Hi everyone,
I just updated my website and thought you might want to check it out. To visit, paste the URLs into your browser.
http://web.me.com/mimanmetty
Israel, etc 2009
The Lost World
Gethsemane
Via Dolorosa
Bethlehem
Massada
Annunciation
Capernaum
Acre
Tel Aviv
Kibbutz
The Landscape
Cairo
The Nile
Food
Gods
The People
Petra
Take a look and let me know what you think!
Made on a Mac
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
Why Did You Do That?
Why Did You Do That?
There is yet another grisly news of mass killing this morning, the massacre at Fort Hood. This week we heard about the serial rapist and killer with his mass graves right in his neighbor’s backyard. The media are in a frenzy interviewing experts who can shed light on the motives of the killers. We like to understand so the act will make sense to us, so we can classify it among the myriad values and attitudes that we have formed, learned from our own life experiences and observations. If we can’t classify it we are bewildered, confused. We won’t be at ease until we peg this action into something familiar, then we can set it aside and move on, satisfied in our understanding. You see, the measure of our understanding is limited by what we are able to process as familiar. Yes, there are experiences that we share as members of a group, a culture, a country, but as individuals, we are only ourselves, and another’s schemata of a good life may be our despair, or the demise of our soul.
I often wonder about the motives of those who act in the name of charity. We are self righteous in examining the motives of criminals, do we dare examine the motives of those who volunteer in soup kitchens and homeless shelters, those who entertain “senior dependents”, those who volunteer in medical missions, those who feed the children in Africa, those who topple regimes, those who impose political ideology on a people?
People who do bad things and good things have many things in common, often their motives are the same. Take the father who sexually molests his daughter, his motive is no different from any solicitous father,i.e., to teach his daughter about life. The parents of a pregnant teenager feel right in pressuring for marriage or adoption or abortion, against the preference of their daughter, what is their motive? Often protective, to spare their daughter a life of grief. Or the tourist who gives money or gifts to children in 3rd world countries, they feel sorry for these children and want to give them some happiness. Instead they have conditioned these children to become beggars and opportunists, and now consider them an annoyance in travel. The benevolent motive by the Spaniards of christianizing the Philippines and replacing its indigenous culture with their European civilization, killed the Filipino soul. Do we really understand the people of Iraq and Afghanistan to direct that democracy is good for them?
All I’m saying is that we should be very clear with our motives, because we can hurt with good intentions. The medical mission volunteer does it again and again because seeing the beaming and grateful faces of charity patients makes him feel good about himself, that he’s doing god’s work. He expects certain behaviour from the recipient of his charity and if he’s not clear with his motive, he might become angry if not forthcoming from his subject, and he might do something to punish them, like labeling them negatively, or changing program acceptance criteria, or changing his manner and behaviour with them , most commonly by becoming condescending, dismissive or authoritarian. What is Fil-Am’s motive in entertaining our senior citizens? Is it for Fil-Am to feel good about itself, to feel appreciated by the community? What is Fil-Am’s attitude towards our seniors? Do we see them as uninteresting, an uncreative group that needs us to provide diversion? Our seniors have a wealth of experience among themselves, living in the Philippines during times of great change and then uprooting themselves and coming to America. That required tremendous strength and resilience, and perhaps some sacrifice from some of them. If we change how we think about our seniors, perhaps we can have programs that are senior-centered, emphasizing their rich life experience and their strength, rather than providing organization-driven services that sees them as dependent and leading monotonous lives.
“This event is specifically designed to provide our senior dependents the opportunity to gather with their peers and break the monotony of their daily
lives.”
“Most of them can't drive, they take care of their grandkids, and stay home most of the time. Entertaining the "senior dependents" is one of the services that Fil-Am provides to the Filipino community.Please don't be offended by the message. No offense was meant.”
Yes, no offense was meant but it sure hurt me and offended me. Hopefully it’s only me who reacted this way, even if as you said, it was not meant for the likes of me.
There is yet another grisly news of mass killing this morning, the massacre at Fort Hood. This week we heard about the serial rapist and killer with his mass graves right in his neighbor’s backyard. The media are in a frenzy interviewing experts who can shed light on the motives of the killers. We like to understand so the act will make sense to us, so we can classify it among the myriad values and attitudes that we have formed, learned from our own life experiences and observations. If we can’t classify it we are bewildered, confused. We won’t be at ease until we peg this action into something familiar, then we can set it aside and move on, satisfied in our understanding. You see, the measure of our understanding is limited by what we are able to process as familiar. Yes, there are experiences that we share as members of a group, a culture, a country, but as individuals, we are only ourselves, and another’s schemata of a good life may be our despair, or the demise of our soul.
I often wonder about the motives of those who act in the name of charity. We are self righteous in examining the motives of criminals, do we dare examine the motives of those who volunteer in soup kitchens and homeless shelters, those who entertain “senior dependents”, those who volunteer in medical missions, those who feed the children in Africa, those who topple regimes, those who impose political ideology on a people?
People who do bad things and good things have many things in common, often their motives are the same. Take the father who sexually molests his daughter, his motive is no different from any solicitous father,i.e., to teach his daughter about life. The parents of a pregnant teenager feel right in pressuring for marriage or adoption or abortion, against the preference of their daughter, what is their motive? Often protective, to spare their daughter a life of grief. Or the tourist who gives money or gifts to children in 3rd world countries, they feel sorry for these children and want to give them some happiness. Instead they have conditioned these children to become beggars and opportunists, and now consider them an annoyance in travel. The benevolent motive by the Spaniards of christianizing the Philippines and replacing its indigenous culture with their European civilization, killed the Filipino soul. Do we really understand the people of Iraq and Afghanistan to direct that democracy is good for them?
All I’m saying is that we should be very clear with our motives, because we can hurt with good intentions. The medical mission volunteer does it again and again because seeing the beaming and grateful faces of charity patients makes him feel good about himself, that he’s doing god’s work. He expects certain behaviour from the recipient of his charity and if he’s not clear with his motive, he might become angry if not forthcoming from his subject, and he might do something to punish them, like labeling them negatively, or changing program acceptance criteria, or changing his manner and behaviour with them , most commonly by becoming condescending, dismissive or authoritarian. What is Fil-Am’s motive in entertaining our senior citizens? Is it for Fil-Am to feel good about itself, to feel appreciated by the community? What is Fil-Am’s attitude towards our seniors? Do we see them as uninteresting, an uncreative group that needs us to provide diversion? Our seniors have a wealth of experience among themselves, living in the Philippines during times of great change and then uprooting themselves and coming to America. That required tremendous strength and resilience, and perhaps some sacrifice from some of them. If we change how we think about our seniors, perhaps we can have programs that are senior-centered, emphasizing their rich life experience and their strength, rather than providing organization-driven services that sees them as dependent and leading monotonous lives.
“This event is specifically designed to provide our senior dependents the opportunity to gather with their peers and break the monotony of their daily
lives.”
“Most of them can't drive, they take care of their grandkids, and stay home most of the time. Entertaining the "senior dependents" is one of the services that Fil-Am provides to the Filipino community.Please don't be offended by the message. No offense was meant.”
Yes, no offense was meant but it sure hurt me and offended me. Hopefully it’s only me who reacted this way, even if as you said, it was not meant for the likes of me.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Ako Ay Pilipino, Part II
Ako ay Pilipino, Part II
Reading the article on the building of the balangay ( http://www.balangay-voyage.com/) and the voyage it plans to trace in the Philippine seas and on to Madagascar, it got me thinking. First of all the romance of it took my breath away, it is so marvelous. It is dazzling, so moving, it stirred pride and joy in my heart, “ Ako ay Pilipino”.
I am happy to observe that this inspirational project is conceived by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Undersecretary Art Valdez, the same person who put together the Pinoy Mt. Everest team in May 2006 and May 2007. I’d like to believe that there are many people like him in government who are there to serve rather than to pillage. But then perhaps it is just time, for in every thing there is a season. While our historians are reinterpreting our history from our perspective, our artists and novelists are going back to our roots to find our soul. It was lost a long time ago when the Spanish friars baptized us to save our soul, then we reinvented it under the spell of the American dream.
I am moving with the times, and this recapturing of our roots phenomenon resonates with me. The balangay voyage articulates that quest so elegantly. I fervently wish that it can attract the masses in all their ports of call and successfully convey that our ancestors, long before the Spaniards came, were skilled sailors and navigators and had been crossing the Pacific to Polynesia and to Africa in seaworthy watercrafts, and were as fearless and inventive just like any sailor worth his salt. But without a big movie star or musical artist or sports figure headlining their arrival, this message may just fizzle with the waves lapping the shore.
Francisco Sionil Jose, our National Artist for Literature, and author of the Rosales Saga, a five-novel series that spans three centuries of Philippine history, is translated in 22 languages, but how many know of him or of his books? Until these books are transformed into blockbuster movies for the masses with big star names on the marquee, we are silent to the masses, and they do not hear Sionil Jose’s voice telling the story of how it really was. For 3 centuries, a span of 9 generations, the Filipino suppressed his soul in order to survive colonial rule. Through the centuries his self image was defined by the characteristics assigned by the friars and colonial officials, that he is inferior, childish, incapable of invention or learning, that he is weak, that he is ugly, that his value lies only in serving the master dutifully and completely. He believed this sincerely because defiance was met with severe punishment or death. He is given praise when he served well, ans so he became subservient, compliant, loyal, efficient and dutiful at his task. These earned him rewards and he began to feel good about himself so he concluded that his masters were really good, and he began to wish he could be like them. So he desired to have light colored skin, and blue eyes, he began to look for high noses in his offpsrings, and he imitated their ways and adopted their values. In time he forgot who he was, and as he accumulated rewards, he began to treat others like the way he was treated, for now there were those who has not earned sufficient rewards that were placed under his authority. At this juncture he completely lost his soul.
So I am looking for role models who can show me that it’s beautiful to have brown skin and broad nose. I’d like to see images of early Filipinos looking beautiful in aboriginal fashion, so I can attend cultural events in them instead of the Spanish terno. I’d like to have a broader understanding of the Philippine Muslim conflict. They resisted Spanish colonization. Four centuries ago they were just one of many tribes, just like the northern datus who succumbed and accepted baptism. Catholicism made the rest of the Philippines an alien nation among its Southeast Asian neighbors, and this isolated us, unlike the American and Caribbean colonies. We were also very far away, and precluded migration, so that limited contacts of the natives to mostly officials and the friars. In the Americas, not only Spaniards but other Europeans migrated in droves and they came from various stations in life, and this influenced Spanish policy in administering the colonies. I’d like to understand, given these differences among the colonies, is their journey to nationhood different from us? Must all the colonies go through the fight for independence, a dictatorship phase, and government corruption phase, and employment diaspora phase before developing unity and prosperity and national pride?
I am elated by the balangay voyage and would like to be a witness to the fruition of a dream and maybe I’ll catch them at one of their ports of call or maybe meet them in Madagascar.
Reading the article on the building of the balangay ( http://www.balangay-voyage.com/) and the voyage it plans to trace in the Philippine seas and on to Madagascar, it got me thinking. First of all the romance of it took my breath away, it is so marvelous. It is dazzling, so moving, it stirred pride and joy in my heart, “ Ako ay Pilipino”.
I am happy to observe that this inspirational project is conceived by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Undersecretary Art Valdez, the same person who put together the Pinoy Mt. Everest team in May 2006 and May 2007. I’d like to believe that there are many people like him in government who are there to serve rather than to pillage. But then perhaps it is just time, for in every thing there is a season. While our historians are reinterpreting our history from our perspective, our artists and novelists are going back to our roots to find our soul. It was lost a long time ago when the Spanish friars baptized us to save our soul, then we reinvented it under the spell of the American dream.
I am moving with the times, and this recapturing of our roots phenomenon resonates with me. The balangay voyage articulates that quest so elegantly. I fervently wish that it can attract the masses in all their ports of call and successfully convey that our ancestors, long before the Spaniards came, were skilled sailors and navigators and had been crossing the Pacific to Polynesia and to Africa in seaworthy watercrafts, and were as fearless and inventive just like any sailor worth his salt. But without a big movie star or musical artist or sports figure headlining their arrival, this message may just fizzle with the waves lapping the shore.
Francisco Sionil Jose, our National Artist for Literature, and author of the Rosales Saga, a five-novel series that spans three centuries of Philippine history, is translated in 22 languages, but how many know of him or of his books? Until these books are transformed into blockbuster movies for the masses with big star names on the marquee, we are silent to the masses, and they do not hear Sionil Jose’s voice telling the story of how it really was. For 3 centuries, a span of 9 generations, the Filipino suppressed his soul in order to survive colonial rule. Through the centuries his self image was defined by the characteristics assigned by the friars and colonial officials, that he is inferior, childish, incapable of invention or learning, that he is weak, that he is ugly, that his value lies only in serving the master dutifully and completely. He believed this sincerely because defiance was met with severe punishment or death. He is given praise when he served well, ans so he became subservient, compliant, loyal, efficient and dutiful at his task. These earned him rewards and he began to feel good about himself so he concluded that his masters were really good, and he began to wish he could be like them. So he desired to have light colored skin, and blue eyes, he began to look for high noses in his offpsrings, and he imitated their ways and adopted their values. In time he forgot who he was, and as he accumulated rewards, he began to treat others like the way he was treated, for now there were those who has not earned sufficient rewards that were placed under his authority. At this juncture he completely lost his soul.
So I am looking for role models who can show me that it’s beautiful to have brown skin and broad nose. I’d like to see images of early Filipinos looking beautiful in aboriginal fashion, so I can attend cultural events in them instead of the Spanish terno. I’d like to have a broader understanding of the Philippine Muslim conflict. They resisted Spanish colonization. Four centuries ago they were just one of many tribes, just like the northern datus who succumbed and accepted baptism. Catholicism made the rest of the Philippines an alien nation among its Southeast Asian neighbors, and this isolated us, unlike the American and Caribbean colonies. We were also very far away, and precluded migration, so that limited contacts of the natives to mostly officials and the friars. In the Americas, not only Spaniards but other Europeans migrated in droves and they came from various stations in life, and this influenced Spanish policy in administering the colonies. I’d like to understand, given these differences among the colonies, is their journey to nationhood different from us? Must all the colonies go through the fight for independence, a dictatorship phase, and government corruption phase, and employment diaspora phase before developing unity and prosperity and national pride?
I am elated by the balangay voyage and would like to be a witness to the fruition of a dream and maybe I’ll catch them at one of their ports of call or maybe meet them in Madagascar.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Whither Though Goest?
“Whither Thou Goest?”
“You need to find someone”. I’m increasingly hearing this urgent plea from my friends. Another way it’s put, “ You’ll at least need a companion as you get older”. There is concern in their voices and I’m wondering if I should worry. It’s been 5 years since Johnny died. That is a long time and yet it does not seem like a long time. In the beginning the break up of the minutiae of daily life in the 35 years that we were together created feelings of displacement. But I had my work and my own friends and my own activities and interests that continued uninterrupted and soon took over my daily routine. I’m happy enough, I sleep well at night, I have no responsibility to anybody, I’m financially secure and totally free to do anything I please. So what is missing in my life that my friends are so concerned about?
Perhaps I should address the question, whither thou goest? I was going somewhere with Johnny, but he was called away, so I’m changing travel plans. As we put the trip together, he had his contribution to the itinerary so I have to ask myself now if I want to take the same trip exactly. In a way it is exciting to be given another opportunity to see a different world.
What makes a life full? What makes a meaningful life? I’ve said before that my soul craves for more adventure and passion and thrill than what my own talents, courage and circumstances can provide. I have to come to terms with my own possibilities, and this I hope to resolve by observing how others live.
There are the great lives, the larger than life adventures of being. The lives of talented men and women in pursuit of their art or ideas above all else command spellbinding awe and inspiration. Ferdinand Magellan defying established knowledge by sailing westward to reach the Spice Islands in the east thereby becoming the first to circumnavigate the world, did not live to enjoy the rewards of his efforts. He was killed by Rajah Lapu-lapu in the battle of Mactan, in the Philippines, but he saw he succeeded in proving his theory. Marie Curie died of leukemia, a consequence of her pioneering work in the discovery of radium. She was gifted in math and science but was barred from pursuing her goals in medicine because of her gender but she refused to give up and found other ways, and succeeded and was rewarded with 2 Nobel prizes.Gandhi and Martin Luther King went against the tide of prevailing attitudes for securing political power and effecting change, that of tearing an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, by espousing non-violence. Both lost their lives in the hands of assassins, but their ideas prevailed in civil rights and freedom movements throughout the world. Beethoven worked on the Diabelli Variations for 4 years, refused to publish it until he was satisfied that he has gotten all the music out of it, and endured poverty and failing health until he completed 33 variations, a composition that had been described as unparallelled in its imagination, power and subtlety. Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baroness Dudevant, rebelled against her confined and prescribed life as an aristocratic woman in 19th century France. She left her much older husband and under the pseudonym George Sand wrote successful novels which supported her and her children. She advocated equality with men in the conduct of personal affairs, and achieved notoriety with her liaisons with famous artists, among them Chopin, Alfred de Musset and Gustave Flaubert. She smoked in public and wore men’s clothes because they were more comfortable than the restrictive corset and layers of petticoats worn by the era’s fashionable women. The English novelist Mary Ann Evans wrote also under the psedonym George Eliot so her work, which was not the usual romance novels accepted from women, will be taken seriously. Her novels Adam Bede, Silas Marner. Mill on the Floss, Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, etc, were huge commercial successes. In her personal affairs, like Dudevant, she defied the behavior codes prescribed for women. She was open about her affair with a married man, and later after his death, she married a man 20 years her junior. Both were shunned by the establishment but they prevailed.
These great lives are distinguished by clarity of vision, freedom, boldness in the pursuit of goals and unswerving focus in spite of seemingly insurmountable barrriers, including death. It is not an easy life, it is not a safe life, it is a life lived. It brings to mind a cliche, “It’s Not How Long You Live, Rather How Well You Live”.
How well does one live? Can ordinary people with ordinary talents aspire to lead a life of consequence? A child learning to walk falls repeatedly, but he senses the thrill of walking and the potential in his legs, so he becomes bold and single-minded in his purpose and ignores the falling, gets up and try again until he gets it right, yes! And don’t we all remember the joy, the exhilaration of being! Great lives are awesome, they touch us and they inspire us, but this child’s joy at mastering walking affects us just the same.
I observe around me and I see great lives being lived all the time. A friend loves her work, proud that she is competent in what she does and finds creative expression in individualizing her services to each client. Another confronted her fear and traveled alone as a challenge to her courage. Another quit a comfortable and well-paying job, to pursue her dream of owning her own restaurant. Another defied unwritten rules in Philippine high society about looking the other way of a prominent husband’s casual liaisons. She petitioned for annulment of her marriage and did not regret giving up her glittering hostess role.
From these observations, it’s clear to me that “must have someone”, and needing a companion has nothing to do with having a life well lived at all. Life is one’s own, and relationships must enrich and enliven that life. Living life well is not for settling, or for being safe. I’m surrounded by family and friends who let me be, they appreciate my talents, they live their own lives and share them with me, they inspire me and they care about me, and I care about them, I have freedom, I am excited to see what everyday brings, to meet someone new, to see how one is similar or different from me, how they can share new experiences with me, and I with them, to see a big world. I have charted my voyage, life calls. What I’m missing is what I’ve lost. Being with Johnny made me understand what Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese was all about. I will open myself to the possibility, and my friends will help, but he will not be a companion.
“You need to find someone”. I’m increasingly hearing this urgent plea from my friends. Another way it’s put, “ You’ll at least need a companion as you get older”. There is concern in their voices and I’m wondering if I should worry. It’s been 5 years since Johnny died. That is a long time and yet it does not seem like a long time. In the beginning the break up of the minutiae of daily life in the 35 years that we were together created feelings of displacement. But I had my work and my own friends and my own activities and interests that continued uninterrupted and soon took over my daily routine. I’m happy enough, I sleep well at night, I have no responsibility to anybody, I’m financially secure and totally free to do anything I please. So what is missing in my life that my friends are so concerned about?
Perhaps I should address the question, whither thou goest? I was going somewhere with Johnny, but he was called away, so I’m changing travel plans. As we put the trip together, he had his contribution to the itinerary so I have to ask myself now if I want to take the same trip exactly. In a way it is exciting to be given another opportunity to see a different world.
What makes a life full? What makes a meaningful life? I’ve said before that my soul craves for more adventure and passion and thrill than what my own talents, courage and circumstances can provide. I have to come to terms with my own possibilities, and this I hope to resolve by observing how others live.
There are the great lives, the larger than life adventures of being. The lives of talented men and women in pursuit of their art or ideas above all else command spellbinding awe and inspiration. Ferdinand Magellan defying established knowledge by sailing westward to reach the Spice Islands in the east thereby becoming the first to circumnavigate the world, did not live to enjoy the rewards of his efforts. He was killed by Rajah Lapu-lapu in the battle of Mactan, in the Philippines, but he saw he succeeded in proving his theory. Marie Curie died of leukemia, a consequence of her pioneering work in the discovery of radium. She was gifted in math and science but was barred from pursuing her goals in medicine because of her gender but she refused to give up and found other ways, and succeeded and was rewarded with 2 Nobel prizes.Gandhi and Martin Luther King went against the tide of prevailing attitudes for securing political power and effecting change, that of tearing an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, by espousing non-violence. Both lost their lives in the hands of assassins, but their ideas prevailed in civil rights and freedom movements throughout the world. Beethoven worked on the Diabelli Variations for 4 years, refused to publish it until he was satisfied that he has gotten all the music out of it, and endured poverty and failing health until he completed 33 variations, a composition that had been described as unparallelled in its imagination, power and subtlety. Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baroness Dudevant, rebelled against her confined and prescribed life as an aristocratic woman in 19th century France. She left her much older husband and under the pseudonym George Sand wrote successful novels which supported her and her children. She advocated equality with men in the conduct of personal affairs, and achieved notoriety with her liaisons with famous artists, among them Chopin, Alfred de Musset and Gustave Flaubert. She smoked in public and wore men’s clothes because they were more comfortable than the restrictive corset and layers of petticoats worn by the era’s fashionable women. The English novelist Mary Ann Evans wrote also under the psedonym George Eliot so her work, which was not the usual romance novels accepted from women, will be taken seriously. Her novels Adam Bede, Silas Marner. Mill on the Floss, Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, etc, were huge commercial successes. In her personal affairs, like Dudevant, she defied the behavior codes prescribed for women. She was open about her affair with a married man, and later after his death, she married a man 20 years her junior. Both were shunned by the establishment but they prevailed.
These great lives are distinguished by clarity of vision, freedom, boldness in the pursuit of goals and unswerving focus in spite of seemingly insurmountable barrriers, including death. It is not an easy life, it is not a safe life, it is a life lived. It brings to mind a cliche, “It’s Not How Long You Live, Rather How Well You Live”.
How well does one live? Can ordinary people with ordinary talents aspire to lead a life of consequence? A child learning to walk falls repeatedly, but he senses the thrill of walking and the potential in his legs, so he becomes bold and single-minded in his purpose and ignores the falling, gets up and try again until he gets it right, yes! And don’t we all remember the joy, the exhilaration of being! Great lives are awesome, they touch us and they inspire us, but this child’s joy at mastering walking affects us just the same.
I observe around me and I see great lives being lived all the time. A friend loves her work, proud that she is competent in what she does and finds creative expression in individualizing her services to each client. Another confronted her fear and traveled alone as a challenge to her courage. Another quit a comfortable and well-paying job, to pursue her dream of owning her own restaurant. Another defied unwritten rules in Philippine high society about looking the other way of a prominent husband’s casual liaisons. She petitioned for annulment of her marriage and did not regret giving up her glittering hostess role.
From these observations, it’s clear to me that “must have someone”, and needing a companion has nothing to do with having a life well lived at all. Life is one’s own, and relationships must enrich and enliven that life. Living life well is not for settling, or for being safe. I’m surrounded by family and friends who let me be, they appreciate my talents, they live their own lives and share them with me, they inspire me and they care about me, and I care about them, I have freedom, I am excited to see what everyday brings, to meet someone new, to see how one is similar or different from me, how they can share new experiences with me, and I with them, to see a big world. I have charted my voyage, life calls. What I’m missing is what I’ve lost. Being with Johnny made me understand what Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese was all about. I will open myself to the possibility, and my friends will help, but he will not be a companion.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Costa Blanca/Italy Notes
Costa Blanca September 4-October 28,2008
We have a misadventure with Kathy and Susan´s arrival, but that didn´t faze us. We still mangaed to get entertaining cocktail vignettes from it and we couldn´t wait to tell you all about it and over and over again and get full mileage out of the tale. What happened was I´m already on retirement mode and had time disorientation, which LInda C. already noted even before I left. I goofed on the date, thinking they were arriving the next day! The juicy details you have to wait.
So to avoid mishaps call my cell or email my yahoo adress and gmail address (always) or text. I don´t have myrna´s parties exact time arrival and date, and susan and niti´s. So please email them now, If you cant reach me call Joanna the villa manager,0034965050292 or Steve 0034620763184
Pauline and the girls. The bus trip to Denia takes about 3 hours and it stops in all the little towns. Mike took it from Alicant, the plus is you get to see all the towns and begin to enjoy the area. I recommend it but give yourselves plenty of time. Text your exact arrival in Denia.
The first wave has departed, the Jirasakhirans, and it´s such a small world, Evelyn with her photographic memory remembered Susan Kessler from 30 years ago when they were very young thangs and working together in nursing. Needless to say Evelyn will tell you all about our adventures.
I´m getting to be an expert negotiating the hairpin turns up and down to the villa in Monte Pego.
Mary the GPS device you gave me is a whiz, with just a few glitches. Some times it tells me to turn right into a ravine. We named the bitch Petra.
The girls Susan and Kathy are recuperating and sleeping late but we plan to go to Pego today, its market day and we´d like to sample their local breads and arroz. Also we´ll stop by the supermercado and stock up on wines and nibbles.
We´re loving it!
Hello,
we went to benidorm for the flea market yesterday, a big one and with lots of english antiques and stuff since the town is mostly populated by them, i got a sterling necklace of a flying unicorn and a 1920 brooch with mink and pearls, very chic. then w e went to guadalest to get to the castle and view the amazing valley and mountains and river encircling the fortress like a moat, with the water color like jade. ate lunch there, and celebrated susan k birthday and she got an enormous red lollipop to lick for a year until her next b-day. petra took us around the scenic route going back to the villa, she´s really getting to know us and is a real nice friend now to do this. we went up and down 2 mountains and the nearly full moon appeared over the mountains and the disappearing sun leaving reflections of purple and oranges and reds in the back drop. it was so heavenly we were moved to sing songs with moon themes, which i started off with my made up lyrics but the gang found me out, and the song turned out to be harbor lights. but we sang moon river with complete lyrics, how about that. we´ve slept in today, the girls are out in the pool while i do this and the internet in the resort´s service center. this afternoon we go to the beach in denia and shopping then get fresh fish from the market and grill them at delia´s villa and watch the sunset there. she got her 2 villas precisely for its orientation to the sunrise, where we are staying and the other, to the sunset. cool.
pauline and the girls, the other alternative from valencia to monte pego is to take the train from valencia nord train station, check how the metro connects here from the airport, or if you´re on the train already from barcelona, you´d be in the station, so transfer to the train to GANDIA and get off XEROCA, 45 MIN TRIP, THEN I CAN PICK YOU UP AT XEROCA, train leaves every 30 minutes, text me your time arrival in Xeroca or DENIA if by bus, for pick up, give me the date too, i´m not following the dates here accurately.
I still do not have arrival time for Marites party, i only have the day sept 28, but you´ll have a car so you can come on your own. Drive to Monte pego main entrance to the restaurant and i´ll meet you there to get to the villa.
I do not have arrival details for Niti and Susan, just the date on sept 17 and I don´t know how, what time and where they are arriving.evelyn can you kulit them.
email both my gmail and yahoo address if you cannot call me on my cell or text me.
GREAT Anicia and Diane have arive but not with their luggage and its still not in today.
On 9/12/08, Jirasakhiran, Evelyn wrote:
Miman,
Got back this afternoon safely in ATL. We decided to spend another night at Hotel Europa as it would have been too long to wait at the airport. We got lucky again to be in business class. Thanks for the great adventure….. the picture are already in a brag book. We went directly to Costco to have them developed. We got lost in Alicante and took another hour just to find the place. We kept on asking people and they keep telling us how to get to the train station with no success. Finally, we asked a gentleman who was driving a Mercedes at the stop light, and can you believe he let us follow him all the way to the station? He would have been your age and good looking too. People are so nice there. Thanks for the great adventures!!!Evelyn
le costa blanca adventureres,
niti and susan arrived last night, they decided to rent a car from alicante, but theri gps didn´t work here, but niti found monte pego entrance and they were just in time to have dinner with all of us. we went to seville 2 days ago and it was hard getting a taxi because madonna, the like a virgin one, was performing at their olympic stadium, 40,000 sevillans went to see the material girl. my 4 madonnas, anicia,susan k.,diane, and kathy just left today on the train from xeroca to valencia, where they will put their luggage in the train station storage and tour the city and shop before their paris flight at 4.30 PM. They are very excited for susan k. who will be celebrating her b-day in paris. we were going to see the alhambra when we detoured to granada on the way home from seville but admission was closed, too many vuisitors for the day, but we enjoyed plaza nueva and petra took us to all the nooks and alleys of the the old city while attempting to take us to the alhambra, when we discovered cars are not allowed to go up that way, but instead must access from the highway. we always learn and learning this way is always an adventure.
we played la sella golf club yesterday, me susan and anicia, a jose maria olazabal course, and walked 18 holes, we felt great, i had a 47 on the front but collapsed in the back with a 53, still a good round for me.
marites, myrna and eqabelleras, driving from valencia, you exit on 63 oliva-pego exit, then go through the town of oliva, look for the small sign to pego on right , then after you get out of the town, look for the very small sign to pego on you left, once you´re on this road, just follow the road stright ahead to bella vista go up the mountain and on top turn left where there is a big sign board of the development, to the end of the road where the bella vista restaurant is, turn right there and follow the road as it curves right and just go stright until it ends to villa delchel. text me of exact arrival.
we´ve hooked up with my friend who owns the villa and she invited us for dinner at her new villa here, fabulous and breathtaking, i regretted not renting it instead when she suggested it. but hey don´t get me wrong the villa we´re in is no slum shack at all, you´ll love it.
i´m letting niti and susan sleep in to recuperate,maybe take a brief dip in the pool, then we´ll drive to one of the beaches, denia or javea nad stroll and looksee and have dinner there.
can´t wait for the rest to get here,
metty
Dear Del,
I tried to call you but the answering machine came on again, but I figured you were in flight already.I regret we were not able to say goodbye properly, you know we would have loved to join you. The good news is that my friends who were coming from Alicante that evening made it and we had dinner together at the Swedish restaurant. Thank you for showing us your beloved part of the coast and we loved meeting Remy and Rosemary. I will see you soon in Baltimore at Mikey´s wedding.
Yesterday and today I am alone for the first time so I decided to check out the fiesta in Vall DÉbo, but I probably have the wrong date or the fiesta is not starting until the evening. Teens were transporting chairs probably for the supposed free supper. Anyway it was a lovely little village, of 700 inhabitants according to the brochure, no Englishman there, and no one spoke English, the drive was knuckle-whitening serpentine roads, more steep and formidable than the return trip from Guadalest, but the landscape was breathtaking. Viewed the stalactites and stalagmites of Cova del Rull, and checked the nearby hamlets, a nice drive. Arriving home on top towards the villa I decided to take a different road to see the villas, missed my turn and decided to back up, but I´ve gotten used to having lookouts guiding me, so I hit the stone wall, dented Picasso´s tail badly and scraped the tires it tore. So I had a flat and it took me until 4 PM today to get a replacemnet car. I was marooned in the villa, so I had time to do my nails, read and a mistake, watch CNN and hear about the bad news all over the world. Who needs those. And thank goodness the girls left plenty of wine and leftovers, so I was content. I have a new silver Picasso to drive and I´ll have new lookouts arriving tomorrow, so I´ll be good driving again.
Thanks so much, I got your note about paying my bill for Joanna´s services, Thanks so much, I owe you much already you have to come to Atlanta and be my guest for a change.
Love,
Metty
i Metty,
I'm tickled you went to Val De'Vu and went to Cova de Rull. That opened only in the last 6 years and there are larger caves which have not opened yet. One of the painters who spent two weeks with me there painted that village. I am trying to haggle for that painting til now.
So sorry to hear about your car. Well, that was your baptism. Now you know to be more on the look out. At one time our car had the two rear tires hanging off a shallow cliff! We promply jumped out of course.Anyway, I'm glad you are enjoying a brand new car. I am very careful driving around there since there are so many unexpected structures. If you have time, look at your guide and go climb an old catle. Cullera has a fantastic one. Xativa has interesting museums and old castles as well. someone with at adventure in her heart like you and me will never tire of investigating al the surprises just around the corner there. I told my friend Aldona about you. I will email you her phone number. She is the one who knows all about Costa Blanca and Spain as a matter of fact. You will love her. she was withus that night we missed each other. Try to find authentic Spanish restaurants if you can. The one we were in that night was one. There is a BandB Restaurant who specializes in Rosemary stuffed chicken just along 332 past that circle to Pego. Just go like you were going north to Oliva, it is a new one and the meal is only 6.76 Euros. It is on the right next to that new sort of convenience or gas station. I'm not to sure but I know you will have no problm finding it.
I am still jet lagging. Please tell Susan to email me we need to hook up on some business deals.
I am so sorry too that we never had our time together, but there will be more times in the future now that you are retired.
So long for now.
Love,
Del
HI!
I´m waiting to hear from Pauline, about their arrival time. Today for the first time it´s overcast and raining intermittently, a little cool, but still very nice. I decided against golf at the Javea golf club, and will wait for the usual sunny day. The car rental people sent me another Picasso, a silver one, to replace the black Picasso I battered and bruised so badly and busted the rear tire. These are just little teeny confrontations with the stone walls around the villas in Monte Pego while getting out of the driveway and backing up. I need my lookouts and navigation guides to do this maneuvers without mishaps, and to think that I managed the tight alleys of the little towns I checked out last Sunday, I can´t believe this happened.
Glad to hear the Paris girls made it to the Lido.
Metty
n Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 5:35 AM, Fiameta Pellicer wrote:
we´ve talked to you since, and the hotel was fine, clean and with large rooms, we enjoyed seville and had the most wonderful dinner there, next to the flamenco theater, the restaurant albahaca, i had sauteed goose liver in vinegar and honey sauce that just melts in your mouth. the four madonnas left today for paris, i just dropped them off at the xeraco train station for the 45 min trip to valencia, where they´ll do touring and shopping before their paris flight at 4.30 PM
THANKS
metty
lad you're having fun in spite of mishaps! The market and all the turmoil here has been keeping me busy. Had a great time at the Zone shoot in Georgetown SC in spite of rain the first day and 500% humidity the next.
Went to an indoor pistol range last sat and shot a .45! Recoil is incredible. Did extremely well, and even hit the bull's eye (which is really a little x representing the chest).
My mother is awaiting a biopsy from a growth on her hand. Dr. told her to prepare herself because it was either going to be really bad, or worse than really bad. Of course we were all upset. Called my dr on Mon and his office said any surgery wouldn't be any more invasive than the biopsy, so that was reassuring and we have all calmed down.
"Coach" and I have settled into a comfortable relationship. We pretty much act like an old married couple with our routine. May not be romantic but it fits like an old shoe, so I'm ok since I'm getting the support I need and there's a sense of reliability.
Enjoy reading your posts, and wish I were there. Be careful, the stone gates are even harder than your head, so give them lots of respect.
well, how does one become an old married couple without going through the hot times first,que es la vida, I in Valencia with the Apanays and Abelleras, and tomorrow after parting with
them Iĺl be travelling solo , which will be nice for a change. Enjoyed all the company s and they made nmy retirement vacation fun and dear but solitude is very relaxing too. Will take the train to Barcelona, and stay aa couple of days before boarding the ferry to Genoa then to anywhere in Italy on my way to Ischia. Itś too bad I will miss the vice pres debate, Palin makes big fish in a small pond the criteria for exeptional in america now. I think I will immigrate to Spain.
Wish you were here hope your mom is doing well.
Metty
Pauline and 5 grls off 2 alcante ovrnite plyd glf clb javea shot 46 for 9 holes had 6 shrieking glrs here whew
I stumbled on the Pinoy section of Barcelona, and hung out in one of the Pinoy restaurants, Myramar one on Valldecella near Plz Catalunya, there´s a second Myramar in the Parallel, and another Pinoy resto on Compte Borrel, Pasa Pasa. The whole street is full of Pinoys. The owner of Myramar is from Mindoro, the Malapitans, then there´s someone visiting from Milan, from Alaminos Laguna, they are working as waiters and hotel employees, one works in a car dealership, a couple both work as maid and houseman for a family. Many are also tago tago, one was going home because he cluodn´t find a job, still all of them say it´s better for them, salary average 13-15,000 euros annually. They have karoake establishment and next door grocery is Filipino owned, I said I regretted not meeting them earlier because I would have played mahjong with them,there´s about 30,000 Pinoys in Barcelona. So next time you´re in BCN, look these guys up for mahjong.
I´m, waiting to embark my ship for the overnight trip to Genoa, as I was booking my hotel, they were very expensive, Genoa is the Italian riviera. So I get to check out how it compares with Nice or Cannes, Biarritz, Bayonne, and of course Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol.
I was going to Montserrat, thought I´d check it out like yáll said, but I got up late, and missed the tour at 8:30 am but it wouldn´t have worked anyway since they return late for me to make my ship boarding. I was going to take the hour long train and do it on my own, but >I wasn´t very motivated, so I decided to check their contemporary art museum, like our NYC MoMA, their building is by Richard Meier is supersleek and the collection inside is very wierd.
Got on the Line 2 metro and visited Rizal´s monument on Avenida de las Filipinas. It´s in the corner of a new recreation park next to the Isabel II water reservoir, northeast of Madrid. Very nice park used by Madrilenos just inaugurated last year, with golf driving range and practice greens, soccer fields, fountains, resilient surfaced jogging paths, rose gardens, fountains checker tables and chairs under trees, fitness yards, playgrounds, and a nice restaurant. It was placed there during the centennial of Phil Independence, 1998, under Fidel Ramos auspices. I don´t know how many locals wonder who he is, they use the steps to stretch before running. I think we should see with the embassy about marketing a walking tour of Rizal´s Madrid.
I´m arriving at 2:30 PM tomorrow, see yáll soon
Well, we spent Saturday night celebrating my mom's birthday and planning our pumkin carving tactics.
Dr. José P. Rizal (full name: José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda) (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered the Philippines' national hero and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day.
From: Fiameta Pellicer [mailto:mimanmetty@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sat 10/25/2008 6:12 PM
To: anicia biglow; ely abellera; manolo apanay; jjwilliam@tsys.com; Kathy Gansserite; Doobs; bonnie vargas; Anneteele Vargas; M Vargas; rmsdgs@aol.com;; marites pellicer; myrna valles; noycee@hotmail.com; Connelly, Linda S
Cc: Mary Pitts; Erin Bittner; Jessica Wong; Cecile Bregman
Subject: Madrid
I checked Toledo, and I ´ve had it with medieval cities. I´m crossing off Segovia and instead booked a salon appointment for hair and nails. I checked out addresses in Madrid on Barquillo Street and Cava San Miguel. There isn´t any plaque there about his stay. I´´ll see what can be done about it when I get back. I had dinner in the San Miguel address No. 7 which is now a very funky bodega style restaurant, the whole street is very bohemian and the restaurants there all have live music. It´s not too far from Puerta del Sol. I took the metro back as I´ve walked too far and it was packed like sardines at 11:50 pm. Everybody in Madrid is just getting ready for the all night Saturday partying. I love Madrid.
Metty
From: Norma C. Panahon
Subject: RE: Pueblo Ingles
To: mimanmetty@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, October 19, 2008, 3:21 PM
Metty: So happy to hear about all your adventures and explorations...envious of your decisiveness to go and explore the corners of this world and just enjoy the culture, the richness and abundance in other parts of the earth- and have the privilege to bond with so many creatures. I really have to work on letting go of the chains tied around my hands and neck ,that I have allowed to prevent my mobility.I hope someday I can join you in one of your tripss. I enjoy your vivid descriptions of all those places and day to day scenarios. Keep it up, my friend! You deserve every minute of your soiree!! luv yah...Noy
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:29:50 -0700
From: mimanmetty@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Pueblo Ingles
To: abiglow@earthlink.net; eqabellera@bellsouth.net; mbapanay@yahoo.com; jjwilliam@tsys.com; silverkathy@bellsouth.net; spellicer@gmail.com; kiridit@yahoo.com; hvargas@worldbank.org; minda501v@yahoo.com; rmsdgs@aol.com; susan_namgeanfar@emoryhealthcare.org; tesmari@charter.net; myrna1274@comcast.net; noycee@hotmail.com; Linda.S.Connelly@hud.gov
CC: Mary.Pitts@raymondjames.com; erin.bittner@gmail.com; jska7783@gmail.com; cecilemd@hotmail.com
Indeed the village is very charming we walked there during siesta as that was the only part of the schedule we have enough time to walk there and back. I got to tell my jokes but only the clean ones as this group so far appears to be a little uptight, and my stand up comic routine went over very well with the Anglos, and I did not forget my punch lines, and I paced the punch line well, but many of the spniards didn´t get the double meanings as >I found out during meal conversation later, but they got the one about the patient who thinks he´s a dog, and started to think that that way since he was a puppy, so they had a good laugh. Well, I found out the party animals last night at the bar, and we had a great time, dancing and ended up shooting tequilas, so maybe it is going to be quite fun after all.
Metty
--- On Sun, 10/19/08, Connelly, Linda S wrote:
From: Connelly, Linda S
Subject: RE: Pueblo Ingles
To: mimanmetty@yahoo.com, "anicia biglow", "ely abellera" , "manolo apanay" , jjwilliam@tsys.com, "Kathy Gansserite" , "Doobs" , "bonnie vargas" , "Anneteele Vargas" , "M Vargas" , rmsdgs@aol.com, "" , "marites pellicer" , "myrna valles" , noycee@hotmail.com
Cc: "Mary Pitts", "Erin Bittner" , "Jessica Wong" , "Cecile Bregman"
Date: Sunday, October 19, 2008, 3:35 AM
And now your final round of your trip arrived! The area sounds beautiful. Best wishes on your week. From what I read, it is intense, purposeful and rewarding with limited access to the outside world. Hopefully, you'll be able to send a few more e-mails. Best wishes with your experience. Wasn't it just yesterday when you were practicing your jokes...."I can see clearly .... your ...
Alberca, formerly known as Valdelaguna, is located in the Southern part of the province of Salamanca. This village is 1084 metres above sea level on the Northern slopes of 'la Sierra de Francia'(the French mountain range'). Its unusual houses and streets have put it on the toursist map for visitors to the province of Salamanca. With the Cabras Pintas prehistoric caves on the edge of Alberca, it is thought that this village was repopulated during the times of Alfonso VI by the French. In fact some of its place names like 'la Sierra de Francia' and 'el rio Frances' (the French river) refer to these origins. One of Alberca's greatest assets is the diversity of the wonderful scenery that surrounds it. On one side you can see granite, slate and quartzite which support the varied wild vegetation and forests of oaks, chestnut trees, pine trees, walnut trees, apple trees and almond groves. Like many other villages in Spain, Alberca's population is declining. Over half a century ago it had 1700 inhabitants but now this figure hardly reaches a 1000. However, the village is still well maintained and despite harsh winters and very hot summers tourism plays an important part in its economy. Its narrow cobbled streets, small squares and curious houses make this a beautiful place to visit.
From: Fiameta Pellicer [mailto:mimanmetty@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sat 10/18/2008 6:47 AM
To: anicia biglow; ely abellera; manolo apanay; jjwilliam@tsys.com; Kathy Gansserite; Doobs; bonnie vargas; Anneteele Vargas; M Vargas; rmsdgs@aol.com; Connelly, Linda S;; marites pellicer; myrna valles; noycee@hotmail.com
Cc: Mary Pitts; Erin Bittner; Jessica Wong; Cecile Bregman
Subject: Pueblo Ingles
Hola!
I´m back in spain, and finally was able to get into the Reina Sophia to view Picasso´s Guernica which Metty
Hola!
We´re winding down here, Friday we drive back to Madrid then I linger until the 28th and I should be seeing yáll in no time at all. I´m ready to go home. I´m getting a lot from the jokes I can remember to tell correctly, and Ray just sent me a bar blonde joke which I certainly can find the right occasion to tell tonight. The one about sometimes the bull wins too has gotten many laughs here, and finally I got the right moment to tell the second opinion joke, about the surgeons wife and some of Evelyn´s jokes . Tonight we´re rehearshing a comedy routine to present during pre0dinner entertainment. We´re drinking a lot of wine for lunch and dinner, I definitely will need to starve myself when I get home
Metty
Prego,
I'm so exhausted today. I didn.t do my homework and just took the suburban train to go see Vesuvius. I had to take the Metro then connct with the suburban train, then take the shuttle bus to Vesuvius. That was the easy part, I wasn't prepared to hike up the volcano crater for 40 minutes, I am so out of shape this past 6 weeks, eating pasta and all, so I was huffing and puffing. Then I get on the trian agian to go see Pompeii, didn't realize this excavation is so immense and midn boggling. It is an entire city, so awesome. I had a hard time getting out of there I got lost in the maze of streets and alleys. Of note, the whorehouse, with frescoes of all the differecnt ways you can copulate, too bad I didn't know how to set my camera without flash, so I wasn't able to take pictures. Then there was this painting of Priapus, the god of fertility, he's the one we derived priapism from, he's there with his big member laid out on a plate. these early Romans really knwo how to live. You should see how their houses were laid out. and the baths, such a ritual with cold dips, tepid dips and hot dips, none of these quick utilitarian showers, also with all unguents, and liniments and fragrances to go with it. Bathing can take up half a day. What a life! Then since the end of the line is to Sorrento, I decided to take the train to the end. Sorrento is charming and of course has an emotional tug with the familiar songs Come back to Sorrento, O Sole Mio, so it had me even before I can say Prego. The train trip back to the hortel was over one hour, what with changes and all, so I had a late dinner at the hotel before they closed the kitchen at 10:30. I need the hot springs of Ischia after today, and I have to be up early tomorrow to fly to Madrid and I think I'll stay up for the debates, which is 2 am here.
Ta Ta
Miss y'all already
Metty
Prego Y'all,
I'm now in Napoli, left Ischia this afternoon and will do Vesuvius and Pompeii tomorrow, then fly to Madrid to join my Pueblo Ingles co-volunteers for a get to know you lunch on Thursday then take a 2 hour bus to Alberca on Friday and join our spanish counterparts. After 2 weeks of not speaking the language I'm dying for conversation and telling anybody who cares to listne or don't have the guts to interrupt me about what I think of what's going on anywhere and about anything. Well, after seeing the highlights of the city I'm having 2nd thoughts about Naples. True, there's so many hustlers, and you have to be alert, and the city is littered in many palces, and graffiti is everywhere, but it is vibrant and bustling and bold and macho, it is so alive, jsut liek New York. It is also culturally diverse with Senegalese, Ukrainians and Polish taking up the unskilled workforce. It feels familiar like Manila, with macho men, and superficial glitz, and bambinas sexed to the hilt. Billboards and TV announcer sidekicks of middle aged men with paunchy middles are Bimbo types with low necklines and silicon boobs and tight or short short skirts and 6-inch platform heels, and dark eyeliners and red lips. I miss seeign Penelope Cruz on billboards as we saw in Spain. Billboards here feature lingerie ads. In Ischia the social evnets there are fashion shows , and yeah lingerie shows.Naples is in the process of cleaning itlself up, there's public works all over the place and buildings in scaffolds undergoing reinvigorating transformations.This region with Sorrento and Capri withh hves so much connection with the US I'm wondering why there are so few American tourists here. A city with the sea at its doorstep will always have captivating charm for me.Metty
Dear Jessica,
Thanks so much for your endorsement of my activities, and certainly I enjoyed your company and all your friends. Being with adventurous and independent young people makes me feel excited and young. In many ways I still feel like a 25 year old but with advantages, like having a platinum AMEX and all the confidnece 66 years of living have accumulated. I feel I'm living the best years of my life. I just left Ischia this afternoon and now am in Naples. Will go see Vesuvius and Pompeii tomorrow, then fly back to Madrid to do my Pueblo Ingles volunteer work. I'm so looking forward to this segment of my 2-month long trip, and after traveling solo for 2 weeks and not speaking the language, I'm now hungering for conversation and lively repartee. I'll be back in Atlanta october 28, and yeah, let's have a reunion on my return and look at all our photos.
Tita Metty
--- On Sun, 10/12/08, Jessica Wong wrote:
From: Jessica Wong
Subject: Hola Tita Metty!
To: mimanmetty@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, October 12, 2008, 8:53 PM
Hi Tita Metty!
I just wanted to thank you so much for having us girls come stay at your place in Monte Pego. I had the best time there, and it really opened my eyes to respect the culture Spain has to offer. I loved the scenery, especially on the train rides. I really appreciate you taking us back and forth to the train stations to the villa. I know it was a lot of running around for you, but hopefully you got some good rounds of golf in! I enjoyed the yummy dinners in, along with going out on the town, and even at Bella Vista restaurant. I'm very grateful to be able to experience all of this. I truly think you are an inspiration, and I would love to become a world traveler just like you!
I have been enjoying your emails about your journey through Milan and such. Pauline has been sharing your stories. I bet you are having a blast seeing all the different sides of Europe. Maybe when you get back to Atlanta, all of us girls can take you out to a nice Spanish/Tapas dinner so we can revisit our trip with our imagination! Again, thank you for letting me partake in the wonderful sights, sounds, and smells of Spain. (Not including the smelly europeans on the train with bad body odor! haha!)
I hope you have a safe trip back to the states! Enjoy smoking all your cuban cigars while you're still there!
Miss you!
Jessica
HI,
I took a bus around the island, covering the coast and the interior to the highest point, It took about 3 hours and 2 1.20 Euro tickets good for 90 minutes ride each. Great tour, tourists are mainly Germans here, they even have a German TV channel, otherwise the condo TV is all Italian, their announcers are all middle eaged paunchy men with over made up Barbie sidekicks wwith big boobs. The average young mature Women are made up heavily and not elegantly dressed, favors shiny and loud stuff, abd emphasi
The roads here are so tight, buses have to stop every time there,s an appraoaching car. A dog jumped off an oncoming triscooter and our bus hit the poor thing and looked like a leg was broken and hip dislocated, we were all upset.
Italian news is following up US elections.
I,LL stay put tomorrow by the pool, then to Naples on Tuesday and Wednesday, then take a flight to Madrid Thursday.
Ta Ta, Missing y,all already.
Metty
--- On Sat, 10/11/08, Connelly, Linda S wrote:
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2008, 10:20 PM
Hi,
We...I finally located Ischia thanks to adding the Poseidon Beach and Spa to my google search.
"Ischia is located in the Campania region, about an hour by ferry from Naples. It is called the green island because in contrast to rocky Capri, Ischia is covered with vegetation. There are thermal locations all over the island. The ground water is heated, there are thermal sands, and even the seawater in some areas is heated by volcanic action. Almost all the hotels (and there are many) have pools that are heated and unheated. Poseidon Gardens and Negombo are places you can go to spend the day in the lovely pools and also in the sea, because both have lovely beaches in addition to the pools."
I'm enjoying your adventures!
From: Fiameta Pellicer [mailto:mimanmetty@yahoo.com]
Subject: Napoli and Ischia
Had a pampering at the Poseidon Beach and Spa here, weather gorgeous, however not much to do, the villa is again on top of the hill, with spectacular views but a hassle to get anywhere, though there is a little town 10 minute walk away with restaurant and mercado. Naples look seedy and there are too many hustlers, but I.m leaving Ischia on Tuesday and do Naples but will book a more expensive hotel in the elegant part of town to avoid most of the seediness. Maybe check out Capri and Sorrento just to look see. The thermal springs here is fabulous. The best way to enjoy the place is to moor your sailboat or yacht on the harbor and loll around, go offshore to visit the bars and restaurants and have plenty of company for a party.
We have a misadventure with Kathy and Susan´s arrival, but that didn´t faze us. We still mangaed to get entertaining cocktail vignettes from it and we couldn´t wait to tell you all about it and over and over again and get full mileage out of the tale. What happened was I´m already on retirement mode and had time disorientation, which LInda C. already noted even before I left. I goofed on the date, thinking they were arriving the next day! The juicy details you have to wait.
So to avoid mishaps call my cell or email my yahoo adress and gmail address (always) or text. I don´t have myrna´s parties exact time arrival and date, and susan and niti´s. So please email them now, If you cant reach me call Joanna the villa manager,0034965050292 or Steve 0034620763184
Pauline and the girls. The bus trip to Denia takes about 3 hours and it stops in all the little towns. Mike took it from Alicant, the plus is you get to see all the towns and begin to enjoy the area. I recommend it but give yourselves plenty of time. Text your exact arrival in Denia.
The first wave has departed, the Jirasakhirans, and it´s such a small world, Evelyn with her photographic memory remembered Susan Kessler from 30 years ago when they were very young thangs and working together in nursing. Needless to say Evelyn will tell you all about our adventures.
I´m getting to be an expert negotiating the hairpin turns up and down to the villa in Monte Pego.
Mary the GPS device you gave me is a whiz, with just a few glitches. Some times it tells me to turn right into a ravine. We named the bitch Petra.
The girls Susan and Kathy are recuperating and sleeping late but we plan to go to Pego today, its market day and we´d like to sample their local breads and arroz. Also we´ll stop by the supermercado and stock up on wines and nibbles.
We´re loving it!
Hello,
we went to benidorm for the flea market yesterday, a big one and with lots of english antiques and stuff since the town is mostly populated by them, i got a sterling necklace of a flying unicorn and a 1920 brooch with mink and pearls, very chic. then w e went to guadalest to get to the castle and view the amazing valley and mountains and river encircling the fortress like a moat, with the water color like jade. ate lunch there, and celebrated susan k birthday and she got an enormous red lollipop to lick for a year until her next b-day. petra took us around the scenic route going back to the villa, she´s really getting to know us and is a real nice friend now to do this. we went up and down 2 mountains and the nearly full moon appeared over the mountains and the disappearing sun leaving reflections of purple and oranges and reds in the back drop. it was so heavenly we were moved to sing songs with moon themes, which i started off with my made up lyrics but the gang found me out, and the song turned out to be harbor lights. but we sang moon river with complete lyrics, how about that. we´ve slept in today, the girls are out in the pool while i do this and the internet in the resort´s service center. this afternoon we go to the beach in denia and shopping then get fresh fish from the market and grill them at delia´s villa and watch the sunset there. she got her 2 villas precisely for its orientation to the sunrise, where we are staying and the other, to the sunset. cool.
pauline and the girls, the other alternative from valencia to monte pego is to take the train from valencia nord train station, check how the metro connects here from the airport, or if you´re on the train already from barcelona, you´d be in the station, so transfer to the train to GANDIA and get off XEROCA, 45 MIN TRIP, THEN I CAN PICK YOU UP AT XEROCA, train leaves every 30 minutes, text me your time arrival in Xeroca or DENIA if by bus, for pick up, give me the date too, i´m not following the dates here accurately.
I still do not have arrival time for Marites party, i only have the day sept 28, but you´ll have a car so you can come on your own. Drive to Monte pego main entrance to the restaurant and i´ll meet you there to get to the villa.
I do not have arrival details for Niti and Susan, just the date on sept 17 and I don´t know how, what time and where they are arriving.evelyn can you kulit them.
email both my gmail and yahoo address if you cannot call me on my cell or text me.
GREAT Anicia and Diane have arive but not with their luggage and its still not in today.
On 9/12/08, Jirasakhiran, Evelyn
Miman,
Got back this afternoon safely in ATL. We decided to spend another night at Hotel Europa as it would have been too long to wait at the airport. We got lucky again to be in business class. Thanks for the great adventure….. the picture are already in a brag book. We went directly to Costco to have them developed. We got lost in Alicante and took another hour just to find the place. We kept on asking people and they keep telling us how to get to the train station with no success. Finally, we asked a gentleman who was driving a Mercedes at the stop light, and can you believe he let us follow him all the way to the station? He would have been your age and good looking too. People are so nice there. Thanks for the great adventures!!!Evelyn
le costa blanca adventureres,
niti and susan arrived last night, they decided to rent a car from alicante, but theri gps didn´t work here, but niti found monte pego entrance and they were just in time to have dinner with all of us. we went to seville 2 days ago and it was hard getting a taxi because madonna, the like a virgin one, was performing at their olympic stadium, 40,000 sevillans went to see the material girl. my 4 madonnas, anicia,susan k.,diane, and kathy just left today on the train from xeroca to valencia, where they will put their luggage in the train station storage and tour the city and shop before their paris flight at 4.30 PM. They are very excited for susan k. who will be celebrating her b-day in paris. we were going to see the alhambra when we detoured to granada on the way home from seville but admission was closed, too many vuisitors for the day, but we enjoyed plaza nueva and petra took us to all the nooks and alleys of the the old city while attempting to take us to the alhambra, when we discovered cars are not allowed to go up that way, but instead must access from the highway. we always learn and learning this way is always an adventure.
we played la sella golf club yesterday, me susan and anicia, a jose maria olazabal course, and walked 18 holes, we felt great, i had a 47 on the front but collapsed in the back with a 53, still a good round for me.
marites, myrna and eqabelleras, driving from valencia, you exit on 63 oliva-pego exit, then go through the town of oliva, look for the small sign to pego on right , then after you get out of the town, look for the very small sign to pego on you left, once you´re on this road, just follow the road stright ahead to bella vista go up the mountain and on top turn left where there is a big sign board of the development, to the end of the road where the bella vista restaurant is, turn right there and follow the road as it curves right and just go stright until it ends to villa delchel. text me of exact arrival.
we´ve hooked up with my friend who owns the villa and she invited us for dinner at her new villa here, fabulous and breathtaking, i regretted not renting it instead when she suggested it. but hey don´t get me wrong the villa we´re in is no slum shack at all, you´ll love it.
i´m letting niti and susan sleep in to recuperate,maybe take a brief dip in the pool, then we´ll drive to one of the beaches, denia or javea nad stroll and looksee and have dinner there.
can´t wait for the rest to get here,
metty
Dear Del,
I tried to call you but the answering machine came on again, but I figured you were in flight already.I regret we were not able to say goodbye properly, you know we would have loved to join you. The good news is that my friends who were coming from Alicante that evening made it and we had dinner together at the Swedish restaurant. Thank you for showing us your beloved part of the coast and we loved meeting Remy and Rosemary. I will see you soon in Baltimore at Mikey´s wedding.
Yesterday and today I am alone for the first time so I decided to check out the fiesta in Vall DÉbo, but I probably have the wrong date or the fiesta is not starting until the evening. Teens were transporting chairs probably for the supposed free supper. Anyway it was a lovely little village, of 700 inhabitants according to the brochure, no Englishman there, and no one spoke English, the drive was knuckle-whitening serpentine roads, more steep and formidable than the return trip from Guadalest, but the landscape was breathtaking. Viewed the stalactites and stalagmites of Cova del Rull, and checked the nearby hamlets, a nice drive. Arriving home on top towards the villa I decided to take a different road to see the villas, missed my turn and decided to back up, but I´ve gotten used to having lookouts guiding me, so I hit the stone wall, dented Picasso´s tail badly and scraped the tires it tore. So I had a flat and it took me until 4 PM today to get a replacemnet car. I was marooned in the villa, so I had time to do my nails, read and a mistake, watch CNN and hear about the bad news all over the world. Who needs those. And thank goodness the girls left plenty of wine and leftovers, so I was content. I have a new silver Picasso to drive and I´ll have new lookouts arriving tomorrow, so I´ll be good driving again.
Thanks so much, I got your note about paying my bill for Joanna´s services, Thanks so much, I owe you much already you have to come to Atlanta and be my guest for a change.
Love,
Metty
i Metty,
I'm tickled you went to Val De'Vu and went to Cova de Rull. That opened only in the last 6 years and there are larger caves which have not opened yet. One of the painters who spent two weeks with me there painted that village. I am trying to haggle for that painting til now.
So sorry to hear about your car. Well, that was your baptism. Now you know to be more on the look out. At one time our car had the two rear tires hanging off a shallow cliff! We promply jumped out of course.Anyway, I'm glad you are enjoying a brand new car. I am very careful driving around there since there are so many unexpected structures. If you have time, look at your guide and go climb an old catle. Cullera has a fantastic one. Xativa has interesting museums and old castles as well. someone with at adventure in her heart like you and me will never tire of investigating al the surprises just around the corner there. I told my friend Aldona about you. I will email you her phone number. She is the one who knows all about Costa Blanca and Spain as a matter of fact. You will love her. she was withus that night we missed each other. Try to find authentic Spanish restaurants if you can. The one we were in that night was one. There is a BandB Restaurant who specializes in Rosemary stuffed chicken just along 332 past that circle to Pego. Just go like you were going north to Oliva, it is a new one and the meal is only 6.76 Euros. It is on the right next to that new sort of convenience or gas station. I'm not to sure but I know you will have no problm finding it.
I am still jet lagging. Please tell Susan to email me we need to hook up on some business deals.
I am so sorry too that we never had our time together, but there will be more times in the future now that you are retired.
So long for now.
Love,
Del
HI!
I´m waiting to hear from Pauline, about their arrival time. Today for the first time it´s overcast and raining intermittently, a little cool, but still very nice. I decided against golf at the Javea golf club, and will wait for the usual sunny day. The car rental people sent me another Picasso, a silver one, to replace the black Picasso I battered and bruised so badly and busted the rear tire. These are just little teeny confrontations with the stone walls around the villas in Monte Pego while getting out of the driveway and backing up. I need my lookouts and navigation guides to do this maneuvers without mishaps, and to think that I managed the tight alleys of the little towns I checked out last Sunday, I can´t believe this happened.
Glad to hear the Paris girls made it to the Lido.
Metty
n Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 5:35 AM, Fiameta Pellicer
we´ve talked to you since, and the hotel was fine, clean and with large rooms, we enjoyed seville and had the most wonderful dinner there, next to the flamenco theater, the restaurant albahaca, i had sauteed goose liver in vinegar and honey sauce that just melts in your mouth. the four madonnas left today for paris, i just dropped them off at the xeraco train station for the 45 min trip to valencia, where they´ll do touring and shopping before their paris flight at 4.30 PM
THANKS
metty
lad you're having fun in spite of mishaps! The market and all the turmoil here has been keeping me busy. Had a great time at the Zone shoot in Georgetown SC in spite of rain the first day and 500% humidity the next.
Went to an indoor pistol range last sat and shot a .45! Recoil is incredible. Did extremely well, and even hit the bull's eye (which is really a little x representing the chest).
My mother is awaiting a biopsy from a growth on her hand. Dr. told her to prepare herself because it was either going to be really bad, or worse than really bad. Of course we were all upset. Called my dr on Mon and his office said any surgery wouldn't be any more invasive than the biopsy, so that was reassuring and we have all calmed down.
"Coach" and I have settled into a comfortable relationship. We pretty much act like an old married couple with our routine. May not be romantic but it fits like an old shoe, so I'm ok since I'm getting the support I need and there's a sense of reliability.
Enjoy reading your posts, and wish I were there. Be careful, the stone gates are even harder than your head, so give them lots of respect.
well, how does one become an old married couple without going through the hot times first,que es la vida, I in Valencia with the Apanays and Abelleras, and tomorrow after parting with
them Iĺl be travelling solo , which will be nice for a change. Enjoyed all the company s and they made nmy retirement vacation fun and dear but solitude is very relaxing too. Will take the train to Barcelona, and stay aa couple of days before boarding the ferry to Genoa then to anywhere in Italy on my way to Ischia. Itś too bad I will miss the vice pres debate, Palin makes big fish in a small pond the criteria for exeptional in america now. I think I will immigrate to Spain.
Wish you were here hope your mom is doing well.
Metty
Pauline and 5 grls off 2 alcante ovrnite plyd glf clb javea shot 46 for 9 holes had 6 shrieking glrs here whew
I stumbled on the Pinoy section of Barcelona, and hung out in one of the Pinoy restaurants, Myramar one on Valldecella near Plz Catalunya, there´s a second Myramar in the Parallel, and another Pinoy resto on Compte Borrel, Pasa Pasa. The whole street is full of Pinoys. The owner of Myramar is from Mindoro, the Malapitans, then there´s someone visiting from Milan, from Alaminos Laguna, they are working as waiters and hotel employees, one works in a car dealership, a couple both work as maid and houseman for a family. Many are also tago tago, one was going home because he cluodn´t find a job, still all of them say it´s better for them, salary average 13-15,000 euros annually. They have karoake establishment and next door grocery is Filipino owned, I said I regretted not meeting them earlier because I would have played mahjong with them,there´s about 30,000 Pinoys in Barcelona. So next time you´re in BCN, look these guys up for mahjong.
I´m, waiting to embark my ship for the overnight trip to Genoa, as I was booking my hotel, they were very expensive, Genoa is the Italian riviera. So I get to check out how it compares with Nice or Cannes, Biarritz, Bayonne, and of course Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol.
I was going to Montserrat, thought I´d check it out like yáll said, but I got up late, and missed the tour at 8:30 am but it wouldn´t have worked anyway since they return late for me to make my ship boarding. I was going to take the hour long train and do it on my own, but >I wasn´t very motivated, so I decided to check their contemporary art museum, like our NYC MoMA, their building is by Richard Meier is supersleek and the collection inside is very wierd.
Got on the Line 2 metro and visited Rizal´s monument on Avenida de las Filipinas. It´s in the corner of a new recreation park next to the Isabel II water reservoir, northeast of Madrid. Very nice park used by Madrilenos just inaugurated last year, with golf driving range and practice greens, soccer fields, fountains, resilient surfaced jogging paths, rose gardens, fountains checker tables and chairs under trees, fitness yards, playgrounds, and a nice restaurant. It was placed there during the centennial of Phil Independence, 1998, under Fidel Ramos auspices. I don´t know how many locals wonder who he is, they use the steps to stretch before running. I think we should see with the embassy about marketing a walking tour of Rizal´s Madrid.
I´m arriving at 2:30 PM tomorrow, see yáll soon
Well, we spent Saturday night celebrating my mom's birthday and planning our pumkin carving tactics.
Dr. José P. Rizal (full name: José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda) (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered the Philippines' national hero and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day.
From: Fiameta Pellicer [mailto:mimanmetty@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sat 10/25/2008 6:12 PM
To: anicia biglow; ely abellera; manolo apanay; jjwilliam@tsys.com; Kathy Gansserite; Doobs; bonnie vargas; Anneteele Vargas; M Vargas; rmsdgs@aol.com;
Cc: Mary Pitts; Erin Bittner; Jessica Wong; Cecile Bregman
Subject: Madrid
I checked Toledo, and I ´ve had it with medieval cities. I´m crossing off Segovia and instead booked a salon appointment for hair and nails. I checked out addresses in Madrid on Barquillo Street and Cava San Miguel. There isn´t any plaque there about his stay. I´´ll see what can be done about it when I get back. I had dinner in the San Miguel address No. 7 which is now a very funky bodega style restaurant, the whole street is very bohemian and the restaurants there all have live music. It´s not too far from Puerta del Sol. I took the metro back as I´ve walked too far and it was packed like sardines at 11:50 pm. Everybody in Madrid is just getting ready for the all night Saturday partying. I love Madrid.
Metty
From: Norma C. Panahon
Subject: RE: Pueblo Ingles
To: mimanmetty@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, October 19, 2008, 3:21 PM
Metty: So happy to hear about all your adventures and explorations...envious of your decisiveness to go and explore the corners of this world and just enjoy the culture, the richness and abundance in other parts of the earth- and have the privilege to bond with so many creatures. I really have to work on letting go of the chains tied around my hands and neck ,that I have allowed to prevent my mobility.I hope someday I can join you in one of your tripss. I enjoy your vivid descriptions of all those places and day to day scenarios. Keep it up, my friend! You deserve every minute of your soiree!! luv yah...Noy
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:29:50 -0700
From: mimanmetty@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Pueblo Ingles
To: abiglow@earthlink.net; eqabellera@bellsouth.net; mbapanay@yahoo.com; jjwilliam@tsys.com; silverkathy@bellsouth.net; spellicer@gmail.com; kiridit@yahoo.com; hvargas@worldbank.org; minda501v@yahoo.com; rmsdgs@aol.com; susan_namgeanfar@emoryhealthcare.org; tesmari@charter.net; myrna1274@comcast.net; noycee@hotmail.com; Linda.S.Connelly@hud.gov
CC: Mary.Pitts@raymondjames.com; erin.bittner@gmail.com; jska7783@gmail.com; cecilemd@hotmail.com
Indeed the village is very charming we walked there during siesta as that was the only part of the schedule we have enough time to walk there and back. I got to tell my jokes but only the clean ones as this group so far appears to be a little uptight, and my stand up comic routine went over very well with the Anglos, and I did not forget my punch lines, and I paced the punch line well, but many of the spniards didn´t get the double meanings as >I found out during meal conversation later, but they got the one about the patient who thinks he´s a dog, and started to think that that way since he was a puppy, so they had a good laugh. Well, I found out the party animals last night at the bar, and we had a great time, dancing and ended up shooting tequilas, so maybe it is going to be quite fun after all.
Metty
--- On Sun, 10/19/08, Connelly, Linda S
From: Connelly, Linda S
Subject: RE: Pueblo Ingles
To: mimanmetty@yahoo.com, "anicia biglow"
Cc: "Mary Pitts"
Date: Sunday, October 19, 2008, 3:35 AM
And now your final round of your trip arrived! The area sounds beautiful. Best wishes on your week. From what I read, it is intense, purposeful and rewarding with limited access to the outside world. Hopefully, you'll be able to send a few more e-mails. Best wishes with your experience. Wasn't it just yesterday when you were practicing your jokes...."I can see clearly .... your ...
Alberca, formerly known as Valdelaguna, is located in the Southern part of the province of Salamanca. This village is 1084 metres above sea level on the Northern slopes of 'la Sierra de Francia'(the French mountain range'). Its unusual houses and streets have put it on the toursist map for visitors to the province of Salamanca. With the Cabras Pintas prehistoric caves on the edge of Alberca, it is thought that this village was repopulated during the times of Alfonso VI by the French. In fact some of its place names like 'la Sierra de Francia' and 'el rio Frances' (the French river) refer to these origins. One of Alberca's greatest assets is the diversity of the wonderful scenery that surrounds it. On one side you can see granite, slate and quartzite which support the varied wild vegetation and forests of oaks, chestnut trees, pine trees, walnut trees, apple trees and almond groves. Like many other villages in Spain, Alberca's population is declining. Over half a century ago it had 1700 inhabitants but now this figure hardly reaches a 1000. However, the village is still well maintained and despite harsh winters and very hot summers tourism plays an important part in its economy. Its narrow cobbled streets, small squares and curious houses make this a beautiful place to visit.
From: Fiameta Pellicer [mailto:mimanmetty@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sat 10/18/2008 6:47 AM
To: anicia biglow; ely abellera; manolo apanay; jjwilliam@tsys.com; Kathy Gansserite; Doobs; bonnie vargas; Anneteele Vargas; M Vargas; rmsdgs@aol.com; Connelly, Linda S;
Cc: Mary Pitts; Erin Bittner; Jessica Wong; Cecile Bregman
Subject: Pueblo Ingles
Hola!
I´m back in spain, and finally was able to get into the Reina Sophia to view Picasso´s Guernica which Metty
Hola!
We´re winding down here, Friday we drive back to Madrid then I linger until the 28th and I should be seeing yáll in no time at all. I´m ready to go home. I´m getting a lot from the jokes I can remember to tell correctly, and Ray just sent me a bar blonde joke which I certainly can find the right occasion to tell tonight. The one about sometimes the bull wins too has gotten many laughs here, and finally I got the right moment to tell the second opinion joke, about the surgeons wife and some of Evelyn´s jokes . Tonight we´re rehearshing a comedy routine to present during pre0dinner entertainment. We´re drinking a lot of wine for lunch and dinner, I definitely will need to starve myself when I get home
Metty
Prego,
I'm so exhausted today. I didn.t do my homework and just took the suburban train to go see Vesuvius. I had to take the Metro then connct with the suburban train, then take the shuttle bus to Vesuvius. That was the easy part, I wasn't prepared to hike up the volcano crater for 40 minutes, I am so out of shape this past 6 weeks, eating pasta and all, so I was huffing and puffing. Then I get on the trian agian to go see Pompeii, didn't realize this excavation is so immense and midn boggling. It is an entire city, so awesome. I had a hard time getting out of there I got lost in the maze of streets and alleys. Of note, the whorehouse, with frescoes of all the differecnt ways you can copulate, too bad I didn't know how to set my camera without flash, so I wasn't able to take pictures. Then there was this painting of Priapus, the god of fertility, he's the one we derived priapism from, he's there with his big member laid out on a plate. these early Romans really knwo how to live. You should see how their houses were laid out. and the baths, such a ritual with cold dips, tepid dips and hot dips, none of these quick utilitarian showers, also with all unguents, and liniments and fragrances to go with it. Bathing can take up half a day. What a life! Then since the end of the line is to Sorrento, I decided to take the train to the end. Sorrento is charming and of course has an emotional tug with the familiar songs Come back to Sorrento, O Sole Mio, so it had me even before I can say Prego. The train trip back to the hortel was over one hour, what with changes and all, so I had a late dinner at the hotel before they closed the kitchen at 10:30. I need the hot springs of Ischia after today, and I have to be up early tomorrow to fly to Madrid and I think I'll stay up for the debates, which is 2 am here.
Ta Ta
Miss y'all already
Metty
Prego Y'all,
I'm now in Napoli, left Ischia this afternoon and will do Vesuvius and Pompeii tomorrow, then fly to Madrid to join my Pueblo Ingles co-volunteers for a get to know you lunch on Thursday then take a 2 hour bus to Alberca on Friday and join our spanish counterparts. After 2 weeks of not speaking the language I'm dying for conversation and telling anybody who cares to listne or don't have the guts to interrupt me about what I think of what's going on anywhere and about anything. Well, after seeing the highlights of the city I'm having 2nd thoughts about Naples. True, there's so many hustlers, and you have to be alert, and the city is littered in many palces, and graffiti is everywhere, but it is vibrant and bustling and bold and macho, it is so alive, jsut liek New York. It is also culturally diverse with Senegalese, Ukrainians and Polish taking up the unskilled workforce. It feels familiar like Manila, with macho men, and superficial glitz, and bambinas sexed to the hilt. Billboards and TV announcer sidekicks of middle aged men with paunchy middles are Bimbo types with low necklines and silicon boobs and tight or short short skirts and 6-inch platform heels, and dark eyeliners and red lips. I miss seeign Penelope Cruz on billboards as we saw in Spain. Billboards here feature lingerie ads. In Ischia the social evnets there are fashion shows , and yeah lingerie shows.Naples is in the process of cleaning itlself up, there's public works all over the place and buildings in scaffolds undergoing reinvigorating transformations.This region with Sorrento and Capri withh hves so much connection with the US I'm wondering why there are so few American tourists here. A city with the sea at its doorstep will always have captivating charm for me.Metty
Dear Jessica,
Thanks so much for your endorsement of my activities, and certainly I enjoyed your company and all your friends. Being with adventurous and independent young people makes me feel excited and young. In many ways I still feel like a 25 year old but with advantages, like having a platinum AMEX and all the confidnece 66 years of living have accumulated. I feel I'm living the best years of my life. I just left Ischia this afternoon and now am in Naples. Will go see Vesuvius and Pompeii tomorrow, then fly back to Madrid to do my Pueblo Ingles volunteer work. I'm so looking forward to this segment of my 2-month long trip, and after traveling solo for 2 weeks and not speaking the language, I'm now hungering for conversation and lively repartee. I'll be back in Atlanta october 28, and yeah, let's have a reunion on my return and look at all our photos.
Tita Metty
--- On Sun, 10/12/08, Jessica Wong
From: Jessica Wong
Subject: Hola Tita Metty!
To: mimanmetty@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, October 12, 2008, 8:53 PM
Hi Tita Metty!
I just wanted to thank you so much for having us girls come stay at your place in Monte Pego. I had the best time there, and it really opened my eyes to respect the culture Spain has to offer. I loved the scenery, especially on the train rides. I really appreciate you taking us back and forth to the train stations to the villa. I know it was a lot of running around for you, but hopefully you got some good rounds of golf in! I enjoyed the yummy dinners in, along with going out on the town, and even at Bella Vista restaurant. I'm very grateful to be able to experience all of this. I truly think you are an inspiration, and I would love to become a world traveler just like you!
I have been enjoying your emails about your journey through Milan and such. Pauline has been sharing your stories. I bet you are having a blast seeing all the different sides of Europe. Maybe when you get back to Atlanta, all of us girls can take you out to a nice Spanish/Tapas dinner so we can revisit our trip with our imagination! Again, thank you for letting me partake in the wonderful sights, sounds, and smells of Spain. (Not including the smelly europeans on the train with bad body odor! haha!)
I hope you have a safe trip back to the states! Enjoy smoking all your cuban cigars while you're still there!
Miss you!
Jessica
HI,
I took a bus around the island, covering the coast and the interior to the highest point, It took about 3 hours and 2 1.20 Euro tickets good for 90 minutes ride each. Great tour, tourists are mainly Germans here, they even have a German TV channel, otherwise the condo TV is all Italian, their announcers are all middle eaged paunchy men with over made up Barbie sidekicks wwith big boobs. The average young mature Women are made up heavily and not elegantly dressed, favors shiny and loud stuff, abd emphasi
The roads here are so tight, buses have to stop every time there,s an appraoaching car. A dog jumped off an oncoming triscooter and our bus hit the poor thing and looked like a leg was broken and hip dislocated, we were all upset.
Italian news is following up US elections.
I,LL stay put tomorrow by the pool, then to Naples on Tuesday and Wednesday, then take a flight to Madrid Thursday.
Ta Ta, Missing y,all already.
Metty
--- On Sat, 10/11/08, Connelly, Linda S
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2008, 10:20 PM
Hi,
We...I finally located Ischia thanks to adding the Poseidon Beach and Spa to my google search.
"Ischia is located in the Campania region, about an hour by ferry from Naples. It is called the green island because in contrast to rocky Capri, Ischia is covered with vegetation. There are thermal locations all over the island. The ground water is heated, there are thermal sands, and even the seawater in some areas is heated by volcanic action. Almost all the hotels (and there are many) have pools that are heated and unheated. Poseidon Gardens and Negombo are places you can go to spend the day in the lovely pools and also in the sea, because both have lovely beaches in addition to the pools."
I'm enjoying your adventures!
From: Fiameta Pellicer [mailto:mimanmetty@yahoo.com]
Subject: Napoli and Ischia
Had a pampering at the Poseidon Beach and Spa here, weather gorgeous, however not much to do, the villa is again on top of the hill, with spectacular views but a hassle to get anywhere, though there is a little town 10 minute walk away with restaurant and mercado. Naples look seedy and there are too many hustlers, but I.m leaving Ischia on Tuesday and do Naples but will book a more expensive hotel in the elegant part of town to avoid most of the seediness. Maybe check out Capri and Sorrento just to look see. The thermal springs here is fabulous. The best way to enjoy the place is to moor your sailboat or yacht on the harbor and loll around, go offshore to visit the bars and restaurants and have plenty of company for a party.
I was at the Obama Inauguration
The 56th Presidential Inauguration, Barack H. Obama, the 44th President
January 20, 2009
I thought I’d be late to board my train to Washington DC. Anicia and I forgot the time chatting away and had to rush to the Amtrak station and as what usually happens in these situations, traffic was at a snail’s pace on 17th St. We debated whether to detour to Bishop’s St, as I had only minutes to spare. But it cleared after the Cirque du Soleil crowd made the turn on Market St., and I’m on my way to witness the most anticipated Presidential inauguration in history.
The train was sold out. I couldn’t get a sleeping berth when I made my reservation as soon as Obama clinched the elections. Air was costing over $600 RT vs Amtrak coach $331.50, a 13 hr 49 min overnight journey from Atlanta to Washington DC. The Crescent line originates from New Orleans and ends in NYC. When the train stopped at Union Station in DC everyone got off except 9 who were continuing the trip to New York.
This is only my second trip on Amtrak, the first was 10 years ago to Meridian MS with a bunch of girlfriends on a gambling jaunt to the Silver Slipper Indian Casino. I quickly found out that the people on board did not pay the same price for their seats, and just like the airlines, train fares have pricing games that test your cunning in order to get the lowest fare. Naturally I wasn’t amused to learn that the woman next to me paid $148 RT and the couple across the aisle from AL paid $225 each for theirs, and I thought I got a deal already with a senior discount.
But never mind that. The people on board were in celebratory mood. It’s like we’ve known each other before. Everyone had a story about why they are going to the inauguration, and there was a young reporter there from the Atlanta Journal/Constitution with his microphone and camera to record these stories. I sat across the dining table with a woman and her 8-year-old nephew, his mother is in Iraq, and he’s hoping that Obama will end the war so his mom could come home, and he’s also working hard in school because he wants to go to college and be like Barack. The gentleman next to me walked in the Million Man March and was a volunteer and financial contributor in the Obama campaign, going door to door registering voters, and he has one of the coveted inaugural tickets. He was profoundly touched and in near tears as he recounted these. A couple from New Orleans had tickets to the Southern Ball, one of the events with a scheduled Obama drop in. Our conversation drifted to the Mardi Gras and the husband happens to be the president of the Zulu Krewe, and he promised to take care of me should I decide to be in New Orleans on February 24. It’s amazing how interesting people are and how open they were on this occasion. A white gentleman in our dining table is a retired state historian, his department canvasses historic houses and places and evaluates them for the historic registry. He had been in every inauguration since Jimmy Carter, and he said he has not ever seen it like this. He gave me his blog, and he also writes a genealogy column for the AJC. For my Element neighbors it would be of interest that he knows Rodney Cook personally and I found that out after I gave my speech about the grotesque eyesore that is the Millenium Gate of Atlantic Station.
On the eve of the inauguration, we checked our Metro stop and traced our way to the recently opened Newseum, where we had tickets to view the swearing in and parade in the comforts of a climate controlled environment with easy access to bathrooms and food sources. Still, I was hoping to get tickets to the grounds at the last minute, close to the stage to witness the swearing in in person. Jacki who had standing section Silver tickets obtained from Craig’s list sellers for $150, was trying to get me one. The price had gone up to $300 and I wasn’t interested, and days earlier, it was even unthinkable that someone offered Alex $20K for a premium space in the seated section.
We bundled up in layers, it will be 29 degrees, made sure we covered our heads with a hat or cloche, packed our chemical hand warmers,and carried protein bar provisions in our pockets, and started out at the gates at 7 AM. It was standing room only at the Bethesda metro station but we got in without any trouble.At my stop at Judiciary Square, we were herded in only one direction, contrary to my rehearsed route. Jacki lost her Silver ticket, and got separated from her company, but reported later that she fell in with a lucky group and had good viewing points for the ceremony. I wasn’t so lucky. I marched with legions in the 3rd St. tunnel, from Judiciary, starting in darkness, and emerging eons later in the mouth of I-495 in broad daylight. But the legions were in a party mood, there was cheering and singing in the tunnel. There was no police or National guard in sight for all the thousands marching in the tunnel, we were just following the inertia of the crowd, but nobody minded. Finally there was someone to ask when we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I needed directions to the Newseum so I can stake my viewing turf. Three hours later having been sent around in circles ending in barricaded streets, I couldn’t cross to the other side of the mall to get to the Newseum. I was swept in a mass of insulated bulky bodies to the Washington monument end of the mall, so far from my intended destination, dwarfed by giant Black men and smothered by fur encased big Black women, when the moment in history arrived. I witnessed it in a stamp sized jumbotron in the distance behind the steel barricades on Jefferson and 12th St, zealously kept intact by National guards Culp and Butler. They were gracious though in taking our cameras and shooting our picture in the crowd. When it was over, Culp and Butler had strict orders not to let anyone cross the barricades to the wide open street to exit, when it appeared to all of us that that was the most expedient way to go. The side exit was gridlocked, and nobody could move. Whether real or not women were making drama, fainting, gasping, shouting medical emergency. Still they were not allowed to cross the barricade, instead the medics were called to their position to administer aid. When it seemed like we were beginning to feel like prisoners, and Culp and Butler could not give us any alternatives, 2 young men figured out that they could create an exit if they removed some porta potties hemming us on one side. And so they lifted 2 aside, positioned themselves on the roof and directed our exit. At the L’Enfant Metro station, the surge took 40 minutes to disperse into the trains and back to homes to watch the historic event replayed on their flat screen TV’s. I gave up on the parade, I was on the wrong side of the tracks.
January 20, 2009
I thought I’d be late to board my train to Washington DC. Anicia and I forgot the time chatting away and had to rush to the Amtrak station and as what usually happens in these situations, traffic was at a snail’s pace on 17th St. We debated whether to detour to Bishop’s St, as I had only minutes to spare. But it cleared after the Cirque du Soleil crowd made the turn on Market St., and I’m on my way to witness the most anticipated Presidential inauguration in history.
The train was sold out. I couldn’t get a sleeping berth when I made my reservation as soon as Obama clinched the elections. Air was costing over $600 RT vs Amtrak coach $331.50, a 13 hr 49 min overnight journey from Atlanta to Washington DC. The Crescent line originates from New Orleans and ends in NYC. When the train stopped at Union Station in DC everyone got off except 9 who were continuing the trip to New York.
This is only my second trip on Amtrak, the first was 10 years ago to Meridian MS with a bunch of girlfriends on a gambling jaunt to the Silver Slipper Indian Casino. I quickly found out that the people on board did not pay the same price for their seats, and just like the airlines, train fares have pricing games that test your cunning in order to get the lowest fare. Naturally I wasn’t amused to learn that the woman next to me paid $148 RT and the couple across the aisle from AL paid $225 each for theirs, and I thought I got a deal already with a senior discount.
But never mind that. The people on board were in celebratory mood. It’s like we’ve known each other before. Everyone had a story about why they are going to the inauguration, and there was a young reporter there from the Atlanta Journal/Constitution with his microphone and camera to record these stories. I sat across the dining table with a woman and her 8-year-old nephew, his mother is in Iraq, and he’s hoping that Obama will end the war so his mom could come home, and he’s also working hard in school because he wants to go to college and be like Barack. The gentleman next to me walked in the Million Man March and was a volunteer and financial contributor in the Obama campaign, going door to door registering voters, and he has one of the coveted inaugural tickets. He was profoundly touched and in near tears as he recounted these. A couple from New Orleans had tickets to the Southern Ball, one of the events with a scheduled Obama drop in. Our conversation drifted to the Mardi Gras and the husband happens to be the president of the Zulu Krewe, and he promised to take care of me should I decide to be in New Orleans on February 24. It’s amazing how interesting people are and how open they were on this occasion. A white gentleman in our dining table is a retired state historian, his department canvasses historic houses and places and evaluates them for the historic registry. He had been in every inauguration since Jimmy Carter, and he said he has not ever seen it like this. He gave me his blog, and he also writes a genealogy column for the AJC. For my Element neighbors it would be of interest that he knows Rodney Cook personally and I found that out after I gave my speech about the grotesque eyesore that is the Millenium Gate of Atlantic Station.
On the eve of the inauguration, we checked our Metro stop and traced our way to the recently opened Newseum, where we had tickets to view the swearing in and parade in the comforts of a climate controlled environment with easy access to bathrooms and food sources. Still, I was hoping to get tickets to the grounds at the last minute, close to the stage to witness the swearing in in person. Jacki who had standing section Silver tickets obtained from Craig’s list sellers for $150, was trying to get me one. The price had gone up to $300 and I wasn’t interested, and days earlier, it was even unthinkable that someone offered Alex $20K for a premium space in the seated section.
We bundled up in layers, it will be 29 degrees, made sure we covered our heads with a hat or cloche, packed our chemical hand warmers,and carried protein bar provisions in our pockets, and started out at the gates at 7 AM. It was standing room only at the Bethesda metro station but we got in without any trouble.At my stop at Judiciary Square, we were herded in only one direction, contrary to my rehearsed route. Jacki lost her Silver ticket, and got separated from her company, but reported later that she fell in with a lucky group and had good viewing points for the ceremony. I wasn’t so lucky. I marched with legions in the 3rd St. tunnel, from Judiciary, starting in darkness, and emerging eons later in the mouth of I-495 in broad daylight. But the legions were in a party mood, there was cheering and singing in the tunnel. There was no police or National guard in sight for all the thousands marching in the tunnel, we were just following the inertia of the crowd, but nobody minded. Finally there was someone to ask when we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I needed directions to the Newseum so I can stake my viewing turf. Three hours later having been sent around in circles ending in barricaded streets, I couldn’t cross to the other side of the mall to get to the Newseum. I was swept in a mass of insulated bulky bodies to the Washington monument end of the mall, so far from my intended destination, dwarfed by giant Black men and smothered by fur encased big Black women, when the moment in history arrived. I witnessed it in a stamp sized jumbotron in the distance behind the steel barricades on Jefferson and 12th St, zealously kept intact by National guards Culp and Butler. They were gracious though in taking our cameras and shooting our picture in the crowd. When it was over, Culp and Butler had strict orders not to let anyone cross the barricades to the wide open street to exit, when it appeared to all of us that that was the most expedient way to go. The side exit was gridlocked, and nobody could move. Whether real or not women were making drama, fainting, gasping, shouting medical emergency. Still they were not allowed to cross the barricade, instead the medics were called to their position to administer aid. When it seemed like we were beginning to feel like prisoners, and Culp and Butler could not give us any alternatives, 2 young men figured out that they could create an exit if they removed some porta potties hemming us on one side. And so they lifted 2 aside, positioned themselves on the roof and directed our exit. At the L’Enfant Metro station, the surge took 40 minutes to disperse into the trains and back to homes to watch the historic event replayed on their flat screen TV’s. I gave up on the parade, I was on the wrong side of the tracks.
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