The Almalfi Coast is beautiful. The roads are quite twisty and narrow. We came back by boat which was nice. Pompei itself is very small. The hostel is probably the cheapest one on the trip and everything is very close together.
Leave for Prague around 6 am tomorrow. Thats all the time I have now.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
21 May- Last Day in Rome
You have to reserve seats on a surprising number of trains with Eurail. Its a shame and is costing us. Night trains are infact about 20 euro extra. You normally reserve the day of it seems. Some stations don't have people who speak english which is a pain for us.
I have seen all of the normal stuff again in Rome: Trevi Fountian, Spanish Steps, Pantheon (I love the pantheon)... but I have been to more random squares then before and spent several hours in teh Borghese park in the northern part of the city today. When revisting a place its amazing how much of it still looks the same in my memory as it does in real life. I still kn0w in what direction some things are, where to find a certain restruant in a square... its pretty neat.
Pizza and pasta here have been good. I bought some fruit at a market today. That will be breakfast or food on the train to Naples tomorrow. I like Rome and the Italians, everything is slower paced here. The weather is warm (finally, i was tired of being cold!). And I have clean laundry now, which is also nice.
We don't know when we are leaving yet, but a train leaves about every hour as it is only an hour and a half or two hour train ride. People say there isn't much to do in Naples, but Pompeii will be neat. We will go for a hike. At Almalfi we will go for a swim.
hmm, May 19 was spent in Nice, France. I really liked it for its beach town feel. We shopped some, walked around some, spent a few hours on the beach, ate chinese food... the beach had large 2 or 3- inch in diameter pebbles, not sand. They really hurt to walk on.
Lots to see on this trip!
I have seen all of the normal stuff again in Rome: Trevi Fountian, Spanish Steps, Pantheon (I love the pantheon)... but I have been to more random squares then before and spent several hours in teh Borghese park in the northern part of the city today. When revisting a place its amazing how much of it still looks the same in my memory as it does in real life. I still kn0w in what direction some things are, where to find a certain restruant in a square... its pretty neat.
Pizza and pasta here have been good. I bought some fruit at a market today. That will be breakfast or food on the train to Naples tomorrow. I like Rome and the Italians, everything is slower paced here. The weather is warm (finally, i was tired of being cold!). And I have clean laundry now, which is also nice.
We don't know when we are leaving yet, but a train leaves about every hour as it is only an hour and a half or two hour train ride. People say there isn't much to do in Naples, but Pompeii will be neat. We will go for a hike. At Almalfi we will go for a swim.
hmm, May 19 was spent in Nice, France. I really liked it for its beach town feel. We shopped some, walked around some, spent a few hours on the beach, ate chinese food... the beach had large 2 or 3- inch in diameter pebbles, not sand. They really hurt to walk on.
Lots to see on this trip!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
17 May last day in Barcelona
I am going to keep this short.
Ate, checked out of hostel, left our bags there, went to the train station to reserve trains to Nice, split up for 30 minutes before our planned lunch wiht Jae and Alicia at 1, ate what was basically a three course meal for 15 € in a place in the same plaza as our hostel, said goodbye, changed hostels, went to Picasso Musuem, took a boat ride out on the harbor, split up again, and went to the Magic Fountain area.
One of the hardest parts of traveling is never being alone. So, today I went on my own. I knew the city and know enough of the language to ask questions, get help, read... Oh its not normal spanish here it is Catalan which seems like French and Spanish mixed. They are very proud of their language.
Lunch was the best meal in this city: a green salad, really soft pork chops, and a traditional catalyan desert of ice cream, chocolate, and custard. And a litre of the house red wine for 4.2 €. We were all very full.
Tomorrow is a full ooooh 15 hours of trains and a layover. I traded my book ¨The Life of Pi¨ that i brought with me and already finished on travel days with a guy in the last hostel. my new book is about a virginian family owning slaves apparently. its a pulitzer prize winner and i can not remember the title.
Ate, checked out of hostel, left our bags there, went to the train station to reserve trains to Nice, split up for 30 minutes before our planned lunch wiht Jae and Alicia at 1, ate what was basically a three course meal for 15 € in a place in the same plaza as our hostel, said goodbye, changed hostels, went to Picasso Musuem, took a boat ride out on the harbor, split up again, and went to the Magic Fountain area.
One of the hardest parts of traveling is never being alone. So, today I went on my own. I knew the city and know enough of the language to ask questions, get help, read... Oh its not normal spanish here it is Catalan which seems like French and Spanish mixed. They are very proud of their language.
Lunch was the best meal in this city: a green salad, really soft pork chops, and a traditional catalyan desert of ice cream, chocolate, and custard. And a litre of the house red wine for 4.2 €. We were all very full.
Tomorrow is a full ooooh 15 hours of trains and a layover. I traded my book ¨The Life of Pi¨ that i brought with me and already finished on travel days with a guy in the last hostel. my new book is about a virginian family owning slaves apparently. its a pulitzer prize winner and i can not remember the title.
16 May Barcelona and Gaudi designs
Lets start this entry by saying that we ate complimentary dinner in teh hostel (pasta in olive oil witih applies in it). We ate with our new Barcelona friends Jae and Alicia. I met Jae because he was wearing a GT basketball shirt earlier in the night (a GT grad!!). He and Alicia were traveling alone and met that day. They toured the old city (basically the same thing we did). At 9.30pm all of us left for a pub crawl. Ethan and I went back to the hostel (a good walk away) after 4 bars. It would have been nice to have stayed out later, but I didn´t quite know where I was on the harbor, and it was the time of the night when people start to hookup, so the group dynamics were changing. It was a fun evening of course and I had wanted to go out in Barcelona. They were good people to go out with too.
Then the next morning I ran into Jae at breakfast. Then Jae, Alicia, Vlad (from the bars the night before), Ethan and I went an a whole day of Gaudi. We started at the unfinished Sangrata Familia which was strange looking for a church, but would be amazing if it were finished. I don´t think it ever will be. Then we went to la Casa Mila which was also designed by Gaudi. It was an inner city apartment complex that took 40 years to build. The geometry was amazing! We saw that other Gaudi house from the outside but didn´t go in since it was 13 € and would probably be similar to the other. By this point we were starving, after walking through an expensive area for a while we got on the Metro to go eat in Parc Guell (also a Gaudi design). We went in a supermarket and bought sandwich stuff, took it up to the top (400 m up mostly be escalator) and ate. The picnic was very nice, filling, and very needed by that point!
We went to the beach for a few hours. Ate dinner at a small bar like place just for the paella they advertised. It was not good. It came out of a freezer in the main room (it was hidden under the ice cream!). Most other paella places in the city must serve the same frozen food since they all have the same pictures on display.
We traveled everywhere either on Metro or on foot. Its safe to say that we walked four miles that day.
Random thoughts:
-rick steves was in Barcelona the day before this. at dinner the night before a girl had a picture of him here and the whole excited to see him filming story
-cars in barcelona are larger than london and paris. more sedans and 4 door cars. i have even seen 2 minivans. many more audi´s, bmws´s, and mercedes too (and not just the small hatchbacks that were so common before).
-the spanish people are the plumpest yet but still not fat
-the city is much calmer feeling than london or paris, slower paced is nice
-a liter of wine can cost about 3 € and is cheap per glass in a restaurant
-i am really glad to have traveled with other people for a few days in barcelona. it was more like my previous trip abroad
-metro is much cleaner than paris´
-there were naked men on the beach and one walking down the street, but he looked like he had drawn in a speedo on his behind. it was very strange.
-weather has been beautiful here. i would say in the 70s. they use celcius
-we hung out in the lounge of the hostel last night. our feet were tired, and it was quite a busy place. there was a huge soccer game for spain on too, so that added extra commotion.
Then the next morning I ran into Jae at breakfast. Then Jae, Alicia, Vlad (from the bars the night before), Ethan and I went an a whole day of Gaudi. We started at the unfinished Sangrata Familia which was strange looking for a church, but would be amazing if it were finished. I don´t think it ever will be. Then we went to la Casa Mila which was also designed by Gaudi. It was an inner city apartment complex that took 40 years to build. The geometry was amazing! We saw that other Gaudi house from the outside but didn´t go in since it was 13 € and would probably be similar to the other. By this point we were starving, after walking through an expensive area for a while we got on the Metro to go eat in Parc Guell (also a Gaudi design). We went in a supermarket and bought sandwich stuff, took it up to the top (400 m up mostly be escalator) and ate. The picnic was very nice, filling, and very needed by that point!
We went to the beach for a few hours. Ate dinner at a small bar like place just for the paella they advertised. It was not good. It came out of a freezer in the main room (it was hidden under the ice cream!). Most other paella places in the city must serve the same frozen food since they all have the same pictures on display.
We traveled everywhere either on Metro or on foot. Its safe to say that we walked four miles that day.
Random thoughts:
-rick steves was in Barcelona the day before this. at dinner the night before a girl had a picture of him here and the whole excited to see him filming story
-cars in barcelona are larger than london and paris. more sedans and 4 door cars. i have even seen 2 minivans. many more audi´s, bmws´s, and mercedes too (and not just the small hatchbacks that were so common before).
-the spanish people are the plumpest yet but still not fat
-the city is much calmer feeling than london or paris, slower paced is nice
-a liter of wine can cost about 3 € and is cheap per glass in a restaurant
-i am really glad to have traveled with other people for a few days in barcelona. it was more like my previous trip abroad
-metro is much cleaner than paris´
-there were naked men on the beach and one walking down the street, but he looked like he had drawn in a speedo on his behind. it was very strange.
-weather has been beautiful here. i would say in the 70s. they use celcius
-we hung out in the lounge of the hostel last night. our feet were tired, and it was quite a busy place. there was a huge soccer game for spain on too, so that added extra commotion.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
15 May - a day of travel to BARCELONA
This day seemed like a complete day of travel. We left Alexis´ appartment around noon, she helped us book a night train from Paris to Barcelona since we don´t know French, took a train into Paris, spent 4 hours there, got on my first night train ever, got up at 6am, waited for the next train at a random station for 2 hours, and got on a train from the southern part of France into Barcelona.
The night train had rooms of 6 beds each. One of the beds in our room was emtpy. It was hard to tell if the train was moving or not in the night. There weren´t any announcements telling what stop we were at.
French and Spanish border patrol checked our tickets and passports on each side of the border.
Got to go to explore Barcelona more now with new friends from the hostel
The night train had rooms of 6 beds each. One of the beds in our room was emtpy. It was hard to tell if the train was moving or not in the night. There weren´t any announcements telling what stop we were at.
French and Spanish border patrol checked our tickets and passports on each side of the border.
Got to go to explore Barcelona more now with new friends from the hostel
Sunday, May 13, 2007
13 May - Epinal, France with Alexis
Today has been really nice. We spent the day with Alexis and Antoni. Alexis made crepes this morning. A crepe is basically like pancake but with only milk, egg and flour no sugar. We ate them with Nutella, jam, and honey. I had forgotten how much I like Nutella. Oh yeah, we had fresh and still warm bread this morning too!
We all went for a walk around Epinal. It is a town of about 30000 people, and was pretty calm because it was a Sunday. Most people don't work or go out on Sundays in France. At the top of a hill was an old castle. The town was rebuilding parts of the old walls and it just looked odd. There was a really nice view from the top. When I get back to the states I suppose I will start a flikr account to post images- not too many just a few good ones from each city. We came back to the appartment, packed a picnic lunch and went to a lake about thirty minutes away to eat it. The sandwiches were on fresh bread from the morning. After relaxing a bit in the sun, Antoni drove up to the top of a nearby mountain where we shot the mountians. It was beautiful! You could still see a few small patches of snow in the crevices on the side of one mountain. The wind at the top was very strong, just pushing you along.
After this and the drive home behind slow vehicles, we arrived back in Epinal around 6. It seems like every time the TV is on its either soccer, F1, news, or a movie. Ethan and I have been using their two computers and internet for the last day. It has been great. We were also able to call the US for free since it her part of Alexis's phone plan. Dinner was a pasta like thing made out of potatoe that I can not remember the name of with pesto. Ethan had had it before. It was chewey compared to pasta.
Antoni drives a lime greenish colored Citroen. For a small 2 door car it has a LOT of room. In the back we had plenty of knee room and head room. If a 6ft tall person was in the back his head might hit and he couldnt look out the windows much as the roof tilts towards the window. Our packs fit in the trunk space behind the seat pretty well too. Two large suitcases and 4 people would not have fit. This was my first time in a car outside the US that was not a taxi, so it was a new experience. Most cars here are manuals, too.
On another note, I saw 2 Miata's today. One sea foam green one from about 1999 and a 2005 or so silver one. I also saw 3 pickup trucks today- the ONLY three so far. These were deep in the country of course and one of them had a shell over the bed. They all had the full back row of seats so they could sit 5 people. One also had the big cheesy lights (think redneck) lights on the top.
Tomorrow we leave for Paris to get a night train to Barcelona. A full day of travel I think.
We all went for a walk around Epinal. It is a town of about 30000 people, and was pretty calm because it was a Sunday. Most people don't work or go out on Sundays in France. At the top of a hill was an old castle. The town was rebuilding parts of the old walls and it just looked odd. There was a really nice view from the top. When I get back to the states I suppose I will start a flikr account to post images- not too many just a few good ones from each city. We came back to the appartment, packed a picnic lunch and went to a lake about thirty minutes away to eat it. The sandwiches were on fresh bread from the morning. After relaxing a bit in the sun, Antoni drove up to the top of a nearby mountain where we shot the mountians. It was beautiful! You could still see a few small patches of snow in the crevices on the side of one mountain. The wind at the top was very strong, just pushing you along.
After this and the drive home behind slow vehicles, we arrived back in Epinal around 6. It seems like every time the TV is on its either soccer, F1, news, or a movie. Ethan and I have been using their two computers and internet for the last day. It has been great. We were also able to call the US for free since it her part of Alexis's phone plan. Dinner was a pasta like thing made out of potatoe that I can not remember the name of with pesto. Ethan had had it before. It was chewey compared to pasta.
Antoni drives a lime greenish colored Citroen. For a small 2 door car it has a LOT of room. In the back we had plenty of knee room and head room. If a 6ft tall person was in the back his head might hit and he couldnt look out the windows much as the roof tilts towards the window. Our packs fit in the trunk space behind the seat pretty well too. Two large suitcases and 4 people would not have fit. This was my first time in a car outside the US that was not a taxi, so it was a new experience. Most cars here are manuals, too.
On another note, I saw 2 Miata's today. One sea foam green one from about 1999 and a 2005 or so silver one. I also saw 3 pickup trucks today- the ONLY three so far. These were deep in the country of course and one of them had a shell over the bed. They all had the full back row of seats so they could sit 5 people. One also had the big cheesy lights (think redneck) lights on the top.
Tomorrow we leave for Paris to get a night train to Barcelona. A full day of travel I think.
12 May from Paris to Nancy, France -a day in the Latin Quarter
Checked out of the hostel at 11 and left our bags in the luggage room. My legs were still sore and I was still very tired, and we saw a good chunk of the city. So, we spent the afternoon in the Latin Quarter of Paris.
The Latin Quarter gets its name from the time when there were universities in the area and people studied Latin. Now it is an interesting area full of shops, bakeries, super markets, cafes, bars, clubs... it was quite active at all times of the day. I would guess that something like 15% of the people on the main streets were tourists in the day. That is much lower than other areas we had been in. I enjoyed seeing all of the different labels on the foods in the markets when the products are about the same. I bought an apple, orange, and chocolate from a market and cheesecake from a bakery and called it lunch. Ethan got a sandwich and a chocolate cake desert thing. I miss having fruits and vegetables around.
It is quite amazing that I made it out of London without eating or buying any Cadberry! That looks like I spelt it wrong. I can not find it here :(
We picked up our bags from the hostel and went to the national rail station. After some trouble getting our Eurail passes validated (stamped with the start date) we couldn't find the train. We picked up a train schedule the day before and picked out a train to Nancy, France. It turns out that train only runs on Sunday, but this was written in the subscripts in French so we could not read it. An information man marked the next train to take. Meanwhile the station was filling with smoke. There was a building outside on fire. It was across hte street from the station and you could not see flames just lots of smoke. So we watched, took pics, and then I ate my "lunch."
The three hour train ride here was exactly on time, and Ethan's cousin, Alexis, and her boyfriend, Antoni, were there on the platform. Alexis is from VA and has been in France for three years. Antoni is from France.
We all went for a walk around Nancy (pronounced non-C) and had a three course meal. I had a salad with some meat like bacon on it, fish, and creme caramel. It was all very good and I was very full. Again, I had trouble ordering. Luckily Alexis was there to tell us about speaking. We talked a lot about driving in France and they caught up on family stuff.
On the way home Antoni stopped so we could see a castle. It had a mote full of water and there was a large party going on inside (around 11.30 pm) with colored strobe lights and loud music. The castle is open for tours in the day. It was very large and ornate. The gate over the mote was edged with spikes everywhere.
Alexis and Antoni's appartment is nice. I am sleeping in the extra room and using their internet. Its the top floor of a building in Epinal.
The Latin Quarter gets its name from the time when there were universities in the area and people studied Latin. Now it is an interesting area full of shops, bakeries, super markets, cafes, bars, clubs... it was quite active at all times of the day. I would guess that something like 15% of the people on the main streets were tourists in the day. That is much lower than other areas we had been in. I enjoyed seeing all of the different labels on the foods in the markets when the products are about the same. I bought an apple, orange, and chocolate from a market and cheesecake from a bakery and called it lunch. Ethan got a sandwich and a chocolate cake desert thing. I miss having fruits and vegetables around.
It is quite amazing that I made it out of London without eating or buying any Cadberry! That looks like I spelt it wrong. I can not find it here :(
We picked up our bags from the hostel and went to the national rail station. After some trouble getting our Eurail passes validated (stamped with the start date) we couldn't find the train. We picked up a train schedule the day before and picked out a train to Nancy, France. It turns out that train only runs on Sunday, but this was written in the subscripts in French so we could not read it. An information man marked the next train to take. Meanwhile the station was filling with smoke. There was a building outside on fire. It was across hte street from the station and you could not see flames just lots of smoke. So we watched, took pics, and then I ate my "lunch."
The three hour train ride here was exactly on time, and Ethan's cousin, Alexis, and her boyfriend, Antoni, were there on the platform. Alexis is from VA and has been in France for three years. Antoni is from France.
We all went for a walk around Nancy (pronounced non-C) and had a three course meal. I had a salad with some meat like bacon on it, fish, and creme caramel. It was all very good and I was very full. Again, I had trouble ordering. Luckily Alexis was there to tell us about speaking. We talked a lot about driving in France and they caught up on family stuff.
On the way home Antoni stopped so we could see a castle. It had a mote full of water and there was a large party going on inside (around 11.30 pm) with colored strobe lights and loud music. The castle is open for tours in the day. It was very large and ornate. The gate over the mote was edged with spikes everywhere.
Alexis and Antoni's appartment is nice. I am sleeping in the extra room and using their internet. Its the top floor of a building in Epinal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)