And then there were two...

After wishing Angela good bye in Rome, the two of us headed up north towards Venice. Upon our arrival to the romantic city, we were greeted with a flash storm of rain. Fully loaded with our backpacks, we decided to book it as soon as we got off of the water bus (public transportation on the canals, so cool!). About an hour later, and with the help of some very nice locals, a very wet Melissa and I checked into our bed and breakfast.

Although a little weary and very wet, the Four Seasons B&B provided a great break from the hostels we have come accustom to. Our couple suite would prove to be the first reminder that we were in fact staying in a very romantic destination spot for couples. After unpacking and drying off we wasted no time in venturing out to explore Venice. The city was beautiful and of course full of many great smelling restaurants that called to our stomachs. Our next destination in the city was found much more easily, a famous joint among locals in the heart of Venice (recommended to us by Rick Steves of course). Everything was made from scratch and after devouring a very delicious meal we ventured out again to explore the manyturns, canals, and dead ends of Venice.

That night we headed in early to get ready for a busy day of sight seeing and late day travel to Pisa. The next day we woke up early, checked out (leaving our bags at the B & B), and headed towards the Piazza San Marco. The piazza is surrounded by almost all of the touristy sights one must hit up before leaving Venice. Here we saw the Bascilica of San Marco and the Dodge's Palace. Next door to these very history-filled buildings were both the Procuratie Vecchie (Old Law Courts) and Procuratie Nuove (New Law Courts). The famous Piazza San Marco square reminded us that although the city was amazing to visit it would not be our first choice to live. Venice as well as Italian law dictate that no remodeling as well as reconstruction is to be allowed in the city. This is great for us, because the city is left in its almost medieval state. However, locals are often times left with basements filled with water, and in the worst cases, totally abandoned buildings due to these policies.
After seeing the sights and walking around the city for half the day we found a great restaurant (perfect for people watching), where we grabbed a bottle of wine and chocolate mousse and wasted time until our train to Pisa.

When we had booked our train to Pisa we had wanted to spend as much time as we could in Venice. Naturally we booked a late train that didn't arrive into Pisa until around 11 PM. As soon as we arrived in Pisa, however, we realized that this was probably not a good idea.

The hostel we had booked in Pisa had bragged that it was within walking distance of the train station, offered free breakfast, and happened to have the highest ratings of any hostel in the area. Reviews of the hostel raved that "Carlos" the manager did a great job of taking care of hisguests and providing a fun and safe atmosphere. Therefore, upon our arrival in Pisa, equipped with walking directions to the hostel, we left the train station. We immediately couldn't find the first turn and the train station's surrounding area consisted of a very unsafe looking crowd, so we headed for the nearest cafe to ask or call our hostel for better directions.

After calling the hostel, Carlos said he would meet us at the cafe in 5 minutes on a silver "moto-bike". Before Carlos arrived a large man, with a long pony tail, who happened to speak verylittle English pulled up and got out of his car to talk to us. The man explained that he had come to pick us up and take us to the hostel. However, upon questioning him, we found that not only was he not driving a silver moto-bike, but that he also did not know our names or the name of the hostel that we had booked. Needless to say that we decided to wait longer for the real Carlos to arrive.

A few minutes later, wearing tight flare jeans, a tight belly-showing T-shirt, and equipped with better and longer hair than Mel or I, Carlos arrived on his silver bike. Carlos soon explainedthat something had happened to the beds that we had reserved (it sounded like bed bugs) andthat we were to stay at his friend hostel who was still standing near us on the sidewalk. He promised that his friend's hostel was actually much better than his, and that we would get a very good discount.

With little other options and very reluctantly, we put our bags into the other man's trunk and hopped in the back seat. On the way to the hostel, we planned our escape in case the situation (if possible) got anymore sketchy (we decided on rolling out of the moving car). Carlos' friend kept referring to his hostel as his house and we further discussed other escape plans in the backseat. Soon we pulled up to a building and walked far behind our host up a fewflights of stairs. His "house" was actually a very small bed and breakfast, which was actually probably his house at one point. The place consisted of one long hallway, one bathroom, one kitchen, many locked doors, and no other people. He unlocked our room, revealing that we had bunk mates, a TV (that we later found was just for looks), and best of all two beds for us. After finding that with the "special discount" we did not get breakfast and after of course paying with cash, the man left us.

Needless to say, WE LIVED! Otherwise this blog post would not have been written or posted. Later in the night other guests trickled in, and we found that the very same situation had happened to a very nice German couple that was also sharing our room. The next day we took a picture next to the leaning tour of Pisa on the way to the train station and PEACED OUT, our next stop being Florence.

When in Rome...

Upon arriving in Rome, we were instantly comforted knowing that we had air conditioning in our hostel after hearing all of the horror stories of the unbearable heat that this Italian city had recently been experiencing. We stayed at a place right near the train station called Legends Hostel. On the plus side- it was very easy to navigate to from the central station; however on the down side, the free pasta and pizza parties they advertised were incredibly disappointing! We never thought it was possible to mess up pasta, especially in Italy, but what we received was a mixture of carrot and pea baby food, and Chef Boyardee. Nevertheless, it was free so we couldn't complain too much!

The first day, we got up early to see Vatican City. The line was deceivingly long and before we knew it we were (modestly dressed of course) inside of this incredible structure called St. Peter's Basilica. We were shocked when we were able to tour the burial place of the late Popes- including seeing Pope John Paul II, our most recently deceased Pope of the Catholic Church. St. Peter's was breathtaking. After touring the church, we headed to the Vatican Museum to catch a glimpse of the Sistine Chapel. Upon entering, one almost got dizzy looking up at the incredible artwork that lined the walled and ceiling of the chapel- and to think that Michaelangelo was on his back the whole time while he painted it is even more awing to think about!

That evening, we decided to take advantage of the cool night air, and toured the city at night ending up at the Trevi Fountain. A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Additionally, a reported current interpretation is that two coins will lead to a new romance. Needless to say, Christian and Melissa threw in two coins while Angela threw in one. :)

The following day, we visited the old ruins of the city. We saw Palantine Hill, were many affluent Romans had their houses during the Republican Period. After giving ourselves a tour of the area (including making up stories as we went along of what they did in certain rooms), we saw the Roman Forum and finally the famous Colosseum, considered one of the greatest works of Roman Architecture and Roman Engineering. The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles and was capable of holding between 40 - 75,000 people (which is more than Autzen Stadium!). It was crazy to see that they were still excavating this magnificent area of Roman history.


Angela left early the next morning while Christian and Melissa hopped on a train to Venice for the Night. We were sad to see her go but excited for our next adventure :)!

The Riviera

The last two stops we have had, reminded us that we were indeed on a vacation. The three days we had in Nice were relaxing and spent under the sun. We arrived early evening to our hostel, Villa Saint Exupery, which is supposed to be one of the nicest hostels in Europe. We went downstairs to this converted monastery to have dinner in the hostel bar and settled in to our room. Melissa's three friends from California, Mike, Pat and Danny, would be arriving later that evening so we hung out for a bit in the room until they arrived. When the boys came in exhausted after a long day of traveling due to a delayed flight (looks like we aren't the only ones that have trouble in Europe!), we decided to go downstairs to have one of their dollar beers before we called it a night.

The next morning, Melissa cooked a breakfast of eggs for everyone, which was a great change from the usual toast and cereal (with warm milk) that we have gotten so accustomed to. Afterwards, we got on the train to check out the French Riviera's beaches. We first went to a beach in Nice called Villefranche, which happened to be only one train stop down the line. We laid in the sun, swam in the refreshing water, and compared stories of our travels thus far. After a few hours, we decided to get back onto the train and head a little bit farther down the coast line to Monacco. We were welcomed by giant yachts, ashton martins, and, you guessed it, gelato. We enjoyed the pebble beaches that these two locations had to offer and for the first time in a few weeks we finally found refuge from the heat. Upon returning back to our hostel, we decided to utilize the hostel kitchen and cook our own meal. We picked up the necessities at the local supermarket and ended up with a plethora of pasta with chicken, tomatoes and mushrooms as well as a salad with all the fixings. It felt like a feast for kings and we had so much left over that we decided to leave it in the fridge to eat for the following day as well.

It was obligatory that we discover the famous nightlife that Nice is known for. We headed downtown to check out some of the local bars. The first bar we went to Wayne's Bar, was jam packed and only the brave entered the dance floor as one was instantly drenched due to the body heat upon entry. After a drink we decided to venture a little more and ended up at this underground dance club which was just what we were looking for. We salsa-ed to remixes of American music and jumped to techno. After finally finding a taxi to take us back to the hostel, we retired very quickly to our beds after an exhausting day.

Sunday brought us to another beach. We had heard of this amazing beach with caves and rocks to jump off so we packed our towels and Tupperware of pasta and set out to discover it. After a few wrong turns we found it and enjoyed another long day at the beach. We concluded our time in Nice with a quiet evening of reading in our hostel room before getting up early to catch our train in the morning. We said farewell to the boys at the train station and headed off on our four hour journey to Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre was awesome! This collection of five beach towns on the Italian Riviera provided us with another relaxing break from the sight seeing. The weather was more mild than we have been experiencing in this unbearable heat wave and the sea was great to dip in after our long four hour hike through the towns.

After arriving Monday afternoon, we decided that we would save the hike for the following morning. Therefore, we took our time to check into our private flat right in the center of downtown and walked around the cute town of Monterosso. We stumbled upon this great restaurant right on the water and decided to have a nice sit-down dinner as the sun set. We ordered our caprese salad to start and a bottle of white wine and then had some of the best, if not the best, food of our trip to date. The seafood was fresh, the tomatoes ripe, and the wine was perfect to wash it all down with. We went to bed very early that evening to get ready for the day we had ahead of us.

Tuesday morning we took the train to Riomaggiore- the first town. We had an easy and relatively flat hike to Manarola then hiked some mountainous terrain culminating in 382 stairs up to the third town of Vernazza. After a gelato and foccacia break at Batti Batti's, we decided to take the train instead of hiking to our home base of Monterosso (also the last town). The hike provided us with the opportunity to see the candy-color painted houses stacked atop of each other of the cliffs overlooking the sea, the rolling hills of green valleys and vineyards, the crashing of the crystal blue water onto the shores and not to mention exercise. We retired our day at the beaches of Monterosso and headed to an "American Restaurant" for some sandwiches and cheeseburgers while jamming to old-school music like Nirvana and Little Bow Wow.

Now we head to Rome for some busy days of sight-seeing before Angela flies home to the states and Christian and Melissa continue their journey to Venice. We can't wait to see all that this historic city has to offer!

Interlaken!

We arrived in Interlaken at 2pm and checked into our hostel. The hostel we stayed in, Backpackers Villa, was probably our favorite hostel because of the cooler temperatures, amazing breakfast, and lockers in the room. Upon arriving we noticed all of the brochures and the two T.V. screens advertising the options for outdoor adventures. The possibilities were endless! Since we only had the rest of the day there and the next whole day we wanted to sign up for some activities right away. The helpful receptionist at our hostel was able to book canyoning for Melissa and Angela and they would be picked up at 3:30. Unfortunately Christian had a bad experience one time and did not end up coming with us.

The van picked us up and we headed up the road to get suited up. Before we knew it we were in full wetsuits with socks and shoes, life jackets, and helmets. The van drove us up the hill in our gear and once we parked we had a 15 minute walk to the starting point. We didn't really know what to expect but we were excited! Canyoning consisted of sliding down rocks, repelling, zip lining, jumping off rocks, and floating downstream feet first. We had a blast and our only regret was not doing the more challenging canyoning excursion.

That night we went to get some fondue at the restaurant down the street from our hostel and it was really good but very expensive! We had intended on sharing one order of fondue but there was a little confusion and we got charged for three. We learn quickly and we will never do that again! After dinner we walked over to a hostel known as Balmers. They were having a beach bash but we were too tired to stay because of our long day of traveling and canyoning. We were also booked to go skydiving and we were planning on being picked up at 8:30am the next day.

When we woke up the next morning we looked outside and came to the sad realization that rain and clouds would not make for a pleasant skydive. We had to cancel and rebooked for the following morning. Later that day we went to the train station and tried to find a train to Nice that would leave sometime after our skydiving would be over. We could find nothing and once again we realized that we were not going to be able to skydive. We were all pretty bummed about it but a little McDonalds put a smile on our face and we decided to try to book something fun for that afternoon. We went and talked to Caterine our favorite receptionist and we decided that the closest we could get to skydiving would be paragliding or hang gliding. She called around and was able to get us in at 4:30 in the afternoon.

Once again the van came to pick us up and take us over to get the hiking boots we needed which they told us were for ankle support. We put on our boots and they took us up to a ridge in the mountains where we would be taking off. Our pilots gave us the rundown of how it would work. We put on our harness and when they told us to go we ran down the hill and as the wind caught the chute we were lifted off of the ground and flying through the air! The view was magnificent and we had about 15 minutes in the air. We even got to steer for a bit! Towards the end of flight our pilots tried to make our stomachs turn by doing some fast turns and flips and we all enjoyed that. We were all very happy that we got to do something fun before our time in Interlaken was up. That night we went to dinner and headed back to our hostel to get packed up for another early train to Nice.

We miss you all!

Christian, Angela and Melissa

Our Bittersweet Time in Munich

We are on our way to Switzerland after spending one day in Munich. It was unfortunate that we did not have more time there but due to a storm in western Germany we had a hell of time trying to get there. A tree fell on the tracks and lightning caused electrical problems as well. 60 miles into our trip the train terminated at some po-dunk little town called Emmrich. They told us to get off the train if we wanted to get on a bus and that is only information we had. There we waited for two hours for these buses that were overcrowded to take us an hour down the road to the next train station. Thank goodness we met some SAE's from Nebraska on our way because when we got to that next station there hadn't been trains in or out of there in four hours. We didn't think we would get to Frankfurt let alone Munich! Some how we got on the metro to the next town then on a train that was headed to Munich. We got in at 3am and had left Amsterdam at 10:30 am. We made the best of the situation and took over one of the cars to have our own mini-party. We checked into our hostel which is called Wombats and it was right next to the train station and we were very excited to have a bigger room.

First thing in the morning we went to Dachau the first concentration camp. We walked through the barracks and did an audio tour. It was incredible to hear the survivors talk about their memories and their own personal experiences. The camp was designed to hold 6,000 people - by 1944 there were over 36,000 squeezed into the camp. After visiting Dachau we went to this great little sushi place where you could get one piece for one Euro of nigiri. Then we went to this square called Marienplatz and did a little shopping to lift our spirits. We then took a train to the English Gardens. It was magnificent! It is the largest public park in the world and there are huge grass fields where you can horseback ride and have pickup soccer games. We saw the Chinese tower and stumbled into a beer garden. There are hundreds of people at picnic tables with their own food, huge mugs of beer and gigantic pretzels. It was such a fun atmosphere! We got some ice cream and shared a pretzel. It was an awesome day in Munich and somewhat bittersweet because our time there was wonderful but it was such a short trip.

Interlaken should be amazing. We are thinking about skydiving over the Swiss Alps, renting vespas or bikes, going swimming and possibly doing some other outdoor adventures. Canyon jumping anyone?

Stay posted for our stories from Switzerland!

Experiencing Amsterdam the Dutch Way

On Friday we took the train to Amsterdam and we spent the entire day traveling. In Brussels we had to switch trains but we only had 10 minutes to get to the platform and we ran up the stairs just as the train was leaving. We knew that there would be a train every hour that would take us to Amsterdam but unfortunately, we didn’t realize that we needed to change platforms to catch the next train. Another two trains had come and gone and we finally made it to the correct platform to catch the third. We arrived at 8pm and decided to get cleaned up and wander around the city. Amsterdam is full of young., energetic, free spirits and we fit in right away. After a light dinner we headed toward the Red Light District and that was interesting…it ended up being a great night though!

For our first day we decided to rent bikes and do a bit of sightseeing. Amsterdam is famous for bikes and that became quite obvious once we tried to lock our bikes up. Thousands of bikes line the streets and it can be a challenge to find a spot for yours! We rented our bikes from Yellow Bike where there slogan is, “Experience Amsterdam the Dutch way.” 39 euros later we had three bikes for 24 hours. Our first stop was the Anne Frank House, which was definitely worth the wait. The museum lies in the jam making warehouse where the Frank family (along with a few other families) hid. Inside, we were able to see their hiding place known as the Secret Annex. This was a museum with a story and the experience was humbling.

After the museum we rode our bikes over bridges and through streets near the canals to find a place to get dinner. After dinner we shopped around for orange gear that we needed for the game on Sunday. We found everything we needed and headed back to our hostel to rest up for the big game. On Sunday we went to breakfast across the street and we were thankful to have some eggs and toast! That afternoon we returned our bikes and got ready for the World Cup Finals. We wanted to go to the big park by the museums where there were about six big screens and an expected crowd of 120,000 people. We only had to ask two people for directions to the stadium because our initial thought to follow the crowd did not seem to work. As we walked up to the park we saw a mass of orange, fireworks, flying soccer balls, and the sound of vuvuzelas. We knew it would be an interesting experience- especially when Angela got hit with a flying soccer ball, it bounced off of her and then come guy fired it right back at her pelting her right above the kneecap. (At least it wasn’t the face, right!?) The atmosphere was nothing like anything the three of us had ever experienced before. We arrived at the park at 3:30pm and the game didn’t start until 8:30 so we had plenty of time to walk around and meet all kinds of people. By the time the game came on we began to realize how hungry and tired we were but we watched most of the game at the park and left with only 15 minutes left in the game. We were exhausted! We grabbed a slice of pizza and headed back to our hostel to get some rest and pack up for another day of travel.

Today (Monday) we are taking the train to Munich and we are scheduled to arrive at 6pm. More about that adventure coming soon!

Hup Holland Hup!

On Tuesday, July 7th we hopped on another train and arrived in beautiful London. After a few wrong turns and a couple hundred extra steps we made it to where we would be staying for the next three nights. We were able to stay with our friend Felipe and he was a wonderful host and tour guide! On Tuesday night we headed to an Irish pub to watch the Holland/Uruguay soccer game. The pub was packed and the atmosphere made for an exciting game. After the game we stepped outside of the pub and happened to meet a man from Salem, OR. His name is Jacob and he is in London to launch the first Chipotle in Europe. Jacob said that if we went to the restaurant and said hello to him then lunch would be on him.

The next day (Wednesday) Felipe had class until 12:30 so Chipotle seemed to be a great place to meet up with him and get some free lunch. It was great and the place was packed! After lunch Felipe took us all over the place and we saw Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Thames River, the Millenium Bridge, and Shakespeare's Globe. Lets just say we walked off the Chipotle! As the evening approached we searched around for a place to watch the Spain/Germany game. We found another exciting pub and were able to cheer for Espana by joining in on the songs that we had learned in Madrid.

Our last day in London was another day full of sightseeing. Once again Felipe led us around the city and the first stop was Buckingham Palace. At 11:30 am the changing of the guards takes place at the palace. We showed up just in time and caught a glimpse of the guards. The area was swarming with people and we thought we had found the best spot in the house until the police started yelling at us and saying "Get off the wall!" Oops...but it all worked out because we just jumped over the wall and got an even better view! Now it was time to get food, usually numero uno on our list of things to do. We walked though Hyde Park and hoped to find the Whole Foods but unfortunately we got a a little turned around. Luckily we found a great hole-in-the-wall deli! After lunch we went to Regent Park, which was very beatiful and huge! We rented a boat for an hour and Felipe and Christian propelled us around the boating lake. It was relaxing and a great end to our day. For dinner Felipe took us to a pizza place that is near his house and it was so good! We headed back to the house and prepared ourselves for another train ride and a new city.

We are excited to be in Amsterdam for the Holland/Spain game on Sunday. The city will be packed with fans and we plan on watching the game at Dam Square. We will write again soon and tell you about our amazing weekend here!

Cheers!

They Put the French in Fries and Toast

Bonjour!

We made it to Paris after an early morning flight with Vueling (much better than Ryanair). The first lesson we learned is that when you hear the buzz noise while getting on the metro get out of the way! Angela happened to get caught in the doors with her backpack while the other two had to wait for the next train and meet her at the next metro stop. Leaving Spain we were confident in our abilities to understand the transportation system but upon arriving in France we realized that the language barriers would bring a new set of difficulties to our travels. The day we arrived in Paris was the hottest day here and that combined with lack of sleep made for a non productive day, however, we mustered up some energy and decided to shop at the famous Bon Marche and walk around the city. We quickly realized that we wouldn't be doing much shopping in Paris because of the outlandish prices. Traveling on the metro when it is 95 degrees outside is miserable to say the least especially when people squeeze themselves onto the train regardless of how much room is actually left.

After an unsuccessful shopping trip we headed back towards where we were staying and stumbled upon a street market with fresh produce, pastries, seafood etc. Bon appetite! After dinner we headed to the Eiffel Tower which was an amazing sight! We timed it perfectly so we were there during sunset and then as it got dark the tower lit up. We only went to the second level but it was breathtaking and provided a 360 degree view of Paris. The Eiffel Tower has been one of our favorite sights thus far. Still fatigued from our early flight we headed back and were ready for a good nights sleep. They say that New York City is the city that never sleeps, but we would like to argue that it is Paris. Cars, ambulances, motorcycles, people playing soccer in the streets, and the sound of thunder and lightning do not make for a good nights sleep.

The next day we woke and the thunder and lightning and lack of sleep made for another lazy day. We managed to get our train tickets for our next stop which is London. The rest of our day consisted of eating Cheeseburgers at a sidewalk café and going to see Shrek in 3D.

On Sunday we checked in to our hotel and we were finally rested enough to do some major sight seeing. We headed to the Louvre where we saw Mona Lisa, the Code of Hamurabi, and many other famous works of art. It was packed because the first Sunday of the month is free. Following our trip to the museum we walked all around Paris including down the famous boulevard Champs Elysees. At the end of Champs Elysees we saw the beautiful Arc de Triomph. A long day of sight seeing and walking led to a siesta and then some dinner. We found a great pizzeria just around the corner from our hotel. It was time to call it a night because the next day would be our last day in Paris and we had a lot more to see.

It is last day here and it has been a great day. Our free breakfast at the hotel started us off on the right foot. Our first stop was the beautiful Jardin Luxembourg (Luxembourg garden). When we arrived there was a youth symphony which was perfect to sit under the trees, relax, and listen to them play. We walked around the garden and took a lot of pictures and saw the house of parliament.

We then ventured down the street to Sainte Chapelle. Unfortunately it was being renovated, however, we were still able to see the intricately painted stained glass and two levels of the church. From Sainte Chapelle we went next door the Conciergerie which is a palace and prison where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned. The next stop was the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. The detail of the exterior and interior of the cathedral made it easy to believe that it took 200 years to build. After Notre Dame we decided to find a place with WiFi and we are sitting here now enjoying and early dinner before we head to see the opera house and possibly Moulin Rouge. We catch a train tomorrow morning at 10:15 and then we are off to London!

We are excited to arrive in London and stay with some friends from Oregon and be in a country where everyone speaks English. Now it is time for some Gelato…Bye for now!

Angela, Melissa & Christian

Today we decided to explore more of Barcelona being that it is our last day in Spain. First we stopped at the Picasso Museum which was nice, however, the chocolate museum was right up our alley. Upon paying our entrance fee we recieved a delicious chocolate bar (all three were gone by the second exhibit). Following the chocolate museum we walked to the Cathedral de Barcelona, a church inspired by Gaudi, but much different than Sagrada Familia. After a brief stop at Starbucks we made our way to the Arc de Triumph (pictured above) which is a five minute walk from Jan's flat. We took the metro to Placa de Espanya where we saw the Magic Fountain and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. In our pictures you will see this amazing structure which we had mistaken for a palace.


As our week in Spain comes to an end we have decided that we will miss the country very much, but we are excited to experience the sights and food in France. Our flight leaves at 5:45 am and our taxi will be here in four hours...buenos noches and bonjour Paris!