So, we finally arrived...And within 30 minutes all of our fears disappeared. We had heard stories of unhelpful parisians and a metro that takes a day to master, so we came in a bit nervous, especially after the Milan experience. But, the metro is one of the easiest, most efficient things I've seen. Is always on time, running about every 3-5 minutes. You just figure out where youre starting, find your end point, and map a route. You'll never switch trains more than twice, and even then it's number and color coded. I don't know how people have a problem with it.
Anyways, we got to out hostel, checked in, walked around to explore and find food, and then finally took showers, got ready and headed to The Louvre. My guide book said Friday night was great for first timers, less crowded, and discounted...so we thought it was perfect. Luckily, we got in line to get in with a girl that told us on Friday nights it's free to everyone under 25... Yaaa! So we did the Louvre thing for free... We followed my guide book, hit the highlights (psyche and cupid, ramesses, Venus di Milo, St. Mary Magdalene, Michelangelo's dying slave, the Egyptian rooms, treasures from Mesopotamia, The Wedding Feast at Cana, and so many more.. I have notes in my guide and pictures but am too lazy to get up) saw Mona, and left. We got a good first timers experience, but according to my guide it would take someone 9 months to see the louvre in it's entirety (spending about 10 seconds at each piece of art....not to mention the building is art itself). We completely skipped the second floor (thanks guidebook for telling me it's for experienced museum goers).
Our tour guide Sunday said to us "you don't really feel like you're in Paris until you see the Eiffel Tower," and that's completely true. We had just left the Louvre and were walking down a beautiful garden, jardin des tuileries, when I glance over through the trees, tap Courtney, and we both stare in awe at whats in the distance. That was the first sitting. Easily love at first site. But, when you get closer to it, and realize its magnitude...you cant help but love everything about it. The Eiffel Tower has easily been my favorite monument thus far. What it means as the symbol of Paris, and really France as a whole, the history behind it and how hated it was in the beginning.. And just the environment around it (minus the annoying men continuously trying to sell souvenirs, wine, beer, champagne, cigarettes, etc.) we spent the evening there and got to see the spectacular light show twice. Every hour starting at 10 (because it doesn't get dark until 10) for 5 minutes (it was ten before Paris went green) it sparkles like the most amazing Christmas tree you could ever imagine.
Saturday was Versailles day. it was spectacular. When you read "the grandest and most famous chateau in France" it's not an exaggeration. I'm really curious how mich the whole place weights...so much marble, gold, statues, etc. We did the whole thing..It took 7 hours..but that's what our day was dedicated to. We got an audio guide tour of the chateau (highly recommend, you go at your own pace and learn so much.. It was really interesting hearing about what all they did there, it was like it's own little town). Favorite parts.. The fact that they had a room for people to watch them eat dinner, and a secret passage from the queens bedroom to the kings (where Mary Antoinette ran during the riots)...
Point is, the place is spectacular.. The amount of time and money put into it is just outstanding. It's hard to describe, you go from room to room and hear about what went on there and the history behind it all (I took notes, and learned a lot, but again...too lazy). The most interesting part is the stories behind all the stuff. Everything has a reason it's there (mostly henrys selfish, stuck up ways...). And each piece of art has a story. It wouldn't have been nearly as outstanding had I not had a guide..and the audio guides are great because it's at your own pace and you can replay them.
We spent the afternoon walking around the gardens (if we thought the chateau was big we had no idea..). Luckily we weren't in a rush and just made a day out of it, exploring the gardens and some of the other parts of the area. We made up our own fun stories about what went on and horses running through, and secret rendezvous.. It was quite entertaining... Plus Courtney fed and pet a swan (and pet it...but I got to pretend to be a statue cause she couldn't get up in her dress). After, we ended the day at McDonalds... I had my first big Mac in probably 2 years... But the cheap "american" food with ICE cold diet coke was like heaven.
Sunday was our free walking tour day. A company called New Europe does these tours out of several major cities in Europe, and they are all free, tips based on how good the guide is. So we went, and will definitely go in Germany. Our tour guide Tyler had a great mix of history and sarcasm. We started at St. Michel, right across from Notre-Dame. Highlights:
-point zero in front of Notre-Dame.. Where all measurements start in Paris...and if you touch the star with your foot you'll be back to Paris within 10 years (of course we went Monday and touched it)!
-napoleon crowned himself at Notre-Dame...we also saw the painting depicting this in the louvre.. It's fun when things all fall into place and you feel like you're part of it all.
-the clitoris of Paris... Yes, that's what he said it was...right after he said Paris is a female and there is this triangle park at the center. He also said vajay-jay and all I could think about was Greys Anatomy
-we saw a Louis XIV statue and heard all about how he hated Paris and went to his fathers farm to build the most ridiculous place ever, along with all his important people... Also known as Versailles. He also fired his financial advisor in 1789 leading to a riot...aka the revolution.
-end of Bourne Identity was shot here...when Matt Damon was standing behind the letters in the word Samaritaine..and then meets on the Pont Neuf bridge. We definitely saw the building and walked the bridge...again, feel like I need to re watch the movie.
-The Arts Bridge was next, famous for 2 things...well 3 if you consider it connects The Louvre and the Academy (home of the French language protectors). It is also where in Sex and The City Carrie is swept away by Mr. Big (shout out Caroline and Clara). Finally, it's one of the major bridges where people "lock your love".. Basically you get a lock, can write on it, and lock it to the bridge and toss the key over into the Seine. But...there is a secret lock cutter... So be careful, your love may be cut short (pun intended).
-there was a statue on the corner of one of these bridges with king Henry IV (I believe, I get them confused a lot...) anyways, he was the cousin of the king that died (20 times removed but still). Point is, I remember learning about some guy that killed some king and got tied up and pulled apart in all 4 directions... Well, it was the guy that killed Mr. Henry here. Cause Henry was Protestant but eventually converted to Catholicism, and the Parisians grew to love him... So this guy that assassinated holm (the 6th attempt) bragged about it and basically turned himself in.. But everyone loved the king by this point so they got a little angry with this killer guy. Also... Even more fun story.. 400 years later (August 10, 2010) they had a star wars themed memory event thing.. Not sure but apparently you can google it.. And they out a blue light saber in the statues hand.
-Apparently if you could take the paintings down in The Louvre, a lot of them would have stamped swastikas on the back from when they were taken during WWII
-Louis XIV was king at 5... Also they guy outside The Louvre... Also the guy who didn't like Paris and build that crazy place called Versailles.
-Napoleon was a stealer of art and kind of obsessed with his own glory. The obblisque (I think that's how it's spelled...the Egyptian tall thing at the same place (place de la Concorde) heads rolled and the guillotine was law.. Anyways, Napoleon liked it and took it.. It's other half (there are two that are supposed to be on the side of some monument in Egypt I think) is all alone... And it really looks funny in the middle of Paris. Napoleon also is the one that ordered the Arc De Triomphe built so he could ride under it when he returned from battle... But, oh poor guy, he died before it was finished and the first time he saw it he was being carried under at his funeral.
Our walking tour ended by 3 so we took the free tickets we got to Musee d'Orsay from our train station friends and went for free. MO is a lot smaller and easier to handle than a lot of the other ones I've been in. Opinion part starts now..
-Van Gogh is weird...his paintings get a little strange. Don't get me wrong, very interesting, but nothing like vie beer seem before. We are looking dlrward to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam to get a better feel for him.
-The Nabis, a group of painters that wanted to break from tradition and all this random stuff I read about... Both of us agree that there stuff is "wack" .. Literally, so,e weird, not aesthetically appealing, just terrible stuff (this is my opinion so I can say what I want)
-I really liked William Bouguereau.. Courtney did as well. His art is a little mythological, and you kind of get lost I'm the paintings. My favorite was L'Assaut and Courtney's was Dante et Virgile
-Monet is spectacular...easily my favorite artist (paintings) thus far. He did have one strange beach scene that really when you looked up close (not how his paintings should be viewed, I know) looks like he did it in 5 minutes and just threw some paint here and there.
That evening, We were going to go do the Montmartre/red light district tour with Tyler and then go on the pub crawl....but then plans changed. We got there thinking it was 10 euro, and when you're on a budget 2 euro is a lot. So he charges me 12, I ask why and he says 10 is for students...well, since we were going to do the pub crawl we didn't bring our bags, and didn't have our student ids... So we got annoyed, got a refund, went back to the hostel...hung out with ourselves, read, and got in bed before 11. It was nice, actually, we got plenty of sleep and even though I woke up hacking up my left lung and some nastiness along with it... I felt ready for our last day in Paris.
Our last day was kind of do our own thing and get in what we haven't. We started with our own walking tour of Montmartre, which was literally up hill both ways (you get to the top, walk down stairs, and have to climb right back up another hill). Anyways, it was lead by my guidebook so we saw a few random places (where van Gogh lived for a few years with his brother). Highlight was Courtney mooning the people behind us when we were walking up to this statue and she steps on an air vent from the metro.... Dress went about over her head. At the top is also this great little plaza where a ton of artists are selling there paintings (as they paint these beautiful scenes of Paris), or drawing portraits of you on the spot. I fell in love with one painting. I very much like art that leaves just a little up to the imagination (Monet does this a lot), and doesn't necessarily have vivid or distinct lines or features. And, i am a huge fan of scenes over people... Well, this painting was just that. It was all different shades of blue, and when you stood back and looked it was the Paris skyline. had it been cheaper and had I a way to get it home I would have gotten it...but, alas, I did not.
After that we headed to Notre-Dam to actually walk around and go inside. It was very interesting, obviously gothic, and the stained glass everywhere you turned was just beautiful. There are 3 10 meter in diameter circular stained glass pieces that just steal the show. But, we didn't get a guided tour so didn't really hear any of the stories behind the pieces (as I'm sure there are). We then walked a good 2 miles in 94 degree crazy Paris heat (normally it is not that hot, but apparently we are bringing the heat everywhere we go). We got to Champs-Elysees the famous shopping street leading up to the Arc. And it was just as outrageous as you would think... A line to get in Louis Vatton and Abercrombie, Prada, Dolce, fancy restaurants, Etc... And a 3 story Nike store, Nike Paris...the only store I ventured in. Unfortunately it was just as expensive as you would imagine too. So we just looked, and then went and saw the Arc, up close, and then it was time to finish Paris with a nice little picnic dinner (champagne included) on the grass in front of The Eiffel Tower.
600ish pictures later, and Paris was a success...minus the fact that I'm getting more sick and now think I have pink eye....not sure what's going on really... I may get to experience first hand dealing with foreign healthcare...luckily I hear Germany has excellent healthcare.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Lake Como, Italy
Few random Milan extras... Courtney is starting to like soccer...orrrr at least the half naked men playing it in the park in Milan. Baby steps. Also, as we are running all over around the train station looking for a supermarket to pay 50 cents for a diet coke instead of 250 (coke light actually, if you say diet you get coke zero) I say "at least I feel more safe, there are a lot of cars and people"...not 2 seconds later we pass a BMW with a window busted that's been broken into. And finally, continuing looking for cheaper soda in the train station since after 45 minutes we found nothing, we see a burger king. At this point I get excited that they HAVE to have fountain drinks and they HAVE to serve ice (because here that is rare...it's like they don't know what ice is). Anyways we walk in, come to find out they do have fountain drinks....but a small is 2 euro... But oh, for only 1 euro we can get a cup of beer! Seriously, people... I just want a cheap soda. So now I'm sitting here, soda-less and sad... And start the real blog:
After our not so amazing visit to Milan, getting on the train to Como was very exciting. We have read a lot about it, and it definitely lives up to expectation. Imagine very green mountains, with mountains behind those mountains, but somewhere in the middle it looks as though it rained a lot one day and the valley between all the peaks filled with water, forming Lake Como. As we took the bus from Como to Menaggio, where we staid, you look down over the side expecting it to keep going off a cliff as if you were driving on a mountain side, but a few hundred yards down it's all water. As the guide book said, it's "a treasure which the earth keeps to itself."
We didn't have time to explore Como too much, they have one duomo we saw at a distance and apparently are big silk producers (to ship to Paris, Milan and New York for the high end clothes). One other interesting fact, they have the Tempio Voltiano on the water front that is a dedication to Alessandro Volta, an electrical pioneer to whom the volt is named for. Also...part of Oceans 12 was shot here, we are curious if that's when George Clooney fell in love with the lake or if it was his idea...we need to re watch that movie, good thing I own the series. I do believe on the bus ride back to Como we past his house from above...it looked exactly like the house I google stalked.
When we arrived the hostel was close (2 to 5 each day so the workers can have their free time), so like little kids we tossed our swim suits on right there and walks down to the private "beach" with determination to go for a swim...unfortunately we had overcast weather while we were here and it was sprinkling and the water was pretty cold... So we gave up and went to explore the little town.
Basically the lake is, like I said, all of these glorious mountains with this lake just kind of built in as part of it, and then every few miles you have these tiny little towns, all with their center church and bell tower, boat dock, post office, pharmacy, main hotel, and then all the cute little shops and beautiful homes and apartments sprinkled in. Oh, and every one seems to have a little soccer field on cement about the size of a basketball court with nets up high to keep the balls in and two small goals on either end....it just makes my heart happy to see. Anyways, back to town... We found a cute little art gallery, a nice gelataria (and discovered the strawberry cheesecake gelato here that Courtney declares number 1 gelato so far) and a mini wal mart style store. A few groceries and then a little bit of everything else...I was happy to find my shampoo since my travel one is about empty.
Everything about our night here was without compare my favorite night at a hostel. It's what you imagine in a hostel.. They have a great cook and kitchen and have dinner specials thar you get a free glass of wine if you order. So we did, and they also have vats of wine at the lowest prices I've seen. So everyone just hangs around, there's ping pong outside, beautiful views, lots of laughing and meeting new friends. We had a great dinner and then our table all sat around for hours just sipping wine and all sharing stories (it's a SMALL world I've come to find out while traveling around).
To start, court, Laura and I are all just sitting around enjoying our free glass of wine, and james and Jamie from Australia join (Laura is Australian by the way...she even told us how to tell apart an Aussie from a New Zealander....ask them to say "hit the egg with a spatula"). So we are all chatting, going over all the funny words we use that have different (and sometimes crude) meanings. Then we meet Joey. He's pretty cool, he is from nappa valley in northern California, and over the night Laura and him find out they both worked at the exact same ski lodge in Tahoe, and have mutual friends, and know all the same stories and places...it was quite random. Even more crazy, the Aussie boys are playing us some of their music and one band really reminds me of Flipsyde, a band I really enjoy. I say this, and Joey is like "flipsyde? The band that sings someday? I'm friends with and went to high school with the girl in the band" .... At this point I'm at a slight loss of words. Anyways, then a chill girl fro, Berkley joins, and I know she is from California when I hear her say "hella"... We all start jamming out, definitely sang spice girls and reminisced on our middle school days for a bit. It was really just a laid back, meet cool people kind of evening.
So our full day there was just that, full...as in my belly. The night before we got the special which was chicken and not pizza (from there stone oven...amazingly good pizza). So I wanted some but we had to leave to go hop the ferry to a few towns before we left. So, I ask if I can get a pizza for breakfast. And, after a laugh from the staff, I get served the first ever pizza for breakfast at the melaggio youth hostel. It was amazing, and dripping grease, and I enjoyed every second (even the food coma/baby after). Then we met up with Joey and us three girls, Joey and 2 other American guys that heard us talking about the day and joined all set off to the ferry. We got a day pass and headed to Varenna first.
This is where is got fun. Courtney used the pamphlet we got at the visitors center and became our tour guide. From the boat dock we went right and walked on "lovers lane" (don't worry, we held hands). From there we learned of the castle on top of the mountain there and some of the beautiful villas the town is home to. After exploringmthe town center and rest of the town (and getting one of my best photographs, by accident, so far), we grabbed the next ferry to Bellagio. Bellagio is known as the pearl of the lake. It sits right where the two arms of the lake come together to form the rest (the lake kind of looks like an upside-down Y, so it's right where the 3 arms meet. As we started wandering around, the rain got a little harder so we ducked into a cute little restaurant for a quick lunch while the light storm past. We then did some more exploring, and unfortunately decided we would need to head back to Menaggio to catch the bus to Como, to catch the train to Milan to catch our night train to Paris. So the other 4 continued onto Lenno, ho e of the famous Villa Balbianello and we headed back. After one last gelato (strawberry cheesecake) we were on our way and saying goodbye to Lake Como.
The thing about this place is the peacefulness, the slow paced, do what you want, low number of tourist...just enjoy the beauty and culture atmosphere. There are no tourist traps, or men trying to force flowers or bracelets on you. I will definitely be back..I could easily spend a week here. You can explore the little towns, rent bikes, kayak, sail, hike, relax, shop...it's really what I would consider a perfect vacation spot.
By the way, I'm still thirsty, drink-less and now our train is delayed 70 minutes...so we will be sitting here till 1 am. Milan hates us....make that 75 minutes..80...85...ohh now it's a 2 hour delay.
Update from the train. We are currently almost to Paris, and the small world story got so good last night I have to share now. So as we are sitting there at midnight, tired and thirsty with nothing open, a younger guy across asks where we are from (apparently he heard us speak English). As soon as we say Alabama he says "no way, us too." well, we talk for a minute and he starts telling us about Paris, and his girlfriend returns and we keep talking, they are apparently from Mobile. So she asks about school and we say Auburn, and then she says "oh I'm starting there in the fall, war eagle" ...a few more exchanges later we figure out she is starting her P1 year in the fall! She will be in Mobile, but we talked for a good hour about school and everything, exchanged travel info and personal information if she needs a place to stay for orientation or has any questions. Then our train arrived at 115am and here we are now...45 minutes from PARIS.
After our not so amazing visit to Milan, getting on the train to Como was very exciting. We have read a lot about it, and it definitely lives up to expectation. Imagine very green mountains, with mountains behind those mountains, but somewhere in the middle it looks as though it rained a lot one day and the valley between all the peaks filled with water, forming Lake Como. As we took the bus from Como to Menaggio, where we staid, you look down over the side expecting it to keep going off a cliff as if you were driving on a mountain side, but a few hundred yards down it's all water. As the guide book said, it's "a treasure which the earth keeps to itself."
We didn't have time to explore Como too much, they have one duomo we saw at a distance and apparently are big silk producers (to ship to Paris, Milan and New York for the high end clothes). One other interesting fact, they have the Tempio Voltiano on the water front that is a dedication to Alessandro Volta, an electrical pioneer to whom the volt is named for. Also...part of Oceans 12 was shot here, we are curious if that's when George Clooney fell in love with the lake or if it was his idea...we need to re watch that movie, good thing I own the series. I do believe on the bus ride back to Como we past his house from above...it looked exactly like the house I google stalked.
When we arrived the hostel was close (2 to 5 each day so the workers can have their free time), so like little kids we tossed our swim suits on right there and walks down to the private "beach" with determination to go for a swim...unfortunately we had overcast weather while we were here and it was sprinkling and the water was pretty cold... So we gave up and went to explore the little town.
Basically the lake is, like I said, all of these glorious mountains with this lake just kind of built in as part of it, and then every few miles you have these tiny little towns, all with their center church and bell tower, boat dock, post office, pharmacy, main hotel, and then all the cute little shops and beautiful homes and apartments sprinkled in. Oh, and every one seems to have a little soccer field on cement about the size of a basketball court with nets up high to keep the balls in and two small goals on either end....it just makes my heart happy to see. Anyways, back to town... We found a cute little art gallery, a nice gelataria (and discovered the strawberry cheesecake gelato here that Courtney declares number 1 gelato so far) and a mini wal mart style store. A few groceries and then a little bit of everything else...I was happy to find my shampoo since my travel one is about empty.
Everything about our night here was without compare my favorite night at a hostel. It's what you imagine in a hostel.. They have a great cook and kitchen and have dinner specials thar you get a free glass of wine if you order. So we did, and they also have vats of wine at the lowest prices I've seen. So everyone just hangs around, there's ping pong outside, beautiful views, lots of laughing and meeting new friends. We had a great dinner and then our table all sat around for hours just sipping wine and all sharing stories (it's a SMALL world I've come to find out while traveling around).
To start, court, Laura and I are all just sitting around enjoying our free glass of wine, and james and Jamie from Australia join (Laura is Australian by the way...she even told us how to tell apart an Aussie from a New Zealander....ask them to say "hit the egg with a spatula"). So we are all chatting, going over all the funny words we use that have different (and sometimes crude) meanings. Then we meet Joey. He's pretty cool, he is from nappa valley in northern California, and over the night Laura and him find out they both worked at the exact same ski lodge in Tahoe, and have mutual friends, and know all the same stories and places...it was quite random. Even more crazy, the Aussie boys are playing us some of their music and one band really reminds me of Flipsyde, a band I really enjoy. I say this, and Joey is like "flipsyde? The band that sings someday? I'm friends with and went to high school with the girl in the band" .... At this point I'm at a slight loss of words. Anyways, then a chill girl fro, Berkley joins, and I know she is from California when I hear her say "hella"... We all start jamming out, definitely sang spice girls and reminisced on our middle school days for a bit. It was really just a laid back, meet cool people kind of evening.
So our full day there was just that, full...as in my belly. The night before we got the special which was chicken and not pizza (from there stone oven...amazingly good pizza). So I wanted some but we had to leave to go hop the ferry to a few towns before we left. So, I ask if I can get a pizza for breakfast. And, after a laugh from the staff, I get served the first ever pizza for breakfast at the melaggio youth hostel. It was amazing, and dripping grease, and I enjoyed every second (even the food coma/baby after). Then we met up with Joey and us three girls, Joey and 2 other American guys that heard us talking about the day and joined all set off to the ferry. We got a day pass and headed to Varenna first.
This is where is got fun. Courtney used the pamphlet we got at the visitors center and became our tour guide. From the boat dock we went right and walked on "lovers lane" (don't worry, we held hands). From there we learned of the castle on top of the mountain there and some of the beautiful villas the town is home to. After exploringmthe town center and rest of the town (and getting one of my best photographs, by accident, so far), we grabbed the next ferry to Bellagio. Bellagio is known as the pearl of the lake. It sits right where the two arms of the lake come together to form the rest (the lake kind of looks like an upside-down Y, so it's right where the 3 arms meet. As we started wandering around, the rain got a little harder so we ducked into a cute little restaurant for a quick lunch while the light storm past. We then did some more exploring, and unfortunately decided we would need to head back to Menaggio to catch the bus to Como, to catch the train to Milan to catch our night train to Paris. So the other 4 continued onto Lenno, ho e of the famous Villa Balbianello and we headed back. After one last gelato (strawberry cheesecake) we were on our way and saying goodbye to Lake Como.
The thing about this place is the peacefulness, the slow paced, do what you want, low number of tourist...just enjoy the beauty and culture atmosphere. There are no tourist traps, or men trying to force flowers or bracelets on you. I will definitely be back..I could easily spend a week here. You can explore the little towns, rent bikes, kayak, sail, hike, relax, shop...it's really what I would consider a perfect vacation spot.
By the way, I'm still thirsty, drink-less and now our train is delayed 70 minutes...so we will be sitting here till 1 am. Milan hates us....make that 75 minutes..80...85...ohh now it's a 2 hour delay.
Update from the train. We are currently almost to Paris, and the small world story got so good last night I have to share now. So as we are sitting there at midnight, tired and thirsty with nothing open, a younger guy across asks where we are from (apparently he heard us speak English). As soon as we say Alabama he says "no way, us too." well, we talk for a minute and he starts telling us about Paris, and his girlfriend returns and we keep talking, they are apparently from Mobile. So she asks about school and we say Auburn, and then she says "oh I'm starting there in the fall, war eagle" ...a few more exchanges later we figure out she is starting her P1 year in the fall! She will be in Mobile, but we talked for a good hour about school and everything, exchanged travel info and personal information if she needs a place to stay for orientation or has any questions. Then our train arrived at 115am and here we are now...45 minutes from PARIS.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Milan, Italy
So... Best advice I heard for Milan was from an awesome friend, Laura, we met.. She called a guy friend to ask the first thing she should do in Milan.. And got "catch the first train to Rome".. I agree..and so does everyone else we've talked to. Let me give a play by play (what I can recall) of night one.
Got in from Venice at 9, had directions from the hostel...but we couldn't find the apparent obvious bus station... Maybe because there wasn't one, they are trams..like San fran style with the wires lining the street. Anyways, we are supposed to "get on 92 and go 10 stops" so we see 92 and there goes court running literally diagonal across the street to stop it..so we count...and we get off ten stops later..and it's getting dark and we do not see the street we are supposed to see. We realize we are lost so try to call the hostel. Well, the guy speaks terrible English, go figure (everywhere we have been they speak amazing English.. You almost have to in order to run a hostel). Anyways, 4 minutes and a lot of talk money later all we get is "return to train and get on 92" .... Well we see 92 coming the other way (good to know it runs both ways) and luckily when we say where we need to be the guy says ya ya.. And we ask to tell him to let us know when to hop off...
Also, this is after we stood around, walked around and got circled by a creepy guy in the ghetto of Milan. So... We finally find it 2 hours later. And we have been told free wifi, kitchen to cook in (we had a whole plan to make pasta) and breakfast... Well, we arrive and try to pay..the credit card machine was broken and they had no change. What hostel doesn't have money?! So we end up getting some change from some guys sitting there and head to the room. At this point we head to the front to find out the wifi is broken... So I just want a hot shower and bed (I haven't showered in two and a half days).. So I go, and it's ICE cold. So I rush to get a little clean, and then fins out the water heater is broken but it would be fixed in 10 minutes. Again, go figure.
So we go to sleep hoping to start fresh. And again, no wifi, but we ask about the kitchen...oh ya, broken too.
So we just go to a coffee bar and get wifi for ordering a cappuccino and plan our day. Well, the buses are very confusing but we find our way down to the only church, it was pretty, but that's about all there was. Best thing we found was a huge bookstore with 3.50 English books. I got "sons and lovers" and am excited to actually have a free reading book. Then the adventure to see San Siro (the big soccer stadium AC and Inter Milan play at).. We are told bus 199.. And we see it on all the maps.. Well an hour later we give up waiting and court leaves to go check out a park and I walk/jog 2 miles to see this... It's huge..and I really wanted to get onside...but again, just our Milan luck, there was a huge "vasco" concert and the stadium was closed... I know, I was annoyed too.
We got lucky and found abertivo for 5 euro at that bar across the street (it's basically a cocktail and buffet) so that was sweet, and we got wifi for an hour.
Basically I'm tired of complaining about Milan...but it's money (ups trucks are Mercedes) and fashion...and no tourism... Also, the toilets were very weird..you have to turn it on and let it go till everything is flushed and then you have to shut it off.
But, we left this morning (my favorite part) and our new friend Laura joined us.
Got in from Venice at 9, had directions from the hostel...but we couldn't find the apparent obvious bus station... Maybe because there wasn't one, they are trams..like San fran style with the wires lining the street. Anyways, we are supposed to "get on 92 and go 10 stops" so we see 92 and there goes court running literally diagonal across the street to stop it..so we count...and we get off ten stops later..and it's getting dark and we do not see the street we are supposed to see. We realize we are lost so try to call the hostel. Well, the guy speaks terrible English, go figure (everywhere we have been they speak amazing English.. You almost have to in order to run a hostel). Anyways, 4 minutes and a lot of talk money later all we get is "return to train and get on 92" .... Well we see 92 coming the other way (good to know it runs both ways) and luckily when we say where we need to be the guy says ya ya.. And we ask to tell him to let us know when to hop off...
Also, this is after we stood around, walked around and got circled by a creepy guy in the ghetto of Milan. So... We finally find it 2 hours later. And we have been told free wifi, kitchen to cook in (we had a whole plan to make pasta) and breakfast... Well, we arrive and try to pay..the credit card machine was broken and they had no change. What hostel doesn't have money?! So we end up getting some change from some guys sitting there and head to the room. At this point we head to the front to find out the wifi is broken... So I just want a hot shower and bed (I haven't showered in two and a half days).. So I go, and it's ICE cold. So I rush to get a little clean, and then fins out the water heater is broken but it would be fixed in 10 minutes. Again, go figure.
So we go to sleep hoping to start fresh. And again, no wifi, but we ask about the kitchen...oh ya, broken too.
So we just go to a coffee bar and get wifi for ordering a cappuccino and plan our day. Well, the buses are very confusing but we find our way down to the only church, it was pretty, but that's about all there was. Best thing we found was a huge bookstore with 3.50 English books. I got "sons and lovers" and am excited to actually have a free reading book. Then the adventure to see San Siro (the big soccer stadium AC and Inter Milan play at).. We are told bus 199.. And we see it on all the maps.. Well an hour later we give up waiting and court leaves to go check out a park and I walk/jog 2 miles to see this... It's huge..and I really wanted to get onside...but again, just our Milan luck, there was a huge "vasco" concert and the stadium was closed... I know, I was annoyed too.
We got lucky and found abertivo for 5 euro at that bar across the street (it's basically a cocktail and buffet) so that was sweet, and we got wifi for an hour.
Basically I'm tired of complaining about Milan...but it's money (ups trucks are Mercedes) and fashion...and no tourism... Also, the toilets were very weird..you have to turn it on and let it go till everything is flushed and then you have to shut it off.
But, we left this morning (my favorite part) and our new friend Laura joined us.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Venice, Italy
Before I get into Venice, I have a few thoughts since we only spent a day there and this post would be short else wise. A lot of backpacking is spending time traveling...on trains, boats, planes, buses... And during that time you have a lot of time in your own head. (and a lot of time without showering...good thing I'm not here to impress anyone). Anyways, I've noticed I really enjoy this "free time"..maybe it's because life back home is so hectic and non stop, but just thinking to myself about my life and life in general, and getting time to read and learn weird and interesting things about the places we are going and have been..I love it. I feel like I could do this forever. Don't get me wrong, you get a little bored. I'm currently holding my personal record in solitaire at 2:38 in 133 moves and in angry birds I'm attempting to get all 3 stars since I've already finished the game. You also have a lot of time to listen (really listen) to some great music. I'm on am Adele kick now, but have been all over the map along the trip. Anyways, what I'm getting at is that I'm getting a lot of good time to think about life, why I'm here, what I'm wanting to do while I'm here.. And really seeing how short of a time I have.
Another thing I've really enjoyed is eating...whatever the heck I want. We are on a budget so I've gone days with not a ton of food and a lot of bread, cheese and peanut butter...but I'm really just spending 5 weeks of my life giving zero care to what I eat. I have no care for calories, nutrition, etc. It's really one of my favorite parts. P90x is gonna kick my ass come August, but until then it's live life with no cares.
So, onto Venice. As I'm all sure you know, Venice is actually 117 small islands connected by 400 bridges over 150 canals (thank you, lonely planet guidebook). Its also where Jews found refuge and work until they underwent mass deportation in 1943/44. Other fun facts, on the end of the 16th century it was known for it's irresistibly catchy music and over 12000 prostitutes. It also underwent massive flooding in 1966 and the water levels are currently rising (one reason they don't like all of the commercial ships coming in and out with there big wakes). last fact, 4 James bond films were shot here (and the tourist with my favorite, Angelina).. I feel like I need to re watch them and pick out stuff I recognize.
My guidebook told me Venice is best adventured by ignoring the songs and just exploring all the back alleys... Which we found to be somewhat true. One thing I loved about it (other than the obvious of getting to actually see the city on water) was that the main part of the city is all walking only. No crazy car or scooters whipping past threatening your life every time you want to cross the road. Also, it was entertaining to only see taxis in the water...yes, boats...labeled taxi...
So we basically did a big loop from the train station (where we stored our bags for the day). It starts at Ponte (bridge) Della costituzione, a bridge that is pretty new and is apparently supposed to resemble the fin of a fish. The locals aren't happy with it because it was very pricey, took way over time, and was built like 4cm off and is now causing more trouble. Then we pass Ponte decli scalzi, a smaller but in my opinion more fitting bridge because it isn't as modern looking (and that's part of the charm here, things seem older and full of history). Pass a few churches, get lost (that happens a lot here...a lot of back alleys and not really any road signs), pass the casino (an old palace), stop and shop... Thats one thing Venice is great for. Cheap shopping. All the stores are really cute and they have amazing blown glass and tons of these masquerade masks... Needless to say we got a few souvenirs. Unfortunately we has to be careful (everything was very inexpensive but also fragile and we don't have much extra room).
Then we hit Ponte Di Rialto, a huge bridge that kind of reminded me of the gold bridge in Florence because it had more shops on it. It was over crowded with tourist so we took a picture and ran. We then attempted to find the Pescaria (fish market) and Rialto Market (fruit and veggies...which are sold ALL over the city fresh). Unfortunately, I don't think the fish market was up and running so we didn't get to see that in action. A few churches, a snack, and a short walk later we were at the "signature landmark," Basilica di San Marco... Which really wasn't too spectacular after all the ridiculous churches we have seen in Rome, Siena and Florence. A walk back, with a stop for gelato and the famous Da Nico, and a stop to grab dinner..we were at the train station 3 hours before our departure.
We were able to schedule most of the rest of our trains so thats good. Only a few more things to plan out and reserve. And we got our amazing dinner for the train (bread, cheese and salami...what else?!). Then we just people watched and are now on our way to Milan. Don't get me wrong, Venice is something everyone should see first hand, but I now understand why people say one day is plenty. I would have seen more staying another day and maybe ventured further out, but Venice, in my opinion, was no Rome or Florence. Plus I've heard it's kinda dangerous at night so we had our day and if I make it back I'll have plenty to still see, especially since we really just did a walking tour and didn't go inside anywhere.
And that's that, I'm excited for our day trips we are trying to make from Milan...it will definitely make for a good time. I may even google George Clooneys house in Lake Como and see if I can get him to make us pizza too!
Oh, also..we both have seemed to develop a little rash. Courts upper back/arms and my torso... We are paranoid about bed bugs (and sprayed our beds with the special bed bug spray I got).. But dunno what that looks like. So, we will have to see and I'll keep you posted.
Another thing I've really enjoyed is eating...whatever the heck I want. We are on a budget so I've gone days with not a ton of food and a lot of bread, cheese and peanut butter...but I'm really just spending 5 weeks of my life giving zero care to what I eat. I have no care for calories, nutrition, etc. It's really one of my favorite parts. P90x is gonna kick my ass come August, but until then it's live life with no cares.
So, onto Venice. As I'm all sure you know, Venice is actually 117 small islands connected by 400 bridges over 150 canals (thank you, lonely planet guidebook). Its also where Jews found refuge and work until they underwent mass deportation in 1943/44. Other fun facts, on the end of the 16th century it was known for it's irresistibly catchy music and over 12000 prostitutes. It also underwent massive flooding in 1966 and the water levels are currently rising (one reason they don't like all of the commercial ships coming in and out with there big wakes). last fact, 4 James bond films were shot here (and the tourist with my favorite, Angelina).. I feel like I need to re watch them and pick out stuff I recognize.
My guidebook told me Venice is best adventured by ignoring the songs and just exploring all the back alleys... Which we found to be somewhat true. One thing I loved about it (other than the obvious of getting to actually see the city on water) was that the main part of the city is all walking only. No crazy car or scooters whipping past threatening your life every time you want to cross the road. Also, it was entertaining to only see taxis in the water...yes, boats...labeled taxi...
So we basically did a big loop from the train station (where we stored our bags for the day). It starts at Ponte (bridge) Della costituzione, a bridge that is pretty new and is apparently supposed to resemble the fin of a fish. The locals aren't happy with it because it was very pricey, took way over time, and was built like 4cm off and is now causing more trouble. Then we pass Ponte decli scalzi, a smaller but in my opinion more fitting bridge because it isn't as modern looking (and that's part of the charm here, things seem older and full of history). Pass a few churches, get lost (that happens a lot here...a lot of back alleys and not really any road signs), pass the casino (an old palace), stop and shop... Thats one thing Venice is great for. Cheap shopping. All the stores are really cute and they have amazing blown glass and tons of these masquerade masks... Needless to say we got a few souvenirs. Unfortunately we has to be careful (everything was very inexpensive but also fragile and we don't have much extra room).
Then we hit Ponte Di Rialto, a huge bridge that kind of reminded me of the gold bridge in Florence because it had more shops on it. It was over crowded with tourist so we took a picture and ran. We then attempted to find the Pescaria (fish market) and Rialto Market (fruit and veggies...which are sold ALL over the city fresh). Unfortunately, I don't think the fish market was up and running so we didn't get to see that in action. A few churches, a snack, and a short walk later we were at the "signature landmark," Basilica di San Marco... Which really wasn't too spectacular after all the ridiculous churches we have seen in Rome, Siena and Florence. A walk back, with a stop for gelato and the famous Da Nico, and a stop to grab dinner..we were at the train station 3 hours before our departure.
We were able to schedule most of the rest of our trains so thats good. Only a few more things to plan out and reserve. And we got our amazing dinner for the train (bread, cheese and salami...what else?!). Then we just people watched and are now on our way to Milan. Don't get me wrong, Venice is something everyone should see first hand, but I now understand why people say one day is plenty. I would have seen more staying another day and maybe ventured further out, but Venice, in my opinion, was no Rome or Florence. Plus I've heard it's kinda dangerous at night so we had our day and if I make it back I'll have plenty to still see, especially since we really just did a walking tour and didn't go inside anywhere.
And that's that, I'm excited for our day trips we are trying to make from Milan...it will definitely make for a good time. I may even google George Clooneys house in Lake Como and see if I can get him to make us pizza too!
Oh, also..we both have seemed to develop a little rash. Courts upper back/arms and my torso... We are paranoid about bed bugs (and sprayed our beds with the special bed bug spray I got).. But dunno what that looks like. So, we will have to see and I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Corfu, Greece and The Pink Palace
I have to start this one with the story of how we even ended up coming here. Sitting in class one day, a girl in our class came up asking us about where we were going because she had done 2 months over here herself. Once she found out we were doing Italy, she immediately told us we HAD to do The Pink Palace and that there was nothing else like it and it was just an amazing time on a beautiful island just a boat ride from Italy. Apparently she had planned on spending 4 days and ended up here 2 and half weeks. So, we looked it up, looked at boat tickets, looked at our schedule, and in an hour of management class had cut out Brussels and Nice and added 5 nights here! And why would we not? It looked like a blast and we end up saving money...for only 25 euros a night (about average of what we are paying for a dorm style room with a decent breakfast other places, if we are lucky) we get hotel style rooms with just us, a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean, and a hot breakfast and 3 course (spectacular) dinner....
So we got here...and you walk into an introduction about all the activities they do during the day, a few rules, and a shot of ouzo....yamas (cheers)!! The nights here are full of fun, great stories, great games, meeting amazing (and unique) people, and really just having a good time. A few highlights of names and things just for my memories later....the camera didn't venture into the late nights so it's really just Courtney and my memories! We have given people names, some will be explained and others won't so this post may seem really lame and full of terrible english...and may only make sense to those of us at experienced it. But, hey, that's how the pink palace is.
-6 to 8 every night is happy hour followed by that amazing dinner (something new every night....the tzatziki here is home made and out of this world). Then everyone just keeps the fun going to the wee hours of the morning.
-first night there was Jeff (face rape), John (Courtney's Ginger friend), Simon, Ashley (crazy Vancouver hockey fan), Simon, Ryan (with the Canadian girlfriend he met 3 weeks before), we got our first glimpse of CT (crazy Toronto....I really don't even know his name but I'll remember him forever.... Not for any reasons that are good either) and his friend Boston. the highlight was probably getting spun and dropped around the dance floor (all the different backgrounds leads to all kinds of different dancing). I woke up with 14 new bug bites so have pretty much used all of my bug spray since then, these things are nasty that's for sure.
-day two we went on the kayak safari which was really fun. The water here has this amazing deep turquoise color that I can't even describe. We ate lunch at the top of this little island where the is an old monastery, went cliff jumping (best memory was Court going, cause she is not a big cliff jumper, and coming up, hands raised, screaming in excitement).. Unfortunately her ears got a little to pressurized or something and she spent the rest of the day with a little pain. We hit up a beach on the way back where we came upon what I can only describe as a nudist colony...easily 20 people just running around in their birthday suits. My other favorite moment was Court and Me trying to get back in our kayak and flipping out of it..and then laughing so hard we couldn't even jump in.
-our second night we met a lot more people and the fun really started. We met a bunch of really awesome people..the Denmark boys (Frederick who had a birthday everyday, Christian and Thomas) who introduced me to an amazing dice game I'm bringing back called max it, the Canadian boys (Ryan, Darren and Jarod), Taryn and Jenny (from the block) who was really turning 23, Sue the bartender and the Algerian bar tender who is just the life of the party and a hand full more. The Stanley Cup finals were at 5am and I was going to try to stay up...but alas I fell asleep, and woke up to a few angry Canadians because they lost to Boston (and apparently in Vancouver it got really crazy).
-day 3 was a sleep in and hit the beach and relax kind of day. At the beach is also when we officially met 8 people that will stick in my memories forever. Crazy Toronto and Boston (who i try to avoid at all costs), The Georgia Boys, Chris and Ryan, who are living in Rome working the spanish step pub crawl we almost went on, Panos (the legit Greek) and Yanni (aka David, because 1am would bring about my famous quote "he's like the statue of David, you just can't look away"...really, you can't). And them Sarah and Stephanie, 2 awesome girls we hung out with and had a great time getting to know our last 3 nights here.
-night three was one of my favorite nights, granted they have all been very memorable. We had a blast until 2am when we called it a night.
-day 4 was our day we took our free (for staying 4 nights) 4 wheelers and explored the island all day. It was breathtaking. The pictures don't so it justice. It also made me want a motorcycle. I really enjoyed our hour or so ride back from the north part of the island, just cruising along enjoying the backroads. We also got into town, and driving around town on a quad is pretty interesting. Ate lunch at Goody's, basically fast food in Greece while listening to Kesha play over the speakers.
-night 4 ended early for me, call it the not so good meat at dinner, too many late nights, the sun all day...but I did not feel well and I was passed out before 11.
-today, our last one, was another beach day. Just enjoying it all before we get back to the crazy backpacking life. Tonight is the weekly Toga party, and we have to leave at like 5am to catch our 7am boat back to Venice (we have airline seats this time, so we will probably just be up all night and sleep on the way back).
I'm sad, but ready, to go. We have met some really really awesome people, and gotten to hear a lot of crazy and interesting stories. I feel like this trip is getting us all the info we need to travel more, we are only beginning to scrape the surface of what's out there. It's been a great vacation in our vacation, and tonight should be a blast.
Oh, and one last thought...one of my most favorite things is that not only is this place amazing, but they love, and almost solely serve, Amstel Beer. Not Amstel Light, but the real thing. And those of you that know me know Amstel Light is my favorite beer...well Amstel itself is just that much better. Its in every supermarket, its whats on tap at the bar here (the only tap they have)...They even have it at Goody's, the fast food place.
Until next time...oh, and Happy Fathers Day!
So we got here...and you walk into an introduction about all the activities they do during the day, a few rules, and a shot of ouzo....yamas (cheers)!! The nights here are full of fun, great stories, great games, meeting amazing (and unique) people, and really just having a good time. A few highlights of names and things just for my memories later....the camera didn't venture into the late nights so it's really just Courtney and my memories! We have given people names, some will be explained and others won't so this post may seem really lame and full of terrible english...and may only make sense to those of us at experienced it. But, hey, that's how the pink palace is.
-6 to 8 every night is happy hour followed by that amazing dinner (something new every night....the tzatziki here is home made and out of this world). Then everyone just keeps the fun going to the wee hours of the morning.
-first night there was Jeff (face rape), John (Courtney's Ginger friend), Simon, Ashley (crazy Vancouver hockey fan), Simon, Ryan (with the Canadian girlfriend he met 3 weeks before), we got our first glimpse of CT (crazy Toronto....I really don't even know his name but I'll remember him forever.... Not for any reasons that are good either) and his friend Boston. the highlight was probably getting spun and dropped around the dance floor (all the different backgrounds leads to all kinds of different dancing). I woke up with 14 new bug bites so have pretty much used all of my bug spray since then, these things are nasty that's for sure.
-day two we went on the kayak safari which was really fun. The water here has this amazing deep turquoise color that I can't even describe. We ate lunch at the top of this little island where the is an old monastery, went cliff jumping (best memory was Court going, cause she is not a big cliff jumper, and coming up, hands raised, screaming in excitement).. Unfortunately her ears got a little to pressurized or something and she spent the rest of the day with a little pain. We hit up a beach on the way back where we came upon what I can only describe as a nudist colony...easily 20 people just running around in their birthday suits. My other favorite moment was Court and Me trying to get back in our kayak and flipping out of it..and then laughing so hard we couldn't even jump in.
-our second night we met a lot more people and the fun really started. We met a bunch of really awesome people..the Denmark boys (Frederick who had a birthday everyday, Christian and Thomas) who introduced me to an amazing dice game I'm bringing back called max it, the Canadian boys (Ryan, Darren and Jarod), Taryn and Jenny (from the block) who was really turning 23, Sue the bartender and the Algerian bar tender who is just the life of the party and a hand full more. The Stanley Cup finals were at 5am and I was going to try to stay up...but alas I fell asleep, and woke up to a few angry Canadians because they lost to Boston (and apparently in Vancouver it got really crazy).
-day 3 was a sleep in and hit the beach and relax kind of day. At the beach is also when we officially met 8 people that will stick in my memories forever. Crazy Toronto and Boston (who i try to avoid at all costs), The Georgia Boys, Chris and Ryan, who are living in Rome working the spanish step pub crawl we almost went on, Panos (the legit Greek) and Yanni (aka David, because 1am would bring about my famous quote "he's like the statue of David, you just can't look away"...really, you can't). And them Sarah and Stephanie, 2 awesome girls we hung out with and had a great time getting to know our last 3 nights here.
-night three was one of my favorite nights, granted they have all been very memorable. We had a blast until 2am when we called it a night.
-day 4 was our day we took our free (for staying 4 nights) 4 wheelers and explored the island all day. It was breathtaking. The pictures don't so it justice. It also made me want a motorcycle. I really enjoyed our hour or so ride back from the north part of the island, just cruising along enjoying the backroads. We also got into town, and driving around town on a quad is pretty interesting. Ate lunch at Goody's, basically fast food in Greece while listening to Kesha play over the speakers.
-night 4 ended early for me, call it the not so good meat at dinner, too many late nights, the sun all day...but I did not feel well and I was passed out before 11.
-today, our last one, was another beach day. Just enjoying it all before we get back to the crazy backpacking life. Tonight is the weekly Toga party, and we have to leave at like 5am to catch our 7am boat back to Venice (we have airline seats this time, so we will probably just be up all night and sleep on the way back).
I'm sad, but ready, to go. We have met some really really awesome people, and gotten to hear a lot of crazy and interesting stories. I feel like this trip is getting us all the info we need to travel more, we are only beginning to scrape the surface of what's out there. It's been a great vacation in our vacation, and tonight should be a blast.
Oh, and one last thought...one of my most favorite things is that not only is this place amazing, but they love, and almost solely serve, Amstel Beer. Not Amstel Light, but the real thing. And those of you that know me know Amstel Light is my favorite beer...well Amstel itself is just that much better. Its in every supermarket, its whats on tap at the bar here (the only tap they have)...They even have it at Goody's, the fast food place.
Until next time...oh, and Happy Fathers Day!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Adventure to Greece and a thing called Ouzo
Getting to Greece felt like the amazing race. We ran late for our train out of Florence so has to hustle there, got to Venice and has to find then post office (an I'm itself, I sent 5 postcards but have no idea if they sent or not, sorry). Then we found a supermarket to et food for our 30 hour boat ride to Corfu, Greece. We wanted tom save some money so we got "deck" seats. Aka no seats. We literally just pad locked our bags to the metal post by our chairs, hung out and slept on the ground on the top of the ship. It was hard, chilly and not amazing, but I slept and survived.
Anyways, after getting cheap food we has to find the boat. We were going to walk but then heard of a people mover and figured it out....eventually found our boat, and we are now on our way.
Fun/interesting things that have occurred/been said on our adventure to Greece:
-Food. Like I said, we went to the store to get non perishable food. I ended up with 4 bananas, 39 cent bread, jam (to go with the peanut butter I brought from the US), and some pickled veggies. So, basically for 4 meals I had pb and j plus a banana. Lunch was canned ravioli I brought from home too. It's not bad, but after two days of that you're over it. We saw a lot of people that had a lot of better looking stuff. We are going to try to find that stuff for the way back. Also, Its amazing what your body will crave after not hot warm food for a while. Both Courtney and I are seriously craving some mcdonalds. we decided we are going to get it in Paris, since that will probably be cheaper than most stuff there.
-our pouches we wear for our passports, cards and money sit right under our pants in the front. They make us look like we have a little extra up there. Luckily we aren't trying to impress anyone.
-everyone, and I mean Everyone smokes here. I saw a kid no older than 14 just smoking like it was nothing. It's very different from home.
-there is this drink called ouzo. I'm going to warm you now, if someone in a Greek store tells you it's good, and kind of like vodka but with a flower infused and you can just drink it on the rocks (it turns from clear to white when you pour it over ice, kind of cool, we made an instructional video). Anyways, if someone tells you that...they're LYING!! It may be the most disgusting thing I've ever drank. It's kind of like liquorish with an extra kick in the ass. Neither of us could stomach it. But, since we paid 5 euros for our bottles I decided to try it with diet coke today...it wasn't as bad. I think I can bare it enough to not waste it, or maybe ill try to sell it to some drunk Aussie. Quote from court on the experience: "we just may have to chalk that up to experience, I just vomited in my mouth a bit...this is no whisky, where's my Jim Beam?!"
-I haven't seen any peanut butter in the supermarket. Maybe I'm in the wrong one, cause I feel like they have to have something larger than the places we've been going into...I mean, we saw an Ikea...point of the story is nutella is everywhere...literally, they made dessert pizzas with it. But no PB so far. This needs to change because my PB is running low and that's what I've been surviving on for a week.
-I learned why we have been doing our own shopping and not eating out, especially on a cruise....I ordered coffee this morning. Like plain jane coffee...3 euros!
-two shoe fetishes I've noticed....crocs, and socks with sandals. The first is just interesting, the latter needs to be fixed.
-I've seen way too many naked bodies today...and i haven't even seen as many as Courtney. Literally a woman right in front of us just stripped it down to put on and take off her swimsuit. Also, a lot of speedos and tight small swim "shots" which I'm not quite as surprised as. This also goes along with the no bra thing we have seen. I don't understand it, if I can see your nipples through your white shirt we have a problem.
And that's the story of our journey, and a few extra things we have noticed. Time for 4 days at The Pink Palace! It's our vacation within our vacation!
Anyways, after getting cheap food we has to find the boat. We were going to walk but then heard of a people mover and figured it out....eventually found our boat, and we are now on our way.
Fun/interesting things that have occurred/been said on our adventure to Greece:
-Food. Like I said, we went to the store to get non perishable food. I ended up with 4 bananas, 39 cent bread, jam (to go with the peanut butter I brought from the US), and some pickled veggies. So, basically for 4 meals I had pb and j plus a banana. Lunch was canned ravioli I brought from home too. It's not bad, but after two days of that you're over it. We saw a lot of people that had a lot of better looking stuff. We are going to try to find that stuff for the way back. Also, Its amazing what your body will crave after not hot warm food for a while. Both Courtney and I are seriously craving some mcdonalds. we decided we are going to get it in Paris, since that will probably be cheaper than most stuff there.
-our pouches we wear for our passports, cards and money sit right under our pants in the front. They make us look like we have a little extra up there. Luckily we aren't trying to impress anyone.
-everyone, and I mean Everyone smokes here. I saw a kid no older than 14 just smoking like it was nothing. It's very different from home.
-there is this drink called ouzo. I'm going to warm you now, if someone in a Greek store tells you it's good, and kind of like vodka but with a flower infused and you can just drink it on the rocks (it turns from clear to white when you pour it over ice, kind of cool, we made an instructional video). Anyways, if someone tells you that...they're LYING!! It may be the most disgusting thing I've ever drank. It's kind of like liquorish with an extra kick in the ass. Neither of us could stomach it. But, since we paid 5 euros for our bottles I decided to try it with diet coke today...it wasn't as bad. I think I can bare it enough to not waste it, or maybe ill try to sell it to some drunk Aussie. Quote from court on the experience: "we just may have to chalk that up to experience, I just vomited in my mouth a bit...this is no whisky, where's my Jim Beam?!"
-I haven't seen any peanut butter in the supermarket. Maybe I'm in the wrong one, cause I feel like they have to have something larger than the places we've been going into...I mean, we saw an Ikea...point of the story is nutella is everywhere...literally, they made dessert pizzas with it. But no PB so far. This needs to change because my PB is running low and that's what I've been surviving on for a week.
-I learned why we have been doing our own shopping and not eating out, especially on a cruise....I ordered coffee this morning. Like plain jane coffee...3 euros!
-two shoe fetishes I've noticed....crocs, and socks with sandals. The first is just interesting, the latter needs to be fixed.
-I've seen way too many naked bodies today...and i haven't even seen as many as Courtney. Literally a woman right in front of us just stripped it down to put on and take off her swimsuit. Also, a lot of speedos and tight small swim "shots" which I'm not quite as surprised as. This also goes along with the no bra thing we have seen. I don't understand it, if I can see your nipples through your white shirt we have a problem.
And that's the story of our journey, and a few extra things we have noticed. Time for 4 days at The Pink Palace! It's our vacation within our vacation!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Florence, Italy
I don't want to leave..
Quick recap. Friday we arrived in time to catch then free walking tour our hostel provides.
After the tour we found where we needed to go to get tickets for Accademia and Uffizi, the two museums we decided to shell the money out for (the thing about Florence is that a lot ofnit is churches and museums, so we have to allocate our funds, and it means I'll be back when I have more cash flow). Anyways, As we are walking down a random road searching, I look up, tap Courtney and say "look, look who it is!" ....it was The Situation...straight out of Jersey. So we snap a few pictures, and as I'm looking waiting for Snooki to pop out I hear him saying " come, eat my pizza, don't you want me to make you pizza" ... So a couple follows him and the production guy signals us back. Next thing you know we are in a back alley signing waivers. Then we are told to go get lunch on this pizza place, act like we are just normal customers, know nothing about Jersey Shore and NO pictures (I snuck one on my cell phone). So The Situation welcomes us, Vinny takes my order and money and Paulie D helps make the pizza. It was very entertaining, and I'm sure I'll be watching non stop when the show starts to see if either of us make an appearance. Court got a good moment when Paulie D gave her crap for wanting a box.
After that we found our tickets, checked into our rooms, and headed to Accademia to see David. The thing about all these amazing museums is that they don't allow cameras (I think mostly cause they don't want flash with the paintings). But, again, I snuck a few. It doesn't matter though, the pictures do nothing to what it felt like turning the corner and seeing him standing at the end of the hallway. I have never seen such a beautiful human being in statue. Every detail, from the veins in his hands and arms to the muscle and the smoothness of his skin. I was literally in awe. We just sat staring for a while, admiring and day dreaming about what it would be like to know him. What I'm saying here is, you need to see him.
After David we hit up the supermarket to grab cheap dinner and cheap wine (because even 5 dollar wine in Italy is good). What happened next will further be known as the cheesecake incident of 2011. Basically, I got cheese bread and meat, we set up outside and after opening my wine (the cork fell apart on me so it was a mini adventure in itself) I get ready to chow. I spread some cheese on a piece of fresh bread and pop it in. Then Courtney asks how it is, and I say "it is eerily familiar to cheesecake, just not as sweet" (I thought I was getting ricotta, mind you). So she tries it and is convinced I'm eating cheesecake. I ignore it because it isn't bad especially with some meat, and keep eating. Near the end I look closer at the wrapper and see ricotta limone zappala....and we start laughing. We spend a while looking it up and trying to figure it out only to duns ricotta is a common component of Italian cheesecake dessert....
We had discussed going to the club the jersey shore cast was at, but we wanted to save money and it would be a 2am or later before we got back, and with an early wake up for Tuscany we stayed in. For our second day check out my last post on Tuscany in a day, I'm trying to keep these blogs to where we were at.
Sunday (today) was our day to tour Florence more. We slept in (till just after 7) got ready and headed out by 9. I enjoyednthe laid back feeling of the day, especially after the craziness of trying to get all around Rome and see everything (I don't think I mentioned it but we walked around 25 miles in 2 days). Anyways, we went and saw all the sights, and churches, and Courtney took pictures as I looked in all the camera stores we passed for something under 100 euros. We got to the famous pig market, got great pictures of us rubbing his nose for luck (I even tried to stand in the same place my mom did so many years ago), and then we look up and see a camera place. At this point we hadn't seen anything under 139 euros unless it only took regular film, so I almost didn't go in. But, alas, we did. And I found my camera! A 99 euro canon ready to go! I think our luck is turning around.
We then headed up (wayyyy up) to the Michelangelo plaza, and the best view of Florence where the bronze David is. Court was more interested in the cute little boy that wanted his food so much than our view for a while. Haha. We trekked down, found a supermarket and got bananas, a pimeto type dip with some bread crackers and chowed down before heading into the Uffizi. The Uffizi is draining. So much to see, and with only my iPad and the lonely planet tour guide book as our guide we made our was around. We saw all the big famous paintings, and it was quite interesting to seethe change in style from the 12th all the way through the 18th and 19th centuries. One of my favorites was "Leda and the swan" mostly because I didnt know the story of Zeus turning into a swan to seduce her behind her husbands back and them having children hatch from eggs. The picture perfectly depicted it. The other one that isn't famous that I "enjoyed" I believe was called "death of innocence", it was literally a huge art piece of these heathens trying to slaughter all the babies while their mothers tried to protect them. It's the first paininting I've ever really looked at and gotten that serious of an emotional effect. It was really an amazing, and kind of sickening, piece of art.
After that we were exhausted, so we got more gelato, grabbed dinner at the supermarket (I had amazing lasagna and freshhhhhh bread) and came back. Im finishing this Monday morning, cause I fell asleep, but we are headed off from Florence now, no idea when the next post will be!
Also, the mosquitos here are bad, these little tiny things that love my blood and haven't touched Courtney! I woke up with bites up my arm, sides, and yesterday they were all over my legs from sitting outside for an hour. Needless to say, my bug spray is now staying by my side.
Oh, also, pictures are updated. I'm working on captioning them now.
Quick recap. Friday we arrived in time to catch then free walking tour our hostel provides.
After the tour we found where we needed to go to get tickets for Accademia and Uffizi, the two museums we decided to shell the money out for (the thing about Florence is that a lot ofnit is churches and museums, so we have to allocate our funds, and it means I'll be back when I have more cash flow). Anyways, As we are walking down a random road searching, I look up, tap Courtney and say "look, look who it is!" ....it was The Situation...straight out of Jersey. So we snap a few pictures, and as I'm looking waiting for Snooki to pop out I hear him saying " come, eat my pizza, don't you want me to make you pizza" ... So a couple follows him and the production guy signals us back. Next thing you know we are in a back alley signing waivers. Then we are told to go get lunch on this pizza place, act like we are just normal customers, know nothing about Jersey Shore and NO pictures (I snuck one on my cell phone). So The Situation welcomes us, Vinny takes my order and money and Paulie D helps make the pizza. It was very entertaining, and I'm sure I'll be watching non stop when the show starts to see if either of us make an appearance. Court got a good moment when Paulie D gave her crap for wanting a box.
After that we found our tickets, checked into our rooms, and headed to Accademia to see David. The thing about all these amazing museums is that they don't allow cameras (I think mostly cause they don't want flash with the paintings). But, again, I snuck a few. It doesn't matter though, the pictures do nothing to what it felt like turning the corner and seeing him standing at the end of the hallway. I have never seen such a beautiful human being in statue. Every detail, from the veins in his hands and arms to the muscle and the smoothness of his skin. I was literally in awe. We just sat staring for a while, admiring and day dreaming about what it would be like to know him. What I'm saying here is, you need to see him.
After David we hit up the supermarket to grab cheap dinner and cheap wine (because even 5 dollar wine in Italy is good). What happened next will further be known as the cheesecake incident of 2011. Basically, I got cheese bread and meat, we set up outside and after opening my wine (the cork fell apart on me so it was a mini adventure in itself) I get ready to chow. I spread some cheese on a piece of fresh bread and pop it in. Then Courtney asks how it is, and I say "it is eerily familiar to cheesecake, just not as sweet" (I thought I was getting ricotta, mind you). So she tries it and is convinced I'm eating cheesecake. I ignore it because it isn't bad especially with some meat, and keep eating. Near the end I look closer at the wrapper and see ricotta limone zappala....and we start laughing. We spend a while looking it up and trying to figure it out only to duns ricotta is a common component of Italian cheesecake dessert....
We had discussed going to the club the jersey shore cast was at, but we wanted to save money and it would be a 2am or later before we got back, and with an early wake up for Tuscany we stayed in. For our second day check out my last post on Tuscany in a day, I'm trying to keep these blogs to where we were at.
Sunday (today) was our day to tour Florence more. We slept in (till just after 7) got ready and headed out by 9. I enjoyednthe laid back feeling of the day, especially after the craziness of trying to get all around Rome and see everything (I don't think I mentioned it but we walked around 25 miles in 2 days). Anyways, we went and saw all the sights, and churches, and Courtney took pictures as I looked in all the camera stores we passed for something under 100 euros. We got to the famous pig market, got great pictures of us rubbing his nose for luck (I even tried to stand in the same place my mom did so many years ago), and then we look up and see a camera place. At this point we hadn't seen anything under 139 euros unless it only took regular film, so I almost didn't go in. But, alas, we did. And I found my camera! A 99 euro canon ready to go! I think our luck is turning around.
We then headed up (wayyyy up) to the Michelangelo plaza, and the best view of Florence where the bronze David is. Court was more interested in the cute little boy that wanted his food so much than our view for a while. Haha. We trekked down, found a supermarket and got bananas, a pimeto type dip with some bread crackers and chowed down before heading into the Uffizi. The Uffizi is draining. So much to see, and with only my iPad and the lonely planet tour guide book as our guide we made our was around. We saw all the big famous paintings, and it was quite interesting to seethe change in style from the 12th all the way through the 18th and 19th centuries. One of my favorites was "Leda and the swan" mostly because I didnt know the story of Zeus turning into a swan to seduce her behind her husbands back and them having children hatch from eggs. The picture perfectly depicted it. The other one that isn't famous that I "enjoyed" I believe was called "death of innocence", it was literally a huge art piece of these heathens trying to slaughter all the babies while their mothers tried to protect them. It's the first paininting I've ever really looked at and gotten that serious of an emotional effect. It was really an amazing, and kind of sickening, piece of art.
After that we were exhausted, so we got more gelato, grabbed dinner at the supermarket (I had amazing lasagna and freshhhhhh bread) and came back. Im finishing this Monday morning, cause I fell asleep, but we are headed off from Florence now, no idea when the next post will be!
Also, the mosquitos here are bad, these little tiny things that love my blood and haven't touched Courtney! I woke up with bites up my arm, sides, and yesterday they were all over my legs from sitting outside for an hour. Needless to say, my bug spray is now staying by my side.
Oh, also, pictures are updated. I'm working on captioning them now.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Tuscany In A Day
So today we went on a day trip from Florence through Tuscany. We hit Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa. It was easily my favorite day thus far...even with another mishap.
The day started at 645 (when I woke up late, finally used to the time!) and we got on the bus at 8. First stop, Siena! The bus ride there was very pretty, getting into wine country, but the road is lined with a lot of trees so pictures are hard to come by. We got some later though.
When we arrived in Siena, we walked 30 feet, I snapped a picture of the sign and when in turn my camera off, the lens didnt go back in. Well, I didnt freak out...okay a little... I kept trying and trying but it just got worse. So before our tour we had 15 minutes and we had just passed a camera store. I walk in and get a "ohhh...big problem...you need to send this in" .... This camera is brand new, barely used, never dropped let alone scratched. Buttttt sometimes weird stuff happens (as I feel it has the entire time we've been here, more on that later).
But, I was proud of myself and my new years resolution definitely helped. I stayed calm, bought a disposable in case Courtney's died (again, I'll discuss all our problems later) and kept on....cause I've been excited about this tour since the day we booked it! A year ago I would have cried, and yelled...but today I was as calm as a cucumber (minus the Ecoli)
So, SIENA! They say here that everyone has a favorite, Florence or Siena, because they are arch rivals....but I love them both! Siena is a small town that "goes up and down and up and down" aka it's hilly. Its the 3rd largest city in Italy though behind Rome at 5 million and Florence at a half million. Its divided into 20 regions, and you region is always a part of you. You can never change, and they are very loyal and competitive within the regions (it kind of reminded me of pharmacy school and hargreaves day). Anyways, our tour guide was from the turtle region. Twice a year in July and August they have a huge horse race around the main square, Plazza Del Campo (which is not very big, it's a 3 lap race they finish in about a minute and ten seconds). Each region has a horse (the important part) risen bare back by a jockey...the winner is the the horse, not the jockey. the feel of the architecture was rather gothic in the town center, it is a mid evil town with no industry or factories at all, they simply live a very simple and easy quality of life, mostly off tourism. A fountain in the main plaza has the Virgin Mary with child, and she is represented everywhere in Siena.
Then we walked over to the main cathedral and got a brief history before entering (this is what I love about guides...I learn more in 4 days than I've learned in 20 years about this stuff. It helps that I'm a very visual learner). Anyways, apparently this church, which is already huge, was undergoing an expansion that would leave it in the shape of a cross and larger than St. Peters Basilica. However, when the black plague hit in 1348 it didn't get finished, and never was. From the front the lower half before the top was expanded is Romanesque and then the higher part was put in and is gothic. It also shows and houses baroque and renaissance style. Making it one of the only locations with all 4 major styles. But wait....there's MORE. This church is like an art gallery. Inside it houses a location with 4 Michelangelo statues, a bronze statue in one chapel of St. John The Baptist by Donatello, a chapel on the opposite side with The Virgin Mary done by the same guy who did a lot with St. James.....hang on let me breath before I get to the good stuff. The library us a giant painting of the life of the first Pope that has NEVER been touched, restored, anything...it's literally straight out of 1507! Mostly because the library wasn't used so no smoke or candles were in there. Thennnn comes the big piece. The most important work of art in Siena. It's hard to explain but it's a giant piece by Michelangelo. I got pictures. The top is a perspective (3D) which wasn't done much here at this time of the life of Jesus.
The only other major note was on the way out we an into the other church only to get a glimpse of St. Catherine. Literally, her head is in there....like not a statue here, her REAL head. I also found out it takes at least 200 years to become a saint because it has to go through The Vatican. Oh, and I attempted planking. It's a big thing Aussies do, you lay flat and try to get a cool picture. Needless to say I'm the worst planked around.
Then we were off to San Gimignano (the heart of Tuscany) for lunch, wine tasting and a quick walk around. It's a tiny little walled in town on the top of a huge hill. From a distance it looks like manhattan in Italy. It has 14 towers, the towers of Tuscany, because they are the only few (Pisa did also) left standing after world war 2. Lunch at Fuoro Porta was decent (italian cheeses, meats and spreads on bread, then pasta) wine was good....and inside we at gelato at the Pluripremiato Gelateria that has won the best ice cream in the world competition twice...it was amazing. In had tiramisu, a raspberry kind and passion fruit. We met a few neat people and one woman from San Fran (originally Russia) with her Russian best friend was like a history book. She gave us tips for Paris and told us random facts about things (like how David lost his arm when there were rebellions going on and people throwing furniture out the window and something hit him and that the Pantheon in Rome had a small piece of it's dome cut out by the artist of the big church in Florence (we will see tomorrow) so he could use it to learn how to make his last as well). only other fun part was seeing 3 Ferraris parked side by side and getting my souvenirs from Italy (a Chianti wine stopper and my Christmas ornament a Pinocchio guy with an italian flag, because Pinocchio originated in a small city in Tuscany.
Then we were off to Pisa! We drove by a location of The Gladiator movie shooting, took a nap, and got to Pisa. There isn't much there...so we took fun pictures, looked around, and then were headed back to Florence. On the way we passed a wall Napoleon built to separate Pisa and Florence......
And that's all I got! Pictures don't do the scenery justice again. Its everything you would imagine. Green, rows of grapes, beautiful houses on top of the hills stuccoed with yellows and burnt oranges with red roofing. It was a dream come true just to take it all in.
So that's that, just a few notes on our weird mishaps thus far (the trip is so amazing all this doesn't even matter).
-Courtney's thumb slice has left the front ignite thumb numb, we are pretty sure she nicked a nerve, hopefully it will heal
-my never opened converter never worked....not even kidding. Court has then same one and it works fine. So we are sharing currently
-my camera incident. I had a great plan for my mom to send my old one (which my dumb self should have brought just in case). I called our next hostel had it all set up, mom ran to fed ex....then they told her it would be $192.... So I'm gonna probably get a cheapo here tomorrow
And a few more fun stories but it's time do stop typing now. I'll blog about Florence before we leave Monday
The day started at 645 (when I woke up late, finally used to the time!) and we got on the bus at 8. First stop, Siena! The bus ride there was very pretty, getting into wine country, but the road is lined with a lot of trees so pictures are hard to come by. We got some later though.
When we arrived in Siena, we walked 30 feet, I snapped a picture of the sign and when in turn my camera off, the lens didnt go back in. Well, I didnt freak out...okay a little... I kept trying and trying but it just got worse. So before our tour we had 15 minutes and we had just passed a camera store. I walk in and get a "ohhh...big problem...you need to send this in" .... This camera is brand new, barely used, never dropped let alone scratched. Buttttt sometimes weird stuff happens (as I feel it has the entire time we've been here, more on that later).
But, I was proud of myself and my new years resolution definitely helped. I stayed calm, bought a disposable in case Courtney's died (again, I'll discuss all our problems later) and kept on....cause I've been excited about this tour since the day we booked it! A year ago I would have cried, and yelled...but today I was as calm as a cucumber (minus the Ecoli)
So, SIENA! They say here that everyone has a favorite, Florence or Siena, because they are arch rivals....but I love them both! Siena is a small town that "goes up and down and up and down" aka it's hilly. Its the 3rd largest city in Italy though behind Rome at 5 million and Florence at a half million. Its divided into 20 regions, and you region is always a part of you. You can never change, and they are very loyal and competitive within the regions (it kind of reminded me of pharmacy school and hargreaves day). Anyways, our tour guide was from the turtle region. Twice a year in July and August they have a huge horse race around the main square, Plazza Del Campo (which is not very big, it's a 3 lap race they finish in about a minute and ten seconds). Each region has a horse (the important part) risen bare back by a jockey...the winner is the the horse, not the jockey. the feel of the architecture was rather gothic in the town center, it is a mid evil town with no industry or factories at all, they simply live a very simple and easy quality of life, mostly off tourism. A fountain in the main plaza has the Virgin Mary with child, and she is represented everywhere in Siena.
Then we walked over to the main cathedral and got a brief history before entering (this is what I love about guides...I learn more in 4 days than I've learned in 20 years about this stuff. It helps that I'm a very visual learner). Anyways, apparently this church, which is already huge, was undergoing an expansion that would leave it in the shape of a cross and larger than St. Peters Basilica. However, when the black plague hit in 1348 it didn't get finished, and never was. From the front the lower half before the top was expanded is Romanesque and then the higher part was put in and is gothic. It also shows and houses baroque and renaissance style. Making it one of the only locations with all 4 major styles. But wait....there's MORE. This church is like an art gallery. Inside it houses a location with 4 Michelangelo statues, a bronze statue in one chapel of St. John The Baptist by Donatello, a chapel on the opposite side with The Virgin Mary done by the same guy who did a lot with St. James.....hang on let me breath before I get to the good stuff. The library us a giant painting of the life of the first Pope that has NEVER been touched, restored, anything...it's literally straight out of 1507! Mostly because the library wasn't used so no smoke or candles were in there. Thennnn comes the big piece. The most important work of art in Siena. It's hard to explain but it's a giant piece by Michelangelo. I got pictures. The top is a perspective (3D) which wasn't done much here at this time of the life of Jesus.
The only other major note was on the way out we an into the other church only to get a glimpse of St. Catherine. Literally, her head is in there....like not a statue here, her REAL head. I also found out it takes at least 200 years to become a saint because it has to go through The Vatican. Oh, and I attempted planking. It's a big thing Aussies do, you lay flat and try to get a cool picture. Needless to say I'm the worst planked around.
Then we were off to San Gimignano (the heart of Tuscany) for lunch, wine tasting and a quick walk around. It's a tiny little walled in town on the top of a huge hill. From a distance it looks like manhattan in Italy. It has 14 towers, the towers of Tuscany, because they are the only few (Pisa did also) left standing after world war 2. Lunch at Fuoro Porta was decent (italian cheeses, meats and spreads on bread, then pasta) wine was good....and inside we at gelato at the Pluripremiato Gelateria that has won the best ice cream in the world competition twice...it was amazing. In had tiramisu, a raspberry kind and passion fruit. We met a few neat people and one woman from San Fran (originally Russia) with her Russian best friend was like a history book. She gave us tips for Paris and told us random facts about things (like how David lost his arm when there were rebellions going on and people throwing furniture out the window and something hit him and that the Pantheon in Rome had a small piece of it's dome cut out by the artist of the big church in Florence (we will see tomorrow) so he could use it to learn how to make his last as well). only other fun part was seeing 3 Ferraris parked side by side and getting my souvenirs from Italy (a Chianti wine stopper and my Christmas ornament a Pinocchio guy with an italian flag, because Pinocchio originated in a small city in Tuscany.
Then we were off to Pisa! We drove by a location of The Gladiator movie shooting, took a nap, and got to Pisa. There isn't much there...so we took fun pictures, looked around, and then were headed back to Florence. On the way we passed a wall Napoleon built to separate Pisa and Florence......
And that's all I got! Pictures don't do the scenery justice again. Its everything you would imagine. Green, rows of grapes, beautiful houses on top of the hills stuccoed with yellows and burnt oranges with red roofing. It was a dream come true just to take it all in.
So that's that, just a few notes on our weird mishaps thus far (the trip is so amazing all this doesn't even matter).
-Courtney's thumb slice has left the front ignite thumb numb, we are pretty sure she nicked a nerve, hopefully it will heal
-my never opened converter never worked....not even kidding. Court has then same one and it works fine. So we are sharing currently
-my camera incident. I had a great plan for my mom to send my old one (which my dumb self should have brought just in case). I called our next hostel had it all set up, mom ran to fed ex....then they told her it would be $192.... So I'm gonna probably get a cheapo here tomorrow
And a few more fun stories but it's time do stop typing now. I'll blog about Florence before we leave Monday
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Rome is a lot...
So to start, I lied and feel like an idiot about the Trevi fountain. It's a long story but I'll get to it. We started our second day with a 4 and a half mile walk to The Vatican. Thanks to Courtney's pre planning we didn't have to wait in line. All I can say is huge and beautiful. It's a giant piece of history. I took pictures of the statues I found interesting and the other things I enjoyed, but about an hour and a half in my brain was exhausted. Then we got to The Sistine Chapel... Wow. I need to look up how long it took Michelangelo to do that because its breath taking. They don't allow pictures but I snuck a few, and almost feel bad posting them because it really doesn't show the magnificent artwork (pretty much how everything has been so far). You look up and think your seeing statues on the ceiling. The detail and thought that went into it is inspiring. I would keep going but we had a busy day so I'll move on.
After leaving we got gelato at a place my hostel recommended and then headed to St. Peters. Remember that whole you can't describe it and picture don't do it justice thing...ya...definitely applies here. They built this place just to bury the first pope, and it is outrageous. I literally stood and glanced around and just tried to take it all in. Everything is so ornate and detailed. Everywhere you look you think how amazing it is that someone built that.
Moving on again... Long story so I'll try to be brief. Basically our first night here we followed the map to what I thought was Trevi Fountain..and when we got there we both were kind of disappointed and didn't understand all the hype. And we both separately knew about that huge famous fountain that takes over the whole plaza and is on the side of the building. But courtney assumed it was something else we hadn't gotten to yet and I assumed if that wasn't it it must be in Florence and I was just confused.... Well then at the vatican we see a post card for Trevi with that picture....and we realize after checking the map that we had missed it! So we figure it all out, go get a slice of pizza for lunch, head to another beautiful plaza, get lost getting to the Pantheon and get help from an Italian waiter that tried to teach us Italian and convince us to come dance the night away with him and continue to give Courtney his number...
Then we finally find it. And as we walk in I am so ecstatic that we realized the mistake and fixed it. Trevi is alllllll it's cracked up to be and the some. So disregard my previous post about how small it was. It wasn't, and we took pictures and tossed pennies over our shoulders and just enjoyed it.
Sound like a busy day, right? Well...THEN we headed to the Colosseum to see it! I've always really enjoyed the stories of the gladiators and all the emperors and lions and tigers and bears (oh my!). So I was stoked to see the inside. And it really is ruins, unfortunately. But they had a ton of info on then history and I learned a lot and got to imagine what it was like. Did you know the Pope still goes there for a ceremony on fat tuesday? I sure didn't.
So nearly 700 pictures later we are done with Rome. Off to Florence bright and early for a new adventure!
A few closing thoughts on Rome and random things I saw and/or noticed.
-I mentioned the strange sight we saw when a man drank from the fountain...come to find out that's normal. They have some fountains with steps going to the water and some faucets just continuously running on the streets... It's all clean. Very clean, actually. There water tastes perfect...which makes me wonder why they all drink bottled water only and pay for it at restaurants.
-The toilets don't fill with a lot of water, kind of like a toilet on a plane. Its different, and causes our hostel bathroom to smell like nasty old pee all the time
-back to water. Well, either eater or climate, but my hair is extremely greasy here. Like i shower at night and at 7am it looks greasy. So I'm trying to not use conditioner and see if that helps
-we didn't see too many sketchy people that looked like they were trying to steal stuff, but we had a few. Or I'm just really paranoid and anyone too close is sketchy. Either way we still have all of our stuff. There was one almost freaky incident....walking to Trevi...or maybe Pantheon... Either way, two men are walking towards us and as the guy starts passing I notice his hand literally reaching for my crotch. I instinctively jump back and he pulls away and we both walk off in opposite directions..and I know I'm not crazy here cause even Courtney noticed...
-I heard a lady yelling at her dog in Italian.. And realized dogs must speak different languages. In realize this sounds ignorant, but it's weird for me to think that, it's like people dreaming in Spanish....hard to explain. Anyways, Courtney knows German dog commands so I'm going to convince her to mess around in Germany. Also, this reminds me, I should have asked the Brazilian we just met what he dreamt in...cause he is learning English now, so technically as a bilingual i feel like your dreams could get interesting. I need to remember to ask the next bilingual I meet about it
-we didn't really see the ghetto except when we rode the train in from the airport, but on that ride I saw the most graffiti I've ever seen... Its like they have given up and don't clean it up. Anyways, it makes me curious what it would really be like to live here. that and the crime scene we saw just around the corner from the Vatican today
-Italians overall are very nice and respectful to tourists
-Rome is very fast paced half the time....and the other half its like they are trying to balance out by being very slow moving and relaxed. Its very unique
-these Romans are very stylish. Its hard to explain so I'm just gonna leave it at that.
That's all I can recall... And I'm getting up in 6 hours for a train. So, chow, from Italy!
After leaving we got gelato at a place my hostel recommended and then headed to St. Peters. Remember that whole you can't describe it and picture don't do it justice thing...ya...definitely applies here. They built this place just to bury the first pope, and it is outrageous. I literally stood and glanced around and just tried to take it all in. Everything is so ornate and detailed. Everywhere you look you think how amazing it is that someone built that.
Moving on again... Long story so I'll try to be brief. Basically our first night here we followed the map to what I thought was Trevi Fountain..and when we got there we both were kind of disappointed and didn't understand all the hype. And we both separately knew about that huge famous fountain that takes over the whole plaza and is on the side of the building. But courtney assumed it was something else we hadn't gotten to yet and I assumed if that wasn't it it must be in Florence and I was just confused.... Well then at the vatican we see a post card for Trevi with that picture....and we realize after checking the map that we had missed it! So we figure it all out, go get a slice of pizza for lunch, head to another beautiful plaza, get lost getting to the Pantheon and get help from an Italian waiter that tried to teach us Italian and convince us to come dance the night away with him and continue to give Courtney his number...
Then we finally find it. And as we walk in I am so ecstatic that we realized the mistake and fixed it. Trevi is alllllll it's cracked up to be and the some. So disregard my previous post about how small it was. It wasn't, and we took pictures and tossed pennies over our shoulders and just enjoyed it.
Sound like a busy day, right? Well...THEN we headed to the Colosseum to see it! I've always really enjoyed the stories of the gladiators and all the emperors and lions and tigers and bears (oh my!). So I was stoked to see the inside. And it really is ruins, unfortunately. But they had a ton of info on then history and I learned a lot and got to imagine what it was like. Did you know the Pope still goes there for a ceremony on fat tuesday? I sure didn't.
So nearly 700 pictures later we are done with Rome. Off to Florence bright and early for a new adventure!
A few closing thoughts on Rome and random things I saw and/or noticed.
-I mentioned the strange sight we saw when a man drank from the fountain...come to find out that's normal. They have some fountains with steps going to the water and some faucets just continuously running on the streets... It's all clean. Very clean, actually. There water tastes perfect...which makes me wonder why they all drink bottled water only and pay for it at restaurants.
-The toilets don't fill with a lot of water, kind of like a toilet on a plane. Its different, and causes our hostel bathroom to smell like nasty old pee all the time
-back to water. Well, either eater or climate, but my hair is extremely greasy here. Like i shower at night and at 7am it looks greasy. So I'm trying to not use conditioner and see if that helps
-we didn't see too many sketchy people that looked like they were trying to steal stuff, but we had a few. Or I'm just really paranoid and anyone too close is sketchy. Either way we still have all of our stuff. There was one almost freaky incident....walking to Trevi...or maybe Pantheon... Either way, two men are walking towards us and as the guy starts passing I notice his hand literally reaching for my crotch. I instinctively jump back and he pulls away and we both walk off in opposite directions..and I know I'm not crazy here cause even Courtney noticed...
-I heard a lady yelling at her dog in Italian.. And realized dogs must speak different languages. In realize this sounds ignorant, but it's weird for me to think that, it's like people dreaming in Spanish....hard to explain. Anyways, Courtney knows German dog commands so I'm going to convince her to mess around in Germany. Also, this reminds me, I should have asked the Brazilian we just met what he dreamt in...cause he is learning English now, so technically as a bilingual i feel like your dreams could get interesting. I need to remember to ask the next bilingual I meet about it
-we didn't really see the ghetto except when we rode the train in from the airport, but on that ride I saw the most graffiti I've ever seen... Its like they have given up and don't clean it up. Anyways, it makes me curious what it would really be like to live here. that and the crime scene we saw just around the corner from the Vatican today
-Italians overall are very nice and respectful to tourists
-Rome is very fast paced half the time....and the other half its like they are trying to balance out by being very slow moving and relaxed. Its very unique
-these Romans are very stylish. Its hard to explain so I'm just gonna leave it at that.
That's all I can recall... And I'm getting up in 6 hours for a train. So, chow, from Italy!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
When In Rome....
So we arrived, first and foremost. Quick recap of our journey: started in Atlanta at 9am Monday (3pm Europe time), flew to Chicago, got to experience figuring out an international flight (see below), and then headed off on our 9 and a half our flight to Poland. After a 3 hour layover (and a small adventure), we were on our way to Rome. A few notes from the trip:
-I don't know if it's flying international or just the Chicago airport, but that was confusing. We had to get to gate M3. ..but no signs pointed to M. After asking around we find a help guy with a map that explains it to us. He also explained "whatever you do, don't get off the train at terminal 4... That's where Stephen King bases his novels...also its part of the bermuda triangle" ...come to find out there is no terminal 4
-lots of babies and young children on our 9 hour flight ... Not much else to say about that one
-they have big projector screens on international flights, not as fun when your seat is directly in front of it
-I re learned rummy thanks to Courtney...helped the trip go by a lot faster...we have a rummy date on the grass in front of the Eiffel tower in a few weeks
-our pilot once we got in the air: "we are currently traveling 485 mph,will spend 3 hours over the Atlantic, and it's going to take about 9 hours so we should be in Warsaw around 930 am....and if you want to set your alarm it's currently 1:29 in the morning, it's Tuesday already"
-we never saw the sun set, aka it never got dark on our trip. We literally chased down the setting sun until it was daylight again
- we sang the bologna song..ya that one...and heard black and yellow about 5 times (I heard it more because somehow it got stuck in courts head). Also we saw the Polish spice girls music video... No joke it was 645am... Aka 1145 in Alabama
-the Poland airport...where to start. The bathrooms are crazy, you see a door that looks like a family bathroom door, when you walk through you have to go ton the womens door, then choose another door for shower or bathroom...then you see a stall. They also have their own currency, but it's not converted for...so we got confused and eventually just went up and found out they accept the euro but change is in theirs..so I got a polish sausage and left a decent tip. Their language is very pretty...and when they speak English with an accent it's also pretty...you just can't understand well.
-BEST FLIGHT EVER was into Rome...first an adorable italian boy was sitting across from us...then they bring us our "snack" of a sandwich and complementary wine.
-jet lag wasn't that bad...it was like test day..just really tired. Plus we are so excited we just push through.
First night, arrived and then walked down the road a bit to the Trevi Fountain...it's smaller than i imagined. The we got free pizza and 5 euro bottles of wine from the hostel, and met some really neat people.
After a long night we get a little sleep and are both wide awake at 5 am...which was fine since we had planned to head to St. Peters Cathedral by 8 to try and get free tickets to see the pope. Long story short, The Vatican is a lot further than we thought from our hostel, got there at 5 after, couldn't find the right bronze doors (don't ask), got in line to try and find them, talked to a family from Houston, they had 2 extra tickets.... Aka we saw The Pope speak and bless from about 50 yards away. Crazy addition...he speaks a lot of languages.
Addition, on our hour plus walk there courtney taught me (and herself) some Italian. By the time we are done here we are going to have all the important stuff down.
We then found lunch, and our reading came in handy.. When they brought our food (spaghetti carbanara and caprice salad) they set down bread...we knew if you touched it you got charged..so we avoided the urge. And, on our ticket focca was crossed out! Win for tourists!
With more to be seen we headed off. We saw some funny and beautiful stuff. All of the people trying to make money selling random stuff and dressing up and being very forward reminded me of New Orleans. My favorite moment though was at the fountain below the Spanish Steps. After seeing peep wash there hands in the fountain water at the previous plaza,we saw a man walk up with a little metal cup and get himself some water right out of the fountain.
Also, after advice from a traveler the night before, we spent an hour at the train station reserving our next 4 trains....it was pretty expensive, but after hearing about horror stories and vacations changed, etc we decided it was worth it. Better safe than sorry.
I'm tired of typing on this iPad, and its almost free pizza time. I just opened a 2 euro (amazing) bottle of wine and am ready to see what the evening has in store. I'll give an overview of my thoughts on Rome next time.
Quick info.. I have unlimited incoming texts (not multimedia) so feel free to text. I only have 50 per month out though so if it's important send me a facebook message or email.
If you want to see pics as we go the website is picasaweb.google.com/earchibald33
Okay, too much time in my room...when in ROME!!
-I don't know if it's flying international or just the Chicago airport, but that was confusing. We had to get to gate M3. ..but no signs pointed to M. After asking around we find a help guy with a map that explains it to us. He also explained "whatever you do, don't get off the train at terminal 4... That's where Stephen King bases his novels...also its part of the bermuda triangle" ...come to find out there is no terminal 4
-lots of babies and young children on our 9 hour flight ... Not much else to say about that one
-they have big projector screens on international flights, not as fun when your seat is directly in front of it
-I re learned rummy thanks to Courtney...helped the trip go by a lot faster...we have a rummy date on the grass in front of the Eiffel tower in a few weeks
-our pilot once we got in the air: "we are currently traveling 485 mph,will spend 3 hours over the Atlantic, and it's going to take about 9 hours so we should be in Warsaw around 930 am....and if you want to set your alarm it's currently 1:29 in the morning, it's Tuesday already"
-we never saw the sun set, aka it never got dark on our trip. We literally chased down the setting sun until it was daylight again
- we sang the bologna song..ya that one...and heard black and yellow about 5 times (I heard it more because somehow it got stuck in courts head). Also we saw the Polish spice girls music video... No joke it was 645am... Aka 1145 in Alabama
-the Poland airport...where to start. The bathrooms are crazy, you see a door that looks like a family bathroom door, when you walk through you have to go ton the womens door, then choose another door for shower or bathroom...then you see a stall. They also have their own currency, but it's not converted for...so we got confused and eventually just went up and found out they accept the euro but change is in theirs..so I got a polish sausage and left a decent tip. Their language is very pretty...and when they speak English with an accent it's also pretty...you just can't understand well.
-BEST FLIGHT EVER was into Rome...first an adorable italian boy was sitting across from us...then they bring us our "snack" of a sandwich and complementary wine.
-jet lag wasn't that bad...it was like test day..just really tired. Plus we are so excited we just push through.
First night, arrived and then walked down the road a bit to the Trevi Fountain...it's smaller than i imagined. The we got free pizza and 5 euro bottles of wine from the hostel, and met some really neat people.
After a long night we get a little sleep and are both wide awake at 5 am...which was fine since we had planned to head to St. Peters Cathedral by 8 to try and get free tickets to see the pope. Long story short, The Vatican is a lot further than we thought from our hostel, got there at 5 after, couldn't find the right bronze doors (don't ask), got in line to try and find them, talked to a family from Houston, they had 2 extra tickets.... Aka we saw The Pope speak and bless from about 50 yards away. Crazy addition...he speaks a lot of languages.
Addition, on our hour plus walk there courtney taught me (and herself) some Italian. By the time we are done here we are going to have all the important stuff down.
We then found lunch, and our reading came in handy.. When they brought our food (spaghetti carbanara and caprice salad) they set down bread...we knew if you touched it you got charged..so we avoided the urge. And, on our ticket focca was crossed out! Win for tourists!
With more to be seen we headed off. We saw some funny and beautiful stuff. All of the people trying to make money selling random stuff and dressing up and being very forward reminded me of New Orleans. My favorite moment though was at the fountain below the Spanish Steps. After seeing peep wash there hands in the fountain water at the previous plaza,we saw a man walk up with a little metal cup and get himself some water right out of the fountain.
Also, after advice from a traveler the night before, we spent an hour at the train station reserving our next 4 trains....it was pretty expensive, but after hearing about horror stories and vacations changed, etc we decided it was worth it. Better safe than sorry.
I'm tired of typing on this iPad, and its almost free pizza time. I just opened a 2 euro (amazing) bottle of wine and am ready to see what the evening has in store. I'll give an overview of my thoughts on Rome next time.
Quick info.. I have unlimited incoming texts (not multimedia) so feel free to text. I only have 50 per month out though so if it's important send me a facebook message or email.
If you want to see pics as we go the website is picasaweb.google.com/earchibald33
Okay, too much time in my room...when in ROME!!
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