The Adventures of Hamsa and Laura Mattox

Hullo, everybody!

 I only have time for a brief post, because this stupid, evil, crappy computer will disconnect me in just a few minutes.

I’m sorry I havent blogged in a while, but good computers have been hard to come by. Anyhoo…

We are still in Rome. We are staying at Camping Roma, easily the best camping in Italy. It has everything. No time to tell you now. But last night a band came and played in the pool area. For the first hour or so they were playing old American folk and blues. It was awesome. So I went to go get Hamsa so he could hear them, too. But while we were gone, something terrible happened. Some Mick Jagger wanna-be joined them and they became a Rolling Stones cover band. The guy kept prancing about Jagger-style, and puffing out his lips, and he looked quite silly. Hamsa left almost immediately. I stayed and tried to make the best of it, singing along – ”you can’t always get what you waaant” which was exactly how I felt!  But it still made my 4th of July better!

Crap, computer is kicking me off. I love you all.

I MISS EVERYONE except for the evil bushy tailed beasts that throw acorns at you in emory woods…

i am in rome right now and it rocks here =]

it will be 2 months since we left in a week or so …we will get back to the land of the free in about 3 months yay cause i miss you all….i have a mission for everyoen i know dun dun duuuuun….call and tell everyone i know that i love them and miss them pls =]

josh i miss you so much and also you can do most tricks than you can do on the diabolo on the minabolo like around the world cats cradle letting go of a sun and all those kinds of tricks you will get the hang of it =] and i cant wait to see you again

vedio game news…google……hexcelle….. and play it … i cant defeat it but maybe you can

strcraft 2 i have researched alot and i think its ok for you to play it… it comes out on the 27th of this month i think…

miss you lots

hello josh how are you… i hope you are great =)…… i am having so much fun in italy…pizza EVERY DAY WOOHOO. i have had alot of fun with my diabolo i used it so much it broke in half i went without one for 2 weeks it was torture until i got a new 1 thats orange yay… i hope you are having fun with yours i cant wait for us to show each other cool tricks with them =)… i miss you so much and i will see you in 3 and a half months =)

Hi everybody!

We are still in Firenze, aka Florence. Its been a fun, busy day! We spent most of the afternoon in the Uffizi, one of the best art museums in the whole wide world. We saw many masterpieces, including one of my all time faves – Birth of Venus. Also, there was a special exhibition which included several paintings by Artemesia, which was a dream come true for me b/c I’ve always wanted to see some of her work in person. After a museum full of work by men, it was refreshing to see her creations, especially the one where two pissed off women were beheading a guy. Hamsa and I wondered what he’d done to get them so upset!

And I bought some paper. You know how I LOVE paper.

I found an internet joint with headphones, so I’m jammin out to the Dead whilst typing to you. Fire on the mountain – awesome song!

I was gonna load some pics, but I forgot to reformat them smaller, so that’ll have to wait.

You know, we’ve been here for 5 days, and we’ll be here 4 more. But I could use another month here, its so endlessly beautiful. And there is gelato, like, everywhere!

When I’m back in the States, if any of you want to come over here, just let me know, and I’ll come with you! There is pizza, pasta, sexy Italian men, gelato, top-notch shopping, SHOES!, sexy Italian men, more shoes, and oh yeah GELATO! So, yeah, I’m game for a return trip anytime.

Oh, I stumbled upon a shop/museum of an artist jeweler musician man – Alessandro Dari. I love him. He has inspired me; he was so good it made me cry. I spent forever perusing, studying, admiring his creations, meanwhile he was in his studio in the back room making yet another masterpiece. After a while he came out and starting playing this beautiful song on his guitar. I want to marry him.

The family arrives tomorrow for Stephen and Joyce’s wedding. Our little party of 2 will become a party of 9 for a while. Should be interesting. It’ll be nice to have some gals around for shopping! Hamsa is no help in that department. “Hamsa, do you think these shoes will look good with my dress?” “Uh, sure. I mean ‘no’. I don’t know. Ask someone else.” I actually told the saleslady I would return tomorrow with my mama. She understood completely.

I’m getting hungry, so I guess we better go find a restaurant. Hmmmm, what shall we eat tonight? Maybe some delectable Italian food? Then we’ll gaze at the Duomo for a while. Its a lovely, lovely thing.

Oh, here’s my super secret hint – in the Ludwig quiz down below, try to read the names on the column behind Ludwig. The were the king and queen who sent you-know-who to the Americas! Also, there is an artform you see over here, where people dress up with costumes and body paint and then don’t move, like a statue. They’re sometimes called

(and here is where i interrupt after i was checking my blog (this is hamsa) she told you the answer but i erased it hahahaha! nice try! but there is no cheating. anyone who cheats does not get the MOTHER OF PEARL , WHICH IS THE GRAND PRIZE) i found a shell that is made by the same material as a pearl and i found it on the beach at the end of our camino and it was 2 inches big and intact imagine a shell made of a pearl… that is the grand prize… ok i am done back to my moms post after this row of dots)……………

 (Dont tell Hamsa I told you!)

Bye everybody!

i have made ludwig quiz 4 and 5 easy….errr so make sure to guess again alot of people got them wrong ludwig actualy cried….

Hi everybody!

Well, I just wrote a brilliant, funny post, and this darn computer ate it! GRRRR! I want my MacBook!

So, feeling a bit disgruntled, here is a shorter, less brilliant, and less funny post:

Ahem

Well, its been a whirlwind few days. When I last posted we were in Madrid. We had only one day there, but we really liked it. We had a few stops to make, so we rode around on the subway and walked the streets. And everytime we pulled out our touristy city map, or paused on the subway to ponder the system map, someone would approach us and offer help. And not in the “let me distract you while my cohort picks your pocket” kind of way, either. Like, genuine, friendly help! In a big city! Have you ever?

So, we went to some outdoorsy shops – hamsa needed new shoes and a new backpack. Why? Because he keeps growing! I asked him to stop, its a very expensive habit, but you know how stubborn he is. Then we strolled, ate, went to the most amazing chocolateria, strolled again, until 1 am (the whole city is out for evening promenade until quite late). Then we rode the subway back to the airport and crashed there. We felt safe the whole time, until around 3:30 am.

We had pulled out our air mattresses and sleeping bags, and set up a little nest, like so many other travelers at the airport. I was dreaming about a little redheaded girl riding a tricycle, I remember that. And then there was this screaming. This YELLING! I need a bigger font to fully represent the volume of this screeching blonde banshee of a nutjob. I started to wake up, I looked around and saw all of the other people had woken up too, and were staring at her, and Hamsa, all bloodshot and bleary-eyed, was looking at her with complete confusion, and I looked at her with a true WTF face, and that’s when I realized, my god, she’s yelling – at – us ! I tried to understand her Slavic words, no luck there, maybe it’s my boots? I mean, they really do smell now, quite offensive to strangers, I’m sure. And they were parked right there next to me, in the open, green fumes emanating at full speed. But she wasn’t pointing at them, so, no. Maybe Hamsa was snoring again? Hmmm…. a distinct possibility. Her friend was trying to pull her away from us. Hamsa looks at me – with his WTF face. I say, “She’s crazy, honey. Don’t look her in the eye, she’ll take that as a sign of aggression!” Then I put my hands over his ears, and he put his head back down, and we just ignored her. She finally went away, yelling all the way. You could still hear down in the next concourse, her shrill discourse echoing against the empty airport hallways.

We moved our nests to a new, quieter spot, lest she return to spit on us. Then we slept like little lambs until I woke up at 7am, to the sight of a group of guys walking by outside, looking at us through the windows, making me feel a little bit like a zoo exhibit. “North American Female and Child”  the sign reads. Anyhoo, we stuffed our stuff into our packs, then stumbled on to our 8am flight to Bologna.

I sat next to a really great guy, and he advised me as to the best gelato shop in Florence. So, guess where we went yesterday? And, I must say, it was indeed quite good. But I digress… We had a day in Bologna. The highlight for me was walking the sacred ground of the world’s oldest university. I felt smarter just from being there. Yup, I got some brains on me now! We saw some exhibit was open, so we went in, for the A/C as much as for the exhibit. And it was actually quite cool. It was part of the collection of some Italian guy, considered the father of modern Natural History. And he collected some mighty weird stuff, let me tell ya, well preserved for almost 500 years. Some of the specimens were called “monsters” !!! Then we walked around, looked at historically significant structures, I liked the fountain with Neptune at the top, and all the nymphs at his feet with water spurting out of their nipples! It was centuries old, but that water was still just spurting away! Italians are so cool.

So, we caught a train to Firenze, and here we are. We walked the city, climbed a mountain to find a campground, and right near the top we could see the campground below us, so we walked back down, only to find we were circling the mountain, and the campground, and we had to walk back up the mountain again, this time our legs were trembling and our backs aching, and I was a sweat monster, pity all those downwind of me, but we made it to the top and saw the entrance to the campground (they call them “campings” over here.) The best part was when we realized that when we had turned around and gone back down the mountain, we had only been like 50 feet away from the entrance. It had been my choice to turn around, so you can guess how Hamsa felt about me as we climbed the damn mountain for the second time. But it’s a new day today, and he loves me again.

We really like the camping, its a very friendly, relaxed spot, on a conservation ground, with birds singing, and a really spectacular view over the city. And its the cheapest spot in town! They have one in Roma, too, so I think we’ll stay there next week.

We ate at Pizzacheria last night. Easily some of the best pizza I have ever tasted. The rest of the family arrives in 4 days, and we will try to get them to come try this place. It’s a little hole-in-the-wall joint, with a lone cook, just a few tables, lots of locals, short menu and great prices. God, I’m droooooling just thinking about it.

Yeah, I gotta go now. I gotta go get some more of that pizza. And that gelato. Don’t worry, I won’t get fat again. I am walking like 50 miles a day. And up mountains. Twice!

We love you all, and remember to check below for the Ludwig quizzes! It makes Hamsa’s day when y’all guess!

Ciao!

i published ludwig quizs 3 days ago and no one is answering them so now ludwig is crying… below my mom super looooong blogs that take up the whole screen is ludwig quiz 4 and 5 ANSWER THEM OR LUDWIG WILL CRY AGAIN…also the picture from my hell hill is down there

Hi all!

Hamsa and I are in Madrid right now. We just arrived from Santiago a few hours ago, and we leave early in the morning for Bologna. So we are in limbo at the moment. Weŕe just strolling around the city, hanging out, looking at old stuff, eating chocolate.

It’s a little weird to be in a big city again. I already miss Galicia (and not just the tetillas!) Last night I couldn’t sleep. Partially because, I think, I realized the Camino was really over for me (physically anyway) once I left Santiago.  I am coming back to walk the entire Camino Frances, I just want you all to know that. So, anyway, I couldn’t sleep. Hamsa was safe and snug in his bed, snoring away. The people in the next building kept yelling for him to roll over, but he was oblivious. So, I decided to stroll around the city by myself, and say goodbye.

I saw other pilgrims with the same idea, and we were all converging in front of the Cathedral. We seemed to have some sort of understanding about the sanctity of the scene there. This is what I saw

The seagulls were flying overhead, dipping and diving just for the pleasure of it. (I guess some of them had read Jonathan Livingston Seagull) And the rain was gently falling, and the wind was blowing, and there was a bloke playing music on his guitar and singing in the most lovely tenor voice under the arches where the acoustics just lifted his songs into the air around us.  You know how sometimes in your life you have one of those magical moments that you just want to hold on to and remember forever? Yeah, it was like that. And all around me were weary, grateful pilgrims feeling the same way. Man, life can be so freakin’ cool, you know?

So, remember the awesome Spanish men Hamsa and I met on the Camino? Here’s a picture of them, when we were taking a break one day. You can see the four dogs, too. They are giving Cristobal all of their attention, prob because he was eating some sort of meat. You know how dogs are –  always hungry.

The alpha, Roch, looks especially dapper in his hat!

Oh, speaking of travel buddies, have I mentioned who has been with me every single step of the way? Hint #1 – He’s quite handsome! #2 – He says ¨Make it so¨ in a voice that just melts me. #3 – He made bald sexy. Got it yet? That’s right! It’s my true love:

He’s such a gentleman. Holds my hand when we hike. A great listener. And he never snores. What do you think – should I go ahead and legally change my name to Mrs. Captain Picard?

Well, I have so many more dispatches from the road I want to post, so many things I want to share with you all. I will try to log on more often to keep you  posted. I think I will have more internet access in the next few weeks. Rural Spain had limited opportunities, but I imagine urban Italy will prove different? If so, you will hear lots of stories about gelato, pasta, and sexy Italian men! Oh, and shoes!

Until then, we love you and we miss you!

Buen Camino!

Hi all my beloved friends and family and fellow vagabonders!

Well, our Camino has come to an end. We left Muxia by bus today, traveling back to Santiago de Compostela. We fly out tomorrow morning to Madrid, where we catch another plane to Bologna! Yay! Pasta! Pizza! Gelato! More gelato!

But I digress… I wish I could convey to you all how much I have loved walking the Camino. Reminds me of that scene in Contact when Jodie Foster says, ¨You should have sent a poet…¨ Our Camino was short, a baby Camino, but that´s okay, its what was right for our current situation. But I will come back and do a longer one. Maybe the entire Camino Frances, or more. I loved walking thru the Spanish countryside, and talking with the locals, and gazing at the endless loveliness. I found myself feeling really good about things. I took lots of pictures, so brace yourselves for the slide show!

You meet all kinds of people while walking the Camino. People taking a month off work, people in midlife crisis, people celebrating anniversaries, people looking for affordable vacations, but mostly people just looking. Looking for forgiveness and redemption, for themselves, for an experience with meaning… There were some beautiful folks I met, especially our sweet Isacio and Cristobal.

Then there was the leech. We met him our last day on the Camino. We couldn´t get him off of us! We tried shaking him off, we really did. It was a rainy, rainy day, and Hamsa and I got to navigate our way across a river (it was totally a blast!) and there, on the other side, after that fun adventurous Huckleberry Finn moment, stood The Leech. This was the name Hamsa gave him because he felt really drained by him.

Itś not that he was a bad guy, its just that I didnt want to spend my last day on the Camino hearing all about his divorce. Really, I didnt. I was feeling contemplative, you know. And so was Hamsa. You know contemplative? It tends to be a quiet state of mind. Telling strangers all the intimate details of your failed marriage just doesnt fit in there anywhere. Eventually he went on ahead of us, and we were able to have some quiet time again. Which was nice, because walking the Camino (even a shorter version like ours) tends to bring all sorts of things to the surface.

So we walked on through the rainy rainy day, through the soft, green, fertile landscape. (If you ever want to procreate anything, just spend some time in Galicia.) And at last we walked into Muxia, where our Camino ended. Hamsa said his Camino officially ended the moment he passed under the ¨Muxia¨ sign. It was a special moment for us.

And then there he was. The Leech. Walking towards us. And not by coincidence. No. He was looking for us. He started talking, I dont even know what about, because I was looking at Hamsa, who was desperately trying to hold on to his special moment.  So I had to tell the guy, look, we need some time here, some time alone, some time to look at the sea and reflect. Fortunately, he was able to honor that and leave us.

So we looked at the sea and reflected.  Special moment salvaged.

Then we went to town, found the supermercado and went to the albergue for the night. There we met other pilgrims, including you-know-who. Hamsa invited them to join us for dinner, so there we all sat having a stone-soup style meal while we talked about our lives, our selves, our experiences, and anything else. And in that context, our Leech became a Human. We got to know him, and even enjoyed his company. He had a lot to offer, and we no longer felt like he was sucking us dry.

It made me wonder, how many times in the past have I dismissed someone because I didnt like how they acted when I first met them, when if I had given them a little more opportunity, they may have turned out to be a lovely person. Yeah, okay, telling a brand new acquaintance about the painful details of your divorce is not socially acceptable in the USA, but maybe its cool in his home? Who knows. I just want to practice that concept of – less judgement, more curiosity –

Anyhoo, here is a pic of Hamsa crossing the river      

And another of him at the official end of his Camino