Hvar

Hvar, an island reachable by an hour ferry ride from Split, must be very different during the high season. Being in Hvar during the end of November, we have basically had the place to ourselves, in terms of tourism. The place almost seems like a ghost town, with the locals busy working and preparing for Easter, when the season opens back up again.. Or they have left and returned to their usual home for the Winter after working all summer accomodating the hoards of tourists who visit between June and August.

Last night, while everyone else was having turkey and all other usual foods, we went to one of the 2 open restaurants we could find and had a simple dinner to give thanks for everything we have been able to do and see, and having supportive friends and family who have encouraged us to follow our dreams and have helped make it a reality. Yummy fish with grilled vegetables, olives, some potato with Swiss chard, and Paul had a huge piece of meat. We enjoyed our Thanksgiving in one of the prettiest places I have ever seen.

We have only seen a few other travellers here during our short stay. We inquired about renting a scooter, but the guy who rents them during the tourist season is not here, and it appeared that the boat rental guy was missing too... So we didn't get to visit other cities on the island, like Stari Grad or Julsa, which was unfortunate, but, such is life.

Stari Grad is another small city on the island and is actually the oldet city in Croatia, dating back to the 1st century BC. I'm sure the architecture and history there would have been cool to see, but I'm wondering if we had rented a scooter and were able to visit, if anything would have been open anyways? Everything here in Hvar Town is shut, and only a couple restaurants and cafes are open for the locals to visit from what I could tell. All I know is that this place is gorgeous and despite everything being closed up, Paul and I have had a great time walking around and enjoying the tranquility of the island. I am sure the pace of life is much different when the resorts are full and the clubs are banging out tunes at all hours of the day..

Here's some photos we took of our walk up to the castle Hispanja, named for the Spanish architects who helped the Croats build the fortress waaaay back. Even before it was named Hispanja, it served as a place of military importance dating back to before Roman times.. The only reason I know this is that there was a sign at the front of the fortress telling all about it.. There was also a desk for someone to take money to enter, which was empty. The doors were open but no one was home, so we ventured in to get a good view of the city from above. 

a little random church

Lavender, past its peak for sure, but it grows wild all over the island.. Along with tons of fruit like lemons, grapes, oranges, grapefruit, figs, olives, etc. 

This is the view from our balcony... We rented an apartment, or "apartmeni" as they call them here, which are dotted around the island. It's pretty good, you get a studio with a kitchen and everything. Most of the places are family run and I'm sure do really well during the tourist season. We are the only people staying in our place currently... It's definitely quiet here!

Tomorrow we get the ferry back to Split bright and early at 7:30 AM. We are staying with Deni and Tomo for 2 more nights, and then we are heading to Mostar in Bosnia, which I am told is a gem.. I have seen it is supposed to be in the 20s and snowing! Ahh! Brrrr! Not ready for that as I sit here in the sun on the balcony..

Saturday is the opening of the Christmas market is Split, so we will have a full month of visiting different festivities around Eastern and Central Europe.. I still have yet to buy a coat after my adventure in the second hand store proved unfruitful.. I better get on that....and getting Paul a beard trimmer. That is a must!

MC

My Croatian experience, so far.

I feel like I am at home here, maybe because Deni and Tomo are amazing hosts, or maybe because the Split mentality seems so relaxed.. We have been here 4 nights, and I welcome a long stay in one place. Tomorrow we will board a "fast boat" to the island of Hvar, one of the 1000s of islands scattered along the Croatian coastline. This place is all the rage in the summer, fit with a night club that hosts interntational DJs.. A real party place for those who want a different scene while living it up in Split. I'm not sure what the vibe will be when we arrive, but I'm told by Deni and Tomo that renting a scooter to explore the island is a must. There is lots of untouched natural beauty and lots of history... My inability to ride a scooter with confidence must be thrown out the window, because from what I have seen on the internet, this place deserves a little tour.

(not my image, obviously... but this is what I have seen by googling Hvar. I'm hoping the sunny weather we are having today will last through Saturday!)

Paul and I have both been battling a head-cold now (not like I didn't see it coming.....) since our restless nights in Florence, so we have been taking it easy so we don't continue to battle it through all our cold destinations! We have been exploring the old town, walking around the shore, and doing normal day to day things like buying groceries and cooking good food. On Monday night, we tagged along with Deni to her yoga class. It was a big deal for me, since it was a different style of yoga (Zen yoga) and it was in Croatian. Talk about feeling akward! We made it through, though. It was a different breathing pattern, different warm up (like a mixture of sun salutation and tai chi?) and moved much more fluidly than what I am used to.. We even got to get into a hammock for inversions and svasana! We had a good time and definitely felt relaxed and a bit better afterward.

All this week the wind has started to pick up. It's a northly wind, much like our Nor'Easters, but they call it a Bora wind. Yesterday it was up to almost 30mph. Something in me thought it was a good idea to go for a run in the morning, and while I felt better afterward, it was a tough run! Luckily the trees in the Marjan forest were a nice shield, but when I headed back toward the apartment I thought I would never make it home I've seen a common theme with my runs, they are usually by some kind of water and very cold/windy. I'm not going to know what to do with myself when we hit hot, humid weather! This Florida girl has been hardened by the cold. I've heard it's been pretty similar weather there, as well.. Maybe there are some crazy solar flares going on or something making the whole globe windy and cold... Brrrr..

We walked down to the Split shopping mall yesterday in search of a beard trimmer for Paul, and it began to snow on us as we were walking! My first taste of snow... Too bad it was so windy, it looked pretty falling on the mountains. I just hunkered my head down and tried to make it to the mall as fast as possible. We didn't find a beard trimmer. He still needs one, badly. 

I had my first taste of authentic Croatian fish soup yesterday too, it was definitely a good day for soup. We went to this tiny family run restaurant that I read about on TripAdvisor. It had maybe 6 tables in it, and was one of the smallest restaurants I have been in.. I don't think it even had a bathroom? It was called Konoba Hvarnin, because the owner is from Hvar originally. It was definitely worth a visit, the food was so fresh and yummy. Paul had gnocchi and he says it was one of the best he's had. I love all the fresh ingredients you can get here, and Croatians are so proud of their food. It's nice visiting places tht have a huge food culture.. It's something we should really try in the States. I think it would solve a lot of our problems.

Croatians usually have a small breakfast, and then a big lunch usually later in the day, like between 2 and 4. Then they may have a small dinner later, or just have appetizer type stuff like bread, salad, cheese, olives, and martinated small fish or cold cuts. I must say it has been nice having smaller dinners. It would be hard to implement this way of eating back home, I think... People would have a big lunch (of food that probably isn't as fresh or nutritious as here) and then doze off because they are so full.. Not good for prouctivity. I will say, despite all the oils, olives, bread, cheese, etc. I have not seen an overweight Croatian yet. Maybe it is a Split thing, since they have had more Olympic athletes represented than any other city in Croatia.. Hmmm...

Today we will be heading up Marjan Hill to get some fresh air (the wind has died down, thankfully) and enjoy nature. Marjan Hill has a lot of history, from what I have read. Back in WW2 when the Nazis invaded Yugoslavia, they infiltrated Split, marched up the hill to the stronghold, removed the flag and replaced it with the Nazi flag. Split was a huge win for the Nazis because of the natural barricades of the mountains and fact that it is a port city.. Thankfully the swastika didn't stay there long, and until the Balkan War, Marjan hill didn't see much other action. It is a forest that is highly reserved by the people of Split and protected by the government. It's so pretty, too. I haven't been up the trails yet, just on the main road, but Tomo tells me that you could walk around the different trails all day long. Pictures to come!

Later Deni and I will be going to a second hand store, to buy a coat that I will probably leave in Turkey since I won't need it much afterward.. Ahead on the itinerary includes REALLY cold places like Budapest, Vienna, maybe Munich, and then Prague...so a real coat is necessary. I am getting tired of wearing 6 layers of clothing, like the kid in A Christmas Story. So I figured, instead of buying an expensive coat, I'll just find a thrift shop.. Don't worry, I won't take your Grandpa's style.

Also, I miiight go back to that yoga class tonight too, to get a second taste. I think I may have the hang of it now. Tomorrow, to Hvar! Woo!

The Night Ferry to Split.

I had my first ever experience on a large boat on Friday night. We arrived to Ancona at 2:00 and found out the bus to the port didn't pick up until 5:35 pm... So we got to spend more time in train stations, yay! Please note my sarcastic tone there, as train stations are some of the most boring places to be stuck.. We ended up walking across to the closest place for food, which was a Chinese restaurant. I can now also say I have eaten Chinese food in Italy.... Cheap exported Chinese food around the world is all pretty much the same, salty and well, cheap! It filled a hole from being on trains and not eating since 6 in the morning, though. We waited in a bar in the train station ("bar" is a loosely used term in Italy, and most of them have coffee and pastries along with the usual things bars have) for a couple hours and indulged in our last few drinks, my new favorite, Spritz..  It has prosecco, aperol, and sparkling water with a slice of orange. Definitely a nice refreshing pick me up before we embarked onto our next mode of transport, the ferry!

We checked in at the port and then boarded another bus to the terminal for passport control and all that fun stuff. After boarding the boat, we handed over Paul's passport for our room key and and made our way to our "exclusive luxury outward facing room" (pictured below).  We decided to explore what the Blue Line ferry was like and what fun we could get into. We were both giddy with excitement as we have never been on a cruise before..

And then we went to see about some food..... Noticing that there were multiple signs around the ship that had pictures of credit cards with big red X's on them..this was not good. I was so excited about leaving the Euro Zone that in only had 4€ in my pocket and was planning on using our cards.. Things that were going through our minds..."How did I not know this? What important notification did I overlook? How were we going to eat? We are going to starve to death for sure."

No one seemed to care that we were going to starve to death when I asked reception and they nonchalantly responded with "yes, there are no credit cards on board". Paul and I decided to go back to the room and see what we could scrape up from the depths of our bags... 5€ and 10 Croatian Kuna, which came to about 1.2 euro. "Yes we are going to starve to death and thirst" or "maybe we can just get a croissant from the vending machine" were what we came to conclude. Then we thought maybe I could get off the ship to run to an ATM so I can get some euros.. That was our solution.

I asked the lady at reception and she said "Well, you need to ask the police when you exit the ship". That sounded scary, but when I actually spoke to the man in the passport office he was smoking what seemed to be a hookah, asked what my nationality was (naturally since we are in the EU I used my GB nationally) and pointed me in the direction of the nearest ATM. I ran through the streets of Ancona in search of the bank and found it was just a few blocks down from the port. Got our cash, ran as fast as my little minimal shoes could take me, and boarded the ship with plenty of time to spare. And those people at reception and the passport office kept looking at their watches like I was going to miss the boat or something.... I'm fast, you people don't know me! Victory!

Upon my return, Paul gave me a high five and we made our way to the ship's "night club" that was about as active as the waiting room at the ferry port. We met a really cool guy from Montreal who had been traveling around Europe and camping in a tent. He seemed like a really interesting and brave kid, I admired his fearless spirit. We had some good conversation and then made our way to the "self service" restaurant. We didn't starve, but the food wasn't so great either. I had a salad from the salad bar and Paul had "meat soup". When Paul finished his soup he said "umm I don't think this soup actually had any meat in it. I was just noodles". At least we didn't have to eat a croissant from the vending machine! No complaints here :) we didn't starve to death, and we had plenty to drink. And we could even have breakfast in the morning. Success.

We were exhausted from traveling since 6 am, so we decided to call it a night shortly after we visited the exciting night club one more time.. It was so weird walking around the ship and feeling like you were going to fall over.. I've never felt anything like it before. Apparently the waves were pretty big that night because the ship was really rocking. We were laying in bed and at some points I was thinking I was just going to roll off the edge.. It was a strange feeling, and I continued to feel it until yesterday evening. Walking around the grocery store or standing the shower and feeling like you are swaying from side to side is unsettling.

We got to Split at 7:30 and made our way to Deni's house. Deni is another lovely airbnb and host we have had the pleasure to meet. She is into yoga like me, and is a genuinely warm and caring person. Her boyfriend Thomo is also extremely hospitable, even cooking a delicious fish and potato meal yesterday. We spent all day yesterday sitting around their dinner table, talking, eating, listening to music, and enjoying life. Understanding that simple things in life are really the best, is one lesson I've been learning for first hand experience since on this journey. You don't have to spend your time in a country visiting every museum, seeing everything there is to see, going to bars and night clubs, etc. Just spending time with the local people, eating their traditional food, talking about their culture and sharing stories is what makes memories when traveling... I don't even think about buying things or souvenirs really anymore, my experience is all that I need from this. Although I am still trying to collect a spoon and Christmas tree ornament as a memento from each.. I need to be more adamant about buying it when I see it though because I completely put it off in Italy and walked onto the ship with no spoon or ornament. Whoops!

Today we walked around the city, seeing the old ruins of Diocletians palace and took a relaxing walk along the sea. It was sunny and mild, a really perfect day to just chill and not worry about going or doing. The pace of life here seems a bit slower than in Italy, and I welcome it after being in touristy places for a few days. It's supposed to get cold and windy here tomorrow, so our plans to hike in the nearby forest may be put off until later this week. Other than that, we are just planning on enjoying Croatian life and taking in the scenery, which is gorgeous.

Deni also told us about the island where her mother lives, Hvar, which is about an hour or so away by ferry. It looks beautiful as well.. I'm sure most of croatias 1000-something islands are all nice. We won't have time to visit all of them, but I've booked an apartment for us to stay in for Thanksgiving, fitted with a kitchen so we can at least cook and feel like we are home for the holidays. I will miss being with family during this time, but thank goodness we have FaceTime so I can still say hello and wish them a happy thanksgiving and let them know I am thankful to have them! It really crept up on me though, all of a sudden we are in what would be the holiday madness! 

The only stress I have is budgeting (and in Eastern Europe, it's much easier.. 1 Croatian Kuna is $.18) and figuring out where we will be going for the next month or so before our stay in Prague. If that's the only stress I have right now, my life is beyond good.. That's something I'm thankful for. The lack of stress and go-go-go has cleared my mind and made me see what's really important. If I had not stopped and continued my life as it was, I never would have reached the realization I am at now. It's hard to express in words.. You just have to step back and away from the craziness sometimes. Grateful I have been able to so far and I'm excited to see what other realizations I will come to as we continue!

The forecast tomorrow calls for 200kph winds.. Please think of me and that I won't be swept away beyond the mountains in Split. Or blown back to italy! depending on the direction of the wind. :) 

I get to go to a Zen Yoga class tomorrow with Deni too... I've never done zen yoga, but from what I've read it's like a mix of yoga and tai chi and other Asian arts.. I'm excited to try it. I also did yoga on the ship.. Everything was okay until I tried to get into eagle..Not good in a small space. Crow was tough too. I can now saw I've done yoga on the Adriatic Sea. Yoga around the world is fun!

More to come on Croatia! So far it's been great!

Florence

//I have had plenty of time to tell about what we have been doing in Florence over the past few days, but the lack of sleep has made it difficult, because whenever we were back at the apartment we have called home for 4 nights, I have wanted to take a nap or be a waste of space!

The place we stayed was an apartment in a building from the 16th century. It is really nice inside, with high ceilings, big windows, big chandeliers, and good size rooms. The only problem was nothing had been updated since probably 1930, so it was very antiquated and smelled a lot like moth balls and stuffy air. The windows rattled at night, and this coupled with no air movement and the 5 mosquitoes that called our room home, have over the course of the past few days turned me into a zombie. 

I booked with Guido on airbnb because it was a great location and a good price, but we hardly saw him. He picked us up from the train station, which was very kind, and took us to his apartment. The apartment was his grandfathers, and he rents out the rooms but lives elsewhere. We ended up having a very nice flatmate named Anna, who was from Paris and was in Florence to learn Italian. She has a really cool job, and works for the opera in Paris as a director's liason.. Of course with so many Italian opera singers, she had to learn the language to better serve them. She has lived all over, in England, Germany, and the US. It was nice having her around to keep us company and share meals with us. The nicest thing about this apartment was it had a (very old but operating) kitchen where we could cook. After eating out a lot an being overloaded with pasta I was keen on cooking!

Florence is a very beautiful city with pastel buildings and detailed architecture. Here are some photos I snapped:

 The Duomo in the cathedral, about a 10 minute walk from where we stayed

Neptune!

Ponte Verecchia, a bridge with various shops (mostly expensive jewelry)

We arrived Monday and did some exploring, walking around and getting our bearings on the city. We were both pretty worn out from going non-stop for a week, so to be honest we really did not do much the first few days besides wander the town and visit the grocery store. I went for a run on Tuesday morning along the Arno River, which runs through the city and connects the other side by multiple briges. As I was running, I saw where we could walk up to see a great view of the city at the Piazza Michaelangelo. I had read about this place and the hundreds of stairs leading up to a great square with a replica of David at the top. After seeing the forecast for the week (raining, except for Wednesday) we decided that Wednesday would be the day to take a little hike. Between being tired from travelling an sightseeing in Milan and Verona and not sleeping well at the apartment, I was completely fine with having some down time. Paul had come down with a cold, and needed to rest as well. The rainy weather made it easier, too!

Wednesday we got up and had breakfast and made a move to see the city from above. First we walked across the Arno, then up to Fort Belvedere, which sits atop a hill overlooking the city. After walking up the huge hill, we got to the top and it was closed for the season... There was an office there staffed with a lady who told us we had to buy tickets to walk around the area where you could see the city, apparently there are some gardens at the fort. The entry fee was 9 euros a person, so we decided to make our way back down the hill and head to the Piazza Michaelangelo where we could get the same view for free!

Here was the view we got from the top:

The rain held out for us and it ended up being a nice day. We saw up a little higher on the hill there was a church, so we walked up to the top of the hill and found this cemetery.. There were all these tombs and gravesites throughout that were amazing.. We missed the sign at the entrance that said no photos, whoops...

Yes, it probably is strange that we took photos of gravesites, but I have never seen anything like these. There was even a miniature Duomo! These people must have been very important to have replica buildings as their final resting place. I am glad that the weather cooperated and that we were able to see all of this.. We then headed back to the apartment, ravenous and dragging, and relaxed until our dinner reservation at Gino's.

Gino is my grandfather's friend who he and his other friend, Jim, met years ago. Gino has been coming to the US to cook at Jim's country clubs in Atlanta since 1997, and after eating at his restaurant, I can see why. We has reservations at 7:30.. walked in the door had a seat and was immediately given a glass of prosecco and these little fried dough balls, which were amazing. We were then greeted by the othr chef , who made rcommendations about the menu and made a little chit chat about our time in Italy. Then Gino came out of the kitchen and it was so cool to meet a man I had heard so much about. He is so friendly and his passion for food is evident in the ambiance of his restaurant and of course, the food.  We started with a savory flan with vegetables and crostini topped with vegetables and beans. The name of his restaurant is "Icce ci ci", which basically means, what you see is what you get. So, whatever they could get at the market is what they use to cook the food. A simple and efficient way to run a restaurant, and a delicious way to make seasonal food.

For the main course we tried some traditional tuscan items, I had calamari in lemon sauce and Paul had a huge piece of veal in tomato sauce. We are so used to the American style of dining out that we didnt realize the importance of the "primi patti", or the pasta/carb dish you get before the "secondi patti". I was fine with just the calamari but I think Paul regretted not getting the pasta dish because he said he was still hungry (i think he just has a bottomless pit haha).

We definitely had dessert, though. We were told about the chocolate flan, which was a house speciality, and Paul opted to order that while I got an apple and pear tart with fig jam. It's not very often we get an appetizer, main course, and dessert, so this meal was special, apart from being a family friend's restaurant. We considered this our Thanksgiving meal, and I thought I was going to pop! It was so delicious.. If you ever make your way to Florence, be sure to seek out Icce Ci Ci, located in a side street of the Duomo. You won't regret it!

Gino and the other chef (whose name escapes me, but he was awesome!)

A Marietta landmark, in Italy!

Our last day in Florence was rainy, bucketing down all day long and made it really easy to just stay in and make prepartions for the next leg of the trip. We ventured out for a little bit, but the rain started around lunch time and didn't stop all day long. We caught up on some very important TV on youtube (since you can't get Netflix here), did some yoga and stuff, and were generally lazy.. We only left the apartment again to pick up some groceries for dinner and even then were huddled under an umbrella as we walked to the store. We shared our last dinner with Anna, packed up our stuff, and got ready for bed.

Currently we are sitting in the train station in Bologna, waiting to board to 10:35 train to Ancona. We were up at 5 something this morning and got the train from Florence to here, which was like a 25 minute train ride because we were going 300km/hour on the super fast Italo train. It was mostly underground with little blue lights on the side so as we sped by it felt like we were traveling through time, haha. 

Our next train is a slow regional train, which will take us 3 hours to get to Ancona. We then have a few hours to kill before arriving to the port. We will be taking the Blue Line night ferry over to Split, Croatia. I got some super deal where we are staying in an ourdoor deluxe cabin, and it was only 20 euros a person plus taxes and stuff.... I am interested to see what this cabin looks like!! It's amazing what deals you can get when you shop around.. The room we are in is usually 135 euros per person! We will be sailing in luxury! (We shall see!!)

I'll be sure to take photos and update as soon as we get to Croatia.. I am thankful I don't have to worry about slamming window panes or kamikaze mosquitos that buzz in my ear tonight.. I am hoping I finally get some sleep so I don't look like I have been up for days on end! That is not a good look for anyone. 

Ciao, Italy!

Verona

We are heading south to Florence on a high speed train, still feeling groggy and not awake yet.. This will be one of the few times so far we will get to a new city and it is not dark outside, which makes finding our accomodations much more easier.. The hardest part about traveling, especially when staying with friends or a host that you really connect with, is leaving. Packing and unpacking our giant backpacks is not much fun, either. Each time I go through this routine I consider leaving a few things behind.. But the I remember we will be traveling through all seasons and temperatures so I may regret leaving something that I may need one day.

We had a great time in Verona with my friends Maja and Carlo. Maja lived with me when she was an exchange masters program student at UNF when I was in undergrad. It was so funny because we both said that even though 7 years have passed, it felt the same as it did back when we lived together. Except now, she has two beautiful, smart and sweet girls added in the mix. We had such a fun weekend.. It is definitely a plus to have a personal tour guide of the area, and a native speaker to help order food and whatnot. I often feel scared to talk because I know hardly any Italian, except scuzi and gratzi!

We arrived Friday evening after being at a train station for most of the day, and it was so nice to have Carlo pick us up rather, rather than having to navigate public transportation or walking. It's the little things. :) we walked out of the train station and standing right there was Carlo with a big smile on his face, just as I remembered him from back in the day. He took us to their apartment, and when we pulled into the garage, there was Maja and their two girls to greet us. It was such a good feeling, to see old friends and meet their new additions.

Maja cooked us a yummy pasta dinner, which was much needed after a day of traveling. I'm usually not a big Italian food lover, but since being in Italy I have discovered how much good, quality ingredients make. Everything here is very basic, with simple yet fresh ingredients and that makes all the difference. Now I fully understand Anthony Bourdain's extreme angst toward Olive Garden ("Olives don't even grow in a garden!") because the stuff we get that is labeled "Italian food" is so far removed from what the real stuff is like.. And people here are so fit! Despite eating pasta almost everyday and pizza on the regular, Maja and Carlo are so trim and healthy. It's all about the ingredients, preparation, and balance, and it seems back home we do not have that balance or the ingredients available here. We are told that pasta and carbs are evil.. I asked what the gluten free movement was like over here, and they said that while some people here try to do gluten free as a way to get slim, the Italian government is against it. I'm sure if you really have wheat or gluten allergy it is a hard place to live.. Pizza, pasta, and bread are a daily part of Italian life..I guess it's such an ingrained part of their culture that gimmicks (especially if you have no celiac or gluten sensitivity) are rarely as widespread as back home. I will admit I have had a hard time with all the carbs and pasta, I feel like my body is in a carbo shock mode and my stomach has had some issues, but I will never turn down a good home cooked meal..

Anyways, we had dinner and reminisced about old times and caught up on what has been happening since back in 2006. We turned in pretty early as Maja said we had a big day ahead of us the next day, with sightseeing and even a trip to a surprise location!

Saturday we walked all around Verona. After being in a big city for a few days, we finally were able to see the Italy we had imagined in our minds.. Big, old pastel painted buildings with balconies and shutters, big stone walls circling the city, and outdoor markets lined up in the city center.. Here's some pictures from our walk in Verona. We even did get to see the famed balcony of Juiliet (or so they say) and the gate with hundreds of locks displaying the names of couples in love... It was a sunny, mild beautiful day and was so nice and relaxing after being among the hustle and bustle of Milan.

After a nice long walk, we headed home for some down time before going to the surprise place they had in store.... Which turned out to be going to a tennis club on the top of the hill for a game of doubles! After all the carbs, food, and fermented grapes it was a much needed and appreciated surprise! We were all terrible, hitting the ball into the other court at least 10 times and disrupting their serious game, but it was a lot of fun. Paul and I play tennis for fun back home when it's nice outside, but we have never played doubles before. Definitely a good time, followed by some brick oven pizza that I liked much more than the thick Milano pizza.. Thin crispy crust with tons of veggies and not overloaded with cheese.. Yum!

After a long day, we came home and picked up the girls from grandma's, who just happens to below above Maja and Carlo. Talk about your typical Italian mother, and we even got to meet great-grandma, who is a spritely 80 something and the sweetest little lady I've met in Italy. Italian families are so family oriented, I love it. Especially Maja and Carlo with their little girls.. They are doing a remarkable job, I think their family is so cute!

Yesterday we headed out for a day at Lake Garde, which is about 30 minutes from Verona. It's one of the largest lakes in Italy, and the water is so beautiful and crystal clear. You can see all the way to the bottom!

We started our day at a village (which I can't remember the name of, but it was beautiful) and had lunch at a local restaurant. Again an amazing meal, I opted for fish and vegetables instead of pasta, but the pasta Paul had looked heavenly, loaded with mussels (better than we had in Brussels), shrimp, squid, fish, clams, etc. I think I would must have had a nap after eating that much at lunch but he was a champ, even with the prosecco accompaniment. We took a much needed walk down the shore to the another village dotted along the lake, which ended up being a 1.5 hour walk! I got some great pictures.

 Amelia had a face off with a swan.

 A gigantic dog!

Maja and Joia feeding the swan

Carolina, Carlo, and Joia

We finally made it to the village down the promenade, Balderino. The Christmas festivities were getting set up, and there was a stand with warm mulled wine made from the local wine that is produced in the village. It was just what we needed after a long walk and as the temperature started to drop when evening crept up on us.. Italian Christmas music played as the girls danced nearby, it was such a nice relaxing Sunday and just what we needed.

We made our way back to the car (another 1.5 hour walk) and luckily our iPhones had the flashlight thing on it because it got dark pretty quickly! My regular flashlight was in my small backpack which was at the house, just in case those of you in my family who loooove flashlights were wondering. :) lesson learned, keep a flashlight in my purse just in case. You never know when you will be walking on a trail in the dark! :)

We made it back to the car unscathed and made our way to Maja and Carlo's local family friendly pub for a little snack and some good company. Thanks to these two, I've discovered a drink that I like a lot, called Spritz. It's a mixture of sparkling water, prosecco, and a bitter liquer with a slice of orange.. So I had a spritz and we relaxed a bit before heading back to the apartment.. We were all spent from the long walk :)

It was sad to leave Maja and Carlo in Verona.. They said they felt like they were on vacation because they were speaking English! We felt like we had a home, because we had such a good time with them and their family. I'm hoping they make their way back over to Florida so we can take them around and show them how much has changed.. The girls would love Disney, too. It is so nice to reconnect with friends! 

In about 10 minutes we will be arriving to Florence, and our host Guido will be picking us up. Such a relief! We are looking forward to exploring yet another beautiful Italian city.. More to come soon!

Milan

Ahh the fashion capital...During our 4 days here we have not bought any designer goods nor did we have the intention or funds to do so! I will admit, when Milan popped up in our itinerary, I was concerned that we wouldn't have much to do or see. Then I realized, we are in Italy. There is always something to do or see. So far Italy has treated us well and has been a great addition to our itinerary...How silly I was for thinking it would be too expensive. The Italians hold their cities close to their hearts and don't want to bankrupt their own people, so unless you purposefully go to a touristy area and get trapped buying overpriced food, hotels, souvenirs, etc., you will pay what the locals pay.. Which turns out to be extremely reasonable, so far!

We landed in Milan on Tuesday at Milanespa Airport. If you ever happen to fly into this airport, be aware that the arrows on the floor are there to help you figure out how to get a connecting flight, not a directional tool if it is your final destination. Paul and I had our carry-ons and walked through the arrivals  hall, right past baggage claim (unbeknownst to us at the time), through the "nothing to declare" side of customs and right out the door thinking we'd pick up our bags on the other side. We literally followed a herd of people (who all, I may add, had a roller bag in hand from bringing it on board) like cattle straight out into the ground transportation part and realized we had exited a door where you could not gain re-entry. I blame the walk-bus-train-metro-airport for 4 hours-plane song and dance we had began at 7 am and hadn't stopped yet. So needless to say, we panicked, found a employee (not an airport personnel employee, they were't anywhere to be found) at a connection bus ticket kiosk who told us to go to lost and found and ring the bell. After a few minutes, this nice man came and laughed at our stupidity (he had full right to...)had us walk through a metal detector, and opened a side door which allowed us to go to the baggage carousel and claim the last 2 remaining bags like idiots. Thank god.

We headed to the connection bus (we felt we owed the girl at least some business for helping us out) and made our way to the central station where we got on yet another bus and made our way to Chesa and Eros, our airbnb hosts' apartment. One thing that I guess is common in Milan is graffiti everywhere, so at night we thought we were in the middle of the 'hood, but once the sun came up we saw that we are situated in a very friendly, bustling, diverse neighborhood just outside of the city center. It was perfect, with a laundromat nearby... The laundromat was where we spent our first full morning in Milan. It got much better after that. We did meet a super nice Australian girl in the laundromat, though, which helped pass the time and find out some cool places to visit in Milan and elsewhere in Europe.

After our clothes were finally clean and dry, we started exploring, went to a grocery store and got some stuff for lunch. On our way down to the city center we found nice, big park and had our lunch al fresco, which is a very Italian thing. Walking around we saw tons of cafes where people were sitting under heat lamps eating their lunch or having a coffee, etc. so we figured we would do the same. I was just glad it was warm enough that I didnt have on 3 layers, gloves, and a scarf like I did in Bruges. After lunch we walked down to the Duomo and saw this really cool cathedral.

I could go on and on about the architecture here, it is all really amazing. Pretty much everywhere you look the buildings are ornate and the colors of the stone vary from white, grayish, to pink. They looked really pretty in the sun, too. 

We were very glad to see sun and blue sky! We walked around the streets near the Duomo for a few hours and then headed back to the apartment for a much needed nap and to figure out what we should do for dinner. Then we learned about "apertivo" or "happy hour", but it's wayyy better than any happy hour back home!

Chesa told us about a neighborhood in the south of MIlan where there is cafe after cafe offering this happy hour, which lasts for about 4 hours every night of the week. The greatest thing about this happy hour is you order a drink (alcoholic or not) and you get an endless supply of food from a buffet, for just around 9 euros, sometimes less depending on the location. When you are on a budget, this is amazing. And the food was soooo good. We went to this place called Momo's and they had tons of veggie dishes, salads, pasta, meats, fruit, and desserts. The plates were cocktail sized, so it's not like the  buffets back home where you get a flying saucer as a plate and then put Mt. Everest on it. Everything over here in Europe is common sense portions, which is nice. You could eat your face off here if you wanted to, though. Apertivo is basically a way for Italian students to live (or travelers) and is also where friends meet up after work to have a drink and some food for a super reasonable price. I took a photo of my plate and the spread that was there.. They kept putting more and more on and lots of different stuff kept coming out too... I managed to eat quite a bit and wished I had room for some more! It was a ery satisfying meal for sure.

We walked all the way back to the apartment, which was a nice long walk. We got to see the cathedral in the nighttime and saw these cool Roman columns.

Yesterday was another long and adventurous day. We got up early and went for a run. Milan is not very runner friendly, so we found a park nearby that was HUGE and provided a great place to run, with stairs and all. It was a good way to start the morning, and from what I could tell, the people here use the parks more than the sidewalks... I felt like I was going to run into someone or get hit by a fiat speeding down the side road. Parks are the way to go, if you decide to run here.

Then we got ready and per Chesa's recommendation, we went to a pizza place down the street. I am not a huge pizza fan, but, I felt I should probably try at least some pizza from each city we go to, so I can see the differenes between the regions. Chesa said to try pizza, pasta, and gelato everywhere because it is all done so differently. Milenese pizza is very thick, kind of like Chicago deep dish. The place we went prices the pizza by weight, and the pieces were HUGE! We split a "small" and it was the size of the plate. I saw these tiny older women chowing down, eating the whole piece to themselves... There was no way I could have managed that. Props to them. The sauce was good and fresh, and you could tell everything was homemade. Yum. I'll be looking forward to trying a more tuscan style, with ollive oil and tomatoes or something. All that cheese doesn't agree with me!

So after that huge pizza lunch we walked back down toward the Duomo and made our way to the DaVinvi museum, which had exhibits that showed the original manuscripts for all of his inventions. It was very interesting and interactive, with screens you could go through and learn about his invention, how it would have worked, what it would have been used for, etc. Turns out he invented way more than I ever knew, like a robot lion that was presented to the king of France that had flowers come out its chest. Or a robot soldier, that was a system of wood, pulleys, and armor. Other inventions that were there included the robot automobile, a plane contraption that made man look like a bird, and a helicopter that never flew. It said he invented so many things it would take many lifetimes for all of his ideas to come to life... He was a pretty smart guy.

We ended the last full day in Milan by sharing a meal with Chesa and Eros at their house. It was a delcious cauliflower, pine nut, sultanas and pasta dish and it was yummmm. We are very lucky to have had such great hosts to make our time here amazing.. After dinner we joined them for a Dance Meet, which is a clandestine Facebook group that meets up around the city and dance a all night, sometimes until 8am. It was a dance group passionate about southern French music and dancing (think music from Amelie', if you've seen that movie) and they really had some good moves. I, on the other hand, did not. The men there were all very nice and tried to teach me the dance, the mandorca. It was a lot harder than it looks, and I'm sure I looked like a fool trying to dance with these Italian gentlemen but it was fun nonetheless. We had a great time, and it was like nothing I've ever done before. These people were so passionate about dancing and seemed like they were tight-knit and really enjoyed each others company.. Apparently it's a weekly event, and based upon the way they danced, I could tell they danced a lot. My two left feet had no place there, but they accepted me anyways. Great night with cool people, indeed.

This morning I added Milan to my yoga mat (I've been writing every city I practice in on it) despite going to bed laaaate last night..Now we are sitting in the Milano Centrale station waiting to board a super fast train to Verona and using the free wifi. The Italian trains look like bullet trains.. We will be seeing a lot of them over the next few days. We are excited to see my old roommate, Maja and her hubby Carlo.. And see the home of Romeo and Juliet (which apparently people try to say a specific home is Juliet's, but it's a load of bull! So don't believe people that try and take you to it..haha). Until next time, ciao!

Bruges

One thing that you really miss while on the road in Europe is accessing free wifi. We have arrived to Brussels airport from Bruges about 4 hours early, so we get to sit here until the gate opens in 3.5 hours.. I don't have a book to read (which is probably a good thing judging how heavy my bag feels) and to get on wifi here you have to pay 5 euros for 30 minutes! No, thank you. Luckily my ipad has the handy blogger app so I can write to the blog and when I do get wifi, it uploads to the server. If only every airport was as nice as JIA or ATL and lets you enjoy the wifi service for free! I also just paid 3.30 for a (small) bottle of water. I am interested to see what our dinner looks like tonight... Trapped in Brussels Airport and held at ransom! Help!

Our stay in Bruges was a lot of fun.. We stayed at a real B&B just off the main square that was owned by a nice lady named Nicky.. she seemed like a cool lady who used to be a hippy back in the day. We arrived and she said there was a problem and she had accidentally made a double booking for the room where we had reserved, so she gave us this huuuge room just across the hall.. This upgraded room had a king size bed, a couple twin beds, some oversized beanbags, its own bathroom with a shower that had its own radio, and a coffee maker in it. The ceiling was really high and there were all these big old wooden rafters. It was probably the coolest place we have stayed so far, and I am so glad I cancelled the hotel room I got for cheap and decided to book up with Nicky. And there was free wifi. :)

Bruges is a city adorned with medieval architecture, cobblestone streets, and canals that cut through various points. I can see now why its named "The Venice of the North", because it is very laid back, romantic, and has canal boats with gondala boats.. definitely more our speed rather than he busy metropolis of Brussels. Unfortunately the price tag probably resembles Venice quite a bit, too, especially in the downtown touristy parts. Lucky for us, Nicky runs a restaurant out of her B&B on the weekends that serves up traditional food, pastas, and other dishes. There was also a Menu of the Day (which from our Peru experience was always the cheapest and best) that included a soup and an entree for 10 euros.. That was the cheapest meal we have had eating out in Europe so far! It was delcious too, a warm meal was much needed after eating cold food in our hotel room for 3 nights. She also put out a great spread in the morning for breakfast, with fruit, yogurt, breads, meats and cheeses, jams, coffee and juice. It filled us up nicely so we didn't have to buy a big lunch, which was helpful since most lunch menus are as expensive as dinner menus! The Euro is about 1.2 dollars so you really have to decide where you want to spend your money!

The first day in Bruges we walked around and explored, as they were getting the Christmas Markets set up. It gets dark at like 4:45 here now, so by the time we walked around for a couple hours and had dinner at the B&B, we just decided to go out and try some famous Belgian beverages and call it a day... traveling is really tiring!

On Monday we had an early start, and I went for a run along the canal. It was a really nice morning, and very quiet as the sun was rising over the city. So far I've ran in every country we have been to, and I still think it's one of the best ways to explore. I found a path that circles the city and had big towers, gates to the city, and windmills along the trail. Running around the world never gets old.. I don't think I will have a dull route for the next 7 months because it will be constantly changing!

We had our big breakfast and then decided to do some museums around Bruges. There was a Salvador Dali exhibit at the local art museum, so we checked it out. Man, that guy was a weird one. The exhibit had a lot of pieces and series, my favorite being the Alice in Wonderland series. The film he made, which was definitely avant-garde, also played on a loop. I can see how people got shocked by it back when it was released, because it was definitely strange and graphic for its time.

We then went to the Frite Museum, which is dedicated to all things "frite", or french fries. I guess the Belgians were the true french fry enthusiasts, even before the Dutch. It told the history of the potato, how french fries came to be, and how to make the best fries. They said to use beef and horse fat, I say yuck!! We tried some at the museum (i'm not sure what oil they were cooked in, but im hoping it was vegetable oil......) but don't think they were as good as the ones we had in Amsterdam. Paul thinks British Chips are the best ;) For those of you who dont know, the term Frencn Fry came from Americans mistaking French speaking Belgians for French. The soldiers gave the US military frites during WW2 :)

I'm guessing November 11 (Armistice Day) is the day when Belgium starts getting festive for the holidays because all day these guys were putting up little huts, lights, decorations, and a skating rink for the Christmas Markets. Bruges would be a really neat place to spend the holidays, it has such an old feel to it and they take pride in preserving it.. I bet it looks really pretty with all the lights. Luckily a lot of Europe is like that, once you get out of the big cities and into smaller towns and villages so I am sure we won't miss out on pretty Christmas stuff.

We had a good time in Belgium, and are going to be bound for Italy here soon. We will be spending 3 nights in Milan, 3 nights in Verona, and then 4 nights in Florence before catching a ferry to Croatia. I am excited to eat some good mediterranean food and stay in places that have kitchens in case it is as expensive as Belgium was! I am also excited to see my old friends Maja and Carlo in Verona.. It will be nice to see a familiar face again. :) Ciao!!!! 

Brussels

Bonjour! Ca Va?! ahhh my one middle school semester of pre-French really has not helped me here... I actually said "por favor" one time by accident. Idiot.. Luckily for me, English is most of the local's second language, so we have been able to make do.. I still feel bad that I can't speak another language fluently. And French is so fun to speak...If only I had used the Muzzy products when I was little..  Don't act like you don't remember Muzzy... Jes sui lan zou vi! (That's spelled phonetically, since as noted earlier, I don't know French.)

This leg of our trip has included 2 days in Brussels, and it has a very different feel from Amsterdam.. The streets aren't as narrow, so it seems more bright and open, and it feels different for the fact that not everyone's here for a party. Also, where we are currently staying is right off Avenue Louise, which is apparently a very famous shopping district in Brussels. I saw a lady walking around in a fur coat and hat earlier..  I should have known when I saw the Tiffany and Louis Vuitton stores that we had landed ourselves in a very pricey part of town. Little did I know when I was booking our hotel on Hotwire.com that we would be hiiiiigh society ;) We did get a very, very good deal though. 

We have spent our days walking (per usual) around the city and looking at all the cool and intricate architecture that dates back centuries. I mean you look up and around and it's hard to believe that at one point in history, all of these buildings and their facades were built by hand. It's incredible. I haven't been able to get on wifi hardly at all here, which was surprising to me, but once I can get all my photos from my camera on here you will see what I mean. Old European cities are so cool to me... they look nothing like what we have back home.

We did try a Belgian waffle today, and I did have mussels with my dinner tonight...in a salad we picked  up from the local supermarche'. Unfortunately Brussels, being a European capital, has made it difficult to indulge in all the cool things we would have liked to, such as fancy chocolates and 22 euro per person dinners.. It's almost been two months (yes, it has flown by) and still so early in our trip..we have a long time to budget ahead of us. That being said, we have thoroughly enjoyed living simply and utilizing the grocery stores for our meals. I don't mind not living up the nightlife and going to expensive dinners now, so we are able do things during the day. This allows us to make the most of the daylight hours in places we stay and will be good for when we get to places that are super cheap, like India and SE Asia.

The Belgian waffle was soooo good. We went to the Grand Place, where there are tons of shops and restaurants. You could even get escargot from a street vendor guy. I opted for the waffle with strawberries and powdered sugar, and Paul was nice enough to share it with me. You could get it with bananas, chocolate, whipped cream, glaze, and ice cream on top, but for those of you that know me well, I would probably go into a sugar induced coma had I ordered that. Strawberries seemed like the best option. It was yum... warm and crunchy-yet-soft in the middle, a treat that you should eat slowly. I feel that with the amount of walking we are doing plus my yoga and running that I've been able to continue on a regular basis, I can eat basically whatever I want! Everything in moderation :) As nice as it would be to have a car to get around to places public transport won't take you, using my feet as the main mode of getting around has enabled me to see things I would have otherwise not seen and basically burn off everything we eat! It's a win-win.

One thing I learned about Brussels is that it has a huge comic book subculture. Paul loved Tin-Tin as a kid, and we happened to walk past this store that had all kinds of comic books, comic book anthologies and memorabilia, and lots of Tin-Tin stuff. This was one of many shops we walked past that had comic book stuff.. I had no idea Brussels was known for that..

We also saw the famous statue "Mannekin Pis", which is a statue of, well, a little guy relieving himself. We went into the Brussels museum and saw replicas of the little guy with all the different costumes they put on him for different occastions. Some of the costumes include a cowboy, traditional Peruvian clothes, a Samauri outfit, and even an Elvis costume. When we saw him, he had no costume on and was naked... I'm wondering if they dress him up in the Santa costume during Christmastime? What made me laugh was the size of the crowd around this peeing statue! It was huge! Craziness....

Our next stop is Bruges, which is located about an hour east of Brussels and is known the "Venice of the North". Bruges just happens to have a store devoted to Tin-Tin. Apparently I used to watch this cartoon as a kid (which I don't recall) and Paul obviously grew up on it and saw the movie, so he is thrilled. :) We have opted to use airbnb.com again here so we can get some local insight on Bruges, as I really have no background knowledge of anything Belgium related, to be honest. This was kind of a random pin in our overall map, or the ? section between Amsterdam and Verona. I don't really have any complaints though, as I sit here in our huge hotel room on a comfy bed. Onwards to Bruges via train tomorrow! 

Amsterdam.

Well it's been a busy few days. According to my watch (that's also a pedometer) we have averaged about 10 miles walking everyday. It's such a walkable city, and the bike culture here is huge. They actually have a multistory parking garage just for bikes and from what I could tell, it was rammer jammer full. You have to be careful that you don't accidentally walk into the bike lane as they speed by.. Don't worry, they will let their prescence known by ringing the bike bell in case you forgot your place! I couldn't imagine living here and having to navigate around the tourists who come here for what their city is famous for...party time! Ahhh to see the idiotic antics some people perform here. I've seen quite a few in rare form. Most of them were Scottish.

Our flight here from London was packed full of Scottish Celtic fans. They are a rowdy bunch.. If you're not aware of these fans, there is a short clip of them singing in the plane on my Facebook page. This went on from the time we went to descent to the gate. We made a friend named Gavin, pictured below. He was good fun. Needless to say, it seemed to be the quickest flight I've ever been on and that wouldn't be the last I would hear of the Celtic songs..I felt so bad for the flight attendants though.. They had a rough time dealing with these lads getting up and being generally shammered.

The next day we realized on of OUR favorite Celtic fans was in Amsterdam too! Our old college friend whom I shared many freshman year memories with, Gerry, met us in Dam Square and we shared some  memories and enjoyed a drink while other fans were entertaining us with their mental states. Unfortunately as the night wore on closer to game time, there was some tension between the Celtic fans, Ajax fans, and the police were showing their muscle.. So we decided to head our of the center before things kicked off. We instead walked around all the streets and alleyways, checking out what Amsterdam had to offer, which turns out to be a whole lot.. Haha! It was interesting to say the least. 

Gerry!!

Today we did some more exploring, and found a canal boat dedicated to rescuing and adopting cats. It is called the Poezenboot, and there were around 40 cats on this boat! It was nuts! 

We were definitely able to get our pet fix at this place!

We headed to the VanGogh museum next and got to see a lot of his paintings and learn about his evolution as an artist. Turns out he started studying as an artist at 27 and only painted for 10 years. The he went crazy. Then he died. Moral of the story is, no matter what your age, pursue your dreams. But don't let it get to your head.

We headed back into the center after seeing the museum, stumbling upon a huge market on the way. We didn't buy anything, but we did sample some Dutch waffles. Im wondering if when we go to Belgium tomorrow they will have Belgian waffles...hmmm..

When we got back to the center we did try frites.. French fries doused in a number of different available toppings. We ordered "special curry" thinking it would be special. It was curry and mayonnaise. Yuck!!! We figured we'd do the Dutch thing and eat it anyways. Fries and mayo. Disgusting. When in Amsterdam....

Next time I'll tell all about the mussels in Brussels, apparently that's the thing to eat there. We head for Belgium at 11:30 am Megabus here we come!