Florence

6/29/2010

It's another travel day on the fast train! We made it to Florence within 2 hours and had an entire day to check the city out. Changing cities every few days can be quite challenging with finding your way around. Even if you have the city map it is hard to tell which direction you are heading. So in this case Rox and I got lost in which we kept walking, eating and shopping. On our adventure we came across a huge flea market. They had a lot of scarves, bags and belts. Dang! Things I already have. Rox and I stood line to see Michangelo's David at three different times. The first time we tried to stand in line was around 2:00 p.m. The sun was so hot, it seriously was miserable to stand there. We decided to go get lunch. I bet you are wanting to know where we decided to go... McDonalds. hahah, yup, cheap and fast. After we finished eating we went back to the Museums line. Again, it was not moving, too hot and no wind. MISERABLE! I got this awesome idea to go back to the hotel and book tickets online. Yea! SOLD OUT! Third time must be a charm because now it was 5:00 p.m. The sun was starting to relax and waiting in the line was not so bad. However, it only took us a hour and twenty minutes. But, before we entered we found out that they did not except Visa. Rox and I pulled together what Euros we had left and we were short 3 Euros. CRAP! No ATM or $ exchange. Thankfully we met an American family from New York who liked us enough to give us Euros. Soooo nice of them :) Rox and I felt aweful to take her money, but she kept insisting :)

Note to self: Hide Euros in pocket for emergency! lololol.

Venice Bound...

6/28/2010


Today started off with taking a water taxi to Lido Beach. We met two other Americans on the boat whom we hung out with on the Adriatic Sea. The beach was not impressive and had a lot of seaweed floating in the water and laying on the beach. However, the beach was actually sand here. Considering I was still somewhat sun burnt from the Nice sun I could only with stand laying out for a few hours. On our way back to the main part of Venice, we found a delicious restaurant. I was so famished and dehydrated from the sun I ate an entire 3 course meal. Not to mention about 20 minutes later I knocked out two Canoli’s, hahah!! That night was spent completing our souvenir shopping and taking pictures.

Travel Day to Venice

6/27/2010

Thank goodness our train ride went by fast to Venice. Venice was awesome!! Everyone who travels to Italy needs to see this city!! The old architecture, flowers, shops and canals were absolutely amazing. Rox and I did a lot of walking, but I found many souvinors and another pair of shoes!! Food choice of the day was pasta, which was just okay. Definitely determined to find a yummy pasta dish!!

Note to self: Bring bug spray.

Traveling to Milano...

6/26/2010

The morning we traveled from Nice to Milano. I was a little sad to be leaving Nice since not a lot of time was spent there. We our train arrived in Milano, the sight and smell was not so pleasant! The train station seriously smelled like urine, and what not a better way to prove the smell was by witnessing dogs urinating all over the city! Disgusting!! We checked into our hotel, which was clean and decent, however was extremely noisy during the night ☹ We also did not have internet connection and the people running the hotel told us to walk down the street and we would find good places to eat and shop. Yea! Not so true!! Supposedly we didn’t even come close to finding the awesome shopping district! Another sad face! However, I did find a cute pair of shoes!! I was pretty happy to only have spent one night in Milano because I was not impressed with that city.

Note to self: If ever going back to Milano find the shopping district away from aweful smells.

Sitting Comfortably on the Mediterranean!

6/25/2010

As we woke up today the sun was shining and it was beautiful out! We decided to rent cushioned lounge chairs and lay out on the Mediterranean beach all day! The scenery around us was absolutely stunning not to mention it felt utmost relaxful! We stayed there all day and later on we ate dinner on the beach. Dinner was delicious, but not as great as one of the lunches I had in Paris. We basically just hung out walking around, shopping and taking many pictures.

Paris to Nice= not so much fun!

6/24/2010

Today was by far the worst travel day. We left our Paris hotel at 4:30 a.m. to arrive at the airport at by 5:30 a.m. When we walked in we immediately went to go check in. We learned that the French pilots decided to go on strike. Our freaking flight was canceled. As two hours went by Rox and I tried to get on other fights and trains to get us to Nice. Nothing! Flights were expensive and conductors also decided to go on strike. However, within another hour and the help of Ryan, we found a 6 hour train that would take us from Paris to Nice. When it was time to board the train I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! It seriously was a free for all!! People pushing, cutting in front of each other and families having there children sneak and push you our of the way. There was a French Jewish family that I will never forget. They were yelling at people to get them out of their seats so they could sit down. Now let me remind you that this train merged with four other trains! For the first 30 minutes Rox and I had to sit on our suitcases in the middle of the isle way. NOT FUN! Due to the lack of space, people trampling over one another and people screaming in French, I seriously thought I was going to have a panic attack. I did stand up at scream get me off this thing!! Hahaha… Once we hit the first stop a few people in seats next to us got off the train. We immediately took their seats, but had new comers tell us to me. I looked at them and started to laugh! A man translated in French for us, “No! Due to the strike you sit where you can!” We also learned from this man that the conductors make about $6,000 per month, so it is not a big deal to them to go on strike and not get paid for one day. WEIRD! How their jobs are protected and nothing can be done fix this ciaos.

Note to self and others: Do not book country flights to Easy Jet. They are not so Easy!


We finally arrived in Nice around 7:00 p.m. Our entire day was completely shot and I wasn’t too happy about not being able to be on the beach all day! At least one good thing that happened was we checked in a great hotel that was right on the beach. Rox and I scoped the scene out, got dinner and hit the sack. BORING, Yes! But all energy was drained from the screwed up day we had.

Notre Dame, Pantheon, Louve, Arc de Triumph and Eiffel Tower

6/23/10

Today was a busy day for us in Paris, France. The first place to went to was the Arc de Triumph. It was positioned in the middle of a busy street. We eventually found an underground street that took us to the middle. It wasn't a windy day, but for some reason when we came up from underground it was. On one side of the Arc there were a ton of military police. I am still wondering why they were all stationed there. One of my favorite places in Paris was Notre Dame. It was amazing inside! It had so much detail inside and you could light candles for people who have passed on. I think it was more beautiful inside than St. Peter's Basilica. We visited the Pantheon on the outside, which was okay to see. However, the scenery around it was pretty. By the time we got to the Louve we were exhausted from sight seeing. We basically blew through the exhibits and pushed our way through to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. I expected the painting to be huge, which it was not. The rest of the time spent in the museum I decided to take many silly pictures. We ended the night going back to the Eiffel Tower. My new camera's battery dies out the night before and I had to take picture of it. I decided to cross and busy street by the water so I could get a great shot of it. When I was crossing back over I was not paying attention and a Nigerian saved me from a speeding car. By looking at his facial expression I could tell that I scared the crap out of him. His friends were calling him Superman!

Note to self: By another all day Metro pass. It saves you a ton of Euro's.