Cooincidences

6/12
- hop off plane, hop on hour long shuttle bus to Paris where we then maneuver the huge and confusing metro to cergy, and finally we walk 10 mins to our hotel!
- meg and Arielle and Megan are there waiting for us in our AMAZING apartment!!! It's even better than last time and the complete opposite of any other place we've stayed at during this backpacking excursion. Thank you Leclerqs!!
- it was hard to stop our mouths from moving because everything was so exciting but eventually the other 3 went into the city at night while our exhausted selves decided to rest.
- at one point we walked into the mall area (never knew that existed) and after an hour of getting lost and not knowing the language we eventually found the huuuuge grocery store.
- we cooked uncooked pizza, amazing tabouli, and Finally had a salad
- without needing any coercion whatsoever, we melted into our satiny silky douvet

6/13
- Starting our weekly tradition, we slept in a bit, always waking up by 10am to receive the wonderful and free yummy French breakfast.
- After breakfast, we said goodbye to Arielle and Megan (other meaghans future housemates) and then pretty much spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in luxury (ie taking a bath and laying on the bed) and slowly, slowly getting ready.
- we eventually walked over to the mall area of our town (a 35 min train out of Paris btw) and helped meg buy some more warm clothes (as well as some desserts-- eclairs this time)
- we were kicked out of the mall at 8pm and then cooked ourselves a yummy dinner in this fully equipped modern kitchen of ours!

6/14
- today we learned the hard way that there's really never enough time/ things always take longer than you think they will, in terms of traveling at least.
- we woke up later than planned, bought ourselves a handy 4 day unlimited metro card and were off to the Eiffel tower finally!
- we waited in a wrong line at first, then got into the right one (which required climbing to the 2nd floor), rushed up, snapped away, rode a scary elevator and voila! We were at the top! What an amazing view awaited us below. Michelle got over her sweaty palms as Katie took in the view and marveled at how big this city was!
- unfortunately, but not so unfortunately, we had to rush down the tower, hop on the ever confusing metro (Paris' metro is the worst, in my opinion) to meet my friend from Florence, Scott!
- Scott studied in Paris last fall semester and now is back for a couple months to take an acting course and has a fabulous apartment studio thing in the city
- Scott proceeded to tour us around the city, first stopping at the notre dame then to his favorite crepe place then we hiked up to parthenon in the Latin quarter (such a cool area) then to the Luxembourg gardens (soooo pretty with the flowers now in bloom and the temperature above 30, unlike when Michelle visited in the snow last time), and finally up to scotts place (meg and Katie hopped in the tiniest 2 person elevator).
- Scott had the most fabulous dinner waiting for us (well he cooked as we talked) and had even made a special musical playlist for the occasion. We ooed and awed over his French flat, his baguette and tomato sauce/cheese appetizer, his lit candles, the place settings and especially over the amazing pasta and avocado salad AND of course the creme brûlée with strawberries for dessert!
- we chatted away for hours (wine was also involved) and eventually returned to our hotel at 2am!

6/15
- after eating our normal and huge, unlimited breakfast and packing up our usual lunch (from the bfast selection of baguettes, meats and cheeses) we headed into the city to meet up with Katie's friend Megan from high school!
- Katie LOVES coincidences and after realizing Megan would be in Paris only a few days before (on fb she saw that Megan arrived the same day as us! Such a shock and Katie could not wait to see her) she went crazy.
- we went inside the notre dame with Megan and her brother David and enjoyed the stained glass (katies favorite) windows as the sheer beauty of this massive cathedral.
- the 5 of us then metroed to the arc de triumphe, walked along the champs élysées, picked up a box (a way too small box says meg) of the best macaroons in the world from Laduree, sat in a cafe for an hour (Katie and shell got 6 euro orange juice, not worth it), marveled at the touilleries and the views surrounding these gardens, and finally made it to the Louvre by 6pm for free student admission.
- we were now a party of 6 because Scott met up with us but within minutes we were 8 because Sam and Anjali surprised us in line!!
- meg and shell had just found out a few days before that Sam would be there as well but were not expecting to see her just then! What a wonderful surprise! We could not believe the size of our group and all the connections within, and the fact that we were all in PARIS! Coincidences galore!
- we all spent about 2 hours in the louvre (amid catch up conversations and excitement) and saw the Mona Lisa (Katie says its too small), the Venus de milo, the Egyptian exhibit (Katie loved it) and beelined out of the huge glass pyramid (blanking on its name)
- Megan and her brother left us to Skype with their parents and Scott then led us all (in the rain) to his favorite restaurant in the Latin quarter. We passed over the adorable love lock bridge over the seine and finally arrived at the cutest little French restaurant with the nicest owner.
- dinner conversation flowed as we enjoyed our delicious French onion soups, avocado salads, chicken, streak, lamb, and apple tarts.
- we all bid goodnight and parted our ways within the metro as we shot off to different sections of the city.

6/16
- we allowed ourselves a couple extra hours of sleep this morning. We had been EXHAUSTED every day and it felt as if we could never catch up!
- after bfast we watched some desperate housewives in french (way more entertaining than youd think) and didn't get out of the hotel until around 3pm
- we headed to the montemarte area of france (Michelles personal favorite area) and first stopped at the moulin rouge and the ate the BEST quiche and chocolate chip cookies (says meg), then meandered up to the sacre cor basilica while passing past really cool stores.
-if you've seen the movie "Amelie", this is the area it was filmed in. If you haven't, go see it now.
- we made the trek up one of the only hilly areas of Paris. The buildings and the shops and the people are all eccentric here, the artists quarter I believe it is, and it's so great to see such creativeness!
- we were met with the most amazing view of Paris from above as we sat on the steps below the church and listened to a live performer singing away.
- after walking through the church and taking tons of pictures we rolled down the hill on a cool funicular (scene of last trip to Paris' close call gypsy for shell) and searched for hours, literally, for a good place to eat.
- eventually and partially out of desperation, we settled for a random crepe restaurant in an alley way. It had charm, but that's about it.
- at one point on the metro, as we pushed the doors open as they tried to seal us off, we greatly embarrassed ourselves as the metro lurched forward and we were all thrown forward as well.
- to end the night we got a quick glimpse of the lit up Eiffel tower during a metro change as meg rushed to use the bathroom in McDonald's. Magical!

6/17
- getting out of the hotel 2 hours later than originally hoped, we went on another 2 hour metro excursion that eventually led us to the Palace of Versailles!
- the gold gates welcomed us in (along with the throngs of people) and we waited in line after line for a good hour or so. It would all be worth it! (25 euro later)
- Short on time, we first jetted through the palace (leaving behind new friend mikaela who Katie had met in line) and rushed to the hall of mirrors with audio guide in hand. What an incredible "hallway". To think that people used to actually live here! It's insane.
- in less time than originally thought, we were out of the palace and into the famous gardens which we had heard most about!
- breathtaking. Gargantuous. Green. Regal. Magical. Enchanting. Royal.
- Upon walking out to the gardens, we were pleased to see that the fountains were all dancing away along to the classical music playing throughout the gardens.
- we took our time just taking in all of the incredible scenery meeting us in every direction. We honestly felt like we were in a movie, not real life.
- feeling a bit short on time, we made a beeline through the mazes of gardens and ponds and flowers (making a pit stop for ice cream of course) until we finally reached Marie Antoinette's estate, also known as the petit trianon. Katie was most excited for this part and as we walked through another set of golden gates (slightly smaller than the first) we entered the "small" estate. The words small and estate don't really go together. Anyways, each room was adorably decorated with many floral patterns and brighter colors. You could really see Marie antoinettes personality coming out here and it was a much more personal experience, which we definitely preferred.
- After walking through the few rooms, we headed into her gardens! These were much smaller but were packed with loads of charm. Michelle's favorite was the "temple of love" which was reached by crossing adorable foot bridges over streams and through flowers packed with wonderful smells.
- the 3 of us found a nice spot on Marie's grass (I could picture her here so well) and lazily napped/ gazed out at the temple on one side and the estate on the other. What a perfect way to relax!
- we leisurely bid farewell to Maries place and made our way towards the main attractions. The buildings were now all closing but the gardens were available for at least another hour.
- the remaining time was spent watching people row boats in the huge pond, being grossed out by the massive fish in the pond, and slowly making our way back to the palace and then out the gates.
- We caught a quick train to the Eiffel tower to look for some food and got the added bonus of seeing the tower right as the sun was setting, perfectly and naturally lit. The Eurocup has been following us everywhere this trip and a huge screen was set up right in front, with crowds of people cheering on France. Not many people get to watch a soccer game with the Eiffel tower as their background.
- we spent the next 2.5 hours in search of a place to eat. Another thing that has plagued us this summer. Always in search of an authentic, non touristy, cheap place to eat. It's not as easy as you think!
- after walking up and down hills, happening upon the arc de triumph, and being advised from a Scottish person on a different area to eat, we hopped on a metro and landed in the gay area of town. Things were poppin, as it was now almost 11pm!
- we found a cute little restaurant where we chatted with the enthusiastic owner who translated the menu for us and we leisurely tried new French food and met some English speaking friends who gave us their leftovers.
- tight on time, we got off at a random metro stop to catch another view of the Eiffel tower at night and grabbed a mcflurry from McDonald's to top the night off.
- Sidenote about McDonald's: they vary country to country. For example, you find macaroons and special French fries in France, wine and croissants and pistachio mcflurrys in Italy, sausages in Germany, special Hungarian foods in budapest, pinxos in spain, the list goes on and on (can you tell we often make use of their free wifi?).

6/18
- our last day in Paris, sadly.
- meg decides shed like more time to get ready so Katie and I go into the city a little before her and have a cute picnic in front of the Eiffel tower, with cheesy posey jumping pictures included.
- we then metro to the Latin quarter again, walk around, stumble upon an AMAZING and local-filled crepe place (nutella and banana again), and rush to the tulleries to meet meg.
- we had to wait an hour (meg decided to get her eyebrows done before meeting us......) but before long we were sitting inside the famous "Angelina's" for some hot chocolate! Meg and I had both been recommended this place and even though it was a bit too rich for me, it was a cool and fancy tea partyish experience (the price almost had me using the remaining chocolate as a face mask or something).
- my god we ate a lot today. Our next stop was dinner back in the Latin quarter! Sharing some wine and the meal of the day (3 courses of deliciousness) we happily ended our last evening in Paris chatting away at a street cafe.

Buda buda pest, youda youda best

6/7:
-pack up, say goodbye to nice apartment owner lady, sweat sweat sweat in our heaviest clothes for the plane and eventually land in Pisa!
- arrive at hostel from before at around 4pm and chill. Meet people in our hostel and swap traveling stories. This was the beginning of our meeting tons of travelers part of the trip.
- in particular we met a really nice girl from New Jersey (Jolene) and talked for hours with her. We all were very similar and the 3 of us eventually went out, ate snacks, and then went to a super unique backyard type of pizza place for dinner!
- we came back to the hostel and did some housekeeping ie uploaded pictures and then slept!

6/8:
- we were both woken up by a girl getting her laundry from outside (through a door in our room) screaming because a FERRET was trying to get in!!
- we groggily jumped up and were trying to help (Michelle thought it was a possum or something). Eventually Katie ran for help as the girl was being attacked outside by this animal. These things are mean! (they eat babies apparently). Turns out the ferret is the hostels pet. Thanks for letting us know!
- we met up with Jolene again and walked over to the leaning tower!
- took lots of pics while the conversation flowed
- at one point we had these 2 random Asian ladies just walk up to us and start taking pictures with us, acting like we were all best friends! We couldn't contain our laughs, too funny.
- on our way back to hostel we met the NICEST guy selling utensil jewelry. Jolene and Katie bought really cool unique things as we had a nice conversation with him.
- grabbed some yummy and huge paninis and chocolate dipped biscotti, went back to hostel to get our huge backpacks, walked back to tower and relaxed in the shade on the lawn, and finally got our last gelato in Italy :(
- said bye to Jolene, watched Hercules in the airport (in honor of Greece) and were off to Budapest on our rather late flight

6/9
- starting right at midnight, we were in Budapest checking into our amazing hostel! we had met a girl named Catherine going the same way and we talked to her the entire flight.
- we were in pjs ready for bed, minding our own business (on fb) when 2 guys in our room stumbled in asking us to have a drink with them, so we did!
- Eric and Danny were their names and they were from Paris and Spain! We had good conversation in the hostel kitchen until 4am and then eventually crawled into bed.
- bunk beds sure are noisy and it was a bit hard to sleep with the added creaking of the floor as our other hostel mates came home (ie Russian friend). Maybe 3 hours of sleep this night!

6/9 (day)
- upon waking up, Michelle looked around at the bunkbeds and saw 5 pairs of tighty whitey-clad boys without covers (it was so hot in the room!)--what a change for us!!! Not necessarily complaining :)
- we surprisingly felt energized as we joined our Russian, French, and Spanish friends around the city of Buda. Who knew Budapest was actually 2 cities called Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube river??
- we saw the basilica, grabbed bfast, hiked up the mountain to the most beautiful church, and explored around with Eric as our almighty leader/tour guide!
- after hopping on the metro illegally (without a ticket) we arrived back at our hostel and rested as the boys went to the famous baths in budapest and then left for good.
- we watched a little harry potter as we rested and waited for dinner to be served!
- our hostel owner, Anton, was the NICEST GUY ever. In his 60s, this guy just wants you to have the best time in Budapest and will do anything to make that happen!! This night he cooked everyone a free delicious typical Hungarian meal. It was a great way to talk with our new American hostel mates (all guys, pretty cute).
- after dinner Anton took 2 groups of people out for a night car ride/ tour of the city!
- it was AMAZING to see this city at night. All of the bridges and buildings are lit up and sparkling. Lightening kept lighting up the sky as well. Anton was a great tour guide who knew everything and it was just such a cool and unique experience!
- we got ready to finally see what the Budapest nightlife we'd heard so much about was like! Unfortunately, we stepped out into the pouring RAIN, THUNDER AND LIGHTENING!
- We walked/ran up and down the street not really knowing where to go exactly (Katie almost walked into a strip club) and as we were standing under an awning waiting for the rain to calm down we literally FELT the lightning strike above us!! We were shaking for a while afterwards.
- we finally decided to go into this club called "instant" and soon found out that's where everyone had been hiding!
- realizing we has little florins on us, we just grabbed an ouzo shot(strong!!!) and hit the dance floor. This club was so cool! It was 3 levels with different rooms of music and one big floor with chairs and tables to just hang out and drink by.
- we danced in a couple rooms and the stayed in one for a while surrounded by mostly guys. French guys are fun to dance with!
- exhausted we left the club around 3am and arrived home after our fellow Americans :)

6/10
- this night of sleep was MUCH better and after leisurely getting ready, and then eating a SUPER CHEAP (everything is so cheap here) lunch that was also very Hungarian (soup and fried chicken) we headed off to Europe's biggest baths!
- we ran into the Americans and the French as we hopped from warm to warmer to hot to room temperature baths (never cold for us). There were tons of people here but it was still cool to be able to go both inside and outside and one huge pool even had a whirlpool area that we really enjoyed (Katie's favorite).
- after shriveling up, we finally left after 3 hours and grabbed some much too expensive dessert (typical Hungarian chocolate and caramel cake and apricot and chocolate chip ice cream).
- after showering, we met up with Catherine from the plane our new solo-annoying-clinger friend joined in as well for dinner.
- the dinner was AMAZING and again so cheap! I love Hungarian Forints! we talked for a loooong time, tried the local drink called palinka (peach flavored and SOOO so strong. We felt like dragons breathing out fire).
- we departed from Catherine, dropped the other one off at the hostel, and attempted to go out again! It was a Sunday night thought and not much was happening (that we could find at least) so we just came home and slept!

6/11
- woke up later, walked to this really cool and big indoor market with TONS of food and desserts that looked amazing and were so cheap.
- we tried a basket of berries, a potato strudel, cheese ball things (similar to Leslie's snosengers says Katie), cream filled pastry thing, and chocolate pyramid cake
- we've decided we need to start a food blog btw. We just eat too much good food!! It's becoming too fun.
- we walked back to the hostel through the Jewish district, skipped out on a free walking tour and instead finished Harry potter, and finally went to sightsee again.
- after being roped into talked to this American democrat guy for way too long, we were sad to find out that both the parliament and basilica were closed for visitors that day/time!!! So bummed!
- we did happen Upon a huge beer garden though with the best atmosphere while crowds of people were sitting in front of a big screen waiting for the England vs France soccer game to start.
- we grabbed a Hungarian treat (so good but so bad for you) and a beer to fit in with the crowd and thoroughly enjoyed watching the game among so many enthused people!!
- we took out more money to get souvenirs but then everywhere was closed so we are now left with much too many Forints. And no souvenirs. From our favorite place. Live and learn I guess!
- we grabbed dinner at our place one last time (slim pickings), headed back go hostel, attempted to go out but soon discovered that our stomachs both mysteriously felt bad.
- we turned right around and laid down as our poor little stomachs constricted. Luckily the feelings passed eventually and after catching up with family and showering we were fast asleep!

6/12
- now on a plane to Paris!! Our airport shuttle guy was not happy with us earlier, on account of us buying food while he was waiting outside our hostel. Oops.
- we are very sad to leave Budapest!! It's a place so packed with culture and such a great nightlife that I don't know why anyone would wanna leave. The buildings are AMAZING as well, there are few tourists, the food is delicious, the people are generous, everything is so cheap, and you just can meet so many cool people here! There is literally always something to do. what a pleasant surprise this trip was!

In the land of gyros

5/31
- arrived in GREECE!!
- thrown into the culture right away on bus ride from airport when driver goes ballistic in Greek bc car is blocking the street (video)
- find our apartment. Owner is extremely nice and Greek! Apartment is....uh...cheap?
- we throw our stuff down, change into warm weather clothes, and head out to find is some Greek food!
- happen upon an authentic looking (ie non touristy) restaurant and GRUB on gyros and fries! Yum!
- wander around this beautiful city along the beach (get a sponge), get our first taste of the touristy annoying people trying to get us to buy from them (Katie has not showered). Streets become pretty dead around midday but we continue to wander around.
- relax a little, change outfits, get more Greek food (a gyro plate this time, from the same restaurant), and finally BAKLAVA for Katie.

6/1
- rent bikes in the morning for the entire week (can't rent Vespa bc no international license, but bikes are sooo cheap!)
- got advice from bike lady and small bike stroll turns into a 10 km bike ride to Therma! (and "flat the whole way" turns into "riding up and down a mountain")
- the hot spring in the sea is amazing and very worth the ride! Only negative thing no one warned us about: silver turns purple and green in this water!! Surprise, surprise.
- after relaxing in the hot hot water we ride back (much easier this time) and are accompanied by many goats and other wildlife. And the views. Can't forget the amazingly blue water!!
- arrive back in Kos and eat of course! This time we trade our fries in for a Greek salad. The feta is so good!!
- feeling good after the bike ride, we treat ourselves the best, homemade ice cream on the island! (at least we think so). 2 scoops this time.
- this begins our nightly routine of eating ice cream on a bench beside the harbor enjoying life so much.
- return to apartment feelin exhausted and the wifi isn't working so next best thing= music video!

6/2
- after walking back and forth from ship to ship the night before (and getting ridiculously pestered by the boat salesmen all wanting you to take their cruise) we finally board the Santa Maria!
- we get our own tanning bed on the boat and set off for the first of 3 islands we will visit in one day, with Mario (think Greek Mario and luigi) as our captain.
- first stop: Plati. Here the boat anchors offshore in the clearest water we've ever seen and we have an hour to snorkel and jump off the ship into the really salty water! They BBQ for us and after eating the yummy Greek food and looking at the many fish below, we leave for our next stop.
Side note: still no sign of Kostos.
Next: Kalymos. Here we dock and have an hour to walk around this authentically Greek island! We see kittens, marvel over the many cute houses and Greek people, lots of sponges, and just get a great taste of the Greek culture here (wayyy less touristy than our island). We don't wanna leave!
- last stop: Pserimos. This tiny, tiny city on a new island has a beautiful cove with very clear and shallow water. It was a bit cold so instead of going in we explores the small town. It was very impoverished feeling and quite sad to see. We collected shells for a while and evidently lost track of time and were forced to run back to the ship (as Mario waved us on).
- headed back to Kos but not before Mario and co give the whole ship a Greek performance! Quite entertaining. "bomba"
- grab dinner and head home to sleep after a very sun-intensive day!

6/3:
- sleep in, try some new food, meet some new dogs, and ride our bikes to a new beach to tan for a bit.
- hope this isn't tmi but we cross something off our bucketlist as we join the fellow Europeans and tan topless (short lived)
- Surprise surprise: get more ice cream (kinder bueno for Katie a cookies for Michelle)
- as we are eating our lovely cones, 2 shy guys ask us out that night (on a Sunday). We say yes but then decide to never show up. We are just so hard to get! Ha.
- That night we attempt to go out (there's a very big bar scene here) but since it's Sunday only the workers of these places are out, and we instead sit in front of a church and talk for an hour. Such grandmas we are!

6/4:
- ride our bikes 10km away to Tigaki to see their beaches!
- ride through pretty rural parts of the island and happen upon a HUGE BLACK SNAKE slithering across the rode. Needless to say Michelle had snake nightmares that night.
- we ride all the way to Tigaki and instead of going to the beach, we hit the pool! It feels soooo good on this hot day.
- we have Greek salad and yogurt and honey for snacks and then very authentic gyro plates from our favorite restaurant of the trip a bit later.
- we step in the beach (it felt necessary) and ride back to Kos!
- lazily walk around the city as the sun sets and Michelle buys some Greek earrings (Katie bought a ring earlier with the same stone as well)
- we try to cook food this entire week but majorly fail and end up eating out instead! Common we are only in Greece for so little time!

6/5:
- take our time today, eventually hop on our bikes in search of a kayak, and end up finding a fun paddle boat instead!
- paddle around and jump into the clear Agean Sea for an hour, tan, swim, relax!
- both of us learn to ride our bikes with no hands! Woohoo!
- "fancy" dinner #1 with good pita
- watch sisterhood of the traveling pants 1 and 2 at some point.
- do laundry today (finally!!!) and then very sadly return our bikes.

6/6:
- Last day in Greece
- leisurely souvenir shop (feeling a bit beaten down from a week of so much sun)
- grab some last Greek gyros, ice cream, and baklava
- are lucky and get to skype with Victoria and Kelsey!! Love seeing their faces and hearing their voices!
- get ready and go out to a nice dinner (hint: just don't order milkshakes in Greece). Have a Greek plate with Tons of yummy and different Greek foods!
- return around midnight and pack up our clean clothes. Not looking forward to carrying around these backpacks again!
- ciao, adios relaxation. Time for more adventures!

San Sebastian e Italia

San Sebastian: 5/21
- Katie meets meg and shell in alcala at 4am! Take taxi to Madrid airport to catch plane to Bilbao
- bus to San Sebastian, pouring rain!, take taxi to city center
- tried to escape rain and kill time, ate our first pinxos!
- finally walked over to hostel in the cold windy rain (by the ocean) and met up with Jaime, the talkative and strange hostel owner
- Katie and shell siesta while meg hangs in Hotel Londres
- all meet up again at hotel, went to mall and had an American lunch (burgers), found Katie a cute bathing suit, and then went to the spa, La Perla!!
- spent 2 hours in the jets and waterbeds and steam rooms and underwater exercise pools and colorful walk through water spray things. Just lovely, and a tad salty!
- got some pinxos from place near hostel
- walked back to hostel with the stopped rain and SLEPT! (luckily we had the triple bunk bed room to ourselves)

5/22
- slept in a bit, went to McDonald's for wifi and yogurt, walked around San Sebastian a little (way less rain), meg was "bored" and over walking so she hung at hotel again while k and m hiked to the Jesus statue!
- at one point got expensive but very unique pinxos
- lots of tinto de verano!
- chinese food for dinner

5/23
- slept in again, meg leaves us and explores on her own for a little
- back go McDonald's for wifi, had to carry our backpacks all day
- go to Concha beach! Scammer bothers us, get soooooo burnt, drink tinto on the beach, and hang in the sun for a few hours. FINALLY SUN!
- catch bus back to Bilbao, back to Madrid, say bye to meg, chill in airport for 6 hours

5/24: Rome
- sleep in mcdonalds at airport and then catch early plane to Rome
- trapeze through Romes metro and train systems with our backpacks until we finally arrive at our campsite!!!
- so pleasantly surprised by the campsites amenities (pool, restaurants, market, cutest cabin, Internet, etc)
- hang at pool (water so cold and got reburnt) and just stay at campsite for the day, relaxing

5/25
- woke up early and caught shuttle to train and then into Rome
- first stop was Colosseum (breathtaking and huge and just wow. A little sunny and hot this day though)
- walked past roman forum and other ruins just hanging throughout the city
- got gelato and ate it on the steps of the Pantheon
- walked to Trevi then to Spanish steps (got another gelato, first one not as good)
- got groceries at some point
- after Spanish steps got the WORST dinner by trying to be cheap but spent 15 euro each on a worm salad and microwaved pasta
- caught metro back to campsite and hung out in the wifi area, watching the I love Rome people on the bull

5/26
- Vatican day!
- arrived to Vatican at around 11 and were very pleasantly surprised to see the Pope talking!! Sooo many people there
- stood in line to get into st peters basilica for more than 2 hours (people trying to cut, hot sun turning to rain, lots of waiting)
- finally get into basilica and are reprimanded for our dresses. Katie has to tie a sweater around her knees.
-"this isn't a disco ladies, it's the Vatican"
- go into extremely ornate church, so much gold!, feel stupid about Sistine chapel question, lots of pictures!
- send postcard from Vatican!
- book it over to Sistine chapel in the Vatican museum across the country, get handed 2 free tickets worth 15 euro each!, and hop on in.
- very, very, very huge with tons of people and cool ceilings and statues and way too much to see before actually getting to the Sistine chapel
-Sistine is magnificent, very strict about pictures
- starving and exhausted we eat at a little forno and get a great deal with a slice of pizza, a coke and an arancini for 5 euro
- go to really cheap grocery store, load up, and then are led to the best gelato nearby!
- get MASSIVE gelatos after waiting in a huge line for them. Scarf down with the nuns.
- slowly head back, souvenir shop, get caught in some rain, and eventually make it back by sundown!

5/27: Pompei
- wake up early, long train ride to Naples and then sketchy little train to Pompei
- check into or cute family owned B&B, ate an arancini and an entire yummy pizza each (stuffed) and then finally go into the ruins
- tour around the hot spots, are amazed, Katies favorite is the bathhouse, so nice to be there with so few people
- get back to our place and have the best, most authentic italian meal made for us by the B&B owners (wine, cheese and meat and bruschetta platter and then yummy pasta and berries for dessert)
- talk with our immature and annoying roommates for a while, Katie writes her essay while everyone sleeps (quite difficult on a phone/iPad)
- sidenote: we are kicking ourselves for not bringing our own iPad or laptop or other form of traveling entertainment!

5/28: travel day up north
- get paperwork scholarship stuff out of the way, nice hostel owners let us use their laptop!
- depart and get into Naples where we are seated across from mafia member for our 3 hour train to Rome.
-his code was M&M and he was so creepy and gross (always leaving to smoke illegally in the bathroom and talking on his phone suspiciously)
- train is super late so we have to SPRINT with our backpacks to our next train leaving in 5 mins (and buy tickets for it!)
-make it and we relax in our Harry potter cart, watch a movie, and look at the amazing view as we near La Spezia
- wait in la Spezia for an hour as our train is majorly delayed and then finally get to our campsite (they were so nice to pick us up way later than they were open)
- we got the CUTEST cabin ever with a fridge and sink and stove and everything! And comfy beds too. And lacy window curtains.
- then we sleep.

5/29: Cinque Terre
- a bit confused at first about how to do this hiking thing (awkwardly go into hotel and ask, decide to just train it all bc of our shoes too)
- major hunt for sunscreen, find it!
- first stop: riomaggiore. Sit on the rocks looking up at this amazing town, meg calls us, in awe of scenery, hike up the town to more amazing views and a cute elementary school, eventually get back to train station
- next stop: manarola. This was our favorite bc of the crystal clear water right off cliffs with easy swimming access. It was less touristy and more secluded than the others. We found a hidden spot and kicked ourselves again for not wearing our bathing suits! The water felt sooo nice. Spend a few hours here, eat another pizza to ourselves, and get brioche with gelato at the end.
-skipped 3rd city of corniglia bc of time
- next stop: vernazza. Still see damage from October flood, stores all revamping. Sit on cement harbor thing on the water and watch the little kids (moglie) trying to dish. The water is sooo clear!! Saw jellyfish too.
Last stop: monterosso. This one was really touristy with an actual "beach" that was very rocky. Very different from the others. We got drinks and snacks here and walked around the town for just a little. Caught train back to Deiva Marina
- had to borrow phone from bar sereno, luckily were able to be picked up, and were sad to realize all the grocery store options were already closed.
- ate our peanut butter and bread for dinner, got some wifi, saw a firefly!, and eventually slept

5/30
- cooked ourselves some actual breakfast, checked out of camping, and carried our backpacks to Monterosso in hopes of tanning on the beach
- the beach here was just too rocky and we couldn't kayak with our stuff so after about an hour we packed up and went to Manarola again
- in manarola we got pizza and gnocchi at a restaurant (so nice to sit down) and then went back to our hidden spot!
- the spot was perfect and we met such nice people and jumped into the wonderful wonderful Mediterranean! It was very salty but so clear and there were tons of fish around us. A nice lady even lent us her goggles! (and jellyfish, we had to be very careful about that)
- lots of nude people and sing songy hippies (and a kayaker who couldn't handle it)
- we sadly got our clothes and heavy backpacks back on, caught a train to la Spezia and then to Pisa, and spent the night at a really good hostel there. We made pasta in the microwave and talked to fellow travelers!

5/31: Greece
- currently on the plane to Kos, a small island in Greece!
- soooo excited for the food aka baklava kebabs fish hummus and pita and much much more.

The first 11 days!

Day 1(may 10, 2012) :
-Pisa flight late
-rush to see meg and she's not there
-meg sleeps through her layover
-finally reunite
-explorer/ meet robin at bday dinner
-eat TONS
-meet w Arielle and go to moya bar
-run into robin and go to red garter
-exhausted, secret bakery, hotel

Day 2:
-made bfast then bring stuff to Arielle's place
-saw David
-market and then yummy panini
-showed meg my turf/school/gelato
-back to Arielle, helped with HUGE luggage, so hot so we got drinks outside and relaxed in the shade
-dropped stuff at Emily's on way to Michelangelo hill with Arielle and roommates
-watched sunset, beautiful! Then got pizza at ovesuvius
-stopped at Emily's work (military guy) and then back to her place to sleep

Day 3:
-slept in, picnic turned into eating at ostreria Santo Spirito for a few hours after seeing a few sights on the way
-met up with Emily, chilled in the shade of her room for a bit
-met up with robin on rooftop in piazza della republica, no real food there, snuck pics, then left to kitch apperativo in new part of town for me
-all ate lots of yummy food, dropped Emily off, went with robin to duomo and hung on steps
-Italian guys from kosova came and talked to us, eventually we went to ebbys together and took nutella/ banana shots
- all went to moya, had more drinks (Luca met robin there)
- lots of speaking Italian!! All had fun :)
- ended the night walking around with the boys and going to sleep at 5:30am

Day 4:
- got up at 8am, caught fast train to Verona, taxi to hotel (raining here!)
- rested for Un attimo and then trekked over to city center (so cold)
- got into Verona and it was sooooo cute. All the buildings and the castle-like walls and cute alleyways and the roman theater and the big piazzas and the river in a heart shape and the views from a high up castle and lots of love
- ate lunch in prime people watching spot in piazza near Juliette's house.
- visited Juliette's house, went inside on balcony, wrote a letter, touched the statues boobs ha ha
- got gelato at a place with a line and made the beautiful walk to the castle, across the river.
- lots of amazing views and pictures, decided to make way back to hotel (stores all closing but I did get an adorable bathing suit)
- happen to walk by the famous arena and find out Tiziano Ferro is having a concert in 20 mins and there's still tickets! Meg INSISTS on going so we get the tickets and enter the arena having only a faint idea of who this guy is
- there are ALL Italians here!! We try our hardest to blend in and sing a long to the songs (there were definitely some obsessed fans around us!), have popcorn for dinner, and absolutely love life! (going off of like 3 hours of sleep now)
- concert ends at 10:30, we grab a cab not so easily, and are finally home to SLEEP and call our moms for mothers day

Day 5:
-wake up early yet again, see hostel owner in underwear and feel bad not having bfast but have to rush to train station by cab
- all is good and eventually we are seeing lake como from our train window!!!
- I was so excited and the second I saw the water I was glued to the window snapping away. Every glimpse I got was more incredible than the previous!!
- we were to arrive in the little town of varenna and before doing so met our Rick Steves friends while waiting for the train to stop. What funny ladies and they loved to hear our travel plans.
- now in Varenna!!!!! It's absolutely positively amazingly gorgeous and it really felt as if I was either dreaming or standing in front of a fake backdrop. Meg and I were in the best of moods even as we had to trug with our backpacks and Meg's suitcase up the mountain and through the cobbley streets to our wonderful hotel.
- the hike up to the hotel was again breathtaking and left me so beyond speechless. How am I so lucky????
- we checked in and were led up 2 vernaculars and an elevator to our room. Ah-ma-zing!!! The view from our room high above the lake was just,wow, once in a lifetime.
- meg and I soaked it all in and quickly threw on our suits underneath our summery clothes and were off to explore this amazing place we called ours for a few days.
- first we got lunch at the creepy waiter place even though beautiful water front restaurants were just around the corner. Oh well.
- we walked around, took lots of pictures, yummy gelato and then happened to find a secret place on the water to tan! We were a little self conscious of the people above who could maybe see us but we soon did not care and got ourselves a good tan!
- after we got our fill of tanning we decided to walk around to the next town over and discovered Italy's smallest river along with more cute streets, some locals, and yummy conolietti
- we made our way back to the city center of Varenna and had such a relaxing meal complete with Italy's favorite cocktail, spritz aperol, right on the side of the lake. We took it slow and just simply enjoyed everything. And trust me, there was so much to enjoy in that moment.
- then back to the really comfy beds for real SLEEP

Day 6:
- we both slept in a tad, donned our summer getups again, had a plan of kayaking that was canceled bc it wasn't season, ate a yummy free breakfast and then hopped on a ferry for the nearby city if Bellagio!!
- the ferry was just Un po' Freddo with the wind but being out in the middle of the lake offered even more wonderful sights.
- we arrived to this GORGEOUS town (a bit bigger and more touristy but still beyond beautiful) and proceeded to walk up and down every cute side street. We happened upon this one path that led us to the other side of the lake and this was my favorite bc the tourists were gone, Italy was in full bloom and it was all just so authentic.
- we finally found our way back to the popular side, ate a cute lunch and then kept walking along the lake. We made it to a villa, didn't want to pay, passed a yacht club which meg went in to and ended up grabbing drinks here!
- drinks turned into more drinks which turned into us jumping into the lake with an Italian crowd watching us thinking we were out of our minds and then staying for happy hour and eating delicious food. We were there for 4 hours. And it was some of the best most relaxing and beautiful 4 hours of my life.
- eventually we sadly left (not mentioning that bill), grabbed a ferry back to our ghost town (like everything was closed before 9pm!), and freshened up.
- there was a bit of drama bc I had to sign up for classes and the wifi at the hotel decided to stop working that night, but all worked out just fine!

Day 7:
- today meg and I woke early, grabbed breakfast, hiked to a castle and broke in, packed up, had a mini photoshoot, had lunch at our hotel and shared a bottle of wine in the sun for a few hours and just stared at the lake.
- now we are on a train to pisa and are currently riding along the ocean as the sun is setting. Can life get any better?????
- Ciao ciao for now! Spain next with meg as my tour guide!
- spent night in sketchy airport hostel

Day 8:
- woke up for early flight to Spain, all went smoothly except meg had to check a bag in and it cost like 60 euro!!
- got to Spain and saw Lola finally!! She picked us up and drove us first to the grocery store where meg already knew someone and then to pick Candela up from school!
- Lola was sooooo nice but my Spanish was so rusty the whole time! I understood her pretty well but speaking was a different story.
- we picked up Candela and she was SO excited to see meg! At first a little shy with me but she warmed up very fast. We walked home and Lola made us an amazing lunch!
- after lunch meg showed me around Alcala a little but and all the plazas were sooooo adorable!! Lola's current student Kayla also joined us and I had fun times getting closer to little Candela
- we then joined Lola and watched her play paddle (sort of like tennis) with her friends at this country club type place. Meg and I had a ton of fun being kids with Candela and she had fun bossing us around
- we got back pretty late and soon meg and I were off to my first tapa!! We went with Kayla and got to meet her friends as well. I tried lots of typical Spanish foods (tortilla is still my favorite) and had my favorite drink called tinto verano!
- meg and I were exhausted as we fell asleep in Candelas room shed given up for us

Day 9:
- I woke up a bit late, Meg had seen Candela off to school in the cutest little outfit for some Spanish holiday, but quickly got ready for a day of exploring Alcala some more!
- we met up with a Spanish friend o Meg's and Kayla joined us as well as we walked all around and saw the cute plazas, got some famous almonds from this cloistered nun place, and saw Meg's school as well, and lots of storks!
- we came back for another YUMMY lunch made by Lola!
- siesta time was in full swing after this huge lunch and we relaxed until it was time to go out for tapas again (this was or dinner)
- we went to a new tapa place, soooo good, and waited for Megs Spanish friends to be ready. We didn't meet up with them until 1am!! These darn Spaniards!
- I was so exhausted but once we were with the Spanish I was revived! I communicated with my mangled Spanish Italian and had a good night! We went to a new bar place and it was just really fun being surrounds by all Spaniards!

Day 10:
- today was a holiday in Spain and it was exactly like fiesta in SB!! I couldn't believe it! It did make me miss home a bit, though.
- we walked around with Lola and Candela and even watched a bit of a an outside mass going on. Everyone was wearing fiesta dresses!
- Lola took us to this nice hotel to look at their rooftop garden (Justin bieber once stayed there!)
- we has yet another amazing lunch followed by an even yummiest banana and chocolate cake Lola had made! Soooooo good!!
- after resting a bit we went with Lola to watch her play paddle again. Another fun time, but the game lasted hours! I got to meet megs other sister Manuela though and I was so glad for that!
- we got back at 9pm (it was still light out!) and meg and I bolted off to get our nightly tapa fix :)
- another great round of tapas!! We got back and slept like babies.

Day 11:
- meg and I went into Madrid this day! It was great to see this city again without the horrible rain like last time!
- we had yummy cookies, meg got her picture taken for wearing sandals (ha!), we went into the insanely crowded Sunday market (il rastro), got into the Reina Sofia for free, got lost, saw an INCREDIBLE flamenco show as we ate an INCREDIBLE Spanish lunch with sangria, of course, and finished the day rowing cute boats in Parque de Buen Retiro. So fun!
- got home, printed tickets, did lots of research, talked to Katie, and then slept for a couple hours!

The Calm Before the Storm

It's officially been 10 days since my studying abroad program in Florence has ended. Say what?? I don't think I'll be able to properly admit this to myself for another, maybe, five years. I honestly just blinked and the experience came and went. Will I ever get used to how strange time is? I think not. 

I packed up my bags, sadly said goodbye to all of my roommates, took one last tour around my amazing apartment, and walked the all too familiar path to the train station in Florence. There were a few moments throughout this journey to Holland where I honestly thought my luggage was going to just tear open, spilling all of it's contents across the cobbley streets of Florence. I thank my lucky stars that that never happened and I did in fact arrive safely to my grandma's house, bags in tact, around 5 hours later. Besides having to throw out some last minute items in my suitcase (including some really nice wine I was going to bring home) everything went more smoothly than usual. I traveled with my friend Cristina and we just happened to arrive on one of the biggest holiday's in Holland called Queen's Day! We were met by a sea of orange as kids to teenagers to adults roamed the streets celebrating the day away. Long story short, I made it to my grandma's house safely and the comfort of familiarity was much needed at that point. 

Over the course of the next few days I relaxed, unpacked, read The Davinci Code, and just thought of nothing else. I caught up with my grandma and Stan a lot, something I have never had the chance to do on my own without tons of family also around, and enjoyed hearing many family stories and looking through great family photos. After resting a day or two, Stan and I biked over to some beautiful and vibrant tulip fields! I wanted to see these so bad and I was not disappointed in the least. I had no idea flowers could produce such colors! The 10 mile bike ride in the crisp air was wonderful and Stan even treated me to some apple pie towards the end of our journey. The next day Granma took me shopping in a nearby town called Alkmaar, where we had an enjoyable lunch and I came out with a new pair of sandals to trek around in this summer! Somewhere in there we also bused it over to a nearby town to watch The Hunger Games. I had been waiting MONTHS for this and I was very happy with the way it turned out. Side note about movie theaters here: it's like going to a show! There is a 15 minute intermission during every movie, you're not allowed to eat in the theatre, you have to reserve actual seats ahead of time and the theatre itself is very nice with the option of buying drinks if you wish. 

After those days of relaxing and regrouping, my friend Anna from the program met up with me and stayed at Granma's for 2 days. I took her on a bike ride to the tulips as well and was surprised to see that about half of the same tulips from 3 days before were already cut down! Nevertheless, those that remained were still breathtaking and the bike ride itself was quite entertaining (picture me riding Stan's bike, Stan is more than 6 feet tall, with a seat that won't go down enough for me, so basically I am standing up the entire 10 mile bike ride). We then visited Amsterdam the next day and I was not surprised to realize that I remembered nothing! I really need to learn some memorizing techniques or something. Anyways, Amsterdam was beautiful and we stopped by Anne Frank's house, the flower market, accidently ended up in the red light district, and got some yummy food. What a unique and cultural place!! I really did enjoy the diversity because in Italy you get pretty much just Italian. The last planned trip I took was with my friend Cristina to a town called Voorschoten where here dad had grown up. We knocked on his old neighbors door and had the most unexpectedly wonderful next few hours with this older couple. They sat us down, talked and talked, amazed us with their cuteness and their relationship, and even had us hop in their car to give us a proper tour of their city! It will be something I never forget. Cristina and I then stopped in another town named Leiden where we did some good shopping and ate way too much food. Sempre. 

Since Anna's departure, the stress has started to hit. I realized I only had a few days before I would be without a laptop and I immediately started wrapping up all of our summer plans, making sure we had lodging and transportation everywhere. There are still things to be done but the stress was becoming too great so we are just going to have to wing some things here and there! What used to be fun planning became tedious and time consuming. I feel as if I have spent DAYS worth of time planning for the months to come. In the end, I have to keep reminding myself, it will all be worth it and we really have saved loads of money by planning so far in advance. The next time I come to Europe, I will not have an agenda and I'll let the wind guide me. The other source of stress has been CLASSES! Gah, reality sure does come back fast! I have to sign up for classes, an event that is always, always, always full of stress, while I am enjoying time at Lake Como. Who wants to mix fun and stress?? Not I! Let's just cross our fingers that everything works out nicely (I am a senior after all, if the world was a perfect place it would) and my life can sort itself out. More on career stress later (I've decided to be an occupational therapist and classes wise it's more difficult than I thought. I'll most likely have to take a year off before Grad school which will be a good thing in the long run I believe). 

Back to fun things! The days in Holland have been very relaxing otherwise and I will be genuinely sad to leave my Granma, Stan, Katja the cat, my nice little space in Gryffindor Tower, and home cooked food especially! I will be back in 47 days, though, with Katie and Meaghan in tow! 

I have to say now that it might be quite difficult to update my blog or post many pictures because I will only have my cell phone. I'll try to keep it up as much as possible and if anything I'll at least write down small notes for each week so that I don't forget. 

Here's to some crazy backpacking around Europe!!! 

A presto! 

Bells

I thought it would be appropriate to write a little quick entry while sitting in the kitchen of my Italian apartment on my last night in Italy (as a student as part of a program, at least).

The bells are sounding through the open window currently (it's 6:30pm) and the washing machine is trugging away (it sounds like an alien invasion). We left almost every window in the apartment open today because the weather was just perfect! I think it was around the 70's with a light breeze and a bit of cloud cover. Compared to yesterday's weather which had me dreaming of swimming pools and air conditioning, today was just what this time of year calls for.

Oh how I already miss Italy.

These past couple of weeks have been spent solely in Florence (which I am so thankful for) but it made me grow even further attached to this wonderful city. Although it rained for much of it, I was still able to enjoy lounging in this AMAZING apartment I still can't believe I have the pleasure of "renting" for even this short period of time. Never in my life will I be in this situation again. That is just so beyond weird to think about. I feel as if just last week, literally, I was hopping off the plane and seeing the Duomo for the first time (and feeling kind of stupid because I knew nothing about it). Now, I can tour anyone around and point out churches, secret passageways, the best pizza place in town, the best gelato place in town, the best pub in town, the best place to get a panini, the best restaurant to get gnocchi that literally melts in your melt, and lead you to the most amazing views this city has to offer! If that doesn't make you want to hop and a plane and come visit, I don't know what will!

I have had to say a lot of goodbye's so far and it feels so strange because it's really not hitting me!! I think it's because I still have 3 more months in Europe and I am extremely excited for it. While others are crying with sadness, I am buzzing with excitement of what's to come. Honestly, the hardest thing to leave right now is this apartment. I can come back to Florence anytime, I plan on visiting all the people I have grown close to, but I will probably never call this apartment mine ever again in my life! Oh, how sentimental I am sometimes. The window in my room (the room in which I pretty much stole when our other roommate left) brings me such peace and as I hang out of it looking out at the tiled roofs below and the rolling hills ahead and hear the birds chirping and the crazy Italians talking and yelling, I can't help but forget all my problems and just smile and be so content with where I am in life.

This past Friday we had a program dinner at this wonderfully beautiful villa on the outskirts of Florence, overlooking the city below. I will have my wedding here. End of story. Anyways, the dinner was perhaps one of my favorite memories of the entire program. It was lovely to see everyone I normally just go to class with all dressed up and smiley and in just such great spirits. The weather was beyond perfect and after a short bus ride and another much-too-long-in-heels hike up to the villa, we had arrived! While everyone wiped sweat off their perfectly made up faces, we were led into the mansion and I was in complete awe. When we reached the backyard, the view was breathtaking and everyone, como sempre, whipped out their cameras and started snapping away! I felt so elegant the entire night and picture after picture, appetizer after appetizer, green juice after green juice (we aren't allowed alcohol...so lame), pasta after potatoes after weird stuffed meat thing after delicious strawberry dessert thing, conversation after great conversation, I grew happier and happier. Towards the end of the night, each class showed either a slideshow or a video representing themselves. We chose to show a slideshow of the favorite places we visited, which was very cute, and afterward the teachers had an announcement. They had each selected one or two students to win an "award" of being the official ambassador of the program at our UC and, I was selected!! I had luckily just put my heels back on underneath the table and it was a great surprise.

I got a few pictures with my Italian professor as well and I am going to miss her SO much!! Francesca is one of the best teacher's I have ever had and I was sooooo sad to say goodbye to her. She wants to get coffee when I come back to Florence, though, so I can't be TOO sad.

Okay back to my time in Italy. My housemates. I have grown especially close to the three of them within these last few weeks and that makes everything all the more harder. They are such great girls, all unique in such different ways, and they have taught me SO much. My mind has been greatly opened because of them and I will always hold a special place in my heart for them. I feel like they really got to know me, as I got to know them, and I am so thankful for that. We have an insane amount of ridiculous memories that will never be forgotten!

I will write a separate blog entry once I am in Holland (I start traveling at 6am tomorrow morning and get to my Grandma's house around 2 or 3pm I am hoping) and have 10 days of relaxing time! I am looking forward to relaxing before starting off on this insane travel-around-Europe shin dig.

Just to have it in writing, the plan so far is:
1. Gma's for 10 days
2. Italy for 7 days with Meaghan
3. Spain for 7 days with Meaghan and then Katie
4. Italy for 7 days with Katie
5. Greece for 7 days with Katie
6. Budapest for 4 days with Katie
7. 9 days for both Paris and Belgium (Meg re-joins)
8. A day for Justine in Germany, a day at Sam's, and then 4 days in Berlin with Sam/Meg/Katie
9. A few days in Holland with Meg and Katie, then Meg leaves for home
10. Katie and I off to Ireland to WOOF for 1 week (work on an organic farm for free housing/food, ask me about that one later ha)
11. UK for a week-ish
12. Back to Holland for a week (maybe a little more travel in there)
13. HOME JULY 26!!! (out of Amsterdam and into LAX)

Wow. Now do you see why I am so excited??

A presto! Baccio!