Life is a funny thing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fabulous fantastic thing, but it’s also quite amusing . I have done some amazing things, I’ve met some amazing people, but currently I sort of feel like I’m waiting in the wings for my next great adventure to start… although I am trying to keep myself occupied, but you know. Actually do you know what I mean? I really hope so… otherwise I might be in trouble .

Well, like I heard from someone else, “Life is like a meter on a taxi – it keeps rolling even if you feel like you’re standing still.” So let’s all try and make each day count, right? Right.

Wow I really need to stop listening to this nostalgic music when I write these posts, lol . I guess this is just me inner emo trying to break out… okay so no, actually I really don’t fully understand what emo is, so let’s leave that one off, hehe .

Cheers!

Although not to go too deep into this, but that probably stems for my love for the past. There are three different kinds of people, those who live in the past, those who live in the future, and those lucky enough to live in the now (the moment). Sometimes I have reached those euphoric moments of living in the moment, but usually I drift back into the past. Maybe it’s a comfort thing? Who knows.

But, this post is not about myself, it is about the gawd awful pink shirt that I am now sporting. We all have one – well maybe not a pink one, but you know what I mean . I wonder if I will make it through the day wearing this thing? I mean do I even dare to go outside in it?

Yeah, I think I’ll change.

Driving them is even better!

I’ll never forget my first encounter with a BMW. I sat inside, grabbed the wheel, started the car (with the most amazing new gadget of a car starter), and my adventure began. I was no longer driving in Los Angeles on my way to the store, no, now I was immediately on a new mission that I didn’t even know existed until I got in.

I start down the road, and suddenly I am transported to the mystifying Berlin. I look around at the people on the streets staring in my direction. Are they staring at me? Do they know? Are they staring at the car?

I put my ultra sleek shades on and continue my drive. Red light. I stop. I pop the glove box open to see what’s inside. There’s a note. Light is still red. I open the note…”Proceed to the square.”

Proceed to the square? Should I take this new adventure? Is it a trap? Light turns green. I proceed to the square.

Upon arrival I decide to pull over for a minute. I see a man dressed in a long black coat standing suspiciously with a black case. We both stare at each other for a moment. The man walks towards me. He stops just before my passenger side window. I let the window slowly fall on his side.

“This, I believe, is for you,” the man states as he passes me the black case. And with that, he is gone.

I continue my drive. My phone rings, I answer it. “Yes?” I declare. “You may proceed home, your mission is done,” the voice on the phone replies.

Home is where I go. I pull into my driveway. Turn off my beautiful BMW, and proceed to my front door. The second I step out of my car, everything turns back to normal, I am again in Los Angeles, and holding a bag of groceries. My mission really is over, well, until the next time I get in that is.

Yes, we all dream of those sun-drenched hilltop towns amongst the gorgeous Tuscan yellows and golds for us to spend our relaxing afternoons sipping limoncellos and just immersing ourselves in a good book. It’s the perfect setting to just take in the air and enjoy ourselves. Well, that’s exactly what I got with the amazing Tuscan town of Cortona.

Cortona is high up on a hill in Tuscany, and about an hour and a half away from Florence – making it not a bad choice for a day trip. Which is what I decided to do upon getting into Florence. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved Florence, it just took some getting to use to, and when I first exited the train at the station, and saw all the tourists, I knew I had to get out for a few hours. So, I hopped on a train and headed for this little gem known as Cortona.

The scenery from the window of our train was absolutely breathtaking. There were fields, cypress trees, sunflowers, all drenched by a blanket of warm Italian sun. It’s exactly what one would picture Tuscany to be. Tuscany truly does hold all the treasures and riches of Italy. It’s definitely a sight everyone needs to see and take in for themselves.

The Cortona train station is like one you would see in a movie. It’s very small (and I mean really small, like don’t blink or you might miss it), and as I walked through what they called a train depot (it was really just a small room with a roof over it, and two doors), I saw virtually no one to ask about how I was to get up the hill. This was going to be an adventure.

I walked outside this time facing the beautiful hill where my destination lied. I noticed a cute elderly couple next to me. They both were carrying a suitcase, so I figured their destination just might be the same as mine. We introduced ourselves, and surely enough, we were all going to the same place. I saw a bus schedule posted a few feet away and decided to walk over and investigate the times. According to the schedule, one was slated to come in about ten minutes – sweet, I thought, but then again, this is Italy, their transportation system is not exactly up to par with the rest of Europe, if you know what I mean. Luckily a bus did show up about the time it was slated to come. We hopped on, paid the cheap fair (I think it was about 1.25 Euro or something along those lines, quite decent if you ask me), and waited for my chance in this magical little Tuscan town.

We curled around quite a few times, before actually getting close to the top. But once we got up there, there was really no denying that we had all stumbled across something quite special. The beautiful buildings in the colors of the grasses and stones all seemed to blend like they always belonged there. There was this amazing feeling, that when I stepped off the bus, I knew I was in blessed lands. The air had a cool breeze to set the warm glow that fell above us. Cortona is a breath of fresh air.

Now, being that this is Italy, I decided to start with the important stuff, and grab a gelato. You know, I can still taste the gelato to this very day. The raspberry sorbet was the perfect sweetness set in a warm crunchy cone. Gelato in Italy really is perfection for me. And the gelato store I chose was just a few feet from the bus stop.

I continued down the long story-filled walkways, gelato in hand, and I remember feeling this overwhelming feeling of contentment, like I was always destined to be walking down these pathways, gelato in hand, and feeling the warm Italian sun on my skin. It was a beautiful feeling.

I decided to walk all the way through town first, to get the feel for the place, and where I can out was an even bigger treat then I could have imagined. I stumbled across a beautiful church set on a cliff that overlooked many Tuscan houses. The view was unbelievable, and I’m pretty sure I spent a good 30 minutes taking it all in. I sat on the stone wall and just realized how incredibly lucky I was. Really, Cortona is a magical place.

A tour of the town was next. I glided back through the walkways that just spoke stories to me. I noticed quite a few art galleries, and definitely took advantage of them. The art was typical Italian, golds and browns, sunflowers, and such. I let my mind wander as I went from canvas to canvas.

The main square was my next area of choice. I sat on the steps and listened to the beautiful bell tower, the breeze, and the many happy voices I heard all around me. It really must be near impossible to be upset in such a beautiful place.

As time went on I realized I should probably get back to my place in Florence. I walked back to the bus station, which luckily I had looked at what time the bus was supposed to be back when I first departed the bus. I had about five minutes to spare when I arrived at the stop, so I again sat on yet another beautiful Cortona wall and witnessed all that lay before me. Time seemed to literally stand still in this place. This is what dreams are made of. Although as time went on, there was still no sign of a bus. I waited another ten minutes, and then another. I began to wonder if a bus was going to actually come back for me. I found a nice Italian man not far from me, and in my best Italian (which is not so good) I asked when the next bus would be. Apparently, the buses in Italy seem to have special schedules, like if it is the first Monday of the second month it will come at such a time and so forth. With no other option, I decided to hit the road and I would walk back to the station. Now for anyone thinking of doing this, it’s really not that far, but it will take a significant amount of time, to be honest I don’t really recommend it, but one does what they have to. The brilliant thing about walking, though, besides being fully immersed in the gorgeous olive trees and sun kissed fields, is that you actually get to take the time to take it all in, and take pictures. I got some of my best photos when I walked.

I believe the trek down the mountain, yes, I’m calling it a mountain now, took about an hour, maybe a little longer but only because I stopped and took a lot of pictures. I made it back to the train station, and again headed back to Florence. I will always remember my afternoon I spent in Cortona though, it is a truly breathtaking place that everyone should see at least once in their lives.

3 June, 2007…

So, today I awoke from my amazing room overlooking the flower trees, and headed over to my hostel that will be my place for the next two nights. It’s actually an amazing place overlooking the Sacur Coeur [I even have a view of it from my room!! =)] The place is really nice – there is an amazing patio, and the people are really friendly.

Well, I leave my bag and decide to head off to the amazing Palace of Versailles. But this actually proves to be a much harder task then one would have thought. My real only information on how to get there is to take the RER line to Versailles. So I buy my tickets (or my un billets) and head on down to the station – but, when I get there I realize that there are actually two different Versailles stations in complete opposite directions…….. Well, I soon realize the one I want and I blindly hop on a train and hope it’s going in my right direction. I stare out at the amazing scenery that is Paris and listen to my iPod – this is one of my favourite traveling pastimes – there really is nothing like it!! The train pulls up to the Eiffel Tower Station… darn, I’m on the wrong train, so I quickly get up, and hop off and run around to the opposite station to hop on the train going back one station so I can hopefully get on the correct train to Versailles! =) Meanwhile I notice that there are a few Germans and maybe fellow Americans (which I soon find to be correct) who have done the same thing as me. We all laugh and sort of group together on our journey to find the correct train. This is the thing I love about fellow travelers – we all love to find each other and help each other (especially when trying to achieve similar goals). People are amazing – really! =) We had a lot of fun jumping on train, and then jumping back off – and running from train platform to train platform… aw, good times . We finally do find our right train – and we all settle on sitting on the 2nd floor of the train. I find a nice seat by the window and again put my iPod on and just stare out at the beautiful French countryside. It really is a stunning place =).

About an hour later, we reach Versailles!! YEAH!! I hop off the train and start the 2-3 mile walk to the palace. As I’m walking I realize how beautiful a place Versailles really is!! The street towards the palace is a luscious tree lined street – very nice =). I really do love France!!

I approach the amazing palace – and come to realize that it is SO much bigger than I had originally thought!!! It really is massive!!!!!!! Words can’t even describe it! It’s breathtaking! As I walk closer I like to imagine myself back in the day when kings and queens lived here [yeah, I know I’m lame - but it’s what I like to do] . It’s a spectacular feeling. I remember feeling very warm while being here – like it definitely felt like home =). I approach the ticket room and notice a rather large queue… oh well, I thought this may happen – so I jump in line and continue to gaze in wonder at my surroundings.

After maybe 45 minutes or so, I buy my tickets (I really love speaking French) – and decide to start my tour by touring the gardens. I walk to the back of the palace and just have to stop – it’s so amazingly beautiful!! There are fountains everywhere – flowers everywhere – and there is this amazing large staircase going down to what looks like goes on forever!! There is even a lake not all too far in the distance!! This place is massive!!!! I love it!! =) I start my walk down the stairs, and travel through the so called mazes a little – I then stop and get a delicious ham and cheese sandwich and find a seat on a bench and just watch all the people walk around this truly gorgeous place.

I next decide I’d like to visit Marie Antoinette’s house. So I look at my massive map and find my plan of attack. I start to walk – through park after park – past many a tree – it really didn’t look this far on the map! Hehe . I actually do come across this other pond and notice a group of natives having a boat race. There boats look amazing!! So I stay for a while and watch the race – very fun!! There are a bunch of little booths set up, it seems like a little fair or some such! Very cool =)!

I’m now back on track towards Marie Antoinette’s house…I do finally find it – and it truly is AMAZING!! I wouldn’t mind living there myself! And her so called backyard is amazing! Complete with a little grotto and everything =D. Very fun! It’s funny, cause when I saw the Sofia Coppola movie I thought it was weird that everyone rode horses to get to all these places – but they really would have had to!! These places are all way far apart from each other!! [Maybe I should have taken the little shuttle around the place - lol - no, but I do so love to walk] =).

I next decide that I would like to hike over to the farm. The farm is really cute! They have animals living there and everything! But it’s way far out – one feels like they are in an entirely different era when walking around out there! It’s bloody fantastic!!! =D

I tour around the rest of the grounds, and then decide to head off in search of the famous Hall of Mirrors (I really have to see this!!). I make it back up to the palace just in time for an water fountain show – complete with renaissance music! =D It’s very surreal for me!!

I next wander around the many rooms of the palace. It really is amazing inside as well. The Opera House was probably one of my favourite rooms – it truly was amazing! The beautiful pastel colours of blue and gold made the place quite a sight to see. And there were also mirrors placed all around to make the room seem much larger than it actually was! Quite a sight indeed . I stayed in this room for quite some time – I placed myself on one of the many benches and then just gazed around the room. I began to imagine how wonderful it must have been to have seen plays performed here!! Amazing. =)

I then venture around the many other rooms of the palace – each is so stunning (although much of the original furniture had been lost – obviously – but it was still amazing to see the rooms). But I still hadn’t found my Hall of Mirrors…. Oh where oh where could this room be??????

I do finally find my enchanting Hall of Mirrors! Yeah! And yes, it is truly spectacular!!!!!!! I absolutely love being able to wander around all these many halls and rooms – it’s a great place to spend the day!! I highly recommend it =).

I really feel truly blessed that I was able to be a guest at this amazing palace!! =D I was able to share in all the beauties that this place had to offer – and I’m very glad I could be a part of it .

After my amazing day at the Palace of Versailles, I start back towards the Versailles train station. I briefly stop to buy myself a coke and then I hop on the train back to Paris. I again sit on the 2nd floor of the train by the window, I put my iPod back on – play the Marie Antoinette soundtrack [very fitting, no? ] – I then gaze out upon the French countryside and think about all I have just seen. =D

I return to my Sacre Cour metro stop, and I head back to my hostel. My other roommates are not in at the moment, but I do meet this very nice guy from Indiana who has been studying in Madrid for the past semester. He was very excited to be returning home – Paris was to be his last stop before doing so. He was a really cool guy – very funny. We talked for a while out on the patio, where we soon met a few other travelers. He then decides to get some rest – and I want to take a walk around Paris.

So I decide to take in the view of Paris from up on the Sacre Cour. I hike up the many steps and then just stare out at the amazingly beautiful city. There really is no other city more beautiful than Paris. It’s stunning really.

I just partook in British Airways Online Check -In…where, have any of you done that? It took me like a billion times to actually sign in! I think the site was down or something. Oh well, I am all checked in now =). The in flight movies are not nearly as exciting as Virgin (whom I mostly prefer to fly [they give free ice cream!!] ). I was actually going to fly Virgin again, but their ticket prices were way higher then BA’s fabulous deal. Oh well, just another way to broaden my flight experience.

And with this I shall be off. I have lost my other flash card which I would like to find, and I should really finish my packing.

A bientot everyone! I am off to go live the life less traveled!

Yeah, I know that’s a cheesy title – but I saw it on a shirt while I was there and liked it . Anyway, I made it to London. The flight was great – I had the whole row to myself and I had way too many movies to watch in our eleven hour flight!! Sweet! So my first night I wandered around the city, trying to remember where everything is – and even though it’s been two years since I was last here – I still knew my way around without a map! Sweet! I walked down past the London Eye, and looked ahead of me to see this amazing golden carousel placed in the park with many street performers around it. It really was amazing. And then I turned around behind me and saw the dusk lit Big Ben – gorgeous! I really had forgotten how much I love this city. There is such an amazing energy here!

Well, today, I trekked on out to Stonehenge via Salisbury. Once in Salisbury I took the number 3 bus to Stonehenge through the amazingly gorgeous English countryside, and then, all of a sudden you see it – Stonehenge. It really is amazing – and also way too windy! lol . But very worth the trek out there. And I met this really great German guy who is now living in London for work. He was awesome. That’s what I love about traveling – all the amazing people one can meet! It’s not like L.A. where everyone is in the movie business – these people are REAL! That guy was actually a scientist – cool, eh?

And then, I returned to Salisbury to take the train back to Waterloo station – but I missed it by about 2 minutes. Luckily there are trains every hour. But, since I’m not one to wait around and not do anything, I decided to walk into Salisbury – and I’m SO glad I did! It’s a great little town. The Cathedral is absolutely gorgeous! And there I met this nice guy from Delhi, India here to do research to help a community in his country build a bridge so they can get from one place to the other! How cool is that?!

After that, it was time to return to London. I went grocery shopping, made dinner, and am now typing this entry.

Happy Travels! =)

The story of Frost/Nixon is that of the televised interviews that basically raised David Frost to fame, while leaving Richard Nixon a little less then loved. Although these interviews did not in anyway destroy President Nixon, but they did, however, not allow his return like he planned it when accepting the interview offers. Now, yes, politics aside, this can very much be played out in today’s day and age. But it’s so much more then a political film. It’s a story about these two people’s lives. And whether we agree with them or not, we still can agree that they are in fact very much human beings.

Frank Langella as Nixon is an amazing choice. He brings the humility and power that is very much needed to this role. The scenes of him making the phone call that one night are breathtaking. In turn Michael Sheen is wonderful as the almost playboy if you will, David Frost. His absolute will to earn the funding for his project are inspiring. And while we are never really given that either one of these characters will be the villain for our next two hour trek is even more enlightening. It really is like watching a dance when these two begin to get going. It’s absolutely brilliant to watch in my opinion. And, a little trivia for you all, the phone conversation was actually filmed at the same time with two different cameras set up – this hardly ever happens in Hollywood. Oh, how I love Ron Howard…

I think what equally helped these two lead actors, is also the fact they both had performed the play in London. I think with this, the two were able to know the material so closely that they were able to just let the life breath through each of them.

The supporting cast is outstanding as well. Everyone is great in their roles. You will definitely find yourself becoming quite attached to everyone on the screen.

Is this film Oscar worthy? I think so. While I won’t call it the best picture of the year, it will most definitely be amongst one of my favorites. And I look most forward to owning this DVD when it becomes available.

So, in conclusion, for a great adult drama that will leave you wanting more, I highly recommend this film. It’s a great film to make one think. It’s brilliant to watch these two characters rise and fall throughout their moments on screen.

Happy viewing everyone!

So today we officially start our tour through Egypt! YEAH! After our authentic Arabic breakfast (which consists of bread, a hard boiled egg, and this really good cream cheese like stuff – yum!) we get in our little bus and head off to the great pyramids of Egypt!

We arrive in Giza and await our camels to take us closer to the pyramids. But apparently they ran out of camels, or something, because after a very long wait we see we have 4 camels and 3 horses… hmm… well, this is Africa after all . The neat thing about having us wait though, is that we were invited into the camel owners home – which is a sight to see. You wouldn’t believe what poor conditions these people must live in! It’s quite sad! It really makes one realize how lucky they are to have a roof over one’s head and a proper bed to sleep in – I mean these people sleep on the dirty ground! It’s very sad. They did have an amazing view of the pyramids though from their top veranda.

Anyway, so after we get on our camels – which is quite an experience – LOL – we head off out into the Sahara. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?! It really is like nothing you’ve ever experienced to be riding out in the dusty Sahara, and then suddenly come upon the amazing pyramids! It’s really unreal! We all kept saying how we just couldn’t believe that we were really here, you know? The pyramids really are AMAZING!

It takes us a good hour to get to them, and once we do, we disembark our rocky friends (I mean really rocky – it’s very hard to stay on them, lol! But it is easier when they run – go figure, right? Anyway…) and walk over to the three pyramids. Anna, Jonathan, and I decide to enter into the Second Pyramid – which I’m sooooo glad we did!! =) Incidentally it’s also where I got asked to be married by three old Egyptians at the same time! LOL. But enough about that, so anyway, we walk over to the pyramid entrance, and we see this Egyptian man waiting for us – he obviously wants to be our guide – and it’s really hard to get out of being taken by them! They are quite good at what they do . So we enter in this little square type entrance – we actually had to walk down the steep entrance backwards and one must bend really far over to fit! Definitely not a place for people who are claustrophobic (which is why our other friends decided to wait). It really was quite an experience – but man was is HOT down there!! I mean crazy HOT – we could barely breath – and we were just drenched! It was like someone pored water over us! CRAZY!! But once we made it down to the tomb it really was breathtaking – it was a large chapel like room with a sarcophagus placed at the end. Really cool! And we even got to see the way the archaeologists came in when they first discovered it! Very cool!! =) So then we climbed back out the way we came – but this time going forwards . And when we came out of the pyramid the three of us were really really cold! That’s how hot is was in there! LOL! But definitely worth it .

After that we had a little time to wander around the pyramids – we even climbed the Great Pyramid a little (even though we weren’t supposed to – so please don’t say anything ). Then we headed back to our lovely camels and ventured over to the famous Sphinx! But luckily our tour guide – Akmed – told our guides not to go down this one way (it seriously would have killed us! LOL – I for one would have definitely fallen off!), and we took the longer less steep way down. Going downwards on a camel is very tricky – you have to lean way back and it feels very awkward – hehe .

So we finally make it to the Sphinx and say goodbye for the last time to our camels. Now by this time we were all feeling really dehydrated – you wouldn’t believe how hot it is here! But we see the amazing Sphinx that was carved out of one stone – it really is cool to see – but much smaller than I would have thought. Kind of like Mt. Rushmore – but oh well – still AMAZING! =).

After this we then went to this little local Egyptian cafe and had authentic Egyptian food – all I can say is that that Sprite tasted AMAZING!! Best Sprite I’ve ever had – but then it could have been the dehydration talking, hehe .

And then we proceeded to the AMAZING Egyptian Museum!! Now, note to others – one could really spend like 12 hours here – yes, it’s that amazing. It’s really like no other museum I’ve seen – and I can honestly say it’s probably my favorite! The treasures of Tutankhamen were definitely a highlight – as was the statue of Hetshepsut! It really was amazing! And i even touched an ancient table used to drain the fluids of mummies… cool, eh?! =)

After the museum, we proceeded back to our hotel to have dinner and get ready for our overnight train – this could definitely be quite an inexperience! Hehe – it’s supposed to be a 10 hour train trip – but it may turn into 16! Yikes! Anyway, we are off to enjoy our dinner up on the hotel patio (we can even see the pyramids from up there!!) =) Cheers!

So my day started out a little hectic… well, I shouldn’t say hectic, but let’s just say adventurous .

I awoke in the oh so suave city of Como, Italy, and had a lovely breakfast in the outdoor cafe of the hotel I stayed at (complete with a bell tower right outside my window – which of course rang quite early, hehe) . I also found out from some German travelers sitting with me that the swing dancing competition I witnessed last night was actually quite a big ordeal – their friends and such had come all the way to participate. They were quite interesting to talk to. But, anyway, so after that, I left for the main train station…

I get there, and discover that the ticket machine won’t issue me a ticket back to Milan… this is odd. So anyway, I find these two young Irish travelers, and we set off to try and discover what is wrong. We wait for a good while, until finally getting cheap tickets for the later train. They both decide to head back off down into the city – I decide (since my backpack is way too heavy to be sightseeing with) to stay in the cute little diner attached to the station (it seriously looked like it belonged in the 1950s – so cute!) . Anyway, I finally ask the nice older couple working behind the counter where all the trains are. The man informs me there is a train strike – and no trains are running from this station – uh oh! So, in my best Italian (which isn’t so good, LOL!) I ask for directions to the other train station in town for the private trains that are running. And get this, that station was less than a minute from where I was staying!! LOL! Oh well, so anyway, I go back there, and this lovely older Italian gentleman tries to help me get to Milan (he didn’t speak english, so I only got about half of what he was telling me – but it was enough – so I got on the double decker private train, and off to Milan I went.

The private train actually worked out better in the long run, because from there I could take the express train right to Malpensa airport!! =) YEAH!!

I arrived at Malpensa about an hour before checking in with Egypt Air, yes, for my flight to Cairo. It really was quite exciting for me to be waiting in the terminal for my flight to Cairo. It sounds so exoctic and exciting, doesn’t it?! Anyway, so I board my flight of mostly Arabs, and I try my best with the little Arabic I know (which I want to learn more of, it’s an absolutely GORGEOUS language!). Luckily these two Italian friends sat next me, and we chatted in a little Italian and a little english . We got a pretty good meal – complete with tahini – YUM! And watched Norbit – which was actually pretty bad – but it was cool to see us all who worked on it back at Warner Bros. But anyway, after about a 3 hour flight we fly over the ancient city – and I saw the pyramids for the first time from above! They looked so small from above – but still truly amazing!

We land successfully, and we get off the plane and onto this sort of shuttle bus that takes us to the main terminal – now the fun starts… We get off the shuttle, and are ushered around by men with guns – so i get in line for the passport checks – but then realize I didn’t get my Visa! Uh oh – so I get out of line and go over to the bank window with my form, and hand the man 15 US dollars and get my two stamps – it really was quite a chaotic experience (but in a really cool way, you know?). It was all so adventurous!

So after all that, I make it out of the airport, and I find my driver holding a sign with my name (I’ve never had anyone do that – it’s actually pretty cool!)