Jake and Lauren

At long last, we made it home. Back to our real homes, back to our real lives. For the two and a half months we were on the road, we lived in an almost fictitious world of adventure. “Home” was wherever we laid our heads down for the night. And the “point” of life was simply travel. For a brief moment, we lived without deadlines, obligations, or demands. We were free from the stress of trying to further our academic careers or make money. And let me to tell you, it felt good. We saw some of the world’s most treasured landmarks. The Eiffel Tower, the Hanging Houses, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, David, the Cinque Terre, the beaches of Greece, Mont St. Michel, the Masai Mara… The list goes on and on. The visual and ... read more

It is all in the past now. Life is funny that way. I have nothing to show for our two and a half month adventure except for photos and a few souveiners. More importantly, however, my mind holds the true treasure… the memories. Memories that contain experiences throughout our time abroad that will continue to make the trip a reality in the years to come. Although now as I reflect on the plane ride back to LAX it seems like the days flew by… they really did not. It was the first time in my life I truly grasped, for an extended period of time, the ability to stay present in each moment. This is something I strive for in my everyday routine at home but with the busy schedule I have endured for many years ... read more

When we stepped off the ferry from Mykonos, a strange feeling hit us both. This was the final stage of our epic adventure. With 16 checklists on our itinerary, number seventeen was the grand finale. Though definitely not the highlight city of our trip, it was a perfect ending to such a grand journey. For better or worse, the attractions in Athens are dominated by the Acropolis (with very little else to see). We had plenty of time to wander through the city, reflect on our months on the road, and soak in the waning moments of life away from home. Our ferry landed in Athens at 11:55 pm. A crazy, mad dash to the metro allowed us a cheap and easy ride to our hostel. The metro ride to the hostel took about forty minutes ... read more

We woke up early Sunday morning to enjoy some sun by the pool before heading to Mykonos. This time our ferry did come and it was time to officially say goodbye to Santorini. Another stop complete filled with memories that I believe the “fabulous four” will never forget. Mykonos The gusty winds that cancelled our ferry finally tired of blowing and left us with a brilliant sunny day. With no winds, the water was still, glistening, and postcard perfect teal. We stepped off the ferry from Santorini and were greeted by Andreas- owner of Kymata Hostel. “Be careful your head,” almost obsessively Andreas warned as we entered his van or apartment. At Kymata, we had two beautiful rooms in a classic white/blue Greek city. Mykonos town was a winding maze of stone streets lined with shops ... read more

There is a significant distinction between vacationing and traveling. Our backpacks alone cause us to be classified more as travelers than the typical tourist, but after two months on the road the Greek Islands held the vacation promise regardless of the bags we were carrying. When Jake and I planned the trip, we chose to end our journey in Greece for two reasons. One, the weather would be hotter and two what better way to end a two and a half month adventure than relaxing on a postcard perfect beach! I think our early morning flight out of Rome and into Athens made us both realize that the trip was quickly approaching the end… of course not without some Greek Island hopping first. The plan was to get to Santorini as soon as possible after our ... read more

Ever seen the Da Vinci Code? Better question- ever read the Da Vinci Code (sorry Tom Hanks your Robert Langdon was terrible)? If not, go read it. If so, I think you know of the almost unbelievable amount of history centered in Rome. Home of the Roman Empire and the Vatican, we had a jam packed three days to round out our time in Italy. Heading in, Lauren and I actually couldn’t remember if we had two nights or three nights in Rome. Luckily, the latter. Our train pulled into Rome two hours before our friends Megan and Cayla arrived form L.A.. We knew they would be work out so we grabbed a welcome snack of baguette, cheese, and wine. A big thanks from all of us to Cayla for booking us the Hotel Palladium. We ... read more

Out of all the stops on this journey, I believe Jake and I overlooked Florence the most. Probably because it is near the end of our journey and squeezed between two giants (Cinque Terre and Rome), but nevertheless our uninspiring expectations of the city were exceeded! Florence is a city where there is not a lot to do, but a lot to see. By this I wish to stress that our highlight memories are the images of such a quaint and beautiful city. By far our most unique choice of accommodation (well besides of course the manyatta), our campsite in Florence was outstanding. Camping in a big city? Strange I know, but so refreshing and cheap. Campaggio Michelangelo is located near the Piazalle Michelangelo, which is on a hill overlooking Florence. Every morning when we stepped ... read more

Throughout the trip, we have identified ourselves more as backpackers or travelers than tourists. All of our goods are loaded into travel packs, we have extremely limited wardrobes, and we sleep in budget accommodations (for the most part). Granted, I walk around with a massive Canon camera around my neck and we hit the major tourist sights in each location, but we let that slide. All of this went out the window when we stopped in Pisa. Lauren and I both wanted to stop to see the Leaning Tower when we were planning our trip, but it never came to me. We were very excited to discover that the train from Cinque Terre to Florence had a long layover in Pisa. We were greeted in Pisa by a crowd of people all taking the same photo. ... read more

Jake and I were pleasantly surprised with Venice. Touristy? … Yes. …But lacking charm? … No, definitely not. The first line of the Venice section in our Europe on a Shoestring book read something like, “In Venice you will DEFINTELY get lost.” Lost? … Yes we sure did. After a few steps out of the train station we were already turned around. One wrong turn lead to another, but I think because we were properly warned we were able to laugh about our confusion. When we finally made our way to Venice Ormesini (our pension) we were very close to turning around and ditching our seventeen dollar deposit. 1451A Calle de Ormesini was the least bit appealing from the outside. A beat up sticker next to an old buzzer button was the extent of the signage ... read more