We just arrived in Bangkok from Kathmandu! After a serious delay in our blogging schedule, we are finally dropping some text about Barcelona, Nimes, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Venezia and Roma. Hopefully soon to follow will be Sardegna, and Nepal.
Barcelona for us mostly consisted of eating with some
sightseeing squeezed in between meals. The food in Barcelona was some of the best in
Europe for us. There is so much fresh seafood everywhere. We made sure to sample some paella and
a variety of tapas. We visited the Museu Picasso and some
of Antoni Gaudi’s most famous works including La Sagrada Familia, Park Güell,
and Casa Batlló (Pictured here).
When we left Barcelona we were expecting 20+ hours of train travel and 7 connections. After going
through security twice, running through train stations with incredibly large
backpacks and working on last minute reservations that we weren't able to make
until we got to France we were told by an official to get on the wrong train
(no signs anywhere) and we ended up heading back to France. It was too late
when we realized the train was going in the wrong direction. Tony thought he
may try to hit the door button again (like he did going to Innsbruck) as the train had just started moving,
but a train official started yelling at him and he imagined something terrible
may happen if he pushed it, perhaps a derailing or the car separating from the
rest of the train (and me). So unwillingly on we went- to Nimes, France, where we managed to turn
our lemons into lemonade.
We found a place to stay right by the train
station and set out to see the town. Within walking distance we were able to see
an incredible, intact Roman coliseum, Arenes de Nimes, as well as Maison
Carrée, the only completely preserved Roman
ancient temple. It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, and we were
so happy to not have been on a train the entire day.
To get to Cinque Terre we rode along the
coast of France and Italy the entire way. It was one of the most scenic train
rides in our journey. Cinque Terre, or
“Five Lands,” consists of five villages, a few of which are car-free! From the northwest: Monterossa al Mare, Vernazza,
Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Each village is similar to the next in
that each is a collection of small pastel painted buildings that color the
Mediterranean coast. Only forest and vineyards separate one from the next.
There are popular hiking trails between the villages. We spent our days hiking, stopping occasionally to enjoy some of the incredible Italian
food and wine. It was warm enough to go swimming one afternoon and we spent the day
lying on the rocky shores of Corniglia. 
We traveled onto Venice, stopping for a few hours in Pisa on the way. Not much to say about the town, but quite a tower and some of the best pi(zz)sa we had in Italy. We stayed in a little bungalow outside of Venice, which saved us a lot of money. The city was easily accessible by bus. The bungalow had a heater and it felt very cozy after the cool nights of sleeping in our tent in Cinque Terre. Fall in Italy is wonderful, the air is crisp and that sweet smell of decomposing leaves is everywhere (except actually in Venice where there are very few trees).
We had 4 days in Venice
which was just enough time to feel like we finally were getting to know the
city a bit. Every day we wandered the narrow streets, stopping to take a look
at our map every few feet and still getting lost. The streets on the maps in
Venice are similar to the actual street names but slightly different (and
uniquely different between streets) so if a street looks similar to the one
you’re on, you’re probably on track. It’s wonderful to get lost in Venice;
everywhere you turn there is another interesting crumbling building, canal, gondola, or old Italian man belting out ballads. You really can’t go wrong, night
or day, there is so much to see and do.
Next we moved onto Rome. When we got to there it seemed so surreal. The first night we walked up the stairs at the Palazzo del Quirinale to see the sunset over the entire city. What an incredible first view of Rome we had; our first glimpse of the empire that provided much of Europe's infrastructure. The next day we went to Saint Peter's cathedral. It's really hard to imagine how grand the cathedral actually is. You can see pictures and hear all about it but until you step inside, you have no idea of the magnitude and beauty of this place, really. We managed to see most of the major sites while we were there, The Pantheon, The Coliseum The Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, and The Vatican Museum. The Sistine Chapel was certainly one of the highlights for us. We had a really good audio guide that described each of the mosaics of the chapel's ceiling and we managed to find some bench-space to sit and take it all in.
Tony and I were both excited and dreading the idea of going to Rome. We had heard so much about the theft, noise, and pollution of the city and we weren't quite sure what to expect. The city is busy, people drive crazy, there are no bike lanes, no recycling, and the Italian men in restaurants are often pretty rude. However, we loved Rome nonetheless. We attribute our fondness not only to the amazing art, history, and culture, but also to being able to get away from the hustle and bustle and take it easy with our new friends, Sergio and Kaća. We had such a good time hanging out with them. We cooked and dined together and most importantly shared many laughs. Sergio comes from Sardegna (Sardinia in English), which is a fascinating place and the subject of our next post...
As always, you can click on a photo and scroll through larger versions than you see here.
You can read our other blog posts by clicking on the year/month links
to the right side of the page under "Blog Archive".
to the right side of the page under "Blog Archive".
Barcelona
Nimes
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