Thea's Travel Tips

As you may have seen from my previous blog posts, I've done a fair amount of going around with a friend named Thea, who's also an exchange student.

I like to think I've done a fair amount of travelling in my lifetime, but it's nothing compared to her.  She was born in Holland and lived there until moving to the States at around age 10.  She spent the three months before coming here in Egypt, with a brief Netherlands break before classes started.  She also is one of the most individual, witty, perceptive people I know.  I've learned some interesting travel tips from her, and it wouldn't be fair not to share them.

Also, check out her blog here.

Tips:

1. Instead of taking liquid shampoo/conditioner, go with solid shampoo bars.  Easier to pack, lighter, small, and you don't have to worry about them spilling.  She uses the ones from  Lush.  I picked up one of my own when we were in Nice once, and have used it to great effect. But according to Thea, they last 3x as long as a normal shampoo bottle.  They also come in different varieties for different kinds of hair.

I got the lavender juniper kind, for hair that gets oily quickly.  So far I'm really happy with it, although it does quite live up to the saleswoman's claim that I can cut down to only washing my hair every other day.  This solid shampoo was also definitely handy for my other travels.  I've taken it to Istanbul and around Italy, and avoided having to deal with a big bottle that might leak, or using only bad hotel shampoo.

2. Overstuffed suitcases are more likely to get opened by TSA, because when they're densely packed it's harder to distinguish what's inside them purely by x-ray.  That said, if you know you need to be carrying your luggage by yourself, or aren't going for very long, a travel backpack is often a better choice.  This was just a one-night trip in Turkey, so I wasn't wearing my full hiking backpack, but look! With the scarf, you can't even tell that I have a backpack on!

3. I already roll my clothes to save space when packing, but Thea took it a step further.  If you're going to be living out of a suitcase or a backpack, roll your clothes based on all those you would need for one day (including underwear and pajamas and socks, etc.).  That was you don't have to destroy your entire suitcase to get to the jeans down at the bottom.  Also, this will help with planning outfits and packing an appropriate amount of clothes, particularly for us girls who take an entire closet for a weekend.

4. This one I love, even if it makes me feel like a hobo: if it's raining and your shoes aren't waterproof, wrap your feet in plastic bags before you put your shoes on.  #Totalhobomove, but I've used it to great effect in Torino and Istanbul.  I didn't bring rainboots with me to France--they were too big and bulky to pack.  And in Menton it hasn't really been a problem, because even when it rains it's pretty warm.  But elsewhere it was FRIGID, and my leather boots are getting old and letting some slush in around the edged.  

You can't even tell! And you know I wouldn't be smiling if my toes were wet...

Honestly, this trick reminds me a lot of sailing--it's just like wearing a drysuit.  The bags don't keep your feet from getting cold, and they don't keep the water from getting in your shoes, but they do keep your skin dry.  This plus a solid pair of wool socks (see my post on Mes Achats de Nice) will keep your toes both dry and warm.

5.  If you need something to collect from your travels, think about collecting sugar packets.  They're free, they're readily available every time you stop for food, so no need for time wasted looking for them, and they're usually written in the local language.  People think it's cool to say "hello" in every language known to man?  Knowing how to say "sugar" is infinitely cooler (and less utilitarian)... Sucre, zucchero, Zucker, azucar, سكر

6. Last one for today: check out the supermarkets.  Not only is it way cheaper than eating out for every meal, it also gives you a real insight into the local culture.  

From Turkey, here is ayran (yogurt, water, and salt drink--don't confuse it with milk!).

And from Florence, pizzas, mushrooms, and lots of pecorino cheese (a specialty of the region) at a local covered market.

Here are the sandwiches we made with the deliciousness from that market...

And the desserts we're half bad either... (who am I kidding, I'm drooling just remembering it.)

Museo della Montagna

Perched above Torino attached to a church was the Museo della Montagna, the Museum of the Mountain.  It tracked the history and development of mountain life, with a particular focus on the Alps.

While the museum was generally pretty Euro-centric, it was still really fascinating.  Particularly surprising was the focus on how recent alpinisme is, and how much the mountains were feared and revered until technology allowed people to "conquer the mountains" so to speak.

Obviously, "technology" meant something very different fifty or a hundred years ago.  Below is a style of alpine lodging for hikers.  Forgive the poor picture quality; I got in trouble for taking pictures with flash.

 The next few pictures are all just different kinds of climbing gear.  I don't quite grasp the intricacies of this equipment or how it has evolved, since I'm not a climber, but I thought others might appreciate it.

And here's the part I like... the skis.  

Tangentially related, I was up in Stowe a few weeks ago and heard the story of the founder of Head skis showing off his first aluminum ski to a bunch of other super intense skiers up there.  When someone tried to test the flexibility of the new ski (compared to wooden skis), it broke!!  After that, I had to take some pictures of their collection of wooden skis, and skis through the ages, including a pair of Head skis... although I'll always be partial to Rossignol.

The museum also charters peoples' efforts to scale mountains in the Himalayas and in the Alps.  They have videos and samples of the best, newest technical fabrics, and tents and sleeping bags for camping in the snow.  

But it makes one reflect to some extent on how arrogant we are to think that we can conquer nature.  In the case of the cold/snow, humans still change themselves and their lives to suit Mother Nature's whims and flights of fancy.  Our trains were delayed coming back from Torino for snow.  And just yesterday on a bus to Nice, the people next to us (me and Ciera) told us about their friend who died last year skiing in Zermatt.  (My mother just read that sentence and thanked God she didn't let me ski when we were in Zermatt.  Apparently he did exactly what she was afraid of me doing--he skied off the slope and into a crevasse.)

In some respects, nature truly is the embodiment of a deity, more than humans will ever be.  It rolls up splendor and majesty with sheer power, practically beyond our comprehension.  Alors, il faut le respecter autant qu'on l'aime.  A propos de cette respecte, il y avait une citation dans le musée, disant "si tu laisses les traces, il faudra que tu te tiennes compte pour eux devant tes collègues," ou quelque chose comme ça. Je le trouvais bien impressionante.  

Caffè Italiano

French coffee is pretty damn good, but I was won over by Italian coffee this weekend.  Stopping in coffee shops was a great way to get warm, get caffeinated, and figure out our next moves around the city.  We also got to practice our Italian--"Vorrei un caffè, per favore."  I know how to say this and "prego" and most of the possible pizza toppings.  I'm basically fluent already.

But pizza is a whole separate story.  On the topic of coffee, the first one I tried was a "Marocchino." Obviously I would go for the Moroccan-inspired coffee.  

Not only did it have cacao on top, it also had chocolate throughout, and particularly at the bottom of the glass.  This was a great choice for someone who has as much of a sweet tooth as I do.

Apparently Marocchinos are typically served in glasses because of the aesthetic appeal.  Looks good to me!

Next up was Caffè d'Orzo.  It tasted like coffee but smokier.  Like someone had managed to make burnt coffee taste amazing.

So I just looked it up, and it actually is made from orzo (barley).  I totally didn't realize this when we ordered it... multiple times.  It also apparently doesn't have caffeine.  I've given up on coffee really affecting me, so I didn't notice when I had it that it didn't make me hyper.  This will definitely be my decaf "coffee" of choice in the future.

The third style of caffè from this weekend was the basic caffè, espresso.  I don't know how to describe what really good coffee tastes like, but this was it.

How cute are all the different kinds of coffee cups?  I'm still on the lookout for the fluted espresso cups that we used in Annecy, but these styles and patterns make me smile too.

Torino: Winter Wonderland

As you may have gathered, Rome didn't end up working out this weekend.  Ciera, Thea, and I were supposed to join three other exchange students who had gone down on Thursday. The Italian train workers went on strike, which meant that we wouldn't have been able to leave for Rome until Saturday morning, and spend all day Saturday on the train.

When this turn of events became official, we copped a squat in the waiting room of the Menton train station, across the room from a sketchy homeless guy and his dog.  We were pretty dejected, but we broke out the chocolate, bread, and wine, and tried to make contingency plans.  Ibiza, Corsica, Barcelona, and Paris were all scratched off the list.  We ended up with Torino, Italy, home of the 2006 Winter Olympics, Ferrero Rocher, and the Shroud of Turin.

We left Menton early on Saturday morning, and it took us about four hours to get to Torino.  Part of the train ride was lovely, with lots of ravines and homes built into cliffs.  But as we got closer to the city we saw more and more crumbling factories and industrial wasteland.  And the weather turned colder.  I was terrified that Torino would be like that too and we would have a miserable time.  I felt particularly bad because I was the one who convinced the other girls to go there.

It was raining when we made it out of the train station after a fiasco with Trenitalia.  But the city was actually still beautiful!  This was one of the many piazzas.  If you look closely on the right, you can see the porticos that are all over the place (and were very welcome in the rain).  The style of architecture fits so well with the clean grid layout of the city.

We had a blast despite the drizzle (more to come about Italian coffee, markets, churches, and protests).  But we still much preferred to wake up the next morning and see that the rain had turned to snow, and started to stick!  This is the view from our hotel window.  The distance, price, and amenities made Hotel Napoleon a much better choice than one of the two hostels in the city.

We walked through several of the beautiful Torino parks.  The snow, the thick winter coats, and the heavy square architecture made me think of Russia... not that I've been there.  Can anyone tell me if this is an accurate impression?

The snow got heavier as the day went on, and by the time we made it to the part of the city on the other side of the river, it was probably about eight inches deep.  The deeper snow also meant less slush.

I love snow, and I love how it made the whole city white and crisp.  It might have wrecked the panoramic views, but seeing such a wintery city covered in snow just made sense.  I could imagine the Olympics going on there, and I could imagine coming back for après-ski after a day on the slopes.  In fact, I might head back up there to go skiing at some point.

I put my new wool socks to good use!  And I'm very glad I brought my winter jacket to France for in case I go to Vancouver.  Unfortunately my boots weren't meant for slushy snow, and my feet weren't quite as dry as I would have liked.  By that I mean that I had about as much water in my boots as I do when I'm sailing, particularly in this picture, while the slush still predominated.  Oh well, it was a great excuse to stop into cafes and warm up!

One of the highest points in the city is Monte dei Cappuccini, which houses a church and the Museum of the Mountain (post coming later). Usually, you can see all the way from here to the mountains that surround Torino.  Visibility during out visit was not quite that good...

But again, I think I prefer the solid white snow.

Umbrellas were popular for this wet snow.  Even I gave in on occasion.  But umbrellas have a negative connotation for me; I associate them with rain, not snow.  So it was strange to see people using them for this kind of weather...

Especially when I was considering sledding down the hill on my butt.  I did end up running down one of the hills like a little girl, and I still don't understand how I didn't end up falling.  I think I was sliding more than running.

This was my first time in Italy! And although it wasn't Rome, it showed me a different side of Italy, namely the side that reveres nature and the mountains, and respects their power.  Just like in the photo below, harsh snowy weather is an essential aspect of Alpine or Piemontaise life.  I find it kind of exhilarating.