Paris! ... champagne, shopping, & a perfect end to an amazing adventure

The train ride to Paris was hell.  I mean straight misery.  It ended up taking about 16 hours in a cramped room where it was impossible to fall asleep.  Mackenzie even tried laying on the ground of the car and couldn’t fall asleep.  We were thrilled when we eventually got off that train.  We followed signs towards the other train station so we could meet Mackenzie’s friend Nish who was flying in that morning.  On the way we found a McDonald’s and since we were starving we stopped for lunch.  It was amazing.  I got a chicken wrap meal and it was probably the best McDonald’s I have ever tasted.  Mackenzie and I realized that both times we were in France it was the first place we went.  After spending some time in McDonald’s we went to the other train station.  Her flight was on time but when she texted us saying she was at the station we could not find her.  It took us at least an hour of texting back and forth to find each other since we were in different parts of the station.  Eventually we did but then they had to buy tickets for their train to Brussels which was a long process.

After spending way too long in the train stations we made our way to our Bed & Breakfast.  When we got there we rang the bell and the nicest lady in the whole world came down to greet us.  She had been worried since she thought we were going to be there earlier and had even tried to call me on my Spanish phone.  She was glad we made it okay and kept telling us how she was there for anything we need.  The house was so cute and when you first walked in the gate there was a garden with plenty of places to sit outside.  Our room had our own kitchen and table and she had set out all sorts of things for us to eat.  Her and her husband helped us get our stuff into the room and got us all luggage stands.  Then she asked us what we wanted to drink and poured us all drinks at the table.  She gave us all sorts of helpful information we would need and after she left we were all dumbstruck at how amazing she was and how cute our room was.

We all showered and got ready to go see the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triumph.  We also picked up 2 bottles of wine from the supermarket up the road to drink before we left on our sightseeing adventure.  Then we made our way to the city and took pictures in front of the Arc de Triumph after asking a few people which direction it was.  We also decided it was a good idea to get there by running across about three lanes of traffic but thankfully we made it safely.  We then made our way to the Eiffel Tower.  It was getting dark so when we got there it was lit up.  The tower was so pretty especially when it sparkled and it was surreal to be standing there.  There were a lot of tourists and people selling Eiffel Tower souvenirs.  After we walked through the tower to the other side there was a man trying to sell champagne.  We ended up getting two bottles for 12 euro after talking him down quite a bit.  We then sat down and drank champagne next to the Eiffel Tower which was an amazing experience.  The metro closed at 12:30 so we made our way back to our place after we finished our champagne.  We were all tired and Mackenzie even fell asleep on the metro.  As soon as we got back we got in bed and passed out.

The next morning we slept in even though we had not planned on it.  Since we didn’t have much time the day before and we didn’t wake up until late we knew we had to be on the ball during our time in the city.  After our amazing breakfast we started at the Eiffel Tower to take pictures during the day.  There was a crepe stand next to where we were taking pictures so we got crepes to eat in front of the Eiffel Tower ... so French I know.  Then we made our way to the Arc de Triumph to take pictures during the day and from there made our way down the Champs Elysees.  We first stopped in H&M and all found something there.  I ended up getting a skirt, shirt, and dress for a total of 11 euro which I was very proud of.  We wandered in a few other stores but were mainly looking for a Longchamp because I really wanted a purse and Mackenzie wanted to buy one as a gift.  We asked a few people who didn’t know where it was and then I went in a cute little boutique that had two girls that were extremely helpful and told us how to get there.

When we found the store it was in a big department store with a lot of other designer stores but they didn’t have that great of a selection.  I asked one of the people working there if there was another store and he said yes there was and told me where.  It closed at 6 and it was around 5 so we had to power walk there but we made it and they definitely had a better selection.  I found the exact purse I had wanted.  Next on our list was the Louvre so we started walking in that direction and stopped along the way at a cute little cafe for drinks and macaroons.  Mackenzie and I both got chocolate macaroons which were delicious.  Then we walked to the Louvre and took pictures.  There were a lot of souvenir shops near the Louvre so we did our souvenir shopping there and then headed to Notre Dame.  At the Notre Dame we took pictures and asked someone to take pictures of the four of us.  We must have asked the right person because he literally took 10 pictures in all different angles.

Since all of us but Mackenzie had been to Paris before we had already seen most of the stuff we were seeing but one thing none of us had seen was the Moulin Rouge.  I love the movie so much that I agreed right away that we should try and go see it.  After some trouble figuring out what metro stop it was we found ourselves on a street full of sex shops, strip clubs, and lingerie stores so we knew right away we were at the right place.  The Moulin Rouge was cool especially since it was all lit up.  We couldn’t believe we had done so much in one day that wasn’t even a full day.  It was definitely time to get a real meal which would be my last in Europe.  We took the metro back to Champs Elysees and on a side street found a cafe to eat at that was a little pricey but cheaper than everything else we had seen.  I got penne with tomato and basil and it was amazing!  The wine was good too.  It was a nice, relaxing final meal in Europe.  After dinner we found a supermarket to get drinks since we couldn’t afford to go get drinks at a bar after our dinner.  We took them back to our bed & breakfast because it was kind of cold and we all needed to shower and finish packing.

When we got back to the room Cecilia had made our beds, tidied up the room, and left us more food for breakfast.  I can’t say enough how amazing she was.  She even left directions for the others to get to their train station and me to the airport.  We ended up drinking and packing up until around 3am and then woke up 2 hours later at 5am since the others had to catch a 7am train.  I said goodbye to them when they had to leave and took my time getting ready since my flight wasn’t until 11am.  However I was ready to go around 6:30 so ended up leaving pretty early anyways.  I knew I had to take two metro lines but when I got to the first one I couldn’t figure out which one was going where I needed it to go because it was more like a train and had platform numbers and final destinations which didn’t look like where I needed to go.  Thankfully after trying to ask a French man who didn’t understand me I ran into another girl from Croatia also going to the airport so we figured it out together which was nice.  At the airport I had no idea which terminal I needed to go to so I stopped at one of the airport stops and thankfully found someone who worked there that told me which terminal to go to.  The airport was huge!  I took a tram and then walked forever just to get to my terminal.  Once I made it to the terminal the rest of the process was relatively easy.  I stopped in a few of the shops on the way to my gate and used up the last of my euro on a Lindt chocolate bar.  

On the plane lunch was good and the first movie they played was “Rango” which was cute and I had never seen it before.  I managed to sleep for maybe thirty minutes but not enough to make up for the almost no sleep I’ve gotten over the past three days.  I’m definitely going to pass out tonight and may sleep all day tomorrow.  I’m currently on the plane still but we should get there in about an hour and a half.  Hopefully it isn’t too much of a struggle to figure out customs and my connection to RDU and all of that.  I assume I’ll just follow other people and if not I’ve gotten very good at asking people for help on this trip.  I can’t believe I’m flying home right now.  Traveling after flew by.  I’m sad to leave Europe but excited to see everyone, go to Harry Potter, and go to Sunset.  Also it will be nice not living out of a suitcase and having to drag it around with me everywhere.  Overall it was an amazing experience and I’m thrilled that I got the chance to do it.  The only problem is instead of crossing off places I want to travel to it has probably just expanded my list.  I definitely love traveling and hope to be able to do a lot of it over the course of my lifetime!

Berlin!

We got to Berlin and the train station was huge.  It literally had at least six floors and tons of restaurants.  We left our Canadian friends as soon as we got to the train station so we could find our hostel.  After asking someone at an information booth, taking the S-bahn, taking the U-bahn, and walking down the street we found our hostel.  The man at reception was really helpful and even carried up Mackenzie’s bag for her.  We had our own room which was nice even though it was on the fourth floor.  Mackenzie had a friend who was studying here who we were meeting and then traveling with after so we agreed on a spot to meet him.  It wasn’t too far away and although we had to wait awhile we eventually found him.  We all went to a low key bar and had a few beers.  It would have been a nice night but on the way back Mackenzie realized she left her Ray Bans at the bar and when we got back they were gone.  It was really upsetting because she had bought them on this trip.  But other than that it was a nice relaxing night compared to the two previous nights in Munich.

We woke up the next morning and walked down the street for breakfast.  I got pancakes (which were more like crepes) and a big coffee for 3 euro which was awesome and tasted delicious.  We then went to meet Mackenzie’s friend again so he could show us around.  First he showed us the area he had lived in and where his university was which apparently was the only section of Berlin unharmed after WWII.  There were really big, pretty houses and it felt more like a neighborhood than a city.  The university was pretty big and somewhat modern looking.  It felt way more like a university campus than where we went to school in Sevilla.  Then we took the subway to a good place to eat that had really good beer (Augustiner).  We all got their dark beer and french fries which we dipped in their mayonnaise and ketchup which had curry in it.  We sat there for literally two hours drinking and talking which was really nice.  Then we went to KaDeWe which was the biggest department store in Europe (or something like that).  It was huge and was filled with designer clothes.  The top two floors were dedicated to food.  They had a buffet on the top floor where I got chocolate gelato which was two die for and then a chocolate counter on the floor below where I got a bag of a few different Godiva chocolates which were also amazing.

After eating our way through Berlin we made our way to where the original wall was still standing in the original location.  It had panels near it with information which was really interesting and we even touched the wall!  I think it was especially interesting because it all happened so recently.  All through Berlin they had it marked on the ground where the wall stood which I think was one of my favorite parts of the city.  We then went to the East Side Gallery where they moved a long section of the wall and had different artists paint on it.  All the artwork was phenomenal.  The river was also near where we were which was really pretty since the sun was setting.  We then ate kabobs for dinner which were really good and apparently there are stands all over Germany.  I also tried desperado which is a type of beer with tequila in it that was really good.  We then made our way back to our hostel after our big day of sightseeing.

The next morning we woke up and checked out but left our stuff in the luggage room since our train to Paris wasn’t until 6:55pm.  We found another breakfast place since the first place we went to was closed and I had a bagel with turkey, tomato, lettuce, and some different sauces on it that was really good.  It was the first bagel I had found in Europe and it was delicious.  The latte was also good.  We sat there until we saw Mackenzie’s friend coming off the subway and then walked to our hostel so he could leave his luggage there too.  We then took the subway to Brandenburg Gate which was really cool and was right next to the US Embassy.  We also saw Reichstag which was really pretty.  On our way back to one of the subway stations we saw the Holocaust memorial which was really cool.  It was a bunch of rectangular concrete slabs that were different sizes and the ground underneath them had different levels too.  After we got back to the hostel station we walked to a beer garden that was on the map the hostel gave us.  It was similar to the one we went to in Munich.  I got bratwurst and a pretzel with wheat beer and it was really good.  Then I had Berliner Weiss with raspberry that was also good followed by another normal wheat beer.  When in Germany :) ... Mackenzie and I also stole another glass to take home as a souvenir.

We eventually got our stuff from the hostel and made our way back to the main train station.  There was one point where we were a little confused but we found our train with 15 minutes to spare.  I stayed with the stuff while they went to get wine for us and fruit for Mackenzie (as usual).  The train came right when they left and I was worried they weren’t going to make it but they ran back and we made it on the train.  However when we found our car it wasn’t the sleeper car we had expected.  Instead it was six seats sitting opposite from each other and the other three were full.  The seats didn’t recline and there was not much leg room.  Somehow there was a miscommunication with the lady who booked our reservations because this definitely did not have a place to sleep.  I should say this in present tense because I’m currently sitting in this squished room.  The train ride is 14.5 hours so I’m definitely going to need this wine.  Especially since it takes a lot for me to fall asleep on trains.

Munich, Germany: "I feel like I was born here"

When we got to Munich the hostel was indeed close to the train station which was extremely convenient.  The staff was extremely friendly and the rooms were huge!  We decided we wanted to start our time in Munich in a famous beer hall called Hofbräuhaus but first we went to the bar at our hostel for happy hour.  During happy hour drinks were extremely cheap so we each bought a drink.  Shortly after sitting down we made friends with the people on either side of us.  Everyone at the bar was so friendly and by the end of happy hour we had finished a few drinks and made friends from Australia, Canada, South Africa, and some places in the US.  Once happy hour ended we told our new friends that we wanted to go to Hofbräuhaus so a big group of us made our way there.  The inside with all the booths were closed so we had to get a big table outside.  When we got to the table there was a delicious looking pastry thing sitting on the table that the people before us had left behind.  Somehow I agreed to take a bite of it if one of our other friends did so when he did I was forced to.  It was amazing.  Probably one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.  I don’t know what it was but it was good.  When they cleared off the table and our waitress came we all got beers that came in huge liter sized glasses.  I got a wheat beer that was really good.  Our Australian friend was hungry so he asked the waitress what to get to eat that was could and she pointed to one that she said “you people” like.  When it came out it was bratwurst and sauerkraut.  Surprisingly I liked it all!  I thought I would hate sauerkraut but it was actually really good.  We ended up sitting there talking until we were kicked out because they were closed.  Then we walked back to the hostel and got some Snicker’s gelato on the way back.  After our first night it was official ... I loved Munich!

Mackenzie and I woke up early the next day to start exploring the city.  We saw a lot of the famous landmarks including the famous clock in Marienplatz called Glockenspiel.  We also walked through the palace gardens which were pretty.  When it was close to noon we walked back to the clock to see it play.  There are little figures that spin around and stuff which was kind of cool but definitely overrated which I had heard.  After watching the clock we went back to the hostel quickly and then headed to Viktualienmarkt which was a cute market with tons of German specialties.  We treated ourselves to bratwurst and big pretzels which were really good.  Then we took the S-Bahn to get to the place where the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial was.  When we got off the S-Bahn we decided to do the remembrance walk to the camp instead of taking the bus.  We only got a little lost once on the way but we found it and there were interesting panels with information about the camp on the way.  When we got to the camp it was a lot to take in.  It was huge and only had a few buildings remaining that had information in them about the camp.  The pictures were pretty graphic and there were also quotes from prisoners.  They also had the gas chambers and crematorium to look at.  Overall it was a very interesting experience and although it took up a large part of our day I was happy we got to do it.

When we got back to the city center we walked to the English Gardens.  First we found where surfers ride an endless wave on the river.  It was really cool to watch and I was impressed how good they were at it.  To be able to jump into the wave and avoid the walls on both side definitely took skill.  After we saw the surfers we went to a famous beer garden in the park called the Chinese Tower.  It was like a buffet in the middle of the park with picnic tables surrounding a chinese looking tower.  I tried the weinerschnitzel which was really good and got a lemonade beer which was one of the best beers I had in Munich.  We had to pay a one euro deposit for our beer glass and I decided for one euro I wanted the glass.  Mackenzie decided to keep hers too but she also wanted a liter sized one so she stole one sitting on a tray.  Needless to say she got some very strange looks walking back through Munich carrying two empty glasses.

We walked back to the hostel, showered, and walked down to the bar just in time to get a drink before happy hour ended.  Some of our friends from the night before were there and the longer we sat there more of our friends started showing up.  We were planning on going to another beer hall but everyone was hanging out at the hostel bar and apparently the beer halls closed around 11.  Our Australian friend walked in soaking wet saying he walked through the fountain at Karlsplatz.  Then later somehow we started talking about Vegemite, which is some gross Australian spread, and he went up to his room and brought down a tube.  He had tried to convince us to go run in the fountain and then he tried to convince us to eat the Vegemite.  Mackenzie tried the Vegemite and said it was gross so I said I’d run through the fountain but I wasn’t eating that nasty stuff.  A few minutes after I agreed to run through the fountain someone spilled almost their whole beer on me and I was literally drenched.  I decided it was a sign that I needed to run through the fountain (even though Mackenzie refused to do it) so we took the camera and walked to the fountain.  We ran through about 5 times and even stood under it for awhile.  It was freezing but so much fun.  When we finished I was literally wringing out my hair and my dress which I decided was now clean.  After our fountain adventure we treated ourselves to a brownie McFlurry from McDonald’s which was delicious.

When we got back to the hostel I went upstairs and changed into my pajamas because it was the only thing I had sitting out and I didn’t feel like taking out more clothes.  So I ended the night in the hostel bar soaking wet wearing my pajamas (and no I wasn’t even drunk).  We ended up sitting on the stairs of the hostel and talking for hours until I realized if I went to sleep I would only sleep for two and a half hours which wasn’t worth it to me so I ended up just staying up all night.  Around eight we started getting ready for the day and Mackenzie and I went to get bratwurst from the market.  On the way to get the brat we stopped and got warm peanuts covered in some sort of sugar and other stuff which was delicious.  After our brat we each ate some form of apple strudel which was also good.  Then we picked up some last minute souvenirs and I bought myself a pair of Birkenstocks.  At 10:30 we met our friends from Canada in the lobby because they were taking the same train as us to Berlin.  Our train left around 11 and we should get to Berlin around 5.  I am currently on the train to Berlin with Mackenzie in front of me sleeping with her mouth wide open as usual and the Canadians around me speaking in French.  I was really sad to leave Munich because I loved it so much.  It was the first city we have visited that I didn’t think we had enough time in.  I am definitely going to go back one day, hopefully during Octoberfest :)

Gimmelwald, Switzerland: mountains, cows, & chocolate

Five trains after we left Venice we officially arrived in the Interlaken Ost train station.  Changing trains that many times went pretty smoothly surprisingly.  On the train where we crossed the border we had to switch onto another train and the guy sitting across from me kept trying to tell me we had to switch trains but I didn’t understand.  Thankfully Mackenzie picked up on it and we figured it out.  We realized we loved Switzerland at the first Swiss train station we came to ... it had ramps!  No longer did we have to struggle carrying our huge bags up and down stairs but instead we could simply roll them behind us.  It was amazing.  We continued to fall in love with Switzerland as we looked out the train windows at the gorgeous views.  As Rick Steves said when asked by the guy on the train checking tickets where we were going and we said Gimmelwald he asked us if we meant Grindelwald and when we said no he said he hadn't heard of Gimmelwald.  That shows you how small a place Gimmelwald really is.  When we got to the station in Interlaken I knew we would have to take a train, a bus, and a gondola up to Gimmelwald and I had no idea how difficult it all would be.  Thankfully Switzerland came through again!  Instead of buying each ticket separately the man at the ticket counter gave me one ticket that worked for all three forms of transportation and he even gave me a timetable telling me when each thing left.  We had an hour before our train left so we went into the grocery store next to the station to buy breakfast and of course Swiss chocolate.  The chocolate was amazing and it took everything in me not to eat the whole bar right there.

Getting to Gimmelwald was extremely easy and the only trouble we had was trying to find the bus stop after we got off the train.  We asked which way to go to get to the train station and were told left but we saw signs saying right so we decided to follow the signs.  When we got to that side it was deserted so I decided to go check out the other side.  Turns out the person who told us left was right so we had to rush with our bags to the bus stop to catch the bus which was definitely amusing but we made it.  When we finally got on the gondola up to Gimmelwald we saw fireworks down in the village below.  I doubt they were for the 4th of July but we could pretend.

We checked in to the Mountain Hostel (the only hostel in Gimmelwald) and even though it was dark we could tell that it was surrounded by breathtaking views.  The hostel itself had a wood cabin look and the staff was very friendly.  We had to pay for wifi and for showers but otherwise it wasn’t bad.  The beds were all squeezed right next to each other but everyone was very friendly and the view from the window made up for it.  I paid for the wifi and we sat in the common room to upload pics and our blogs from Venice.  We noticed the flies right away.  They were everywhere and were extremely annoying.  You constantly had to swat them away.  Thankfully they weren’t as bad in our room and we had no trouble going to sleep.

We woke up the next morning and ate the breakfast we had picked up at the grocery store the day before.  Then we got ready for our big day of hiking.  We started by taking pictures outside of the hostel and then one of the people who worked at the hostel asked us where we were going.  We said we weren’t sure and he recommended a trail for us to take.  We followed his instructions and walked along the trail.  The houses in Gimmelwald were all really cute and we saw some goats.  Also on our way out of Gimmelwald we saw two men leading a few cows down the road.  One of the cows went down the hill instead of following the others down the road and we thought it was lost.  However when the men took the other cows to the same place we realized it was actually the smart cow who found a short cut.  We continued on our hike which was pretty strenuous but well worth it because every corner we turned was amazingly gorgeous.  I had taken allergy medicine but my allergies were still really bad which kind of sucked but as I said the views were well worth my runny nose.  We got to the end of our trail and saw two houses sitting there in the middle of nowhere.  We wondered how they got groceries or other supplies and our question was later answered as we watched a helicopter drop off something to another house in the middle of nowhere.  We decided to hike to Mürren next because we knew there was a grocery store there and we needed lunch for the next two days and breakfast for the next morning.  The first part of the hike was easy and had breathtaking views of course and the trail went straight through a big group of cows.  As we walked by them they didn’t move but just watched us.  We decided to take pictures with them and I even petted one!  After the cows we saw a man paragliding which looked really cool.  He was insanely high up!  I would love to do that one day but I would have to do it with someone else because I’d be too scared to do it by myself.  The last part of the hike was rocky and downhill so we had to be really careful.  Mackenzie twisted her ankle but thankfully she was able to walk it off.

When we got to Mürren we went in some souvenir shops and the grocery store.  It was a cute town that was small but still bigger than Gimmelwald.  I ended up buying a pack of rolls and turkey to make sandwiches for lunch.  The walk back to Gimmelwald was very easy and on the way we found a bench with awesome views to eat lunch on.  It was a perfect end to our day of hiking.  When we got back to the hostel we put our groceries away and got online.  We were planning on hiking a little more and there were some trails from Mürren so we started to walk back to Mürren.  However on our way to Mürren we realized we were tired and our legs were aching so we made it to our lunch bench and took in the scenery from there instead.

Eventually we walked back to Gimmelwald and took showers for one swiss franc each.  The showers only lasted 5 minutes so we had to be really quick even though after our day of hiking I really wanted a long shower.  After we showered I went down to the restaurant at the hostel and ordered cheese fondue.  Mom had told me the fondue in Switzerland was amazing and since we hadn’t eaten out at all in Switzerland I decided to treat myself to the fondue even though it was 18 francs.  I had never had fondue before so I didn’t know how it tasted compared to other fondue but it was really good.  It had a pretty strong flavor so I couldn’t finish it all (and I ran out of bread to dip in it) but it was definitely a delicious way to eat cheese from Switzerland.

We went to bed early since we were both exhausted and then woke up this morning around 7:15 so we could slowly get ready and catch the 9am gondola.  We had to change our sheets which was different from other hostels but it wasn’t too difficult.  We didn’t have any problems making it back down to Interlaken and we are now on our way to Munich.  Our first train left at 11am this morning and after three trains we should get there around 5pm.  We are now on the third train and haven’t had any trouble so far.  One of the layovers was only 10 minutes but we made it with plenty of time.  I think we can now officially call ourselves experienced train travelers.  We are starting to figure out where to go to get a seat, where the best place to put our bags is, how to figure out which train to get on, and all sorts of other things that you need to know when traveling by train through Europe.  The hostel in Munich is near the train station which is really convenient and apparently it is in a good location of the city too. I’m excited to be in Germany.  Not only is it where I was born but it also has plenty of beer to try and pretzels to eat!  I can’t believe I only have three cities left until I fly back home.

Venice: a maze of a city

We have officially started our journey to Switzerland on the 4th of July.  To show our patriotic spirit Mackenzie and I are sporting red dresses and dragging our blue bags (they’re big enough that they have to count for something).  Our journey to Gimmelwald, Switzerland includes 5 trains, a bus, and a gondola so this is going to be a pretty intense day of traveling.  But anyways back to Venice...

Although I read reviews saying the directions to the hostel were really bad we followed them exactly and had no problems.  To get to the hostel we had to take a water bus which was cool.  It was crazy how a building would end and then there would just be water in between it and the next one.  We dropped our stuff off at the hostel and then got ready to wander around the city.  I asked the man at the desk for a map and he handed me a map printed on a piece of printer paper with print so small I could barely read it.  I knew it was hard to find your way around in Venice in the first place and with that map I was doubtful we would be able to find our way anywhere.  However it at least gave me an idea of the direction we needed to go to get places.

First we found our way to St. Mark’s Square.  To get there we wandered through Venice’s small, cute roads sometimes ending in water where we would have to turn around.  None of the roads actually stayed straight you would always have to find a place to turn that didn’t stop abruptly.  It was literally like a big maze.  Point to point our hostel was really close to the square but getting there took us about 10 minutes each time and sometimes longer because we would have trouble finding it.  We went to the square at least 4 times and we literally took a different route each time.  But anyways we eventually found St. Mark’s Square and it was an interesting combination of beautiful architecture, expensive restaurants, and pigeons.  Yes, pigeons ... they were everywhere!  People were feeding them and they would fearlessly sit on peoples shoulders, arms, and hands.  It was wild.  The basilica was cool but we didn’t want to pay to go inside.  We spent the rest of the time wandering next to the wander and looking at all of the shops.  Venice is known for its’ glass blowing so there were all kinds of things made of glass: jewelry, plates, bottle openers, etc.  You name it they had it.  Everything was really pretty and it was hard not to buy it all but we have been blowing through money somehow even though we’ve been really careful not to so we couldn’t afford to buy much.

After walking by the water we wandered back into the city and decided to look for these mozzarella sticks that we had heard were amazing from one of the girls from our program who had gone with her parents.  She said they were near St. Mark’s Square so we walked back to the square and walked down every street close to the square looking for them and eventually found ourselves at the Rialto Bridge.  It was basically a big bridge that had shops on either side over a big canal.  It was cool and we got to look in more shops on the bridge and on the other side.  After the bridge we were really hungry and saw a gelato place so decided to give up on the mozzarella sticks and just eat at the restaurant next to the gelato place so we could get gelato for dessert.  We just happened to walk into the restaurant with the mozzarella sticks!  They were basically a pretty big serving of fried ham and cheese and were really fresh.  They tasted amazing and only cost 1.50 euro each which made them even better in my book.

Two of our friends from the program were also in Venice that night so we decided to go back to the hostel to get in touch with them because we wanted to all do a gondola ride together.  We agreed to meet in St. Mark’s square and after we found them we walked to where there were a bunch of gondola stops.  We had heard that you could bargain with them but the gondolier we talked to was with a company and he refused to do it for less than 100 which we decided was too much.  We walked to another place where they had seen someone earlier and a man there agreed to take us for 80 so it would only be 20 each.  The gondolier was extremely nice and during the ride he told us interesting facts about things we were seeing.  He even offered to take our picture more than once.  He told us his father was also a gondolier and had taught him everything he knew and bought him his gondola.  He hoped his son would also carry on the tradition.  Steering the gondola was definitely a skill.  The gondola would come centimeters away from a wall but he would never hit it.  The canals are extremely narrow in places and the gondolas are pretty big so it was amazing how well he maneuvered it.

After our romantic gondola ride, which was well worth the 20 euro, we all split a bottle of Bollini which is a specialty in Venice and is basically grapefruit flavored champagne.  We walked to the square and sat on the steps listening to the orchestras at the restaurants and chatting over our drinks.  It was such a nice evening and we were glad we had been able to meet up with them.  We enjoyed it so much Mackenzie and I made plans to bring a bottle of wine out there the next night.

The next day we were told breakfast was from 7 to 10 so we woke up at 9:15 to eat and we were told it ended at 9.  That is not what the guy who checked us in had told us but we were too tired to argue so we just sucked it up and went back to sleep.  We slept in for the first morning since we had started traveling which was definitely needed.  When we woke up we slowly got ready for the day and went back to the square because our friends had told us there was an awesome place to get crepes near the square.  We blindly wandered around again trying to find it and eventually we did!  I got a crepe with nutella and strawberry and it was amazing.  It was covered in nutella and really hot.  A perfect way to start out our day.  Mackenzie decided to get a wrap from another place instead and then we sat on the steps of the square and ate.

After we ate we headed back to the Rialto Bridge and looked around in the shops and on the other side of the bridge a little bit more.  Mackenzie tried a piece of coconut from a fresh fruit stand which was really good.  She had never eaten coconut like that before so she was surprised at how much she liked it.  We also found a 3 euro bottle of merlot to drink at the square that night and happened upon a grocery store.  We decided to get food for our big day of traveling since food at the station is expensive.  I ended up buying a sandwich, pringles, and gatorade.  I tried buying an apple but I hadn’t put a sticker on it with it’s weight like I was supposed to so I just told her not to worry about it.  Mackenzie on the other hand got enough fruit that she could open her own fruit stand.  She has been obsessed with eating fruit since we got here and claims that she can’t eat bread or she’ll gain weight.  However weight wise leaving Italy will be good for the both of us.  We are both obsessed with Italian food, especially gelato.  In most of Europe they encourage you to bring your own bags by charging you for bags so we decided just to carry everything we bought.  I’m sure we looked ridiculous carrying all our groceries and the bottle of wine in our hands while I tried to find the pizza place I had read about in my Let’s Go guidebook for dinner.  We eventually found it, sat all our things on the bar, and ordered.  They had huge things of different pizzas and they asked how much you wanted instead of having pre-cut slices.  You paid for it based on its’ weight.  I got a slice of pizza margherita and a slice of four cheese.  Both were really good and a nice end to our Italian meals.

After dinner we picked up all our groceries and eventually made our way back to the hostel to drop them off.  I read about a good gelato place in an area we hadn’t explored yet so we made our way over there.  The gelato was indeed good and I splurged and got two scoops since it was our last gelato.  We sat on a bench in the plaza where the gelato was and ate which was nice.  Then we made our way back to the hostel and asked the guy at the desk about a bottle opener to open our wine.  He told us where it was and we got our wine, cups, and the bottle opener and walked back downstairs.  The bottle opener consisted of a screw and a handle and we were pretty sure we wouldn’t be strong enough to open it so we asked the man at the desk if he would open it for us.  He said he would but it took him and his friend sitting next to him to open it.  Thankfully we asked because we definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it if they struggled that much.  We took the wine to the square and sat in the same spot we had sat the night before.  We both poured ourselves a cup and started chatting.  Since we were sitting near some kind of police station they passed right by us a few times.  I’m pretty sure having an open container is illegal but they don’t really care.  So when the first cops started walking near us I told Mackenzie just so she would be a little discreet.  Instead she had a moment of fear and chucked her cup in the trashcan.  Apparently she forgot we weren’t allowed to legally drink.  After she realized what she did she tried to see if she could get her cup back but it was covered in ice cream.  She asked a few places if they had cups and they said they didn’t so she ended up having to drink from the bottle.  Other than that it was another relaxing night in the square.

We woke up this morning early so we could get ready to go and eat breakfast so we could catch the water bus in time to make our train at 8:58.  When we got to the water bus stop we checked the time table and the first one was at 8:24.  Thankfully there was one at that time because that was the first one and it only ran on weekdays.  I don’t know what we would’ve done if the time had been later or if it had been a weekend.  We got on the water bus and got to the train station 15 minutes before our train was supposed to leave but it still didn’t have a gate number.  We waited until 5 minutes before it was supposed to leave and there still wasn’t a gate number but we saw a bunch of people walking towards one train and apparently it was the right one.  I couldn’t tell you how we were supposed to know that.  But now we are on the train to Milan and we’re sitting across from two guys from Indonesia who speak English pretty well.  They’ve been talking to us about their travel plans and have told us we have to go to Bali.  They literally ranted about how awesome it was for a good 10 minutes so I have now added it to my list of places I need to go.  But anyways today is definitely going to be a big day of travel so hopefully everything works out for us and we will be in Gimmelwald around 10pm.  Happy 4th of July!

Roma! ... & pizza in Naples

So on the train after I wrote my last post I remembered that I had found the hostel in one of my guidebooks so I looked it up and found directions from the nearest metro stop.  When we got to the station in Rome there were signs for the metro but it involved going up and down numerous flights of stairs with our luggage which was quite a struggle.  Sometimes we got lucky and people helped us.  We bought our tickets, figured out how to get to the stop the guidebook gave directions from, and barely made it on the train we were supposed to get on that was about to leave.  After we got off at the stop we faced another flight of stairs.  I managed to get my bag up and so did Mackenzie with the help of three nuns.  Our hostel was in the Vatican City area in Rome so there were plenty of nuns and priests walking around.  We tried following the directions in the guide book but they weren’t very clear so we ended up asking a bunch of different people until we finally found it.  We checked in and thankfully our room was on the first floor so we didn’t have to carry our bags up the stairs.  The hostel was called Hotel Colors and it lived up to its name.  Everything was different colors including our comforter which was pink.  We had our own room with a queen sized bed which was really cute and had its own sink and shower.  It was a nice change of pace to have our own space.

After getting settled in we started our exploration of Rome.  We started at St. Peter’s Basilica which we didn’t go in but stood in the piazza and took pictures.  It was breathtaking.  It was bigger than I could have ever imagined and just plain gorgeous.  We walked around the piazza taking it all in for a good amount of time.  After the Basilica, we walked by Castel Sant’ Angelo and Piazza Navona on the way to the Pantheon.  The Pantheon was really cool looking inside and out.  We read that they started constructing it in 31BC.  Next we made our way to the Trevi Fountain which was surrounded by tourists.  We made our way to the front to take pictures and throw in our coins though.  After the fountain we walked towards the Colosseum and on our way saw a bunch of ancient ruins.  It was funny because we would be on a fairly busy main road and on either side of us was ruins and then all of the sudden in front of us was the huge Colosseum.  We didn’t want to pay to go into the Colosseum but we walked all around it and there were places where you could see in which was cool.  We also saw the Arco di Constantino which was next to the Colosseum.

After seeing all these famous attractions we decided it was time to wander back in the direction of the hostel and find something to eat.  It was crazy how we saw almost all the big attractions in Rome in about 3 hours.  We eventually found a place to eat where we split bruschetta and each got a calzone.  My calzone had ham and cheese in it which was really good.  We continued wandering and went back to St. Peter’s Basilica one more time on our way to our hostel.  Back at the hostel we showered, made use of the awesome free wifi, and went to sleep.

Friday morning we woke up early so we could go inside St. Peter’s Basilica without waiting in line too long or having it be extremely crowded.  The hotel had breakfast that was included with our room and was amazing.  There were all kinds of delicious pastries including croissants, cereal, yogurt, coffee, juice, fruit salad, and other yummy things.  I made a sandwich and got an apple for lunch too.  After we got ready we walked to the Basilica and only waited in line for like ten minutes tops.  Inside the Basilica was amazing.  It was huge and every corner was covered with an intricate painting or gorgeous sculpture.  We saw where St. Peter’s grave was and the famous statue of Mary and Jesus.  I thought it was all really pretty and cool but Mackenzie was obsessed with it all.  My favorite quote of the day was when Mackenzie asked if there was a place to pray there and then said “this is the holiest of the holy, you get what you want if you pray here.”  After we spent a pretty long time in the Basilica we went in the shop for a bit.  It was cool because you could buy a postcard and stamp from the shop and then send it from the vatican postal system.  They even had tables where you could sit down and write on the post card.

After St. Peter’s Basilica it started to rain a bit which was the first bad weather we have encountered since we’ve been traveling.  We decided to go back to the hostel and change since we had to wear clothes that covered our knees and shoulders to get into the Basilica.  Since we had seen so much of Rome the day before we decided to take a side trip to Naples to eat the best pizza in the world, or so I’ve read.  She talks about it in “Eat Pray Love” and says Naples has the best pizza in Italy and this place has the best pizza in Naples.  We didn’t want to pay for seat reservations on the fast train so we decided to take the regional trains which were free with our eurail passes even though they were slower and the trip would be 2.5 hours instead of 1.  The train left around 2:50 so we decided to wander around Rome a bit more on the way to the train station.  We passed more famous structures and spent some time wandering around the shops inside and outside the train station.

When it was finally time to get on the train we started walking through the train looking for a seat and realized there were none.  The train was almost completely full.  Luckily we found two seats that pulled out of the wall between two of the cars.  After we sat down the train kept filling up until the area between the two cars we were sitting in was jam packed with Italians.  It was quite an experience.  A few of them were all yelling in Italian getting the people to open the doors to the main cars to let in air conditioning since it was so hot.  At one of the stops the train made a man got his hand stuck in the door and the others had to help him pull it out which was quite a commotion.  One of the Italians saw I was reading in English and asked if I was from England and I said no the US.  He tried to keep telling me something and I had no clue what he was saying.  I just sat there looking confused as they all kept staring at me and eventually just went back to reading.  They were probably making fun of me after that but whatever I couldn’t understand anything they were saying.

We got to Naples and followed my directions to L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele (aka the pizza from Eat Pray Love).  We went in and both ordered medium pizza margherita with a coke.  It was a pretty small place and you could see all of the kitchen which was also small.  You could see them cook the pizza in the huge oven and could even see the fire in the oven.  There was a picture of Julia Roberts eating there on the wall too.  When we got our pizza I was in heaven.  It was by far the best pizza I’d ever tasted and worth the long, crowded train ride.  I never wanted to stop eating it and was extremely sad when I was done.  Some girls behind us only ate a little more than half of their pizzas which we decided was a serious sin.  No, I know what you’re thinking, we did not eat theirs too we just saw it and thought it was so wrong.  We must have gotten there at the perfect time because by the time we left it seemed like they were cleaning up.  Thank god they were open and we didn’t take the train all the way there just for them to be closed.  After we ate we had about 2 hours to spare so we wandered around Naples going in a few shops here and there.  We had heard bad things about Naples but we didn’t have any problems and the shopping was pretty good.  However there were definitely less tourists.  The train back to Rome was uneventful and I read my book the whole time.  We walked back to our hostel from the train station which was a relatively long walk but we managed to stay on main roads so it wasn’t too sketchy.  Back at the hostel we showered and went to sleep so we could get up early the next day to catch our train to Venice at 8:45.

This morning (Saturday) we woke up early, got ready, checked out, ate breakfast, and made our way to the train station.  Now that we knew where we were going it was less of a struggle to get there than it was the first time getting to the hostel.  We made it to the train on time but it was pretty crowded.  Thankfully for the fast trains you have seat reservations so we didn’t have to worry about having a seat.  The only problem was finding a place to put Mackenzie’s bag.  Mine fit in the overhead but Mackenzie’s needed to be in the racks between cars but they were full.  She left it sitting next to the rack so hopefully no one will move it because it would be a pain to have to try and find it.  We’re sitting on the train now on the way to Venice and I’m interested to see how difficult it is going to be to find our hostel.  A bunch of reviews said it was hard to find and multiple people have told me you get around Venice by following signs towards main attractions instead of using street signs.  I’m excited though because I’ve always wanted to go to Venice ever since our music teacher in elementary school told us about it.  I can’t believe this is our last Italian city but that’s probably a good thing because I like Italian food a little too much.