http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/AlexandAlice/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from AlexandAlice en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:18:19 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:18:19 +0000 A long train trip to Nice yeilded great results An awesome hostel in a former monastery where we got upgraded to a private room with ensuite and had views over the ocean This made up for Alice tripping over the curb while running for the tram with her pack on and not being able to get back up because of the weight of her pack and all the Frenchies laughing at her... Next day after gorging oursel http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d-Azur/Nice/blog-351252.html Cinque terra was awesomeStayed in apartment converted into hostel which had a balcony from which we could see the ocean The village we stayed in was called Riomaggiore and had one street and lots and lots of stairsFirst day we did the walk from Riomaggiore the 1st village to Monterosso the 5th and last village. Was really beautiful walk along the cliffs and through olive groves and vineyard http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Liguria/Cinque-Terre/blog-351246.html We got into Rome at night and had really cheap extremely delicious freshly made woodfired pizza for dinner Apart from the crazy frenchman in the hostel it was greatDay One Ancient Rome day and extreme sight seeingWalked around the outside of the Colleseum harrased by men dressed up as legions for picturesmoney that was when they werent a talking on their mobile phones not a very con http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-350972.html After arriving late the night before we slept in and then had pizza for breakfastlunch. YumWe spent the day walking around the narrow streets and getting lost and then found again and enjoying views from the city walls across the surrounding countryside. We went into an awesome cathedral with crazy black and white checked marble on the walls and floors. We also climbed the bell tower in the mai http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Siena/blog-350393.html It started out as a perfectly normal train trip..starting at 9am..Then the mountains and the snow Alice jumped out of the train at one of the stops and touched the snow..it was cold and wet. But totally AWESOME Unfortunately for Alex Alice got back on the train in time..ha ha.. We got to Innsbruck and were supposed to get a connecting train to Florence...if only it were that simple.First our tr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/blog-350391.html Mapeseses girlfriend Jess is studying dance in Salzburg so we crashed on her floor and she made brownies Yum Salzburg has to be the most picturesque city we've been to so far...and Alice loved the Sound of Music locations. We went to the convent where the opening scene is filmed..How do you solve a problem like Maria..lalalalala.... The best. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Salzburg-State/Salzburg/blog-350376.html We decided to skip Vienna due to time constraints and headed over to Graz to visit Mapes. Mapes plays valve trombone and is doing his masters in Jazz composition at the uni there. Unfortunately the hardest thing for him is that he has to learn German to fluency in 6 months. Well he looked a bit skinny from all the studying so we spent a few days sightseeing and cooking up huge meals to fatten him http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Styria/Graz/blog-350368.html Our intuition paid off avoiding the night train was a good idea because the train ride was amazing. We were trying to watch a movie on the laptop but the scenery kept rudely interrupting. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/blog-347253.html Prague was our first real tourist mecca shock. The first sign of this impending anoyance was the fact that our hostel was full of loud Americans. We thought we might have just accidentaly booked the American hostel but no Prague was full of loud Americans.The first day out we walked right into their trap. We went to the changing of the guard at the castle with the idea of looking around it aswel http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-347248.html Our stay in Krakow can be summed up as dumpling eating occasionally interrupted by walking and looking. The dumplings weren't particularly tasty or healthy but they grew on us especially those stuffed with cabbage and mushroom. Our first day was our usual trek around the city. We spent all day walking to the castle and down to the Jewish quarter. After some hunting around for a place to eat lun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Poland/Lesser-Poland/Krakow/blog-343732.html Our fav city so far is Berlin It was an amazing mix of old buildings and incredible modern architecture and history everywhere you look. Lots of art and music as wellOn our first day we went on a walking tour about the 3rd Reich. Most of the buildings had been bombed or destroyed but we went to the places where they used to be and our guide was fantastic. We stood above the spot where Hitler com http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/District-of-Berlin/Berlin/blog-343293.html We ventured east to visit Alex's cousin Sara at her horse farm on the coast near the town of Kivik. It was a fantastically relaxing time. It's a really beautiful area in the south of Sweden called Skane. There were lots of Beech tree forests and the were all red and gold leaves and the leaves covering the ground.After weeks of average cheap eating we went 3 days without meat Alex took a particula http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Skane/blog-342993.html Spent a day in the Swedish city of Malmo with Farrin it's just a 30 min train ride from Copenhagen and then you're in Sweden The train crosses a huge bridge 500 meters long. Its pretty impressive.We walked through some beautiful parks looking for the the best preserved renaissance castle in Europe. We found it and it was very unimpressive obviously there aren't many renaissance castles in Eur http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Skane/Malmo/blog-340937.html Our train from Brussels had to cross the Ocean to get to Denmark so the enormous train drove onto an even bigger ferry and was driven across the water This was very exciting at the time.Copenhagen is expensiveThe short bus ride from the main train station to our hostel cost 5Aust and a coffee or a tea in a cafe adds up to about 10. Ouch.So we walked everywhere and just drank tap wa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Denmark/blog-338605.html 3 days4 waffles4 servings of frites with mayochocolatebeeryay.Also went to the Museum of Musical Instruments. MIMWhich was awesome hundreds of instruments from all over the world with a recording of each of them that you listen to.Went to the Belgium Brewers museum which was shite 5 Euro for a room full of brewing equipment with a video playing about belgium beer and then you got a free beer http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Brussels-Capital-Region/Brussels/blog-337589.html We got to Paris yesterday afternoon and today went on a 'free' walking tour where you tip the guide as payment. We got stuck with a crazy American guy as a guide who said he fucking hates Paris. He also would get everyone to stand close to him when he was talking about a landmark or something and then shout really really loud and his spit was flying everywhere. So we did a runner and left halfwa http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-335852.html We spent our first day in Brugges just walking around the city. Lots of cobblestone streets canals and little bridges and old buildings a very beautiful town We saw Michaelangelo's 'Maddonna and the child' statue in a church and ate frites and some belgium chocolates. Everybody seems to ride a bike and smoke and the locals are all very friendly unlike Paris... http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-335847.html We hired bikes today with the aim of riding to the seaside We bought a map from the tourist info office and the man said the cycle path started just over there. Famous last words... we got lost in the suburbs of Brugges and got shouted at by a police officer for riding the wrong way down a one way street After about an hour a nice man in a bright red full length cycling outfit asked us if we w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/West-Flanders/Brugge/blog-335710.html No annoying guides today but we got lost...Went to Notre Dame in the morning which was very beautiful but completely swarming with tourists not very serene or holy. Then we walked to the Lourve and I stopped for a crepe on the way. Got to Lourve to discover it is closed on Tuesdays so we went to Musee D'Orsay instead which was awesome. Best gallery we've been to so far lots of Monet Van Gogh http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-335706.html