Day 1 in Mykonos
Our first day, which happened to be Easter, we decided to head into town to get some cash (no ATMs in Paradise Beach) and check out the little downtown. It was very cool and picturesque. The little town obviously relies on tourism as it's main source of income and there were many cool stores. Many were closed because of the holiday and it being the off season. But we still were able to enjoy some excellent pita sandwiches and had a nice walk through the whitewashed buildings and churches. We then took the bus back to Paradise beach where we passed the afternoon back at the beach bar and enjoyed some feta cheese and delicious Mythos beer.
Day 2 – Being that we decided to cut our stay short in Mykonos (partly to do with the accommodations), this was our last full day, of which we spent the majority of the day sitting at the beach. After waking up, we enjoyed our free breakfast and took some long showers. At about Noon we headed for the beach. It was nice being able to just sit back and enjoy the weather. That was partly why we decided to start this trip in February so that we could have some nice early summer weather. The beach was great, the sun was warm, but the water was still a bit cold. Either way, no complaints.
Day3 – Mykonos to Santorini
We took the ferry from Mykonos around 3:00 in the afternoon. We could only take the high speed ferry because of the offseason. This cost us about $70 Euros, much more than we anticipated. But it was only a 2.5 hour ferry and as we disembarked our hostel driver was waiting for us. Apparently he had to deliver some flowers to another island, so we had to wait around at port for about 45 mins. Until the next ferry arrived. It wasn't that bad since there were cafes and ferry offices around so we were able to check on ships to Milos and Athens. The driver also owns the hostel and was very friendly and helpful. I think it's safe to say that our hostel here in Parissa beach is the best we've had yet. The rooms are clean, spacious with a nice terrace and deck chairs to enjoy the morning sun. The family staff is helpful and friendly, there are great restaurants and bars down the street, and the beach is just 30 meters away. Our first dinner here we went down the street to a Greek/Italian restaurant where we had some pizza and roasted veal. After dinner we walked along the beach. It was very creepy as the water was pretty rough that night and the lights from the restaurant shining on the water. It felt like at any moment the water could just rush up and overtake us. I think our first night we were very impressed with Santorini and looked forward to spending some relaxing days here.
Day 2
After waking up, we went looking for a supermarket to pick up groceries for breakfast and lunch. The market down the street was closed, so we stopped by a small bakery and picked up some awesome croissants and a couple of small pizzas for lunch. We laid out on our deck to get some sun, and then went out to check out the beach. Since Santorini is a volcanic island, the sand is very dark, but very incredibly soft. A bartender on the beach said the rock is like pumice. The water is a little warmer than in Myknonos so we walked along the beach for awhile before having a few drinks at a beach bar. After we went back to try the market again. This time it was open so we picked up some groceries and a liter of santorini wine. We ate dinner at Ntomatini, where we met a nice lady from Oregon. She gave us free shots of some terrible tasting liquor.
Day 3 – We were supposed to go on an all day excursion around the island and to check out the volcanic caldera, wrapping it all up with a sunset from Oia, but the weather was a little cloudy this day, so the tour was rescheduled for the following day. It ended up being a great day. It didn't matter because we spent the day in Fira. We hiked down the caldera to the old port, bought some souvenirs and then took a cable car back up to the top. We had a great lunch (cheap!) overlooking the volcano. We had dinner at Del Mar, where the food was great and we were treated with some free wine.
Day 4 – The day of the tour. We woke up, had breakfast at our favorite backery and then caught the tour bus back to the port of Thira. There we boarded a converted fishing boat and sailed to the volcanic island. We hiked around and saw the crater. Then we went to some hot springs. Melanie swam to the springs. The water was pretty cold but the springs were nice. Then we sailed to Thirassia, where we had some grilled kalimari and then sailed to famous Oia where we had some great food (stuffed fried olives!) and prepared for the famous Oia sunset. The sunset was beautiful.
Day 5 – we spent most of our day at the beach. We had dinner at Del Mar again, and we were treated to some Santorini special dessert wine called Vinsanto
Day 6 – we had to leave Stelios because they had no rooms available, but we were able to stay at his nephews place. There place was also nice. We chilled at the beach once more, were lazy and watched some greek TV.
Day 7 – Costas (Stelio's nephew) drove us to the port where we caught our ferry to Milos. Once in Milos we hiked a short ways to ur hostel. This is another great hostel. Greece seems to have great accommodations for a pretty low price. Service is also very nice, especially in restaurants. They love to give away free wine. We had a nice dinner and went to bed early.
Day 1 – Milos
we found another nice bakery to have breakfast up the street. We must have seen 50 cats. They are everywhere in Milos. Then we decided to take the city bus into Plaka (the capital) here we just walked around. It is very pretty, and there are virtually no tourists around. Most people are gearing up for the high season, so many shops were closed and being worked on. We had a nice lunch and walked around a bit more. We saw some wild cats fighting. Kind of strange. We took the bus back to the port. Later the hostel owners convinced us to checkout this neat coastal area called Sarakiniko. We had to walk a little ways but it was worth it. It's a very interesting rock formation along the coast. Similar to the badlands. The rock is very smooth and weathered by the wind and water. It reminded me of an SUV commerical. But it was very pretty. Later we walked back and had dinner at a nice pizza and pasta place.
Day 2 – Milos
We headed for the port after breakfast and spent a nice day with Captain Mike and his sail boat. He took us around the island to see the cool rocky coastline and into some aquatic caves. He didn't speak English very well, so whenever he didn't understand you, he would say “For me, It's no problem my friend”. It was a lot of fun. He made us coffees, fed us lunch, gave us snacks. He even let me sail the boat. Good times.
Day 3 – Milos (our last day :(
We woke up and had our breakfast and then went to the beach to kill some time before our ferry. We had a nice lunch and now we sit back at the hostel writing this post. We have until 8:00 tonight before our high speed ferry arrives. Then we arrive in Athens at Midnight. Tomorrow we take our flight home to Minneapolis. You all better have kept that Swine flu away.
That's it for now. Perhaps we'll write again soon.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Mykonos, Santorini, and Milos Pictures
check out pics from Mykonos, Santorini, and Milos.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2689811&id=13906387&l=e173c77ed0
captions to come later.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Greece Pics! Corfu and Athens
Hey everyone, as promised, here are some pics of Corfu and Athens.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2686965&id=13906387&l=3c933ee686
no captions yet, but I'll do later when we have more time.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Greece part 1: Corfu and Athens
Hey everyone, here is a little rundown of our first week or so in Greece.
Brindisi to Corfu
We arrived in Brindisi at about 11:00 pm. We figured the hostel couldn't be very far from the train station based on the directions, but we forgot that it was 11:00 pm and we were in an unfamiliar town. We basically walked around for an hour lugging our suitcases along busy roads, through the downtown where everyone was partying and finally ended up back at the station. We had to pay 14 euro for a cab ride to the hostel. Luckily the place was still open and there was someone there waiting for us. The next morning e learned that there are no hotels in Igouminitsu (we'll call it Igou for short), which wasn't really true we later found out (I kept the hostel room key on accident, so there). So we took the ferry to Corfu rather than Igou. Our hostel was called the Pink Palace - a college spring breaker's dream come true. Free breakfast, free internet, free dinner, and beautiful view! What more could you ask for?
We picked up a bottle of wine, and brought it back to our balcony to watch the daily show amongst the amazing view of the sea.
Corfu to Athens
so we were suppose to leave to Athens after the 2nd night at the Pink Palace, it was an overnight trip and it had been raining all day so we spent all day in the receptionist area watching movies and playing on the internet. We found out that our ferry was canceled because of the weather so we rushed to get on the last ferry of the night. By the time we wound our way across the island in torrential rain, we found out the ferry was canceled. But at least we got a free night back at the Pink Palace. So we ended up taking the 6:30 ferry the next morning to mainland Greece, where we were driven across the country by a Greek guy who spoke very little English. It wasn't the warmest day and he kept the window open all day while he smoked. So, after a 1.5 hour ferry ride and 7 hour van ride (at least it was scenic), we arrived in Athens. Melanie I were pretty tired and just spent the afternoon looking for an ATM and a snack, and then had a nice dinner provided by the Hostel. We also had our first taste of Greek Ouzo, a black licorice tasting liquor – similar to Sambuca
Day 2
Rainy day so we spent it at the Archaeological Museum (Another, yay!) We saw some great Greek sculptures and some Mycenaean artifacts. Very cool.
Day 3
We paid for the tickets. 18 euro! And if we would of just waited a couple of days it all would have been free for Easter weekend. Oh well, we saw the acropolis. It was huge, grandiose, spectacle of white marble. Then walked the grand promenade (basically a road connecting all of central Athens major historical sites), saw the Parthenon, walked around some of the cool neighborhoods. We went up and around heading towards the historical area of Plaka, however it was getting to the top of the hour and we definitely did not want to miss the changing of the guards. We grabbed a nice lunch (thinking we had enough time) but it got down to the wire and we ended up running and dodging cars to get to the parliament on time. Whew! Made it! The way the walked was so weird and funny and had to control my laughter. We then headed down the shopping street of Ermou and Corey finally bought a hat. Melanie picked up a nice traditional Greek blouse for herself and a couple souvenirs. Through our walking we discovered a fabulous flee market street, sat and had traditional Greek frappes. Delicious! We then walked up a hill adjacent to the acropolis for a view of the Parthenon at sunset. Of course we didn't take the easy way up, but the view a the top was well worth the climb. After we walked back down, and had a nice dinner on the grand promenade overlooking the acropolis all lit up in the night sky.
Day 4
We took the subway to the port of Piraeus to pick up ferry tickets to our next destination, Mykonos. After we walked a bit around the port and went back to the historical center to see the things we didnt have time to see the day earlier. This also happened to be Good Friday in Greece, so all the state historical sites were free. If only we knew this the day earlier...We then saw the ancient Greek agora (marketplace), saw a few other sites, had some lunch at a nice cafe, and then had dinner back at the hostel. Saw the Olympic stadium, awesome!
Day 5 – Athens to Mykonos.
So we woke up about 5:00, checked out of or hostel and headed for the subway. It was strange to be in such a large city, with no one out walking around. Most have left the city for the islands or elsewhere for the easter weekend. Once we got to the port, it was easy to find our boat (right in front of the main entrance). The ride was about 5 hours, but we occupied our time reading our books. But we were stuck in the smoking section so when the next to last stop came, we headed outside for the top deck where we could get some fresh air. Once we arrived in Mykonos, our hostel ride was waiting for us and brought us to the Paradise Beach campgrounds. The campground was nice, but the acclamations were very basic. We paid for the premier room (a little hut with two twin beds...and that's about it. It wasnt much better than a tent. Melanie was a little unsure at first, but being so close to the beach eventually won her over. This campground also had this pigeon house where all sorts of exotic birds were hanging out. After we got settled in, we had some dinner at the beach cafe and had a few drinks. That first night was pretty interesting. I slept fine, but it did get pretty cold. Being a tent like structure, every now and then some bugs made it in, which displeased Melanie. Needless to say, Melanie did not sleep well that night.
Brindisi to Corfu
We arrived in Brindisi at about 11:00 pm. We figured the hostel couldn't be very far from the train station based on the directions, but we forgot that it was 11:00 pm and we were in an unfamiliar town. We basically walked around for an hour lugging our suitcases along busy roads, through the downtown where everyone was partying and finally ended up back at the station. We had to pay 14 euro for a cab ride to the hostel. Luckily the place was still open and there was someone there waiting for us. The next morning e learned that there are no hotels in Igouminitsu (we'll call it Igou for short), which wasn't really true we later found out (I kept the hostel room key on accident, so there). So we took the ferry to Corfu rather than Igou. Our hostel was called the Pink Palace - a college spring breaker's dream come true. Free breakfast, free internet, free dinner, and beautiful view! What more could you ask for?
We picked up a bottle of wine, and brought it back to our balcony to watch the daily show amongst the amazing view of the sea.
Corfu to Athens
so we were suppose to leave to Athens after the 2nd night at the Pink Palace, it was an overnight trip and it had been raining all day so we spent all day in the receptionist area watching movies and playing on the internet. We found out that our ferry was canceled because of the weather so we rushed to get on the last ferry of the night. By the time we wound our way across the island in torrential rain, we found out the ferry was canceled. But at least we got a free night back at the Pink Palace. So we ended up taking the 6:30 ferry the next morning to mainland Greece, where we were driven across the country by a Greek guy who spoke very little English. It wasn't the warmest day and he kept the window open all day while he smoked. So, after a 1.5 hour ferry ride and 7 hour van ride (at least it was scenic), we arrived in Athens. Melanie I were pretty tired and just spent the afternoon looking for an ATM and a snack, and then had a nice dinner provided by the Hostel. We also had our first taste of Greek Ouzo, a black licorice tasting liquor – similar to Sambuca
Day 2
Rainy day so we spent it at the Archaeological Museum (Another, yay!) We saw some great Greek sculptures and some Mycenaean artifacts. Very cool.
Day 3
We paid for the tickets. 18 euro! And if we would of just waited a couple of days it all would have been free for Easter weekend. Oh well, we saw the acropolis. It was huge, grandiose, spectacle of white marble. Then walked the grand promenade (basically a road connecting all of central Athens major historical sites), saw the Parthenon, walked around some of the cool neighborhoods. We went up and around heading towards the historical area of Plaka, however it was getting to the top of the hour and we definitely did not want to miss the changing of the guards. We grabbed a nice lunch (thinking we had enough time) but it got down to the wire and we ended up running and dodging cars to get to the parliament on time. Whew! Made it! The way the walked was so weird and funny and had to control my laughter. We then headed down the shopping street of Ermou and Corey finally bought a hat. Melanie picked up a nice traditional Greek blouse for herself and a couple souvenirs. Through our walking we discovered a fabulous flee market street, sat and had traditional Greek frappes. Delicious! We then walked up a hill adjacent to the acropolis for a view of the Parthenon at sunset. Of course we didn't take the easy way up, but the view a the top was well worth the climb. After we walked back down, and had a nice dinner on the grand promenade overlooking the acropolis all lit up in the night sky.
Day 4
We took the subway to the port of Piraeus to pick up ferry tickets to our next destination, Mykonos. After we walked a bit around the port and went back to the historical center to see the things we didnt have time to see the day earlier. This also happened to be Good Friday in Greece, so all the state historical sites were free. If only we knew this the day earlier...We then saw the ancient Greek agora (marketplace), saw a few other sites, had some lunch at a nice cafe, and then had dinner back at the hostel. Saw the Olympic stadium, awesome!
Day 5 – Athens to Mykonos.
So we woke up about 5:00, checked out of or hostel and headed for the subway. It was strange to be in such a large city, with no one out walking around. Most have left the city for the islands or elsewhere for the easter weekend. Once we got to the port, it was easy to find our boat (right in front of the main entrance). The ride was about 5 hours, but we occupied our time reading our books. But we were stuck in the smoking section so when the next to last stop came, we headed outside for the top deck where we could get some fresh air. Once we arrived in Mykonos, our hostel ride was waiting for us and brought us to the Paradise Beach campgrounds. The campground was nice, but the acclamations were very basic. We paid for the premier room (a little hut with two twin beds...and that's about it. It wasnt much better than a tent. Melanie was a little unsure at first, but being so close to the beach eventually won her over. This campground also had this pigeon house where all sorts of exotic birds were hanging out. After we got settled in, we had some dinner at the beach cafe and had a few drinks. That first night was pretty interesting. I slept fine, but it did get pretty cold. Being a tent like structure, every now and then some bugs made it in, which displeased Melanie. Needless to say, Melanie did not sleep well that night.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Finally, Naples Pictures!
At long last we've finally posted our pictures of Naples and the Campania region. We've had sporadic access to internet and have been going 100 mph this past week in Greece. Now in Santorini, we're finally going to slow things down a bit. So, see the link below for the pics.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2685571&id=13906387&l=12ca56219f
We'll also be posting some pics and commentary of a time in Corfu, Athens, and Mykonos.
Cheers!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
ROME Photos!
Hey everyone - We're writing you from Athens right now. After a 7 hour mini-van ride, we really only want to let you know we have pics of Rome up for your viewing pleasure.
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=323121015/a=138263262_138263262/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Monday, April 13, 2009
Adventures in Naples
Naples and Campania region
Day 1 – we arrived. Heard Italian women train making jokes about Naples and clutching their purse. Then heard Americans talking about watching their bags while in Naples. Good start. First impression of hotel: dump. First impression of Naples: also a dump. Deposited our bags and walked down to the waterfront to investigate fares to Capri. Saw an old Spanish castle. On our way back to the hostel we walked through a large piazza and saw an old church and then found a restaurant where we got a 3 course meal for 7 Euro. Also remember fat girl falling off bike.
Day 2 – Bought Campania artecard. Walked to the archaeological museum. Saw lots of old stuff from Pompei and Herculaneum. Took funicular up to top of hill. Walked through a nice park. Great view of Naples below. Went back down. Walked through an old street in Old Naples. Then went to the restaurant next to our hotel and had pizza. Melanie had Verde bianco, and I had one with prosciutto. (note: we ate this place almost every night).
Day 3 – Pompeii
Saw the ruins of Pompeii all day long. We grabbed the circumvesuviana (at the station near our hotel) and got off at Pompeii Scavi. Had 3 euro cappuccino (ridiculous), and then bought 2 audio guides and went off exploring. Started out numerically on the map. Then realized we would be there all day and instead went for one of the preplanned itineraries from the map. Saw the forum. Some nice homes, a brothel, two theaters, the preserved tombs outside the city walls. I thought Pompeii is neat because an entire city is preserved, not just a few buildings. Had to high tail it out just before a massive storm. We have pictures. Then rode circum back to station in Naples and had dinner at place next door.
Day 4 – Herculaneum
Took the circum back out again this time to see Herculaneum – another Roman city buried by Vesuvius. This place is much more preserved, but smaller. First we arrived and walked down to where we thought the ruins were, had a very cheap and good cup of cappuccino. While enjoying we saw on TV that there was a 6.5 earth quake, east of Rome in L'aquila. Later we heard that the quake had killed over 220 people. After our coffee we got lost looking for the entrance to the ruins (the signs aren't very helpful). After the ruins we went back home and enjoyed another delicious pizza at our next door neighbors.
Day 5 – Capri
Took a fast ferry from Naples to Capri. Walked up the long stairs to the center of town from the dock. Did some more walking up to a great scenic point. Then went back down to the central piazza and tried walking down to the other side of the island to Marina Piccola. After a hike down, we had lunch (expensive!, but had a great view and a nice beach to hand out by). Then found an easier way back up to the top and back to central plaza. Took the fairy back, walked downtown Naples a bit before it got dark. Saw the royal palace, another large piazza similar to st. peters in rome. Then walked back home through Spaccanapoli (the old town). Had dinner at our favorite spot again.
Day 6 – Amalfi coast
We wanted to see the Amalfi coastal towns while in Naples, so we took the train out to Sorrento and hopped on a bus out to the town of Amalfi. You can get an idea of what the Amalfi coast is like if you've ever seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun;they show the town of Positano, which is on the coast. We passed through there on the way to the town of Amalfi. The bus ride was pretty intense, lots of twists and turns along the rocky cliffs of the coast, but we had an amazing view. When we arrived in Amalfi, we decided that we would just take it easy and relax most of the day. We walked to the main piazza and saw the old Norman-Arab cathedral in the center of town. Then we just wandered around looking at souvenir shops and limoncello (a local liquor) stores. Later we walked around a bit more to find the panoramic spots, took some great pictures, and then relaxed with some gelato and a delicious caprese salad with a couple of beers. We also ran into this foreign family for the 3rd day in a row! Pretty unbelievable given that there are so many things to do around Naples.
Late in the afternoon, we took the bus back to Sorrento. Melanie was having difficulty with the twists and turns, and took care of that in a plastic bag we so skillfully concealed. That was it for day 6. Just a relaxing day (minus the throwing up).
Day 7 – Vesuvius
We decided early on that we wanted to see Mt. Vesuvius before we left. The way it works is that you have to take a bus about ¾ of the way up, and then walk the rest of the way. The bus ride was yet again another thrill ride. This time it wasn't so much the road as it was the driver. I guess he really wanted us to get up there quickly as he squealed is tires around every turn. At least he was entertaining though. After de-boarding at the parking area, we made our ascent. The walkway was very steep and difficult to climb with non-hiking shoes. On the way up, we were rewarded with awesome views of the Bay of Naples, Sorrento and Capri. Once at the top, we were able to peer down inside the caldera. There were even a few spots where you could see steam escaping through vents in the caldera. On the way back down, we saw the same foreign family yet again. I don't how that is possible that two separate parties can have the same itineraries for 4 days, but it happened.
Anyways, so after seeing the crater and the foreign couple, we hurried back down to catch the 2:00 bus back to Pompeii (or so we thought it was 2:00.) we ended up waiting for another hour for the bus in a dusty parking lot, but finally made it back down. By this time we were starving, so we had some overpriced sandwiches (Pompeii is like a camping resort with tourists traps everywhere). We then took the train back into Naples. After spending way too much in Naples, we went back to the restaurant we had dinner at on the first night, figuring that a 3 course meal for 7 Euro is still the best deal in town. We should have eaten at this place every night instead of the mediocre pizza joint next door.
Day 1 – we arrived. Heard Italian women train making jokes about Naples and clutching their purse. Then heard Americans talking about watching their bags while in Naples. Good start. First impression of hotel: dump. First impression of Naples: also a dump. Deposited our bags and walked down to the waterfront to investigate fares to Capri. Saw an old Spanish castle. On our way back to the hostel we walked through a large piazza and saw an old church and then found a restaurant where we got a 3 course meal for 7 Euro. Also remember fat girl falling off bike.
Day 2 – Bought Campania artecard. Walked to the archaeological museum. Saw lots of old stuff from Pompei and Herculaneum. Took funicular up to top of hill. Walked through a nice park. Great view of Naples below. Went back down. Walked through an old street in Old Naples. Then went to the restaurant next to our hotel and had pizza. Melanie had Verde bianco, and I had one with prosciutto. (note: we ate this place almost every night).
Day 3 – Pompeii
Saw the ruins of Pompeii all day long. We grabbed the circumvesuviana (at the station near our hotel) and got off at Pompeii Scavi. Had 3 euro cappuccino (ridiculous), and then bought 2 audio guides and went off exploring. Started out numerically on the map. Then realized we would be there all day and instead went for one of the preplanned itineraries from the map. Saw the forum. Some nice homes, a brothel, two theaters, the preserved tombs outside the city walls. I thought Pompeii is neat because an entire city is preserved, not just a few buildings. Had to high tail it out just before a massive storm. We have pictures. Then rode circum back to station in Naples and had dinner at place next door.
Day 4 – Herculaneum
Took the circum back out again this time to see Herculaneum – another Roman city buried by Vesuvius. This place is much more preserved, but smaller. First we arrived and walked down to where we thought the ruins were, had a very cheap and good cup of cappuccino. While enjoying we saw on TV that there was a 6.5 earth quake, east of Rome in L'aquila. Later we heard that the quake had killed over 220 people. After our coffee we got lost looking for the entrance to the ruins (the signs aren't very helpful). After the ruins we went back home and enjoyed another delicious pizza at our next door neighbors.
Day 5 – Capri
Took a fast ferry from Naples to Capri. Walked up the long stairs to the center of town from the dock. Did some more walking up to a great scenic point. Then went back down to the central piazza and tried walking down to the other side of the island to Marina Piccola. After a hike down, we had lunch (expensive!, but had a great view and a nice beach to hand out by). Then found an easier way back up to the top and back to central plaza. Took the fairy back, walked downtown Naples a bit before it got dark. Saw the royal palace, another large piazza similar to st. peters in rome. Then walked back home through Spaccanapoli (the old town). Had dinner at our favorite spot again.
Day 6 – Amalfi coast
We wanted to see the Amalfi coastal towns while in Naples, so we took the train out to Sorrento and hopped on a bus out to the town of Amalfi. You can get an idea of what the Amalfi coast is like if you've ever seen the movie Under the Tuscan Sun;they show the town of Positano, which is on the coast. We passed through there on the way to the town of Amalfi. The bus ride was pretty intense, lots of twists and turns along the rocky cliffs of the coast, but we had an amazing view. When we arrived in Amalfi, we decided that we would just take it easy and relax most of the day. We walked to the main piazza and saw the old Norman-Arab cathedral in the center of town. Then we just wandered around looking at souvenir shops and limoncello (a local liquor) stores. Later we walked around a bit more to find the panoramic spots, took some great pictures, and then relaxed with some gelato and a delicious caprese salad with a couple of beers. We also ran into this foreign family for the 3rd day in a row! Pretty unbelievable given that there are so many things to do around Naples.
Late in the afternoon, we took the bus back to Sorrento. Melanie was having difficulty with the twists and turns, and took care of that in a plastic bag we so skillfully concealed. That was it for day 6. Just a relaxing day (minus the throwing up).
Day 7 – Vesuvius
We decided early on that we wanted to see Mt. Vesuvius before we left. The way it works is that you have to take a bus about ¾ of the way up, and then walk the rest of the way. The bus ride was yet again another thrill ride. This time it wasn't so much the road as it was the driver. I guess he really wanted us to get up there quickly as he squealed is tires around every turn. At least he was entertaining though. After de-boarding at the parking area, we made our ascent. The walkway was very steep and difficult to climb with non-hiking shoes. On the way up, we were rewarded with awesome views of the Bay of Naples, Sorrento and Capri. Once at the top, we were able to peer down inside the caldera. There were even a few spots where you could see steam escaping through vents in the caldera. On the way back down, we saw the same foreign family yet again. I don't how that is possible that two separate parties can have the same itineraries for 4 days, but it happened.
Anyways, so after seeing the crater and the foreign couple, we hurried back down to catch the 2:00 bus back to Pompeii (or so we thought it was 2:00.) we ended up waiting for another hour for the bus in a dusty parking lot, but finally made it back down. By this time we were starving, so we had some overpriced sandwiches (Pompeii is like a camping resort with tourists traps everywhere). We then took the train back into Naples. After spending way too much in Naples, we went back to the restaurant we had dinner at on the first night, figuring that a 3 course meal for 7 Euro is still the best deal in town. We should have eaten at this place every night instead of the mediocre pizza joint next door.
ROME
Day 1
-We arrive and walk a short distance to hostel near the train station. Walk around while our room is being prepared. Our first 3 nights were in a different hostel altogether because there was a massive group of 12 people staying in our room. It worked out well because we ended up getting a private shower and bathroom in a brand new apartment complex. We were able to catch up on news back home with the nice satellite connected flat screen in our room. I also had problems connecting the computer to the hostel's wi-fi, so we ended up getting another night added on. We walked a bit around the northern part of the city, near our hostel and wandered into the Trevi fountain. It was an amazing sight in the dark, even if it was completely overrun by tourists.
Day 2
The ruins, and Colosseum. Just want it says. Walked from our hostel southwest through the park that houses the Domus Aurea (Nero's Golden House), and straight into the Colosseum. It was glorious seeing such a massive ancient structure rising out of the grit and noise of modern day Rome. We saw the forum from the outside of the Colosseum, went by the circus maximus. We were looking for the entrance into the forum and had lunch near an old church and arch. We went inside the massive “wedding cake” monument to Italy's first king and saw some great panoramic views. Then walked out into the Capotoline hill square. Looked for the forum entrance and ended up seeing all the ruins just outside the forum including Julius Caesar's temple, Trajan's market and column, and other stuff. Then we finally found the entrance. The forum is impressive obviously, but I think seeing it in person helped me understand how normal of a city it was. Not some mythical place of antiquity. Next we finished up our afternoon walking around the different levels of the Colosseum. They had a nice display of artifacts found in and around the Colosseum and a history of the Flavian emperors who presided over it's construction. That it for day 2
Day 3
Palatine Hill. Palatine and only Palatine hill. The ticket we bought for the Colosseum and the forum also covered Palatine hill – where the emperor's built their homes. We saw the massive flavian palace, the exterior of emperor Augustus's home and some recently unearthed remains of the inside of his home. It had some well preserved frescoes and mosaic floors. We then walked around the rest of the hill and finished up in the forum once more. Next we walked back towards the Trevi fountain, this time for a glimpse during the day. After we walked over to the Pantheon (but it was closed), and found ourselves in the midst of a big protest complete with cops, military police, tear gas, music and helicopters. Fortunately, there were no surprises, minus the flare guns.
Day 4
The Vatican – Saw basilica, st. peter's square, Bernini. Went inside basilica, saw Michelangelo's statue. Waited in line to touch gold cross, see picture. Saw the alter that used bronze from Pantheon (boo). Walked around Vatican city walls to find museum. But the “free” signs mislead us. Found out entrance was closed, just missed it. So then walked back towards square. Then left Vatican and walked around caste san Angelo. Then saw piazza popolo. Took funny pictures. Saw Spanish steps and it started to pour. So we ducked inside and drank coffee. Then walked home in the rain (with umbrella, but still soaked). Also, guys try and sell umbrellas when it rains.
Day 5
Piazza Navonna, Vatican and Pantheon early. We stopped before museum to see inside of pantheon and saw Raphael's tomb. Also saw Piazza Navona and Bernini fountains. Then went to museum with no lines (yay!). We saw some great roman and Greek statues and art, saw the Laocoon statue (3000 years old). Raphael's frescoes (school of Athens), some Dali paintings, cute fat cardinal painting, Sistine chapel (Hallelujah. Lots of people, everyone is loud and everyone shushing), then left the area and saw some final paintings by other greats such as Caravaggio, Leonardo, and a few more famous Raphael paintings. Then we walked back to hostel.
Day 6
Appian way – took subway down south and walked the Appian way (0ld Roman road leading out of Rome). On the way, we saw the supposed footprints of Jesus at the Domine Quo Vadis church. Then attempted to walk the Appian way. Lots of traffic and no sidewalks. Hopped a bus for free for a couple miles then walked the rest of the way. No traffic. Saw the Circus of Maxentius, and a suburban bath complex. Kept walking along original Roman paved roads with numerous tombs and mausoleum from ancient times. Very nice day, warm and sunny. Then wind picked up and it started to rain. Nice to be out of the city and all its noises. Thought about seeing old Christian catacombs but didn't go because of huge Spanish school groups. So we walked through the massive park around the Appian way. Saw a Sheppard grazing his sheep. Walked back, found a market and bought some jewelry. Then we took the subway back home.
Day 7
Walked to the Borghese museum. Along the way walked along a very nice strip of restaurants and hotels. Stopped at a beautiful church where Bernini's Ecstacy of St. Theresa sculpture resides (also mentioned in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons). Walked around the Borghese park. Bought tickets for the museum but had to wait 3 hours before going in. Fought off the intermittent rain and finally enjoyed the museum. More Bernini statues. We werent aware of the daylight savings time so we lost an hour on our tour without knowing it. We explained to the staff and they let us stay for another hour. Borghese took all day, so we just went home.
Day 8
Trastevere and Police.
Police!!
we were awoken by the sound of police banging on the door of the reception. And obnoxious door buzzing
Ask for our passports and how much we paid for the room.
Worried we would never see the Asian ladies again...how would we get back into room?
But they did and they gave us our breakfast. They said they were late on something and that is way the police was here.
And after dinner they surprised us with oranges and yogurt and apologized again for the trouble this morning.
Went to Trastevere neighborhood, walked up a big hill and saw great view of Rome. Then walked back down to central area and went to Aventine hill. Saw some more great views.
-We arrive and walk a short distance to hostel near the train station. Walk around while our room is being prepared. Our first 3 nights were in a different hostel altogether because there was a massive group of 12 people staying in our room. It worked out well because we ended up getting a private shower and bathroom in a brand new apartment complex. We were able to catch up on news back home with the nice satellite connected flat screen in our room. I also had problems connecting the computer to the hostel's wi-fi, so we ended up getting another night added on. We walked a bit around the northern part of the city, near our hostel and wandered into the Trevi fountain. It was an amazing sight in the dark, even if it was completely overrun by tourists.
Day 2
The ruins, and Colosseum. Just want it says. Walked from our hostel southwest through the park that houses the Domus Aurea (Nero's Golden House), and straight into the Colosseum. It was glorious seeing such a massive ancient structure rising out of the grit and noise of modern day Rome. We saw the forum from the outside of the Colosseum, went by the circus maximus. We were looking for the entrance into the forum and had lunch near an old church and arch. We went inside the massive “wedding cake” monument to Italy's first king and saw some great panoramic views. Then walked out into the Capotoline hill square. Looked for the forum entrance and ended up seeing all the ruins just outside the forum including Julius Caesar's temple, Trajan's market and column, and other stuff. Then we finally found the entrance. The forum is impressive obviously, but I think seeing it in person helped me understand how normal of a city it was. Not some mythical place of antiquity. Next we finished up our afternoon walking around the different levels of the Colosseum. They had a nice display of artifacts found in and around the Colosseum and a history of the Flavian emperors who presided over it's construction. That it for day 2
Day 3
Palatine Hill. Palatine and only Palatine hill. The ticket we bought for the Colosseum and the forum also covered Palatine hill – where the emperor's built their homes. We saw the massive flavian palace, the exterior of emperor Augustus's home and some recently unearthed remains of the inside of his home. It had some well preserved frescoes and mosaic floors. We then walked around the rest of the hill and finished up in the forum once more. Next we walked back towards the Trevi fountain, this time for a glimpse during the day. After we walked over to the Pantheon (but it was closed), and found ourselves in the midst of a big protest complete with cops, military police, tear gas, music and helicopters. Fortunately, there were no surprises, minus the flare guns.
Day 4
The Vatican – Saw basilica, st. peter's square, Bernini. Went inside basilica, saw Michelangelo's statue. Waited in line to touch gold cross, see picture. Saw the alter that used bronze from Pantheon (boo). Walked around Vatican city walls to find museum. But the “free” signs mislead us. Found out entrance was closed, just missed it. So then walked back towards square. Then left Vatican and walked around caste san Angelo. Then saw piazza popolo. Took funny pictures. Saw Spanish steps and it started to pour. So we ducked inside and drank coffee. Then walked home in the rain (with umbrella, but still soaked). Also, guys try and sell umbrellas when it rains.
Day 5
Piazza Navonna, Vatican and Pantheon early. We stopped before museum to see inside of pantheon and saw Raphael's tomb. Also saw Piazza Navona and Bernini fountains. Then went to museum with no lines (yay!). We saw some great roman and Greek statues and art, saw the Laocoon statue (3000 years old). Raphael's frescoes (school of Athens), some Dali paintings, cute fat cardinal painting, Sistine chapel (Hallelujah. Lots of people, everyone is loud and everyone shushing), then left the area and saw some final paintings by other greats such as Caravaggio, Leonardo, and a few more famous Raphael paintings. Then we walked back to hostel.
Day 6
Appian way – took subway down south and walked the Appian way (0ld Roman road leading out of Rome). On the way, we saw the supposed footprints of Jesus at the Domine Quo Vadis church. Then attempted to walk the Appian way. Lots of traffic and no sidewalks. Hopped a bus for free for a couple miles then walked the rest of the way. No traffic. Saw the Circus of Maxentius, and a suburban bath complex. Kept walking along original Roman paved roads with numerous tombs and mausoleum from ancient times. Very nice day, warm and sunny. Then wind picked up and it started to rain. Nice to be out of the city and all its noises. Thought about seeing old Christian catacombs but didn't go because of huge Spanish school groups. So we walked through the massive park around the Appian way. Saw a Sheppard grazing his sheep. Walked back, found a market and bought some jewelry. Then we took the subway back home.
Day 7
Walked to the Borghese museum. Along the way walked along a very nice strip of restaurants and hotels. Stopped at a beautiful church where Bernini's Ecstacy of St. Theresa sculpture resides (also mentioned in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons). Walked around the Borghese park. Bought tickets for the museum but had to wait 3 hours before going in. Fought off the intermittent rain and finally enjoyed the museum. More Bernini statues. We werent aware of the daylight savings time so we lost an hour on our tour without knowing it. We explained to the staff and they let us stay for another hour. Borghese took all day, so we just went home.
Day 8
Trastevere and Police.
Police!!
we were awoken by the sound of police banging on the door of the reception. And obnoxious door buzzing
Ask for our passports and how much we paid for the room.
Worried we would never see the Asian ladies again...how would we get back into room?
But they did and they gave us our breakfast. They said they were late on something and that is way the police was here.
And after dinner they surprised us with oranges and yogurt and apologized again for the trouble this morning.
Went to Trastevere neighborhood, walked up a big hill and saw great view of Rome. Then walked back down to central area and went to Aventine hill. Saw some more great views.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
STATUS CONFIRMATION
Status: ALIVE and WELL!!
We are currently on the island of Corfu in Greece (just east off the boot of Italy.)
Thank you for all your thoughts of concern after the tragic earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy. Thankfully we were in Naples at the time and felt no trace of the earthquake.
We will post our adventures in Rome and Naples soon.
We are currently on the island of Corfu in Greece (just east off the boot of Italy.)
Thank you for all your thoughts of concern after the tragic earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy. Thankfully we were in Naples at the time and felt no trace of the earthquake.
We will post our adventures in Rome and Naples soon.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Final day in Florence - another catch-up post (sorry!)
Last day in Florence – I promised I would post this.
Our last day in Florence turned out to be the perfect way to goodbye to the city. It also happened to be my (Corey) birthday. So I was able to choose the day's activities.
Before I start, let me quickly mention a few things about our hotel's free breakfast. They offer a free continental breakfast every morning from like 8:30 to 10:30. But it seems like just a few guests know about it, so we head down there at like 8:30, enjoy a bowl of cereal, juice, coffee, a couple of croissants, some muffins. Pretty much 2 of everything. Then we grab several croissants and muffins to go and maybe a couple of packages of Nutella. That way we don't have to pack a big lunch. I just thought that I'd note that for posterity's sake.
Anyways, the first thing we do is enjoy a nice breakfast, and then head to the Duomo to walk the 470 steps to the top. It doesn't actually seem that bad once you start walking. We were able to see how the architect was able to the build the dome. He actually built two domes – one for support. Before he came on the project, no one could figure out how to build a dome that massive. About halfway up, we were able to see the fresco of the Last Judgment on the underside of the dome.
We finally made it up to the top (along with 40 other people) and saw some the best views of the city (see the earlier post on Florence pt. 2 pictures). After taking a ton of shots, we headed back down to the plaza and decided to walk back across Ponte Vecchio and spend some time on the souther side of the city. Besides being free of many tourists, the southern side of Florence is very nice. We took a great stroll up a wide boulevard lined with huge cedar trees up to the top of a hill just south of the river. We wanted to check out this massive fort atop the hill, so we continued our nice stroll down some winy narrow roads. Eventually we found the fort, but it was closed for the day, so we just continued down the road to find out where it ended. We were surprised to find that the road brought us back down to the river just a few blocks from where we started. We also ended up right in front of the hill we discussed climbing early on in the week. We found our way up to the top of the hill, where Piazza Michelangelo is (named for a bronze copy of his David statue at the center of the piazza – also in the second set of Florence pictures in a previous post.) After taking in some more gorgeous views, we went back down to the center of town and enjoyed one last excellent three course dinner at our favorite trattoria.
OK. so later I will post some thoughts on our week in Rome and post some pics of Rome.
Our last day in Florence turned out to be the perfect way to goodbye to the city. It also happened to be my (Corey) birthday. So I was able to choose the day's activities.
Before I start, let me quickly mention a few things about our hotel's free breakfast. They offer a free continental breakfast every morning from like 8:30 to 10:30. But it seems like just a few guests know about it, so we head down there at like 8:30, enjoy a bowl of cereal, juice, coffee, a couple of croissants, some muffins. Pretty much 2 of everything. Then we grab several croissants and muffins to go and maybe a couple of packages of Nutella. That way we don't have to pack a big lunch. I just thought that I'd note that for posterity's sake.
Anyways, the first thing we do is enjoy a nice breakfast, and then head to the Duomo to walk the 470 steps to the top. It doesn't actually seem that bad once you start walking. We were able to see how the architect was able to the build the dome. He actually built two domes – one for support. Before he came on the project, no one could figure out how to build a dome that massive. About halfway up, we were able to see the fresco of the Last Judgment on the underside of the dome.
We finally made it up to the top (along with 40 other people) and saw some the best views of the city (see the earlier post on Florence pt. 2 pictures). After taking a ton of shots, we headed back down to the plaza and decided to walk back across Ponte Vecchio and spend some time on the souther side of the city. Besides being free of many tourists, the southern side of Florence is very nice. We took a great stroll up a wide boulevard lined with huge cedar trees up to the top of a hill just south of the river. We wanted to check out this massive fort atop the hill, so we continued our nice stroll down some winy narrow roads. Eventually we found the fort, but it was closed for the day, so we just continued down the road to find out where it ended. We were surprised to find that the road brought us back down to the river just a few blocks from where we started. We also ended up right in front of the hill we discussed climbing early on in the week. We found our way up to the top of the hill, where Piazza Michelangelo is (named for a bronze copy of his David statue at the center of the piazza – also in the second set of Florence pictures in a previous post.) After taking in some more gorgeous views, we went back down to the center of town and enjoyed one last excellent three course dinner at our favorite trattoria.
OK. so later I will post some thoughts on our week in Rome and post some pics of Rome.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Gross
So, we are here in Rome out for dinner. As I am ordering my dish, I recognized a meal that I have since several other times at other restaurants. So, me being adventurous I decide to go for it, and I order Trippa alla Romana.
So for those who already know what it is, well then you already know. I had NO idea.
I receive this dish and it looks pretty good, it seemed that I ordered some kind of pasta dish. Oh but I was wrong... very wrong.
I take the first bite, and its very chewy, almost unchewable, and the texture resemble raw lard that I could barely swallow it down. I'm thinking what in the world could this be!!! Corey and I decide to WIKI it as soon as we got back to the hostel.
It turns out I just ate a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.
NASTY!!!!!!!!
If you would like to educate yourself more on trippa, check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripe
Saturday, March 28, 2009
More pictures of Florence
OK. here are some shots from our final day in Florence. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2670454&id=13906387&l=418e8b6b4c
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2670454&id=13906387&l=418e8b6b4c
Florence pt. 1
This is the the first 6 days of our time in Florence. I could'nt do the last day because I'm too tired and will post that a little later. Also watch for pics from our last day in Florence, as well.
Well, we just concluded our 7 day stay in Florence, and I'm proud to say that I think we made the most of our time there.
We left from Venice around 10:00 in the morning and figured we'd have to pay $100 for our train tickets, but actually got them for $60. Once on the train, we settled down with a couple of Italian businessmen who spoke some Spanish. So we had a nice chat about American vs. European culture. Once in Florence we went straight to our hotel, which was very close to the station, and we left our bags and walked over to the main center of town where the massive Duomo awaited us. I think the hugeness of this cathedral and the brilliant green, red, and white marble is one the most impressive things I have seen yet. After some more admiring, we walked south towards to the Arno river and caught a glimpse of the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence (built by the Romans). After that we walked a bit along the river and found another great church, Santa Croce. Here we saw the tombs of Michaelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. A storm soon rolled through with considrable fury, so we took shelter and then headed home for the night.
Friday we decided that if we wanted to catch a Florence soccer match, we better get tickets early. So, we walked halfway across town to the stadium to pick up tickets for the match on Sunday. It was pretty damn cold and windy that day, so when we made it back to the center of town we went to the Uffizi gallery to get out of the cold and saw some great paintings and sculptures by some famous artists like Leonardo, Caravaggio, etc. Good stuff.
Saturday we headed for Pisa and spent half a day there taking pictures of tourists doing the typical Pisa pose. Pisa was very nice, but other than the tower, the church and baptistery, there Isn't else much to do. We headed back to Florence and had a glorious 3 course dinner for 13 Euros each. We actually alternated between 3 restaurants each night because they were such a good deal.
Sunday was the Fiorentina (Florence's Series A soccer team) match against Siena. The day before we bought a couple of shirts for the match and we were well prepared. Fiorentina won 1-0, so it was a nice afternoon around Florence. Once again we had dinner at one of our favorite spots near our hotel.
Just a quick story: we ran into another couple from Minneapolis in a Florence restaurant (while we were in Barcelona, 2 of our hostelmates were also from Minneapolis/Duluth. One of the nights at dinner we shared a table with a nice older couple from Manhattan, KS. Later on our train to Rome, we passed by a station in Orvieto and happen to see them again at the station. It just seems strange that in a country full of tourists you end up seeing the same people over and over
Anyways, to round out the last 3 days in Florence, we spent a full day on a tour of Siena, San Gimignano, and the Chianti region. It was real nice to just sit on a bus and get driven around all day. While in the Chianti region we took a great tour of a small organic farm where the owner provided us with free samples of his products, and showed us his wine and vinegar cellars. It was pretty nice. We ended up spending over 50 euros on wine, balsamic vinegar, marmalade, and olive oil.
Tuesday we saw a cool exhibition of Galileo and a bunch of stuff about early astronomy. I thought the exhibition was very well presented and they had some very old relics of astronomy including old maps, paintings, statues, sundials, all sorts of things. The Catholic church really tried to suppress the findings of Galileo and other astronomers that realized that the earth is not the center of the known universe, so much that Galileo had to renounce his own work so we wouldn't be excommunicated or possibly worse. I think we're beyond those days now, but it's amazing the power the church had over everything and everyone during this age. Oh, I should also mention that we saw Galileo's finger. It was sort of mummified and place in a glass case. It rested on a marble plaque that said something about how venerated Galileo was. He was godlike, apparently. The John Lennon of astronomy.
I will post the final day of Florence in a few days.
Well, we just concluded our 7 day stay in Florence, and I'm proud to say that I think we made the most of our time there.
We left from Venice around 10:00 in the morning and figured we'd have to pay $100 for our train tickets, but actually got them for $60. Once on the train, we settled down with a couple of Italian businessmen who spoke some Spanish. So we had a nice chat about American vs. European culture. Once in Florence we went straight to our hotel, which was very close to the station, and we left our bags and walked over to the main center of town where the massive Duomo awaited us. I think the hugeness of this cathedral and the brilliant green, red, and white marble is one the most impressive things I have seen yet. After some more admiring, we walked south towards to the Arno river and caught a glimpse of the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence (built by the Romans). After that we walked a bit along the river and found another great church, Santa Croce. Here we saw the tombs of Michaelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. A storm soon rolled through with considrable fury, so we took shelter and then headed home for the night.
Friday we decided that if we wanted to catch a Florence soccer match, we better get tickets early. So, we walked halfway across town to the stadium to pick up tickets for the match on Sunday. It was pretty damn cold and windy that day, so when we made it back to the center of town we went to the Uffizi gallery to get out of the cold and saw some great paintings and sculptures by some famous artists like Leonardo, Caravaggio, etc. Good stuff.
Saturday we headed for Pisa and spent half a day there taking pictures of tourists doing the typical Pisa pose. Pisa was very nice, but other than the tower, the church and baptistery, there Isn't else much to do. We headed back to Florence and had a glorious 3 course dinner for 13 Euros each. We actually alternated between 3 restaurants each night because they were such a good deal.
Sunday was the Fiorentina (Florence's Series A soccer team) match against Siena. The day before we bought a couple of shirts for the match and we were well prepared. Fiorentina won 1-0, so it was a nice afternoon around Florence. Once again we had dinner at one of our favorite spots near our hotel.
Just a quick story: we ran into another couple from Minneapolis in a Florence restaurant (while we were in Barcelona, 2 of our hostelmates were also from Minneapolis/Duluth. One of the nights at dinner we shared a table with a nice older couple from Manhattan, KS. Later on our train to Rome, we passed by a station in Orvieto and happen to see them again at the station. It just seems strange that in a country full of tourists you end up seeing the same people over and over
Anyways, to round out the last 3 days in Florence, we spent a full day on a tour of Siena, San Gimignano, and the Chianti region. It was real nice to just sit on a bus and get driven around all day. While in the Chianti region we took a great tour of a small organic farm where the owner provided us with free samples of his products, and showed us his wine and vinegar cellars. It was pretty nice. We ended up spending over 50 euros on wine, balsamic vinegar, marmalade, and olive oil.
Tuesday we saw a cool exhibition of Galileo and a bunch of stuff about early astronomy. I thought the exhibition was very well presented and they had some very old relics of astronomy including old maps, paintings, statues, sundials, all sorts of things. The Catholic church really tried to suppress the findings of Galileo and other astronomers that realized that the earth is not the center of the known universe, so much that Galileo had to renounce his own work so we wouldn't be excommunicated or possibly worse. I think we're beyond those days now, but it's amazing the power the church had over everything and everyone during this age. Oh, I should also mention that we saw Galileo's finger. It was sort of mummified and place in a glass case. It rested on a marble plaque that said something about how venerated Galileo was. He was godlike, apparently. The John Lennon of astronomy.
I will post the final day of Florence in a few days.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Florence (and surrounding areas) Pictures!
Hey everyone, Here are some pictures from Florence, Siena, Pisa and other Tuscan areas.
Check out the link for more:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2666738&id=13906387&l=3c77e4aee4
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Milan and Venice Pictures
OK. I am trying a different way of posting pictures. This time on Facebook. This link should work for everyone, even if you don't have a Facebook account.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2657538&id=13906387&l=16103e104d
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2657538&id=13906387&l=16103e104d
Catch-up Post: Venice
Even though we were fully prepared for it, Venice thoroughly blew my mind. It was great to step off the train and walk right into the heart of Venice, rather than having to catch a bus or a subway to get to the center of town. This time we had to ride the mass transit ferry to our hostel on the island of Lido. Now whenever I think of our hostel I think of that song...”Lido, whoa ohh wahooah ohhhh”. You know what song I'm thinking of. The island of Lido is actually really nice. It's much quieter then the central island, it's slower paced, food and drinks are cheaper, but it still has the canals and the nice scenery. Once we checked in, we walked to the beach nearby that supposedly has a shipwreck, but we didn't find anything.
Our first full day we headed back on the ferry to the main island. Our first stop was San Marco square. I think the San Marco cathedral and square is one of my favorite spots on this trip so far. The church itself is very interesting inside. It was built in a Byzantine style, which was different than the Romanesque churches of the rest of Italy, and so it feels very different than the other churches we have been in. Apparently the church holds relics from the 4th crusade, as well. So, after admiring the church some more, we headed out to explore the island. We didn't have any particular place in mind to go, so we just walked random streets until we were blocked by water. Eventually we decided to check out the island of Murano, where all the Venetian glassmakers have their shops. After walking for some time, we fortunately came across a shop where we were able to see some glassblowers in action. Pretty rad. We were getting hungry so we took the ferry back to the main island, ate an overpriced pizza, and headed back to Lido.
I did notice that Venice has a lot more tourists and school groups around. It's nice in some respect because you don't feel so exposed as a foreigner, but it can feel like you're not getting the full experience being around so many tourists. I guess it kind of feels like a Historical theme park, with real people actually living there. Anyhow, it's very beautiful and I would love to go back again.
I promise I will post pictures of Milan and Venice within the next couple of days.
Our first full day we headed back on the ferry to the main island. Our first stop was San Marco square. I think the San Marco cathedral and square is one of my favorite spots on this trip so far. The church itself is very interesting inside. It was built in a Byzantine style, which was different than the Romanesque churches of the rest of Italy, and so it feels very different than the other churches we have been in. Apparently the church holds relics from the 4th crusade, as well. So, after admiring the church some more, we headed out to explore the island. We didn't have any particular place in mind to go, so we just walked random streets until we were blocked by water. Eventually we decided to check out the island of Murano, where all the Venetian glassmakers have their shops. After walking for some time, we fortunately came across a shop where we were able to see some glassblowers in action. Pretty rad. We were getting hungry so we took the ferry back to the main island, ate an overpriced pizza, and headed back to Lido.
I did notice that Venice has a lot more tourists and school groups around. It's nice in some respect because you don't feel so exposed as a foreigner, but it can feel like you're not getting the full experience being around so many tourists. I guess it kind of feels like a Historical theme park, with real people actually living there. Anyhow, it's very beautiful and I would love to go back again.
I promise I will post pictures of Milan and Venice within the next couple of days.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Catch-up post: Milan
Sorry to all of those who have following, but we havent been keeping up to date lately. We didnt have easy accessible internet while in Milan or Venice, and we only spent a few days in each city.
So here is an abstract of our time in Milan. We arrived by plane from Barcelona - a much better experience this time around. After a bus ride into town, we had to find a map of the city. We probably walked around the train station for an hour looking for an info desk before finding a map. Once we did, we walked across half the city to our hotel. It actually was a decent place. The guys who ran the front desk basically sat around smoking ciggarettes, playing online poker or Half Life. But they were really friendly and helpful. By the way, after 7 nights in noisy Barcelona, I finally got a full nights sleep!
Our first full day we walked into the city center to check out the gorgeous Milan Cathedral. Did you know it's the 3rd largest church in Europe? Well now you know. After leaving the cathedral, we were tricked into “donating” a Euro for these little rainbow colored bracelets that a street merchant insisted we wear. We tried to get out of it, but he was just so friendly. Oh well. Then we found or way out to Sforza castle, a rebuilt fortress where the original medieval entrance was. Finally we thought we could catch a glimpse of Davinci's Last Supper, but apparently you have to prebook your ticket, and spots are filled up until May! So much for that. We rounded out the night checking out a bar near our hotel. We had a couple of beers and ate some great free happy hour food. The owner was a fun, eccentric guy who played some old 45s of Salsa and Latin jazz, old Willy Nelson, and 60's American pop.
Our second day we decided to check out Milan's “little Venice” neighborhood. It was supposed to have nice footbridges over little canals...it was NOT worth the stop. Sure the all the buildings are beautiful, and all that, but a little Venice it's not. So by the time we made it back to our hotel (by walking), we were famished. That night, We went out around our hotel looking for some cheap eats once more. We ended up finding this Kebab place that sold pizza. We ordered this promotional combo which included a slice of pizza (we thought), fries and a can of Coke for 6 Euros (a great deal!). We ended up getting a full pizza, fries, and a coke. We thought the cook made a mistake, so we high tailed it out of there before they noticed. It wasn't that great of a pizza, but for 6 Euros I enjoyed it like it was.
The next morning we went back to the train station and headed east to Venice. More on that soon and pics of Milan and Venice will be up shortly.
So here is an abstract of our time in Milan. We arrived by plane from Barcelona - a much better experience this time around. After a bus ride into town, we had to find a map of the city. We probably walked around the train station for an hour looking for an info desk before finding a map. Once we did, we walked across half the city to our hotel. It actually was a decent place. The guys who ran the front desk basically sat around smoking ciggarettes, playing online poker or Half Life. But they were really friendly and helpful. By the way, after 7 nights in noisy Barcelona, I finally got a full nights sleep!
Our first full day we walked into the city center to check out the gorgeous Milan Cathedral. Did you know it's the 3rd largest church in Europe? Well now you know. After leaving the cathedral, we were tricked into “donating” a Euro for these little rainbow colored bracelets that a street merchant insisted we wear. We tried to get out of it, but he was just so friendly. Oh well. Then we found or way out to Sforza castle, a rebuilt fortress where the original medieval entrance was. Finally we thought we could catch a glimpse of Davinci's Last Supper, but apparently you have to prebook your ticket, and spots are filled up until May! So much for that. We rounded out the night checking out a bar near our hotel. We had a couple of beers and ate some great free happy hour food. The owner was a fun, eccentric guy who played some old 45s of Salsa and Latin jazz, old Willy Nelson, and 60's American pop.
Our second day we decided to check out Milan's “little Venice” neighborhood. It was supposed to have nice footbridges over little canals...it was NOT worth the stop. Sure the all the buildings are beautiful, and all that, but a little Venice it's not. So by the time we made it back to our hotel (by walking), we were famished. That night, We went out around our hotel looking for some cheap eats once more. We ended up finding this Kebab place that sold pizza. We ordered this promotional combo which included a slice of pizza (we thought), fries and a can of Coke for 6 Euros (a great deal!). We ended up getting a full pizza, fries, and a coke. We thought the cook made a mistake, so we high tailed it out of there before they noticed. It wasn't that great of a pizza, but for 6 Euros I enjoyed it like it was.
The next morning we went back to the train station and headed east to Venice. More on that soon and pics of Milan and Venice will be up shortly.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Pictures of Barcelona
Check out more pics of Barcelona here:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264744869/a=138263262_138263262/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Corey Melanie Barcelona
Hey everyone, It's Wednesday night and we've been in Barcelona now since Saturday. We took a bus from Valencia; it was about 4.5 hours. It didnt seem like that long of a ride because the bus was really comfortable and the view was great.
We've been all over this city in about 4 days. Our first day we saw the Sagrada Familia church and much of Gaudi's other buildings. and later we tried to check out the ruins of a Roman temple and the city history museum, but both are closed on Mondays. Instead we just walked around the old section and admired the old building and shops. We were able to see the ruins the following day, and got to see the foundations of the Roman city Barcino, directly under the museum. Yesterday we walked up this huge hill to Park Montujuic (probably didnt spell it right). anyhow, it was very cool and very high above the city. The views were tremendous. We then walked down the other side of the hill and saw the Olympic stadium and the national Catalonian museum from the outside just in time for sunset. because we came down on the other side of the hill, we had to walk quite a ways back to our hostel. We're pretty proud that we've only used the Metro once in Barcelona. Our quads are Olympian sized. We walked a ton again today - this time West of the city up to a a hillside park of which famed Catalonian architect Anotoni Gaudi did much design work. We took the metro back down to the hostel and then caught The Watchmen at the local theater - in Spanish. So I'll have to see it again. That's all for now. We still have a couple more days here to explore, and we'll be posting pictures of Barcelona very shortly. Hasta Luego!
We've been all over this city in about 4 days. Our first day we saw the Sagrada Familia church and much of Gaudi's other buildings. and later we tried to check out the ruins of a Roman temple and the city history museum, but both are closed on Mondays. Instead we just walked around the old section and admired the old building and shops. We were able to see the ruins the following day, and got to see the foundations of the Roman city Barcino, directly under the museum. Yesterday we walked up this huge hill to Park Montujuic (probably didnt spell it right). anyhow, it was very cool and very high above the city. The views were tremendous. We then walked down the other side of the hill and saw the Olympic stadium and the national Catalonian museum from the outside just in time for sunset. because we came down on the other side of the hill, we had to walk quite a ways back to our hostel. We're pretty proud that we've only used the Metro once in Barcelona. Our quads are Olympian sized. We walked a ton again today - this time West of the city up to a a hillside park of which famed Catalonian architect Anotoni Gaudi did much design work. We took the metro back down to the hostel and then caught The Watchmen at the local theater - in Spanish. So I'll have to see it again. That's all for now. We still have a couple more days here to explore, and we'll be posting pictures of Barcelona very shortly. Hasta Luego!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Pictures of Valencia!!
FOR MORE PICS CHECK OUT:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264713129/a=138263262_138263262/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Friday, March 6, 2009
Hello Valencia!
Fri, March 6th
Valencia, Spain
Overall, it's been a pretty nice 4 days here in Valencia. Our first full day it rained all day, so we bought a 2 day pass to the City of Arts and Sciences. This place is like 3 football fields long and houses a science museum, an I-max theater, and a performing arts center. All the architecture is amazing. It looks like something out of Star Trek. Anyways, after trudging through the rain we decided to drop over 50 Euro for a full days pass to the museum, the Aquarium, and 2 tickets to an I-max film about the Alps. It was nice to be out of the rain, but we still ended up soaked on our way back to our hostel.
That evening we were able to meet our hostel mates, a really nice couple from Sofia, Bulgaria. Apparently they get 30 days of paid vacation to use whenever they want. Pretty nice. Oh, another funny story: The hostel innkeeper Jason is actually from Des Moines! So it's been nice catching him up to the news back home.
Yesterday we walked to the beach – very pretty. Later in the afternoon we walked back down to the old party of Valencia and saw all the old churches and monuments.
We've been pretty good with our money so far, but it's awfully hard when every block there is a Churreria wafting deliciousness your way. Thus far, I think the majority of our expenses have been on Churros, and Espresso.
Today we were planning on either taking a ferry or plane to Ibiza, but a single day plane ticket costs over 200 Euro, so I think today will just be a chill day. We'll probably hang out with Jason again and commandeer his internet connection.
We'll post some pictures from Valencia soon. Be sure to check them out.
Hasta la proxima!
Valencia, Spain
Overall, it's been a pretty nice 4 days here in Valencia. Our first full day it rained all day, so we bought a 2 day pass to the City of Arts and Sciences. This place is like 3 football fields long and houses a science museum, an I-max theater, and a performing arts center. All the architecture is amazing. It looks like something out of Star Trek. Anyways, after trudging through the rain we decided to drop over 50 Euro for a full days pass to the museum, the Aquarium, and 2 tickets to an I-max film about the Alps. It was nice to be out of the rain, but we still ended up soaked on our way back to our hostel.
That evening we were able to meet our hostel mates, a really nice couple from Sofia, Bulgaria. Apparently they get 30 days of paid vacation to use whenever they want. Pretty nice. Oh, another funny story: The hostel innkeeper Jason is actually from Des Moines! So it's been nice catching him up to the news back home.
Yesterday we walked to the beach – very pretty. Later in the afternoon we walked back down to the old party of Valencia and saw all the old churches and monuments.
We've been pretty good with our money so far, but it's awfully hard when every block there is a Churreria wafting deliciousness your way. Thus far, I think the majority of our expenses have been on Churros, and Espresso.
Today we were planning on either taking a ferry or plane to Ibiza, but a single day plane ticket costs over 200 Euro, so I think today will just be a chill day. We'll probably hang out with Jason again and commandeer his internet connection.
We'll post some pictures from Valencia soon. Be sure to check them out.
Hasta la proxima!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
more pictures of Paris and Madrid
We added some more pictures and created some captions so you know what you're looking at.
Click the link below (or copy and paste):
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264669124/a=138263262_138263262/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Adios!
Click the link below (or copy and paste):
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264669124/a=138263262_138263262/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Adios!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Debacle at the Airport (Bonus Post!)
Monday Mar 2nd
so let me tell what a stressful experience it was coming to Valencia; unbelievable!
So we wake up, dress, and check out of the hostel, everything so far is just fine a dandy. We have all of our information in hands ready to check in at the airport. It turns out there is a 10KG weight limit on all carry ons! AARG so we check in both of our rolling bags. However, its not as easy as you might think, we need to get out of line go down the hall and turn the corner to actually purchase the check baggages! 20 euro each! There goes our budget for the day. So we are paying for the luggage..... But then.... we forgot our laptop! And we didn't want it in are checked baggage so they can bang it all around and potentially break it. So we run back, as if is any way we could get our bag back to get our laptop....so we wait and we wait, finally someone is willing to help us (meanwhile the clock is ticking and our plane is about to board). So the dude says, go across the hall, turn the corner, go downstairs to the Arrivals, wait until someone leaving comes out of the doors so that you can get in and go to belt number 13. Ok, this was told to us by an airport official, so we thought it was ok. He never mentioned AT ALL that we needed to check with the guard BEFORE sneaking into the baggage claim area. YEP, so corey and I wait until someone leaves and we book it so that the doors don't close on us.....and all of a sudden we have a guard chasing us yelling to stop. BUT we had a perfectly good explanation about way we were doing what we were doing. BUT the prick didn't even let me get one word in! He said come outside and explain it to be there, so we get outside and still he doest let me explain, he just goes on about security and safety and blah, blah, blah. He hasn't even heard our story! I keep saying I'm sorry, sincerely sorry, and So finally I to get start explaining (by the way this is all happening in Spanish). I feel that I'm not explaining myself very well and so I ask if he speaks English, He says very little, I would prefer Catalan, well F* n I can barely get the Spanish right, and you think I'm going to speak to you in Catalan, Get out of here! Finally, he only lets me back into baggage claim to get our bags, which I did! And I was passing the Ass I even say thank you! And he just stood thinking that he is high and mighty guarding the baggage claim area. Good for You!
So we get out bags and our laptop. But we have to go back to the check in area to RE-check our two bags. Unbelievable! So we did, and we get to our gate and make the plane on time.
Thank god.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Our final days in Madrid
Hello again. It's been a few days since we last posted. We've been quite busy.
Wednesday:
Museums, kick ass tour with our buddy Jorge.
Thursday:
Royal Palace, so we all pumped to check out the royal palace, especially after hearing Jorge talk about all day yesterday. But, CLOSED! So it was closed for Official Royal Business. So we did get to see the Royal procession, as the king and queen made their way to the palace (check out the pictures). So all in all, it was definitely worth it.
Then we checked out the church next to it...cool. We then walk around the royal gardens (they were also closed...bummer). We then made it all the way up (all the way up a massive hill) to the Temple of Debod. This was a 2200 year old Egyptian temple given to Spain as a gift. Very sweet.
Then we went looking for the restaurant Finos y Finas mentioned in our MadridCard books. But with no luck, fortunately, we landed on the vegetarian/organic buffet Viva la Vida. AWESOME!
It was a beautiful sunny day that we got some ice cream and sat down in the middle of Plaza Mayor and just basked in the sun.
At the end of the night, Corey wimped out and wanted to stay home. boo.
FRIDAY
10am: A guided tour of Old Madrid. This adorable little old lady took us around to see the 12th to 17th century buildings, plazas, walls, etc. If you want to know more read a book, or just ask Corey. He'll tell you all about Arab vs Christian Madrid, while I smile and take pictures.
So then we started our trek up north. We stopped at the archaeological museum, the natural science museum, and then we made it all the way to the Real Madrid soccer stadium, Very Cool! they are the football with the most wins EVER! We saw their trophy case, very impressive.
so then we took the metro back to downtown, had some tapas y canas and then finally we got to see a Flamenco show at Cardamomo.
To be continued....im tired and we need to wake up tomorrow to check out of our hostel and catch our flight to VALENCIA!
Wednesday:
Museums, kick ass tour with our buddy Jorge.
Thursday:
Royal Palace, so we all pumped to check out the royal palace, especially after hearing Jorge talk about all day yesterday. But, CLOSED! So it was closed for Official Royal Business. So we did get to see the Royal procession, as the king and queen made their way to the palace (check out the pictures). So all in all, it was definitely worth it.
Then we checked out the church next to it...cool. We then walk around the royal gardens (they were also closed...bummer). We then made it all the way up (all the way up a massive hill) to the Temple of Debod. This was a 2200 year old Egyptian temple given to Spain as a gift. Very sweet.
Then we went looking for the restaurant Finos y Finas mentioned in our MadridCard books. But with no luck, fortunately, we landed on the vegetarian/organic buffet Viva la Vida. AWESOME!
It was a beautiful sunny day that we got some ice cream and sat down in the middle of Plaza Mayor and just basked in the sun.
At the end of the night, Corey wimped out and wanted to stay home. boo.
FRIDAY
10am: A guided tour of Old Madrid. This adorable little old lady took us around to see the 12th to 17th century buildings, plazas, walls, etc. If you want to know more read a book, or just ask Corey. He'll tell you all about Arab vs Christian Madrid, while I smile and take pictures.
So then we started our trek up north. We stopped at the archaeological museum, the natural science museum, and then we made it all the way to the Real Madrid soccer stadium, Very Cool! they are the football with the most wins EVER! We saw their trophy case, very impressive.
so then we took the metro back to downtown, had some tapas y canas and then finally we got to see a Flamenco show at Cardamomo.
To be continued....im tired and we need to wake up tomorrow to check out of our hostel and catch our flight to VALENCIA!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
More Paris Pictures
Check out more pics at:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264669124/a=138263262_138263262/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Cursed soccer fans!
Hello again from Madrid. We had a jam packed day, and we still have some more to do tonight. After a night of minimal sleep (AC Madrid and Porto (Portugal) soccer teams were playing last night), we spent the late morning at the Prado museum where we saw many a great masterpiece paintings by Goya, Velazquez, Rembrandt, and Rafael. After we perused the royal gardens - since it's winter here most of the plants and trees were not in bloom yet. We had lunch at the oldest restaurant in the world, Restaurante Botin, established in 1723. Then we went on an excellent "private" tour of landmarks established during the Bourbon rule of Madrid.
Our area of Madrid is pretty crazy right now as the soccer clubs Real Madrid and Liverpool FC have a match tonight. The Plaza Mayor is packed with obnoxious Brits singing their drunken chants. At first we thought it was pretty cool, now it's just annoying. We'll probably get little sleep again tonight as the victorious fans revel outside our window until 5 AM. Oh, well. just another night in Madrid.
We'll post some more pictures of Paris and Madrid soon, so check back again.
Hasta Luego!
Our area of Madrid is pretty crazy right now as the soccer clubs Real Madrid and Liverpool FC have a match tonight. The Plaza Mayor is packed with obnoxious Brits singing their drunken chants. At first we thought it was pretty cool, now it's just annoying. We'll probably get little sleep again tonight as the victorious fans revel outside our window until 5 AM. Oh, well. just another night in Madrid.
We'll post some more pictures of Paris and Madrid soon, so check back again.
Hasta Luego!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Hola from Madrid
Hey everyone we just made it into Madrid, after a 12 hour train ride from Paris. We arrived around 10:30 am. It was a few hours before our hostel was ready for us, so we walked around Sol. It was so nice because it was about 60 degrees, a huge change from very cold paris. We were very excited not to have to wear coats!
Madrid is just beautiful. Very pretty, very clean, and very easy to get around. After walking miles to get from point A to point B in Paris, this is nothing! Madrid is a very compact city. You can get just about anywhere on foot, no need for metro.
Madrid is just beautiful. Very pretty, very clean, and very easy to get around. After walking miles to get from point A to point B in Paris, this is nothing! Madrid is a very compact city. You can get just about anywhere on foot, no need for metro.
Paris Pictures!
To check out more go to our Snapfish account at:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264655685/a=138263262_138263262/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Thank you!!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Bon Jour from Paris!!
Bon Jour!
We are now in Paris, chillin at the Pompidou Center with FREE wifi!! (minus the coffee we had to buy). The Pompidou is one of the worlds most fascinating architectural structures.
So Paris: There is much improvement in our accomodations compared to the GENERATOR hostel in London. Its a very small, off the beaten path, and very "quaint". OH, and there are NO SHOWERS! Oops, ill look more closely at the descriptions. Oh well, at least we are more European this way.
So the first day, we arrived, we checked-in, went to see the Pantheon, Notre Dame, I saw a Body Shop in Paris (very cool), we went through a local market and bought some oranges and bananas (they were SOO cheap, and they served as our breakfests for the next couple of days!)
Day two in Paris:
We say EVERYTHING else. We did a lot! We walked the Champs-Elysees, saw the Arch de Triumphe, Effil Tower, Ecole Militerie, Invaledes (fyi: where Napolean is buried), the outside of the Louvre, and finally the Pompidou, and then back to the Hotel Victoria.
Day three in Paris:
We walked the Louvre, and now we are writing this post!
After this we plan to find the carnevale parade and watch until we have to catch our OVERNIGHT train to MADRID!!!!
Au revoir until tomorrow.....Bienvenidos a Madrid!!!
We are now in Paris, chillin at the Pompidou Center with FREE wifi!! (minus the coffee we had to buy). The Pompidou is one of the worlds most fascinating architectural structures.
So Paris: There is much improvement in our accomodations compared to the GENERATOR hostel in London. Its a very small, off the beaten path, and very "quaint". OH, and there are NO SHOWERS! Oops, ill look more closely at the descriptions. Oh well, at least we are more European this way.
So the first day, we arrived, we checked-in, went to see the Pantheon, Notre Dame, I saw a Body Shop in Paris (very cool), we went through a local market and bought some oranges and bananas (they were SOO cheap, and they served as our breakfests for the next couple of days!)
Day two in Paris:
We say EVERYTHING else. We did a lot! We walked the Champs-Elysees, saw the Arch de Triumphe, Effil Tower, Ecole Militerie, Invaledes (fyi: where Napolean is buried), the outside of the Louvre, and finally the Pompidou, and then back to the Hotel Victoria.
Day three in Paris:
We walked the Louvre, and now we are writing this post!
After this we plan to find the carnevale parade and watch until we have to catch our OVERNIGHT train to MADRID!!!!
Au revoir until tomorrow.....Bienvenidos a Madrid!!!
London Pictures
If you'd like to see more, check out our snapfish account:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=264647042/a=138263262_138263262/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish
Thursday, February 19, 2009
GREETINGS FROM LONDON!!!
Cheerio!! We are writing you from THE GENERATOR Hostel in London, England. Just north of Russell Square station. We've seen all the major landmarks and several museums.
We sat in an amazing Choral service at Westminster Abbey, where we listened to the beautiful choir.
Oh, yeah we totally got lost, thanks to our fantastic navigational expertise ( we didn't know which way is North!!) Anyway, we finally got to see the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London just at nightfall.
We've been doing OK with our budget.... been eating breakfast at the hostel, and sneaking away some pieces of bread with jelly and butter for lunch!! We slipped and sprung for a nice Indian dinner last night. Oh, and the ridiculous expensive trip form the airport.... 40 pounds!! Big mistake, but lesson learned....don't trust people to get you the best deal. But WOW, everything is REALLY pricey here, I'm am very excited to start paying with Euros tomorrow.
Oh, but we went on a FREE tour this morning and went to all the palaces, all the museums are FREE plus got into the Westminster Abbey for FREE!! Oh yeah, we're good!
So tomorrow we are off to Paris.....the train leaves at 6:40 AM!!
We sat in an amazing Choral service at Westminster Abbey, where we listened to the beautiful choir.
Oh, yeah we totally got lost, thanks to our fantastic navigational expertise ( we didn't know which way is North!!) Anyway, we finally got to see the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London just at nightfall.
We've been doing OK with our budget.... been eating breakfast at the hostel, and sneaking away some pieces of bread with jelly and butter for lunch!! We slipped and sprung for a nice Indian dinner last night. Oh, and the ridiculous expensive trip form the airport.... 40 pounds!! Big mistake, but lesson learned....don't trust people to get you the best deal. But WOW, everything is REALLY pricey here, I'm am very excited to start paying with Euros tomorrow.
Oh, but we went on a FREE tour this morning and went to all the palaces, all the museums are FREE plus got into the Westminster Abbey for FREE!! Oh yeah, we're good!
So tomorrow we are off to Paris.....the train leaves at 6:40 AM!!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tonight we dine...without a kitchen table!
Melanie and I are sitting at Caribou right now next to our aparment building. We've packed away our computer and most everything else. My dad and brother are on their way down to help us move tomorrow (thanks guys!). That's really all we have for now. Thanks to everyone who came out to the Lift last Saturday. We may post again if we have anything worth mentioning before we hit the airport. Peace.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Packing, Packing and more.....Packing!
Thats right we are in the midst of attempting to pack up all of our stuff into boxes to fit a small 10x10 storage space. Very excited to be on our way!
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