I have been home for a few weeks now. While I am grateful for my own space, warm shower, and hair appliances, I am starting to miss being overseas. When I first got home, I spread out my stuff all over my place. It was so nice to take out my stuff in the bathroom and leave it there. Equally nice was not having to deal with soaking wet countertops. I cannot seem to figure out how some ladies manage to get the entire counter covered in a half-inch deep layer of water every day. What were they doing? Of course, in the early days of my trip, I never bothered to check the counter before setting down my cosmetic bag. Many a wet bag later, I learned my lesson.

The magic of being back in my own place was short-lived, though. I have been going on walks to try to keep up with the pace of walking that I had in Europe. I was on my feet all day every day for a month and a half. After breaking my feet in, it was a great experience to get that much exercise every day. I never felt so healthy, in spite of eating countless gelatos and German pastries.  

I really miss being able to explore new towns, streets, and buildings. It was wonderful having the world at my fingertips, just a train ride away from the next adventure.

I loved the sights, stores, food, and people of Europe. Walking out the doors of my hostel each day was a new experience. When you are in a country that is not familiar, everything is exciting and noticeable… even the street signs. I do have a new appreciation of the little things in life. I now pay attention to all the small details that I just would have walked past a few months ago.

So, how do I cure the post-traveling blues? Well, it is time to plan my next adventure. I already have some ideas for next summer. It will not be as long of a trip… probably just a couple of weeks. It will definitely be overseas. It will definitely be a new continent to explore. Good thing I just sent in my last car payment. Time to start saving. I don’t think I will ever have cable TV again! Traveling so trumps cable!

In the meantime, I am thinking about my US travel plans over the year. I will be going home to Los Angeles over the Christmas holiday. I was thinking of going somewhere over Thanksgiving… don’t know where yet. My brother might come down here for the upcoming Labor Day weekend, which might spawn a jaunt to Asheville, North Carolina. I was thinking about going to Seattle for Spring Break, including a long-overdue visit to my sister and her family in Olympia, Washington. My fellow travelers that I have met along the way have taught me that we must get out there and explore whatever we can whenever we can.  

So, to sum up my Euroventure:

• Number of countries visited: 8
• Number of pounds lost: 5
• New friends on Facebook from my travels: 8
• Pounds of chocolate brought home: 2

A box for Teri and another for Amanda... for kittysitting and airport driving.

• Number of clothing articles thrown away: 5
• Number of clothing articles bought: umm… no comment
• Street markets visited: 8
• Number of things lost: 1 (just a luggage tag… woo hoo!)
• Pictures taken: over 2000 (but as I look back, I should have taken more)

Thanks to everyone who read my blog. It felt like I had a piece of home with me when I read your comments. I wanted to reply to them all, but simply ran out of time. I really appreciate the time you took in writing comments or simply just reading. Keeping up with the writing and photos took a lot more time than I imagined, but I maximized my time by writing narratives while on the trains.

I know I still owe a food post, and I will get to that shortly. I also have a packing tips post in the works. So, this blog is long from over. Hopefully, I can make some time to keep up with it. I took my laptop apart yesterday, so it is back to the netbook until I can get an operating system on my new hard drive.

At least it is back in one piece again, with no bonus screws lingering after reassembly!

It is a laid-back town with a lot of people who can also speak English. It leaves me wishing that America would start having children learn languages from the very beginnings of school. I feel that I am missing out on so many opportunities with my very limited second language skills.

The Dutch people are ones to model life after. They are tall, beautiful, easygoing, nice people who know how to live life and take it all in stride. They don’t let the little things stress them out. And why should they? That is not what life is about. When I came up to a museum line with my reservation voucher, I was supposed to go to the ticket line first to convert it to a ticket. Of course, travelers don’t know these sorts of things. No worries. The man at the museum line smiled and gently motioned over to the ticket line for directions on the proper procedure. Once I took care of all of that, I was greeted warmly by the man and we both celebrated in my correct ticket. In some other countries that I visited which will remain nameless, I would have been yelled at (as I was in previous similar experiences). Thank you, Dutch people for being so accommodating and warm to tourists.

Later on, I asked the man at the bag check if he thought they would let me in with my shoulder bag. He smiled and said, “Just go over there and try and see what happens. If not, just come back.” See… no stress!

Another kind experience happened at the train station. The man at the train ticket was fiddling with a bag of chocolates after he had helped the last customer. I had to wait for him to open the bag before he could help me. He apologized and said, “You understand… it’s chocolate.” I said, “Of course. Chocolate is priority.” He said, “See, you do understand!” After he opened the bag, he presented the bag to me and offered me the first piece. Of course, I accepted. Again… no stress!

Amsterdam has a variety of experiences to see. I stayed in the red light district in a Christian hostel. How’s that for a contradiction? It was fascinating walking around the red light district. I wasn’t expecting women at the windows at 9:00 am, but there they were. I guess business is a 24-hour affair.

The first day, I went to the Van Gogh Museum. I had seen quite a few pieces from this museum already when they were on a special exhibit in Los Angeles while the museum was undergoing renovations. It was still quite the amazing sight. Van Gogh is my favorite artist and this collection does not disappoint. The museum organized the works chronologically, and paralleled them with his life story. Vincent is such the fascinating one. Tortured souls make for great artists.

I then headed over to the Rijksmuseum to view a fine collection of Flemish paintings. It’s the perfect place to get caught up on Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals. I ate my picnic lunch at the Museumplein.

I then headed over for a stroll in Vondelpark, and subsequently stumbled along the Singel canal and browsed the flower market. I capped off the day with a walk through the major shopping streets of Kalverstraat and Nieuwendijk, with a sidestep into Begijnhof.

For day two, I started the morning in the Jordaan neighborhood.

After wandering around the streets, I went to the Anne Frank House. I highly recommend visiting the house if you find yourself in Amsterdam. We all seem to know her story well, so I was not caught up trying to learn what happened. I instead focused on the experience… I asked myself, “What was this life like here, especially through the eyes of a child?” Anne’s diaries and journals are incredible. She had such a profound way of looking at things with deep reflection and pure emotion. Going through each room, I tried to picture the family living in the annex. I enjoyed the pictures that Anne had cut out of magazines and glued to the wall in her shared room. It reminded us that she was still a child, amidst all that was going on around her.

I happened upon a flea market in Waterlooplein and walked around random streets and canals. They wanted to charge me for a map at the hostel, but luckily another girl in my 16-bed room (yes, I shared a room with 15 other women!) had a couple of maps of Amsterdam from her Lonely Planet book. She gave me one, which proved to be a lifesaver when I would get lost from my meanderings. I finished my wanderings with a tour of the Gassan Diamond facility.

I made my way up to the impressive public library, or the Openbare Bibliotheek. They have great views of the city from the café on the 7^th floor, and more importantly, they have free Internet and Wifi! There are 100’s of computer terminals, all with free Internet access! Oh the ingenuity! The library is beautiful, with plenty of places to sit and relax. There is a fantastically huge magazine section (Tajinder… this would be your magazine nirvana!) and even a spot in the children’s section for the kiddos (and some, ahem, “older” kiddos) to play XBOX-360.

Finishing the day, I walked down Damrak once more to Dam Square.

That evening, I dined on some Indonesian take-out at Spui Square. Chicken satay + fried rice = peanut sauce goodness.

On day three, I felt that I had done Amsterdam justice. So, I decided to take a day trip to Haarlem. It is only a 20-minute train ride from Amsterdam. Haarlem is a charming Dutch town, which is bigger than you actually expect to be.

In the center is Grote Markt, which is a bustling open-air market on Mondays and Saturdays. Unfortunately, this was neither of these days. A good selection of shops lines the streets that lead up to the square. The final culmination of my jaunt in Haarlem was to see the quintessential Dutch symbol… the windmill.

Ok, woo hoo… a windmill. I know, but how can I go to The Netherlands and not see a windmill? Note that I was the only person out there viewing the windmill.

At the end of the day, I made my way to my hotel across the street from Schiphol airport. Before I reached the hotel, I walked around Schiphol Plaza at the airport/train station. I needed to blow the rest of my Euros and this seemed like the perfect place to do it. The plaza actually has quite a decent number of shops to blow your dough. There is even a small H&M! I found a scarf and small handbag there, and wasted the rest of my money on chocolate and stroopwafels: a definite worthy purchase. Karmy, a girl from South Africa who worked at the hostel, taught me how to put a stroopwafel on top of your cup of tea to warm up the filling. Mmmmm… gooey deliciousness.

I decided against staying in the hostel for my final night, as I had an early flight to catch. I would have had to leave the hostel at 4:00 am in order to walk to the train station and then catch the train to the airport. I was in The Netherlands, so I had to go the no stress route and make my life easier. Staying in a hotel in my own room with my own bathroom felt like quite the posh experience, especially after having 3 days of cold showers in the hostel. You could even change the color of the lighting in the hotel room. Of course, I rocked the purple lighting, but changed it to aqua when I took a shower. You would have changed the lighting too, because you can.

There were free on-demand movies in the room, so I watched two of them: It’s Complicated and The Soloist. I felt like a spoiled princess. Staying up late to watch two movies probably defeated the purpose of getting a good night’s rest before my long flight the next day, but hey these movies are free!

As this trip comes to a close, I have mixed emotions. I will be glad to experience the comforts of home once again. I look forward to spreading out my stuff all over the bathroom. Imagine being able to leave your toothbrush on the counter and taking showers without flip flops! However, I will greatly miss waking up in new cities and experiencing new sights and cultures. I have gotten used to the pace of go-go-go, walk-walk-walk, see-see-see. Every town is a train ride away. It shall be interesting as I assimilate back into American life.

My next post will include my trip reflections. Thanks for coming this far with me!

The bag machine.

This sucker doesn't fit in the screen in any of my pictures.

I also did not realize that Cologne has a packed pedestrian shopping zone, full of big chain clothing stores and people. I only had paid for 2 hours of storage of my bag, so I did a quick walk through. Shoppers could definitely spend more time here.

Alright, time for another country. I headed out of Germany and landed in the storybook town of Bruges, Belgium. Canals, stepped roofs, bicycles and chocolate… what’s not to love?

Seriously, I had the best chocolate of my life here at the small family-owned shop of the Dumon Chocolatier. I got great personal service there, and trusted their recommendations. After all, they are the chocolate experts. It was everything chocolate should be: smooth, creamy, decadent, melt-in-your mouth goodness. I also sampled some chocolate from another shop, but Dumon’s chocolate was in another dimension. This is the shop to go to in Bruges. I dream of you, sweet chocolate pieces dancing in my mind.

I found my walk slowing down to a stroll in Bruges to soak up the architecture and canals. It was rainy, but the town still shone.

Starting out, I headed down to the open-air markets of ‘t Zand Square and all streets in between. There was plenty of food and an interesting assortment of live animals (I hope for pet purposes). At least, I think the rabbits and parakeets were for pets. But there were also chickens, ducks, peacocks, and even baby clicks. A rabbit could be had for 5 Euros. Steal! Please don’t eat the bunny. He’s fluffy for your enjoyment.

I climbed the clock tower to get a better look.

View from the top of the clock tower.

I hung out with nuns and swans (not at the same time). There were windmills to be seen. There were waffles to be eaten. There were more canals to walk past.

I went to the Chocolate Story Museum. In hindsight, it wasn’t worth the admission price (even though I did get a discount with my hostel-provided Bruges Card). However, the free chocolate at the end made up for it.

I had a free museum voucher from the Clock Tower to compensate for part of the view being closed off for renovations. Rick suggested I go see the Groeninge Museum, but I accidentally went to another museum that started with G. Well, at least that museum was free, as it was pretty lackluster. I felt pretty stupid, as the Groeninge Museum was right next door. I must have been distracted by the flea market crap. The Groeninge Museum was also undergoing renovations, so only four rooms were open. The collection was nice, and even graphic in some works (being flayed alive comes to mind), but I left feeling a little disappointed. They did reduce the admissions price (of which I had reduced further because of my card) and also gave another free museum voucher. So I suppose I broke even. I left the voucher at the hostel for someone to discover, as my time in Bruges was coming to an end.

For dinner, I met up with Ingrid from Melbourne, Australia. We wandered around trying to find some place to eat that was affordable. We ended up ordering Chinese take-out and picnicking at Market Square under the statue. Everyone else has the same idea, as there was an array of people with boxes of take-out from every cuisine.

Overall, I did a lot of walking in Bruges, but felt relaxed and enveloped by the town’s charm. I had hoped to rent a bicycle while I was there, but time and weather got the best of me. It is probably for the best, as pedestrians are easily run over.

Goodbye chocolate paradise. There is only one more city left for me to visit.

I used Bacharach as my home base.

Buildings of Bacharach.

Here I stayed at Pension im Malerwinkel, run by the Vollmer family. It was an adorable building, with a cozy garden and a babbling brook. The rooms were peaceful and the typical German breakfast was the best yet.

See my window!

The owner even picked me up from the train station. It was the first time I have been in a car in five weeks. The owner was very welcoming and commented on how German my last name is. Did I mention that I love the Germans? They are the nicest, most helpful people I have met. I get help lifting my bag up stairs in every train station. I get unsolicited help on directions from a variety of people. Even the swans are friendly!

You know you want to feed my babies. You can’t resist the fuzziness.

They also have the most awesome ATMs. I found one that trumped the one in Salzburg. At VR Bank’s ATM, it asked you what denomination of bills you wanted. You could choose any combination. Mix and match. Even fives! No more fifties! There are some sneaky banks, though, that still dole out these heinous bills in Germany. I thought that if it started with the letter “V,” I would be safe. Drats!

I had a relaxing time in the Rhine Valley. I wandered around little Bacharach. The castle there is a hostel.

A castle... no wait a hostel.

That didn’t seem too exciting for me to see it close up, but it was good to admire it on the hilltop. I climbed one of the wall towers and got a good view of the town.

The next day, I took a boat up the Rhine to St. Goar. Along the way, we passed a handful of castles and the Loreley rock (not really that exciting, but they make a big deal about it because there is a legend and song about it).

St. Goar is equally as pleasing as Bacharach. Except this time, the castle is in ruins. Ruined castle is actually a good thing, because that means you can tour it. So, I hiked up to Rheinfels Castle.

It used to be a vast place, complete with a giant timbered building atop the stone walls. In fact, it used to be the biggest castle on the Rhine. Rheinfels Castle has been through a lot… sieges, wars, and rock pilfering. Poor thing. I enjoyed viewing the little square hole in the ceiling in the dungeon. That is the entrance hole where they dropped the prisoners in for a stay.

 After the castle, I decided to hike some trails uphill from it. There was no one else on the trails and there were a lot of stairs. I felt like I was going in the wrong direction (I wanted to loop back around to town). But when I saw this, I knew it was time to go…

I took the boat back to Bacharach. The round trip ticket was a way better deal and I was so glad I did it. The weather was a little better on the return trip and the boat was a different model that went much slower. It was a better pace to enjoy all the sights along the Rhine.

Bacharach at night.

I got some good rest and enjoyed the downtime as I move into the final stretch of my Euroventure. To close, I would like to say that Germany is ever worried about your impending death. A look at these warning signs tells the graphic details of what might happen to you. Beware…

I stayed at the Pension Elke, run by the ever-friendly Klaus and father Erich. They made my stay feel like home, and were ever so helpful. The price was incredible and the traditional German breakfast of cold cuts, cheese, and rolls was delicious. Oh how I will miss thee, European yogurt. The best brand I have tried is Müller, which happens to be a German brand. I had a macadamia nut flavored yogurt with choco stars in Munich. Devilishly good!

That's Pension Elke on the left. The rooms sit atop the grocery store also run by the family.

I spent a day and a half in Rothenburg, which is the perfect amount of time to wander around town. As usual, I let Rick be my guide and followed his walking tour from my book.

Along the way, I stopped into the Friese shop for a look at German gifts and souvenirs. They asked if I was referred to their store, and I brought up the recommendation from Rick. The owners could not have been more welcoming. I got a beautiful map illustrated and signed by Anneliese Friese herself. They gave it to me free, as published in Rick’s book. They also gave me a 10 percent discount (also in Rick’s book). The prices were good… better than I saw in most stores. After my purchase, they packed my loot in a reusable canvas bag with the shop’s information printed on it… for free, too! I was treated like royalty in the store. The owners were some of the sweetest people I have met. I highly recommend paying them a visit to the shop if you come to town.

The town itself is the main attraction. I took picture after picture of timbered buildings, old towers, and cobbled streets.

I paid my respect to St. Jakob’s Church (with Riemenschneider’s incredible wood-carved altarpiece), touched and sniffed some plants in Convent Garden that were poisonous (oops), climbed watch towers, and walked atop the town wall. I descended upon the Castle Garden and the vineyards below and walked in the moat (it’s grassy now, so no worries about water-laden shoes).

It rained pretty much the whole time, but that doesn't let Rothenburg down!

I also visited the Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? It actually holds more than just torture devices. There were many historical documents with old wax seals hanging from them. Some seals were so large that you wondered how they didn’t tear the paper. But enough about paper… you want to know about torture! There were neck violins a plenty, along with limb separators, breaking wheels, thumb screws, executioner swords, and an iron maiden.

On the bottom is a double neck violin. Quarrelsome women were put in it together until they got along.

What I found most interesting were the shame masks. If you acted like a pig, they made you wear a mask with a pig snout. If you spread gossip and couldn’t keep your mouth shut, you wore a mask with a large tongue. Everybody would know what you were in trouble for, as you had to parade around town with the iron mask. Think about how these could be used today!

Shame masks

I also enjoyed learning about how bakers were punished if their bread was too small or too big. Tough crowd for a baker.

In the evening, I went on the acclaimed Night Watchman’s tour. Hans-Georg Baumgartner is such a card. He fills his walk with quick wit, great joke delivery, and a good history lesson. He does this tour every night… once in English and a later tour in German. He had a huge crowd on my tour. Everyone enjoyed Georg’s storytelling, especially the wide-eyed children. It makes me wonder what Georg did before he coined this venture.

Rothenburg is a gem of a town and well worth any visit to Germany. I put you in my pocket, sweet Rothenburg, and surround you with sweet Medieval memories.

There is also much shopping to be had in Munich, especially down the pedestrian areas of the streets. If you didn’t like one H&M, you could go into 3 others… all within less than a minute of each other on the same street. Munich has many fine stores and department stores… the Germans like quality goods and its shows. You can get everything you need.

The first evening, I joined up with two girls from my hostel room: Danni, a recent Ph.D. grad from Melbourne, Australia, and Kara, originally from Perth, Australia, but currently living in London as a nanny. We went to Hofbräuhaus, which is a requirement if you are in Munich.

It is a traditional, yet deliciously touristy beer hall complete with a live oom-pah band, large communal tables, and pretzel maidens in the old world garb.

It was loud and packed with people. Bring on the kitsch! We sat at a table with a guy from Seattle, a couple from Edinburgh (who coincidentally happened to be staying in the same hostel), and a couple from Austria. I got a weissbier and some bockworst with potato salad.

Afterwards, we went to an Augustiner beer hall off Marienplatz. I got a radler, which is half beer and half lemon soda. It was actually quite tasty. Our waitress was the sweetest ever, and gave us quick service with a smile.

The next day, on a dreary, cold rainy morning, Kara and I went to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site on the Radius tour.

I had a hard time comprehending all that had happened there. When you walk around, you can’t put your mind around how horrific it truly was. I think what was most meaningful for me was seeing the mass grave mounds where thousands of ashes are buried.

Many groups perished at the camps. This mound is dedicated to the Jewish casualties.

I got my shop on after Dachau, for an instant pick-me-up to break the somber mood. I didn’t buy much of anything, but it was fun to wander through all of the shops… especially since most of them are not souvenir shops but real stores! I do love the German drug stores, as they remind me of the ones back home minus the drugs. Outside of the US and England, I haven’t seen drugs sold over the counter in the other countries I have visited. If you want aspirin, you have to go to a pharmacy (apotheke in Germany) and ask for it.

The rain finally broke on the following day, which was a perfect opportunity to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. Danni joined me on this adventure. It was a two-hour train ride out to the castle, but well worth the trip once we got there. The castle was built by the mad King Ludwig II, starting in 1868. Ludwig was not one for controlling his desire for decadence, so all the décor is over the top. The bed had a wood carving of a full city of church spires filling the entire canopy. Ludwig was eventually declared insane, and never completed the castle. Later, Walt Disney was inspired by the appearance of the castle, and modeled Sleeping Beauty’s castle after it.

After the castle, we hiked down to the gorge. Waterfall and raging river abound! After hiking up to the castle and down to the gorge, I was glad that I got my exercise for the day. It made up for all the cookies I ate earlier… maybe.

That evening, Danni and I went to the original Augustiner beer hall on the other side of the train station. They have a self-service side, where you grab a tray, pick out your meal, select your beer, and find a table. This side was all outdoor seating (you can pay more to sit inside). Luckily, it was a nice night. I had the roast pork with kraut and a potato dumpling.

I had another weissbier here, but I must say that one I had at Hofbräuhaus was better. It still was a tasty treat. The Augustiner was more calm that Hofbräuhaus, and had more locals. However, I can see this place going totally nuts during Oktoberfest. The sprawling outdoor seating makes for easy clean up.

Germany has been great thus far. The trains are efficient and timely and the Germans have been helpful and welcoming. Auf Wiedersehen!

Everything went off without a hitch. I would highly recommend doing the journey overnight, as it saves time and money. The only problem was that it put me at the train station at 4:15 am. The main building was closed, as could be imagined. So, I hung out outside for a few hours until I could go to my hostel to drop off my bag (the hostel didn’t open until 7:30 am).

After I was able to dump my luggage, I wandered around Salzburg in the morning hours. It was so nice to be out early, away from the crowds. I walked through the historic town, visiting Mozartplatz, a clock tower, the church that Mozart played the organ in (there were five organs in this church!), and cute squares.

I also had this insane pastry from a backerei… kind of like a chocolate covered honey bun with a sweet and savory walnut mixture in between the rings.

It was worth every calorie.

I visited a couple cemeteries, including the one at St. Sebastian (right next to my hostel) and the extra cute St. Peter’s.

There was also a historic bread shop, of whose smell drew many crowds through its doors. I ate a very tasty and crusty sourdough dark rye roll (seedless). Then I hiked my way up to Hohensalzburg Castle. They are now charging admission to walk the grounds, so I cheaped out and just got some pictures and left. The best part is the view of the city, anyways. I don’t need to spend any more time in museums. Quota reached.

That's the castle up on the hill on the left. I really took crappy pictures of it.

The historic walk that Rick recommended also took me down the main street of shops, complete with their decorative yet descriptive signs for the formerly illiterate.

Even McDonald’s has a fancy sign (and Claire’s… ugh!).

I finished my walk around Salzburg quicker than I expected. So, it was time for the cheese. That’s right. I did the Sound of Music Tour. Admit it… you would have done it, too.

Actually, the best part of the tour was seeing the countryside and lake district. It was a great way to get out of town to see the picturesque landscape.

Among the movie sights, we visited the gazebo, saw the house they used for the external shots,

went in the church from the wedding scene, skipped through Mirabell Gardens, and saw the abbey from a distance. There was also a lot of singing to be had, so I got my Edelweiss on and joined in. I even drank some Almdudler (a carbonated apple herby soft drink, surprisingly bottled by Coca Cola).

The most magical thing also happened in Salzburg. I found an ATM that gave me bills in all 10′s. This truly was a pivotal moment.

Salzburg is worth a day’s visit. I packed in all the sights, even with very little sleep. I was ready to move on the next morning to another country. So, off I go again.

I decided to book a train a few hours earlier out of Rome. I stuck with Eurostar, because it is faster (a couple of hours in this case), has better people riding it, and has space to put your huge luggage. The downside is that it is more expensive, but I believe the positives are worth the cash. I sat in a table seating arrangement that accommodates 4 people. My seatmates included a sweet older Italian lady (whose name I didn’t catch, but whose role was of utter importance later), and Alex and Zack who go to a university in Rochester, NY. They are design students who have been studying abroad in Germany for the past four months.

On our stop in Bologna, we were sitting on the tracks. Police came on the train and went into the next car. We waited and waited and had no idea what was going on. Luckily, our sweet Italian lady also spoke English and asked around to get updates. Apparently, some crazy guy in the next car urinated on his seat and then refused to get off the train. He wouldn’t budge for the police. A doctor came and he would not move for him. Alex started taking pictures of the gurney that was outside the train (in hindsight, I should have done the same campy thing). I broke out my cookies and shared them with the group. The sweet Italian lady got off the train and bought me a bottle of water. Zack let me sample his chips and gave me a bite of this chocolate cream thing (kind of like a refrigerated ice cream sandwich, but not with ice cream).

Updates were very infrequent from the conductor. The volume was very low on the speaker, which didn’t really matter, as the updates were all in Italian. Our sweet Italian lady was our savior, translating the messages and advising us on what to do. Sometimes the messages would say that we would be able to go, and other times, our status was unknown. Finally, our sweet Italian lady said if nothing happens in the next 10 minutes, we all should get off the train and get on the other one that was leaving shortly. Ten minutes went by and we all darted off the train. The sweet Italian lady knew where she was going, and moved quickly. We ended up losing her as a result, as we moved a lot slower. Unfortunately, we never got her name, so our little angel will be unrecognized by name but not by spirit. I rode the next train with Alex and Zack and we parted ways once we finally made it to Venice.

Seeing Venice for the first time, I had to pinch myself. It was just as I had imagined it… winding canals, gondolas, onion domes, and Byzantine architecture. I took the vaporetto to a stop close to my hotel.

Two brothers run the tiny six-room hotel that I stayed in. This time, I had my own room… with air conditioning! Oh, the magic of air conditioning is truly a blessing after all the roasting hostels that I have visited. The room was decorated beautiful, with scrolling wallpaper, a bed with a headboard (I don’t even have one of those at home!), a Murano glass chandelier, and my own bathroom. I can’t believe I got this room for the price I paid.

I explored Venice… wandering around and only occasionally looking at my map (all maps are crap in Venice anyways). You don’t get lost in Venice… you just meander through and discover happy accidents in the forms of campos, canals, back alleys, and churches.

I visited the Rialto bridge and did some shopping along the way.

There are many (an understatement) glass shops in Venice, most of which are just tourist souvenir shops with no real connection to the glass industry. However, I happened to come across a tiny shop in my wanderings that I could never tell you how to get to ever again. Inside was a delightful couple who welcomed me into their store. The man was blowing glass right behind the counter. It was the only store in Venice that I had seen someone do that (go to the island of Murano if you want to see more of the real thing).

I went to St. Mark’s square, which was overwhelmed with tourists. Venice is packed with tourists, but this was especially the case in this area. I decided to do some more wandering and come back later in the day to take in the sights in the square.

After circling through secret streets, climbing bridges, and tunneling under passageways, I finally made it back to the square. I made my way into St. Mark’s Basilica. It is a treasure of golden mosaics that make up the entire upper portion inside the cathedral, including the domes (again, no pictures allowed inside, but here’s an outside shot).

After a night in Venice and a full day, I was Veniced out. Overall, there are not as many “big” sights in Venice. Venice is more of an experience. I was sick of the tourists and the countless souvenir stalls. I also got yelled at by the cashier at the large supermarket for having the nerve of giving her a twenty Euro bill. ATMS here give out 20’s and 50’s, and usually the best place to break the big bills are the big stores. I had no other bills or coins to give her to reach my total. So, she begrudgingly slammed my change on the counter. I try not to pay with “big” 20’s at the small stores, but it has never been a problem at the large stores. Where else are you going to break what you get out of the ATMs? I groan when a 50 comes out of the ATM, which happens at just about every ATM when you ask for a total greater than 50. Good luck paying with that. You might as well ask the cashier to cut off her thumb while you are at it. I had a Swiss ATM spit out an 100 once. Luckily, when I asked the small Swiss grocer if he could break it, he warmly responded, “Yes, of course.” (therefore, Switzerland = awesome)

After touristy Venice, I took it easy the next day. I ventured out on a bus to the mainland of Mestre to see the urban side and to relax in an air-conditioned mall with free bathrooms. The malls I have been to in Italy are tiny… maybe 10 stores total, including a department store and a supermarket.

Here’s a shopping tip: the Sephoras in Europe are slightly disappointing. The ones in France are big, but really don’t have anything hugely unique that you can’t get in the US. The ones in Italy are tiny and stock L’Oreal among the other brands and are missing many other brands. The must have just shipped in the Bare Escentuals line here, as they are really pushing it. In Rome, a girl made over my whole face with the stuff, even though I told her I didn’t like the line. She was dying to put it on someone apparently.

In hindsight, I probably didn’t need to spend 2 ½ days in Venice. A day and a half would have been enough. However, I already had an overnight train out of Venice booked. I thought about going out to one of the other islands off of Venice, but I pooped out and just stuck with the urban side of things.

I taught a British child how to make a lanyard/scoubidou on some church steps. After seeing his mother simply braid the strings, I could not let that go by. He quickly learned the box stitch from me and he was well on his way. Public service requirement reached for the day.

In the end,  I finally tried some gelato from Grom, and was slightly disappointed after all of the hype. It was good, but not as good as Giolitti’s.

So now, Italy is over as I sleep my way out of the country.

I cooked myself some dinner for two nights in the hostel. I had my old standard… gnocchi in tomato sauce with a salad. There were always people to dine and discuss our experiences with in the kitchen.

For breakfast, we were given tickets for a pastry and hot drink at the corner café. I switched up my choices of pastry each day, but I stuck with a satisfying cappuccino each morning. I sipped at the counter each day and enjoyed the interactions between the regulars and the staff. The man that ran the register began to recognize me after a couple of times and greeted me with a warm “Ciao” as I came and went.

I started off my sightseeing at the Colosseum.

Then I walked around Palatine Hill and the Forum.

The most incredible things about Rome are the ancient ruins. Some stand alone, while other ruins are right amongst the new development. Sometimes, there are “newer” buildings integrated with the old. Apartment buildings grow out of one remaining old brick wall. The Romans are innovative and resourceful… engineering at its finest.

I visited the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and threw a coin over my shoulder in Trevi Fountain.

The Trevi Fountain at night earns bonus points!

I walked around in a fountain next to Ara Pacis, even though the sign said not to (well, everyone else was doing it, so who am I to break tradition?). The water was quite cool and oh so refreshing on my tired feet.

I went to Capitoline Hill and wandered through the museums there. I also did some shopping (stores, prices, and selection is better in Florence, to my surprise… but Florence never ceases to amaze me). I visited the same gelato place twice (but not on the same day). Yes, it was that good. It is the original gelato establishment in Rome… Giolitti… or as I call it, heaven on a cone.

I had canella the first day (tasty cinnamon), with whipped cream on top.The next day, I had two flavors on one cone: stracciatella (chocolate chip) and pistachio. The pistachio was so good, I am still pining for it.

They had so many flavors there, it was hard to choose. I wanted to try the torrone flavor, but I was reaching my caloric limit of gelato. By the way, I finally ate the torrone from Florence. It was the best I have ever had.

The highlight of the sightseeing was the amazing Vatican museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. There are apparently four miles of museum if you walk through the entire Vatican, culminating at the Sistine Chapel.

Raphael’s rooms were exquisite, and photos were allowed!

The Sistine Chapel was breathtaking, but the company that funded the restoration now owns the photo rights and strictly forbids photos that don’t make them any money.

After the chapel, I went through the secret door on the right to take advantage of the shortcut to St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peter’s had the most beautiful interior of any cathedral that I have seen. It literally took my breath away (as did the Sistine Chapel). I rubbed St. Peter’s foot and took a photo of a sweet German. I visited the crypt and greeted popes’ graves (including Pope John Paul II).

The mighty dome.

At that point, I was feeling all Catholic, so I stopped into the gift shop and bought a rosary and a bracelet. Grandma would be proud! The nuns that run the shop are as sweet as they come, and the prices are reasonable (8 Euro for my green marbleized rosary and 3 Euro for the bracelet). Buy from the nuns, and not the commercial, overpriced private vendors outside of the church.

I frequented many churches, with golden ceilings and spectacular altars. I also visited the National Museum, which has the largest collection of coins of any European museum. The ancient coins were particularly intriguing. Some were quite large, and some were incredibly reminiscent of today’s coins. I was able to hold an ancient Greek coin at the British Museum. The feel of antiquity in your hand was a great experience.

I paid a visit to the creepalicious Capuchin Crypt. It consists of rooms entirely decorated by the bones of over 4,000 monks. Skulls are arranged in arches, femurs are stacked, and vertebrae form rosettes on the ceiling. Even the hanging lamps were constructed of bones.  I didn’t know whether to appreciate its artistic contribution, or to feel disturbed about it. No pictures again at this site, but please visit this link to get a feel for what I saw: Capuchin Pics . Tell me your thoughts about it!

I had reservations at the Borghese Museum on the 400 year anniversary of Caravaggio’s death (the exact date!). To commemorate this event, many museums are highlighting his work. The Borghese had the best collection. His use of light against a dark background was beautiful in person. His talent shines through in his faces and body movement. I can understand why people during his time were in competition over owning an original piece of his. What an amazing talent.

One of my final historical experiences was wandering through the Basilica di San Clemente. It is one of the few sights where you can see the layers of Rome. Romans were efficient in using their space, and built new on top of old. Here, you start at the current level of the city and circle through the church. Then you go town one level and see the old church underneath the “new” church. The lowest level consists of parts of an ancient Roman village, including tiny homes and running spring water. Excavation is always going on in Rome. There is so much underneath the surface of Rome, it makes it difficult to run subway lines. That is why there are only two lines, and construction of a third is taking an eternity to complete. They have to stop every time they hit something.

To make life easier, I purchased a Roma pass. In addition to unlimited rides on the buses and metro, you get into your first two sights free (and get to skip the ticket line!). You also get decent discounts at any other museums/sites you visit after your first two. Rick and I give it two thumbs up.

On my final night, I joined some people from the hostel to venture out to Trastevere for dinner. Among us were Becky from New York, Felicity from Melbourne, and Misha and Marije from Amsterdam. We enjoyed a street-side dining experience at Taverna della Scala, complete with dessert.

Afterwards, we took a stroll along the Tiber and had sangria at a riverside bar. It was a great way to cap my experience in Rome.

After all that I have heard about pickpocketing and scams in Rome, I ran into no problems. I was being my usual cautious self, but I did not have people approach me like I did in France. I also did not blend in with the crowd as well here, as most people spoke to me in English right off the bat.

Let’s close with an overall ranking of street musicians:

(1)    Florence (the best classical guitar I have heard on the streets… people were even purchasing this guy’s CD from his guitar case.  He was that good.)

(2)    Rome (decent accordions, violin or clarinet accompaniment, and more traditional Italian songs, although I am Ave Maria-ed out)

(3)    Paris [most of the musicians were terrible, yet more demanding with the money cup. Also, most of the songs I heard were covers of American music… Rihanna (yes, by accordion) and Queen included.]

View from my mini balcony.

In medieval times, Siena was in competition with Florence for being the big city on campus. Florence eventually won out and expanded, while Siena… not so much.

There is not a whole lot to do in Siena but explore and people watch. The main attractions are the Duomo, City Hall and Tower (and the large piazza that is in front of it known as Il Campo), and a lot of climbing stairs and trekking up hills.

City hall and Tower.

I climbed the stairs that wind up the core of the Tower. They only let 25 people up the Tower at a time, because the spiral staircase is narrow (I banged my head twice) and it’s old. There is only one staircase, so you have to wait for the people to come back down the staircase before you can go up. There is an unmanned (at the bottom) red and green light system telling you when you can go. The crowds in line behaved themselves. It was surprisingly orderly.

View from the Tower.

I joined the crowd at Il Campo and sat on the bricks that travel down to City Hall.

You make instant international friends when you bring a ball.

I picnicked there for dinner, with a tasty roll and some porcini mushroom sauce courtesy of Conad. Cheap eats can be had at the grocery stores in Italy. You can get FRESH mozzarella.. you know, the good kind in water, for less than a Euro! I also bought 2 roma tomatoes for 18 cents total (that’s right, 9 cents a piece!). The next day, I made myself a sandwich with the tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and giardiniera. The giardiniera here is so much better and so much cheaper here. A jar runs 50 to 75 cents. The quality of the canned and jarred goods in Europe has been great. I had tuna in a tomato and legume sauce from Paris (Monoprix’s own brand, even), and it was great on some crostini. Eating cheaply doesn’t mean you have to eat poorly. It has worked out wonderfully.

Fruits I have never seen, plus yucky red ginger soda. I threw out the red stuff.

I did discover a store that is more ubiquitous than Claire’s in European cities. Strangely enough, every town that I have visited has one of these stores. Are you ready for it?

It’s Foot Locker.

Apparently, the need for sneakers surpasses even the need for crappy accessories. Every town also has an H&M, of which I feel a little guilty going in to shop. Why shop in a store that is so readily available in the States? It’s H&M. Good deals! Plus, the Euro stores carry things like nail polish that the US stores don’t  (bonus shopping tip for the day).

Every Wednesday, Siena has an open-air market. Think of it as a flea market with clothes, shoes, Tuscan stuff, and junk you don’t need. I finally hit a town on the day that they have a market (I have missed every other town’s scheduled market day except for Florence, because Florence’s market is every day!). I bought an old Nina Ricci nail polish in Jades that has thickened, but will soon be fabulous with some thinner once I get home. You will be my pet, my pretty.

The best part of Siena was the Duomo. Sitting on a hilltop, it commands quite a view. It is also superb on the inside (it is not de-statued like some other duomos).

Inside, the Duomo is spectacular (well, the outside is great, too!).

The views from the train trips through Tuscany have also been delightful. I would have taken pictures, but the graffiti etched on every window pane kind of prevents a good shot. Let’s just say that it is what you imagine it to be: red tiled-roofed villas atop golden rolling hills, with a border of tall Italian cypress trees, and orchards of olive trees and vineyards.

Siena was a restful town. I took a nap during siesta and enjoyed the views. I took a creative turn to disguise my guide book so that I don’t look so much like a tourist. I made a book cover out of my L’Erbolario bag.

Come on, that deserves some points! Siena was a nice break from the big cities, but I am ready to get back into it.