Bath time & Windsor Castle

The last few days of the trip were nice. On Saturday we visited Bath, where the Roman Baths are. The town itself is adorable. Everyone we talked to was suuuuuper friendly and wanted to recommend stuff for us to check out. We decided to spend the money and actually go into the building, but I'm still not sure if it was worth it.

I took a lot of pictures and such, but the difference between how Italy and England handle ruins is funny. In Rome, you can just romp about on their ruins. Even in like the Colosseum there is little regulation other than certain areas that are too dangerous for people to be. At the Roman Baths in Bath you are walking on like raised platforms and can't touch much. Its annoying.

We also tasted the famed healing waters and they taste like ass. Its all warm and minerally. Ew. We did, however, enjoy a delicious traditional afternoon tea at the Pump Rooms afterwards. It was really fun and yummy!

We also briefly checked out the Jane Austen Centre, but decided to forego taking the tour. After Bath we headed back and met our new German roommates. They were all rowers from Bavaria and highly amusing. After chatting with them for a while and having a drink in the room we all went our separate ways for the evening. Emily and I ended up exploring Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus and Chinatown before eventually finding our way to a tube station and returning home for the night. What I assume was Leicester Square was really fun! It was kinda like the Times Square of England. There were so many people walking around and lots of bright lights on the buildings.

We also wandered into the gay area and we had to pretend to be lesbians by holding hands so that this creepy guy would leave her alone. It was actually really funny.

The next day we visited Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park cause Emily was really interested in going. I was less than enthused. There were only three people talking, but it was like shit I coulda heard on the bus at 1am from some crazy person. Boring.

Then we went to Windsor to check out the castle. It was so cool! First of all, its huge. And all of the rooms inside are beautiful. Emily thought it looked worn down, but I thought it was awesome sauce. My favorite room was entirely green and soooooo gorgeous. It was fun times. I also took unauthorized pictures of the doll house, which was amazing. What made it even more cool was the fact that the Queen was in residence that day. Yay!

After that we pretty much just got all our shit together for our Monday departure. It was pretty lowkey and simple leaving the UK and now we are returned. I'm glad I'll be able to see you all again, but sad that my European Adventure has come to an end.

I might do another update in a few just to recap it all. We'll see!

Bye bye bye!

Eurail=Eurpieceofshit

Biggest rip off of the trip is our Eurail pass. We finally used them to catch a train from Barcelona to Montpellier (to connect to Paris) and the ticket collector on the train said we had to pay for the distance between Barcelona and France since ours are Italy-France. EVEN THOUGH THE PEOPLE WE BOUGHT IT FROM SAID WE COULD USE IT FOR TRAINS BETWEEN SPAIN AND FRANCE. Thats the whole reason we didnt buy the third country.

Luckily he didnt have time to get back to us before the crew switched at the Border. Woot woot! Free ride.

Then the next train to Paris that our passes were valid for wasn't for another two hours which threw off our plans to be in London by the evening completely. There was still a possibility of making the last Eurostar to London, but our Eurail only get us a discount and they didn't have any more of those tickets until Saturday. So we ended up in Gare du Nord train station with nowhere to stay. We called everyone we knew who might have internet access and eventually my cousin Danielle helped us out by finding phone numbers for a few places.

After wasting about two hours and spending all of our change on payphones we FINALLY reached a place that had beds available for a reasonable price.

This place is awesome. In fact, if I stay in Paris again, I'm staying here. Its really lively, people are friendly, and its super clean and comfy. Definitely we lucked out.

Hopefully this positive trend continues as we complete our European adventure.

Tomorrow: Bath, Stratford (?), Stonehenge (?), and some London nightlife.

Bon nuit!

deeerunk!!!!

srprisingly my first drunk blog!

I'm in barcelona and we went out with our new roomates from korea and holland.

we were supposed to see a flamenco show but got distracted with tapas and sangria.

best sangria EVER! so delicious, we had two pitchers (i pretty much drank one by myself)

funsies!

i also hit my face wih my laptop. now i have a welt. boo-urns.

love you!

Ciao Italia!

So when we booked our ferry tickets the other day we discovered that we needed to get to Civitavecchia first, since that is Rome's main port. Since there were tons of trains going there daily it was no problem to just hop on one in the afternoon.

It was about 15 minutes into the journey that we realized, we have no freaking clue how to get from the train station to the ferry check-in. And none of our travel guides cover anything outside the city center. So, hoping that it was like Stranraer (where we took the ferry to Belfast), where the entrance is right when you exit the train, we followed the signs towards the exit once we got there.

Civitavecchia is NOT like Stranraer. All we saw was a harbour like area, but no signs that we could really read. So we started following the ones that we thought said port...and ran into a funeral procession. It was really random. This town is so small that they were walking through the streets. And I´m fairly certain that everyone knew the person who had died. It was cool though because I think it was a military funeral too.

So as we unintentionally followed the funeral procession we also tried to figure out where the crap we were supposed to go. Eventually we kind of just stopped and looked at all the ships along the harbour. I spotted one with a giant G on the side and figured since ours was Grimaldi lines this might be it. So we haphazardly just headed towards the G.

I don´t know how we did it, but somehow we managed to find the tiny little hut of a terminal where we check in. After successfully checking in we waited for awhile before catching the bus that takes us to the ship.

For the rest of the day we marveled at how we made it to the ship. This tiny hut was NOWHERE near the train station. It was pure luck.

Anyway the ship was ginormous. Its all fancy sauce with like 4 bars, two restaurants, a casino, arcade, etc. It was an interesting journey, but everything on the ship was uber expensive. Lunch in the cafeteria ended up costing us 20 euro EACH! Lame sauce.

We also had purchased the cheapy tickets that give us sleeper chairs. Needless to say, even though the upgrade to cabin beds was 100 euros, we both were about ready to do it.

We´ve been in Barcelona for almost a whole day now and have enjoyed some of the sights including the Sagrada Familia church which, if I´m still alive upon completion, I am going to see again. We also visited the Casa Mila, where Gaudi lived and its really cool looking. Tonight we hope to catch a Flamenco show and maybe hit up an absinthe bar. Who knows, though, since we're both rapidly running out of funds and we still have 3 days in Europe.

Oh my god, 3 days. Thats it?

Lame.

Although, to be honest, we both can't wait to get home and eat American food again and be able to understand what people are saying to us.

That is all for now.

Bye bye bye!

Roma

Day two in Rome we got up waaaaaay super late and headed straight for the Vatican so we could see this infamous Sistine Chapel. We made a quick stop at the post office so that I could send off some postcards to various people. That done we skirted the giant wall around the Vatican (damn Mongowians!<--south park reference) and entered the Vatican Museum.

Plan of attack: skip everything and head for Sistine Chapel because it is aaaaall the way at the other end. So we took off at a brisk pace that was immediately hindered by the sheer number of people in front of us. MASSIVE crowds, and on a Monday! I overheard some lady saying that this was the most visited museum in Europe (even more than the Louvre).

Anyway our intentions were to rush through it all, but its just not possible. Whereas at the Louvre, you can simply bypass several paintings and such, every inch of this place is a work of art. All the walls are simply HUGE paintings. Its amazing. There are really no words to describe it. When you see the pictures, they won't even do it justice. Needless to say (ha!), there was no rushing through this place. I took sooooo many pictures and that was before we even made it to the Sistine.

Speaking of the Sistine: if you'll recall the Louvre taunted you with tiny pictures & arrows leading you to the Mona Lisa. The Vatican is worse. You just get signs printed done up on Word that Capella Sistina and an arrow in every room. I can't explain why, but these signs lead you to believe that its simply in the next room. It never is! Its almost always a set of really tall stairs which is hardly compensation for fact that you are still not at the Sistine Chapel. Then for about ten minutes before you actually get there they have signs telling you that you can't talk or take video & pictures. So then each time you enter a room you're already prepared and find yourself in a place that you actually can take pictures and you have to whip out your camera again. Highly vexing.

To tell the truth, when we actually entered the Sistine I didn't think we were there. My thoughts: is this it? Its not overly large and there is no artificial lighting so its kind of dreary. Plus everyone was talking and blatantly taking pictures. None of the workers were doing anything to try to control this clear disregard for previous signage. So...I took advantage.

I took A LOT of pictures (for you Wifey!) and some video. We had about a good 15 minutes before they started getting Nazi about it all, which was fine, because by then I had gotten what I came for. It was pretty amazing looking at the paintings. Even the draperies on the walls were paintings, not actual draperies.

After the Sistine went to have a bite at the cafeteria and had what I can hands down say was the worst pizza I've ever eaten. I'm definitely gonna yelp that shit. It was like swallowing a cup of salt. Ech! And it gave me a headache.

We decided to leave the Vatican pretty much after that and made our way to the Colosseum. After walking around the entire thing twice we still hadn't found the entrance so I went to the exit and asked what time it closed. Apparently at 4:30 and it was already 5. Damn it! Sorry, wifey, but that guide you gave me is highly innaccurate when it comes to prices and apparently times. Lame.

The Forum was similarly closed so we just kind of wandered around for a bit and then headed towards the mouth of truth (or whatever its called). Also, closed. This was not turning into a very productive day. We found some little townish type thing in the middle of the river and hung out there until the sun set. It was cute. They're river is kind of like a bigger version of the L.A. river, except with marble along the sides and not concrete.

After that we went back to the hotel and then off to find a laundromat. Found one in the neighborhood and had our first total rip off. 30 effing euros for them to wash & dry 2 loads of laundry. There was no self service option and we didn't know of any other place to do it. Since we were both in our last outfits we had to suck it up and pay, but I did demand two free 30 minute internet sessions in return. We went to dinner while the laundry was being done and came back to find out that we have to bag our own laundry in tiny grocery store bags. 30 fucking euros my ass.

I pretty much just took a shower and passed out after that, but Em stayed up to hang out with the guy at reception.

Our last day in Rome we went to the Colosseum which was huge! We also checked out Palatine Hill, which was like the Beverly Hills of ancient rome. It was really cool seeing all the old houses and such. There was a sort of bittersweet moment when both Emily and I wish Pappaw was still alive and there to enjoy it with us. It was weird how we both thought the same thing in this place that we have no connection to with him. In fact, I don't think I recall him ever talking of Rome. Strange.

Anyway after that we ended up hopping on the train to Civitavecchia, which will start my next update cause its a bit of an adventure.

When in Rome

So the train ride was a gas. Definitely having our own cabin made it an excellent mode of transportation. It was nice to be able to just leave our stuff around and hop onto the top beds. Downside of overnight trains is that all day today I've felt off balance.

We got into Rome around 12:15 and thus missed the Papal blessing of the crowds. Oh well. It was surprisingly easy to find a place to stay for a reasonable price. After getting settled in the hotel/hostel we headed to the Vatican to attend one of the afternoon masses (as per the request of one of our aunts). Huuuuuuge line to get into the Basilica, but surprisingly not many people attended the actual mass.

It was interesting. I think if I wasn't an atheist it would've been even more awesome, but I enjoyed the novelty of it nonetheless. The Basilica is gorgeous and huge. I wanted to take a picture of every single inch of it. Literally. Since they don't let people take pictures of the altar area I had to pull a KTP and be sneaky sauce about it. Its sooooo gorgeous! Emily tried to rush me through, though, which was slightly annoying, but I still got my pictures.

Since the Sistine Chapel isn't open on Sundays we decided to visit again on Monday. So after the Vatican we headed to the Spanish Steps to see the Keats & Shelley Memorial House. It was closed at that time unfortunately, but I took pictures of the plaque and such (YOU NEED TO WATCH BRIGHT STAR!!). We then decided to walk to the Trevi Fountain.

After walking for a while we found a fountain in the middle of a roundabout and hopped on over. We took some pictures and were just about to toss in our coins when I commented on how it seemed to lack all the pomp and circumstance I had expected. We both kind of staired at this pretty but simple fountain then whipped out the travel guide. Yeah. This is was so not Trevi.

So once we got our bearings we headed in the correct direction. The Trevi definitely has more pomp than the Tritione fountain. We spent a good while just looking at its prettiness before heading for the Pantheon.

Pantheon=not terribly exciting. Since it was closed for the day we only saw the outside. On approach from the side it was impressive, but with one half under renovation and no illumination on the building it was just this big building tucked away.

On our way to the Trevi we had seen some awesome looking building down this one street and decided to investigate. Even though Emily's feet were killing her she was game for checking it out. We eventually made it there and assume that its the Capitol Hill. So awesome sauce!

The closest metro from there was the Colosseum stop and the walk gave us the opportunity to see the Forum & Colosseum lit up at night. Pretty!

After we got back to the hotel we had a glass of wine with the receptionist, picked out a nice little restaurant for dinner and enjoyed some excellent pasta. It was a lovely day in Rome and I can hardly wait for tomorrow's adventures.

Ciao!

P.S. I'm starting to feel like Doogie Howser wrapping up the episode with his diary entries. But its funsies.

The French Fiasco

The plan was that we check out at 11, store our luggage for the day, go to Gare du Nord to get train tickets for Venice, hit up Notre Dame, the Bastille, Sacre Coeur & the Moulins, then pick up the luggage and head to the train station for our 8pm overnight train.

EPIC FAIL!!

The Eurail passes we bought specified that our reservations had to be made at the specific station we would be leaving from so we planned to check it out when we got in on Thursday. Except we were so confused about how to get to the hostel that we forgot. Then Friday we spent the whole day out and about and again forgot. So Saturday first thing we did was check out then stored the luggage and headed to Gare du Nord.

Gare du Nord is huge. Plus 98% of the signs are in French. So we followed the ones that seemed like they were for the high speed trains that go outside of the city. Except when we got to the ticketing place none of the train company names were the company our train was on.

So I asked Emily “Are you sure this is the station we need?”

.

Turns out, no. We needed Gare de Lyon.

It had already taken forever to navigate through Gare du Nord and now we had to figure out how to get to Gare de Lyon, a station that only 3 of the 20 lines go to. This was also when we discovered that the metro ticket in Paris is a magical ticket. We literally went from the hostel to Gare du Nord, to some other station, to Gare de Lyon, and back to the hostel on one ticket. SWEET!

Back to the train situation.

We arrived at Gare de Lyon and after much confusion found a ticket place for international trains and figured we’d check it out. So we get to the booth and ask about using our Eurail passes for the overnight to Venice.

Its booked.

WTF?!

These passes are supposedly for hopping on any train we feel like. This is how it worked in Britain with the uber easy to use Britrail pass. Eurail blows. She tells us that they have a limited number of tickets they can sell for Eurail holders so we’d have to pay normal price for the train tickets. LAME SAUCE!!! In fact there are no open seats until WEDNESDAY!

We decide to step out of line and try to figure out an alternative because we already have hotel reservations in Venice for Sunday night and Friday was the last day to cancel without penalty. After frantically consulting our Eurail timetable we try to figure out if we can even get close to Venice and then take local transportation. What we really needed at that moment was the internet. So we head back to the hostel (where my computer is in my bag) to go online and get our luggage.

On the metro rides back to the hostel we discuss our various options which range from canceling the rest of our continental trip all together and retreating back to Dublin or Edinburgh to going to Rome or something instead.

Once at the hostel we checked out prices on flights to Venice and they were just too outrageous because it was same day. Nixing that plan we then consulted the online train schedules to see times, prices, etc. for Italy.

I don’t even remember whose idea it was or how it entirely happened, but somehow we ended up with tickets to Rome and our emergency contact in Rome (thanks to my aunt and uncle!) looking for a place for us to stay.

So, we’re heading to Rome!

After booking the train tickets we left the hostel and made our way to the Bercy train station in Paris. We checked in and waited about 2 hours for our train only to find out about 15 minutes before the departure time that it was delayed about an hour.

What is going on today?! Its like Glasgow 2.0

The train did eventually arrive and we quickly found our couchette. It’s a little cabin that seats/sleeps 6 people and is TINY! There was five of us in there (well 6 technically since there was also a little girl with her mom and grandma) when these two guys came in and asked if we would switch cabins with some students since they somehow ended up 6 cars down from the rest of the group.

We all agreed but then there was some confusion as to the number of people that could switch and somehow Emily and I ended up with our very own cabin!

Awesome sauce!

Its been very fun so far. The top bunk is up high and I feel like a queen looking down on my poorly upholstered kingdom. Good times.

I’ve been trying to read up on Rome to keep myself occupied, but my mind is filled with thoughts of a thousand unknowns since this trip is now all off course, which is both exciting and frightening.

It truly is Emily and Bonnie’s European Adventure now.

Wish me luck!

P.S. If I die, Kellie you get control of my assets with my trust that you’ll distribute them appropriately. Of course anything worth $$$ needs to go to my parents (probably not much, maybe some jewelry/electronics).

Ciao!