Rome, Italy

My last stop...  Rome has been great, and tiring.  I feel like I have walked a lot here, but I have been able to see all that I planned.  Actually, I finished seeing everything yesterday, so I decided to go to Pompei today.  rome has been pretty interesting.  There is a lot of old stuff here and a lot of it was pretty cool to see.  The forum was pretty cool, as was the Colosseum--both were bigger than I thought.  I also saw the Spanish steps (which are just steps...not really that cool), the Pantheon, and Trevi fountain.  That was day one. Yesterday I went to the Vatican, which consisted of getting herded through the Vatican museums and the Sistine chapel, and then St. Peter's Basilica.  The Basilica was the coolest part I though.  It is huge, and really quite impressive.  After the Vatican, I came back to the hostel and then went out a little later to grab some dinner and get some night shots of the Colosseum with my new 3 Euro mini-tripod.  Yeah, it is pretty crappy, but it was cheap and sort of got the job done.  I tried some Nutella gelato yesterday thinking that because I like Nutella and I also like gelato, it would be the perfect combination.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed.  It was just a bit too much, and was as if I was just eating a big mound of Nutella by itself.  I could only eat a bit of it before I had to throw the rest away.  I will get more gelato tonight though, to finish out strong with different flavors.  Pompei was pretty cool today.  I walked a lot and most of it is the same all over, but it was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and was pretty neat to see.  It took a while to get there and back, so I just got back around 6:00.  Now, I am off to get some dinner and gelato and come back to try to get some sleep before I have to wake up at 3:00 for a VERY long day of travelling back to Logan.  The trip has been unforgettable, though, and I have loved every day of it.

Positano, Italy

Another favorite stop.  Positano was awesome.  It is on the Amalfi coast of Italy and is probably one of the most picturesque places I have ever been.  The bus ride there takes you winding roads along the mountains and cliffs that dive right into the sea below.  Positano, and other cities along the coast, is built basically on a vertical incline with the bright below/green water of the Mediterranean below.  I couldn't believe how blue the water was.  It was so clear, I couldn't resist getting in today, even though it was freezing cold.  The first day I got there it was a bit chilly and rainy, but I got there in the afternoon and that night, once the restaurants opened up, I went to dinner with four other fellow hostellers. One of the girls really wanted to watch a movie that night as well since there were DVDs at the hostel, so she picked X-Men.  The next day I just walked down the steps to the beach and took a bunch of pictures and sat on the beach in my jeans and shirt.  After the stint at the beach, I walked up to get a few more pictures from a different view, and then made my way back along the road to the hostel.  After getting back, me and a guy from the UK who lives in Portugal and a girl from Vancouver went to dinner with an awesome view of the city and sea below.  Today, I debated on what I was going to do.  I originally thought that today would be my best day to visit Pompeii since it was between Positano and Rome, but I ended up going back to the beach and sitting there for a minute before I decided that I wanted to do the beach properly today.  So, instead of leaving, I changed into my swimming suit and bought some sunscreen and laid on the beach until about 3:00 in the afternoon.  It was really nice to just relax and get some reading in and such.  I did get in the water today, and although it was pretty dang cold, it felt good as well.  After the beach, I got some pizza and walked up to the bus station to leave.  The bus came at about 4:20 and I made my way to Rome, where I arrived tonight around 8:00.  The hostel here is not bad.  It is at least clean, but it is set up quite differently than others I have stayed in.  There are just four people in my room, which is kind of nice, but it is pretty close quarters, so it is a little bit weird.  Now, I need to plan my days in Rome so I can make sure to hit everything I need to see here.  If I can do it all in two days, I might try to make it to Pompeii before I leave.  Otherwise, it might have to wait for another trip.  So, Positano...definitely a favorite stop at which I would have been fine staying a little longer.  I will probably go back again sometime.

Florence, Italy

Florence has been nice.  I got here yesterday afternoon and checked into the hostel.  The hostel, Ostello Gallo D'Oro, is really nice, and it was a welcome improvement from the hostel in Venice.  After showering   (since I didn't in Venice), I took off to explore the city.  I checked out the Duomo (the main church), Ponte Vecchio (old famous bridge), and the piazzas before grabbing some dinner at an overpriced place.  I came back early last night and got caught up on the blog and such before bed.  Today I woke up early and headed to Pisa to see the leaning tower.  The tower is crazy.  It leans so much!  It was cool to see in person and get some pictures there.  Plus, they didn't even check my train pass, so I didn't even use a travel day, and thus, the trip cost me nothing.  After getting back from Pisa around 2:00, I went to see David.  It really is an amazing statue.  I didn't realize it was that big until I saw it.  It is really large and the features make it look like it was actually a mold.  It was pretty cool to see as well.  After that, I went inside the Duomo, since I got there too late the day before.  The inside definitely doesn't live up to the outside, so I only spent a couple of minutes there before heading up to Piazzale Michelangiolo on top of a hill overlooking the city. It provided a pretty sweet view and I sat up there for a while.  Something in the air here is making my allergies go crazy, so I have been dealing with super runny nose and eyes the last two days.  It makes it really annoying when I am trying to enjoy the city to have to carry around tissues and be constantly wiping my eyes and nose.  Hopefully the Amalfi coast doesn't have whatever it is I am allergic to.  After that, I went back down and got some dinner and came back to the hostel.  It was another earlier night tonight, but I really don't mind.  There isn't that much to do out of the hostel later at night, so I might as well come back and relax and get some sleep before travelling to Positano tomorrow.  I am excited for this next leg of the journey, so I hope it lives up to my expectations.  All in all, though, Florence was nice. It is more of an artsy, relaxed place, which was nice.

Venice, Italy

Venice was good.  It is a cool city to explore.  I was glad I fit it into my schedule, although I am also glad it was just a brief stop.  I got there yesterday afternoon and left today at 1:30, so I didn't quite spend a full day there.  It was just enough time though to get a feel for the city and explore it a bit.  There really isn't much else to do there, especially solo.  Plus, the accommodation was JUNK.  First of all, it was the most expensive hostel I am staying at during my entire trip.  Second of all, it is a piece.  There was one bathroom for like 16 people staying in the place, the doors didn't shut all the way, and it was dark and dingy.  I think they just found an old abandoned place they could rent and threw a couple of beds in it. I felt dirty just being there. I spent as little time there as possible, so I dropped my bag off after checking in and went out to explore the city the rest of the day.  I came back at bedtime, laid the sheets on my bed, brushed my teeth, and fell asleep.  I didn't even change my clothes, take my contacts out, or anything, just went to bed.  In the morning, I grabbed my bag, and left without showering, going to the bathroom, or anything.  Needless to say, I was glad to leave that place.  Don't worry, I did at least go to a public restroom (which you have to pay for--but it was worth it rather than dealing with the hostel bathroom) and brush my teeth.  My train didn't leave until 1:30, so I just went to some steps along the Grand Canal and sat and read for a little while and then walked around a bit more and got some good pizza and gelato before heading off to the train station.  Venice is a pretty neat city, so it was definitely worth the brief stop, but one day was just enough time to experience what I wanted to experience there and get out before I broke the bank any further.  Four hours later, I arrived in Florence.  Thankfully, the hostel in Florence is nice.  I feel civilized once more.

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

Definitely my favorite stop so far.  Switzerland is amazng.  The town I stayed in,Gimmelwald,was really small and tucked away a bit at the base of the Alps.  The valley below was narrow with towering mountains on either side.   Words can't really describe the beauty of this place.  You really have to see it with your own eyes to appreciate it.  Hopefully I cam get some pictures up soon, but even then I don't think it can do it justice.  The first day I got there was cloudy and rainy but I was only there for half of that day.  The next two days were beautiful.  On Wedneday I slept in a bit and then hiked around and took some pictures.  I also went to these glacial waterfalls which were inside the mountain.  They were pretty cool.  The hostel I stayed at, Mountain Hostel, was really nice and clean and super chill and relaxing.  Everyone just kind of mingled at the end of the day and I met some pretty cool people there:  a couple of Aussies, another canadian, some people from DC, North Carolina, and Tennessee.  You really meet all sorts of people travelling over here and a common desire to travel the world ties us all together.  So definitely teo thumbs up on that hostel.  The next day I woke up earlier and took the cable car all the way up to 9,744 feet to the Schilthorn.  Amazing views.  Luckily there were no clouds or anything up at the top so it was completely clear.   It was definitely worth the money I had to pay to get there.  I stayed up there for a couple of hours and then went back down to the hostel.  I had been debatig on whether I wanted to do any high adventure stuff while I was there like skydiving or paragliding or bungy jumping and once I got back to the hostel I decided to try paragling so I talked to the owner of the hostel and she booked it for me and 20 minutes later I was on my way.  Paragliding was AWESOME.  It was so much fun.   We were flying for about 20 minutes with the most amazing views all around us.  Definitely also worth the money and an unforgettable experience.  The rest of that day I just hung out at the hostel and theen we played ome cards after dinner.  The canadian taught us this game called Yuker which was pretty fun.  So anyway, Gimmelwald was a complete success.  I even ended up staying one night longer than I had planned and it was a good decision.  Definitely my favorite stop so far.

Sleepy Limbs

Do you ever enjoy having your limbs fall asleep?  I do.  Sometimes I do it on purpose.

Munich, Germany

Munich turned out to be pretty good.  The first day I was there I just kind of bummed around the city and saw what there was to see (not really all that much).  I took a bunch of pictures by the river and park in the city and watched the surfers.  Surfers you ask? Yes, surfers.  I don't actually know if it is man-made or not (I think it is), but there is this huge wave on the river that goes through the city and people surf on it.  It was pretty dang sweet.  Hopefully I can get some pictures of it posted soon (I think I will be able to at the hostel I am now at in Switzerland).  Anyway, there wasn't really a ton to see in the city of Munich, but I kept myself busy that day and went back to the hostel to find everyone in my room already going to sleep.  I was a bit surprised because I thought I would be the early retirer.  The Asian below me was snoring incredibly loud and it kept most of us up for a while before we could drift off.  I rattled the bed every once in a while since I was on the top bunk...it would cause the snoring to quiet down for about 30 to 45 seconds and then it came right back.  I got to sleep though and the next day took a little day trip to Neushwanstein Castle.  It was awesome.  It is the castle that the castle in Sleeping Beauty (I think it's Sleeping Beauty..if not, some other Disney movie) was designed from.  I even met some people from Utah!  Small world, it is.  So, that was a successful day.  I got some Currywurst before heading back to the hostel.  The people in my room at the hostel were pretty cool.  There were two couples travelling together from Canada and another guy named Nam from Vietnam.  So, we talked for a little bit before we hit the sack.  All in all, Munich was a success, although I probably won't ever go back.  If you drink beer, though, it is the place for you. I got up early this morning to catch my train to Switzerland.  Switzerland, so far, is amazing.  I am staying in a tiny town called Gimmelwald.  It is super laid back and relaxing and the scenery is probably the most beautiful I have seen in my life.  It has been cloudy and rainy today, but I think it is supposed to clear up for tomorrow and the next day while I am here.  Hopefully so, because I need to make it to the top of the Schilthorn, and it won't be worth it if the weather doesn't improve.  Anyway, the second leg of my journey went well, and I can already tell I am going to love the third.  This place is awesome.