Finale

Enjoying last couple days. No more stories until our return. Good accomodations, lots to do. Chicago on Thursday!

Tents Over Florence

On our way to Florence we met some travelers that booked a night in a campground. It sounded cheap and like a nice change of pace. We followed along until we arrived at Piazze Michelangelo, then walked 5 minutes to the site.

Less a campground than a camping resort, the place is a jem. Had we brought our RV we'd have stayed in that but instead opted for a canvas tent on a platform with bunkbeds. We dropped our stuff and checked out the market, bar and ammenities. Not only is it clean, but the patio on the bar overlooks the entire city; the duomo itself seems to sit no further than a spit away. We sat there last night eating prosciutto di parma, pecorino and bargain chianti (maybe more than one bottle.) all from the on-site market. Good stuff.

More site-seeing tomorrow.

Long Nights Barcelona

Good internet access again for a little update:

Long travel day, very hungry so I won't say much.

Last night, though, was a crazy, crazy night. There was a buzz in the air early on- it was the Eve of Saint John. The streets were exploding with fireworks of all sizes, the constant banging echoing through the alley ways made it feel like we were in a war zone. It was of concern if and/or when we'd be near an explosion. After hiding out with some Sangria and pool with our Wisconsin pals, we caught a couple of cabs and headed to ground zero: the beach.

As far as you could see the beach was crowded with bodies, all moving to the excitement of the night. Fireworks continued to ignite on all sides of us-music blaring from every beach bar. It was a little hard to let our guards down with the constant threat of chaos all around. Nevertheless it was a really cool experience.

I can say we did manage to get home and catch a few hours of sleep before we left Barcelona. By 8am, on the way to the station, we said goodbye to the city all the while passing crowds still making they're way home from the beach.

13 days

Although we've hit the half-way mark, almost 2 weeks still remain on our journey. But at dinner tonight we decided it was time to consider our return trip and transportation. On Thursday, July 2 at 10:30 am, we'll be at the Chicago O' Hare Airport looking for a ride back in the hinterland...any takers?

Back in Amsterdam...

...at the Rijksmuseum, there was a machine to make video messages. This is us saying hi.

Not Responsible for Lost Items

No, this isn't our new friend. This is one of the top image results for "Nice, France."

However, it is an informative image-perfectly depicting the rocky beaches that draw those looking for a sun tan AND a hot stone muscle treatment (just lay your towel down, put your body on it and wiggle around).

That aside, the weather is gorgeous and we had a fun time last night with an Aussie and a group of Canadians. Too much fun, perhaps, as I had to walk home from the beach barefoot. I lost my sandals by the water, but that's another story.

And an update on our lowly-rated one-star hotel in Milan: Mike has confirmed that the 12-15 little red bumps on his hand, arms and legs are in fact bed bug bites. I wasn't as popular (nor would it have occurred to me to look into it) with the few spots Mike pointed out to me on my arm and leg. Ever since, he's been researching the little pests and has become quite educated on the topic.

Aqua Desires

Today, Wednesday, we took a day trip up to the "lake country" known as Lake Como. Although there are lots of cities to visit surrounding the huge lake, we managed to only have time to visit the most southern and most visited: Como. The lake is surrounded by bluffs that suggest the staggering alps that stand behind them while the bluffs themselves are occupied by rows of tightly placed tile-roofed homes. We wandered a bit and then had a 1.5 hour 1.5 liter house wine lunch. We enjoyed the quiet the lake had to offer; a retreat from the constant rush of the cities we've encountered so far.

We anticipated a dip in the lake but the water was much too cold. Not to worry though as we head to the coastal waters of Nice tomorrow where we've confirmed the water is gorgeous.

Hot Milan

Like our Amsterdam accomodations, we booked ourselves in a hotel. Like out Amsterdam accomodations, this is a 1-star hotel. Lesson learned: if you can't afford 3 stars, book a hostel.

It really isn't that bad, we were just spoiled a bit Munich. But we did have an adventure getting here. First, we were joking around on the train about the places we stayed at when we realized we didn't have the information on our hotel. We booked it and never took any notes on it. So when we first got into Milan we had to find an internet cafe to find that information. Then, we hopped on the metro and followed the directions to get to the hotel. 25 minutes later we were in the Milan suburbs and got off at a platform that had just been rebuilt and had yet to replace any maps of the Metro anywhere. So, we got back on in the opposite direction.

Some hours later, after transferring lines we realized we'd done a big loop and finally reached our stop. Then after some wandering, we found the hotel. Standing at the front desk, which is more a hallway between our room and the shared bathrooms, Mike pointed out the 1-star hotel plaque. We wondered: who advertises that?

But we're here, next day, it's hot and we're heading out.

Salt-land

Inadvertently, before we left, I bought a book called Salt, which gives an entire history of salt and its impact on multiple civilizations. During our stay in Munich, the subject of salt has come up more than once, but most recently on our trip to Salzburg, or, "Salt Castle." We had another beautiful day which involved a two-hour train ride to and from the city. Once there, we tagged along in an hour walking tour visiting sites from The Sound of Music, Mozart and various places of beautiful architecture. Following the guided tour, we had lunch and then picked up some bikes and rode along the Salzach river. The city is truly gorgeous with a backdrop of the alps at almost every angle.

Upon our return, we stopped at a beer garden to have a couple liters of beer before a downpour of rain ruined our continuously beautiful weather and forced us back to the hostel. Don't worry though, the Hostel has beer and we're keeping in touch.

We leave for Milan early tomorrow. That's all from Germany.

Like a Bird

So yesterday, Saturday, we booked a tour to Neuschwanstein Castle. Our tour included a really nice coach bus to transport us to Füssen , Germany. The name Füssen translates to "foot" as the village literally sits at the foot of the alps, while the castle, Neuschwanstein, has served as inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyworld as well as an important location in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Part of the tour earlier in the day involved a bike ride around Swan Lake, offering spectacular views of the castle. What neither of us knew much of was the tandem para gliding trips they offered over the castle and alps. So my first move was to get Mike involved and excited so we could sort-of do it together. That didn't really go anywhere. Advice from others and the guides got me too involved not to do it, so I signed up to jump off the Alps. This has, so far, been the highlight of the trip. While the rest of the group carried on with the bike ride, I hurried to a shed to get ready for para gliding. It all happened so fast: I signed some paper, got on a cable car (almost freakier than the flight) and ended up standing on top of a mountain in a wind suit, helmet and some arm straps attached to the seat in which I rode in. There was a line up there- because of the beautiful weather everyone was rearing to go-so we waited patiently. Actually, I waited nervously. When our turn came around, the guide laid the chute out on the platform and set me in position. Now I was seriously nervous as I was facing a downward ramp that led to a cliff at the top of a mountain. Not much time passed before the guide came up behind me, clicked on to me, told me to run and POOF, the chute was aloft and we were in the air. HOLY SHIT, I thought. I had to manually push the seat under me while he was telling me to lean forward and adjust some straps...I though I was going to fall out of the sky. Minutes into the ordeal I was in shock wondering how it was possible...to be in that position, witnessing what I saw. It was absolutely amazing. The guide gently spun us toward the Alps, over the trees and just above the castle Mike & I had booked the trip for. Time stopped while I snapped photos and videos from my camera attempting to capture what it was like to be hanging in the sky. 20-25 minutes later, we made our way to the landing and dropped out of the air.

After that, I carried on with everyone in the group to the castle interior via the ravine hike(which was also beautiful) and the ravine bridge which offered even more spectacular views of the castle and the village of Füssen.

What a day.

Mike and I ended the day with a scrumptious dinner with a member from the tour and a big German beer afterwards. Yum.

Tour, Tour, Tourists

The company that we toured Paris with, New Europe Tours, is all over the place. In each city they over a Free Tour which is like a three hour-ish orientation of the place. Then they offer all sorts of other paid tours that they often try to snag you into. So here in Germany we meant to take the Free Tour but got to the pick-up spot at the meeting time. ( I didn't read the fine print.) The pick-up spot meets a half an hour earlier. No big deal though, the Free Tours run all day, every day. But we didn't have time to go to the other one as we had reservations with MIKE'S BIKE TOURS!

I guess David went on and on to Mike about Mike's Bike Tours. And I don't know if it was regarding the actual tour or the name. Either way, we can still say Mike rode a bike on the Mike's Bike tour. And it was worth it. It felt good to be off our feet and freely wheeling about the city. We learned a bit about the architecture and a bit about the early days of the Hitler Regime. We rode through the beautiful and large English Garden where our guide told us to be on the look for naked sun bathers, however all we saw was a very tan man they've coined "Robo-Cock" due the abundance of piercings in his genital area. Apparently he's always there in the park, same spot, nude waiting for the bike tours. He wasn't old or creepy, just very much enjoys the attention I guess.

In the middle of the park is the Chinese Beer Garden where we made a stop. Most tours stop for maybe one beer, but we got delayed while our guide went out looking for the 4 bikers that went astray. Two liters later we were back on our bikes and finished the tour soon after. Start to finish was about 5 hours.

Then, just around the corner from the bike shop was the grand Hofbräuhaus. Two english guys from the tour and ourselves went over for some beers and food. The four of us chatted along with some others at the table while we ate bread and drank bread. Literally, this is the place to bulk up.

We have two more tours lined up between today, Friday, and Sunday and we're even considering staying another day. Lots of stuff of interest for both of us here and the accommodations are very reasonable. As of today we actually have to share our spacious six-bunk room. First there was the young German that must have checked in over night (he wasn't there when we went to bed) and just this morning a middle-aged man in a suit showed up. He's been sleeping sitting up against the wall all morning (still in his suit). Hasn't said a word.

We'll find out.

München Plans

Yesterday, Wednesday, was our catch up day. We washed our clothes for real-no sinks involved. Mike figures the trip is now 1/3 over. But that means we still have 2/3 of unknown territory to cover. We are planning our next couple of days in Munich this morning. And it should it be very awesome...we're splurging a bit, I suppose, but we're in our cheapest hostel yet so we're going for it. (By cheap, it's cheap, but actually the nicest/biggest yet and it even has a balcony.)

Bye Bye City of Bikes

It's our last day in Amsterdam. The air is damp and its suppose to rain all day. We're not too thrilled about that. We head out of here at 8:30 on a train overnight to Munich.

Green Anne

We stopped at the Hortus Botanicus-the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in the world. It wasn't very big but charming to say the least. From there we headed back towards the city center near our hostel, exploring and window-shopping along the way. Or as Mike said to me, "You're like a dog, you have to stop and sniff everything.

We kept about and decided to visit the Anne Frank because of its close proximity. We were limited on time there though due to "circumstances," as the door man kept telling us. They were closing early to shoot a documentary on the anniversary of what would have been her 80th birthday. We still made it through. Chilling place to visit. Quotations from her diary line the walls, as though her voice is telling the story while leading you through the cramped space.

Sunday.

We went to Artis zoo Sunday. They had a free planetarium there too that we went to after seeing the animals. It wasn't in English so we didn't learn anything new, but it was a good refresher on the planets in the solar system. Then it rained.

Amsterdam Room

Train left on time from Paris, arrived about 5:30 in Amsterdam, then checked in at the Travel Hotel. We hauled our things to the second floor, inserted our key and opened the door to a very dark room.

Inside, our new japanese roommates were sitting in the dark playing some unrecognizable experimental music. We knew of their nationality based on what the front desk said when we later mentioned the curious way in which they sat in the dark room all day. She said, "Oh the japanese boys...yea they're quiet." Back at the room I took a look at the beds while Mike took care of some paperwork down at the front desk. Searching for the bathroom, I pushed one of the bunks away from the closed door behind it. The 2 guys, sitting on their beds, watch as I opened up the door and revealed the bathroom. In unison they moaned a very japanese, "Ohhhhhhhhh..." in a tone as though I had revealed a sacred treasure to them. Apparently they didn't know we had a bathroom in our room. I held back the giggle, and went to find Mike. The roommates were too much to handle right away so we ditched our stuff and took off to find a place to get a drink.

We found a local watering hole we've decided we like a lot. We had a few beers there and then decided we should check back at the Hostel. Upon arriving we stood outside our room against the door to listen to the noise inside. Nervous, we walked in to the peaceful, yet erie sounds of chirping birds. Though there was still daylight, they were laying in bed listening to what may have been a relaxation audio that was mixed with techno music...in the dark...blinds closed...cutains closed. So again, we felt as though we were interuppting some ceremony and we left.

With all the time we had (which is all in the world when you're trying to stay away from your room) we headed out to the streets again and found relief in knowing that we were right around the corner from those rows of classy little red-lit windows. And we were instantly ammused. Mike led the way, finding every last glowing alley-way in our part of town. It is the crowds of people though that become the real entertainment; belligerent, loud and in masses.

Somewhere along the way we found a by-the-slice pizza joint that knocked our socks off. Finding a place for pizza had been on our mind but every vender had the same looking pale pies. Then we found a place where, after our first few bites, said, "We are coming back here." And we did. About two hours later when we reestablished our bearrings.

Back at the room we didn't spend much time making noise. We went to right to bed. Next day we talked to the front desk about our concerns with the roommates (not that we were unable to adapt, but it was hard to function in all the darkness all the time) and got a new room. An upgrade! The bathroom is delightful and large, BUT it is 5 floors up a steep narrow stairway. Still, neither of us are complaining.

Modern Museum

Got up late today, Friday, and headed to the Pompidou with our newest coed Hostel mate (sometimes you get booked in mixed rooms unknowingly). Mike and our mate were impressed with the uber-contemporary facade; most of the HVAC systems have been color-coded and relegated to the exterior, but the exhibits inside had mixed reviews. We all viewed the current Kandinsky and Calder exhibits positively while the contemporary galleries were shunned by all but me. They seemed to appreciate the Louvre more which we entered for free (Fridays 25 and under free) although we got lost looking for a Napoleon exhibit. We determined our misorientation was just another box to check of our list of things to do in Paris.

Last night in Paris-we leave for Amsterdam on the high-speed train at 12:30-be there 5 days as that was the minimum nights stay in almost every hostel. We're excited. And tired. We think there may be too much to do in Paris. (?)

Oh, we also stopped by Notre Dame today as well. Gorgeous. We stepped on the city center marker there which we heard means will bring us back to Paris. (Fingers crossed)

Free Tours...

Wednesday we took a free tour that efficiently covered all the landmarks from Pont Neuf to the Eiffel Tower. While the tour took an exhausting 3+ hours by foot, we got the chance to get familiar with all that is "Paris." We planned to revisit some of the tour stops as all that we saw was the exterior or less. The guides did have a lot to provide, however, like the fact that the Eiffel Tower is painted in 3 shades of grey every 7 years to create perspective from the ground up. Wow.

We also moved to another hostel, The Vintage, not far from the place we stayed on our first night. We had to move because of the lack of room and our failure to make reservations. (We're learning)

We Here

This is the best image I could find showing the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Basilica that sits above our first hostel. What a trek-we walked for hours from the city center to the Village Hostel where we'd stay for our first night. The choice to walk versus using the public transportation came as a sort of punishment to Mike getting his £50 pass eaten by the machine at the gate of the train station.

The location we chose was a surprise-we had no idea we'd be at the foot of this amazing landmark. I thought it was merely one of the many gorgeous buildings dotting the landscape until I took a walk up top while Mike napped to find it offers one of the best vistas of the city. We visited again later in the afternoon with a couple hotel-mates and watched the sun set while we noshed on sandwiches and beers.