Following Michelle's lead, I'm in a Mac store in Zürich using free Internet. It's just so damn expensive otherwise. Everything in Switzerland is super expensive, and Internet is no exception. However, I have fallen in love with it. It's so clean. Clean, clean, clean. And on time. And the people are friendly. We just came from Interlaken, this gorgeous little picturesque town surrounded by snow capped Alps and several different lakes and rivers. I was waiting for the Von Trapp family to pop out of one of the little Swiss houses and start singing. Seriously....so Sound of Music. I've been wanting to go on a hike in Alps for a while now, but I had no idea that my little Alpine excursion would turn into an epic 9 hour journey that was, without a doubt, the most intense physical experience of my life (ok, so we all know Zoe Gombart isn't very intense, but it still was really hard!). I kept going up and up and up and up.....I got to this point that was about 3700 feet above Interlaken, where I started. By the end of the day I felt like and old arthritic woman. The view was so amazing though, that it was all worth it!

Also I love Swiss chocolate. Looooooove it. I have a new life plan, and it involves marrying a Swiss chocolatier. And hiking the Alps everyday. More details of my new life plan to come later.  

Venezia! I must first write about this crazy little place that we're staying at. It was on the hostel website from which I booked all the rest of the places, but it's actually a B&B (though cheaper than most of the places we've stayed so far). We were a little apprehensive when we had these pseudo-ambiguous directions to this place about 20 minutes away from the train station. We got to this little suburb of Venice called Mestre, and, just minutes away, it has gone from this super crowded tourist infested city built on water, to Italy's equivalent of Corvallis. Everyone (and I mean everyone) bikes here, but REAL bicycles and not the crazy mopeds. Also, drivers actually stop and let pedestrians cross at crosswalks, which I haven't seen in any of Italy (though this is something innate to any big city I'm sure). The people at the local supermaket, though they spoke not a word of English and we not a word of Italian, let us call our hostel for free and were very friendly. So we get to this place and it's run by this couple who speak English twice as fast as I do (and twice as loud). There's another couple staying here, a middle aged Italian couple. Breakfast was quite entertaining, as we've got the owners and this Italian couple talking over eachother so fast (in Italian, of course) that we can't believe that one can understand any of the words that any of the others are saying. It's hilarious. I love Italians, they're so funny.

To get to the bus stop from the B&B, we bike. We're given these super old road bikes to lock up near the bus stop. It's only about 1.5 kilometers, but of course Sharon and I get lost. This old Italian man on his bike who speaks broken English with a very thick accent stops to help us after telling us that he lived in America and how much he loves Americans. His conversation is peppered with hearty back slaps, and he gives us very precise directions in English-Italian. Eventually we get home, but not before agreeing that the Venetian countryside is actually the Bermuda triangle, complete with corn fields that make it look more like Ohio than Italy.

Venice is pretty cool too. Water....everywhere. Then there's the token gondolas, that look more cheesy than romantic. We saw a basilica that was covered on the inside completely with mosaic and walked down tiny alleyway after tiny alleyway, only knowing where we were going by following the other herds of tourists. We almost took a water taxi, but were feeling too poor. So we just sat and watched all the tourists board the boats to who knows where and sat and sweated in the hot hot hot Italian sun and ate our gelato.

Today we went to Capri! Unlike the Capri Sun commercials, however, there were no white sand beaches. There were rock beaches....and that cold (but beautiful) Mediterranean water. And I think I counted about three Prada stores. Of course I bought something from each of them. I just can't pass up Prada sales....afraid the only thing I actually bought on Capri was gelato. How surprising.

In other news, I'm tan! Well, some burnt, but mostly tan! And bitten by lots of mosquitoes! Apparently they're all Chinese mosquitoes here (the Italian mosquitoes have been long since taken over by and eaten by the Chinese mosquitoes). Yet another sign that China is indeed taking over the world.

What I have learned in Europe thus far:
*Patience. Lots of it. Mostly from lines. I deal with lines (queues, whatever) much better now
*That I do indeed have many forms of OCD and am definitely slightly anal retentive.
*How to cross the street without dying
*How to appreciate good beer
*That the only cheap thing in existence is wine from the supermarket. Really, really bad wine. But at bottle of it is half the price of a glass of water in most restaurants....
*The sound of Italian ambulances, which seem to be around a lot (I blame it on the crazy drivers). It is a major 6th, and the police cars (not as prevalent) are a perfect 4th. This COULD come in handy sometime
*How to look pathetic and apologetic enough so as not to offend the people when you obviously don't speak their language
*How to not loose things
*That baguettes go well with most everything
*How to not care what people think. Especially when you won't see them ever again in your life. It's amazing
*How not to have a personal bubble. That was hard
*How to say exit in French and Italian (thank you metro systems)
*That I will never again underestimate the joy of free, cold water accompanying your meal in a restaurant

We went to Pompeii and Versuvius today. At Pompeii we tried to do the audio guide thing after not knowing what was going on at the ruins in Rome, but it just turned out to be confusing. Versuvius was incredible. We took what turned out to be probably the scariest bus ride of my life most of the way up the mountain and then did this intense hike to the crater, but is was so worth it. There's still steam coming out of it!

I was dissapointed with the Vatican (as was everyone I talked to), but very impressed with the Colosseum and the Roman Forum/Palantino. I wish I had known more about these places upon visiting them so I could have appreciated the history more, but it's still pretty cool knowing that you're standing among ruins thousands of years old. Also, I think it was just so different than anything I've ever seen (cathedrals do start to look the same after you see so many)....

We then visited the other uber touristy sites with throngs of tourists trying soooo hard to get that perfect picture (that I'm sure they never got): Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza de Popolo. I made a wish by throwing a coin into Trevi Fountain only to find out I apparently made the wish the wrong way.

I will miss Rome and the many death defying street crossings I've made. I will never again take for granted the pedestrian friendliness of Corvallis where every car comes to a screeching halt when someone puts their foot in the road.

We just got into Naples where everyone has warned us against the garbage piling up on the streets and pickpocketing. So far we have seen no garbage on the streetes and I actually saw an old Italian man return a tourist's wallet when he dropped it outside the bus, so hopefully our experience will continue to be positive!

We are in Rome now and it's hot hot hot. I understand now why everyone takes siesta...it's too hot to do anything else. It's nice, though, to be 'forced' to take a break in the middle of the day, and I have taken to actually napping....So far we've seen a bunch of plazzas with cobblestones, fountains, and old buildings, the Vatican, and St. Peter's Basilica. Honestly, after a two hour line, the Vatican was not all that I hoped for...the Sistine Chapel was one of the only good parts. Too many people and no air conditioning made the place just a bit much. St. Peter's Basilica, however, was just beautiful. It put so many of the rest of the cathedrals I've seen to shame!

The line for St. Peter's was pretty amusing. It wasn't as long as the Vatican's line, but still had it's fair share of tourists queued up. We had been waiting in line for about 15 minutes, when this group of 6 six Germans came and stood right next to us in line. They didn't want to chat...they wanted to cut in front of us in line! Seriously, they were just trying to move on in. I was determined to put my foot down and NOT be the whimpy American that I am, so we had this 10 minute battle. It was intense, but eventually we prevailed and they gave up and fell into line behind us. I was very proud of myself.

After our intense sightseeing, we decided to reward ourselves with a nerdy touristy tour of Tuscany yesterday. It ended up actually being a lot of fun! First of all, Tuscany looks like all that you think Italy looks like...rolling hills, olive trees, grapes....just gorgeous. We stopped in this little midieval walled town that was so stereotypically Italian you wouldn't believe it. It had the world champion gelato, which I must admit was very good. I don't know if I can go back to ice cream in the states...

Also we had wine tasting lessons. Now I know how to really, truly taste wine. It's quite a complicated process, and not very pleasant in my opinion. You have to do this icky swishing thing that makes you gums numb. At the wine tasting, we sat across the table from the Canadian couple who were in the "wine business" and had been to countless wine tastings, apparently. Sharon I felt a little naive, but I suppose everyone has to start somewhere. I am on my way to becoming a wine connosieur! I'm really glad we got to get out of the city, though, and see some of the countryside. While the cities have all the great sights, they all look the same essentially no matter where you are, so it's nice to see what the country really looks like.

I haven't been able to keep up with my Starbucks project lately because there have been none in Nice or Florence, that I've seen, anyway. In Florence, however, there are lots and lots of Germans. It's funny because there were hardly any in France. Dad's hatred of the French seems to be shared by his fellow Germans.

The Italian language is lovely. It's so passionate and fiery. Especially when they speak with their hands, which is often. Italian men, however, are not so lovely. I learned from our tour guide the perfect response to Italian men, though. When they say "Ciao, bella" (hello beautiful), you say "Ciao, bruto" (goodbye ugly). Love it.

We did some hardcore sightseeing today. Really, really hardcore. Our day began at 7:45 this morning waiting in line at the Uffizzi Gallery that opened at 8:15 after hearing about the hour long lines that form in a matter of minutes. Next was this tower that was part of a cathedral....we actually PAID to walk 414 steps to the top, but we did get to see amazing views of all of Florence. Those monks must have been in hella good shape.

Next we made our way to yet another Gallery, the Accademia Gallery, that houses David. Michaelangelo's masterpiece was as impressive as Mona Lisa is unimpressive. It's enormous and so....perfect. The rest of the museum was pretty meh, but seeing David was totally worth the 1.5 hour long line...I think. We then made our way over this to the Palazzo Pitti where the Medici family resided and ended with Catedral de Santa Maria del Fiore. Sightseeing in Florence is expensive! All the discounts were for European Union students...which I thought was kind of unfair. Now i know how "adults" feel.

Florence has lots and lots of leather. Everywhere. And gelato shops are more prevalent than leather vendors! Our guidebook reccomends eating gelato everyday, and I fully support this. I think it's my new favorite food. Oh, and because of our early mornign we had to get an Italian cappuchino today which was fabulous! One of the best coffees I've ever had...and so delicate and cute!

Europeans have no personal space nor concept of what a line is. I will try to order something at a counter and end up waiting for five people who have come up after me to order. I don't know if I just don't look agressive or what, but it's very frustrating for someone coming from the US where lines are sacrosact. When there is a line enforced (for museums and such) everyone stands soooo close to you that you can almost feel their breath on the back of you neck. It's quite uncomfortable. I find that because I stand more than three inches away from the person in front of me, that people will always choose my spot in line to pass through. Always. Then I feel like a pushover and realize I need to be more agressive. But I'm just a silly American you see.

I only have a few minutes of Internet that's "free" with our hostel, so afraid this post, as with the rest of my others won't be very enlightened. We're in Florence now, after a long day on the train again. We had not enough time in Nice! It was so beautiful, and now I can say I have swum (swam, I don't know) in the Mediterranean. It was a bit cold, which I wasn't expecting, and the beach was rocky, but I got my sunbathing in for the trip.

I would just like to say a few more things.... yes it's true that French people all have little dogs. And it's true that Spanish and Italian drive around at muderous speeds on mopeds. Also, it's true many French people seem to not care about hygiene too much. Meaning....they smell. I am, however, amazed at the number of languages that everyone speaks. It seems it's no big deal to speak at least four languages...almost as if it's expected of you. I feel so selfish speaking only 1.5 languages...and that .5 is generous. But I guess that's why comes from being born in the best country EVER (no really, I'm kidding)

French keyboards are very weird. All of the keys are in different places, so when I want to type things I usually end up typing nonsense, so I apologize in advance for the numerous typos Im sure I will be making. Also I cant figure out how to use apostrophes. Believe me, that hurts me more than you.

The rest of Barcelona was fun. Sharon had/has very bad blisters, so I spent my second day wandering around Barcelona with a guy from British Columbia. We went to this crazy post modern, avant garde museum that neither of us really understood, but found somewhat amusing. Then we walked down all the touristy areas, ordered some six dollar cokes [this is definitely a trend that is emerging], and stopped by the beach that was a bit too crowded to enjoy. Still, it was the first time I had EVER seen the Mediterranean, so that was quite exciting.

After a very long day in the train yesterday, we are in Nice. Yesterday was Bastille Day, and though we ,missed the fireworks, there was still lots of people around and lots going on. Oh, and the craziest thing ever.... we walked into our obscure little hostel, and who do I see but this music major with whom I graduated. Right there in the same hostel in the same room at the same time!! Small world eh?

Well I would write more, but this keyboard is litterally paining me and everything is taking twice as long to type as normal. Also, I have some swimming in the Mediterranean to do!

Ok, I am a bit less sleep deprived, grumpy and flustered than last time...so maybe I can actually catch up with this post.

Paris...Im sure some people will hate me for this, but I think its pretty overrated. Yes, the museums and sights are amazing, but the city itself was less that I expected. Ive always heard its the most romantic city in the world, but unless you count countless couples making out in the middle of the street romantic, then Id say its just another large, slightly smelly city, where they make a hobby of hating Americans. The Lourve, however, was fantastic. We spent only about 6 hours there , but I think we got to see all the paintings. The Mona Lisa was....well...crowded and small, as I expected. But I had to say Id seen it, and I even got a blurry picture of it, with some guys hand in the way. We didnt even start on the sculptures [other than Venus de Milo, of course], so that will have to wait for another trip. Also, I loved Versailles. French royalty definitely had it made back then, that is until they were all beheaded. Of course, if I knew how the royalty was living when I couldnt afford to eat, Id probably behead them, too. After finishing a tour of the chateau [that is, enourmous PALACE], I was almost queasy from seeing so much guilt molding. Louis XIV was a pretentious bastard. There was about 20 portraits of him with people worshiping at his feet. Oh, and the grounds around the chateau! It has its own CANAL!!

Barcelona I love so far, however. The mood is so relaxed, the people seem so real. There are all these old, winding alleys with apartments towering above them that have brightly colored clothes hanging and countless plants. The people arent hostile!! Today we visited the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, a design started by Gaudi in the 1920s that still isnt finished! It was very odd, visiting somewhere that is so richly designed in some areas, yet still with cranes overhanging it. The Chocolate Museum was my favorite where our ticket was actually a bar of chocolate. After going through it I wanted nothing more than to gorge on chocolate...so we had to get this cup of chocolate, which I thought was going to be something like hot cocoa, but turned out to be something like a melted chocolate bar. Mmmmm..... Then we walked to the Picasso Museum, where we were able to see works from Picasso from the time he was 15 on. It was really interesting to see his evolution. We saw the Catedral next, where I had to pay a Euro for a shawl to cover my oh so scandalous dress. Its very fashionable, though, I must say.

Oh, and Barcelona is much cheaper!! Theres so much AMAZING food!! Everywhere you turn theres these patisseries with cookies and eclaires and croissants and bon bons....just every sweet you can imagine! I don t know how these people stay thin, if I lived here I would eat bon bons and cookies until I couldnt fit through the door. Alright, internet time is about up, so better go.

*Louvre
*Expensive plane ticket, AHHHHH BASTILLE DAY!!! All trains were book till the 16th to Barcelona
*Eiffel tower, and lots of expensive water....EXPENSIVE WATER!!
*Versailles
*Lines and unfriendly French customer service representatives
*The French HATE us. No, seriously
*In Barcelona now, where I have semi comprehension of the language....
*Night in airport
*Nap
*First day of "no sightseeing"
*Loud Italians in room
*No more time for internet
*Adios

We are masters of the Paris Metro. It is ALWAYS crowded...very, very crowded. French people have no bubble. Then there's the occasional crazy guy who's rapping in French, attempting to break dance, and smells as if he's not bathed in weeks. Not a good combination for a crowded metro. But more metro=less walking=less blisters=good.

French bread is much better in France than from Safeway. But I guess that was a given.

Yesterday we say the Basilica de Sacre Couer, Jardin du Luxembourg, Notre Dame, the Moulin Rouge, and Musee d'Orsay. Moulin Rouge was definitely nothing like the movie, and the Impressionist floor of Musee d'Orsay was so crowded that I think had a better chance of seeing Van Gogh's self portrait in an art book than behind the millions of tourists trying to catch a glimpse.

It's been a while since I updated! In Dublin we went to a castle just outside of the city called Malahide. The castle itself wasn't all that impressive, but the grounds were so beautiful! Everything was green, green, green. All that rain really does make Ireland as green as everyone says it is. Ah, but I am sick of the rain! After rain in Oregon for 3/4 the year, I'm ready for dry summers, but Ireland just seems to rain all the time.... We also saw the Irish National Gallery, which paled a bit in comparison to the British National Gallery...

The next day we took a day tour to the Wicklow Mountains outside of Dublin. I didn't understand people's obsession with Ireland when in Dublin, but after seeing the countryside I do now. It's soooo beautiful. Even on a rainy day! Sharon and I decided we would become hermits and live in the Irish wilderness. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

After another Ryanair flight (this time with a landing that I felt was made by a pilot that was slightly less drunk) we were in Paris. After spending the night in the Dublin Airport, we weren't much up to sight seeing, but of course managed to squeeze some in. We went to the Opera Garnier, which I was so excited to see after hearing about it's football field sized stage. I didn't think places this sumptuously and decadently decorated and designed existed unless they were created by the church! Everything was gold gilt and mirrors and there were statues and busts everywhere of the main composers. I decided then that if I lived in Paris I would do nothing but eat croissants and go to operas.

I have learned how to say a few things in French: tap water, thank you, I don't speak French, and do you speak english. If it's possible (and it is) the French hate us more than the English.

After walking forever to see the Arc de Triomphe I absolutely had to walk down Champs d'Elyesses (yes, Matt, I'm sure I spelled it wrong!), and bought a few things at Cartier and such. Ok, so maybe not....

We met Michelle and her sister at the Eiffel Tower last night! I feel soooo worldly, you know, meeting my friend for drinks in Paris and such. Well, time to go be more worldly. Au revoir!

Dublin

Ryanair is crazy. Absolutely crazy. I think all flights should be this cheap. And this crazy.
Apparently there's these things called stag/hen parties (our equivalent to bachelor/ette parties) in which everyone buys matching shirts and the ladies all wear things on their heads and sashes. Then they apparently go get really drunk and the brid/groom to be enjoys the last of his/her singleness. To me it seems like the members of their party would be enjoying themselves all even more. I think they might have had a few before the flight....and then they started flirting with eachother...the stags and the hens that much. Amusing for a while, but 30 year olds trying to pretend their 18 on a flight that already plays music in the background that sounds like the chicken dance gets old. Really old.
Dublin lots and lots of huge cathedrals/churches and even more pubs. Since I have only seen one Starbucks, I have a new project. I am taking a picture of everything that says 'Guinness.' Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it's not. I had to stop after I took about thirty picturesfor fear that I'd run out of room on my memory card. That spanned about four blocks. Oh, and we toured the Guinness brewery, which was suprisingly interesting. They give you a pint of Guiness at the end of the tour, and I even finished the whole thing. I was pretty proud of myself. Then I was very giggly, and we had to walk down several flights of escalators...which was interesting...

London: Part Deux

Who would have thought that the tube actually closes down? Yes, the main line had 'communcation errors' this morning and we were faced with paying £22 for a tourist bus or walking for a few hours. Luckily, with my persistent questioning of the tube info guy (who was getting a bit annoyed as a que formed behind us) we found an alternate route and arrived at the Tower of London, though a bit late. There are ravens there that can't fly! They've clipped their wings because, apparently if they crows run away, the castle will fall down. Wouldn't want 900 years of hard work to go to waste because of some ravens flying away, apparently...

I loooved the Tate Modern. There's something about modern art that absolutely fascinates me. It's the expansiveness and all the bright colors that just draw me in. And that it can be anything you want it to be. I like that. Oh, and it makes me look oh so intellectual to pretend to like modern art. Ha.

We ended by seeing an 'Evensong Service' at St. Paul's Cathedral. It was amazing. The second tallest dome in Europe definitely has AMAZING acoustics, and the choir sounded so wonderful. I might just move to London and become Catholic if it meant I could attend service there every Sunday. Or is it Protestant? Sharon and I couldn't figure it out, and we were embarrassed that we didn't know. I could be happy being Catholic or Protestant, though, if it meant hearing a choir sing in St. Paul's again...

I've made a project of taking a photo of every Starbucks I see on my trip. I was disturbed on the first day walking around London that there seemed to be the same amount of Starbucks in London as there were in Seattle. Since then I've probably taken about 12 Starbucks pictures. When someone asks to see my pictures from my trip to Europe, I'll just show them my Starbucks pictures.

By the way, it really is true that American's are hated. I've gotten more dirty looks here, for no reason at all, than in my entire life...but I suppose stereotypes are true to some extent. I really think I should start using my awful Russian accent. Or not talk at all.

Ireland tomorrow!

London

Ok, it's the first time I've been on the internet since I got here, and even thought it's only been a day in a half, I feel like I've already done so much! Well, my legs, feet, and shoulders definitely tell me I have.

Yesterday Sharon and I made the mistake of deciding to do a little sightseeing before we checked into our hostels. Sure, my bag may have felt fine walking up and down the street a few times, but after several miles of not really knowing where we were going and calling it sightseeing simply because no matter where you seem to wander there's always sights to see in London, those 36 pounds on my back were weighing very heavily. We definitly received a few dirty looks from the 'Londoners' because of our uber-touristy backpacks we were lugging everywhere.

On, the plus side we saw the Royal School of Music....basically the same as Benton at OSU. Well, we don't yet have a ticket box in the front area, nor do we have an actual museum of musical instruments in the basement, but we're getting there. There were all these people rushing around toting various instruments and speaking with only very 'sophisticated' British accents, and about very sophisticated things I'm sure.

People in London hang out in parks. A lot. Seriously, in the middle of the day the grass was covered with people picnicing and chatting and walking around. And we're talking really big parks here! Sharon and I decided that these 'people' may actually be cyborgs that the government places in the park to make them look full and bring up the morale. I think it's plausible.

Today we hit two of the main museums in London: The National Gallery and the British Museum. Absolutely amazing. In two hours I'm sure we only skimmed the surface...but such is our 'whirldwind' tour of London. Also, we saw the changing of the guards at Buckinham Palace. Well, we got there a bit late to actually see anything, but I heard a lot of patriotic music, and think I may have gotten a few pictures of the tips of one of those ridiculously huge black hat/helmet thingies. Our other stops included: Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Covent Garden, and finished off by going to a show of Chicago.

Oh, and I've officially had both fish and chips AND steak and kidney pie with a pint, as well as ridden a double decker bus. I'm basically English, now. If only my accent didn't sound so ridiculous...and if only I was used to having to pay double for EVERYTHING. It's super expensive here! I have to ask specifically for tap water, so as not to get a 5 dollar bottle of water.

What amazes me most is how anyone can live in a city like this and not be in complete awe of it every second! People walk around looking so jaded, seemingly not knowing the cobblestones they're walking on are hundreds of years old! I think it would take a lifetime to explore all the museums and attractions London has to offer, and that isn't if you spent all your days sitting in parks! I guess this is what being raised in rural Oregon does to you.

I will end with a few terms I've picked up: toilett instead of restroom, surname instead of last name, and litter bins, instead of garbage bins. Oh and there's NO recylcing anywhere. I looked inside of one of the 'litter bins' and saw nothing but plastic bottles. I was so sad! Again, a product of being raised in Oregon I suppose.

Now I'm extremely tired and a bit light headed, and I think it's time we made our way back to the hostel. Oh, it's very nice by the way! Clean and quiet...and no one seems to snore in our dormitory, yet!