granada: tom needs to do laundry, desperately. having left the farm i am now in transition, slowly morphing back into a respectable looking human (this is possible i keep telling myself). folks where iḿ staying dont know where the closest laundromat is and so i venture out to find one alone.
i stumble upon an office de turismo and decide to ask there. i attempt to ask en espagnol but realize i dont know the word for laundry. so i substitute the word laundry, albeit quietly, and smile :) she smirks back at me and circles a street, la paz, on my free map. so i go on my merry way to find the laundromat.
following her directions i reach la paz and make my way down the narrow street, keeping an eye out for the laundromat. i cant find the laundromat. then it suddenly comes to my attention that all of the shops on the street are selling lingerie.
the spanish word for laundry is lavanderia.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
heaven. portugal.
currently working on a farm in south portugal. 8 km from lagos in the algarve. i'm here with chris and mike, both philly cats. we live in a small cottage that is primitive and rather rough around the edges but it feels like home. our days are spent out in the fields pruning olives trees and clearing brush or in the vegetable garden weeding and getting dirty. i love it. we work hard, eat well and take our time.
the garden
chris playing in the cottage
cheers!
our cottage
weedwacker!
the garden
chris playing in the cottage
cheers!
our cottage
weedwacker!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
cold and wet and beautiful poland
the night train to krakow was like stepping back in time. the polish train, with all sleeper cars, looked like it was built circa 1942 and was possibly running on its own desire to get the fuck back home and rest. i had assumed that on a tuesday night, traveling from berlin to krakow, there would be no one accompanying me. but i was still excited to spend my first night on a train. it felt like i was preparing for a camping trip. little did i know it would be more like camping than i could have ever imagined. instead of being on a deserted train, there were 5 adults packed into our cabin that supposedly could have slept 6. it was so cramped with 5, i think that if we'd had a 6th we would have had to resolve to some sort of survivor-like contest to decide who got the boot.
st. mary's basilica, main market square
thankfully i had come prepared with a few beers and some snacks because i spent most of the night in the hallway, chatting and sharing stories with a fellow passenger who was on her way home and had made the same trip a dozen times. in the wee hours we eventually crawled our way back to our bunks for a kip. in the morning i awoke to pouring rain and that's how it remained for the majority of my stay.
drying off in a cafe, drinking hot tea with rum, seriously
i only spent 2 nights in krakow but, as has been the case with many of the places i've visited, felt that i should have stayed longer and headed north into the woods. my hosts, roger and tomek, showed me some pictures of the areas surrounding krakow and i immediately thought, shit, i should really stop spending all my time in the cities. sure, there is lots of culture in the metropolis - museums, live music, cafes, beautiful women - but it was at this point that i started to think i could probably find even more exciting and authentic experiences outside the big towns. i was lucky enough to arrive on poland's day of independence and although they don't go anywhere near the lengths of the americans on july 4th, it was cool seeing the citizens waving a flag here and there. in the evening everyone gathered in the main market square in the center of town to sing traditional songs and i did my best to try and follow along with the words projected on the screen. the melodies weren't so tricky but try singing and reading polish lyrics in the pouring rain and you'll wind up cross-eyed.
polish soldiers parade on independence day
krakow is definitely one of the most charming cities in europe; incredible architecture and a unique character with lots of young people and artists. the old jewish quarter, kazimierz, is a haunting and exhilarating place to explore and i loved visiting the synagogues, some dating back to the 15th century. i also spent a quiet time in the remuh cemetery which was used from 1551 until 1800 and is so packed full of gravestones, it's daunting. entering the cemetery late in the day and without noting the closing time, i found that i was the only one inside and as the sun faded, suddenly noticed how dark it was growing and hustled my way back to the gate to find that i'd been locked in. the groundskeeper, who was miraculously still in his woodshed came out to release me before i resorted to scrambling up the walls. funny how quickly a place that's peaceful and enchanting becomes so downright frightening.
remuh cemetery
all in all, i would love to visit when the weather is fine. still, traveling this time of year, one has to make the most of it.
my host's dog, figo. he's a basenji which is an egyptian dog that can't bark, apparently
st. mary's basilica, main market square
thankfully i had come prepared with a few beers and some snacks because i spent most of the night in the hallway, chatting and sharing stories with a fellow passenger who was on her way home and had made the same trip a dozen times. in the wee hours we eventually crawled our way back to our bunks for a kip. in the morning i awoke to pouring rain and that's how it remained for the majority of my stay.
drying off in a cafe, drinking hot tea with rum, seriously
i only spent 2 nights in krakow but, as has been the case with many of the places i've visited, felt that i should have stayed longer and headed north into the woods. my hosts, roger and tomek, showed me some pictures of the areas surrounding krakow and i immediately thought, shit, i should really stop spending all my time in the cities. sure, there is lots of culture in the metropolis - museums, live music, cafes, beautiful women - but it was at this point that i started to think i could probably find even more exciting and authentic experiences outside the big towns. i was lucky enough to arrive on poland's day of independence and although they don't go anywhere near the lengths of the americans on july 4th, it was cool seeing the citizens waving a flag here and there. in the evening everyone gathered in the main market square in the center of town to sing traditional songs and i did my best to try and follow along with the words projected on the screen. the melodies weren't so tricky but try singing and reading polish lyrics in the pouring rain and you'll wind up cross-eyed.
polish soldiers parade on independence day
krakow is definitely one of the most charming cities in europe; incredible architecture and a unique character with lots of young people and artists. the old jewish quarter, kazimierz, is a haunting and exhilarating place to explore and i loved visiting the synagogues, some dating back to the 15th century. i also spent a quiet time in the remuh cemetery which was used from 1551 until 1800 and is so packed full of gravestones, it's daunting. entering the cemetery late in the day and without noting the closing time, i found that i was the only one inside and as the sun faded, suddenly noticed how dark it was growing and hustled my way back to the gate to find that i'd been locked in. the groundskeeper, who was miraculously still in his woodshed came out to release me before i resorted to scrambling up the walls. funny how quickly a place that's peaceful and enchanting becomes so downright frightening.
remuh cemetery
all in all, i would love to visit when the weather is fine. still, traveling this time of year, one has to make the most of it.
my host's dog, figo. he's a basenji which is an egyptian dog that can't bark, apparently
mauerfall weekend
while out on the town in cologne i had a chat with rosy, a friend of my host luis mario, who also couchsurfs and is from mexico and now lives in germany. i revealed my plans to visit berlin the following week and she proceeded to tell me about the big celebration for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall, scheduled to take place on november 9th. it happened to be a few days after the time i had planned on being there but i was quickly convinced that this was an opportunity i'd be foolish to miss. i rearranged my itinerary and agreed to meet rosy in berlin for the festivities.
rosy knew several people in germany and i was able to find a couch at the last minute despite the overwhelming number of couchsurfers visiting for the weekend. i learned upon arrival that many berlin folk were not really that excited about the anniversary. november 9th also happens to be the exact same date that the nazi party burned down all of the synagogues in 1938. true, they are separate events in history, but still a legitimate reason not to be celebrating. there were many different political leaders attending and several different speeches & performances including a giant wall of dominoes in the central area which were knocked down at the end. this was followed by a performance by bon jovi. boo.
i had been registered to be involved in a project where 50,000 people would join hands to create a human wall where the original one once stood. unfortunately due to security reasons in the central part of the city our group was eliminated from the project and we resolved to recognize the event our own way. which we did with a decent view from the river, umbrellas, a spliff and a bottle of jim beam. without going into too much detail, it was a remarkable experience and after 5 nights in the great city of berlin i felt like a wrung-out towel...exhausted but inspired by the events that had taken place. below are some pictures from the whole weekend.
field for lovers
sunset from gallery of the berliner dome
yours truly in the evening sun, berliner dome
tv tower
not movin but lookin tough
waiting for the dominoes to fall
the whisky crew. andreas, thomas, myself & rosy
i am the berlin bear
east side gallery, art on a long section of wall that still stands
more art
rosy knew several people in germany and i was able to find a couch at the last minute despite the overwhelming number of couchsurfers visiting for the weekend. i learned upon arrival that many berlin folk were not really that excited about the anniversary. november 9th also happens to be the exact same date that the nazi party burned down all of the synagogues in 1938. true, they are separate events in history, but still a legitimate reason not to be celebrating. there were many different political leaders attending and several different speeches & performances including a giant wall of dominoes in the central area which were knocked down at the end. this was followed by a performance by bon jovi. boo.
i had been registered to be involved in a project where 50,000 people would join hands to create a human wall where the original one once stood. unfortunately due to security reasons in the central part of the city our group was eliminated from the project and we resolved to recognize the event our own way. which we did with a decent view from the river, umbrellas, a spliff and a bottle of jim beam. without going into too much detail, it was a remarkable experience and after 5 nights in the great city of berlin i felt like a wrung-out towel...exhausted but inspired by the events that had taken place. below are some pictures from the whole weekend.
field for lovers
sunset from gallery of the berliner dome
yours truly in the evening sun, berliner dome
tv tower
not movin but lookin tough
waiting for the dominoes to fall
the whisky crew. andreas, thomas, myself & rosy
i am the berlin bear
east side gallery, art on a long section of wall that still stands
more art
Sunday, November 15, 2009
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