Norwich: A Cutie!

May I first say how absolutely wonderfully British my flatmates are! Case in point: we have three tea pots sitting on our stove at all times for those emergency tea parties! They say wonderfully British things like: "Now he's a right bloke!" and "I tripped over my trousers on the way to the Uni!" I find myself smiling at them all the time cause they are so darn cute. Tonight we ordered take-away Chinese and had a movie night, and they were all awed and excited by fortune cookies! My roommate Rob who had never had one before ate the fortune without knowing. It's also funny watching shows like Family Guy with them because they don't necessarily get all the jokes and clips that pertain to American pop culture... I'll laugh about something, and then have to explain it a moment later.

Today I walked into Norwich and took a walking tour with a bunch of international students. I met a friend Jonas from Germany and met up with a pre-existing friend Claudia from Switzerland. Although they could have spoken German together, they declared profusely that they didn't want to, so we spoke English. That is, after all, what they are here to do. The tour started at the Cathedral and wound through some 16th Century Elizabethan buildings and one of the only surviving monasteries after King Henry VIII decided to create his own church with his own rules and dissolved them all. He didn't want to pay nothin to nobody. The tour guide asked where everyone was from and looked at me and said "The history here is kind of overwhelming, eh?" And it is! THere was a cottage that had a view of the river (really Norwich is connected to a whole network of rivers called the Broods that served as a great trading and commercial area during the Middle Ages) from which none other than QUEEN ELIZABETH I had watched a boat parade in her own honor. That really hit me that I was standing in a place that had once been frequented by one of the greatest monarchs and feminists in history.

The streets were named things like "Elm's Hill" and some of the tea houses even had thatched roofs! I am SO bringing back tea! Jonas, Claudia and I had tea after the tour, and headed over the Cathedral to hear the boy's choir do Gregorian chants, as they were scheduled to do. But it turned out that it was the ONE day they weren't performing in the Cathedral because it was Admiral Nelson's 250th Birthday (he was a local hero who helped defeat the Spanish Armada), so they were singing in another town. I am definitely planning to go back for it though because the tour guide said it was like stepping back 900 years when the monks would sing their chants.

There is so much more I could say about Norwich, but I think I will let some pictures do the talking. It has inspired me to fashion my own little tour around England. One of these weekends, I'm going to spend about four or five days on a "literary pilgrimage" of sorts where I visit all the places that my favorite authors lived or are meaningful to my thesis. So, I will probably be going to Bath, Stratford upon Avon, the Cotswalds, the Lake District, West Yorkshire, and Oxford. I'm going to stay in B&B's, and just kind of go wherever I feel like going.

HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY, NICHOLAS!!!

Too Short A Time in London

I've discovered two things in the past two days: 1) I LOVE London! 2) One day is too short a time to be in London. Friday afternoon I literally ran into my grandma and grandpa at the airport; we were intending to meet at the hotel, and spent a wonderful 18 hours with them before their flight to Edinburgh, Scotland. It was sad to part after so short a time, but it made me excited for our four days together in London in two weeks. EEEEE!!!!

One thing that was enlightening was hearing details about the financial crisis back home. Without TV here, I feel so isolated from everything going on, even though it is splattered all over the internet. Being over here for the past two and a half months has really put me in a unique place of viewing from the outskirts and getting international perspective. One thing that is certain is that while I may know very little about the particulars of the French and German elections, the whole world is honed in on the American presidential election of 2008. A few weeks ago Mike and I arrived late one night in Strasbourg and two men walking down the street were discussing what would happen "if there was a change in regime in America..." A drunk fellow who stayed in our hostel in Switzerland loudly declared to a roomful of international people that if the world could vote, Obama would win. There was a general positive reaction throughout the room. Originally I was surprised that our election drew so much international attention and coverage, but I realized that whatever happens will end up effecting the whole world in one way or another. All the international attention makes it even more exciting to be an absentee voter. This is the first presidential election I am able to vote in, and I must say that even though I must do it from abroad, it feels good being a participating citizen!

Being an American in England has raised some subtle nuances that I did not expect, mostly because of our obvious similarities. It has been somewhat surprising to find that while we speak the same language, there are cultural differences which are more blaring because you almost feel like they shouldn't be there. The other international students asked if we have trouble understanding the language, and the truth is yes. For the first few days, I could not understand my flatmates, and I still have to ask them to repeat themselves a lot. It's almost embarrassing! In addition to that, they just have a dynamic in their talking and mannerisms that is not immediately natural to me, and I haven't quite picked up on it yet. I guess it goes to show that speaking the same language does not equal immediate comprehension.

I was talking with a new friend from San Francisco, and he said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you and I... we're good Americans..." I was originally taken aback by this statement, but I know understand what he meant. Part of it goes back to the whole "ugly American" image that we constantly come up against, but there is more to it than that. Every time we open our mouths, we identify ourselves as Americans, and all the connotations that go with it. My friend, a very gregarious fellow, admitted that he typically keeps his mouth shut to prevent just that. In my first Contemporary Writing class, I opened my mouth and said "Hi, I'm Amber..." and after just that, the professor blurted out, "Ay, there are so many Americans in this class!" I don't know exactly why, but it bothered me to be so outwardly identified and labeled. He was absolutely right: I am American. But what does that mean to him? It's unnerving! We brainstormed the list of stereotypes the English accent connotes, such as trustworthiness and truth. When the BBC comes on, we perk up as if to say "Ah, here comes the truth about the war..." or stereotype of the old English professor that we get from movies.

London! I only had a few hours, but I walked from Leicester Square, which reminded of The Mystery of Edwin Drood when we sang: "How slightly west of Leicester Square you are...!" I then walked to Trafalgar Square, spent a good few hours in the National Portrait Gallery (which tells a very thorough and comprehensive history of England through portraits of its major figures...I loved it!), walked to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament, and crossed the Thames and came up the other side, right under the Eye of London. It was a very visual view of London, but it was the perfect little teaser because it made me VERY excited to go back and explore it further with grandma and grandpa. The train ride is perfect too... two hours of beautiful views and a perfect opportunity to finally do some reading! After all, I AM here to study! heee hee he

Getting Settled in a New Home

I have officially been in England for over a week and am finally getting settled into a new life (that actually involves school). The campus and weather are so similar to UO that looking out my window I can almost pretend that I am there. Although at first it was kind of a rough transition, I am really happy to be here, and it is shaping up to be an amazing (though busy) term!

Campus: While smaller than UO, the UEA campus has some similar 60's-style buildings. We are about two miles from the town of Norwich, which is new for me since I am used to being in the center of Eugene. The seclusion is kind of nice especially since there is a lake and nature all around us. My dorm is HUGE, and I get a bathroom all to myself that someone else cleans once a week. That is living in luxury. I live with 9 British students, who are all very sweet and fun.

Norwich: Norwich (pronounced Norridge) is the operating center for the county of Norfolk, and is the biggest city in East Anglia. The greater Norwich area has roughly the same population as Eugene. Unlike most English cities, it did not start as a Roman colony, but came into being as a medieval town. As such, it has a castle, really old cathedral, ruined wall that surrounds half of it, and a bunch of adorable cobble-stone streets lined with old buildings. Scenes from the movie Stardust were filmed here to give you a sense of the place. Currently, it is rated as one of the best shopping towns in Europe, and it has a dangerous amount of cute shops for browsing and... buying! I'll tell you more about Norwich later since I am taking a walking tour of it on Sunday.

Classes: Three classes is considered full-time here, so that is the amount I am enrolled in. One of them is Contemporary Writing which meets once a week for two hours, and seems more like a book club than a class. Basically, we read a contemporary British novel a week and come together to discuss it. The reading list seems really interesting, since I haven't read many contemporary British novels. I am also taking 18th Century Writing, which has a lot of familiars like Locke, Swift, Pope, and Fielding. It is a larger lecture class, but should be good as background info for my thesis. My last class is a dissertation class, which meets not at all. Instead, we meet with a "supervisor" throughout the term and write an 8,000 work dissertation. This class is reserved for students in their final year. At first I was terrified because the other students had all started working on theirs over the summer and also had all of winter break to write it, which I do not. Turns out that because I have less time I have less to write (about 5,000 words) so that is a relief. I am taking this class to seriously start working on my thesis for the Honors College that I will have to write and defend when I return.

Classes here function somewhat differently than in the U.S. Rather than meeting several times a week with a specific reading list and assignments, the English practice much more self-motivated study. Classes meet about once a week for two hours, but we are expected to spend a considerable amount of time outside of class reading and researching for the papers. So when I tell you that I only have class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays technically leaving me a 5 day weekend, do not be fooled. I will have about two novels to read each week, along with research to do and papers to write throughout that time. I am actually worried about the time leftover for travelling!

Travel: So I joined about a million societies here the other day, including Literature Society, International Students Society (ISS), Cheese and Wine Society, and Hiking Society. They plan a considerable amount of trips throughout the term including Edinburgh, London, Amsterdam, and other towns around Norfolk... I want to do them all, so we'll see what time allows. These groups seem really awesome... For instance, the other night about 50 members of ISS went out in Norwich and we had a blast. I REALLY like those people. While I am here, I really want to visit: Edinburgh, Scotland, London, Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath, Amsterdam, and Ireland. I only have about two months left to travel (since towards the end I will be bogged down with papers) so I really hope I can make it.

So all in all it is shaping up to be a really exciting term, and I will keep you updated as much as I can. Today, I go to London to meet Grandma and Grandma and get my suitcase with winter clothes. I am so excited to see them, even if for only a short while. In two weeks, we will be spending four days in London together... I can't wait!

Three Days in Pareeeeeee and the End of our Travels

Perhaps because it was the last stop in our journey, or perhaps the environment was affecting us, but we lived it up in Paris. Three solid days of walking produces quite an appetite, and, with the use of Mike's lovely associate card, we had some amazing meals at the Marriott. We ate out one night, and had the Plat de 'Jour Menu that included roasted lamb, steamed muscles, and creme broulee. I think back to our baguette and cheese picnics at the beginning of the trip, and just laugh at how far we've come. Three days in Paris was the perfect amount of time for two lazy travelers. Here is a breakdown of what we saw:

Day 1: We took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower, and did that. Then we walked up to the Arche de Triumphe, and did that. We walked down the Boulevard de Champs past all the trendy shops and fancy hotels, and came to a "Hostel de Invalides" that Louis XIV built to house those infirmed by his military campaigns. It is now a museum of war, where we spent the remainder of the day. It had quite an extensive armory, Napoleon's tomb (and he really was THAT short), and a fascinating interactive WW2 museum that focused on their local hero Charles de Gaulle (airport named after him).

Day 2: We saw the Louvre. It is almost frustrating to have the most extensive collection of art and artifacts of Western civilization in one spot because it is impossible to see it all. You get tired, and realize you haven't even gotten to Hammurabi's Code yet! The biggies (the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa) were exciting, but so crowded that you didn't really want to stop and ponder the meaning behind her mysterious smile. Dan Brown solved that problem for us anyway... After the Louvre, we walked along the river to Notre Dame. It was big and beautiful, but honestly just another cathedral. The Latin District around Notre Dame is very fun; we did some shopping there and had our amazing dinner.

Day 3: On this day, we took the opportunity to go to Versailles to see the Palace and surrounding gardens/chateau. The palace was bigger than the Royal Palace in Madrid, although it featured the same fancy, baroque style. There was a rather cool exhibit going on at the palace. Each room housed a modern art piece created by French artist Dean Koonz. They included giant, metal twisted balloons, cartoon boquets of flowers, and blow-up floatation devices. At first, I thought it was tacky, but after a while it became kind of exciting to see which odd-ball piece would be in the next historical room. We wandered the extensive grounds a little, and flew through Marie Antoinette's chateau. I would have liked to spend more time here, but after so much walking we were pretty tired. I guess I'll have to go back!

This morning (17th), Mike and I woke up bright and early to travel to the airport together to catch our respective flights: him to Portland and me to Norwich. I am sad to lose the companionship because it has felt like having a little bit of home with me. I am also sad to end our travels, but at the same time it will be nice to not move around so much. Saying goodbye in the airport was the equivalent to being operated on without anasthesia, but you know what they say: We'll always have Paris...

The rest of the day was quite the roller coaster. My flight from Paris to London was late (as flights often are), which stressed me out since I only had 1 hour to catch the shuttle to Norwich. If I missed it, I would have had to go into London and find a bus or train... I did not want to do this. After literally the shortest flight of my life, I sped through immigration, and went to baggage claim. My bag was put on the wrong conveyor belt, which took a little figuring out, and pushed me back even later. Then I had to take an UNBEARABLY SLOW train from my terminal to the terminal the shuttle would meet. It was SUPER slow, and even had to stop for a random security check. I was going nuts... After I got off, I booked it with my heavy backpacks and caught the UEA folks just as they were leaving to go to the shuttle. It was too close for comfort.

I am now checked in to my new room at UEA. It feels like being back in the dorms for the second time around, and has that exciting "beginning-of-school" feel. I am now faced with the task of making all new friends AGAIN, which is kind of daunting, but I know it will be better once I do. It is crazy to think that fall is suddenly here, but the FRIGID weather outside confirms it. Now I have twelve weeks of school, and England to see!

Paris in Style

Strasbourg was a rainy, miserable place. I realize that this is a harsh judgment, but after walking around in a steady, annoying drizzle that soaked through my clothes, the "Petite France" streets and German houses did not seem so charming. I also had a really bad experience with some food. I suppose it was my fault when I decided to order pickled herring for a lunch, and was greeted with a plate of something that only looked suitable as salmon bait. I couldn't eat it, and felt nauseated for the rest of the day. Also, our hostel in Strasbourg was a curious place. It was the biggest and most "hotel-y" hostel we have stayed at so far, but it was absolutely swarming with children! Apparently, they had some sort of deal for children in groups or something. It was a fine place, as the ONLY hostel in Strasbourg, but there were no other backpackers. Only children. There were no signs of the weather letting up so headed to the train station and hopped the next train to Paris.

After watching about four episodes of Seinfeld on Mike's iphone, we arrived and took the metro to our HOTEL. I should probably mention that I am writing this blog from a king-sized feather bed surrounded by down pillows in a classy, four-star Marriott Hotel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How has this happened, you may ask... I will tell you. So we sat on the floor of previous child-ridden hostel for about an hour searching online with the crappy internet connection for a suitable hostel. Either everything was booked, way out of our price range, or had reviews that said "Do Not Stay Here. This is the dirtiest most disguisting place I have ever been." We were quite discouraged by this. On a whim, Mike decided to check for Marriott hotels with his employee discount card, and found us an amazing room in the super classy Marriott. It feels quite strange to go from backpacker's hostels with bunkbeds and kitchens to a four-star hotel with room service and down pillows, but who's complaining? I have seriously loved our hostels, but it's a nice change of environment. And the best part is... we are actually spending the same amount for this hundreds of dollars room as we would for the crappier hostels. I am pretty ecstatic about it. The kind lady at the reception put us on the 12th floor, with a view of Notre Dame!

So we have three full days in Paris, and good sleep ahead of us!

Rainy Strasbourg

It is very rainy and blah in Strasbourg, which apparently is the home of the UN! Who know? We went for too long of a walk in the steady downpour, and are now drying out before heading to Paris early. We are both done with this rainy place. New pics are on facebook. Check them out!

Long Blog Alert!!!!

I am writing this blog on the train to Strasbourg, our next (and surprise) destination. Mike and I realized that we had about two extra days in our itinerary, so we decided to break up the trip between Interlaken and Paris with a day in Strasbourg. Apparently it is on the French side of the France/German border, but over the years it has swapped back and forth due to wars, border disputes, etc., which has given the town its own unique feel. Really, we are hoping to spend a day in Germany's Black Forrest, so we'll see if we get there during the day.

Once again, so much has happened and I have neglected to update! This will probably be a long one. There is much to say. So when I left off, we were going to Venice to experience the city at night, and this we did. St. Mark's Square is a fun place at night as all the fancy, over-priced cafe's that line the square have quintet orchestras that play fun tunes such as "New York, New York" in the lit square. Instead of walking the long walk back to the bus, we took a water taxi, which was a giant, noisy ferry that drives up and down the Grand Canal, affording beautiful views of the bordering shops and restaurants.

The next day was a travel day, but it was the most beautiful train ride we have had thusfar. The trains passed right between the lakes of Northern Italy with big, fancy houses, and passing into Switzerland we saw some actual mountains. It was annoying though, because everytime Mike or I thought to take a picture, we would immediately pass into a tunnel or behind some trees right as the camera was about to snap. Oh vell! We arrived in Interlaken quite late, and experienced cooler weather for the first time all trip. It felt REALLY nice though. It was dark and hard to see, but it was obvious that we were surrounded by mountains.

Switzerland has got to be one of my favorite places thusfar. It may be because it is quite different from our previous stops, but the cool climate and mountain air are so refreshing. The people are SUPER friendly... Although almost everyone speaks English, if they doesn't understand you completely, they will politely ask "And vhat do you mean by zat?" If this happens in Spain, you get blown off. One downside though is that it is also very expensive. The Swiss Frank is roughly equivalent to the dollar (which took some getting used to since I am so accustomed to euros), but food and other souvenirs are so expensive. One of my buddies in Oviedo told me that this was because Swizterland is wanting to be in the European Union, and is jacking up their prices to make the transition smoother. Somehow, I don't quite buy this... I bet its one of those "economy" things that I don't understand. But more than the money is the Swiss feel, which I like so much I am giddy just writing about it!

Our hostel is the perfect example. Balmer's Herberge in Interlaken is the funnest and most social hostel we have stayed at so far. It has two buildings, a garden, a kitchen, a restaurant, a bar, a mini-market, a outdoor office, and tons of lounges with fireplaces and games. It's like its own functioning little city! We have had so much fun there and met so many cool people, including this crazy, red-headed Danish girl named Annette who kept popping up in the most random places. Picture Luna Lovegood in the latest Harry Potter movie.

Our first full day in Interlaken was not actually spent in Interlaken. We took a smaller train up the mountains aways to a resorty mountain town named Grindelwald. It is nestled right in the Alps with the Eiger and Jungfrau (these are mountains) looming above on one side and a green valley below. I cannot convey to you how awesome the Alps are. On the trainride up, Mike was saying "See...this could be Oregon here" because of the pretty greenery. I pointed up to the giant mountains and said, "Could THAT be Oregon, too?" No... no it could not. After wandering around the wooden cabins and flowers of Grindelwald, we set off on a six hour hike up into the Alps. IT WAS SO GORGEOUS!!! Quite the climb, however. We ended up at a backpacker's hut/restaurant (I don't know WHO walks the food up there, but they have my blessing) where we had a warming soup before heading town. Luckily, we didn't have to come all the way down, but took a gondola for part of it. There were some amazing little details that made it so much better too, such as the absolutely stereotypical Swiss alpinists with the hats, short pants, and waxed, curly moustaches. On our way back into Grindelwald, we rounded a corner to find a random man playing a Alphorn ("Ricollaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!"). We were like "Seriously?!? Awesome!"

Here comes a complaint. As two avid fondue aficionados, we have been picturing for the past few months having fondue in the Alps. They did not have it at our mountain hut, but assured us it would be in the town. Well, we wandered through half the restaurants, and couldn't find it anywhere! We were like "Are we missing something? Switzerland... Alps... Fondue, right?" We finally just asked and found one place that was way overpriced. We decided to head back to Interlaken and continue the search there. The lady at our hostel recommended a few places, all 33 franks or more! We settled for kebabs (it was about time Mike had one), but were sorely disappointed about our lack of a Fondue-in-Switzerland experience. Well just settle for our less-authentic American fondue.

The next day (which is today) we had an experience. Now everytime we have tried to have an experience, something has gone wrong. We wanted to do a tour of Tuscany in Florence, but the tour did not meet on our one day there... We were going to do a boatride to a glass-blowing island in Venice, but we got there too late. So we decided to splurge a little and have an experience in Interlaken... which is perfect as Interlaken is the adventure capital of the world. Sky-diving, paragliding, rafting, you name it... We were going to go paragliding today, but awoke to clouds and rain: not the best paragliding weather. Instead, we went canyoning, an activity where rain was an asset not a setback. Canyoning hasn't really caught in the United States, which is too bad because it is completely awesome! It involves sliding, rapelling, and jumping (!) down a steep canyon. The first jump we came to, the guide walked us onto a rock and said "Now jump into the white, trecherous water below and land flat on your back. THREE...TWO...ONE" *push* It took some getting used to, but was really fun. Our biggest jump was 7 meters! Sadly, we were with two Korean girls who were absolutely terrified. They had never done anything like this in there life.

Even though we are leaving, this is one place that I know I will come back to, over all the others. I LOVE it, probably because it has that Oregon-feel to it. I could honestly have spent weeks here just hiking to all the mountain towns, but Mike wanted to see something else. I am afraid I am going to become a Euro-bum! Well, this is officially the longest-blog ever, and we are about to arrive in Basel. So over and out.

Link to pics!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2184940&id=11513535&saved#/album.php?aid=2184940&id=11513535

So.

You may be confused about what has happened here... I do not post for over a week, and then bust out several right in a row. Well, what happened was, along our journey we did not have wi-fi in hardly any of our hostels. However, we kept blog posts regularly, and saved them in a word document. Now that we have found a place wi-fi, here are all the posts. Sorry they are so long, but please read them at your leisure... I do not know when internet will come into our lives again.

Sinking City

Yesterday was our first full day in Venice. We arrived too late (and too exhuasted) on Sunday evening to actually go into the city, so we had some delicious pizza and went to bed in our tent! Yes, you heard right, we are staying in a campsite for this leg of the journey. What originally began as a preferred cheaper alternative to the expensive hostels in Venice soon became a haven from the hustle and bustle and overpriced food of Venice proper. CAMPING JOLLY ( as they fondly refer to themselves) is on the mainland about a 15 minute busride from the Venice-gondalas-bridges-lagoon-St. Mark's Square that everyone thinks of. CAMPING JOLLY has permanent, aluminum-frame tents with bunk beds inside, swimming pool, work out facility, and its own grocery, restaurant, and bar. It is connected to Venice by shuttle and city bus, so it is very easy to get back and forth. It's perfect for what we want right now, because traveling does wear on a person and a little relaxing getaway was just what we wanted. This morning we went swimming, did a load of laundry, and are FINALLY updating blogger before heading into the city later to see Venice at night.

Yesterday was a power visit. We walked all over the winding streets and over the bridges, saw the Carrer Museum, St. Mark's square and Basilica, and the Doge's Palace. Each of these were quite interesting, and really give you a well-rounded idea into how the city functioned throughout its history such as a stowaway for barbarians, mercantile and marine power, and its own little autonomous state. The figure of the doge fascinates me immensely. His role was more similar to current English monarchy aka symbolic and state importance more than the actual ruling of the land. They also wore a funny little hat. Venice had a ruling aristocracy and no constitution, which amazes me that they were able to last so long. The Carrer Museum gave a perfect idea of this with its rooms full of Venice's currency throughout the years, naval trading ships, and armory.

The Doge's Palace was very dark and ornate with large portraits on the walls, and wood paneling all the way to the ceiling. We were surprised to find that it was connected to the state prison only by a Bridge of Sights, where the prisoners would look one last time at the beautiful canals of Venice with a sigh before being committed to the dark prison for life. Venice has left a very good impression on me... I mean, how many places are partially under water, and perhaps might be gone in the next 20 years? They are taking precautions to prevent this, however, with a billion dollar inflatable dam wall that protects the city during the 100 times a year that it floods.

Truffles, Chianti, and Gelato

So I am basically in love with Italian food. Not only that, but I am having a love affair with it as we speak. This is the kind of affair that boyfriends not only approve of, but take part in willingly. It's like some kind of messed-up Italian menogoiteau. Over the past week, I have had gelato four times, and we are planning on going again tomorrow. It is amazing, and guilt it mitigated by the necessity to "try the local cuisine..." Turns out the local cuisine is the food people dream about. Chianti is a red wine that comes in a grass-covered bottle, local to Florence, and truffles are something Mike and I have come to obsess over. As I mentioned, his pasta last night was made with truffle oil.

Well, today as we wandered about, we came accross a farmer's market. We sampled several different cheeses, wines, and honey before coming accross a man that had a truffle farm! (Oh, for those of you who don't know truffles are rare, expensive mushrooms that are served in only high-end restaurants. It cannot be cultivated because it only grows at the root of a certain tree, and is found with a pig or dog that are trained sniff them out. Only two places in the world can grow them: one is Italy/France and the other is the Pacific Northwest!) It was very fun to run into this man and hear about his truffle-hunting. He had pictures of his farm, and the biggest truffle he has found this year sold in the U.S. for $3,000 euro! For a single mushroom! We bought some cheap truffle oil from the supermarket and tried to replicate it for dinner. It was rather delicious although not quite the caliber of last night's pasta.

Today, we woke up way too early to stand in line for a half an hour and see the Uffizi Gallery, which houses the best collection of Italian art. Although I do not know nearly as much about Italian art as Spanish, it was still impressive to see works by all four of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Michaelangelo, Rafael, Donatello, and Leonardo! My favorite two pieces were both Boticelli's: Birth of Venus, which I have as a poster in my room, and Spring, which is just gorgeous. We spent the rest of the day wandering... Florence has a lot of expensive sites, but you can get a great sense of the city and its history just by wandering. A few sites such as the Duomo, other churches, and Michaelangelo Piazza and viewpoint are free, so we checked those out. And I bought something... We both found some well-priced leather sandals and got them! Mike spent the better part of three blocks talking me into this self-indulgence, but they are real Italian leather and I have practically worn through my others by now.

Florence's most famous bridge that crosses the main Arno River is called the Ponte Vecchio. It is lined with gold and siver shops, and is a "place of romance" as was evident by the THREE wedding couples that deliberately walked accross before flashing cameras. Leaning over the bridge there are a series of padlocks locked together. Guys traditionally bring their gals here, add a lock and throw away the key and a deliberate demonstration of their undying love. Before I knew what was happening, Mike added one of our small luggage locks to the bunch, and with a "For you, dear," he tossed the key overboard. I know, I know... sickeningly romantic, but Florence just has that effect on people.

Some Places in Italy

Oh man, I am getting way behind on blogging! The reason is because none of our hostels have internet... I don't want to get too far behind, so I am writing these in Word and will post them all later. So yesterday we did the 9 km Cinque Terre hike that connected all the villages. We took the train to Montorosso (on the opposite end) to tackle the most treacherous leg of the journey first, and I am so glad we did. The first section from Montorosso to Vernazza was constant stairs. Whether it was upstairs or downstairs, it did not matter because there was NO BREAK FROM STAIRS. But it was absolutely gorgeous and SO rewarding. The hike between the towns ran through hilled, small farms of olive trees or vineyards and grand vistas of the blue Mediterranean. We spent a fair bit of time poking around the villages themselves.

Here is a rundown: Montorosso was most substantive with an open-air market and resort, even an old castle; Vernazza was my favorite with an adorable harbor and colorful buildings (and delicious tiramisu gelato!); Corniglia was the least exciting as it was up on a hill and rather small; Manarola was child-friendly and connected to Riomaggiore by a Via del' Amoure, or Lover's Lane where lovers between the two towns would meet. The hike took us a total of 6 hours, including dawdle time, and we arrived in Riomaggiore sweaty and exhausted. We hopped right back on the train to Montorosso to swim on the only sandy beach in the Cinque Terre. We found our dinner there at a local pizzeria, and headed back to Riomaggiore to clean up and get some cocktails. It was an absolutely perfect relaxing day in the Cinque Terre.

Which was good. Because the next day, we got ready to leave only to find that Sergio was charging us double what we thought we would pay. I was worried about this too, and checked that he wanted 30 euro per person for two nights, and he said "yes, yes, haha, ees fine!" Well, we fretted about this for a while, but determined that Sergio's services such as cooking our food, laundering out clothes, packing our lunches, and providing free Cinque Terre cards outweighed the extra costs for the apartment. Really, it was a wonderful stay, and I am happy we did it. We have been doing so well at saving money with our hostels and Eurail Pass, I don't feel too bad about it.

Our next stop was Pisa, where we spent a mere hour. We got off the train, headed immediately to the leaning tower, took the stereotypical "holding it back up" picture (along with several other hundred tourists), looked around at the other large, pretty buildings without bothering an enterance, and headed back. It was exactly the surface, quick-stop visit I wanted, and p.s. Pisa is hot. Also, for some reason, I can't say the word "pisa"... I keep calling it "pizza!"

The train to Florence was short but HOT. We were happy to get off of there, particularly because there was some drama with the police. We quickly found our WONDERFUL hostel, run by a friendly Dominican man. Despite its being one of the cheapest hostels in Florence, it just so happens to be the nicest! He poured us some cold water, upgraded our room from dorm to private at no extra charge, and walked us through the main sights and best deals of the city. We collapsed for a brief respite from the hot sun, and headed out for a long evening walk through a bustling market and through the enclosed streets of Florence. This town has an immediate Renaissance feel that is impossible to not love. I wanted to get lost in the winding streets, and without even trying we ran into the Duomo along with several other main sights. The best part, however, was when we stopped for an absolutely delicious dinner at a family-run trattoria. Mike had truffle oil pasta and I had a spinach and cheese ravioli with a tomato and ham sauce. Both were mouth-watering. We shared a home-made tiramisu, and licked every inch of our plates. It was amazing authentic Italian cuisine. I am glad we didn't eat out in Barcelona or Nice. It feels like we were waiting for the food capital of the world before we really ate well. This city just feels so old; I am excited to dig deeper into its history.

Train to Terre

I am writing to you after fourteen hours of train rides. Mind you, these were broken up into four different legs with an overnight stay in Nice. I would have gone crazy with so much sitting, but the countryside was so beautiful I hardly minded. We arrived in Nice quite late so after getting settled in our hostel we set out for a night walk around the city. Somehow we managed to find the center square that had all the street musicians, which was quite entertaining and fun.

Today, we arrived in the Cinque Terre, and I immediately fell in love with it. We did not book a hostel ahead of time mostly because there were none. After getting off the train in Riomaggiore, I was greeted by a friendly Italian man offering us a room for 15 euro per night (this is INCREDIBLY cheap in the hostel world). I agreed upon the contingency that we see it and like it first, and Sergio led us up the path expounding the many glorious wonders of the room he provided. It turned out to be his personal apartment with only two extra rooms (the other was occupied by an Australian couple), but it was so nice and clean that we couldn't pass it up. Sergio is your stereotype of the older Italian man. Very touchy, very talkative, and very friendly. He has burst into our room several times to show us something completely unnecessary or to say in broken English "Ok, the bathroom is clean cause I use it too, right? Capiche?"

Oh, side anecdote here... I was preparing to go out for a walk when Mike came bursting through the door, his eyes watering and his face turning red. "Do NOT go out there!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed. I couldn't figure out what had happened, but apparently he sprayed a squirt from a bottle thinking it was air freshener, but it turned out to be a bottle of pepper spray that Sergio keeps by the door, "in case French people come by..." He then proceeded to pour liter after liter of our precious bottled water into his eye as he coughed and spluttered and washed out the extremely potent gas. I knew it was strong because even the tiny squirt was coming through the door and making my eyes water. At that moment, Sergio burst in to see Mike in considerable pain, the pepper spray, and demanded of me "What did you DO?!?!" Nothing! We left promptly for our walk.

The Cinque Terre was exactly what I hoped it would be. Relaxing, raw, sunny, beautiful... Rick Steves, along with many other travel agents, have sung its praises, so I was worried that it would be over-touristy and developed. Turns out, it is just as quaint and untouched as all the pictures make it out to be. Pictures will follow. We went to a very rocky beach with clear blue SALTY water to swim for a bit, and then got some groceries for the traditional Cinque Terre dinner of pesto pasta, white "Cinque Terre" wine, and seafood.

Upon our arrival home, Sergio REFUSED to let us cook it for ourself. He took all our ingredients, added quite a few of his own, and whipped us up a delicious feast. At one point, he even clapped my cheek and said "Ok, you go, bella, I make it for you!" He set a beautiful table for us, and even periodically checked on us to see if we needed anything. Then he REFUSED to let us clean up, and took our leftovers and "make soomething for your lunch tomorrow to hike." We kept looking at each other and laughing at our luck to fall in line with this wonderful, hilarious man. Tomorrow we go for the five village hike.

Bar-Bar-Barcelona!!!

Despite everything that could have gone wrong with the whole training to Barcelona to catch another train to the airport to meet Mike who hopefully made his standby flight, nothing did! I frantically got off the train pushing past crowds of people with a 50 lb bag over my shoulder to find him leaning against the wall smiling ironically at my confusion. It was awesome! Equally amazing, Metro and hostel were found with relative ease.

I had mixed feelings about coming to Barcelona. Over half of my classmates in Oviedo were pick-pocketed here and had horrifying experiences to share. Also its initial description as a sprawling humid Los Angeles-like city did not immediately appeal to me. But, as with every city I here, I have fallen under its charm. Barcelona has an undeniably Mediterranean feel to it that really took me a second day to fully appreciate. The first day involved a lot of orientation and getting lost and wandering through winding, narrow streets in the Gothic District... all fun, but I couldn't really get a sense of the place. In the cool evening, we had our first, but certainly not last dip, into the salty Mediterranean waters, which was very fun and refreshing. Las Ramblas, the main thoroughfare that connects the old and new towns ending up at the sea and a giant statue of Colombus, has seen too many tourists and no longer deserves a three pyramid rating in Rick Steves' book.

Today was a perfect day for sight-seeing. Sunny and warm, but not too humid, which is many people's complaint of Barcelona. I nearly screamed when we arose of the Metro to see the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece and the symbol of Barcelona. When I first saw pictures of the place, I thought it looked like one of those sand castles that children make by dripping wet sand in a pile. But the "drippy sand" look is really the elaborate and ornate detail of biblical scenes and natural elements. I LOVE GAUDI!!! I'll be honest... I first I secretly called him "Gaudy Gaudi," but now I want my house to be exactly like his Casa Batllo with its mask-like balconies or Casa Mila that doesn't contain a single straight line. As a "Modernist" architect, Gaudi borrowed elements from many previous architectural styles such as the Gothic arch, but improved it with nature-inspired honeycomb ornamentation. The inside of the Sagrada Familia is like a forrest canopy with pilars inspired by trees with gnots and branches and an entire canopy for its roof.

We bought some cheese, sausage, bread, and fruit and picniced in Guell Park, another great site of Gaudi architecture! His ceramic tiles, fruit-like chimneys, and obvious respect for nature and asymmetry are sites to behold. I seriously cannot rave about him enough, and will definitely post pictures soon so you can see what I mean! After that, we had been planning to see the Picasso Museum, but... :( I had my days confused thinking yesterday was was Saturday instead of Sunday. Turns out, the Picasso Museum is closed on Monday, which saddens me IMMENSELY! Seriously, SO sad about it. Instead, we went to the Chocolate Museum, which was fun and delicious! Apparently, Barcelona was a #1 importer of cacao from Mexico, and it traced the history of chocolate from its Mayan and Aztec healing powers to its symbol of status in early Europe to its tastey treat for everyone today! I made Mike try some Spanish hot chocolate... he was not a fan.

Traveling with Mike, btw, is awesome. Whereas I often allow myself to stress about everything and plan too much and rely overly upon Rick Steves, he pulls the book out of my hands and says "You're missing Barcelona!" He is the ying to my neurotic, over-prepared yang, and since he has been here I have not been nervous or homesick or scared once, which is rather nice. Tomorrow we have a long train ride ahead of us to Nice, but we are both excited and ready to get to Italy. Tired from the past two days too, so a long, scenic train ride is just what the doctor ordered!