Me gusta Barcelona!!

Hola!
Today is sadly our last day in wonderful Barcelona! It definitely was too short of a visit and Sam and i both agree we want to come back soon! We have actually spent most of our short time here on the beach which is a short metro ride and 15 minute walk from our hostel. The sun has been hot and sticky but it's so beautiful and worth it! We've walked around La Rambla, the main commercial area, eaten many interesting and many tapas deliciosas! We also walked by many of the amazing Gaudi buildings, including the Sagrada Familia, which is so amazing and strange it's hard to imagine it was real. Almost like a set from a movie or a ride at disneyland. Of course being able to decently communicate has also been nice, although most people speak Catalan here, they of course also speak Spanish. Our hostel has been fine..we shared a double bed in a single room, so that was nice but of course our one little window does not provide much air..although last night you could easily hear the thunder and lightning storm outside! Tomorrow we leave for Madrid where we'll stay at my cousin's for two nights and then in a hotel the last two! (We had last minute plans to stay 2 extra nights in madrid and leave for Toulouse straight from there, and a woman Sam babysits for had offered a while ago to pay for 2 nights in a hotel for us anywhere..as her graduation present to Sam...so that means we'll be staying at the Westin Palace in Madrid for 2 nights...not too shabby! We're very lucky and very appreciative!)
Adios!

Relaxing Cinque Terre

Bonjourno!
Our stay in the Cinque Terre was so great and i would love to go back again! Cinque Terre means five lands or towns in this case..which are situated on the northern coast of the italian riviera. We stayed in the second town called, Manarola. It was definitely less touristy than most of the others but it still had all the amenities we needed. Our hostel was located at the very top of the town behind the 700 year old church. After a long hot day of traveling to get to manarola, we then discovered that we had to walk the very steep and windy hill up to the hostel..wonderful! Our hostel was great though and the guys who ran it were very kind and helpful. The rooms were clean and airy and at night it cooled down so much so you could actually sleep! The only problem with that happened to be the church bells that rang for a good 5 minutes over and over at 7 am EVERY morning..ya... anyway....
The houses and buildings are all painted different colors and are built right into the terraced cliffs that run down to the sea.
Manarola didnt have a beach, so the first day we sunbathed on the volcanic black rocks and swam off of them into the bright blue water. We decided the next day to take the 20 minute train ride to the last town, Monterrosso (the one with the beach). That day we splurged and rented chairs and an umbrella because it was so hot and the beach was all pebbles and not much sand...but it was still beautiful and the water felt so good to jump into!
We ate breakfast and dinner at the hostel because they offered cheap and really good menu choices that we wouldnt have found in any of the towns..apparently pesto originated around there so i had it in some form almost everyday! The whole time we were there it was so relaxing and nice to not be sightseeing every day or rushing to get somewhere. The weather was perfect too..very hot during the day, but then cool and breezy at night!
After checking out the beautiful towns we left today for our long trek to Spain. we are staying the night in Marseille again at Marianne's house and then taking the train tomorrow morning for Barecelona!

When in Roma!

So we just left Rome...it was a whirlwind 2 days..but we had a lot of fun! I think it may have been close to 100 degrees and very dry heat..not fun walking around the city..but it was still worth it to be there! The first day we went to the Roman Forum and the colliseum, which were both amazing..but again it was dusty and soo hot! After that we met some people from our hostel and went on a pub crawl..thats where you go with a group to several different bars for a set price..it was a lot of fun! The next day Sam and I and one of the guys from our hostel went to the Vatican. That was pretty impressive and the sistine chapel is beautiful....after that we wandered around to the Pantheon and the trevi fountain..and got gelato of course! After dinner at the hostel we decided to go out again to a few bars, but it proved not as fun as the first night..outr hostel was just ok...our room was so hot like a sauna and i could barely sleep...HORRIBLE!
Anyway we took the train north and have just arrive in Manarola, Cinque Terre..and while hiking up the side of a mountain with my pack on in hot weather was not fun..it sure is beautiful here...unreal. I'll write more when i have the time..but i'm ghlad we're going to have a relaxing few days before Spain!
Ciao!

Uffizi,Academie, Ponte Vecchio OH MY

Bonjourno!
Yesterday we decided to walk to the Ponte Vecchio...a bridge over the river with many shops built on top of it. Apparently they used to be all butcher shops and now they are ALL jewerlry stores..nice jewelry though! After taking our required tourist pictures from the bridge, we walked across to the other side and had our first gelato of the day. Unfortunately its hard to have gelato only once a day...
After that we walked to the Uffizi where we waited in line for about 20 minutes before realizing you could go to a different line to reserve tickets at a later time. Good idea...we returned three hours later with no line and learned the people near us before had waited for over 2 hours! The Uffizi was very interesting and i enjoyed the Birth of Venus as well as many of the other famous pieces. Afterward we had lunch and walked around through the markets.
Today we got up and went to the train station to buy our ticket we still needed from Rome to Cinque Terre..after that we went to the Academie gallery to see the statue of David, as well as many other interesting pieces. The David is HUGE and amazing really.
We then spent several hours wandering around town, looking for leather bags. Sam found hers...i still have to find mine :(
We had a nice dinner at a cafe down the street and then took some much needed showers.
We have one full day left in Firenze and then its off to Roma!!
Ciao!

Firenze!

We arrived in Florence yesterday evening and our hostel is right near the train station so it was easy to find! The OstelloArchi Rossi has murals and italian paintings all over the walls...our room has 3 bunk beds and a bathroom down the hall. They serve us free breakfast and except for the weekends,they have free pasta and pizza at dinner...nice for the budget. Yesterday Sam and i checked in and then walked to the nearby outdoor market...leather bags,gloves, wallets, scarves..everything and so beautiful...my wallet might hurt by the end of this stay :) We got back in time for the free dinner and i ran intoa friend of mine from Semester at sea(who also went to oregon) what a small world! We're going to leisurely explore today although it's VERY HOT so i'm not sure how long we'll last in the heat!

Bon appetit!

So we are about to catch a train for Firenze (Florence) but we've had a great time in Venezia and i would love to come back some day! Yesterday we got up early and walked to the beach only 10 minutes away..it was beautiful and very hot..Afterward we had lunch at a pizzeria which was amazing! Then we took a vaporetto into San Marco and walked around the square and church and explored the many narrow streets and beautiful shops. We both had to restrain ourselves from buying the beautiful leather bags everywhere..that will have to wait til florence! The canals and gondolas were exactly as you see in pictures and i took way too many on my camera. Of course we indulged in several gelati trips and then took a break and sat on the edge of one of the canals to dip our feet. It does not smell like many people say in the hot weather..but it was HOT! We decided to have a nice meal so we sat down at a restaurant right across from the water. We both ordered gnocci with salmon in some sort of orange cream sauce with greens..it was the best gnocci i've ever had! We loved Venice and both want to return..anyway we're going to catch a train to Firenze and we'll be there for about 4 days which will be nice to take our time. Ciao!

Venezia!

We arrived yesterday evening in Venice and it is more amazing than i expected! The train station literally stops on the water and once we were on our vaporetto (water taxi) we went down the main canal. It is so beautiful and all of the houses and other buildings are painted bright colors. The island we are staying on is called Lido and our hotel is the Hotel Riviera. It's a beautiful hotel right on the water and we have our own room with 2 twin beds and our own private bath....much different that our auberge in Paris. Sam and i just finished up the wonderful and free! breakfast in the hotel and now we're going to explore the city. Last night night we went out to a nearby restaurant and had our first authentic italian pizza! Sooo good! Then we decided we'd have to have gelato..i got melon and Sam got chocolate! So far the italian people are very kind and very accomodating; we'll see how the rest goes!

Paris whirlwind

I finally figured out how to post a new blog on a french computer...much more difficult than you might think. Anyway i have to make this brief...but currently we are staying at my aunt Elyses friends house in Marseille. Its a long story that ill post later but we are making a round about way to Venice.
Paris was wonderful and i wish we could have stayed longer. Having my aunt there was a huge help and i really dont know how else we would have managed...we had very eventful days but i will post more later bc i have to get to bed to catch a 630 am train
Hope everyone is the states is well!
Au revoir

Paris: The first day

After a very frustrating and hectic flight and then 2 hours trying to find Sam in the giant airport...we made it into Paris! Our hostel is fine, very sparse, but it works...and we have our own room which is nice. After showering and walking around a bit yesterday evening, we went to bed early around 7 pm here.... we were exhausted!!!! Today after many hours of sleep we woke early, grabbed some breakfast and hopped the train to Versailles. It was beautiful, amazing and of course a little overwhelming! we went inside the main palace of Louis XIV and then explored the royal gardens and walked down towards manucured grounds and Marie Antoinettes estate...the architecture was beautiful and we sat on the lawn for a while to take it all in. After several hours we decided it was time to leave and grab some lunch. We ate at a small cafe in the town outside the palace and then headed back on our train. Tonight were going to meet up with my aunt Elyse (who lives in toulouse) and have dinner with her. Tomorrow she will be our guide at the Louvre and hopefully the rest of Paris.
The weather is unexpectedly hot and muggy and no AC in our room makes sleeping not too fun! Anyway Sam and i are well and i hope you all are too!
Au revoir!