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Tara Hodgson Joined: August 30th 2008
Logged in: January 11th 2012
Logged in: January 11th 2012
Travel Blog Posts
Almost Sunset.
January 7th-10th: Venice We slept in until 9:30 which was glorious…when we opened the curtain, we really couldn’t believe what our eyes saw: it was snowing. Big fat flakes of snow were flying down from the heavens onto the little city of Venice. How would of thought that we would experience our first European snow shower in Venice? Mitch and I were thrilled but we could tell it was just absolutely freezing outside as the wind whipped the little snow flurries into little tornados. It was an exciting moment thought and we rushed down to eat our breakfast and then get outside. One of the cool things about Venice for us was that we no longer had to really play the tourist role anymore. There were no museums or long lines to stand in, our only ... read more
One of my Favorite pictures of the trip...birds flying, just happened to catch it on film
Janaury 4th- 7th: Florence We left Roma while the streets were dark and abandoned, it felt like night time but really it was 5:30 in the morning. We remembered to make our train this time which was a blessing as we are headed to Florence or Firenze as the Italians say. We are spending three nights here and then headed to Venice. Mitch booked the hotel this time and he found a gem at only $16 US dollars a night. It will be interesting to see what it looks like, all we care about is a bed and a toilet. Our arrival into Florence was great because it was sunny and our hotel was right down the street from the train station. It helps when you don’t have to lug our 50 pound bags around everywhere. ... read more
Da Trevi
December 30th - January 4th: Roma, the heart of Italia Just a random tid bit of info before you get to hear about Roma: So before we left England, Mitch and I had this brilliant idea. Hey, why don’t we get a bag that has both backpack straps and wheels for when we are traveling so we don’t always have to be putting stress on our backs for the next 32 days. Sounds like such a great idea. So, we go to London, buy some bags from these Indian vendors on Oxford street. The bags are ok, not great quality, but they should hold up for a month. Well, 2 weeks into the actual “backpacking” trip, we could not have been more wrong about the quality of those bags. Let me just break it down for ... read more
Freeeeeeeeeeeeezing in Geneva
December 26th- 30th: Switzerland Friday morning was not a good one for us. So far, we have not had one glitch in our trip, but this morning is when it began. We woke up around 7 to get ready for our 9 o’clock train to Gryon (our chalet in the Alps). We rushed to the train station because we had cut the time a little close…we look at the board and see the 9:10am train to Geneva and Mitch is like “oh yeah, that has to be our train”. We both glance down at the ticket, jaws drops, mouth goes dry, cold sweat….Geneva Train: 7:10 am departure. WE are idiots. Complete and total ignorant idiots. In that moment, we were so frustrated and angry there were no words either of us could say to lighten the ... read more
In All her glory...
December 21 - 26th: Paris, the city of love, love, love!!! We arrived into Paris extremely excited and anxious...I mean this is the city of love, cheese, and wine, who wouldn’t be thrilled? Unfortunately, it was raining and a bit overcast when we arrived but the city was still breathtaking. We went from the train station to our apartment on the Left Bank, which is arguably the best area to live in Paris. Our apartment was beyond perfect for us. It was tiny, with a little sitting area, kitchen built into the wall, bathroom/ shower, and a loft with the bed and the tv. It was about as cozy as it gets. We had two huge French windows with beautiful crimson curtains in the middle of the crème colored room…it was almost too perfect. It was ... read more
Houses in Tours
December 18th-21st: Tours, Blois…HOLY CHATEAUXS! We got into Tours around 1 in the afternoon…we had booked our hotel online that morning and just randomly found it, didn’t read the reviews or anything…we walked out of the train station and BAM there it was staring us in the face. Literally 500 yards from the train station and the center of town, best location yet. I was a bit skeptical about our room because for one it had been 20 percent off regular price and two because it smelled nasty in the lobby. MITCH CHIMES IN: When we opened the door to our room it was quite a surprise: the nicest room we had been in yet, all antique furniture, huge room, even bigger bathroom, and a big ole’ bed that actually had a nice mahogany bed frame. ... read more
Mitch outside the Palace of Popes
December 15th - 16th: Avignon and Marseilles The train ride through the coast and the country side has been one of our favorite aspects of the trip so far, you get to see so much of France. One minute its cliffs and beach and the next its endless vineyards and cottages. It’s amazing. We arrived into Avignon and bought our tickets for the rest of our time in France because things seem to fill up real fast around here. We only have to pay a few Euro to reserve our seats. The train pass we bought in the States has already paid for itself as our 10 days of train travel will cost around 2,000 dollars in the end and we only paid around 400. It’s quite a deal. We had to take a tram into ... read more
Wine Cellars
December 16th-18th: Bourdeaux, The Wine Country Our train pulled into the station around 9:30 pm, a 7 hour train ride from Marseilles. We were a little worn out from the long haul, but the train ride is so much more relaxing than a plane ride that we really couldn’t complain. We were not prepared at all for what we were both in store for, it was far far beyond our expectations. It was dark outside, but the city was lit up with a thousand lights. We haven’t seen Paris yet but this must have been a mini Paris. OH MY GOSH! It was just unbelievable, the lights lit up these magnificent buildings and the streets were so alive with people, music, and restaurants just teeming full of delicious foods. Mitch and I were sooo excited! Our ... read more
Mitch over the Harbor
December 13th-15th: Nice and Monoca Our first stop in our Europe crusades is the lovely French Riviera. I only know what I have heard in magazines and tv: freaking paradise. We left Oxford in the afternoon after some tearful goodbyes and made our way (long way) to Gatwick Airport. Mitch and I had purchased some new backpacks in the London ghetto to replace our old ones because we just had to have wheels on our bags. My back was broken and Mitch was over the whole “hey let me a gentleman and carry your bag thing”, no way. It’s every man/woman for themselves. None of this sissy girlfriend stuff. So, we had to get wheelie/backpack bags because 32 days is a long time to have a 50 pound pack on your back. Anyway, when we got ... read more
Outside Dicken's House
The Parents Invasion of Oxford The last few weeks of our lives have been utter chaos between school, travel, and the parents invasion of Oxford. Mitch and I have been cramming everything in order to make time for the parents and also to not fail out of school. My mom came first, she arrived the morning we got back fro Scotland. It was so awesome to see her, we met her in the famous Eagle and Child pub for a beer and some fish and chips. She is so adorable in her little hiking shoes and my dad’s REI jacket. Such a Mainer. I love it. My mom was with us for about 8 days which flew by. The first few days she just explored Oxford by herself because Mitch and I had school and we ... read more
