Pictures from Rome

1) Annaliese and I at Trevi Fountain
2) John, Cooper, Annaliese and I at our favorite resturant in Rome, Pancotto. Soooooo good!
3) Me throwing coins into Trevi (I will return)
4) Sunrise in Rome
5) Sunrise in Rome. I love the lighting on our faces.

I will add more pictures later, I am tired of sitting in front of the computer now though. So keep looking for new ones. I have over 1500 pics.

Pictures from Florence

1) Dome of the Duomo (they look like real people just sitting there, hanging their legs down)
2) Me at the top of the Duomo overlooking Florence. The views were some of the best in Europe.
3) View from inside the dome
4) One of the cows from the cow parade. This one lit up at night. It was an art exhibit in Florence. They are going to sell them and then all the proceeds go to opening a children's hospital in Florence. Cool, huh?
5) View of Florence, again, I know, it is beautiful though.

Some Pics From The Trip

1) Me in Florence at the Duomo (that thing is huge and beautiful, the view from the top is even more beautiful)
2)Mr. Marco (Owner of Vivaldi B & B) and I in front of his place in Venice. Cutest place ever.
3) Me sitting on the Spanish Steps of Rome
4) Our friends John and Cooper who we met in Paris and then again in Rome.
5) Rome sunset while walking down the street. There are sooo many scooters there.

Home Sweet Home

Bonjour, Buongiorno to my family and friends,

I am back home in SF now. Good to be home and see the Golden Gate bridge from my window. The flight back into SF gave me a beautiful view of the city and the bay. Comparing it to Paris from a birds eye view, this place is tiny. It is amazing that even with the three years of living here I still have not seen half of it. Now that I am well traveled I will have to give the city a try. haha. I hope to make it outside more this semester. Hopefully I will be entertaining some of the friends I have made on this trip. That will get me out into the city.

So the rest of my time in Paris was well spent. Went to Sacre Courve (Probably spelled that one wrong, but it is 3am Paris time and I am exhausted, trying to beat jet lag by staying up till a decent US sleeping hour) Anyhow, that chuch was beautiful and so was the Montmartre area that surrounded it. Saw the tiny little cafes, Had a Caffe Au Lait there as we watched the street painters. Beautiful. The church gave us a magnificent view of the vast city below. Even though my knee was killing me (Yeah, not sure why it hurts, but cold, stairs and walking were bringing tears with every step) the view we saw and the cafe au lait was worth it. Made our way down to see Moulin Rouge. Little did we know that it is in the sex area. Um yeah, a little racy. Took a picture of a chair that had a swiveling tounge in the middle of it. Interesting. Needless to say after one visit to a sex shop just for the hell of it (and the laughs) we were out of there. Maybe next time we will pick up a private dancer. haha just kidding.

Our hotel Prince De Galles, was more fabulous than we had ever imagined. It had yellow touile (sounds like twalh, could have spelled that one wrong too) It was great for the Paris effect but I would never want that in my house, especially in yellow. A little much. Our beds were sooooo comfty. The room was huge and just wonderful. A well needed luxury which might I add ran us as much as the cheapest hotel we could find for the prior night. At high season, Prince De Galles runs around 700 euro. We obviously paid much, much, much less than that. Try 65 euro and worth every penny. Wonderful.

We bought ourselves a bottle of wine after dinner along with a chocolate walnut brownie. Ran a hot bath, put the suits on, drank wine and soaked. Then when we were pruney enough we gave our feet the much needed love they deserved. The pumice stone (pierre ponce, in french, good to know if you need one in there). After a mini pedicure, painted the toes, cruised around in a fabulous bath robe, drank more wine and packed for our journey home. I was impressed with myself for getting four bags down to three and not leaving anything but paper behind. I got the packing genes from the mom I would have to say.

Made it to the airport in time to watch the sunrise. The colors were amazing. Ate more croissants, how could I not? Met a very good looking french man who was headed for SF as well. Boarded a big bus thing that took us to our plane. That was an experience. There I talked with Jean Louis, the frenchman, and learned he owns a business that makes the barrels that wine is aged in. He will be staying in SF a week. Annaliese wasted no time in securing a dinner date for me. hahaha. Maybe a return to France is closer than I think. hahah. I make myself laugh. It should be fun though if we go to dinner. At least he will know his wines and speak french. I guess you cant go wrong there.

So here i am, back in SF, with a pile of stuff on my bed, so wanting to go to sleep. I think the floor looks like a good place for all the stuff to be put away at this point. I will add pictures tomorrow possibly and maybe another blurb.

I SO ENJOYED all of your blogs, comments and love. I loved sitting down and reading your comments to my adventures. I laughed so hard at some of your comments. Thank you for making me smile, even on the days I was sad or frustrated. I love you all so much and I am so grateful that you were all able to share this experience with me this way.
Love to you all.
Ciao, Arrivederci, Au Revoir
Baci, Baci ( Pretty sure that is kisses in Italian)

Paris in the sunshine

I fly home tomorrow. I dont want to leave. How about you all come over here? Then I wont have to come home and i will still be able to see you all. Since this is my last day in Paris, this will be short. I want to get out there. I have already stuffed my face with an amazing crepe filled with cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms. Amazing. My purse is filled with croissants for the ride home. OUr favorite place was closed today because almost everything here is, including Versailles, which we had `planned on for today. Actually the plan was for yesterday but got a 25 euro ticket on the metro, stepped in Dog shit and then our room wasnt ready till 2 and we had taken a night train. Worst start to a day ever. Today is much better. Our new place, Prince De Gaulles is worth every penny and beautiful. Look it up. Spenci, Spenci, as Annaliese says.

I fly home tomorrow at 10 20 and make it to the states at 1:30 pm. We gain a day. I will either be at the gym or sleeping when I get home. Depending on how i feel after getting off a 12 hour plane ride.

Paris is sunny and fabulous today. We shall go forth and explore, mabye a boat ride. Love to you all. I miss you.
Kim

One of my Favorites, Cinque Terre

I might have to continue this post thing to all of my aunties and family when I get back to SF. Granted my life wont be quite as interesting as here but at least we can all talk. I will have to make a new blog, call it °Life after Europe° I am sure you will all tune in. ha.

Today we were supposed to wake up and lug all of our stuff to Cinqueterra. We woke up to the sounds of construction. Lots of men talking and hammers. Sounds more like bombs when you are awaken out of a dead sleep. Anyhow, laid there for awhile, then thought about just hanging out in Florence. Then I came up with the bright idea for a day trip. It was almost 11:30 by the time the train came. Thought it would only take an hour to get there. Turns out the train ride to La Spezia took three. Yeah I didnt have a book either. I spent the entire ride looking out of the train, enjoying the countryside, thinking about the lives of Italians and how much richer, simpler they are. Once I am done with school, I shall slow down maybe and enjoy life. Drink a Caffe Latte, which I have come to appreciate. Hope they taste somewhat the same back in the states. I will have to cut out all the pastrys, although Annaliese knows where to get some fabulous Panetonne (This wonderful bread that is baked upside down and only made in Italy).

Back to Cinque Terre. So the countryside was beautiful. There were about a million and a half stops inbetween Florence and La Spezia. I thought the trip would never end. Got to La Spezia and had to take yet another train the Cinque Terre, where all of you should visit at least once in your lives. It was soooooo beautiful. There are five little tiny cities, more like villages built into the cliffside right on the ocean. Beautiful. Walked inbetween Riomaggiore and Manarola. Would have kept walking but the walk between Manarola and Corniglia was closed. So we made the decision to hang out in Manarola, take pictures, and enjoy ourselves, watch the sunset instead of being on the train again and not enjoying the weather which was perfect. not a cloud in the sky. The ocean water seemed to be bluer than Capri. it was colder too. I made sure to put my hand in. I want to go back there and scuba dive cause it is a protected marine park. Bet it is beautiful under water. The cliffs are huge, full of gray rock that has been chiseled by the wind creating vertical grooves. It made the most beautiful patterns. I loved Cinque Terre. Would have loved to see all the cities but now i have something to come back to.

We sat outside and enjoyed a caffe latte and the worst three euro chocolate creme cake I have ever had. Watched the sun set. Then we packed ourselves up and go on the train to come back home. Since this time it was dark, Annaliese came up with the brilliant idea to rip her book in half and let me start reading it. In Her SHoes, It is now a movie with Cameron Diaz. Luckily I havent seen the movie. The book is pretty good. I have already cried. ha. I am such a softy.

Now we are back in Florence where I was given the tourist rate on the tiniest cup of gelatto tonight. It wasnt that great either. Didnt compare to the other night. Tomorrow will be a better day for gelatto though. We are going to roam around Florence, hitting the leather mart once more to pick up some last minute things. And the rest of Florence to just enjoy it. Have to catch an evening train to Milan to catch our overnight train to Paris. I will be sad to leave Italy. i have grown acustom to their wonderful leisurely days and amazing gelatto. Tried again another place today that looked like they had decent cremas. I was so wrong. Not even worth the calories. Wont be returning there. We might go to Siena if we get inspired. I think we are a little trained out after todays mission that we werent prepared for.

I cant believe this trip is almost over. Annaliese and I were discussing how we are enjoying ourselves and each other more and more as the trip comes to an end. Dont want to start school. Pysch nursing and community health sounds like way less fun than traveling Italy and Paris. It will put me one step closer to being able to afford another trip like this as a nurse though. So back to school it is. But for now I will enjoy these last few precious days in two countries that have provided me with so many fond memories, tastes and sounds. I love it here.

Love you all. Please come visit me soon when I get home. I will have so many pictures and more stories to share. I love you. Kim

A bicycle built for two (In Lucca)

Hello to my friends and family.

Today we went to Lucca, a quaint little town just an hour outside of Florence. Annalieses family is from there and we were supposed to go eat dinner with them Problem is, they only speak Italian and hung up on her twice. haha. So needless to say we ended up not eating dinner with them. That is okay because I had the most fabulous mushroom tortalini and then wonderful tasing spinach when we got back to Florence. Had some more wine and then they kicked us out. They said they had a reservation for the table but it was cause we paid and were finishing our wine. We didnt leave the tip we were planning to give. Dinner was great though.

So in Lucca, I found the equivalent of the crema in Venice. Um yeah, you can say I was soooo happy. I purchased two at first, ate one and decided I needed five more. So maybe we can forget about me loosing any weight. haha. Whatever. As long as I am happy. So yeah Cremas. Fabulous. We got to Lucca in the afternoon cause we had to check out of Igors lair and move to our new place, Novella Inn. We stayed there last time we were in Florence. So we did Laundry and then moved. It is beginning to be a pain in the ass to pack. I have to get everything in the bag perfectly for it all to fit. And still I have to carry a small shopping bag with some of my purchases.

We took the train to Lucca. Bought round trip tickets. Oh and we got a 5 euro ticket on the train because we forgot to validate our tickets. Cause we have been taking eurostar and reserving our trains we havent needed to validate. We had no idea. OUr train ticket taker was kinda of a jerk too. So that was a bummer. The countryside was beautiful though and I managed to get out a few postcards. Only a couple days left so please send me your addresses if you want one.

Lucca was amazing. It is a tiny little town that is only 1.5 km long and 1.5 km wide. We rented bikes and cruised around on top of the city walls. There are four different sets of walls enclosing this city. The day was so pretty. blue skies, not a cloud, I was able to use my new purse that I had purchased earlier in the trip. The last time i tried to use it was in sorrento where it started to rain. The purse ended up in a plastic bag and I was not able to enjoy it. Today, the bag was out in full force. So back to the bikes. I think this will be one of my favorite memories of this trip. The lighting was just perfect. I love the afternoon and evening lighting. The golden hues bouncing off the brick walls and the yellow houses with red roofs. I loved today. Perfect. We went to a chocolate short where I tried something I cant remember the name of. I am trying to do new things so this was new. It was really good too. Wish i could remember the name.

Finally found the pair of boots I have been looking for this entire trip. I should stop shopping but one of my aunts (joann) had told me in a post that she felt she hadnt purchased enough. haha so I blame you. hahah just kidding. These boots are really really cute and I worked hard for this trip. I deserve them.

Went to the train station today on our return from Lucca. Tried to book our night train to Paris. That was a pain in the butt. They guy was not nice or patient. We are going to La Spezia (cinqueterra) tomorrow morning and spending the night. Then the next night we have to take a train to Milan, wait for and hour and then board a night train that leaves at 11 something to arrive in Paris by 8:53. That will give us two days in Paris. One for Versailles and the other to do something.

One thing I cant wait to do is not look for a place to stay. I cant wait to just be able to pay rent and not look on the internet every day. I am not ready to come home but school calls. Alright I think i might be done for the night. I cant think of anything else vital that I need to share with you. Love to you all

Kim

Firenze may be better the second time around

Oh I have to pee so bad but there is no restroom. I figure I have been raw with you all for the last two weeks I can tell you when I need to pee. After two and a half glasses of wine and two glasses of Limonecello I have to go pretty bad. But I will hold it cause I dont want to go across the street to the bar and pee. That means I would have to order a drink probably and um yeah one more and I would be maybe a little too tipsy. Had a great dinner in Florence tonight. Annaliese and I spent the night enjoying each other and talking about random fun things. I think it is really good that we are returning to places we have already been so we can enjoy the culture instead of taking a million pictures and running everywhere.

Had the most amazing gelatto tonight. Mandarino and fragola (strawberry) It was the perfect consistency and it was soooooo good. I ate it while Annaliese shopped for pretty underwear. I no longer have any use for those kind of things so I will eat instead. Luckily though since we are walking so much I have still managed to loose some weight. Amazing since everywhere I turn is another fabulous pastry. My legs are looking pretty damn in shape if I do say so myself. Okay I will stop. I am getting a little too raw. Tonight was a really fun night and I think the rest of our trip is going to be quite enjoyable.

I purchased another pair of shoes. So much for Tiajuana cause I found THE CUTEST pair here in Florence. They are blue and white striped. I will look like a sailor. I plan on purchasing an ensemble to match cause there is really cute stuff here. I will at least look for a sailor looking outfit. haha. Limonecello. I love it. just kidding. No I am not. >At least I am having a good time. hahah I am making myself laugh. Anyhow also purchased a beautiful skirt. Member Tamie how I said I wanted a pretty skirt from Spain. I didnt make it to Spain but at least I will come home with a skirt. It was half off from a store called Expensive. I was laughing with Annaliese about the fact that in the US, people think they are pash by naming their stores in different languages other than english. Here I wonder if they name them in english so we know what they are or if they are also trying to be Posh. The things you wonder about while in Europe. I am very happy with my purchases and will treasure them for a long time. I am soooo excited about my shoes. I love shoes. ha

So today we took a train from sorrento to naples where our train was 45 min. late. We sat across from a Friar. Yes he was also a priest. very nice man and gave us some ideas of places to visit while in the area. Also happened to sit in the car where a stowaway was. He was a drunk. Had a bottle of wine and was smoking inbetween the two cars where you are not supposed to smoke. A little scary but at least a man of the lord was with us. Luckily our friar informed the train ticket taker of the man and he was done away with in Rome. Arrived in Florence late in the day but the train ride was nice. It was a time of refelction. I managed to read the AAA travelers guide on Florence and learned the ettiqutte of ordering in a Bar. I had a caffe latte today. Wonderful here. I might have to drink them in the states. They will never be as good though.

So our place here in Florence is cute. Wont be staying there tomorrow night because Igor (actually we dont even know his name, we named him that) is an Igor of a person. He is there 24 hours and day and has to let us into the building. We cant take our keys. He also doesnt talk very much. Maybe Lucca or Cinqueterra tomorrow. Not really sure and that is the beauty of it. I guess we will decide once I have peed.

So we shopped today. Went to Louis Vitton to get Annalieses boyfriend a wallet. I have realized that I will never be able to spend that kind of money on a pair of shoes. O kay maybe on a pair of shoes. But that place is outrageous and I am not sure I am even down with the quality of their products. I would rather go to the flea market here in Florence and get four times the amount of stuff. Plus we werent really dressed for the occasion. Looked like I had been traveling for quite awhile even though I took a shower today haha. You would all be proud. I didnt take one picture today. I just enjoyed the moment. I took too many in the grotto yesterday and regretted not just enjoying myself. I have great pictures though.

Alright I think I might be done for the night. I will keep you all posted on what is next. I am like a feather in the wind. I know that was a little poetic. I love all of your posts. I wish we could have seen pompei but time did not permit. Just another reason to come back. Jen, awsome that you posted. So good to hear from you. To all I love you and I am thinking about you. See you all soon. Have a beautiful day and I will have caffe latte and a crema for you. Oh and some gelatto, a glass of wine and some limonecello too.
mmmuuuwwwahhhhhh
Kim

Grotto Azzura, better than the painting in the resturant in Moorpark

Once again, exhausted I sit down to find another place to stay for tomorrow night and then tell you all about my day. So As much as I would love to go on for hours about my day, it may be very short. I am tired and it is almost 12 at night here.

Last night we made our own pasta, pretty darn good, in fact did it again tonight. Since almost the entire town is shut down as far as resturants we didnt have much of a choice. It is funny because when you ask for un buon ristorante apierto (a good resturant that is open) they all point to these resturants that are closed for the season. I guess they all eat at home cause they dont know their resturants.

We slept with a space heater on cause it was pretty cold last night. It was raining really hard last night too so we were kinda bummed on Sorrento. Even thought about getting up and leaving since Capri would be wet and no Grotto. But.....lucky us cause when we woke up it was all sunshine. Ate breakfast that Niccolo our host prepared. This consisted of rolls, this great stuff called pannetone (fabulous, I could eat so much of it) jam and juice. He also prepared coffee or tea to our liking. Set out on the bus for Sorrento, we are not centrally located as the website said but there is charm in this old place. It is beautiful here. I would love to come back in the summer. I bet this place is hopping. It is kinda like Catalina only 20 times better. The water is aquamarine blue and you can see to the bottom. Went to the Porto and had a pastry while we waited for our hydrofoil boat. That thing moves. We had called all morning about The grotto to see if it was open and they kept telling us to call back and that it wasnt open. Everyone kept saying it will be closed, it hasnt been open all week. When I called right before we were to get on the boat to Capri they said it was open at 11 but you wont make it in time.

But.....WE DID !!!!!! We got to go to Grotto Azzura today. It was amazing. The most piercing beautiful brilliant blue light shines in and illuminates the water. No glass boats dad, they werent out. But i did get into a tiny tiny row boat and duck as we went into a hole that is probably no more than two and a half to three feet tall. I would love to say more but I need to go to bed. Amazing. We were so so so lucky to get to see it in the winter. I guess in the summer it can take up to 2-3 hours to get onto the little rowboats once you are close to the grotto. It took us five min. Awsome. We paid a pretty penny to get out there and another one to get in to the grotto. Tourist trap but so worth it. I think Capri transport and grotto ended up costing 40 euro. Good pictures and awsome pizza Capris. and mmmmm torta Caprese. A roman local recommened that to us. so good.

Walked around to the little shops and bought the cutest ceramic christmas ornament. Hope it makes it home. All in all, Sorrento and Capri turned out to be well worth the while. We were told that the train in that we took from naples to Sorrento was on strike so we would have to take a hydrofoil to naples and then a taxi or walk the dirty streets of naples and get robbed. ha. Luckily there is no strike tomorrow and we will be able to get back to naples and then on a train back to florence where I will hopefully find a pair of boots and a beautiful black leather purse. No espidrilles on Capri. Everything was closed. Bummer. I have been waiting for months to get those things. Alright now i am quite tired.

Staying at residenza millennium tomorrow on Via Delgi Orti Oricellari, 31, Firenze, Tuscana, Italia.
Phone there is +039 055 215254 Dont know if you can actually call me though. Plan on day trips to lucca, siena and cinqueterra. Then mabye to Venice for more CREMAS mmmmmmm I wish I could bring them home for you all.

Ok I love you all and miss you. Cant wait to be home and see everyone but I dont want this trip to end. mmmmuuuwwwahhh

Capri tomorrow, Barcelona....Summer?

Just a short post cause I am so tired right now. We are in Sorrento right now staying at Casa Suzy. We will be here for two nights. We are going to do Capri tomorrow and maybe Pompei. We will see what the weather is like. I really wanted to make it to Spain this trip but it is going to be such a mission we have decided to cut it out. We just dont have enough time and to fly would actually take a lot of time with bus and rail travel. Plus the extra money it would cost. So I have decided that if I can save enough money I will go this summer. Or next summer when I become a nurse. I am sad cause i really wanted espidrilles but Maybe I can find them on Capri. Alright it is bedtime. Just wanted to let you all know where I was.

Love you all

Please Ignore All Grammar and Run On Sentances

So I started reading my post from yesterday. Wow. Sorry my grammar and sentance structure is awful. I guess I really was exhausted, kinda like I am now. Each day I become more and more tired. I will need a vacation from this vacation. It didn't rain today, which I was thrilled about. I have decided I don't like weekends for two reasons. One, all of the streets and sites are too busy. Two, no one posts to my blog. ha. I added pictures as you can see. I will try adding more tonight but I am pretty tired.

Today I went to visit my Dad's old stomping ground of Via di Filomarino. Took a lot of pictures. We took the metro and then a taxi to get there. (by the way, I think i have seen at least eight of my future husbands on the metro, so if I don't come home you can blame the Roman metro, hahaha just kidding) I would have liked to walk but taking a taxi saved a lot of the day. So while the taxi waited (we were a bit away from the metro station) I took pictures of the street he used to run down as a boy. I was running too so I could see everything, looking for the house, the park and the resturant. I started to cry as I ran down the street thinking this was the same place my father was so many years ago. I couldn't find the resturant but couldn't really look as much as I had wanted to. I went over to the park, Villa Ada and took some pictures. It was beautiful there. The street had a lot of graffitti on it. I am sure it was not that way when my dad lived there. I asked the cabbie if this was a good area and he said oh yes, it is a very good area. Many important people live over here. So it was a great experiance to go and see that. I only wish I could have been there longer. So I could soak it all in. When I visit Rome again I will come back to this street and find the resturant.

I have decided that the next time I visit Europe I don't want to bring a camera. That way I am not looking through a lense the entire time. i am actually enjoying it all. We went back to the Vatican today so we could look at the Basilica more and Annaliese needed to get a few more things. I didn't take a lot of pictures and I was able to look more closely at things. I was happy that we once again were able to see The Pieta. The original is behind bulletproof glass cause some psycho in 1973 or something went all crazy and took a hammer to it. Luckily they had a copy of it already made and they were able to repair it. I was amazed at the massive statues that are placed high above us in the basilica. I am actually amazed with the entire structure itself. I do not see how something so massive and so old could still be structually sound. Or how they were even able to build such a place and lift or carve such heavy pieces of Stone. It is just amazing. That is all I can say.

After the Vatican we went shopping. I bought myself a snazzy peacoat that looked fabulous with an amazing pair of riding boots. Too bad they didn't have my size. So I only left with the coat. These boots were soooooo cute though. I am still really sad about it. I am going to search on the internet for them. Shopping is such a different experiance here in Europe. In some stores you share a dressing room with a bunch of other women. And because I speak very little Italian, getting what you need is much more difficult but still fun in the end.

We also went to Trevi Fountain where I once again enjoyed half of my favorite flavor of gelatto. I had Canella, which is cinnamon gelatto. It is amazing. I actually really want Crema di Riso (Rice) and Canella mixed but no such luck. But canella alone is good enough. In fact it is heavenly. Our friends Cooper and John poked fun at me because I had described my gelatto in such terms. Limone tasted like Disneyland, I am sure you have all had a lemon ice thingy. They are from New Mexico, mabye they have never enjoyed such a pleasure. ha. Then my Fragola (Strawberry) tasted like "heaven". So back to present day now. We sat by the fountain and enjoyed our little cup/cone of delight. I had the cup, I don't really like cones. After that we went back to visit the cutest store, Vinovip which sells all sorts of Italian foods. Got some great stuff. So excited.

Went to dinner while our Laundry was going. That was nice. We shared Chataeubriand, which is a beautiful steak with potatos and tomatos. I hope I spelled those two veggies correctly. I haven't really cared about spelling or grammar this entire blog. I am educated, I promise. I just figure you all would rather me spend my time telling you what I am doing, rather than spelling checking or proofreading. I don't know that I have actually even read a full past blog. You are reading raw notes of Kim. Quite a rarity until now. (possibly another mistake, Curran if you are reading this, I am sorry, I know you were an english teacher haha)

Anyhow, dinner was great. Another wonderful bottle of house wine and really good sorbet at the end. Next we make our plans for Sorrento and Capri. Hope tomorrow and the next day are sunny down there. Today was a laxed day and i think i needed it. I would have loved to go see more stuff today but I am just exhausted.

I love you all. Please keep posting and emailing. For the people whose addresses I have, you should recieve a postcard in maybe a month if Italian mail goes well. haha. Please send your addresses and I will send a postcard. I think i have spent all my money one postcards alone, so there is one with your name on it.
Talk to you in Sorrento. Ciao.

Exhausted in Rome

Hello to Everyone,

Look I figured out the picture situation. Scroll down for more pics.

SO first I want to know why (Rocky) S. Stallone is at the Vatican in a famous painting???????

Another fabulous sunny day in Roma. We hear it will rain tomorrow but I am hoping not. Cross your fingers for us. So this morning we woke up the earliest we have ever and got ready to do the Vatican. Met at the metro station RIGHT in front of our b and b. Enjoyed a wonderful il tea while waiting for the rest of our group. Then we started our short walk to the Vatican lines where we met our friend Alex from yesterday and his boss. I was fortunate enough to have the student ID card on me and I got a discount on the tour.

We were given head phones to hear since there were so many of us. We then followed Alex all around the vatican museums looking at all the amazing things there. We learned about Pietra a famous statue of Mary with Jesus lying in her arms. She is holding Jesus as if he were a baby and she is much larger than him. She holds her hand out as if to ask why his fate is his fate. There is a somber look on her face too. When the Pope saw the piece done by Michalangelo (probably spelled that one wrong) he said it looks as if the Lord created it himself. Michalangelo instead of taking it as a complement he became upset because he was not given any credit. Soon people began to think it was someone elses work and when he was in a crowd and heard someone talk about how another artist sculpted it he became very angry. As you all know I am not the bet story teller. Sorry. So anyhow Michalangelo has only signed one of his sculptures. Because he was so mad and wanted everyone to know that he was the creator of this piece he went back to where the statue lay and took out his chisel. There he carved something like this sculpture was made by Michalangelo right across her chest. What a statement huh? He made that statue when he was only 25. A neat thing about him was the fact that he created the statue through the statue's eyes. It was so beautiful.

So next we went on to learn about the people in the Sistine Chapel. Apparently MIchalangelo only painted things he knew. He never made up anything. So every piece of the chapel is someone he either knew or saw a statue of. So in the last judgement painting on the back of the chapel Jesus is created by three different pieces. The arm is from a statue in the vatican museums. Starts with an L but I can't remember it. Then his Torso is from a statue that was found uncompleted with no arms or legs. Its idea would later also be used to complete The Thinker statue. Then his face is from a statue of Apollo also found in the museum. It was really neat to see all of these things put together. There are so many stories in the sistine chapel and in Michalangelos work. Fascinating. Also there is a saint that was said to have the flesh cut from his body. The flesh that this saint is holding is not of his own though. There is no beard and there is hair. The saint has a beard and no hair. The saint's face is from the pope that had made him paint this after his eyesight was poor, he was an old man and his back hurt. Anyhow, it is said that this skin is MIchalangelos. Because he felt that this pope had taken him for all he was worth. If I remember correctly MIchalangelo was actually never paid for the job either. I could be wrong though.

It was all amazing. Climbed the the top of the basilica also. Beautiful views of Rome. Was able to look down to st. Peters square which is actually not a square but elliptical. What else did we do? hmmm. I am sure there is more about the vatican but I can tell you all later. As the weeks go on I am getting more and more tired. We had a really long day today and I am supposed to go out now. Annaliese doesnt want to go out and I am not too sure I feel safe going out on my own. So I think I might just have to stay in. Tomorrow I am going to try and find my dads old house and his fave. resturant. I might be on my own for that one too but it will be an adventure of its own..

Today we tried to go to the resturant we went to with our friends Cooper and John. We took a taxi and he GOT LOST. In his own city. Then he wanted us to pay for it. We just made him take us back to the basilica which he needed a map for. HE dropped us off near the wrong metro stop so we ended up taking the metro. Most expensive ride to go very little distance. Kind of a bust. We spent the night shopping. There are crazy sales going on but still a lot of the cute stuff is really expensive and the not so expensive stuff is not so cute. NOw we need to find laundry again because I have run out of socks. It is 9pm right now and to tell the truth I could just fall asleep right now.

Alright, that is all I can think of. You all need to go to the Vatican and take a tour with our friend Alex. He wants to move to Santa Monica and become an Actor. SO you better get here quick. Dont know how great of an actor he is but his tours were so history filled. We were both very impressed with his passion for the history of the Vatican and Roman history in general. Very good looking too but is worried his hair is falling out and has far to many insecurites to make it in the film industry. This is the conclusion We have of him. But a great tour guide. hahah.

So leave me your posts or emails. I am so pleased that so many of my aunties have joined in on the fun. I love hearing from you all. I also love all of your advice. Thank you for all making me feel so loved. I miss you all.
Ciao from ROma.

I was carried away by a roman today

hahaha,

So today we woke up late, again. We have become notorious for doing that. But it didn't matter because we had to move our place of temporary residence by 11. So we moved from a really cute B and B to an even cuter b and b called bed and breakfast gli artisti. Check it out at www.bbgliartisti.com. It is perfect. We have a room big enough for 5 beds to ourself. Apparently they are really big on Ikea out here so everything is from there. Really cute decor. We are steps away from the Vatican which we will see tomorrow. We will take a tour with our new friend Alex or Allister *his given name. He was one of our tour guides today and just happens to be the guide for tomorrow.

So the day started with us getting on the bus and taking an endless trip to the Vatica with all of our bags. The bus turned out to be the wrong one so we ended up taking a taxi again to our place. I want you all to know I am ok with walking. It is my copartner in crime that likes the taxis.I know my aunties are thinking we walked everywhere in Paris. haha. Anyhow made it to the place and then worked our way to the Colleseum. It is massive. Luckily we were flagged down to take the tour and pay a little extra. We lerned so much that we would have never known. A site that would have taken literally 20 min took over two hours but at least it meant something and we learned all about it. Got sme great pictures and learned some great history.

Next we took the free tour of the Forum, which I still haven't figured out what the purpose was for. It was neat though. It was there we met Alex our tour guide. Oh I almost forgot. So on this tour of the colleseum we got to take a picture with a guy dressed as a roman soldier. He wrapped my arms around him haha and said dont worry, I am gay. *he was very good looking by the way. So that picture actually didnt turn out that well so later I asked to take another. So he Picks me up and takes a picture with me like that. Than he says to Annaliese, so I will see you later and starts to walk away with me. hahaha. I almost was taken home by a Roman. ha. Than I got my first Ciao Bella of the trip. Nice to hear since Annaliese has been already asked to be a mistress. ha.

So after our tour of the Forum Annaliese and i invited our Scottish-Italian guide Alex to coffee. We went to a place called Magnolias and had caffe and I had chocolate latte. There we met a few more friends of his, one who makes fedoras. We may be investing tomorrow. We have decided that tomorrow night (The italian sales start tomorrow) we are going to go out with Alex and his friends for a night out in Roma. Should be fun.

Later this evening we went to dinner right below our B and B to a great pizzeria. YOu will all be glad to know I ventured out to getting a pizza with onions and mushrooms. It was sooooo good and super cheap again. Had a great bottle of wine between annaliese and I while we talked with two English people from Knottingham. Yes where Robinhood takes place. They both work in health care so we discussed nursing, health care, welfare and schooling in the different countries. They were both very interesting people and I enjoyed talking with them. I hope we gave them a fabulous impression of americans. We invited them to email us if they come to SF and we will meet them for Dinner. I love traveling. You meet the bet people. But not better than all the people I love at home.
Whoops forgot to talk about the gyppsies on the metro. A bunch of women with stolen drugged babies that will pickpocket you. Really scary and wierd. Luckily the police made them get off of our train. Be careful cause they will throw their stolen babies at you and then have their other children steal your bag. Um yeah crazy.

Oh I forgot to mention about Venice that I Almost fell into the canal. hahaha I thought what a fun picture it will be in one of the back canals to be right by the water. Little did i know that it is really slippery down there. Um yeah, almost went in. it was really close. Thought you would all appreciate that one.

So after dinner here I am. Have to go to bed soon cause I have to wake up early for the Vatican. So excited. Alright I am sure there is more but today was a great sunny fabulous no drama day.
I love you all.
Please email your addresses to me if you want a postcard and your phone numbers if you want a short hello phone call. I forgot everything at home so I only have the numbers I have memorized. email kwynigear yahoo.com they dont have an at sign on this computer so between kwynigear and yahoo.com place an at sign.
Love you all.

Ahhh Roma

So Roma,

What a fabulous time we have been having.

We left Florence at about 11:00 for our train to Rome. We saw beautiful countryside this time. It was nice to just sit and relax and watch the world go by. It finally gave me some time to get some postcards done. Too bad no one will get them until I get home since the italian mail is so interesting and SLOW. It is funny because even the italians know it too.

Anyhow, got off our train, made it to our really cute place in Roma. We cheated and took a taxi because no one in the metro station (Italian firemen) could figure out where our street is. That worries me just a little. SO taxi. It worked out great. 5 Euro for no headache. Our B&B is called L Incanto di Roma. If you want to check it out website is www.incantodiroma.com Tomorrow we go stay in the sister house of this place really close to the Vatican. I cant wait to hear the church bells. That was my favorite part of Venice. The Bells. Anyhow this place is awsome except for the hour and half extra that replaced the I will be there in 15 min call. Found a great little pizza place though and once our bellies were full we were ok.

After getting settled, found our way on the bus system with no ticket. Whoops. Tried to pay on the bus and the guy was really confused. We figured it out later just in time to have a validated ticket and have it checked by the bus police. So we found our way down to Trevi Fountain which was beautiful so we could meet John and Cooper, the boys we met in Paris. We spent the afternoon cruising Roma. They had already been there for four days so we had walking talking history personal tour guides who knew the shortcuts. We saw the Vatican by night, the colloseum by night and a bunch of other stuff. We drank a bottle Chianti in some big piazza outside at the cute little tables at a wine bar. Then We went to dinner a this great resturant called Pancotto, which you all need to try. Best lasanga ever! We shared two more bottles of Chianti, had gelatto (fabulous) and crusied around with a bottle of limoncello. Apparently you can have open containers here? oh well if you cant. It was fun. DId not finish the bottle. I would have died. ANyhow, it was a great time, with great conversation and great company. It was so fun to meet up with these boys. They were a riot, and quite teh gentalemn. These were the kind of boys that would make sure they walked on the street side of the sidewalk. They were quite fun. Dont worry no pashing.

Today the boys left to go see the Ferrari museum in some random town. ANnaliese and I explored, found the BEST BEST pizza place of my life. You could taste the wood burning stove. soooo good. Then we saw st. angelos castle, the collesum by day, The spanish steps, more gelatto and a bunch of other stuff I cant remember right now. I do have more to say but There is a line for the computer so I am going to wrap it up. Figured out the phone card situation but no one was home of the numbers I have memorized. Bummer for me. Anyhow I love you all and I will forgive you if you just post. hahaha

Love you all
till tomorrow.

Ciao to Florence

Hello all,

Today still in Florence. Have to make this a quick one because Annaliese and I are taking turns watching the laundry and using internet. I have 15 min. SO Florence. Finally got that great Italian meal tonight. Had tortolini bolgonese. I am sure I spelled that wrong. Anyhow, so good to have a good and CHEAP meal. My pasta was 5.50 Euro and a 1/4 carafe of Chianti was 2 euro. What a deal. So glad to get a really good meal.

Went and saw one of my best friends who has been living in Florence for the past couple of months. It was so good to talk with her especially because I have been a little sad the past two days. It is hard traveling with someone you have never traveled with. Although I love Annaliese there are times where it is really hard. Our travel styles are a little different and we do have some clashes. for the most part though things are really good. I am having still such a great time.

Today we went to the Uffutzi and Academica. Saw the statue of David which was amazing, saw The birth of Venus, and some unfinished works of Michalangelo. Went to the leather market and bought a real Italian leather purse. It is beautiful and made of waterbuffalo leather. I paid a lot for it but it is one of my treats for myself. I will have that purse till I am old and grey. ha. Annaliese bought a beautiful leather train case. We went down to this old Italian mans storage room (He was sooooo harmless, dont worry) and he showed us all of the stuff he doesnt always bring out. Beautiful things. I wanted everything. Just walked around the rest of the day. Now we are doing laundry.

I have to go now but tomorrow is Rome. 5 days there and the Vatican which I am so excited for. I will keep you posted.

Love you all and keep posting. Send me your love because I need it right now.
Kim

Firenze

Florence,

It is a little dirtier than expected. Much more city like than Venezia. BUT also very beautiful. We took a train in this morning, The eurostar. it was super fast. Made it to florence in about three hours. Beautiful countryside but a lot of houses like california. As you get further out there are older more classic typical italian homes. So after we got off the bus we walked across a bridge and found our Novella. It is three stories up and our room is huge. Not much of a view cause there are refacing the building all we see is scaffolding. But the room is great. we have a fireplace, a big bed, beautiful REALLY old wood floors and the bathroom is brand new.

Went out for the day and explored. Ate our first pizza at a resturant close to the duomo. Pretty good but the wine was better. Went into the Duomo. it was huge I mean really huge. I took so many pics. I paid 6 euro to go up to the dome where you can look over florence. Oh my gosh. I cried again. It was amazing. The million stairs up and the million stairs down were well worth it. They were the exact stairs that the painter who laid on his back for 10 years while painting the inside of the dome took to get to his self made scaffolding in the 14th century. Absolutely breathtaking. They are frescos and amazing. not enought time to elaborate.

There is much more to this day but I will stop here. We ate dinner, met two new yorkers and talked with them for awhile. great fun. tomorrow it is the Uffizi and more. I will post again soon. Love you
Kim

If I lived in Venezia, I would be poor.

Okay,

So the train ride turned out to be fabulous. We were supposed to have four other roommates in a little bunker so small. I mean really really small. We waited and waited for some weird person to just walk in our room and say it was there room too but no one ever came. LUCKY US! We had our own bunker. All the other rooms were full. It was funny because they had said the train was full. I guess all of our people just didnt show. By the way the reason there are no apostrophes is because this is the italian keyboard and I havent figured out how to use it. (à) is the sign that shows up when I try to use it. So anyhow our train. So it was just the two of us. We met Alessandro our train coachman who was our age. He took our passports which Annaliese and I were completely freaked out by. SO I being the thinker decided that if he was going to have our passports than we were going to have a picture with him. That way I could track him down. ha. Also on this train they all spoke italian. We were still in paris. I kept saying Au Revoir to everyone and they kept looking at me funny. ha. Alessandro tried his best in italian/really bad english to explain that he needed our passports for when we crossed the boarder. There the police would check our passports and train tickets. Alessandro turned out to be a fabulous Venetian who spent most of the night with us teaching us Italian while we taught him English. It was a lot of fun. We got his address and hope to keep in touch. He said he would be our guide but he had to work the next day. We loved Alessandro.

We went to sleep super late but had the best sleep I have had all trip. Alessandro knocked on our door to tell us that we were very close to Venezia. Yeah he should have told us earlier because he only woke us up. SO in a panic we got dressed and packed and by then we made it to the train station. Got off the train and into the station where we booked tickets to florence. Wish we would have waited so we could stay longer there. We walked out of the station and there in front of us was probably one of the most beautiful citys in the world. The canal was right there with gondolas and vaporettos (waterbuses). We took a waterbus (which was so fast and easy) to our stop, san Silvestri. We took a bunch of beautiful pictures on the way.

Once back on to land we found our way through the tiny cobblestone streets with houses looming over us. We had to go under wooden tunnels and through beautiful piazzas. Our hotel B&B Vivaldi was a bit more expensive than a hostel but everything is expensive in Venice. It was the cutest room and it was perfect for us. Wooden beams across the ceiling and a clean shower. We did some of our laundry later that night in the sink and shower. It was really cold at night and we realized we get lost every where we go. So it was just easier to do the essentials there. Signore Franco was there in the day and Signore Marco was there at night. He was a very handsome older man. They were such great people who spoke very good english. In fact many people here speak english.

We left the room and went around the corner and had a Crema. MY NEW LOVE. Oh my a crema is the most wonderful treat. It is so soft and has powdered sugar on top with a custard like filling. I have looked for them here in florence and cannot find them. I guess i will have to go back to venezia. So with a crema in my belly we set out to find our way to san marco square. we found it after stopping in a couple of shops and spending way too much money. We bought murano glass. Beautiful stuff. We actually wanted to go to the island but we go lost trying to find where the boat picks you up. We spent an hour trying to find it and then decided to just not go and actually enjoy what time we had left. We spent the rest of the day shopping in the beautiful stores and taking breathtaking pictures. We went to Rialto bridge for Sunset. SO pretty. I have the best pictures for you all. We also spent a lot of time looking for this pizza place we had passed. it was decided that if you see something in venice, enjoy it because you may never find your way back to it.

We stopped in a glass shop and found Andre, Who was a pure Venetian italian. He LOVED Annaliese and told her he would be her slave. Hahah. He said to her, come in the back I want to show you something. hahaha. I stayed close to the door but couldnt see what was going on. She came out all red. I asked can I see and he said no only for her. ha So he did this two more times because apparently *There is no two without three* So he gave us a great discount, asked her to be his mistress and told her he would give her a plane ticket back to live with him for a year over the grand canal. She blushed and declined. As we left we rounded and corner and she burst out laughing. While my dirty mind thought he showed her something innapropriate she told me he got down on his feet and kissed her boots. The second time he licked them- and the third time he kissed and licked them and then kissed her hand. He really wanted her to stay. hahaha. And better yet he wanted nothing to do with me.

We went to dinner in a deserted resturant where the food wasnt that great. Truth betold I havent had that amazing italian meal I have been dreaming about. Tried gnchocci twice and been dissapointed twice. Sorry about the spelling I am trying to go fast and this computer is too slow to spell check.

Anyhow that is the gist of our day in venice I would have loved to stay another day. We had perfect weather. Blue skies the whole day. It just got really cold at night.

Alright I will write a little blurb for florence not much though I am tired.
I love and miss you all. Keep posting even if it is just to say I love you.
Ciao
Kim

Au Revoir to Paris

Hello all.

So we leave for Venice tonight. By tomorrow I will be able to tell you all about the train ride. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. I am excited for Venice but I don't want to leave Paris. I loved it here. Luckily we will be returning here before our trip comes to an end.

We had quite a day yesterday. Started out a little late(I have never slept so poorly, their pillows were like rocks), its beginning to look like a trend with us. Can we still blame it on jetlag? Anyhow we got our daily croissant and baugetter along with some fruit from the open markets. Such good croissants. Then we set out walking to Notre Dame. We did get a little lost which also seems to be a trend with us but finally made it. But we thought we were in Saint Chappelle when we actually were in Notre Dame. ha. Anyhow we took some great pics outside and then went in to see the beauty she is. While inside we met two boys our age from New Mexico. They will be in Florence and Rome when we are so it should be a good time. We walked around Notre Dame and then we climbed the spires to the Towers where the Gargolyes and Bell tower are. Oh my. What a view. I have the coolest pictures. Too bad I am not internet savy or I would post them all for you. I can't wait to show you all my pictures. It was amazing inside the church. There is a bunch of candles that are always burning in prayer for the bronze Jesus statue that hangs on the wall. It was moving to feel the warmth of prayer as you moved around it. Many times already on this trip I have been brought to tears by the beauty and splendor that Paris has to offer.

After climbing the zillion stairs to the bell tower we gave our lungs a rest at a cafe right around the corner from Notre Dame. The boys, Cooper and John, Annaliese and myself all shared a Croque Monsieur, crepes with nutella, yum and fries (I guess they are not french fries because we are in France). Actually they call them Frittes. I had the most delicious Hot chocolate of my life called Chocolat Viennious or something like that. Anyways if you get the chance try one. So after a wonderful lunch and exchanging info with our new friends (Don't worry, no pashing yet) Annaliese and I said our goodbyes with the traditional French greeting, two kisses on the cheek. Funny that I have been in Paris for three days and my first "French Greeting" comes from two Americans. After our goodbyes Annaliese and I got moving to the Louvre. How amazing was that. So um yeah I have decided it would take years to truly appreciate all that the Louvre has to offer. Luckily there were no lines and we walked right in. Grabbed some headphones and got Jammin. (Headphones to listen to blurbs on the art, we weren't rocking out). Saw the MONA LISA. AMAZING!!! Brought me to tears as I stood there in awe. It is something you hear so much about and then to see it. I can't even explain it. You all need to come here. I am sure there is so much more to tell you about the Louvre but it has been a day past that and we have done so many other things. I am sure my pictures will trigger some memories. Plus you don't want to be reading forever do you?

Tour Eiffel= Huge
So before seeing this huge piece of metal we learned about it in my Paris book. Apparently it was really built for no reason except for to represent the Youth of the Revolution, at least that is what I remember from my reading. The Tour (Tower) (I am using my french as much as possible) is so big. It sparkles every hour on the hour and lights up so bright. Don't worry I have a million pictures. We took the lift up cause the stairs were closed and looked at the city views. By the way do not walk up to a french person and start speaking english. You have to say Parlez-vous anglais? or they just pretend not to understand you even though they really do. This happened at the top of the tower. Got some nasty looks but at least they weren't concerned with my shoes. I called my mom from the tower. It was the perfect place to check in. Good reception too. Sorry I am not as detailed. This all happened yesterday and my mind is a little fried. We were supposed to meet the Aussies to go out but we didn't get back from the Eiffel Tower till 12 at night. Then we had to book our Venice hostel for tomorrow night. Went to bed at 2am. Luckily got a better night of sleep.

Okay so I will make today's section quick. Woke up at 9:30 late again and got moving. Had a shower that consisted of a trickle of water and then went for what, yeah you guessed, another croissant. Today is Sat. here and Annaliese and I have decided that they make them especially good on weekends. There were so many more people out today and they were so cute buying their supplies for the week. Got lost again, whats new? But luckily ended up where we wanted, at the Musee d' Orsay which is in an old train station. Let me just say I would fly back to Paris for this museum alone. It was the most amazing experiance to walk up to Van Gogh's Self Portrait, Leglise de Auvers ( which he completed one month before commiting suicide) and the painting of his room. To see those vibrant colors in person brought me again to tears. (all I can say is that I wish each and everyone of you was here to share this with me, I will come back if you ask me to) I sawe Monets, Reniors, Degas, DelaCriox and Whistler. It was more than Amazing. It so far has been the highlight of my trip. We also got headphones here which I highly recommend to all. I just can't stop thinking about how awsome that place was. Super cheap to get in too. Only 7.5 Euros. I would have paid so much more. I took so many pictures too. Yeah.

After the musee we went on a hunt for another memory card. Buy them in the states if you can. And come prepared with the ability to take a massive amount of pictures. I spent 95 Euro on a 1GB card. My Pictures will be worth it though. I am so excited to just look at them again on the train tonight. And I will finally have a chance to write in my journal again. The last time was on the plane but we have been so busy and so tired. We leave soon. I will try to blog again tomorrow after a day in Venice. We have a hostel booked there with a Signore Marco. Should be fun. Most expensive one yet but right in the center of town. All right wish me luck. 15 hours of train ride coming up.

This already has been so much fun and we have been meeting so many fun people. I have decided I am not coming home. Okay so maybe I will at least finish nursing school. ha. Love you all.

Kim

A Room For Six Si Vous Plat

Okay,

So I know I am shouldn't be blogging twice in one day but it just worked out that way. Plus after paying 12 euros at the hotel for 30 min. 2 euros for the same 30 min seems like quite a deal at our hostel. We are staying at the Young and Happy Hostel on 80 Mouffetard in Paris France. It is in the latin quarter of Paris and I already love it. It is perfect. Tiny streets, good cheap food and plenty of cobblestone. After a perfect dinner for 5 euro we cruised around and saw the Pantheon. Oh My it is beautiful and huge. I just stood in awe for a minute. Oh and dinner was the best quiche I have ever had, a salad, a glass of rouge vin and a citron tarte. It was the best meal I have had yet here in Paris and the cheapest. Although I could easily live off of crossaints for the rest of my life. I also had such a tasty sandwich on a baguette today. Oh and you will all be happy to know I purchased a pair of boots. SO expensive but so comfortable and super cute. It was worth it. So was the experience of trying to buy a pair of waterproof boots in a store where no one spoke much english. It worked though. Somehow I got my message across and had a great laugh with the people doing it. My feet are so comfortable and no one is looking at me funny anymore. So glad to keep hearing your comments. Keep them coming. It is hard not being able to call but figuring out the phones seems like a waste of time and money.

So tomorrow it is off to the Louvre and the rest of Paris. We are going to do a tour so we can se everything we want to see. Luckily we can get off and back on at the places we want to spend more time at. We have gotten some great advice from all the people we have met at the hostel. Our room sleeps six. We have a girl from Santa Cruz, how funny is that, a guy from Australia and two fun Asian girls from Australia. They taught me a new word. Pashing. It is the equivalent of making out in Australia. I laughed so hard with them. I am so happy we are staying with other people so we can find out all the places to go and not go. We or maybe just I depending on if Annaliese wants to go or not will be going out tomorrow for a night on the town. Should be super fun. I am excited. Maybe there will be some pashing with a Parisian. hahaha just kidding, I just wanted to use that word. So I love these girls. I spent at least an hour talking with them and laughing. They can't get over the 12 euro internet. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I want to buy everything in sight here. Everything is so beautiful. It is hard because I am on vacation and it is easy to say oh well I am on vacation. Just do it. But we haven't even made it to Italy yet where all the beautiful shoes and purses are. And anyone who knows me, knows shoes are one of my weaknesses. Luckily we come back to Paris before we leave. I will have to shop till I drop then when I won't need anymore money. ha.

I finally feel like I am on the trip I am supposed to be on. It was a little bumpy at first, still fun but I think I almost like the hostels better cause people are so fun and interested in the things you are. It makes me want to travel forever. I have to get a lot of it done by the time I am 26 so I can keep getting the discounts. haha

Okay I am done. I love sharing all my adventures this way. I am having an amaing time and I am so happy I am on this awesome trip. It so far has been worth every penny. I love you all and will be thinking of you when I am not thinking about all the wonders of Paris tomorrow. Until then.
Au Revoir.

Bonjour From Paris

Bonjour from Paris

It is 2:00 here, Paris time. Well where do I start. Our plane was delayed till 7pm and we arrived in Paris yesterday (which is Wednesday here) at 2:00. Apparently to buy a train ticket to Paris you need a card with a chip in it which neither of us have. So luckily we found a nice boy named Justin who works at the Opera house in Paris. He was originally from SF so it worked out nicely. An interesting soul but very helpful. He said he would be our guardian angel for the day. (Mom you were right) We gave him money and he bought our tickets for us. Then we took the train into Paris only to get lost in the metro station. Everyone we have met has been very helpful. Luckily we somehow made it to our hotel the Westin Paris. So Um yeah, don't wear tennis shoes in Paris. They followed us around like we didn't belong there. Maybe just because we had our backpacks and I had tennis shoes on. It was a bit discriminating. Other than that though this hotel was great. Our window overlooked the streets of Paris and Oh IT SNOWED this morning. We went out last night and walked around the city. We saw the Place Vendome which was beautiful. We ate at a brassiere called chez Flottes. It was pretty good. The best French onion soup. I was going to try the Fish but ended up with pasta because I didn't know the word for "no bones". It was an experience but very expensive. Everything here is. It was 12 euros for this 30 min on the computer. We tried signing up for the internet in our room last night but then our keyboard broke and we couldn't type. So here we are. We also met another man named Mike who was staying in our hotel. He was also from SF. He helped us make a phone call and gave us tons of travel advice.

We overslept this morning until 12:00 Paris time. Whoops. But at least we are refreshed and ready to see the city. We haven't seen much but hopefully that will change. We will now grab some lunch and head to our hostel. Wish us luck. We booked our overnight train to Venice for the 7th. So on the 8th we will be there ready to explore.

So I will update you all on Paris soon enough. We are going to hit the Louvre today and some other sites. I also HAVE to buy some boots so I don't look like a criminal. I love the french language, so pretty. I can't say much but I was able to say L'addition is vous plat last night which asks for the check please. Alright I think that brings us up to speed. Things have been a little bumpy but I think everything will turn out alright. I am having a great time and it is wild to think I am in Paris. Alright I have got to get off this thing and go explore. Plus I am starving for a crossiant!!

Much love to you all and keep commenting. MMmmmuuuwwwahhh
Au revoir

We are alive but cannot figure out this computer. Paris is Beautiful and COLD!

Jan 3rd 2005 Departure

Hey All,

I am leaving for Europe today. In about 10 hrs of flight time I will be in another country, actually another continent too. So I am super excited but also really anxious and nervous. I know I will miss my loved ones and friends. I will be thinking about you all. I still have so much to do as far as packing and getting ready. I really shouldn't even be writing this but I feel I should at least get this thing rolling. Okay so this is my little blog site and I will keep you guys updated. Love you all and wish me a safe trip. MMmmuuuwwaaaahhh!