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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