Heading home!

This morning we all got up early to head to the airport.  We were all leaving to go back to our perspective cities on 6am flights so we got up and left the apartment around 4am.  Our backpacks were full, our feet were tired, and we were all ready to go home.  I can't speak for everyone else but Will & I had a great time.  It definitely is quite something to travel in such a huge group- everyone has to go to the bathroom every second, everyone has different amounts of time they want to spend in a store, and no one is good at making executive decisions.  However, I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.  It was so great to be able to spend such an extended period of time with my cousins just like we used to when we were kids.  Now we are all grown up and live all over.  We see each other at holidays but don't have the time to really chat and just goof around like we used to.

At this point, Will and I are ready to get home.  We miss our bed.  We miss ice.  We miss a/c and most importantly, we miss our sweet pug, Thugs.  We can't wait to get home and see him.  The only bummer is first we have to stop in Frankfurt and then in Boston.

Florence, Venice, and saying goodbye to Rome...

This morning we took an early train to Florence.  We took the high speed train which was comfortable and had air-conditioning which was far different from the hot boxes with windows that I remembered taking in high school.  We got there in just 2 hours and I was so excited to see how beautiful Florence was!  I remember Florence being one of my most favorite cities the last time I was in Europe.  However, I don't remember what was so fun about it because there wasn't that much to do once we got there.  David and Kevin went to the museums to see the David and see Da Vinci's Grey's Anatomy but again, lines were FOREVER long and I had already seen that stuff before.  Will, Velma, and Jessica were over lines at this point and museum admissions so we left the boys to go to the museums while we walked around.  There's not a ton to do apparently so we walked around the markers and just explored the city.  It was actually a nice break that there wasn't so much to do because at this point our legs were happy just to sit on a bench.  Then we had dinner at the worst restaurant ever and took a late night train to Venice! (*with the exception of Kevin who decided to head back to Rome so he'd have an extra day there).

All Around Rome!

Today we got a lit of sight-seeing done.  Since we wanted to spend the next two days in other cities as day trips, we needed to cover all the major Italian sites today.  We started by going to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican museum.  My brother David got in line for us at the Vatican Museum early which was nice of him because the line was long.  The museum is HUGE and was body to body crowded so we basically made a beeline for the Sistine Chapel and called it a day.  Then we went into St. Peter's Basilica, which for me as a believing Catholic, was really cool!  We then made our way to a cute little travel agency where we booked our train tickets for Florence and Venice.  From there we went to the Colosseum which was just as awesome as I remembered it, and then onto the Roman Forum before heading to dinner.  At this point we were all wiped out and starving!

A rude wake-up call and heading to Italy...

So we had to wake up really early today because we were leaving Barcelona and flying to Rome.  We must have really enjoyed our lux digs here in Barcelona because somehow we all slept through our alarms.  Or more likely, half of us didn't even set an alarm and was relying on others to wake them up.  Either way, I did set my alarm for 5:30am, knowing we needed to get out the door by 6:00am.  I remember my alarm going off and I *thought* I had was just lying in bed for 2-3 minutes giving myself a moment to wake up, when all of a sudden, I hear Will panicking, "We have to go!"  Well he was right.  We literally had 7 minutes to get out the door and no one else was even awake.  Will rushed to wake up the others who frantically were getting ready to go and my brother David looked at the time and just declared he wasn't going to be able to make it (he still had laundry in the machine), and he'd meet us at the airport.  Leaving David behind, the rest of us frantically ran to the train stop where we'd catch the train to the airport.  We were RUNNING with our huge backpacks and got there seconds before the train arrived but Kevin was no where to be found!  David had his train ticket so he was held up at the turnstile having to get a new ticket.  The rest of us were so bummed to have to watch the train leave us while we were waiting for Kevin.  Until.... 2 minutes later the actual correct train that was going to the airport showed up!!  It was actually great luck that Kevin was held up otherwise we would've gotten on the wrong train!!

Anyways, after making it to the airport right on time, we flew to Rome.  David had already arrived because he was on a non-stop flight while ours stopped in Frankfurt for a quick layover.  Upon getting there, we jumped into a cab to get to our AirBNB apartment.  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/984539
It was in an Trastevere which was an awesome location with lots of happening stuff but still on a side street that was quiet.  The best part though was the fact that we could literally walk to EVERYTHING in Rome and we didn't need to use public transit (which in Rome is very limited) at all except to get to the train station and airport!  Highly recommend Trastevere!

After settling in, we went to lunch as some little local place and had some pizzas.  Pretty good but nothing to write home about.  Then we went to the Piazza Novona, the Trevi Fountain, and had dinner around there.  Dinner was delicious although we were all tired and ready to get some rest!

Walking Tour, Tapas, & La Sagrada Familla

This morning the crew slept in for a bit while my brother and I went to Mass in La Sagrada Familia.  On the way home, my brother and I stopped at a place called Nata that sold the most delicious Portuguese egg tarts.  They are like the Chinese egg tarts but BETTER and have cinnamon sprinkled on top!!  yum!

When we got back, everyone got ready and then we headed over to Las Ramblas again to join a free walking tour that I found online.  It was free except for a tip for the Finnish tour guide at the end and it was a really great experience.  It was a little long (about 3 hours) considering it didn't cover that much ground-it was just a tour of the Gothic Quarter.  Our guide had lots of cool facts and information though so it was neat to learn so much about Barcelona in just a small area that I would have never otherwise known.  It was also interesting to hear all about the history of the Catalan people and how different Catalonia is from much of the rest of Spain.  It made me realize how many meaningful connections I must miss all the time in new cities (and old!).

Hola from Barcelona!

So I have been to Madrid before but I was excited to go to Barcelona.  I was excited because there wasn't a whole lot to do in Barcelona so it was going to be a more relaxing city after packing in so many tourist attractions in Paris.  I was also most excited about the food in this city over anywhere else because I love tapas!

Anyways, we arrived early this morning via the night train.  The night train was an awesome way to travel because you literally sleep the entire way.  We left Paris at 10pm and then arrived in Barcelona at 9ish this morning.  After getting here, we were lucky enough to be able to check into our Barcelona AirBnB apartment early which was great since we had our backpacks.  Our AirBnb place was AWESOME!!  It was so brand new, clean, an amazing location (near all these high end stores and restaurants), and had GREAT air-conditioning!!  At some points, we had to turn the temperature up because it was so cold!  You can see pictures here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/495504

Anyways, after settling in for a little bit, we decided to head to the beach!  Barcelona has quite a number of beaches that are really close and we went to Barceloneta Beach which was only 20 minutes away!  It literally was only 3 metro stops!  Hanging out the beach was a ton of fun.  The weather was great, the beach was beautiful, and it was nice to just relax.  The beach was super crowded with other sun bathers (with and without their swimsuits).  There were also nice guys selling the most refreshing mojitos for 3 euros! yum!

After the beach, we had a late lunch at one of the many restaurants near by.  We had tapas and some paella which were all pretty delish but not amazing.  You could tell we were in the touristy area so that kind of explained it.  My sangria was super disappointing.  Luckily, we had some better sangria later.

After going home and getting showered, we decided to just walk around Las Ramblas.  Las Ramblas is basically just a long street with lots of shopping, restaurants, and street performers.  We walked all the way from our apartment to Las Ramblas and all the way down to the Pier which is where we went to the beach and then we came back.  Barcelona is pretty small so while they have a metro system, you can walk most of the city.  Then on the way home, we stopped in another tapas restaurant for some drinks (delicious sangria here!) and some late night snacks.  Then we went home to cold oasis that was our apartment and called it a night!

Last day in Paris

So today is our last day in Paris. We got up early to check out Notre Dame Cathedral. I wanted to check out Berthillion ice cream on the Isle but there wasn't time. Oh well. God knows I have had plenty of desserts and other treats.

Then, we went back to the apartment to check out. Since we weren't leaving until the evening, we had to take all of our stuff to Gare d'Austerlitz where we'd be departing for Barcelona later at night. We locked up all of our back packs in big lockers and then headed to the Champs Élysées area for lunch. We had lunch at a place known for steak frites which was pretty darn delicious!

Museums Galore!!

So today we got up early to go to the Louvre. The last time I went to
Europe, I don't remember having to wait in any lines for museums but for this trip, everything has had a long wait. We got there "early" and there was already a 4 hour wait! It probably didn't help that being the first Sunday of the month, admission was free. Luckily, I had read online about a Southeast entrance that was less popular and after going there, we only had to wait about 45 minutes. And while we were waiting, I got to pet a sweet little pug that was running around the grounds. He was so sweet and made me miss my little Thug-a-lug!!! I have officially become one of the crazy pug people at approach us when we have Thugsley at the airport.
Anyways, once in the Louvre, we went and saw all the major works of art. The museum is super long so we could stay there all day but we had other sites to see!

 

 

 

 

Bones, the Eiffel Tower, and Wolverine

Unlike Amsterdam, a lot of things (not stores but restaurants and cafes) are open really late. Our apartment is in an awesome location right in the thick of Chatelet Le Halles but this combined with Paris' up all night attitude sure makes for some interesting noises and sounds as my slumber soundtrack. Luckily, I am so exhausted, that the sound of clubbers cracking up at 4am hardly bothers me.

This morning we all woke up and made our way to the Catacombs. We had to wait for about 2 hours but it was really cool. Basically, it is where 6 million Parisiens have their bones neatly lined up in storage deep, under ground in the limestone tunnels. They were once buried in the Cemetery of the Innocents back in the day but the decaying bodies became a health hazard so they moved them underground.

After that, we had a quick lunch of moules frites which were delicious! The portions were huge and quite tasty!

From there, we went to the Eiffel Tower. We hung out for a bit and took some pictures before making our way to the Arch d'Triomphe and the Champs Élysées.