Birthday to Barcelona

I haven't written in a couple days because we've been really tired every night and yesterday we were on a train all day until 10 at night anyway.

I spent my Birthday, which was Sunday the 29th, in Marseille. We took a boat out to an island, whose name I can't pronounce or remember because I'm bad at French. The morning was spent searching for a bathing suit for mom, because she left hers at the hostel in Nice, and all of the stores are closed on Sunday. She finally got one, but it was a bikini, and she wasn't too happy about wearing a bikini. After we made it on the boat, got sprayed because it was so windy, and got dropped off at the island, we realized we were on the wrong island. Typical. The island we were on didn't have a beach. It had a castle. The castle was called If Castle, which was the castle that the hero from the Count of Monte Cristo, and the Man in the Iron Mask are held. I've never read Monte Cristo, or seen the Man in the Iron mask, so it seemed cool, but we didn't pay to go inside. We waited for the boat to come back and take us to the right island.

The scenery there was a lot different. Mom thought it looked Greek. I felt like it was almost middle eastern looking. There was basically no vegetation, no greenery, just rocks and then real blue, clear water. It's kind of hard to describe. I don't think it would have been pretty if it weren't for the water. We hung out on the "beach" for a while, and then decided to go back to Marseille. Mom took me to a really nice dinner that night for my birthday. It was kind of frustrating at first, like every meal is, because it's in French and you can't read the menu and they can't understand you and you can't understand them. Eventually we communicated that we wanted seafood, and they recommended the sea bass, and even brought out the whole fish to us that we were going to eat. I got to eat mashed potatoes, which was a real treat. The fish was really good. It came with some sort of French tartar sauce, which I thought was funny. They brought out a little dessert plate with a firework in the middle for my birthday, too.

The next day we got up and tried to do some shopping before we left for Barcelona. I look at the Europeans outfits and think "did you really think you looked good when you put that on and walked out of your house this morning?" so I knew I wasn't going to like European clothes very much. They're just kind of out there. I told mom it's like they dress to impress or they dress like hobos. There's not much in between. Anyway, no luck with clothes in Marseille. I'm not going to waste money on clothes that I won't wear.

The train ride to Barcelona was long. We had to change trains a couple different times, but we made it every time. We're getting better at the train riding thing. On one of the trains, there were a group of 4 guys sitting in front of us. I knew they were drunk as soon as I sat down by the way they smelled. If you've ever woken up, hungover, with the smell of alcohol coming through your skin, that's what they smelled like. Makes my stomach churn. As soon as the train started moving, 2 of them left. 5 minutes later, the one sitting in front of me started puking into the air vent that runs along the window. Disgusted isn't a strong enough word. We hightailed it into another cabin, and we saw us leave. When we got off that train, those guys were behind us on the stairs, and they made some pretty vulgar gestures at me. It doesn't get more common that that. Scum of the earth? Yep.

We got to Barcelona around 10 and checked into our hotel, which is nice, and we got a good deal on it. Today, we weren't sure what to do here, so we did one of those hop on hop off bus tours. We mostly stayed on and just rode around and looked at everything. We did hop off at the beach. It was an average city beach. I'm sure Barcelona has a lot more to offer, but we really just weren't sure what we wanted to do, or what to do. I did get a few more things to wear though, which is good! We had to go back to the train station and reserve seats for the train to Paris, which took over an hour. We ate some sushi tonight, which was awesome. Normal food!!

Tomorrow we go to Paris, and I'm really excited about that. The Louve, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower!

Best things about today: seeing Barcelona, eating sushi, and getting some clothes
Worst things about today: getting lost and having to wait to get reservations

If Castle

on my birthday

View of the castle from the beach 

 Mom at the beach/island on my Birthday



the view

 Fireworks!

Happy 23

 A street in Barcelona

 City beach in Barcelona

 Mom - Barcelona

 Barcelona

Me - Barcelona

 We stopped and got a drink here. Meat anyone?

This is how we do laundry in Europe. Lol

Change of Plans

We packed up this morning thinking we would go down to the train station and get on a train to Barcelona. Nope...

The trains were on "strike" today. When things go on strike around here, only select things don't run. The train we wanted to get on was full. They only let a certain number of people with Eurail passes on the train, and those seats were taken. We had the option of buying a ticket half price, but by the time the girl at the information desk went to book those, they were already taken too. So, we were SOL. There were no trains going to anywhere in Spain we wanted to go to today. We had to regroup and think of what to do. We were already packed and ready to travel, and tomorrow is my Birthday, and I don't want to ride on a train all day on my Birthday, so we decided to pick somewhere else to go. I had heard of Marseille, but knew nothing about it other than it's also on the French Riviera, and knew from looking at maps that it was closer to Barcelona than Nice. So, I asked if there was a train we could get on to go to Marseille, and if it was a nice place. The information lady said yes to both, so at 2:30 we were set to get on a train to Marseille.

In the meantime, we had an hour or so to kill, and we went down the street to an internet cafe to cancel our hotel reservations for the next several days, and book somewhere to stay in Marseille. We managed that okay and we were able to find a good, inexpensive place to stay. By 2:30, or 14:30 as they would call it around here, we were getting on the train to Marseille. One thing I really like about France so far, is their train system. To get to the actual train, you have to validate your ticket, then when you go to your platform, there is someone there checking everybody's tickets before you board the train. There are plenty of guards at the station, some even with machine guns. After what happened to me, I really appreciate the security, and it really cuts down on the riff-raff riding the trains. In Italy, nobody checks your ticket until you are at least half way or 3/4 of the way to your destination. Someone could easily ride for a while and get off at one of the many stops without someone even checking their ticket. In France, the seats are all in private 6 seat compartments, whereas in Italy, it's all just one long corridor, with an isle down the middle. I can see how the compartments would cut down on theft, it's much easier to stow bags, and there are mirrors where you can see your bags above you. It's something we think about a lot now, and something to take into consideration when traveling. Italy really needs to step their security game up, it was down right pitiful compared to what we've experienced in France.

The French have also proved to be especially nice and helpful. I think the stereotypical American opinion of the French is stuck up, nose in the air type of people. We both agree that we haven't met anyone like that in France yet. If you go in a shop and ask for help or directions, they will go out of their way to help you, at least they have for us. For example, today when we were looking for our hotel and having a hard time finding it, we asked several people, and one girl working at a bakery went so far as to walk down the street with us to help us find the place. A French cab driver even pointed us in the right direction, after we turned down the cab. In Italy, I remember asking a girl in a shop for directions to our hotel, and she was reluctant, and told me to come back and buy souvenirs. I have found the stereotype to be quite the opposite. The French are hospitable, ready to please, helpful, always smiling and very nice. The Italians seemed to always want something in return, were reluctant to be helpful, and acted like we were the biggest pain in the ass for asking questions. Not all, just most that we encountered. It has been very surprising, but I'm pleased with France and really enjoy being around some nice people for a change. The French also have really delicious pastries!

Tomorrow, we're planning on going to a beach that a young guy at our hotel recommended, that's another 30 minute bus ride outside of the city, but then an hour hike to get to. It should be interesting, but the pictures look absolutely stunning, so I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end. It's called a calanque, which is some type of cove that develops within limestone. I'm excited to check it out. I also still don't have any underwear of my own, mainly because we're in France and the French's definition of underwear consists of lace, and guarders, connected to corsets. I need to do something about that tomorrow too.

This is the second place I didn't plan on going before we left NC (Monterosso, Cinque Terre was the first) so I hope it turns out to be a good choice! Marseille is the second largest city in France, and the oldest. It's on the French riviera, just like Nice. Didn't take any pictures today. Lots tomorrow!

Best things about today: Making it safely to a new place, the pastries, having our own room again!!
Worst things about today: Walking around for 30+ minutes trying to find the hotel, which should have been a 10 minute walk from the train station. Should have taken that cab!

The French Riviera

We're still in Nice, France, and we're still staying at this hostel that good ole Rick Steves (mom's hero) recommended. I just have to write about the "real" hostel experience, because the hostel we stayed at in Florence was like a five star hotel compared to this place.

Right now, I'm sitting on my mom's bunk, because she has a lower bunk and mine is in the next room and the girls in there don't speak good English (or don't speak it at all) and aren't very friendly. The 12 girls to one bathroom situation is a little bit of a crisis. If someone isn't in the bathroom, I feel like I need to make myself pee, because soon it's going to be occupied, and when it is, I'm going to have to pee like I just drank 6 gallons of water. The bathroom floor is always wet. The shower curtain covers a little less than half the shower, and there are no bath mats, so that has something to do with why it's always wet. The beds are decently comfortable, but they give you a down comforter to sleep with. I woke up around 5am, had to pee like I drank 6 gallons of water, and was so wet from sweating, I thought I might have actually peed myself. I stumbled out of my top bunk, staggered towards the bathroom and went in. The floor was wet as usual, and I couldn't find the light switch because it was pitch black. I felt around the whole bathroom for that stupid switch and I was about to bust so I gave up and started feeling for the toilet instead. Found that, peed, partially in the toilet, partially on the floor and partially on myself. Then I couldn't find any toilet paper. Yep. I stumbled around hoping I could at least find the sink to wash my hands, found that, found a random towel. Felt pretty gross getting back in bed. This morning, I found out the light switch was on the outside of the door.

Anyway, sharing a "dorm" with 10 other girls means that we have to lock all our stuff back in our bags before we go anywhere, which is a lot of work. Like I put on facebook, they also do laundry here for you. I told mom that I didn't want them touching my clothes. She reminded me that I didn't have any :). She got them to do a load for her, and when we got them back this morning, they were clean and dry, but they were wadded up in a laundry basket. They wash and dry them for you, but they don't fold them for you, and they don't allow you to do your own laundry. Makes a whole lot of sense. So that's our "real" hostel experience. I'm thankful nobody has tried to climb in my bunk in the middle of the night and sleep with me (yet) and nobody has thrown up in our dorm (yet) but the night is not over!

So, today we went to a really beautiful beach, that was about a 30 minute bus ride outside of Nice. We were just going to go to Nice beach, which is only a 5 minute walk from our hostel, but a girl who works at the hostel said this beach was much better, and she was right. The beach was called Cap D'Ail and it's the stop before Monaco. We didn't have any problems getting there today, which was wonderful. The beaches here kind of remind me of California, the way they have cliffs all around them. This beach was in a bay area, and the water was crystal clear (and really cold) and instead of sand there was smooth stones. It kind of made me appreciate sand after I'd laid on rocks for about an hour. There was a diving platform out in the bay for people to swim out to and lay on or jump off of and mom swam out there. I didn't, that water is too cold for me. It's like our water in March. I think she felt proud of herself for swimming all the way out there though. We relaxed for a while, which was really nice, and ate a really good lunch at place overlooking the bay. Mom got to eat a real salad, which I think she has been missing. Then we hiked up the cliff and took some pictures before we went home.

Tonight we ate dinner in Nice, and walked along the promenade. We watched some guys who were break dancing, they had a big crowd out watching them and they were putting on a really good show, but the police came and stopped them for some reason.

Tomorrow we head to Barcelona! Sorry Peggy! :)

Best things about today: the beautiful beach we spent the day at
Worst things about today: peeing at 5am

The beach

View from our hike

 

 Mom at lunch

 Kind of dangerous



Mom diving off the platform



 Mom on the pomenade in Nice

Me eating gelato in my new French clothes



Nice is Nice

Isn't my title so witty? :P not.

We are in Nice, France, on the French Riviera. We haven't seen a whole lot of it yet. The train ride here was gorgeous. A really, really nice Australian couple helped us almost the whole way. They were a real blessing. The train ran along the coast, so we saw some really beautiful coastline. It wasn't a long train, and nothing got stolen, so all in all, traveling wasn't too bad today.

We're staying at another hostel this time. It's decent, they serve breakfast and you can buy dinner and drinks from them at night. Very, very youth oriented. The room we're staying in has 6 bunks, so there are 12 girls sharing one bathroom. Yep, did your jaw drop? It's almost always occupied. We met a few girls from Philly who seem nice. Other than that, the girls have kind of kept to themselves. The language barrier doesn't help though. We went shopping after we got here and I have a few clothes now! No underwear still, but a bra! I'm holding out and hoping they have Victoria's Secret here, which is the only place I buy that stuff from. Sorry if that's TMI. Anyway, I got a few cute clothes that I'm happy with, but will still need some more things. I'm feeling better about all that, there's nothing I can do about it and it will only be a bump in the road on our trip. Tonight for dinner we ate crepes. Mom had eaten them in Paris but it was my first time. They weren't sweet, they had meat and stuff inside. It wasn't that great to me. On a good note, I also got some freedom fries! Man, those were good. I indulged. We have to lock mom's suitcase and my book bag up at night and we lost the lock for a while, and it ended up being in my shorts pocket. Good thing we found it!

Since we won't be going back to Italy on this trip, I've thought about what I liked and didn't like about Italy:

Likes:
- The sites. We saw some really, really amazing things. I'll never forget how it felt to see the Colosseum for the first time or stand inside St. Peter's Basilica.
- The scenery. We saw some really beautiful things. Venice and Cinque Terre were absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't take enough pictures. Rome even had it's charm with all of the restaurants in the little streets with greenery growing all around them.
- The history. Italy is filled with so much history. We only scratched the surface.
- New experiences. I experienced so many new things. It was definitely a learning experience, but I'm thankful I had the opportunity.
- The gelato! I ate it like every day.

Dislikes:
- The smoking. This may sound picky, but I think everyone in Italy smokes cigs. Rome really did smell like an ash tray.
- The food, overall it wasn't very good.
- We didn't feel the Italian hospitality that I heard so much about, which was disappointing. Almost all of the people that helped us along the way in Italy were from different countries, like us. The Italians were not very friendly, for the most part. Language barrier doesn't help.
- The crime. Obviously I have a bad taste in my mouth for crime in Italy because of what happened. Even before that, we encountered gypsies and tons of beggars. Street vender's are extremely pushy. One ran after us and called us stupid American's because we wouldn't buy his cheap painting. You really have to be careful.


I don't have any pictures from today, but here are more from Monterosso:

Cinque Terre

We've been in Monterosso on the Cinque Terre for the past 2 days. The Cinque Terre is a portion of the Italian Riviera that consists of 5 small villages. Monterosso is the one we stayed in, but they are all unique. I'm pretty sure it's been mom's favorite place. She keeps saying how she doesn't want to leave and how beautiful it is. She says she wants to come back with dad one day and get to know it better and see the other villages. It is definitely very beautiful here. I set this trip up to see places, and things that I studied in school. I knew I wasn't going to really get familiar with any once place. So the good thing about this trip is that we are seeing a lot of places and a lot of really awesome things, but we aren't staying anywhere long enough to really get to know a town and do everything in it.

So, after the horror of the first day we got here, it's been nice in Monterosso. Yesterday, Wednesday, we went to the beach and hung out, swam and walked around for a while. The water is so blue and clear and the sand is smooth rocks, or ground up rocks. The coast line is gorgeous. It's very hot here, especially compared to Venice, but it cools off at night. The water is pretty chilly. After we left the beach, we got some food and gelato and decided to do some hiking towards the next town. It was already kind of late, so we knew we wouldn't get all the way there. We had to move to a different place to stay and buy me a bathingsuit that morning, so we got kind of a late start. The hike up there was really pretty too, there were some overlooking views of the water, and you also walked by a lot of vineyards and lemon trees and that sort of thing. I wouldn't want to do it in the heat of the day though. We ate dinner at a place on the harbor that Rick Steves (who mom thinks is a god, if Rick Steves said it was a good idea to jump off a certain cliff, mom would probably want to try it) recommended, and it turned out to be good for once! I got some kind of pasta with swordfish in it, and mom got something called black and white pasta with muscles. And when I asked for ice, they gave me a whole bowl! Wonderful. The second place we stayed in had a really beautiful view, but it sure was a hike to get up there. They served us a really great breakfast this morning, lots of fresh fruit, breads, pastries, and of course coffee and tea. A good thing I can say about Italy is that in most of the places we've stayed, they provide breakfast for you, which has been really nice.

Today we are going to Nice, France. From the Italian riviera to the French riviera. I thought I would never want to leave Italy, but that isn't the case. I'm ready to move on. When I have more internet time, I'll write the good and the bad of Italy, from what I've experienced. We've seen some really, really amazing stuff here, and I'm very thankful that we had the opportunity to do so. I still don't have any clothes, and it still makes me angry when I think about what happened. When I get on this train to Nice, if anyone even looks at my bag, they will get the most evil look they have ever seen in their entire meaningless existance. If looks could kill, they would be dead before they could even blink again, or before another thought could cross their corrupt mind. If anyone touches my stuff, they will get an elbow to the throat, or a foot to the balls, no hesitation. :) That's all. Looking forward to Nice!

Best things about yesterday: experiencing the beauty of Monterosso and eating some good food.
Worst things about yesterday: still not having any clothes.

Angels and Demons

We are in Cinque Terre. It is really beautiful, on the coast. I haven't been able to write because we don't have free wifi and I have to go to the internet cafe.

Our last day in Venice, we went to San Marco's and toured the Basilica. It was beautiful and gold. The symbol in a lot of early Christian art for Mark, the lion, was everywhere, which I thought was really cool. We ate lunch and mom bought a painting from a guy who was painting outside the square. Then we went to Lido, the beach outside of Venice. It was really unimpressive. The circle at AB is prettier, and that's saying something. We took the bus boat back to Venice, showered, ate and walked around. We took some more pictures and called it a night. Overall, Venice was charming.

The next day we got on a train to Cinque Terre, which is 5 small islands that mom really wanted to see. They are all very beautiful. Google image them. On the way, we had to get off the train in Florence and get on another, and only had 10 minutes so we missed our connection. We finally got on a different train, to La Spezia, where we had to make another connection to Cinque Terre. Sometime on that train, someone stole my suitcase. I was facing the opposite direction of the bag and mom was facing towards it. It kept falling over, so we laid it on the floor. It was lime green. We never had a clue.

I know it's just stuff, and stuff can be replaced. I know I should be thankful that my laptop, cell phone, purse and medicine weren't in it. But the things that were in it were special to me, even if they were clothes and jewelry. I lost the shirt I was wearing the night my niece was born, I lost the dress I wore at midnight when I turned 21, I lost my favorite pair of jeans that I wore on a special first date. I lost almost every piece of jewelry that boyfriends have given me in the past, that I didn't even mean to bring on the trip, but that I thought would be safer in my suitcase rather than my purse. I connect clothes and things with memories, and it's been really hurtful to lose those things, and know that someone is probably selling them on the street to some random person. I haven't cried that much in a long time. It is really, really sad to me to know that someone is so desperate that they need to steal other peoples things off of a train in order to live. I haven't felt this sad in a long time. I don't want anything to do with Italy.

When we got to Cinque Terre, we had nowhere to stay. Luckily, a British guy, who turned out to be a real angel in a day filled with demons, went completely out of his way to find us a place to stay for last night and tonight. He was truly a blessing.

Today in Cinque Terre (we're on the island of Monorosso, google image it) we're going to do a little hiking and go to the beach, and I'll need to get some clothes, underwear, a bra, etc. because I still have nothing to wear except for the dirty clothes I wore on the train. There is nothing I can do about my things, they're gone. We filed a report with the "polizia" who are a joke. They said if they found it, which wasn't likely, they would give it to the embassy in Rome?? So it's gone. And I'll just have to get over it. We still have 4 weeks in Europe. I guess I learned my lesson.

Pictures tomorrow if possible.

Hello Venice

We're in Venice! It's absolutely gorgeous and it looks just like it does in pictures. I couldn't write a post last night because the internet was going in and out. Getting here wasn't as stressful as getting from Rome to Florence. The Florence station was much easier to find and much smaller. We ate breakfast at our hostel and checked out. Rode the bus and made it with no problems to the train station in Florence. We had to make reservations on the train to Venice, so I stood with the bags again while mom got in line. There weren't nearly as many interesting people in the Florence train station but a few that stood out were:

- A guy leisurely riding his bike through the station
- An old guy with white hair moving at a pace of about half a foot per step, looking pretty confused. He was getting there though.
- A girl that had on a dress... with boots and a beanie... in July...
- Old guy with Hawaiian print shorts, knee high socks, sneakers and a man bag.
- Lots of fanny packs
- Lots of backpackers, all playing the part, looking dirty.
- A family of Asians, rolling 12 deep.

We rode in first class on the train this time, which was nice. We weren't aware we had seat assignments though, which provided some confusion at first. The train ride to Venice only took a little over 2 hours since we were on a fast train this time. When we got to Venice, we were confused about the boat system. We knew we had to get on some kind of water bus, but we didn't know where to purchase the tickets and then where to get on the boat. We finally figured out the ticket thing and where the right water bus was, so we sat down on what we though was the water bus with a bunch of Asians, and figured it would just start going. About five minutes later a boat pulls up and lets people off. I was already frustrated at this point, and I felt like a complete idiot, because I realized that we were sitting on a docking platform, not the actual boat. It had no motor, no captain, nothing. Being from a coastal town, I shouldn't have been so naive. I guess traveling does that to you. So, I explained to mom that we weren't on a boat, that the boat would come pick us up from the thing we were sitting on. It did eventually and the boat ride was pretty. It's actually chilly in Venice. Nothing like it was 3 days ago in Rome. Very windy and probably about 20 degrees cooler. It's a nice break from the heat though.

When we arrived to our "bus" stop, we got off and our B&B was fairly easy to find. The courtyard is really beautiful and the room is nice, and has AC, even though we don't need it anymore! We decided to explore and get something to eat, so that's what we did. We didn't get lost! We walked across lots of little bridges, saw the gondolas (which cost at least 100 Euros per ride) and took over 100 pictures. Dinner was okay, we just ate some pizza. When we were done, we walked back towards where the water bus dropped us off and wanted to find a spot where we could watch the sunset. We found a really pretty spot where we could see part of it, but we couldn't see it go all the way down. Mom had to pee really bad (hope she doesn't mind me putting that on here) and there aren't many public bathrooms around. If there are, you have to pay. It was an ordeal trying to find somewhere to go, so we finally just hightailed it back to the room. It was really getting chilly by then.

Best things about yesterday: Making it here! It's gorgeous! Watching the sunset over the canal.
Worst things about yesterday: Traveling.

Today we're going to explore and see San Marco's square, and ride around in the water bus more, since we have a 48 hour pass. Venice is very beautiful and definitely worth seeing!

The patio where we are staying

Looking down a canal

Venice!

Gondola

 Sunset

 Some of the alley's are only about 4 ft. wide!

Coke with ice = 3 cubes. Ice hoarders...

 Mom!