Paris!

Last stop: Paris. This was a perfect end to our trip. Despite our slightly sketchy out of the way hostel, I really liked Paris. We went on a tour the first day there and covered the majority of sights. Of course, I loved the history lesson as well. Everywhere was so clean and there wasn’t a single hawker or busker asking for money. We spent the better part of the afternoon hanging out at the Eiffel tower. There is a great little park out front as we took in the sights and people watched. I dragged Cole up the Eiffel tower as well (we didn’t go all the way to the top, just the second level). The views were defiantly worth the climb. We found ourselves at a cute little French bistro later that evening and I got my escargot that I had been waiting for. Turns out, snails taste like snails wherever you eat them.

Day two was devoted to the Louvre. Having heard the statistic the previous day; “if you spent 30 seconds at each item in the museum and didn’t eat, go to the bathroom, or sleep, it would take three months to get through” we knew we were in for a long day. The Louvre didn’t disappoint. The collections were very unique and it was crazy looking at some of the originals that you see so many replicas of all over the world (i.e.: Mona Lisa). We gave the Louvre our best shot but had to leave due to near starvation (haha…well that’s how I felt anyway). After a nice meal, we headed to the Père Lachaise Cemetery because I’m still a sucker for Jim Morrison. It was a really cool place to walk around, there were some amazing burials.

Pa-ree: clean sidewalks, cute men in suits on scooters, great fashion, packed Metros.

Nice

From the Italian Riviera, it was off to the French Riviera (I know, we had it rough). It was such a beautiful drive along the south of France. We drove by all of the ritzy celebrity retreats like Monaco, Saint-Tropez, and Cannes and stayed a few days in the central city of the region: Nice. At this point, Cole and I were counting the last of our money and trying to see how much further we could stretch it so I have to admit, we didn’t get up to very much in Nice. Luckily, we didn’t have to spend very much money to enjoy Nice because it was just a beautiful city to walk around and hang out on the beaches. We chilled out, said our good-byes to the people we had been travelling with, and faced the realization that it was soon home time.

Nice: fancy cars, beautifully groomed parks, pretty beaches, hotel personal that yell at you and say “I don’t speak English!”

Cinque Terre

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Cinque Terre, ahhhhhhh….my favorite spot. The name means Five Terraces and it is basically five villages built into the sheer rock cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We stayed in a village called Riomaggiore with the Albertan and Aussie couple we met in Florence in our own apartment. It had a spectacular view of the ocean from the patio and the best part was our own kitchen. We cooked some proper Italian meals; complete with Antipasti, First Course, Second Course, and Dessert. The area is known for its pesto and we made the most of that. We spread it on crackers, ate it with prosciutto, and even stole a bit right from the container. We also indulged in just a little bit of wine…I mean it was excellent local quality and it was only 3 euro’s, what choice did we have? We did a lot of hiking as there are 12 km of trails between these villages. It pretty strenuous at times but the views were incredible. We even took a dip but I was out of the water pretty quick when I spotted a jelly fish. I totally recommend visiting here, it was incredible.

Cinque Terre: amazing views, warmest natural body of water I have ever felt, cute buildings and cobblestone streets

Florence

From Rome it was off to Florence. We stopped at a nice lookout point before we headed in to our hostel and got a great view of the city. We also snuck a peak at a replica David statue that overlooked the city. Florence was a nice quiet break from the big cities (I think there are about 400, 000) as we just got some sun and shopped. We browsed the markets and stores and got some really good souvenirs for our families. It was hard not to go overboard. Florence was also home to the best gelato of all time. The place was called Grom and I think we had about 4 or 5 cones over the course of two days. I liked the lemon/melon combo and Cole preferred all strawberry. It was here that we also met some really cool people. We did lots of our exploring with a guy named Tyler from Alberta and hung out with a couple from Perth as well. Our hostel had a roof-top bar so we spent a few nights here getting to know our new friends…

Florence: male genetalia everywhere you look (the statues), great shopping, cool bridge

Rome

Rome! Wow! I don’t even know where to start with this city. It is so full of history and beauty. Our first day there I managed to drag Cole out nice and early so we were some of the only people on some of the little side streets. It was also a Sunday and lots of places were closed so this made it even better. We took in lots of statues and fountains basically undisturbed. My favorite was the Trevi Fountain, so cool! The afternoon we made our way to the Coliseum but got distracted along the way…First, there was the ‘gladiator’ man that accosted us on the bridge, put a helmet and sword in our hands, took our picture, and then demanded 10 euro’s. Second, we were mesmerized by the ruins of the forum and the old Roma city centre. Next, we (ok, I) realized we didn’t have enough cash for the Coliseum so the hunt was on for a bank machine. Finally, with some fresh water, we got in line. Luckily for us, all of our ‘lolly-gagging’ made it possible for us to run into a couple of Calgarians that we had met in Munich. We ended up joining there tour and it was a great time! The second part of the tour (yep, we were still tagging along for free) led us to Palentine Hill where Roma was created all those thousands of years ago and where the worlds first Palace sat, in ruins. At this point it was probably plus 38 and we were dying but it was totally worth it.

The next day was dedicated to the Vatican Museum. Luckily we packed a lunch because we were there for hours! The paintings and statues were pretty great but when you make your way into the Raphael rooms, the Map rooms, and finally the Sistine Chapel it is breathtaking. The pictures we took just do not do it justice. This was definitely a highlight of our trip.

Rome: crazy history, hot weather, pushy hawkers (“you buy! you buy!”), crazy church

Venice

After Munich it was the trek down south to the glorious land of hot
weather, wine, and gellato...Our first stop was Venice.  We ended up
staying in a camping village just outside of the city as most of the bus
were staying there and it was dirt cheap.  Cole and I got to have our own
room (yeah, no 6-8 bed dorm rooms!), there was a restaurant, pool, and
bar.  It was a pretty nice escape as we hit Venice for a full day but it
wasn't our favourite so we spent the next day by the pool relaxing and
reading! Venice was really cool and unique with the canals, no cars, and
really old buildings (it was basically untouched in WWII) but there were
incredible crowds of people and pigeons that put a damper on things.  We
did a bit of shopping in the neat little boutiques but one day was good
enough for us.  The day by the pool was probably a good idea to start
building some what of a base since Rome has been EXTREMELY HOT so far.
Anyway, more about Rome later we have only just arrived and checked out a
few things but wow!

Venice: super unique, cheap and yummy gellato, throw away the map because
you will get lost, again, again, and again...

SIDE BAR: We drove through the area where the earthquake hit Italy in
early April and unfortunately it was not a pretty site.  Hundreds of
people are still displaced living in tents scattered around parking lots
and we saw the remains of the damaged homes...It was sad to imagine...