Travel Pig

It was an easy flight and the Bergen airport customs and immigration was efficient. I ordered a uber to my Hotel, Home Hotel Havnekontoret. I chose it because it was right on the water, convenient to the sites and it had a beautiful lobby. It was sunny out so I dropped my things in my room and walked to the Funicular to the top of a mountain nearby.

My room had heated floors and a heated towel rack, which I have had at my house recently with the extreme heat. It’s in the 40’s here.

These are long narrow structures that have. Been located here for 500 years. They have burnt down at least 10 times.

I decided to hike down. It rained a bit but it was so beautiful and peaceful

Stopped at the famous Fish market for lunch

My location was perfect so close to everything. There are so many restaurants, tourist shops and textiles shops. Not sure which is more famous the trolls or sweaters

This store is in one of the long buildings. They sag in some places and seem to drift in others

Back to the hotel for a quick nap but before that I go to the tower on my hotel for the view

After a jet lagged nap, I went out after dark to find a place to eat. Apparently my hotel provided dinner and breakfast. I looked at the buffet dinner and ick!!

I walked for a long time and finally came back to the fish market. Ordered scallop sashimi which was perfect and fish and chips, which was just ok.

Time to go back to the hotel. The hotel is very busy with most likely people I will see on the boat.

I woke up early, had a great sleep. Again, why can’t America have the wonderful sheets and pillows of Europe.

I packed up, went down for breakfast. Probably the best hotel breakfast ever, especially if you have German heritage as I do. Smoked salmon, picked herring, sardines, perfect scrambled eggs.

There was a church nearby, St Mary’s built in 1070, so I visited. It was warm inside. It had also burned a few times but mostly made of stone.

This is Salome receiving the severed head of John the Baptist, painted by Elias Fiigenschoug in 1643. It also serves as a memorial to the merchant Hans Bonhoff, whose portrait appears at the bottom. 

Next to the museum next door. Mostly about the Row houses and tapestry

Original floor from 1100’s

Here is the story from ChatGPT

These tapestries were woven by Norwegian textile artist Ragna Breivik (1891–1965), using designs by Gerhard Munthe. The ten-piece series took more than 25 years to complete. 

They tell the medieval Norwegian legend Åsmund Frægdagjeva: a brave hero journeys to the trolls’ stronghold to rescue Princess Ermelin. He confronts the fearsome troll woman Skomegyvri, defeats her, breaks the princess’s enchantment, and brings her home. 

Wandered a bit. Now at a cafe near the Opera house hoping to have a meal at a place that I saw last night. If not I have a Plan B and then I board the boat!

More tomorrow but a few quick thoughts before I go to sleep on Day 2…I keep being reminded of places here that I have been to somewhere else, like constant Deja vu. Valparaiso Chile, Marrakech Morocco, and others. I like to compare and contrast other trips with the one I am on now but it seems different.

Reading, “The Ferryman and his Wife.” A book set in the fjords of Norway about a man who owned a ferry boat or more of a taxi and now he is dying and remembering all the people he ferried. It’s beautiful and so perfect.

Funicular up and walk down today. Ten miles walking. I’ll post tomorrow

The first place I stopped to eat really wanted me to sit inside but watching the Friday crowds outside was more fun. So many younger business people drinking and smoking outside several bars only moving when a car came down the street. After a bit I decided to move, I still had time, so I stopped at a wine bar. Another great spot to people watch.

People were starting to head to the Piccadilly Theater to see Moulin Rouge. I had bought a ticket a few hours before. I ended up with a very good seat in the Stalls. I remembered that that area was basically the Orchestra section, they also call it the Band section. I sat next to a young man from Taiwan, visiting London for the first time and on his way to Paris. The other side was couple from Australia. All of us had bought tickets that day. That’s the thing with traveling solo, you talk to people.

The show was fantastic. The music was loud and fun. They warned us no signing until the end, like they did for Natalie when she saw Momma Mia recently.

I had some wine at the show. Everything is cash free. Unfortunately I made a mistake in getting cash at the airport. I didn’t notice that it was pounds not euros. Hard to spend $200 in pounds, so I bought some new sunglasses at the airport.

It took a few tries to get an uber but finally did. I can’t believe I thought I would be walking back to my hotel. It’s was far. During the day, I was fine, but not at night.

I arrived back to my hotel but decided to walk around a bit. It seemed like a Turkish neighborhood. Too much hookah, so I went back to my tiny room to sleep.

I woke up early, walked to the Victoria Station and spent a few minutes figuring out out where my train platform was. The regular Express train was not running today, which I knew when I bought it on line, so I just asked someone who might have been a janitor and found the train. Easy ride to the airport. Found a breakfast spot

I like the Gatwick does their airport experience. All the food and shopping is in one area. When it’s time to board, the gate is displayed on a board and it’s time to go. More efficient.

On my way to Norway on a 45 minute flight and finishing my first book!

Heathrow express to Paddington Station then an uber to the hotel. I chose a hotel that I thought was close to the theaters and an inexpensive room. I was just going to sleep a few hours. Well it’s the tiniest room I have ever seen! But spotless!

I dropped my things and set out to walk. I planned to meander to the theater near Piccadilly Circus. Tiny bit of rain and a few wind gusts. Such a pleasant change from San Diego!

Just watching people and waiting for the play at 7:30. Not too tired yet. Reading The book, ‘Verity’. Can’t put it down. The movie is out. This day is making me want a proper London vacation!

I took the red eye on British Airways so I could have a bit of the day to wander London. Maybe I will see a show tonight. It’s a flight just over 10 hours, so for me it was a book, Verity. Which is now a movie, two glasses of wine and a tiny bit of an Ambien. I slept, not great but enough, for 7 hours. The plane was freezing, then too warm and again freezing.

I thought there was an empty seat next to me but at the last minute a burly English man sat next to me. He was very friendly and a little drunk. We chatted a bit. His breath was so bad that I couldn’t talk to him anymore!

Not sure why I ordered a gluten free meal, must have been thinking cheese plate. But it was inedible chicken. The last flights I have been on have served food with bamboo utensils. It’s like a popsicle stick from Dairy Queen.

The seats are far from the window, so it’s hard to sleep. I finally put my back pack up to the window and that was better to sleep against.

The plane will land soon and I will take the Heathrow Express to London. You have to get a visa to get into England now. It’s easy to apply for and less than $20. Maybe USA needs that too!

Can’t wait to be cool after all this heat in San Diego.

Mostly just testing the site….but I am traveling starting tomorrow night. I will take the red eye to London to spend the night. I was jealous of my daughter getting a day and night there and seeing a show. So that’s how I will start.

I was up at 6 to walk to St Peter’s Basilica to see the Pieta. Mother Mary holding her dead son, Jesus. It’s a very moving piece for me. I have studied Michelangelo and this is his most famous piece. I think it used to be in a different place. It is now in an enclosure

I went to the Farnasina Villa next. Chatty told me it was a villa with paintings that rivaled the Vatican, without the crowds.

The theme was rich man marries below himself. On the lower floor it was the story of Cupid and Psyche and Alexander the Great and his betrothed upstairs. The paintings were magnificent. It was built in the early 1500’s. Then walked closer to Pantheon to see if I could get into a special restaurant. Nope. Found a place for carbonara. It was pretty good then changed hotels walked about 20000steps.

And that’s about it. Great vacation. I feel rested and recharged. Hope to do something exciting soon. Ciao

I can’t believe you that yesterday worked out so perfectly. Flights were mostly on time. I had plenty of time. When I arrived in Rome, I had downloaded an app similar to Uber. Under here is convenient for Americans because it’s already downloaded in our phones for the most part but it’s way more expensive. I could take a train or bus with the same timing but I tried Freenow. Same old thing as lift an uber. They keep saying they are 5 minutes away. I told my guy where I was and he said fine then wanted me to go to a different terminal. Who knew they were so close. I canceled and got in a Taxi line. It’s 55 Euros either way. Sometimes public transportation is interesting, but not so much here because everyone is a tourist.

I arrived at my hotel 45 minutes later and it’s an old historic home.

I chose the two hotels I am in because I thought I might know my way around, not so much. I am near the Parthenon. I walked around looking at the sights and overwhelmed by the crowds. Luckily I have seen everything at least once, at least the common places.

I feel so good in Italy. I really need to spend more time here. It’s my happy spot

GPS is tricky. Love the way the directions show to go one way and the lady says the opposite. I was looking for someplace not too touristy but closer to my hotel. There was a spot near my hotel that looked great when I was dropped off. I didn’t realize it but I passed it up because one the the waiters grabbed my arm, gently, to come in. I told him maybe later, I was waiting for my husband. lol. Still waiting! I realized that that was the spot near my hotel but decided on a different spot that I had walked by. I was getting tired. I had walked 7 miles by now.

The rest of the meal was mediocre. Chewy beef with porcini mushrooms.

I headed to the hotel and slept well.

Wanted to go early to the Oasis so I was up early to have a little breakfast and then head out to the three Oasis’s.

I was kinda hoping that I would have Aziz again and I did. It’s strange being in a car for hours with someone you don’t know. At least he’s funny and handsome.

He likes to drive fast and likes it off road when possible. We had many short cuts. He drives a very old Toyota Land-cruiser with a stick and a snorkel. The snorkel is mostly for sand storm. We head towards the Atlas Mountains and Algeria.

First thing we see are a herd of camels including some cute, playful babies

We were to see Chebika, Tamerza and Midas the three main oasis in the area.

Chebika was first. Apparently I had to have one of their guides. His name was Hassan. He was very kind and informative and helped me up and down some rocks. I tried to tell him that I just did Everest Base Camp but he was a gentleman.

It was just a little up hill, through a crevasse and down to the spring. While driving Aziz pointed out the hot springs, steam coming up from the ground, it had to be cooled before used to irrigation. Some of the Date palms and other vegetation thrived on Natural water and some with irrigation.

The Date Palm is so important in this area for all of history. Caravans went Oasis to Oasis. The Oasis was mostly a free zone, no thieves, no violence. The people and animals replenished water. If the next oasis was two days away they had to carry two days worth of water, usually in a Camel bladder that was stretched and dried and tied off at the top.

Btw, Internet had been perfect here!

So the Date Palm

Date palms are:

Food source: palm juice, sometimes fermented, palm sugar somehow made into a coffee pits and leaves food for camels. Dates are high energy, high fiber and high potassium and will rot your teeth!

Building materials: fronds for fences, palapas, hats, purses truck for beams and chairs

Agricultural system: shade allows oranges and pomegranates and other vegetables to to grow

Climate control: keeps the area cooler by 10 degrees

Economic driver: dates have been a commodity for thousands of years. Tunisia is the biggest importer of the finest dates.

There was an ancient town here but it was ruined by a flood in 1969. The Berbers lived near the Wadi, which means dry river, until it’s not. It seems like it wiped out most of the people. They rebuilt a little further from the river.

Next was Midas. As we got close, Aziz told me to close my eyes. He helped me out of the car. Again the word Trust is coming to mind. He guides me, maybe a little too close and up a couple stairs and then we stop and when I open my eyes I am at the edge of a cliff! It was kinda cool. I like surprises, most of the time!

As we are walking back he asks if he can kiss me. I said no. We discussed our relationships. His wife does three years ago. No children. It sounds like he has to wait 5 more years to remarry, something may have been lost in translation.

I spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool. There was a second pool that was warm enough to swim in. My flight from Tozeur to Tunis got changed. I was scheduled to leave at 3ish and it was moved up to 8:45. Kinda inconvenient, so I changed my flight to Rome to a day earlier. I think I wrote this already, but now at the airport. I arrived very early so I could try to get a seat in front. Chatty helped me translate my wishes in French and Arabic but the check in person spoke excellent English. And it does wonders when you praise a persons country.

I spent the day relaxing and reading. I made a plan to take a taxi to the Medina. The concierge recommended leaving at 4:30 pm. I had prepared with ChatGPT what gate to start at and where several restaurants I might try. I had this translated to Arabic which was very helpful. The Médina had beautiful brick structure but it was kinda empty. I found a museum so I went in. It turned out to be pretty interesting. The guide spoke pretty good English and French, when two others joined us.

Ceramic platters Packer colors? Green for the oasis and yellow for the sand

All the houses are designed with an inner courtyard and rooms surrounding, like a kitchen and traditional bedrooms

I walked around a bit but not much happening, a few shops were open, but I don’t buy much these days. I was pretty sure I knew where I was headed to a restaurant that served alcohol and local food

A little boy was running around and kept trying to grab my wine. Not sure if wanted to get rid of it or drink it. So many cats and flies. I wanted local…..

The couscous was a huge serving. The lamb was ok but very little meat. More for the flavoring. It kinda had a green color but it was from the marinade

I walked down the street but I didn’t feel comfortable so I grabbed a taxi and went back to the hotel.