It was her shoes that I noticed first. Resting in a pile on the wooden hostel floor, my eyes were immediately drawn to their uniqueness. Tattered from years of wear, dusty brown leather with stretched cross-straps barely clinging to the sole. Once I finally met the owner of these shoes, I realized that she could be epitomized in her shoes. She was reading quietly in the corner and glanced furtively toward our game every few pages. She was a frazzled-looking, grandmotherly figure reading a book in German. I learned that her name was Rosemary and she was a lot tougher [View Full Entry]

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We began Adams birthday in a fashionable bar down the street from our hotel in Athens. We wandered in and found seats amongst the low-lit modern lamps and tasteful decor. Looking around, I realized I was about the only female in the bar. The rest of the couches and barstools were filled with pairs or trios of men. Even the bartenders were male. We had a good time playing cards and laughing that the Greek term "day bar" is the equivalent of our term for gay bar. The next day we spent in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, where [View Full Entry]

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Welcome Elliott! Adam's younger brother has joined us for Greece. He arrived wide-eyed and curious about everything: wandering the streets of Venice, he stopped in every single store. We have enjoyed having a third opponent in Scrabble and an additional friend on the trip. After picking him up in Venice, we traveled to Athens, Greece, where we will soak up the sun for an indefinite amount of time. We have much to attribute to the Greeks: The Olympic games, theatre, philosophy, tales like the Odyssey and the Illiad, and of course democracy. It is thrilling to be in a place [View Full Entry]

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If Rome is a city for archaeologists, and Florence is for art, then Venice is a city for miracles. Gasping for breath above its eternally sinking bulk, Venice slowly slides beneath the waves of history. It is a city that defies nature: the city's 100+ islands were built on the silt left by a delta in the river. Massive, wooden pillars were sunk into the clay beneath to hold up the foundations of the city. You can imagine the damage 400 years of sea water will do to wood. To adjust to its aquatic structure, Venices' ambulances have rudders, the [View Full Entry]

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On the eve of the new year, it is customary to reflect back on our previous 365 days. In the past year, Ive been a pretty lucky girl. I have graduated from college, traveled to New Zealand, dived in Costa Rica, and backpacked almost all of Western Europe. Reflecting back on just the past 3 1/2 months of travel, I compiled a list of superlatives for outstanding sights in selected categories. Be fully warned that these categories divert slightly from the norm. *Best bridges-Glasgow, Scotland for lighting up in neon colors at night *Rockin Park-Guell Park-a failed community turned par [View Full Entry]

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Each layer of history is built upon another. No part of history is purely independent. Economic trends effect political decisions which in turn contribute to religious traditions. The cycle continues and reverses. No city ever goes unchanged. Even Pompei, a city frozen in time, has been affected by archaeologists and tourists. Throughout history, these kinds of changes have greatly affected cities and continue to do so. When an earthquake destroyed part of the Colosseum in Rome, they carried the rubble away to build churches and basilicas instead of rebuilding the original. On t [View Full Entry]

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We are now in Rome, having traveled overnight in a train from Interlaken, Switzerland. My family comes tomorrow to spend two weeks with us in Italy. For the past week, we have enjoyed the (icy) pleasures of Switzerland in December. We stayed in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, for three days, then traveled to the backpackers mecca of Interlaken. We took the train to the highest train station in Europe at the top of the mountain Jungfraujoch! Incredible views of glaciers and snow for miles. Unfortunately, our adventures have taken a turn for the worse. I knew when traveling i [View Full Entry]

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What IS this couchsurfing business? Is it safe? How can you just waltz into someone's home and expect them to host you with no prior knowledge of who you are? How can it be free? These are all valid questions that I will try to answer honestly. Couchsurfing.com is a website created to bring travelers and hosts together in order make connections in order to bring about a better world. Though it sounds idealistic, it has been one of the greatest experiences we have had in Europe. An example: Via COUCHSURFING, I searched a few profiles, chose one, and emailed CHRISTOF [View Full Entry]

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You must forgive me for the length of time it has been since Ive written. Ive had a lot on my mind. West Side Story for example. The song "Maria" has been on replay in my head for the past four days. It all began in Granada, where we had a wonderful time hopping from one tapas bar to another with our fellow AC mates. We hiked up the Alhambra and played frisbee until the clouds burned off so that we could see the Sierra Nevadas (the OTHER Sierra Nevadas). I have recently learned that these are the only available ski [View Full Entry]

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I am learning French. It is a very tricky language. Sounds that had never before fallen upon these ears are now flooded by orations I didnt know the human mouth could produce. I have distinguished the difference between "good morning", "good day", "good night", and "good night I wont see you until tomorrow". I can recite numbers one through ten, ask for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (very necessary), and sing the "head, shoulders, knees and toes" song in French. It may not get me very far in life, but in France--its a good beginning. Many French words have already eased [View Full Entry]

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