waitomo: pretty much the most awesome thing ever

After spending a restful night at Juno Hall Backpackers, we woke up early to a cool and dewy morning, and headed out to visit with the sheep and calves kept on the farm. Unfortunately, I'm afraid the hungry animals put up such a racket when they saw us that they woke up the rest of the Hostel's patrons. We headed from that small enclosure to a more open pasture, where a horse was grazing. After letting ourselves in to the field, we noticed a deer laying at the top of the hill. She noticed us about the time we noticed her, but rather than moving off, she made a bee line down the hill for us. My concern at being approached by a wild animal, even an herbivorous one, was eased when I saw she wore a collar. As we scratched it behind the ears, one of the farm owners passed by in his truck, and stopped and hopped the fence to talk to us.

He could see the surprise on our faces, so he explained how the deer came to be a family pet. In New Zealand, deer are invasive; all mammals are invasive, so, there are no hunting permits required, or hunting season restrictions. As a result of this, when the man shot a doe one year, he found her pregnant. He delivered the fawn and brought it home. And so it has stayed ever since, though she could easily jump the fence and leave. He then showed us a few deer tricks. She will stand behind him and put her front feet onto his shoulders. He then tried to get us to grab her tail, and when he found us reluctant, did so himself to show us how she can shuffle her hind feet forward.

After such an entertaining morning we headed just down the road to Waitomo Adventures to take the Lost World Epic 7 hour tour. Once all five tour participants and the 2 guides had arrived, we headed by van to a picnic pavilion and showers complex located on private property. There we suited up in heavy thick wet suits, rappelling harnesses, hard hats with light and white wellington boots. Not your every day outfit for sure. We then headed for a short walk across the countryside to a ropes course where we practiced using our two carbine clips to move along a rope trail while staying safely attached. Then we headed down to the entrance to the lost world.

A metal catwalk extends out over an open abyss. Over 300 feet below, the pit's bottom was a mix of misty green and wet rock. We were all safely clipped to a rope before being led onto the catwalk and being asked to sit back onto a bar that floated over nothingness. Once seated, our harnesses were clipped onto roped for the trip down. For safety, we were connected to our guides by a lead rope. And then came the hard part. Slide forward off the bar and sitting into the harness itself. Being supported over the drop by only a rope. Having done it, feeling the stability and solidness of the harness support, all fear was forgotten, and we began to feed rope through the clip to begin our descent.

For the first 10 feet or so, feet touch the rock wall. After that, the rock recedes and you hang in the open, the only contact to the solid earth, the rope, less than an inch in diameter. Through the mist below, the green became distinguishable leaves, individual rocks began to stand out, and then we were down, standing on our feet again at the bottom. And here we paused to eat before beginning the long journey out. Nothing fancy. Sandwiches and cookies in the strange light.

Our first task was to head across this gap to the far end, to scramble down boulders, to reach water level. The distance was not far, but the suits, designed to keep us warm in the cold water, heated up quickly. At the edge of the water, an eel, maybe a foot long swam, attracted perhaps by our head lamps. They live in the waters of the cave, and throughout New Zealand. But the lure of the cool water was enough to get me in, despite the dark surface and the eels it might hide. After all, the only other way out was a rather tall ladder.

The plunge into the waters marked my first wet suit experience. Cold water rushed in at the edges and stole my breath. The water here is deep, and we were headed against the current. Thick ropes lay hidden below the water, and we groped our way along as our suits held our bodies to the surface. The trip was an alternation of floating comfortably through deep water, and trudging through shin deep water with heavy water laden boots. In between we navigated across a churning basin at the foot of one falls, and attempted to climb right up another less dangerous one. We used a rope swing to climb into an upper chamber, then dropped through a hole back into the water below, with all lights out. We belly crawled beneath a boulder for the fun of it, and took a break on a sandy bar to have a surprise hot drink and a chocolate fish one of the guides had packed in all that way.

Finally, as we neared the end of the cave, too far from the entrance for

light, but near enough for insects to wander, we paused a final time. We turned out our headlamps and looked up. Scattered across the ceiling like a pale green milky way shone a thousand points of light. They are glow worms. Hunters that lure insects with their light, and ensnare them with sticky strings, I had read about them in one of those strange fact columns in a magazine growing up. Here they were.

After spending a long time looking, we finally got back to our feet, and before long we saw light, as the stream flowed out into the day. climbing up out of that small valley to the never ending expanse of sheep fields, we began our trek back to our start point. The walk felt long and hot, and was fraught with manure. Finally, we crested one of the many rolling hills and spotted our pavilion. While we hit the showers, our guides cooked up steaks, sausage, and potatoes, and set out salads and drinks. We ate our food and talked about our travels, and finally loaded back into the van to return to the main office.

This is one of the most fun and amazing experiences I've had anywhere. It was difficult for me, as I am not in great shape, but it was absolutely worth the cost, the time and the effort. I would recommend this as the number one thing to do while visiting New Zealand if you are physically able. Simply amazing.

The Cave, The Grand Hotel, and the Quaint Hostel

After a day visiting monster gardens and saintly churches, we took a little time to visit something that is of the more natural world. Italy's Grotte di Frasassi consists of large caverns and large formations. The tour lasts just over an hour, and the entrance lies in a scenic gorge. If you enjoy caves, you won't be disappointed, the cave is a somewhat inflated version of the many smaller privately operated caves in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Finally, we headed to San Marino. A small town perched at the top or a isolated crag San Marino is, like Vatican City, a nation independent woman greeted us in her own hallway, and let us into our room. To anyone visiting, I would recommend Affitta Camere Franciosi as a nice inexpensive place to stay. Our room was equipped with a kitchenette, and the front patio was covered in tropical plants. The woman directed me to smell the large trumpet shaped flowers hanging heavily from one bush. The rich sweet smelling flowers were wonderful, and when I asked for the name she answered in Italian, and I was able to figure out when I got back home that they're called Angel's Trumpets here.

from Italy. We largely visited just to say that we had. We arrived after dark at our hostel, where a small and wrinkled elderly

After this, we went on a search for food. This being a pretty small town, there weren't too many options, and we finally Settled on the Grand Hotel San Marino It was a prix fixe menu, but unlike the seafood incident, we knew what we were getting into. From crisp spinach filled appetizers to lemon basil ravioli, steak and sausage main course, and small and sweet chocolate deserts, this was one of the best meals we had within Italy.

Sadly, we hardly stopped to take a picture of San Marino, and we were gone with first light for new adventures. We barely paused to take a picture of the entrance after coming down the hill as we left. San Marino is more than just a place to sleep and eat, and for those whose travel is a little more leisure oriented than mine, it would certainly be relaxing to spend a few days.

Lewis, Natchez, Avaleen, and some very good Junk.

In mid July we took a little trip down to the area of Tennessee that is south of Nashville. This is one part of the state I haven't been to much, aside from once making a brief visit to the Natchez Trace Pkwy. And this visit too, began with a stretch of the Trace, and a piece of history that was new to me.

You might not immediately recognize the name Merriweather Lewis, but if I told you he took an expedition with William Clark, you might guess who he is. Well, after returning from that famous trip, Lewis became Governor of the Louisiana Territory. Business brought him along the Natchez Trace. While there is some controversy as to what brought his life to an end near Hohenwald, TN, it is generally accepted as a suicide. Merriweather Lewis died and was buried right here in Tennessee.

We made another stop along the Trace to take a short walk to see fall hollow. This aptly name little spot is a small hollow/holler/gully which two small streams pour into creating several small but pretty waterfalls.

In this area also is the Amber Falls Winery. This winery has a broad selection of wines. We tasted the sweet and semi-sweet, and were not disappointed by any we tried. We picked up a couple bottles, and then headed to Linden, and the Avaleen Springs Bed and Breakfast. The first thing we saw when we pulled up were orange tabby cats everywhere.
After the owner greeted us and showed us the cabin and the dinning/social area with books, movies and boardgames in the guesthaus, we were left alone to explore the properties 30 acres with trails leading past friendly fish in a beaver pond, small waterfalls, and little statues tucked in every corner.

For diner, we headed into Hohenwald to eat at the Junkyard Dog Steakhouse, whose quirky atmosphere and good food make it an unusual find for such a small town. The walls are hung heavy with decorations, ranging from old school sports pictures, to mardi gras beads and masques, to western items. The steaks were perfect, tender and juicy.

After returning full to the Bed and Breakfast, we spent the twilight relaxing in adirondack chairs, a cat in each lap, and a glass of wine as we watched bats dart overhead in the darkening sky. In addition to the relaxing atmosphere outside, the inside of the cabin impressed as well, with a cedar latter that could be used to climb to a loft, and a massive tub that, combined with the jets and the provided bubble bath made enough foam to fill my tub at home a few times over.

Overall, I was very impressed with this little corner of my home state. It's one area I hope to visit again soon, maybe to watch the leaves change, and have a good steak. Coincidentally, Hohenwald is also home of the Elephant Sanctuary

the Palermo hostel incident

We arrived on the outskirts of Palermo looking for our hostel, Baia del Corallo We easily found the bus stop it was supposed to be next to, but driving up and down the road, we saw no signs of the hostel, though we did find one other bus stop. Finally, we noticed a small sign on an equally small parking lot next to the first stop. It looked like it belonged to a small powerhouse of something next to the stop. Hung on the chain link fence surrounding the lot was a small sign for the YHA (Youth Hostel Association) We realized this was it. What would have been obvious to a backpacker coming off the bus was a little hard for us to find. Leaving the car outside the fence, where there was just enough room for a car, we entered the lot and saw steps leading down away from it.

The hostel consists of several little bungalows sprawled down the slope of a sea cliff. Surrounded by trees, it's a quite, well camouflaged place, at least until the water's edge bar gets going. Finally settling in to our room and bringing out car into the lot, we walked down the hill into this little stretch of seaside resort.

Wandering past several restaurants where seafood was understandably the food of choice, we finally came to a little ma and pa outdoor diner type of place. They served up hot sandwiches, more substantial than the average panini, and of every variety. Jake settled for the American, basically a cheeseburger panini. I was embarrassed to be unable to communicate, but the people running the shop took good care of us.

As we wound our way up the darkening street after our meal, we stopped in for some gelato from a little shop, and picked out spumoni. At this point, I had never had nor heard of this flavor, and I described it as mint chocolate bubble gum. I've never had any quite so good since.

Ferries in Italy: Sicily and Sardinia

Our trip to Italy included two overnight ferry trips. The first from Sicily to Sardenia, and the second from Sardenia back to mainland Italy, just north of Rome. We booked deck passage instead of an airline type chair or a cabin, since we figured we would be able to sleep somehow, or they would not offer that option. We thought we might be sleeping outside on the benches, but after trying for some time, we gave up. The wind made it too cold and uncomfortable. When we re-entered the ship's carpeted hotel type hallways, we saw that there were people sleeping in every corner. Some even in rolled out sleeping bags with sleeping masks on. So we found our own little corner, curled up, and went to sleep.

For our second trip, we knew what to expect. This boat turned out to be much nicer, having a large lounge where a man was playing some music, and a bar. We chose the lounge because the seating looked much more comfortable. We settled in to listen to the music for a bit, until a group of spring breaker types accosted the DJ to let them sing to a song. Well, one song turned into several, and they were video taping themselves and generally annoying everyone on the boat. Finally, they called it quits, and another girl was pushed up onto the stage by her friends. She was convinced to sing, which she did. I do not remember the song, but her voice was soothing after the terrible karaoke style singing we'd all been subjected to. She sang only the one song and then hurried off stage as we all applauded loudly, something we had not done at all for the earlier group. After this I quickly fell asleep.

So if you are a little adventurous, you really do not need to pay higher rates for a place to sleep on these ships. While the comfort levels of the deck passage accommodations may vary, It will certainly save you some cash.

Yellowstone: worth staying inn

After our long day of hiking, we were very glad to arrive at the Old Faithful Inn. Originally constructed in 1904, with wings later added in 1915 and 1927, the Old Faithful in is an enormous log cabin, with a touch of early 20Th century charm. Starving, we hurriedly checked in, put our things in our small room, and, having hardly looked around us, we headed straight for some food as we hadn't eaten anything since our meager breakfast outside pictograph cave early that morning.

Foregoing the hotel restaurant in favor of quicker eats, we headed to the cafeteria. Here, we were disappointed by the quality of the food, the cost, and the service, but food is food, and we were starved (how do you mess up chili cheese fries and a burger?) Full, we headed back to the hotel.

The hotel is nothing short of incredible. Old Faithful Inn, made of log, was built in a time when National Parks were still new, and enjoyed immensely by the wealthy elite, and it shows. The 65 ft ceiling of the lobby is beautiful and impressive, nothing but gleaming natural wood. High at the top lies a small booth for the band that once entertained, though it is no longer safe, due to earthquakes in the area, Yellowstone is the caldera of a massive volcano after all. There is a massive fireplace in the center, and everything is lit with glowing yellow lamp light. Our room was small, and, as the cheapest one available, was equipped only with a sink. Well, there was also a bear in our room... He was made of soap, and lives in my bathroom now. There was a bathroom with chrome, and black and white checked tiles down the hall, and showers were located upstairs in a room done in brown tile and wood. Though we needed the shower, we decided to sit for a while on a bench, on a balcony facing over the lobby, and enjoy the piano being played on another level. I can't tell you what was played, but it made me feel like it was a century earlier.

Eventually we had to admit we were exhausted, and had an early day again tomorrow, so we donned the fluffy white robes provided in our rooms, and headed to the showers. Walking back to the room through the now empty halls, I couldn't help but feel I owned the place. I can't wait to go back. When I am semi retired, I'll be working over the summer here, perhaps, and spend long lazy evenings listening to piano by the light of the fire.

The Night on Etna

After leaving the ferry in Messina, we headed for our

hotel for the night on the side of Mt. Etna. The autostrasse was a series of tunnels and mountain hugging curves, until we exited and began the drive up the volcano itself. The hotel we were headed for was the Milomax, located in the small town of Milo. The hotel is a small two storey building the sits right on the edge of the road. We were more tired than hungry at this point, and after being led to our rooms headed almost straight to bed, after a brief bit of difficulty with the owner, who wanted to know if we wanted lunch the next day, and who we didn't understand until I finally had the sense to get out my dictionary.



In the morning we woke and loaded out things back into our tiny car, and realized that the roads were not black with wetness as I had assumed the night before, but with a layer or sooty ash which covered most surfaces, this being the remnant of Etna's most recent eruption beforehand. This being the 6Th of July 2007, and the

volcano having erupted as recently as May 7Th, and being a fairly active volcano in general.

After a simple breakfast of hot tea and cookie/biscuits spread with some sort of chocolate butter, we explored a bit around our hotel.
From the small plaza near out hotel, which was also covered with a layer of ash, we could see the smokey peak of the volcano, still some distance away. While it had initially been proposed to take a somewhat longer course and drive a way around the volcano, we ultimately decided that at this distance, there was not enough to be seen to merit taking the extra time. So Instead we turned south and headed towards the ruins and the museum in Syracusa

Glacier National Peace Park

We left for Glacier after our visit to Craters of the Moon. Somewhere south of Flathead Lake, the road narrowed to a two lane highway that was under construction. Despite the remote location, there was a long line of traffic, and progress was slow. It was at this point that I realized I had to go to the bathroom, which was made more urgent by the in-progress road, which had many sections of bumpy gravel. After trying to hold out for half an hour I spotted an office building complex in the night, and I was more than willing to go behind it to relieve myself. Unfortunately, there were some active lawn sprinklers to dodge, and in the wet grass I twisted my ankle, but it was worth it. Later on, we saw fire blazing up in the mountains, like rivulet of lava on the mountain's side. We finally arrived at the southern edge of Flathead Lake, where we stopped for the night.

We woke up early on the third day, and drove north along Flathead Lake, entering the park around 8:00 am at West Glacier. Here we turned our tires onto the Going to the Sun Road, the only road that runs through the park, and an engineering feat of its time. Our first stop was at the Avalanche Lake/Trail of Cedars trail. Half of the Trail of Cedars loop was closed, but we were able to access the Avalanche Lake trail at the back of the loop. Because we were up early, this trail wasn't too busy (it is one of the most popular trails in the park) and was pretty peaceful. The forest is cool and dark, and the sunlight coming through the trees made the whole place something out of a fairy tale. There were squirrels and chipmunks everywhere, and spider webs strung between the trees. The trail follows a perfectly clear stream to the lake. We were running a little bit behind due to my injured ankle, and we made a decision to stop short of actually reaching Avalanche Lake to make sure that we could stay on track for all the other trails we had planned to hike that day. After leaving that trail we headed to Logan Pass visitors center to hike the Hidden Lake Trail. When we arrived, the parking lot was very full, and it took us some time to find a parking spot, which required us to use all the people stalking skills we learned from tying to park on campus in college. Once we were parked, we took a little walk through the gift shop, and then headed out the back, taking a boardwalk up the hill.

The hill was steeper than it looked, but it was a beautiful, sound of music kind of place. There were little streams trickling down from the mountain, surround by beautiful, thick beds of flowers. As we reached the top of this rise, some evergreen trees came into view. We saw some ptarmigans nestled against some rocks, taking very good advantage of their summer brown feathers to blend in almost completely. Just a little ways further up we saw our first mountain goats, a mother with her baby. From that point on, along the trail we saw a few here and there resting in the shade. Finally, we reached the crest of the rise, and could see the Hidden Lake below. It was the most beautiful deep blue. The photographs we have do not even come close to doing it justice. While we were enthralled with the lake, squirrels were moving in. We caught them in the act of trying to chew into some one's backpack that they had foolishly left on the ground. While there is a trail leading down to the lake, it looked very long and steep, and we had miles to go… so we turned back for the car, and the next trail, but there was one more surprise for us. From around the bend ahead, and just a little higher up the mountain, came a small herd of big horn sheep. It was 3 females being herded by a male, who chased down one stray and forced her back with the group by giving her a love tap in the rear with his thick skull. They weren't interested in hanging around though, and were quickly out of sight. We passed back by the mother goat and her baby, the mother having left her baby far behind as she headed for the tree line, the baby followed, bleating plaintively. The trip down was a lot easier than the trip up.

We arrived back in the parking lot, which was filling up with the classic red convertible sedans which do driving tours along the famous Going to the Sun road. Greeting new arrivals was a big brown bear. Despite the crowd of people hugging him, and getting their photos taken with him, we were able to get a shot of the only bear we saw here.

After the hike to see hidden lake, we had a lineup of several waterfalls. The first trail took us to St. Mary Falls, actually passing a snake along the way. The falls are beautiful, having carved out its own bowl into the rock. Continuing beyond this is Virginia Falls. Along the way there we encountered a fat toad, right in the middle of the path, who lazily walked his way off into the mossy undergrowth. We reached the falls and found them to be very narrow and high. We then returned back along the trail, and once again the fat toad was in our path. He lazily walked himself out of the way again, and we were free to return to the car, excited as much to have seen 2 reptiles on this trail, which we saw no where else in the park, as we were to have seen the falls. From there it was just a skip to the parking lot for access to Baring falls and Sunrift Gorge. The stream flows through sunrift gorge, a deep and narrow passage way, then curves under the road and over the falls. The trail winds out and back, bringing us finally to the foot of the falls. We spent a significant amount of time resting, and watching an American dipper at the base of this rather small but picturesque fall. The dipper is a small, finch sized bird, which stands on rocks in the rushing stream, and dives into the water, hunting for food. While standing on the rocks, he continually does deep knee bends, bobbing up and down. He was a plain grey/brown color, but provided great entertainment.

After returning to the car, we were finally done hiking for the day, having covered over 9 miles. We then continued east along the going to the sun road, coming into St. Mary, where a forest fire had raged just weeks before. Vast stands of trees were reduced to nothing but blackened posts, but the grass was already spring up green among the wasteland. We stopped briefly to investigate a restaurant, but, though we hadn't eaten much but a few rolls and some nuts all day, we just weren't interested in their menu, or their prices. So we headed on to the tiny town of Babb. Babb consists of a hotel, general store, and cheap diner, all owned by the same people. It also has a dinner club steakhouse, which looked rather frightful: concrete and no windows. We had reservations at the hotel, so we checked in, then quickly decided to head a few miles north over the border to see what food could be had in Carway in Alberta. We had to stop in at the border station, and answer some questions about our intentions, and then we were free to drive on. Once in town, we discovered that there was nothing to eat, as every single restaurant was closed; it was Sunday. We returned dejectedly to Babb, and decided to risk the diner club, which we had been told had good steak, despite its frightening appearance.

Let this be a reminder to never judge a book by its cover. Just inside the entrance was an old fashioned bar, with lots of dark wood, and plush red upholstered swivel bar seats (with back and arm rest). Beyond the bar was a grand spiral staircase, all of wood, winding around the trunk of a tree. Seated at our table above, I couldn't help but admire the huge sculpture that hung out over the room below. It depicted a herd of buffalo being run off a cliff, and appeared to be made of stone. We ordered our somewhat expensive steaks, but were rewarded with some of the largest, and best cuts I've ever had. I had a NY strip that hung off the edges of my plate. The steaks were fantastic and so huge I could only eat half of mine, and I was starving.

Full and happy, we got our left overs to go, hoping for a microwave in the hotel room, which we had not actually been into yet. When we got to the hotel, we didn't find a microwave, but we were too tired to care, and fell into bed.

Trulli: A romantic place

In the small Italian town of Alberobello, located at the top of the heel of the boot, there are small white round stone homes called trulli. The trulli, while built using ancient techniques, without mortar, have only been constructed within relatively recent times, and over the years, the town has become a popular tourist destination. We arrived at dusk, and drove the crowded streets, full of well dressed Italian and Asian tourists. We had booked a night in one of the trulli, and after locating the hotel offices, two girls who spoke very good English drove us to our parked car, and then to our room. Our room had just enough space for a full sized bed and a small bathroom with a shower. The interior roof is domed to support the exterior stone slates, and had wood bean supports. Like the outside, the inside walls were of stone, painted white. Once we had settled, we ventured out into the town.

First we headed among the businesses set up among the trulli, separate from the trulli used for housing where we were staying. We found a nice looking restaurant in one, and had a very good dinner there, in a back room, where our only company was a table full of old regulars, talking over beer and wine. After we had our fill, we wandered across the street and up some steps into the newer part of town, where everything seemed to be of white marble, and one beautiful church was somewhat marred by a neon cross decoration.

We stopped into a gelateria and each got a scoop of the cheapest gelato we found in Italy. We found a bench on the plaza and listened to the cacophony of all the birds that were crammed into the few trees there, and laughed a bit over the police station, which was connected to what was essentially a donut shop.

We left early the next morning, for Matera. The small town left me with the impression of an ideal vacation retreat. It reminds me of other small towns which flourish on tourism, without being spoiled by it, like Eureka Springs in Arkansas, or Rothenburg ob de Tauber in Germany.

An Italian Experience from an American Perspective: Day 1

First let me say, that there were problems with my tickets. I had gotten the tickets in my married name, and forgotten that the passport was in my maiden name. This was no problem said the man in Nashville. He changed my name and gave me paper tickets. But, he didn't give Jake paper tickets, and somehow, his e-tickets got assigned a new number. So when we landed in Amsterdam at 5am, we had to wait at the ticket counter to get Jake's boarding passes, and they had trouble finding them in the system. Finally, they figured it out, and we ran to the complete other side of the airport to make our flight. We arrived in time and boarded the plane.

When we finally touched down at the Fiumicino airport just outside of Rome, I was happy to find that getting our car went much more smoothly than the tickets had. The fellow there showed us the car, and we were on our way.

The car was a SMART car, a tiny 2 seater that got phenomenal gas mileage. I had done some careful research online to determine if a) there would be leg room for Jake and b) we could store our luggage. Ultimately, we decided that Jake would fit just fine, but we needed to pack light, so we took 2 large duffel bags and 2 backpacks, rather than suitcases which couldn't be packed down or squeezed the same as the duffel's. Everything fit perfectly in the small area behind the 2 seats, underneath which is the car's tiny engine.

Even at $5 per gallon, we only spent a little over $250 on gas while in Italy, despite the fact that we drove just over 2500 miles, or 4000 kilometers. Not only was it great for gas, but its narrow width and short length made it perfect for navigating some of the narrow alley ways we sometimes found ourselves on.

As we left the airport, I pulled out my thick 3 ring binder full of info and directions, as well as the detailed Michelin highway map of Italy, and we were on our way. Our first stop was Ostia Antica just a short distance from the airport. We found the location easily and pulled into the gravel lot. After paying for parking, and for entrance (parking is rarely free in Europe, no matter where you go) we walked into the ancient city, and found that here, as we would see so many other places throughout the country, there were stray dogs. The prime suspect here was sleeping casually in the shade in the middle of the ancient road, with no regard for the few tourists. Due to jet lag, combined with the vast area covered by the ruins, we truly saw very little of this special place, before our weariness led us back to the car. Our next destination was in downtown Rome.

Little can prepare you for driving in Italy. Their interstates (the autostrasse) crisscross the country, and our much like ours. Highways, I had read, and expected, were slightly different. Cars would pass on a 2 lane road, even with oncoming traffic. The 2 other cars were expected to straddle the white lines, while the passing car passes straddling the center yellow line. That, I could handle. What I was completely unprepared for was the way the basic street system degenerates when in the core of the larger cities. Rome, is not the worst in this case. I would say Palermo on Sicily easily wins the award, but this was our very first day of driving.

Once into the downtown area, there are only a few rules:
- stay on your side of the road
- do not run red lights
- do not f with the bus. the bus will kill you. stay out of its way.
- scooters win.

As the highway we took into town degenerated into a city street, I suddenly felt like we were in one of those euro racing games. the lines on the road, except the center line disappeared. Scooters darted between cars with a reckless disregard for their lives, or the fact that we were driving a rental. The cars formed as many lanes as they could fit across the width of the road. buses stay generally to the right, and after dropping off passengers, would pull into traffic with little regard for the lives of others. We lined up at the red light, with scooters moving between the cars, and pulling to the front. Sometimes there were more cars lined up than could drive side by side down the road across the intersection. Paying attention and merging were VERY important skills. I'm glad we live in Murfreesboro. The driving here is a degree in the right direction to driving in Italy, but only a degree. We also found that busy intersections which do not have lights function differently than here. Replace the cars and streets with people in very crowded hallways, and you get the right idea. You slowly nudge yourself into the intersection until you are blocking traffic, and then you go, as well as all the cars behind you, until someone from another direction squeezes out, and takes their right of way.

To put it more simply, the flow of traffic is very liquid, and rather than drive defensively, everyone drives offensively. As scary as it is at first, it's a system that seems to work well, though, as Jake will attest, many cars have cracked quarter panels and dinged bumpers.

After some circling around, we managed to find a parking lot centrally located to our downtown destinations. Reading the payment sign we discerned that parking was free on Saturdays. The following morning we would find free parking near the Colosseum. Ironically, of all the parking we paid for, we never paid parking in Rome. A church's doors opened onto the parking lot, and on the stoop slept several homeless people. A nearby wall smelled strongly of urine. Yes, there are many homeless people here, as with any city. We turned first to the Area Sacra Largo Argentina and its ruins. We walked around it, counting kitties, then turned up a side street towards the Pantheon. Along the way, we stopped to photograph an obelisk on the back of an elephant, in front of an otherwise unnotable building. After seeing the Pantheon, on the way back to the main street, we realized the unnotable building was our next destination, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Finally, we made our way to Il Gesu. All of these sites are located very close to each other, and the free parking was centrally located to them, making it extra nice. On the way back to our car, we stopped by a grocery and grabbed some chocolate cookies and super cheap water.

After a busy, jet lagged first day, we were ready to drop, so we headed to Plus Camping Roma, where we had reserved a house tent for about $30, super cheap, and just outside of Rome. This camping village has tent houses, camp sites, small cabins, a grocery, and a restaurant, as well as a pool and play ground. It's popular with backpackers. I was dreaming of a tan canvas tent, like they use on safaris, but found instead these small teal colored tents just big enough to hold 2 cots with space to walk in between. Still, the cots were comfortable, and I would stay here again for the cost.



We decided to use our little coupon and head over

to the restaurant on site. Here we had our first authentic wood oven cooked pizza, and I was starving. Unfortunately, I don't like thin crust. But not only is the crust thin, it is also crisp, more like a giant saltine than pizza crust. But my main issue with the pizza in Italy is the sauce. Perhaps they use different spices, or the tomatoes are of a different kind, but something is off. I do not like Italian pizza.

After all that, we fell exhausted into bed. It was the first busy day of 16. Stay Tuned.

Gatlinburg: Old Timey Photo Capital of the World!

I have been to visit Gatlinburg and the Smokey
Mountains on several different occasions, but this year I decided to visit in the month of December, when the little tourist town is decked in its finest.

Along the way, we stopped at the Stonehaus Winery off I-40 partway between Nashville and Knoxville. After stopping by the gift shop and picking up some tasty mint chocolate fudge, we went to the tasting counter and sampled the wines. I am by no means a wine connoisseur. I really don't like most wine. Some of the selections at Stonehaus were rather good. After trying nearly everything they had, including some fantastic mulled wine, we settled on a bottle of tart blackberry wine.

We arrived in the early afternoon at the Gazebo Inn, where we had booked a room online, seeing that it was one of the cheapest rooms to be had within walking distance of all the glorious tackiness of the main street of town. At $56 a night for two, we found the room to be a good value. The exterior is very quaint, and the rooms, though somewhat small, are comfortable. The bathtub in our particular room looked a bit shabby, and the lighting in the bathroom was poor, but those are my only complaints.

After checking on the room, we headed off to walk about, in a light rain that had begun. The town is a browser's paradise, and is loaded to the brim with kitsch. 80% of the shops specialize in Christmas decorations, fudge, or taking a sepia colored Old Timey Photo of you in full cowboy/saloon girl wear. We shopped the stores, browsing with an ornament in mind. Finally, as dinner time approached we picked a place to eat. We

finally settled on the Smokey Mountain Brewery, set just off the main drag behind Calhoun's. We enjoyed our steaks a good deal. Though I am also not a beer drinker, I was intrigued by their beer sampler, which might be a fun treat for anyone who does enjoy different beers.

Once we had eaten, it was back out onto the now dark streets, and the innumerable Christmas lights, in search of the perfect ornament. We stopped at a candy shop to try a few different truffles, and a peanut butter filled, sea shell shaped chocolate. We visited an art store in the mall, where almost everything is locally produced, and we listened to the carolers, who were dressed in colonial style velvet outfits. We finally found what we were looking for at the Christmas Tree, a little store selling nothing but ornaments, tucked into a corner of the shopping area known as The Village. Mission accomplished, we returned to our hotel as the light rain continued to fall, and the temperatures dropped.

When we awoke in the morning, for what we intended to be a day of hiking, it was snowing, though it wasn't sticking. We left immediately to drive out New Found Gap Road, which crosses the mountains. As we headed up, the snow progressed to sticking to the leaves, to sticking to the trees and bark, until eventually we reached an area where the snow was covering the road. At this point we We finally settled on the Alamo, where we ate a solid meal, and deciding to splurge a bit, we decided to get some dessert. We had an ice cream filled tortilla, which was fried, and served with cool whip and cinnamon. While it was good, it wasn't worth the price, and I don't

think I would order it again. We drove around a bit, and stopped in a few out of the way shops, before finally deciding that it was time to make the long drive home.
were forced to stop by a line of cars, and turning around, we came back down through the blowing snow. Turning left at the visitor's center, we headed down Little River Road to take a drive around Cade's Cove. Despite the cold and the snow, there were many deer out and about grazing. Finally getting out fill of the white wonderland, we headed back into town for something to eat.

Magnolia Manor

The Magnolia Manor in Bolivar, Tennessee was built in 1849, and according to their website:

"It was used as a Headquarters for the Union Army by Generals Logan, McPherson, Sherman and Grant during the Civil war and it is believed to be the home in which these four Generals planed the battle of Shiloh."

We stayed in the C. A. Miller Master Suite, an absolutely beautiful room. The hostesses were kind, and the eggs Benedict breakfast was fantastic. However, it seems that rates have increased a bit since our stay, as I recall paying about $100 and the site now posts a $135 price. It might however be worth the price, especially for those interested in Civil War History.