Paris je t'aime

So we made it home! Finally, after a long day of traveling (what else is new, right?), we made it in to Houston and the boys were there to take us home.

It definitely feels good, but a little strange, to be back to the same normalcy and to be away from the lifestyle I guess I was starting to get used to... "on the go" mentality, living out of my backpack, interacting with people of different languages, discovering new places...

Where is my croissant and orange juice?!?

I am already starting to think about my next adventure that I hope happens sometime very soon!

Paris now seems like a blur. Just like everywhere else, we did it hard and fast, encompassing almost the entire city quickly in just 3 days. I would love to go back and take it a bit slower and see the things that we just didn't have time for. All in all, though, I think we both saw and did most everything that we wanted for our short time constraint.

We stayed in the Marais district, which has been dubbed the thriving gay and Jewish community. Just like in Rome, it was nice to be in a more residential part of town that wasn't touristy at all. In fact, one French woman wondered at lunch on the first day why two American women were in that area? She was really nice, as were all the French people we met, and we talked with her for a bit and got her advice on some things.

The first day we hit up the Louvre - I found that this is hard to do in just a few hours and especially hard at the end of your trip when you've already been to countless museums. It was by far the most impressive and expansive, and I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the ancient Egyptian antiquities and other artifacts. The place is just colossal, and I will definitely need to go back to feel that I have adequately seen most of it.

Day two had us trooping over to Montmartre, the city's steepest area. We grabbed some lunch at this little Greek deli and ordered two chicken sandwiches. The guy brings them out to us - two huge greasy drumsticks (meat still on bone) inside the bread. We just had to look at each other and laugh about that one. We then decided to find this flea market, which Lonely Planet claims as Europe's largest. Along the way, we passed a store and bought cute shoes for 5 Euros - probably our best find! The flea market was just okay, nothing special, so we then went to track down Moulin Rouge and the basilica.

My favorite part of our Paris excursion (sad, I know) would have to be at the basilica. As we made our way up the steps, I heard this guy with a thick Indian accent singing and jamming out on his guitar to American and British pop culture songs. It was the greatest! We found seats on the steps amongst the rest of the crowd and sang along - only a few people, including us, knew all the words - to hits like "No Woman No Cry," "Country Road," "Help," "California Dreamin'," and "Imagine." It was so funny to see this guy, wearing a Yankees cap (p.s. those hats are EVERYWHERE in souvenir stalls) and belting out these tunes in his accented voice. He wasn't the best singer by far, but he gets points for being enthusiastic and for singing songs that I know. The one song that we thought he butchered was "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes. A hard song to conquer if you don't have the right pitch, but he got into it.

On day three we went to Versailles and waited in line for two hours (our longest line wait by far) to buy tickets into the chateau. It was worth it, but by this point I was done with the crowds and the people pushing by you to take a picture of Marie Antoinette's bed. I realized on this trip that people will take pictures of ANYTHING. I guess everyone has a different feeling on what they want documented for trip memories.

Versailles ended up taking much longer than we had anticipated and most of the shops and stores were closed on Sunday. We headed over to Notre Dame and then to the Champs area, had dinner, and then watched the Eiffel Tower light show from a little café as we ate créme brulee and 12 euros worth of fruit.

Paris was big, expensive, easy to navigate, and overall lovely. The weather ended up being perfect, especially since coming back home to 100 degree heat.

We had an amazing two weeks together and can honestly say looking back that we would do it all over again. I feel really lucky to have traveled with such a great person and to have had so many wonderful experiences.

love,
tracy


At the Arc de Triomphe


Still great friends, even after two weeks of being with each other 24/7


The Louvre


Katie with her nutella crépe and some shop owner who likes to give the bunny ears.

Museums and Flea Markets

We adjusted to Paris rather quickly yesterday and went to the Louvre last night. The museum grants free admission to everyone under 26 on Friday nights, so we felt very travel smart as we enjoyed 3 hours of mummies, artifacts, and of course, Mona. After our visit to perhaps the best museum I have ever seen, Tracy informs me that for dinner she wants some "pomme frites." In France, as you may already know, that you don't have to call the fries French. After our dinner we headed back for a rest and hit the Montmartre quarter for the flea market today. Then we walked to the Moulin Rouge, The Sacred Heart Basilica, and a cemetary whose headstones include Proust, Oscar Wilde, Chopin, and Jim Morrison. Guess whose headstone had the most security? Apparantly, Morrison's fans have been a bit rowdy over the years and now there is a guard as well as a code of conduct leaflet outlining the rules for visiting his remains. I wonder how Jim feels about these restrictions. Keep reading for one more day of Paris excitment!
Katie

Bonjour

Everyone can rest easy (including Tracy and I) that we arrived to Paris via night train. It was a good experience, and one of the least hectic of all of our train travel. Paris is a contrast from Italy. It is quiet and chilly, but most everyone in the cafes and train stations are very helpful. When checking into our hotel the man at the front desk attempted a joke about Americans and thought that we would enjoy his sarcasm. Our faces after 12 hours on a train gave him that hint that something must have been lost in translation. But seriously, I do like Paris and am looking forward to seeing the sights this weekend. By the way, I may have been afraid of the pigeons, but I think that everyone who has seen "The Birds" as many times as I have might have this reaction. (Although when five-year-olds had no trouble feeding them I did feel a bit silly.

Katie

Bonjour Paris!

Sorry for the lack of updating the past couple of days, but we just could not justify spending €8/hour per person in Venice. That is over $10 an hour just to use the computer! I guess we are getting cheaper as the trip comes to a close, or at least I am.

We left Cinque at 9 a.m. (after sleeping through a huge rain storm that brought in some rain through our window) and then proceeded to travel by train for the next ten hours. We didn't realize it would be such a long day of traveling, so once we finally made it in to Venice, we basically found our hotel, ate dinner, and got ready for bed. The hotel was really nice and close to the train station - and the best part was it had a/c!!! I haven't quite adapted to the true European lifestyle cause I definitely slept better with an air conditioned room.

Yesterday we explored Venice by foot in less time than we had predicted, so we had several hours to kill before our night train left for Paris. We went to St. Mark's basilica (the biggest in Italy), the main sight in Venice and definitely worth going to. You can check it out for yourselves here:





Most of the tourists in Venice were gathered in the piazza by St. Mark's, so we quickly saw the church and got out of there after feeding the pigeons. Who knew that Katie was afraid of pigeons??? haha... I had a good laugh watching her attempt to feed them, only to drop the food and back away. I forced her to do it, though, because I AM the trip photographer, and need these priceless shots. She said I was mean and was like the old bird lady in Mary Poppins, but did it anyway.



The night train was an interesting experience. We reserved a four person car with two other females (mother and daughter from San Fran). The space was a little tight but manageable. The only complaint I have was the smell of the bathroom this morning after getting used all night, but I suppose that is to be expected. We are just having fun exploring and learning as we go.

Now we are in Paris across from our hotel and waiting for our room to be ready. The weather is cold - in the 50's! It is supposed to warm up to the low 70's, which will be a nice change from the heat in Rome, but I definitely need to pull out my jeans and rain jacket. This Texas girl isn't used to this kind of weather in August! We are heading out to the Louve this evening, and will probably just explore our neighborhood and surrounding areas until then. 3 more days to go!!!

The pesto is the besto!

Cinque was an interesting place to get to by train, but we made it! They finally checked our eurail pass but didn't seem to know what to do with it.

We got in around 2 p.m. and checked into our room. I originally had tried booking a room recommended by my buddy, RS, but she could only book rooms on a 2 night minimum basis. She did, however, refer me to her friend, Lilli, who we are staying with. We could not be more happier with the place and it has the most amazing view I think we could possibly get here for a very affordable price! Lilli is this sweet old lady who lives alone. She was taken aback that we speak Spanish, as are most people we meet, and did her best to talk to us in Spanish even though she said she was out of practice. She is seriously the cutest.

Here is the view of the harbor from our window.



After checking in, we went to a local restaurant, which is supposed to be the local hip nightlife joint. The owner was this crazy guy who looked at my chest in admiration and said "tetas perlas." Yeah, just a little creeps. The bartender and waiter were easy on the eyes though, so I couldn't complain too much. The door to the bathroom said "Oh no! It's a hole in the floor!" And seriously, that is what it is. Not quite sure how the ladies are supposed to use it...



Here is the crazy restaurant owner with the bartender:



We then headed out enthusiastically for our hike from Vernazza (the town we are staying in) to Corniglia, the next town over. Our first mistake was not taking water with us for the 90 minute stretch, but we were in good spirits and kept up a good pace. This was Katie's first hike EVER, so I am very proud of her for hanging in there. She admitted to me at dinner that she had to do a lot of self talk to get through it. At one point we came to this sign that said "free beach: 20 minutes," and it implied that there I could fulfill my end of the bargain I have with my sister. These two younger kids said it was a great beach and that the hike wasn't too bad, so I made the team decision to go for it. Katie reluctantly followed me, but she took one for the team cause it was a little treacherous and steep. We had to crawl under things, slide down places, etc. Not the best hiking terrain. Finally we came to a point where we decided it just wasn't worth it and went back up.

But fear not! We finished the hike and found the beach we were looking for after going through a buzz in gate and walking through a long, dark tunnel (note: RS mentions this beach and tunnel in his book, so I was sure we weren't in any danger). We paid our €5 entrance fee and walked down to the beach to get my mandatory pics and to enjoy the water after working off a good sweat. All I can say to my sis is, 26.2, my love, 26.2! Pic and allibi to arrive once I am back home.

We just enjoyed a great dinner at the restaurant dubbed by RS as the "finest in Vernazza." It was very tasty and their pesto here is sooo good!

Tomorrow will be a long day of train hopping as we make our way to Venice before departing for Paris on Thursday night! The end of our journey is now in sight.

... more pics

Our dessert plate at dinner. We have not ventured out of the Italian two staple food groups, carbs and sweets, since we've gotten here. :)

My standard pose.

With the dinner menu.

I tried my best to keep it from falling.

It's a good thing she was there to hold it up!

Latest pics

Katie is the official book carrier, and she does her job well.

My bike.

Katie's bike, complete with Rick Steves book in basket.

Me with my bike in Lucca while we were still on good terms.

Katie loves the nutella snack and drink in one combo.

She also loves the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

The Cinque Terre

We are winding down a wonderful day in the Cinque Terre, five tiny towns, connected by a local train on the coast. The towns are picturesque, and with Tracy sitting on the beach, they look like a postcard. But seriously, this is the Italy that I have dreamed about and we saw a lot of beautiful countryside and interesting locals today. I have really enjoyed the smaller towns, and yesterday on my bike in Lucca I may have pretended that I was one of the Van Trapp family, while riding through town. (You know the scene, where the kids are dressed in the drapes from Maria's bedroom.) Anyway, I was pretty impressed with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, because even though I know it has been leaning since construction, it was affirmining to see it for myself. I will let Tracy post about today's hike across the Cinque Terre. All I can say about it was that it was long and hot, and that I am not a mountain climber. I guess that my travelling talents are limited to drinking wine, trying to speak Italian, buying scarves,and eating almond biscuits. All very honorable skills indeed. Tomorrow we head to Venice and then begin the last leg of our journey.
Ciao,
Katie

Last day in Florence... tear

Florence has been so good to us that we are a little sad to be leaving but also excited about the last week of our trip.

Yesterday we woke up late and met our Aussie pal for lunch and shopping. Then we went our separate ways, and Katie and I hit up Santa Croce Church before going to the Uffizi Gallery with the best Italian paintings. We met back up with Christina (Aussie friend) and had dinner at this great restaurant overlooking the Ponte Vecchio (bridge). After dinner, we hiked up a long flight of stairs to make it just in time to see sunset at the Piazzale Michelangelo, which offered gorgeous views of the city.

Christina hadn't been feeling well, so we hopped on a bus (although we had no idea where it was going but figured it would get us closer to our destination) and made our way back to our hood. All in all, another fabulous day.

Today was our side trip day to Pisa and Lucca. We opted to go to Lucca first since it had the earliest connection. Once we got to Lucca we ran into a couple from our Siena wine tour. We ate lunch and then rented bikes to ride around the town. I was loving being back on the bike and giving my calves a rest when my chain feel off about halfway through. If you know me, then you know I often have chain issues, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise to me. I couldn't get it back on the gear because it was covered, so I sent Katie on her way and pushed it back to the shop. I was frustrated with the situation until I realized that I AM in Italy.

Then we headed to Pisa to take the obligatory pics with the Tower. Not much else to see there really, but now we can say that it really does lean.

We had an easy time navigating the eurail, which is great since we will be riding it for the next several days. I have found it odd that they don't check your tickets here. We haven't been asked once to show our tickets on the bus or train. Another interesting thing to note is that all of the trains are different. Our first train had little leg room and no a\c while the last two were air conditioned and much more spacious.

Another thing we have found humorous is the influence of American music\media everywhere. All of the restaurants and stores play American music: Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, Michael Jackson, JT, Akon, Maroon 5... While we were waiting for our train this morning we jammed out to "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette.

To end our blogs from Florence, we decided to make an "All Good Things Florence List," so here it is:

10. the Medici Family - powerful and influential family way back when
9. the smell of leather - Florence is known for its leather
8. sleeping in Tracy style (until 11 yesterday!!!)
7. not getting lost (as much)
6. all of the friendly tourists we met
5. seeing Santa Croce Church
4. regaining our faith in RS
3. climbing the Dome to see the 360° view of the city
2. seeing all of the many priceless works of art - the David was our fave
1. reuniting with Christina - she thinks of me as the All-American girl and said she pictures me as a cheerleader with a letterjacket

Tomorrow we will be heading out to Cinque Terre - five small towns along the coast that are supposed to be gorgeous. There we will be doing a 4-5 hour hike through the towns, hitting up the beach (McB: get your running shoes ready!!!), and enjoying some pesto. We are guessing we won't find an internet cafe out there, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from us again until Wednesday when we are in Venice.

I will post more pics once we get to Venice!

Cheers,
tracy

Sunset

Today after a much needed night's sleep we woke up to church bells and spent a good Sunday shopping and eating. After walking throught the open market for a while, we had some traditional Tuscan soups. We walked throught the Santa Croce church which holds the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo.

Now for a story about why I think some travel is not meant for children of dysfunctional families: If you are still reading, humor me and don't stop.

First of all travel is walking intensive, so I cannot imagine expecting a four year old to keep up with the steps of adults. Second, when I saw a man and wife with a baby stroller dodging the scooters, I thought they were crazy. And third, some sights are just not meant for children. Case in point: Yesterday when we climbed the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo, we were in for a breathtaking sight of Florence. Tracy and I had winded our way up a narrow staircase and were ready to see the top. We were almost to the top and could see the sunlight when a woman began to yell below at her husband, "The kids are up there already without supervision!" "How could you do this?" The husband, toting much of the families' travel supplies responded, "Then you better get up there." Mind you that "up there" was a step staircase that only one person at a time could crawl up. The wife continued to rant and rave at her husband in this cramped church tower until she reached her children (Julian, Sarah, Greg, by the way). The three kids were all under the age of 11 and were leaning dangerously close on the sloped marble floor on a railing that came to my waist. When the family was reunited the mother was determined to capture a loving shot. Before Tracy offered to take their picture, I watched as the mother wiped down the children (who were on the verge of heatstroke)and thought of the various captions that she might write in with her Christmas newsletter about the trip. Maybe I don't understand because I never had these sort of travel experiences as a young child, but please, parents, save the tower climb for the big kids and just go to Disneyland. That being said, Florence is my favorite place, I have enjoyed all the sights and food, and will post more stories later.
Katie

Florence is fabulous

cheers to a wonderful first day in Florence!

enjoying a great evening with friends

view of Florence from the Duomo Dome

our hotel room in Florence

our postcard pic in the Tuscan countryside

We have been in Florence since 7:30 this morning and have been loving every minute of it. After seeing Michelangelo's David at the Accademia Museum (so impressive in person!), we went to the Medici Chapels, took in some shopping at the San Lorenzo market square, and climbed 463 steps to the top of the Duomo Dome to see an amazing view of Florence.

The 463 steps were a little bit daunting as you climb them through narrow, spiraling, steep staircases but we made it to the top and enjoyed the view from above. Well, I enjoyed it, but not right up close to the railing.

You can check out the Duomo for yourself here: http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral

We took another one of RS's recommendations and ate dinner with our Aussie pal at this lovely restaurant near her hostel. At the table sitting next to us was a young couple from San Diego who we ended up chatting with the entire time. They heard us talking about RS, so they chimed in with their two cents, and we immediately became friends. I guess RS is good for something after all! I kid, I kid, but seriously, he should hire me to check out all of his info that he publishes and keep him up to date. I wouldn't mind the job. :)

The hotel we are staying at is great - it's up a few flights of stairs but offers a nice view of the busy street down below and we are right in the middle of town. So far we have had good luck with the places we have chosen - or else we are just THAT good. ;) Either way, it has been nice to get back to our hotels after long days of travel.

Tomorrow we are sleeping in a bit for once and then heading out to do some more shopping, more museum hopping, and just taking in all the sights Florence has to offer. We have decided to spend our last day here on Monday trekking out to Pisa and Lucca since we will have pretty much seen all there is to be seen here.

Hope everyone at home is well!
tracy

Arrivederci Siena

Our time in Siena is sadly almost over. We were here for less than 24 hours but feel refreshed after getting away from the hustle and bustle of Rome.

Rick Steves (I've embraced him back into the familia like a true Italian would) says it best: "Rome is magnificent and brutal at the same time. But Rome is required, and if your hotel provides a comfortable refuge [it did, way to go Katie!]; if you pace yourself [we did the best we could for 3 days]; if you accept and even partake in the siesta plan [we did not]; if you're well-organized for sightseeing [we are better than when we first started]; and if you protect yourself and your valuables with extra caution and discretion [we did], then you'll do just fine."

We left early this morning from Rome, took a 3 hour bus, and will be leaving early tomorrow for Florence. I thought I was being so well-organized by buying museum tickets to Florence in advance (going off the recommendation of RS); however, in my organization, I overlooked the minor detail that tomorrow is when we are supposed to ARRIVE in Florence and booked our Accademia (where the statue of David is) for 8:45. Needless to say, we will be catching a VERY early bus to make it in time and will probably need that siesta tomorrow.

Siena has been such a nice breath of fresh area, so we are hoping Florence will follow that trend. Rome reminded me a lot of New York - huge, dirty, loud, exciting. It was fun to explore but not hard to leave. Siena has been a good break for our tired feet and the wine tour was exactly what we needed. Everyone we have met so far have been really friendly, and we are looking forward to meeting up with our George Michael lovin', Irish dancing Aussie roomie from Rome in Florence tomorrow night for dinner.

Catch up with everyone in Florence!
tracy

A trip to wine country

Today we made our way to Siena, leaving the busy streets of Rome behind. We enjoyed the change of pace when we arrived. We met a tour group that went to the Chianti vineyard, saw two villages from the Middle Ages and tasted some good grapes. Now, we are headed to see the Duomo, eat some dinner, and head out for Florence early in the morning. Everyone wants to know where we are from, and we proudly say either Texas or Austin. I guess Texas pride knows no boundaries. We have met a lot of interesting people. One friend that we made from Australia always comments on our "good energy." Hope that we can keep that energy flowing through our next stops.
Katie

Pictures ... finally!

My next purchase!

Staying hydrated!

Me and my new boyfriends.

We still love each other.

Our room at the International Women's Hostel



We are ready to head out of Austin! Well, Katie looks ready, but I look like I need to use the bathroom.

Katie loves our exit row seating!



Love,
Your multilingual techno genius

Third Day the Charm

Today we saw a lot of big sites including the Colosseum, Palentine Hill, Marmentine Prison, Spanish Steps, and more. All were good times as we imagined the height of the Roman Empire and the persucution of those who stood in their way. We also strolled to do some shopping in affordable stores and looking at not so affordable stores. (Emily if you are reading, I did stop by Armani for you--something is coming back from there.) We are headed to Siena tomorrow and will be on a wine tour all afternoon, so it will be time to say goodbye to Rome.

Keeping it real

I have to follow up the post from Tracy to say--we are having a good time. Apart from the amazing sights and learning a whole city in a day, and walking it, and seeing families, and babies, and people going to work and living their lives- it is all really intriguing. I figure, if Tracy and I are laughing over a liter of wine at the end of the day from the ups and downs of a tourist, then everything is ok. One more full day to take in the sights of Roma, and then we are on to Siena for a wine tour. Hope to give more exciting posts soon. Ciao, Katie

Warning:long blog below, read with caution!

I thought I would follow up Katie's short and sweet blog with my usual narrative entries. After another long day in Rome, I think the phrase we could best use to sum up our experiences here would be "so close, yet so far."

Today started off wonderfully. We recharged our batteries and got some much needed sleep. One of our dorm room buddies -this cool girl from Australia-tagged along with us to Vatican City. We saw all the sights and had a great lunch buffet at a place recommended in my Rick Steves guide book.

First of all, let me just say that the Vatican City is a very interesting place. It is, in itself, its own tiny country with separate military, postal service, etc. To summarize it eloquently, it is very Catholic (obviously), very old, and full of dead popes. It amazes me to think that some people actually make the trek to pray in front of some tombs. I have nothing against that - just think it's interesting. I will admit, though, that St. Peter's tomb was pretty pretty pretty cool (in Larry David voice for anyone who appreciates Curb Your Enthusiasm). The Sistine Chapel was also pretty amazing, albeit extremely crowded.

This is the part in our day when things started to go downhill. We had a good lunch and then headed to the main train station to buy a Roma pass - this pass you can get to save you money on transportation and sights. Kind of like a combo deal. So we get there and find a place that sells them but decide we want to go to a place we remember where we can use our credit cards. Why? Because we like to make things difficult. So we troop across the street and can't remember where the tour desk is located. So as we are looking for it, I, of course, find a children's clothing store and commence to go inside and buy a baby dress. Why? Because that's what I do. Katie knows this and says nothing because that is what she does.

After my little distraction, we realize that our tour guide book says that the tour desk is by track #24. We find it, buy our Roma pass (with cash), and then decide we need to find an internet cafe pronto to figure out our bus schedule information for our next departure on Friday. We get the address from Rick Steves, our bff, and find it very easily via the metro. p.s. we have got the metro and bus system down now, alelia (aka:hallelujah). Like I said, we find it, but it, being the biggest internet cafe in Rome with 250 computers and snack bar, is closed. No longer exists. So great. We go to plan b and track down the second and only other internet cafe good ole Stevie recommends. Again -no existe. But we are told of another one and spend the next 20 minutes walking in circles looking for it.

By this point, Katie can tell I am frustrated, so we decide to turn around and go back to our hostel. I use my brain though, luckily, and suggest walking back on the opposite side of the street in case we overlooked it. So of course we stumble upon it, and are then rescued by mozilla firefox and friends.

We then decide to grab some dinner. I had already suggested a place in the guide book that came highly recommended from our bff, AND the coolest part is that they have people with disabilities working alongside people from the community as the waitstaff. The place is called "Inn with Friends," and Stevie said it is popular with the locals. So I'm thinking ... hey, I like to eat and I like people with disabilities. Let's eat there. Katie is all for it so off we go. Stevie puts some pretty crappy directions with this one though and just says two blocks from this particular piazza. So we are walking. And walking. And walking. Seriously. No "Inn with Friends." We take turns asking people for help with directions, and everyone keeps pointing us around the same bend. We are walking in circles. But there was no room at the inn, I suppose, because it could not be found. Katie's comment to this adventure was, "I've been lost my whole life." Finally a helpful police officer tells us, "There it is." And it turns out to be a closed up building. Sweet.

And now the most important question of the day is: where do the people with disabilities now work?

It just makes you wonder.

Oh! But I am forgetting one of the most entertaining stories of the day. My book. This book has traveled with me through 3 airports and 3 countries. I bought it in Austin the day before we left with the intentions of mailing it out to someone early Monday morning. That didn't happen and there wasn't a post office at the Houston airport, so it's been accompanying me ever since. It has been the thorn in my side ever since but I FINALLY shipped it off on its merry way today. This is after going to 3 post offices and finding out that you have to purchase an envelope to put the book in from a Tabbachia (little tobacco store). Then you take it to the post office. Once this was figured out and we successfully bought the envelope, we waited at the post office in a ridiculous line for one hour. One hour of my life that I will never get back. I kid, I kid, but seriously, this was anarchy at its finest. The line was so long and I thought people were going to stage a coup by the time I checked out of there. Impatient Italians = no bueno. I am just so glad to have that book gone, and I feel ridiculous for toting it with me all the way to Europe.

I can only imagine the adventures we have in store for us tomorrow at the Colosseum.

As far as Rick Steves goes, I now refer to him as Big Fat Liar (BFL) and intend to send him an e-mail to ammend his guide book. He is long overdue for some positive points, so we will just see what kind of help he can provide us with tomorrow.

At the end of today I just wanted someone to strap one of those kid leashes to my arm and drag me to the location I was seeking. Another lesson I have learned: Italians give very vague directions. "So close, yet so far."

ciao,
tracy

Missed the Pope, but saw where he lives

Today we went to Vatican City to see the sights. The pope was not there but a televised version of his mass is played before the audience in the square from the villa. We toured the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museum and the Basilica, and even found the unmarked door that leads out of the Sistine Chapel to avoid the hike back to the front. The tour book has helped pay off by leading us to cool retaurants and giving us hints. Some of the stuff we are learning about Roma is coming throught good experience ( like riding the city bus for a while,) but it is all fun.

When in Rome

First off, I apologize for my last entry - it definitely lacked the stories I should have added and was a bit boring. I will try to keep you all better entertained as our trip progresses.

So you know something is wrong when I pop up out of bed before Katie. Even though I was exhausted last night, I still found myself awake at one a.m. I guess that is just my true nature, with little to no sleep or not.

I would have to say that day #2 has already started off much better than day #1. We got more than a few hours of sleep AND were able to lay down while sleeping. Double bonus! Our room reminds me of summer camp (true summer camp, not Catchfly Cove). There are 10 beds in all and lockers to put away your stuff. We also have a curfew (3 a.m.) and community bathrooms. I bet my family would be shocked to hear this, but yes, I did shower in the community bath. Very quickly, but it did happen. There are separate stalls with curtains, but the window in the bathroom is kept wide open and all you can hear are loud Italian men right below it.

Today we are heading out to Vatican City. I think I have figured out the bus system better after doing some Rick Steeves studying last night, so that should save us some mileage if all goes as planned... which we have figured out already, is kind of pointless to have a "plan" when traveling somewhere for the first time. We are learning as we go along, but it is all part of the experience.

peace,
tracy

Ciao

Today we tried hard to not to be the ugly Americans - but the Italians were uglier than we could have been when when the luggage did not arrive after an hour being at luggage claim. Anyway, the bags finally came after one skinny "Italiana" began to climb through the conveyor belt. I feel very holy after I saw my bed in the converted convent. I saw a lot of great sites: Teatro de Marcello, Trevi Fountain, and Piazza Navona.

love,
katie

p.s. pics to come as we figure out how to translate the usb italian instructions.

We made it!

Yes, we made it alive to Roma. It was somewhat of an adventure getting here, but it was a success. It is now the end of our first full day in Italy, and we are exhausted... from lack of sleep and from wandering around the city and getting lost. Let's just say that the two of us are directionally challenged AND that this city is so big and confusing. We must have walked many miles more than we had to just trying to find our way to things. The bus and metro system here are very confusing, and it doesn't help that their maps aren't the most detailed.

Nevertheless, we still had a good day and just got in more exercise. :) We decided not to take in too many sites, so we basically just wandered around the city. We walked to the Trevi Fountain and passed many historical monuments along the way. Tomorrow the plan is to head to the Vatican and then do the Colosseum area on Thursday.

Rome has definitely been exciting so far - people and mopeds everywhere. Katie booked us a cool international women's hostel in a locals only area. We haven't quite adjusted to their hours yet though. As we were coming back dragging from our day long excursion, all of the locals were just sitting down to dinner at 10 o'clock.

I could definitely get used to this lifestyle.

ciao,
tracy

How It All Began

So I thought I would shed some light on the meaning behind "Team Europe 2007." Last week we had a game night where Team Europe dominated all the competition.

Here is Team Europe celebrating our win in Cranium, thanks to Katie's acting and singing skills.

Testing, testing...

So we thought this would be a fun way to keep all of our VIPs updated with our Europe happenings as we travel our way through Italy and then on to Paris. We will do our best to update in each city and to post pictures and perhaps videos too. Please check back frequently as our trip is only two weeks long, and we know you don't want to miss the latest news! ;)

Here is our Team Europe 2007 trip itinerary:

30/07/07 (gotta start writing like the Europeans): Depart Houston for Rome - ciao Italy!

31/07/07 - 02/08/07 - Rome

03/08/07 - Siena

04/08/07 - 06/08/07 - Florence

07/08/07 - Cinque Terre

08/08/07 - 09/08/07 - Venice

10/08/07 - Night train to Paris

11/08/07 - 13/08/07 - Paris

13/08/07 - Fly back to States - au revoir Paris!