Hello Hello,
I know it has been FOREVER since I wrote one of these, but we didnt have access to the Internet, and where we did it was around 8 euros an hour, we had been paying 2 euros an hour, so a major price increase. Anyways, no we have internet in our room, so where did I leave off...
I last wrote in Munich (which seems like FOREVER ago!!!) and we were in the middle of city jumping which SUCKED!!! At one point we did 7 or 8 countries in 8 or 9 days...INSANITY! We are feeling much more relaxed now that we are no longer city jumping.
Our last night in Munich (we were taking a night train from there to Venice) we went to a movie in ENGLISH! It was so nice, we saw Pirates of the Carribean, great movie! It was actually an interesting experience because there were literally people from all over the world in the theater because it was the only English theater in Munich, and at parts that they like, some people from different countries clap, so that was interesting.
Oh the night train from Venice..... Now, by now you should all realize that we have crappo luck with EVERYTHING or ANYTHING that could possibly go wrong or weird. Well the train to Venice was not exempt haha. So everything starts out normal, we get our little compartment, two people, a guy and girl our age are with us, which is good. We go to sleep, it is majorly uncomftorable so I resort to sleeping on the hard, stickey and dirty as hell floor, but hey it was more comftorable then upright in the seat HAHA. I literally stuck to the ground each time I moved, needless to say I showered before we sight saw the next day HAHA. So eventually I move back up to the seat and we reposition ourselves and try to go back to sleep. We sleep with ear plugs and eye masks to try and sleep as soundly as possible. As we were sleeping, all of a sudden this guy came into our compartment and started moving around and moving our legs and bags around and so I ripped my mask off and was about to ask him what the f*** he was doing but then we *thought* he was helping us by moving our seats around because we didnt realize our seats could be in the reclined position, and he was just allowing us to lay, and we are like oh ok thanks. so we all settle in but this creepo Italian dude keeps touching our legs (near our ankles) to get us to relax and lay down. He was all snuggled in with us...weird! As I was laying there I realize that his luggage handle (or so I thought) was poking my upper back thigh, and i was like that is uncomftorable, and tried to move it and realized it was creepy Italian guys hand!! I jumped up and hes like oh sorry sorry, like he did it on accident....ya BS. He then tried to touch my legs again so I pushed my sit in the upright position and kicked Kristinas up (she had her mask on this whole time) and then we sat aware as possible, and he tried to snuggle up to Kristina again, so we turned on the lights then he got mad because we wouldnt cuddle (or whatever he wanted to do...) with him so he got up and left. It was actually very scary and a great welcome to Italy. This may not have made sense, but hopefully you get the jist!
We arrived in Venice, and had to wait hours for our bus to our campground (yes, I said campground, haha) because the bus that was SUPPOSED to take us kept saying they werent going there, so we got to wait hours. I just laid out on the bench and went to sleep, HAHA Kristina said all the Italians were looking at me and getting pissed off because I took up the entire bench, but hey, I was tired, and an Italian guy had gropped me the night before so I had the right to take up that bench!! Haha.
We eventually made it to our campground, a lot nicer then your typical campground, we had our own little two person cabin, so it was nice to have our own space! It was very small though. We took a three or so hour nap before we went out to site see in Venice because our first days in London and Paris SUCKED because our night of sleep was on a form of transportation, so we decided to take a much needed nap. We later took a boat to Venice (we had to take a boat to and from Venice, 30 min each way, nice ride). We wandered around HOT Venice for awhile and decided to just take a boat cruise on the Grand Canal. No, we didnt take a gondola, they were 100 euros, which is around 130 USD. so too expensive for us!! Venice is an amazingly beautiful city, we didnt notice any smell like a lot of people had told us about.
As we headed back to our campground on the boat, I noticed that the weather was changing dramatically and fast. We got back, went to our rooms for a second to drop off our stuff and then went to the restaurant pizzeria they had there to order pizza, by this time the weather SUCKED. It was rainining and getting really windy, while we were waiting for our pizza to be cooked the power went out and when all the noise stopped we realized we were in the middle of a MASSIVE wind storm....remember we are CAMPING!!! We have NEVER seen wind like this, ever. On our way to the restaurant, before it was very bad, I got hit with a stick in the face/eye, it wasnt very big, but hurt none the less. While the power was still out I, (stupidly) went out of the restaurant to a little store they had to get pop for us, while I was walking the wind is crazily strong and TREES are falling down and a hubcap almost hit me in the FACE! It was about two inches away from me when I saw it and ducked....that could have ended very badly. I decided we really didnt need the pop and went back into the restaurant. We just waited in there, for what seemed like forever. The lights kept coming back on and off, and I asked the people if they knew when the power would be restored, and they looked at me like I was stupid. So I am like, you know dont you have a generator or a service from the government ( I was thinking like PUD that we call when our power goes out) and they were like uhh no, pretty much like oh this stupid american wants her power back on! They dont have anyone that comes out and they said it could be out for days...yay!!! So we had to sit and wait. In the meantime we have NO FOOD and to walk back to our little cabin thing meant getting in the way of flying limbs, trees, or whatever random things were flying around. so we sat and waited and there was a HUGE group of Japanese tourists and about every 5 seconds (literally) they would go oohohohohohohohohoho and flash a peace sign. IT WAS HIGHLY IRRITATING. Everyone in the restaurant was also getting pissed off and after about 20 or 30 min I finally screamed SHUT THE HELL UP haha they did for awhile, but most people in the restaurant that heard it cracked up. But about 5 min later the ohoohohohohohohoh and peace signs ensued. GRRR. We finally deemed it safe enough to go back to our cabin thingy, and Kristina has night blindness, and I had no contacts in, and there was no power, and trees, branches and whatever covering the roadway, it was needless to say a fun walk back in the dark. The bar also managed to stay open so there were people utterly trashed EVERYWHERE, which made the walk even more safe and fun. We got back and had a dinner by flashlight of our tunafish we brought...HAHA good times!!! The power eventually came back on much later, and now we have a fun memory of this crazy storm in Venice.
We decided to go to a beach nearby Venice the next day rather then go sight see. The beach was AMAZING!!! The water was clear and SOOO warm! The sand was soft and white. we were in the water for hours. On our way walking to the beach we passed a camp or something for kids, and there were a bunch of 10 or 12 year old BOYS that were screaming CIAO BELLA, MI AMOR and etc... from balconies at us. It was actually really funny because they were kids! Little Italians in training we called them. This day was very nice and relaxing, except for the fact that we didnt bring any money so we could stay in the water without worrying, but our boat to our campsite came only every two hours and we missed it so we had to lay around for 2 hours with no money, food, water etc... and hadnt eaten all day, it was bad, and I didnt have any chapstick, and you all may or may not know, I am ADDICTED to chapstick and so I was FREAKING out while waiting. But otherwise, it was a great day.
The next day we went to Venice, Kristina was looking forward to this day the entire trip. In St. Marks Square in front of the Basilica there are thosands of pigeons everywhere. On this trip she has decided she thouroughly likes pigeons and wants to bring one home as a pet/souvienier. She had nicknamed them Pidgies. She bought some food and fed them and put the food all over her body and they got all over her and ate the food and I got lots of great pictures. She says that is her favorite part of the trip. We just wandered around Venice, soaking up the atmosphere, culture and HEAT. I think I got heat stroke that day, I felt horrible and we had to go back to the room because of how badly I felt. We didnt go into the Basilica because the line was massively long and in the sun and I already felt like crap. We thought Venice was amazing and liked it very much.
We left the next day for Lake Como (as I write this I realize how long it has been since I have written). We got there ok other then almost missing a train. Lake Como is exceedingly beautiful and is pretty much indiscribable to someone who hasnt seen it. It is surround by foothills and those are surrounded by the Alps, the lake is HUGE prob 3 or 4 Lake Washingtons, VERY VERY BIG. By this point my luggage has pretty much hit the end and our hostel was up a very steep hill from the boat. A 5 min walk turned into about a 20 or 30 min walk due to me only being able to go about 5 feet before I had to stop because my hands and arms were sore. We eventually made it up, and then had to go up more stairs....but it was all worth it because we had a view of the lake, we felt very much like we were in europe (I know, finally starting to sink in for us HAHA). The next day we went swimming in the very clear and clean (although a little cold) lake. Lake Como was great, it went by so fast but was so relaxing.
The following day we left for Cinque Terre. Jennifer (my sister) for all of you who didnt realize, was meeting us here in Italy for the (majority) of the remainder of our trip. she is flying home a few days before us. The plan was to meet her in front of the hotel. We thought we would be nice and meet her at the train station...WRONG! We waited there for hours, and no Jennifer. We started to get worried, wondering did we miss her? did she miss a flight or connecting train or something? AFter waiting for about 4 or 5 hours at the train station I decided to walk through our village and low and behold, Jennifer was there! She was a bit frazzled as she had already been here for HOURS and since we were not in front of the hotel waiting for her she didnt know where we were at. She had gotten completely lost and was dragging around her suitcase inside a big suitcase (she brought me a suitcase) around for hours walking aimlessly because she didnt know where we were!!! WOOPS! Oh well, all that ends well is well, right? Haha, she didnt think so at the time. We didnt do much that night, except get gelato.
The next day we tried to go to a nude beach for the experience haha, but the tunnel was closed and dark and looked like it was a rapist tunnel, haha thats what we called it, it was dangerous looking so we took a hike instead. Yes, hike, I have a sprained ankle and am walking around in a cast, but I went on a hike. We only got to go about half way though because my ankle was killing me. The Cinque Terre is a coastal area comprised of 5 little villages and there is a walking trail that connects them all.
The next day, we went to the BEAUTIFUL beach in cinque terre. Jennifer went and sight saw because she doesnt like the beach, but Kristina and I bought floaties and floated on the water for hours. It was clear and warm and great. I actually got sea sick on my raft because I was out there so long haha.
Each night in the Cinque Terre we made dinner with real Italian ingredients, one night a pesto pasta, the other a marinara with bread and a fruit salad, it was soo good each night! It was even better (and weird haha) to be eating food that wasnt pizza, gelato or McDonalds!!
We left Cinque Terre the following day and headed to Florence. We stopped in Pisa first to see the famous tower. We were all fairly dissapointed in it, all of you who have seen it will know why, it is sooo short!!!! You imagine it as this daunting tower and it is not at all. I was excited that it was meticously cleaned, every building is dirty in Europe and Kristina could tell you better then anyone that everytime I walk up to something in Europe my first remarks are always It is so dirty!!! But Pisa pleasantly suprised me because it was very clean. We all did the traditional holding the tower up poses which I will try to put up soon!
On our train from Pisa to florence was interesting to say the least. So everyone in Europe (ok not everyone, that is an exageration) begs for money. Two younger guys in their 20s came up to us as we were about to get off the train and came up to us and had a sign and were speaking Italian and obviously asking for money, I said I dont speak Italian. I looked away, assumed he would be gone but he was in my face, he pointed to his sign and again, very loudly, I said I DONT HAVE ANY MONEY NOR DO I SPEAK ITALIAN. I noticed there was a guy also on the other side of the aisle talking to Kristina and Jennifer, I heard Kristina scream immediately GET OUT OF HERE WE HAVE NO MONEY. That guy backed off, but the one guy on my side kept asking me, getting closer and closer, begging for money. Well by this point in the trip, I have become the one, as Kristina put it "That you yell for when you need someone bitched out or screamed at" HAHA, needless to say I am not afraid to say anything to anyone in Europe if they bother us. So these guys would NOT leave us alone and he kept getting closer and closer to my face and I am repeatingly saying I dont have any money etc... etc.. and he will not give up, which is uncommon here, so I started getting a lttle uncomftorable and am no longer taking any chances with guys so I scream F*** OFF AND GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE and then he freaked out and started doing the crazy hand motion y your head and was like CRAZY CRAAAAAAAZZZZY CRRRAAZZZY so I did it back to him going CRAAAZZY CRAAZZZY and then he said something else, prob called me a bitch so i called him a poor Italian haha and again to get the hell out of my face. Finally they left pissed off. They smelled SOO BAD! It was a rather scary encounter, but ended ok.
We checked into our nice B and B and Jennifer went out and Kristina and I relaxed. Even though I got a bigger suitcase, it was SO heavy. We estimate it to be around 60 or more, Jennifer says 75. I could no longer with its massive size and weight carry it around and up stairs so Jennifer and Kristina made me throw SO much of my stuff away. I threw everything adn anything away, not by choice though. Flip flops, silverware, all of my food, first aid stuff. water bottles, locks, a BACKPACK, laundry stuff, they broke my sunglasses (my cheap ones, not my $100 ones haha), paperwork, anything and everything you can think of they were making me unload. It was a very sad day for me haha but will be much easier to travel. Kristina said it was for the best because it makes her very sad seeing me walk around limping with my cast and dragging it around the cities. Haha, I dont think there has been one time when I have been walking around that a man didnt come up to me to carry my luggage for me. but now it is around 15 pounds (literally) lighter. So, I suppose it was for the best HAHA.
The next day we did a lot of stuff in Florence. We went to the Accademia and saw the David statue which was very, very big. We imagined it to be much smaller. We saw the Ponte Vecchio which houses all the silver and gold shops which was cool but everything was very overpriced. We did some other random site seeing stuff in the city, not all of it we liked. today (the 6th) was Jennifers birthday so we went out to an actual dinner! I got nasty pasta, Kristina got an 8 euro yogurt that she thought was ice cream and Jennifer got a pizza. Later we got gelato. Our waiter asked Kristina if he would marry her HAHA then said something to Jennifer and she was like I am married and he was like wow wow oh American girls something something....we cant understand them half the time haha.
The following day we went to Elba Island, but after trains, ferries and transfering we only got to spend about 90 minutes on the actual island! It was an expensive trip, around 50 euros for transportation for 90 minutes on a beach. the water was great, clear and warm. We got home fairly late, around 10 pm and headed to McDonalds. We had been stuck on a train FOREVER, it kept having problems so it took us much longer to get home then it should have, which SUCKED. So we ate McDonalds and had an interesting experience there. As we were leaving a Russian guy grabbed my arm (he was posing for a picture on the stairs) and I immediately pulled away and so he grabbed Kristina and Kristina thought he wanted to let her go down the stairs first so she is like ok ok, but he wanted her to POSE with him!! he took a bunch of polaroids with her. HAHA it was SOO funny, and random, it was in a McDonalds in front of a garbage can. We left the train station and realized our bus was no longer running, and it was late and we were in a rather shaddy part of the city and guys were all over. One guy, as Jennifer described him, a fat fuzzy bear, came up to me and goes OHHHH and tried to hug me but I got out of the way and then he was like oh oh I scared you! Then stumbled off drunk. About 2 min later a group of guys tried to hug Jennifer and Kristina and I say random sounds to guys when they do things now so I was going BOOH-BAH BOOH-BAH to the guys and they were thoroughly confused, we think they thought we were from another country other then the US. FYI: Booh bah is a sound that these little cartoon characters make in the US haha, we think its a funny sound and it confuses people when we say it. then we decided to get in a cab because it was scary and did not feel like hugging any scrungy looking men. The cabbie was nice and got us home safely.
Today (the 8th) Kristina and I relaxed in the hotel room for a bit and then went out to go to the Duomo (Jennifer went sightseeing all day) but then the line was too long and we had to meet Jennifer at the Uffizzi gallery so we had to leave. We paid a lot of money to go to this museum because we thought famous paintings would be there (famous being a relative term for non-art people, famous meaning ones we had seen in pictures HAHA) but there wasnt any at all so we didnt like it haha. One very embarrassing thing did happen, a picture of these angel cherub things that is a very famous painting that you would all recognize and is sold all over in prints in Florence, we thought was at this museum. Well, we couldnt find it and wanted to see it so I went up to a musuem worker and asked where the painting of the angels is that is sold all over florence. She looked at me like I was the most stupid person on the planet, so I explained more and shes like I know what you are talking about....and I am like ok, is it here? And she is like no.....so I am like ok another museum in florence? And she looks at me and laughs and says no it is in Dresden...Germany. I am like ahh, ok and walked away feeling very stupid to say the least HAHA. It was pouring down rain when we walked out so we have been in the hotel room the rest of the day while I have finished this essay of a letter.
So tomorrow we are headed to Rome, and during the day will be in the city in Siena. thankfully it is not excruciatingly hot here as it was for Kristina and I previously.
Well you are all caught up and up to date more then you prob would have ever liked to be. The internet was free so I got to type as long as I wanted! I will try after this to put pictures up, and If I succeed in doing so, I will send an email out notifying you all that I was able to put them up.
Kristina and I feel as if we will be here forever, it seems like we have been gone for MONTHS! We are excited to come home, Jennifer is already ready to come home also. Our trip is officially 2/3 over! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We LOVE the beaches though but have about had it with the cities. We miss you all tons!
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