italy: pozzuoli for new years

i've never been a big fan of new years eve...i don't really know why, but that's the way it is...in order to avoid the holiday, i've traveled over new years eve for the last bunch of years...i think the last time i was in the states for new years was 2009/2010...years before then, and since then have involved a whole heap of countries...this year, i started out thinking i would be in berlin, but i ended up in pozzuoli...(right next to naples)...
i'd told ken i had never been wowed by the holiday, that i wasn't a big fan, so of course he determined to change the way i think...i dont know if what i saw is typical of all over italy, but it's definitely normal for southern italy/naples...i assume there are fire codes, and laws regarding the use/purchase of fireworks, but none of them were observed...none...
EVERYONE SETS OFF FIREWORKS...ken's flat is up on a hill, so i got to see everything...
starting about 5 minutes before midnight, fireworks started exploding...ALL OVER THE CITY...i could turn more than 180 degrees and see fireworks exploding everywhere...it was awesome...i don't know if my video really shows it, but i was very impressed :)
some of the fireworks are small...but more often, they were big...really big...
these videos are only a bit over a minute, but it all went on for around 45 minutes!!

hungary: budapest

When Katie was first planning her trip to Europe, she had to figure out where she was going to go...one family she babysits for in the states is half Hungarian, and when they found out she was going to Europe, they told her she had to go to Budapest, and stay in their family flat...when she told me, of course I agreed :)
We took the train from Amsterdam to Eindhoven, and a bus from that train station to the Eindhoven airport...even the guidebook says Eindhoven isn't known for anything in particular, except for the increasing number of budget flights from this airport...

The flight was easy, as was landing in Budapest...Katie collected her bag and as we exited she saw the grandma of the family waiting for us...grandma drove us to the flat, gave us the nickel tour, then said she would be back in the morning...
She came back the next morning and walked with us to the metro stop...she also drew us a map, but I'm really glad she walked with us, as I never would've been able to follow her map...she also bought our first metro tickets, yahoo!

This first metro ride was only to the center of town, to an information office, where we picked up the Budapest card each of us had bought...the card entitled us to free entry to some sights, free public transport, and as couple other benefits...
The next chore was to find a ticket office where Katie could buy a train ticket to split, Croatia...after that was accomplished, we hopped back on the metro...
A couple stops later we got out, and picked a direction in which to walk...somehow we stumbled onto the platz in front of st Stephen's basilica...it's a big platz...

we didn't know what we were looking at, we had to check the map...how awesome that we stumbled across what is probably the most important church in the country...we ate lunch at a cafe on the platz...
We went in the church, I was really impressed...so was Katie...I'm not often impressed by churches anymore, but this church was worth it...around the back, in a small, closed off chapel, we saw the mummified hand of st Stephen...I don't remember the story of the mummified hand, I don't need to remember...I'm both fascinated and grossed out by mummies...

We walked out of the church, and down the street in front of the church...there were a couple cafés, a couple souvenir shops, and a couple office buildings on the street...at the end if the street we went right, to cross a small park...at each end of the park was a statue, each person was probably important...I found them picturesque :)
Between this park and the river was a big street...we crossed the street, and took in the view...we were on the pest side of the river, so we had a great view of the chain bridge, over to the Buda side, with the castle and such...an awesome view...

We walked across the chain bridge, which had been turned into a pedestrian bridge for the holiday...
I suppose now is a good time to mention that we visited Budapest over the festival of st Stephen, one of the biggest holidays of the year, as st Stephen is the patron saint of the country...
There were plenty of people out walking, enjoying the great weather and the holiday...heaps of people taking photos, of course...i don't know if everyone in the country gets the day before the official festival off, but it certainly seemed that way...

We walked each way along the river, checking out the food stalls set up for the holiday...one of the stalls was selling the official birthday cake of Hungary...there were two options, one of which was sugar free...(what's the pour of sugar free cake?)...we bought the other choice, which I was excited to try, until Katie told me she could smell and taste alcohol...booo...it looked good, I had to satisfy myself by smelling and looking...
After food, we found the funicular and took it up the hill...a short ride, but fun...unfortunately, not super cheap, and not included in the budapest card...it should be!

The funicular let us out at a spot on top of castle hill...we went right, walking past a couple impressive buildings...we turned right again as we came upon the church of st Matthew...otherwise known as the coronation church...this is where hungary's kings were crowned, though that no longer happens...
Katie wasn't as impressed by this church...I wasn't either, but it was by no means a shabby church...a small area on the second floor was a museum, with some history displayed...

At the back of the church is a bit of stone carving...according to the sign, this was the oldest stone carving still in it's original location in either the country or city...
After the church, we took a quick glance at the Fisherman's bastion, which had great views over the river...there is an entrance fee, but both of us were satisfied with what we saw for free :) ...(that and we didn't know where the actual paid entrance was)
We walked back in the direction of the funicular, stopping in a small supermarket for water and snacks...

From there we walked to the Budapest history museum...we got to a set of gates, only to find a folk festival taking place...the folk festival had an entry fee, and we weren't interested in the festival, but the only way to get to the museum was to go through the festival...argh...we showed our Budapest cards to the guys taking money, and explained where we wanted to go...one of them used his walkie talkie to speak with someone, then asked us to wait a couple minutes...

Eventually someone from the museum came out to escort us through the festival to the museum...(on the way back we had to do the same thing in reverse order)...
The museum itself covered a large period of history, I don't think it's possible to really take in everything in one visit...my favourite exhibit was the one that showed various habitations of people in the Budapest area through history...from small homes to soviet style apartment blocks and everything in between...we didn't have time to see everything in the museum before closing time came...

After this museum, we took the funicular back down the hill, then went back to one of the food stalls for dinner...then we walked back across the river, and followed the bank of the river for a bit...we had purchased tickets for an evening river cruise, a popular tourist activity...(totally worth it)
It took us a while to find the exact company with which we'd booked, then the lady tried to tell Katie she didn't have a reservation...she was actually quite rude about it...I was watching what she was typing, and realized she was typing the reservation number incorrectly, and told her so...she was only slightly contrite when she had to face her mistake...
We boarded the boat and I took a couple photos of Buda hill, brightly lit up across the water...as the boat started to move, we put on our earphones and listened to the spiel...it was a bit confusing (they were trying to be creative) but I enjoyed learning something about a few of the buildings we passed on the river...

both Katie and I noticed the family in front of us had wasted the money they'd spent on this cruise...both parents were glued to their phones, barely looking up, not wearing the headphones...the oldest kid was also attached to her phone, taking several selfies and texting them two friends...the two youngest kids were running around, but at least they looked out the window a couple times...
Anywho, after the cruise ended, we took the metro home and went to bed fast...

The next morning was the festival of st Stephen...(the festival is only one day officially, but preparations take a bit longer and some events take longer)...
We'd read in the guidebook that there is still a crown of Hungary, though there is no longer a monarchy...the crown is occasionally displayed for the public in the halls of parliament, on holidays...we figured this must be one of those days...we took off early in order to get to parliament before the expected queue got too long...our timing worked out well, as there was a queue, but it wasn't too long...

the line started moving soon, and moved steadily...occasionally we looked back to see the line growing quickly...
Eventually we got to the front of the queue, and went through security...we followed everyone up the stairs into a grand entry hall, marveling at just about everything...while on the boat tour we'd heard there are something like 11km of stairs/hallways in parliament, we only saw a small amount...after the entry hall we followed into the next room, which was where the crown was displayed...there were guards around the walls of the room, I think nearly the only thing they did all day was tell people photos were not allowed in that particular area...that didn't stop some people, who still took photos from other sports when the guards weren't looking...both Katie and I were surprised that the crown wasn't very shiny, it didn't seem very blingy...it's not as if I have heaps of experience with crowns to be able to make such a judgement, but I remember being under impressed...

After exiting parliament, we walked as far as we could to the banks of the river...unfortunately this was when we came to the point where we were not happy about the holiday festival, as the sidewalks this close to the water were blocked off by fences...argh...we'd wanted to see a modern art piece on the sidewalk, we had to settle for seeing it from a distance, through the fence...
We walked along the river back toward the centre area, eventually getting to the great synagogue...it's the biggest synagogue in Europe...we had to wait in a short queue to buy entrance tickets, which was annoying only because it was raining...the worship area had several tour groups, the guides giving information quietly...

There was an upstairs area that had been turned into a museum...some exhibits showed items used in Jewish life, some showed the history of this synagogue and it's congregation, and some showed some of what happened in the Holocaust...a small museum, but I liked it because I was able to absorb the information without feeling overwhelmed...
There was a memorial garden out back...very peaceful...
Lunch was in a random cafe across the street...
From the cafe we took a tram across a different bridge to the chapel in the rock...the entrance fee included an audio guide (a bit too preachy for me) so we learned more than the guidebook said...various chapels had different stories to tell...the church is more of a natural cave that has been carved out a little more to make a small church...

Across the street from the chapel is the Gellert baths, some of the biggest in the city...the lobby area was pretty impressive...
More walking (back across the bridge and down a pedestrian street) took us to Gerbaud...Katie's friends in the states told us we had to go there for tea, and I'm so glad we did...everything on the menu looked good, it took us a while to figure out what we wanted...it was very well presented, and really good...(and our waiter was good looking too:)...
After tea we used the subway and more walking to get to lukacs baths...our Budapest cards included free entrance to these baths, of course we wanted to know what all the fuss was about...
There wasn't much English inside, it took us a while to figure out where to go and what to do...but once we did, it was fun...the baths were all heated to different temperatures, (the coldest was 32C and the hottest 40C)...everyone moved around every so often...we were plenty pickled by the time we left...

As we walked toward a metro stop to get home, we crossed another bridge, covered with people staking out a spot for the fireworks scheduled that evening...I bet people come out there pretty early in the day, the bridge spots were a great place to see everything...we heard most of the show, which was impressive...loud too...
That was our last night in Budapest...we took the metro home, it wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected, considering all the people out to see the fireworks...
The next morning both of us were up, and left the city...I have to go back!

san diego

my biggest reason for going to san diego was to spend some time with grandma...she's 92, and still in pretty good health...:)
my first flight from vegas to LA was fine...the connecting flight from LA to san diego was delayed by an hour or so? I WAS NOT HAPPY...i ended up arriving at grandma's place just after midnight...i hate arriving anywhere that late...ugh...
we both went to bed straightaway...it was nice...

one morning we went to the grocery store...exciting stuff, i know:)...i think it was that evening that i joined grandma and her friends at dinner...they're all older than she is, i love the conversations...one was a vet during WWII, he fought in italy...another still works 40 hours a week, and spends time on his blackberry when he is home...
the next day we went to breakfast at harry's...according to grandma, this is a johnson family tradition...wheneva anyone visits her, they go there for breakfast...this is not my first visit to san diego, but it was my first trip to harry's so i have clearly missed the memo somewhere along the line...ooops...harry's is a typical hole in the wall diner/breakfast place...i love these types of places...it was packed, but i loved it anywho...for some strange reason i was in the mood for salt/protein (as opposed to my normal sweet tooth) so i went for the basic eggs and bacon...
one afternoon my friend layna drove down and picked me up...this is the chick i traveled with during my epic asia trip...we hadn't seen each other since, so it was great to catch up...she had the phone number of another garmisch friend, michelle...when we called, michelle was tail gating before a san diego padres game, she invited us to come...
layna and i figured hey, why not? petco park, the stadium is located in downtown san diego, an area i don't ever recall visiting...oh well...the stadium is really squeezed in tightly, there is no room for expansion...we found michelle, and finally got to meet her husband...well, layna had met him previously, i hadn't...great for the three of us to catch up...
michelle and her husband are season ticket holders for the padres, so they were able to get us a discount on our game tickets, we only paid $7!! our tickets were up on the 3rd level, but after the first three innings michelle sent us a text telling us to come down to the 1st level where they had their tickets, she'd gotten 'permission' for us to sit down there...AMAZING SEATS...the padres ended up losing the game, though it did go extra innings....and the fireworks afterward were fun:)
my last morning in san diego grandma and i went to church...it's been a long while since i've been to a presbyterian church, it was nice...plus there was a special choir performing, and i loved it...we didn't stick around to chat, which was also nice for me, since i didn't know anyone else there...
i didn't do any sightseeing in san diego, i just spent time with people...my computer had troubles and crashed not too long afterward, and i hadn't backed up the few photos i took, so they're lost foreva...argh argh argh...

continuing around bits and pieces of the states...

after florida i flew to seattle, mostly for lynnae's wedding..i had invited scott to be my date in seattle...he's a friend from my time in germany, it had been a few years since we'd seen each other..he lives in reno, and was able to get the weekend off to fly up..he and i explored the town, the first time for either of us to be in seattle...we both loved it...it's got great public transport, is environmentally aware, and has plenty to see and do..the day we went up the space needle we could see mt rainier and whateva the further away mountain is..apparently it's only that clear about 30 days of the year..the wedding was fantastic...lynnae and colin had organized everything really well..they got married at some gardens just outside enumclaw, which is out from seattle..since it wouldn't have been easy for everyone to get there on their own, a bus had been set up to take us all from the hotel to the gardens..it was exactly what i want in my wedding, if i ever have one...it was all about their family and friends having a good time, and we did...i got to meet colin for the first time, who is just as good looking in person as he is in pictures..and he's really nice..previous to meeting me he had only known me as the girl who sent postcards to lynnae every now and again..at the reception scott met julia, a friend of lynnae's from when she and colin lived in north carolina..(though julia now lives in portland)...hee hee...after the reception was over, there was an after party at a nearby bar..the yella beak saloon..when all of us wedding goers walked in, it was clear we werent dressed to fit in..the next day, i realized i had left my mobile at the yella beak saloon, so scott and i hired a car and drove all the way back..he's a great driver, i was happy to let him drive..the day we left scott and i drove back to the airport, and he checked in for his flight..i had a while to wait, but oh well..
my next visit was to new york city to finally see kristin again, and meet katherine for the first time...she's doing great...and their loft is awesome!!! on broadway, in manhattan...it doesn't get much better than that..i loved it...i'd never been to new york before, and knowing people and being able to stay in downtown manhattan was incredible..i got to walk everywhere...the statue of liberty and ellis island i got to visit one afternoon..you have to buy tickets for the ferry, which first drops you off at the statue of liberty..(a gift from the french, a while ago)..before 11 september, tourists could climb all the way up the statue..that's no longer allowed, which is probably a good thing, seeing as how there were no emergency exits, and they had had a couple health related fatalities over the years..the statue is copper (which is why it's green on the outside) and therefore gets REALLY hot inside, particularly during the summer months..apparently a lot of people attempted the climb up who weren't in good enough shape..from there i took the ferry to ellis island, which is where immigrants to the US all had to process through, back when..that's where the initial health screening was done, as well as information given, etc..they still have most of the records, and it's pretty impressive..it's a place where plenty of names were americanized for easier pronunciation..i took a practice US citizenship test, and aced it..some of the questions seemed like they were designed to trick the testtaker..the sight of the new york city cityline from the water was beautiful..the UN (did you know that the UN is technically not part of the united states? i don't know what it's governance is)..i saw what is known as ground zero..as was the intention of the powers that be, there is no attention drawn to the area..there is construction stuff there, building up the new buildings...i can't remember if it's a memorial, or just another building..the people of new york city want to send a constant message to the terrorists, that life will continue with no differences, despite the attack...one night we went to listen to the new york philharmonic in central park with 60,000 of our closest friends...we brought sushi to eat while listening, and the dogs loved getting out of the loft..one night we went to a restaurant for ukrainian food..yum..i love the amazing variety of food in the city..there are so many immigrants, something that hasn't changed since the city was first founded..one night kristin and katherine hosted a party for a group of their friends..it was to celebrate kristin finishing work at the hospital..she had enjoyed the work, but wanted to depend entirely on her private practice..i want to go back!! it would be awesome to see a show on broadway, check out the other borroughs, etc..plus, kristin and katherine are great people:)
from new york, i flew to toronto to visit brooke...she's one of my friends from korea..it was great to catch up with her, she's been through a lot...she looks amazing, maybe even too skinny..she started weight watchers during the year i taught at psa, and ended up losing quite a bit of weight..she's really strong, and controlled herself really well once she started keeping track of her points..i was there the weekend of toronto pride, so we checked that out..great music, good food, lots of fun..one of my nights there brooke and i continued our tradition of date night, which involves ridiculously bad fast food and a movie..i met her roommate tasha, a british chick..tasha has a strong personality, to put it mildly..i didn't get to see much (or any) of the city, but that wasn't the point of me going to toronto..getting to and from the airport in toronto was easy, there is a train the whole way..there is also good public transport around the city..brooke usually walks to and from work, though she could take the tram if she wanted to..
my next visit was to chicago to see megan...awesome...i knew her when we were both in germany..i took the 'el' into the city from the airport, and met her at one of the stops..the first thing we did was go to breakfast at ihop, my first time ever eating at an ihop!! i know it's not the classiest place, but i really wanted breakfast food..she has a great apartment, and a great roommate...the flat is huge!! i slept in the living room, on an air mattress, falling asleep to movies on the projector each night..we went to the taste of chicago...lots of yummy food!!! i'd heard that it is an expensive thing to attend, but it wasn't all that bad..there are tons of stalls set up, each one manned by a different restaurant from the city..each stall has a menu, consisting of just a few options..usually three choices, and a "taste" option..each choice costs a certain number of tickets..we walked all around the area to get a feel for what was there, then went back to places that interested us..using both of our sets of tickets, we tried a lot of different types of food, and loved most of them..after stuffing ourselves, we went to a concert by joss stone...i had heard her name ahead of time, but didn't really know her music at all..fun times..and great weather...one day i got to see megan's workplace, she works at argo tea..it's kinda like the starbucks of tea..there aren't nearly as many branches, but they have a huge menu..who knew there were that many ways of serving tea!!...i shopped a bit, and wandered a bit...chicago is a great city for wandering..so many people to see, so much going on all the time..it's another city with great public transport..i wish more cities were the same..
after chicago i went back to indiana for one last week, to pack up and figure out what i'll need for the next year and a half of my life!!! i also spent the 4th of july in bloomington, something i hadn't done in years..hana, dad, ann and i went to the fireworks put on by the city, around the football stadium..we set up our chairs on the lawn of one of the churches across the bypass, we had by far the best views i've ever had of the fireworks...
during the weeks i spent in bloomington, i realized that bloomington doesn't feel like home at all anymore...i felt rather unwelcome most of the time, as if i was intruding...seeing people around town was nice, but what used to be my home most certainly isn't anymore..now i feel homeless, and have no real desire to go back to bloomington for a long time..