Looking Back.

So, having finally finished my blog, two months after coming home, I decided to do a little top three list. 

TOP THREE COUNTRIES:

- Germany

- Italy    

- Ireland 

TOP THREE CITIES:

- Paris
- Berlin
- London

TOP THREE MEALS:

- Domi's parents' restaurant
- Irish stew
- Napolian pizza

TOP THREE ATTRACTIONS:

- Gaudi's Cathedral
- the Vatican
- the Salvi Harp factory

TOP THREE HIKES:
- Glendolough in Ireland
- midnight hike in Norway
- Sunset hike on Santorini

TOP THREE MUSICAL PEEFORMANCES:
- Wicked
- Classical group in Prague
- The military tattoo in Scotland

TOP THREE OTHER PERFORMANCES:
- the play in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
- comedy show in Berlin
- magic/comedy tour/show in Bath

TOP THREE TOURS:
- historical tour of Berlin
- Connemara bus tour
- Paris Walking tour

With so many positive memories, let's not forget the less enjoyable ones, which really just enhance the good ones.

BOTTOM THREE OVERALL:

- the tour of Potsdam
- the comedy show in Paris
- spending my last day in Paris in the airport

Wow. So many incredible memories in only four months. Traveling Europe was an amazingly remarkable experience and I do intend to go back. After all, this was traveling Europe for the FIRST time.

Thank you so much to each and every person who made this trip possible and for helping make it an experience that will forever remain one if the best experiences of my life. Thank you to all who read my blog, whether you toughed out the entire collection of ramblings or just stopped by occasionally for one or two. Thank you everybody and I wish you all the very best!  Goodbye for now.

The End is Near

FERRY TO IRELAND (Cherbourg to Rosslare):
• met a bunch of new people on our way to Ireland:
- on the train from Paris to Cherbourg we ran into a guy, Ezra, who we had actually met earlier at our Berlin hostel!
- met two brothers from San Fransico, a couple from Oregon, and two girls from Boston.
• hung out with everybody for the sixteen hour ferry ride, had some drinks, played Banagrams, watched the sunset. All in all had a good time.

DUBLIN:
• were going to go to Cork, but the group we met were all heading to Dublin, so we decided to tag along. Gaiety in numbers, afterall.
• for once spontaneity actually worked in our favour and we were able to stay at a really nice hostel, even though we hadn't made any reservations!
• went for a walking tour and learned a little about Irish history
• went to a pub and listened to some great Irish music: one guy on acoustic guitar, one guy on banjo.
• took tour of the Guiness factory.
• went on a pub crawl
• saw the Book of Kells
• walked through the Reading Room which is a very old, incredibly beautiful library (apparently the library in Harry Potter was modeled after it).


KILLARNEY:
• took a bus tour of the Ring of Kerry; very beautiful, very green; had a old funny tour guide who drove us around, and then sang us a few songs at the end of the tour, including Tura Lura (an Irish lullaby) and then some Katy Perry.
• saw a sheep herding show which apparently is one of the top tourist attractions in Ireland
• had Bacon & Cabbage and Irish Stew (the best stew I've ever had!) and Bailey's Cheesecake (best cheesecake I've ever had!) for lunch
• met our new friends from Oregon on this tour as well as a girl from Prince George
• made a lovely dinner with them and then went for drinks (a few too many for me) and went to listen to some music at a pub. Met two Irish guys at that pub and couldn't understand a word they said.


GALWAY:
• did a bus tour around Connemara which is the rainiest part of Ireland. Apparently this region gets more rain annually than the Amazon, and the longest period on record that it has gone consecutively without rain was twelve days.
• drove through incredible valleys beside rolling green hills
• witnessed some great Irish humour:
1) a statue of a man sitting and thinking, looking important, whose plaque says:

This is Connemara

built in 1999

for no apparent reason.

2) The sign pointing to this statue says "late 20th century antiquity."
3) There's another stone statue, simpler than the first but rather large in size (it's just a big stone triangle) which says:

In 1897

on this very spot

nothing happened

• Visited the Kylemore Abbey along with the church and Victorian Gardens there. Got rained on, but we had our ponchos, so all was well. And stylish, might I add. The Abbey was perfect. A gorgeous stone castle-looking building which sat on the edge of a lake.
• just barely caught our train that was going to Dublin


DALKEY (near Dublin):
• stayed with the couple from Oregon (Max and Julia) who were renting a condo there. The brothers from San Fransico were also staying with them.
• went for a hike in Glendolough with all of them up along a beautiful ridge that looks over lakes and valleys.
• went out for drinks at Finnegan's Pub, and realized that in the opposite corner The Edge (the guitarist from U2) was also enjoying a drink with a friend. Crazy!
• relaxed in a park while waiting for our train
• saw a double rainbow after walking up to a lookout and then felt and saw the fog literally engulf us as we sat on a rock wall.
• had delicious tuna melts for dinner, and homemade cheesecake for dessert
• AND HERE IT IS. For those who were just dying of suspense about what could have possibly happened to my foot, I will tell you. And for those who forgot all about my foot, then this counts a reminder.

WARNING: it's really not at all exciting.

On the way to the train station the next day, I went to step onto the sidewalk, missed, and fell over. No cries for help as I went. No attempts to grab onto something to lessen the fall. Nothing. I was standing one second, and the next I was lying on the ground with one huge bag on my back, one small, heavy bag on my front. This resulted in the inability to get up and I felt a little bit like an overturned turtle. Needless to say I started laughing. Then Annalea started laughing, and so couldn't help me up. It's a good thing Max and Julia were there to help me up, otherwise we probably would have been there all day. I limped the rest of the way to the train.


BELFAST:
• we decided the first thing we would try in Belfast was the medical care in the emergency room.
• I was very impressed by the Irish hospital. If you ever injure yourself while in Ireland, I would recommend doing so in Belfast, especially if you're staying at Paddy's Hostel, which is about two blocks away. Despite the sign in the waiting room saying "approximate waiting time: 3.5 hours" I only had to wait maybe half an hour before the nurse came and got me. He did an assessment, said that I had strained a tendon and then sent me to the X-ray room, just to be sure I didn't crack or break anything. I only had to wait about twenty minutes for that and then another maybe twenty mintues for the results. After that, the nurse saw me again, gave me some pain medication, some crutches (for free!) and then sent me on my way. Just lovely.
• the next day I heeded the nurses advice and stayed in bed icing and elevating my foot for the majority of the day. That evening Annalea and I walked, or hobbled in my case, to the botanic gardens for the Belfast Taste and Music Fest. This is, as the name blatantly states, a festival in which you listen to live music, while going around to different stands of about twenty different gourmet chefs from whom you buy samples of the four or five different dishes they are serving. It was expensive, but was the most varied gourmet dishes I've ever had.
• did a tour of the Giants of Causeway which is this amazing rock formation beside the sea. It's the result of lava which formed into what looks like big building blocks.


EDINBURGH:
• did a day trip to the beautiful town of St. Andrew's (outside of Edinburgh) which is known for its golf. Or possibly where golf started, I can't remember.
• saw the military Tattoo which is an incredible, huge performance of pipe bands and marching bands. And we had perfect seats. When we went to buy our tickets, there was someone who was trying to get rid of two premium located tickets because she wasn't able to go. Also it turned out that all the regular seats were full. So we bought the tickets for half of their original cost and sat directly in front of the VIP section. You could not get better seats other than the VIP seats in which sat generals and other fancy, very important looking personnel. It was so amazing! After the performance, a very sweet couple who was sitting in the VIP section asked us where we were from and then gave us their program (which would have cost $14 in the giftshop).


MANCHESTER:
• decided on a whim to go Manchester not knowing what there was to see exactly. It was only after we asked someone for directions at the train station did we hear that there were riots in town. So, we stayed at the hostel that night and left the following morning. Then, that following day, I found out on the news that Manchester had been one of the two cities with the most violence that had taken place the night before. So once again, spontaneity didn't really work out in our favour, but at least we were safe, which is all that counts.


YORK:
• We stayed in a gorgeous hostel, which used to be a manor of a lord in the 1800's.
• went for tea at Betty's Tea Room, a famous English tea shop and spent a couple hours simply chatting over delicious tea and cake.
• went to Yorkminster Abbey which is huge and incredibly gorgeous; went to the Evensong there and then wandered around the beautiful structure taking in the intricate architecture.
• did an evening ghost tour since York is apparently the most haunted city in the world, according to our tour guide.
• did a historic walking tour
• walked around the walls which surround the city
• did a day trip to Thirsk, a lovely little village outside York, and sat by a river to draw.
• took a 1:00am bus to Bath


BATH:
• went for delicious fish and chips
• walked around and explored the city for awhile.
• went on a very funny comedy tour which also incorporated some impressive magic tricks
• did a day trip to Avebury to see stone circles which are similar to Stonehenge (also near Bath) but way less expensive when taking a bus.
• did a tour of the Roman baths (what Bath is famous for). We also had a glass of gross-tasting warm bath water. It's supposed to have a bunch of health benefits because it comes from a natural spring. So I guess in a way, it was the first Buckleys:
"it tastes awful, but it works."


LONDON:
• did a bus tour around downtown London including Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben
• took a boat tour along the River Thames and went under Tower Bridge and London Bridge.
• saw an incredible play in the Globe Theatre which is the theatre (replica of the original) where Shakespeare's plays were performed. We stood in the standing room section where peasants and commoners would have stood. It was easy to imagine what it might have been like to be an audience member back then. It was so amazing.
• saw Wicked in the Apollo Theatre which was incredible. It was really interesting watching the Globe performance and then this one in the same day. It was fascinating to see where professional theatre essentially started and then to see how far it's come today.
• saw the changing of the horse guard which was rather, well, uneventful.
• saw the changing of the guard and the marching bands that went with it (far more interesting than the horse guard) which marched to Buckingham Palace.
- did another bus tour and then went out for delicious pizza with the couple we were staying with.


PARIS:
• climbed the Eiffel Tower, or rather the first two floors and then took the elevator because we weren't allowed to climb the whole thing.
• saw the Arc de Triomphe and then essentially got kicked out (I didn't know that was possible) from the area because there was what looked like a military ceremony about to start. A rather public place for a private ceremony if I do say so myself.
- wandered around Paris for a bit and simply enjoyed its beauty.

And here's where Annalea and I split ways. I dropped her off at the bus station and waved goodbye as she drove off to Belgium for the next portion of her adventure: nannying three girls.

THE FINAL STRETCH:
I headed back into Paris for the remaining forty-eight hours that I would be there before catching my flight to Amsterdam and then back to Canada. First I went and bought my ticket for the airport shuttle, then some souvenirs, then I went and found the location of a comedy show that I wanted to go to that evening. Next on my agenda was the Louvre Art Gallery, which I wandered around in for an hour. After that, I went to look for an ice-cream shop that Annalea and I had heard about and found out that it was closed for the month. Went and bought groceries and then went to the comedy show which, unfortunately was not very funny. If fact it wasn't even kind of funny. Pity. Although it might have had something to do with going by myself which put a bit of a damper on things in the first place.

Then I went back to my hostel, which I hadn't been back to since Annalea and I had checked out that morning (I had to check out as well, since I would be changing rooms that night). I realized as I stepped in the door, since I hadn't been there all day, that I had yet to check in to my new room. The following thought was one of panic as I also realized that I was completely out of money, and that my debit/credit card didn't work with their machine. After weighing all the options I could think of at the time, as well as trying to think of some way to get money and coming up with nothing, I decided to go to the airport.

I caught the shuttle half an hour later and went and slept on a fairly comfortable chair with my pack as a fairly comfortable pillow in front of one of the closed check-in areas. At one point a security guard came along and asked to see my ticket, but didn't look close enough to see that my flight was still thirty-six hours away. My original plan for the day was to go sit on the hill by Sacre Coeur and draw and read. However, since my arrival at the airport was earlier than planned, I sat, read, and drew in the airport terminal. Not quite the same, but at least no one tried to sell me Paris memorabilia like those outside Sacre Coeur. So, there's that.


HOME AGAIN HOME AGAIN, JIGGEDY, JIG:
Despite time seemingly standing still during those hours, the morning eventually crept up. And with the morning, my check-in, and with my check-in my flight to Amsterdam, and with my flight to Amsterdam, my flight home. Coming through the doors of baggage claim out to the greeting area, I was met by my mother. I definitely loved traveling/backpacking, but I did feel ready to be back in Canada. Therefore, feeling the warm embrace of my teary-eyed mother after having been in an airport or on a plane for previous 48 hours was the best welcome I could have ever hoped for. As a certain lady with red shoes once said, "there's no place like home."

A Tale of Eighteen Cities

Well.  Nothing like a strained tendon in one's foot to allow for some catching up on a blog.  But I'll get that to that later. 

Holy Kershmoly! Talk about falling behind!  Sheesh.  Ok. Well, for my sake, as well as yours, I will not be giving a very detailed account of the past month and a bit, so you can breathe your sigh of relief now.  Instead, I am going to try to give the bare minimum highlights.  However, I do tend to ramble, so we shall see how well this will actually work out.



BERLIN:
• did a tour of the street art around Berlin; very interesting, and got some insights into the challenges and life of street artists.
• did a historical tour of Berlin including Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, the site of Hitler's bunker, and the Brandenburg Gate.  This was by far the best tour I have ever been on.  The tour guide, Sylvia, was incredibly animated and brought the history and stories alive in such a way that I often felt like I wanted to take a picture of what she was talking about, then realized of course that the things weren't actually there.  Incredible.
• watched a hilarious improv comedy show that reminded me a little of "Whose Line is it Anyway?" Very well done and very entertaining.
• did a tour of Potsdam which is a place full of palaces and  such buildings.  Very beautiful and intricate architecture, but unfortunately we had a tour guide who was less than enjoyable.  "Terrible Tour Terry" we called him.  He was old, bitter, and insulted us throughout the day.  We were the only two on the tour and it was also about a nine hour tour.  But now every tour, no matter what the quality, seems great in comparison, so that's good.
• took a tour of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Very powerful and sobering experience.  Hard stuff to hear about, but so important to remember so that nothing like it ever happens again.


PRAGUE:
• didn't see very much--we were only there for the night, but we did catch a fantastic concert which was held in a grand stairwell of the National Museum.  It was a little string group and a piano.  They played some Vivaldi, Mozart, and Brahmes, among others.  It was so perfect.
  

VIENNA:
• Did a bus tour of the main historical sites.  
• tried to go to the National Art Gallery, and accidentally went to some Art Academy instead, which turned out to be very very beautiful as well.  (It's always nice happening upon interesting things.) 
•  went to the actual National Art Gallery, which was very beautiful. 
• went to the Sigmund Freud museum which is held in his old apartment/psychiatry office.  Very interesting.
• had to battle a crazy wind and rain storm upon leaving the art gallery and then went and had a Vienna hotdog because Vienna is spelled Wien in German therefore the origin of  "wieners."  However, the hotdog vendor was a little more than suggestive in putting the hotdog in the bun, which was rather uncalled for if I do say so myself.  
• went to a beautiful concert which involved a small orchestra, two opera singers, and two ballet dancers.  It was so lovely. And they played the Viennese Waltz, which was great.


KLAGENFURT:
• stayed at the apartment of the brother of a friend of ours. 
• toured around the lake and surrounding area which was spectacular.  The sun was shining and the water sparkling and the mountains surrounding the entire area reminded me of home.

 
MUNICH:
• did a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp, which was apparently the one that all the following concentration camps were modeled after.  Again, very powerful.
• tried to catch a tour of the historical sites in Munich but missed it.  Instead, we happened upon the celebrations for the announcement of the host of the 2018 Winter Olympics, of which Munich was a candidate.  It was very crowded, but very exciting. Sadly for Munich, South Korea won.  
• met a guy at our hostel who was from Calagry.  We all got along really well, and so went and had a picnic by the river.
• We wanted to see the  Neuschwanstein Castle just outside of Munich, which is what the Disney castle is based on.  Chris, the guy from Calgary, had just been to that area and so showed us to the town where he had stayed which looked over to the castle.  We went and laid by and swam in the lake there and then made our way up to the castle.  It was all really beautiful.  


LUCERNE:
• made a little stopover here on the way to Interlaken.  
• very pretty city, went for drinks beside the river and then took a train to a little town near Lucerne where my great grandfather hailed from.  We even saw the house where he used to live.  Very cool.  Also in that little town, Eschenbach, restaurants don't open until 6:00pm, as we found out, so if you ever find yourself there at around 4:30pm and are perhaps a little hungry, the only apparent option is a drink at the pub.


INTERLAKEN:
• went up the gondola of one the mountains there.
• went for fondue in order to get the real Swiss experience.  Wanted râclette, but they didn't have it:(
• had hoped to do some hang-gliding or sky-diving, since Interlaken is known for its thrill-seeking activities, but it was too expensive.  Backpacking on a budget doesn't really allow for $300-fifteen-minute experiences.


LAUSANNE:
• decided on a whim to go to Lausanne, without booking anything first.  
• saw the train station, found out the city was hosting a big jazz festival as well as a big gymnastics competition, and therefore no room in the entire city for three cheap travelers (Chris was still with us at this point). So we left.  So much for spontaneity. 


LYON:
• stayed in a cheap hotel (extra cheap since there were three of us splitting the cost)
• didn't do anything.  It seemed like a nice city though.  We got some take-out pizza which was good, but they gave us spring rolls instead of the chicken wings which we had ordered. Oh well.  They were good spring rolls at least.


MARSEILLE:
• a beautiful coastal town in Southern France.  It was exactly what I pictured when I thought of Southern France: palm trees, beaches, pink/golden sun, white rocky outcroppings off the shore, a few hills in the distance.  Amazing.
• went with a group of people we met from the hostel and tried to find a beach that had been recommended to some of the people we were with.
• didn't find it. Swam in a little harbour instead.  Ominous clouds came around, but it was still warm.
• tried again to find the beach. Success!  It was a lovely little cove among the white rocky hills, sheltered from the intense wind, and accompanied by the incredible blue water.  The weather was much better.  Blue skies, hot sun.  Laid on the soft white sand and got sunburnt.
• took a day trip to Italy.  Yup.  A day trip.  Fourteen hours of training altogether for one hour at the Salvi harp factory.  Surprisingly, it was worth it.  The factory was fascinating, the guide was vey sweet and he let me try out one of their harps.  Now this was not just any ordinary harp.  This was an exquisite, gold faced (real gold), Salvi orchestral harp that cost $60, 000!  Needless to say, I was a little intimidated and also incredibly surprised and therefore could barely remember any of my pieces.  Still an amazing experience, though.


AIX-EN-PROVENCE:
• found out that I'd left my camera in Marseille 
• walked around most of the day trying to find a phone card to organize picking up my camera 
• went to pick it up, accidentally took a train going the opposite direction
• had to wait three hours for the next train back to Aix-en-Provence in a lovely little town
• sat at a nice café there and relaxed 
• finally got back to Aix then took a train to Marseille
• picked up my camera
• went for crêpes topped with fruit and sorbet once we got back to Aix which were incredibly delicious


BARCELONA:
• walked down the bustling merchant street of Las Ramblas and bought a great hair clip, which I later lost on the way to a train.
• did an evening walking tour and learned a little bit about the Catalan culture and how Barcelona is actually in Catalonia, not Spain. 
• saw Gaudi's Cathedral and was blown away by the intricacies of the architecture.  It is by far the most amazing cathedral I have ever seen.  I also really liked the reasons behind  Gaudi's ideas, such as the numerous grand pillars representing trees in a forest.  He also used a vast amount of natural light which was really beautiful.  Apparently he was very inspired by nature.  The Cathedral is not actually finished yet, and they are still building it according to Gaudi's plans that he left for them.  It's expected to be done in 2020.
• saw some more of Gaudi's works in a beautiful park
• walked down to the water and along the beach as the sun was setting.  


BORDEAUX:
• thought we would have longer here, but due to train schedules we only had the evening.
• stayed in a cheap hotel, and went for dinner at a lovely little Italian restaurant downtown. 
• walked along the river.
• caught a 6:00am train to go to Normandy


CAEN:
• stayed in a cheap hotel (was cheaper than the hostels)
• went high heel shopping, didn't buy anything
• walked around Caen's château 
• went for a day trip up to Juno beach which is where my grandpa came up on just a few days after D-Day.  It was crazy to imagine what it would have been like disembarking the boats on D-Day.  Such a deadly task.  I couldn't help but think of Saving Private Ryan and the opening scene where the soldiers are getting off the boat and are mowed down as they tried to make their way up the beach.  Did a tour of the grounds and learned about that deadly day.


VIMY:
• did a tour of the trenches.  Crazy to think of what the conditions would have been like back then.
• walked to the memorial which is massive and beautiful.  It stands on the top of the ridge which is what the Canadians captured.  Apparently, one of the German commanders once said that if Vimy Ridge was ever captured, it would mean the end of the war.  Sure enough, shortly after the ridge was taken, the war was declared over. 
• the memorial has thousands of names of soldiers who were never found, including my Great-Grandpa, whose name we saw and sat beside.  He was a Corporal who fought in the disastrous battle of the Somme. 


BRUSSELS:
• turns out the Belgians are very friendly.  We asked for help from someone at the train station and she went above and beyond to make sure we knew where we were going and to ensure we would be ok.  
• checked into a cheap hotel (no room at the hostel) which was very nice
• went out with two people, Vlad and Shireen, from Australia who we met at the hotel
• Vlad  wanted to go to a gay bar, so we started there, then met some Belgians and went to a Belgian bar for some Belgian beer (and absinthe later on).  Definitely an interesting night.


BRUGES:
• did a day trip from Brussels 
• despite Bruges being notorious for its rain, the weather was actually spectacular: sunshine and blue skies!
• walked around the beautiful cobblestone streets which were occupied by tourists, horse-drawn carriages, and locals.
• bought some Belgian waffles (incredible!) 
• tried some Belgian chocolates (best truffles ever)
• took in a free harp concert 
• sat in the main square by a fountain and ate baguette for dinner


PARIS:
• had some ice cream by the river as the sun was setting 
• did some walking tours of the main sites: Notre Dame, the Left Bank, the Opera  House, Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, etc.  Very good tours; were tip-based tours and were all done by born and raised Parisians
• had some delicious breads and pastries which I will miss greatly when I leave Europe.


Well that will be all for now.  You will have to wait for the next batch of blogs which will be all about UK adventures (and also about my foot injury) so stay tuned!

Stockholm, Kopenhagen, Hamburg

We only had an afternoon to look around Stockholm.  However, we did our best to get the most out of it given our limited time.  Although we didn't see much, I still really liked Stockholm; it was a really beautiful city.  So all we saw was a street performer doing a dance with a glass globe, then the Palace, then we walked around the Old Town of Stockholm and went for dinner there.  And that was all.  We had to leave the next morning to get to Kopenhagen. 

We arrived in Kopenhagen late afternoon and then headed into town that night to take part in the Midsummer/Summer Solstice festivities.  We sat by one of the beautiful waterways with a crowd of people and watched as a stack of floating wood was set aflame.  As it burned out a couple of hours later, people broke out singing a song in unison.  I can't quite remember exactly the purpose of this, but I think the idea is welcoming in the light of the longest day of the year. It was a really lovely atmosphere. 

The next day, we witnessed the changing of the guard outside of Parliament.  Actually, on the way to the Parliament buildings, we ended up walking alongside the group of soldiers who were also on their way there.  However, while we walked on the sidewalk, they walked in one of the traffic lanes--they even stopped at the red lights and everything.  After that, we went to the Royal Museum (Denmark is still under a monarchy) and learnt about the Danish Royal family.  Following that we went for lunch beside the Gefion Fountain then visited the museum of Danish Resistance against Nazi Occupation.  This was the first war museum that I've been to in while in Europe and it was really powerful.  Such hard history, and yet so important to remember.  That afternoon we took a boat tour along Kopenhagn's waterways, which was a lovely ride, then went up the Round Tower, and then we went up the four-hundred steps of the tower of Vor Freslers Kirke.  This was an interesting tower and unique from the other towers we've climbed.  You see, most towers have a platform at the top from which one can feel safe while looking over a city.  Now this tower did have such a platform, but in addition, it continued going up beyond the platform.  It spiraled up and up until the spiral just wound into itself.  I squeezed myself up to the top, where the spiral stairs curved into the peaked roof.  It was really windy, but I was able to get a really great view of the city.  Later on, we went and saw Water for Elephants in the theatre.  I really enjoyed it.  I read the book awhile ago, and the movie turned out to be exactly how I had pictured it would be.  It's always nice when that happens.  Rare, but very nice. 

The next day was our last day, so we dropped our bags at the train station, then went to see the National Museum for the morning.  It housed many viking-related artifacts which were all very interesting.  The last thing we saw was Denmark's National Gallery which had some incredible works from numerous Danish artists, as well as others.  However, since we're not very good at time mangagement, we only had twenty minutes to look around before our train was going to leave.  Remarkably, we managed to catch the train, but only because we ran most of the way there.

From Kopenhagen, we went to Hamburg, where we stayed with a friend of ours who had done an exchange to Nelson last year.  We took a bus tour of the city with her the following day, ate a hamburger since it seemed appropriate, then took a train from there to Berlin.

Rudesheim, Köln, then way up to Norway

The Long Way Up:

From Rüdesheim, we took a river boat up to Koblenz.  The river wound its way around the green hills and past the small villages.  Old castles overlooked the small houses.  It was a really beautiful ride.

Once we got to Koblenz, we took a train up to Köln (Cologne), where we met a friend.  We stayed with her the night, and then went for breakfast with her before going to see the Gothic Cathedral in Köln, which turned out to be partly under construction because apparently bird poop is corrosive.

After that we boarded the first of six trains for our thirty-three hour journey up to Norway.  On our last train, we actually had to take a bus part of the way because the day before a train had burnt while going through a tunnel.  We were heading for Arna (about ten minutes from Bergen) where my friend, Lauren, is doing a rotary exchange.  We spent the next four days with her, laughing and taking in the Norwegian countryside.

Some eating, some hiking, and lots of laughing:

Upon our arrival, we ate a 1:30am dinner with her host family.

The next day we went into town, looked around at some of the shopping centres, and the only thing we ended up buying was a huge bag of candy.

The next morning we hiked a mountain (had to work off that candy somehow) and ended up taking the bike route.  It was threatening rain, so no bikes came along.  We had to run some of the way back down in order to catch our train and apparently running downhill makes Annalea laugh uncontrollably.  This created decent entertainment for Lauren and me.

That night we ate an amazing meal with Lauren, her host family, her host family's son and his family.  As we all sat around the table, they all began to converse in Norwegian.  I found this very interesting because despite my knowledge of the Norwegian language being nonexistent, I still wasn't entirely lost.  Through the universal language of hand motions, facial expressions, and tones of voice, I could follow the mood of the conversation, even if I didn't know what they were talking about.  When I stopped focusing on the individual words, I almost felt like I was in an English-speaking home.

So, after the delicious feast of two differently seasoned fish, some potatoes, a broccoli/cauliflower dish, a dessert of canned plums and sugared red currants with vanilla cream sauce, we all sat and chatted for awhile.  Soon after we had tea and coffee accompanied by homemade heart-shaped waffles with butter, jam, a sweet cheese, or sugared red currant berries.  Soooo good!

The following day we slept in until noon. This was a splendid novelty after a month and a half of getting up early for either sightseeing or  train connections.  We spent the afternoon back in Bergen, hoping to do some clothing shopping that would be successful, ie. actually buying some clothing items.  However, despite trying on some shirts, which was more progress then the previous shopping attempt, we didn't buy anything.  Well, that's not true.  We did buy a bucket of ice cream and shared it between us, and since it was kind of rainy outside, we ate it inside, huddled on a couch in the corner of the mall courtyard, still decked out in our rain jackets.  But, really, who needs clothes when you can buy chocolate brownie ice cream with caramel swirls instead?

There are strange things done in the midnight sun...and stranger things done under Norwegian street lamps:

Later that night, we all went for a hike at 10:00pm with the sun still up.  By the time we reached the top around 11:00pm, the sun was just setting.  It was pretty cloudy, though, so we didn't see a bright sunset like the one we had witnessed the night before.  Instead, we were engulfed by thin clouds and mist while we looked out to the surrounding mountains, whose tops were also blanketed in cloud.  It was very cool, almost mystical, a little bit eerie, and reminded me of something from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  We ate some chocolate at the top (kind of failed there on the healthy part of hiking) then headed back down.  It was pretty dark by that point, but still only looked like dusk despite it being 11:30pm.  Once we reached the road, we stopped under a street light because our sleep-deprived, sugar-pumped minds decided it was a great idea to dance in the quiet street and try to pull off the worst, most ridiculous kind of dancing we could think of...and record it of course.  So, several "music videos" later, after laughing our abs to the point of pain, we continued walking back to Lauren's.

Sun, Sadie, and setting off for Stockholm:

We packed our bags the next morning and also cleaned up the mess we made of Lauren's room.  It still baffles me how Annalea and I manage to completely cover people's floor space with our stuff when we stay two days or longer.  At least we clean it up when we leave, I suppose, which then helps that person appreciate cleanliness to a whole new level, so we are really doing them a favor when we spread out.

Wow, that was just a slight diversion.  Ok, so back to whatever I was talking about before.  Oh, right, that morning.  Ok.  So after cleaning up, we went and laid in the sun!  After three half sunny, half rainy (still beautiful) days, we saw and felt the warm sun.  This called for bathing suits, towels, and laying on the lawn to try to soak up the rays.

Later that day, while on Skype with our mom, we found out some sad news.  Our cat Sadie, who had been sick for the past two months was doing very badly.  Annalea and I sat at the screen while my mom held Sadie in her arms.  Through falling tears we said our goodbyes, and although we couldn't be by her side, we were with her as she breathed her last labored breath.  Death is a strange thing.  In one moment, something that was living was no longer.  I realized as she left, that she wouldn't be there when I get home.  I won't walk in my front door and have her greet me with familiar meows like she always used to do.  I will never hear her purr again, or feel her warmth, or see her beautiful green eyes.  She is just gone. Tears fell down my cheeks as I watched her body heave for breath in her last moments.  Words stopped in my throat.  Something I loved so dear was leaving and there was nothing I could do to stop it.  I knew that day would come eventually, but part of me naïvely wished that she would last forever.  But, even the best things in life must pass.  I was glad that I had spent a lot of time with her before I left.  I was glad her suffering was short.  I was glad I had the privilege of having her in so much of my life.  Still, it was hard to say goodbye.      

A couple hours later, we parted ways with Lauren and then boarded a train to get to Stockholm.

Familiar Friend

So I thought I already posted this, but I didn't, so let's pretend I posted it on June 16, ok?

Last year we had a wonderful German student named Domi come and stay with us. Before she left we said that we'd come and visit her one day. Well that day was Monday (June 13). She met us at the train station in the small, beautiful town of Bad König and drove us to her house. Her family owns a hotel (the only hotel in Bad König!) and a restaurant, and they let us stay in one of hotel rooms. The time we were there also happened to be the same time that the fair was in town. Domi was waitressing at one of the restaurants there so she took us along to check it out. Before her shift started we all went on a ride called XXL. It was crazy. It was kind of like a gravitron, but it swung back and forth eventually reaching a height of 45 metres! It was so much fun! Then Domi went to work, so Annalea and I went on one more ride, bought a couple souvenirs, then headed back to the hotel. Once we got there, Domi's mom invited us to eat dinner in the restaurant. We happily obliged and were first served an asparagus mousse with caramelized sugar on top of it. We also were given bread, like most restaurants do, but instead of the standard olive oil and balsamic vinegar to accompany it, they served homemade honey butter and tomato butter. Then we both had an asparagus soup. For the entrée I had wiener schnitzel with fried potatoes and mushrooms, and Annalea had a slice of pork and dumplings (apparantly a very German dish). For dessert, they brought a slice of a pastry with cherries and cranberries with ice-cream on the side. Around the edge of the plate, in chocolate drizzle, was written "Wonderful to have you here Marlies.":) Everything was unbelievably delicious!

The next day, Domi took us into Michelstadt (the next town over) to look around there. We walked down some of the old streets and then went to a little cake and ice cream shop. Apparently, this place won the world pastry championship for the best cake and ice cream in Europe. So, of course we tried both the cake and the ice cream. I had chocolate and rhubarb ice cream, Annalea had vanilla and cherry, and we shared a piece of raspberry chocolate cake. It was all very delicious. After that, we all went to a health spa/swimming pool and hot tub where Annalea and I each got a massage. It was so relaxing and a perfect remedy to aching back muscles from carrying heavy packs.

After that, we all went for dinner back at the restaurant. It was once again incredibly delicious. We were first given a very flavourful meatball. It was small, but so delicious; Annalea claimed it to be the best meatball she's ever had. Then we had bread with honey butter and tomato butter. I had an asparagus soup again, and Annalea tried the pumpkin soup. For the main course I had an amazing bacon dumpling with fried mushrooms, all sitting in a creamy mushroom sauce. Annalea had some marinated beef with mashed potatoes and gravy. For dessert, we had some refreshing orange sorbet with caramelized sugar on top of it. Everything was amazing!

I couldn't really get over how incredibly generous it was of them to give us all this delicious food, which her dad cooks himself, as well as let us stay in their beautiful hotel all at no charge!  It felt very strange (and very nice:) ) to be so spoiled after a month and a half of backpacking.

The next day we had to head off, so we said goodbye to Domi and her family, then took the train to Rüdesheim.

Familiar Stranger

In order to get to Frankfurt, we had to take a train, then a bus, and then another train.  On our way there, we went through the countryside of Switzerland which was so beautiful.  The mountains rose high on either side of the road, and small waterfalls cascaded off their steep rock faces.  We wound our way through the valleys and were kept company by the quiet villages spread throughout the hillsides.

We arrived in the bustling Basel (in Switzerland) train station with an hour to wait before our next train.  We were told that we didn't need a reservation, but the train turned out to be packed.  There were a few empty seats, but they were all reserved.  So we walked up and down the aisle several times searching for empty seats while trying to avoid hitting people in the face with our obnoxious backpacks. We ended up taking two reserved seats. However, since they were reserved, Annalea ended up getting bumped from her seat. Thankfully I got to keep my seat, so we ended sharing. She sat on my lap with our bags beneath our feet.  It was a very cozy situation and we tried our best not to squish the guy beside us. We eventually we sat in more spacious seats after after a family of four got off.

Around 10:00pm we arrived in Marburg, Germany.  We hadn't originally planned on going there, but after meeting the three boys in Rome who were studying there, it became part of our itinerary.  You see, before we parted ways with them in Rome, we found out that they were living in Marburg, near Frankfurt.  Two of them were leaving in a couple days, but one of them, Grayson, was staying there another week or so.  We realized that we could be in Germany around that time so Grayson therefore invited us to come stay with him.   This would mean free accommodation,  as well as being able to hang out with him again.  So we took him up on his offer and headed for Marburg. Now, in case you're thinking that this was a very naïve move, staying with a guy we'd just met in his cozy dorm room, then know this: we both felt that he was a trustworthy guy, who was very down to earth and grounded. If either of us has felt even a tinge of uneasiness on the situation, then obviously we wouldn't have gone.  So, once we arrived in Marburg, Grayson met us at the train station and walked us to his dorm.  

The next day, we went to visit a park in Kassel (about an hour from Marburg on train).  We walked up about 530 steps to get to Hercules Castle, then walked around the park to see some waterfalls, some ruins and another castle.  Everything was vibrant green and incredibly lush.  That night we went out for drinks and I had a shot of Jäger for the first time (not bad...), as well as some German beer.  The next day we packed up and made our way to our friend's house in Bad König (also near Frankfurt).

Kids and Canolis; Fashion and Factories

On our way up to Milan, we made a stop in Reggio Emilia.  The reason for this was that Annalea wanted to visit the birthplace of an influencial Early Childhood Education philosophy.  She wanted to visit a preschool there, to see this philosophy in practice.  However,  we had arrived in the town too late in the afternoon and by the time we eventually found a preschool, the kids were getting ready to go home (a busy time in a preschool day) so we were unable to get a tour.  It was still nice to see Regio Emilia, which is a very sweet little town, quite quiet and untouristy.  Before we left, we found a little café and sat outside to enjoy a canoli (ricotta cheese, chocolate, and candies cherries/orange pieces, wrapped in a crunchy crêpe-like pastry) which was so delicious.  We then hopped on the train and headed for Milan.  

We checked into the hostel around 7:00pm and then ate some dinner.  Since there was free wifi there (a very precious rarity) we Skyped some friends, revised our travel itinerary again, and checked our emails.  We went to bed (I slept on a very springy mattress) and then left the next morning.  Before we headed out though, we did go and see the Duomo, which is the third largest Cathedral in the world, and the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world.  We could only stay there for literally ten minutes before we had to run and catch our train.  It was an amazing structure.  The walls were decorated with detailed stained glass windows and the columns lining the sanctuary had carvings of saints on them.  On top of that, the ceilings were 60 meters high! The outside was pale stone and was covered in intricately carved scenes and sculptures.  Pointy steeple-like structures lined the edge of the roof.  It was beautiful!  We hurried back to the train station, almost missing our train, and then headed in the direction of Frankfurt.

When in Rome...check out a whole bunch of old stuff.

We arrived in Rome on Saturday night and took a half hour bus ride out of Rome to the campground where we were staying.  There we checked in to a mobile home kind of thing.   The next day we had planned on catching the first bus into the city. However, due to sleeping through the alarm plus moving slowly that morning, we managed to miss three buses and ended up getting into Rome two hours later than we'd hoped.  So we didn't see very much on the first day, although we did see the Roman Baths which were really quite amazing.  It turns out that the Romans invented spas comparable to ones used today.  They had gyms, masseuses, hot and cold baths, change rooms, and pretty much everything else that is used in modern pool complexes.  We spent the rest of the afternoon roaming (hehe) around, then went back to the campground.  

The next day was far more productive on the whole ancient sightseeing front.  We started the day by doing a tour of the Vatican, including St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine chapel.  It was all absolutely incredible.  It was really unbelievable seeing such famous architecture and artwork right in front of my eyes.  It was so amazing.  On that tour we met three guys from the States and ended up going for lunch with them.  We hung out with them for the rest of the day since we were all heading to the same stuff.  We saw the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and then finished the day with a bottle of wine on the Spanish Steps (unfortunately I don't like wine, so I had water--not as classy).  

The following morning, Annalea and I went to see the Colosseum.  It was mind-boggling to see and walk around something so significant to the ancient Roman world.  Actually, many bricks were taken from the Colosseum to build the churches in Rome, including the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica.  This, as well as the result of an earthquake, are why only half of the Colosseum is actually still standing at its original height.  Still, it was easy to imagine gladiators entering the arena in front of the some 500 000 spectators.  We did a tour of the Colosseum as well as the Forum and Palatine Hill.  They were all so remarkable.  Once the tours were over, we met up with the three guys from the day before and went for pizza (the first pizza Annalea and I have had this trip!).  Afterwards we went to see the tomb of the unknown soldier, then we walked along the river. Then we saw Castello San Angelo and walked around the streets of Rome trying to find some food.  This ended up taking a long time since we were specifically looking for crêpes which were very hard to find as it turned out.   Eventually, we found a place and indulged ourselves in the delicious flavours.  I had a savory bacon, mozzarella, tomato crêpe, then a sweet one which had an abundance of Nutella and white chocolate inside it.  They tasted amazing!  Then we all headed to the Metro station where we had to say goodbye as we parted ways.

The next day, Annalea and I took a day trip from Rome to Naples and then on to Pompeii.  Before going in to see the ruins, we took a bus up to Mt. Vesuvius.  This is the volcano which erupted in August, 79 AD, covering the town of Pompeii in volcanic ash, killing the people and freezing them in the positions in which they died. The bus took us up 1000m and then we walked the remaining 200m or so to the top.  It was spectacular.  The top of the mountain was shrouded in fast-moving, white clouds.  Steep, rough cliffs dropped far down into the huge crater, while patches of vegetation climbed their way up the rock faces.  I was blown away (hehe) by the incredible natural beauty.  We headed back down the mountain and caught the bus into town.  

We only had an hour to look around Pompeii, since we spent more time than we had anticipated on Mt. Vesuvius.  So, we wandered the ancient cobblestone streets and were captivated by the eerie charm of the city.  We also saw three body casts made from the originals found in the same positions.  There was a pregnant woman lying on her stomach, a man crouching and covering his mouth, and a dog curled up in a distressed
position.  It was fascinating, and kind of chilling.  It was weird to imagine how the night before the eruption may have been.  I would guess that it was just an ordinary evening, probably peaceful as the people naturally assumed that they would safely wake up the next morning.  The fear and panic that would have accompanied the volcano's awakening must have been unbearable.  After navigating our way through the maze of streets, we took the train back into Naples for dinner.

We, of course, went for pizza since Naples is the founding place of pizza.  We went to one of the pizzerias recommended by our Lonely Planet book, which is apparently very popular among locals as well.  While we eating the amazing, big, double mozzarella pizza we saw a picture on the wall of Julia Roberts eating pizza in the same restaurant. I thought the picture looked familiar from a scene in the movie, Eat Pray Love.  We asked one of the staff and sure enough, it is the restaurant where they go for pizza in the movie.  It was also very cool to watch the guy make up our pizza then cook it in the big wood fire oven.  Such a cool place and sooooo delicious!  And the pizza, which was very big, only cost us €5 ($6.50)!!!  Amazing! 

We headed back to Rome, back to the campground, then packed up our bags since we were leaving the next morning for Milan.  

Somewhere between a dream and reality...

The place we stayed in Santorini was unbelievably wonderful.  Upon entering a gate to get inside the walled apartment area, we were surrounded by the typical white stone walls and blue doors and windows of the two-story buildings.  The ivory buildings rose up meeting the unscathed blue sky while stone staircases wound their way down from the second floor.  A pool was in the open courtyard as well as lounge chairs.  The sun was setting and so a beautiful, golden light was cast atop the walls and upon the windows.  

The next day, we rented ATVs, and toured the island.  We went to the Red Sand beach, then to a lighthouse and lookout point, then walked around one of the towns which is known for its blue and white houses and buildings.  This town was so beautiful not only because of the dramatic contrast between the colour of the buildings and the colour of sky.  It was amazing also because it was situated right on the edge of the sea on a steep mountain side that fell softly into the glistening water.  It was so peaceful and just so gorgeous.  

Our second day began with more ATVing for the remaining two hours which we had left on our rental.  We drove up several switchbacks up to the top of a mountain.  We could only stay a couple minutes due to time, but it was still so beautiful.  There were two towns below us, the vast sea stretching around us, and mountains rising majestically beside us.  The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent on the Black Sand beach, which had very soft, but very hot sand.  We laid on the sun chairs for awhile and swam in the cool, refreshing water of the Aegean Sea.  That evening, we all (that is Sonja, Surya, who came with us from Ios, and two people we met from the dorm room where we were staying) went for a hike up the same mountain which we had driven up earlier.  We took a different route to the one we'd taken earlier, though, so we saw this amazing rock face which was kind of a rusty orange colour.  It was remarkable!  It's height, colour, and texture/patterns astounded me.  We finished hiking to the top of the maintain and happened to get there just as the sun was slipping behind billowy, beautiful clouds.  So for our last night on Santorini, we unintentionally caught a sunset from a mountaintop.  How perfect :)

The next day we woke up really early in hopes of seeing the sunrise, but by the time we reached the beach, it had already risen.  It was still really beautiful though.  We took a ferry off the island that afternoon to Athens and on the eight hour ride there, we met a lovely Irish couple.  We chatted with them for awhile, then ended up playing Bananagrams  with them for most of the way.  We stayed in a hostel that night, then took a train then a bus to get to Patra.  From there, we took a fifteen and a half hour ferry to Bari, Italy.  In the ferry terminal we met this really nice guy, named Niki, from Toronto.  We hung out with him for most of the way there which was nice.  We arrived safely in Bari the next morning, then made our way to Rome.   

P-A-R-T-Y? Because it's Ios.

Ios as it turned out was very much a party island.  Of course it was a beautiful place, but most people go there for the nightlife not to tour around.  First we checked into where we were staying, which was incredibly cool and well laid out.  It was a combination of bungalows, a campground, and a resort.  We stayed in a lovely little white-walled, blue-trimmed bungalow.  There was a mini-market, a bar and restaurant very close by.  Beside the restaurant was the pool which was surrounded by lounge chairs and a couple hammocks and pillows.  The beach was right in front of the whole area with sun chairs and bamboo umbrellas.  It was so picturesque.  

After settling in, we ate some dinner, got ready for the night, and then went to get our party on.  Two Bacardi Breezers, five shots, and one Slammer Hammer (the Slammer Hammer involves putting on a helmet, chugging a glass of tequila/sprite (I think), and then getting hit on the head by the bartender with either a hammer, Heineken case, or fire-extinguisher-looking-thing), and lots of dancing later, Annalea and I walked home in the beautiful early morning light about 6:00am.  We went to bed for a couple hours, then checked out of our room, and then laid on the beach for the afternoon.  In the early evening we took a ferry from there to the very beautiful island of Santorini.

It's all Greek to me

We began our first full day in Athens by walking Surya to the ferry port because she was going to Ios (one of the Greek islands) that day.  After that, we went on a really great walking tour.  It was so amazing to see such ancient, historic sites.  We started in one of the main squares and saw the Monastiraki (little Monastery).  We then went to the Roman Agora (marketplace) which was constructed in the first century BC, then saw the library of Hadrian, the remains of ancient public toilets, and the tower of the winds.  After that, we headed to the Classical Agora, laid out in 530 BC, where we saw the altar of the twelve gods, a fountain house, the Council House, courts, the shrine of the Mother of the Gods, and the Temples of Hephaestus, Zeus Phratios, Apollo Patroos, and Athena Phratia.  This was the same agora where Socrates taught.  

We continued our walk heading up to Mars Hill  which is the place Paul (from the Bible) apparently preached from and which is now known as the make-out spot for young Athenian couples).  We then walked up the path to the incredible Acropolis which sits proudly on the rocky mountaintop.  Here we saw the Parthenon, which was amazing, as well as the Temple of Nike.  We also stood at a lookout point where there was an amazing view of the vast city below.  After this, we headed to the Amphitheater of Dionysius where public assemblies were held in the late third century AD.  Our next stop was Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  After that, we walked by the Panathenaic  Stadium, and then finished the tour outside the Parliament building where we saw the changing of the guard.  

That night Sonja, Annalea, and I all went for dinner at this great little restaurant for Annalea's birthday celebration, since her actual birthday was spent in such a bogus manner.  We had some really delicious Greek food, then walked around Athens for a bit, and then went back to the hostel.

The next day we had a slow start then walked around the city for the afternoon. We went to the Archeological Museum, and on the way there almost walked into a dangerous ghetto neighbourhood, but were thankfully warned to go back by a stranger passing by.  We went to some gardens and a market, and then we were going to go see the National Gardens by the Parliament buildings.  However, as we climbed the stairs from the subway into the main square above, we realized we had stumbled into the heart of a protest.  There were hundreds of people crowding the square, many waving Greek flags, and towards the front and closer to the Parliament buildings people were shouting some Greek word in unison.  It was still quite calm, despite the shouting, though police were lining the edges in case it got ugly.  We asked a girl what was going on and they were apparently yelling "Thieves! Thieves! Thieves!" in regards to some debt that the government had.  It was all very exciting.  It also meant the gardens were closed, so after a few minutes we left.  After going for dinner, we went back to the hostel for the remainder of the night.  We left Athens early the next morning and headed for the island of Ios.  

The Road Less Taken (there's a reason it's less taken...)

Okay.  So.  Sarajevo.  In order to get there from Dubrovnik, we had to take a six hour bus ride.  The ride through the Bosnian countryside was very beautiful.  The steep mountain slopes were rich with greenery and fell softly into peaceful valleys often holding small villages. Above winding freshwater rivers, the blanket of vegetation parted to reveal jagged, layered cliff faces. We were kept company along the way by the songs on our iPod and ended up sleeping about half of the way there.  

Once we arrived, the cousin of the owner of the guesthouse where we stayed picked us up at the station.  After checking into our room, we decided to head into Sarajevo's "Old Town."  We walked down the rough cobblestone alleyways and past a large graveyard spotted with tall, white tombstones.  When we reached the town, we thought it would be a good idea to find a tourist information office, in order to see what was worth seeing in the short time we had to explore Sarajevo.  Now though this may sound like a simple task, it was not so...
First of all, most people who we asked directions from spoke very limited English.  On top of that they gave us conflicting instructions on where to go.  When we finally reached the place where we were told the info kiosk would be, we found out that it had closed down a long time ago.  Needless to say this was a rather frustrating way to spend some of the precious time which we had there.  Anyway, we finally found the current info place and got the information we needed.  After that, we had to figure out what train we needed to take out of Sarajevo the following day.  This meant a forty-five minute trolley ride to the main bus station, plus another hour or so figuring out what the best option would be, then we had to buy our tickets--rather difficult when the ticket vendor only spoke Bosnian, and then another forty-five minutes to get back to the Old Town.  The whole situation left us rather emotionally exhausted.

After we got back, we did spend some time looking at some of the main sites.  Unfortunately, one of those sites, the city hall--supposedly the symbol of Sarajevo--was completely under construction making it impossible to see any of it.  Things did brighten up greatly when we went out for dinner.  We went to a funky, little place called Barhana which was just lovely.  The food was absolutely delicious and our waiter was very friendly.   So in the end, our Sarajevo experience was redeemed :)

We left our room the next morning and boarded our bus for the ten hour ride to Niš, Serbia.  Once we got there, we had to figure out how to get from there to Thessalonia, Greece.  The language barrier was once again a huge challenge.  Thankfully some very friendly strangers who knew some English helped us out.  They told us that the best way to get to Thessalonia would be by taking a four hour bus to Skopje, Macedonia, and then another four hour bus ride from there to Thessalonia.    So, we had to wait at the Niš bus station for five hours until midnight when our bus showed up.  That day also happened to be Annalea's birthday, which was just so very unfortunate that it happened to be on the only day that we would spend the entire twenty-four hours traveling/waiting for a bus.  We tried to recognize the special day by buying a slice of cake from the restaurant at the Niš bus station, but sadly, the cake tasted like cigarettes :(  So, we decided that we would properly celebrate her in Athens by going out for dinner/drinks/gelato/etc.

We arrived in Skopje about four in the morning and tried to navigate our way to a bus or train which would take us to Thessalonia.  This was tricky since Macedonia has a different alphabet, similar to the Greek alphabet.  We managed to find out that there was a bus (well actually it was more like a shuttle) going there at 6:00am.  Soon after, we found out that it was full.   On top of that, there were no trains going that day and the next bus was leaving at 8:30, but would mean a very complicated route and a bus transfer.    This was very bad news because we needed to get to Thessalonia in order to get to Athens for our hostel booking that night.  Then, miraculously, an incredibly helpful tourist infomation guy went out of his way to help us.  He called the 6:00 bus and asked them to bring a bigger shuttle so that there would be room for us.  They agreed and we were able to board the bus and head to Thessalonia. :)

Once we got there, we walked to the train station and booked our seats.  Then, we went to explore the city for a couple hours.  We headed back to the station thinking we would have about an hour before the train left.  On the way back, however, we suddenly realized that Greece is an hour ahead of the time zone we were on.  This meant that instead of arriving at the bus station with ample time, our train was leaving at that moment, while we were still several blocks away.  Thankfully, there was another train going to Athens an hour and a half later.  We got tickets for that one, then boarded the train.  We were both incredibly relieved to finally be on the train to Athens.  Seven hours later, and after making friends with three Greek guys, we pulled into the Athens train station at 11:20pm.  The guys helped us read the map (all in Greek) and pointed us in the direction of our hostel.  We checked in then met our friends Sonja and Surya there.  We made some plans for the following day, and then went to bed. 

Dubrovnik (today! I've finally caught up with myself)

Leaving Split on a bus in the afternoon, we arrived in Dubrovnik yesterday about 9pm.  We checked into our guesthouse (which we are finding out are usually cheaper than hostels), then went for pizza, then went to bed.  

Today we went to see the Old Town which is surrounded by a very tall stone wall.  On our way into the fortified area, we saw a minstrel playing the guitar and harmonica.  We ended up talking with him and he told us about how much he enjoys playing music.  He then went on to tell us about his family and where he's from.  He was very sweet.  We parted ways and headed for lunch (a delicious kebab).  

After that we headed up some stairs to walk around the wall.  It took about two hours to walk around the entire thing.  It was very amazing seeing all the orange roofs pieced together amidst clock towers and churches which rose above their rooftops.  The other side of the wall looked out to the sea.  It was overcast weather, though still very hot and humid, which made the water blend with the skyline.  

After walking the wall, we wandered the streets to find an old cathedral.  As we walked in to admire the beautiful architecture, we realized that a mass was about to start.  So we decided to stay and experience a Croatian Mass.  It opened with a Croatian version of a song we sing back home, so that was nice (some familiarity).  The rest seemed to move along quickly since the priest didn't do a sermon, and there was only one reading.  After it ended, we went for dinner at a restaurant off one if the many sidesteets.  We had a mixed meat platter (pork, chicken, and lamb(?)) which is apparently a typical Croatian dish.  

We finished looking around the town by heading down a sidestreet to see where it lead.  We happened upon a huge cathedral which was very beautiful.  After that, we walked back to our room and figured out which bus we need to take to Sarajevo tomorrow.  We will be leaving Dubrovnik at 8:00am in order to get there at 2:00pm. 

Now we are sitting in an Internet cafe checking some emails and updating our blogs.  It's nice to finally be caught up with what we're doing!  Well that's all for now.  Until Sarajevo, ta ta!

Hvar Town (May 20-22)

As we got off the boat, we were once again bombarded accommodation offers.  The lady who we were renting from picked us up there and drove us to her house.  We stayed in a guesthouse that I would highly recommend, if you ever find yourself in Hvar Town.  We stayed in a private room with an ensuite.  There was a small shared kitchen that worked perfectly for our needs.  There was also two terraces outside.  One was covered and had a beautiful garden planted along the stone wall, the other had a wall around it ensuring complete privacy and also had several lounge chairs plus some tables.  

We spent the next morning on the uncovered terrace lying under the intense sun.  Well actually, first I gave myself a mini pedicure and manicure, and then I laid on the lounge chair to bask in the heat.  What a lovely place to pamper oneself.  

We took a lunch break for tuna melts and then had to go buy groceries and ferry tickets.  We walked down the several flights of stone stairs which took us right beside the Adriatic Sea.   We walked along the seawall beside a cove which housed a plethora of sailboats sitting quietly on the sparking turquoise water.  We bought what we needed, looked around the open-air merchant markets, then headed back to the house for dinner.  

That evening we decided to walk up to an ancient fortress which overlooked the town.  We hiked up the path which wound its way through the jungle-like forest.  By the time we came upon the stone stronghold, we only had ten minutes to look around before if closed.  We quickly wandered the site, taking in the incredible views of Hvar Town from the ancient lookouts.  The sun was setting and so cast a remarkable golden light on all the terra cotta roofs below.   After taking several pictures, we headed back down the mountain.  The nightlife was awakening as we approached the main square.  The sun slowly slipped behind the hill as bars and restaurants bustled with conversation.  We walked back along the seawall, then up to our guesthouse for the night.  Another perfect day complete.

Bibinje, Croatia(May 17-19) and Split, Croatia (May 19-20):

So we arrived in Bibinje, (pronounced "BIB-in-ye")Croatia last Tuesday.    We left Venice on Tuesday morning and took a train to Trieste, Italy.  We then took a bus from there to Rijeka, Croatia, and then a bus from there to Zadar, Croatia.  Actually, while we were in Trieste train station, before we got on the bus, we ran into three friends from my grade (Sonja, Olivia, Surya).  We were all baffled and very excited to see each other.  We went for gelato-the best I've had so far- and caught each other up on travel stories.  Then due to time and bus schedules, we had to part ways.  The bus ride into Croatia was great.  The bus was comfortable and the scenery was incredible.  We drove along the edge of the Adraitic Sea and through the rocky, rolling hills which were covered in bright green trees and shrubs.  The sun set behind us, amidst feathery clouds, and cast its golden light on the water's surface.  We arrived in Bibinje around 10:00pm and checked into the room which we were renting.  It was a beautiful two-bedroom suite and with a red/black/white colour scheme it looked very classy and was very comfortable.  

The next day, we had to switch rooms, and then spent the rest of the morning relaxing on the patio which looked out to the marina.  We thought that we'd head to the National Park nearby  for the afternoon.  However, after taking a bus halfway there to a town nearby, we realized it was much further than we had anticipated. Since we wouldn't have had enough time to get there and back with enough time to see much of park, we decided to stay in the town.  So instead, we sat by the clear, turquoise water chatting and laughing as we shared a Coke and a Croatian chocolate bar.  We then headed back to  Bibinje for a wonderful pasta dinner which we cooked for ourselves.  

We had to check out of our room in the morning,  and then we spent the afternoon sitting on a white, rocky beach.  The sun was very hot, but the cool breeze from the sparking Adriatic was refreshing.  After that, we caught  a bus to the next place on our itinerary: Split. As we stepped off the bus, we were swarmed by people offering accommodation. After fighting our way through the crowd of people we went to find our hostel.

The next morning, we went to see Diocletian's Palace.  Diocletian was a Roman emperor who retired to this palace in the  fourth century AD.  We entered the beautiful retirement home through the Golden Gate and wandered the stone streets for the morning.  We took in views from the bell tower and then ate an incredibly delicious chocolate cake in the open courtyard (which was the entrance to Diocletian's living quarters).  Actually, while we were eating our cake "Diocletian" came out and addressed the crowd while his "Roman soldiers" stood guard.  After that we went and saw a stone mosaic floor and then filled up our water bottles from a fountain whose water still flows from the ancient Roman aqueducts.  It was cold and refreshing!    We then went back to the hostel, got our bags and caught a Catamaran to Hvar Town.  

Venice (May 15-17):

On Sunday, we left a very rainy Florence (my first rainy day in about three weeks) and headed to an even rainier Venice.  Despite the fact that the rain was being blown horizontally due to the viscous gales of wind, we still decided to go look around Venice.  We walked along the canals, through the winding streets, and over several of the Venetian bridges.

The following day turned out to be perfect sight-seeing weather.  The sun was warm, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  First, we took a boat to an island near Venice called Murano.  It's famous for its glassworks so we went into several shops selling beautiful handmade jewelry. We also went to a glass-blowing factory to see four men working together to make vases and other delicate pieces.  It was amazing to watch.  We continued walking along the canals as speedboats drove slowly past us.  The sky was a vibrant blue and created an incredible backdrop for the old, stone buildings.  Despite the countless beautiful things waiting to be explored there, we had to continue on due to time.  We took a half hour boat ride to Burano, another island near Venice.  We simply wandered its streets observing the casual pace of life there.  It amazed me how many different colours were used on the buildings. Each one was vibrant and unique to the house beside it.  One was deep red, another sky blue, one lime green, others coral, yellow, orange, cherry red, and on and on.  After taking many pictures and admiring the sights and colours, we went to catch the boat back to Venice. On our way to the dock, we saw a man playing the Turkish Marh on an accordion. It sounded so good!

Back in Venice, we saw a group of musicians playing a violin, accordian, and guitar in the main square. Then we rode down and then back up the Grand Canal.  Gorgeous, weathered buildings lined the water's edge and the canal bent smoothly around their corners. We went under several bridges and saw numerous gondoliers slowly rowing couples around the smooth waters.  Then we went and ate dinner at a little restaurant by the water's edge.  As we ate our food, we watched the sun fall slowly behind the silhouettes of the  distant buildings.  Beautiful!

Florence and Siena (May 12-15):

On our first day in Florence we walked around without any specific direction or plan.  We found our way to the Piazzale Michelangelo  which sits atop a hill.  From there we saw  an incredible panoramic view of Florence.  

The next day we had to switch hostels and so ended up staying in a 22-bed, mixed dorm.  Our room seriously reminded me of Annie, or some other old orphanage, with its dim lighting, slow-spinning ceiling fan, creaky bed springs and grey wool blankets.  Annalea thought it looked like something out of a war camp.  After checking in here, we did a walking tour which took us around the Piazza della Repubblica, past the Uffizi Gallery, through the Piazza San Firenze, outside the Duomo and Battistero (Baptisery), and then finished beside the Ponte Vecchio.  Later that day, we did an open-air, double-decker bus tour which took us all around Florence.  

On the third day, we did a little day trip to Siena.  It was beautiful.  We spent the day wandering its maze of streets and admiring the medieval, walled city's statues and structures.  Also, that day happened to be some sort of Ferrari car show.  So there were a bunch of shiny, very well-maintained Ferraris being driven through the main square (Il Campo) before numerous excited onlookers.  As I leaned past a kid (probably two or three years old) to take a picture,  I heard him say in utter amazement of the red car in front of us, "Ooooh, Mamma!"  So adorable.  Annalea and I finished our Siena walkabout by visiting the Cassa di Santa Catarina (the patron saint of Siena) which was gorgeous.  

When we got back to Florence,  we went and stood in line to see the Duomo.  The Duomo is the fourth largest cathedral in the world.  It's most famous for the giant cupola which sits atop the Gothic cathedral.  The entire interior of the cupola (which is the dome ceiling) is covered in a huge fresco.  There are several different scenes depicted there of saints, angels, devils, good, evil, etc painted in vibrant colours and with amazing use of depth and perspective.  The walls of the church also have frescoes, as well as numerous stained-glass windows.  After admiring the inside of the cathedral, we finished climbing the 430-something stairs to the very top of the dome.  There, we went outside onto the wraparound platform which allows for a complete 360 degree view of Florence.   It was spectacular!

For some reason that night, all the government-owned museums and galleries were free, so we decided we would take advantage of that and spend our wild Saturday night touring museums/galleries.  We started our tour after descending the tight spiral staircase from the top of the Duomo.   As we were standing in line to see Michelangelo's sculpture, David, Annalea noticed that Andi (a WWOOFer from the same farm that I was on) was standing two people in front of us.  We got her attention and were all very amazed to see each other again.  This was actually our second chance-encounter with her (it also happened in Lucca) and so it was very exciting to be reunited again.  The three of us spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in each other's company.  We saw the David sculpture, which was amazing, as well as many works by Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," and hundreds of other Renaissance pieces by various artists.    After wandering the gallery halls for a couple hours, we decided that we'd had enough culture for one night.  So, we bought some wine, brought along some baguette, Brie, peanut butter, crackers, fruit, and popcorn, and went and sat on a bridge stretching over the Arno River.  It was such a perfect way to spend our last night in Florence.  We sat under the star-filled sky eating, drinking, laughing, and talking about life and the affairs of love.  it was just so entirely wonderful! The next day, we attended mass at the Duomo, walked across Ponte Vecchio, then took a train to Venice.   

Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corneglia, Vernazza, Monterossa

I am way behind on this whole blogging situation, so here's what I'm going to do.  I will do a different blog for each place we've stayed in the last week abd a half.  Hopefully I won't ramble too too much.  So here's Cinque Terre:

On the first day there, after settling into our hostel, we walked about 20 minutes over to the first town, Riomaggiore.  

The next day, we hiked up the mountain, above Corneglia (the third village) and on to Vernazza (the fourth village).  It was all so incredibly beautiful.  The sunlight was golden and the vegetation was vibrant in its thousand shades of green.  The steep hills descended into the shimmering, turquoise sea and the towns sat quietly atop the rocky cliffs.  That night, while we were eating pesto lasagna and pizza maragherita, we started chatting with another guest of the hostel.  His name was Alex, and here's the crazy part: it turned out that he was from Nelson!  We are so far away from home to find out we were at the same hostel as a fellow Nelsonite.  What a small world:)  That night he showed took us to a lookout where we watched the sun set over the Ligurian Sea.  Needless to say, it was stunning.  

The following day we took the train to Vernazza, and then hiked about three hours from there to  Monterossa (the fifth village).  On the way there, we bought some lemonade from a lady who was selling it beside the path.  She was cutting and squeezing fresh lemons and then just adding sugar and water to the concentrated juice.  It was sooo refreshing! Once we got to Monterosso, we wandered around for awhile. Annalea asked directions in Italian from a man who turned out to be a Russian tourist, not an Italian info personnel.  It was really funny to watch, for myself, and his friends as well.  We continued to wander and then went to the beach to lay in the sun, and to dunk in the refreshing water.  On the train ride back to our hostel, we stopped off at Corneglia, since we skipped it the day before.  We literally walked ten minutes into the town and then had to walk back again in order to catch the train.  Since it was our last night in Cinque Terre, we went out for dinner.  We shared a seafood salad, consisting of mussels, squid, octopus, and shrimp, and then had Tagliolini with Lobster.  It was all very delicious.  

The next day, we left on a train to La Spezia and then headed from there to Florence.

Oh, come on, give it back...

So, yesterday was officially the first day of backpacking in Europe.  Annalea met me at the farm and stayed the night on Friday, and then we took a train from Cecina (a town near the farm) to Pisa.  We also learned our first backpacking lesson firsthand soon after we arrived.  As we were sitting on a bench outside the train station, my iPod was stolen :(  It was really quite ridiculous of us.  We were such obvious targets, with our big packs and  looks of awe and amazement.  While we were totally absorbed in our map, someone stealthily snuck up behind us and took it without either of us noticing.  It was almost impressive.  We didn't even hear them behind us, or see anyone around us.  The rest of the day, we were kicking ourselves about how we could have prevented it.  But that's the trouble with hindsight, it's 20/20.  However, despite the misfortune of the situation and how silly and naive it made us feel, this little event did teach me some good lessons: 1.) To be very aware of everything that is going on around me when traveling.  2.) To keep valuable items hidden from public view.  3.) To remember not be materialistic--it's just an object, and its absence does not indicate the end of the world.

So, our first impression of Pisa was a bit tainted.  However, after a day of touring around, seeing the tower, posing cliché poses in front of it, taking many pictures of churches, galleries, and famous-looking statues, our time in Pisa turned out to be very enjoyable.  Plus the hostel where we stayed was very comfortable.

Today, we visited Lucca, a walled city about a half hour train ride from Pisa.  It was beautiful.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and the perfect temperature to be wandering the cobblestone streets of an old Italian city.  We saw some churches, an art display of some beautiful statues, many piazzas (plazas), climbed a tower and saw a lovely panoramic view of the city, ate gelato, and took hundreds of pictures.  After wandering around for the afternoon, we then took the train back to Pisa and are staying another night here.  Tomorrow we will head to Cinque Terre (five coastal towns about an hour train ride from here).  Well, we should probably go make some dinner, so I will sign off for now.  Arrivederci!

Recapitulation

So seeing as I haven't written for about a week and a half, I though I would just recap what I've been up to.  

Last Saturday was the first rainy day since I've been here, so we stayed inside and made membership cards for new WWOOFers.  Then in the afternoon, we watched Monty Python's Meaning of Life, since it was too rainy outside to do anything else. 

For Easter, the other WWOOFer and I walked into the village to go to Easter Mass.  I thought it would be a cool cultural experience, going to an Italian church for Easter.  It was interesting and it sounded very Italian.  I didn't understand about 99% of it, but no matter, it was a nice day to walk into town.  Afterward we went for some gelato, which was delicious, and then walked around the main square and then back home.  

We had Monday off from farming since it was a holiday and so we went to the beach.  It was a bit windy, so we didn't go swimming.  When we got back to the house, we watched another Monty Python movie, the Life of Brian.  Later that evening, we went for dinner at a friend of Bridget's (the farm-owner).  It was a lovely dinner and the house where it was held was beautiful (the friend designed it herself--she's an architect).  The friend is also lending me an electric keyboard for while I'm here, which is awesome.  It feels so good to play a piano again :)

Tuesday was back to work.  This week I weeded some gardens, I did some raking, I tried to get a tan during my siestas, I cut a vine-like plant off an olive tree, I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time, I sprayed some potato and tomato plants (with a natural compound to keep the leaves from getting diseased), I de-shelled some peanuts for homemade peanut butter, I did some hoeing to get soil ready for planting cucumbers, and I cleaned out the chicken coop.  

Oh, and yesterday, I saw some interesting creatures.  First, while I was sun-bathing, a big green lizard ran near my towel.  Then while I was shoveling mulch (decomposing grass that's used for keeping moisture around the plants) into a wheelbarrow, I found a viper!  It was so cool.  It was only about foot long, had a light-brown belly, a dark, diamond-patterned back, and it slithered around belly-up.  Then while I was shoveling mulch on a different terrace, I saw two more!  On top of all that, I saw a big toad, really weird looking spiders, and a colourful centipede-like thing.  I was kind of blown away.  Oh the things you can find in the rotting, cold places :)

One of the other jobs I did turned out to be quite a challenge.  It sounded simple: remove the brambles from the chicken coop area.  Well, first off, brambles have vicious thorns covering the stems.  Secondly, they happened to be growing amidst a huge patch if stinging nettle.  So, in order to protect myself from stab wounds and burning stings, I had to wear long pants, my jacket, and two pairs of gardening gloves.  Did I mention that the sun was giving off that warm Tuscan heat?  Oh and I had to get them out by hacking a hoe into the roots, which proved to be quite difficult since the brambles were growing beneath the low branches of the fruit trees.  So I am pleased to say that I completed this challenge and have come away from it with a great distaste for stinging nettle, which has stung me about six times now.  Despite the challenging aspect of the task, I still didn't mind doing it.  Plus the breeze would blow by now and then and give me a break from the heat.  And just a fun-fact in case you ever get stung by stinging nettle: there is a plant that grows near stinging nettle, which here they call "doc." If you rub the leaves of this plant on the place that was stung, the horrible burning feeling goes away in a matter of seconds.  Yay nature!

Today, the other WWOOFer left, so I will be the only WWOOFer here for the rest of this week.  However, there is a long-term WWOOFer here and her family is visiting, so that's nice. Tonight, we all played a board game (Rummikub) which was great fun.

In very happy news, my sister is joining me here next Friday.  YAY!  I am of course very excited about this.  I still can't believe I only have one week left here, though.  It definitely doesn't feel like I've already been here for two weeks.  My how time flies! By the way, whoever may be reading this, please feel free to post a comment. It would be nice to know that people are actually reading what I write. I'd appreciate it :)

What a Wonderful Life

Today marks one week from when I left home.  It hardly seems like a week.  So many things have happened that it seems almost impossible that a whole week has already passed.  Yet, it also seems like such a short span of time that has gone by so quickly.  

I have fallen in love with this place.  This evening I just stood outside and closed my eyes while the breeze softly caressed my back.  The sweet twittering of songbirds filled the air, along with the sound of someone humming in the kitchen,  someone peeling potatoes for dinner, and someone turning a page as they read a book.  I smiled to myself as I let the immense beauty of this place wash over me.   

I have discovered that I really like gardening.  I find it peaceful and almost meditative.  On Monday, I thinned the lettuce and then helped put up a fence. Yesterday morning, we went to a market in a nearby town.  In the afternoon, I helped plant tomatoes.  Then in the evening, the other WWOOFer here taught me how to play some basic chords on his guitar.  Early this morning, we went over to a different farm to help out there.  We were given the job of weeding the lavender.  As we pulled the lavender from the grasp of the grass and weeds, its sweet aroma hung in the air.  Everything here is so lovely.  

What more could this amazing piece of paradise have in store for me?  Only time will tell. 

Basking in Tuscan Sunlight

I am sitting here looking out to the beautiful, lush hills of Tuscany.  The sun is warm and the breeze is cool.  Across the valley is a lovely villa sitting peacefully atop a hill.  Olive trees, cypress trees, and vibrant greenery surround it, just like they do where I am staying.  Earlier today, I did some painting and then read a book (Under the Tuscan Sun, which I thought was rather appropriate) while birds twittered about me and bees buzzed around me.  This place is the epitome of tranquility.  I still have to remind myself that I am actually here.  One of the other farmers tells me that tomorrow we will be working in the vegetable garden.  I am baffled that this is real.  

The Adventure Begins

Today is the day before I leave for Europe.  I flew to Vancouver from Castlegar this morning, which was particularly awesome because the weather forecast looked a little iffy the last couple of days.  It was a lovely flight and the plane soared into blue and lightly clouded skies.  As I flew over the snow capped mountains I was reminded of how incredibly beautiful the Kootenays are.  And then I passed out for pretty much the remainder of the flight.  When I awoke, we were pulling into the Vancouver Airport.  After leaving the airport and boarding the Sky Train, I discovered the hard way that Burrard Station is not part of the same line which the train takes from the airport to downtown.  So instead of meeting my friend at Burrard station when I was supposed to, I wandered the streets of Vancouver with adventure on my mind and a forty pound backpack on my back (plus a twenty-or-so pound carry-on bag slung over my front).  Needless to say the adventure part started to wear thin while the bags started to gain weight--or so it felt.  I also found out that some people in Vancouver are not the best at giving directions.  No matter.  I took this as a good sign of this being a trip filled with exciting and unexpected things.  Also, this little direction-challenged moment was good practice for being confused/lost in a foreign place (which is bound to happen quite frequently in the next four months).  I did eventually find my friend, who was of course at Burrard Station.  We then walked another fifteen or twenty minutes to her house which is where I'll spend the night.  My flight tomorrow leaves at 4pm, so I will, theoretically, have plenty of time to find my way there. 
I greatly look forward to whatever lies ahead of me.  No matter what the outcome, I know it will be an adventure.  I will write again from Paris :)  Until then, bye bye!

Let's Begin...

Well, hello there.
This is my first time blogging and my first time that I will be traveling in Europe.  Some people suggested that I blog about my travels  instead of emailing, so here it is.  I hope you enjoy reading what I write.  I make no promises to avoid rambling, for I believe that is the point of a blog.  I will write some more once I actually have something worth writing about, so until then, goodbye for now!