Travels

Hi Everyone!

My apologies for taking so long to post again – minus the one about the earthquake! I've been writing this post for the last week or so and now, I've finally gotten around to actually posting it! Anyway, I’ve been super busy with my first real dose of traveling! It all started when my mom came to visit over her spring break near the end of March. We took a tour around Barcelona, although with the amount of times that I’ve been there, I could’ve given a pretty good guided tour myself! Nonetheless, the tour that we went on was really good. I saw many things that I had seen before but now I know their significance. What’s the point in looking at monuments and sites if you don’t know what they’re for? Anyway, after Barcelona, we came back to Vic for a couple of days. Then we took off for Menorca, one of the three Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain. It was beautiful there, however, the weather could’ve been nicer and possibly a bit busier. Although peace and quiet was nice, not a lot of things were open! We finally figured out that we were there a week before the “summer” months started. Good timing on our part! Our hotel was really nice and basically walked out onto Port Mahon, the largest natural Port in Europe. The day that we left, we rented a car (what an experience that was!) and drove to Santo Tomas, a resort town about a half hour away. We were determined to see the actual Mediterranean Sea while we were there and the only way to do that was to rent a car. We ended up doing a massive hike that took a few hours but it was right along the coast and had some amazing views so it was all worth it. It was difficult to do in our sandals but we managed.

After mom left, I left the next day for Granada for a few days on a trip that the school organized for us. Granada is in the south of Spain and their university gets more Erasmus (exchange) students than anywhere else. It was a beautiful city but again, the weather would have made the trip more enjoyable. We had only one full day there and it rained the entire time. Granada also has the Alhambra, which is kind of like the Eiffel Tower of Spain. It is a huge palace and castle built on one of the three hills that Granada sits on. We were able to walk through one area called the Palace. It was neat, and a little strange, to know that we were walking the same hallways and courtyards that Moorish Kings and Princes were walking centuries ago. In 1829, Washington Irving, an American writer, made his way to Granada and lived in the Alhambra and wrote a book called Tales of the Alhambra. It is a compilation of stories from the Alhambra about when it was inhabited by Moorish Kings. I bought the book (it was cheap) and am reading it. I will let you know how it is!

After getting home from Granada, I had four days before I left for Italy, where I was going to be for the next 11. It was crazy! Anyway, Italy… Anna, Tim, Rachel and I, left on April 3, or I should say fourth because our plane was delayed until 1 am.

We arrived in Bergamo, Italy (which is really close to Milan) around 3 am, checked into our hotel and caught a few hours sleep before hopping on a train the next day to Venice. I had always seen pictures of Venice and wanted to go but it didn’t hit me that I was until I stepped off the train and saw the canals. It was beautiful and just like the pictures, except the water was dirtier! But the gondolas were there and taking tourists around. I wanted to do one, but they were expensive (between 80€ -100€) so we decided against it. Our first night we went to a café that sat right on the water and had dinner. We saw Piazza San Marco, which was absolutely beautiful but besides the amazing architecture, there wasn't that much to see there. In the rainy months, the whole plaza in front of the San Marco fills with water. They are trying to design a state-of-the-art system to prevent Venice from flooding. It was interesting to read about.

Our next stop was Florence. Florence was pretty but we stayed just in the city. It would’ve been nice to take a tour of Tuscany and the countryside but it didn’t end up happening. We wandered around and did a little bit of shopping and sightseeing. We should have been more prepared in knowing what was in all the cities that we were visiting. We missed seeing Michelangelo’s David because we thought it was in Rome. I really wanted to see that too. I can’t complain too much though because it was our own fault. In Florence, we ended up having great accommodations. The hostel people were very welcoming and friendly. They showed us places to go eat and to go out. The one place they showed us to eat was the best pasta I’ve ever had in my life. I don’t think anything will ever compare to it! In Florence, we had two other people join us, Steph and Tori (both Americans).

After Florence, we hopped on a train to Cinque Terre. I have to say it was probably my favourite place on the whole trip. It was absolutely beautiful. It is five little villages right on the coast of the Mediterranean. A 9 km hike goes between all five towns that we did. The one trail we took was "technically" closed due to a rockslide but we decided to do it anyway (smart eh?) We were fine and were so happy we did it. It ended up being the best part of the hike. After the hike, we went and laid on the beach in the one town and went swimming! My second time in the Mediterranean. It was pretty cold but compared to my American friends from Florida, I handled the cold well!

After Cinque Terre, Rachel, Steph, Tori and I headed to Rome, while Tim and Anna stayed in Cinque Terre for a few more days before we were to meet up in Milan. Rome was amazing. A close second to Cinque Terre for being my favourite city on the trip! When we booked the trip, we didn't realize that we had planned to be in Rome over Easter weekend. That ended up being both good and bad. Decent (and cheap) accommodations were extremely hard to find. We ended up staying in a nice hotel but it was 8 km out of the city center of Rome. We had to take the metro and bus to get to our hotel. However, during the day, we bought tickets for a tour bus, one of the ones where you can get on and off as many times as you like. It's a great alternative to trying to maneuver the public transit. In Rome, we saw almost everything... the Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the place where they think Julius Cesar was stabbed to death (a little morbid, I know), the Vatican and its' museums, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish steps), Piazza Venezia (monument to tribute the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II and the Castel Sant'Angelo. I loved Rome mostly because of the history. Learning about Rome in school was always something that interested me and I loved that I was finally able to see the city. Rome, however, was the most expensive city in Italy that we visited though! It seemed like everything cost an arm and a leg. We did pay for a couple of tours though (the bus one that I mentioned earlier and we also got a tour of the Vatican). If we didn't do the tour, I don't think we would have seen everything in Rome, so that was definitely a good investment! We were at the Colosseum on Good Friday and ended up missing seeing the Pope by only a few hours because there was a service there. It would've been amazing to see the Pope but oh well.

After Rome, we took a 6.5 hour train ride back up to Milan to visit a friend before flying out on the 14th. Milan was pretty neat. Lots of shopping (I'm sure my mom loves to hear that!) As one of the fashion capitals of the world, what else can you expect? Rachel and I were out looking around and we found a department store. Now, when I say department store, I'm sure what comes to all your minds is something along the lines of a Bay or Sears, right? Not the case in Milan. This department store had about seven floors of pure designer wear. It was amazing. Me encanta. Just an example, floor two, was dedicated to bags and purses, designed by Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Dior, Chanel, Prada, Louis Vuitton, etc. I'm sure you get the picture. The rest of the floors were men, women and kids, with all the same brands. Mom will be happy to know that I just window shopped and it wasn't very hard to do when a plain t-shirt cost upwards of 80 Euro!!! But one day, I'd love to go back.

But ya, that concludes my trip to Italy! I have to say, that while I was there, I took full advantage of their cuisine (a.k.a. pizza and pasta), but I was quite disappointed. I kept hoping for amazing meals every time I ate. The best meals I had was a pizza and the pasta that I mentioned earlier in Florence, a pizza in Cinque Terre and pasta in Milan. Besides the food, the places I visited were unforgettable. If I could do the trip over again, I would probably eliminate one of the days in Florence and spend an extra one in Cinque Terre.

Because this post is so long, I will make another post for pictures. They will come when I finish putting them on my computer! Hope everyone enjoyed reading about my travels. I will try to be better and write more often while I'm here too.

Until next time...
Adios

Earthquake in Italy.

I have had a few frantic emails wondering if I am ok regarding the earthquake that hit central Italy a few days ago. I just want to let you all know that I am okay and was not affected. Although on the news it said that it was felt in Florence at the time I was there. It is kind of a scary thing to know that I was so close to it but I am ok.

Anyway, I will blog later about my travels in Italy. Currently writing from Cinque Terre. It is beautiful here!