THE WRAP UP...

My bad. I got back over a week ago and never started/finished the final blog. It's been a big week since I last checked in:
I am now a Fres-yes resident. My last night in the 1st street house was the 31st. So I've spent the time packing, cleaning, moving, cleaning, stuffing a storage unit full of stuff (probably beyond capacity), cleaning, and tried to get settled. Then I got a call to work a temporary job back up in the bay area so I'm sitting in Pleasant Hill, near Concord (yay Chu!), waiting for all te technical stuff to get set up. Luckily this is giving me a chance to finish my last update. What is it saying that I have to go to work to get a break long enough to update my blog. Odd...

So here we go back to my flight on July 24th. We were slightly delayed leaving Madrid, but no more than an hour. It wasn't a big deal for me because I had a 6-hour layover in Atlanta so I wasn't freaking out like everyone else. I sat next to a woman who worked for the FBI and had been stationed in Madrid. She had interesting stories but also knew when to stop talking. She was the perfect seat-mate!!

After the jetlag from my ride to Madrid, 6 hours "naps" in the middle of the day, I was determined to do better. My plan was simple: don't sleep until I got home. That meant staying awake from 2am-midnight California time. I was able to stay awake the whole MAD-ATL flight and kept myself busy walking around and making phone calls during my layover. During this time I got to rediscover how my phone works! I forgot my email automatically updates, was excited to make a non-skype phone call, and loved downloading podcasts with no Internet connection. It was a small thing, but was funny to see what I had forgotten already!

Oh yeah, back to landing in Atlanta and even just boarding a U.S. bound plane. It was crazy how I suddenly understood all the conversations people were having around me...and a little irritating. I got through customs in about an hour with no problems or random searches. While people were calm for the most part there was this energy in the room that hinted at the panic just below the surface. This was especially apparent during the last stop when people dropped their bags off for the next flight, nothing more than throwing it onto a pile to be whipped off to who knows where, and quickly ushered into different lines. People got separated and did the half-walk/run thing. I felt like cattle being led to the slaughter house. Luckily we were just being delivered to the U.S.! :) After I made it through the last checkpoint I had a huge wave of emotions roll over me: relief, joy, and so many more.

Back to my plan and the ATL-SFO flight. We loaded up and were also delayed, but I didn't care because I was going home!!! At this point nothing really bothered me, except hearing all the words/conversations!! I'm better now but seriously, we talk a lot!! :)
We loaded up and I made my way to my seat which was occupied by a tween girl. She was trying to swoop on my window seat!! I let her know that was my seat and got ready for the last leg of my trip. I have to admit that I did fall asleep a few different times on this flight, but it wasn't on purpose. It was one of those head nodding, fighting sleep movements that toddlers and babies do. Eventually the sleep won, but not for long. Overall I think I did a pretty good job!

I landed in SF a little before midnight with a huge smile on my face. I walked down to collect my bag and was greeted by Sonet who was holding a "welcom 2 amurica" sign!! It totally caught me off and guard made me laugh. We got my bag, she was impressed that I was able to lift that sucker and put it on my back, and went outside. Maria, Pepper, and Peanut were all waiting for me. The crew!

I hadn't had much to eat all day so I convinced them to go to El Grullense for some Mexican food!! Yes!!! It was fantastic. Then we went back and I crashed. I woke up and hit the ground running. We had a moving BBQ on Saturday. I had brunch with Mom and Sally on Sunday. Went to Merced for the birthday celebration on Tuesday and then moved out Friday. Luckily my plan seemed to work. I haven't had to take any naps or passed out at random hours.

Overall I'm really glad I took the trip. I learned a lot about myself and about you guys. I was pleasantly surprised by the support and feedback I got from so many of you. I loved seeing new places and visiting sites I'd only seen on TV/movies or read about. Meeting new, incredibly random people just added that much more to the experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

People have asked me what city or place was my favorite to visit but it's really hard to narrow it down to just one thing. Some of my highlights include:
Paris at night
Madrid's winding streets
The amazing history of Rome
Getting lost in Venice
My night at the Nice train station
Hitting the beaches
The beautiful train rides
Walking more than I have ever walked in my life just because I could!

And...coming home to realize how much I appreciate where I come from, despite all our problems, and love the people in my life.

Thanks for taking the time to follow me on my journey. Look for the blog
for my next trip as soon as I find a job to support this new habit!!

Until next time...

Yay!

Just landed at SFO. More info to follow tomorrow but just wanted you to know I landed safely!
Good night!!

The longest day ever...

Maybe not ever, but pretty close since I get an extra 9 hours...most of which (all??) will be in an airport or airplane. The good news: I'm in Atlanta!!! You probably figured that out by the previous two posts, but I thought I should make it official. My flight from Madrid was uneventful. I sat next to a woman who works for the FBI and had been working in Spain for the last month. We talked at first, but she has good plane manners so we went back to our own little worlds. I am pretty sure I watched 4 1/2 movies on the flight. Add that to all the movies I watched on the way to Madrid and I just about exhausted their movie selections.
I got into Atlanta at 3:15, Atlanta time, and got through customs in about an hour with no major problems. Right now I have about an hour before my flight leaves so I have to run so I can hit up a bathroom and some dinner before boarding. But: I'm back in the U.S.!!!!! Who knew I liked this place so much?!?
Gotta run! I land at SFO at about 11:20pm. Yay!!!

Madrid the 2nd time around

I got into Madrid a little after noon and found my hostel quickly. It was nice enough, but they sure know how to stuff the bunkbeds in a room. I was in a 6-bed room and ended up on the bottom bunk. I went to sit on it and realized that this was the shortest bunkbed in existence...to the best of my knowledge. ;) I sat on the matress and the top bunk touched the top of my shoulders. I laid down in my cave/coffin and realized there was less than 3-feet of space between my bed and the bunk above. I know this because I stacked one foot on top of the other and almost touched the top bunk. Nothing like a funky finish! I spent the rest of the day walking the city, napping, and getting ready for my dinner with Pedro.
Dinner with Pedro was definitely a highlight for me. I got to try some tapas dishes I never would have ordered on my own, including oxtail, and got to enjoy a fun conversation over drinks and dinner. This was a stark contrast to dinner the night before. We ate dinner, then headed to a nearby bar that had a 3rd floor terrace that overlooked one of the plazas. At 12:30 I was a punk and chose bed over going to the next spot!! I really wanted to rally, but Madrid nights are still out of my league! When I told Pedro I was tired and couldn't hang, he laughed and said "And it's only a Wednesday!" Ill be ready for him next time!
Thursday was my last full day in Madrid, and really of my trip. I decided it was time to shop! I wouldn't have to lug my bag around any more so it was time to go souvenir crazy!! Shopping is hard work. Especially if you are looking for stuff that isn't too touristy but not in English. I found a lot of the same brands of clothing we have, which makes sense, but can be frustrating if you are looking for Spanish writing. I ended up finding everything on my list, but it literally took all day.
I was excited for my flight and decided it was a good idea to pack most of my stuff the night before so I started to put my souvenirs away. Then I saw one of those security tags that squirt ink all over if you tamper with it. Perfect! It was already after 7, so I walked as fast as I could without looking crazy to see if the store was still open. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to get it taken off and would have to start a new trend of wearing shirts with these tags. Luckily for you and everyone else who wouldve started to wear these tags, it was still open. They remove it and I headed back to pack.
My plan for the rest of the night: pack, skype, perubian food(suggested by Pedro), and finish with Harry Potter. Good plan, right?!? I was skyping when I said my plan out loud. My roommate, Simone, almost had a heart attack! Simone and I met the day before. She is from England and testing herself with a 6-week solo trip before "going off to Uni." (Please make sure all of her quotes are read with an English accent. Thanks) :) She just finished her first week and a half, and said she was getting homesick. We bonded over travelling alone and talked about where we had been so far. She just came back from the music festival that many of the people I came across in the hostels had just come from. It included four days of music, camping, and partying. There was also the added bonus of a storm in the area which resulted in some really strong wind. She said it made her nervous in her little tent as she realized "I'm quite light!" (Did you add the English accent??) I had invited her to dinner earlier in the day, but I think the mention of Harry Potter sealed the deal! We headed to the restaurant, which ended up being really close.
It was completely empty when we got there, which made me nervous. Why was it so empty?!? As it turned out the food was great!! We both really enjoyed our dishes. I even did the happy dance. :) We were on a tight timeline so we started to walk to the theater. We got there 10 minutes after the start time, so we missed a few minutes of the movie but dinner was completely worth it. As an added bonus the movie was in English with Spanish subtitles!! Yes!!!
We laughed, cried (ok, maybe not cried but close), and headed back to the hostel. We were the last to get back to the room so I had to sleep in what I had in again...plus, I already packed everything and it wasn't really worth the effort!
Sleep was a little elusive. I think it was a combination of the heat, squeaky bed, recalling what I experienced over the past three weeks, and the excitement of going home. I woke up before my alarm. Showered and grabbed some free breakfast. Then caught the metro to the airport.
I have a master plan for the day. I leave at 2am Pacific time and get in at 11pm. I am trying to keep from sleeping on the flights or during my 6 hour layover in Atlanta so I'll crash out when I get home, which will hopefully help put me back on Cali time. We'll see how it goes, but I think it's brilliant!! ;)

Last day in Valencia and on to Madrid!!

When I decide to go on a walk, I really go!!! When I made the decision to walk from my hostel to the beach, it didn't look like it would take very long. I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea to start my walk during th hottest part of the day, but I did. After a few wrong turns and a lot of walking, I reached the beach (1 1/2+ hours later...it might have been longer but I stopped carrying a watch). It was totally worth it. The sand was soft, which was a welcome change after the rocks of Nice and the rougher sand of Barcelona, and the water was warm with small, gentle waves. I laid on the beach for a few hours, my sunburn wasn't nearly as red today, until dark clouds started to block the sun. I waded out in the water to wash off the sand, but couldn't stay too long because my bags were still on the beach.
I decided that walking one way was good enough for me and took the metro back. I think it was a good decision because it started to sprinkle as soon as I got to the station.
Oh wait...going back to my walk. Valencia has this cool park that cuts through the middle of the city, sort of like Golden Gate Park but not as wide. This is where I saw the fair and the path I took to the beach. As you walk along the park it takes you to the cuidad de artes y ciencias (I think I spelled it correctly) which is crazy-cool to walk by. The buildings are modern in design and really stick out from the rest of the city's architecture. It's difficult to describe what it looks like, and I failed you all by not taking a picture (I planned to take it on my walk back when it was lit up at night, but now you know I got lazy and forgot about those plans) so you'll just have to use google images. It's worth it...very cool!
So I hit up the Metro and headed back to my room at the hostal. I'm actually really thankful I had the room to myself. I was able to relax in a way that's harder to do with the shared, cramped hostel rooms. (FYI: hostel- shared rooms; hostal- private rooms but probably a bathroom down the hall). I took a shower and a nap, then headed out to eat. This hostal was right in the middle of all the action, so close that I went to a restaurant only two doors down for dinner!
It was a Cuban restaurant, but offerred the "typical" Valencian cuisine. I tried to order some Cuban food, but the waiter suggested the menu of the day which included paella valenciana, which is paella with chicken/beef/pork (one orall of those...hard to tell) instead of seafood. The meal was really enjoyable, but it was extra-lonely for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that he sandwiched me between two groups of people and a couple, all of whom kept staring at me out the corner of their eyes. Or it could be the flower guy, who seems to be outing guilt trips on men to buy flowers in every city, who cut to the chase and gave the guys at the table next to me a hard time for letting me sit by myself while I tried to wave him away. Thanks dude. My favorite part is when they realize you are sitting by yourself and pick up the table settings for all the other seats, bringing a little more attention to the fact that you are rolling solo. Any way, the meal was good even if I felt like I was in the spotlight. Oh crap! I almost forgot the best part!!!
So, the service was slow but that's not really abnormal. I think we just rush more in general in the U.S. I was waiting for dessert but enjoying watching the cook. I was able to see directly into the kitchen so I could see how much she used the microwave, when my food was ready compared to when it got picked up, all that good stuff. So, I was watching and waiting when I thought I saw a bug crawling on the ceiling above her. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then it fell down onto the working surface. I know this because the waiter grabbed the bottle it was now on and jerked it away from the food, then stomped. I started laughing. I was already done with my meal, and I'm pretty sure I just witnessed a kamikaze cockroach attack!! Under any other circumstance I would have been freaking out. Instead, I laughed and knew I would have to tell you guys about it. I can't believe I almost forgot!!!
After my meal I headed to the bar across the street that had a street sign advertising the WNBA game that would be playing at 11pm. After my dinner I wanted to see if I could find some bball fans so I headed that way. Unfortunately, I was the only fan there! I watched the first half then headed back to pack and get ready to head to Madrid in the a.m.
I woke up in time to grab a coffee and catch my train. There was open seating so I plopped down in one of the window seats. There was another movie on this train, so I got the watch the latest Brendan Fraiser Curse of the Mummy movie in Spanish. I also made sure to make my way to the food car so I could say I ate in one of those on my trip. It might have only been a pastry, but it still counts!! When I returned to my seat an older woman had swooped on my spot. I didn't really know what to do, my backpack was in the luggage rack above the seat, so I sat next to her. She asked if she was in my seat, I said it was fine I just sat there because of my backpack, and she took this as an invitation to start talking for the rest of the train ride. She was actually really interesting: she lived in many different countries when she was younger including the U.S., had very liberal views (talked about socialism vs. communism and how Americans freak out over both terms), which of course led to the Bush vs. Obama conversation, which makes me really glad I waited until Bush was out of office to travel, and then she finished by talking about her grandkids. Then she touched my face, twice, telling me how sweet I am and disappeared towards the train platform. Out of habit I touched my pockets...just in case she was a super-slick pickpocket. :) I was clear and, as it turned out, back in Madrid. I got off the train and headed to the last hostel of my trip!

Valencia

I just have to tell you I'm really excited! I'm actually blogging about the city I'm actually in for the first time in about a week! I'm all caught up!!!

I got into Valencia two nights ago, and have one more to go. I arrived in Valencia a little after 9pm and headed to the hostel, Purple Nest. I hopped on the metro and was only two stops away. I walked up the steps and stumbled onto some sort of fair. There was a ferris wheel, screaming kids, and the smell of fair-foods. I was so distracted and caught off guard I started walking towards it. Then I remembered I had to check in before they gave my room away, so I refocused and followed my directions. I hope to go visit the fair to tonight though. I want to see how everything compares to what we do.
Valencia is beautiful at night. You can tell they have spent a lot of money to highlight their parks and historical buildings, and it really shows. Everything is lit up, including the many fountains scattered across the city. I almost go lost, but asked for directions this time (I'm learning!) and was only a few blocks from the hostel. I checked in, took a shower, and called it a night.
I woke up and realized my skin was itchy and a little sore. As some of you already know thanks to Facebook, I pulled the ultimate white girl move and got a little crispy at the beach yesterday. The places that were most affected are the ones that haven't really seen any daylight for the past 5 years: the back of my thighs and my lower back. Now I had a mission: continue my toiletry tour and purchase sun screen and aloe vera. I'm still going to the beach dang it!! I also contiued to search for glue (pegamento). I found a farmacia and bought a small container of aloe vera, but should have waited for the grocery store. I bought sunscreen and twice the amount of aloe vera for about the same price. Oh well, now I'll be nice and hydrated. Then I started my search for glue. I asked serveral store owners who directed me (derecha y.....) to the mysterious papeleria store, which I never found. I did find a hardware store that sold all-purpose glue that would work for paper. It smells and is much stronger than I need, but now I can keep working on my journal.
Victorious, I returned to the hostel, retrieved my journal, applied aloe vera and sunscreen then headed to the park. I worked on my journal for the next hour while sitting by/on one the fountains. After that I ate a picnic lunch I bought at the grocery store earlier: bread and an apple. Yum! :)
I returned to the hostel and took a little siesta, only an hour this time, then went to get some coins for the laundry room. When I heard they had a laundry room, I thought there would be 5+ washers and dryers. Wrong. There was one washer and one dryer along with stacks of clothes holding places for people waiting. Sweet. Instead of doing laundry I went down to blog and get caught up. I returned to the laundry closet around 6:30, determined to get a spot. I pushed my way in, and jumped in front of a guy trying to swoop in front of me, but managed to get it in there. For the next two hours I did laundry. Boring right? But really important to have clean underwear people. :)
I finished up laundry and packed, I had to switch hostels in the morning, then headed out at about 9:30 in search of food.
I didn't take a map. I figured I would just walk around and keep track of where I went. Plus, if you just follow the flow of traffic you will usually find something cool. It totally worked! I walked to the Plaza de la Reina which had a church and fountain that was all lit up and had several restaurants with patio seating. I went for the gelato instead. :) I decided
to skip dinner but walked by a Chinese restaurant and got curious. So I stepped inside to order Chinese food off a Spanish menu. :) The food was tasty and I got to watch a soccer game. What more could I ask for?!?
At about midnight I headed back to the room. For the first time I wasn't the first person in bed. Yes!!!! I took a much needed shower then climbed into bed. I slept hard and fast, the woke up at 9 this morning. It's my last full day in Valencia before my train leaves. I go dressed ad ready to check out, turned in my key, then worked on the Barcelona blog.
After that I went in search of my new hostel for the night. I have my own room tonight. Not by choice, it's more expensive, but I'm sort of glad it was my only option. The cool thing is I totally walked down these streets last night, almost ate on the exact street the hostel is on, so I feel lik I sort of know my way around already.
When I went to check in there was a dog, maybe 8-9 months old, laying by the check in desk. She was super sweet and made me miss my pups a lot!! My room wasn't ready so I dropped my bag and headed to the central market. It is their farmers market, but bigger and with fish, meat, veggies, everything. I thought it would be cool to check out, but on a warm day like today the smell was overwhelming. I walked
in there for a very long 2 minutes then had to leave before I threw up. :(
Now I'm sitting in a coffee shop, eating breakfast and planning my day. I want to walk down to the beach and by the buildings called the city of art and sciences. I think it'll be a great way to spend the afternoon!
Time to get going. I've burnt enough daylight catchin you fools up! :)
I'll check back in soon, especially now that I'm all caught up.
And....I'll be home Friday!!!

Barcelona

The view from the 3rd floor terrace where I ate breakfast at the hostel.

The view from the beach, looking back at Barcelona.

You had to cross the train tracks to go into a tiny little store to buy the metro/train ticket back. If you look close you can see the people crossing before the next train arrives.


I crashed out pretty hard on the train, which was nice. We all laid around, not much choice since th beds stay down, and relaxed until the train pulled up. I've noticed that usually when a train pulls up to it's last stop it cuts the power or air conditioning or has an announcement saying we have arrived. Not this time, which left everyone a little confused. I saw a lot of people leaving and asked the sisters if this was our stop. They had no idea and when I stepped out of the room the people next door looked equally confused. I stepped outside and tracked down one of the porters and yes, this was our stop. Everyone started to roll out and I grabbed my bag to begin my hostel search.
Every time I go to a new city I try to track the hostel down first. Even if I can't check it yet it helps me to feel like I know where I am and helps me to orient myself. Luckily the website I've been using to hook hostels generates good directions and I've been able to find every place fairly easily so far (knocking on wood).
I was block from the hostel, yes I was being brave trying a hostel again but this time I booked a female room, and stopped into a cafe/bar. I ordered a coffee and a selection of super sweet pastries. They tasted like they had all been soaked in honey for the past two weeks. Thankfully the coffee was pretty bitter so the two items offset each other nicely. :) I sipped on coffee and wrote in my journal for the next hour. The radio was tuned to a station playing a lot of American music, which was nice...sort of like being home.
The waitress was young, probably in her early twenties. We talked but my broken Spanish and her limited English kept us from talking to much. We were able to talk about how long I'd been traveling and where I am from. A Pitbull song came on, "1,2,3,4. Uno, dos, tres, quatro..." and she started to sing along. It made me smile. Songs are catchy regardless of the language! I even caughther humming it later I started laughing and told her it was stuck in my head too.
I finally burned enough time and went to check in at the hostel. I paid and was about to go when she asked if I had any dollars on me. Of course! I traded a dollar for a euro (I'm totally getting the better end of this deal thanks to the weak US$!) and I gave her one of the new quarters. She looked excited and thanked me. This is this second time I've traded out currency with someone. It's fun to do and I will always bring extra dollars when I travel from now on!
I walked the block to th hostel and checked in. This place was much nicer than the last hostel and I was the only one who had checked in so far. AND there was Internet in the room!! I decided to stay put and catch up on blogs, phone calls, and let my feet and body recover. I was only in Barcelon for two days but was really comfortable and excited with my decision to rest.
I left the room twice that day. Once in search of glue. I've been keeping a journal and pasting ticket stubs and other stuff in it but ran out of glue (my bad for going with the skinny glue stick). I have been looking in grocery stores, pretty much since I reached Italy but havenet found anything yet. I went to the little mini mart across from the hostel to ask of they had glue. Describing glue when you don't know the word in Spanish or the word for sticky, is...entertaining. I think they thought I was crazy. And they also thought I was talking about food. The next store reacted the same way. I thought for sure that saying papel or libro and acting out the gluing motion (whatver that is!!!) would do the job. Defeated but thoroughly entertained, I returned to my room. I looked up the word on my phone, so I'm prepared for the next opportunity!
My next outing was in search of food. This area closed down pretty early on Saturday but I was able to stop into one place for some paella. The waiter (owner?) was great. Very polite and hooked me up! I wasn't very hungry so only ordered paella and a glass of white wine. An order of croquettes, olives, and two glasses of wine later my bill came, 13.50€. He hooked it up big time. The paella itself was 16€ on the menu!!! I walked to two blocks to the hostel and went to sleep; it was already midnight.
I woke up the next morning and had to check out of my hostel, but my train didn't leave until 6, so me and my backpack headed to the beach. The woman at the ticket counter directed me to the best beach so I took the metro/train over. When I got to the beach I had a plan in mind. My theft prevention system, my backpacks rain cover, was already activated so I threw my pack down on the sand and started to dig like I knew what I was doing. I dug out a hole and put my pack in. I turned my monster pack from an obstacle and obligation to a first class, padded lounge chair. I felt like a genius!!! I laid on the beach for the next 2-3 hours listening to music and This American Life podcasts. I watched people and enjoyed the view. I didn't go in the water though. It was too far from my bag and I didn't want to risk anything walking away. It was a great way to enjoy my last day in Barcelona.
I feel like I didn't give Barcelona everything I could have. I didn't go see the Gaudi buildings, which looked amazing in the postcards, or check out Olympic Park. I guess I'll just have to come back and visit again. I was happy with my day of rest and my beach trip!! :)
I made my way over to the train station to head to Valencia, my last stop before heading back to Madrid to catch my flight home. This was te first station where I had to put my bags through an x-ray machine, so it seemed like they had over the top security measures. :) Maybe they are a hold over from the Olympics.
The train ride to Valencia was beautiful. Most of it was along the coast, which was accompanied by a picturesque landscape full of castles, churches, beautiful green valleys and mountains, and old buildings. Very cool train ride. Plus, I got to watch "Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa" in Spanish. Double bonus!!
Back tracking to Barcelona for a second. I really enjoyed the city. It felt safer than Rome, despite being known for having a pickpocket problem. It had nice parks, good lighting, and just had a great energy. I would definitely go back.
I arrived in Valencia a little after 9pm, my last stop off before rolling home. My plan is to lay on the beach, eat, roll over, and repeat!
I'll check in with you soon.
B

Train hopping up The Boot!

This is a picture from my bunk in the overnight train. If you zoom in on the metal part with the belt coming out of it, it looks like a face with a long tongue. Give me a break: I was tired and have been stuck with myself for two weeks! :)

This is the only picture I took with my phone in Florence. Hopefully I took a few more with my real camera but I really couldn't tell you.

Sorry it's been a few days, but the last two blogs wore my thumbs out!!

Yesterday was the Vatican City tour. I had a lovely plan for today: take the early train to Siena and walk around for 1-2 hours, take a train to Firenze and do the same thing, catch the train to Milan to grab my passport before taking the 7pm overnight train to Milan. Ambitious, right? I agree, that's why I skipped Siena. :) The Italian train system can be a little funky. It's on time for the most part, but there are occassional worker strikes (enough to where guidebooks mention it; there was one while I was in Paris) and can sometimes run behind schedule I didn't want to push it too close to the night train to where I would have a hard time getting my passport. So Firenze it was!

Now, let me take a second to remind everyone that I didn't exactly do my travelling homework before coming here. I "planned" this whole thing in less than 3 weeks and only had a guidebook about Spain and a general overview of Europe when I left. Ok, I think that covers me. Firenze= Florence. I did not know this. I was very confused. :( Here I was going to a place that I couldn't find in my guidebooks or find on a map (It's English dummy!!) and disappointed I wouldn't make it to Florence. The crazy part is, Florence wasn't even listed as having a train station in my train pass book. That was my first clue. Second clue, on at least two occassions while in Rome I mentioned that I would be stopping in Siena and Firenze today, and both responded along the lines of "oh I'm goin to Florence____ (fill in the day)." I would say I don't think I'll make it to Florence. They give me a confused look and we move on to the next topic. Third clue/confirmation: when I got to the train station there were maps in English and Italian with the names Florence/Firenze. Damn. Doing a little homework, besides reading up on a city on the train ride over or once I'm actually in the hostel, might be a good idea for the next trip. Not for this one though!!!! :)

So I hopped off the train in Florence with four hours to burn at 11am. All the train times are listed in military time (ex: my train to Milan leaves at 15:10) and that has been confusing me. I get it in my head that my train leaves at 3, then turn that back into military time with the 3, now 13:00, and end up planning my time like I have much less time. I keep tricking myself, and today was no exception. After going into a few shops I started to feel a little rushed. It was only 1 1/2 hours until 13:00 so I better hurry up and eat so I can get back in time. I really hate it when I trick myself the same way....repeatedly!!

On my way to find lunch I stumbled around Florence, which is quite beautiful. I made my way to the river and the bridge that has all the houses built on it. I would include a picture but I didn't take one with my phone. I'm pretty sure I got it on video, and maybe with my camera, but you can't blame me for missing the photo-op. My train would leave soon, remember?!? :)

I sat outside at a cafe near the waterand ordered a sandwich and glass of their house wine. The language barrier resulted in them bringing out a small pitcher of wine. She was a little upset when I tried to explian I only wanted a glass but I tried to ease the tension by asking her how I can ask for just a glass the next time. She told me and the words floated right over my head. I finished my meal and went to pay. I'm pretty sure they overcharged me, 16€ for a glass of the house wine and a panini???, but again I didn't have time to argue because I only had 45 minutes until 13:00 and didn't want to miss my train. I made the walk back to the train station, retrieved my bag from the luggage check( the best service ever!!!!!) and double checked my ticket. This is when I realized I tricked myself again and still had 2 1/2 hours until my train left, plus I had my backpack so walking around Florence was out. So I grabbed a snack, threw my bag on the ground, and watched movies on my phone.
I know this is borderline blasphemy considering there was a beautiful city mere steps away that I didn't fully explore, but really everything after the Pantheon/Coloseum/Sistine Chapel/St. Peters/birthplace of modern civilization seems a little...optional I guess. I haven't taken as many pictures and haven't felt as pressured to see all the sights, so thelast week of the trip might just be a time to chill. Sorry if it's not as exciting for y'all....not really. :) It's nice to slow down.
Look at me! It's nice to slow down! I say that about the day, two days really, where I took three different trains across three different countries. Slow down....someone needs to sock me for that one! Not literally though, ok?
Back to the train station! I caught the train to Milan with plenty of time to spare and said goodbye to the city that has two different names, ripped me off and lunch, and tricked me into thinking my train left earlier than it did. Goodbye Florence, ya jerk! Lol. Actually, it was very nice and would love to go back to explore more another day.
As the train approached Milan my heart started to race. They would hold my passport on the overnight train tonight. What if I don't get it? What if I get lost? Crap! What's the metro station I take to walk to the hotel. I sent a text to my mom, I waited a full 30 minutes before sending because it would have woken her up (blasted time difference!!), to ask her to look up the nearsst metro station to the hotel address. No response for 3 whole minutes, so I sent the same text to Maria. Then mom comes back wig: is it Lambrate? Yeeeesss!! Of course it's Lambrate! The one that is fun to say. Linea dos to Lambrate. I repeated this over and over in my best Italian/French/Spanish accent. I know they are three distinct, totally different languages, but that doesn't matter. It was ny best Italian/French/Spanish pronunciation ever!
My train arrived and the adrenaline was pumping. I booked it for the metro, looking like a ral local minus the hat and huge backpack, dead giveaways that you're a tourist. I made it into the station and heard what sounded like a symphony. Four guys were playing violin in the metro station for money. It was beautiful and out of place and caugt meat such a rushed time I almost cried. It was that beautiful! Instead I recorded some of it my my voice recorder and kept heading to retrieve my passport. I didn't realize I missed it until I got close to getting it back. I emerged from the station and didn't recognize a thing. Seriously?!? I got this far and now I'm lost because I went out a different exit. Crap! I looked around then dawa street sign I recognized and quickly found where I was headed.
I turned onto Via Astolfo so excited I almost danced my way down the street; no easy feat when wearing a 40+ pound backpack. I made it to the door, couldn't open it, so I rang the bell. No answer. No way!! They are not closed!! I ran it again and started to look around...maybe I'll check with the sister hotel across the street...oh wait here comes someone up the stairs.
The woman looked a little irritated and was repeating something over and over again. What is she saying? Ah, abierto. Abierto, abierto, abierto. I get it lady, the door was open. My bad. :) I went downstairs and there it was. My lovely little blue passport with it's one stamp!!
As for the one stamp thing. I'm a little disappointed. I thought I would get a new stamp every time I went into a new country. Nope. Only one when I got in. Dang European Union with their super powerful currency and stingy stamp giving!!!
So with my passport in hand I headed back to the train station, and may have done a mini victory dance along the way, but you'll never know for sure. I got back to the train station, with the whole side trip taking less than 40 minutes. Surelythis was some sort of record. I had a little over an hour before my train, for real this time, so I did the unthinkable. I headed to McDonalds.
Now before you judge me for going to eat America fastfood in Italy, hear me out. When I was stranded in Nice all the guys said I should try McDonalds because they heard it was better than what we have in the States. Also, I needed some place to cool off and clean up. It had air conditioning and a bathroom that let me take a poor boy shower before getting into an enclosed space with people for the next 14 hours. What am I doing justifying my actions to you people?!? I went to McDonalds. It's true!! Get over it. ;) They had a few menu items that were different, but that happens as you travel to different parts of the US too. The cheeseburger and fries I ordered tasted pretty much the same and sat in my stomach like a rock, making me feel slightly sick. Just like home!! The restaurant itself was very nice though. It had three stories and different seatin sections set up. It looked more like a nice cafe or actual restaurant instead of being filled with the cheap uncomfortable chairs we get.
After eating I headed to the train station and made my way onto my second trainhotel of the trip. I shared a room with two sisters from Korea and an Italian woman who didn't speak to any of us, except when she wanted to claim a bottom bunk. The sisters were cool though. They had both recently quit their jobs and decided to travel. They were on week 4 of their 7-week trip. The sister who spike English said her favorite places so far were Switzerland and Turkey where the church is carved into the rocks. Guess I'll just have to add those to my list! We talked for about an hour then the porter came to pull the beds down. It was still early, maybe only 9pm but we all got into bed and I crashed out. I slept much better this time around, probably because I am more tired than the first overnight train and am less self conscious.
We pulled into the station a little after 9am. Barcelona here I come!!

Rome: Day 2- Vatican City

A pagan statue representing the Egyptian goddess of fertility in a Catholic museum. Let me know if you figure this one out (only of it
doesn't ultimately come back to money).

My feeble attempt to sneak a picture of the Sistine Chapel. Don't worry, I also got some video footage!!

The Pope's view of St. Peter's Square!!!

The inside of the St. Peter's Basilica.

Ode to bull testicles...not sure what it's really called but I like my name!
Despite the rough start to the day, I was excited to have a plan in mind for the rest of the trip and to actually get a reservation on the overnight train since it wouldn't leave again until Monday. A little too close to my flight home to still be two countries away from Spain!

I headed back to the hostel feeling good about life! I stayed downstairs to eat breakfast and get some coffee. Now, I think I left this out, yesterday I was sitting on the patio writing and planning when I saw someone walk out of the hotel across the street. It was Amy, the mom from the reality show "Little People, Big World." I tried to get a picture to show/torture my sister but I didn't get a very good shot. This morning, just as I was sitting down, she and her youngest two kids sat down three tables away from me. Needless to say, I snuck the picture to share with/torture my sister! I knew it was a good day!!!

I ordered, got some coffee americano, and settled into the day. Then Oliver came down from the room and I invited him to join me. We talked about a variety of topics and I learned that he is Israeli and just finished his first year of study in London. I also learned that Tel Aviv is a very liberal place, according to him. I had no idea. We both base our humor on sarcasm so I had a great time!!! He had to leave to catch his train, so it was me and my breakfast yet again.

I really enjoyed the tour from yesterday, so I decided to take the Vatican City tour with the same company. Justin was leading this tour. He was not a history major, and had only been working the tours for 4 months. Considering this, he did a great job. Unfortunately for him, Tad rocks his tour and is a tough act to follow.

I'm getting ahead of myself, and the tour. He started out with a crash course on the history of Catholicism and a brief overview of Rome. He touched on some of the same info from yesterday, but the reminders were nice. He tried to drop the same type of humor as Tad but his came off as being scripted and somewhat forced. Even so, the information was great. We started at the bridge that has St. Peter and St. Paul (I think) the #1 and #2 dudes behind Jesus who really helped spread Christianity. Also on this bridge were scultpures (maybe Bernini??) that represented the passion of the Christ, the 10 things that happened to Jesus durin his cruxifiction. It was the starting point for the Vatican approved pilgrimage route.

Something about this trip has been very spiritual for me. Perhaps it is all the discussions about religion, or the many visits to churches, or being on this church approved path. Regardless, all the time alone has given me time to think about a lot of things including what I believe. I won't tell you here, not enough room, but don't be afraid to ask me if you're curious. :)

Then it was on to St. Peter's Square. Let me again reference Dan Brown: this is where one of the priests was left in Angels and Demons and where everyone was waiting to watch the smoke announcing the selection of a new pope. (Sorry Kandi, people need a point of reference!) he showed us where the Pope makes his appearances, where his bedroom window is located, and threw in some jokes and random knowlege. He is called the Prada Pope because everything other than his robes is Prada including his shoes and sunglasses. I walked by one of the guards, his secret service, and he had
on Prada sneakers. Sweet gig, huh?

Then we headed to the Vatican Musuem. The main star: the Sistine Chapel. Here are some random things I learned before the chapel:
-there is an Egyptian statue thy represents the goddess of fertility in one of the courtyards...in a Catholic museum. Hmmm..
-I forgot this from the last blog (I think) the Pantheon is now a Catholic church and the famous artist Raphael is buried there. He died of complications from syphilis at the age of 33, no easy feat in the 1500's (aka: He's a man-slut). The statue above his crypt/grave is none other than the Holy Virgin Mary! I loved that contradiction!!
-there is also a statue of a woman with bull testicles scattered around her body. No idea why, but I took a picture
-the idea that faces repeat: there was a Greek statue with a face that look like Bill Clinton and Captain Spock (probably distance spell that right, but the dude from Star Trek!!)
-there is a guard at the Sistine Chapel whose whole job is to check to make sure you don't take pictures, but mostly to shhhhhshhh the crowd! I can't imagine doing that hours and hours at a time.

Of course, snuck some pictures(which didn't turn out) and video of the Chapel. They practically begged me to do it with all the guards and signs saying it wasn't allowed! The video turned out, sort of, but the pictures are blurry. Either way, it is still beautiful! I didn't know the history behind it. Michaelangelo and Raphael didn't get along. Michaelangelo had never really painted before so Raphael got the Pope to offer him the Sistine Chapel commission. If he screwed it up he would get kicked put of town, and the same would happen of he turned the job down. His plan backfired and he rocked the gig! I can't believe he did this whole thing, his first time really painting, while painting basically upside down. It's crazy if you really sit and think about how remarkable it is.

After the Chapel we were free to wander through the Basilica on our own. It was huge and beautiful. The afternoon sun poured through the stained glass, and a thin layer of dust in the air helped trace the sun's path through the building. I completed the pilgrimmage by touching the right foot of the statue of Jesus. Better safe than sorry, right? ;) Actually, I enjoyed the process and really loved watching the faithful as they finished they're own journey. It had a completely different feeling than the tourists, like me, who were there mainly for the picture.

After exiting the Basilica I headed towards the metro, but had to stop to try the two places the tour guide suggested. One panini shop and one gelato shop. He claimed they were among the best in Rome. I'm not sure if they were the best, but I really enjoyed it!

I headed back to my fancy little hotel, at least fancy compared to the places I've been staying, to rest my tired stinky body (the tour lasted 4+ hours...we definitely got our moneys worth). Once I got there I just laid on the bed listening to the BBC news, thankful for English, for the next hour. I ate my panini then hit the shower for a very long time. I'm so thankful that I brought a razor. I'm not sure I would have been able to handle myself without shaving anything for three weeks. No thanks.

After the shower I went downstairs to book my next hotel, then stared to nod off. I went upstairs and slept hard again...only to wake up at 4am. :) Oh well, I think I'll figure the time change out just in time to head bak home! Sorry Maria. :)

I woke up at 5am to get ready to cath my train at 6:50am. Goodbye to Rome and on to the next leg of the journey...

Rome: Day 1- Walking Through Ancient Rome

The valley below is where they held chariot races and the hill is the former palace and location where Rome first formed.

Me at the Pantheon.

What's left of the Roman Forum.

The Coloseum!!


Now you are all in real trouble. I finally figured out how to upload photos, and just in time for my update on Rome! Woo hoo!! Here it goes:

As you can see below, I slept pretty well last night. I think I was pretty worn out from the last few days. But today I am (was...it's been a few days but let's just pretend I am writing it in Rome, ok?) rested and ready to go!



Pretty sweet bed head, don't ya think?!? I crashed out hard!

I had to check out of this B&B by 11am, so I packed up and headed to my next hostel. I had some booking complications, aka the expensive hotel reservation I couldn't get out of, so I have 3 nights in Rome at three different hostels/hotels. I know...not the best planning, but I'm rolling with it! I walked over to my new home for the night, which was literally 7 blocks away, and tried to get an early check in. The room wasn't ready yet, but they had a luggage room. Yes!

Oh yeah, this place is called The Yellow. It is a youth hostel that has a pretty cool energy and has wireless Internet which I used to book my next round of hostels. The Internet was only downstairs so I didn't have enough time to blog, sorry. :)

I was going to wander until it was time to check in but they recommended a walking tour. I went for it. This was the first tour I decided to pay for. Rome has so much history that I wanted to make sure I got the full story as I walked through the different sites. I had two hours before the tour started so I headed in that direction. I stopped to have lunch and even got my eyebrows waxed! (Only 4€ and very necessary since I didn't bring tweezers and was getting quite hairy!!)

Then it was tour time! Tad, a former history major with a lot of info and a great presentation laced with humor, was the tour guide. We started out with a twenty minute overview of Roman history, start to finish which all began on the hill in the picture above. I won't tell you the whole history of Rome but it is summed up with violence and over the top behavior. It was amazing to stand and pretend to see the various ruins throughout the tour and try to imagine what it must have looked like. Tour Guide Tad(TGT) did a great job of paintings pictures and helping us visualize what life was like back then.

After our first stop we went to the "Lie Detector" from the movie "Roman Holiday." Originally the lie
detector, a large circular stone with a face in the middle of it, was a manhole cover where all the street sewage ran. Now
people stick their hands in it and take pictures. :( I took a picture of those people because it made me smile! Unfortunately there's no room for all my pictures so you only get the highlights!

Then we moved on to the former Opera house. It was cool to see the various types of stone on the building. This happened because peope would loot old places and use it for building materials for new structures. The earliest form of recycling! The coolest thing about this place: people live in the multi-million dollar apartments on the top floor. They live in a freakin' ancient ruin. That's tight.

Next was the Jewish ghetto, where Jews were forced to live until religious freedom was granted. The ruler at the time let them build a temple higher than the Basilica, a major no-no, because it was in direct line of sight with the Pope's bedroom window (they obviously didn't get along) and this way the Pope would wake up, open his bedroom
window and see a Jewish temple! Do you understand why I loved this tour yet?? All these little nuggets. Love it!!

Off we went to the oldest ruins in the city. I only rember that there are a lot of cats there because there use to be a rat problem. To solve the rat problem, they imported cats from Egypt then forgot about them. Now cats are in random places all over the city. They are even recognized as Roman citizens (supposedly...he could have been BS-ing. Sometimes it was hard to tell!)

After that we went to the Roman Forum, the center of Roman politics. This is where thy held Senate and celebrations called Triumps when generals were especially brutal in war. They would cancel everything and parade the spoils of war for the people. It all ended with te execution of one of the major rulers/generals from the defeated area. I recorded this part with my iPhone. Really glad I did because it was a fantastic description. Email me of you want it and I'll email you the audio file!

Finally it was on to the Coloseum. TGT gdescrived a typical day were there were circus acts, animal fights, animal vs. men, and gladiator battles (usually a professional gladiator and a convict or slave). I didn't get this last part on film or record the audio, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it was awesome!

That was the end of the tour so I went to look at the inside of the Coloseum. I had another audio guide from The Homey, so I got to relive some of the things TGT talked about, with a few new things thrown in like the fact that the Coloseum is now a Catholic church. They did the same thing with the Pantheon and a few other locations. I guess it's a compliment by saying: this place rocks....let's claim it as one of our churches!

After the tour, which started at 2pm, I was sweaty and tired so I headed back to the hostel. I got into my mixed room to discover I was the only woman. Fantastic! They were all sleeping, it was after 7 so I guess I should have recognized the pre-party signs, so I grabbed my journal, phone, and train schedule to plan the next few days.

After planning and grabbing some dinner I headed up to the room at about 11:30 to find it deserted. Yes!! I took advantae by showering and getting ready for bed
I left the desk light on so they would know I was sleeping, and wouldn't turn on the overhead light. Right after I got into bed, the guy in the bunk above me came back. He was from Belgium and leaving early. We did the travel recap conversation, and he told me three of the other guys were from California. Cool! Maybe they'll be chill. I told him my plan about the light and he thought it was a good idea. Then one of the guys from California came in.
He asked the other guy what happened to his friend (I guess he slept in my spot the night before). He said they ha to move him. Cali turned to me and asked: how does it feel to separate two really good friends? I looked him in the eye and said: great! Actually, empowering. Yea, I feel really powerful right now. He laughed and said "Nice! I like that" and headed back to the bar.

Soon after I fell asleep, but not for the whole night. At about 3am I woke up to one of those jerks standing over me trying to see if I was awake. I amost socked the crap out of him, but he was too far away and I wasstill confused/disoriented. I turned over and he went back to his friends. For the next
30-45 minutes they talked, laughed, screamed, wrestled, took pictures, slapped each others naked butts, got emotional; the whole nine yards. Finally they passed out. I was pissed but glad it was over. I figured they would sleep late and I would be gone before they woke up.

Wrong again. They woke up at 6:45 for their train and were just as loud as the night before. Here are some notes I wrote after they left:
Hostels are not my favorite
I'm grown. I do not need to revisit college with dorm style living. This is the knowledge The Yellow Hostel and three entitled SoCal boys were kind enough to share.
Comments that really pissed me off:
(D3 was already out of the room)
D1- we were really obnoxious when we came in last night?
D2- were we?
D1- at least I was.
D2-yeah, but no one was here.
** we were there you jerks!!**
D1- I didn't really care if they were here. I still don't.
***beeeeeeeeep! (internal cuss storm)
I was turning purple from holding in the tongue thrashing they had coming their way, which would only keep them here longer and give them something to laugh about on the train later.

Even as I typed my notes i was angry. Oliver, who was the final person in the room, was angry as well. I turned to him and said: those guys were jerks!
Oliver: yes! And I still jar and 1 1/2 hours before I have to wake up. They made me take pictures with them last night too!

We vented and soon he went back to sleep. I went to the train station to book my train tickets out of here! I reserved a train from Firenze to Milan, to pick up my passport, and an overnight train from Milan to Barcelona. I didn't have to reserve the train out of Rome (to Siena and on to Firenze) so my schedule was set! One more day in Rome, followed by a day working my way up The Boot, grab my passport, then on to Spain and the last week of my trip!!!

Venice in a day!

Maybe it's cocky to go someplace with the history Venice has and only go for a day trip. I only stayed in Milan for 7 hours, so I'm not too worried about it. : )

I checked out with the hotel and ended up talking to Gabriel, the guy who worked there for a little bit. We exhanged emails and I went to find a bank. It was two blocks away from the hotel, three from the metro stop so I quickly got cash and made it to the station with 20 minutes to spare! It was nice to just walk up without all the waiting but I don't think I'll make a habit of it...too stressful!

Nothing to report about the train ride except it looked like California farm land at first (just add buildings that are older than our country) then turned into the sort of landscape you see in the movies. Green and scattered with beautiful buildings. Chateus and convents/churches up in the hills. Amazing. 

We left Milan at 7:30 and arrived in Venice around 11am. I walked out, checked my bag, then headed to the water taxi to St. Mark's square and bascilica. The line was way too long so I headed off in search of something else. I wandered the streets all day, doing my best to get lost. I did a pretty good job. It was hard to get to a street that didn't have anyone on it with me. It only happened 4 times at the most. The time I was so shocked I recorded it with Lil' Flipper, my video camera.  The second time I changed, very quicky, from pants into shorts. According to the Homey, Rick Steves, you must cover your shoulders and not have on shorts to enter St. Marks so I can prepared. Too bad I didn't go in! : )
I was getting hungry, it was past noon and I hadn't eaten much other than almonds in the morning, so i stopped in and got some pasteries. Then I stopped in at a place on a side street and had a pannini and a glass of wine, as suggested by TP.  Yum! I wasn't hungry any more so I kept on strolling through. Never looking at a map, the Homey said not to worry because it's an island...you run into water at some point. It was cool to just walk with no destination in mind, except to eventually return to the train station. The buildings were old and beatiful in they're decaying state. Healdsburg, from last nights train, told me Venice was flooded when he got there so he didn't have a very good experience. I saw signs of the flooding. Wooden planks on the ground that serve as raised walkways, and a steel plate at the base of one door that serves as a sand bag when the water comes rolling in.  I found some shade and bench to lay down on, where I started to write these blogs on my iPod notepad before I forget. My phone died so I went shopping, buying a few trinkets before heading back to the train station.  I retrieved my bag and loaded up on the train.
 Now I am on my way to Rome. Venice was very cool. Definitely worth the trip even though I didn't go inside of any of the major sites. For me strolling around and experiencing a new place can be just as satisfying, especially if you aren't in the mood for crowds.
Another contradiction: as tourists we try to visit these places without the tourist experience, which by definition is impossible. We are tourists, therefore we can't escape tourist activities. I just cracks me up that people, myself included, will complain about all the tourists around. Hey, you're there too adding to the chaos. Stop complaining! ; ) Again, I'm including myself in this little soapbox performance. 
I didn't meet anyone today. Tourists at tourist attractions rarely want to sit down and have story-talk time. In a tourist infested area like this, locals don't want to talk to you as much because they see thousands of you every day and they really don't care where you're from. Since I didn't go inside any of the visits and didn't meet anyone this post will be much shorter. 
I'm excited to get some sleep tonight i still haven't had a full night of sleep without waking up in the middle of the night or getting in too late to count, but it just might happen to tonight. My eyes are getting blurry. I'm off to take a nap before we roll into Rome. Yay!!!
I just got into the B&B in Rome, which explains all the new emails! I follow the directions from the website. Got a little bit lost, the English translation was questionable, but found it within 10 minutes. I rang the buzzer and was let in by the manager. He seemed a little out of it and admitted he didn't remember my reservation coming through. Then I pointed my name out for him on the computer. Apparently he just got back from tennis, he had the stinky post-game funk like a football player, so I was lucky to catch him. Scary thought, but it all worked out. Now I am in Rome for the next three nights, at least.
So...I didn't get my passport back from the hotel last night. I was on the train by the time I realized, without a number to call or Internet connection to email Gabriel. Luckily he figured it out too and I had two emails waiting for me when I found a wifi signal. So here's the plan, he will mail them to my final hotel here in Rome so I will have it. On my end, my new plan is to stay in Rome until my passport gets here. If there is a patron saint of postal services, which I'm sure there is, I will be lighting a candle or doing whatever it is that you are supposed to do to get a favor from a saint!! Luckily, I have two photocopies of my passport and some time to spare so I'm not freaking out. Just another adventure! 
:) Time to plan what sights I want to see. Night!!

Nice Nice!

I know that play on words is old, but I couldn't help myself. It's up to you to decide which one is the city and which is the description. I won't tell you which way I wrote it though. 
Last blog I had just arrived in Nice at 1am. I didn't get a hotel because they were crazy expensive and I heard you could stay in the train station over night if you had a train leaving the next day. It must have been a story about another station because this one closes after the last train arrives. Ha! Ok...let's see how this goes. 
I think the previous night helped prepare me for this. I had already thought about saftey precautions, so I put my emergency whistle in my pocket (hey it's not much but it can be irritating if nothing else) and covered my bag with it's rain pouch, which now doubles as my theft prevention system. I sat close to some other backpackers with my back against the wall and waited for sunrise. 
While I don't know that I would choose to do this again, it turned out to be one of those nights I will remember forever. In addition to the backpackers near me, there were two other groups further down the station who were prepared with sleeping bags and hunkered down for the night. There was a stream of playboys, with their fancy cars, slickedback hair, and polo shirts with the collar flipped up, and a small population of night crawlers who were on the prowl with a primary goal of humming free cigarettes off people. One guy came around four different times during the night to ask the same question. Another woman asked me for a cigarette, but it was about 6 times back-to-back-to-back....you get the picture. 
Then a man sat on the steps a few feet away and tried to start a conversation. Before I sat down I did everything in my power to deflect attempts at conversation. Distance was my protection, my bubble of safety. I put on a hat and pulled my hood over my head. I tried to hid my face as much as possible so people didn't know what they were dealing with. It was a great try but really didn't work. 
So the man on the steps started the conversation with the usual questions and we talked about where we were heading. He said he was on holiday, and got in late only to find all the hotels were either booked or expensive. He had been down in Nice a month ago and got a hotel for 30€, and now everything was over 100€. I told him I was headed to Milan,  and he offered to show me around.  I had a flash of the movie Taken. No way was I going to tell him I was traveling alone and sure, come on the train with me to your city to show me around, despite the fact that I just met you. I politely declined stating that I was meeting a friend when I got there. Good one, huh? He said he was headed to get a cafe and I should go join the two backpackers nearby to stay safe and to help deflect the night crawlers. 
I took a moment to consider this suggestion and agreed that it was a good option. I had been keeping my eye on them as a possible shelter/huddle spot because they started out separately then soon started talking about their travels and busted out a map to see where they were going next. It seemed normal, they laughed, and they were two guys. I moved. 
I asked if I could join them and they said yes. I got to hear their stories and shared some of mine, even though I had very little travel time compared to them. 
Vesko is Bulgarian and has been away from home since the end of January. He went to Portugal with 150€ to his name, supplementing his income with street performances (frozen man and playing guitar/singing) and recycling. He then started to head home but found work picking grapes in the south of France. Oh yeah, and he sort of looks like I imagine Jesus would have. Olive skin, curly hair and beard, quick to laugh and tell stories, and has been walking around without shoes (despite the fact that he can buy them) for the past four months. That's Vesko. 
Spanish Korean (SK) recieved his name because he is Korean and spoke to me in Spanish most of the night. He is studying Spanish and Linguistics in school because he hopes to some day be ambassador. He speaks some English but admits he needs to practice. Considering that he speaks Korean, Spanish, Japanese, and probably one or two other languages and I only speak English with sprinkles of Spanish, I though I would let his lack of English (which was actually pretty good when he used it and he understood when I responded in English) I let it slip. :)
I can only imagine what our ragtag temporary unit must have looked like and sounded like to those walking by.
SK spoke in Spanish. I responded in English, as did Vesko. At one point Vesko wanted to learn some Korean and Japanese phrases so he wrote them down in English for SK to tranlate. When the results came back with the Korean characters Vesko laughed and had no idea what to do. I suggested writing down the sounds that each word made so they started to break it down. I was hearing the sounds and mentally writing them down in English. I looked down and Vesko was writing the sounds down in his native language. It made my mind swirl!! 
The rest of the night went pretty well. We went though phases of talking, sitting in comfortable (at least on my end) silence, all mixed in with laughter and sharing. I brought out my Serrano Farms almonds and once again they were a hit! Vesko brought out some nuts he had picked while hitchhiking earlier in the week. He broke them open with one of the empty bottles laying around. SK shared his train schedule as Vesko tried to figure out how to get home for the summer festival that he didn't want to miss. 
Ibrahim came and went several different times. He switched between sitting with us and going to search for a cafe and a bathroom. When he was there he was often confused and entertained by Vesko. He couldn't understand why Vesko is a vegetarian. He laughed asking why he did that and saying he has meat and rice every day. Vesko talked (the guy talks a lot...the main reason he's in most of this story) about wanting to switch to raw diet. Response: (laughing) "This guy is funny!" He asked him why he doesn't wear shoes, what is his religion (SK, "you must pray to God to thank him for all your blessings"), and asked him about working ("if you work then you can send more money to your family" response " yes, but I don't want to leave my country. I like it, but I will go back to pick grapes next year"). It was interesting to watch and listen as Ibrahim asked all the questions people usually think but don't ask to be polite, and Vesko answered each without getting angry or frustrated. For the most part I sat back listened and enjoyed. 
Other things that happened during the night: 
-a guy walked by with a bloody nose and no shoes. He circled around and eventually made his way back to our group to ask what timethe station opened. All the guys looked at me so I answered. We started talking about what happened: 
Nose: I must look horrible right now
Me: it's probably not your best look
Nose: ha. Yeah, I was walking along eating my ice cream earlier today wheni got hit out of no where. I woke up in the hospital
Me: holy crap! (how else can you respond??) Did they rob you?
Nose: no! I still have my wallet and phone. They just beat the shit out of me. I work on a vessel and if I don't get there they will leave me. I'm trying to call them but can't get answer. 
Me: that's crazy. Good luck. 
Nose: thanks...
He wandered away. Before long someone waved down an ambulance for him. He told them he had already been to the hospital and he was ok, so they left. I gave him my bag of kleenex before he went on his way
-a man peeing in open view; less than 30 yards from me
-a woman sit down by a package of a chip-like substance someone had abandoned earlier in the day and start eating it like she was at the movies
-Repeat The Drunk (or otherwise altered) stumbling around all night, repeatedly asking me and others if we speak French? Italian? Portuguese? All to which I shook my head, waved my hand, and put my head down. He passed out and was hauled off by station security in the morning. 
The sun started to rise, we got to go to thebathroom and started to separate. SK went first without saying goodbye, but I think he went to find us because I saw him wanderig outside before leaving. Ibrahim went in search of a hotel. Vesko and I went to the bus station to find out if he could catch a train home. I think we were both glad to have some company on the road, and for me it was on the way to the beach. The station didn't open until 9 and it was only 7:30 so we went to the beach.
The beach in Nice is all rocks. No sand, except a little at the waterline but not the soft tropical sand instead it's the hard pebbly sand, just round rocks. Despite the rocks, it is beautiful. The water is light toilet bowl blue for the first few yards before turning a slightly darker shade. There was a waterfall in the hill just above the beach and a lot of houses to pick out for my vacation home. The morning there is ruled by the retired crowd. I think we were the youngest people there, maybe two of 6 under the age of 55, which was actually nice. No pressure to be beautiful and no screaming kids. However, swim suit tops are optional. Given the age of the people I was sharing the beach with, my description will stop here. You're welcome! :)
We plopped our bags on the beach and I headed right to the water. My feet played with the Mediterranean today.  We're friends now. She said to come visit any time!!!
The water was warm, without being too warm, and the waves were slow, small and consistent. I stayed there for a while then went back to lay down. We both ended up taking naps since we stayed up all night. It was a great way to start the day, well the daylight part of the day.
Ditching Vesko 
By the time we started to go back to the bus station I was irritated. I didn't realize how quickly I would get used to traveling alone. All of the sudden there was someone else with an agenda and places he needed to go, totally unrelated to what I wanted to do. The adjustment was...well, it didn't happen for me. **If this feeling is still with me when I get back, I apologize. I'm sure it's a temporary thing. I like hanging out and doing things with other people, ok?** : )
The bus he wanted didn't leave until Friday. It is Monday. I said, "camping on the beach is cool." Response: "that's too long. I don't want to miss the festival." We headed back to the train station so he could look into getting s ticket. By this time it was 11 and getting warmer by the minute. I stayed outside while he booked his ticket: a train leaving to Milan a little after 1pm. He was excited because we would be on the train together. 
Me: yeah, but mine doesn't leave until almost 2. (I pull out my ticket and the actual time is 17:59, basically 6 o'clock) What?
Vesko: if I were you I would change it so you can get to Milan earlier. 
Me: (thinking in my head: hell no!!) No...I already put money down and reserved my space. I'll just wait. (Internal dialogue: there's no way you are following me to Milan!) 
Vesko: Thats what I would do. 
Me: Maybe I'll just go back to the beach! 
He dropped his attempt to convince me to continue with him to Milan. I didn't mean to give out the wrong train information, but I just might start making a habit of it. :)
Vesko: What do you want to do now. 
Me: Eat
We didn't end up getting food. We wandered around. He found a grocery store. I found a second hand store. Then we stumbled onto a fast food place with free wee-fee. 
I was elated. I finally got an Internet connection so I could email, facebook, etc! I ordered a small ice cream and sat down to reconnect.  I was in the middle of my first email when he sat down and said, "oh that means I can email my mom." What? Was there a question there or just a statment? I was pissed! This was my time to get back in touch with my family and he wanted to use my phone and didn't even have the nerve to ask. I was in the middle of an email and he started to peer over the table to see what I was doing. I finished it up and handed him the phone. He checked his email, his mom hadn't emailed him back yet, and then asked what I was doing next. I wasn't moving an inch. I had unlimited Internet for the 1€ it cost to buy an ice cream. Plus, I knew he had to leave for his train soon. I wasn't about to get suckered into walking back with him. So, he gave me a big smile and we did a high-five/handshake thing, while promising to keep in touch. He left and I recieved the gift of solitude, a fast food restaurant full of 50+ families scrambling to feed their screaming children, sweet sweet solitude! 
Now that I have a day to reflect on the situation, I know he didn't realize he pissed me off. For one, I don't show it in obvious ways. Two, he has a complete detachment to material things. Three, all he wanted was to check in to see if he had an email from his mom. 
I am such a jerk! I am completely attached to my iPhone. It serves as my lifeline, especially right now. It is how I find an book hotels, communicate with y'all, and where I get a sense of security (if I'm overwhelmed I just have to make one phone call to make it all stop and head home). I'm not proud of this attachment, but I'm not ready to let it go yet. My Mom's response to this epiphany: admitting it is the first step. :)
As I looked for hotels/hostels on the Internet I discovered that there are a lot of cheap hotels available at the last second. Damn! They tricked me again!!! (Flash back to the last posting where I was excited to snag a place in Rome) I walked back to the train station to cancel the reservation. The response: impossible. I walked back to the Internet spot, maybe 1/2 mile, to call and email the hotel requesting a refund. The response: we will charge you for one night due to the guidelines of the reservation. I already booked another hotel for the same night so I requested that I move it back to the 16th. Tourist trap #2: very effective!! Oh well.
Notes on Nice:
-It was warm at night. I wore a long sleeve shirt and pants but mostly to keep my body clean and to look scarier. Grrrr!
-The morning was really nice but it got hot quick. Not every place is air conditioned, including the fast food joint where I got ice cream and internet, so it turns into an "out of the frying pan and into the fire" situation. Lots of sweat
-People watching is very interesting. People are either wealthy or fronting like they are. It's usually the shoes or the watch that gives their classification away. 

I'm going to keep on going. I was awake for most of the day, minus two shorts naps, so it makes sense that this is long. Feel free to take a break of you need it. :)

Train Ride to Milan
Finally it was time to load the train. I walked to the platform and it says a different city on the display. Everyone starts looking around. People are getting on then getting off. They start asking each other, "is this the one," and no one really knows. Finally, information gets translated and passed down that our train is late and we should take this one. That means open seating for two different trains squeezing into one. I just went for the closest spot, not wanting to claw my way to first class. It was great. A small section that was partially hidden, which meant it was pretty empty. Then came the Monte Carlo stop. Stinky isn't train friendly. If you are stinky from going crazy with booze and gambling in Monte Carlo, please go to another train. There! I've said it. He was funky. Now this awesome, small little area was fill with his odor. Thank goodness for scented lotion. I put some on, then rested my hand on my face. He left after a few stops and the scent assault ended. We finally got to Ventimille and switched to our train to Milan. Then sat there for another 40 minutes. 
When I reached my seat, it was in a private booth with six seats, three on each side. A couple was there already and we tried to communicate in hand signals. I said something in English and he said, "Finally, someone who speaks English!" We laughed and started talking. They are from Dubai. He was impressed when I knew where it was and that it was part of the UAE. I told him it is on my list of places I want to go. They married young, and have 7 children. They are already grandparents, but I would guess they are only in their 40's. We all agreed that it is one of the advantages of having children when you are young. 
He also talked to me about Dubai and looking for jobs over there. He said there is a large U.S. ex-pat population there, about 50,000. We talked about Obama and whether I think the U.S. will turn around soon. **This has been another topic everyone has talked about. Every time they bring up the economic crash that we brought on, I just apologize. : ) What else can you say when your country is the main cause for the stalling economies world-wide? I stick with: my (our) bad!
A few stops later a man from Healdesberg (probably not spelling it correctly, but it's a city new Sonoma) and finally by an Italian man. I only know this because he spoke on his cell phone, loudly, several times. 
Once other people were in the train the couple pretty muc stopped talking. It bummed me out. I enjoyed speaking with them. I wonder if the reason has anything to do with predjudice against those perceived to be Muslim terrorists. (Daniel Thomas told me the previous day that I shouldn't wear my beenie rolled up because it looked like one of those bad people and Parisians don't like it. I told him it was a cold morning!) They left a few stops later. 

Back to the train: Healdesburg is hiking around Italy while his wife and daughter shop in London before meeting up again in another place. He was very nice and we talked for a bit. Then I fell asleep. The kind of sleep where you go from talking to dead to the world in less than 30 seconds. When I woke up he offered to switch places so I could sleep laying down on his side, which was completely empty now. Yes, thank you! I slept that way for maybe another hour. 
He got off at his stop, then it was me and the silent one. Except he wasn't silent. I asked him a question in English about the stops and he asked me if I spoke Spanish. Mas or menos. He switched from Italian to Spanish to help me figure Milan out. He told me to be careful. Taxis are safer than the metro, which stops service at 12:30 (it was already past 11:30), I should take line 2 to my hotel if I do use the metro, etc. I told him I was travelling by myself and he said it was very courageous. Then threw in a few more tips. He easily saved me 30 minutes at the train station with the tips. I thanked him profusley, on several occassions, and we went our separate ways.
The train arrived in Milan an hour late, it was now 12:15. I decided to take a taxi to get to the hotel quicker but didn't have 10€ in cash. I circled the station looking for an ATM. Forget it...I'm going with the metro. I'm really glad I did. My stop was only 3 stops away, maybe 4 and the hotel was only 1 block from the station exit. It was so close that when I asked somone for directions to via Astolfo, they said yes it's right here. 20 yards later I was at the hotel. I apologized for my late arrival. He said no worries and said I was in the sister hotel across the street. 
One more bell to ring with a round of apologies and I was in! I'll be in Milan for 7 hours then it's off to Venice/Rome. I took a shower and crashed out!!!! I have never been so thankful to sleep in a bed.      

Leaving Paris

Sorry it has been a few days since my last update. I'm afraid I will forget some of the amazing experiences I've had so I'm writing this on my notepad to put on the website later. Right now I am laying on a stone bench under the shade of a tree, about 20 yards from one of the canals in Venice. 
Even as I type this it's hard to believe.  Sometimes I just have to sit back and appreciate where I am. This is one of those moments....and my train doesn't leave for 3 more hours so this is much better than the train station!!
Last time I think I was in Paris after getting "stuck" there for one more day. I decided to take it easy after the trouble/mini meltdown from the day before, so I waited in the hotel as long as I could, found a laundrymat to dry my sink laundry that still hadn't dried, and the made my way down to the train station. 
**Side note on the laundry: I was worried that i was going to have a bag full of wet laundry so I started to try to find ways to dry it faster. All the clothes were hanging from various places in the bathroom. It started to look like a cheap dry cleaners. I kept the light on all night hoping to add some heat. No help. I taped the blow dryer, so it stayed on, and closed the door. That produced a lot of heat but the space was too large so it wasn't working fast enough. 
Finally, after multiple attempts to speed up the process, with the check out time quickly approaching, I asked the front desk if there was a laverie nearby. It was less than two blocks away. I really need to ask questions first!!! So...I have clean clothes again. 
Back to the day: I went to the train station and booked a train to Rome so I only stay in Venice for a day then head to Rome. This saves me a travel day for my train pass. By the time I get to Rome I will have used four days, but it would have been five if I didn't make this happen. 
I was able to secure one of the later trains so I get a full day in Venice and also landed a hotel. The woman said rooms would be hard to get on such short notice so I should go with this one. I trusted her and went for it, despite the fact that it would be the most expensive place I've stayed at so far. The recent scare of getting stuck sleeping on the Paris streets was still fresh in my mind. I'll come back to this point later. 
I left the train station feeling good about life and determined to eat crepes. It seemed like the Parisian thing to do!! I walked around, without getting lost this time but had a tough time finding a place. Suddenly there were tapas places and tex-mex. I had wandered into the Bastille district...not the best place to find a crepe stand. Plus it was Sunday morning so many places were still closed. I almost settled on another type of food but I was determined, which paid off as I found a place a short time later. 
Daniel Thomas (don't pronounce the "s") 
The crepe wasn't very good, but that wasn't the pay off. I met Daniel Thomas after he asked if he could smoke on the covered patio where I sat at the restaurant. I said I didn't mind. I'm getting used to all the smokers over here. It sort of feels like Las Vegas except the Eiffel Tower and the gondolas are real!
I was working on updating my journal and he started to ask me questions. Where are you from? Are you here on holiday? (I've actually started to used this term so people know what I'm talking about. Other things I've started to say by necessity: 1)I work at THE university(instead of saying A college)
2) this one is a little embarrassing. Wee-fee: the wireless Internet connection. I pronounce it why-f-eye. Do you? Now I'm started to wonder if you all say weefee too! Oh well. :)
So, Daniel Thomas and I started with the usual chit-chat then moved on to religion, seems to be a popular topic, family, the future, he even read my palm. He doesn't do it for money, just says that he comes from a family of men who have been blessed with this gift. I am always up for new experiences so i went for it. After I wished I had recorded it. Here's what I rememeber:
-I will live a long, healthy life
-I have two power lines
-Everyone around loves me: family, friends, pets (Well, yah!)
-I will be successful, he said I would get a good job soon. (I really liked this one!)
I think there was more, but I don't remember. He his gift a French word that sounded very close to magnetism...I'll have to look it up later.
We ended up talking for at least 3 hours at this brasserie before heading towards the train station. He gave me safety tips and bought me an orange soda while we waited. Then he headed off to go finish his packing.
**Another side note: I haven't really had any problems with harrassment or pickpockets as I travel around (fingers crossed and knocking on wood. If it does happen I will put it on ALL of you because I'm trying to share her!) as a young women who is flying solo. I get a lot of safety tips and warnings from the people I meet. Don't do this, watch for this, don't go there, etc. I listen every time, even altered my travel schedule because on guy made me nervous about my next destination, but nowim starting to look at these things differently. For example: Oakland. If people are going to Oakland I would say be careful there are some bad things that can happen if you go to the wrong place, but I love Oakland so I also know that if you are smart and careful chances are you will be fine. It helps me to think about this example when I hear scary warnings. 
After Daniel left, I went in to wait for my train and my 1st class seat! I didn't travel 1st class in the Madrid-Paris train because it was a hotel train and was more expensive. Now, I like to think of myself as someone who supports equality and despises our class-based system that tries to flaunt itself as a meritocracy. However, I love 1st class! I had my own arm rest. A seat that went back far enough to actually be comfortable. Leg room for two! Oh well, it's the contradictions that make life interesting.
The train ride was beautiful. I saw cobblestone villages, rivers, the sun set twice over the mountains (the mountains dipped in elevation so it seemed like after the sun set it rose and set again), green valleys, and my first castle! Other than that it was pretty dull. I arrived in Nice at 1am, which is where the next blog/adventure will start. On to the south of France and the Mediterranean!  

Wrong button again!!!

Sorry. I keep hitting the wrong button and then it posts before I write anything. Please refer to the previous title for this post. :)

Yesterday, it's 9:30am on July 12 here, I went to the train station to get a reservation to any place in Italy. Real specific, right? I ended up having to go through Nice so I didn't go through Switzerland. I only have a 3 country pass and would have had to pay for the whole ticket, much more than the 15€ I paid in reservations. The next open train was today so I had one more day in Paris, not a bad place to be stranded. I will get into Nice late night/early morning, then catch the 4pm train to Milan, which means I can wander Nice without having to pay for an expensive hotel. Sweet!

I will get to Milan around 10, booked a hotel there for the night, then head to Venice at 7am on the 14th. I'm hoping to spend the day in Venice and catch the night train to Rome. After Rome I will wind my way up The Boot and check out places suggested by TP, my mom's neighbor, along the way. Then I'm thinking it will be off to Barcelona and possibly Valencia before rolling back to Madrid. Not a bad plan, right?

Back to Paris. After booking my train, I headed back into the city center. It was far according to the map, so I started walking...with all my luggage. Basically, I went the wrong way for 30 minutes before I realized I wasn't seeing anything familiar and turned around. As soon as I did I saw just how far I walked. The tower of Nortre Dame, which I started out fairly close to seemed miles away, and probaly was. Crap! So I went to the other side of the Siene and walked down by the water, this kept me from retracing my steps and getting frustrated. Plus, I gt to see some pretty cool things:
-a small pirate ship with dinner service and a show
-a pool ON the river, it was in some sort of boat but makes it seems like you're doing laps in the Siene.
-people getting ready to put out lounge chairs in preparation for the annual beach party scene
The beach party...every summer they ship in sand and put in on the road that follows the river. People go down and sun bathe like they're at the beach. It's an escape for those that don't have the opportunity to go on holiday, ad there has been talk of just leaving the sand terr year round, creating their own beach! I'm leaving before this happens but seems like a cool scene. Also, the 120 year anniversary of the Eiffel Tower is on the 14th. Their are posters every where advertising the celebration that show the Tower covered in fireworks, kind of like sticking sparklers every where. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the next one I see.

So I'm lost, but not really. I just walked so far I wasn't on the map any more. I think this wasn't punishment for the last log were I said it was satisfying to find your way in a new city. I got cocky. Thank you, Universe, for putting me back in my place. :) I was walking towards the Latin Quarter, known as the student area because it was supposed to have some cheap hostels. I never found them and was too shy to ask for a long time.After an hour of wandering (stupid ego/shyness!!) I found a used bookstore called San Francisco Books. Yes!! Sounds like and English speaking spot to me. I went in and got a guidebook for Italy by Rick Steves and asked where I could find a cheap hostel. He gave me directions to Woodstock Hostel in northern Paris. Sounded like a party to me so off I went energized despite wearing the bakpack ad walking for over 3 hours at this point.

Apparently I wasn't the only one that liked the sound of Woodstock Hostel. It was full. As was the one across the street. Panic started to creep in. It would be dark in a few hours, looked like it was going to start raining, I had promised I wouldn't sleep outside, what if everything was booked accept the 200€ places....I went to the bad place.

I think I hit the wall...metaphorically. I was tired, both physically and emotionally (sorry for stealing your line Ma), and had no place to stay. I forced myself to take deep breaths and calm down. There were a lot of places I saw walking to Woodstock so chances were good one would have an open room. Next hotel, 120€. Not that desperate yet. :) I did end up finding a place. It was more money than I wanted to spend but worth it. I took a shower and did some sink laundry before passing out at 6 or 7 pm. I woke up at midnight and started to book hotels for my next leg of the journey. I am not a fan of the thought of sleeping in the street, the main thing I learned yesterday. That and it is important to rest.

So that's what I'm doing today. I did sink laundry last night and took it to dry at a laverie today. Best 3€ so far! I met a guy traveling around, on the last leg of his 6 week trip with his girlfriend, from New York state. He told me about his experiences in Italy and what he would/wouldn't do again. It was the first time I've had a long conversation with an American since Ive been here, except for skype and the quick interaction with Museum Laurence.

I'm feeling good about where I am again and ready to head to the next place!!

Again, please feel free to forward this off to anyone who might be interested. The URL of the actual blog is:
http://bmurdock-spain09.blogspot.com/

I expect to be offline for a few days but should have a post by Rome at the latest. Until then...
Au revoir