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Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Our first sighting of Champagne vinards! It is beautiful out here and we are excited to be out of a big city for a little while!
Once again I am behind on blogging...
The last few weeks have gone by so fast! We have been traveled non-stop and have only spent a few days here and there. The last time I actually blogged was in Barcelona, so allow me to fill you in!
After leaving Barcelona (which remains in my top two with Bordeaux), we traveled to the south of France to a town called Nice. The highlight here was simply the color of the water; a pure blue cove that was simply stunning. We were only there for one full day so we hiked to the top of a cliff overlooking the cove and admired the views.
The next day, we jumped on a train to Florence. We had been looking forward to Italy the entire trip, and it was weird to finally be on our way. We arrived in florence in the evening and hit the first Italian pizzeria we could find. It is so true what they say: THE FOOD IN ITALY IS AMAZING! The next day was our one full day, and we awoke early to get a move on! We walked the street markets, learning very quickly how to barter and admiring all of the beautiful scarves and jewelry. The smell of leather was in the air! We had also decided to, instead of lunch, go on a gelato crawl. So, after three absolutely fabulous cones we were up to the challenge to climb up a mountain and view the city. It was, of course, beautiful. Megan was also very keen on seeing The David, so we did that too. Walking through the streets of florence was a treat for the eyes as well. The cathedrals were all so colorful and magical and the tiny alleyways were full of adorable buildings complete with swinging shutters and painted a wide variety of colors. In all, florence has also been added to our list of favorites.
Our next stop was Rome. I can definitely say that I am so happy that we did not visit Rome during high tourist season, because even with it being October, the amount of people was phenomenal. We had a complete two days in Rome, so the first day we went to Vatican City. A little known fact is that the Vatican City is its own country of sorts. It has 900 citizens and even its own money. We were only in the museums, which included the Sistine Chapel. Every hall, ceiling, door, everything in this long maze of museums was painted and adorned with some type of facade. It was impressive. The actual Sistine Chapel was very different than anything that I had imagined. And when we exited we were absolutely amazed by the amount of people that were visiting, I can't even begin to explain it-and its OCTOBER! After the Vatican City, we visited a few more land marks, like the Trevi Fountain and went to bed. The next morning we started our day out with the other big landmark in Rome: the Colosseum. It was extremely impressive, but again, TONS of tourists. On this day we also revisited the Colosseum later that night to see it all lit up.
The next day we were off again, and this time to Venice. I think that Venice is probably usually a really great place, but the day that we spent there was a day in which many of the streets were flooded including the main square, Piazzo San Marco. But, regardless of the excess water, Venice was fascinating. To walk out of the main train station and see a bustling canal instead of a busy street was mind boggling! I am pretty sure both Megan and I did double takes with that first sighting of the canal with its water buses and water taxis motoring about in front of us. As we crossed our first bridge into the very narrow walking streets (no cars in Venice) we were greeted by a quaint town full of cafes, restaurants, and Venetian mask shops. It is definitely a place like no other.
After Venice we made our way to Lugano, Switzerland to visit our island friend Kathryn, who is going to school there. She showed us around the beautiful lake Lugano and up and down the trendy streets. It was great to see a familiar face and talk to someone from back home!
We left Lugano on a night train to Paris, where we have just spend the past day and a half. We visited the Eiffel Tower (both during the day and at night), the Louve (where we saw Miss Mona Lisa), the Pantheon (where Joan of Arc is buried), the Notre Dame (no hunchbacks), and walked the streets and gardens of Paris.
Now we are currently on a train to Reims, France which is in the Champagne region of France. We will be visiting with one of Megan's friends from college and we will also be drinking real CHAMPAGNE!
I hope everyone is doing well back home! We only have 15 more days before we are home, and I can't wait to see everyone's smiling faces!
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Sunday, October 25, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Train Day
I just wanted to let everyone know that we have safely arrived in Nice after 14 hours on a train (it was only supposed to take 10...)
AND Sevilla pictures are up! Tomorrow I will upload Barcelona; but for now we are going to bed!
GOODNIGHT/HAVE A GOOD DAY!
AND Sevilla pictures are up! Tomorrow I will upload Barcelona; but for now we are going to bed!
GOODNIGHT/HAVE A GOOD DAY!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
I ♥ Barcelona
This week has been a little on the difficult side for both Megan and I. For those of you who don't know, I received a dreaded phone call from my mom letting me know that my Grandma passed away two mornings ago. Megan and I both had a hard time decided whether to cut our trip short when we first heard that she wasn't doing well, but in the end we decided to stay. I know that is what my Grandma would have wanted us to do, and in the end I don't regret staying.
After deciding to stay we made our way from Sevilla to Barcelona on the good ol' train, and so far Barcelona has been AMAZING! We arrived late at night the first night, but the next morning we were up early to begin our adventure in the streets of Barcelona.
Our first stop was the famous street of La Rambla. La Rambla is the main street that runs down the middle of Barcelona and is lined with tons of fun and colorful shops. Since we happened to be in town on a holiday, we got the chance to see the middle of La Rambla lined with street venders. It was such a fun day, just strolling up and down the street admiring all of the wonderful artists, scarves, jewelery, and other odds and ends on display. We also visited the Columbus Monument and took the elevator to the top to capture a few pictures of the city and harbor (fun fact: did you know that the Columbus Monument and the Statue of Liberty were 'married' in 1992 to unite the two countries and their ajoining history?), then we walked up to the Plaça Catalunya (a plaza halfway up La Rambla) and admired the fountains and sculptures. Overall, it was a great first day.
Today, we decided that we really needed to get a lot done! We woke up especially early and first made our way to the Parc Güell. The history behind this whimsicle park is rooted in Antoni Gaudi, whose architecture is to be found throughout all of Barcelona (here is a website to find out/see more of Gaudi's work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD). After the park, we high tailed it over to La Rambla again to visit another one of Gaudi's creations, the Palau Güell, but we were restless and didn't want to wait in line so we took pictures of the outside and went to our next stop; the Mercat Boquería. It was amazing! There were lines and lines of fresh produce boothes (think Saturday Market, but only food!) Once I am able to post pictures you will be amazed too (I took a TON). We grabbed some fresh fruit and walked around looking at all of the wonderful fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, candies, spices, etc. It was simply stunning. We then decided that we were in the mood to visit another Cathedral. I am pretty sure that every city we have visited, we have gone into at least one of their Cathedrals, and they never cease to amaze us. This one was done in a gothic façade and contained a colorful courtyard, complete with geese. After the Cathedral, we were off again! This time to another of Gaudi's creations-the Casa Batillo. Unfortuently, this Casa was a little on the expensive side to get into, so again, we just took pictures of the outside, then we found a street shop with books on Gaudi and looked through the pictures of the inside :-). At this point in our day, our feet were beginning to hurt and we decided it was time for a drink! We had read about a fairy tale themed cafe and decided to check it out. It was like walking into Lord of the Rings. We enjoyed a drink next to the trees with faces and took a picture next to a fairy sitting by one of the indoor ponds and then were on our way again, this time to the city park. The city park was also (for lack of a better adjective) AMAZING. It was complete with a Zoo and the fountain in the center was absolutely beautiful (and was another one of Gaudi's works). We left the park through the Arc de Triumf, and finally headed back to the hostel to make dinner (sautéd garlic, lemon, cheesy noodles-yum!)
So far our adventures in Spain have been exciting, and along with them we have also become quite fond of the Spanish way of life when it comes to the Siestas (a part of the day-usually between 3 and 5-when all the shops close and people go home to visit with their family and NAP) -in fact we insist on taking one everyday here in Spain (we are trying to emerse ourselves in the culture :-)
Tomorrow we will be leaving Barcelona (and Spain) and taking the train to Nice, France (another beach town-yay!) We have been so lucky with the weather so far, but we hear that by the time we make it back up to Paris and Prague, it will be FREEEZING! Oh well, we will enjoy the 80 degree weather while we can!
I hope that everyone back home is doing well. I also want to thank everyone for the support while I have been over here considering the recent circumstances. It has been really dificult to be so far away from home during the past week, but all of the emails and facebook messages have made the world feel a little smaller and in a way, they have made me feel closer to home. I love you all!
After deciding to stay we made our way from Sevilla to Barcelona on the good ol' train, and so far Barcelona has been AMAZING! We arrived late at night the first night, but the next morning we were up early to begin our adventure in the streets of Barcelona.
Our first stop was the famous street of La Rambla. La Rambla is the main street that runs down the middle of Barcelona and is lined with tons of fun and colorful shops. Since we happened to be in town on a holiday, we got the chance to see the middle of La Rambla lined with street venders. It was such a fun day, just strolling up and down the street admiring all of the wonderful artists, scarves, jewelery, and other odds and ends on display. We also visited the Columbus Monument and took the elevator to the top to capture a few pictures of the city and harbor (fun fact: did you know that the Columbus Monument and the Statue of Liberty were 'married' in 1992 to unite the two countries and their ajoining history?), then we walked up to the Plaça Catalunya (a plaza halfway up La Rambla) and admired the fountains and sculptures. Overall, it was a great first day.
Today, we decided that we really needed to get a lot done! We woke up especially early and first made our way to the Parc Güell. The history behind this whimsicle park is rooted in Antoni Gaudi, whose architecture is to be found throughout all of Barcelona (here is a website to find out/see more of Gaudi's work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD). After the park, we high tailed it over to La Rambla again to visit another one of Gaudi's creations, the Palau Güell, but we were restless and didn't want to wait in line so we took pictures of the outside and went to our next stop; the Mercat Boquería. It was amazing! There were lines and lines of fresh produce boothes (think Saturday Market, but only food!) Once I am able to post pictures you will be amazed too (I took a TON). We grabbed some fresh fruit and walked around looking at all of the wonderful fresh meats, fruits, vegetables, candies, spices, etc. It was simply stunning. We then decided that we were in the mood to visit another Cathedral. I am pretty sure that every city we have visited, we have gone into at least one of their Cathedrals, and they never cease to amaze us. This one was done in a gothic façade and contained a colorful courtyard, complete with geese. After the Cathedral, we were off again! This time to another of Gaudi's creations-the Casa Batillo. Unfortuently, this Casa was a little on the expensive side to get into, so again, we just took pictures of the outside, then we found a street shop with books on Gaudi and looked through the pictures of the inside :-). At this point in our day, our feet were beginning to hurt and we decided it was time for a drink! We had read about a fairy tale themed cafe and decided to check it out. It was like walking into Lord of the Rings. We enjoyed a drink next to the trees with faces and took a picture next to a fairy sitting by one of the indoor ponds and then were on our way again, this time to the city park. The city park was also (for lack of a better adjective) AMAZING. It was complete with a Zoo and the fountain in the center was absolutely beautiful (and was another one of Gaudi's works). We left the park through the Arc de Triumf, and finally headed back to the hostel to make dinner (sautéd garlic, lemon, cheesy noodles-yum!)
So far our adventures in Spain have been exciting, and along with them we have also become quite fond of the Spanish way of life when it comes to the Siestas (a part of the day-usually between 3 and 5-when all the shops close and people go home to visit with their family and NAP) -in fact we insist on taking one everyday here in Spain (we are trying to emerse ourselves in the culture :-)
Tomorrow we will be leaving Barcelona (and Spain) and taking the train to Nice, France (another beach town-yay!) We have been so lucky with the weather so far, but we hear that by the time we make it back up to Paris and Prague, it will be FREEEZING! Oh well, we will enjoy the 80 degree weather while we can!
I hope that everyone back home is doing well. I also want to thank everyone for the support while I have been over here considering the recent circumstances. It has been really dificult to be so far away from home during the past week, but all of the emails and facebook messages have made the world feel a little smaller and in a way, they have made me feel closer to home. I love you all!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Back to the Backpack..
Today we left our home away from home at the Gold Coast Hostel in Lagos, Portugal, and made our way to Sevilla, Spain! We are staying in a funky hostel in the heart of the city, and although we arrived at night, Sevilla appears to be a beautiful city. The next 3 days will be filled with getting lost in the city and seeing all of the sights to see, before moving on to Barcelona. Originally we were planning on making our way from Lagos to Madrid, but after one person after another telling us to go to Sevilla instead, we jumped on a bus and here we are!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
3 euro daily breakfast...yum!
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Saturday, October 3, 2009
Can you find my foot...no you can't ... Because yes, I'm that tan...
Halfway Point!
Today is Megan and I's half way point for the trip! I feel like this trip, thus far, has gone by so fast and I just know that this next leg will go by even faster given our agenda. We will be sadly leaving (completely against our will...) Lagos on October 7th and making our way through Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), France (nice), Italy (Venice, Rome, and Florence), Switzerland (Lugano), back to France (Reims and Paris), Czech Republic (Prague), Germany (Flensburg), and last but certainly not least Denmark (Copenhagen and Odense).
So far this adventure has been the most amazing experience of my life. I feel like we have both grown so much and will continue to from here on out. I also love to see how every different country runs itself and what makes each tick. It has been so interesting for both of us to hear the differences and to compare and contrast with the many friends we have met along the way. I think that a part of me will definitely be sad to leave Europe, even though I do miss a lot of the things about home (especially the ketchup).
On a side note, please pray for my Grandma! She is having a hard time right now, and I just want her to get better!
Much love to everyone back home!
So far this adventure has been the most amazing experience of my life. I feel like we have both grown so much and will continue to from here on out. I also love to see how every different country runs itself and what makes each tick. It has been so interesting for both of us to hear the differences and to compare and contrast with the many friends we have met along the way. I think that a part of me will definitely be sad to leave Europe, even though I do miss a lot of the things about home (especially the ketchup).
On a side note, please pray for my Grandma! She is having a hard time right now, and I just want her to get better!
Much love to everyone back home!
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