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Another quick update from my hostel that has a long line of people waiting (at 8am, I know...)
I spent the rest of the day in Firenze wandering the streets and visiting the Uffizi, which was ... just amazing. I met a really nice German guy (who liked guys I think) and we sat outside discussing art, poetry, and religion. It all seemed so very perfect for some reason. Streets of Florence, deep discussion over a beer... you get the idea.
Anyway, took a train to the Cinque Terre, which in my mind has the most beautiful coastline in Italy, and perhaps the world. Again, I met an extremely nice German man traveling with his 12 year-old son Mario. He helped me in the search to book a hostel in the middle of high season, and after a fruitless search, he let my leave all my stuff at his house while I went out for the day to swim in the Mediterranean and walk the path between the 5 towns. I met some crazy Canadians and we all jumped off bridges into the sea and that sort of thing. That night, I laid out my sleeping bag on the only patch of grass in the 5 towns and slept on a peninsula surrounded by the sea under the stars. What a night! my best so far by leaps and bounds.
He also told me of a place in Stresa where I could get a free bed for the night (free is good), but when I got there, nobody would answer the phone, so I was left stranded. Turns out that it is a resort town much similar to Tahoe right on a lake, and there are NO hostels whatsoever in the region. I wound up getting a room in the cheapest hotel in the city which was only 20 euro, with the bathroom down the hall and a leaky faucet in the room.
Leaving as early as I could, I made my way to Gimmelwald, Switzerland to the Mountain Hostel. Oh. My. God. Best hostel ever, nesteled a tram ride up the Swiss Alps, no joke.
Anyway, my time is up, but I'll write more about the hostel tomorrow if I can.
Well, I made it out of Rome alive. Between the tourists, heat, and my crazy fun-loving hostel it was quite an achievement. The next stop on my list is Florence (Firenze) where I spent last night. I had a reservation at a hostel, but no idea how to get there, which was increasingly more interesting as I found out it is not on any tourist map to be found... I finally worked out a general idea of how to get there, and my friendly bus driver was quite helpful. Turns out that my hostel is a converted 17th century villa complete with a campground, orchard, and of course a full bar :)
After I arrived yesterday, I met my bunkmates Charlie and Justin - two law students from Tenessee. We took the bus into town and wandered the streets of Florence window shopping and marveling at the Duomo. We caught a 3 course dinner (20 euro! - my most expensive by far!) and continued the wander. As it turns out, yesterday was Festa di San Giovanni, (Saint John's Day) a major holiday in Florence. We each bought a bottle of the cheapest wine we could find - 2 euro a bottle - and got set to watch the fireworks display from the bank of the Arno. Turned out that we had 5 bottles of wine, but none of us had a bottle opener! As it was past 10, all the shops were closed so there was no prospect of buying or borrowing one. We wandered until we found a mime (you couldn't make this up!) drunk off a bottle of white wine. He was apparently a street performer at the end of a long day ... miming. We cautiosly approached him and, since none of us spoke Italian, mimed out the question if he had a bottle opener. Of course he did, and was more than happy to open all three bottles for us. Since he was so kind, we gave him a bottle of our 2 euro wine which he opened right up, toasted to us, and started guzzling. As cautiously as we approached, we snuck away into the night. We caught most of the fireworks show (which was of course enhanced now that we had wine) and then the bus back to the hostel before our ridiculous midnight curfew.
Anyway, To finish up on Rome, it was completely overwhelming. Rather than try to see everything in a day and a half, I just decided to see the major sites and promise myself to return someday and spend a month there. Off season, of course, when it's not 38°C and wretchedly humid outside!
My task for now is to find a place to stay near Cinque Terre and rest for a day or two before heading north to Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic. I'm also considering spending a day or two in Budapest, so let me know if you think I should or not. I'm also considering skydiving in Switzerland over the alps, but it's pretty expensive (~$250 American) so if you want to donate to my europe fund so I can, I accept any funds you can send! (::cough::paypal::cough::)
Alright, now it's off to find a hostel, hit the Uffizi and get some more of the ever-addictive gelato!
PS. Can't wait for the Italy-Aussie game tomorrow!
Just a quick note from my hostel in Roma. The shipping line I took from Barcelona turned out to be more of a cruise ship! There were 2 restaruants, 3 full service bars, sleeping cabins, etc... as well as a full ferry and shipping service. Of course I had the cheapest seat, which turned out to just be airplane seating in 3 rows across the width of the boat (ship?)
Unbeknownst to me, however, was that the ferry took 20 hours to get from Barcelona to the Italian coast, so we got in to Rome at 5PMish, and I still had no place to stay. Lucky for me neither did a handful of canadians, so we all pitched in and got a hotel room for the night, which worked out well for just 30 euro.
I got up this morning and saw as much of Rome as I could until I couldn't stand anymore. Luckily, I have a nice hostel which has *laundry* which is a godsend at this point.
Anywho, I have to get off the computer, but more will follow...
I took a night train from Nice to Barcelona a couple days ago. It wasn't as bad as people make it out to be, I guess, but I got really lucky. I was in a car with just a handful of other Americans who got bumped to the same train after the 10AM train was "full". We all slept well despite making every single stop possible. The high speed trains only stop every hour or more, and travel at 150+ miles an hour, as opposed to max 40 mph on the local trains. It took me just 5.5 hours to get from Paris to Nice, and 15 hours to get from Nice to Barcelona!
Anyway, I have a ferry ticket booked to get to Civitaveccia (right next to Rome) for tonight, so we'll see how that turns out :) Always an adventure, especially because I asked for "the cheapest ticket they have"... probably not such a good idea.
Barcelona is great! I almost want to stay another day, but I booked my ferry ticket already. I love being able to sort of understand people (I speak spanish, not French!) and communicate with people on the street. Yesterday I went all over town. Of course, first thing in the morning I lost my section of the guidebook on Barcelona, so I was clueless as to where to go and what to see, but I picked up a tour bus map and loosely followed the route it traveled, only I went by public transportation. The metro here is wonderful! Much less confusing than Paris (probably has 30 fewer routes, though), and much cleaner. My only complaint is the vending machine. When I tried to purchase my day pass from the ticket counter with a 50 euro note (thanks, ATMs...), the man told me to use the machine. Since the pass was only 5 euro, I now have 45 euro in 2, 1, and .50 coins... The man just laughed and laughed...
My hostel is fun too. It's in a shady part of town, so I get offers of "hashish" from these crazy rasta guys every time I turn a corner. It is very near the water though, and just a couple of blocks from "Las Ramblas", the main street of the city where there are numerous little shops and street performers (and an internet cafe!) Last night I went to watch the English-Swedish football game with 2 English guys from my hostel. It was crazy! We went to this tiny little bar with cheap beer and packed full of Engish and Swedish people alike. I love the world cup, it brings everyone in the world together! After the game finished and we finished a couple of rounds (okay, maybe a few...) we went to a club. From the street, it looked like any other of the countless cafe/shop type stores, but we went underground where the place opened up into a huge dance floor/disco with hundreds of people and loud music and plenty of drinks. The rest of the night is a bit hazy ::cough::cough::, but we made it back before curfew (3am) with 5 minutes to spare. Now I hate my life for having to check out of my hostel by 9am.
Well, my time at this internet cafe is almost up, but Adios from Barcelona!
What a trip! Had a great flight over into Paris, and after some hassling got into the city and found a hostel. Paris is not my favorite city in the world for some reason, but enjoyable nonetheless! I went to see all the things I missed on my trip 4 years ago, like the eiffel tower, catacombes, more of the lourve, etc... I was also able to meet up with Shaddee for just one night, but his friends cell phone died and they went to Switzerland before I could get a hold of them again. It's so weird to see someone you know in a place so strange and foreign. I won't go into details about the friends we met on the subway...
I went to get a train out of town to a small south-western french city recommended by my bunkmate, Pierre (who is my new best friend, by the way...) Apparently, when I said "a train to toulouse", the guy behind the counter thought I said "a train to nice" (which is pronounced like niece) and that's where I find myself now. It was a great place to stop, albeit unintentional. I suppose I'll stay a couple days at the capital of the French Riviera if I have to. :) I watched the Italy-US soccer game last night with some people from my hostel at an Irish pub with crowds from both sides. It was crazy! With any more Guiness, I'm sure a fight would have broken out.
Today I went museum hopping (because most are free on Sundays) then relaxed on the beach for a while. Now, it takes a bit to suprise me these days, but it happened today. I was sitting on the beach with my baguette and bottle of wine (lunch for the poor), when these two pretty young french ladies sit next to me. They started undressing, as if they were about to go swimming. They didn't stop. So there I am, literally 3 feet from these girls who are both half naked. What do you say? "uh... sure is cold out here, huh?" The worst part? I had *just* put my camera back in my backpack...
Anyway, my trip is off to a great start, and I wish I could write more before my time runs out, but I have to price tickets on the shipping lines from Barcelona (my next stop) to Rome.
Au revoir!
I could almost say I hate packing. There are so many uncertainties about what to pack where and why to bring it. There's always that "gut feeling" that you're forgetting something, but you won't know what it is until you arrive and desperately need it. I mean, how many pairs of pants am I going to want to be running around Europe with? Should I bring the telephoto lens? The iPod? Which tourbook will be the best? Should I pack a copy of my birth certificate in case my passport is stolen? Ahhh!
Here's what I have about mid-pack:
We got the backpack, camera bag, iPod, eurail pass, toiletries, tourbooks, passport, a few t-shirts and couple pairs of pants and shorts. (I'm in the middle of washing my whites). What am I forgetting? What am I going to wish I had packed? Gah. I give up. This IS supposed to be an adventure, right?
Anywho, I'm going to San Jose to visit with my sisters before I take off on Wednesday. It's going to be nice; we haven't all hung out just the three of us in quite a while. It should be a lot of fun.
Also, I just finished a quick and dirty google maps app that is going to let the world (aka: my parents) track me on a beautiful world map courtesy of Google, Inc. It was a lot of fun to get it together. I almost forgot how much I like javascript. Oh, wait, do I?
Another bit of drama: I return on July 26th. My lease officially ends on July 27th. I am supposed to be moved completely out the morning of July 27th. I have a feeling that my return will go something like this: Get off plane, get in car, drive to chico, sleep in car, arrive in chico, finish packing my room, move everything I own 4 blocks, sleep. All in the span of about 12 hours, all while completely jet-lagged, and all after an exhausting 6-week trip. But no pressure :)
Oh my god, I'm so excited to go!
I don't have a myspace account. I have a facebook I check every other week if I'm lucky. Point is, I will never have a myspace. Blasphemy, I know, but it is the sad truth, especially since it has taken over the internet. What began as a simple social networking site was sold for half a billion dollars, has regular appearances on nearly every tv station aside from the weather channel, and is the 4th most visited site on the internet (behind only google, yahoo! and msn). A local clothes shop in downtown Chico - perhaps the most ass-backwards town - pays an employee an extra 2 hours a day to browse myspace and do friend management, etc... Imagine getting PAID to sit on myspace. Every 14-25 year old's dream come true.
I don't know where that rant came from, but it's over now.
In other news, I got my Eurail pass via DHL last Friday. I have a plane ticket, eurail pass, a backpack, and a bit of cash. I am so very ready to just jump on the plane and GO. Doesn't matter where, just get out of here! I have 2 maps of europe and about 3 books open on our coffee table in the living room, highliter in hand and money belt at the ready (thanks, Rick Steves...) planning the trip. Gah.
1250 feet!