So I have decided that I need to use/upkeep this blog and what better way than to use the awesome email that Sam wrote about the start of our Europe trip!
Enjoy!
Hi everyone!
I’ve decided to follow in the footsteps of Jenni and compose an email which reflects my thoughts and experiences of the trip thus far. Usually I would've sent a few emails already, but as its built up and I've procrastinated in sending them, i’ll be sending it in one long email book of sorts… There will be plenty that will be missed, experiences that are just pure ‘Sam’ that others wouldn't have included but I hope that the majority of experiences brings laughs and memories of those who have been to Europe before or are yet to go and you should plan on going.
We have to begin with the flight over to Dubai = 14 hours long. Usually I'm pretty good with this long haul of sorts, but I pushed my poor body to its limits this time round which I am never going to repeat if not necessary. Kel and I didn't get much sleep a few days before the flight and I decided to work the day of travel which wasn't the smartest thing to do. Also I will never again fly at 11pm as I knew I cannot sleep on planes and of course my body wouldn't let me…I was utterly exhausted even before the first hour of the flight began and totally miserable when the 10th hour arrived. The last 3 hours was torture and I had to use the vomit bags for the first time in my life not due to being sick but being tired… Never again! Best write about some good news though :)
Kel and I have been very busy in each place throughout our travels. It wasn't really until Croatia that we have taken the foot off the accelerator and placed ourselves into cruising mode. Each of the below places had their own unique feel, culture and atmosphere which pulled at different strings of my personal enjoyment. Lets begin in the fantastic, yet sweltering hot Dubai.
Dubai has too much money for their own good - this includes the amazing worlds largest indoor snow field, worlds tallest building (Burj Khalifa), worlds largest mall (Dubai Mall) which comprises of a 20 billion dollar complex - (thats 2/3 of Australian NBN’s total projected costs…) which has 1200 stores, the worlds largest indoor ski park as well as a full sized aquarium; pretty much Dubai dominates everything ‘world this and world that’. I’m not complaining as each project is to me a modern architectural wonder/awe. Europe and the America’s have the ancient wonders, and Dubai has the modern wonders. I would say that I also felt that I was super safe and that nothing would happen to Kel and I. I believe this is due to their religious beliefs and punishments not many people would like to receive.
We were very blessed to have Kel’s Aunt - Lynda take us around Dubai as she was very familiar with Dubai and Abu Dhabi as she has lived between the two for 15+ years. Places we visited included the worlds tallest tower - I was a little shaky as the older i’ve been getting the more vertigo leaks into my body… yet I survived and Kel took it in her stride. You cant go all the way up, but you still shoot up that elevator 64 km/h to level 124. You can go to level 148 but tickets cost twice as much and isn't worth the extra 24 floors. Some facts about the Burj Khalifa:
The tallest building in the world (828 m)
The highest freestanding structure (828 m)
The building with the most floors (163 floors)
The highest in the world installed lift
The fastest elevator in the world (64 km / h)
The world's highest swimming pool (76th floor)
The world's highest nightclub (144th floor)
The world's highest restaurant (122 floor - 442 m)
The highest vertical pumped concrete (606 m)
The highest installation of an aluminium and glass facade (512 m)
Below the tower you have a shopping mall and a vast open water facade much like Bellagio in Las Vegas which shoots 30m spouts of water in the air timed to Arabian music. We had an amazing vegetarian lunch at the water front which was a great alternative to all the other food we were having.
The Emirates all love their large and fast cars (4WD’s, big American trucks, sports cars, luxury cars - you name it, they’ve got it AND its brand new). What stood out with their public transport system was their bus stops… due to Dubai’s 40-50 degree weather, all bus stops are self enclosed, air conditioned glass rooms of pure goodness (even though I never caught the bus it would’ve been a fantastic break from the heat).
I know you may find this strange, but I noticed that every single place I went to had a very pleasant, welcoming smell. They looked after their public places very well it seemed. Another thing I am kind of jealous about is the amazingly manicured beards of all Saudi men! Cut to precision, thick like black carpet and well shaped - each face is a work of art. No other place that I know of accessorises and shows off a mans beard than the Saudi’s. To them its an obsession, a competition to see who can have the best looked after beard… I love it!
We have left out many more things but two more worthy notes of our Dubai leg - As Kel’s Aunt was temporarily moved into a smaller place, she very generously lodged us at the Marriott Hotel and put down that we were ‘on our honeymoon’. I’ve come to learnt that all honeymooners or newly weds always get special treatment at hotels and involuntarily we benefited by it as well. I mentioned to Kel that were ever we travel we should put down that we are newly weds…regardless, the hotel was fantastic, well placed and comfortable which gave our jet lagged bodies the best chance to recover (we were asleep at 4:30pm the day we flew in). Dubai’s water park built next to the Atlantis Hotel was incredible! I’ve never been to a water park let alone a theme park before so what do we do? Go straight for the adrenaline fuelled rides. Two stood out in particular - Poseidons Revenge & The Leap of Faith.
Climbing up staircase after staircase to reach Poseidon’s revenge involved some exertion, but once up the 40 meter tower, you stand into a capsule which automatically closes over you making you feel like a man in a see through cannon whereupon you then hear a prerecorded countdown - 3, 2, 1 and the see through floor slides out and you free fall for 2 seconds straight down and then shoot through the enclosed slide. My poor heart was racing on the count down and I physically tried to keep my eyes open during the ride, but the speed, water and noise prevented me from doing so. The Leap of Faith ride simply involved pushing yourself out of another 40m high drop out in the open which just plummeted down through a glass enclosure containing fish and sharks till you slowed down at the end. You couldn't see a thing due to the speed, but all spectators could see or hear your screams (I was screamed out by then…) while blasting through the aquarium.
The cherry on the cake for me was the Safari Tour we had the chance to go on. The experience included a 4WD romp over the desert sand dunes (my favourite part of the day), camel rides (Kel couldn't wait for this), elaborate henna on Kel’s right hand, local dancing, local food and a quiet drive back to the hotel which was needed as the chaotic, but fun 4WD over the dunes gave me a headache… sleep was wanted and came that night.
All in all, I would highly recommend Dubai for a few days layover, it was expensive but not as expensive to deter anyone from going. It was the perfect start to our trip, one of heat, thrills, shaky legs, dehydration, laughs, great times with a close friend & more.
The clean and graceful land of Switzerland came next. Entering the airport to connect with my parents, we headed with friends of our family back to their place in a 45 minute drive north of Zurich to a little town called Buch. The very first thing you notice is the smell of fresh air accompanied by the methane farting of the cows and the pig barns. As it gets very cold in winter, animals are left in the barns, but in this case during summer, the pigs are only left inside as its customary for farmers over there to do it. Hence, when they open the barn doors - the wafting smell of strong pig odours attacks your nose that cannot be prevented even while holding your breath which gives you a sense of ‘being alive’. Rodger and Vronnies family are always smiling and very welcoming and we enjoy their company while eating, laughing and playing a card game which I could never win.
A couple of highlights for us were the name of all Freeway exits in Swiss-German being ‘ausfahrt’ - must be a warning for the smell of animals? Families close to the German boarder purchase their food/groceries from Germany as its less expensive to do so which makes complete sense. My family also traveled to the Bern temple which looks like a smaller replica of NZ’s design, but the session was in Italian but we head the english translation headsets. The highlight for me was rafting in our makeshift boats (inflatable sofa’s, tubes etc.) down the river that due to the low tide turned a 3 hour trip into a 5-6 hour journey. We weren't prepared for this, lack of food made us hungry but we rationed water so that was fine. As one raft of ours (circle pool tube) was punctured and gave up its life, I gave mine to the american family also staying with our hosts and grabbed my snorkelling gear but realised that it was a long slog ahead and some rapid sections were very dangerous for me speeding towards the rocks quickly I had to carefully dodge or be hit. We were graced with good sun tans (mild burns) and memories that will last us this entire trip. We also had the opportunity to borrow our hosts car which we used for a few trips, including to reach a cable car up a mountain which views of the region was spectacular.
Leaving Switzerland, I have come to appreciate the beauty that each place dishes on our plates - Dubai with the vast desert and Switzerland with its rolling, green hillsides. Our next leg sent us into the world of the French = Paris.
Kel and I split Paris into 2 sections - Disneyland for the first 2 days and its culture/history for the next 3. I haven't been to a large theme park so you can imagine that I was naturally excited for Disneyland. It didn't help that we had chosen a Sunday/Monday that was in the middle of school holidays and entire family clans/tourists (like us) would flock there…As we got there early on the first day, we decided to jump onto the hollywood tower of terror ride to avoid the long lines. Out of all the rides, unknowingly free-falling who knows how high overlooking the edge of the park is not my thing… I preferred the roller coasters (first time on big ones…) than the haunted tower. For me, roller coasters are separated into three categories (incl. rides we went on):
Preparatory coaster - Adults wanting to give their children a glimpse of speed and thrills without any loops of cork-screws yet still make them scream:
Finding Nemo Coaster (indoors) ride - great use of mirrors and lights to make you feel like your in a wide underwater space time warp.
Big Thunder railway - great for kids who will no doubt try one cat. #2 rollercoaster afterwards.
The 50% group of coasters which have tight turns, possibly 1 or 2 inverted loops and is quick. Most coasters fit into this category:
Indiana Jones (outdoors) - Temple of Doom (real tight loop, high speed loop right next to the waiting line…) This coaster we got stuck on just as we were being hoisted up the coaster, had to leave the ride with assistance from the crew.
The 10%’rs which include the ballsy, think more then twice about getting into the line coasters…:
Space Mountain (indoors) - Begin the ride with a 10 second high speed twists which locked you into a cannon fixed to the sealing of the building. After 10 seconds of peace, you find yourself catapulted at 45 degrees into the entrance at the roofs top and down, around, up and over until you peacefully made your way back to the exit. Great use of lights in this ride. We met a boy and his mother from Sydney in the line and we started chatting about roller coasters. This was the boys very first time on a real coaster - his 1st time was in Melbourne on the Luna Park wooden Coaster…He didn't know what he was in for (was our 2nd time on this ride). I have to take my hat off to the kid = Zac (10 year old), as he took it in his stride whereas other boys after the ride were in tears never to go on another ride for their lives…
AeroSmith Coaster (indoors) - Had to be the quickest coaster at the park. Near the end of the waiting line 5 minutes before hopping onto the ride, screams draw your attention to an entrance of a tunnel. Stationary at the gaping entrance sits a coaster, while a large digital countdown clock sends excitement and fear into you. 3, 2 ,1 goes the clock in which at 0 they’re hurtling down a tunnel quicker than my motorbike reaching 100 kmh going fast enough that you begin the start of the ride with a 360 loop and continue looping and falling and corkscrewing till the end of the ride… We went on this ride 4 times = we loved it. On our 3rd go, we started a conversation with a mother in the line who was by herself (dad was with the boys) and she hadn't been on fast coasters before. Lets just say she was panicking even before she saw the count-down, launching of the coaster and echoing screams of the riders. She went from panic to pure fear. Deep down I was having a little chuckle as I felt half of what she was feeling on my first attempt. She didn't scream the entire ride - I don't think she had the chance.
As you can possibly guess, I loved my first ever theme park experience and gained a love for roller coasters. Another highlight was the animation/light/water & firework show at the castle. Very well designed and executed, was enjoyable. Yet, we had to end this chapter of our trip and begin our cultural and historical part of our trip = Centre of Paris and Italy.
Paris has so much culture, patriotism and love for their nation that it shows in their demeanour & history. I loved it and the places we had the chance to see - Louve, Arch De Triomphe (spelt incorrectly, but known to myself as the large lump of stone), Notre Dame, Sainte Chappell (Amazing Sistine glass roofed chapel), Paris Opera House (Phantom of the Opera Box = my favourite place for photos), Eiffel Tower- many, many places which gave us both awe and gratitude for people/nations willing to preserve history and beauty.
Some interesting things about Paris which I noticed:
Non-compliant storage machine (only wanted exact coinage which gave us hassles…)
Pay for toilets - I knew about this but I am very happy I don't need to worry about paying in Australia - it's actually a great thing not handing over $1 every time I need to go in public…
Make sure I always have spare coins in my pocket.
Women clean the men's toilets and Vice-versa, I can see how this will make westerners feel strange but I'm used to it being in Europe before.
Suburban train stations have two big problems - they lack toilets and they don't have escalators at all stations - lots of walking with suit cases, but I didn’t really worry about that. BUT they do two things very well - the train doors open before the train has stopped so you can leave the train while it's moving...quite fun :) and the frequency of each train = 2-3 minutes on any city station anytime during the day.
The French protect their car industry = majority of cars are Peugeot and Renault (French companies), only saw one Toyota the entire trip.
A highlight for me which Kel enjoyed, but I became a walking husband trying to find isles of sofas to sit on, was when we went shopping and stumbled across the heaven of women shoes in which I have never stepped into a larger first floor with just one thing = women's shoes...not a guys pair of shoes in sight! Go up a floor and you hit the Wall Street of stores - all uber luxury brands and 95% of shoppers are Chinese tourists - very interesting yet understanding. It was also in one of the most beautiful buildings we saw.
Paris gave us the first real taste of history and prepared us for Florence and Italy.
Italy - Florence
We jump onto the train from Milan and hurdle our way towards Florence at 297km/h (180m/h) can't complain with the speed as we got ourselves their very quickly. The train was more quite and smooth than a plane. One of the first things that stood out among the beauty of Florence is the enormous doors that Goliath himself could easily walk through. A lot of the old cities apartments were protected by enormous entrance doors to the foyer. These doors were easily 2 times our heights in solid wood. I thought to myself that I’d have a door like that one day. Being summer, the last thing you expect is rain? Well, it came along with thunder and even hail stones… It didn't last too long, but it surprised us all. We would also later experience rain and thunder in Lastovo 2 weeks later.
My dad and I came across a museum filled with mathematical, nautical and electrical equipment from the era of Galileo onwards. Half of the equipment stored here was above our heads which further increased my respect for the sciences and mathematics of the past and present. Being able to have full reign of what you want to do and having unlimited resources at your finger tips would enable many to invent and produce what they did. Its interesting that some many inventions in the past have lead to discoveries that have ultimately killed its inventor - Galileo found his fate with the telescope and how it opened up the minds and mathematics/scientists of the day to the grand scope of what was really out there. This cost him his life due to the religious beliefs at that point in time.
Another museum that we all went to was a taxidermy exhibition - Sea, Land and Air. hundreds of animals from many different continents all in one place. It was a very impressive collection, one that I didn't expect florence to have. Sorry to my Vegan friends out there!
Florence led to Rome which led to more history imbedded in its country. The Colosseum is amazing, yet holds much blood under its large stone and concrete work. The history of the Colosseum is something I would suggest is worth reading about. We then travelled to the basilica and the Sistine chapel at the Vatican which we decided was done best with a tour guide which i highly recommend. The paintings of Michelangelo, especially the roof of the sistine chapel keeps your mouth gaping for a while. What skill and mastery he possessed which was portrayed in his use of paint and the brush.
Things that stood out in Rome were:
You only know how dark you get until you sit next to a white person (not many here).
Best way to lose weight is to hop onto an Italian bus on a blistering hot day with no air conditioning...
All tourists complain of the heat and when walking into a air-conditioned environment their smiles can compare to a miner striking gold.
Cars just stop anywhere they want - in the middle of the road to unload what ever they want…also, if your walking over a pedestrian crossing you must look, otherwise you risk being hit.
Movies in Italy are still beginning at 11pm…
Scooters are the king of the roads - surprisingly I haven't seen as many luxury/super-sport cars as I would've expected. Traffic and car manners are as chaotic at best but work like a complicated time piece - impossibly complex yet it all falls into place perfectly. The traffic just keeps on moving no matter how chaotic.
After Rome, we headed to my beloved Croatia. Out the window goes my need to see history, try and stay cool when theres no water to swim in. Dubrovnik was our first stop and straight away after dropping off our luggage, on goes the swim wear and into the water we dive. We visited the old city walls (partial location of the Game of Thrones) and Kel floated off the back of a boat in her parasailing adventure which she loved.
Croatia has the perfect sea temperature (roughly 27 degrees) and is blue and clear. You can just lay in the water feeling refreshed without your hands shrivelling up. Lay on the side and when your warm again just repeat the process. The day in either Dubrovnik or Lastovo (grandfathers island) goes a little like this for me - wake up, breakfast, walk/drive to the beach, swim, eat ice-cream, swim, eat lunch, swim, eat some more ice cream, swim/go back to the house, have dinner, eat some more ice cream , enjoy the night and sleep. Repeat this each day = ULTIMATE RELAXATION. You quickly forget what the time is, the day or the date. I switch off my phone and forget about life itself. Its the best way to unwind from anything hectic or stressful. Highly recommend this lifestyle/type of holiday. Sure the history of Paris/Italy is great, but relaxation is more sweeter and rejuvenating to the body and mind.
All in all, I currently type this email in a coastal city called Split and tomorrow head to Zadar and then off to Venice before we head back to Melbourne's winter weather. Such a shock to my body, but deep down, Im kind of looking forward to it.
I hope all is well in Melbourne, NZ and the US, take care and best wishes!
Sam & Kel Fulmizi
P.S We were going to attach photos but Kel has put lots on Facebook so we didn’t really feel the need! (We have lots more to come - from Sam’s camera, but this will be once we get home)
If you are reading this well done! You made it! - Kel :)
