Un (TRÈS) petit tour de France: Lyon et Reims

If you remember back to this fateful Wednesday in April, it was the day that all the flights in Europe started because of that silly Icelandic volcano. Thankfully, I didn’t have any issues getting out of Rome, but I’m pretty sure flights started being canceled later that day. Yikes! However, made it into Lyon without any problems except for the fact that we were exhausted. When we got off our metro stop, we realized that we had a loooong uphill hike ahead of us to get to the hostel. With our packs full of two weeks of vacation, we struggled making it up. When we checked into the hostel, we were hit by yet another surprise—we needed to buy Hostelling International Membership Cards…ouch. Thankfully, Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France, so we were in the right place to eat our cares away—which is exactly what we did. A typical Lyonais bistro is called a “bouchon”. I still don’t really know why, because everywhere else that means traffic jam, but we’ll go with it. I had a delicious salad with walnuts and gruyere cheese, filet de colin (a white fish) with rice and tomato sauce, and topped it all off with some delicious mousse au chocolate. Yummm. Sadie let me sample bites of her meal, too. Dang, she can pick ‘em. Her French onion soup, steak, and gratin dauphinois was out of this world! Needless to say, we went away feeling very satisfied. We stopped by the Cathédrale Saint Jean as we wandered through Vieux Lyon.

It’s a really beautiful medieval church with amazing stained glass and the most incredible astrological clock I’ve seen. It still works! We wandered a bit through Vieux Lyon, which is seriously adorable, toward the river (Saône) so we could find the Fresque des Lyonais. Lyon is famous for its random immense wall murals. When I say there’s a really cool fresco on the side of some random building in Lyon, it doesn’t sound all that cool, but in reality it is. Promise. It’s painted to look like it’s part of the building it’s on, and there are all sorts of famous people from Lyon and French history hanging out on all of the balconies. When we were done admiring the fresco, we wandered over towards Place Terreaux, which is kind of like the Grand Place of Lyon.

There is a super cool fountain there that was designed by the same guy who did the Statue of Liberty. As we were sitting by the fountain, a random Tunisian guy started talking to me because he heard me speaking English with Sadie and he kept talking about how great America is and it was a little uncomfortable. I kept trying to say, “you know, America has problems, too! Life isn’t perfect for everyone!” and he wouldn’t have any of it. Traveling as an American is really awkward at times. It often makes me want to tell people I’m Canadian. They’re less polarizing. Anyway, once we got rid of that guy, we wandered up to the Croix Rousse district, which is supposed to be kind of artsy. It was pretty cool, but I wish we could have gone to the market there. The one thing that we did see was another one of the frescos—the Mur des Canauts (Silkweavers’ Wall). Lyon has a long textile history and it used to be famous for its silk. The fresco was really cool—it was more realistic than the other one because all of the people were from the same time period. By this point, it had started to drizzle a bit, so we headed back to our hostel to relax for a little bit before dinner. We took the furnicular up the hill this time, which was an experience all its own. It’s kind of like a cable car that only goes uphils and the car was all tiered. Quite interesting. We originally planned to go out for sushi and a drink, but by the time we were done with our sushi at Matsuki, we were too tired for a drink. We went back to the hostel and quietly got ready for bed because two of our roommates were already asleep. Around midnight, as Sadie and I were about to fall asleep, some Asian lady and her daughter burst into the room and turned all of the lights on. I happened to be standing at the sink taking my contacts out, because I had almost forgotten to, and I very quietly tried to tell them which beds were open and that they should turn off the lights because some of the girls were asleep, but there must have been some sort of communication lapse because they proceeded to turn on more lights and I listened to them noisily sort through their twelve plastic bags through my iPod as I tried to fall asleep—not exactly my idea of a lullaby.

The next morning, we got some breakfast at our hostel, then headed up to see the Basilique de Notre Dame, which looms on a hill over Lyon. The mosaics inside were pretty incredible, and the views from the hill couldn’t be beat!

When we were done there, we headed down the hill a bit to the ancient Théâtre Romain. It wasn’t the Coliseum, but it was still really cool. I read somewhere that in the summer, there are sometimes concerts there. How sweet is that? As we continued down the hill, we stopped at the hostel to get our bags, then went through the traboules of Vieux Lyon. The traboules are passages between buildings that were originally used for silk trade to protect the fabric in rainy weather, but they were also used in WWII by the resistance fighters. We only went through a couple of them, but apparently they go all through the city. While we were in Vieux Lyon, we stopped at a Petit Casino and a boulangerie to gather some supplies for our train lunch feast of baguette, salami, cheese, fruit, etc. mmmm.

We headed to the train station to find that our train was no longer listed. Cool. The SNCF decided to strike during two of the busiest weeks of the year, so the station was MADNESS. We were supposed to take a TER, but we asked at information, and the lady told us to just get on the TGV an hour and a half later. Okay? So instead of having a train feast, we ended up with a train station feast. When we finally got on the train, it was crazy. There was no room because all the people who were supposed to take the TER were on the TGV without reserved places, so I sat on the floor of the train…next to the bathroom…yum. We changed trains in Dijon and had originally planned visiting the city for a little bit, but we were pretty worn out, so that was a no go. Sadie had a cold, too, and was feeling pretty gross at this point. When we finally got to Reims, we went straight to our hostel, which was SO nice! I couldn’t believe how awesome it was for 12 Euro per night! We had a private room with sink and shower, so we lounged for a bit before going out around 10 to pick up a pizza for dinner. Lazy night, but it was necessary at this point in our trip.

The next morning, we headed out towards the champagne caves to do a tour of the Pommery. Our tour was pretty awesome! We went all through the caves, learned about how champagne is made, found out what makes certain types of champagne different, and got to taste some at the end of our tour.

After the tour, we headed over to the Basilique St. Rémi, which is where St. Rémi, the bishop who baptized Clovis (the first king of France), is entombed. Basically, we were having a French History geek field day. Then, we went back towards town to grab a sandwich for lunch and see the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Reims. I know that this means nothing to anyone who doesn’t know much about French History, so I’ll keep it brief.

This is the cathedral where all of the coronations of the kings of France took place because it’s also where Clovis was baptized. For the religious, Joan of Arc stood beside Charles V in this cathedral as he re-took the French throne after the Hundred Years War. We still had a lot of time to kill after we saw the church, so we went through the Beaux-Arts museum. I’m actually really glad we did, because it’s a really good museum. It’s kind of funny, because the main reason I wanted to go was to see the painting The Death of Marat, but after we went through the whole museum we found out that it was on loan to another museum. Shucks! But it was all good because they had a ton of really awesome impressionist works, which is my favorite! Once we were done with the museum, it was time to make our way to the train station (which we actually had to go WAY out of Reims to get to…debocle), and go home to Lille! It was a really good trip, and I’m really glad we got to see some more of France. Lyon is now my favorite city in France, but I think Reims was especially important to visit because of the rich history there, which we should appreciate as French students. Very enjoyable trip, but it’s good to be stationary back in Lille! :-)

See more pictures on mobileme.

Italia Parte Due: Firenze e Roma!

Getting to Florence was a little hectic. We had to get a train from Corniglia to La Spezzia, where our train to Florence left from, but our train to La Spezzia was late…go figure. We were REALLY pushing it close on time. I think we were supposed to have like five minutes before our Florence train was scheduled to leave, but we really go into La Spezzia with about two minutes. We BOOKED it to our train, praying it hadn’t left yet! Thankfully, trains in Italy do not run on time, so we had no issue making our train to Florence, which was also late. In fact, the train hadn’t even arrived at the station by the time it was supposed to have left. Whew! Close call. When we got on our train, I pulled out my book to do a little reading. The woman sitting next to me was apparently very interested in The Rock Warrior’s Way, because as soon as I pulled it out, she did a double take and practically crawled into my chair with me to read it. I think she was more interested in the fact that I spoke English, because she proceeded to try to have a conversation with me—half of which I could NOT understand.

It was strange because she was on her phone a lot and speaking a mix of Italian, English, and French. Confused much? Anyway, we finally made it to Florence and Sebastiano, another of Sadie’s mom’s friends, picked us up at the station to take us to his house in Ugnano, just outside of Florence. The weather was completely amazing and the views of the surrounding hills were perfect! We met Sebastiano’s wife Lucia, and one year old son Valerio. We enjoyed an amazing lunch with all of them, and had fun playing with Valerio. He is so completely adorable! After lunch, we went into Florence to meet Mark on the Ponte Vecchio, which crosses the Arno River. It’s a medieval bridge that is home to dozens of jewelry shops. We stopped for some amazing gelato, then headed to the Uffizi to try to get tickets for the next day, but we missed the closing by only a few minutes. We took a brief walk through the Piazza della Signoria, where the city hall and a bunch of copies of famous statues are, before going up to the Piazza Michelangelo, which has amazing views of Florence. We watched most of the sunset, then headed back down for dinner. Mark’s hostel had recommended a place called Kitsch, that had a tapas buffet and drink special. For a buffet, it was surprisingly delicious. I think those deals are the best bang for your buck in Florence. We went back to Sebastiano’s after dinner to catch some Z’s because we were exhausted!

The next day, we had to wake up early to go to the Uffizi, which is like the Louvre of Italy. Mark was SO kind and waited in line for us, as we were late getting into Florence. Sadie and I basically skipped the hour and a half long line and walked right in. We didn’t have much time, so Sadie and I were pretty much just trying to see the highlights. I honestly don’t remember much, but I do remember my two favorite paintings: Birth of Venus and Primavera, both Botticelli. I also really liked the unfinished DaVinci painting. It’s kind of amazing that that guy was so good that he got his rough draft put in one of the best art museums in the world. I kind of was getting overloaded by art at this point—especially since Classical and Renaissance art is not high on my list of favorite things ever. After the Uffizi, we went back to Ugnano to have lunch with Sebastiano and his family. We had some issues with the bus…which never seemed to come when we wanted it to, but we made it after Sebastiano picked us up from the stop. Our lunch was a delicious artichoke risotto. Sebastiano was telling us that they try to eat locally, so the artichokes were from their garden, and the wine we had was from a farmer that Lucia’s dad is friends with. Knowing that your food is local makes lunch that much more delicious! We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and playing with Valerio, before heading back to Florence to meet Mark for dinner. We went to another buffet, called La Pirata. The food at this one was seriously delicious. I had some of the most amazing porchetta I had ever had. Man I missed that stuff!! After dinner, we said goodbye to Mark (for a couple days) and went back to Ugnano, where we talked with Sebastiano for a while and then went to bed.

On Monday, we were supposed to go to Pisa, but we decided to skip it to see more of Florence. We got to sleep in a bit, then were about to head to the bus stop, but Lucia’s mom intercepted us to give us breakfast. We had some breakfast cookies, then she offered us coffee. I, of course, accepted. Then, she told us she was going downstairs to check on Valerio and that if the coffee finished, I should turn the burner off; however, it was more difficult than it sounds because we were trying to communicate through my broken Italian and her broken English. We figured it out eventually, though. Apparently, though, she was very confused after we left because the moka pot was still on the stove, but empty—I had taken the coffee and then left it on a different burner to cool off—and she was worried that she had forgotten to turn it on and was upset that she hadn’t made coffee for us! It was pretty funny once everyone figured out what was going on. Anyway, Sadie and I first went to Santa Croce, which is a church that contains the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machivelli, and Rossini. Wow! It’s pretty humbling to be hanging around the tombs of some of the most important people in history. After Santa Croce, we went to Il Duomo—the main sight of Florence. The basilica, which was designed by Brunelleschi, was built without any supports, which is amazing considering the size of the dome. We went up to the cupola, which was SUPER worth it. The views of Tuscany were absolutely spectacular! When we came back down, we went inside, which was not quite as thrilling. The dome is definitely the highlight of the basilica. We also went to the Baptistery next door, where Dante was baptized. There was some kind of odd art project going on because students were spread over half the floor tracing the mosaics on the floor.

We just sat inside and took in the amazing ceiling mosaics. When we came out, we were starving because we hadn’t eaten anything since our gelato snack while waiting in line for the cupola. We found a pretty cheap pizza place, and went in. We were a little wary because the place was absolutely deserted, but we figured out why when we looked at the time…it was 3:30. After lunch, we walked to the Palazzo Pitti, where we spent basically all of our time wandering around the Boboli gardens. They were enormous and gorgeous, so it was kind of a relaxing way to end our day. We went back home for some Tuscan Barbeque…wow. I’ve never had anything like it. We had salad, bread, sausages, and steaks that were just seared on the outside. Delicious food and great company! When you’re traveling, I think the best place to get authentic regional food is at someone’s house. It was a perfect way to end our three days in Florence!

With that, we headed down to Rome the next morning. Our train took a bit longer than expected—four hours, so we didn’t have much time to do stuff. We got to our hostel, where we dropped off our bags and met up with Sadie’s friend, Sarah. First stop of the afternoon: the Coliseum and Roman Forum. Okay, so when we went to Morocco, I thought Volubilis was cool. This was Volubilis on STEROIDS! So amazing! The Coliseum was first, and I thought it was super interesting. I had no idea that it was used as a public forum for capital punishment. I guess it has a pretty gruesome history. It was a little weird walking through it, because I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was walking through a really old baseball stadium. After the Coliseum, we went up to Palatine Hill, where Romulus killed Remus, and where Caesar Augustus’ former house was located. When we got through the gardens and looked out over the Roman Forum, I’m pretty sure all of our jaws dropped. Walking around, you could picture the Ancient Romans walking around, going in and out of all of the buildings. It’s amazing that everything is so well preserved! I also randomly met a guy there who had graduated from Brookfield East. Small world, hey? When we left the Roman Forum and finally tracked down Lukas and Mark, we decided to get some gelato before dinner. I had some really delicious chocolate with orange flavor variety. I wish I had written down more of the flavors I sampled, because I like to try new ones and I ate a LOT of gelato ( 1+ times per day), but my samplings have melted together in my mind into one big delicious mess. We went to find some dinner after our gelato, where I had bucatini all'amatriciana (a traditional roman pasta made with tomato, bacon, and onion), and sampled my first limoncello. When I was in Italy last, I was too afraid to try it. It’s a digestivo—an after dinner drink that is supposed to cap off the meal and aid in digestion—that is made with lemon flavored liquor. It was actually really good! Not too sweet, not too sour, and not to liquor-y. We went back to our hostel after dinner, and I crashed. I was exhausted from our long day of travel and tourism!

On our last day in Italy, we packed in a lot of Roman sightseeing—what Lukas would call “Nazi Tourism”. This was our Vatican day, so we first when to St. Peter’s Square. The basilica was temporarily closed, because the Pope was scheduled to appear in St. Peter’s Square to offer a blessing, which he does every Wednesday. Lukas and I weren’t too keen on waiting around forever to see the Pope, so we decided to head over to the Musei Vaticani to beat the lines there. It was nice to take it pretty leisurely. First, we went through the Egyptian rooms, which were pretty awesome. There was one fully intact mummy that was quite amazing to see. Next, we went through a bunch of rooms of Roman statues. For about half an hour it was really interesting. Then I lost focus and it just became a major overdose. Lukas and I spent a while just waiting for the others to get there, and when they finally did, we had to go back though everything again with them. I’m glad they got to see everything, but I was getting really tired, hungry, and crabby. By this point, all I wanted was to see the Sistine Chapel and get out of there! Unfortunately, I really wasn’t prepared for how big the museum is, and we had to walk though literally everything to get to the chapel. It really wasn’t I was expecting at all. It’s very large for a chapel and there is really nothing to it besides the Michelangelo paintings. Sadie told me something really interesting though—Michelangelo worked from back to front in his work, but the story of Genesis works from front to back. Also, the famous Creation of Adam is no larger than any other panel and is not even in the center. It kind of makes you wonder why that one is the famous one? I guess and art historian could probably tell me why, but it’s something interesting to ponder. We tried to get out of there after the Sistine Chapel, but once again, easier said than done. Still took FOREVER. Once we reached open air, I think we were all hungry and a little edgy. We got pasta and were ready to go back to hit St. Peter’s Basilica. Even though I had seen it before, it was still incredible. I don’t know what it is, but going in that place makes you feel different. I got to enjoy it more because I spent more time just walking around instead of racing up to the cupola.

We also went down to the crypt, which was insane. Not only did we see what is supposedly Peter’s tomb, which is what the Vatican is built over, but Pope John Paul II’s tomb. That really hit home because I remember his death so clearly—he wasn’t just another dead guy. It was the first time I’ve seen the tomb of someone famous and felt like they were a real person—that might sound weird, but it’s true. After we were done at the Vatican, we ran around to Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps. We stopped near the Pantheon for a cappuccino at a place Lukas and Mark recommended—best cup of coffee I’ve had in Europe. Once we met back up with the boys at the Spanish Steps, we went up to Piazza Bonaparte I for a pretty sweet view of Rome at night. We met up with some of Lukas’s IESEG friends for dinner. I was getting really confused at first because I had been speaking in English all day, was trying to order in Italian, and was now conversing in French. My brain cannot handle three languages at once! It was really fun though and Lukas’s friends were very nice. Actually, Stephanie is friends with Noémie, who lives in Global Village back at MU. Once again…small world, hey? After we all got dinner together, we went to see the Trevi Fountain, which was so cool! I was glad I got to see all of the big things I missed on my first time in Rome. We spent quite a while hanging out there, and I was once again exhausted by the time I got back to the hostel. Only difference was that this time, I had to catch an early bus to the airport in the morning! General thoughts on my Italy trip: I LOVE Italy! I could go back a million and three times and never be tired of it. What a beautiful country with friendly people and ridiculous amounts of history and art to see! Amazing. Can’t wait to go back!

If you didn't see them already, more photos here.

Buongiorno Italia! Venizia e Cinque Terre

As you saw in my last post, Sadie and I caught 3:30 AM shuttle to the airport in Budapest for our flight to Venice. Needless to say, we were pretty tired. From the shuttle, to waiting around in the airport, the plane and the bus to Venice, we tried to catch some Z’s, but it was difficult. By the time we arrived in the “city center” we were completely disoriented and dazed. Finding our hostel was even more fun in this confused state. If you have been to Venice, then you know that it is a labyrinth. The roads all curve in crazy directions, you’re pretty lucky to find clearly marked streets, and every other turn you take dead ends into a piazza or a canal. After what felt like forever, we finally made it to A Venice Museum, where all we wanted to do was take a nap, but unfortunately our room wasn’t ready. We dropped off our bags and went out to grab a bite to eat and start sightseeing. We had a delicious panino for lunch to sustain ourselves, then went to see some churches. First stop: Frari.

This church is home to some amazing Titian paintings, but as I don’t really have an affinity towards classical art, I was more drawn to the amazing choir stalls. They were in beautiful dark handcarved wood. Next, we visited Titian’s rival’s (Tintoretto) Scuola Grande di San Rocco. There are two halls—upper and lower—the first of which is not super thrilling, but when we came up the stairs we realized why this place was worth it—an amazing hall that is literally 360o of art. The carved wood stalls and the mosaic marble floors both take a backseat to the twenty or thirty overhead Tintoretto paintings. Probably one of the most unanticipated amazing things I’ve ever seen. We also stopped by the church next door to see a few more paintings, then headed back to our hostel for a short siesta. We needed it. When we were somewhat revived, we went to the Piazzale Roma to catch a vaporetto, or water bus, for our self-guided Gran Canal tour. With gondolas at around 80 Euro a pop, this is how you do Venice on a student budget.

We passed by many of the main sights of Venice—dozens of palazzi (palaces), the Ponte di Rialto, the Ponte dell’Academia and the Ponte Calatrava. Milwaukeeans should recognize this name—he designed the new wing of the art museum! Very cool to see his work elsewhere in the world. Our first views of the Gran Canal were pretty amazing and seemed to make the whole stress and exhaustion of the morning worth it. We ended up Piazza San Marco—ciao touristi! If you’ve seen someone’s pictures from Venice, chances are they were from this piazza. I’ve never seen people so excited to see pigeons! Anyway, we went into the Basilica San Marco, which was pretty amazing. The whole massive ceiling is in very intricate golden mosaic. We went upstairs and got to look out over Piazza San Marco, which was very cool and me feeling all of the romance that Venice offers.

We headed across the piazza to the Museo Correr, by which point the fatigue was definitely setting in. The museum is in an old palace, which was kind of cool, but the collections were less than thrilling. Sadie and I zipped through it. We got out of there in time to catch some of the sunset at the Ponte di Rialto—very touristy, but so beautiful! Although, I’m pretty sure a sunset in Venice would be beautiful from anywhere. We left to find a restaurant for dinner, having eaten lunch so early. Lonely Planet led us to a really delicious pizzeria—how I missed Italian food! We headed back to our hostel early to try to catch up on sleep. Unfortunately, we returned to a rave going on next to our room, and girls talking at full volume as we lay in our beds in pajamas. Right. Around midnight, I was woken up by my bunkmate to tell me I was snoring…sorry? I’ll try to sleep more quietly next time as to not interrupt your precious slumber.

The next morning didn’t win any points for our hostel, either. The staff never told us when breakfast ended, so when we came in an hour and fifteen minutes after it started, we were pretty shocked to find the food completely gone. Only one thing to do in that case: eat gelato for breakfast. So we did. Next stop after gelato: Palazzo Ducale back at Piazza San Marco. Basically, it was enormous and pretty exhausting. I really thought it would go on forever! The prisons were probably the coolest part because they are under the canal. We grabbed some lunch—spaghetti and clams for me—before going over to Teatro la Fenice, the birthplace of Venetian opera! This was one of my highlights of Venice. It’s a completely amazing theater, and even if it has been rebuilt (two or three different fires), it’s really cool to know that some of the first operas were played there.

After our visit, we wandered along the zatarre (kind of like a boardwalk, but marble?) towards la Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute—a Venetian landmark that is impossible to miss. We continued our walk towards a live jazz band that someone from our hostel told us about. Apparently free live music in Venice is pretty unheard of, so we go lucky. As we dangled our feet over the canal, watching the sunset, sipping bellini and listening to jazz, I had one of those my-life-is-not-real-right-now moments. Sometimes life just seems bigger than you and you feel really privileged to be here. It was one of those moments. We enjoyed another leisurely pizza dinner, then headed to the train station for our “night” train to Venice. Ha. This was one of those times when you can’t believe your life because it is just THAT crazy. We were supposed to wait for about an hour at the train station, so we headed into the waiting room…which had a really creepy guy in it that kept staring at us…and it literally smelled like poop. I should have guessed then that I was in for a long night. Thankfully, our train got there early, so we could get on and start sleeping. At 1:15 AM, we arrived in Bologna, where we had to wait until 3:30 or so for our train to Parma. Originally, I thought chilling at the train station would be no big deal, but what I didn’t realize was that all the hobos sleep at the train station. I mean, a quite place, clean floor, and roof over your head…what’s not to like? I don’t think I’ve ever felt that alert at that time in the night. After what seemed like forever, we finally got on our Parma train—where we didn’t have real seats. Makes sleeping a bit difficult, but I think we got into Parma around 5, then had to wait for our train to La Spezzia. We were freezing, but we couldn’t go in the waiting room, because it was also full of hobos. Great. Thankfully, our train came in early, so we got to sit on the train for about an hour before it actually left the station, and we had real seats! It’s amazing how the little things in life can make all the difference.

Honestly, I have no idea what time we got to La Spezzia, but I know we had to buy our Cinque Terre park passes and then wait an hour for the train to Corniglia. (Cinque Terre, meaning five lands, is a national park that groups five small towns.) We finally made it to our hostel around 10, so we checked in our stuff, but we couldn’t stay there because we arrived at the beginning of lockout. So, as in Venice, that meant it was time to go exploring! I had to stop for some espresso first, so we went to…well, the one of the only cafes in town. After getting some caffeine, we checked out the Corniglia viewpoints. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many backpackers in my whole life. A whole different breed of more-hardcore-than-thou tourists that reminded me of climbers—except that a lot of them were older. Anyway, the views were pretty amazing, but paled in comparison to our next stop. We took the train over to Vernazza, where we took everything in by lazing in the sun and enjoying a pasta lunch in the main piazza. I got pesto (delicious!), which is apparently a regional specialty. Mmmm. We wanted to head back to our hostel when it reopened around 3, but we accidentally took the train in the wrong direction, so we ended up in Monterosso and had to wait an hour for the next train back to Corniglia. We chilled on the beach and even dipped our feet in the water! The water was pretty freezing, but the fact that it was actually warm enough to take our shoes off and dip our feet in was pretty exciting!

When we got back to Corniglia, we rested and took showers. I really wanted to back to one of the Corniglia viewpoints to watch the sunset, so I got ready to go after my shower and headed over there. Sadie was pretty tired, so she took a little bit longer waking up from her nap and met me later. The sunset, which I BARELY caught, was completely worth it—one of the best I’ve seen. Once Sadie caught up with me, we went on a mission to find some dinner. We were staying in a very small, sleepy town, so our options were limited to like…one. No matter though, I ordered cozzi ripini, or stuffed mussels, which were incredible! One of the best things I’ve eaten, hands down. After dinner we went back to our hostel for a peaceful night of sleep, which was all the more appreciated after the previous few nights.

Our next morning in Cinque Terre, we had our sights set high on taking the costal trail to the next town over, Manarola, as well as the town after that, Riomaggiore. Before we set out, I grabbed a pastry and an espresso from the same café in Corniglia—gotta love routine. The trail was completely amazing, as evidenced in my pictures. Before we walked into Manarola we took a “dangerous” trail down to the water to get some sweet views. Frankly, stairs are not a part of my idea of “dangerous.”

Once we got to Manarola, we chilled on some rocks in the marina for a bit just lounging in the sun, then decided to get some lunch. We had delicious bruschetta from a restaurant that had New Glarus stickers on the door. Wisco represent! After lunch, we made our way over to Riomaggiore on the famous Via dell’Amore. I have to admit, it was so sickeningly adorable that it was vomit worthy. There were HUNDREDS of locks on the fences all along it. I’m not really sure where this tradition comes from, but I got the feeling that it has something to do with locking your love up? We saw quite a few locks on the bridges of Venice, too. When we finally got to Riomaggiore, we walked around a little bit and then went to the beach to hang out and catch some rays. Personally, I didn’t find Riomaggiore to be as nice as a lot of the other towns we went to because of its size, but it was pretty nonetheless.

We decided to head back to Vernazza to watch the sunset and get some dinner. On our way back towards Vernazza, Sadie and I both realize that we really needed to use the bathroom, but we were really struggling to find a bathroom that was not a hole in the ground. We decided to go up to the castle in Vernazza to see if there was a bathroom…sure enough, there was, but only for castle visitors. We sucked it up and paid our three euro to primarily use the bathroom and secondarily see the castle. Sadie took the key and walked in…bummer…another hole, but we sucked it up and used it anyway. The castle was actually really worth it. We went up the tower and got great views of the town. We came back down and sat on the rocks in the marina to enjoy the sunset. Afterwards, we headed to a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant in Vernazza for dinner. The special was seafood spaghetti for two—fortunately Sadie and I were both thinking the same thing and decided to get it, because it was amazing! Perfectly fresh pasta, seafood right out of the water, and local La Spezzia red wine to accompany it all. Yum! When we tried to head back to Corniglia, we had some problems with the train. They were running late, so had some time to kill. We decided to hit up a nearby bar for cocktails, but as we finished our drinks, it was pretty apparent that it was closing.

We got out of there and went back to check on the trains. Apparently the train we thought was late got in earlier than expected, because we missed it. Oops. We had more time to kill before the next train, so we went to a nearby playground to channel our inner children. I think we both realized that we can no longer handle those merry-go-round things, but it was pretty hilarious. We FINALLY got a train back to Corniglia, but had to walk into town (about 10-15 min up the hill from the train station). Thankfully we were near a couple of other people, so we weren’t totally alone because it was kind of creepy. Major plus was the stars, though. Such a clear night and completely dark! I was pretty sad to leave Cinque Terre the next day, but I know I will be back. Favorite place I’ve ever been!

Photos on mobileme.

Bratislava and Budapest

Well, 3 planes, 13 trains, and 15 cities later, I have returned from my two week euro trip. This spring break, I got to tick off two new countries: Slovenia and Hungary. My first travel day was completely exhausting.

Sadie and I caught a train to Charleroi airport in Belgium at 7:30 in the morning, and didn't get to Budapest until 6:30 that night. Whew! I don't have much to say about our brief stay in Bratislava, but Sadie and I just went out shooting pictures for about an hour before our train to Budapest, so you can look through them on my mobileme. When we got off the train, we were greeted by Sadie's mom's friend, Annamaria. She was unbelievably welcoming, although she had never met either of us! She gave us much needed hugs after our long day and took us to her apartment in Budapest. She prepared a whole meal for us, complete with the famous sweet white Hungarian wine, Tokaj; and hab (meringue) cake for dessert. Yum! We had a really nice time getting to know each other on our first night in Budapest, but shortly after dinner, Sadie and I passed out from our long day of travel.

On our first day in Budapest, Annamaria had laid out a whole plan for us. She is studying to become a tour guide, so she is very knowledge about the cite(s) (Budapest is actually made up of three old cities--Buda, Pest, and Obuda), and the best places to visit. We went to the oldest part of the city, Castile Hill, to see the old fortress, the beautiful royal palace, Matthias Church (which we didn't go inside), and walk around the Fisherman's Bastion, which provided amazing views of the city and the Danube. Sadie and I were awed by the size and the beauty of Budapest. I had no idea Eastern Europe was so unbelievably gorgeous! It's quite different because it's much more industrialized/commercialized than a lot of cities in Western Europe, but completely beautiful. At Castle Hill, there was also an old part of the fortress covered in scars of bombs from the era of Turkish rule. Pretty crazy. After Castle Hill, we wandered down to Andrássy út, the largest boulevard in Budapest.

We went by the Terror Museum, which is a memorial to those who were tortured and/or killed during the communist/fascist regime. While it would have been really enlightening to go inside, I think it would also have been very depressing. I also kind of got the feeling Annamaria wasn't really keen on going on. Instead, we got some dobostorta, a popular Hungarian cake, at Lukács--a beautiful upscale café. We also made a stop at the opera house, which was very cool. Hungary has an incredible music tradition, having given us composers like Franz Liszt and Béla Bartók. Later, we headed down towards St. Stephen's Basilica, which is a pretty incredible basilica because of its beauty.

Also, in the chapel, there is a case that holds the right hand of St. Stephen, who was the first king of Hungary. By this point, it was getting close to dusk, so we walked across the Liberty Bridge (which was my favorite bridge) towards the Liberty Statue. On our way up, we stopped in this church that is literally in a cave. The rock inside is all covered in concrete (which is sad), but the church is built into the side of a mountain. How cool is that? There is actually a pretty good deal of rock in Budapest (odd for a city). I even saw a couple boulderers out and about! We hiked up the side of the hill to the Liberty Statue and the Citadella. What a perfect place to see the sun go down on an amazing city!

The next day was Easter, which was one of my highlights of my entire trip. Annamaria took us to her parents house for Easter where we enjoyed one of the most intense feasts of my life. Her parents greeted us like we were their own children, with open arms and and big smiles. We sat down for a delicious lunch of chicken soup, stuffed cabbage (so amazing!), breaded chicken, potatoes, salad, and pastry. I opted for the cherry pastry of the three different kinds. I loved it, so Annamaria's mom insisted that I try the turo kind, which is kind of like a Hungarian custard. Hard to describe, but I split one with Sadie. By this point, I literally felt like I was going to explode, so I had to refuse when she told me to try the apple kind, too. Then, she asked me if she could bring out the next course. That's right. The next course. So, we had an amazing chocolate cake, after which my stomach actually blew up. Just kidding. We retreated to the living room for juice and more cracker type things.

I don't think I've ever been so full in my life. After lunch, Annamaria's dad took us to Eger--a beautiful town not far from Annamaria's village. We walked around Dobó Square, Eger Castle, and the basilica. It's such a picturesque little town! It was pretty funny--at the castle there was something going on that reminded me of Civil War days in Brookfield, where everyone dresses up in period costume. Kind of odd to see people walking around in tights with arrows slung over their shoulder. After enjoying our walk around Eger, we a little bit outside the town to the wine caves, where we sampled Bull's Blood--one of the more famous Hungarian wines.

It wasn't my favorite wine ever, but it was good. The experience was more interesting than the wine itself. Being in a cave with a Hungarian woman decanting the wine out of....well, you'll have to see my pictures because I just do NOT know how to describe it. We went back to Annamaria's parents house, where her mom force fed us ham and bread out of the kindness of her heart. I didn't think I would ever eat again. We got on the train back to Budapest where I took a small coma.

On our last day in Budapest, we had a bit of a late start. It was by this day that I realized that Hungarians frequently eat sandwiches for breakfast. We're taking salami...for breakfast.

I was kind of expecting this because I read something about southern Europe eating sweeter things in the morning and northern Europe eating more savory foods. Interesting to get used to as I ate my ham sandwich for breakfast. Because we slept in, we didn't see too much. It was also raining, so that was a bit of a bummer. Our first stop was Heros' Square, which is home to a monument honoring the founders of Hungary. It's massive and takes over the whole end of Andrássy út. It's definitely impossible to miss. After walking around the square, we went to Vajdahunyad Castle--a copy of a castle in Romania. Very pretty! Inside it is a Magyar History Museum. Side note: Hungary is not anything like "Hungary" in Hungarian. It's actually "Magyarország." Right.

Therefore "hungarian" is "magyar." Anyway, the museum was not super thrilling, but the building was beautiful. Then we walked past Parliament before doing some souvenir shopping and eating some kurtokalacs--a Hungarian pastry that is thin dough cooked on a spit over coals and covered with sugar. Mmmm. The weather was pretty miserable, so we retreated back to Annamaria's for leftover stuffed cabbage and a LOT of sweets that her mom packed up for us. So delicious! We spent the rest of the evening packing up and trying to get to bed semi-early so we could get up for a 3:30 AM airport shuttle...whew!!

More pictures on mobileme.

L'anniversaire de Mandi à Paris

For Mandi's 21st birthday, Sadie,  Emily, and I took her to Paris for her first visit ever! Sadie and I met Emily and Mandi at Notre Dame in the oldest part of the city. The cathedral was beautiful, as always, but we decided to go up the bell tower, which I had never done before. SO WORTH IT!

The views were probably the best I've seen in all of Paris and I've seen quite a few (top of Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacré Coeur hill, etc.). Completely gorgeous! There was also a smattering of quotes from Victor Hugo's Cathédrale de Notre Dame (more commonly known to anglophones as The Hunchback of Notre Dame), which conjured images of the Disney movie in my mind. I felt like Quasimodo as climbed the ladder up to the tower and stood next to a larger-than-life sized bell. Very cool! We were pretty hungry, so we stopped for kebabs and leisurely ate them while sitting next to the Hôtel de Ville. Next stop was the Eiffel Tower, for posterity's sake.

After walking through the Champs de Mars, we hiked up to the Trocadero for a more complete view and hung out there for a while. We did the obligatory walk down the Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe, and then headed to the Latin Quarter for dinner. By this point, it started pouring. Literally. I haven't seen rain like that in a loooong time! We ran into the first decent looking restaurant we could find. We had planned to stop by a bar in the Latin Quarter after dinner, but our long day and the rain persuaded us otherwise. We ended up buying some champagne and cookies to while celebrating in our luxury accommodations of Hotel Luna. And by luxury, I mean pretty freaking modest. We had a good time just being ridiculous together.

The next morning, our first venture was to Saint-Chappelle, which was built by Louis IX, I believe. (Perhaps I did learn something in l'Histoire de la France?) Holy wow. I have never seen stained glass like that in my life. If you are ever in Paris, this is a DO NOT MISS church! Definitely one of the more incredible churches I have ever been in period.

We then walked across the Pont Neuf (the oldest bridge in Paris) to the Louvre just to see the building and stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries. Before we went home, we had a couple more stops to make: Sacré Coeur, Montmartre (where we ate lunch) and the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge was a new stop for me, and I'm glad we saw it. It's one of those silly touristy things that are just hard to miss. We got a coffee across the street and chatted for a while, then headed back home to Lille.

Although I didn't see a lot of new things in Paris, it was really fun to watch someone experience for the first time. I also had kind of forgotten how much I really do love Paris. I can sit here and complain about how touristy it is, but the fact is, there's just something about the city that draws people to it. I can't explain it, but Paris really is a little magical. Photos on mobileme.