Where in the World is Hilary

The cousins have arrived…

ham — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 16:39:41 +0000

…and are sleeping sweetly in the hotel room. So far we have walked around a bit in the brutal sun, had some Roman pizza (Jon was surprised it came without tomato sauce, and had to order some on the side), and checked into our hotel. We have two small ajoining rooms with a private bathroom. It is nice.

We are going to wait for it to cool off a bit, and then take off to explore the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. I’m looking forward to it!

Rome is HOT!

ham — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 15:59:35 +0000

Liz and I have spent the better part of the day wandering around Rome, and have the blisters and such to show for it. We’re both doing well and looking forward to the cousins coming tomorrow.

If anyone expecting work from me is reading this (hi ;), I plan to locate some wifi and get most of it done tomorrow. Expect some e-mail soon!

Success! GO Morocco is complete.

ham — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 15:17:19 +0000

I just arrived in London from Casablanca, and I’ll be on to Rome in just a few minutes.

The GO Morocco trip was a spectacular success, exceeding my very high expectations in every way. It was an experience that I will never forget.

I am really looking forward to telling you all about it. Until then!

Morocco

ham — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 13:49:52 +0000

I’m in Morocco! Our house is absolutely lovely. It’s like a palace on the beach. There will be pictures. Lots of pictures!
The rest of our team arrives tonight, so Mehdi and I are preparing for them. We bought a bunch of food and office supplies and are getting ready to get back to work. I miss you all, and I’ll be in touch soon.

One Day in Budapest

ham — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 23:13:18 +0000

Liz and I spent last night and today in Budapest. This is a city that I have always wanted to visit, and I’m very glad to finally have the chance! We woke up and walked into the center of the city, stopping at the McCafe for a cappuchino to go (a McDonald’s run classy coffee bar — we need these at home). We went to see Europe’s largest synagogue, which was gorgeous and well worth the ‘donation’. We browsed the museum there, but it was not particularly impressive.

After that we went to Gerbeaud Confectionary for coffee and cake for breakfast/lunch. This wonderful cafe has been operating continuously since 1858. It was delicious! We shared a cherry torte and a chocolate croissant.

We only have this one day to explore, so we decided to do a three hour tour on an open-topped bus. It had a live tour guide who spoke English and German (there are lots of German-speaking tourists here), and stopped at three of the major sites along the way: the castle, the fisherman’s bastion, and the plaza of heroes. We also drove by pretty much everything else interesting in the city, including the bridges, various churches, embassies, and stadiums. It was a bit cheesy, but the tour was a good way to see a lot of things in a limited time.

After the tour, we returned to the hotel so that Liz could fix her socks (don’t ask). Then we went back to the city center and ate at a Hungarian restaurant. The portions were huge, and the food was very good. I got the special of the day, which was a beef consumme, followed by a chicken breast smothered in a tomato-based sauce with onions, peppers (just a few, so I could pull them out and lots of papricka. The dish was accompanied by a cabbage salad and a stack of potatoes with herbs. After dinner, we went to an ice cream shop called “Spaghetti Ice” for mochachinos and a tiramisu sunday, with tiramisu flavored ice cream, coffee liquor, whipped cream, and lady fingers. Yum.

Finally, we strolled along the Pest-side bank of the Danube river, watching the sun set and buildings light up. It’s really lovely. It started to rain, so we took the tram #2 back along the river, and then walked back to our hotel.

We’ll be up early tomorrow, so that Liz can go to Florence, and I can fly to Casablanca for G.O. Morocco. I’m not sure when I’ll have internet access, so wish me luck.

Wencelas Square

ham — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 17:56:03 +0000

Me and Hilary in Wencelas Square, Prague 6-10-06

Originally uploaded by enmason.

Most of that shopping that I mentioned happend in and around Wencelas Square. It’s the same size as the Prague castle grounds, from end to end. Amid the crazy numbers of tourists, shoppers, and locals, you can see a few statues, monuments, and interesting buildings.

Lots of these buildings have alleyways, or courtyards, that have been covered and converted to mini-shopping centers. In one of these we found a wonderful ice cream place, with fruit icecream. We also found a statue of Wencelas on an upside-down horse, and some cool art neuvo buildings. I’ll post my own photos of that soon, but for now, enjoy this picture of me and Liz with the square stretched out behind us.

awesome single-cup coffee, revisited

ham — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 17:45:33 +0000

awesome single-cup coffee

Originally uploaded by hilarymason.

As promised, here is the picture. I haven’t been able to find these outside of the UK. Does anyone know where else they can be found?

To answer another question, they were 2 pounds for 10 packs.

Prague

ham — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 16:13:51 +0000

Today is my last day in Prague. I’ve been trying to relax and did a little shopping.

Prague, a sampler

ham — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 09:53:29 +0000

We did this: Bohemian Bagel for breakfast, visited the Charles Bridge, walked to the Old Town Square, went to the Church of St Nicholas, watched the Zodiac Clock do it’s thing, walked to the Jewish Cemetery, walked around the old Jewish Quarter, window shopped at expensive stores, walked to Prague Castle, saw part of the changing of the guard, walked through, around, in, and under Prague Castle, walked down, visited the John Lennon wall, walked some more, took the metro, ate at an excellent Italian restaurant, walked more, read some things, slept.

Prague, the remix

ham — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 09:03:39 +0000

Last night we took the late train (6:33pm to 10:35pm) from Vienna to Prague. We ended up with a compartment to ourselves, which was wonderful. The country here is picturesque, especially with the sun setting. Imagine gently rolling green hills, with ornate churches, and small villages off in the distance. Of course, there is quite a bit of communist-era cement block architecture in the Czech Republic, and it was interesting to see some of that.

We’re off to do more touristy things today. And if the weather holds, eat yummy czech food and take photos.