From (A)msterdam to (Z)imbabwe - almost!

Apparently we got caught up in the European laid-back lifestyle and fell a bit behind on our blog. :)

We ended our last blog entry upon arriving in the Netherlands.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, catching a glimpse of both the Amsterdam city life and the surrounding countryside.  In Amsterdam, we learned the city is named after they put a dam to prevent the river Amstel (hence the beer) from flooding. We also witnessed the narrowest building in the city, less than 7 feet across.  You'll notice a hook at the top of the building, which is common across Amsterdam and used to aid in hoisting large items (e.g., furniture) up to the top floors when moving.

We rented a scooter to navigate the countryside, and found the Netherlands to be quite possibly the easiest and most convenient country to navigate given the extent of bike paths (literally everywhere). We saw numerous windmills and while we learned that Holland owns the title of the tallest people on earth (on average), little did we know how big their shoes are!

After Amsterdam, we headed to Porto, Portugal.  There we sampled port wines and visited wine cellars.  Porto was a larger city than we had anticipated given the smaller size of towns in Napa Valley, but the cellars were unique and the riverfront was beautiful and fun to walk around.

On the trip from Porto to Lisbon, we stopped by the Bussaco Forest, which apparently is the densest forest in Europe.  We hiked a few trails and stopped by the Palace Hotel, which is quite stunning especially given it's remote location.  We also made a stop in Sintra and viewed the Pena Palace, worth googling given the picturesque architecture (unfortunately we visited on a foggy day).  

While in Lisbon, we took a walking tour and learned a lot about the city's history.  There was an earthquake and tsunami in 1755, which killed 80% of the people and destroyed many of the buildings in the downtown area.  They rebuilt afterwards, being the first city to study seismology and incorporate earthquake-safe buildings in their design.

After a few days on our own, we met up with John's parents.  We drove out to several small towns and visited ancient ruins.  We first went to Evora, which is a small town with a beautiful church and ancient aqueducts.  The aqueducts were massive, incredible to think that these were built before modern technology.

From Evora we drove to Estremoz where we stayed in a "pousada", which we were pleased to learn was an ancient castle.  We were able to climb the tower, and see far into the Portuguese countryside.

After a few days touring the small towns in Portugal, we returned to Lisbon.  There we toured the art museum, which contained a large collection of Egyptian artifacts.  We also walked along the waterfront and listened to Fado music, which became popular after the earthquake.  We finished our trip in Portugal with a day trip to Obidos, a small village where we walked along the castle walls and took part in a medieval festival. 

Portugal is a beautiful country rich with history, but unfortunately struggling with a deep recession and a 50% unemployment rate for people 25-35 years old.  Unemployment is so bad that the government is recommending young professionals leave the country for work.  The recession has left many abandoned buildings, graffiti ridden streets and landmarks uncared for.


From Portugal, we wished John's parents a wonderful Norwegian cruise, and headed to Spain.  We spent a few days in Palma de Mallorca, enjoying the beach and festive Spanish culture.  We also gained an appreciation for air conditioning, as the place we were staying had no air conditioning or fan to combat the 100+ degree heat.

After a few days at the beach, we headed to Barcelona in search of some Gaudi architecture, Picasso and Paella.  We loved walking through Parc Guell, a park containing several examples of Gaudi's colorful architecture.  We also toured La Sagrada Familia, a beautiful church designed by Gaudi.  In the church we learned about the geometric principles from nature that Gaudi incorporated into his design.  For example, he used the design and strength of honeycomb structures, and many of the towers on the church resembled wheat.  Pictures didn't do the church justice so we captured a video.  We also happened upon a Charlie (our dog) look-alike!

From Barcelona we took a day trip to Costa Brava where we rented kayaks.  We spent the day kayaking through caves, which were amazingly beautiful and the water turned into a stunning blue/purple color.  It was awesome!

After Spain, we began our multi-day trek to South Africa, traveling through Istanbul and Johannesburg before finally settling in Cape Town.  We started our time in Cape Town with a trip to the botanical gardens, a large park with extensive variety of species native to the Cape region.  Even in their winter this was a really beautiful sight.

We then took a full day wine tour, where we sampled a large variety of wine and took in the sights of South Africa's wine region. They told us to keep an eye out for baboons and while we saw one, fortunately we left unscathed.

We also took a cooking class, making a variety of classic Cape Malay dishes.  Cape Malay cuisine originates from Indonesia, but has been modified for British tastes.  It was delicious!

Cape Town, and South Africa as a whole, is beautiful.  There are incredible sights (including Table Mountain, one of the 7 natural wonders of the world), and the people are very welcoming to tourists.  We have noticed that there is still a large amount of racial inequality and segregation.  Nelson Mandela started the process of desegregation, but there is still a lot of growth that needs to occur.

From Cape Town, we drove down to the Cape of Good Hope, and up the coast.  We stopped to take pictures of ostriches and penguins.  The coast is stunning and pristine. 

We're currently in Plettenberg, where we've witnessed gorgeous flora, flauna and sunrises!

Next we will travel to the Drankensberg mountains, taking in the mountain views that inspired Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings".  From there we head to Kruger national park to see "the big five".  We'll spend 4 days on safari, then head to Victoria Falls and then....home!

Hoi from the Netherlands!

We've arrived in the Netherlands after a successful trip to Scotland.  While we had an excellent time in Scotland, we're very excited to see familiar faces and ditch the jacket, jeans and umbrella!

We began our Scottish experience with a few days in Edinburgh.  There we visited the castle, which is primarily used today as an active war memorial.  It was on a hill, so it gave us a great view of the city.  Two interesting facts related to the Edinburgh Castle.  First is that within the same display as the Scottish crown jewels is a large rock.  It appears to be oddly out of place, but it's actually the Stone of Scone and has been used for centuries in the coronation of Scottish (and now United Kingdom) royalty.  While the crown, sword and scepter are no longer used, the rock is transported to London during the crowning of every new queen/king.  Second is that the crown jewels were hidden (buried) within the castle during World War II for fear of German invasion.  Only 4 people were notified of their location, 3 of them Scottish and the other being the Governor General of Canada (Winston Churchill was kept in the dark). 

From Edinburgh we took a day trip to Ceres, a small town on the outskirts of Edinburgh where they host an annual Highland games.  These games, dating back to as early as the 11th century, occur in several cities worldwide and consist of dancing (video below), wrestling, running, bicycling, heavyweight lifting and numerous other competitions.  The events are open to anyone who would like to participate, but despite various persuasion techniques John could not get Gretchen to heave a hay bale in the air with a pitchfork.  It was a fascinating glimpse into Scottish heritage and culture.

In Edinburgh we also sampled the local cuisine, which consisted of several unique dishes including Haggis.  For those who haven't had the pleasure of tasting Haggis, it is a 'savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.'  Below is a picture of John 'enjoying' Haggis.

After Edinburgh we traveled to Glasgow, which is significantly less oriented for tourism.  Here we spent most of our time walking around the city and enjoying the city's architecture.  It proved to be a wonderful time to catch up and relax.  We also ventured out to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park for a day, traversing the miles of trails via bike.

We then journeyed up to the highlands in search of the Loch Ness Monster.  While a monster citing is debatable, the northern part of Scotland is gorgeous, with forested mountains, beautiful pastures and scenic waterways/waterfalls.  We enjoyed a day of hiking around and calling out for "Nessie".

No trip to Scotland would be complete without a trip to the famous whisky distilleries.  While John is a blossoming connoisseur,  Gretchen used the time to practice her European driving skills.  A little known fact is that the while the US is the largest consumer of Scottish whisky based on monetary value, France is actually the largest consumer by volume. 

Now in Amsterdam, we're soaking up some rays and enjoying our time with Gretchen's sister Emily, her boyfriend Tim and Gretchen's former colleague Matt and his wife.  More to come, but here's a photo to whet your appetite. 

Cheers from London!

Greetings from London!!  We are now in our second country, and have started the third week of our "trip of a lifetime".  We're having a great time, and have obtained a good taste of Irish and British culture and attractions.  It continues to be cold and rainy, but we are making the best of the weather and seeing all there is to see.

We finished off our time in Ireland with a trip to Connemara, Galway and the Cliffs of Moher.  We gave fly fishing a try, though we had more success in an Irish "Pitch and Putt" golf game.

We arrived in London on Wednesday, and will be here through this Thursday.  Its been nice to settle into one place for a week, giving us a chance to recoup, do laundry, and even make a few homecooked meals.  

We visited Stonehenge to enjoy the summer solstice.  It was a unique experience, where people from all over the world gather to watch the sunrise in the ancient landmark.    

We next went to Bath to see the ancient Roman bath houses.  These were built in the 12th century, and get heated water from an underground Aquifer flowing through the bathhouse - the term "aquifer" was never used on the tour, this is Gretchen's highly scientific interpretation. :)  

We have viewed several ancient buildings, previously Dromoland, Blarney, Bunratty and Ashford Castles, and more recently Warwick Castle and the Blenheim Palace.  It's been interesting to see how differently they have been maintained.  Some are turned into restaurants and hotels, some are preserved in their original form, and some have been turned into kiddie attractions.

We took a trip out to Statford Upon Avon yesterday to see Shakespeare's birthplace.  They have built up the whole town based on his plays.  There are boats you can rent with the names of different characters, you can tour his home, and many of the local restaurants have a Shakespeare theme.  It was neat to see, and interesting to remember how much of an affect Shakespeare had on so many other authors and people from around the world.

Thats all for now!  Thank you for following our trip, we miss you, and hope you are having a wonderful summer!!  Cheers!

Slainte!

Dia duit ("hello") from Ireland!

We're on day 6 of our great adventure, and having a wonderful time!  We are currently in Doolin on the west coast of Ireland, awaiting a ferry ride to the Aran Islands.

We began our trip in Dublin, home of the Guinness factory (picture below). We enjoyed our time in Dublin, although the constant rain made us miss Chicago weather.  Apparently an Irish joke states "Irish summer is the best two days of the year."  John witnessed this having arrived 2 days earlier, but Gretchen unfortunately missed any bit of sunshine.

In Dublin, we also sampled high tea (pinkies up!), toured the Newgrange ancient tombs and watched a traditional Irish music and dancing show.  We also toured the Waterford Crystal factory (Christmas gift heaven) and had lunch at Waterford castle.

As you likely noticed, John has been growing out his beard and has enjoyed his close resemblance to Irish folk.  We are both in good health, and have had good accommodations so far (highly recommend Airbnb).  Our first few nights were at an apartment in Dublin that we shared with a Spaniard - he was nice, fluent in English, shared native Spanish foods and very interesting to talk to.

Since Dublin we've been traveling southern and western Ireland.  This has entailed driving on the left side of the road, quite an adventure in itself.  John has mostly mastered the driving and is enjoying learning the nuances of the Irish road systems.  In these travels, we've kissed the Blarney Stone (you may find our writing to be much more eloquent now), had an amazing dinner at a countryside inn and attempted clay shooting.

We have a few more days exploring the Irish countryside before leaving for London on Wednesday.   

A special shout-out to our wonderful dads on Fathers Day.  We love you both, and appreciate your love and support.  You both are in are hearts and thoughts today as we honor you!

Welcome to Pubs to Grubs!

We're excited to introduce our travel blog through which we'll share highlights from our summer adventure through Europe ("pubs") and Africa ("grubs" - the worms not food, though Gretchen has been known to eat grubs!). 

We leave June 7 (this Friday!) and return August 11, visiting a total of nine countries. Here's the map:



We will be checking email regularly, can access Skype (john.rolston) and have international phones (just dial/text 312-600-7442). Out of sight, but certainly not out of mind - we'll be in touch and keep you posted throughout the summer!

We'll leave you with two quotes that summarize the inspiration for our adventure:
1) "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things" - Henry Miller
2) "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

John & Gretchen