1979 Going Home (9/21-22/1979)

Friday, September 21, 1979

I’m heading home! We left early, taking the bus to Tetouan, and then one to Tangier. We passed the usual rugged countryside, rocky hills and mountains with scrubby trees. The bus stopped in the middle of nowhere to let off passengers. Two passengers were apparently smugglers since they spread their things evenly throughout the bus. After arriving in Tangier, we first stopped at the tourist agency to get the Royal Air Maroc address, then stopped at a bank to cash Kathy’s paycheck. At the Air Maroc office, they reluctantly agreed to keep my baggage in the storeroom for the day. Then we went souvenir-hunting and Kathy did an admirable job of bargaining when necessary. She bought book covers for her parents, a wallet for Aldo and a hand-of-Fatima charm for Pina. I got one of the charms for my sister. We were bothered only a few times by guys wanting to be our guides, but usually a “la, berekolofic” put them off. However, one guy insisted on knowing where I was from…

We had lunch at a restaurant where the fresh meats were displayed out front. We sat in a hotel garden until the stores opened up again. We were bothered again by a couple persistent “guides,” wanting to take us anywhere! Gives a bad reputation to Morocco. Finished our souvenir shopping and returned to the Air Maroc offices to pick up my bags. Kathy finagled them into getting a taxicab for me. Kathy and I said our goodbyes Moroccan-style, and we parted company after two months! It was a 15-20 minute drive to the airport. I had a two-hour wait, plenty of time for checking in and going through customs where bags were thoroughly searched and our clothes (the ones we were wearing!) were patted. After the quick body search, we were allowed on the 737 plane. Just before boarding you point out your luggage which they then put on the plane. Once in the plane, you could take any seat you wished! The plane left at 18:10 and we were served a dinner of a turkey sandwich, fruit cocktail, pretzels, cake and cookies with a tiny plastic bottle of water. We landed in Madrid 50 minutes later, but 20:00 local time. Went through customs and checked my baggage. Spent the evening exploring the international terminal of the airport. Found the souvenir shops and TWA desk. I read an Italian newspaper I found, and a magazine. Caught up on my declarable item list, journal, and game-book Kathy got me in Granville. There was no hassling, only a couple hisses. A lot of people were sleeping in the airport, so I joined them. At this airport was a specially designated “meeting point” such as one we had seen in the München railroad station. There was also a message board like one I had seen in the Tangier airport.

Saturday, September 22, 1979

I went to the souvenir shops and bought a cross pendant, then I checked in with TWA. Some guy wanted to sit and talk to me in Spanish. Later it looked like they were either taping a film, or waiting for a famous person to arrive. I think the former, because of the super-huge lamps, the single camera, the bunch of old suitcases, and the same old people waiting for hours at the luggage claim area, and the lack of huge crowds of curious on-lookers. I picked up my luggage and went through the procedures before boarding the plane. Our 747 took off by 12:00 Madrid time. I rented a headset and listened to the latest U.S. hits; I guess I didn't miss much! We were served lunch of chicken, beans, a roll, piece of cake, and a salad, etc. That was after a snack of peanuts and crackers! A while later the movie began, “Lost and Found” with George Segal and Glynnis Jackson. Kind of funny but halfway through it got cloudy (the film) and then it stopped altogether. A crewman pulled the projector down from the ceiling and loops of film spilled out everywhere. He pulled out the loose film and started the projector again. Twice again it stopped, and finally they didn't bother trying to fix it, so we will never know who got tenure.

TWA booklet cover (look familiar?)

TWA booklet: Duty Free info

TWA booklet: Menu

TWA booklet: Beverages and Duty Free info

I continued listening to my headset, and seven hours after take-off we landed at Kennedy Airport, NYC. It was only 13:00 local time, a relative flight of only one hour! We had a long wait for baggage. I breezed through customs and only had to pay $2.30 for duty. I took the bus of the JFK Subway-Bus Express to Manhattan to a parking lot where I caught the subway to 42^nd Street. Ended up hiking along 42^nd Street (I wasn't bothered by a soul!) to Port Authority where I called the family, and then took the bus to Mahwah, NJ where Mom, Dad and Kathy met me. A short walk to Suffern, NY and home again! (Although Suffern wasn't my home originally, it became my home for the next year or so!)

1979 Morocco Again (9/11-20/1979)

Tuesday, September 11, 1979

The next morning we got up fairly early and watched southern Spain fly by, with cork trees where the bark had been stripped off, a few fig trees, and a lot of olive trees. We saw century plants with their huge unattractive flowers on giant asparagus-like stalks. Finally we arrived in Algeciras at about 10:30. We walked through the center of the town to reach the port where we bought tickets for the 13:00 boat. We bought tuna sandwiches and drinks, and had a picnic in the shadow of the customs building. Finally we were able to board the boat where we played several games of Mastermind (learned on the train by the Moroccan groom who loved it), and then I fell asleep. At Ceuta, we took the bus to the border without any problems. At the border was some guy asking everyone if they were Americans, but other than that there were no hassles. Our baggage was casually searched. We were able to board a bus to Tetouan right away and had a relatively short wait before it took off. At the border you could look up in the hills and see footpaths followed by those who want to bypass the border guards. You could count the people taking the path but the guards weren't doing anything about it. These people may have been those without passports, where the true smuggler probably brazenly goes through the border customs as required. On the bus a guy asked me to move over so that he could occupy the third seat of our row, even though there were plenty of empty rows. Apparently that is unusual and at least shameful Moroccan behavior. When we arrived in Tetouan, a fellow told us in English that the tourist office was upstairs, a fact Kathy didn't know. We caught a fast bus to Martil, and finally arrived “home” safe and sound. We started cleaning house, being interrupted only to have dinner with the neighbors; Sue and Bechir were anxious to hear about our trip. We returned to finish cleaning, to finally take showers, and to fall into bed.

Wednesday, September 12, 1979

Slept late, did a lot of cleaning, shopping, washing clothes, and spent a little time on the beach.

Thursday, September 13, 1979

Again slept late, did shopping and loads of clothes washing, plus visiting with Sue and Peace Corps volunteer Marianne. Kathy began reading Hitchcock stories out loud, which is becoming a nightly treat.

Friday, September 14, 1979

Didn't sleep late because early in the morning we joined Sue and Marianne as Bechir drove us into Tetouan. We went to a Hammem, or a public bath. We women crowded into one of the stall areas and filled up buckets of water. First we had to get ourselves wet! We soaped up with Moroccan soap which looked like tar, but lathered really well! After rinsing off the soap, we took scrub rocks and really scrubbed the skin, actually rubbing off hunks of dead and dirty skin! The proprietress came to see how we were doing, and since I was the closest to her, she ended up giving me a very thorough scrub. After another rinse, we soaped up with regular soap. Next another rinse and we wet our hair. We put a resin mixture in our hair to sit for a few minutes. Then we combed our hair and rinsed out the resin. Then we shampooed our hair. Finally rinse, rinse, rinse, and a final douse of cold water. The whole process was leisurely and took nearly two hours, but it was just what we needed after our long trip. We went to the dressing room to dry and dress, and discovered someone had taken Kathy’s brand new undergarments! Afterwards we went to Kathy’s school to pick up her mail, go to a café for drinks, then to the Royal Air Maroc offices to make my plane reservations, before going home at noon. We also picked up some delicious Moroccan pastries. We spent the afternoon doing the usual: Masterminding, washing clothes, shopping, etc. Peace Corps volunteer Mark came by that evening to hear about our trip and we didn't get to bed until late.

Saturday, September 15, 1979

Sleep, eat, watch the rain, begin designing a Moroccan Monopoly game, and meet the new Tetouan Peace Corps volunteer Paul.

Sunday, September 16, 1979

Sleep, eat, Mastermind, beach it with Sue for inter-cultural relationships discussion, shopping, work on Monopoly game, and catch up on the journal!

Monday, September 17, 1979

We were driven to Tetouan by Bechir. I went to work with Kathy and shook hands and la-bersed almost everyone, did double-kissing with a lot of the kids. It was utter chaos with kids and teachers running everywhere; only Kathy knew where she belonged! The school day begins at about 9:00. At 10:00 they have a coffee and bread break. At 11:30 they are served lunch and are free to go out until 14:00. At 15:30 they have a soup break. The day ends at 17:00. Most of the kids have polio, a few have cerebral palsy, and they are in regular classes. There are also classes of MR, “crazy” kids, and deaf-mutes. Everyone was curious as to who I was, not believing I was American. Told everyone I knew only ‘shweeah’ Arabic, I can count wahada, zudj, cleta. And say wacha (okay), walloo (nothing), bezeff (a lot), muzien bslema (bye). I got along best with the deaf kids since Kathy taught me many signs which we used to our advantage during train trips in Europe. Kathy brought in a few of her cerebral palsy kids and I gave her some treatment suggestions. Her “helper” gave light rubdowns as an excuse for massages while staring out the window when the girls next door were on break. For lunch we met Marianne and had a regular beefsteak meal. We took a walk in the Spanish souk (open market) where they sell Spanish goods probably smuggled from Ceuta. We also confirmed my reservation at Royal Air Maroc, and stopped at the Moby Dick Bar (so called by Peace Corps volunteers because of a huge round window) for good but expensive ice cream which was finally gotten after a confused order where lemon and chocolate meant lemonade and cocoa to the waiter. Once back home, Kathy and Sue took their dog to the vet; she apparently had eczema and needed a formaldehyde-type treatment with which I had to assist.

Tuesday, September 18, 1979

Again accompanied Kathy to work and helped with the kids. Walked up to meet Mark at work. For lunch had couscous (semolina) with vegetables and meat on top. Later we were joined by Marianne and we took a walk in the old part of the city, the Medina. It had narrow streets and alleys in a maze-like pattern. I was warned to watch out for pickpockets and kids starting fights to block your progress to facilitate the picking of pockets. All kinds of things were sold in the Medina, and I bought a bottle of black kohl (used as eyeliner) which I put in my pants pocket, later to discover it had opened and blackened everything in my pocket. That evening Bechir took us girls for a drive to Mdig where we went to a restaurant with an observation deck overlooking the port. We had ice cream and viewed the sunset, watched the fishing boats go out, and saw the Ceuta lights sparkling across the water. We had hamburgers and French fries for dinner with Sue and Bechir.

Wednesday, September 19, 1979

Again went to work with Kathy. Met Paul and Mark for lunch where I had paella (rice with seafood: shrimp and squid). We went to the Medina for more kohl and a kohl applicator for a total of $1.00! Evenings I help Kathy drink hot cocoa, keep up on her journal, scratch her back, catch mosquitoes, etc.

Thursday, September 20, 1979

I had a bad case of the trots early in the morning, so I didn't go to work with Kathy. I was okay, but hungry all day. Did lots of laundry, magazine reading, and figured out how to play backgammon so we could teach Sue. We went out to dinner with Mark. That evening I packed and we played backgammon.

Next: Going Home.

1979 Madrid Again (9/9-10/1979)

Sunday, September 9, 1979

We arrived in Madrid at 11:00 and we figured it was too late to go to the Prado which was only open in the morning on Sundays. So we picked up our bomb suitcase, made reservations on the next day’s train for Algeciras. We found that to get a cuchette would only cost $5 over our Eurail Passes, so we reserved cuchettes. (We later found out that a cuchette actually costs six times as much! Thank goodness for the Eurail Pass!) We took the subway to the hotel we had previously stayed in, and re-checked in. We had lunch at Burger King, then walked to the Plaza de España in hopes of finding the bus to the zoo. As we walked in the direction of the zoo, we saw several buses we wanted (#33) but couldn't find the actual bus stop. We ended up hiking all the way to Casa de Campo, the huge area in which the zoo and amusement park are located. Only then did we realize how large the Casa de Campo was, as we walked along its border looking for the zoo entrance. We passed a section of gardens, and then a large area which looked exactly like an abandoned fairground, which it turned out to be. Several (an understatement) kilometers later, we reached the zoo, noted for being modern and generally without cages. It was the nicest zoo I have ever seen, but there were still cages, and some of the open areas seemed too small and lacked any shade. We saw a large variety of animals, but very few from the Americas. Supposedly expansion of the zoo is being made to include those animals, too. They had prairie dogs living in an area without barriers, and they were willing to let humans within an arm’s length. There was a pair of Giant Pandas who apparently just arrived from China.

Zoo ticket

Amusement park ticket

When we finished at the zoo, we went to the amusement park, Parque de Attraciones, which was supposedly comparable to Copenhagen’s Tivoli and Disneyland with “unique” rides. It was like Tivoli, but hopefully not like Disneyland or else I will be very disappointed! The rides were not unique, in fact there were not very many of them. We saw only a couple rides to excite our fancy, but they were closed! We saw lots of pinball machines, restaurants, the cascading main fountain, and a loud drunk wandering around followed by two concerned-looking women. We joined the crowd waiting to see “Pecos.” “Pecos” turned out to be a band featuring two fresh-faced kids, the apparent heart throbs of Spanish teeny boppers. When “Pecos” finally came out, we left. We caught our #33 bus back to Madrid and found out why we hadn't seen a bus stop in Plaza de España. It doesn't actually stop there! We took the bus to the end of the line and walked back to Burger King for dinner. We returned to the hotel for the night.

Monday, September 10, 1979

We overslept and our only time-telling piece had stopped, so we had no idea what time it was. We hurriedly dressed, but made it in time for breakfast. We left our bag at the hotel and headed more or less straight for the Prado. We saw men hosing down the streets of Madrid!

Prado ticket

We entered the Prado and began exploring the last of a long list of art museums on our itinerary. By now all art was beginning to look alike, so we weren't overly impressed by all the Rubens, etc. We did see several rooms of Goya, each in a different style from soft classical, good classical to weird modern, almost surrealistic. He was a prolific painter like all the others. It seemed Rubens had a huge collection in every art gallery. The lighting was better for viewing, but not for photo-taking. The collection itself was very large, but not the largest we had seen since the Louvre. It didn't take very long to go through the Prado which had several signs asking to excuse the inconvenience caused by the “climatization,” but we saw no hint of construction inside. We spent the rest of the day souvenir-hunting. I found a leather eyeglass case for my sister, and Kathy found some games for her brother. She also bought a miniature “Mastermind” game for our own amusement. For lunch we stopped at Burger King again. We picked up our bag from the hotel and took the subway to the Chamartin train station to retrieve our two big bags. There we explored the boutiques in their shopping mall and had a snack. Then we Metro’ed to the Atocha station. It must have been rush hour, since we were shoved in like sardines. Being surrounded by men who took advantage of the situation, we were more uncomfortable than would be usual. At every station it seemed more people got on than got off. We couldn't believe the hands (and other assorted body parts) of the guys surrounding us! Busy! We used our elbows and knees as best we could to stave off strangers, but it was difficult being so crammed in. Perhaps fortunately we had a wall to one side and our suitcases to another which left only two sides open to attack. Finally we arrived at Atocha where we shoved our way off the train. Once in the train station, we had a bit of a wait before our train was ready for boarding. When we got on the cuchette car, a porter was waiting to show us the way and to throw our suitcases up on the racks. We were joined by a Moroccan couple coming home from their honeymoon. The groom spoke French, Spanish, and Italian, as well as Arabic, plus he knew a little English that he practiced with us. He seemed pleased that Kathy spoke Arabic and conversed away. We were also joined by a Spanish couple, who apparently had a dog along in the baggage car, and they had to pay a fare for him more than what we paid for our cuchettes! As we rode along, we ate our respective dinners. Then the porter came along to make up the beds. Kathy and I were relegated to the top bunks while the menfolk took the middle bunks and their wives got the lower bunks. It was hot in the top bunks, but apparently cooler down below. Kathy kept using her toe to open the window, while the Spanish man kept reaching over to close it. But Kathy and I slept well enough, when it seems the women below didn't sleep at all. For us, cuchettes are much better than fold-down seats for sleeping!

Next: Morocco again.

1979 Lisbon (9/8/1979)

Saturday, September 8, 1979

We pulled into Lisbon at about 11:00, but had to put our one watch back an hour. The train itself was an hour behind schedule. Once in the station we changed money, made reservations for the train back to Madrid that night, and got a map of the city. We knew the stores would only be open in the morning, so we first made our way to the cork shop recommended by the “$10” book. It was quite a hike but it took us past some great sights including what seemed to be the main entrance to the city, a huge square with a huge arch. We saw all sorts of trolleys including tiny ones without glass in the windows; it was a working trolley museum. We saw quite a variety of buses including double-deckers. We turned into some side streets and found ourselves almost vertically climbing the steep hills. We even saw a trolley that was built to fit the angle of the street it climbed. We seemed to have gone in a circle, but found the cork shop, a half-empty dusty old place with a couple cork items in the window and a dirty abandoned workshop appearance within. We decided to skip this wonderful attraction and went back down the hill to the main drag. Here we found an ice cream shop specializing in Italian ice cream. We each got a cup, I had lemon and chocolate which tasted surprisingly good when mixed. We then went to the newly-built shopping mall at one of the train stations. It had a lot of boutique-type stores. There was also a Chinese restaurant where we decided to have lunch; I had sweet and sour pork and Kathy had chicken and almonds, after the traditional egg roll. We followed the meal with several cups of green tea. We went off in search of the old part of the city where we had heard there was a flea market called the Thieves Market. We ended up climbing steep and winding streets, and not having a sufficient map, we really didn't know where we were. At one point we seemed to leave the area habituated by tourists, but then ended up within the walls of the castle of St Jorge, sitting on top of the hill overlooking the city. We explored the castle which had a collection of all sorts of ducks and birds, including swans and even white peacocks. The birds had special areas set behind low hedges, but they weren't caged and were essentially free to go where they pleased. We even climbed higher to walk atop the walls where I re-found my fear of heights, suddenly getting weak-kneed where there was no wall on the downhill side. We wanted to look over the edge of the outer wall into the city in hopes of seeing the flea market, but we didn't see anything nearby except foliage immediately below us. We left the castle and found a tourist information place where we were told to follow the trolley tracks. The tracks split a couple times, but we forged ahead. Suddenly we saw a lot of pedestrian traffic on one of the side streets. We investigated and found the Thieves Market! It was really huge and sold absolutely every type of junk imaginable! Nuts and bolts, old lamp shades, keys, door hinges, screwdrivers, pieces of appliances, clothes, kitchen gadgets, coins, furniture, shoes, buttons, iron scraps, old irons, electric parts, etc., etc., etc. We managed to go up and down every row of booths. There was even an indoor section which was closing up when we arrived. One loud woman proprietor had a microphone (which she didn't need!) to help sell her wares, silverware sets and wallets! When we finished exploring the flea market, we went downhill to the train station. We stopped at a nearby café for some nice cold drinks. We had seen the American fellow hanging out at the station, so we bought him a Coke. Kathy and I went for a walk along the waterfront, but it was mostly warehouses. We returned to the station and sat outside for our dinner of tuna fish sandwiches and potato chips, our usual meal! Finally our train was ready and we boarded. We were joined by three young Japanese travelers, all also with Eurail Passes. I mentioned to Kathy I had noticed an auto carrier car attached to our train. She didn't believe me so we took a walk to the end of the train to look out, and sure enough, we could see spooky auto headlights chasing us in the dark. We went to the restaurant car for chocolate milks and ran into the American guy again. Soon the lights were turned off for bedtime.

Next: Madrid again.

1979 Madrid (9/5-7/1979)

Wednesday, September 5, 1979

Awoke in Paris. Went to the information booth to see if it was possible to get to Mont St Michel. We were given explicit directions, to take a train to another Paris railroad station to Pontorson from where it took a bus only five minutes to get to Mont St Michel. So we Metro’ed (on a rubber-tired train) to the Montparnasse station, boarded the train with the proper train number leaving at the expected time. It passed through some beautiful softly rolling farmland and was really a pretty ride as long as we were awake. The only problem was that we ended up at a strange destination, in Granville. There was no indication that we would have to change trains or anything. We were rather lost! We figured we had already wasted a day, and that too much time would be needed to get to Mont St Michel than we planned. So we made our top priority getting into Spain as soon as possible, because we knew the Spanish trains were slow and unreliable. We took the next train back to Paris. While waiting in Granville, Kathy went out to buy bread and water (our sole/soul sustenance!) and a surprise of a macaroon-type affair and a cupcake, and even a book of mazes and puzzles to keep one busy when unnecessarily having to wait in train stations or riding unnecessary trains! We did keep ourselves amused with this book during our travels, as well as with typical travel games, and our own games reminiscent of our college physics class (“what is it?). Finally arrived in Paris, Metro’ed to the Austerlitz station and hopped on the first train towards Spain. It was a train with brand new coach cars, rather than compartments. Later in the night we each had our own pair of seats to “stretch out” on to sleep.

Thursday, September 6, 1979

Our days are getting to be so exciting… 

Woke up in Irun, Spain where the French train ended its trip. Walked through customs simply waving our passports. We went to see about getting a train to Madrid and the ticket man told us the time the continuation of the Iberian Express left, almost an hour later than the Talgo train which was leaving immediately. We waited around and joined the long line for reservations only to find we didn't need them. We got on the train and ate our tuna fish on wheat bread breakfast. Later when the conductor came by he told us to move up a few cars if we were going to “Madrith.” (One had to be careful because sometimes certain cars of a train were shunted off to be attached to other trains going in other directions!) We slept a good bit, but managed to see some rolling country with little green shrubs and some rocky areas with mostly two tire-track roads, and like the “$10” book said, no billboards to mar the scene where you can imagine Don Quixote roaming around. We took a walk to the restaurant car to find a bar and an area with waiter-service. We figured we could wait until Madrid to eat, but at the next station a cart went by selling drinks and sandwiches. As we neared Madrid, our fellow passengers, some guys in the service, tried to talk to us. We told them where we were born, where we had just come from, and where we were going in hopes of answering all their questions. They continued to try to talk with us, but since we didn't understand, they gave up. Finally at about 18:30 we arrived in Madrid in the new modern station of Chamartin which reminded us more of an airport. We wandered around quite a bit before we found the baggage check place. We bought a map from a hotel information booth. We bought some ice cream which can’t compare to Italy’s. As we studied the map and the “$10” book for hotels, I saw the Moroccan brothers I had first encountered during my first Spanish train trip. Small world!

We took the Metro into the central city. On our way to the Metro stop we stopped at a bakery-deli for some delicious fancy cupcakes. Once in the city we immediately took a room in the first hotel we tried which had its own bathroom with a cute half-sized tub. We went downstairs to the restaurant recommended by the “$10” book, for our big “splurge” meal in Madrid. For about $5 each we got soup or salad, a main dish with French fries and peas, and a dessert with a beverage and the offer of coffee. We then took a walk around town, finding the TWA offices and a Burger King. We saw the fountains of the Plaza de España lighted up at night, and we did a lot of window shopping although we are seeing less and less to excite us as we reach the end of our souvenir list. We found an “all-around” type shop which was still open, so we bought After Eight mints for dessert. Back at the hotel, our room was hot, and we had problems falling asleep, probably because we had slept so much on the trains that day.

Friday, September 7, 1979

We awoke early and had our included breakfast of tea, sweet rolls and melba toast, with fancy curlicues of butter. We went first to the TWA offices where I wanted to change my open ticket for one from Madrid or Morocco. It turned out I could fly from Tangier to Madrid to New York City for only $2.00 more than just from Madrid to NYC! While I waited to go through all the red tape of getting a new ticket, Kathy went looking for some small item with the Lacoste emblem (an alligator), the preppie symbol, which she wanted to get for the new Peace Corps volunteer Trip. She didn't find anything, but got the idea of getting socks or underwear on which she herself would embroider the alligator. Afterwards we went to the store recommended by the “$10” book as a place to get special soap which is apparently real expensive in the U.S. We bought half a dozen bars, and the proprietor was very friendly and showed us two counterfeit bills he acquired during the course of his business, one being a U.S. $50 bill. We made our way to Puerta del Sol which is supposed to be the center of Madrid. From the bustling square we caught a bus recommended by the “$10” book to get to a small museum. We had no idea where to get off, so Kathy used her little Spanish to ask the conductor where to get off. He obliged and motioned us in the correct direction to take. Kathy tipped him with a couple After Eight mints! We walked the several blocks and finally found the museum. Just as the “$10” book suggested, we began on the third floor and worked our way down. (Actually it was the fourth floor American-style.) We had heard about some Leonardo da Vinci painting hidden in a corner, so we carefully looked for the painter’s name on every painting! We finally found it on the ground floor, and it was spotlighted with green velvet drapes framing it! Hidden, indeed!

Museum ticket

We left the museum and began walking towards the center of Madrid, window shopping along the way. We found an honest-to-goodness Sears department store that really looked like the average Sears inside! This is where we got the underwear and socks for Trip. We walked past a couple squares, with a triumphal arch in one, and a neat fountain in the other.

Puerta de Alcalá in Plaza de la Independencia

Plaza Cibeles

We passed what seemed to be a military installation, being guarded by and full of men in uniform. There were even guards with rifles on the roof of the bank next door overlooking the area. But this place had lovely gardens and “rose trees” inside the fancy wrought-iron fences. Finally we took to the side streets to find the “cheapest restaurant in the world” as recommended by the “$10” book. We found it and it was a cheap-looking place all right, small and crowded with linoleum tables. We decided to eat there nevertheless and got a salad, beefsteak and French fries, and melon slices, all for about $1.50. The proprietor came around trying to make us take a squirt of wine from an animal-skin bag. We refused because we don’t like wine, but he thought we were afraid of the method of drinking, by squeezing the bag to let a stream of wine shoot directly into your mouth. When we had finished, we still had plenty of time before the stores and the Prado opened up again. So we window-shopped our way back to the Burger King where we got milkshakes. We sat for a while by the fountain at Plaza de España. We then went to the stores as they opened up in search of souvenirs. We arrived at the Prado and walked completely around it before finding the entrance. As we walked behind the museum we saw a lot of construction equipment for the “climatization” of the Prado, and we kidded it might be closed because of construction. However, we refused to believe that we came all the way to Madrid only to miss its most important landmark, the Prado, the best art museum in the world! When we found the entrance, it was truly locked! We were shocked! But it turned out the hours were from 10:00-18:00 and we had arrived at 18:00 because the “$10” book said the hours were 10:00-14:00 and 17:00-20:00. We were sorely disappointed but decided to continue with our plans to go to Lisbon, Portugal, but to return again to Madrid long enough to see the Prado. We did some souvenir-hunting and food shopping on our way to the hotel to pick up our suitcase. We took the Metro to the Atocha train station where we checked our bag, and got boarding passes. We had a hard time closing this suitcase, and wouldn't you know it, a police officer was inspecting every bag being checked. He said he was looking for bombs. We had a real struggle to close the bag when he was done. During our wait we went to a nearby café ordering Cokes and sandwiches, hoping the waiter understood. He came back with grilled cheese sandwiches which was close enough! We boarded the train, finding the seats we were assigned. In our compartment we were joined by three middle-aged Spaniards traveling together, a Portuguese woman, and an American who spoke fluent Spanish and was apparently teaching English in Spain, but needed to leave the country after six months to get his passport stamped as a way of getting around a visa. Two girls came in to try to claim our seats, but fortunately they did not have boarding passes. So there were “only” seven of us in the compartment. The Spaniards had communication problems with the Portuguese woman, and the American translated every once in a while for us. The night wore on and everyone dozed on and off, except the American guy who sat up reading all night, of course leaving the light on, which made sleeping difficult for everyone else. Plus he smoked, drank beer, and his face constantly twitched; a seemingly very nervous fellow with insomnia who had no consideration for the rest of us. Rude American! We dozed nevertheless.

Map of Madrid

Next: Lisbon.

1979 Geneva (9/2-4/1979)

Sunday, September 2, 1979

But we got off in Hannover, Germany. The next train headed south wasn't for three hours, leaving for Basel at 7:10. We had to keep ourselves amused in that time, with writing journals and people-watching. We have found that all German train stations have a mission chapel somewhere on the premises, usually evangelist and sometimes Catholic. We caught our train and slept most of the way to Basel. Once there, we almost immediately transferred to a train headed for Geneva. Once in Geneva, we checked our bags and checked the hotel boards for the best within-our-budget hotel. There were direct telephone lines to the hotels, so we called to confirm availability and price of a room. We walked the couple blocks to look at the room and confirm our reservation. We went to a nearby McDonald’s for dinner, retrieved our luggage and settled into the hotel. After cleaning up, we took a walk around Geneva which was lighted up with neon signs advertising mostly watches, and light bulbs lined the bridges crossing the river. Also a lighthouse was lighted up, as well as the trees on a tiny island. A utilities building was colorfully lighted which made it look like a casino. It was really beautiful at might. We saw several camera stores which we planned on visiting the next day, as well as stationery stores where Kathy wanted to look for a zip-up three-ring binder type notebook. And we saw a lot of chocolate shops, with all types of figures made from chocolate including elephants, swans, even split chestnuts, neat! We headed back to the hotel after getting drinks at McDonald’s to accompany the super-huge Tobler chocolate bar we had bought. In our room was a radio on which I heard my special song, even here in Switzerland! I had also heard it in the open-air market in Florence. One of the beds had a massage unit. It was supposed to take U.S. quarters since all the information was written in English. We didn't have U.S. quarters and the Swiss don’t have a 25 cent piece. So Kathy tried a Moroccan dirham which is the same size and value as a quarter. It worked, so we had a vibrating bed to help relax us and put us to sleep.

Monday, September 3, 1979

We were awakened by the maid with breakfast at 9:00. Had a wonderful meal with great instant hot chocolate, croissants, and regular rolls with butter and jam. We took it easy in the morning, catching up on correspondence, washing clothes, etc., because we knew the stores weren't open Monday mornings. Just before noon we left, going to the post office and the TWA offices, which seemed permanently closed. We walked along one river bank toward the lake, seeing the huge geyser-like fountain and numerous swans and ducks.

Geneva's Jet d'Eau

We saw a couple windsurfers, one who did fairly well and the other who got dunked a lot. We found a lovely park with a rose garden to wander in. We headed back towards “downtown” Geneva, window shopping along the way. We also looked for a place where we could try a cheese fondue, but the restaurants seemed too expensive. We went back to McDonald’s. After a late lunch, we started hitting the camera places, where Kathy discovered she couldn't get a better deal for her old Minox. So she wanted to buy a reflex camera, but the ones in her price range weren't well-known to us. She was given a real sales pitch by one fellow who figured she’d surely be back. After about the 5^th place, we decided on another deal. I would more or less sell Kathy my camera, so that she would have a camera she can trust in Morocco. With the camera situation settled, we continued window shopping. We ended up in an old and obviously elite section of the city. Back in the “normal” part of town, I bought a leather make-up case for a friend. We then went off to find a Japanese restaurant, but it wasn't open yet. We walked back to our hotel to get information on possible movies to see, and what buses we should take. We were planning on taking a bus back to the restaurant, but we just missed one. We bought the bus tickets anyway from a vending machine and started walking towards the restaurant, keeping an eye out for the bus. We ended up walking the whole distance. Even though we didn't have reservations, we only had a couple-minutes wait for a table which was fortunately hidden in a corner so that it wasn't obvious how ignorant we were. There was a table in the restaurant surrounded by a bench with pillows so that the diners could simulate eating at a low table, but put their feet on the floor. We had regular chairs with similar pillows. The menus were brought with a tightly rolled hot washcloth on a small plate. We assumed we were to wash our hands with it. I ordered a tempura meal and Kathy ordered two separate dishes. We shared almost everything, and managed well with our chopsticks. We started first with Kathy’s pickled crab, followed by my vegetable salad. Then came Kathy’s sukiyaki with my tempura seafood and vegetables. We both also got rice with a tiny bowl of soy sauce. I dipped my rice in the soy sauce and Kathy poured the soy sauce over her rice. I had a bowl of bean soup that I sipped directly from the bowl (eat soup with chopsticks?). A little while later came the pickled vegetables which tasted terrible! For dessert I got apricot-sherbet (awful!). Our main dishes were great, though. We generously tipped the waitress who was very nice, We had plenty of time to walk to the movie theater, but decided to take the trolley-bus because we already had the tickets. We bought movie tickets right away, and wandered around the area, seeing more exclusive shops and finding a square with neatly lighted old buildings; a museum and an old theater, perhaps.

Movie ticket

Finally it was time for the movie: “The Wiz” which was in English with French and German subtitles. They had difficulty with the translations: “ease on down the road” was translated into French as “go down the street prudently.” Before the movie started was the usual 10-15 minutes of “commercials.” On our way home, Kathy skipped along her imaginary yellow brick road and was swinging around lamp poles. We finally got to the hotel and into bed.

Tuesday, September 4, 1979

This time we were awakened via phone by the desk clerk at 9:00 and our breakfast soon followed. We consolidated all our souvenirs into one suitcase and ended up throwing away a lot of boxes, old socks, shoes, etc. There was one big bag full of junk to be thrown out, but we still had Kathy’s pack, my backpack, and two small suitcases; no longer the light and easy travelers. We checked out of the hotel, went to the post office, and then to the TWA offices. Apparently just a front! We walked on the near bank of the river to see the Woodrow Wilson house, to pass a war memorial in a lakefront park, and to see the grounds of a mansion on the lakefront where we saw several chipmunks and a black squirrel. We continued on to see the Palace of Nations and several United Nations buildings. We even found the International Red Cross Headquarters. We went into one of the Geneva museums showing basically only ceramics. The main attraction there was a serving set molded to look like cabbage heads.

Ariana Museum

We went to the botanical gardens which included an aviary, and closed-off areas for ducks, llama, deer (totally pestered by flies), peacocks, and some strange-looking bird species. There was a dahlia garden where apparently you can order bulbs. There were lily ponds where we saw tadpoles, but only heard the frogs. We also saw a strange wormy-writhing creature in these ponds. Finally there was a tropical garden greenhouse which was super-hot and humid inside. It felt really cool and breezy once outside again. We made our way back to the train station, doing some grocery shopping along the way. We checked the train schedule, then went to McDonald’s for a quick late lunch. We got our luggage from the hotel and boarded the train for Lausanne. We had asked for information as to the best way to get to the French Brittany coast and were told to go through Paris. We asked the best way to get to Paris and were told to go through Lausanne. When we arrived in Lausanne we found only one train went to Paris and it left at some ridiculous hour. So we re-boarded the train which had taken us to Lausanne, to take it to Biel. The conductor on this train told us it would be better to get a train for Paris from Basel, so we continued to Basel. Once in Basel, we found we had a three-hour wait for the midnight train to Paris, We sat and waited. We felt thirsty, but had no more Swiss money. The fellow at the snack bar wanted us to go to the bank to have our French money changed to Swiss currency (at this hour?). We figured it wasn't worth the trouble for just two Cokes, and let him overcharge us in French francs. There were two girls from Venezuela who claimed to be “lost” and wanted to get to Paris, so we told them when the train left. Finally we walked through customs and boarded the train. An American from California joined us, but she wasn't able to give us much news about the States. We sacked out pretty uncomfortably until we arrived in Paris.

Map of Geneva

Next: Madrid.

1979 Munich Again (9/1/1979)

Saturday, September 1, 1979

We decided to go all the way to München because the Minox camera was made in Germany. When we arrived, we went to the tourist office for a map and were told the stores are open all day because it is the first Saturday of the month. And we had thought we would have only a couple hours in the morning to shop! So off we went window shopping and stopping at every camera store to see if they had Minox cameras, which they did not; apparently sold out. We found a shoe store selling the German-made sandals (Birkenstock) Kathy had been looking for. They even had her size and style, but they wouldn't take charge cards. So we used almost all our cash. We went to another camera store which suggested Kathy could send her camera to the factory to be repaired, then they could send it to her home in the States. When she went ahead to arrange that (only to find it couldn't be done because of customs red tape) I went to the train station to change more money. We continued walking up and down the main pedestrian-only shopping area where a major department store was having a 100-year jubilee celebration and was handing out flags, pinwheels, and yo-yos. We got one, two, and one of each respectively. We also stopped to listen to the street musicians. Previously we had really enjoyed a group of Spanish musicians with an active tambourine player and a guitarist with a great (as in size, volume, etc.) voice. We especially liked their costumes with ballooned shorts and stockings. This time among the usual guitarists and flutists were a bassist, a weird old mechanical-type instrument (sounds of India), a religious choir with a booming evangelist, a bongoist, etc. We managed to pass the Rathaus three times right on the hour to see the circling figures including jousting knights that performed as the hour tolled on the clock tower. We had lunch at McDonald’s and ice cream at Baskin-Robbins. On the street there was a magician from the U.S. doing his thing. He was mostly showman and not so much show although he did juggle flaming torches. He kept making Italian, as well as French and German, comments, so we gave him some of our leftover Italian lire. Kathy found yet another music store to look for a Joan Baez songbook, but she hasn't found the right one. That evening we wanted to head for Switzerland, but wanted an overnight train to sleep on. The schedule was such that we first took a train to Hamburg.

Next: Geneva.

1979 Florence (8/31/1979)

Friday, August 31, 1979

We did wake up just in time to get off at Florence. It was 4:30 or 5:00, so we ate breakfast and more or less planned our day as we dodged the fellows sweeping sawdust across the floor. We checked our baggage and at 7:00 started exploring Florence. We had heard the open-air market opened at 7:00 so we went there first. The dry goods merchants were just beginning to set up their stalls. The meat and fish merchants were also setting up, and we saw an abundance of octopus (squid?), fresh fish of all sizes, etc. We saw whole skinned rabbits and pigs, and still-feathered chickens, and we were getting grossed out! Too much of everything! The fruit stalls were all open and doing business. We headed towards the cathedral which was extremely colorful. We had a stand-up breakfast of tea and grapefruit juice at a bar. We made our way back past the market, still under preparation. Headed towards the Accademia which also wasn't open yet. We wandered around the area and into a church where Mass was being held for six people. We stayed through that and then wandered into another church for rest and meditation until Florence woke up. Finally got into the Accademia, a small place with half the rooms closed up. But standing there was the original; statue of David by Michelangelo; what a hunk!

Accademia ticket

David by Michelangelo

We went to the open-air market where all sorts of stuff is sold, but mostly leather goods. Most of the stalls even took charge cards. We didn't find anything of interest although we were actively looking for souvenirs. There wasn't a great variety and prices weren't necessarily cheaper. We went window shopping on our way back to the cathedral. Kathy found a really nice black leather briefcase for her dad, in a little shop where the proprietor spoke little English and he made me translate his selling spiel. He also had trouble with the charge card machine which we also “translated” for him. We were concentrating on shopping that morning but stopped to look around inside the cathedral. There wasn't much to see because of restoration.

Il Duomo di Firenze/Florence Cathedral

We continued our window shopping and ended up on the bridge over the Arno River which is covered with jewelry shops, mostly gaudy and expensive stuff. I saw a beautiful tie in a shop window only to discover the folded-over part was ugly! We then backtracked to a fast-food place serving micro-waved spaghetti, lasagna, etc. After lunch we found a glove factory where they sold decent gloves. I bought a pair for my grandmother and Kathy bought a pair for her mother.  We seemed to have been charging away! We found ourselves at the Palace of the Uffizi where they have a huge art museum.

Uffizi ticket

We went in and looked and looked, seeing works of Michelangelo, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Raphael, and especially Botticelli, just to name a few! The lighting in this museum was awful, and many paintings were protected by glass, resulting in a glare. There was a real artist at work doing a copy of a da Vinci portrait. The museum even had a bar and outdoor tables on a balcony; we were able to look down on the city with all its TV antennas! Later we went to the museum next door to see the anatomical sketches done by da Vinci during human dissections. There were several errors, but it was amazing what he was able to discern.

Ticket for da Vinci's anatomical drawings

We continued our window shopping, passing through the open market again. We stopped at an outdoor café where Kathy had a huge bowl of ice cream, and I had a fruit salad in an equally large bowl. After checking the train schedule at the station, we finished our shopping spree with a mad dash. I found a tie for my father and gloves for my mother. We returned to the train station to await our train which was late because of the just-ending strike. We wanted to take the first train out of Italy to get away from all the strikes, and we hoped to head for Switzerland where Kathy’s father recommended she buy a new camera. While at Gianni’s house, Kathy called her parents to learn she had another month’s wait before becoming an aunt. She also explained to her parents that her Minox camera had a shutter problem which would cost $50 to repair and would have to be sent to the factory for at least four weeks. Trade-in value was a measly $25. She was advised to go ahead and buy another camera. We got on a train headed for München, Germany and were joined by a Napoli family, the mom and two little girls stayed in our compartment. The girls were really cute and well-behaved, probably because they were sleepy. The 4-5-yr. old was given a train brochure to amuse herself, and she studied it carefully before falling asleep. Don’t blame her as it was probably boring!

Map of Florence

Next: Munich again.

1979 Rome (8/29-30/1979)

Wednesday, August 29, 1979

Upon arriving in Roma/Rome, we checked our baggage and walked to Borghese Villa Park. Along the way we found the American Embassy where we checked the office hours. We sat in Borghese Villa Park eating brunch, watching work men mostly lean on their rakes. We saw a verbal fight between two American and possibly New York City girls. The especially loud one of the two finally stomped off toward the museum. We passed a girl leading two kids in awful exercises (for pulling muscles and ruining knees!). We explored the museum which had a lot of neat Bernini statues and a supposedly famous statue by Canova of a lady reclining on a very real-looking mattress.

Borghese Gallery ticket

Apollo and Daphne by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Rape of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Pauline Bonaparte by Antonio Canova

We walked back along the Via Veneto, known for its exclusive sidewalk cafes which weren't open at the time. We found the Church of the Cappuchin monks where we had heard there was a cemetery of bones. Our “$10” book told us to take the stairs to the right after entering the church. So we entered the church and wandered back behind the altar, probably ending up where we didn't belong because a spooky monk who was washing floors directed us outside to where there was a separate entrance. The cemetery was a rather eerie place, but fascinating nevertheless. There were simple wood crosses to mark graves, but the bones of the monks had been used to decorate. Not only did they have robed full skeletons, but they had religious designs made up from the vertebrae. Every single bone of the body was used in some pattern!

From there we passed through the Bernini Square towards the Trevi Fountain.

Trevi Fountain

At the fountain we threw in two telephone tokens each, the first in hopes of returning to Rome and the second for luck in love. We explored some shops in the area, where I found a souvenir for one of my sisters, a disco purse as they are known as in the U.S. We ended up walking down the main shopping street of Rome to see the Mussolini balcony and the memorial to Vittorio Emanuele. We went behind the Vittoriana to the Capitoline building where we climbed all those stairs to get to the square designed by Michelangelo. The mis-proportioned statue was covered by scaffolding, but we think we saw where it was mis-proportioned! We went into an entrance of the museum and bought tickets for both Capitoline Museums.

Capitoline Museums ticket

The first museum was tiny and we didn't see any of the things promised by the “$10” book. We weren't sure where the other museum was located, so we decided to try the building next door to the right. It turned out that to enter that other building, you had to go all the way down the steps and back up a separate set. We walked down the steps under a cool arbor, then started the steep climb to the building next door. For some reason we weren't convinced that this was the other museum; it looked like a church (which it was) and there were too few people. So we went back down the many steps we had climbed, and dragged ourselves up the steps to Michelangelo’s square again. We tried the building to the left and it was the right place. However, once inside, we ended up climbing more and more steps! In this museum we found the boy picking the thorn out of his foot (must be stuck in pretty good, because we couldn't see the thorn and he’s still there trying to pull it out!), and the statue of the twin founders of Rome with the she-wolf. Going down stairs was definitely easier. We walked around the Vittoriana which was closed to the public and we didn't even see any guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The tourist season isn't over yet?

We passed by the ruins of the agoras and squares of ancient Rome and by the famous ruins of the Roman Forum which was an understatement after Athens. We walked to the Coliseum (where I managed to hear a special song on someone’s radio). Inside the Coliseum there was not the abundance of cats I had observed on my previous visit. From the Coliseum we took the Metro to the train station and started our search for a hotel in that area. We went to a pensione recommended by the “$10” book. It was run by a little old man and his wife who showed us the facilities and quoted a price much higher than the book said. We wanted to continue looking for places, but the old man rambled on that at his price we really couldn't do much better, and mentioned the money problems of the U.S. and Italy, and kept listing all that we could get for breakfast. We finally broke away and tried another pensione recommended by the “$10” book. They had a real nice room at a better rate, so we took it. We got ourselves some pizza slices for lunch and went to catch a bus to the Vatican City. As we hesitated about which bus to take, the one we wanted pulled away from the curb. But another immediately came up to the stop, so we hopped right on. It immediately pulled away as I was trying to pull out some change; I wasn't holding on and fell into Kathy’s arms. Finally balance and fare were settled and we were on our way. There was a woman on crutches who had a leg amputation who wanted absolutely no help when she needed to get off the bus. There was a priest who started talking to two girls because they spoke French. The two girls seemed in a hurry to get off the bus, and we hurried off also. We started the long trek around the walls of the Vatican to reach the entrance of the Vatican Museums. We arrived in time to have maybe three hours to explore the museums. We practically flew past the murals in the first section. Then in following the tour signs we somehow found ourselves outside the entrance again! The fastest Vatican museum tour ever, of only five minutes! We weren't the only ones to get misdirected immediately to the exit, so we all went back in the entrance to start over. We got on the right track and saw many sculptures, tapestries, paintings, ceramics, etc., etc. A complete tour takes 7-9 hours, but we managed to make almost a complete tour in our three hours. It was simply a matter of keeping the feet moving and the head swiveling.

Vatican Museums ticket

Tile mosaic in the Vatican Museums

We found the mummy room with real mummies in various states of decay; you could see hair and skin and fingernails! Then, of course, there were the sarcophagi, etc.; really neat! We saw ancient Egyptian relics, too. Then we entered the Raphael rooms with impressive ceilings and walls. Next we got headed into the modern art section which was terrible. Finally we arrived at the Sistine Chapel which is impressive mostly because of its size. Supposedly Michelangelo did it in only four years. We stood in awe for a while, and then took our time going through the rest of the museums. We saw some nice mosaics and saw the swan sculpture the U.S gave to Pope Paul VI when he had visited the States. We wandered out of the museum as they were closing up after going through a new section with ugly modern displays of old pieces of sculpture. We had the idea of taking a mimic photo, but decided to be respectful. Later we saw an old man stand behind a headless sculpture while a kid snapped his picture. An indignant guard wiped the man’s footprints from the pedestal. From the museums we made our way back around the walls to St Peter’s Square, where a huge crowd of people were already gathering for the Papal audience. We went back into Rome to find a series of Bernini statues and fountains in one square (nothing special) and especially to find Tartufi. To find Tartufi was relatively easy, but expensive. One sits at a table at a sidewalk café. After being ignored for a while by the waiters, you are suddenly attacked by two, one claiming you are American while the other tells you to get your feet off the chair. You counterattack by asking for a Tartufo and the request is fulfilled. A Tartufo is a delicious concoction of a liquored-up cherry surrounded by chocolate ice cream surrounded by flecks of chocolate chips and nuts. The frozen affair is doused by whipped cream with two rolled wafers stuck in it. We were also given glasses of water which we drank, but for all we knew they could have been to clean the ice cream spoons. At a nearby table we noticed the two girls who had been arguing in Borghese Villa Park that morning. The loud one was saying things like “What’s a doctor doing at this little café?” and “Why do you want to give a tour to a couple Americans like us?” to one of the two men at their table. We thought the last question was a really good one! The four of them left together and we hoped they all had fun. In the square a caricaturist was at work, and he totally ruined a really good-looking guy as we watched. After the Tartufi we made our way past the Vittoriana and the Coliseum to St John’s Cathedral. Near the cathedral we found the church with the Holy Steps where one does penance by ascending the stairs on their knees. We saw many people climbing the stairs this way, but we declined to join them. We went over to St John’s and started exploring inside when a guard suddenly ushered everyone out; it was closing time already. We headed to the train station passing St Mary Major Cathedral on the way; it was under scaffolding. We checked restaurants along the way, but either were not impressed by the menu or were too impressed by the prices. We also did a lot of window shopping. We picked up our bags from the station and settled into the hotel. We got their recommendation for a restaurant; the one down the on the corner. Kathy had a salad and agnolotti and I had tortellini and a beefsteak. We returned to the hotel where I went down the hall to take a shower. I forgot to bring my towel which Kathy was kind enough to bring to me. But at first she knocked at the wrong door, and realizing her mistake she ran back to the room to hide as the occupants answered the door! As we got into bed and turned out the lights, we discovered the plates around the light switches glowed in the dark which would distract me from falling asleep. So I switched beds with Kathy. We also discovered a switch which turned on music, so we were lullabyed to sleep.

Thursday, August 30, 1979

We were given a wake-up call the next morning and went down for the breakfast of tea and croissants. Not typically Italian, but the place was owned by an Austrian woman. We left our bags at the desk for the day and headed first for the American Embassy. Being a U.S. government employee, Kathy was able to cash her vacation checks there. I had to wait in the lobby to be the conversation piece for the receptionist and guard. Kathy was apparently stopped at every opportunity by the Marine on guard inside for some sort of chat. She said the place was really fortified, no door opened freely but had to be buzzed open. She left through another exit and had to come back in the entrance to retrieve me. We did a lot of window shopping on the way to the Vatican City. We found a store where Kathy tried on several pairs of jeans, and picked out the “Fruit of the Loom.” I found the “Capitan Harlock” 45rpm record there. In another department store we got much needed underwear. We found the Pantheon where we saw the huge minimally supported dome with the hole in it. Finally we arrived at St Peter’s Square to see the Swiss Guard guarding the gate and the Swiss Guard guarding the guard. We entered St Peter’s Basilica to marvel at the interior and to see the amazing Pietà by Michelangelo. There was also the statue of St Peter in bronze whose toes were being worn away by constant rubbing for luck. We joined the long lines of people going underneath the cathedral to see St Peter’s Crypt and the tombs of the popes. There were numerous chapels down there and several tombs including those of Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul I, but there was no way we saw all the popes’ tombs. We popped up in daylight in St Peter’s Square again. We mailed some postcards and letters at the Vatican post office.

We made our way to the American Express Tourist Office, passing down the street of very expensive boutiques and seeing the Spanish Steps. The American Express office wasn't selling tickets for their tours at that time, so we took their recommendation of a restaurant for lunch. We had cheese omelets and Kathy, like a proper Italian, had a pasta dish first (spaghetti). Then we ran to buy our tickets and hop on the bus for Tour D. There was a total of eight persons on the beautifully upholstered air-conditioned tour bus. The guide was a little dippy fellow with a strong accent and with all the knowledge and cutesy humor in the world; he was not appreciated. The bus took a route managing to pass all the major sights we had already seen. Then it passed the Palatine palace ruins and the Baths of Caracalla. It drove along the ancient Appian Way where we saw one culture built on top of another: a TV antenna on top of an old home built on top of a cemetery. We passed through the walls of ancient Rome before noting any cemeteries, because ancient law stated one could not be buried within the city. We stopped at one of the catacombs where we were given a tour by a priest who seemed to have a German accent. We went through only a small section of supposedly 10 miles of tunnels with little shelves along both sides which formerly held the corpses. It was stressed that there is no proof that persecuted Christians ever lived in the catacombs. And that the Christians continued the concept of catacombs from the Jews. And that all cemeteries were sacred according to ancient Roman law, even Christian cemeteries during Christian persecution. Our tour took us to St Paul’s Outside the Walls, a beautiful cathedral with a beautiful courtyard where supposedly one learned doctrines before being allowed in the church. The cloister of the adjoining monastery was also beautiful. Inside this church were portraits of all the popes since St Peter. It is said that when the thirteen remaining spaces are filled, the world will end. Next the tour took us to St Peter in Chains to see the Michelangelo statue of Moses, where he put horns on the head through a mis-translation of symbolism. We passed St Mary Major and the train station (an example of Fascist architecture) on our return to the American Express office. There we found the address of the TWA office where I wanted to exchange my plane ticket. On our way to the TWA office we found a sporting goods store where I bought windbreakers for all my brothers. The salesman wondered why I wanted to buy the too-large jacket I tried on! The TWA office was closed, so we went to the train station to see when the train for Milano left. We had enough time to go to the Wimpies on Via Veneto for dinner where we had hamburger steaks and French fries, and Kathy had her pasta dish, lasagna this time. We tried an ice cream soda for dessert, but it wasn't too good. We walked up to Borghese Villa Park to take a bus to the hotel to pick up our luggage. We missed the first bus as we studied the sign to figure out which bus to take. We missed the second bus because the doors closed in our faces. We did manage to catch the third bus going our way. We got off at the hotel, retrieved our suitcases, walked to the station and parked ourselves at our track waiting for the train to Milano. The time for the train to leave approached, but no sign of the train. We checked and rechecked the schedule until I overheard that there was a train strike and no trains were going to Milano that night! We sat around rather discouraged until I found out they were letting one train go through to Venice. So we hopped on it, hoping to get off in Florence. We got seats in a compartment with a black couple, and the man kindly offered us our own row of seats so that we could stretch out to sleep.

Map of Rome

Next: Florence.

1979 Turin (8/24-28/1979)

Friday, August 24, 1979

We arrived in Torino/Turin and first ran to the restrooms, not only for the call of nature but to change from our shorts to long pants. We were inviting too many stares. We also managed to slip out without paying, but perhaps one only pays if they were given toilet paper which we weren't. We went in search of something to eat, stopping for toasts (grilled sandwiches). I then tried calling Gianni several times, getting no answer. I finally got an answer from Pina, but could only let her know I was in Torino before our conversation was cut short. I tried again and again, getting either a dial tone or busy signal, and again had a token stolen. I changed telephones and got a hold of Pina long enough for her to give me instructions for getting to Nole. We attempted to follow her directions. First we took a taxi to the suburban station because time was short and a bus or tram weren't likely to arrive in time. When we arrived at the station, the taxi driver told us no more trains were running, but we were told to take the 22:00 bus. At 22:00 no bus arrived and we doubted if one would. So we bought tram tickets from a fellow in a “control booth” and took the tram to the edge of the city. There we started hitchhiking and almost immediately got a ride from an English-speaking Italian who had his newly adopted cocker spaniel, left by vacationers. This guy was going to the airport at Caselle and dropped us off there. It was getting cooler and it seemed another car would never stop. And then the cars zoomed around the curve in such a way that we wondered about our safety. Finally an older middle-aged man picked us up, explaining he picked us up because rides are scarce at that hour. He also had thought Kathy was a man because of her height. This guy rattled on about cities he had visited in the US and his relatives there. Then he gave a PR spiel on the Tuscany region of Italy. When we got to Nole he wanted to take us directly to our address, but I said he could just let us off in the square which I pointed out. But he insisted the square was elsewhere and ended up driving in a circle to let us out in the square I originally designated! We then walked the few blocks to the P family's home where there was only the worried Pina to greet us. Aldo was at the bar and Gianni wasn’t answering his phone. We had hot milk and coffee, and later Gianni called his mother to ask if she had been trying to call him. I was put on the phone and Gianni came running over. Aldo came home even later. Sleeping arrangements were made so that Kathy and I took over Gianni’s apartment, while Gianni stayed at his mother’s to be taken care of since he had a fever. Kathy and I stayed up talking until 4:00 the next morning!

Saturday, August 25, 1979

And of course we woke up really late, not being ready until lunchtime when we went down to the P’s. After a great lunch of spaghetti and stew, Gianni took us to Lanzo. We first walked through the park to the Bridge of the Devil.

Bridge of the Devil

Tamiko & Kathy

Above the Bridge of the Devil

Tamiko & Kathy

Then up and around the boy’s private school, winding back down into town using the brick path network among buildings and gardens. We went to a local bar for Cokes and relaxation, and talking. We returned to the car and zoomed off to the Superga Basilica. There is no direct route, and it seemed we weaved back and forth without ever heading straight towards Superga up on the hill. It is impressive from a distance, but close up it is not a beautiful cathedral. Especially now when surrounded by scaffolding for restoration. But the grounds were nicely kept and we walked all around.

Gianni & Tamiko

On our way down we saw the rack railroad which takes visitors up and down the hill. When we got back to Nole, Gianni walked to the film store to drop off his film while I drove Kathy to his parents. Then we all drove to the pizzeria in the middle of the boondocks! We waited outside while they made the pizzas, and we played hide ‘n’ seek with Gianni's wallet. Even Pina joined in and was not suspected at all when she was the real culprit. We took the pizzas home to eat, and afterwards we talked and made plans to go hiking the next day. Then to bed.

Sunday, August 26, 1979

We were awakened by the Pina telephone alarm system at 7:30, and Kathy went ahead and answered the phone and apparently had a “conversation” with Aldo. We quickly got ready and went down for breakfast. We got outfitted in ski jackets, hiking boots and canes, and got in the car for the two-hour ride to Gran Paradiso National Park. Gianni drove which left Kathy in the back seat with Aldo. She wanted to sleep in the car, but Aldo wouldn't let her at first. But she managed to get some rest as Aldo read the newspaper. On our way we made a couple stops to buy bread and heed the call of nature. As we approached the park, we could see that there was less snow on the mountains than in June. But as we drove up into the mountains, it began to snow, covering everything in white. We found a parking spot, put on our coats, and started our hike in the snow. It was easy going, since the deep patches of snow left from the previous winter were gone. We went on for quite a while, not seeing anything except a park ranger and his dog, and some ruins left from WWII.

Tamiko and Gianni

Tamiko and 'Charlie Chaplin'

Gran Paradiso National Park

Then Kathy spotted a grey marmot whom we watched for several minutes. At noon we stopped in a niche within some rocks that cut off the wind as we ate our picnic lunch. Gianni took a nap as the rest of us talked. Then Aldo napped as Gianni espied some stambecchi/ibex way up on a hill. When Aldo awoke, we went off in search of mountain animals. Aldo spotted a lone chamoscio/chamois down below us, and we got our first sight of this graceful animal. Gianni clambered down in hopes of getting a photo, but the chamoscio scampered away. Later Gianni spotted more chamoschi. We settled down behind a large rock to watch, and the small group of chamosci was more or less joined by a large (7 or so) herd of stambecchi that had picked its way across what seemed to be a sheer cliff! We spent a long time watching, then Gianni went off in hopes of getting a close-up photo. At the same time a herd of sheep came into the area with loudly clanging bells. The chamosci and stambecchi backed off, and most disappeared over the hilltop either because of the sheep or Gianni. The sheep came over to where we were standing and Aldo got out bread and crackers to feed them.

Aldo feeding the sheep

Gianni with the sheep

There was a goat with them, and Aldo milked it so we could get a taste of goat’s milk. It was okay-tasting, but really hot! Then Kathy took a turn milking, much to everyone’s admiration.

Kathy milking the goat

Aldo and Gianni milking the goat

Without any more food being offered, the sheep wandered away. We continued the search for more chamosci and stamnbecchi. A couple were spotted directly ahead and we all hit the ground commando-style, crawling after them trying to get up close for photographing. We lost them but almost immediately we saw a huge male stambecco and we were off again in pursuit. The male had huge long horns, and he was joined by several females and a couple young ones.

There's a stambecco/ibex between the grass and rocks,
about two fifths of the way from the left

You can see this stambecco/ibex

Stambecco/ibex family portrait by Gianni

It was truly a successful hunt, and I hope my shots were on target. We also saw a bird like a grouse or quail, and several large black birds “playing” with the wind. With the sun, the snow quickly melted, so that the going was very easy. One particular area had grass of the slippery variety and I slipped, of course. We then slowly made our way back to the car with me dragging my cane as usual, but Kathy swung hers most of the time Charlie Chaplin-style.

We also tried to find Alpine Star flowers, but were unsuccessful. On our drive down, we stopped at a bar where the men had coffee, and Kathy and I warmed up by the pot-bellied stove. Thanks to Gianni, we saw more of the mountain beasts up on the mountain behind the bar. We arrived home at 20:00 and had a quick supper. Aldo went out to buy all the available ice cream in Nole, which totaled six cups. Every one had one each and Kathy and I each had another, being the ice cream lovers. We spent the evening exchanging jokes, showing off magic tricks and card tricks. Kathy taught the Ps how to play the card game “Murder” and they really enjoyed it. We played until 1:00 the next morning even though Aldo had to go to work.

Monday, August 27, 1979

Got up at 8:00 to take a good bath, go to the post office, etc. When Kathy wakened, the two of us went shopping in Nole to buy the necessary goods to make a “typical” American meal that evening. We had difficulty deciding what to get, since we couldn't find the typical ingredients! We met Pina on our way home and informed her we were making dinner. We went to buy milk for her as she went to get bread. We went to the P’s for lunch of polenta. Afterwards Gianni took us to the Sanctuary of San Michele where we had to climb innumerable steps.

Tamiko at Sacra di San Michele

Kathy at Sacra di San Michele

Tamiko

Gianni at the "outhouse"

We also listened to a recording giving the history of the place and I was able to understand the Italian better than the English version. Kathy found the French version easier to understand. Supposedly the legend is that someone jumped from this place into one of the lakes below, but in reality the lakes are around a projection in the mountain and not even in sight of the sanctuary! From the tape I could only gather that someone was miraculously saved from a fire (by jumping into the lake?). We went down to a bar near one of these lakes of Avigliana for ice cream. We arrived home in time to prepare the typical American meal with Gianni helping by whipping cream that wouldn't whip. We made a tuna-helper type tuna casserole, a tossed salad, and for dessert there was chocolate pudding on lady finger cookies with vigorously stirred cream on top. We drank Coca-cola with the meal. It was a hit! The Ps loved it and took seconds and thirds, and asked if one could get this in any restaurant in the U.S.! Carlo and Uncle Clemente came over and they were taught to play “Murder” and we played until midnight.

Tuesday, August 28, 1979

I overslept terribly late, so we had to get Gianni to drive us into Torino where we went to the Super Mercato. Bought some food supplies for our trip that evening. We also got sandwiches which we ate along the banks of the stream outside Nole, since the park containing deer was not open. When we got back to the house, we waited for Aldo to return from playing cards at his bar. Then the whole “family” went for a drive in the mountains to Colle di Lys.

Aldo, Pina, Tamiko, Kathy

Pina, Aldo, Tamiko, Gianni

We started hiking around, found some raspberry bushes and the girls began picking and munching. The guys disappeared, but when we found them Gianni showed us some mushrooms he had gathered. So everyone started looking for mushrooms. Kathy and I got quite a collection, with lots of variety and good-looking mushrooms, but only a couple turned out to be edible! We trooped up to a cow herder’s cottage to try to get fresh milk. However, the timing was wrong: the morning’s squeezings were settling for cream and we’d have a few hours to wait for the evening milking. So the kids went off mushroom-hunting while Mama and Papa took the car down. It was the U.S. vs Italy in a mushroom-hunting marathon and Italy easily won. The U.S. simply got honorable mentions for the most beautiful specimens. Altogether we got a jacketful of mushrooms.

Una dei paparazzi

On our drive down we stopped at a store specializing in baking cookies with corn flour. We had a milk and cookie break. We then zoomed home so that Kathy and I could pack while Pina cooked supper. After supper and a sad good-bye to Aldo and Pina, Gianni accompanied Kathy and me to the Nole train station. Later Aldo drove up with Aunt Teresa who came to say goodbye. Kathy gave a hug and kiss to each P family member as she had promised in a postcard. The local train arrived and off we went. At the Ps we had picked up an extra suitcase, but even so in Torino we were able to walk to the main train station and arrive pooped but in time to catch the train to Rome. We found that one of our cheeses was moldy, so we ate all the good parts right away, then settled down to sleep.

Next: Rome.