Rome to Florence

sorry the post maybe poor in grammer and spelling this is because I donàt have time to revise my post. So we stayed in Rome from Friday to Saturday. Thursday we got to the hostel at about 2pm in the afternoon. We checked in and then found a place to eat. When we finished eating, I slept for the rest of the day because I got sick at the train station in Amsterdam. We met some interesting canadians which seemed a bit more wild then the others we have met on the trip. The next day we went to the Vatican and realised that we got there too late because the crowds were too long. So we decided to take a trip to the Colloseum. We were making our way through the scammers and trying to find the ticket office when this one scammer hooked us and we fell for the his trap. Although it got us in, the tour was very short(around) 20mins and hard to follow because of the Italian guide's thick accent. On receiving our fill of the Colloseum we went over to check out the Pantheon. It was very awe inspiring but we could not get inside. The next day we got up early and went to see the Vatican. Even at 8 in the morning there was a line to get in. We sucked it up and just got in line and waited. To our surprise the line was very fast moving and we were inside in about 15mins. Inside we saw a good amount of Theologically themed artwork. Of course we saw Sistine Chapelle among other things but there was alot of beautiful work in the Vatican. Once we finished with the Vatican we checked to see if we could get another night at our hostel. They tolds us they were all booked so we decided to head to Florence. We got on the train with about 3 minutes to spare and tried to talked to an Italian local who lived in perusia Italy. Stefan did his usual magic act and I tried to help translate the thick accented english one way tried the use some spanish to help convey ideas the other way. Once we got in Florence, we found our hostel and ate at the best Italian food we have had yet in Italy(high prices + poor qualty in Rome = fail). Stay Posted

Monday, May 18th

Monday, May 18th

We woke up in the beautiful two bed suite. We checked out of our room and stored our bags in the basement. We met a tour guide who took us to the starting location for a free walking tour. We learned a lot about Berlin and it's history. We saw the remains of the Berlin wall, the Haulocast victims memorial, and many other important places. We ate Döner Kababs from a place near the hostel for only €2,50! Döner Kababs are a Turkish sort of gyro sandwich that they fill with a LOT of meat (lamb, cow, pig, and more), lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoe, and sauce (cucumber, garlic, and spicy). We had our first Döner in Paris for €4 and became addicted. It is awesome how they carve the meat off of the rotating kabob with a machette and fill up the pita with it. The last place you would want to rob would be a Turkish diner because they are always holding a huge and sharp machette. After eating, we went up to the hostel where I got ready to go out and Mark
prepared for a deep slumber. I went to the Berlin Pub Crawl and met a lot of really cool people. I drank some great dark german beer. We went to 4 different pubs and then took a train to the club. The club was fun and I ran into some people who I've seen in Paris and Amsterdam! I had a great night. The train had stopped running until 4 am and I needed to get home. I met a young guy from Ireland and he needed to get back also. We did not want to spend money on a taxi, so we walked. As we were walking, I was looking at our location on my GPS and suddenly all the maps downloaded and I could route my journey home. Those 20 seconds of wi-fi helped us get back. I tried to go back and find it so that I check email and I never could. It was a miricle that I was given just enough to guide me home. It took two hours of fast-paced walking to get back to the hostel. Along the way I didn't see another person until I was ten minutes from BaxPax. It turns out that our
hostel was two streets away from the prostitute road. I had sex solicited at me by tens of girls! This was crazier than the Red Light District. These girls would chase after me begging for sex. They all thought I was German and when they heard me say "sorry" in English, they would start speaking perfect English. I lost track of where I was and one of the girls pointed me back in the right direction. She then gave me all the info about what €80 could buy. It sounded like I was talking to a telemarketer who wouldn't let me go. I told her that I really had to go to sleep and she tried to make me feel bad by saying "I'm not beautiful enough for you, am I?" I shook my head, smiled, and left. I finally made it home around 3:30 a.m. and passed out wearing all my clothes.

Tuesday, May 19th

We woke up and eat more Döners. I had mine in a burrito instead of the pita and it was wasn't as messy. We played Ping Pong outside for a couple hours. I had the time of my life! I found out that I need to play in an open area to truly feel comfortable. The table was on a slope and the wind would greatly effect the ball. It was still a lot of fun. Mark took a nap while I searched for Wi-Fi. I returned without success as Mark left for the library. Our roommates, Blaire and Diana came and I talked with them for a while. When Mark got back from the library, we all went to the train station for food. Our last roommate, Brian, arrived when we got back. We all spent the night in the room talking to each other.

Wednesday, May 20th

We woke early and all walked to the station for breakfast. We ate at different places and went back to the hostel. We reserved a hostel for Rome. We split a Hawaiian pizza at the Turkish place before boarding a train for Rome. We took a train to Munich and another to Rome. We had reservations for our seats and they were far apart. I tried to go into my room but it was locked. There was one other person, Youriss, who had a reservation in the room. We talked and he learned that I was studying to be an engineer. He said that an engineer should be able to open the door. There was a bolt on the top of the door that needed a special tool to turn it. I pulled out my pliers and gave it a crank and it opened! We went inside and had a lot of room to lay out. As soon as we got comfortable, the ticket man came by and started yelling and told us to go to the very back of the train. We showed him our reservations and he didn't care. We started to head to the back and
noticed signs that told where this half of the train was headed. It was going to seperate and go somewhere else. We went back and sat in the room that Mark was in. We met some people who we instantly became friends with. They shared there food and I showed them magic. They offered for us to stay with some of their family in Switzerland or Germany. We exchanged email and might work something out if I come back. We went to sleep in the hot and cramped room.

- Stefan

From the 8th thru the 17th of May

London, England

Friday, May 8th
The day started out in London and we needed to get to Paris. I visited the station and found out that the cheapest EuroStar train left at 5:30 pm. We locked our luggage up in the Generator hostel. We walked around and visited the library and prepared to say goodbye to London. We were just starting to understand and fall in love with this city and we had to leave it. The train ride to Paris was very smooth and we met a very colorful lady, Gigi Salem, who sat right next to us. She was an anchorwoman for the Chelsea futbol team! She is on TV all the time doing her sports commentaries. Her boyfriend lives in Paris and they take the EuroStar to see each other every weekend. We had an awesome conversation about everything from the cold weather to men being paid by Omish groups to impregnate their women.

Paris, France

We arrived at the heart of Paris and had a culture shock, there were several guards patroling the station with automatic weapons. We soon learned how few people actually spoke English, and that the ones that do pretend not to so that they won't have to deal with us. We figured out how the metro works and bought tickets to get close to the hostel. We arrived at our metro stop, Hoche. The first thing we noticed was the bars on all the windows. A kind old Asian lady who knew some English helped us find the hostel. Our roommate spoke very little English and we tried, with little success, to speak in Spanglish. We slept very well.

Saturday, May 9th
We woke up and ate the complimentary breakfast (bread and cereal with warm goats milk). We went to the metro and bought 10 tickets that can get you anywhere for only €11.60. We hopped on the metro and visited Notre Dame where we ran into Zane and Kevin! We went all the way to the top and took some very nice pictures of gargoyles. After that we went to Saint Chapelle's Cathedral, a place with all the stories from the bible depicted in stained glass. I had some hot cross buns left from London and we fed them to the pigeons. There was a very interesting battle for the bread between the pigeons and some very tiny birds who would swoop in very fast and grab bread before the pigeons could pick it up. We went to the Louve and went down and saw the crazy long lines for tickets and left. We later found out that it is free for students. We met some interesting people back at the hostel. We came across a grandpa-grandson pair who were from Orlando. Don and
Mitchell.

Sunday, May 10th
On sunday the big shops close and all the locals come out and sell things. I bought some nice jeans, a dress shirt and some much needed socks. We took the metro to southern Paris and split up for the day. Mark went to the louve and I followed my silver dollar. Heads meant right and tails was left. I met some interesting people and learned some more French. I ran into two ladies from NYC and became their tour guide for half an hour. I took them to Notre Dame and saw a man with about 65 pigeons on him eating from his beard and hands. I met two girls who spoke no English and had a nice conversation using grunts and gestures. They seemed my age until they smiled with their braces shining brightly. I happened upon an alleyway with closed shops on both sides and housing above. I heard a whistle and looked up to see a lady of the street smiling at me. I met up with Mark at the hostel and we went to the mall where I bought chocolate and a power adapter. We also
bought some cheese, sausage, bread, and 5 liters of wine (only €4.50). We got back and slept.

Monday, May 11th
On Monday we tried to go to the catacombs but they are closed on Monday. We took the metro to the Eiffel Tower and climbed all the way to the top. We went out on Monday night after drinking 2.5L of wine. We met some fun people, Lauren and Johnathan. We sprinted to the metro to make it home before it closed at 1.

Tuesday, May 12th
The next morning we went to the catacombs and saw millions of human bones stacked decoratively. That night we polished of the last 2.5 liters and went to see the Eiffel tower all lit up at night. At 1am we saw it sparkle and then shut off. It was too late to take a metro or bus so we took taxis back.

Wednesday, May 13th
We woke up Wednesday morning and took a highspeed train to Amsterdam for €33. The trip was very scenic and we spent most of it sleeping.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

We got to our hostel and got ready for the crazy night ahead of us. We did the Pub Crawl and went to six different clubs. We met a lot of people and had way too much fun. We couldn't navigate very well afterwards and we took a taxi only 2.9 kilometers home.

Thursday, May 14th
We strolled around Amsterdam and Mark visited the Anne Frank House, €8.50 was too much for me. I stayed outside and waited for an hour talking to other people who were waiting for their friends. I have met many Canadians on this trip. Mark finished up and we went to the Centre where everyone hangs out. We saw a very funny man who was good with the Chinese Yo-Yo. He did some cool tricks and swallowed a "sword" (a ballon tied like a sword). He pulled a empty balloon out when he finished. He finished his routine by juggling a torch, sword, and apple while taking bites of the apple at the same time. We also saw some break dancers. We left the Centre and visited the Sex Museum. The museum was crazy with some very interesting things. We went next door to the cheese shop and sampled some of the worlds best. We went back to the hostel and we enjoyed the Bami Meal and Burger Deal. We slept for 4 hours and woke up with the sunset and headed off to the Red Light
District. This was a crazy experience! There were women standing in doorways trying to entice us to purchase 20 minutes for €50. As we walked by I would, out of habit, occationally nod at them when they smiled at me as we walked by. They would jump out thinking that they had a customer and Mark would bear the brunt of their anger when they realized that I was accidentally leading them on with the head nod. We were offered all sorts of drugs on our walk through the district. We got home late and slept.

Friday, May 15th
The following day we spent mostly enjoying the company of the staff and other visitors of the hostel. I had an interview and they want me to come back anytime to help clean the rooms in exchange for free room and board. Mark went to the library and I stayed near the hostel looking for free Wi-Fi I found some and made some Skype calls. Mark and I had been the only people living in the room until now. Everyone wants to visit Amsterdam during the weekend. Our four new roommates gradually checked in and I met them all. They all seemed really great except for the last one. He was about 6'6" and native to Amsterdam. When he heard that I was in college, he said that he was studying criminalogy. He started to talk about the drugs and the Red Light District. He found out that I didn't get involved with drugs or prostitutes. He said that I was going to Disney World and not riding any rides. He was trying to pressure me to have sex with a prostitute and asked me if
I was a man. I told him that I was and that a real man should never have to pay for sex. He got a little ticked and reached into his bag and pulled out a giant ziplock bag full of cocaine as if to show me how much of a "man" he was. This is what he meant by criminalogy. He quickly seperated the cocaine into smaller bags and left to go sell them and have sex with prostitutes. I went down to the cafe to talk with the locals. We all ate dinner together when Mark came back. The homemade Dutch meal had beef, potatoes, apples, and peppers. We had fruit for desert. After the meal we went to a church with our new friends. It was a gospel worship service called the Fire Choir. It was new and different with unneccesary Dutch translation because everyone in Amsterdam understands English. We took the tram back and I ate speghetti, made more skype calls, and went to bed.

Saturday, May 16th
We woke up, ate French toast, showered, and checked out of the hostel. I can't wait to come back for free for a month! We went to the cheese shop and bought 4 wheels of different cheeses. We took a train to Brussels and enjoyed the beautiful Belgium contryside along the way.

Brussels, Belgium

In Brussels we stumbled upon a Gay Pride parade. People came from everywhere and filled the streets. We bought some good beer and Belgium chocolate. We enjoyed some fries (they originated in Belgium, not France). We ate Belgium Waffles. I found a wireless connection and called Stephanie. It was really great to hear her voice. We had already found out that the best beer in the world, the Westvleteren Abt 12, was 40 miles from the closest train stop and it would be impossible to get outside of Belgium. We had just about given up on our quest for the best beer in the world. While we still had free wireless, I searched for the beer in Brussels and found a blog of a story of a man who had found a small bottle for €12 at De Bier Tempel. We found the place on google maps and luckily, my GPS works without wireless connection. We got to the dot that we were looking for and it was the burnt remains of an old building. We walked a little further and came to the
new location. We entered the shop and went straight the the beers that were brewed by these Belgium monks. Deep in the back of the shelf were the last two Westvleteren Abt 12s! And... They were only €7! We went around Brussels with high spirits, taking pictures of ourselves holding our precious beers. We now have everything we came for! We took a train back to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam... Again

Once we got back to Amsterdam, we tried to take an overnight train to Berlin. The last international train left at 7:00 and we arrived hours after that. The locker room is closed from 10 pm until 7 am. We found out that the earliest train left at 6:30 and would take us to the airport to get on another train. We took a train to the airport and considered sleeping on the train as it went back and forth all night. We got off at the airport and noted the time for the Berlin departure and set an alarm to wake up in time. We enjoyed the #7 beer in the world, the Trappistes Rochefort 10. This beer is the best that I have ever tasted. It was so full of flavor and felt amazing as it covered my tongue. I enjoyed the flavor so much that I felt like it would be a waste to swallow. Once I finally did swallow I experienced a tingling sensation that swept over my tongue and continued to cover my entire body. I savored every drop. I was feeling quite tipsy after
finishing the beer. I went upstairs and found the only bathroom. It had a metal gate pulled down and was closed for the night. I got an empty cup from Burger King. We filled the cup twice each and dumped the drainage into the train tracks where it would evaporate. We became quite tired and pulled out our linens and slept on a cold metal bench. It was cold when we fell asleep and it was freezing when we woke up.

Berlin, Germany

Sunday, May 17th
After being forced awake by the cold, we waited in the terminal for our train to arrive. The scenery along the way was amazing! We slept most of the trip and finally arrived here in Berlin. This is the most luxurious and inexpensive hostel we have stayed in. We walked around town and ate some great food for not much money. With full stomachs, we caught up on much needed sleep. We woke at 10 and ate again. Mark went back to bed while I stayed up and drank with a Viking from Sweden and his girlfriend. I showed them some magic that they really enjoyed. The bar closed and I went to bed.

- Stefan

Paris

So we have been in Paris for 3 and a half days now and its pretty sweet. Notre Dame is the most impressive thing I have scene so far. The keyboards here are very annoying so this post wont be very long. Today were going to go to the catacombs and mqybe the eiffel Tower at night

Interesting Facts about London

1. There are a lot more smokers than in either Palm Beach Garden or Gainesville
2. Food Chains I have noticed here are Eat, Cafe Nero, Simply Food, Pizza Express
3. People drive crazy over here I am surprised I haven't seen a crash yet
4. People at pub are friendly and thinking calling a restroom a restroom is funny. The proper way to say it is toilet
5. Flashlights are torches, lines are queues and give way instead of yield.
6. You can hear a lot of US songs though I haven't heard any recent ones I have only heard popular songs from about 2 month ago.
7. You can buy a meal with a coin (2£)

London

Stefan and I have spent 2 days in London and we are really enjoying the trip. Our first day we started at 6:45 am when the plane landed in Heathrow Airport. A friendly native pointed out the center of London as the plane was coasting towards the runway. Stefan and I planned to get some sleep but the plane ride was much shorter than we thought and with the excitement of the trip we got about 1 or 2 hours each. With some heavy jet lag we set out to discover London. Our first mission was to find our Hostel. We found that the subway system in London is expansive and took us very close to our destination. Our only problem was the loops and turns the roads have in them confusing our sense of Direction. At last we found our hostel and our accommodations were much better than we previously thought.
Day One
Once settled in, we set forth to hit up some big attractions in London. Our first stop was the British Museum and it was massive. Every room made you feel small and it just had so many things from many different cultures. The highlight of the the museum was seeing the Rosetta Stone. And unlike most attractions it was in plain view and we could touch it. It was awesome. Then we hit the National Gallery which we first thought was boring but once we got a hold of map and found out what was in the gallery, it got a lot more interesting. The highlight for me was the Turner's Rain Sand and Speed which I learned about in my architectural history class. I also got to some of Monet's Water Lilly paintings which was also treat. Next, we went down to West Minister Abbey and saw the tombs of a bunch of famous Englishman from the Bronte Sisters to Shakespeare. We also saw Big Ben which is found at the North End of Parliament.
Day Two
The next day we also saw many things. First we went to the British Library and saw the Gutenberg Bible(2/3 in my Gutenberg Bible Picture Collection) and the Magna Carta. Then we saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace from a strange vantage point. Following that, we saw The Eye of London which is an awesome looking Farris wheel. We got hungry so we ate some fish and chips. Then we saw London Bridge. Stefan got tired of site seeing at this point and we decided to split ways. He went to see St Paul's Cathedral and then back to the hostel to enjoy a Guinness(Guinness here seems to be a lot better)while I went on to see Tower of London. On my trek to Tower London I found this really tall tower. When I got up to it I found out that it was The Monument, the tallest freestanding stone tower in the world. I paid 2£ to walk 311 steps to see the magnificent view from the top. After The Monument, I continued my adventure to Tower London. When I arrived it was bigger than I expected. I was planning on going into the Tower of London but the cost was 12.50 £ which was too steep for me. So I continued to Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge looked awesome.(which I will post pictures after I can get physical access to a computer). The craftsmanship that went into building it is really remarkable. I then went down a road called Thames Street(I believe) which look like a road from the 1800s; complete with cobblestone street and stone buildings. I found a corridor that gave me direct access to the Thames River and I picked up a rock from the edge to keep as a memento of London.
After that trek, I wanted to hit my last stop which was St Paul's Cathedral. When I got there I just so happened to make it in time for a service and got to see the inside of the Cathedral. The Cathedral was more breathtaking than I had seen in my architectural history class. When you walk in, the grandeur of everything just blows you away. The service went over some chapters in the bible along with Gregorian style chorus in between chapters. After that I made it back to the Hostel. Now were planning on heading to Paris stay posted for our next blog post.