Fries, chocolate, beer, mussels, and waffles - what could be better?

Unfortunately we started in Brussels on the wrong foot. Our hostel's common room was only open til 11 every night, and since the common rooms have been where we have met people and generally spend a lot of time, the early closing really put a cramp in our style. But, we will prevail and have fun in this city!

Our first morning we did most of the sightseeing and walked around the city. Not a lot of tourists or lots of sites, so it was a pretty relaxing morning absorbing the city with a waffle and belgian chocolates in hand. The city is known for its comic books, so they have painted comic frescoes on many of the city walls, so Jessie and I decided to go find as many as we could and had lots of fun looking for them and taking lots of pictures of us being nerds. Also on the list of things to do in Brussels: visit the top of a parking garage for great city views and to see the atomium (check) and eat fantastic french (Belgian?) fries. Pretty much amazing and they came with this great curry mayonnaise sauce that I must figure out how to duplicate. We did our standard souvenir shopping that evening and went back to the hostel. We were able to make friends with a couple people in our room and decided to go out and have dinner and drinks. We got a bucket of mussels which were fantastic and of course lots of Belgian beer. We then met up with some of the guys in our hostel and soon discovered that they were barely 18, but we were stuck with them. We had some drinks in the main square and tried to look for a reasonably priced club at which point the boys went to the toilet and never came back. At this point we were frustrated and tired and went to bed, only to be woken up at 5 am. So, my bed was right by the window on the ground floor - something I should have thought about earlier. But I walk up to some guy repeatedly knocking on the open window saying "excuse me, excuse me." I thinking its some creep ignore it; then the next thing I know the man has lifted the curtain over his head and is looking straight at me inches away. I immediately freak out. Apparently the person was staying at our hostel and his wallet was just stolen, so he and his girlfriend could not get in the building and reception was closed. I get up to go talk to him and by the time i get there someone else had already let the couple in. They were nopt in our room, so I wasnt too worried about strangers, except sleeping in front of an open window. I will make better choices next time.

Leaving for Amsterdam in the morning!

Cruise ship Americans are hilarious!

For the record Europe is meant to be seen by train. All those who have cruised the Meditterrean, I understand the appeal, but you have not really experienced Europe. Don't mean to offend anyone, just had to put that out there.

our last full day in Barcelona! Sleeping in has become a regualr habit and most places I don't even unpack the alarmclock which is very nice. We've decided to see the rest of Gaudi's buildings today and do just that. He is truly amazing and a genius. I wish we had anything to compare in the states. That night we have booked a Spanish cooking class I'm incredibly excited for. After being Gaudied out we find a bookshop - there's nothing like a good bookshop to make you feel at home. Have to head to the train station to get tickets for our super long journey to Nice tomorrow. Back at the hostel for a nap and to get packed. We head to the travel bar for our cooking class and soon find out that they booked us for the wrong night and there is no cooking class tonight. I'm bummed about it, but they promised to send me the recipes. We decide to go to the beach and have tapas, paella, and sangria anyway. We stop for paella and are incredibly amused by the group of 4 Americans sitting behind us in absolute culture shock. They worry about undercooked tuna (tuna is supposed to be served medium rare, duh), complain about the smoking allowed in restaurants, yell Spanglish at our English speaking server, are appalled by the family at the restaurant next door letting the 2 year old play with a cigarette. Jessie and I are cracking up and decide Jessie needsto change her pnts in front of them since nudity is legal in Spain as long as you keep your shoes on. We take care of our check and head to the open area, but unfortunately another group stops obstructing the view, so our plan has failed. Instead we walk the beach and just hangout there for awhile before paella. The paella was awesome - incredibly fresh shellfish and the waiter totally encouraged my playing with my food, especially the stuff with heads and claws! overall we had a great time in Barcelona.

The next day we had a 10 hour train ride to Nice. The day to rest was very nice and needed. Just hung out at the hostel in Nice that night and got ready to go to the beach the next day!

Tapas and Flamenco!

Day 2 in Barcelona! We find a free walking tour which we have discovered are the best thing ever since they are usually catered to young backpackers. The walking tour through Barri Gotic is great and the guide is hilarious. He convinces us to sign up for a tapas and flamenco event tonight. We also become friends with a couple from Florida and go to lunch and churros with them. It's so great to hear American English! British, Australian, and Kiwi English are highly overrated. After some Sangria for lunch Jessie and I head to the Salvador Dali exhibit which was really cool. Not most of his really famous pieces, but they had a huge collection. After this back to the hostel to rest up and get ready for the night.

Unfortunately just as we are leaving the hostel it starts to really rain, so it's time to use our handy umbrellas. We get to dinner with unlimited sangria and some really great tapas. Not the most traditional, but Jessie will eat them which I am thankful for. We make friends with another American - 3 in 1 day, from Portland and hang out with her for the evening. After Tapas and Sangria we head to the Flamenco show. Great style of dance and the music was wonderful. 2 Spanish guitars, bass, percusion, and traditional vocalist. The dancers were great. After this it is time to head home as the sangria has most definitely gotten the best of us. More Gaudi and the beach tomorrow!

It's like grown up Dr. Seuss!

First full day in Barcelona! We are well rested and decide to start the day at Parc Guell, a park completely designed by Gaudi. We head out there and after a long steep climb up a hill (would have put San Francisco to shame) we arrive. Seems like just a park at first until we come to the center with an overlook full of mosaics, caves, tunnels, and so many other indescribable things; I can't wait to show off these pictures. Gaudi mastered the art of blending architecture with nature and does so beautifully. He captures so many curves and angles and uses color everywhere. Jessie has a great time with her camera. The park had beautiful views of the city and we spent about 4 hours walking around the park seeing everything and getting lots of pictures. We then head to La Sagrada Familia, another piece of Gaudi's. It is a Catholic church on which they broke ground on 1882 and they still are not finished; they are shooting for 2026. The church we have 3 facades and 18 towers. Once again Jessie got some great pictures and words just cannot do this work justice. At this point we are both exhausted and head back to the hostel for a nap and some grilled cheese and leftover veggies for dinner. That night we go to a fountain show which is almost as good as the Bellagio's and just chill at the hostel.

That old lady just stole a peach!

Early morning to catch our flight to Barcelona. We left the hostel around 645 still half asleep and made it to the airport after waiting almost an hour for the bus. I thought we were going to miss our flight, but the nice lady at the RyanAir information desk said we would be ok and sent us to the front of the check in line. Anyone who has anything bad to say about Ryan shut your face, they saved the day. We got our bags checked and through security only to find that our plane was late anyway. We finally arrived in Barcelona about an hour late, we really did not care though as we needed to sleep on the plane anyway. We made it to our hostel without another hitch and got checked in and settled. From there we walked to the ocean and saw the Columbus monument then walked down La Rambla (main tourist street) and to the market. We picked up soem fresh veggies, wine, fruit, and chocolate for dinner to cook in our hostel (it was actually allowed here). Headed back to the hostel for the rest of the evening to rest, cook dinner, and plan our stay in Barcelona.

Last full day in Rome! We slept in again, this city is incredibly exhausting. We were going to the catacombs today which only took a couple hours, so we had a very relaxing morning reading and such. We went to the area of the catacombs with Meredith, our new Kiwi friend who was not as clueless as those on Flight of the Conchords for those of you wondering. Once we got there we walked through the park. It was so great to be out in the open with no buildings around and enjoy the nature and the quiet. We then got lunch and went to the catacombs. they were amazing. There were over 70 km of tunnels underground that have been there for 1700 years. The tombs of St. Peter and Paul were originally there which was astounding. Very creepy, but still blew my mind away at how ingenious the Romans were. From there we got the bus back into towna nd picked up some items to cook dinner. The produce in the Mediterrean is awesome and CHEAP. We started cooking dinner and having our standard bottles of wine for the night when we are informed that we are not allowed to use the kitchen (oops). After the hostel manager told us he totally took over cooking the meal offering us suggestions on how to make the dinner better and he was right. We sat down and enjoyed our dinner and decided we needed some real Italian tiramisu. We were told to go to this place called Pompi. All the Italians made dirty jokes about the word all night and told us repeatedly to not ask people on the street where Pompi was. We, of course, joined in on the jokes and it never grew old, especially since we did not know the true definition of the word. Look it up for all those that are curious (hint - try Pompino). We could not find the restaurant, but found dessert nonetheless. After we got back I was exhausted, packed my bag for Barcelona dn went to bed. Long day of traveling tomorrow

Best Cappuccino Ever?

2nd full day in Rome. It was time to see all the stuff we missed on our first day which was surprisingly quite a lot. The Indian guys we stayed with told us about this great walking path that went by everything we needed to see. Jessie and I slept in a little as we were both up late and she was up til 4 giving photography lessons. We hopped on the bus and headed towards Piazza de Popolo (the people's square) and took some pictures from there onto the Spanish Steps, lunch, and the Trevi fountain. All of these we beautiful and we each threw a coin in the Trevi to bring us back to Rome some day. I could not believe the size of the fountain, it was huge, you could not even get the whole thing in one picture. From there we went to the Pantheon , it is huge and so perfectly built. The building was in great shape and I can't believe they were able to build it how they did 1700 years ago - simply amazing. From there the square with the 4 rivers fountain. Jessie had a heyday taking photographs from all different angles. We then decided it was time for a bathroom break and a rest. Of course to use the bathroom in Rome you have to buy something and sit at a cafe. We were wandering around and found a cute bar in an alley. We each ordered a cappuccino and throughly enjoyed it. They were absolutely wonderful, strong enough for our tastes and they even did the cute little leaf on top (had to take pictures). We then just wandered around the area and hit a few more smaller sights on the walk. TAking the bus home that night was a nighmare. We waited 30 minutes then the bus driver drove right past us, we were angry to say the least. We walked to the next stop and 10 miuntes later another one comes by and we make it back safe and sound. That night we just chilled in the hostel and had leftovers from the past 2 nights for dinner. Catacombs with a Kiwi tomorrow!

That cop tried to run me over - in a crosswalk

Our first whole day in Rome thanks to Marius was absolutely packed. Fred - backpacker from California - decided to join us for the day. We started at the Colisseum and the Roman forum. I am still in awe as to how old they were and how well preserved some of the ruins are despite their age. The Romans were genius. From there we continued to roam (hehe) the ancient city see Trajans column, Compiglio, and random other old stuff. While in ancient city we discovered drinking fountains straight from the ground. Who knows how long they have been there, but the water was excellent and actually cold! We grabbed some lunch, at this point I am so unbelievably sick of sandwiches and pizza, but when in Rome. After lunch we were headed to Vatican City. We decided to walk along the Tiber river from ancient city to the vatican. It was a really nice walk on the river side, so it was also much quieter than up on the streets. There was one point with a fall and a great undercurrent that would not let anything get away from the falls, we had to watch twigs and rubbish fall down for about 10 minutes, it was seriously hypnotic. Once we got to Vatican City we walked around Sant Angelo - former fortress and residence of the pope. It was most definitely a fortress with a moat and spiky fences. We walked from there to Piazza San Pietro and marvelled at the basilica from the outside. We then went on to the Vatican museum and looked at some of their collection, surprisingly tons of modern pieces, but mostly the sistine chapel. We then went to the Basilica and walked around in there and in the papal catacombs. At this point the 3 of us were absolutely exhausted, but were amazed at all we had seen. We all went back to the hostel to chill for awhile before having a full blown Roman dinner.

After a couple hours of resting 5 of the 6 of us on our room all decided to go to a nearby restaurant recommended by Marius. Once we figured out what to order we were completely assaulted with food for only €22 each. We got antipasto which we thought was manageable after the first time they came by with food, but 3 trips later we were all stuffed and we hadnt even had our meal yet. All of the antipasto was completely amazing - FRESH mozzarella, fried zucchini, flat bread, mini sandwiches, fresh bread, sliced beef and pork, egg plant parmesan, meatballs, Garlic anchovy cheese bread, and i'm sure some items i cannot remember. From there we got our entrees (pizza or pasta) and following all of that lemon sorbetto. We also were given unlimited wine and after dinner liquor (limencello and some digusting dark brown drink). It had to have been one of the better meals of my life. We all (Jess, Me, Fred, and 2 guys from New Delhi India) had a great time chatting. The lady at the table next to us came over and told us some of her backpacking stories from the 70s and shared some of her wine with us which was very kind. AFter a great day and meal, not to mention a little networking for when I'm in New Delhi this Fall, it was time to go back to the hostel and crash.

The Romans do 2 things well - water and disorganization

We left Florence and decided to stop by Pisa on our way to Rome. Jessie and I decided we both needed the typical holding the tower up snaps (as our new friends call them). We arrived in Pisa and it was miserably raining. The city is very unclear as to how to go about getting to the tower. We finally figured it out and some very nice girls gave us their bus passes. Pisa is truly just a tower. We took our pictures and jumped on the bus to get back to the train station where the jerk of a bus driver did not want to let us on the bus because we only have 8 minutes left on our bus passes. I, of course, argued and he surrendered, hahaha. It is very unfortunate that it was such a miserably rainy day; I do not feel as if we were prepared to give Pisa a fair chance.

We arrived in Rome shortly before 6 in the evening and found our hostel. We were a bit concerned at first as our hostel is in a residential neighborhood of Rome, but the staff were instantly welcoming and helped us plan our entire stay in the Eternal City. The advice we were given was fabulous and as a result we have not yet waited in a queue. The staff ordered delivery for us for dinner that night and it was a great night in getting to know the people we were rooming with - Fred from California and Linda from Ireland. Jessie and I explored the neighborhood and found all the essentials within a 2 minute walk and definitely felt like we were at home.

It's 80s night!!

Florence! Wasnt so sure about the city when we first arrived. The sidewalks are CRAZY busy, but once I realized the city and roads had been around for about 1700 years it made navigating between people, and potential murderers - the drivers and bikers - slightly more tolerable. We just chilled and walked around the city to get a glimpse at Duomo our first night there. Apparently the eye contact rule does not prevent you from being accosted by salesmen here, and how do they always know we are American? I guess it is one of those things I will never understand. The first night in Florence we decide to just pick up some food at the super market near our hostel and eat in the court yard. The hostel was very nice. Beautiful courtyard and all the walls are covered in graffiti from other guests. Found new amusing bits every time we went up to our room. Jessie had to write a few things which was great. The first night in Florence we ended up chatting with another Australian girl traveling by herself. After a couple bottles of red (cheaper than water) we decide we should go out. We wander the streets around our hostel and find a place that is quite busy. We go in to the bakery turned bar and order our drinks - prosecco for me, banana cocktails for the other 2 - we sit and soon realize we are at 80s night. Its amazing how similar it was to 80s night in Lincoln. Same crazy girls who look strung out dancing with themselves and crazy costumes, thought unfortunately there was much less dancing at the bakery compared to Bricktop. It was really very funny and great people watching. We left the bar and wandered around a little more before deciding to get another bottle of red and just hang out in our courtyard. Overall a great night.

The following day was our only full day in Florence. We took the free walking tour of the major historical sites of the city. Then we decided I had to have a new camera so we got some lunch and went to the camera shop. Luckily the salesman was very helpful and I am pleased with my purchase. Jessie and I had decided to hit the big sites early the next morning so she could get pictures without the gobs of people. So, that afternoon we quickly walk around inside Duomo and the go see David. He really is as spectacular as you would imagine. We managed to get a couple pictures before the museum guard (nazis) caught us. WE were incredibly fortunate so be at the museum while there was a Maplethorpe exhibit. He is one of Jessie's favorite photographers and I really enjoy his work as well. The exhibit was huge and they did a great job comparing the photographers work to Michelangelo's sculpting. Jessie was absolutely thrilled with the whole museum and is super excited to brag to all her photo clubbers. We then walked through the Uffizi museum very quickly, mostly just to see Botticelli's Venus. Their collection was amazing, but the museum was horribly crowded and not so unjoyable because of the crowds. While walking through the museum we discovered we have become somewhat of celebrities as a group of tourist from Pennslyvania pointed to us and identified us instantly as the Nebraska girls. We had never spoken to this group before and did not recall seeing them previously. Very confusing. That night we took advantage of the free hostel dinner. Wonderful food, but I have discovered that Italians douse their pasta in olive oil and then cover it in the sauce. It tastes wonderful, but it is most definitely not the low fat somewhat healthy plate of spaghetti I am used to. We then chatted with everyone in our hostel room and decided that we all needed one more Florentine gelato (the best in the world). The 5 of us (Jessie and I, a brother and sister from Argentina, and a solo traveler from DC) all walked the city at night seeing the sites and went to the square where the entertainers congregate. It was a nice relazing night and we all slept very well after such an exhausting day.

The following morning Jessie and I speed walked Florence in the drizzle and got lots of pictures with very limited tourist around. I definitely left the city with a better perception that what I initially had of it. Next time a wine tour is definitely in order as the chianti was amazing as were the hills surrounding the beautiful city.

Hostells with Aussies

Venice was absolutely wonderful. I really did not expect to like it much based on what I have heard from others, but Jessie and I both fell in love with the city (after it showed me who is boss and pulled me into the water, of course). We managed to make it to Piazza San Marco before most of the crowds on Friday morning and got some great pictures of the square. We went to both the palace and church and they were beautiful. After that we had a great morning just roaming the streets and alleys trying to get lost. It was much more difficult to do so than we both expected. Our hostel was right near the Rialto bridge and there are signs everywhere directing you to it. Jessie and I then decided to go to Murano Island where they are famous for their blown glass. The glass work was amazing and after going through probably 50 shops we made our purchases - wine stopper and earrings for me, earrings and pendant necklace for Jessie. Jessie bought hers directly from the artist and he signed the back which was cool. Back at the hostel we talked with our Australian roommate and decided we needed to go mask shopping and have a nice dinner. We all we able to find great masks after digging for quite awhile. We found a great shop away from the tourist crowds that only sold hand painted items at reasonable prices. From there we found a little Italian restaurant with a tourist menu (2 courses - pasta, and meat - plus a side dish). The food was quite good and it was lots of fun to talk to someone other than Jessie. While sitting at the restaurant lots of vendors came around with roses and music, and pretty standard nice dinner fare. Until one vendor walked by with neon blinking masks just laughing at his own ridicularity (is this even a word, sounds like one to me). We all laughed about this for some time and headed back to the hostel after some wine. Overall Venice was great, and made the abuse from the hostel manager bearable (my friend wants to go swimming with you! Theres a pool downstairs!). Definitely something to laugh about.

I will write about Florence later - starving, time for soem Roman dinner!

When you fa in water try standing before freaking out

Train trip from Munchen to Venezia today. It was quite a peaceful day with great scenary riding through the Alps. They arent as big as the rocking, but very beautiful. Also rode through the Italian countryside which was very nice. Pretty uneventful day until we arrived in Venezia. Our hostels ould best be described as weird but quaint. We entered through a barely marke door off a small square an saw dark courtyard. we were then instructed to go up 3 flights of stairs and then entered the guesthouse. i have no idea how big the hostel is and so far we have only seen 1 other guest. it is clean and very typically venetian overlooking a courtyard and canal. Jessie an i decide to go to dinner and wander over to the docking station near our hostel. Guess who proceeds to slip and fall into the canals... After a few seconds of freaking out i realize i an stand and pull myself out and go back to change. i send jessie up to get clothes and change behind a panter as to not embarass myself in front of the owners, but of course she tells them everything. finally dried off ow, but i think my camera may be ruined (sorry mom). loving venice so far, theres something interesting down every alley and around every corner. ready to explore tomorrow. Ciao!

Do I look Hispanic?

We have been in Munchen 3 days now. The trip over here was pretty uneventful and quite easy. Our flight from Paris to Munchen was about 15 minutes late, but no biggie. The Paris airport is awful by the way - VERY limited shops and food (coffee shop and duty free in our terminal). Jessie and I spoke with a man in Paris who went backpacking about 25 years ago and has visited Europe about 70 times since. He recommended a great Bavarian restaurant, which was very good. I was nervous when the waiter told me I had to get the suckling pig (I was picturing a head), but to my relief there was no head involved. For the first time in my life I enjoyed saurkraut, which continues to be the only thing resembling a vegetable I've seen in the past 3 days.

Tuesday Jessie and I wandered around town and saw much of the important city sites. We visited the Oktoberfest grounds and monument to Bavaria. As well as townhall, many city squares, and the city park. The city park included a surfing wave (something I never thought I would see in Germany), a huge Chinese themed biergarten, and a nude sunbathing area (holy old man balls, at least they weren't pasty). We also visited the alte pinothek (old art museum) and moderne pinothek (hope you can get that one). Jessie was not impressed, but I thought their collection was pretty amazing. Lots of Durer, Rubens, and Van Dyck as well as some Picasso, Dali, and Van Gogh (Jessie of course fails to see the academic side of art). We were absolutely exhausted last night, but had to go to Hofbrauhaus. So headed there and hoped to last for 1 liter (definitely not beer ball material). 4 hours later we decide we had best be going. Jessie, randomly started talking to a 20 year old kid from Moscow who was taking part in the biomedical engineering conference herein Munchen. The 3 of us talked for quite some time and had a great time comparing cultures. We walked through the busiest, and possibly the most beautiful part of town on the way back from Hofbrauhaus and it was awesome to see it not crowded and so quiet.

Today Jessie and I went to Dachau. Exploring the concentration camp was very interesting; a haunting reminder of the past and incredible caution for the future. We then went on a Hitler and Third Reich walking tour of Munchen this afternoon. We say Hitler's offices, where the Nazi party, SA, and SS were all started, as well as many swastikas hidden around town among many other things. Souvenir shopping followed as well as partaking in our daily habit of gelato (the sales lady started speaking to me in Spanish, I was very confused).

We are onto Venice tomorrow. Had a great time in Munchen, only wish we had taken part in the city walking tour the hostel provides and had an extra day to go to Neuschwanstein. I guess I have to save something for the next time I'm here. unfortunately the computers here do not have USB access for us lowly hostel folk, so no pictures this time. It's amazing how much of my German has come back to me. Jessie was thoroughly impressed when I ordered coffee this morning in German. Now if only I could get used to this blasted European keyboard we would be set. Time to be going. See you all in Venice!

Packed and ready to go!

Flight out of Lincoln is on time. Reservations are printed. 28.4 lbs of gear is packed. House cleaned and locked up. We are ready to go! See you in Munich!