updated 8/5/01
Feet's European Odyssey 2001 (Part I)Only a fool, a madwoman or a sand sculptor on a tight schedule would attempt a 10-day whirlwind tour of Europe with less than 5 days of prep time. I reckon I am all three.
Getting to Italy
|
This was not my first time traveling by rail so I already knew that packing light was the way to go -- if you can't sling your suitcase up over your head with one hand tied behind your back, you've packed too much stuff. But choosing clothes for all of Europe is tough. I expected Italy to be warm but the northern countries don't experience summer the same as we do -- forcing some difficult decisions: blue jeans or portable coffee pot? Aluminum sand tamper or shoes? Heavy sweatshirt or laptop? Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to learn that it was the clothes that got 86ed. |
This was shot from the train window.... somewhere. |
ditto |
It is a three-hour train ride from London to Paris, only 20 minutes or so of which is actually spent under the channel -- and it is a comfortable ride, even in 2nd class. With the help of a big black guy in well-tended dreads, I was able to find the right station for my night train to Milan...
|
I met these nice people on the train from Milan to Cervia.
Left is Guiseppe. He is a sci-fi and fantasy illustrator and he just happened to have a sample of his work with him. 'Twas the copy of Asimov's I was reading that caught his eye... At right is Sara. She is a student on her way south for vacation and she was very helpful as a translator and helping me figure out where my train stop was. |
The Contest |
Friday Afternoon - 2nd day of the competition. Yesterday's pound up in the heat (we are in an outdoor stadium with 10' walls that ensure we will not be bothered by any hint of a breeze) was fairly brutal --though the 3-hour breaks in the heat of the day are most appreciated. After dinner and plenty of red wine, we sat on the patio smoking and sipping espresso and rehashing that old sand sculptor topic of whether what we do is "art" or not.... "Mother Nature, Inc. "(Mama Terra, Inc.) - by Carl Jara and sandy feet (USA) (rught) Caught two pretty little girls peeking through the walls of the contest arena...
click here to find out... |
Above: feets ponders the next cut... |
[sand] [web] [virtual tour] [trips] [e-me] [home]