Europe: part two

ROME, ITALY. After that crazy morning getting from Spain to Italy, we finally arrived in Rome, after an INSANELY rough landing. My ears didn't pop until we left for Florence. andd…it was raining when we landed. Rained first day we got to Germany, rained the entire time we were in London, rained first day we went to every other city…just followed us everywhere.

The first night we were there we went and saw the Colosseum. We didn't get to see the inside because it was too late at night but we got to look at the outside and see the Arch of Constantine. It was breathtaking. I could hardly believe I was there…I was in Rome…and at the Colosseum. So much history had happened there, its unbelievable. and yet again…another scene played out in my head. I really can't help these…its just my imagination running away.

We got free pizza and $2 sangria, saw the Vatican and Sistine Chapel (which we waited in a 3 hour line for…and of course when we came out, there was no line), we went to the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, went to a flea market in the pouring rain for three hours, saw an arrest on the bus we were on, watched gypsies attack a man in a suit who tried to beat them off with a newspaper, and…went to Tivoli. When I wrote about Tivoli in my journal…I wrote 6 pages…front and back. but…I'll spare you.


Tivoli, Italy. Tivoli is an ancient city about an hour outside Rome. We took a bus there through pouring rain, but it ended up being perfect because when we got there it had just stopped and the air smelled so fresh. The main attraction in Tivoli is the 500 year old castle with huge gardens and well...really, there are few words to describe the waterfalls and fountains that were created there.
I can't write about everything I saw and loved in Tivoli without writing a huge book so I'll just write about the beauty that stood out to me the most.
The view we had of the gardens and water fountains from the castle was spectacular. There were very interesting rooms inside the castle. Outside the castle, there were 3 pools in rectangular form with fish swimming and one huge water fountain which sprayed up into the air and back down into one of the pools. The most amazing thing was this rather enclosed cave that had one single waterfall in it. It was almost too loud to stay and listen to but I was completely mesmerized watching it.
There was a field that seemed as though it was created right from my imagination. there was a small dirt road in the middle of it, a small wooden gate on the far side, and on the other side of the gate, another whole field. This field had a ruined building to the side of it that had been burned. And there was also what looked like a small cemetery next to it, but as I looked closer I saw that it was also just ruins.
There were long walkways with rows and rows of blossoming flowers on either side of it. As I walked by them, the overwhelming smell of the flower just filled my nose completely.
I love Tivoli...I highly recommend you going to this city if you're going to be anywhere in Europe. It will be soo worth it. ;)



FLORENCE, ITALY. We took the train from Rome to Florence...gorgeous countryside. I was tired and I fell asleep. I love that I had developed the talent of sleeping wherever whenever. ;)

We didn't take any public transportation here, except maybe a bus once. We walked *everywhere. Our hostel was kind of in the middle of nowhere too which didn't make it any easier. I loved our hostel. It was like a bed and breakfast like we would have here in the States. Very small and quaint. Dominic *whose name was actually Rolando but he was from the Dominican Republic and we dubbed him :P* was our lovely host who served us breakfast every morning and delicious snacks all throughout the day. All the food that he made was SOO good.
The night we arrived, there was a Asian girl staying in our room with us. She was pretty quiet but I remember her laughing while she was dancing with Dom and she looked absolutely gorgeous.
The second night we were there...San Francisco stayed in our room. He got HIS name from a hat that he had under his bed that we saw before we met him. :P He snored SO loud, I hardly slept that night. My bed was right beside his and I woke up so may times during the night, I got so pissed. I couldn't stand it. I HATE not being able to sleep. It was pretty bad. funny now, but not at all then.

We went shopping the day we got there. Since we were only there for two days, we wanted to see everything we could. I mostly just window shopped and ate gelato. :)
We went and visited David. and took pictures with him. lovely man.
We went to a Criminal Museum, ate the most delicious tortellini I have ever tasted, visited the Uffizi Museum which I found boring *one of the only things I found interesting that I remember was Albrecht Duhrer's work...it was fantastic*, and we ate gelato every day.

I realized in Florence that I wasn't friendly enough to people. I wish I had talked to random strangers more. Even talked to people I was with more. Just a thought. Next time...;)


VENICE, ITALY. First day in Venice...it rained. :P We were supposed to be shopping and it was pouring. :P I loved all the water though...it was gorgeous.

We went to St. Mark's Square. aboslutely beautiful. Steph and I fed millions and millions of pigeons. at first I didn't want to but Steph bought corn and then Micah was taking pictures and it looked fun. and so I did. and it was a blast. :)
It was beautiful. Just walking through it and all the way down to the water where the canals were...like something right from my imagination.

We ate the best Chinese food EVER, shopped and shopped, rode the crazy extremely crowded Vaporettas (water taxis) that I loved *I found that the Italian sailors that controlled part of the Vaporettas very interesting. most of them were guys but a few were girls...just seemed like a fascinating job*, and we took a gondola ride which was one of my favorite parts of Venice :)

Leaving Venice was also quite insane. We were to take a train from Venice to Trieste, which is in Northeast Italy, and then a bus from Trieste to Senj, Croatia...
Our train from Venice was 4 hours late. Italian and Spanish protestors were EVERYWHERE...supposedly protesting Bush being in Rome. No trains came through or left for four hours. However...we had fun setting up our ipod and speakers and dancing. :D
The police finally put the protestors on a train to Rome and then the trains began coming through again. yay. After a long train ride and even longer bus ride, we reached our final destination...


SENJ, CROATIA. Croatia is a beautiful country. Senj is surrounded by the Adriatic Sea...the water is the clearest and bluest water I have ever seen.

While is Senj, we went to the beach every day. It was very unlike the beaches I have ever been to in Texas or Florida. It was a pebble beach...no sand, which was rather nice. :) and the water was still. hardly waves at all. andd...all children under 12 were completely nude...and *some grownups too...:S
We stayed with Ines' grandparents, Bacha and Ante, whose house is about 300 steps away from the beach. ANd literal steps. we climbed down and up those 300 steps every single day. major workout for our legs...at least we had some sort of exercise since we were lying around being lazy all day. :P By the way, Bacha and Ante...spoke not a single word of English.

Every morning, Bacha (which means grandmother in Croatian) made us a delicious breakfast. my favorite thing was her homemade Marmelade jam. so so good. :) Then we would lather up with sunscreen while the construcion workers working on the house and Ante watched rather intently. lol. And we would go to the beach and not come home till dusk.
Sadly, I got the terrible skin rash that tourists usually get when they go to Croatian beaches. We had started taking calcium concentrate as soon as we arrived in Croatia but that didn't prevent the rash from ravishing my body. It makes your whole body itch like CRAZY. mine was mostly on my stomach and my back...so annoying because I ususally couldn't reach any itching on my back. andd...I couldn't go out into the sun because of it. I stayed under the shade or just didn't go to the beach.
And...that's pretty much what we did every day. Ate breakfast, met distant relatives of Ines', went to the beach, ate dinner, and went to sleep.


One night Ines did take us out to "downtown Senj" and showed us where she used to go when she was a little girl...told us a bit about the history of the old buildings. We drank screwdrivers, played Nertz, celebrated Ines' and Ante's birthdays, went to a pub and had tequila (soo good :P), slivovica, some rum drink and more tequila. :) I went out with Alex one night to see the piers which were absolutely beautiful...all you see is long row of huge rocks and water water water. I read Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller every day we were at the beach...incredible book.

Leaving Croatia. Took a 5hour bus to Zadar. Beth told me to go to St. Louis, MO, and see The Children's Museum. She and Ines say its one of the most awesome places to visit. So I was like hey I need to go up and visit Lynda and go see that. That would be funn. She also told me about a free outdoor theater called the Mumy. andd...about Mills Mall. So...those places I plan to see sometime. :)
I've decided that one thing I want to do in my lifetime is sail for a long period of time. Just buy a sailboat and sail the great seas. Not only would it be absolutely beautiful, it would be a great time to meditate. ;)

We had to spend a night in the Stanstead London airport. bought food, drank coffee, and "slept" on the floor. In the morning we flew from London to Germany where we met Thomas and Sabine again. so good to see familiar faces. We went to their house, took a nap, ate dinner and watched a movie. we stayed with our German family for another 2 or 3 days. Talked with them a bit about our travels, went to Sabine's English class that she teaches, and shopped one day all day.

The next day, we said our goodbyes and took our flight from Germany to Chicago. long flight. went through customs in Chicago, then took our flight to San Antonio. We got off the plane and were immediately hit with the humidity in the air. but it was SO good to be home.
My Andy was there to meet me and I was so happy to see him, I was shaking.
Went home and saw the family...very good to be home. I got into my bed and said AHHHH. my bed! lol. yay for being home!

ME

road trip

I just got back from my road trip with my boyfriend, Andy...I could write about all our experiences OR you could go to Vaguely Vagabonds and read about it yourself. :)
You can also go to flickr and see all our pictures. have fun!