tayl428

In the last 30 days, I have seen.... the Coliseum in Roma, St. Peter's Square and Church in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II tomb, the crater of My Vesuvius, the ruins of Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and the Isle of Capri, the statue of David, the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo, the canals of Venice, the Sound of Music in Salzburg, the resort town of Hallstatt, the Vienna Opera, the architecture of Prague, the Berlin Wall, the Bavarian Alps, the hike and luge in Fussen, the tiny walled town of Rothenburg, the castles of the Rhine Valley, Van Gogh's Starry Night, Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Monet, Manet, Whistler's Mother, Napoleon's tomb, the Eiffel Tower, the Palace at Versailles, setting up at the Cannes Film Festival, the French Riviera beaches, and the beautiful Cinque Terre ... read more

Buon giorno! Yes, I am now back in Italy. It is fun coming back to a language that I felt l was learning some of the basics. My mind is still stuck on French, but it didn't take long to get back to Italiano. Along my travels, I heard many people speak of a magical hiking spot in northwestern coastal Italy called Cinque Terre (5 lands/towns). It was right on my way back to Roma for my flight out on Thursday the 14th, so I figured a night there would be perfect! I bid France and Nice au revoir, and hit the train for Italy. The train tracks followed the coast of France/Italy, so the view during the trip was nothing short of wonderful! The Cinque Terre is made up of 5 tiny towns, in each ... read more

The French Riviera! I woke up in Paris bright an early for my longest train ride yet, to the southern coast of France. 7 long hours later, I find myself with a quick question. I see my train is going to stop in Cannes, right before Nice. Hmmm, the Cannes Film Festival begins when.... when.... I read my guidebook.... it says 'Mid May.' Hey! This is mid May! Within 2 minutes of the thought, I get off the train, without a map, guide, anything, and walk down through the town of Cannes to the water. I am overtaken by two things. The view of the water (beautiful), and the view of hundreds of tiny tents, production semi trailers, and everything Hollywood blocking 90% of the view on the beach (not so beautiful). Indeed, the Cannes Film ... read more

Have you ever had one of those days where you wake up, you open your eyes, and you just KNOW that today is going to be a good day? Yeah, that was today... It was a little overcast with breaks in the clouds, and a tad cooler today (around 68 F), so I was happy I got a lot of outdoor photos yesterday with the sun. I began retracing some of my steps from yesterday with my almighty museum pass in hand (yes, angels are singing...). I started where any abnormal mortal would... The Louvre! I took my guidebook's recommendation to see some of the major works as I could have spent the entire day, if not multiple days, in the Louvre. The two works that I was most excited to see was the Venus de ... read more

Yes, I have been in 3 countries today! What a day.... I woke up ready to leave Amsterdam. I had to wait a while to get a train reservation as anything international going into Paris uses the high(er) speed Thalys trains, so it took about 30 minutes. I took off for Paris via Brussels with a 2 hour layover in Brussels. "Great! I can read up on Paris during those 2 hours," I thought at first. Then it hit me.... I have 2 hours in Brussels!!! Run Run Run!!! I did a quick readup in my travelguide about Brussels, and luckily, some of them were only 5-10 minutes from the Central train station! Yeah! (ok, important note here... my train was actually going to the next stop in Brussels, the Brussels Midi station. My next Thalys ... read more