have seen. At night, we had a goodbye drink with Jason and his father, who took a day trip to Naples and Capri.

Rome peaked twice--at the height of the Roman empire, 0-200 AD, and in the 1500s with the Renaissance. Today, Rome lives off the fading glory of its past. The past was spectacular, but pride in the present seems lacking. Rome is a bit of a dirty city today. No worse than many other European cities to be sure, but considering the grandeur of its past, the present ought to be nicer.

Here's another thing that I found very odd. Modern history is ignored. Today, we visited a small, mediocre museum, with limited English, on Italian unification. I've forgotten the name, but it is inside the huge monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy in the 1860s and 1870s. In the afternoon, I spent nearly an hour in a bookstore looking at various Rome guidebooks to find the military museum (until now every country has one) or a museum dedicated to World War II (again every participating country until now, even those on the losing side, has one). In one guide book, I turned up an unpromising one-sentence mention of a museum that examined the German occupation of Italy. It was not mentioned in any other guide books, including a 200-page book on Rome museums. I decided not to go, as I expected to be underwhelmed with its content and its English based on my review of the guide books. Now if it does not seem odd to you that the 7th largest economy in the world does not have a single decent museum in its capital city devoted to the past 150 years of its history (which is all of its history as a country), then I say you have not spent most of the last year visiting museums around the world. It is in fact, incredibly odd. Offhand, it seems to me the most surprising thing I have observed from a year of traveling around the world visiting museums. Experiencing Italy, though, it seems to make a bit more sense. This is a country firmly in the past. Modern to Italy is the Renaissaince, five centuries ago.

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October 29, 2005

03:51:28 pm Italian Diary I  

Thursday, October 27, 2005 - Venice, Italy

Foggy until late afternoon, low 60s. Second of two nights at Hotel All'Angelo. Went to Galleria Dell'Accademia (Renassaince art), Collezione Peggy Guggenheim (first half 20th Century art; most interesting of the museums, collection pre-dates the downhill slide of modern art post-World War II), and Museo Correr (Venetian art and city history). Took gondola ride, something you really must do if you come to Venice, but not cheap--80 euros for 40 minutes. Food so far has only been okay. Italian food in other parts of Europe better than what we had in Venice. Heard a couple people I know say they found Venice a disappointment. I find that hard to understand, as it is unique in the world. There are cities with more canals (e.g. Amsterdam, Suzhou), but those are conventional land-based cities to which canals have been added. They are not surrounded and completely dependent on water like Venice. There are no cars here--you park in a huge garage and take a boat into the city. All food and goods arrives are delivered by boat as well. You can walk around narrow passageways and over bridges, but the water is never far away. Because of the extra transport and handling costs and the high costs to purchase and maintain real estate, it is expensive. And it is touristy. But if this is a disappointment, the rest of Italy must be incredible.

Friday, October 28, 2005 - Venice, Italy; San Marino; Florence, Italy

70 degrees. Drove down the Adriatic coast to San Marino, a separate country of 28,000 people that somehow escaped the unification of Italy in the 1860s. Europe has several of these Princess Bride countries: Andorra, Lichtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City. I'm giving Luxembourg legitimate country status by not including it in this list--it is 10-20 times bigger than these Macomb-size city-states. San Marino sits on top of an imposing mountain, so I can see why it was not consolidated initially, but it is still surprising that it remained independent, as it is completely surrounded by Italy. Of course, in important national matters such as foreign trade and defense, it relies on Italy to call the shots. Still, it is politically independent--it even had a communist government from 1978-1986. After spending about an hour driving around the country and seeing all of it, we ventured inland to Florence, driving through the beautiful Tuscan countryside. It was evening when we arrived, so we walked around for an hour and then went back to our hotel to rest up for a big day tomorrow.

Interesting updates in the International Herald Tribune on stories we have commented on throughout the year: 1) New Zealand's central bank raised its interest rate to 7.0% as its economic growth remains strong and inflation is appearing; 2) the UK moves to ban smoking in all indoor establishments (exception: pubs that do not serve food and private clubs)--if enacted, this would bring Great Britain in line with Northern Ireland (its ban effective 2007) and the Republic of Ireland (and New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden); and 3) UK housing prices down again in October according to one survey--for the 15th consecutive month--now 3.5% below one year ago.

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