Hercules is Moving…Again…And for the Last Time!

Tags

Advice, Blog Update, Life

Hello to all of our dear followers,

First, an apology. We are so sorry to have been away the last few weeks. Life has been tossing a few nasty curve balls at us lately, and it’s been difficult to keep up the blog. But we’re back! And better than ever…

We decided to move over to wordpress.org so we could build a new site exactly to our liking, with a prettier layout and cooler features. The problem is that we are now posting from a different web address, so you will no longer get our updates as a follower of this blog. And that really sucks, because we love you, and need you. Frankly, if you don’t come over there to visit us we’ll just be writing for ourselves. And that’s nice in an existential way, but not nearly as much fun as it is to interact with you. So check us out at HerculesGetsAPassport.com and if you are so inclined, you can follow us by email there. (Or on Facebook, Twitter, etc, as we are admitted social media addicts. The first step is admitting it, right?) And we promise we will get back to writing our hearts out on a regular basis and keep you entertained.

Thanks a million for reading, commenting, and just being the awesome followers you are. Hope to see you soon!

Marina, Kevin, & Hercules

P.S. We’d love feedback on the new site, good or bad!

A Walk In The Park

Tags

London, Photography, Travel

We were lucky enough to enjoy some spring sunshine and warmth on Sunday, so we took a walk in our local park.

Lammas Park Gate

A bee hunts for pollen in the cherry blossoms.

A bird peeks down through the blossoms.

Signs of life.

An early bloom.

More on the way.

Lovely Lammas Park.

Out for a stroll.

Croquet for one.

Sunset

A Good Day For A Parade

Tags

Easter, LGBTQ, Parade, San Francisco, Travel

Easter is my favorite holiday. Not because I’m particularly devout (I’m not) or because I enjoy eating lots of Easter candy (I do); it’s because I love a good parade. In a city that celebrates everything with silly costumes and street fairs, I shouldn’t be surprised that they’ve turned Easter Sunday into a party I look forward to all year long.

The winner of this year’s Hunky Jesus contest glides down Market Street on his roller skates, wearing nothing but a tiny pair of boxer briefs and a white cape that billows out behind him. As spectators whistle and laugh at the underdressed Lamb of God, I marvel at how closely he resembles the portrait that hung in my childhood church (minus the grotesque bleeding wounds of course, Hunky Jesus wouldn’t be caught dead, or resurrected, without looking his absolute best). In other parts of the country this spectacle might be considered blasphemous, but the local crowd understands that this display has nothing to do with religion. We’re there to be in the sun, meet up with friends, and remind ourselves how lucky we are to live in this colorful and lively place.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are next in the processional. It’s hard to categorize this throwback to the city’s countercultural heyday, but when assembled in one place they are a force to be reckoned with. The traditionalists are decked out in full habits, theatrical make-up, and platform boots, and they are hard to miss. A few of the more contemporary Sisters follow behind, scantily clad in their most colorful Easter Attire. I feel envious of their uninhibited self-expression.

The “bunnymobile” follows closely behind. A giant bunny wearing a teal tuxedo waves from the top of a convertible, flanked on all sides by his own brand of bunny secret service. Their black suits have been carefully accessorized with bunny tails and ears. They take their jobs seriously and walk the crowds looking for any potential threat. One of them takes a sniff of Kevin’s coffee and frowns, “Excuse me sir, but there is no alcohol in that cup. I have to insist that you follow the rules and spike it immediately.”  This is a city where breaking the rules is not only encouraged, it’s a way of life.

As the parade winds to its conclusion at the intersection of Market and 16^th Streets, the parade melts into a mass of humanity. Techno music blasts in the background, and revelers in Easter egg hued suits and elaborate Easter bonnets dance and sip cocktails. The evening fog has started to spill over the top of Twin Peaks, bringing a chill to the air. No one seems to notice.

The party has just begun.

Favorite Photos: Stockholm

Tags

europe, Photography, Stockholm, Travel

View from Stockholm City Hall

Central Stockholm

Stockholm Harbor

Fishermans' Cottages, Vaxholm, Stockholm Archipelago

Grinda, Stockholm Archipelago

Out of Gas: Traveling By Taxi In Beirut

Tags

Beirut, Middle East, Travel

“Don’t you think we can walk there?” I asked Kevin in a pleading tone, “It can’t be that far away!” Kevin, who is my husband and navigator, shrugged, “I think we need a cab.” I couldn’t stand the thought of another harrowing ride in a Beirut taxi. We had been in the city for 3 days and I’d had my fill of the nauseating scents of cigarettes and exhaust fumes, the lurch of stop-and-go traffic, and the anxiety of negotiating fares with stubborn drivers.

Hiring a taxi in Beirut is a complicated transaction between driver and passenger. The easy part is finding a taxi. In Beirut anyone with a car can work as a taxi driver, and in a city with few good employment options, it is a popular way to make a living. There is no registration, there are no meters, and there is rarely a “taxi” sign anywhere on the vehicle. Drivers simply pull over to the side of the road and honk their horns at pedestrians, hoping to pick up a fare.

We were standing on the corner of a busy street, dreading the process that was about to unfold, when a beat up Mercedes pulled up next to us. The car looked at least 20 years old. The doors and frame were barely attached to each other, the bumper sagged, and the tires were bald and wobbling. The door swung open, and two little boys stared curiously at us from the backseat, momentarily distracted from the bag of oranges spread across their laps. The driver shouted at them, and one promptly jumped out and moved to the front seat.  The next thing we knew, we were scooting across orange peels to join the younger boy in the backseat.

The most difficult part of the taxi system in Beirut is negotiating a fare with a driver who doesn’t speak English, knows you are a confused tourist (all tourists are confused in Beirut), and will often quote you a price in one of two currencies (the U.S. dollar or the Lebanese pound). To complicate matters further, street signs and addresses are irrelevant in Beirut. Instead, locals navigate the city using neighborhood landmarks. We learned that the best method is to ask for the busiest street in a given neighborhood, then try our luck on foot.

This taxi was unlike any of the others we’d taken. Our driver smiled at us. He didn’t say much, but we could see him inspecting our reflections in the rearview mirror. The boys started asking questions in broken English. We were all curious about one another. The practicality of getting from one place to another had nearly been forgotten. We tried to explain where we were going, using a well-known landmark, the Hard Rock Café. The kids were confused, “Oh, Pigeon Rock!” they exclaimed, naming another major Beirut landmark. “No, no, Hard Rock Café! The Corniche!” we tried to interrupt as they translated to the driver. A few minutes later we had all agreed on our destination when suddenly the driver pulled over. Without a word the kids hopped out, oranges in hand, and wandered down the street. It was all part of the routine. Finally, we were on our way. No price had been negotiated, the car rattled along on the edge of mechanical failure, and traffic was at a standstill, but it was the least stressful and most entertaining taxi ride we’d had so far.

On the plane to Lebanon, a Beirut native warned that we should never use a hotel taxi. We had every intention of heeding her advice, but in a fit of exhaustion and hunger we opted to take a hotel taxi to dinner the following night. The driver immediately asked us for a fare twice as high as we’d expected to pay, and made an impressive effort to hustle us into paying him to wait outside the restaurant. When we didn’t agree to the rates, he pulled into a parking lot and refused to go any farther. We spent $35 to go less than a mile, and we never made it to the restaurant.

We knew right away that our current driver was different from the rest we’d encountered. Other than the occasional grunt or shrug about the traffic, he barely acknowledged us. There was no hustle happening in that taxi; just the simple goal of making a little extra money to take home that night. After what seemed like hours in gridlocked traffic (it was more like 45 minutes), we finally started moving. We were happy to be heading the right direction until we noticed that the driver had turned off the engine to coast down a hill. The old Mercedes was running on fumes.  He turned onto side streets, presumably because it would be easier to coast away from traffic. It was evident that he had done this before. As we rolled from street to street, Kevin and I enjoyed startling glimpses of everyday life of Beirut. Kids played in front of bombed out buildings, women hung laundry on high-rise balconies, and men chatted and smoked in the street. Finally, we convinced the driver to let us out on the side of the road, ½ mile from our intended destination. When Kevin offered him $15 for the ride, the driver looked relieved to be avoiding the normal negotiation. That won’t even buy half a tank of gas, I thought to myself.

We wandered along the Corniche for a few minutes, happy to be stretching our legs and breathing fresh air. As we stopped to take a picture, the beat up old Mercedes rattled past us, looking for another fare.

Favorite Photos: France

Tags

europe, France, Photography, Travel

Paris 2010

Paris, 2011

Paris (Pere Lechaise Cemetery) 2011

Paris (Pere Lachaise Cemetery) 2011

Versailles 2011

Versailles 2011

Versailles, 2011

Villefranche-sur-Mer, 2011

Antibes 2011

7 Reasons to Love the U.K.

Tags

Advice, europe, Travel

The U.K. is not always the easiest place to experience life as an expat. The negative aspects of living here are ever-present. The cold, damp weather is unrelenting. Etiquette land-mines are plentiful. The cuisine leaves much to be desired. Public transportation is overpriced and lacking in both service and availability. As with any place that doesn’t feel like home, the list of complaints can be endless, yet I often find myself jerked out of my homesick stupor by something surprising and wonderful and…British.

1. Beer

I’m not talking about your standard pub fare. I’m talking about Real Ale. The kind you sip like wine. The kind that surprises your taste buds and makes you wonder how you lived without the good stuff all your life. If you want to dive into the Real Ale movement head-first, find a CAMRA event and enjoy. Your second best option is to find a pub that hosts festivals or regularly offers a Real Ale or two on tap. And remember, you can always ask to taste before you buy!

Try your luck with Real Ales at a small village pub. They often serve beer made by local brewers.

2. Museums Galore

Almost all of the museums in the U.K. are free. And these aren’t just any museums, they are some of the best in the world, particularly if you’re in London. You can while away the hours at world class galleries like the  Tate Modern, the Victoria & Albert Museum, or the British Museum without spending a penny (just avoid the gift shops). If you’re in a spending mood, the Churchill War Rooms are a must-see, and well worth the price of admission.

3. Pubs

A post about the U.K. would be incomplete without at least a mention of pub culture. The great thing about pub culture in the U.K. is that it is very much come as you are. No need to worry if you’ll blend in or not; you will. Everybody does. Order your drinks and food at the bar and grab a seat. Many pubs offer wireless connections, and the friendly bartenders won’t mind if you sit around all day. Pubs have the added benefit of feeling particularly cozy on rainy days (a good thing, because those are plentiful in the U.K.), but if you find yourself looking for a pint on a sunny day, many offer garden seating. Use The Good Pub Guide to find your perfect watering hole.

4. The Jurassic Coast

I’ve seen some lovely coastlines around the world, but the Jurassic Coast can really hold its own. It offers stunning views, lovely beaches, and well marked hiking trails that span the entire coastline (all 630 miles of it). All along the coast, quaint English villages offer lovely B&B’s and quintessential English pubs to cater to your sleeping, drinking, and dining needs.

Hiking paths with spectacular views line the coast.

5. Scotland

Scotland is easy to love. It’s beautiful, rugged, friendly, and full of local character. There is something for everyone in Scotland. Take a Distillery Tour in Speyside, hike in the Highlands, go sightseeing in Edinburgh, or play a round of golf in the footsteps of legends at Saint Andrews Gold Club. Whatever you choose to do in Scotland, you are guaranteed to have a great time.

View from a parapet atop Edinburgh Castle.

6. The Gateway to Europe

London has five airports to help you get where you want to go (all of the major cities have at least one), and they all offer cheap fares with budget airlines, making it easy to fly off to “the continent” for a quick and easy holiday. This also suits travelers who might want to jet off to sunnier climes after a week or two of grey skies and endless drizzle. Check for cheap fares here.

7. The Countryside

Venture out into the countryside anywhere in the U.K. and you are bound to find something charming and beautiful. If you’re lucky, you may even discover something as special and weird as the Cerne Abbas Giant. Wherever you find yourself, stop into the local pub, browse the high street, and chat up the locals. You’ll find yourself in the Britain of fairytales.

Cerne Abbas, England

Hercie’s Top Travel Tips

Tags

Advice, Travel

I used to be a guidebook addict. I carried them on every trip, checking off every “Top 10 Sights” list I could. I obeyed all of the tips and suggestions, terrified of making a wrong move and missing a critical bit of scenery. Eventually, I learned that my methods were all wrong. I was a tourist, not a traveler. Over time I have managed to overcome my dependence on guidebooks and tourist traps, but not without making a few mistakes along the way. To spare you the same trouble, here are a few lessons I learned the hard way.

1. Try to speak the language.

Just try. You might feel uncomfortable and dorky, but your effort will not go unnoticed! Don’t be afraid that people will try to engage you in a complex conversation well beyond your grasp. They’ll know right away that you are foreign and will either keep it simple or switch to English.

2. Eat what the locals eat.

Whatever they’re eating, it’s for a reason, and usually a good one.  More often than not, you’ll have a good experience if you follow suit. And if you hate it, you’ll have a funny experience to tell your friends about when you get home.

3. Eat when the locals eat.

Nothing screams “I’m a tourist!” more than eating dinner alone in an Italian restaurant at 6:00. Plus, it’s boring! Have a snack and a drink (or 3) and then enjoy dinner in a restaurant full of locals. The atmosphere will be worth the hunger pains.

4. Walk everywhere.

You’ll see more and have a richer experience. You can learn a lot more about a city and its people by walking its streets, rather than looking through a taxi window or crammed on a subway 200 feet underground (OK, maybe you can learn something about a culture from its subway, too).  And you’ll burn enough calories to ease your guilt about eating that extra croissant. The worst thing that’ll happen is you’ll get lost and see more of the city. And what’s wrong with that?

5. Listen more than you speak, and when you do speak, speak quietly.

You’ll be surprised at how much more you notice if you take a minute to listen to what’s happening around you, and you will probably pick up a few fun phrases in a foreign language. In many cultures around the world it is considered bad etiquette to speak loudly in restaurants, so you’ll also avoid inadvertently offending the other patrons or staff.

6. Step out of your comfort zone.

What’s the point of traveling if you are doing or eating the same things you would at home?  If you’re a little uncertain about something you’re about to eat or do and you don’t feel the imminent hand of death, just go for it.

7. Throw out the checklist.

Pick one or two must-see things per day, and spend the rest of the day wandering, sitting in a cafe or park, browsing in a bookstore…doing anything that brings you closer to the local culture. Your trip will be more relaxing, and you will have a much richer experience. You’re never going to see it all anyway, so just throw in the towel before you make yourself crazy (and exhausted).

8. When you want to scream or cry, laugh instead.

The only way to have a perfect vacation is to stay at an all-inclusive resort and let someone else do the work. There is certainly something to be said for that kind of ease, but taking on the challenge of planning your own vacation will reap countless rewards, even if everything isn’t perfect. You will make mistakes and things will go wrong, but those mishaps will show you something you may not have known about your destination and its culture. You’ll also acquire a new go-with-the-flow attitude that will benefit you long after your vacation has ended.

These travel rules have helped me to step outside of my American mindset and become a better traveler. They’ve also helped me to relax and enjoy my vacations much more than I did in the past, and isn’t that what it’s all about?

Authors Note: This article was submitted as an assignment for a writing program I’m in. This style of travel writing is called an “Evergreen” article as it is supposed to offer advice that will hold up over time. Thought I’d publish here for fun… let me know what you think! 

Favorite Travel Photos from the UK

Tags

Photography, Travel

London Bridge (October 2010)

Edinburgh Castle, Scotland (April 2011)

Cerne Abbas, England (Setember 2011)

Cerne Abbas, England (September 2011)

Corfe Castle, England (September 2011)

Durdle Door, Jurassic Coast (England 2011)

Jurassic Coast (England 2011)

Winchester Cathedral Winchester, England (October 2011)

Petra

Tags

Middle East, Petra, Photography, Travel

Petra is an ancient city, built out of the sandstone rocks in the Jordanian desert over 2,000 years ago. Very little is known about the Naboteans and their culture, but it is evident from the craftsmanship and technology they used to design their desert homes that they were sophisticated people. Walking through Petra is an otherworldly experience. The funerary monuments and cave dwellings inspire the imagination, while the natural beauty of the landscape takes your breath away.

To get to the city center of Petra, visitors have to walk through the quarter-mile long siq, a walkway made from natural rock formations.

The Siq

The natural colors and formations of the rock faces in the Siq are incredible.

The Naboteans most likely emerged from local nomadic tribes, and they supported their impressive city by trading with other countries. To do this, they formed large caravans and traveled for most of the summer, returning to Petra to winter in their permanent homes. Along the way, they absorbed new cultural, architectural and technological ideas from the civilizations they visited, including their Arabic neighbors (Egypt and Yemen) as well as their Mediterranean trading partners in the North (Greeks and Romans). There is evidence of these influences throughout Petra.

The Naboteans collected water by carving ledges into the edges of the rock. The water would run along the ledge, and pass over small cisterns every 100 meters or so. The silt would settle into the cistern, and the water would continue on to a large well. Through this method, the Naboteans were able to collect enough water to last them through the entire dry season.

The most commonly visited areas of Petra are the Treasury, made famous from a scene in an Indiana Jones film, and the Monastery, which overlooks much of Petra and the surrounding landscapes. The names for the facades are based on legends about the buildings and not actually related to their function in the city of Petra. Almost all of the facades were funerary monuments to honor royalty buried in the tombs below.

Peeking through the Siq toward the treasury (Indiana Jones view).

The Treasury-The Naboteans built their facades into rock walls that never face the sun, the wind, or the rain, and they built protective ledges above the structures to prevent water from running down the front. These preservation techniques have left the facades in near-perfect condition.

Another view. The Naboteans were extremely efficient workers. They built secret stairways to access the facades from behind or above, and they worked quickly, taking only 2 years on average to carve a facade.

Clusters of facades (see photo below) make you feel as though you have walked onto an alien planet.

This facade was slightly more exposed to the elements and hasn't stood the test of time as well as the others. Still amazing though for a 2,000 year old structure!

A few of the more simple facades just outside of central Petra.

One of the most stunning features of Petra is the amazing color palette that is naturally present in the rock formations throughout the city.

Our guide warned us that it was quite a hike up to the Monastery, so I decided to take a donkey. Kevin walked the 800 stairs to the top.

A donkey adventure.

A Bedouin and his donkey resting on a cliff along the trail to the Monastery.

Seeing the Monastery was well worth the journey to the top of the mountain. There is a little Bedouin cafe at the top, and we sipped mint lemonade and enjoyed the view.

The Monastery

Just beyond the Monastery is the peak of the mountain, or “the end of the world” according to the handwritten signs that mark the trail. The views are incredible.

Looking back toward the Monastery from "the end of the world."

View from the top (the end of the world).

We were tired after a day of exploring, but we couldn’t turn down the chance to see Petra at Night. We walked through a candlelit Siq in silence, only to arrive at a beautifully lit Treasury, where we were seated in a semi-circle formation and served Jordanian sweet tea. Then local musicians performed traditional Bedouin music. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and one we will never forget.

Walking through the candlelit Siq.

The Treasury (we were not using a tripod, as photography was not our priority for the evening, so please forgive the blurry quality of this photo)

We woke bright and early the next morning to meet our guide, Rami, for a hike up to the high place of sacrifice. Rami had warned us that the hike would be difficult, but we underestimated his warnings. The “trails” were often completely unmarked, and if they were marked at all it was by a tiny cairn, noticeable only to the seasoned guide. Ultimately it was well worth a bit of anxiety and tough terrain to avoid the tourists and see some spectacular views.

The trail was flat and easy at the beginning.

A hairy section of trail. Our guide, Rami, made me hold his hand as we went through this section. One misstep and you'd go sliding right down the mountain.

We stopped to look down on the treasury.

We stopped by Little Petra for a look around before we headed back to Amman. Little Petra is older than Petra, and was abandoned after only a few years as the Naboteans felt the area nearby offered a better landscape for their needs. Little Petra was a fun side trip that many tourists don’t make the effort to see. As a result, we had almost the whole place to ourselves, and we spent a lot of time climbing up ancient staircases into the ancient homes to see what we could find.

The facades in Little Petra are equally well-preserved.

Two days definitely wasn’t enough time to explore Petra to the extent that we would’ve liked, but I guess that means we will just have to find a way to go back…