Roma

Our last full day of the tour was jammed packed. Started with a Coliseum tour and a tour through the ancient ruins right beside it. After a short lunch break we headed over to the Vatican for a tour of the Vatican museum so we could see the Sistine Chapel and after got to explore St. Peter's Church. It is seriously beautiful and the huge sculptors and crazy detail really sets it apart from anything else. The Sistine Chapel, while crowed with about a million people, was so cool to see. It is HUGE and filled with great detail you could stand there for hours looking at every little part. After that we had the rest of the afternoon, however I was extremely disappointed in the Coliseum tour..I I didn't wait my whole life to get "30 mins" to enjoy it and we didn't even get access to the 3rd floor or underground!! So I had pre booked a ticket while I was already there the first time so I headed back over and got a 2nd tour of the Coliseum!

It was well worth it though because the view from the top looking down and getting to see the underground tunnels was one of coolest things I've ever seen! (And with the amount of reports and research essays I've done on the Coliseum, I knew almost as much as the guide!) ;) just kidding, but close! After we had our last group dinner together at this cool underground restaurant and each course was served with an entertaining opera show. Our last night together as a group we all hit one of the local bars and got to party together one last time. I had an amazing time on the tour, while not enough time in some places and long hours on the bus, it was fun getting to travel with complete strangers and becoming friends with everyone by the end. I meet people from all over the world, of all different ages, all coming for the same amazing experience. Today, a girl I became close with on the tour was staying at a hostel 3 blocks from mine so we went to the Church of Bones. It was a monk church and has mini rooms filled with real bones!! 

That is a whole wall of human skulls!!! So creepy. We were both so tired from the tour so after we had a delicious dinner together (my last pasta meal for at least a year!) and called it a night. I'm too sad to fall asleep because when I wake up ill be headed for the airport home. I've seen some of the most interesting sites, in the most beautiful cities, with the coolest people in the world and I couldn't of thought the past 6 weeks could of been any better even I tried. I got to experience traveling with my best friend, strangers, making our own itinerary, being in a tour, experiencing life in 5 different countries, with 5 different languages (6 if you count Catalan, language of Barcelona) and I somehow managed to survive it all. 15 hours on a plane and ill be back in one of my favorite cities in the world!!! (No I'm not talking about Manteca) ;) Ciao!!!! 

Venice, Milan, Cinque Terre

After taking the ferry to Venice, we first stopped for a glass blowing demonstration at a famous glass blowing shop that is traditional of the Venetian people. After we had a walking tour of San Marco square and the surrounding area. It was cool to learn about the Venetian culture and how different it is and how powerful they once were. After we had the rest of the day to explore. We took advantage of just exploring the tiny streets and crossing random canals to get out of the tourist district and really experience Venice. Later that day, when it finally cooled off, we took a gondola ride through the canals with a bottle of the region wine, Prosecco!!

Perfecto!!! The next day we were up early first for a pit stop at Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake and a popular vacation spot for many locals and it was beautiful!! We got to Milan in the late afternoon so we had a quick stop at Milan's famous Duomo and then a small group of us headed across town to check out AC Milan's futbol stadium and got a tour inside the stadium and of all the locker rooms and press rooms. 

This is the huge church (duomo) of Milan!  The next day we hit the Cinque Terre!!!!! The place I've been waiting for the most. We first stopped in Porto Venere for lunch and to wait for the cruise that was taking us to each town's port. A few of us got off at Vernazza and took the only open hike to Corniglia. 

We eventually ended up at the town at the top of that cliff and started from sea level, so it was quite the hike. Ended the day at the Monterosso beach, had dinner on the cliffs of Riomaggiore watching the sunset from the top of the Cinque Terre.  Ended our night with a live Italian cover band and couldn't think of a more perfect day!! Today we headed to Rome but first stopped in Tuscany for wine tasting of the famous Chanti Classico and hand pressed olive oil. Delicious!!!!! Once we got to Rome we had our first mini sample of Rome with a quick tour of the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and the piazzas in the area. 

Whew!! This post could of been my whole trip but it was only the past 4 days!!! Tomorrow we have a FULL day of Rome and it is our last day of the tour! I only have 2 days left in Italy! :( sorry the posts have been limited but we have been nonstop, literally, for 2 full weeks!!! Having an amazing time!! Ciao!

 

Florence, Pisa and Verona

After the long 6 hour drive to Florence went only had a few hours to explore our first day. Couldn't get into the famous Domo so we climbed the bell tower to get full 360 degree views of Florence and the beautiful Tuscan hills. The buildings are just as beautiful and detailed as the amazing scenery and hills. Another thing that is hard to put into words and pictures is realizing how old these cities and buildings are. They are full of so much history and significance it is mind blowing. The next day we had a leather demonstration and lessons on how to tell fake from real. We got a walking tour of the city and had the rest of the day to explore. A few of us went together to the Micheli palace and walked through the Botanico Gardens and again had one of the most amazing views. That night we had a dinner overlooking the Tuscan hills and for a group dinner, it was amazing. It was a family restaurant and they made sure the wine glasses and your plates were constantly full!! This morning we were up early to head to Pisa!! 

Didn't realize how small Pisa actually was!! Literally the tower and church are the entire thing!! Stopped at an outlet mall for lunch and then got to spend a few hours in Verona. Went to Juliet's famous balcony and only got to explore the town briefly but it was the cutest, full of energy little town and I only got to see a small section!! Tomorrow we spend literally 12 hours on the island of Venice so another busy busy day!!!! 

Sorrento/Capri

Day 3 of our tour and it has been going great. The first night was in Rome but we only got a bus tour of the city because we're spending 3 days there the last 3 days. First thing in the morning we drove to Naples to go to Pompeii. It was so crazy and cool to see all the old ruins and how well preserved it was. We had a tour guide for our group so it was nice to learn what we were actually looking at. After that we drove to Sorrento and got a few hours to look around and explore the city. 

This is our view from the bus as we were driving down the hill to Sorrento. We went to a group dinner to a local pizzeria and even got to watch them make pizza in the kitchen. The next day we caught the ferry to Capri and spent most of the day there. First we got a 2 hour boat ride around the island. We got to see the White grotto and got to swim through the Green Grotto. It was SOO amazing. The water is crystal clear, unlike you'd never believe. After the boat ride we had a few hours to explore Capri. I took a hike with a few other people and got to see some incredible views. After I explored the city and window shopped all the high end Italian designers. Spent the last hour relaxing at the beach!! Later that night we had a full 3 course Italian dinner at an incredible restaurant overlooking the water as the sunset. 

This is our view from dinner. First thing this morning we left for Florence. We were supposed to stop in Tuscany for wine tasting but since our bus broke down for about an hour and half, we rescheduled the wine tasting on our way back to Rome at the end of the tour. Having a great time and our full Italian tour guide and bus driver are full Italain and they are crazy!!! Listening to them talk (argue) on the bus in Italian is quite entertaining! As you can see our days are jammed packed and busy!! Try to update as often as I can!!!

Goodbye Barcelona, Hello Italia!!

Our last few days in Barcelona were perfect. The Spain game ended up being at midnight and our whole room in our hostel plus tons more came! It was so much fun getting to know everyone and hang out with practically the entire hostel! Went to Parc Guel as well! 

Beautiful mosaic buildings and landscape that overlooks the city. Amazing!! Spent the last day at the beach and some people from the hostel took us to he coolest shot bar ever! All the shots had some fun aspect but mostly we got ones that lit up on fire because they were fun to watch. Headed to the airport and was so sad that Madison had to leave me for America!!! We had an awesome time and couldn't of asked for a better travel mate. First day in Rome was a recovery day but I obviously had to come check out the Colisium! 

Today is the first day of my Contiki tour. There is 51 people and its a full bus (a little too many but should be fun). On our way to dinner we drove by a few sights but were coming back to Rome the last 3 days. Our tour guide is Italian and he is crazy, but seems so much fun. Tomorrow we leave at 7 am to get to Pompeii!!! 🇮🇹 Ciao!!! 

Barcelona

Been a busy first 2 days in Barcelona!! The first night we got here we watched the Spain vs Italy game in a local bar and it was so much fun! Had to cheer for Spain on the outside, but of course was rooting for Italy deep down. Great game too!! The championship is today so were even more excited to watch this game!! The next day we hit the beach  trying to get in as much Mediterrean sun as possible and we defiantly are. We've been confused as locals a few times because of our tans!! (But then they hear us talk and clearly we don't know any Spanish! Haha). We checked out la Boqueria off the famous las ramblas street. Its one of the biggest fresh foods markets and it was great to get to load on some fresh fruits that we've been missing so badly! We met up with our friends from Paris for dinner and they took us to a really cool tapas bar and it was so amazing! We've been struggling with knowing what to order and this place was so good so it changed our mood on tapas! Yesterday was our tourist day. We started with the walking tour in the morning and saw some cool cathedrals and churches and learned so much about the city! After we went to Camp Nou, FC Barcelonas stadium. 

However we didn't know it was a Cataylan concert for indendence and it was insane!! (Barcelona is Cataylan and they are trying to get independence from Spain). We got a few good looks at the stadium but it wasn't as detailed on the outside as Arsenals stadium so the real beauty is on the inside. We still have a lot more to see, but today is championship day for Spain so you know where we'll be today!! Go España!!!!

Ibiza

Ibiza was defiantly the most unique place we've gone so far and unlike any place in the world. Picture Las Vegas mixed with Cancun with the whole country of England on one small island. Insane. The part of the island we were staying on was a little far from the main nightlife but filled with people our age with plenty of restaurants and bars to keep us entertained all throughout the day. The first night we went to one of the bigger nightclubs called Space. It was fun to experience a different type of nightlife with a music genre different than anything were used too. The next day we spent the entire day at the main beach Bora Bora. It was PACKED with people on every inch of the beach and with music blasting and cocktail waitresses serving you tropical drinks straight to your lounge chair! The next day we did one of the bigger clubs but is more of a day/early night club called the Zoo. You get painted up like different animals and the whole thing is at an old abandoned zoo! 

All the old animal show stages and cages are transformed into dance stages and different DJ booths. It was so much fun and so different than anything else we have ever done. Ibiza has defiantly been an experience and we can't wait to relax in our last place... Barcelona!!! 

Valencia

Spending a few days in Valencia was perfect so we could finally relax and take a few days off from the constant traveling, but what a great place to spend the extra few days! Since our bus arrived pretty late on our first day, we couldn't do too much, but first thing in the morning we hit the beach!! It was both of our first time to the Mediterranean Sea and it is beautiful. Clear, warm water, miles of beach, and the perfect amount of breeze to keep us there all day! The next day we ventured down to the street markets and it was jam packed with people but we both got a little shopping in! Later that day we did another free walking tour (if you can't tell we LOVE these tours because we've done them in almost every city!). This tour was of "new" Valencia but it was cool because we got to see the Science and Art buildings and they are so cool and different so learning the story behind them all was so interesting. 

This is just 2 out of the 6 different buildings. The round one is a cinema building and the back one is the science exploratorium. Today is our last day in Valencia and we spent the entire day at the beach. It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy the sun and even better to be able to do that in Spain!!

Tomorrow were off to Ibiza!!!

Madrid

Only really had one full day in Madrid, so we tried to make it count. Started off with another free walking tour that was given by our hostel. We love these tours because it's a cool way to learn about the history of the city as well as all the historical, beautiful buildings. We started in Puerta del Sol (main city center), saw the Palacio Real (old royal palace), cathedral, and Plaza Meyor. After we went to see Cibeles Fountain, which is Real Madrid's godess, and the celebration center after they win. We checked out a few cool lookout spots which had views of the whole city. Busy, busy afternoon. After we got back, our hostel was hosting a Paella night so we thought we would try it, and good thing we did! Delicious!!

It's a traditional Spanish food, with rice, veggies and seafood, and even better it was homemade!! Ended our night with the pub crawl and met tons of new people from our hostel. Ending our last few hours in Madrid we took a quick trip to see Plaza de Torres, which is the huge and beautiful bull fighting stadium!! 

Now for the 5 hour bus ride and tonight we will be in Valencia!! 

San Sebastian

Arrived in San Sebastian late Saturday and walking to the hostel we walked past the beach at the perfect time! Best sunset I have ever seen! Our first day here we hiked up to the Jesus statue on the top of the mountain. It gave us a great view of the whole city. Since the sun was shining and it was plenty warm, we went to the beach for most of the afternoon. After laying out and relaxing on the beach, we rented kayaks and paddled around the cove. Enjoyed exploring the town and finding great new things. Today the weather is not so good and is getting ready to rain so we took the tram to top of the other mountain facing the bay. 

Magical views and pictures (from the iphone) don't do these awesome views justice! This is the perfect place to take a break from the crazy, big cities we've been in and just enjoy everything around us. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Madrid!!!

      

Bon Voyage Paris!!!

Yesterday was the perfect day in Paris. Not only was the weather better than perfect, we did so much you wouldn't believe it was all in one day! Went to Notre Dame first thing in the morning, walked around the church and then went up to the top of the towers. Not only another amazing view of the city but the most beautiful church you have ever seen!! After we walked down to the Louvre to check out some art work. Since we know nothing about any of the paintings, we went straight to the Mona Lisa. As big as the Louvre is, it was packed full of people but we still got to the front to get a good view of the little painting. We walked through the Michelangelo sculptures and eventually ended up in the section of the Greek Gods which was cool because we at least knew who they were. Thankfully my Italian citizenship allowed me to go into both the Notre Dame and Louvre for free!! After relaxing in a nearby park, we realized we could see the Arc de Tromp (spelling?) so we went for what we thought was a short walk. About a hour walk later we were finally there! 

After our long day Madison had to go back to the hostel because was still super sick and the amount of walking we did today couldn't be helping. However, my one goal was to see the Eiffel Tower at night so I took a pedi cab down there. I got a baguette sandwich, some grapes and wine and had a picnic at the park directly in front of the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, the sun doesn't go down until about 11 so I had a lot of time to kill. Thankfully I ran into the 2 American girls who were right next to us in the hostel so I had people to be with which made watching the sunset behind the Tower even more exciting!! This morning we went to the Lover's Lock bridge, added a lock and our now on way to Spain!

Rain, rain go away!

What's the best way to get a crash course in French? Get lost and try to find your way home! Went on a jog this morning to enjoy my first morning in Paris and tried going in a square so I could avoid getting lost. Well I ended up finding the cutest park and it was downhill from there. Since the area we're staying in is not touristy at all.. Most people don't know English. Thankfully everyone is SO nice and tried there hardest to help and I finally made it home. Good news.. I know everything about the area I'm staying in now after going in circles a few times. When I got back Madi was on her way to the hospital. She has a super bad case of strep throat and thankfully the owner who knew English took her to the nearest one and now she can finally get on track to start getting better. Since we already had our Eiffel Tower tickets to go to the top, we had to make the best of it and thankfully Madi is a trooper. OMG! It is wayyyyyy better in person than in any pictures! Seriously gorgeous. Started raining shortly after we got there and was a mini hurricane at the top so it was a quicker visit but nonetheless still amazing! 

Called it an early day because we are going to be jam packed with activities the next few days and hopefully the rain holds off! 

Side note: our hostel is more of a b&b and serves breakfast and dinner and since we were back in time we thought why not try a free dinner, even though we were a little frightened by the Korean breakfast this morning. The dinner was some sort of salad but soo delicious and super cool to have a home cooked meal! (It's these little things you love when you don't have to spend your money on food and can put it towards something way better!!!) 

First week finished!

Can't believe we are already one week down!! Time has flown by so quickly! Amsterdam was defiantly an unique experience. Our hostel was so much fun but with 30 people in a room, sleep was hard to come by so today we are recovering in the train station since we have nothing to do until our 7 pm train to Paris. Monday we went to the Anne Frank house and it was a cool museum and crazy to see how small of an attic 8 people shared for 2 years. That night we did the Red Light District Pub Crawl. It was fun but the Red Light District really is something else! Yesterday (Tuesday) was Madi's birthday and our plan of renting a paddle boat on the canals was postponed because we walked in a circle, lost, for 2 hours. We planned on doing it today, but the lack of sleep has caught up with us and we changed our minds. 4 nights in Amsterdam is the equivalent of 4 nights in Las Vegas.. Too many!! There isn't much to do during the day, but we've made it work and found some interesting things to do. 

Can't wait to wake up in Paris tomorrow morning!! 

Amsterdam Day 1!

Ok so technically yesterday was our first day, but today was our first full day so it counts. Since we were short one day we last minute stayed in a hotel, outside the city, but super cute. We over slept our wake up call but thankfully they were cool with it!! Our hostel is a super big party hostel but so far no complaints and a great place to begin the night and meet some normal people without heading out in the red light district alone. We went to the sex museum, which sounds a lot more exciting then it actually was, but I guess a cool thing to experience. After we went to the Heineken brewery to do the tour and it by far was one of the top things on my trip!!!

This was us before we walked in!! It was about a 2 hour tour full of included beers and TONS of interactive things to do and learn.  Not even as a Heineken fan I grew to love it by the end!!! Defiantly worth it. Amsterdam is defiantly not as clean and easy to get around as London, but I'm slowly finding its perks and with the language barrier were learning its even more difficult (have you ever seen a Dutch word?? Most streets are like 40 letters long!!!). We've got lost a few times, but slowly getting better when we don't confuse each other. We left the unusually warm London (people claim us cali girls brought the sun), to the cooler Amsterdam, but hopefully it gets better the next few days! We have some exciting things planned and can't wait to keep you updated!!!

 

Goodbye London.. Hello Amsterdam!

So our last day in London was totally adventurous but one of the best days. Right next to our awesome hostel was the Natural History Museum and had free admission so we went early to check it out. It was an awesome museum but was crowded quickly with field trips, so thankfully we were done early. We checked out and had to make it across town to last minute book out overnight ferry to Amsterdam and you could only book from one station! We cut it close but thankfully we got a ticket! We had to catch the ferry at night so we had all day to kill. We went to Olympic Park to try and check out any leftover Olympic monuments but all we could see was the stadium and the area was under construction so couldn't get too close. Since that was pretty much all that was in the area and we still had a half a day we went to see the Arsenal futbol  stadium and it was awesome!!! 

First the town is the cutest town ever! No idea what it was called because all we needed was the tube station but I could move there tomorrow if I could. Second it was the biggest and most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Being in an empty stadium I could only imagine the energy that it brings on game day. Can't wait to be back to see my first game!! We then headed back to the train station to leave for our Amsterdam Ferry. It was pretty much a mini cruise ship and was super cute with a mini restaurant, bars, movie theaters, and casinos ( but don't worry I resisted the urge to go in). 

This is the inside of our little cabin, but was perfect for the overnight trip however, you could feel the movement a lot more than a cruise ship!!! 630 am wake up call and we were in Amsterdam! Can't wait to explore and check out our new city!!

London Day 2!

Day 2 we were finally time adjusted and hit the ground running! We found a free walking tour that started at 11 and it was great!! It took us to Buckingham Palace, King James Palace, a famous square, Paralment building, Winchester Abby ( chapel where Kate got married), saw Big Ben, the London eye and everything in between. We took a double decker bus around and found Camdon Square.. Which is where the famous flee markets are and the starting point to our Camdon Street  Pub Crawl! We had so much fun and met great people. Long day!!!! Can't wait for more tomorrow!!!

This picture is from the end of the tour.. It's a world famous boys school and myth has it this field was where they invented futbol. The only people allowed on the grass are the boys who attend school and only to play.. So obviously I had sneak on to get a pic and maybe some luck!!! :)

Finally arrived!!

After a long 12 hour plane ride and 9 hour time change, we finally made it!! Arriving at 11 am seemed great but we were so exhausted all we wanted to do was nap to make up for lost (or in this case gained) time. We walked a block and found one of the Royal parks.. Keinsington parks and walked around. It is literally the equivalent to Golden Gate park.. It was great. Came to our hostel, took a quick nap and were off to see the city. We went to our first pub, tried fish and chips, a cidar and were introduced to Pimm's.. A British summer drink. We then went to picideally circus (union square) walked around, found a few pubs and eventually ventured home. Day 1 in the bag.. Can't wait for what's in store for day 2!!