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This is how I will blog this summer. Later, I'll do more detailed posts. But this is the best way for me to have experiences and share them with you.
Day 1: Rome. Today I saw the Colosseum and pyramid. I hiked up to a great view of Rome. I saw the inside of an Irish pub (go Argentina!) and watched the USA lose in Venezia Piazza. I learned that restaurant owners who want pigeons to go away sprinkle chili flakes on the ground.
Day 2: Rome. Today I walked forever. I saw the rest of Rome. I ate a lot of gelato (all of the gelato). I watched the sun set and I sat in a mostly-empty St. Peter's square until I got kicked out (who knew it closed?)
Day 3: Rome. Today I went to my 22nd country! The Vatican definitely counts. I learned that Hungarian is super useful when people are harassing you in line trying to sell you things. Made some Canadian friends that way. Also went to St. Peter's Basilica. A lot of standing in line. Super tan. More gelato. Read by the Colosseum. Met 2 solo travelers. Then met 6 more solo travelers and sat with them for a while. Decided not to go to Venice this trip because it is going to be depressing to be there as a poor single person traveling alone. I'll go back for sure.
Day 4: Terni. Got on a train and didn't have my ticket checked. Spent the day riding on the back of a motorbike through the hills of Umbria. vineyards and olive groves and medieval towns everywhere. Mountains. Yes We explored some small towns and then went to a festival for dinner where I learned I can't eat like an Italian. Such amazing food and wine everywhere. Happy Fourth of July!
Day 5: Terni. Today I rode on a motorbike next to a lake through the Umbrian hills. Then I hiked up to an abandoned castle. Then I hiked up to the biggest waterfall in Europe and the second biggest artificial waterfall in the world! (Artificial=built by the ancient Romans). Pork and wine for lunch.
Day 6: Florence. An old Italian man who didn't speak a word of English bought my breakfast this morning. In Florence I did laundry, ate, and read my book. I met a British guy named Kieran and we stumbled upon a rock concert. Not sure if the last band spoke Italian or English. Then we drank wine on the steps of the Duomo. We taught each other slapping hand games. Then we taught an Italian couple the games. When we played all together, the man slapped the woman really hard in the face and knocked off her glasses. It was the most awkward/hilarious moment ever. I swear the games are not that violent.
Day 7: Florence. Today I realized that I left my towel in Terni. So I'll be using a small quick-dry towel for the rest of the trip. Also, in every hostel, there is always a man who is way too old to be staying in a youth hostel. This particular one sleeps under me. Kieran and I pet two golden retrievers and a husky today. Then we decided to meet up in Genoa on Friday (provided we find a couchsurfer). We went into the basilica after standing in the wrong line for a bit. Things Americans like: yelling about the line they're standing in. We met up with Kieran's friend Hannah, had a picnic in a park with construction because all of the gardens are private, and ate a lot of gelato. At midnight we went out to get food, and it was raining so Kieran and I danced in the rain on the cobblestone streets.
Day 8: Cinque Terre. I woke up this morning with millions of mosquito bites. Millions! Still haven't seen a mosquito. I packed and got on a train for Pisa. Did not see the leaning tower. Got on a second train for La Spezia. A really smelly woman sat next to me. Thankfully she got off the train pretty early. In La Spezia I basically ran to get my bus which then turned out to be late. Had interesting conversations with an old Italian lady who spoke no English, but it resulted in me getting on the right bus without having to pay. The hostel is in a little town on a hillside. Met some Americans and went to the first town: Riomaggiore. Ate a mix of seafood in a cone. Watched the sunset on rocks. Got nailed by a wave. Splash zone. Ate gelato. Now it's time for football!
Day 9: Cinque Terre. This place cannot be real. Beautiful houses that are in different colors because they are old fishing villages and the fishermen wanted to be able to find their way home and also wanted to see that their wives were keeping up with the housework. Classy. All of the trails but one were closed today. So I hiked for four hours instead of six. The Mediterranean plus hiking=my favorite things. After my first hike I took the train to the beach and jumped in the water. I saw all 5 villages. Made friends with Aussies and Danish people and watched the sunset/storms with them until I had to go back to the hostel. Everyone needs to come here. There are no words for how beautiful this place is. Wish I was staying here longer.
Day 10: Genoa. Double digits! Last night I decided to come to Genoa. Kieran found a way to get there, so we met up this morning after he went to the wrong train station. Don't ask me about the sites of Genoa. We saw plenty, but we don't know what they were actually called. We wandered the streets, choosing dark alleyways as often as we could and had a wonderful adventure. Our lunch was amazing and cheap. I ate starfish! And pesto genovese, obviously. Not together. We went down to Porto Antico and watched and discussed some fish. Then we had a drink on the marina and watched people be rich on HUGE yachts. We tried to look classy enough to get invited on one. It didn't work, so we discussed the rich people further. We went to a wine bar and hung out there for a few hours. We met a guy who knows a deckhand for Steven Spielberg's yacht, which is apparently here without Spielberg. Our main goal is to find a way onto that yacht tomorrow. Our couchsurfer is super nice and made us dinner (more pesto!). Then we got gelato, because yes. Always. Now we're exhausted, and we have a lot of work ahead of us tomorrow to get on that boat.
Day 11: Genoa. Spoiler alert: we did not get on Steven Spielberg's boat. We woke up this morning and had an easy walk back to the train station. Our biggest source of pride is that we actually did things today! So productive. We paid all of 2 Euros to go into the Palasso Reale, which was this unbelievable palace. In each room we read each other the description with different accents. On the roof we pretended to be the queen and shouted things at our royal subjects. I swear we're adults...
We also walked to the basilica, which was closed. So we got gelato (the best in Italy!) and drank wine on the dock and talked about the rich people on their yachts some more. The biggest yacht left, so we watched it get packed up and made plans to jump on it after it left, but unfortunately, we didn't take the opportunity when it came. Then we went to buy bracelets from an African man. We found one from Kenya, and Kieran proceeded to sell me to him for all of the bracelets. Best friend ever. Sadly it was time to part, so Kieran dropped me at the train station, threw me into a group of Italians and said "talk to them!" Most of them were 17 and didn't speak English, but I had a great conversation with the older one the whole way to his stop. Every so often the others would start singing songs in English because it was the only English they knew. And that was the end of my time in Italy.
Day 12: Nice and Avignon.I stayed with a couple in Nice. They were super nice (see what I did there?) and spoke very little English. The noteworthy thing is the cats. They had 2 cats and a kitten who kept taking naps in my shoes (so little!). I woke up, booked my train to Avignon, and walked around windy streets. I bought colorful sandals and a bracelet. The beach was cloudy, but I went anyway. Then I took a really long time to walk home. I took the train to Avignon and met my couchsurfer who was awesome. There was a huge fringe festival with fliers everywhere. We had a delicious dinner and then picked up the Hungarian couple (!) who I will definitely be hanging out with in the future. While we were out later, we ran into another Hungarian! The world is cool.
Day 13: TRAVEL. Ugh. Today I learned that planning is actually the worst. Never do it. Here was my plan:
Take the 11:40 train from Avignon to Nimes. Take the 12:30 train from Nimes to Barcelona. Get to Barcelona at 4:30. Check into the hostel, go to a bar, watch the World Cup final.
Here's what actually happened:
The train to barcelona is full. There is a train at 3:30 that gets there at 7:30. Ok. Game is at 9. Still time. Hang out in the Nimes train station forever. Eat a delicious lunch with chèvre. Get on the train. Get off the train at the border town because the doors don't work properly. Get told that the next train leaves at 7:30. We have an hour and a half until Barcelona. Train is delayed 10 minutes. Finally find a seat on this now super crowded train. Run to my hostel. Arrive 30 minutes into the final. Fail. I met some people though and had a good adventure with sandwiches and beer. I got home at 2 and slept. 23 years old and 23 countries today! Spain is my golden country!!
Day 14: Barcelona. I would like to take a picture of this day and keep it forever. This was my favorite day so far. Today I remembered that cities are about the experiences and people rather than the sights. I had breakfast with my new Italian friend Lorenzo. It was cloudy, so I was going to do some sightseeing. But I decided to go to Sitges beach with him about 40 minutes south of Barcelona. It was sunny, beautiful, and hot. The beach was clean and not crowded. About 2 hours in we realized that we were, in fact, on a gay beach. The people watching was awesome. After a shower and siesta, we met a Belgian guy and Australian girl. Martin and Roxanne. Both solo travelers. Martin and Lorenzo made a really good dinner for us. Then i taught a game to basically everyone in the hostel plus the receptionist. After a few hours a pile of us went out. Most were solo travelers except for 2 American guys traveling together. We headed straight for the beach and proceeded to swim until 5 am. The night was full of jokes and stories, and I feel like this is a little family now. Barcelona captured me.
Day 15: Barcelona. When I woke up this morning I booked another night in another hostel. Can´t get enough. After a slow start, I made my way to Sagrada Familia where I stood in line for an hour. Because traveling is all about standing in line. I was told to come back at 4:45 once I bought my ticket, so I took myself out to lunch. Fish soup and empanadas. Yessss. Sagrada Familia was, to say the least, AMAZING. Top 3 coolest things I´ve seen in Europe...or...ever. I did the audio tour, and I´m really happy I did. The meticulous detail, the modern architecture, everything about that building was absolutely incredible. If you haven´t been, go to there. Seriously. Do it. After Sagrada Familia I wandered around the food market (food!) and went back to the hostel. After dinner with some friends we went on a pub crawl. Shenanigans ensued.
Day 16: Barcelona. Today I went to the beach at Barcelona. It was hot. There was sun. I took a nap. I booked a night at a party hostel just to try it. Turns out, not my thing. Glad I did it though. I met an Australian who will be living in Budapest for a month and going to the same festival (Sziget) as I am in a few weeks. New friends! I took a siesta, and got woken up by my phone ringing. This was the conversation:
Kieran: Hi! Where are you?
Me: In my hostel in Barcelona?
Kieran: Great. I´m on my way there. I´ll be there in the morning.
Me: WHAT? NO. STOP. YES!
At 11:30 pm I decided to go to Valencia. Because why not? So I booked a hostel for two nights. Everything is getting more and more last-minute. Instead of going out, I went to the beach with a Brazilian girl I met at the hostel. We met some guys from Boston! Ahh, home.
Day 17: Barcelona. I woke up and got Dunkin Donuts because THEY HAVE THAT IN SPAIN AND I HAVE NO SHAME. It tasted like home. It´s also called Dunkin Coffee in Spain. Fun fact. I met Kieran and we had a wonderful reunion. We found his hostel and rented bikes next door. We spent the day ACTUALLY seeing Barcelona because I hadn´t done that yet. It´s an incredibly beautiful city, and I could totally live here. On our way back to the bike rental shop we went to the train station to book my train to Valencia in 3 hours. Then I realized I lost my phone. Oh well. I couldn´t even be mad because that´s how much I love the city. When we got back to Kieran´s hostel I went on the computer and put my phone on lost mode and all that jazz. Then I checked my email and found out that someone had found my phone on the street and wanted to give it back! HOLY CRAP. LUCKY. I used all the Spanish in my power (and some of Kieran´s) to figure out when he could pick up the phone because I had to go to Valencia! But seriously. Lucky. I said goodbye to Kieran and went to Valencia!
Day 18: Valencia. My train got in at 11:30 and my ankle was hurting so much. There was no public transport to my hostel, and taxis are too expensive. And I hurt. So I hitchhiked! A couple who is studying in Glasgow picked me up and drove me to my hostel. So nice! I got there at midnight, checked in, and went to bed. In the morning I woke up, met a German girl who sleeps under me, had breakfast with her, and wandered arond the city. Also, I had pink-eye. Barcelona broke me, physically. I went to the pharmacy and just showed them my eye. The girl said, ¨Ohhh!!¨and gave me drops that only cost 7 euros. I wandered around old town Valencia. The graffiti! The street art! I loved it. So many pictures. It´s all windy roads and graffiti. When my ankle hurt, I sat and read my book. Then I took a looooong siesta. After my siesta the German girl and I went on a walking tour of the City of Arts and Sciences and the river which is no longer a river and has been turned into parks. It was awesome. We had a great tour guide. Also there were Hungarians who were SHOCKED that I spoke Hungarian! Super fun. We went back to the hostel, made dinner, met some Canadians, hung out with them for a while, met a ton of other travelers, and had a good night hanging out at the hostel.
Day 19: Valencia. I woke up this morning and decided to stay another day. Bad habit? Good habit? My hostel was booked, so I booked another hostel. I settled into that hostel, and wandered around some more. Then I took another long siesta with my ankle elevated. We were fighting all day. Finally I relented, went back to the pharmacy, and bought a bandage. My ankle was happier after that. I had dinner with ANOTHER German girl named Tascha, who I met at this new hostel. We took another siesta (my favorite cultural experience) and then I taught some Aussies and Canadians a game. Once we played that, Tascha decided we should do a pub crawl. Sorry, ankle. We went to 5 bars. The night involved dancing to Grease and Spice Girls, singing Backstreet Boys in the streets with an Aussie, and getting a drunk Norwegian home. It was a better pub crawl than the one in Barcelona. Such a good night.
Day 20: Madrid. I woke up in Valencia, went to the train station with Tascha, and easily found a train to Madrid. I got on the train, and slept the whole way. In Madrid, I found my couchsurfer, took a siesta, and went out with him, his roommate, and two Brazilian girls who were also staying at the flat. We walked around the city, watched the sunset, and then the roommate left, so Dennis, the Brazilian girls, and I went out to get tapas. There was a rowdy group at the tapas place, and our couchsurfer disappeared for a bit, but the girls and I had a blast watching this group. There were bicycles involved. I don´t know. After dinner it was time for bed.
Day 21: Madrid. 3 weeks in! I woke up and went to the train station early. Thankfully I did because it took FOREVER to get a train ticket to Granada, and all of the second class seats were full, so I had to upgrade to first class (bummer, I know). I first went to a bar to get a coffee and Wifi to get in touch with Maria (a spanish woman I tutor in Budapest). I was staying with her friends in Granada, so I had to tell them my arrival time. While I was in this tiny pub, I met the bartender and two older men who loved hearing about my trip and were giving me advice on where to go. These conversations were entirely in Spanish. Apparently I still know Spanish. Then I went to the huge park in Madrid where I spent the rest of the day. I wrote and read and walked through gardens, and it was amazing and perfect. I could sit in parks forever. Then it was time to get my train to Granada. Naturally, I slept. And read my book. When I got to Granada, I met Carmen and Cuca. We got tapas and I went to bed.
Day 22: Granada. Today I went to Alhambra! It was so amazing. Everyone needs to go there if you are ever in or near Granada. I met an American named Bryan in line after a Spanish man came up and spoke to me in rapid Spanish and the people around me laughed. We bonded over not knowing what he said. It turns out we´ve been in the same cities in Spain at the same time (except for Madrid), so we obviously had to meet up eventually. We got cheap tapas and Sangrias for lunch. He´s also going to be in Budapest at the same time as me. LOVE meeting people. I wandered around the city for a while before I met up with Carmen for a drink. Then we got sushi with Cuca. Granada is wonderful.
Day 23: La Herradura. This morning I got up early with Cuca and went out to buy a bracelet and go to a tea house. Except 9 am in Granada is like 5 am in Budapest. Nothing is open and the streets are dead and quiet. It was beautiful. And confusing. It was fun to watch the city wake up. I got my stuff and walked 30 minutes with my giant backpack to a hospital to meet Maria´s parents. They are really nice and speak no English. I drove with them down to the coast. Their house is on a cliff next to a beach. The view is amazing. It´s their summerhouse, and it reminds me a lot of Block Island. But with fewer dogs. As in, no dogs. I went to the pool with Maria and the kids, and then we had a great seafood dinner on the beach.
Day 24: La Herradura. I woke up with the kids this morning, and we went downtown. I GOT MY PHONE BACK. YES. We spent all day on the beach. I took two naps. I went in the water once, and it was as cold as Block Island, for some reason. When we went back to the house we had gazpacho and paella for lunch. Then I took a 1 hour siesta, which turned into a 3 hour siesta. Oops. When I woke up we all went on a walk to the lighthouse on top of the hill. After we walked down we showered and got pizza on the harbor for dinner.
Day 25: Granada. Maria's dad drove me back to Granada this morning. We listened to Spanish music and spoke sporadically in Spanish. It was lovely. He dropped me off, I found a cafe, and drank coffee and booked a hostel. For that night. I'm really into the whole last-minute thing now. I found my hostel, found an English and Swiss girl, and wandered around Albaycin with them for a few hours. Then I went back to the hostel to siesta, where I met some Aussies. One of them is coming to Sziget, and he's crashing with me for the week! I went on a graffiti tour of the city, which was super awesome. After my siesta, Aaron (the Aussie) and I went out with some Americans for tapas. Tapas forever. Always tapas. In Granada. Yes. There was a band playing outside the tapas place, which was awesome. At 9:45 we decided to try to find the 10:00 flamenco show. When a hotel gave us directions, the guy said we'd be lucky to get tickets for the midnight show. Oops. We showed up to the place at 10:05 to be told that there were two tickets left because of no-shows in the front row for 10 euros. NEVER PLANNING AGAIN. YES. The show was unbelievable. LOVE flamenco.
Day 26: Granada. This was my last day in Granada, so I woke up and walked to the train station to get a ticket to Seville for 5:30. On the way back I sat in a park and read my book. A spanish guy came up and asked if he could kiss me. I said no. I walked back to the hostel, and spent the day wandering around the city, reading my book, and drinking tea. It was lovely and relaxing. In true Spanish form, it got way too hot to do anything around 3:00, so I went back to the hostel where there was barely a seat to be found because EVERYONE was inside lounging. Siestas are so real. My train to Seville was uneventful. I slept and read my book. I got to Seville, checked into my hostel, which was like a hotel. It was fingerprint recognition to get into the rooms, so I'm pretty sure I'm James Bond now. I met an Aussie and an American, and we met two other people and got tapas. Then we went to a huge festival on the river and had a great time people-watching. The streets were PACKED at 2:00am. Finally we went to a Flamenco bar until I was ready to go home.
Day 27: Seville. I woke up, had some breakfast, and spent the day wandering around the city. I went to Plaza de Espana, the Cathedral, and the Bullfighting stadium. At 4:00 it was, once again, too hot for life. Within 10 minutes of getting back to my room at the hostel, everyone else had come back too. Only in Spain do you find a full hostel room at 4:30 in the afternoon. After my siesta, I ran into Steph (the Aussie), and we spent the evening drinking Tintos and eating tapas.
Day 28: Lagos. I had a goodbye breakfast with Steph this morning, and then I went to get my Bla Bla Car to Lagos. BlaBlaCar is a website that's essentially organized hitchhiking. You create a profile and find out if someone is going the same way as you. They charge you a bit for gas, but they drop you off at your destination and you get a good conversation on the way. My ride was a guy named Gabriel from Seville. We picked up a Swedish guy from the airport and had a really nice ride into PORTUGAL! My hostel is amazing. I got a 10 minute spiel about everything to do and everywhere to go. I immediately went to the beach. Oh my God this place is paradise. Crystal clear water, huge rocks, cliffs, and sand. Clear skies and sun always. I then went grocery shopping after laying on the beach for a while and got NOT BREAD. YES. At the hostel I met a Canadian named Celeste and went back to the beach with her. We made salads for dinner and hung out with people on the terrace. I am the only American here. Everyone is Australian and Canadian.
Day 29: Lagos. Seriously. Paradise. I woke up and spent 6 hours on 3 beaches. Then I came home, made dinner, and went out with a bunch of Canadians and Aussies. Still the only American.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
I can understand needing to post like this during your trip...
I wasn't able to keep up with blogs of my South America trip until I got home. But if you are going to be on the road for two months I hope you are keeping a good journal to help you remember what happened! When I did my 3 week Eurail trip in 1968 I recorded my memories, and 40 years later when writing my blogs I found the tape and almost transcribed it. Anyway, have fun...it sounds like you are.