Back to Spain, mi patria!

Felt like I should write another quick post after the last debbie downer and ungrateful sounding one. We are currently killing time before heading to the RyanAir airport and going to Malaga, Spain. Our plan as of now is to take a midnight train (going anywhere?)from Malaga to Alicante and then make our way up the coast, heading to Barcelona where we can crash with some of our lovely friends for free for a few days.
I have less than 3 weeks left in Spain, and although it has crossed my mind from time to time to head home early, the amount it would cost to change my ticket would be equivalent to how much I would be spending here, so I think the best thing to do is stick it out. Yes, things have been difficult, but I expected that. I did not expect the pounding of my heart when I stood in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, or the way I got goosebumps when I realized I could see all the way down to the bottom of the sea in Cinque Terre. This is worth it, this is one of those trips you dont get to experience very often, so Im going to enjoy every last second.

This has been such a learning experience, one that I will ALWAYS remember. I have learned so many things, some things that probably wont manifest themselves until months later, when I am in my new role as a poor, sweatpant-clad grad student(just kidding about the sweatpants, gross).

I am beyond grateful for the support, love and virtual hugs sent to me. I am also so ridiculously excited to be back in a country where I can speak the language, eat patatas bravas, and maybe see Gerard Pique from Barca who will realize we are soulmates and marry me immediately.

Hasta luego!

Bologna has a first name, its s-k-e-t-c-h-y

Succumbing to huge pangs of homesickness that have threatened to overwhelm me for a few days now. This city is merely making it worse. We cme into town today to try to find something to eat to no avail, only found about 3 or 4 places besides creepy kebab shops, and we are in the center of the city! Both Sari and I keep getting continually creepy vibes from some of the sketchy men roaming around. Normally I would just forget about sketchy men (story of my life in Barcelona) but after being followed the other day, and feeling as if we were just being followed before we ducked into this internet cafe, I am very done with Italy. I want familiarity, I want Spain, and I want a really big hug.

We got to Bologna (supposedly renowned for its amazing bolognese sauce, but have yet to find that) yesterday afternoon and it seemed very promising, with all these walkways with high archways and relly pretty red buildings. We are staying in this ridiculous place called the Citta della Camping, which has chalets, bungalows and places to park your camper, should you have one. Sari and I are playing the perfect married couple and staying in this tiny bunglow that has AIRCONDITIONING and is immaculately clean, score! Theres a swimming pool, pizzeria and bar in the little camp ground, and to get into the city we have to walk through cornfields and take a bus. Not the best idea ever, but its saving us some money, I suppose. After checking in, we went back to the center of the city which is really beautiful, but everything was.. closed. at 8 PM on a Saturday night. what?! We were also slight idiots as we didnt bring the bus schedule and ending up walking back through the cornfields in the dark.. really fun!

Both of us are trying to make the best of this Gringo Domingo and to appreciate being in Italy, but its slightly difficult today. We went to have lasagne with bolognese sauce, and found the lasagne was completely frozen in the middle. I dont thnk Ive ever laughed so much about ridiculous situations in my life. VERY much looking forward to getting on a plane tomorrow and heading to Malaga, Spain, and then figuring things out from there.

I wish I was more optimistic and sounding incredibly excited to be here, I just cant find it in me today.

Trashy beach town in Italy? yes please!

Quick sidenote: I just wrote a very lengthy, amazing blog post and clicked post.. and it was completely erased. This might not be as good, just a disclaimer.

Alright Rome, I got the point. You clearly wanted me to get on a train Wednesday afternoon and head for the gorgeous yet slightly Jersey Shore-ish coastal town of Riccione, I got it!

Changed our plans late on Tuesday night and decided to check out of Rome early and head somewhere near the water. Currently are staying in this tiny, very trashy beach town of Riccione which is on the sea and filled with vacationing Germans and Italians. Our hostal is wonderful, complete with AIRCON and 2 blocks from the beach. Our friend Stacy arrived last night to spend 2 days here with us, which is super amazing! She just moved to Switzerland last week to be an au pair for a year, and I've missed her so much since I last saw her in Barcelona 3 months ago. The past 2 days here have been so relaxing, exactly what we all needed. Plus I've been able to do more laundry in the sink, which is a huge plus.

Tuesday was a lovely day in Rome, despite the sweltering heat, and we made the most of it. After our wandering around Vatican City and figuring out our next move. We walked from our hostal through the city and passed by this area with huge Roman ruins, where all these cats live. Supposedly it's where Julius Ceaser was killed, and the cats are protecting his soul. Kind of creepy, but totally adorable cats. We crossed the bridge into Trastavere, the lively and funky part of Rome with lots of neat bookstores and outdoor restaurants, where we indulged in farfalle and icy cold white wine before decided to walk to the Trevi Fountain to see it at night. On our way, Sari realized she lost her camera but when we went all the way back to Trastavere, it was nowhere to be found. Put a slight damper on the evening, but just chalked it up to another traveling experience so as not to get incredibly frustrated about it.

Wednesday Sari went to the Sistine Chapel while I was a bit overly ambitious and went to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon and Piazza Navona. I was really glad I had the chance to see all these things, even though it was about 95 degrees outside and I was walking everywhere. I really love the city of Rome so much, and I wish that I could have maybe done something different to enjoy myself more, but I think we made the most of it. We then got on the wrong train and ended up in a random station for 2 hours before getting on the right train for another 6, finally ending up where we are now, Riccione! REALLY glad we changed our original plans of going to Perugia and came here instead, as being by the water and being in the same place for 3 nights is wonderful.

Yesterday was a lazy day of swimming, eating, more swimming, gelato-ing and waiting for Stacy to arrive, when we then got an amazing dinner of spicy sausage pizza and salad, and ended up wandering the beach at night, marveling at how GORGEOUS and clear the sky was. I feel very relaxed, very happy we have another night here. I think our big plan consists of going to get gelato tonight, and then renting one of those 4 person bike cars to explore the town some more. Big plans!

Tomorrow Stacy heads back to Switzerland and Sari and I are going to Bologna until Monday, where we fly to Malaga in Andalucia, Spain. Oh Spain, how I miss you! I miss Spanish, I miss the country, everything. But as much as I'm excited to be traveling more, I'm beginning to feel the stirrings of being ready to go home in exactly 3 weeks. I can't believe I wrote that, but it's true. I think just all the moving around, living out of a suitcase, makes me want some sort of stability and familiarity, so I will be very ready to go back home and see so many people I've loved and missed this entire time.

Better go decide which gelato flavours I'm going to enjoy, ciao!

Rome-ing around in the ridiculous heat

Apparently the secret to staying cool in the ridiculous Roman heat is 1/2 liters of ice cold white wine and pounds of gelato. As well as hiding out in bookstores, internet cafes and hotel lobbies.

Arrived in Rome yesterday and after jumping for joy for a few minutes, we went to our first hostel which immediately made us stop jumping. Really gross, really hot (were promised air con but no such luck, only a barely working fan) and the room was about the size of my foot. We dumped our stuff and set out to see the beautiful city of Rome (which is so much better than Florence its not even funny). We managed to make it to see the Colloseum, Roman Forum and the Victor Emmanuelle(sp) before we started feeling dizzy from the heat and had to head back to our hostal to take cold showers (or at least I did. Sari had to go to a town outside of Rome to pick up her lost passport, yikes). I felt sick all day because its over 100 degrees, and we tried to be such good sports about it but its very miserable here. Miserable, in Rome! It,s like an oxymoron. We did have a really wonderful dinner last night where a man seranaded us in Italian and Spanish. Everyone thinks we are Spanish and keep congratulating us on Campeones del Mundo! I miss Spain.

Today we moved to another hostal, going to check in there soon and hope they also weren,t lying when they said they have aircon as well. We checked out Vatican City, said a big hello to the Pope who was probably hanging out in aircon himself, and had a delicious margherita pizza and white wine at this little hole in the wall pizzeria. Tonight we are buying some paninis and heading to the Trevi Fountain as it gets dark, and a tiny bit cooler

We had originally planned on staying in Rome until Thursday but its so unbearable that we are attempting to change our plans and go to the coastal town of Rimini for the next few days, keep you posted on that.

A fun occurrance: yesterday, upon arrival of Rome, a very drunk man with the longest cigarette ash ever proceeded to push his pelvis against me on the sidewalk. I threw some choice words at him, but had to laugh. Welcome to Roma!

I really do love this city. The feel of it- its so welcoming and historical and you can walk EVERYWHERE. Not as many Americans and Australians here as were in Florence, that was unbelievable. I do like running into fellow travelers and sharing stories about where we have just come from, and where we are going. Most of the Australians I meet are traveling for over 6 or 9 months, its insane! I,m super glad and grateful to get the chance to do this, but it does take some getting used to. I felt very homesick for familiarity yesterday but that has since passed, which I am glad about.

Off to check out our hostal and enjoy Roma (and some more gelato, let,s be honest!)

I,m a Plus Girl

Taking reprieve in another internet cafe to escape the stifling heat of Florence once more. I think this Gringo Domingo will be a pretty good one, considering there is a swimming pool at our hostal, we found a place that is showing the movie Eclipse (don,t judge) and there,s the ridiculously exciting Spain vs. Holland game tonight! Viva la Furia Roja!

Florence is beautiful. We,ve walked nearly everywhere since its a pretty compact city, and saw all the mains sights like Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, random piazzas, cheap panini,s, loads of turists, and reveled in the gorgeous colour of the buildings. Everything is so light looking, painted in creamy colours and light green. That being said, we,re definitely looking forward to hitting up Rome tomorrow and staying there for 3 days, with a day trip to Siena sometime in there!

A slightly ridiculous thing: last night Sari and I were placed in 2 different hostal rooms on the Plus Girls floor. Now, that basically means we were lucky enough to be placed on a floor designed to protect our feminity. Pink hallways, a vanity desk in each room, places to put your makeup, and little kits that consist of makeup remover, nail files and anything else we might need to stay as girly as possible. Annoying to my feminist side, but also very comfortable, clean and air conditioned so I,m totally down with it!

Off to another air conditioned venue of some sort, ciao!

Sketchy Pisa, lovely Cinque Terre, and sweaty Florence

As I write this, I,m trying to figure out this italian keyboard and to not focus on the sweat dripping down my back. I,ve probably thought this before, but honestly i can,t remember when i was as hot as this. Just got to Florence last night amidst a bit of Italian drama. Let me back up a bit..

So, left Paris on Wednesday to jet to Pisa, luckily with no passport problems. I was a little worried because technically you can only stay in the Schengen countries of Europe for 3 months and I,m well over that, but there have been no problems, hopefully it stays that way! Got to Pisa and walked from the airport, which was a little strange since it was right in the middle of the town, and met up with my travel buddy Sari at this somewhat decent hostal that was only about, oh 88 degrees F inside. We walked down a sketchy deserted street to this nondescript pizza place to watch the spain vs. germany game, and then hustled home. Pisa is not great! We didn,t even make it to the Leaning Tower since it was on the other side of town and we decided to just get to Cinque Terre instead. Apparently we didn,t miss much, or at least I,d like to think that!

Thursday bruoght us to one of the most lovely, gorgeous places I,ve ever been- CInque Terre. We stayed in the first town, Riomaggiore, and the towns are exactly what you,d imagine- rows of pastel coloured houses staggered in the mountain rocks, overlooking water that is almost torquouise, you can see right down to the bottom and see all the schools of fish. Everyone was so HAPPY looking there! not a huge town by any means, maybe only 10 restaurants or so, and all uphill! Our hostal was a tiny little apartment that we shared with people from Australia, China,England and Montreal, and had steps right down the cove where you can rent kayaks and snorkels. Thursday we did a bit of the Cinque Terre hike, with which you can hike to the other towns of Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, but we only made it as far as Manarola. You have to walk high up on a sort of cliff walk, breathtaking. We swam in a cove in Manarola, and there were all these tiny blue fish at our feet, so ridiculous! Rest of the day was spent eating loads of fruit, and eating pizza and wine on a cliff to watch the sunset. Both Sari and I were in disbelief pretty much tne entire day.

The trains went on strike from Thursday night til Friday night, which somewhat wrecked our plans to leave for Florence on Friday morning, so nistead we went kayaking in the morning which was the highlight of this trip so far. Apparently I have some pretty diesel arm strength, who knew? We then went swimming in our town of Riomaggiore, jumping off some cliffs into the amazingly clear water. After a lunch and another sweaty hike up through the town, we decided to chance it and went to the train station to see if anything was running, and lucked out! Grabbed a train to La Spezia and then miraculously got on a train to FLorence, getting in by 8 PM! Most trains were cancelled, so we were seriously grateful.

Our first couchsurfing experience in Florence last night was.. interesting. It was free, and trhe mission behind the YMCA type place we stayed was that its a hostal during the summer and houses homeless people during the winter. Love the mission, hated the place. Took us over an hour to find it. No fan, our room was in this weird compartment type thingie with a sliding door, and there was like 20 of them.. and people left their shoes outside the door. Creeped us both out, so we tried to ply ourselves with Italian beer to go to sleep but instead both spent a sweaty, sleepless night. Fun!

Today finds us both in better spirits, having moved to a somewhat swanky hostel called Plus Hostal that features a swimming pool, 2 bars, laundry (!) and my bed is a full size, which feels gargantuan. Here for 2 nights then probably going to Rome. Hoping Florence manages to enchant me, so far all I,ve noticed is how many tourists there are, how crowded it is, but did enjoy seeing the Duomo and the market again.

Off to air conditioning, ciao!

Merci pour les crepes, Paris!

Bonjour! My mom is currently on her way to the CDG airport to fly back to Chicago, while I spent some quality time on the internet, until my flight to Pisa leaves at 6 PM. A day in Paris, what to do, what to do..

This week has been wonderful. The dinner party we went to on Sunday night is called "Dinner at Jim's", and is run by some American who has these dinners every Sunday and has for the past 30 years. There are usually some 50 people there, all strangers eating and mingling. We went, and it turned out to be pretty alright! met some really interesting people- a group of Parisian ladies who were there mostly to practice their English, an Australian guy who comes every so often to meet "the ladies", a couple who are traveling through Paris before moving to Scotland, and this neat girl Olivia who is actually going to Mt. Holyoke in Mass in the fall, and is a fellow feminist and travel addict. The food was mediocre but the ambiance was really neat, I would definitely reccommend going if you are ever in Paris on a Sunday!

Monday was another crystal clear day, not so hot, so we headed to Montmartre, where the huge Sacre Couer is on a hill, and wandered through the slightly run down neighborhoods. The highlight of Montmarte was the butter and sugar crepe we bought from a street vendor, and walking past the seedy Moulin Rouge. We had Croques Monseiurs with Roquefort cheese near the Opera house, and it was beyond words. After a quick trip into Galeries Lafeyette (a department store complete with stained glass windows), we headed home for a quick nap. We thought about checking out the elusive Deux Magots or the Cafe Flor, where all the literary types used to hang back in the day (like Satre, Scott Fitzgerald, Simone de Beauvoir) but they seemed lame and touristy so we didn't partake. We ended up on the Ille Sant Louis, the little island behind Notre Dame, where we had the best crepes of our life and met this woman named Dorothy and her boston terrier, Kennedy, who has been living in Paris for 30 years (the woman, not the dog). On the way home, crossing the bridge over the Seine, we got a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower all illuminated, really beautiful.

Tuesday began with a trip to the Le Parisienne boulangerie so I could continue my obsession with macaroons- got cafe, pistache, vanille, chocolat, framboise and citron and they were AMAZING. We went to the Marais district, which is supposedly the gay/jewish/funky area but it wasn't at all, at least what we saw. Kind of disapointing- we saw tons of chain stores, a few falafel places and Jewish bakeries, and the English bookstore The Red Wheelbarrow which was neat, but otherwise it was kind of like we were in Lincoln Park, Illinois. To cheer ourselves up, we went on a boat ride on the Seine with a HUGE group of British teenagers behind us, and a HUGE group of French 4 year olds in front of us, who were better behaved than the teenagers. Saw the Eiffel Tower from the water, up close and personal, and it's just so gorgeous. We then stopped in a creperie for a salted caramel and nutella crepe with 2 Kirs( our favourite tiddle here), and then after a quick packing/nap time, we hit up an italian restaurant near St. Michel that was fabulous. Some gelato on the Ille Sant Louis, and a walk over the bridge to see Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower at night, and we were ready to say au revoir to Paris and our really wonderful time here.

Today I'm heading to Pisa to meet up with my travel buddy, Sari, and starting to feel the stirrings of being ready to be on the move move move. I heard it's wicked hot though in Italy, not so stoked for that.

Paris is an amazing city, not sure I could ever live here- apart from the language part, it just seems a difficult city to integrate into. But I did successfully order stamps in French, so maybe..

Au revoir, Paris. Ciao, Italia!

p.s To make your own Kir, mix either Chardonnay or Champagne with Creme de Cassis (blackberry liquer, I believe) until it looks dusty purple. Delish!