So I decided to stop in Brussels for one night on my way to Paris. Wow. What a city.
Let me start by saying that Brussels is the capital of Europe. It has all the European Union's important buildings, as well as diplomats and representatives from all over the world. This makes for a very interesting mix/clash of cultures and pay-grades.
My first night in Belgium...what do you think I did? WAFFLES!!!! Specifically, one with Nutella (you're welcome, Rachelle). And you know what? I wasn't really impressed. It just tasted like a waffle, hahah. But it was a "liege" waffle, so it was more doughy and pastry-like. It wasn't special, but it was still yummy.
I found a hostel out in the Moroccan district. Not the nicest part of town, but it was cheap. My room stunk like poor people, and I immediately made enemies with one of my roomies by locking him out of the room (actually, he locked HIMSELF out, and got mad at me when I didn't answer his knocking while I was IN THE BATHROOM...what a fag).
The hostel gave me an AWESOME walking map of Brussels. It took me pretty much all day. I started off with what they called the "Manhattan District". It was full of skyscrapers and awesome architecture. And it was SILENT. Soooooo weird! I walked down the main street, surrounded by glass buildings, but there was no one around! And I could hear my footsteps on the grass. It was awe-inspiring. Pictures to come...
The next area of town was the European Quarter. This was where the EU Parliament building was, along with NATO headquarters and all the embassy offices. It was really nice. Tons of million-dollar apartments and beautiful parks and fountains. I grabbed a turkish hamburger for lunch (a baguette with sliced hamburger patties, covered in veggies and FRIES, and smothered in curry ketchup...zomg). As I sat in one of the parks, I watched all the officials and diplomats officially eating their official sandwiches. It was very funny to see these aristocrats in expensive suits sitting beside me on the grass, trying desparately to impress their dates with 15euro Subway sandwiches.
After that area, I explored the last outlying district of town. It was old, ugly, full of minorities, and had the enormous courthouse smack dab in the center (go figure). The courthouse was built awhile back, and supposedly they tore down tons of houses to make room for it, and consequentially made thousands of people homeless. Yup...they're still there.
Then I walked around the center of the city...found Manequin Pis (the famous little boy peeing statue), drank a beer, got some fries smothered in sauteed onions and ketchup/mayo, and took the elevator to the highest parking garage in town and enjoyed the panorama of Brussels. Very relaxing.
As I was chilling in the hostel that night, I got an email from a CouchSurfer friend in Paris and he told me to just head there that night. So I made a last minute decision to hop along to Paris, cancelled my hostel reservation, booked a bus ride, and off I went to the City of Love.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Amsterdam, Continued...
I feel like I wrote way too little about a place I lived at for a week. So here are some more highlights that I need to write down, just so I don't forget:
- Taking the free ferry up the river and exploring greater Amsterdam with Alex. Finding a hidden pier and conquering it. Dropping a bag of tobacco in the water and hanging over the edge to get it back, Alex grabbing my arm.
- Walking around with a beer and getting stopped by a cop, who politely informed me that drinking wasn't allowed on the streets. "But this is Amsterdam!" I retorted, quickly gaining the attention of the three pedestrians walking past with joints in their hands, staring at the nearby prostitutes in the windows. Dumb rule.
- Playing MONOPOLY one night for four hours. Soooooo gay. I blame Alex and Antonio for this blot on my clean record of NEVER playing Monopoly.
- Enjoying long talks with new friends, Antonio trying to beg the hostel lady to forge documents for Alex, Antonio offending the hostel managers enough to get him fired, lol. So many memories...
- Taking the free ferry up the river and exploring greater Amsterdam with Alex. Finding a hidden pier and conquering it. Dropping a bag of tobacco in the water and hanging over the edge to get it back, Alex grabbing my arm.
- Walking around with a beer and getting stopped by a cop, who politely informed me that drinking wasn't allowed on the streets. "But this is Amsterdam!" I retorted, quickly gaining the attention of the three pedestrians walking past with joints in their hands, staring at the nearby prostitutes in the windows. Dumb rule.
- Playing MONOPOLY one night for four hours. Soooooo gay. I blame Alex and Antonio for this blot on my clean record of NEVER playing Monopoly.
- Enjoying long talks with new friends, Antonio trying to beg the hostel lady to forge documents for Alex, Antonio offending the hostel managers enough to get him fired, lol. So many memories...
Off to Amsterdam
Wanting to save even more money, I slept in the airport terminal that night, next to a group of bums (I am soooo not kidding this time). It was actually kind of fun. The security guards kept walking past making sure no one was causing trouble.
So I hopped on a plane the next morning and flew north to Amsterdam. It's hard to describe what I was expecting as I walked off that plane. I mean, Amsterdam has a reputation...and oh, what a reputation that is. I guess I was expecting a small hippie village full of pot-smokers and whores.
But as soon as I hopped on the train from the airport, I started realizing that things were different. The buildings were amazingly modern, the streets clean, and I couldn't even smell weed! The more I walked around, the more I started to love the city. The marijuana and hookers were just a small part of Amsterdam...it was full of canals, little parks, hot girls riding bikes...the works.
I found a cool little hostel about four canals away from the center. As soon as I walked in the door, I saw a sign..."Help Wanted: Clean Rooms and Stay for Free". My ears perked up as I instinctively made my Scoobie-Doo ARUUUGH?!?!
So I signed up immediately for the job. Turned out that they gave me a bed and three meals a day for working just a few hours each morning. It was a fun job. There were two other cleaners doing the same thing I was- a Romanian guy named Alex, and a Spanish guy, Antonio. We quickly became close friends over the smells of ammonia and bleach.
The food was great, the people were amazing, and I was set. After making a dozen or so beds each morning and vacuuming/mopping a bit, we set off to explore the town. Whether it be a beer in the park, a ride down the river, or grabbing a huge cone of french fries with mayo and walking down the Red Light District, life was good.
The city was very relaxed (prolly cause everyone was high). Actually, I heard a strange statistic that only 5% of Amsterdam residents smoke weed. It's mostly the tourists that do. It was interesting walking down the streets and getting a whiff of it here and there...quickly asking yourself, "Are they really doing that right there in public?"...and then instantly realizing that this was Amsterdam.
So I hopped on a plane the next morning and flew north to Amsterdam. It's hard to describe what I was expecting as I walked off that plane. I mean, Amsterdam has a reputation...and oh, what a reputation that is. I guess I was expecting a small hippie village full of pot-smokers and whores.
But as soon as I hopped on the train from the airport, I started realizing that things were different. The buildings were amazingly modern, the streets clean, and I couldn't even smell weed! The more I walked around, the more I started to love the city. The marijuana and hookers were just a small part of Amsterdam...it was full of canals, little parks, hot girls riding bikes...the works.
I found a cool little hostel about four canals away from the center. As soon as I walked in the door, I saw a sign..."Help Wanted: Clean Rooms and Stay for Free". My ears perked up as I instinctively made my Scoobie-Doo ARUUUGH?!?!
So I signed up immediately for the job. Turned out that they gave me a bed and three meals a day for working just a few hours each morning. It was a fun job. There were two other cleaners doing the same thing I was- a Romanian guy named Alex, and a Spanish guy, Antonio. We quickly became close friends over the smells of ammonia and bleach.
The food was great, the people were amazing, and I was set. After making a dozen or so beds each morning and vacuuming/mopping a bit, we set off to explore the town. Whether it be a beer in the park, a ride down the river, or grabbing a huge cone of french fries with mayo and walking down the Red Light District, life was good.
The city was very relaxed (prolly cause everyone was high). Actually, I heard a strange statistic that only 5% of Amsterdam residents smoke weed. It's mostly the tourists that do. It was interesting walking down the streets and getting a whiff of it here and there...quickly asking yourself, "Are they really doing that right there in public?"...and then instantly realizing that this was Amsterdam.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Naples and Pompei
We left Rome and headed south to Pompei, the city reduced to ruins by the ash cloud from Mt. Vesuvius erupting back in the day. We had alot of warnings from people telling us to be wary of southern Italians because they were very dishonest. And wary we were.
You could instantly see a change in attitude of the people down there. They just seemed...greasy. We found a parking spot and walked towards the ruins. Not wanting to pay the entrance fee, we just got a good look from the outside, lol. The ruins actually weren't that bad. Alot of it was still intact. We didn't see any petrified people though (but that's prolly cause we just stayed in the parking lot).
We returned to our car, half-expecting it to be on cinder blocks by now. We saw a t-shirt that read "I went to Pompei and all I have left is this stupid shirt" (totally made that up). We drove around for awhile and finally reached Napoli.
Naples was supposedly the birthplace of pizza. So naturally, we went straight for a pizzeria. The city itself was disgusting. Crowded and dirty streets, gross-looking buildings. But we found a cool hole-in-wall pizza joint down some random alleyway. The lady didn't speak english, but man could she cook a pizza.
It was more like one of those gourmet pizzas you would order. Nothing like an American pizza, huge slices covered in toppings. I think authentic Italian food focuses more on natural ingredients and cooking with love, not satisfying the hungers of their customers.
But seriously, it was great pizza. We got pictures to prove it. I had a lasagna pizza, covered in ricotta and herbs and sauce. Rachelle got a Nutella pizza for dessert (way too sweet). We left Naples with a good taste in our mouths.
We slept in the car that night at a gas station. Well actually, I was sick of sleeping in the car, so I slept on the asphalt with my sleeping bag (like a bum). It was actually quite comfortable.
The girls dropped me off back in Rome, and with many tears, we said our goodbyes and parted ways. The adventurer was alone once again.
You could instantly see a change in attitude of the people down there. They just seemed...greasy. We found a parking spot and walked towards the ruins. Not wanting to pay the entrance fee, we just got a good look from the outside, lol. The ruins actually weren't that bad. Alot of it was still intact. We didn't see any petrified people though (but that's prolly cause we just stayed in the parking lot).
We returned to our car, half-expecting it to be on cinder blocks by now. We saw a t-shirt that read "I went to Pompei and all I have left is this stupid shirt" (totally made that up). We drove around for awhile and finally reached Napoli.
Naples was supposedly the birthplace of pizza. So naturally, we went straight for a pizzeria. The city itself was disgusting. Crowded and dirty streets, gross-looking buildings. But we found a cool hole-in-wall pizza joint down some random alleyway. The lady didn't speak english, but man could she cook a pizza.
It was more like one of those gourmet pizzas you would order. Nothing like an American pizza, huge slices covered in toppings. I think authentic Italian food focuses more on natural ingredients and cooking with love, not satisfying the hungers of their customers.
But seriously, it was great pizza. We got pictures to prove it. I had a lasagna pizza, covered in ricotta and herbs and sauce. Rachelle got a Nutella pizza for dessert (way too sweet). We left Naples with a good taste in our mouths.
We slept in the car that night at a gas station. Well actually, I was sick of sleeping in the car, so I slept on the asphalt with my sleeping bag (like a bum). It was actually quite comfortable.
The girls dropped me off back in Rome, and with many tears, we said our goodbyes and parted ways. The adventurer was alone once again.
Rome (Part Two)
Ugghhhh...my memory is failing (I'm in Brussels, btw).
The third day, we decided to go to the Vatican Museum. After hearing TONS of horror stories of people waiting 3 or 4 hours to get in, we decided to wake up early and beat the rush.
We didn't get up till 10am.
But no worries, gelatto fixes everything. After turning down numerous offers to "pay 50euros and skip the lines", we wandered up the street alongside the Vatican, gelatto(s) in hand. I started noticing that there was no one in front of me on the sidewalk, and was wondering if the museum was closed that day.
So I ran up ahead and found that NO ONE was in line to the Vatican Museum! Totally unheard of. I screamed to our group to hurry up before the crowd of people down the street beat us, and we raced inside. Didn't have to wait at all. And because of that, I think we all had a blast in the museum.
There were sculptures, and paintings, and more sculptures, and more paintings...and then there was the Sistine Chapel...Michelangelo's ceiling. It was actually quite small. And it was square-shaped, not a dome like I thought. AND, the "finger-touching guys" painting was TINY. We all had to use our zoom to get a good pic of it (I love how I'm being so critical of the most famous chapel on earth).
The guards kept shushing everyone repeatedly and kept telling everyone to put away their cameras. But come on, who's NOT gonna take a picture of the Sistine Chapel (especially when most of them waited for HOURS to get in).
After the museum, we started getting hungry. And it seemed like everyone was craving burgers. So we hit up McDonalds. "I bet I could eat ten cheeseburgers right now," I said. "I bet you 10euros you can't," challenged Rachelle. And that's how the ten cheeseburger challenge began. Ten minutes later, I stood smiling with a tray full of McDonald's cheeseburgers...wide-eyed employees staring. The first four were amazing. I hadn't had McD's in awhile. By number seven, I was feeling it. But like a champ, I broke past the wall and gobbled up those last three with pride and dignity (actually it was more like embarrassment and disgust).
That night, we just chilled again. The campsite bar was pretty lively. Highlights of the night: Gavin drunkedly yelling at the annoying French kids in the tent next to him, Gavin saying that he had made out with a guy for a free beer, and Gavin then stumbling over to the French camp and raiding their table full of french bread/wine/cheeses. Hahahahh, I love the British.
I don't think we did much the next day because the weather was turning to shit, and we were all tired of walking. I made a tiny fire in front of my tent and roasted hot dogs, most of us surfed the internet all day. We were all Rome'd out.
The third day, we decided to go to the Vatican Museum. After hearing TONS of horror stories of people waiting 3 or 4 hours to get in, we decided to wake up early and beat the rush.
We didn't get up till 10am.
But no worries, gelatto fixes everything. After turning down numerous offers to "pay 50euros and skip the lines", we wandered up the street alongside the Vatican, gelatto(s) in hand. I started noticing that there was no one in front of me on the sidewalk, and was wondering if the museum was closed that day.
So I ran up ahead and found that NO ONE was in line to the Vatican Museum! Totally unheard of. I screamed to our group to hurry up before the crowd of people down the street beat us, and we raced inside. Didn't have to wait at all. And because of that, I think we all had a blast in the museum.
There were sculptures, and paintings, and more sculptures, and more paintings...and then there was the Sistine Chapel...Michelangelo's ceiling. It was actually quite small. And it was square-shaped, not a dome like I thought. AND, the "finger-touching guys" painting was TINY. We all had to use our zoom to get a good pic of it (I love how I'm being so critical of the most famous chapel on earth).
The guards kept shushing everyone repeatedly and kept telling everyone to put away their cameras. But come on, who's NOT gonna take a picture of the Sistine Chapel (especially when most of them waited for HOURS to get in).
After the museum, we started getting hungry. And it seemed like everyone was craving burgers. So we hit up McDonalds. "I bet I could eat ten cheeseburgers right now," I said. "I bet you 10euros you can't," challenged Rachelle. And that's how the ten cheeseburger challenge began. Ten minutes later, I stood smiling with a tray full of McDonald's cheeseburgers...wide-eyed employees staring. The first four were amazing. I hadn't had McD's in awhile. By number seven, I was feeling it. But like a champ, I broke past the wall and gobbled up those last three with pride and dignity (actually it was more like embarrassment and disgust).
That night, we just chilled again. The campsite bar was pretty lively. Highlights of the night: Gavin drunkedly yelling at the annoying French kids in the tent next to him, Gavin saying that he had made out with a guy for a free beer, and Gavin then stumbling over to the French camp and raiding their table full of french bread/wine/cheeses. Hahahahh, I love the British.
I don't think we did much the next day because the weather was turning to shit, and we were all tired of walking. I made a tiny fire in front of my tent and roasted hot dogs, most of us surfed the internet all day. We were all Rome'd out.
To Rome We Go
Oh man, where do I even begin?
We found another campsite (about two miles away from Vatican City), and found out that it was more like a miniature village than a campsite. There was a market, a swimming pool, tons of plots for tents and RV's, and even a restaurant/bar with real good food. We got a cool looking tent for three, complete with bunk beds and all. It was pretty cheap too.
Our first day we headed to Vatican City. It was full of picture-taking tourists (like us), eager to catch a quick glimpse of the Pope (Spoiler Alert: no Pope). There really wasn't much to do there that day, so we just took pictures and left, lol.
We spent the night just chillin and talking at the campsite, and awoke ready to start exploring. We met three British dudes who were staying at the campsite, so we formed a big group and decided to explore Rome together.
We started off with the Trevi Fountain (pictures in the albums). Legend has it that if you toss a coin into the fountain, you will return to Rome. If you toss two coins, you find love in Rome. Scared of ending up with an annoying fat chick, I opted out for the single coin toss.
We wandered around until we eventually found the Pantheon. Retardedly, it was under construction or something. As you can tell from the pictures, a whole half of the front entrance was obstructed by scaffolding. Not good for pictures. Apparently, the dome is constructed from one solid piece of poured concrete. This really won't amaze you until you're standing underneath said concrete, hoping it doesn't crumble and fall.
We wandered around some more and found Mussolini's Square, and the balcony from which he addressed the people. It was quite impressive. We climbed up the monument at the head of the plaza and gazed across most of Rome. Seeing the Colloseum in the distance, we headed straight for that.
We walked alongside the ruins of the Roman Forum and all those old rock things. Nothing much to say about that. But as we turned the corner, there towering over a totally out-of-place metro stop, stood the Colloseum...waiting for us to go inside and stand an hour in line.
But it was sooooo worth it. Inside the Colloseum you could see the infrastructure/tunnels used to transport the gladiators and animals to the ground-floor lifts. It was a huuuge stadium. Most of the "seats" were already torn down, but you could still imagine the enormous amount of people that used to fill this stadium up. There were tunnels, walkways, stairs...pretty much the same as a normal stadium.
We kinda just looked at all the rocks and stuff, then moved on to more ruins and stuff. We found some cave things that we think were gladiator homes, and we just kinda walked around and took pictures.
(If I sound like I'm writing this half-heartedly, it's because I really can't remember what happened two weeks ago, lol. But the pictures themselves tell a great story.)
Anyways, more rocks, more walking, and then it was dinner time. We got a little disposable grill at the store and roasted sausages and drank beer all night. Nothing special.
We found another campsite (about two miles away from Vatican City), and found out that it was more like a miniature village than a campsite. There was a market, a swimming pool, tons of plots for tents and RV's, and even a restaurant/bar with real good food. We got a cool looking tent for three, complete with bunk beds and all. It was pretty cheap too.
Our first day we headed to Vatican City. It was full of picture-taking tourists (like us), eager to catch a quick glimpse of the Pope (Spoiler Alert: no Pope). There really wasn't much to do there that day, so we just took pictures and left, lol.
We spent the night just chillin and talking at the campsite, and awoke ready to start exploring. We met three British dudes who were staying at the campsite, so we formed a big group and decided to explore Rome together.
We started off with the Trevi Fountain (pictures in the albums). Legend has it that if you toss a coin into the fountain, you will return to Rome. If you toss two coins, you find love in Rome. Scared of ending up with an annoying fat chick, I opted out for the single coin toss.
We wandered around until we eventually found the Pantheon. Retardedly, it was under construction or something. As you can tell from the pictures, a whole half of the front entrance was obstructed by scaffolding. Not good for pictures. Apparently, the dome is constructed from one solid piece of poured concrete. This really won't amaze you until you're standing underneath said concrete, hoping it doesn't crumble and fall.
We wandered around some more and found Mussolini's Square, and the balcony from which he addressed the people. It was quite impressive. We climbed up the monument at the head of the plaza and gazed across most of Rome. Seeing the Colloseum in the distance, we headed straight for that.
We walked alongside the ruins of the Roman Forum and all those old rock things. Nothing much to say about that. But as we turned the corner, there towering over a totally out-of-place metro stop, stood the Colloseum...waiting for us to go inside and stand an hour in line.
But it was sooooo worth it. Inside the Colloseum you could see the infrastructure/tunnels used to transport the gladiators and animals to the ground-floor lifts. It was a huuuge stadium. Most of the "seats" were already torn down, but you could still imagine the enormous amount of people that used to fill this stadium up. There were tunnels, walkways, stairs...pretty much the same as a normal stadium.
We kinda just looked at all the rocks and stuff, then moved on to more ruins and stuff. We found some cave things that we think were gladiator homes, and we just kinda walked around and took pictures.
(If I sound like I'm writing this half-heartedly, it's because I really can't remember what happened two weeks ago, lol. But the pictures themselves tell a great story.)
Anyways, more rocks, more walking, and then it was dinner time. We got a little disposable grill at the store and roasted sausages and drank beer all night. Nothing special.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Pisa and the Coast
We awoke in the morning to something quite unexpected. The seemingly small and secluded gas station we had slept at turned out to be on the main thoroughfare out of town. And as we stepped out of the car and looked around, we saw acres and acres of daisy fields surrounding us, slowly fading away to the mountains in the distance. I would've traded a whole night's sleep for that view...oh wait, I did.
So we packed up our stuff, had a snack at the quick-stop, and headed off to Pisa. I know I describe the scenery a lot, but even the strongest adjectives cannot fully capture the feeling you get while driving through the Italian countryside.
We quickly found parking in Pisa, and were immediately accosted by street vendors selling totally random things (like a 20pk of tissue boxes and fake purses). As soon as they see your eyes dart towards their merchandise, they just explode into a frenzy of primal sales tactics. I even saw one guy put a hat on a kid and try to get the mother to pay for it cause the child was wearing it already. Insanely crafty and persistent.
We headed immediately to the Field of Miracles, the plaza where the Leaning Tower is (I totally thought it was supposed to be reddish-brick colored). We were instantly surrounded by a sea of tourists all trying to "hold up" the tower in the distance. I held off for as long as possible until curiousity got the best of me, and I just HAD to get a picture of me doing it. ;)
The tower itself was actually quite nice. It was pure white, had tons of intricate carvings, and the angle of its lean was actually quite impressive. Pictures really don't do it justice.
We left the square to find some lunch, and we ended up spending over an hour walking around looking for a grocery store. We finally found one and stocked up on meats, cheeses and beverages. Armed with my miniscule collection of Italian phrases and my classic charm, we slowly made our way back to the "Torre Pendente di Pisa".
And there we sat, about 20yds away from the tower, and had our little picnic. It was surprisingly uncrowded at this time. I guess no one else wanted to eat directly underneath the Leaning Tower. Psssshhhh...I totally trusted it not to fall.
After our lunch (and yet another gelatto), we went back to the car and headed for the coast. Our original plan was to drive down the shoreline to Rome, but along the way we found signs for a campsite and decided to check it out. We drove around the campsite and found that it was right on the sea cliffs, fully stocked with showers and a restaurant/bar, and a very nice beach down below.
We parked and walked down to the beach. I jumped off a rock into the water and nearly died of hypothermia (bad decision). So I had to lie on the warm rocks to unfreeze myself. We ended up all falling asleep there in the sun, right on the Western coast of Italy. So nice.
That night was interesting. We found a nice plot, and I set up my tent for one of the girls. We just drank and talked the night away. Nothing special. Except for Rachelle making a sandwich and not remembering it.
So we packed up our stuff, had a snack at the quick-stop, and headed off to Pisa. I know I describe the scenery a lot, but even the strongest adjectives cannot fully capture the feeling you get while driving through the Italian countryside.
We quickly found parking in Pisa, and were immediately accosted by street vendors selling totally random things (like a 20pk of tissue boxes and fake purses). As soon as they see your eyes dart towards their merchandise, they just explode into a frenzy of primal sales tactics. I even saw one guy put a hat on a kid and try to get the mother to pay for it cause the child was wearing it already. Insanely crafty and persistent.
We headed immediately to the Field of Miracles, the plaza where the Leaning Tower is (I totally thought it was supposed to be reddish-brick colored). We were instantly surrounded by a sea of tourists all trying to "hold up" the tower in the distance. I held off for as long as possible until curiousity got the best of me, and I just HAD to get a picture of me doing it. ;)
The tower itself was actually quite nice. It was pure white, had tons of intricate carvings, and the angle of its lean was actually quite impressive. Pictures really don't do it justice.
We left the square to find some lunch, and we ended up spending over an hour walking around looking for a grocery store. We finally found one and stocked up on meats, cheeses and beverages. Armed with my miniscule collection of Italian phrases and my classic charm, we slowly made our way back to the "Torre Pendente di Pisa".
And there we sat, about 20yds away from the tower, and had our little picnic. It was surprisingly uncrowded at this time. I guess no one else wanted to eat directly underneath the Leaning Tower. Psssshhhh...I totally trusted it not to fall.
After our lunch (and yet another gelatto), we went back to the car and headed for the coast. Our original plan was to drive down the shoreline to Rome, but along the way we found signs for a campsite and decided to check it out. We drove around the campsite and found that it was right on the sea cliffs, fully stocked with showers and a restaurant/bar, and a very nice beach down below.
We parked and walked down to the beach. I jumped off a rock into the water and nearly died of hypothermia (bad decision). So I had to lie on the warm rocks to unfreeze myself. We ended up all falling asleep there in the sun, right on the Western coast of Italy. So nice.
That night was interesting. We found a nice plot, and I set up my tent for one of the girls. We just drank and talked the night away. Nothing special. Except for Rachelle making a sandwich and not remembering it.
Florence
We left Venice early in the morning and headed southwest to Florence. Along the way, we passed through the city of Bologna, namesake of the famous luncheon meat (totally made that up). But there was nothing special there, so we just had a quick look around and then left.
Florence wasn't exactly breathtaking, but it definitely had it's charm. We drove around for about an hour looking for parking, because apparently the whole country is against giving tourists a free place to park.
We started walking around and found the main river winding through the town (it's funny how all these cities are built around rivers). The water here definitely wasn't as clean or pretty as it was in France, but it was still a nice view.
The city had bunches and bunches of monuments, statues, and old buildings. You could quickly get lost in it's winding, narrow streets. I walked around town with a kebab and a Heineken (I still get a kick out of walking around town with a beer). We didn't really do anything interesting there, just took pictures (so look at those if you want a better impression of Florence).
For dinner, we splurged on a decent Italian restaurant. I ordered two courses- lasagna, and their roast chicken and veggies. The lasagna was AMAZING. So creamy, so saucy, and served in a personal-sized stoneware pan. The chicken and veggies were also very good. Still hate Italian bread though.
That night we started driving towards Pisa. We got about halfway there and decided to try to find a nice place to sleep for the night. We ended up in a restaurant parking lot in the middle of nowhere, and Rachelle went in to ask for a hotel recommendation. The lady told us that there was a B&B a few miles down the road that was super cheap- like 30euros for all three of us.
So we finally find this B&B, and see that the logo on their sign is a picture of a ROACH. That, accompanied by a very creepy couple peering down at us from the third floor, gave us a pretty uneasy feeling about staying there.
But we walked up to the door anyways. We were welcomed by an extremely kind middle-aged Italian woman, her giant Great Dane, and the most delicious smelling cookies you can imagine. And the house was immaculate (maybe she just has a soft spot for roaches?).
But we quickly learned that the price estimate given to us earlier (by the not-so-trustworthy restaurant hostess) was not correct by any means. It was actually triple that price. So with many apologies, we had to turn down the nice lady (and her cookies) and head for greener/cheaper pastures.
So we finally came across an industrial park, and considering that this would prolly be the LAST place to get robbed/raped, we made camp underneath a giant sign for "Anaconda Plumbing" or something. Again...worst night of sleep imaginable. We actually had to move during the night to a nearby gas station because a semi-truck pulled up behind us and wouldn't leave.
Florence wasn't exactly breathtaking, but it definitely had it's charm. We drove around for about an hour looking for parking, because apparently the whole country is against giving tourists a free place to park.
We started walking around and found the main river winding through the town (it's funny how all these cities are built around rivers). The water here definitely wasn't as clean or pretty as it was in France, but it was still a nice view.
The city had bunches and bunches of monuments, statues, and old buildings. You could quickly get lost in it's winding, narrow streets. I walked around town with a kebab and a Heineken (I still get a kick out of walking around town with a beer). We didn't really do anything interesting there, just took pictures (so look at those if you want a better impression of Florence).
For dinner, we splurged on a decent Italian restaurant. I ordered two courses- lasagna, and their roast chicken and veggies. The lasagna was AMAZING. So creamy, so saucy, and served in a personal-sized stoneware pan. The chicken and veggies were also very good. Still hate Italian bread though.
That night we started driving towards Pisa. We got about halfway there and decided to try to find a nice place to sleep for the night. We ended up in a restaurant parking lot in the middle of nowhere, and Rachelle went in to ask for a hotel recommendation. The lady told us that there was a B&B a few miles down the road that was super cheap- like 30euros for all three of us.
So we finally find this B&B, and see that the logo on their sign is a picture of a ROACH. That, accompanied by a very creepy couple peering down at us from the third floor, gave us a pretty uneasy feeling about staying there.
But we walked up to the door anyways. We were welcomed by an extremely kind middle-aged Italian woman, her giant Great Dane, and the most delicious smelling cookies you can imagine. And the house was immaculate (maybe she just has a soft spot for roaches?).
But we quickly learned that the price estimate given to us earlier (by the not-so-trustworthy restaurant hostess) was not correct by any means. It was actually triple that price. So with many apologies, we had to turn down the nice lady (and her cookies) and head for greener/cheaper pastures.
So we finally came across an industrial park, and considering that this would prolly be the LAST place to get robbed/raped, we made camp underneath a giant sign for "Anaconda Plumbing" or something. Again...worst night of sleep imaginable. We actually had to move during the night to a nearby gas station because a semi-truck pulled up behind us and wouldn't leave.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Venice, Island of Islands
Whew, what a busy two weeks.
So I finally met up with Rachelle and Kayli in Milan. We decided that renting a car would be much more cost-efficient for three people than taking trains everywhere, so we piled into our tiny little Renault rental and headed off to Venice.
Two hours later, we finally found the highway.
But in spite of our little scenic route around Milan, spirits were high, and the ever-visible Alps served as our guide to the coast.
We drove across the Italian plains, through towering mountains and ridiculously lengthy tunnels, and we finally had the sea in sight.
What I failed to recognize from maps was that Venice was not connected to the mainland. It was nestled in the middle of a large lagoon, and a tiny two-lane highway was the only entrance/exit to the cluster of rocks which was Venice.
When we crossed over, the only public parking we could find was a large parking garage that charged 25euros to leave our car there overnight. So we headed up to the top floor and feasted our eyes on the world-famous city of canals.
People are serious when they say that the locals can only get around by boats and gondolas. From our vantage point, we could see no streets, no cars, and shit-tons of pedestrians. As we made our way down to the city, we happily got lost in the maze-like collection of alleyways and canals.
There were literally millions of tourists there. With a population of only 60,000 inhabitants, Venice was completely dominated by visitors. I don't even think that people actually had jobs there that weren't geared towards tourism.
The streets were full of pizza vendors and souvenir stands, the alleyways were littered with restaurants and small craft shops, and the canals were crowded with gondola drivers charging 120euros for a romantic float around the city.
We stopped at a small Italian joint for some dinner and spent a few minutes looking through the menu. After inquiring about free water, we could visibly see the waiter getting somewhat frustrated with us. After laughing a bit at the fact that the prices there were astronomical, we told the impatient waiter that we were still thinking about our drink choices...to which he replied, "I think you leave now. You come to play, not to eat. This is very rude in my country." And then he slammed the door on me and Rachelle, not realizing that Kayli was still behind him. So then he let Kayli out and slammed the door again. HAHAHHAAH, what a prick.
Anyways, every canal had it's own little uniqueness about it. And there were sooooo many tiny bridges connecting each island that it felt as if you were in an enormous playground for adults.
I can't remember how long we walked around the town, but the only impression I had when we left was pure amazement. Although there weren't many famous monuments or structures, the sight of a city traversed exclusively by foot and boat was amazing enough.
We finished our tour late at night, so we decided to just sleep in our car on top of the garage, looking over the city of Venice while it slept. Worst night of sleep EVER.
So I finally met up with Rachelle and Kayli in Milan. We decided that renting a car would be much more cost-efficient for three people than taking trains everywhere, so we piled into our tiny little Renault rental and headed off to Venice.
Two hours later, we finally found the highway.
But in spite of our little scenic route around Milan, spirits were high, and the ever-visible Alps served as our guide to the coast.
We drove across the Italian plains, through towering mountains and ridiculously lengthy tunnels, and we finally had the sea in sight.
What I failed to recognize from maps was that Venice was not connected to the mainland. It was nestled in the middle of a large lagoon, and a tiny two-lane highway was the only entrance/exit to the cluster of rocks which was Venice.
When we crossed over, the only public parking we could find was a large parking garage that charged 25euros to leave our car there overnight. So we headed up to the top floor and feasted our eyes on the world-famous city of canals.
People are serious when they say that the locals can only get around by boats and gondolas. From our vantage point, we could see no streets, no cars, and shit-tons of pedestrians. As we made our way down to the city, we happily got lost in the maze-like collection of alleyways and canals.
There were literally millions of tourists there. With a population of only 60,000 inhabitants, Venice was completely dominated by visitors. I don't even think that people actually had jobs there that weren't geared towards tourism.
The streets were full of pizza vendors and souvenir stands, the alleyways were littered with restaurants and small craft shops, and the canals were crowded with gondola drivers charging 120euros for a romantic float around the city.
We stopped at a small Italian joint for some dinner and spent a few minutes looking through the menu. After inquiring about free water, we could visibly see the waiter getting somewhat frustrated with us. After laughing a bit at the fact that the prices there were astronomical, we told the impatient waiter that we were still thinking about our drink choices...to which he replied, "I think you leave now. You come to play, not to eat. This is very rude in my country." And then he slammed the door on me and Rachelle, not realizing that Kayli was still behind him. So then he let Kayli out and slammed the door again. HAHAHHAAH, what a prick.
Anyways, every canal had it's own little uniqueness about it. And there were sooooo many tiny bridges connecting each island that it felt as if you were in an enormous playground for adults.
I can't remember how long we walked around the town, but the only impression I had when we left was pure amazement. Although there weren't many famous monuments or structures, the sight of a city traversed exclusively by foot and boat was amazing enough.
We finished our tour late at night, so we decided to just sleep in our car on top of the garage, looking over the city of Venice while it slept. Worst night of sleep EVER.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Milan (Part One)
Have you ever had the urge to fart, but didn't know if it was gonna be gas or diarrhea? I mean, they're both bad, but one is exponentially worse. I think that was the same feeling that the original inhabitants of Italy had when deciding whether or not to build the city of Milano.
This place is depressing. And it's not only the rain. I met a guy in Spain named Fabio Ferarri (not kidding), and he told me the exact same thing. He left Milan in hopes of finding a city that "had more of a desire to live". I think the word "suicide" was lost in translation.
Granted, this city is the fashion center of Europe. With the main branches of Armani, Gucci, D&G, etc. here, it's hard to really say that this city doesn't have any redeeming qualities. Especially with runway models walking around everywhere.
Everything is expensive here. My first night, I paid 35euros for a shit hotel. I've never stayed in a place where I have actually questioned whether or not it was a brothel. But it was run by a very nice Italian elderly couple who couldn't speak English, but insisted on rattling off in Italian to me. My mouth hurts from smiling so much.
Tonight, I'm staying at a slightly cheaper hostel, but not at all as cool as the last ones I've stayed at. I'm sitting here two beds away from an old, overweight man who snores like he's trying to keep bears away. And next to me is a black kid from India WITH A CASSETTE PLAYER. He would be an interesting character to chat with, but he keeps rewinding his cassette player to replay the same techno/rap song over and over again.
I ate a pizza today. It was actually pretty big. And it was thin crust. But again, I've been disappointed with Italian food so far. I mean, the portions looks generally small, and it's super expensive, and I honestly LOVE our American versions of these dishes. AND HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT HAVE ALFREDO SAUCE?!?!
Even the bread here sucks. It's hard, and dry, and they charge you for it at restaurants. They also have a "cover charge" for sitting down at restaurants. I mean, it's only 2euros, but it's ridiculous.
BUT...I did get some Sicilian cherry tomatoes from the grocery store last night, and I was really surprised. Let me put it this way- I don't like cherry tomatoes. They're too squishy, and they explode in your mouth like a cockroach. But THESE tomatoes...omigod.
They were like biting into the sweetest peach you can imagine. Juicy...but firm to the touch. And there were no seeds or gooey center. Soooooo sweet, too. Good job, Sicily.
This place is depressing. And it's not only the rain. I met a guy in Spain named Fabio Ferarri (not kidding), and he told me the exact same thing. He left Milan in hopes of finding a city that "had more of a desire to live". I think the word "suicide" was lost in translation.
Granted, this city is the fashion center of Europe. With the main branches of Armani, Gucci, D&G, etc. here, it's hard to really say that this city doesn't have any redeeming qualities. Especially with runway models walking around everywhere.
Everything is expensive here. My first night, I paid 35euros for a shit hotel. I've never stayed in a place where I have actually questioned whether or not it was a brothel. But it was run by a very nice Italian elderly couple who couldn't speak English, but insisted on rattling off in Italian to me. My mouth hurts from smiling so much.
Tonight, I'm staying at a slightly cheaper hostel, but not at all as cool as the last ones I've stayed at. I'm sitting here two beds away from an old, overweight man who snores like he's trying to keep bears away. And next to me is a black kid from India WITH A CASSETTE PLAYER. He would be an interesting character to chat with, but he keeps rewinding his cassette player to replay the same techno/rap song over and over again.
I ate a pizza today. It was actually pretty big. And it was thin crust. But again, I've been disappointed with Italian food so far. I mean, the portions looks generally small, and it's super expensive, and I honestly LOVE our American versions of these dishes. AND HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT HAVE ALFREDO SAUCE?!?!
Even the bread here sucks. It's hard, and dry, and they charge you for it at restaurants. They also have a "cover charge" for sitting down at restaurants. I mean, it's only 2euros, but it's ridiculous.
BUT...I did get some Sicilian cherry tomatoes from the grocery store last night, and I was really surprised. Let me put it this way- I don't like cherry tomatoes. They're too squishy, and they explode in your mouth like a cockroach. But THESE tomatoes...omigod.
They were like biting into the sweetest peach you can imagine. Juicy...but firm to the touch. And there were no seeds or gooey center. Soooooo sweet, too. Good job, Sicily.
Bergamo, Sister City of Greenville, SC
Well...sorry to let everyone down...but this place is NOTHING like G'ville. No Wade Hampton, no Dixie's, no Bi-Lo Center, and definitely no plaque that says "Sister City of Greenville, SC" anywhere. In fact, no one even knew they HAD a sister-city in the USA. How gay.
The town itself was actually nothing special. Just a normal city with buildings and people. I had my first Italian dinner there. Also nothing special. Did you know they didn't even have fettuccine alfredo here?! Apparently, alfredo is an AMERICAN thing! America - 1, Italia - 0.
There was a cool guy from Sweden named Erik who was staying in my hostel room. He was travelling alone too, so we explored the town a bit that night. We grabbed a few beers, and talked about our countries. Nice guy.
We also found a big gathering of people who were carrying torches and singing for Good Friday. We joined them of course, minus the fire-hazards. They were following the city "saint" though, who obviously needed a wheelchair or a cane or something, so they were creeping along the streets. We quickly got tired of the pace, and ran ahead.
While Erik was asking for directions or something, I kicked the ball around with some Italian kids in the street. They didn't like me...or my toe-kicking. So they stopped passing to me. Jerks.
The town itself was actually nothing special. Just a normal city with buildings and people. I had my first Italian dinner there. Also nothing special. Did you know they didn't even have fettuccine alfredo here?! Apparently, alfredo is an AMERICAN thing! America - 1, Italia - 0.
There was a cool guy from Sweden named Erik who was staying in my hostel room. He was travelling alone too, so we explored the town a bit that night. We grabbed a few beers, and talked about our countries. Nice guy.
We also found a big gathering of people who were carrying torches and singing for Good Friday. We joined them of course, minus the fire-hazards. They were following the city "saint" though, who obviously needed a wheelchair or a cane or something, so they were creeping along the streets. We quickly got tired of the pace, and ran ahead.
While Erik was asking for directions or something, I kicked the ball around with some Italian kids in the street. They didn't like me...or my toe-kicking. So they stopped passing to me. Jerks.
Journey to Italy
So I left Germany a few days ago for Italy. The drive was beautiful. I found some carpoolers who were going down there. I hopped in their brand-new, silver Mercedes, and we flew down the autobahn going 200km/hr. What a nice relaxing drive, hahah.
We wound through the Alps, crossing enormous bridges over raging rivers. I did an Arnold Swartzenegger impression for almost the whole duration of our drive through Austria. They loved it.
We finally made it to Italy...a city called Verona. This is where they dropped me off. Interesting fact: Verona was the city which Romeo and Juliet took place in. Kewl. But I didn't feel like lingering, so I bought a ticket west to Bergamo.
I learned a very hard lesson that day...never forget to validate your train ticket in Italy. I was rushing to the platform, so I totally missed the little stamping thingie which puts a date on your train ticket. And the guy on the train fined me FIFTY EUROS...ON AN EIGHT EURO ticket!!! Uggghhhh...soooooo gay.
So needless to say, my first impression of Italy was somewhat tainted.
We wound through the Alps, crossing enormous bridges over raging rivers. I did an Arnold Swartzenegger impression for almost the whole duration of our drive through Austria. They loved it.
We finally made it to Italy...a city called Verona. This is where they dropped me off. Interesting fact: Verona was the city which Romeo and Juliet took place in. Kewl. But I didn't feel like lingering, so I bought a ticket west to Bergamo.
I learned a very hard lesson that day...never forget to validate your train ticket in Italy. I was rushing to the platform, so I totally missed the little stamping thingie which puts a date on your train ticket. And the guy on the train fined me FIFTY EUROS...ON AN EIGHT EURO ticket!!! Uggghhhh...soooooo gay.
So needless to say, my first impression of Italy was somewhat tainted.
Munich and Fussen
Germany has been really cool for the short time I've been here. Most people speak English, and the food is amazing. Another thing that surprised me was this thing called Mitfahrgelegenheit.
It's this thing similar to carpooling, but you post your trip on their website, and people who wish to ride with you can call or email you. And considering that fuel prices and train prices are extremely expensive here, there were TONS of people using this site.
You could get just about anywhere in Germany from using this site. And normally you would pay about a third of the cost of a train ticket. So this is how I got my ride to Munich.
Munich was an interesting city. I must admit I didn't really walk around as much as the other places I've been to, but I got a good feeling for it. I stayed with a young German couple I found from CouchSurfing. They were cool. We spent the nights playing guitar and drinking beer till late.
One of the days, I bought a Bavarian Railpass which let me ride anywhere in Bavaria for 20Euros. So I took advantage of this and rode down to Fussen, home of the legendary Neuschwanstein Castle.
This was the castle that Walt Disney designed Snow White's castle from. It was definitely cool (pics on the site). And you will never guess what I found there!
What would be the most unlikely thing to find on a train heading to a small town in southern Germany??? People from Greenville, SC!!! I always keep my ear tuned in for American accents, just to start up conversations with people. And when I heard this mother and son talking with a southern accent, I just couldn't help it.
So we talked and eventually found out that we were both living in Greenville. They were quite nice. We toured the castle together and explored the town. Rather enjoyable.
It's this thing similar to carpooling, but you post your trip on their website, and people who wish to ride with you can call or email you. And considering that fuel prices and train prices are extremely expensive here, there were TONS of people using this site.
You could get just about anywhere in Germany from using this site. And normally you would pay about a third of the cost of a train ticket. So this is how I got my ride to Munich.
Munich was an interesting city. I must admit I didn't really walk around as much as the other places I've been to, but I got a good feeling for it. I stayed with a young German couple I found from CouchSurfing. They were cool. We spent the nights playing guitar and drinking beer till late.
One of the days, I bought a Bavarian Railpass which let me ride anywhere in Bavaria for 20Euros. So I took advantage of this and rode down to Fussen, home of the legendary Neuschwanstein Castle.
This was the castle that Walt Disney designed Snow White's castle from. It was definitely cool (pics on the site). And you will never guess what I found there!
What would be the most unlikely thing to find on a train heading to a small town in southern Germany??? People from Greenville, SC!!! I always keep my ear tuned in for American accents, just to start up conversations with people. And when I heard this mother and son talking with a southern accent, I just couldn't help it.
So we talked and eventually found out that we were both living in Greenville. They were quite nice. We toured the castle together and explored the town. Rather enjoyable.
Freiburg, Deutschland
Mmmmmm...I smell sausages already.
So my next stop was Freiburg. I stayed there for about 5 days with an old friend, Johanna. The town was FULL of bikes. I mean, there were more bikes than cars. Most people lived within twenty blocks of the city center, and gas prices are like $7/gal., so everyone bikes around there.
Remember how excited I was when i had my first French meal? Enter, stage right, German food.
My first German meal consisted of two huge 2" thick German-style porkchops, with a huge pile of these German noodley fry thingies, and a large gravy boat full of brown gravy to drown them in. Oh, and it came with a big side salad too.
I ate them slowly...savoring every delicious bite...washing it down with a nice, frosty German lager (which incidentally was cheaper than the water, hahah).
I also found bratwurst stands all over...soooo good. I think I liked the white veal/pork ones the best. Covered in mustard and ketchup, these puppies are to die for.
Besides the food, we did a decent amount of biking and walking around. The city of Freiburg wasn't huge, but there was still some nice historical things, and a nice hill overlooking the city. But mostly I enjoyed just having a place to be lazy at, for once. So I spent my days in Freiburg predominantly on the couch, hahah.
So my next stop was Freiburg. I stayed there for about 5 days with an old friend, Johanna. The town was FULL of bikes. I mean, there were more bikes than cars. Most people lived within twenty blocks of the city center, and gas prices are like $7/gal., so everyone bikes around there.
Remember how excited I was when i had my first French meal? Enter, stage right, German food.
My first German meal consisted of two huge 2" thick German-style porkchops, with a huge pile of these German noodley fry thingies, and a large gravy boat full of brown gravy to drown them in. Oh, and it came with a big side salad too.
I ate them slowly...savoring every delicious bite...washing it down with a nice, frosty German lager (which incidentally was cheaper than the water, hahah).
I also found bratwurst stands all over...soooo good. I think I liked the white veal/pork ones the best. Covered in mustard and ketchup, these puppies are to die for.
Besides the food, we did a decent amount of biking and walking around. The city of Freiburg wasn't huge, but there was still some nice historical things, and a nice hill overlooking the city. But mostly I enjoyed just having a place to be lazy at, for once. So I spent my days in Freiburg predominantly on the couch, hahah.
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