Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Australia...Part 2

After my week in Perth, I headed across the country to Melbourne. The Pacific Rim gymnastics competition was being held out there, and so I was excited about watching Team USA at another big meet. Looking back, I’ve actually been to quite a few competitions since I’ve been living in Italy. Worlds in London, Champions Trophy in Stuttgart, USA Women’s competition outside of Venice, NCAA Championships in NY, and now Pacific Rim. At this point I’m pretty sure the USAG officials are sick of seeing be show up at meets around the world!

Coming from the NJ/NY area, I can appreciate a good sports city. I am a passionate supporter of my sports teams, and after being in Melbourne for a few days I could see that they too have a similar love for their teams. The dominant sport is the Aussie Football League, or just footy. To give you an idea of how crazy Melbourne is about it’s footy, just think about this. There are 16 teams in Australia’s top division. Of those 16 teams, 10 of them are based in Melbourne!!! THAT IS INSANE!!! NY/NJ has three football teams (including Buffalo). Rio de Janeiro and London each have five soccer teams. That always seemed like a lot to me. But 10 first division teams in one city...that’s another level. They also host the footy equivalent to the Super Bowl every year. Melbourne is a true sports city...

To accommodate all those teams, along with the cricket teams, the Australian Open tennis tournament, and various other sporting events such as the Pacific Rim, Melbourne has a vast network of sports stadiums. It doesn’t seem like a city big enough to pull off so many sports, but they do. For me, it was one of the most impressive parts of the city.

I got a first hand experience of a footy match too. North Melbourne vs. Melbourne. I love checking out new sporting events, so this was something I thoroughly enjoyed...and unlike the rugby match, I was able to stay awake the entire match. Footy is played on a huge oval field. My crude understanding of the game gave me the impression that it was basically a combination of soccer, rugby, football, and hot potato. The fans are passionate in a similar way to the Italians with soccer. That’s to say, it’s a borderline unhealthy relationship. The love I have for my Giants, Mets, Lazio, and the Azzurri can be looked at in a similar way, so I felt a unique sport connection to Melbourne.

Another form of sport, gambling, is something else I enjoy quite a bit. Melbourne has a state of the art casino that I found myself at a few times during my few days out there. For the past 17 years I have taken at least one yearly trip to Las Vegas. This was the first year that I missed out on my Vegas experience, so being able to gamble a little bit helped fix my Vegas itch. The atmosphere wasn’t quite like Vegas, but it was still a lot of fun. Plus, I ended up winning a couple bucks which wasn’t so bad.

The rest of my time in Melbourne was spent walking the city, eating sushi, and watching the USA clean up at Pacific Rim. Actually, it was pretty ridiculous how many medals the USA won. Between the guys and girls, I think they ended up with something like 35 medals. Wow. I guess you could say it was a successful weekend for Team USA. The girls were dominant as usual, and the guys have a bunch of up and coming talents that are going to do some big things over the next few years...it’s going to be fun to watch.

There is a reason why Melbourne is consistanly rated as one of the “The Most Livable City in the World.” It’s got a lot of energy with a younger population that keep the city alive late into the night even on weekdays. The downtown river area lined with restaurants and shops is a great spot to hang out and people watch. To me the city seemed very modern, but after living in Rome I think any city would seem modern. Overall, I’d say that Melbourne was one of my favorite cities that I’ve seen so far.

The only downside of my trip to Australia was how expensive everything was out there. The Australian dollar is essentially equivalent to the American dollar, and despite it’s resemblance to Monopoly money, it’s very real and it goes quickly in a city that regularly charges $15 to $20 just for lunch. One upside is that you don’t have to tip for anything. It’s a nice little bonus, but in the end the sky high prices still end up emptying the wallet pretty quickly.

The 30 hour trip back to Rome actually wasn’t too bad, but I was relieved to finally be back in my own bed. I’m in Rome right now, but I’m already planning my next few trips. This summer should be a memorable one...

Friday, May 14, 2010

Australia...Part 1

30 hours of traveling, 2 layovers, and a volcanic ash cloud. The flight to Australia was definitely the most arduous so far. In fact, the day before my trip my flight was cancelled because of the Iceland situation. I spent hours trying to figure out a way to get out of Rome, and at the last minute the airline gave me some good news...my flight was back on! I rushed to the airport and made it just in time.

I tried to keep myself occupied for as much of the trip as possible, but after a while I started to run out of ideas. I guess one good thing about such a long flight is that I was able to catch up on just about every new movie that came out in the US over the past year...

When I finally did get into Perth, the sunny skies were exactly what I needed to get out of my daze. I was staying with a friend who had planned a ton of things for us to do while I was there...the first thing being a rugby game right when I landed. We had great seats and the atmosphere was awesome. Unfortunately, jet leg set in quickly. I fought it as much as I could, but by midway through the first half I was asleep. I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the life of me. I did wake up just in time to watch the home team’s winning score happen right in front of me as time was running out. I used every bit of energy I had to cheer, but all I could think about was getting to bed. Quite a start to the trip

The weekend was spent in Western Australia wine country. We headed down to a small beach town called Dunsborough, and toured a bunch of the wineries (and a chocolate factory) around the Margaret River area. Having toured California wine country a few times, it made me think of my time back in NorCal. The wineries were beautiful and the wine itself wasn’t too shabby either. Give me a beach, good weather, and some wine and I’m a happy man...it was tough to beat those first few days.

When we did get back up to Perth we took a day trip to a small island just off the coast called Rottsnest Island. I’ve never been to a place like Rotto before. It’s got great hidden beaches all around the island, lots of outdoor activities, tons of little cottages for overnight stays, and an amazing bar right not the beach. For the people who live in Perth, it’s kind of like a vacation spot they can visit while still being at home. Not a bad spot to have just a ferry ride away.

While my friend was working, I had to entertain myself. After traveling to so many cold weather spots over the past few months, all I wanted to do was hang out at the beach...and that’s exactly what I did. I’d take the bus to Cottlesloe and enjoy the perfect fall weather (Yes, it’s fall in Australia right now. It took me a while to get used to seeing leaves falling from trees this time of year).

Of course, what’s a trip to Australia without kangaroos and koalas. On my last day in Perth I went to a little farm to see the furry little guys. The kangaroos just laid out in the sun, but the koalas are the ones that seem to have the good life. Sleep for half the day and eat the rest of the time...not bad. Plus, they look and feel like stuffed animals so it’s easy to why people think they are so cute. If they didn’t have two inch long razor sharp claws, they would make pretty good pets...haha.

My first week in Oz was tiring, but excting. It was great to get my first feel for Australian life. Australians have a similar attitude, temperament, and style to the people of SoCal. The laid back surfer lifestyle was everywhere. Board shorts, hoodies, and flip flops were the norm. I actually felt a little out of place because I was wearing shoes. Australians just enjoy the simple things in life and don’t seem get too bent out of shape out when something doesn’t go their way. I don’t think too many of them have stress related issues. If you want a vacation spot where you can really relax, and you don’t mind traveling half way around the world to get there, Australia is where it’s at.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Barcelona and an Unexpected Trip

With all my travels over the years I had never been to Spain. I was finally able to make it out there a couple weeks ago when I headed to Barcelona with some of my Italian cousins. I didn’t really know what to expect from Barca, but I was looking forward to going to the beach, drinking sangria, and eating as much seafood paella as humanly possible.

Being that my cousin and I are huge soccer fans, our first stop after putting our bags down at the hostel was to the FC Barcelona soccer stadium, Nou Camp. For those of you who are unaware, Barcelona is considered the best soccer team in the world at the moment after winning the Champions League Trophy last year (They also have arguably the best player in the world, Lionel Messi). The stadium tour wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it. I’m such a sports fanatic that seeing places like Nou Camp while I’m traveling is pretty special. Unfortunately, the Barca team was playing in London while I was there so I wasn’t able to watch game.

In many ways the Spanish people are very similar to Italians. Both love food, family, soccer. Both take off from work for three hours in the middle of each day. The easiest way to tell that I wasn’t in Italy, aside from the language being spoken, was by the organized way of life. Public transportation runs smoothly. Restaurants with absurdly long lines find a way to get customers fed in a reasonable amount of time. Plus, Barcelona was one of the cheapest cities I’ve been to so far...especially the food! At lunch each day we went to this spot on the beach and I would eat close to my body weight in paella for about $18. That paella alone is reason enough to go back to Spain...It was that good.

The most unexpected part of the trip was how much I enjoyed the works of Gaudi. I’d heard of him before, but going from spot to spot around the city and seeing his incredible vision and learning about his inspiration was incredibly impressive. His use of nature as a template for his works had a uniqueness that I had never seen before. I got a chance to see La Pedrera, Casa Batllo, Park Guell, and of course the Sagrada Famiglia, which is probably the most recognizable piece of architecture in Barcelona.

The church was started by Gaudi in the late 19th century and it’s still being worked on today. It’s expected to be completed in 2026! Normally, when I travel to cities and see the cathedrals, they’ve all been built for hundreds of years. They are all very impressive in their own way, but this was such a different experience. Being in Gaudi’s church and watching up close as stoneworkers, sculptors, and architects work in their own little world to perfect Gaudi’s design was an experience I’ve never had. I know it’s a long ways away, but I'd love to go back and see the completed Sagrada Famiglia one day down the road

I only spent three days in Barcelona, and it was definitely not enough time to see it all. Barca has an incredible mix of old world history and modern lifestyle. The people move at a faster pace than in Italy (I’m pretty sure that’s true about just about every place else in the world), but they have a similar charm.

New York for a couple days:

I took an unexpected trip back to the States last week. My first gymnastics coach, Jim Surgent, was receiving with a lifetime achievement award and he asked me to be his presenter. It was such an honor for him to ask me that I knew there was no way I could miss it. The ceremony was held during the NCAA Championships at West Point, NY which gave me a chance to catch up with a ton of gymnastics friends that I haven’t seen in a long time as well as see my Stanford team compete.

The award banquet was great. I tried as best I could to sum up what Jim has done for me and my career over the years. He taught me to love gymnastics. He taught me how to be part of a team and how competing for a common team goal is more important than anything you can achieve as an individual...even in an individual sport like gymnastics. I’m surprised it took this long for Jim to be recognized for his role in the success of so many gymnasts over the years, but it’s well deserved and I’m ecstatic that I was able to be a part of the presentation.

The five days I was home was incredibly hectic. I spent as much time with family and friends as possible, which was the best part of the trip. I hit up some of my favorite restaurants back home, since it’s difficult to find food that’s not Italian in Rome. Also had a chance to spend time in NYC. The more I travel, the more I realize that there really isn’t another city in the world like NYC. I’m biased because I grew up just across the river from the city, but it’s in a class of it’s own. It was great to be back...even if it was just for a couple days.