Jefferson County Library Distinguished Author Series - Rick Steves - 12/7/2009

Thanks Sarah for clueing us in on the Rick Steves event, way back in October!  Last year it was Anne Lamott, and we all loved her!  This time, we all signed up for tix, but when the 7th approached, the realities of holiday prep prevented most of us from attending.  Sarah and Lisa were there, along with Sarah's friend Becky (who, as it turns out, is the daughter of the realtor who sold Lisa & John their house 8 years ago, and who sketched the housewarming gift/print of their house that's hanging downstairs!).

Here are some of Lisa's notes from his presentation, for those who are interested:

• Meeting people (when travelling) "carbonates your experience"
• Find places that don't have promotional budgets; this keeps away "the most obnoxious slice of the traveling population" - the ones who insist upon nice hotels
• All tourist info that comes to you is motored by someone's financial need; therefore, you need to be a savvy consumer
• If the art's not fun, you don't know enough about it.  Study up before you go to understand the context in which the art was made
• He talked about the difference between feudal vs. medieval romantic castles, and it actually sounded somewhat interesting!
• He also talked about a Roman aqueduct in Nimes, France which illustrated a very early display of social consciousness.  I can't remember the exact details, but the system ensured that the poorer neighborhoods received their allowance of water before extra water was doled out for the wealthy r for asthetic irrigation purposes.  For more on the aqueduct itself, see http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/nimes.htm.
• Lately he's into "experiences" while travelling; recently he & his family attended a sports match in the UK and found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable & unique experience
• Suggests planning big, multi-destination trips so that you start mild and end "exotic" when it comes to culture shock (ie, start in England and end in Turkey; not vice versa)
• Delay your shopping until the last 20% of the trip, and load up in cheap, interesting countries
• Big bus tours are OK if you use them only for transportation and hotels, but ditch them during your free time and go out and find an adventure
• Some of his audio tours are now available on iTunes, as well as from his website: http://www.ricksteves.com/news/podcast_menu.htm. Also on his website are some interesting interviews from his radio program
• Recommends hulu.com (so does Sarah!) to watch shows like his Rocky Mountain PBS show about Iran
• Dining:  Immigrant restaurants are a great value and typically delicious food (eg, a Pakistani restaurant in Oslo).  Picnicing is your budget mainstay.
• His new book is called Travel as a Political Act.  Sarah and I found ourselves nodding our heads vigorously with the (sometimes surprisingly passionate) political commentary at the end of his lecture.  Sometimes I forget that people could actually disagree with his belief that Americans have a responsibility to educate themselves about other cultures and to understand why we may not be well-liked in some cultures, but they obviously do.  This was interesting to read: http://www.ricksteves.com/about/pressroom/activism/feedback_text.htm
• I couldn't help but have the opinion that maybe he's "been there, done that" with Europe, and it's time for him to focus his cultural prowess and ambassadorship on the more mis-understood areas of the world - especially the Middle East.  I was thrilled he did that PBS piece on Iran (which I have yet to see, and Sarah and I talked about gathering all of us around zulu.com to watch it together sometime).  He said while filming it, a woman walked up to him, asked if he was a journalist, and asked him to tell the truth about them, to stop fueling the erroneous stereotypes we have in the West.  She then said she didn't like her daughter watching western TV because she doesn't want her to grow up like Britney Spears.  Misconceptions and generalizations abound.  If I had been brave enough in the Q&A I would have asked him something along these lines.

Transcribing my notes a month later has got me thinking about travel again, and reminiscing about some of my own experiences.  Two of my 3 highlights were in Italy, when we went in 2003.  One was when John and I set out to find the Via Appia (the Appian Way), one of Rome's earliest and most strategic roads, made famous in the movie Spartacus (slaves crucified alongside it).  Although there was a brief mention of it in the tour guides, once we found it (after a series of confusing bus transfers), it was virtually empty.  There it was, this tree-lined ancient stone road, all ours!  We walked for miles on it, marveling at all that must have transpired there in the thousands of years since it was built.   The other Italian experience a week later was when we decided on a whim to drive up to Michelangelo's marble quarry at Carrara, en route between Pisa and the Cinque Terre in our little rental car.  We started questioning the decision 20 minutes into the seemingly endless drive UP, up, up the mountain as daylight was beginning to fade, but were so glad we stuck with it.  It was stunning - and sad - to see this glorious mountainside ripped apart, revealing the gleaming white marble below.  There is a small museum there, run by a dear old man named Walter Danesi, who grew up on the mountain as a child of a quarry worker.  He wrote a book, which we purchased, and he signed.  He also proceeded to flirt with me, in Italian, a little of which I understood!  I'll never forget him and how he devoted his life to telling the stories of the laborers who risked their lives up there.  I just googled him to see if he's still alive and alas, he isn't.  But I just became a fan of the museum on facebook, of all things.  Who knew?

In Costa Rica in 2005, we rented a car and drove from where we were staying in Jaco Beach, to the incredible Manuel Antonio National Park.  Taking a rest from our hike, we met an older couple from Chile.  John hit it off with the husband, who practiced his English on John, and was gracious in letting John practice his Spanish on him.  Mostly the wife and I just smiled and nodded at each other, because the only language we had in common was French and that was, oh, about 20 years ago for me! :)  We ended up giving them a ride back to their apartment in Jaco, and they invited us in for a drink and some delightful conversation.  Someday we hope to visit them in northern Chile and stay in one of the tourist cabins they run.  If you're ever heading that way want their info, let me know! :)

Anyone else have some experiences to share?