Thursday, May 21st
I was the only one who really slept good. I woke up and everyone was
sitting there watching me snore. I looked around in a daze and noticed
that the train wasn't moving. The engine had blown and the train had
coasted to a stop. We were waiting for a new engine to come in from a
nearby city. We waited for almost three hours until we started moving
again. We spent a total of 21 hours sitting on a train. We finally
arrived in Rome and said our goodbyes to our roommates. We walked to
the hostel and found out that they had been booked for the next 4
nights. We should have reserved all five nights the day before. Mark
was exhausted from the train ride and slept. I was wide awake and
ready to go. I looked around for Wi-Fi and went to the library. I came
back and relaxed until we got hungry. We went to a very nice Italian
restaurant. I had lasagna and Mark had ravioli. It was very tasty and
not very filling. We went up to our room and met a roommate, Kim. She
told us about all the crazy times that she's had on the trip so far.
She bought an around the world ticket for $3000 and has gone to many
different lands. She told us how cheap everything is in Asia. She
talked about the awesome food everywhere. This caused my stomach to
start eating itself. We looked around for cheap pizza and found some.
It wasn't the best. It was pizza with lettuce, mayonnaise, and brisket.
For dessert I had the best homemade ice cream that I've ever tasted. It
was very rich and creamy. We went back to the hostel where mark slept
some more. Our crazy roommate with lots of guy problems, Kim, showed
up and talked about everything. We slept and she went down to the
lobby to finish her paper for school.
Friday, May 22nd
We woke up and lounged around in the room until they kicked us out to
clean. We looked for a CitiBank for Mark using GPS. We found the place
where a CityBank used to be. We took a metro to the Vatican. We
walked up to the side of it and enjoyed the view. We waited in line
for about an hour and realized that the middle of the day was the
worst time to go. We decided to come back earlier the next day and
visit the Colosseum and the Pantheon today. We got the the Colosseum
and it was awesome. We wasted our money on a tour for 20€ that
allowed us to skip the lines. It was amazing on the inside! We could
see where the gladiators fought an died for the entertainment of the
Romans. They had everything set up for a concert on Saturday night. We
hung around the Colosseum and climbed up a path with a great view of
Rome. We walked to the Pantheon and it was awesome to see a building
that has so much history. We walked to the nearest metro and went back
to the hostel to get some sleep for the long day ahead of us. We woke
and went to the Vatican. We got in line minutes before it opened up
and still had to wait half an hour to get in. We went through the
amazing museums and saw gorgeous paintings and sculptures. We
eventually arrived at the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo had
painted the entire ceiling including the beautiful painting in the
middle of God reaching out to touch Adam's finger. We went back and
reserved hostels for the rest of the trip. We slept after learning
that there were no open beds for the next day.
Saturday, May 23rd
We woke up an went downstairs to find out if there were any
cancellations. They had one room with 4 beds for 200€. We checked and
booked a hostel for Florence and got on a train going that way. We sat
near a girl who spoke Spanish and some English. Whenever she spoke I
would rely on Mark for a translation. The conversation helped me
realize how little Spanish I know. I showed her some card tricks and
the language barrier didn't matter as much with the cards. She got off
and left Mark and I to ourselves for the remaining hour of the journey.
Florence, Italy
We arrived at the central terminal and decided to walk to the hostel.
We walked across a bridge and past many pizza and Gelato shops before
coming to the hostel. The hostel had free Internet, a washer and
dryer, a huge lounge area, and a nice kitchen. We went up and met our
roommates. They were very friendly and told us about a nice place to
eat nearby. We went there and payed 10€ for a nice three course meal
of pasta, schnitzel, bread, and potatoes. This was the best meal I've
had in Italy. We went to bed with our stomachs full of delicious food.
Sunday, May 24th
We woke up and walked to the central part of Florence to soak in all
the beautiful architecture. We went inside a huge church and left
because they were about to have mass in Italian. We found a Gelotorie
that had the best ice cream I've ever tasted. We went to the museum
that has the David sculpture by Michelangelo. It was amazing! The
museum has many other awesome sculptures an paintings. We went back to
the hostel and mark used the computers. I walked around and met some
really cool people. Some guys wanted me to go to the bar and it seemed
like a bad part of town. I met some girls from Australia who wanted
to get some gelato and walk around. Mark didn't feel like going so I
left him to sleep at the hostel. The gelato was amazing! I had
cheesecake and caramel. We hung out listening to a guy play music on a
bridge. Florence is a very beautiful city, especially at night. We
went north from the bridge and found ourselves in front of dozens of
beautiful sculptures and a duplicate of The David. We walked home and
I snuck into bed without waking the other seven roommates. I needed
some good sleep for our journey to Nice the next day.
Monday, May 25th
We woke up and went to the train station and waited for a train to
Nice. We should have paid for the high speed train straight to Nice.
We wanted to get there for free and we went all the way to Bologna and
wound up taking a slightly cheaper high speed train from there. We
got to Nice at around one in the morning. I had called a hostel and
they wouldn't make a reservation but promised that there would be beds
available. We got there and they did fill up. The man was very sorry
for making an empty promise. He allowed us to sleep on the floor in
the lobby until breakfast. I slept great, Mark didn't.
Tuesday, May 26th
We woke up and went to another hostel. We dropped our bags off there
and went to the beach. There were a bunch of topless sixty year olds.
The water was freezing and the beach was rocks. There was no sand
anywhere, just rocks. Mark and I skipped rocks and then left. We went
to a supermarket and bought sandwich fixings. We built them and I cut
my mouth again on the super-hard french bread. We got to the hostel
where Mark took a nap. I went to the Monte Carlo with 300€ ready to
count cards. I came back with 500€. =) I met our new roommates and
found out that there was a girl who had her own bed and her boyfriend
had a bed in a different room. They wanted a bed together, but they
didn't have any for the night. I asked them if they wanted to work
something out so that Mark wouldn't have to sleep with me. They took
our double bed and we took their singles. We got some drinks and hung
out outside the hostel before bed. I showed a guy from Mexico some
card tricks and everyone started to notice. I put on a show for them
all. People were freaking out and yelling. I finished up and they
stood up and clapped for me. It got too loud and the receptionist came
out and made us leave. I went to sleep.
Wednesday, May 27th - Friday, may 30th
Barcelona, Spain
We went to Barcelona and on the way had to sleep outside a train
station near the street because of the French train strike. It was a
very cold and windy area right on the border of France and Spain. We
finally made it to Barcelona. The beaches were great and the chocolate
cheap. I had four prostitutes try and pickpocket me as I was drunkenly
stumbling home on night. I punched one in the face after she molested
me. They tried to leave and I had them stay for a card trick with the
cards that they had stolen from me. They were impressed and confused
because I was being nice after they tried to rob me. We stayed at a
nice hostel with free Wi-Fi for two nights and then a nice cash only
hostel that felt like a house for the last night. I met some crazy
people an had a great time. I'll write more when I have the time.
Sunday, May 31st
Mark woke me up after 3 hours of sleep and we went to the metro to
find a bus to take us to Madrid. We went to the wrong station and they
told us how to get to the right one. We got there and got our tickets.
We were sitting on a bench in front of the ticket sales and I went to
get a sandwich. I came back and Mark decided to go get one also. I had
all four bags right nearby and I had my small bag with my passport and
important stuff behind my giant heavy backpack. A guy came and sat
down next to me with a small map and ask for directions somewhere. He
turned and held the map so that I had to turn my head to see it. I
suddenly felt very uncomfortable. I looked at my bags and noticed that
my small backpack was missing. I saw a guy briskly walking away with
it. I jumped up and ran after him. He heard me coming and set the bag
down and took off. I grabbed it and ran back to the other bags to see
the accomplice running in the other direction. I had a strong desire
to go after him but I didn't want to leave our bags vulnerable. All
our bags were safe again and that's all that matters. We sat near our
bus and waited for a couple hours. Two girls from Brasil sat next to
us and tried to talk to us. I kept nodding my head and let the girl
talk to me for a minute before she realized that I didn't understand a
word she had spoken. We communicated with many hand gestures and our
limited Spanish vocabulary. They also had a bag stolen two weeks
earlier. We started to get nervous when it got close to 3:30 and there
was no sign of a bus driver and it was just us four waiting. It became
3:35 and we found out that the #2 bus wasn't at the #2 spot and was
across the parking area. We ran and made it just in time. The bus took
eight hours and made two stops along the way. I learned a lot of
Spanish from them by pointing to things along the way, they would give
me the Spanish word and I would give them the English words. The four
of us shared food (mostly chips and bread) and watched some movies in
Spanish. The bus arrived in Madrid and we went up to the street to
wait for Mark's brother in law's sister, Victoria, to get there. I
walked to the corner and found some free Wi-Fi and called Victoria.
She saw me on the phone waving my hands in the air and guided me in
the right direction. We drove to the house and got settled in. We
watched The Real McCoy and went to bed. 2
Madrid, Spain
Madrid has been great, we ate nice food and have been staying in a nice
house for free! These people are awesome! We have gone to the palace
and the botanical gardens and many other interesting places in the city.
We are taking a plane back home tomorrow morning. It is 1:16 AM
and we are waking up at 8:00! I´ll see you soon!
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