Gala the third

This week is lead up to the gala week...and overall things are falling into place pretty well. There are, as always, a few loose ends that threaten to drive me absolutely crazy, but I'm trying to keep the scorpion queen reined in unless absolutely necessary. Let's see how well I do.

This will be my third gala with the Museum and, as my office wife can attest, things are more organized than ever. I can't help it, I just want everything to be organized, where it needs to be, easy, and perfect. The gala is never perfect, but I do my best to try and make it so. This year marks a number of interesting firsts for the gala - we are having an open instead of cash bar, having a magician and caricature artist, starting earlier in the evening....and we still have plenty of tickets left for sale. Ouch. Anyway, for those that are there, it should be a great time and although we may not quite reach our goal short of miracles, we have made a profit for the annual fund, so that is good!

I think one of the major problems that we face in this town is the sheer number of non-profit organizations out there looking for a piece of the donor pie...and right around this time of year is when the largest all tend to hold their big fancy galas. I imagine that if I was in the position to be a donor I wouldn't particularly desire to go to a fundraiser every weekend. So, we'll be looking for new ideas about the event and possibly investigate a change of season as we debrief after this year's event.

It's so strange that we haven't even had the event and I'm already beginning to move on from it. At work, I seem to be doing more related to the November board meeting and other upcoming projects than I am for the gala. Time never stops in anticipation of a big event, there is always something else to get started on.

Quest...

...for happiness. Life has been tough this summer and fall, but I'm ready to stop moping and be a happier healthier self. So, here's to October being my birthday month and the birthday month of some of my favorite ladies. Lets make it awesome.

European Wonder - Part 5

Day 10 - The Sea!

In the morning we hop on a bus that will take us across a very long bridge to the islands that make up the city of Venice. As we reach the outskirts, the bus parks and we get off to wend our way through the labyrinthine streets and bridges to St. Mark's Square. Our tour leader tells us that maps are fairly useless here, instead we should try to follow the occasional signs to Venice's landmarks and let ourselves get lost. There are no road vehicles in this city, traffic is by foot and by water only. In St. Mark's square we catch our gondola ride. The gondolier takes us through small roadless canals, under bridges, and through the grand canal. He even sings a little. The gondoliers strike me as a funny lot, chatting to each other as they pass, taking cell phone calls, all while maneuvering between other boats and down narrow ways.

Candice tells us that not too many people actually live in Venice anymore, mostly tourist wander the streets which are lined with shops selling Venetian lace, blown glass, and fancy masks. After the gondola ride, we take a guided tour of the main island, mostly just around the central square. We keep to the shade as much as possible because it is still boiling hot. We see the Bridge of Sighs, the basilica, and the sea. Just seeing salt water in motion makes me me relax. After the tour we see a short lace making demonstration and then head to the Rialto bridge for shopping and lunch. Later, we take a crowded vaporetto on the grand canal back to where the shuttle bus will meet us and return to the campground.

Day 11 - Clouds arrive


It's an early morning on the bus. We are headed to Austria and there are a lot of people hoping to sky dive, so we hope to arrive early enough to let them. Unfortunately, as we travel north we encounter the first poor weather of the trip. It begins to cloud over, get windy, and then the rain starts. By the time we get to Austria, skydiving has been canceled and paragliding is in jeopardy. It turns out that the only extreme sport to go forward, the cheapest option, is Canyoning...and I am signed up. We take two van taxis out to the shop where they dress us in wet suits and climbing gear. Then we head up to a gorge...and rappel down into it next to a waterfall. We jump into plunge pools, slide through chutes, and rappel some more. Cold, scary, and too short, but overall fun. I, of course, had been getting a cold on the way to Austria and now it begins to take over. After a few whiskey cokes in the basement bar, I turn in somewhat early.

I found my pirate in the Austrian Gasthof

Day 12 - The Rhine


It is again a bus day, this time we are off to the Rhine Valley in Germany. When we arrive, we check into a medieval castle that has been transformed into a modern hostel. It is actually a bit strange, the outside and inside do not match whatsoever. The view from the castle hill is quite lovely. We are surrounded by vineyards that cling to the steep slopes. In the evening, we get back on our bus which drives us down the river a ways to a beer stein shop and a cuckoo clock shop. On the way we see a number of other castles, some in use, some in ruins. I would have loved to have time to explore them. But, alas, the rhine is just a way-stop to our real destination, Amsterdam. We spend some time in the stein shop where Steph spends an absolute fortune. I just get a large one for me and a smaller one for my dad. After shopping, the bus takes us on to a campsite where the proprietor, Hermy, is going to have us do a wine tasting of local wines. We sip out of large shot glasses. H. turns out to be a riot. After that we head back up the river to the narrow streets of the town we are staying in and are off to bed.





Day 13 - Cheese & Windmills


Off to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The weather clears up for a bit as we arrive at our cheese & clog making demonstration just outside of the city. I revel in the cool crisp breeze as we step off the bus. The temperature has plummeted as we have moved northwards through Europe. The farmer who gives the demonstration is quite a character. As with all the men in Europe who have given us demonstration, he invites all the ladies to the front and wants us to get up nice and close. He also speaks a dozen or more languages, making us feel rather uneducated. The cheese is quite tasty but I opt out of purchasing anything at the shop and instead go back outside to wait for everyone else to finish up.


We head onward to our hostel where we check in and then have some free time to explore and get dinner before heading on to our evening entertainment. We soon learn that walking in Amsterdam can be hazardous to your health. The roads are shared with bicycles, cars, and trams. The bikers are particularly crazy. We head down to a touristy district and have dinner at an irish pub. Amsterdam feels a lot more like a city in America to us than some of the other places we have been, still it is quite different from home.


For our evening, we are taking a quick tour with Candace through Amsterdam with our final destination a sex show in the red light district. Two drinks are included with admission which is probably a good idea because I end up right in the front row next to the stage where the ladies proceed to do their acts including a candle show, writing on an audience member holding the marker down below, pulling a ribbon out of it, live sex with one of the ugliest men I have seen, and a banana show. More than anything else, it was funny. Then we wended our way through skinny alley to see the ladies in windows and that was about it for the night.


Day 14 - Iffy weather


In the morning we take a bike tour of the city. I think I am going to be run over several times, especially when I get stuck behind some of the people from our group who really cannot ride bikes. It starts to rain about halfway through and I am the only one whose bike is not equipped with a rain jacket. Thanks. So, I get wet along with having a head cold. Not my favorite excursion. The guide tells us that it rains almost every day in Amsterdam. Would have been nice to know before going out.


After the bike tour, we head out to the Anne Frank House where we have to wait in line for some time. But, the wait is worth it. The museum is laid out extremely well. Definitely a must see for those visiting the city. We also visit the Van Gogh Museum which is also interesting but way too crowded with people. For dinner we meet up with our group again and head to the Sea Palace, a floating chinese restaurant. Dinner is followed up by a canal cruise where I proceed to get incredibly toasted on red wine. When we alight from the cruise, we head to a bar where it happens to be karaoke night. We meet a fellow guy from CT, drink more, and I am eventually left behind when Sarah decides that she needs to take the also incredibly toasted Steph home. Luckily, some of the other tour girls are still in the bar and I make my drunken way home with Candace.



Day 15 - Ick

Bus to Brugges then to Calais and the ferry back to Dover. Incredibly hung over, I barely make it through the day alive.


Day 16 - London Part 2


We wander London for the second time and see the outside of the Tower of London, the Globe Theatre, and a few other highlights. We wander over the London Bridge, by the London Dungeon where tons of people are lined up the street in both directions to get spooked. Funds are running low, so we don't actually do much, just walk around. We end the day by walking through Trafalgar square, having dinner, and heading back to the hostel.


Day 17 - Flight


Flight from hell, well, ok, not quite that bad, but we leave an hour late because of problems packing the plane. When we reach America, there are terrible thunderstorms in New York and JFK has been closed, so we end up landing at a smaller airport where we get refueled and wait. After a few hours we take off again and are finally able to land at JFK. All in all, we spend about and extra four hours on the plane. Fun. But, we are back.

European Wonder - Part 4

Day 8 - Whirlwind Roma

In the morning we catch the bus into Rome as far as it is allowed to go then hop onto the city's underground system to travel the rest of the way to Vatican City, our first stop of the day. Rome's subway system is extremely simple compared to most other big European cities we have visited, just two lines that cross in a t. Apparently, there are far too many ruins that one would run into in the process of trying to create more lines. We emerge outside the Vatican walls and head over to the Museum for our early morning walking tour. After a short wait (sorry all in the non-group line which we bypassed) we were issued ear buds and receivers and were off on our marathon. Our guide turns out to be an Aussie and quite cute, but he rushes us through two hours of halls. Tomb, statue, tapestry, ceiling, mural, trompe l'oeil, it all passes in a whirl.

We finally arrive outside the Sistine Chapel and prepare to go inside. The floor is absolutely mobbed with people craning back for a good view of the famous ceiling. The chapel is actually quite small and is impressive, but you can certainly see more detail from looking at close range photography of the images than from standing far below. After the chapel we head on over to St. Peters Basilica. I take a look at Michelangelo's famous Pieta which is now behind glass because it was smashed by someone several years ago and subsequently repaired, do a quick circuit of the basilica, and exit to wait for my clan. After 15 minutes I'm beginning to seriously wonder if I've been left behind but it turns out that SB, SJ, and K can spend a rather long time wandering around a church. We take a quick look into the shops, pose in front of some Vatican guards in over the top costuming, then hop in a taxi to get over to the Colosseum.

At the Colosseum, we join a tour group to gain faster access to the place and learn some interesting tidbits...all of which are later contradicted by what our Top Deck tour guide tells us about the Colosseum on our walking tour of Rome...who to believe? Our walking tour after the Colosseum consists of seeing the ruins of the Roman forum, the Victor Emmanuel II monument (the man who united all the italian city states into Italy), the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain, and the Spanish Steps. We throw coins over our shoulder into the fountain, the first for a wish, the second which means we will come back to Rome, and a third if you want to marry a Roman. I opt out of throwing the third coin.

Oh, and did I mention the absolutely wilting heat? All of Italy turns out to be a sauna. My suggestion is certainly to go in a cooler part of the season!

Day Nine - Where art thou Romeo?

We board the bus for another day of travel, this time to Venice with a stop in Verona. Verona is a cute town with a working coliseum - they stage plays etc. in it. We wend through the streets filled with designer shops to a small courtyard which purports itself to be the home of Juliet's balcony. I have no idea of the historic accuracy of this claim...apparently the play was based on actual families from Verona...but lets just say I'm a tad bit skeptical.

Anyway, the courtyard features a statue of Juliet with rather shiny breasts. Legend has it that if you rub her breast, you'll find your true love. So, of course I did it. Who doesn't want to find that true love...of course I'd rather not end up all star-crossed and dead over it! Then on to Venice where we arrive at our campground on the mainland and are introduced to Venice's persistent mosquitoes. Bug spray most definitely required. A novelty of the cabins here turns out to be air-conditioning our first and last of all our accommodations. In the evening we dress in toga for a "toga party" at the bar. The party is interesting but after a short while I retire from dancing for a cold shower and sleep. One can only take so much dancing in weather that is bordering on the heat of hellfire.

Full pics (of which there are many from Rome) available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atreides22/sets/