Athens Oct. 2013

    Been coming to Athens for 23 years and it still so interesting. 

   Views of The Parthenon up side streets which makes it a beautiful surprise. It still has scaffolding. It is still magnificent. 

    The click of worry brads. Remember to put the toilet paper in the bin, nod my head for no, say 'neh' for yes. 

 Metro stations have graves and artifacts from 5th century BC. 

 Added are hop/on-off buses, two different companies, with two lines, one for Athens and one for Pireas. Also a little train that goes around the city, also in Pireas. 

  Change booths in Monastiraki. McDonalds is gone from there. Plaza is finally open and covered with graffiti as the whole of the city. Like being inside a paint box. 

  Contemporary art dispersed among the ancient marble sculptures in the Archeology museum, the first one was bright red in a room of amphorae, quite a shock. 

   Went to watch the Oxi Day (Independence Day) parade, Syntagma square was blocked off with big police vans, that is the place I was told to go. I realized if I found a place to watch, I would miss the AA meeting and I was to meet a friend. So, off I walked-far. 

    Had lunch with his family in a Korean/Japanese restaurant and desert at a yogurt shop. Things have changed. 

   On the ferry to Paros, stopping at Syros which had two hills sparkling with lights, on one is an Orthodox Church, the other a Catholic one. Exciting, Paros is next. 

Austria Oct. 2013

    From the train in the way to Vienna, I am treated with the most picturesque countryside. I can hear Julie Andrews singing while skipping over the hills.    

    Graz was the 2nd capital of the Austrian Empire in the 16th century.

    The armory museum is the biggest in the world, preserved from the 1700's. 

     Dogs can come into restaurant.

Smoking everywhere, restaurants full and the streets as well. Payback is hell.  Had the best Schnitzel in years, pastries are heavy and undercooked, candies and cookies do not appeal to me. Good thing. Then, there is pumpkin seed oil. So tasty and can be used for so many dishes. Yesterday I had:  Saures Rindfleisch. Thin sliced beef kind of floating in pumpkin oil and vinegar, surrounding a pile of onions, and a sliced egg on top. Delicious. Another speciality is a sausage on a roll with raw horseradish grated on top. 

   Graz has the most preserved old town in Europe, and the biggest town of Italian architecture outside of Italy. Poverty is the best preservation for architecture and monuments. Older buildings have had plaster scrolled decorations added in later times. 

     Landhaus the council chambers, has   Baroque interior and most beautiful stucco ceiling design, now, with modern council round table and chairs. Quite a contrast. 

     One building is covered with frescos from 1360 depicting Greek and Roman Gods. The owner was not titled and so to compensate and show his wealth, made these beautiful frescos with Italian artists. 

     The Kunsthaus is the House of Art for the modern artists, it looks like a big blue bladder. 

     Dom of Graz is very plain on the outside and was connected to the government house for the head of Styria, with a bridge so Emperor Frederick III  could come to church without mixing with the common folk. The confessionals are works of art comprised of inlaid wood of different colors. The pulpit is carved in very high relief and glowing from gold leaf. Lots of carved marble statues on the altar, marble was brought from Italy, mind you, not such good roads then. What a feat.

    

China 2013

    A new place to take your date in Shanghai is the Hagen Dazs cafe. Quite a status symbol, it is pricey. 

     In a museum I went to the displays of calligraphy scrolls are framed by carved wooden decorations, each one different. 

    I saw a woman shoot snot about 3 feet into a corner in the Shanghai train station, reminds me of penquins. 

    Snack bought st station: peanut milk drink. Hope it does not need to be either hot or cold, I took it on the train trip to Beijing. It is very tasty, but not the nuts at the bottom. 

    Marlboro's are 15 yuan. 

    A woman got on the metro, asked a young man to get up for her and he would not even acknowledge her. Wow. 

    No queuing up here for train. Woman just came in front of me, guess it seemed like a good spot. 

     Sephora has a tep story shop, the sakes girls are dressed in frilly, cutesy dresses, typical for young women to look like children. 

     People are so thin, from front to back they look flat. 

    So hot in Shanghai that people are laying on the stairs going to the metro, there is a breeze coming from down below. 

     Sidewalks are tricky, bicycles, electric scooters go thru red lights at will, no looking for pedestrians, like they are wearing blinders. 

   Went into several upscale hotel lobbies. Ritz Carlton was the best. Twin circular staircases with water cascading from under into pools. Water, water everywhere. 

     Airport has green arrows in the floor to direct you to customs, how efficient. They processed hundreds of people so quickly that it seemed as if they just walked thru. New Yotk could use some of this. 

   Snack time: humm- fish lips or duck neck- you decide.