JOHN MAYER!!!

So, I love John Mayer. Only because he has skills and his music speaks to me but I have never been to see him in concert because I always felt that he was not an artist to be seen in a 30,000 person arena and he never seems to be playing anywhere near where I was living. So, I was a little miffed when I found out that he was playing the mid-state fair in July and nobody told me (HELLO People! Didn't you see the giant billboards and think to drop me a note?). Sean saw them when he was back in June and offered to bring us back to the states for a time with him but by the time I found out there were only a handful of tickets left in the very last row (Not worth the 14 to 16 hours of travel time with Evan).

So, last Thursday night I opened my ticketmaster UK email (why must I torture myself?) and discovered there was a huge rock festival going on in Hyde Park (London) with Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, and John Mayer. When I started discussing the possibility of dropping a babysitting bomb on Sean's dad who was arriving on Friday from elsewhere in England and attending the 40,000 person festival Sean discovered that John was actually headlining his own show Friday night at the Brixton Academy (London), a 3600 person venue.

Most people don't know John Mayer here so we were surprised that the show was sold out. But that didn't stop me! I found one ticket on ebay and one ticket through Double8 tickets (a ticketing agent in London). The only big catch was we had to make it to London Friday before the Double8 ticket office closed at 6pm and we weren't going to be able to sit together. The other thing was that the ebay ticket guy was going do the ticket/money exchange at the show so we just had to hope he would show up.

Friday: Sean's dad arrives later than expected (2pm) in Swindon, Sean can't get out of work until 2:30pm, and we have to get on the road by about 3pm from Marlborough to drive to the train station and catch the train to London, then get the tube to central London to pick up the single ticket from Double8. Sean's dad takes the babysitting bomb in stride. We drive the 30min to Marlborough and we're on our way by 3:15pm. We've also heard from the ebay ticket guy and everything is looking good.

We basically have to run from train to train and all the way to the ticket office. We arrive at 5:40pm. We get in line to pick up the tickets and the Double8 ticket office is a disaster. There are tickets scattered everywhere, piles of what looks like scrap paper with notes tossed about the desks and counters. The girl who is there to "help" us is sorting through random piles of papers. After chatting with some of her co-workers and looking around a bit she tells us that though we were not the last people to purchase tickets for the show (4 tickets came up on Friday and I had purchased mine Thursday), they have lost the ticket and they have already handed out the rest of the tickets but she would be happy to refund my card.

To think this was the reliable ticketing option! I was FURIOUS! I don't get angry often but when I do it's not pretty. I went off talking about the two hours of travel to get to London, the one ticket we already bought, etc...etc.. and she just said- "there will be people outside the venue selling tickets..."(aka ticket-scalpers). I got my refund and was fuming all the way to the venue.

As we walked out of the tube exit to street level near where John was playing, sure enough, there were scalpers and at this point, we were already in London. So we found two tickets in the front standing area and got them for 35 pounds each. Not bad considering the ticket face value was 28 pounds and we would have had to pay shipping and service fees. Sean and I would also get to stand together!

So what about the ebay guy? Well, I waited, and waited and it was first come, first served seating. He was supposed to be there by 7pm and at 7:20pm when Sean finally had made it to the doors of the theatre I decided I would wait no more. About 10minutes later I get a call from the guy that he's out front. I told him I was in and that I would get back to him later, he should try to sell the ticket to someone else.

As we waited for John to come out to the stage that night I was telling Sean how unkempt John had been looking these days with his longish shaggy hairstyle and that he looked much better when it was short on his early albums. Well, John must have heard me because he came out with his short hair again. And even better than that he played an AMAZING, 2 hour set. Sean was also pleasantly surprised that he played blues guitar so well.

While Sean enjoys John's music and recognize his song-writing/singing/ guitar playing skills, I believe he also sees his music as more moody, chick music.

Well, John Mayer impressed everyone there and while the English audiences were very polite: not pushing to the front, quieting down to listen when he spoke, not screaming constantly and dancing like a crazy person while he was playing(that was me...) they did bring him out for an encore, chanting and cheering properly. The music was amazing, the venue was beautiful. It was a show to remember (and so worth all of the stress to get there).

The Lake District and Scotland

I had to return to talking about Windermere in the Lake District because it was such a wonderful place. When we were there on Friday we walked from our inn down to the lake shore where we caught a boat that took us across the lake. From there we were able to take a train out to a small town where you can picnic or eat at their restaurant and then back. It was great fun for Evan to run around the train and Sean and I got some great views of the Lake District.

The Lake District is supposed to be well known for its' hiking. However, we had been so busy previous to our departure that we had no idea where to go and none of the trail heads are marked from where the public transport drops you. So, after asking around a while we made our way to a path and hiked for about an hour and a half through the woods. It was quite a hike since there was a bit of vertical. We were pretty tired after the effort but it worked out perfectly. Evan got to nap and we didn't have to feel guilty about the high tea we had in the garden of the Lakeside Hotel while Evan ran around chasing ducks. Overall, a perfect day...

Then, on to Edinborough (or Edinburgh?), Scotland. We got there a little late since there was an incident in the car on the way. The roads were windy. Sean drives fast and though Evan yelled, "STOP the CAR!" It was too late. We had to stop at the closest inn and someone was kind enough to give us a bucket of soapy water and a rag. Needless to say, the ride was a little slower and more stressful after this.

We made it to Edinborough okay and managed to wander around town and see the castle since Evan seemed to be feeling better. The castle was pretty amazing since it was the kind of Castle you'd see in a fairy tale with a drawbridge and great views of the city. I also loved that the street performers were 75% bagpipers and you could hear the beautiful sound as you wandered through the city. We got back to our hotel just before it started raining and ended up eating at the pub there. It worked out great since the Eurocup football finals were on and Evan enjoyed watching them. In fact, he woke up twice that night saying, "Football! TV!" and would immediately fall back to sleep. I think we may end up having a sports kid (HOW did that happen??).

A Visit in Review

So, I'm FINALLY driving. I fought it for 3 months but my dad came to visit, and Sean was in the States on business, while our car was at the end of our street. I had no excuses.

So, I just did it and amazingly it hasn't been bad. I think being a passenger all those months made it a little easier.

Dad and I went to Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. The Cathedral was pretty amazing and has one of the 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta (one of the most famous of all documents, widely regarded as the cornerstone of liberty/constitutional law in the English-speaking world). Salisbury itself was a pretty impressive town with it's ancient walls, bridges, and pubs.

Then we went to Bath again. I have included a picture of their police station which became famous last year. It seems they had done some remodeling and added large planters by the doorway. Within the first week the plants had been replaced with those of a "doobious" nature and the planters were removed. (At least, this is the story the tour guide gave us...)

Then we went to Cotswold Wildlife Park again and were able to visit the Lemur enclosure. I felt this was worth mentioning since they let the lemurs run free in it. Obviously, this is not a country that has been over run with litigation. And check out the walls on the Penguin enclosure. Evan could have gone for a swim if I wasn't paying attention.
Finally, to Bournemouth, a south coast Santa Cruz boardwalk type place (minus the rollercoasters, plus a very cool aquarium). Look! There is sun in England! Dad didn't want to leave.

Travelling

Shortly after our return from Italy my dad came to stay for 2 weeks or so, then we were off to the Lake District for 2 nights, Edinburgh (Scotland) for one night, came home Sunday and Sean's dad will be arriving on Friday. Then, in a week we're off to Ireland for the weekend and then an extended weekend in France and .....DISNEYLAND PARIS!!

Let me just take a moment to tell you how excited I am to give Evan his first Disneyland Experience. He has finally gotten to an age where we have really been enjoying having him on holiday with us. It's not just diapers, sleeping arrangements, and how are we going to lug his 50 pounds of stuff and him?? He actually gets excited about new places and things and talks about them to us. So, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add a night to our extended weekend to take in Disneyland Paris. Begrudgingly, after days of pestering Sean with pleas of...but it's French Disneyland!...we'll already be there! It's closer to us than Anaheim is to Atascadero!! Sean gave in. So, while I look in anticipation to the weeks ahead. I think Sean may be in fear of the Disneyland induced Euphoria that I have experienced since I was a small child...but he'll have fun anyway.

I havent posted in quite a while but we have been a fair bit of travel and entertaining. Last weekend we spent time in the Lake District and Edinburgh. Outside of the copious amounts of driving it was wonderful. I highly recommend a trip to the Lake District for anyone who comes over. 

While we were in Windemerewe stayed at the most wonderful Inn called Ellerthwaite Inn (www.ellerthwaitelodge.com). The owner and staff were fabulously helpful and very friendly with Evan. Bull fry up each morning and a good family room to stay in made it an easy place to overnight. 

They reccomended a great place to eat dinner as well that we would have never stopped in had we not known about it (www.francinesrestaurantwindermere.co.uk). They are a Michelin rated restraunt with very friendly staff and plenty of toys (Legos and such) for the little ones. It was so good we ate there 2 nights in a row. 

Finally to Florence

(Due to technical difficulties, this post will be in green and black.)
The last leg of our trip was a week in Florence with Sean, myself, my mom, and Evan. We had rented a house outside of the city. I was a little worried since I had to pay cash up front to reserve the place and they required a cash deposit and payment for the remainder of the stay. Luckily, instead of the empty lot or outdoor plumbing I had feared, we ended up with a spacious and modern three bedroom with a view of the city and surrounding vineyards and an outdoor brick patio and grass area.

We arrived late on Saturday but managed to get to a popular local pizzeria for dinner. The next day we had to get groceries but since it was Sunday, we had to go into the city to find an open store. The store was small but had pretty much everything we needed. However, after gathering all of our fruit and vegetables we realized that we had to weigh and label them with a special machine. There was a sign but the only English they put on it was that you had to weigh the vegetables yourself. Sean and I pushed buttons for a few minutes but were getting nowhere. An Italian guy was soon waiting for us to finish so I tapped Sean on the shoulder and told him to let the guy go first. When I motion to the guy, he shrugs, and makes it clear that he doesn't know how to work the machine either. So, the first Italian guy finds a second Italian guy in the produce area. They talk and we watch and finally figure out how to weigh our produce.

Now that we had food for the week we were ready to explore. The only unfortunate part of our week in Italy is that we brought the rain with us. We got about 3 sunny days but the rest were rather wet. So, one of the first sunny mornings we had we set off for the city. Our goal for that day was to see Palazzo Vecchio (a palace of sorts next the the Uffizi art gallery that once housed the Italian government), and the Duomo (one of the most beautiful and ornate churches in all of Italy. Historical note: when the architects originally designed the dome to be self-supporting they did not actually have the technology to create the dome. They were confident, though, that in the hundred or so years it would take to build it, the technology would become available. Pretty Clever!).

As we were wandering around the Duomo our sunny morning clouded over. We all agreed it looked like rain so I said I would take a quick run around the Duomo to get some pictures then we could leave. After splitting up, there was thunder, then the downpour started. At first it wasn't too bad but soon the rain was literally bouncing off the ground. I had to run back around the Duomo to find my mom and was already soaked. Of course, I had the backpack with the umbrella buried in the bottom and I knew Sean and Evan were probably getting soaked too. As I ducked into a crowded corridor with my mom some guy sees us both soaked and offers us an umbrella. I say no but he keeps trying to hand it to me. As soon as I take it he says "10 Euro." I say, in English, "You're Crazy!" He says, "How much?" I say, "2 Euro." He says "No." I say, "Ok." Since my mom and I agree that we're both already soaked and there's no point now in buying one.

Meanwhile, Sean and Evan are huddling as close to the building and shelter as they can but are still getting somewhat rained on. Mom and I arrive with the umbrella to cover them and decide that since we're soaked already, there's no point huddling in doorways with the other tourists. We should just head home. (Lucky for us we had worn dark clothing that morning and no one got a free show.)

We were the ONLY people walking in the rain. You would think it was toxic rain judging by the hundreds of people, even those with umbrellas hiding in doorways. People were so surprised to see our group walking the 4-5 blocks back to the car, soaking wet, that I actually heard them exclaim, "Oh My God!" or gasp when we walked by. One guy even took a picture of us. It was the strangest experience.

This leads us to my final topic: Clothes dryers. Since I have been in this part of the world I have learned that most people here line-dry their clothes. It's not that they can't afford a dryer, it's that it is just the custom to line-dry things. I have even felt a bit guilty for my personal carbon consumption by utilizing electricity and modern appliances to dry my clothes. Sean even suggested we get a clothes line for our house in Cali (because he wouldn't be the one hanging them all, I think). Well, after trying to dry my clothes for 4 days in Italy using house fans and lights, I just can't buy-in to the line drying thing. Thank you modern technology. I like my clothes dry in 60 minutes or less.

The rest of the week was wonderful. Too many beautiful places to talk about and I've already gone on too long. All I can say is: Go to Italy!! We will definitely go back again.

TII - This is Italy

If you've ever seen the movie Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio there is a classic line in there that Sean and I adopted. In the movie, set in Africa, absurd and crazy things would happen and Leonardo's character would say, "TIA, this is Africa", since there was no other way to explain what was going on. So, on more than one occasion, Sean and I would say to each other "TII, this is Italy" and try to laugh about it. Car rental #2 was one of these occasions.

Italy operates on their own cultural clock. One I am deeply envious of but also a clock that makes me appreciate not having to actually live there.

The standard Italian citizen works 32 hours a week. So, Monday through Friday, business starts approximately 8:30AM. At about 12:30 most businesses close and the restaurants open. The businesses are closed until 3pm to allow time for pasta, wine, and napping. You go back to work until about six and then start dinner between 7:30 and 8pm. Even most retail businesses with the exception of restaurants are closed by 1 or 2pm on Saturdays and few things (including restaurants) are open on Sundays. Did I mention the 5 weeks, at least, of vacation a year? (BTW, 5 weeks is standard in all of Europe.) A great place for spending time with family but not so great if you actually want to be able to shop on the weekend or do any business.

So, here's where the car rental comes in...

After leaving Cinque Terre we were taking the train to Milan to meet my mom and Evan at the airport and then driving to Florence. The train arrived at the Milan train station at 1:50Pm. My mom and Evan's flight arrived at the airport at 3:15pm. Milan Bergamo airport is approximately 45 minutes out of Milan city center. So, we figured we would pick up the car in the city center instead of at the airport since we weren't sure how to get from the train station to the airport.

We called the Hertz rental line in Italy. Here's how it went:

Ring, Ring, (Voicemail system picks up, some introduction in Italian)
"For English, Press 2". I press 2. I get 3 minutes of options in Italian. Operator picks up.
Operator: "Buon Giorno."
Me: "Parla Inglese??"
Operator: (Pause) Yes.
Me: "I'm picking my car up at Milan Bergamo and I would like to change it to City Center. My reservation number is..."
Operator: "That's fine. Here's your new reservation number. Wait, I put in the wrong pickup location. Here's a new reservation number...Oh, I just noticed that the City Center location closes at 2pm on Saturday and you are supposed to be there 10 minutes before close."
Me: "But my train doesn't get in until 1:50."
Operator: "Maybe someone at the office can wait a few minutes for you. You will have to call them. Let me get you the new reservation number (Italian cell phone mysteriously disconnects the line and says the system is busy...)..."

Ring, Ring, (Voicemail system picks up, some introduction in Italian)
"For English, Press 2". I press 2. I get 3 minutes of options in Italian. Operator picks up.
Operator: "Buon Giorno."
Me: "Parla Inglese?"
Operator: "Um, a little.."
Me: "I was speaking with someone and got disconnected..."
Operator interrupts: "Let me transfer you to one of my English speaking counterparts."
(To make things clear: I pressed #2 both times)
Operator Number 3: "Hello"
Me: "I got disconnected from another operator."
Operator Number 3, who sounded like they were actually an English native interrupts and does not ask the problem but immediately transfers me back to Operator 1's line which is not surprisingly busy. I listen to busy signal for 5 minutes. I hang up in frustration.

Sean calls Avis in Milan.
Operator: "Buon Giorno"
Sean: "Parla Inglese?"
Operator: "Yes. Hold 1 minute."
Five minutes later.
Operator: "You have to call back in an hour."
Sean: "Wait! What time do you close Saturdays??"
Operator: "2pm"

Sean calls back Hertz.
Finally gets an operator who finds the new reservation number. Explains the situation. He gets the number for the City Center office, calls them and explains our situation.
Sean: "Can someone stay a few minutes later for us?"
Operator: "No! You must get your car from another office!"

I call back Hertz
Me: "Hi. I would like to change my reservation back to it's original pickup location..."

We find a bus from the train station to the airport and are luckily only a few minutes late. TII.

Venice is nice, Verona is lovely, but I'll take Cinque Terre

After leaving Lake Country we dropped the car off in Verona and used our feet and the train for the rest of the week. Verona was a pleasant surprise with the Roman Coliseum and some beautiful bridges and castles. Venice was just as you expected it to be with the gondolas, crazy maze-like streets (with a tourist looking at a map at every corner) and the spectacular waterways. One night in each place was enough and we were pleased to travel back across the country to Cinque Terre.

We spent two nights in Monterosso (Cinque Terre), thanks to Fred and Marie's advice, and it was wonderful! Cinque Terre is a place on the west coast of Italy that's made up of five towns that are all connected by footpath over the mountains. The hiking was awesome! Sean and I started in Monterosso and then stopped in Vernazza and finished hiking in Corniglia (where we ate lunch and caught the train back to Monterosso). We got our two hour hike in, drank wine, ate pasta, and even got back to the hotel in time for a true siesta (which was almost totally destroyed by taking "a couple minutes" to change our rental car details - but that's another post...). Then it started raining.

The rain was fine but, sadly, it rained out the lemon festival that was scheduled the next day. Overall, we were incredibly lucky to get our hiking in before the rain started - the hiking was the best reason to visit Cinque Terre.

Welcome To Italy...

Our Italy trip started off a little rough. We flew into Milan Bergamo airport and arrived about 3pm on Sunday. Our flight was pretty full but I figured that it's a pretty popular airport and despite the fact that there was a huge mob of people it wouldn't take long to get through immigration. HaHaHa... after about 30 minutes of watching the whole two employees they had staffed there get through about 10 people (they didn't even ask any questions, they were just stamping and checking passports) 2 very stylishly outfitted security guys show up and basically wave through all the EU citizens. All that was left was about 15 non-European Union people. After they finished, one of the Italian guards looks at me and says "UK?" So, I turned around thinking he must be talking to someone else, then look back at him and say "US." He shrugs apologetically and we continue to wait.(So far, people have taken me for being from Canada, the UK, and Finland...) Then, the guard who was processing the EU passports gets up and leaves since the guys just waved all of his people through. So, the one guy is left to process the 7 or so remaining people in line. Finally, after waiting almost an hour, they let us into Italy.

I tell Sean as we're waiting that this must be our introduction to Italian culture: forced relaxation, since getting agitated will get you nowhere.

We go to get our car. Luckily, all goes well but we are amused when the rental lady asks us if we want full coverage for the vehicle and says, "THIS IS Italy." Since we had heard that theft of any kind, especially car theft is a regular past-time of young Italians, we take the coverage.

We then set out on what should have been an hour-and-a-half drive to Besozzo outside Lake Maggiore. Two and a half hours later we finally arrive and realize that we had the GPS set to No Toll Roads and almost all of Italy's major highways are toll roads. So, we got the back streets, industrial tour of Milan.

But it was all worth it...we arrived to some of the most beautiful mountains and lakes we've ever seen and the wine, pizza, and gelato we had that night made us understand why so many people love to visit Italy.