Three More Days...

We are now in Rome. Our last destination in our Euro tour. We spent a few days in Pienza overlooking the rolling golden hills of sunflowers, freshly shorn wheat fields, soft green vineyards and ancient castles of Tuscany. We also got to stay a night on a vineyard and had a homemade dinner with the Italian wine-makers. Roberto, the father, entertained us with stories of sunken treasure hunting, local wine-making, age-old wisdom and his general love of life. Anyone traveling through Tuscany should spend s few nights at their place, Podere Torreno.

Lyon, Nice, Cinque Terre, Florence

Hello blog readers. I'm sorry that we've abandoned the blog for a while there. We haven't had a chance to post for a few cities now. Hopefully we will have pictures to post in the next couple of days. Quick update. I loved Nice, Babette and I flipped out being there. The Mediterranean is unbelievable. It's warm, clear, green, blue it's perfect. We visited Monaco, saw the famous casino, beautiful lavish city. Cinque Terre was extraordinary. We stayed in Vernazza. We got a chance to snorkel. It blew my mind. We found an old catholic statue out deep from the docks. It's been awesome with Amy and Patrick, we've laughed a lot. We're in Florence now and have liked it a lot, mostly the art and old churches. Michaelangelo's 'David' was my favorite. We're staying at a really nice place that we're shocked is affordable for us. Next is Tuscany region, Rome and Vespa's. I kicked a sea urchin and got a sunburn while doing my favorite thing this whole trip, snorkelling, so it was worth it but I've been limping around Florence and the art galleries with a long sleeve shirt, avoiding the sun. If some one was following me here they would be convinced that I was a lost, injured vampire looking for shelter. With a euro mullet. Ciao for now.

11th Century Medieval city, Lyon, France signature shot

11th Century Medieval city, Lyon, France

11th Century Medieval city, Lyon, France

11th Century Medieval city, Lyon, France

Busker, Lyon, France playing Bohemian Rhapsody

Jeremiah in crazy street performance, London, England

Jeremiah (w/ new jacket) in street performance, London, England

Lyon, France, our signature shot

Elizabeth, Fran(ces) and Wilfred, last day at L'Abri

Wilfred, our friends Frances and Ewen's cherub

London Venture

It was very sad leaving L'Abri. We met some great people. We left Greatham straight from the local church with a very nice local man, William, who offered to drive us to the train station. We had time to spare so he drove us to two amazing cities, Petersfield and Portsmouth. The English would actually say Petersfield is a town, not a city because it does not contain a cathedral...just for the record.  Portsmouth, which is right on the coast of the English Channel, reminds me of San Diego but with much deeper history and sail boats that are actually hundreds of years old instead of being props for movies. William was an excellent tour guide and spending time with him was a perfect end to our L'Abri stay. We finally hopped on our train and took some subways to the hostel, Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage. The building that the hostel is in is very old. It has been converted many different times from schools to hospitals to the hostel it is today. They have TVs, computers, lounge areas, a bar, basically everything. It is an amazing hostel. It is beautiful inside and out. It is very busy there, people in and out of the dorms, packing up at all times, day and night because they operate 24 hours. The crowd is very young and a very diverse people group from all over the world. The first day it was extremely hot and we were exhausted so we relaxed around the hostel and visited a couple charity shops (thrift stores) but that's about it. The second day we were tired but knew we had to make the most of it and we did. We got some tips from the front desk and set off. We shopped Camdem Town to it's limits but only found a couple 'cool enough for hipster shops'. Our favorite; a vintage leather coat store, where every jacket on the racks were 10€ (yes I did, it fits perfect), in the bowels of the crazy shopping maze. We spent 10 hours walking, bussing and taking the underground all over London. Buckingham Palace, Trafalger Square, Westminster abbey, Big Ben. We did well. Once back at the hostel we packed and went to bed at 12am only to wake up to catch a bus at 3:30am to catch another bus at 5am to catch a flight from London to Lyon, France at 7am. We're abusing our bodies for this trip but there is no question that it is worth it.

Louvre, Where's Myna...

National Hotel, Paris France

Louvre, Paris, France

Wimbledon!

L'Abri, Study Room

L'Abri 'The Manor House'

Winchester, UK

L'Abri

We arrived at L'Abri after a 7 hour bus ride that took us under the English Chanel. Very surreal experience. After much time and train hopping, we arrived in Liss, the closest town with a train station. The walk to Greatham from Liss takes about 45 minutes and we decided to take the scenic route through the heart of Liss forest. Hampshire, a county known for it's extreme beauty, is called the "garden of England" and it's landscape has inspired such writers as Gilbert White and Jane Austen, who both lived within 10 short miles of L'Abri. I hadn't been here in 7 years or so and when our path ended and the road came to a T, I forgot the way...It was raining, of course and our packs got heavier by the step. We went right, then left, and still I recognized nothing. Just then, as we neared the top of a small bridge, I saw them, like a beacon of hope. The many chimney stacks of the Manor House neatly tucked away in the trees. I smiled with confidence and Jeremiah breathed a sigh of relief. I took him the back way, to be dramatic through the ruins of a church built in 1282, past the graveyard and through the trees. Then, just passed the 800 year old oak tree, the flora opens up and there, situated in the middle of the beautiful landscape, lay the Manor House. Built in 1680, the Manor House is a proper English manor with several wings, stables, a schoolhouse and sunken garden. The outside is as breathtaking as the inside. But more on the life at L'Abri later, it's nearly tea time and also our last full day here. It has been surprising, this experience, we've met many amazing people, spent quality time with some very loved old friends, we've learned much and have eaten well. We leave here very reluctantly. L'Abri has truly has been a shelter, the meaning of its name.

Paris fini

We woke up this Friday morning by the knock of the cleaning lady, whose work we've yet to see evidence of. We planned to get up early but we knew that we wouldn't. We got ready quickly, which means half an hour in Paris, and scooted out the door, eyes still sensitive to light but our morale higher than our energy level.  After being rained on we bought cheap umbrellas and wandered up a small street. We were undecided on what lunch was to be until the moment we saw a little shop selling crepes. Which turned out to be my favorite meal here so far. Eventually we stumbled upon the Sacre Coeur, a sight we had been wanting to visit but had not, even though it was blocks from where we were staying. After a summer squall and a few gorgeous back streets we left there for the eiffel tower. The best way to travel around town is the metro. You can basically reach any part of Paris using the metro and it's very cheap (1.70 a trip or 10 tickets for 12.00). It's almost my favorite thing about about Paris. Which is strange. The Eiffel tower is a must see. Although I enjoyed many other things over it, if you visit Paris and don't see it, it would be as if you visited Disney Land and didn't ride Splash Mountain. We moseyed our way toward a near by metro station after buying groceries. Small wine bottles, cheese and a baguette. All very cheap things to buy in France, my second favorite thing about it. After a routine afternoon espresso shot with sugar we hopped on the metro and quickly arrived back home. Evenings usually end at the hotel smoking, drinking wine and writing outside in a quaint window seal big enough to sit in. Today ends our adventure in Paris, we are catching a bus late tonight and our next stop will be the 2nd leg of our trip, L'abri. We will not have access to the Internet for at least one week. We will leave you musing on Paris and find you again midway through our L'abri stay.

Tour Eiffel

Chez nous

Jour 2-3

The French are very relational people. Everywhere we turn they are engaged in conversation. Even the single people at the cafe with no one to talk to make conversation with the waiter. We have met nothing but friendly faces. We ate dinner at a cafe a block from the Notre Dame on the river Seine and had an afternoon espresso in the gardens of Versailles. Versailles is the creation of a very mad French king, Louis XIV, who nearly bankrupted and entire country building his dream home. It is lavish to say the very least, anything we have yet seen in Paris pales in comparison to this magnificent abode. I would suggest typing Chateaux Versailles into google images to see where we spent our afternoon. We saw the city from above atop the Arc de Triomphe yesterday. It's the first thing anyone should do when visiting Paris. Napoleon had many of the nearby buildings demolished to make all of the surrounding streets lead directly to the Arc. Traffic bustles below as 10 or so streets end, spitting cars into an almost comical flow of circling traffic all trying to avoid being stuck on the inside track. We walked down the Champs Elysses to the Louvre which houses more incredible art than anyone needs to see in a lifetime. I'm still not quite sure why the Mona Lisa, a homely basket weaver(she seems like one anyway), is so famous but it was still surreal to get to see her in person. Tomorrow, to la Tour Eiffel as we spend our last full day in Paris.

Arrival

We've arrived in Paris, France. I could say that the 5 hours of metro hopping and walking through all of Paris seemed like when we landed it was actually hell that we arrived in, not France. The hotel we were searching for, that we got a steal on! (Which turned out to be actually exactly what we paid for) was on a street that most locals didn't know existed. I could say it was hell we were in but I will not. In retrospect, through the searching, we experienced so much that I did not realize until my ugly straw hat and belt was off in the comfort of our hotel. The French people were extremely warm and helpful and actually went out of their way to help guide us to Atlantis (named Atlantis because it didn't seem to exist at the time we were searching for it). What I experienced from the French people during our trek was quite contrary to what I expecting. With rest and a croissant, this morning we will plot our journey through a country that has welcomed us well so far. Stay tuned.

Leg 1: Paris, France

Leg 2: L'Abri, Hampshire/London, England

Leg 4: Lyon/Nice, France

Leg 5: Cinque Terre/Venice/Florence/Rome, Italy

I'm ready to head out. I've been to France and England before but never to Italy. I've never really wanted to go to Italy. I've recently been wondering why and I think I have it about figured out. I'm an asshole, basically. Italy seemed like the cool kid at school who everyone dressed like, tried to talk to, emulate, befriend. And I'm the jealous emo kid who rolls her eyes as Senori Italia rolls up in a shiny Mazeratti. Oh, don't get it twisted, I'd totally fall all over myself if he actually tried to talk to me, but until then, I'd sip my espresso in a Parisian Cafe and write poetry about the guy I hate but am secretly in love with. Well, looks like Italy and I are finally going to break the awkward tension.