Thursday, June 28, 2012
Cinque Terre, Italy
I love this place and want to come back as soon as possible.
We left Rome for Cinque Terre on Tuesday morning. We took a train from the Termini station to La Spezia, then another train to Riomaggiore.
Since we arrived later in the afternoon, we were all pretty ready for some food - so, we found a good deal on a big pizza that we could share and went down to the waterside to eat it. The pizza was great - and even better with the incredible view of a little marina surrounded by blue sea and cliffs.
After lunch, we swam around and joined many others in jumping off the cliffs. I won't go into detail, but let's just say I had a mental block and took entirely too long to jump off the cliff and had a rough landing... Ha. But we all ha a lot of fun and it was wonderfully refreshing to be in and surrounded by the water.
Afterward, we showered and headed back down for dinner. Since Cinque Terre is known for their pesto pasta, we all had to have some. We found a nice little place that had it to take away and went down to the water again to sit on the rocks. This was one of my favorite parts - I absolutely loved having a relaxing dinner with great food and friends, surrounded by moonlit waters gently crashing against the rocks. It was pretty fabulous. And, naturally, I finished the night off with some gelato and went to bed.
The next morning we woke up later than planned, but it was okay. We had decided to have a girls morning while the guys went on a hike through the cities. (If you didnt know, Cinque Terre literally means "five lands" and consists of 5 small cities along the western coast of Italy - all unique in character and so beautiful! Their names are Riomaggiore, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Manarola, and Corniglia.) Heather, Sarah and I went to a pastry shop in Monterosso al Mare that Sarah went to several times when she was here last and had a very tasty breakfast. Then we headed to the beach and hung out there for a couple hours until we met up with the boys later that afternoon. I was in near heaven being able to swim around and soak in the sun. Unfortunately, I forgot that the malaria medicine I had been taking since I left for Africa makes my skin very sensitive to sunlight - sooo, I fried. If I wasn't in Cinque Terre I would have been miserable. I have acquired the new nickname of "Rudolph" and have since been asked many questions about how Santa and the elves are doing.
We met up with the guys and after swimming a bit more, we had a late lunch at a nice little restaurant by the beach. We decided to splurge a bit and get our first "good meal" of the trip. I had some yummy ravioli with ricotta and spinach... And gelato, of course.
We then headed back to Riomaggiore to shower, pack up and head to La Spezia to watch the Portugal vs Spain game and catch the 1am train back to Rome. We watched the game in a little plaza a few blocks from the train station with some locals and hung out there until the train.
We spent the night on the train and were surprised to find that many others had the same idea... Making for a crowded and not too comfortable night's sleep (or if you are Barton or Hutton... No sleep. And Bradyn found himself under some chairs and halfway in the hall).
This morning, after the night on the train, we made it to the airport for our noon(ish) flight to Greece, then a bus out to Athens. We finally arrived after a long day of traveling and this may be our favorite place (we keep saying that. I just think everything is great). Great hostel and we just had an incredible dinner for cheap - very traditional Greek meal of pork, pitta bread, tomatoes, potatoes, and tiziki. Then found some 1.5L water bottles for €0.23 and some huge scoops of gelato for only €2 (big deal. It was so much. Barton and I had to share with everyone in order to finish).. And despite a little scare with the Board of Nursing not being able to find my application, they received it and I can still be a nurse. Praise God. It's been a good day!
Even though we are speeding through Europe, I am amazed at how we still feel that we really have been able to experience the culture in each place we had gone to. Of course, I feel like I need to return to each of these places (and many other cities/countries). It's been so much fun and I am increasingly grateful for the friends I am with. 24/7 can be a lot for 7 friends to spend with each other, but we are having a great time and have made a lot of "memories" that I'll cherish forever. I'm really thankful for this opportunity and realize I need to start my real job so I can afford to come back (soon)!
More to come later.
We left Rome for Cinque Terre on Tuesday morning. We took a train from the Termini station to La Spezia, then another train to Riomaggiore.
Since we arrived later in the afternoon, we were all pretty ready for some food - so, we found a good deal on a big pizza that we could share and went down to the waterside to eat it. The pizza was great - and even better with the incredible view of a little marina surrounded by blue sea and cliffs.
After lunch, we swam around and joined many others in jumping off the cliffs. I won't go into detail, but let's just say I had a mental block and took entirely too long to jump off the cliff and had a rough landing... Ha. But we all ha a lot of fun and it was wonderfully refreshing to be in and surrounded by the water.
Afterward, we showered and headed back down for dinner. Since Cinque Terre is known for their pesto pasta, we all had to have some. We found a nice little place that had it to take away and went down to the water again to sit on the rocks. This was one of my favorite parts - I absolutely loved having a relaxing dinner with great food and friends, surrounded by moonlit waters gently crashing against the rocks. It was pretty fabulous. And, naturally, I finished the night off with some gelato and went to bed.
The next morning we woke up later than planned, but it was okay. We had decided to have a girls morning while the guys went on a hike through the cities. (If you didnt know, Cinque Terre literally means "five lands" and consists of 5 small cities along the western coast of Italy - all unique in character and so beautiful! Their names are Riomaggiore, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Manarola, and Corniglia.) Heather, Sarah and I went to a pastry shop in Monterosso al Mare that Sarah went to several times when she was here last and had a very tasty breakfast. Then we headed to the beach and hung out there for a couple hours until we met up with the boys later that afternoon. I was in near heaven being able to swim around and soak in the sun. Unfortunately, I forgot that the malaria medicine I had been taking since I left for Africa makes my skin very sensitive to sunlight - sooo, I fried. If I wasn't in Cinque Terre I would have been miserable. I have acquired the new nickname of "Rudolph" and have since been asked many questions about how Santa and the elves are doing.
We met up with the guys and after swimming a bit more, we had a late lunch at a nice little restaurant by the beach. We decided to splurge a bit and get our first "good meal" of the trip. I had some yummy ravioli with ricotta and spinach... And gelato, of course.
We then headed back to Riomaggiore to shower, pack up and head to La Spezia to watch the Portugal vs Spain game and catch the 1am train back to Rome. We watched the game in a little plaza a few blocks from the train station with some locals and hung out there until the train.
We spent the night on the train and were surprised to find that many others had the same idea... Making for a crowded and not too comfortable night's sleep (or if you are Barton or Hutton... No sleep. And Bradyn found himself under some chairs and halfway in the hall).
This morning, after the night on the train, we made it to the airport for our noon(ish) flight to Greece, then a bus out to Athens. We finally arrived after a long day of traveling and this may be our favorite place (we keep saying that. I just think everything is great). Great hostel and we just had an incredible dinner for cheap - very traditional Greek meal of pork, pitta bread, tomatoes, potatoes, and tiziki. Then found some 1.5L water bottles for €0.23 and some huge scoops of gelato for only €2 (big deal. It was so much. Barton and I had to share with everyone in order to finish).. And despite a little scare with the Board of Nursing not being able to find my application, they received it and I can still be a nurse. Praise God. It's been a good day!
Even though we are speeding through Europe, I am amazed at how we still feel that we really have been able to experience the culture in each place we had gone to. Of course, I feel like I need to return to each of these places (and many other cities/countries). It's been so much fun and I am increasingly grateful for the friends I am with. 24/7 can be a lot for 7 friends to spend with each other, but we are having a great time and have made a lot of "memories" that I'll cherish forever. I'm really thankful for this opportunity and realize I need to start my real job so I can afford to come back (soon)!
More to come later.
I'll post pictures on another post because they won't send right now.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Vienna, Austria
Vienna.
I don't even know where to start. This city continually surprises me - it is nothing like I had imagined. I expected it to be just a bunch of old buildings, but it is so much more.
We got here midday and had to take a nap, of course. After our nap, we headed to the city center to see what we could see. Since none of us know anything about Vienna or Austria, we just walked around for a while in hopes of learning about things and figuring out what we were looking at. We didn't learn much, but our navigator by day, "Cloud" (Kyle), got us through the city and we felt like we saw quite a bit.
As we were walking around we were getting hungry and tried to find a place to eat. We had been wanting to get some bratwurst, but were having a hard time finding a place. Eventually we all got to the "growl" stage and needed sustenance (that's for you, Abby and Alyssa)... So we looked around at what was close by and thought we would try "Chinagarten." We walked in and immediately regretted that decision, but since the lady looked so happy to have a costumer and never left our side, we felt obligated to stay. The menu looked sketchy, as did the buffet, but we braved it and all buffeted it up (and prayed no one would get sick). The food was pretty... Eh, no, it was bad. We had a good "memory," though, and laughed nearly the entire time (well, the girls did). They even had a fish tank.... With the fish floating upside-down. It was an experience to say the least.
After dinner, we tried to make ourselves feel better about our horrible meal, so we had some gelato and headed to a festival that our crazy hostel lady told us about. All we knew was "free," "island," and "festival." So, we went.
And, boy, was it an experience. It was a free Austrian version of ACL.. Sort of. Lots of stands selling drinks, food, and souvenirs dispersed along a pathway that had several stages for the bands. We stopped at a few and were mildly impressed but kept moving.... Until we came to "Green Shirt." I wish I could begin to describe what we saw, but there really is no way. He was just incredible and blew Bradyn's mind. All I can say is: dubstep, opera, rap, black light, light saber, high-low, power to the people, and sheer talent. We have a few videos between all of us, but nothing will do justice to what we experienced.
The evening ended with us coming back to our hostel, still singing and talking about our new hero "Green Shirt."
The next day began with bread, nutella, cheese and apple juice then going to St. Augustine church for mass. St. Augustine was the church Napoleon was married at, as was Mary Antoinette (according to our little map). It was good, even though Bradyn had to poke and pinch himself to stay awake.
After mass, we took Heather back to the hostel because her foot was bothering her and the rest of us went on a bike tour of the city. The bike tour was great for seeing a lot of things and getting some variation to our daily exercise but we didn't learn anything. We don't think our guide really knew what he was doing... He actually told Hutton he didn't know where we were.
After the tour, we finally got our bratwurst and found a place to watch the England vs Italy game.
The next day, after a late night, we woke up - had our usual breakfast of bread from the market and set out to find a museum to go to. Unfortunately, many places were closed or were too expensive. So, we went to St. Stephen's church then got some brats and headed to the hostel to pick up our stuff and leave for the airport.
We made it to Rome and spent the night there last night. That's also where we met up with Barton!
This morning (Tuesday) we got on a train for Cinque Terre and just arrived! It's so beautiful - I will post later. Internet is pretty hit or miss so who knows when that will actually be or when this message will actually go through.
I don't even know where to start. This city continually surprises me - it is nothing like I had imagined. I expected it to be just a bunch of old buildings, but it is so much more.
We got here midday and had to take a nap, of course. After our nap, we headed to the city center to see what we could see. Since none of us know anything about Vienna or Austria, we just walked around for a while in hopes of learning about things and figuring out what we were looking at. We didn't learn much, but our navigator by day, "Cloud" (Kyle), got us through the city and we felt like we saw quite a bit.
As we were walking around we were getting hungry and tried to find a place to eat. We had been wanting to get some bratwurst, but were having a hard time finding a place. Eventually we all got to the "growl" stage and needed sustenance (that's for you, Abby and Alyssa)... So we looked around at what was close by and thought we would try "Chinagarten." We walked in and immediately regretted that decision, but since the lady looked so happy to have a costumer and never left our side, we felt obligated to stay. The menu looked sketchy, as did the buffet, but we braved it and all buffeted it up (and prayed no one would get sick). The food was pretty... Eh, no, it was bad. We had a good "memory," though, and laughed nearly the entire time (well, the girls did). They even had a fish tank.... With the fish floating upside-down. It was an experience to say the least.
After dinner, we tried to make ourselves feel better about our horrible meal, so we had some gelato and headed to a festival that our crazy hostel lady told us about. All we knew was "free," "island," and "festival." So, we went.
And, boy, was it an experience. It was a free Austrian version of ACL.. Sort of. Lots of stands selling drinks, food, and souvenirs dispersed along a pathway that had several stages for the bands. We stopped at a few and were mildly impressed but kept moving.... Until we came to "Green Shirt." I wish I could begin to describe what we saw, but there really is no way. He was just incredible and blew Bradyn's mind. All I can say is: dubstep, opera, rap, black light, light saber, high-low, power to the people, and sheer talent. We have a few videos between all of us, but nothing will do justice to what we experienced.
The evening ended with us coming back to our hostel, still singing and talking about our new hero "Green Shirt."
The next day began with bread, nutella, cheese and apple juice then going to St. Augustine church for mass. St. Augustine was the church Napoleon was married at, as was Mary Antoinette (according to our little map). It was good, even though Bradyn had to poke and pinch himself to stay awake.
After mass, we took Heather back to the hostel because her foot was bothering her and the rest of us went on a bike tour of the city. The bike tour was great for seeing a lot of things and getting some variation to our daily exercise but we didn't learn anything. We don't think our guide really knew what he was doing... He actually told Hutton he didn't know where we were.
After the tour, we finally got our bratwurst and found a place to watch the England vs Italy game.
The next day, after a late night, we woke up - had our usual breakfast of bread from the market and set out to find a museum to go to. Unfortunately, many places were closed or were too expensive. So, we went to St. Stephen's church then got some brats and headed to the hostel to pick up our stuff and leave for the airport.
We made it to Rome and spent the night there last night. That's also where we met up with Barton!
This morning (Tuesday) we got on a train for Cinque Terre and just arrived! It's so beautiful - I will post later. Internet is pretty hit or miss so who knows when that will actually be or when this message will actually go through.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Heidelberg, Germany
Really, though. Heidelberg has been our favorite city yet. We first arrived and (after going the wrong way for 20 minutes) found our hostel then went exploring. We headed toward Philosopher's Walk (a trail up the mountain alongside the river with great views of the city all the way up) and saw many locals along the way just hanging out by the river - laying out, playing in the park, canoeing, biking... There was even a big sand volleyball tournament happening. It was really neat to see. We even played in the coooolest playground. I don't even know how to describe some of the climbing/playing structures they had but they were fun.
We made it to Philosopher's Walk and hiked up (sooo steep! We were all wishing we were in better shape for this activity). The view was incredible. Heidelberg is a gorgeous city with a unique and very quaint atmosphere about it. After, we had to treat ourselves with ice cream, naturally, then headed to the old part of the city. Picture for yourselves what you think an old cute German town looks like... That's Heidelberg. We had some dinner there and hoped to go up to the castle buuuut it started to rain. So, we ran back to our hostel on the other side of town, absolutely soaking wet"... but Smiller says "what a memory."
The next day, we got a cheap breakfast from the market by our hostel and headed out to the dock for a boat tour of the city. Unfortunately, Heather has a stress fracture in her foot and decided it best not to join us. We were pretty sad but were glad she had the option to rest.
The boat was awesome, though. Definitely the best way to see the city. We enjoyed some incredible scenery and cool castle/old building views. We stopped at a little town outside of Heidelberg that had 4 old castles (2 still inhabited, 2 not). We went up to one of them and climbed around on the old walls then headed back to the dock where we thought the boat would be to pick us up..... But we missed the memo that it would come an hour later. So, we got some gelato and found a park. Sarah and I played around on the swings and bars while the boys.. Well, I have no idea what they did. Probably just sit. Then we headed back and got on the boat to return to Heidelberg.
After the boat, we tried to go see the castle in Heidelberg, but since it wasn't free we just walked around and went back to the hostel to get Heather for dinner.
We ate at a little restaurant that had kebabs and pizza while we did laundry in a store close by. We were accompanied by one of the guys from our hostel who is a doppelgänger for our friend Chris Sarsgard... So weird, but he was cool and we enjoyed the company. After, we found a spot to stand and watch the Germany vs. Greece game... Which was not an easy task seeing how the entire country was watching the game either at a restaurant or in the streets or wherever they could find a spot.
We even had the pleasure of chatting it up with a local man named Hanz, who we are convinced is Robin Williams' German twin.
After the game, that Germany won, the town went nuts. Horns were going off and people were rejoicing into the wee hours of the morning. Thankfully we were pretty worn out from our day of hiking and walking that we didn't have trouble falling asleep.
Now, after an early morning train ride and flight, we made it to Austria! More to come later.
Pictures are mostly of our boat tour and a few from Philosopher's Walk/around town. Enjoy.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Cork, Ireland
It was beautiful and we really only saw the city (other than flying into Cork... Which was beautiful). We got to the hostel and dropped our bags off because it wasn't quite time to check in and headed to breakfast. We went to a place called Puccinos (as recommended by our awesome Irish hostel keeper, Tracy "Moira") and it was awesome! The girls split three different meals - Belgium waffles with ice cream (yes!), French toast, and an egg, sausage and cheese filled croissant. Yes, I did take a picture. Sooo good. Then we went back to the hostel and took a nap that lasted longer than any of us had planned for.
After, we walked around Cork. Got some bread, cheese and wine and shared a little snack in the park. It was cute. We visited a few churches, pubs and various places around town. For dinner, the girls went and got a pizza (turns out, the boys don't care as much about eating as we do) and sat outside for a while, chatting and eating. Then we met up with the guys at a cool little pub where they were playing live "trad music." It was great. The musicians were very talented and the environment was authentic and just really cool. When we left the pub the guys finally decided they were hungry and went to some Indian restaurant with crazy spicy food.
The next day... Today.. We woke up and planned on taking a tour to a really pretty place. We stopped by the market to get some bread and jam first and headed to the bus station. Once we got there we realized/decided we didn't know if we had enough time to get out there and make it back for our flight to London. So we went to a lunch theater and saw "Fruitcake" - a monologue skit about a lady making a fruitcake as she shares her life story. It was surprisingly good... And sad... And funny... And strange. A cool way to spend the day - we even made it in the Evening Echo, a local newspaper... But it doesn't come out until next Tuesday (if anyone is in Cork next week, pick up a copy for us). Afterward, we walked around a bit more... Went to some bookstores and a candy shop. It was a very enjoyable day, despite the rain. I do need to make it back to Ireland again and see more of the countryside.... And perhaps just move over here while I'm at it.
Now we are in the airport about to board Ryanair for London... Then spend another night in the airport and get to Frankfurt, Germany tomorrow morningish. It'll be fun... Hopefully we can manage to find some seats in the airport to lay on this time.
(The pictures are of us being excited about our afternoon snack and the boys drinking the jam... And Hutton not letting us take a picture of him.)
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