So we made it to Berlin late last night. Today we took a free walking tour, and it was excellent, we learnt LOTS about the city. We will probably be here for two more days cause there is just so much stuff to see. I have like 3 minutes of internet time left so thats all for now.
We are also sad to see no one enjoyed our photos...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
More Older pics
1. Streets of Pompeii
2. Deads in Pompeii
3. Mt. Vesusius... The Volacno responsible
4. Amazing Neapolitan Pizza.
5. Sean and Joel stretching their legs.
6. Taking a rest in Olympia
7. My favorite Olympian torso.
8. Seans Large Cone
9. Geoff and the crew!
10. Eric thinking he is skydiving on the top of Mt. Vesusius, below is Naples or something.
Pictures!! Finally!
For fastness sake... I am just going to number these1. Beheading of a snowtenburgger.
2. Rothenburg
3. Hair on a tree in a bush in Rothenburg
4. Me and My new scarf and the snow... taken today!
5. Snome (Rome..Collesuem, Arch of Titus and Palatine Hill)
6. Leaning Tower of Schnisa
7. Snowtenburg (Rothenburg)
8. Schiffel Tower
9. Me kissing a pidgeon friend in Venice.
10. Buon Natale .. Merry Christmas!
11. Our new friends, Matt and Caitlin
12. Snowball fight!
13. Snowing in Germany
14. Eric and the Big Apple
15. My only pic of the Pope
16. Figure it our for yourself
17. Eric sneezing in Orveito, Italy
18. Sunset in Cinque Terre. I can´t believe I saw that with my own eyes. God is truly amazing!
To all the Bomber fans who have loved and lost...
I would like to start with a moment of silence and a big stringy lugey directed at all of the riders fans.
Now, on to happier things:
We are presently in Rothenburg ob de Tauber, where it was snowing beautifully on one of the first mild winter days. We are actually just about to leave, on to Berlin.
Some of you may not know about Rothenburg, so i will tell you a little bit about it. First, a bit of history:
Rothenburg was a quiet little city, quite rich, until the 30 years war, back in the 1600s. Now, the 30 years war was labelled as a religious war, between protestants and catholics, but as with most wars, it was really about money.
One day, after defending the city successfully for quite some time, some idiot walked into the powder storage room with a lit torch. Well we all know what that does, and a portion of the wall around the city was destroyed. The invading army ran in, and the townspeople quickly came up with a plan. They were and still are quite well known for their winemaking, so they filled up a draught of just under 1 gallon. The enemy general was a cheap drunk (although i suppose a gallon of wine is quite a bit, even for a German) and once inebriated, proposed a bet. If there was anyone in the city who could drink the whole thing in one go, the city would be spared. The old town mayor stepped up to the challange. As legend has it, he drank the whole thing, saved the town, passed out for three days, then lived to the ripe old age of 80 (nearly twice the average life expectancy back then.)
Sadly, it was not the only time the city was attacked, and they ended up paying off different armies until they were flat broke. It seemed bad at the time, but because they were so poor, they couldnt afford to build any modern houses, and that is the reason we visit the city today.
Anywho, we stayed at a beautiful pension (a tricky word that doesnt mean an old folks home, but rather the home of an old person that has been converted into a hotel), that served an amazing breakfast. I know Lindsey will tell you all about it, so i will instead tell you of the severely old lady that ran the place.
She was the stereotypical grandmother, hunched back, white hair in a bun, little glasses perched on her nose, and friendly as can be. Our room was on about the hundredth floor of this grand old house, and she must have lived on the 99th, because when we rang the doorbell on the first night, we waited about 2.5 hours before she got to the door. Why did we wait so long?, you might ask, well ill tell you. Sean and Joel both caught a glimpse of the buxom granddaughter through one of the lit windows, and refused to find another place. It ended up being quite nice, (they never did meet the granddaughter, but we did see a number of chastity belts featured in the criminal museum, and im guessing they wouldnt have had much luck with her anyway) and we are sorry to see it go.
Well, i will hopefully write again from Berlin,
Auf Weidersehen
Now, on to happier things:
We are presently in Rothenburg ob de Tauber, where it was snowing beautifully on one of the first mild winter days. We are actually just about to leave, on to Berlin.
Some of you may not know about Rothenburg, so i will tell you a little bit about it. First, a bit of history:
Rothenburg was a quiet little city, quite rich, until the 30 years war, back in the 1600s. Now, the 30 years war was labelled as a religious war, between protestants and catholics, but as with most wars, it was really about money.
One day, after defending the city successfully for quite some time, some idiot walked into the powder storage room with a lit torch. Well we all know what that does, and a portion of the wall around the city was destroyed. The invading army ran in, and the townspeople quickly came up with a plan. They were and still are quite well known for their winemaking, so they filled up a draught of just under 1 gallon. The enemy general was a cheap drunk (although i suppose a gallon of wine is quite a bit, even for a German) and once inebriated, proposed a bet. If there was anyone in the city who could drink the whole thing in one go, the city would be spared. The old town mayor stepped up to the challange. As legend has it, he drank the whole thing, saved the town, passed out for three days, then lived to the ripe old age of 80 (nearly twice the average life expectancy back then.)
Sadly, it was not the only time the city was attacked, and they ended up paying off different armies until they were flat broke. It seemed bad at the time, but because they were so poor, they couldnt afford to build any modern houses, and that is the reason we visit the city today.
Anywho, we stayed at a beautiful pension (a tricky word that doesnt mean an old folks home, but rather the home of an old person that has been converted into a hotel), that served an amazing breakfast. I know Lindsey will tell you all about it, so i will instead tell you of the severely old lady that ran the place.
She was the stereotypical grandmother, hunched back, white hair in a bun, little glasses perched on her nose, and friendly as can be. Our room was on about the hundredth floor of this grand old house, and she must have lived on the 99th, because when we rang the doorbell on the first night, we waited about 2.5 hours before she got to the door. Why did we wait so long?, you might ask, well ill tell you. Sean and Joel both caught a glimpse of the buxom granddaughter through one of the lit windows, and refused to find another place. It ended up being quite nice, (they never did meet the granddaughter, but we did see a number of chastity belts featured in the criminal museum, and im guessing they wouldnt have had much luck with her anyway) and we are sorry to see it go.
Well, i will hopefully write again from Berlin,
Auf Weidersehen
Germany!!! .... Is Awesome!
So after a wonderful time in Interlaken and a great time meeting some amazing new friends we spent Saturday on the train to get to Rothenburg ob de Tauber in Germany. We had to go on like 5 different trains to get here but it was worth it! Rothenburg is an amazing medivel city. Within the walls there are NO modern building, only restored old ones, most of which are 500 some years old. We went to a medivel crim museum and learnt lots about the laws back in the day. They were alot harsher than today. Like if a baker baked his bread too small or too big, even by an ounce, he got put in a cage and dunked in a well for as long as he could stand. Sometimes they would go more than he could stand and he would come up dead. I would hate to have been the baker. We ate lots of awesome German food, which really reminds us of home. I bought an awesome scarf today. It is beautiful. The rest of the time we walked around Rothenburg and enjoyed the old city, bought lots of cool souveniers. The place we stayed at was awesome too. The rooms and the bathrooms didn´t feel like a hotel or hostel, it felt like someone´s house. The beds were really comfy. The breakfast was amazing and free. They gave us so much stuff we could finish it all (Buns, fruit, meat,cheese, cereal, milk, coffee, scrambled eggs, cookies, yogurt!) Today it snowed large,fluffy snowflakes and Eric and I tried to catch them in our mouths. It was fun. Joel and Sean are WAY to cool to do stuff like that. We also had a snowball fight and build little snow buildings, mostly of the sites we have seen so far. I will try to post some pictures in a few minutes! (YAY! I know you have been holding out for so long)
Today we are going to see some castles and then taking a night train to Berlin. I really hope there pics work!
Today we are going to see some castles and then taking a night train to Berlin. I really hope there pics work!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
More From Interlaken
It has only been a night's sleep since I posted last, but now I have lots of time! (This keyboard also sucks and won't let me press enter, so I will separate paragraphs another way i guess). So... right now I am sitting in the laundry room waiting for it to be finished, I just paid 5 swiss francs for 50 minutes of internet (thats about 4.75 canadian i think) also if there is a "z" where a "y" should be in words, that is because thez are switched around on this kezboard. I am trzing mz best though. I think zou can stilll make out the words! I am all by myself cause the others went to cilmb a mountain, but I stayed behind cause my knee has been acheing and I don't want to muff it up again. Not fun. So today I think I am going to (other than do laundry) walk around the town, pehaps buy my last years christmas present (a watch, I still haven't found one I like until now!) Buy some souveniers. You can get Swiss Army knives with free engraving, so I will probably get my bro one, but he can have it when he is older cause I dont want him knifing people. With his energy, it could be dangerous. I think he will like that it has his name on it. You can't find much stuff with his name on it cause it is spelled weird (but cool, cause I picked the spelling out. Your welcome Korey! I made you cool. It was all me. Remember that for when you are older. Love you!) ---Anyways, there is also a spa here that I will go to, it looks amazing, and we get it for free because of the hostel we are staying at. The hostel was a bit more pricy than others, but thats because it has awesome stuff like that. Our favorite hostel so far. We met this really nice young Canadian couple in Italy, and we met up with them again on the way here, and also at the hostel, and they are in our room! The best thing is, as we suspected and today we found out, they are Christian!!! So we have lots in common. We really like them.--- Thats about all the rambling from me today.... as for us and how we are doing .... my knee is ok, but my feet, especially one heel hurts lots, most in the mornings.... eric never complains about anything and is completly happy, he keeps winning all the card games which is aggravating...seans feet also hurt lots, he sings all the time, dances too. Its like his body can't stop moving to the music, I tried telling him to be careful because of what dancing leads to......Joel is hungry, all the time, its hard to keep up with a 6'2" growing boy! he also doesn't fit in any beds and all the blankets are too small for him, thats ok though cause sean often keeps him warm at night. he breaks things everywhere we go, the more expensive ( a 2000 euro murano glass chandalier) the more likely he is to break it!.... We are having tonnes of fun though and getting along great! We are starting to miss home more because of the Christmas decor and stuff. But we did buy our own decoration that we but up everywhere we go, it says buon natale, which means merry Christmas in Italian. Well, I am almost out of time and I need to tend to the laundry!
Interlaken
Interlaken - Means interlake... and we feel soooo at home here!! Some Venice Highlights: (this keyboard sucks) - feeding the pidgeons in Piazza San Marco. Also throwing seed by people so the birds flocked around them. I think I made a lady cry -walking around the confusing streets - watching glass blowing on Murano - Low lights: -waiting for the bus, they were normally 10-20 min late.-the cold and the wind Anyways, we just got to Interlaken, Switzerland and it is amazing. The air feels like home. We even saw snow and sang our national anthem! And crunched the snow under our feet. A good sound. We might stay an extra day cause we love it so much!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Venezia!!
So after almost a full day of traveling yesterday (and a full day of being cold) we made it to Venice. I love it so much!! I love walking around and looking at shops. I have to hold myself back so much because there is lots of beautiful glass I would love to buy. It would be hard to carry back though. Oh well... I will still get something.
I know at home it is colder than here, but Italy is way colder than I expected. I am so cold everyday. I didn't think I would need a scarf and toque and mitts but I think I am going to buy them. We decided to go to Germany now though, because it will be way colder than here. I am tempeted be buy another jacket. A nice black one with fake fur trim like I was going to buy at home anyways.
Internet is really pricey here, so I probably wont blog for a while. Tomorrow we will still be in Venice. We are going to the island or Murano to watch glass blowing and to buy lots of glass stuff!! Heheheh. Then we will head to Interlaken, Switzerland - Munich; Germany - Romantic Road, Germany - Berlin, Germany. I am sure we will get a post in before the end of that. We will probably have to redo that calender.
I know at home it is colder than here, but Italy is way colder than I expected. I am so cold everyday. I didn't think I would need a scarf and toque and mitts but I think I am going to buy them. We decided to go to Germany now though, because it will be way colder than here. I am tempeted be buy another jacket. A nice black one with fake fur trim like I was going to buy at home anyways.
Internet is really pricey here, so I probably wont blog for a while. Tomorrow we will still be in Venice. We are going to the island or Murano to watch glass blowing and to buy lots of glass stuff!! Heheheh. Then we will head to Interlaken, Switzerland - Munich; Germany - Romantic Road, Germany - Berlin, Germany. I am sure we will get a post in before the end of that. We will probably have to redo that calender.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Cinque Terre
Yeah, we are still alive and kicking out here. This will be brief as I am extremely hungry and internet is $$$$$$$.
Wednesday... we saw the Pope, he is much less scary in person. Then we headed to Orvieto, a city on a plateau. It was wicked cold that day. It took us a while to find a place to stay. We bought tickets for Orvieto Underground and ate at a cafe, which was really cheap. Then we took the tour, and our guide was really good. She did the tour in Italian and Engligh bc of a mixed group, but it was still really good. We only saw 2 of the 1200 caves that have been found. They think they are nearly 4000. Then we ate supper and played cards until bed.
Thursday... We checked out of the hotel and left our bags there. We walked around the edge of the plateau, with amazing views of the country side. Orvieto is a very nice town, with narrow cobble stone streets and old buildings. It has a medeival feel to it. I could have stayed there longer. We paid way to much to walk down some well, and then we had an expesive supper that we thought would be cheap because we got 5 euro off. The did give us free dessert though. We got our bags and we headed to Pisa, via Florence. We got there late so we decided to stay overnight. We walked in a circle before we found a cheap place to stay. We ate really good pizza there for supper.
Friday... We slept in too late so we only had 45 minutes to walk to the leaning tower of Pisa and walk back in check out by 11. It is like a 20 minute walk each way so we had about 5 minutes to see the tower, which is all you really need. The tower is mediocre, but it's something you should see if you are in the area, and Joel hadn't. We ate at McDs and missed our first train to Riomaggiore, in Cinque Terre. Once there we looked for a place to stay. All the places were closed, but we waited like 20 minutes and there were all open again. We checked a few places that were 25-30 euro each a night, and thought we would have to shell that out. We finally found a place for 17.50 each, but they made it sound really bad, like a simple room with 4 beds and a bathroom. Really it was an apartment with a two big room, a bathroom, and a kitchen with a stove and fridge! It also has a HUGE balcony! The only thing that sucks is that the heater doesnt work that great and you have to walked a bunch of stairs to get there. But I love it. Best deal yet I think. After we settled in we walked around the town a bit, and on the coast. Its so beautiful here. Then we went back to cook soup! It was soooo good. We had bread with it and it was amazing. We were all packed full for once.
Saturday (Today)... We made scrambled eggs and fried potatoes for brunch and went out to hike the Cinque Terre, which are five towns nestled on cliffs connected by walking paths with amazing views. ( Terry, you would LOVE it here) The first two paths were easy and had great views. We ate gelato in the third town (they had cinnamon, it was AMAZING!!!!). The third path was probably the hardest, but it was also really nice. It was also the longest. We made it to the fourth town just in time to watch the gorgeous sunset on the dock. It was one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen. We didnt hike to the 5th town (which is supposed to be the hardest hike). We took the train back you our town and went on the net! Now we are leaving to go make more soup for supper!! (For those who want to know, the soup had carrots, potatoes, onions, diced tomatoes, beef boullion and sausage! So good!) Mmmmmmmmm.....
Wednesday... we saw the Pope, he is much less scary in person. Then we headed to Orvieto, a city on a plateau. It was wicked cold that day. It took us a while to find a place to stay. We bought tickets for Orvieto Underground and ate at a cafe, which was really cheap. Then we took the tour, and our guide was really good. She did the tour in Italian and Engligh bc of a mixed group, but it was still really good. We only saw 2 of the 1200 caves that have been found. They think they are nearly 4000. Then we ate supper and played cards until bed.
Thursday... We checked out of the hotel and left our bags there. We walked around the edge of the plateau, with amazing views of the country side. Orvieto is a very nice town, with narrow cobble stone streets and old buildings. It has a medeival feel to it. I could have stayed there longer. We paid way to much to walk down some well, and then we had an expesive supper that we thought would be cheap because we got 5 euro off. The did give us free dessert though. We got our bags and we headed to Pisa, via Florence. We got there late so we decided to stay overnight. We walked in a circle before we found a cheap place to stay. We ate really good pizza there for supper.
Friday... We slept in too late so we only had 45 minutes to walk to the leaning tower of Pisa and walk back in check out by 11. It is like a 20 minute walk each way so we had about 5 minutes to see the tower, which is all you really need. The tower is mediocre, but it's something you should see if you are in the area, and Joel hadn't. We ate at McDs and missed our first train to Riomaggiore, in Cinque Terre. Once there we looked for a place to stay. All the places were closed, but we waited like 20 minutes and there were all open again. We checked a few places that were 25-30 euro each a night, and thought we would have to shell that out. We finally found a place for 17.50 each, but they made it sound really bad, like a simple room with 4 beds and a bathroom. Really it was an apartment with a two big room, a bathroom, and a kitchen with a stove and fridge! It also has a HUGE balcony! The only thing that sucks is that the heater doesnt work that great and you have to walked a bunch of stairs to get there. But I love it. Best deal yet I think. After we settled in we walked around the town a bit, and on the coast. Its so beautiful here. Then we went back to cook soup! It was soooo good. We had bread with it and it was amazing. We were all packed full for once.
Saturday (Today)... We made scrambled eggs and fried potatoes for brunch and went out to hike the Cinque Terre, which are five towns nestled on cliffs connected by walking paths with amazing views. ( Terry, you would LOVE it here) The first two paths were easy and had great views. We ate gelato in the third town (they had cinnamon, it was AMAZING!!!!). The third path was probably the hardest, but it was also really nice. It was also the longest. We made it to the fourth town just in time to watch the gorgeous sunset on the dock. It was one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen. We didnt hike to the 5th town (which is supposed to be the hardest hike). We took the train back you our town and went on the net! Now we are leaving to go make more soup for supper!! (For those who want to know, the soup had carrots, potatoes, onions, diced tomatoes, beef boullion and sausage! So good!) Mmmmmmmmm.....
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
4 Minutes
I only have 4 minutes of internet left so..
Today we went to the christian catacombs and they were awesome. We saw the 2000 year old Appian way they still drive on today. We saw the stairs Jesus walked on but we didnt cause you had to do that on your knees are we are not catholic. Then we ate supper and the boys are watching a movie. We walked lots today. We also slept in very late. Thats all!
Today we went to the christian catacombs and they were awesome. We saw the 2000 year old Appian way they still drive on today. We saw the stairs Jesus walked on but we didnt cause you had to do that on your knees are we are not catholic. Then we ate supper and the boys are watching a movie. We walked lots today. We also slept in very late. Thats all!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Vatican City!
Just a side note before I begin... I am really glad to see all the comments, wellwishings and so on that everyone is leaving... Are our travels that boring?
Anyways, this morning Eric woke me up at an unholy hour to go see the holy city. We left the hostel just after 9 and headed to the Vatican Museum. We stood in the longest line we have ever stood in in our whole lives for about 1 1/2 hours before we got in. It was packed, grossly packed, with people. It takes forever to get to the Sistine Chapel, but my favorite part is probably the mummy in the Egyptian room. I couldnt stop looking at her. She is so well preserved. You can still tell what she looked like. So creepy. After the long walk and listening into other peoples tours we got to the Sistine Chapel, which is very nice, but I stop short of saying amazing.
After that we went to a little pizza place by the Vatican, it was very good. I had amazing oven potatoes there. Then we entered another insanly long line to get into St. Peters Basilica. That place is amazingly huge and intracate. It is pretty cool. Then we walked in the tomb of the Pope's and saw Jean Paul II's grave. They guys went all the way up to the dome, 551 steps, and I went shopping for souveniers. I didn't buy much though, but it was fun. Then we came back to the hostel, had pasta for supper, and now we are at the laundomat waiting for our laundry. You can only handwash for so long before something needs a good machine cleaning. Tonight we are going to go hang out at Piazza Navona, where there used to be a staduim that they filled with water and held mock naval battles, to hang out. Tomorrow we are doing odds and ends things that we haven't seen yet. Like the bones of 4000 monks and the christian catacombs and 28 steps that Jesus walked on! They were steps that were brought here from somewhere by some dude's mom, not sure where from exactly, but they were steps to Pontuis Pilate's house and Jesus walked on them the day of his sentancing. SO COOL! Some Catholics climb these stairs on their knees and say prayers off of little cards...but I'm not Catholic, so I am going to walk them just like Jesus did!
Anyways, this morning Eric woke me up at an unholy hour to go see the holy city. We left the hostel just after 9 and headed to the Vatican Museum. We stood in the longest line we have ever stood in in our whole lives for about 1 1/2 hours before we got in. It was packed, grossly packed, with people. It takes forever to get to the Sistine Chapel, but my favorite part is probably the mummy in the Egyptian room. I couldnt stop looking at her. She is so well preserved. You can still tell what she looked like. So creepy. After the long walk and listening into other peoples tours we got to the Sistine Chapel, which is very nice, but I stop short of saying amazing.
After that we went to a little pizza place by the Vatican, it was very good. I had amazing oven potatoes there. Then we entered another insanly long line to get into St. Peters Basilica. That place is amazingly huge and intracate. It is pretty cool. Then we walked in the tomb of the Pope's and saw Jean Paul II's grave. They guys went all the way up to the dome, 551 steps, and I went shopping for souveniers. I didn't buy much though, but it was fun. Then we came back to the hostel, had pasta for supper, and now we are at the laundomat waiting for our laundry. You can only handwash for so long before something needs a good machine cleaning. Tonight we are going to go hang out at Piazza Navona, where there used to be a staduim that they filled with water and held mock naval battles, to hang out. Tomorrow we are doing odds and ends things that we haven't seen yet. Like the bones of 4000 monks and the christian catacombs and 28 steps that Jesus walked on! They were steps that were brought here from somewhere by some dude's mom, not sure where from exactly, but they were steps to Pontuis Pilate's house and Jesus walked on them the day of his sentancing. SO COOL! Some Catholics climb these stairs on their knees and say prayers off of little cards...but I'm not Catholic, so I am going to walk them just like Jesus did!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
More Roma
Today was lots of fun! We slept in late and headed back to the collesuem to continue our tour. We waited for about 30 min then a very loud Canadian guide came and took us to to Palatine hill. It was a very good tour. The palace that used to be there is UNREAL. So huge! Then Eric and I gave Sean and Joel a very patchy tour through the Roman Forum, from what we remembered from last time. After that we were all starving and bought pizza by the kilo. It was the best yet! Then we went and saw the AMAZING 2000 year old Pantheon. Then we searched for Giolitti, the most famous gelateria in Rome. The gelato was AMAZING from there. Best yet. After that we walked around the Trevi fountain and Spanish Steps some more. We also went to the most lavish McDonalds in the world by the Spanish Steps... it sells gelato! and has a salad bar! and a coffee and pastry place! and its probably the only McDs in the world to have a mosaic! We didnt eat there though. We came back to the hostel and made pasta. There are like 30 10-12 year old kids staying here. They are so annoying and loud. They come in just after 8 everynight and scream their faces off. I think they are from England. I wish they would leave soon.
Side Note: I know I promised pictures, but I didnt realize I would be kicked out of that hostel because they had no room and had to move to another hostel where I could put pics on. I am really sorry. I have no Idea when I can do it again. Maybe in a few days.
Side Note: I know I promised pictures, but I didnt realize I would be kicked out of that hostel because they had no room and had to move to another hostel where I could put pics on. I am really sorry. I have no Idea when I can do it again. Maybe in a few days.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Roma!
We are finally in Rome! This morning we left Naples on the 10:22 train and arrived in Rome 2 hours later. I read the entire ride so it passed really quickly. I had a minor scuffle with a nun that wouldnt let me move someone elses stuff up to the rack so I could sit in my seat. It was odd. When we got to Rome we took the metro to our hostel and checked in and paid. It is the cheapest yet. Our last two nights are only 10 euros!! It is pretty nice. The rooms are basic but clean. The bathroom smells like pee cause people dont know how to flush and the pee sits in the toilet. I explained to the boys that all you have to do is give the button one hard shove, and the Sean called me the Toilet Queen. He still doesnt know how to flush it, though, and I do!
After we got to the hostel we went to the Colusseum. It is pretty cool. The outside it cooler than the inside, cause there is nothing left on the inside. We paid 21 euros for a guided tour and to get in. Tomorrow we will continue the tour at Palestine Hill and the Roman Forum. That part will be awesome. We went back to our hostel to change into warmed clothes and took the Metro to the Spanish Steps. It was packed with people, as usual. We sat there for a while and the walked to the Trevi Fountain. It was packed, as usual, as well. We all bought gelato and it was amazing. I got Coffee, Tiramisu and Foir De Latte, some sort of cream. Then we walked around that area for a while and ate pizza. Then we got some more gelato after Eric had a confrontation with and old lady. We went to the same place and I got coffee, chocolate, and the cream one again... so it was like having a mocha! They were the best combo. I usually eat them seperate but I could eat these ones together. After that we came back to the hostel and the guys are making supper right now. We are having rice and pasta sauce, which is a suprisinly good combo. It should be ready soon!
After we got to the hostel we went to the Colusseum. It is pretty cool. The outside it cooler than the inside, cause there is nothing left on the inside. We paid 21 euros for a guided tour and to get in. Tomorrow we will continue the tour at Palestine Hill and the Roman Forum. That part will be awesome. We went back to our hostel to change into warmed clothes and took the Metro to the Spanish Steps. It was packed with people, as usual. We sat there for a while and the walked to the Trevi Fountain. It was packed, as usual, as well. We all bought gelato and it was amazing. I got Coffee, Tiramisu and Foir De Latte, some sort of cream. Then we walked around that area for a while and ate pizza. Then we got some more gelato after Eric had a confrontation with and old lady. We went to the same place and I got coffee, chocolate, and the cream one again... so it was like having a mocha! They were the best combo. I usually eat them seperate but I could eat these ones together. After that we came back to the hostel and the guys are making supper right now. We are having rice and pasta sauce, which is a suprisinly good combo. It should be ready soon!
Friday, November 9, 2007
A Disappointing Day.
So after the very revealing last post, I will fill your mind with disappointing stuff.
We woke up early this morning, excited about today. We packed our stuff and headed to the port. We got to the port and paid 15 euros for a ticket to Capri. It was a gloomy windy day. I should have known. About 5 minutes into our ride I realized that the blue grotto would not be accessable today. But there we were on our way to C apri. The ride was fun, it was like jumping the waves with a boat. All the Asians on board laughed and cheered everytime we hit a big wave. I think someone even clapped one time, like it was on purpose. It was awesome.
So when we got there, they told us the blue grotto was closed and it would not open today. ARGH. So we took the funicular fun car up to the top of Capri Town and explored for the afternoon. We ate gelato there and watched some filming of an Italian movie. It looked lame. We went back down to the bottom and headed back to Naples. Capri is a gorgeous island. I would love to spend a week there. I guess we will just have to come back sometime!
Then we headed to the National Archaelogical Museum. We bought audio guides because the labeling sucked. It turns out the audio guide labeling sucked as well. There was some cool stuff from Pompeii, but it really felt like we were walking through after hours. Half the stuff was closed and we only had an hour. We spend about 45 minutes there and then headed for the hostel. It was pouring rain. We waited for the rain to let up and quickly walked to the metro.
We were going to go to Rome tonight, but we decided to spend another night in Naples and leave for Rome in the morning. I love the Eternal City!
We woke up early this morning, excited about today. We packed our stuff and headed to the port. We got to the port and paid 15 euros for a ticket to Capri. It was a gloomy windy day. I should have known. About 5 minutes into our ride I realized that the blue grotto would not be accessable today. But there we were on our way to C apri. The ride was fun, it was like jumping the waves with a boat. All the Asians on board laughed and cheered everytime we hit a big wave. I think someone even clapped one time, like it was on purpose. It was awesome.
So when we got there, they told us the blue grotto was closed and it would not open today. ARGH. So we took the funicular fun car up to the top of Capri Town and explored for the afternoon. We ate gelato there and watched some filming of an Italian movie. It looked lame. We went back down to the bottom and headed back to Naples. Capri is a gorgeous island. I would love to spend a week there. I guess we will just have to come back sometime!
Then we headed to the National Archaelogical Museum. We bought audio guides because the labeling sucked. It turns out the audio guide labeling sucked as well. There was some cool stuff from Pompeii, but it really felt like we were walking through after hours. Half the stuff was closed and we only had an hour. We spend about 45 minutes there and then headed for the hostel. It was pouring rain. We waited for the rain to let up and quickly walked to the metro.
We were going to go to Rome tonight, but we decided to spend another night in Naples and leave for Rome in the morning. I love the Eternal City!
The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothin but the Truth.
Well hello everyone. I hope everybody who reads our blog, enjoys every bit of it. I even hope you enjoy Eric's lies. His lies seem to go well with Joel's gut busting humor, and lindsey's ability to summarize the events of each day. What is my role in all of this blog posting business? the truth is I don't know. I hope you enjoy this post about a literall turning point in my life.
It was a cool evening in Olympia when we all decided to go for a little walk down the street, not realy knowing what exactly what would happen. Im very glad i did not know what would happen, for if i did i would not have walked any further down the street. As we walked down the street, we saw and smelled the gyros that were being made, and i wondered what the side effects might be if we continued to eat only greek salad and gyros. Perhaps all the grease would make us ill, or maybe, the oil on the salads would result in exploding the size of our acne.
A simple gurgle in my gut sent the signal to my brain that i had to release some of the gas that had been developing inside of me. So as any normal male homosapian would do, I gently pushed with the muscles in my stomach, hoping that the uncomfortable feeling would go away. Let me just say the result is not exactly what i expected. Yes i did release gas, and yes, the feeling inside did pass; however, a new feeling outside of me definately surprised me. It was the feeeling of shit. I SHIT MY PANTS. In fat the word "shit!" came out of my mouth and i instantly stopped walking. Eric turned a round and just kind of looked at me while joel snickered and lindsey just started laughing. Eric really did not think i was serious, but i like to be honest, so i just told the truth, I shit my pants.
By the end of the night, i was wearing clean shorts. Thankfully i did not have to change my pants, and i fortunately there was a shower in our room for me to rinse off in.
Well i hope everyone enjoys this post. have a great day.
It was a cool evening in Olympia when we all decided to go for a little walk down the street, not realy knowing what exactly what would happen. Im very glad i did not know what would happen, for if i did i would not have walked any further down the street. As we walked down the street, we saw and smelled the gyros that were being made, and i wondered what the side effects might be if we continued to eat only greek salad and gyros. Perhaps all the grease would make us ill, or maybe, the oil on the salads would result in exploding the size of our acne.
A simple gurgle in my gut sent the signal to my brain that i had to release some of the gas that had been developing inside of me. So as any normal male homosapian would do, I gently pushed with the muscles in my stomach, hoping that the uncomfortable feeling would go away. Let me just say the result is not exactly what i expected. Yes i did release gas, and yes, the feeling inside did pass; however, a new feeling outside of me definately surprised me. It was the feeeling of shit. I SHIT MY PANTS. In fat the word "shit!" came out of my mouth and i instantly stopped walking. Eric turned a round and just kind of looked at me while joel snickered and lindsey just started laughing. Eric really did not think i was serious, but i like to be honest, so i just told the truth, I shit my pants.
By the end of the night, i was wearing clean shorts. Thankfully i did not have to change my pants, and i fortunately there was a shower in our room for me to rinse off in.
Well i hope everyone enjoys this post. have a great day.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Mt. Vesuvius and Pompei!!
WHOA! TODAY WAS AMAZING....
Last night we hung out at the hostel and ate our first Italian pizza. They were amazing. And cheap! We had to listen to the two most sickening people in the world while we were eating them though, this American guy and an Aussie girl, both thought they knew everything about travelling and they always tried to have a better, more extreme story than anyone else. It reminded me of the SNL skit..... "Yeah, well have 17 cousin that live in outer space so i guess I am just a little bit better than you"..... ARGH!
Today we woke up early to head to Mt. Vesusius. We were informed we could not stay another night at this hostel, and if it didnt change by night we could stay there again. So we had to pack up ALL of our stuff and store it in a closet. Then no one knew about the 25 euro Campania Artecard that paid for all the transport and admission to Pompei and stuff. Some old man nearly had a heart attack trying to scream instuctions at me that were not the right ones. Finally we found a very very very nice man that sold the card and explained everything nicely to us. Then we took a train to Ercolano and took a taxi as far as we could up to Mt. Vesusius. Then we walked a brutal, steep 500 meters to the crater. Which was cool. It was filled with stuff, not as deep as a thought, and way larger. There was an amazing view of Naples from up there as well. There was steam coming out of the crater and everyone and a while you could smell the rotten egg sulphur smell. Sean said he could hear it whistling but I think he was just hearing Eric.
After that we took the train to Pompei. It was very AMAZING. Everything is so intact. It is was bigger than I thought it would be. It really is a city! We only had two hours which wasnt enough so we basically power walked for the whole time. We saw lots of amazing builings and really eerie casts of people suffocating from the ash. You can see the pain on their faces. We also got to see a large stadium, still well preserved. It was awesome. I reccomend that very highly to anyone that come to Italy. So not we are at a new horrible hostel and we might just get killed in this neighborhood. But I am hungry so here we go!
Last night we hung out at the hostel and ate our first Italian pizza. They were amazing. And cheap! We had to listen to the two most sickening people in the world while we were eating them though, this American guy and an Aussie girl, both thought they knew everything about travelling and they always tried to have a better, more extreme story than anyone else. It reminded me of the SNL skit..... "Yeah, well have 17 cousin that live in outer space so i guess I am just a little bit better than you"..... ARGH!
Today we woke up early to head to Mt. Vesusius. We were informed we could not stay another night at this hostel, and if it didnt change by night we could stay there again. So we had to pack up ALL of our stuff and store it in a closet. Then no one knew about the 25 euro Campania Artecard that paid for all the transport and admission to Pompei and stuff. Some old man nearly had a heart attack trying to scream instuctions at me that were not the right ones. Finally we found a very very very nice man that sold the card and explained everything nicely to us. Then we took a train to Ercolano and took a taxi as far as we could up to Mt. Vesusius. Then we walked a brutal, steep 500 meters to the crater. Which was cool. It was filled with stuff, not as deep as a thought, and way larger. There was an amazing view of Naples from up there as well. There was steam coming out of the crater and everyone and a while you could smell the rotten egg sulphur smell. Sean said he could hear it whistling but I think he was just hearing Eric.
After that we took the train to Pompei. It was very AMAZING. Everything is so intact. It is was bigger than I thought it would be. It really is a city! We only had two hours which wasnt enough so we basically power walked for the whole time. We saw lots of amazing builings and really eerie casts of people suffocating from the ash. You can see the pain on their faces. We also got to see a large stadium, still well preserved. It was awesome. I reccomend that very highly to anyone that come to Italy. So not we are at a new horrible hostel and we might just get killed in this neighborhood. But I am hungry so here we go!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Oh, Hell
Bonjourno,
Well i know lindsey already told you about the hellish bus, but she didn't tell the half of it! First of all, the bus was red! (freaky!) The bus driver also had a really large fork on the dash, and as he careened around curves and especially through mountain tunnels, he laughed maniacally.
Any-hoo, yes, we are finally in Italy, and i can read the signs. I feel as if i am fluent in every language but Greek after being there for a month, because i can read everything and i know some words. I will miss gyros, but i suppose the pizza won't be half bad.
Naples is very near Pompeii, that name of which some of you will recognize as the city that was buried by Mt. Vesuvius, the largest active volcano in Europe. It is said to be active every thirty years, and the last time it erupted was in 1944, so it is overdue, however experts claim that it is relatively safe to ascend.
Well, i believe everything i read (as should you, especially when it is from a reliabe source, such as myself) and i'm planning to climb it in the next 2-3 days. However, as we pulled up into Naples (doesn't it sound a lot like 'nipples'? I think so) we heard it rumbling ominously. I'm not sure if the sky was really cloudy with blackish clouds, or if it was smoke and ash, but i'm not worried (remember the experts).
Anyway, i've already been to hell and back on the bus so this can't be that much worse.
Well, i'll check back in with you later, see ya!
Well i know lindsey already told you about the hellish bus, but she didn't tell the half of it! First of all, the bus was red! (freaky!) The bus driver also had a really large fork on the dash, and as he careened around curves and especially through mountain tunnels, he laughed maniacally.
Any-hoo, yes, we are finally in Italy, and i can read the signs. I feel as if i am fluent in every language but Greek after being there for a month, because i can read everything and i know some words. I will miss gyros, but i suppose the pizza won't be half bad.
Naples is very near Pompeii, that name of which some of you will recognize as the city that was buried by Mt. Vesuvius, the largest active volcano in Europe. It is said to be active every thirty years, and the last time it erupted was in 1944, so it is overdue, however experts claim that it is relatively safe to ascend.
Well, i believe everything i read (as should you, especially when it is from a reliabe source, such as myself) and i'm planning to climb it in the next 2-3 days. However, as we pulled up into Naples (doesn't it sound a lot like 'nipples'? I think so) we heard it rumbling ominously. I'm not sure if the sky was really cloudy with blackish clouds, or if it was smoke and ash, but i'm not worried (remember the experts).
Anyway, i've already been to hell and back on the bus so this can't be that much worse.
Well, i'll check back in with you later, see ya!
Italia! Finally...
So we ened up staying in Olympia until yesterday, the 6th, so we can still use our Eurail passes on the 5th of January for the Chunnel to London. We visited the museums and hung out. Joel ate his first Greek salad. We all got sick, well not Joel, from eating too many gyros. Sean...... well I will let him explain himself. It was fun,but we were glad to get moving.
Yesterday we took 2 trains to get to the port. On the second train the conducter must have had head trauma, or had a child with head trauma with him because for the whole two hours he did not stop blowing the horn. He might have gone 5 minutes at the most without doing it. He must of taken great pleasure too, because they were never the same length. One lasted nearly 30 seconds! I just wanted to jump out and walk the rest of the way. Anyways, we made it there and boarded the GIGANTIC Superfast ferry to Bari, Italy. After some confusion we found a place and stayed there all night. I probably had the worst sleep of my life there. Hard, rattling floor, lights on, stupid disco pumping very loud music 30 feet away. Needless to say I was a grumpy bear today.
From the port we all packed into a bus like sardines and got a lift to the train station. From there, some complete idiot told us to take a train to Taranto, where we were told to board a 4 hour bus (I HATE BUSES WITH ALL OF MY BEING) to Naples. 4 hours. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArhg. It was like looking into hell. Just as hot and almost as long. This driver had also suffered from some serious head trauma because he decided to weave of the highway and do a loop in every small town he saw along the way. We finally made it to Naples, starving and frustrated. We wanted pizza but McDonalds was the first place we saw. It was gross and the coke tasted like watered down melted carmels. Anyways, we are here at the wonderful Hostel Bella Capri in Naples and reading to sleep and start tomorrow when we will head for Pompei. I will probably post pictures tomorrow.
Yesterday we took 2 trains to get to the port. On the second train the conducter must have had head trauma, or had a child with head trauma with him because for the whole two hours he did not stop blowing the horn. He might have gone 5 minutes at the most without doing it. He must of taken great pleasure too, because they were never the same length. One lasted nearly 30 seconds! I just wanted to jump out and walk the rest of the way. Anyways, we made it there and boarded the GIGANTIC Superfast ferry to Bari, Italy. After some confusion we found a place and stayed there all night. I probably had the worst sleep of my life there. Hard, rattling floor, lights on, stupid disco pumping very loud music 30 feet away. Needless to say I was a grumpy bear today.
From the port we all packed into a bus like sardines and got a lift to the train station. From there, some complete idiot told us to take a train to Taranto, where we were told to board a 4 hour bus (I HATE BUSES WITH ALL OF MY BEING) to Naples. 4 hours. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArhg. It was like looking into hell. Just as hot and almost as long. This driver had also suffered from some serious head trauma because he decided to weave of the highway and do a loop in every small town he saw along the way. We finally made it to Naples, starving and frustrated. We wanted pizza but McDonalds was the first place we saw. It was gross and the coke tasted like watered down melted carmels. Anyways, we are here at the wonderful Hostel Bella Capri in Naples and reading to sleep and start tomorrow when we will head for Pompei. I will probably post pictures tomorrow.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Olympia!
Olympia is GORGEOUS! The ruins here are the best preseved we have seen, and everything is so green. This is probably my favorite place so far. We even got to walk in the original ancient Olympic stadium. It was a very cool feeling!
Yesterday we basically spent the day lazing around and trying to get here, to Olympia. We finally arrived at just after 10 at night and some man offered us a room for 15 euro. It is called Pension Poisidon and it is very nice for 15 euros each a night. The town of Olympia is also very nice. The side walks are wide and flat and about 2 inches higher than the brick roads. I LOVE IT! We walked through the ruins today, but didnt go early enough to make it to the museums. Everything was free today though. We keep lucking out and getting stuff for free. Tomorrow we will pack up and go see if we can make it into a few musuems before we leave. Tomorrow we are also heading for Italia! You might not hear from us for a while. I will try and sit down and post a bunch of pictures sometime soon, I promise!
Yesterday we basically spent the day lazing around and trying to get here, to Olympia. We finally arrived at just after 10 at night and some man offered us a room for 15 euro. It is called Pension Poisidon and it is very nice for 15 euros each a night. The town of Olympia is also very nice. The side walks are wide and flat and about 2 inches higher than the brick roads. I LOVE IT! We walked through the ruins today, but didnt go early enough to make it to the museums. Everything was free today though. We keep lucking out and getting stuff for free. Tomorrow we will pack up and go see if we can make it into a few musuems before we leave. Tomorrow we are also heading for Italia! You might not hear from us for a while. I will try and sit down and post a bunch of pictures sometime soon, I promise!
Friday, November 2, 2007
Delphi
So we got up somewhat early today and took the 3 hour long 10:30 bus to Delphi. We were dumb and didn't get off the bus at the site so we had to walk up and down hill from the other side of town. We ate lunch first, and just was we were finishing up, it started to rain. We quickly got to the site and bought tickets to the museum. The only thing is the museum closed in 20 minutes. We rushed through it, and realized we still had 10 minutes so we went again. (It's small). They finally kicked us out at three so we went to the ruins parts. We hid in the bathroom for a while, the rain let up a little bit so we protected our electronics ( mostly from the Asians, not the rain) and trudged on. There are some pretty spectacularly preserved things there, like the ampitheatre and the stadium. It was very cool. We stood at the top of the ampitheatre and made Eric go to the bottom and talk to us. It worked good. The acoustics were impressive! We walked for a long time, up and down hill and made it back to the bus stop 15 minutes before it was supposed to leave, but the bus was 1/2 hour late. Eric, Joel and I had to sit at the very front, and discovered there is no smoking on the bus, except if you are the driver and you chain smoke! The bus ride was bearable. Wew vistited Geoff for the last time and came back to the hostel to make supper. At 10 pm. We had eggs and dry salami and it was very good and filling.
Tomorrow Dayna leaves and we go to Olympia. We are almost out of this country! It was great, but it time to leave. We are running out of things to do. Sometimes it feels like we are making up stuff to do.
Tomorrow Dayna leaves and we go to Olympia. We are almost out of this country! It was great, but it time to leave. We are running out of things to do. Sometimes it feels like we are making up stuff to do.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Hydra
Today we woke up VERY early, at like 7:30. I am sooooo wiped now, but we still need to go out and pay Geoff a visit. It is also raining here in Athens. Not cool.
But something that was very cool today was the Island of Hydra. We took and awesome high speed ferry called a hydrofoil to Hydra. It took about 1.5 hours. It is a small island with one very unique aspect, there is no cars or motorbikes/scooters allowed on the island. The only vehicles allowed are a few public service trucks like a garbage truck (the only vehicle we saw). All of the rest of the trasport is done by donkey/mules/ponies. It was a very nice place to just wander around, looking in people's courtyards and stuff. We played alot of Uno and ate really good pizza. We also visited the Hydra Historical Museum. It was pretty cool. There also had a very cool place to go swimming, you could swim into a cave, but we didn't bring out suits. It was a gorgeous day, we were sweating in the sun. We met an guy from Calgary and a guy from Ireland. They both said Hydra was their favorite island, but mine is still Santorini. Well... thats about all for now. I need like a week to rest my knee... it is still killing me and I am scared I am wrecking it.
Geoff.... here we come!!
But something that was very cool today was the Island of Hydra. We took and awesome high speed ferry called a hydrofoil to Hydra. It took about 1.5 hours. It is a small island with one very unique aspect, there is no cars or motorbikes/scooters allowed on the island. The only vehicles allowed are a few public service trucks like a garbage truck (the only vehicle we saw). All of the rest of the trasport is done by donkey/mules/ponies. It was a very nice place to just wander around, looking in people's courtyards and stuff. We played alot of Uno and ate really good pizza. We also visited the Hydra Historical Museum. It was pretty cool. There also had a very cool place to go swimming, you could swim into a cave, but we didn't bring out suits. It was a gorgeous day, we were sweating in the sun. We met an guy from Calgary and a guy from Ireland. They both said Hydra was their favorite island, but mine is still Santorini. Well... thats about all for now. I need like a week to rest my knee... it is still killing me and I am scared I am wrecking it.
Geoff.... here we come!!
It doesn't feel like Halloween!
If I didn't know what day it was, I wouldn't know it was Halloween. We thought of trick or treating, but scared of what we might be handed in this area of Athens.
So last night we went our for supper with Terry, Eloa and Kelly Ann. T&E paid so it was great! The food tasted good as well. Then we made our way to Lykavittos hills, took the funicular fun car up and saw an amazing nighttime view of Athens. The Acropolis is all lit up and looks so pretty at night. After that we came back to Omonia Squars and visited Geoff again, I got strawberry and lemon gelato. They were both soooooo good. It was already really late so we came back to the hostel and went to sleep. We woke up in the middle of the night to say our goodbyes to T, E and KA before they left. They should be landing in Winnipeg right as I type this!
Today we wanted to go to Delphi, but didn't wake up quite early enough to get there with enough time to make it worth it, so we went to Halkida on the island of Evia to see the current change. It took us forever to get there, lots of waiting around and stuff. But when we finally made it there, the current change was almost happening! There is a channel between the island and the mainland and at it's narrowest point there is a very stong current that changes directions every 6 hours or something. It wasn't quite at dramatic as we expected, but we did see the current almost stop, but it took a long time to start going in the other direction, so we bought beverages at a cafe and played Uno for a long time. When we checked it again the current was going very strong again, but in the other directions. We missed one bus back cause I was in the washroom so we had to wait around for a long time. But lucky for us the train to Athens came about 2 minutes after we got there, so no waiting around. We played Uno again on the train. When we got back to the hostel, about 11 we ate pasta and sauce for supper. It was delish but I am very tired now! Tomorrow we are heading for Hydra hopefully!
So last night we went our for supper with Terry, Eloa and Kelly Ann. T&E paid so it was great! The food tasted good as well. Then we made our way to Lykavittos hills, took the funicular fun car up and saw an amazing nighttime view of Athens. The Acropolis is all lit up and looks so pretty at night. After that we came back to Omonia Squars and visited Geoff again, I got strawberry and lemon gelato. They were both soooooo good. It was already really late so we came back to the hostel and went to sleep. We woke up in the middle of the night to say our goodbyes to T, E and KA before they left. They should be landing in Winnipeg right as I type this!
Today we wanted to go to Delphi, but didn't wake up quite early enough to get there with enough time to make it worth it, so we went to Halkida on the island of Evia to see the current change. It took us forever to get there, lots of waiting around and stuff. But when we finally made it there, the current change was almost happening! There is a channel between the island and the mainland and at it's narrowest point there is a very stong current that changes directions every 6 hours or something. It wasn't quite at dramatic as we expected, but we did see the current almost stop, but it took a long time to start going in the other direction, so we bought beverages at a cafe and played Uno for a long time. When we checked it again the current was going very strong again, but in the other directions. We missed one bus back cause I was in the washroom so we had to wait around for a long time. But lucky for us the train to Athens came about 2 minutes after we got there, so no waiting around. We played Uno again on the train. When we got back to the hostel, about 11 we ate pasta and sauce for supper. It was delish but I am very tired now! Tomorrow we are heading for Hydra hopefully!
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