Tuesday + {Day Twenty-Nine: Venice}

Miss your flight once and I swear to God, you'll be paranoid about missing your connections for the rest of your life. After a very restless night of sleep, I woke up at seven when my alarm went off to finish gathering our odds and ends up into our backpacks. I pried Gooligan out of bed around seven-thirty.

We left our house at eight, caught the bus to the train station, and then had a little breakfast while we waited for our train to be assigned a platform.

I fell asleep a lot on the train. It felt like every time I nodded off, someone--usually the ticket-checker--would come by and make a lot of noise and wake me up. But I caught a few zzzs by the time we made it to Venice.

Our first sight of the city was a watery one: the train goes over a bridge between the mainland and the island! After we arrived, Gooligan and I located the bag drop and checked in my backpack (all our clean clothes and toiletries, essentially). Our plan was to find a laundry where we could get our dirties washed while we explored some of the city.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the shop, it was closed. At least we think we found the shop. It's tough to tell sometimes because if a business has a metal sheet over it, and it doesn't have any signage anywhere else), you can't tell what the business is or what its hours are.

Since the laundry was closed, we had to lug our dirty clothes around all day. Not exactly great, but at least we're saving seven or so euro by not checking it, I guess.

For lunch we stopped at this amazing pasta place called Alfredo's. They're a rather unique pasta restaurant in Italy, since it was a hole-in-the-wall place where they only have about eight dishes and they serve them in Chinese take-out boxes. Each portion is a pound. The food was really great. They use all fresh ingredients and the cook inquired how we liked the food and talked to the four of us who were sitting at the minimal indoor seats. The other two were from Colorado and California. The shop also played popular American music which is a nice slice of home when you're almost a month removed from American radio.

After lunch, we sat in San Marco square for awhile. Both Gooligan and I really want to see Doge's Palace, but we decided to wait and do it another day when we're not weighed down by all our bags.

We basically spent all afternoon wandering around the city and window shopping. We took a small break at a hipster cafe with wifi. Gooligan listened to Harry Potter on the couch while I caught up on some homework and my blogging.

After the cafe, we headed to our new place, stopping to pick up a couple of slices of pizza for dinner. The buses here do not have any announcements for what stop they are stopping at, and since it was dark by the time we made our way to our new place, we got utterly lost. Gooligan asked someone for directions, and he helped us the best he could, but he only spoke Italian, so we had to figure it out. Gooligan was brave enough to ask like five different people along the way, all of whom were very nice and helpful despite only speaking Italian. During part of our journey we had to walk through this poorly lit park. Slightly terrifying! But everyone we saw seemed to be nice--couples out for jogs or old men or ladies walking their dogs.

We eventually found our new place and our hosts are very nice. The bed is comfortable and I took a nice hot shower, which was great. At the last place we stayed at, this bug got inside at night and bit Gooligan and me each about twenty times, so we're kind of itchy, but at least we're clean and ready for bed!

Tomorrow is Gooligan's big day! If you haven't yet, you should send her some huge birthday wishes. It's exciting to be in such an amazing place for a celebration, but it is bittersweet to be removed from all your friends and family.

Sunday + {Day Twenty-Seven: Florence}

Today was a slow day! After spending the morning sleeping in, showering, and doing some homework, Gooligan and I headed down the hill on the bus to the city center. We were fairly hungry, so we headed to this sandwich shop for lunch right away. All'Antico Vinaio is this little sandwich shop that was so bustling the line was stretched across the street, several people wide. Ordering was a little chaotic, but for five euro each Gooligan and I got some sandwiches! Gooligan got Tuscan bacon, truffle spread, lettuce, tomato, blue cheese, and marinated eggplant or something, and I got spicy salami, artichoke spread, tomato, and some kind of cheese. The sandwiches were amazing. Completely worth the huge line we stood in.

We walked around Florence a lot today, just kind of window shopping and browsing stalls. It's such a great city to walk because everything is beautiful and nice and relatively clean. There are a lot of people on certain streets and today there was a fundraiser for cancer, so there were hordes of people wearing yellow t-shirts. At the time, we had no idea what it was for, since there was a wide range of ages and people who were wearing them. But there were a couple different races--one 14km and one 5km. Pretty neat! 

We also spotted this really cool carrousel while walking around. Around three, we decided to call it an early day. Gooligan and I walked around a ton the last two days and were feeling pretty tired.

We headed back to the train station, where we bought day passes for tomorrow. Day passes are good for twenty-four hours here after the first time you use them. In some places they expire at midnight.

Anyway, while buying our tickets I saw the BEST PRESENT EVER for Gooligan. It's her birthday on the sixteenth--just three short days away!--and I had been wondering what to get her. I can't say what it was yet, because sometimes she reads my blog, but it's pretty great!

After we got back to our place, we rested for a short time, then had dinner just past eight with our hosts. Dinner was amazing! It was nineteen euro each and we were a little unsure. It's more than we normally spend on food for one meal, but it was completely worth it. Our hosts were great and fed us so much. We ate a light amount of pasta, appetizers (chicken liver on bread and salmon on bread), a delicious chicken salad, grilled zucchini, spinach, wine, and a lemon liquor made from lemons in their very own yard! And then for dessert we had crème brûlé and cheesecake made by Mario himself! Perfecto. It was so nice to eat with a family, too. They have four sons between them, but only two live with them. Everyone was so nice and we had a lovely conversation about a huge range of things. Mario speaks the most English, I think, but the entire family understands a certain amount of English, and we had little problem communicating.

Overall, a very wonderful day and we look forward to our last day in Florence tomorrow. Mario gave us another map and circled some places worth checking out!

Saturday + {Day Twenty-Six: Florence}

After getting a good twelve hours of sleep, Gooligan and I woke fresh and ready for our first real day in Florence! We started the day at the Museum Stibbert.

 Stibbert was this guy who inherited a mansion and a lot of money and spent his life collecting everything -- and I mean everything. For eight euro each we got an hour long tour of the rooms of his house. Each and every room is elegant in and of itself, but they are also filled from floor to ceiling with things: endless armor, statues, mannequins of horses and people wearing armor, swords, guns, shields, tapestries, etc. There's also china, paintings, and a whole wing of Japanese items. Basically it was like a tour of a well-organized, very rich hoarder's house. The guy had such an addiction that when he ran out of room he built a whole new wing to keep adding to his collection. On his death the house and grounds (huge gardens) and everything in the house went to the city. Amazing!

After the museum, we took the bus down the hill and found a cute restaurant for lunch. The food was delicious--I got a cream/egg sauce--but the waitstaff was a little cold. Still, any day I get to have lunch with the most beautiful girl in the world is a great day!

And what lunch is complete without a wonderful stop for gelato after! Gooligan and I finally found the best gelato in Florence--perhaps the best in all of Italy. We were both incredibly impressed. They have a lot of the standard flavors, but also some very unique ones too! Gooligan got cinnamon and apple (basically tastes like apple pie, mmm) while I ordered chianti (so interesting) and crema (eggs + milk). They also make their waffle cones right in front of you. So, so good.

 After gelato, we wandered through the city looking at all the artisan crafts, then went looking for a park to sit for a bit. We found this beautiful place next to the river Arno. It's an urban park area that looks out on a sort of lock or urban waterfall. So beautiful, especially at sunset.

Gooligan read some of The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler to me while we sat by the river. We finished it! So good. Also a perfect read for our trip because the book discusses a found work by Michaelangelo, Rome, Florence, traveling, and budgets--plus it's just a delightful read.

Thursday + {Day Twenty-Four: Rome}

This morning I scouted out a breakfast bar that I thought looked alright, but the pastry I ordered (which I thought was a plain croissant) was filled with some kind of bitter/putrid fruit. Disappointing.

After breakfast we headed off to see the Pantheon. This time Gooligan did us all a huge favor and found a bus that ran the way we wanted to go. The bus was a little full sometimes, but there were seats and we were rarely pressed up against other people.

The Pantheon was cool, with this huge circular hole in the roof. Because of its dimensions, if light floods in through that hole it becomes the biggest "column" anywhere in Rome.

We were there when it was dry, luckily, but I wonder what it would be like if it started pouring (which is did off and on today).

After the Pantheon, we ate at this super delicious pasta restaurant. Gooligan and I split our dishes: rosemary spaghetti and mussels with spaghetti. So delicious!

Then the four of us walked all the way back to the Colosseum. Since it started to pour during lunch, Gooligan and I bought an umbrella on our way to the Colosseum. Not the best quality, but it was only three euro and we have definitely gotten our worth out of it so far.

We went on a brief tour of the Colosseum, which was great to explain some of the basics. Gooligan wanted to go on the underground tour, but it was sold out except for two spots only two hours later.

Being in a place like the Colosseum (or a lot of these historic sites, actually) is difficult for a number of reasons. Yes, the construction of these sites and their endurance is impressive. But how many people were exploited to build these sites? Or, for the Colosseum in particular, how many people and animals were needlessly put to death? Something to think about.

After the Colosseum, we went over to a nearby gay bar that, during the day, is a delightful cafe. Since it was our last day all together we indulged and ordered drinks, food, and dessert. The food was great and afterward we headed home to pack and get organized for the next day of traveling.

Sunday + {Day Twenty: Monterosso + Vernazza}

We slept in this morning, then swung by the focaccia place for breakfast. I had a delightful cheese + tomato + mushroom slice plus freshly squeezed orange juice. Then Gooligan and I split off from the rest of the group because both of us wanted to hike to the next village over. We paid our 6 euro per person dues for access to the National Park (which includes the trails).

The hike between Monterosso and Vernazza is about ninety minutes but it is a tough hike. Lots of it is steep uphill with these deep stone steps. But the views alone are completely worth it. Cinque Terre has some of the most beautiful scenery ever.

A lot of people on our way laughed or pointed out Gooligan’s shoes—comfortable yet sturdy leather flats—which was more than a little insulting. Considering we ran into people who were wearing flip-flops, Gooligan’s shoe choice was fairly practical. Anyway, we made it all the way to Vernazza with no accidents.

By the time we arrived, we were ravenous. We stopped off to get an incredible fresh juice drink (lemon + orange + peach), then headed to the train station. We had agreed to meet Sarah and Shannon at the train station in the next town, a difficult feat when we don’t have any cellphones. (Well, Shannon has hers, but since none of the rest of us has a phone, it doesn’t help for in-group communication.)

Anyway, it turned out that their train was delayed by a considerable amount of time. A little silly considering that the towns are about three minutes apart on the train. But luckily they arrived about ten minutes before Gooligan and I had agreed to go our separate ways from them if we couldn’t connect.

After we met up we had a delicious lunch (more pasta) and then asked our waiter for a recommendation for the best gelato in town. We followed his advice and it was delicious. It was also Sarah’s first gelato ever! I got coconut and chocolate chip.

Then we went down to the harbor in Vernazza and bought tickets for the ferry back to Monterosso (3.50 euro each). The ferry was quick—about ten minutes—and it was so cool to see the village from another perspective, since we had already seen it from ground level and up in the mountains.

We walked around Monterosso, exploring all the cute artisan gift shops, and picked up a few souvenirs. One of the best artists we talked to was a woman from California who moved to Monterosso nine years ago for study abroad. She made these amazing necklaces. Gooligan got one for her birthday (which is in ten days!). It has tiny charms on it: a spoon, a fish, a set of Libra scales, a little picture of Cinque Terre, etc. and is absolutely gorgeous. Plus the woman was so amazing and helpful and encouraged us to look at everything. (We had a bad experience in another shop where the shopkeeper was grouchy and passive aggressively drove us out, which is a lesson for anyone in retail: never judge a customer by what they look like: both Gooligan and her sister ended up buying necklaces from the really amazing woman and both Shannon and I bought prints from her.)

Then we walked back our Airbnb, stopping for about an hour to frolic in the water. The water was wonderful—fairly warm—and the beach was nice, but a little rocky. One of the waves surprised us and soaked the bottoms of my jeans. Then Gooligan and I climbed up on this huge rock before we had to get back home to change for dinner.

We wanted to go to this specific restaurant for dinner, but it was either closed or had shut down, so we went to the one next door which was fantastic. We ran into a few Americans from the south that were really great and told us the food was amazing. I ordered homemade black-and-white pasta with mussels. Probably the best food I have eaten all trip, hands down.

After dinner we headed back home sleepily and, after doing some paperwork for grad school, we went to bed for another fairly bad night of sleep.

Monday + {Day Fourteen: Barcelona}

Our taxi didn’t show up again, but this time, it was not because it was a no-show, but because it was lost. Luckily, they called us (Shannon’s phone works over here) and we connected almost immediately. The taxi took us to a shuttle pick-up site, where we caught a shuttle to the airport to catch our flight.

After our last fiasco with Ryanair, we made sure we were at the airport as early as possible, which was good, because we were originally in the wrong terminal. But, as the correct one was just next door, we scurried over.

This time we got a stamp on our passports and checked our bags (not sure what happened re: our last Ryanair trip, but I think we were confused about whether the bag we paid for was our carry-on or our checked ones). Our flight was great—I slept through the whole thing—and when we touched down at Barcelona, faced with the prospect of figuring out how to get to our apparently really confusingly located place) we decided to just pool in for a taxi.

The taxi dropped us off and we texted our host that we had arrived. Only for him to text us back when he arrived at the apartment to tell us that he didn’t see us.

Apparently the taxi had dropped us off on the wrong side of the city. As it turned out, the driver hadn’t even read the street name right. We had to stop by a little bar/restaurant and ask for their help. They were very kind and helped us find a taxi. This time the taxi driver used GPS, thank god, and we were dropped off at the right place. As with the last place, this place is also an entire rented flat, as opposed to rooms in a flat or a house. After our host gave us our keys, he left.

Our first order of business was finding lunch, since we hadn’t eaten since four in the morning. Luckily there is a delicious tapas place across the street from us. We ordered a picture of sangria and about seven plates. The food was unbelievably good. We are definitely planning on going back at least once more.

Then we filed back across the street and up the narrow staircase to our apartment, where we immediately crashed on our beds, eagerly embracing the concept of siesta. Two hours later, we were up again, and ready for the beach!

We walked there, stopping to buy a coke and a pastry. The beach here is perfect. It is sandy and huge and there was plenty of space to plop down and soak up the sun. I brought along the Michael Chabon book I've been toting everywhere. My next packet is due in a couple of days. Either today or tomorrow I am going to work on getting all my files collected.

Since we got such a late start at the beach we only stayed for maybe an hour or so until the sun went down beneath the buildings and the wind plus the shade was a little too chilly. Then we headed back home to shower.

As we quickly found out, the shower doesn’t really work that well. The shower head holder is broken, so Shannon tried to shower by holding it, but the way the bathroom is set up, and because the shower head itself is also broken, water spewed everywhere.

Our host sent someone to bring us rags to mop it up, and tomorrow someone is supposed to come by to fix the shower head so it doesn’t leak everywhere. But until then we're going to covered in sand and filth. Just kidding. We're relatively clean. It'd just be nice to shower after a day of traveling/hanging out at the beach.

Since we were getting pretty hungry by now, we headed out to find some food. We ended up at this decent restaurant, where three of the four of us got burgers. I don't know about anyone else, but with all the walking and stair-climbing and standing we've been doing, I really crave meat and we rarely order anything with too much meat in it because it's usually pretty expensive.

After dinner, we headed home. Walking through the streets of Barcelona at night is so nice. The weather is t-shirt perfect, even at ten. It's hard to shake the mental attitude that I need to bring a coat "just in case." But since everything is within walking distance, even if we need to run home to grab something, it's not a big deal.

Friday + {Day Eleven: Paris}

The good news: our taxi arrived on time! The bad news: apparently it was cash-only. We didn't have any cash, of course, because we were leaving the UK for the EU, so after he dropped us off at St. Pancras train station, Gooligan had to run inside and find an ATM to pay the man. Lesson learned for the future: ask ahead of time if taxi cab takes cards. This will be less of a problem from here on out, though, since we're going to be in the EU and dealing with euros for the rest of our trip.

The train to Paris was lovely. Taking the train is a nicer way to travel than flying: less panic over your bag because Eurostar doesn't have weight restrictions, less security, less hassle in general. Once we got on the train and it started moving, our ears popped from the pressure of going underground. In order to get to Paris from London, we went under the channel!

I slept through most of the train ride—which was actually an hour shorter than I thought it would be due to traveling into the next time zone—and when I woke up we were in Paris!

The Paris’s metro system is quite similar to England’s underground, which we had become quite proficient at, so finding the correct stop was relatively easy. Once we were there, we called our host. His brother came to meet us, walked us to our place, gave us our key, and told us to call him if we had any problems.

Since we were ravenous at this point, we Yelped a place to eat and headed off after a few minutes. The place we ate at—Bistro 31—was delicious. It was also filled with almost exclusively French people. The food was perfect. Gooligan and I split a delicious pasta dish.

After eating, we made our way to the Eiffel tower! Sometimes famous tourist attractions don’t live up to the expectation, but the Eiffel tower is amazing. I can’t believe that it only took a little over two years to build; it’s so huge and the idea of people climbing up so high in the air and building this giant metal structure is incredible.

Anyway, we bought tickets to go all the way to the top. For youth (under 26) it was only 13 euros a person. Not a bad deal at all, considering there are several different observation floors and you can walk all the way around the tower on each of them.

It took a lot of time to see the tower, though; we waited in line for several hours collectively, probably, but it was definitely worth it. The view of the skyline was so beautiful. The only shame, of course, is that by viewing it from the Eiffel tower, the Eiffel tower is missing from the view.

We wanted to go up at night originally, but we originally got in line at four and by the time it was getting dark (around 7:30) we were getting hungry and tired. So we stayed through the beginnings of dusk, saw a few lights around the city from the tower, and then came down. By the time we arrived at the bottom, the entire tower itself was lit up. Beautiful. We stopped to use the bathroom and when we came out, there was a rotating light display that made the tower look like it was sparkling.

Then, happy and content, we made our way home, stopping to pick up some wine. When we arrived home, we discovered that the nearest grocery store was around two miles away. Gooligan and I put our shoes back on and headed out again. Luckily being without a car is fine in Paris: we walked a few blocks to the Metro, hopped on one line, got off it about nine minutes later and walked a few blocks to the store! So convenient.

At home, we dined on salami, Brie, baguette, tomatoes, and wine, while swapping stories about how we met our respective partners. A great end to a great day!