FIRENZE (Florence)!!!

Yeah, I have arrived in Florence!!!  I have been most excited to see Florence because I have heard so many wonderful things about it and really can't think of hearing of a single complaint from anyone who has been here.  We had a fun train ride from Rimini to Bologna (a little over an hour) where we connected to our train to Florence.  The seats were sold out so we had to stand but I opted to sit at the back of the train on the floor instead.  :)  Otherwise getting here was a piece of cake.  I would say that we have mastered the trains in Italy!

I haven't done much since we arrived today.  Just relaxed at the hostel and read my book.  The next three days will be full of sight seeing and getting in as much as I can!!

My last day in Rome I went to the Vatican City.  I am glad that I did because I would have regretted not going and I never had any doubts about wanting to go it was just that once I got there I realised that I really didn't have the energy to deal with the heat and ALL THE TOURISTS!!!!!   OMG!!  I went to the top of St. Peter's Cathedral which was an ordeal.  There was a huge line and a zillion stairs to climb (more than the Cliffs of Mon Sofie!!).  Towards the top you had to walk bent over a little to one side because we were getting close to the top of the dome.  It was very tight and at some points you could barely fit width wise, there were nothing but steps up and up and up and lines of people in front of you and behind you and it was SO hot!!  I was feeling a little claustrophobic!  But once to the top, it really was a gorgeous sight over looking the entirety of the massive city of Rome!  Then I went to the Vatican, at this point it was in the afternoon and thankfully there wasn't any line but there were still hoards of tourists (it's to be expected)!  The Vatican Museum was very elaborate with all of the wall paintings, tapestries and art.  It was very cool to see and of course I got to see the Sistine Chapel up close and personal in real life!!  That was very neat but at this point in my trip at Rome I really didn't have the energy to deal with the heat and crowds but I am glad that I pushed myself through it!

We made a quick two night stop in Rimini.  The purpose of going there was to see a castle in Urbino.  It is supposed to be really beautiful but honestly after Rome the beach was to tempting and we opted to chill out at the beach all day yesterday instead.  It was nice to regain a little color to my tan and relax in the sun.

The next three days I will be busy taking in all that Florence has to show me, super exited!!

That's all for now, ciao!!

I was a shiny white girl in Rome today...

The Colosseum with a little tongue!  :-)

Wow, what an amazing city!!  I LOVE Rome!!!  It is not possible to walk down any street without seeing a beautiful monument, plaza or building!! 

The Trevi Fountain!!

My first full day as I wrote prior I went to the Colleseum and the Palatine (Roman ruins).  This really set the scene for the rest of Rome for me, it was really spectacular!!!

The Ronman Forum

The Roman ruins

Yesterday Gemma and I went museum hopping.  It was so great!!  We went to the National Museum of Antique Art and the Borgese and the Capitoline.  Three museums in one day was a little over-ambitious.  I really think that two museums in one day is my max!  There is so much to absorb and take it!!  We saw Bernini sculptures which were absolutely amazing, the detail and how he could make stone look so soft and real!!  We also saw some amazing paintings by Caravaggio, Guido, Raphael just to name a few.  It really was so cool to see these original paintings in real life!!  It really makes me want to learn more about art and art history!

Today we went to a flea market which is supposed to be one of the biggest flea markets in Rome (or Italy or Europe or the world, lol!!  Gemma can't remember) but he point is that it was immense!!  But I had some fun looking through all the antiques and found a few could deals on a few items for myself.  Gotta practice those barter skills ha ha!  Then we found a narrow street that jetted off to the side.  There was a huge tourist group and guide walking out from this street and it looked so beautiful so Gemma and I decided to take a little side track and stroll down there to see what there was.  It was so pretty, a very narrow Italian street with some quiant restaurants.  It was pretty close to lunch time and with all that bargaining we had really worked up an appetite.  We ordered a delicious pizza and it really was delicious!!!  After we had a moment to rest and digest our food a little I decided to explore a little more.  So I just continued walked down this beautiful street, I didn't know exactly where I was going but I had a general idea of the direction I was heading.  I came to the end of the sweet little street directly to the Tevere river that runs north and south through the west side of Rome.  Perfecto!  So even though it wasn't a direct track back to the hostel I took a very scenic stroll along the river.  So pretty!  Then once I crossed it I lazily and with a lot of twist and turns was sort of heading in the direction back towards the hostel.  It was so great, if I saw something that looked interesting I would turn down the street and check it out.  If I heard some pretty music I would side track that way and low and behold I stumbled on to the Pantheon, wow!!  I came across many magnificent plazas with gorgeous fountains and always stopped to refill my water bottle for some refeshment.  It was lovely and another amazing day in Rome!!

I am very hot and am constantly sticky, shiny and vary degrees of sweat is dripping off of me somewhere but I don't care, I'm in Rome!!!!  Plus after a summer working in Florida I can handle anything!!

Tomorrow the Vatican City!!!!!!

That's all for now!!!

ROMA!!!

Just a quick check in.  The hostel I am at charges for internet, frown face! 

Gemma and I arrived in Rome yesterday.  Berlin was really cool!!  The history behind the Berlin Wall and the divide betweed East and West is still very evident in this city.  It is crazy to think of all the people who lost their lives trying to escape across the border or who were trying to help others escape and the fact that the wall was only torn down 20 yrs ago (or 30 can't remember...)!!  You can still feel the differences between East and West but in a different way.  The eastside of Berlin has a lot of modern structures, and architectual buffs dream while the West feels older.  There was a lot of money and focus in to giving the eastside a face lift due to the fact that so many of the building were bombed and had been let fall apart and become completely dilapidated.  Now mostly all you can see of evidence of the old Baroque buildings is only sections or small portions that somehow survived.  There are a lot of artists in Berlin and a lot of "alternative" art, it is very cool.  Not to mention a very fun night life!!  We met up with a group of Swedes traveling and all went out one night, it was SO much fun!!

Yesterday Gemma and I left Berlin to come here.  It was very stressful because we didn't really give ourselves quite enough time and when we go to the airport there was the biggest line to get your ticket that I have ever seen and it didn't move!!  But we managed to make our flight thank god!!

Rome is E-MAZING!!!!  It is really hot here but I don't mind it so much, kinda reminds me of Florida.  A big group of us from the hostel hung out and socialized here in the lounge then went out, it was so much fun! I met people from all over!!!  It was great fun and there are so many people out at night!! 

Today I went to the Colleseum and walked through the Roman ruins and it was absolutely spectacular!!!  The Romans did not screw around, omg!!!  Pics coming!!  :)

Now onto the next leg of my adventure...

I am sitting in the Copenhagen Airport and only have a few minutes before I need to start heading towards my gait...

I had such a great time in Copenhagen, I really really like this city!!  There's just someting about it, I can't quite put my finger on one exact thing that it is but I could see myself living in this city (or spending more time in it at the very least!). 

Anyhow, I am now off to Berlin and the next part of my trip.  3 nights in Berlin, 2 wks in Italy, 3 wks in Spain and 1 wk in Portugal!!!  That's a lot and from here on out I won't be staying with friends, I will be hosteling it for the next 6+ wks and part of it will be with my cousin (Berlin & Italy) and part of it I will be solo.  No more of the luxuries of staying with friends, in their spare rooms or on the couch.  No more free laundry services.  Now onto the backpacking!!

I will try to keep you all updated on how things are going, every hostel has WiFi so shouldn't be impossible.  I would love to go into more detail on what I had been up to in Copenhagen!!!





Bon Voyage xo

Copenhagen, Europe's best kept secret!!

I love it here!!  Copenhagen is a very cool city, it has a certain vibe about it that is very relaxed in the sense of what is acceptable.  You are bound to see people doing some strange things but at the same time it is very open to individuality and self-expression, which I like.  I think that maybe it is because it is a small city and there are so many different type of people in it.  I love the buildings and statues here!  The red brick buildings with the tarnished, green copper accents really makes for a sight!!  Sometimes I find it hard choosing when to try to capture these buildings on my camera or to just take a mental picture because I just don't think that the pictures will do it justice but at the same time I want to share all that I am seeing with everyone.  But I highly recommend this city, it is so cool!  It is crazy on Saturday nights it comes alive and turns into a huge party!!  The last two Saturday nights I fell asleep to the city's buzzing sound.  It's cool, you can here live music, people talking, shouting and laughing.  You can really tell that people are out and about having a good time enjoying themselves!!  Then on Sunday the whole city sleeps, most things are closed and it is completely quiet. 

I had a great day with Sofie and her mom.  We went to the Cliffs of Mon and Liselund in Mon an island which is on the coast in the Southeast of Denmark.  Liselund was built for some woman named Lisa, hahaha!!  I can't remember the exact history other that Hans Christen Anderson would spend his summer holidays here and I read that the forests were an inspiration to a lot of his work which I can understand because it was completely magical, like a fairytale!  The gardens were built during the Romantic Era and is one of the first gardens to be built of it's kind in Denmark.  Absolutely beautiful!!  Now it is open to the public and lots of people picnic in the park and feed the ducks from the pond.  After we walked around there and had our picnic lunch we went to the Klint Mon (cliffs of mon- mon is sort of pronounced moon) which was just around the corner by car.  There was a long staircase down and the views down were absolutely incredible!!  The cliffs were white and are made up of seashell/creatures from something like 70 million years ago!  I have never seen anything like it in my life!!  Breathtaking white cliffs with the turquoise blue ocean as the backdrop, wow!!

Liselund Forest

Klint Mon

When I got back to Copenhagen on Saturday I spent the majority of the day walking around Stroge Street which is the longest pedestrian street in the world.  It is lined with shops from Prada to trinkets and filled with lots and lots of tourists!!  There are also lots of street performers and it is fun to hear the different music and just stop and enjoy it!  Then I met up with Eva and Peter and we went for a walk to try to take in the last of the sunny warmth the day had to offer.  We ended up in Christiana which was originally an abandoned military barracks that a group of hippies took over in the 60's/70's and sort of adopted their own "free city" with their own self-governing rules.  There are many funky buildings, lots of graffiti art and hash bars.  It was pretty cool to see something like this and it is pretty incredible that something like this exists.  There was a large wooden arbor that you walked through that said "Leaving the EU" when you entered.  It was definitely a place where "anything" goes but it was very chilled out and really felt like an area where people were allowed to come and just be themselves. 

Yesterday I hoofed it all around Copenhagen!!  I walked past Nyhavn (New Haven) which is a pretty little harbor that has many colorful 18th century buildings on both sides then went onto the Marble Church also called Frederick's Church which was cool and then even further to go see the Museum of the Danish Resistance.  The museum was closed but I walked around in the barracks and the bordering park-like areas that outlined the barracks.  Very nice!!

That's all for now!!

More pictures from Sweden...

360 degree views from Ven

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A very cool old farm building in Ven

A view from Ven

A lovely sight on the ferry coming back from Ven

Another view of Flyingem so beautiful!!

A castle near where Henrik and Harriet lived in Sweden

A view from inside the courtyard of the castle

Pics from Sweden

Henrik, the grill master cooking up a feast!!  Below is the inside of one of the stables at the famous stallion farm Flyinge in Sweden.  Built in the 1800's!  Above is the view from Henrik and Harriet's house.

One of the rings in Flyinge.  Below is the castle/museum in Malmo.

This is on the island of Ven in Sweden, the scadanavian's like their bikes!

perter jones and the lazy bandits

I stumbled across this band in a street performance yesterday while walking in Copenhagen along Stroge street. Stroge street is the world's longest pedestrian street and has many many shops, restaurants and bars! Lucky find as I thoroughly enjoyed their sound and lyrics!!

Go to their website for more music, lyrics or info : www. peterjonesmusic.net

Back in the DK!!

I (I should say we, meaning Eva and her boyfriend Peter) arrived back in Copenhagen yesterday in the late afternoon.  I am now with my friend Sofie whom I worked with in Florida.  She lives in the south of Sealand in Vordingborg.  It took a little over an hour to get here by train.  Since I have arrived I feel as if I have been treated like royalty by her family.  They have a beautiful farm!!  They have owned it for 8 years and built the house on it and did all the landscaping themselves!!  It is like a park with all the flowers and the vegetable garden and rock landscapes.  Her parents don't speak much English and Sofie has been an excellent translator :)  Once Sofie picked me up we came back to her parent's home and caught up, the weather is Denmark has been fantastic today!!  The sun is out and very warm.  Her parent's had prepared a delicious lunch.  It seems to be very traditional for open sandwiches to eat at lunch.  I really like the nut/rye bread that is customary here.  Then you have your choice of meats and vegetables to add and it is quite tasty.  Then Sofie and I just sat outside and caught up.  It is so great to see her and it has been over a year since she left Florida and we had lots to talk about.  Then later we ate dinner in the garden.  Her parents had prepared a delicious dinner that was more like a feast fit for a king!!  Since I have been in Denmark I have been eating so much due to the generous hospitality of everyone!! After dinner Sofie and I went for a short bike ride around the neighborhood.  They live in a very beautiful area and there are trails that lead all the way down to the water.  Because they are so far south (nearly at the bottom) the water is not that far away!  There is a beautiful forest area that borders their property and a sweet little river and lake nearby.  Very pretty!!

I had a wonderful time in Sweden!!  Henrik and Harriett were so gracious and kind!  It was great to be among Eva's family.  Her older sister, Sheila and Eva's niece, Laura accompanied us.  Sheila actually picked us up in Copenhagen and drove us out to Sweden.  It was so nice to be with their family and made me miss my own. 

One of the days we went to and island called Ven which could only be reached by ferry.  It was sort of like Vashon but even smaller!  More like a village filled mainly by farms but it was so pretty with the 360 degree view of the water!!  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves walking around and taking in the sights!!  It is known as the Paradise Island of Sweden.  The ferry to the island was much smaller than what we are used to in the Pacific Northwest.  It held mostly foot passengers and could probably hold 8 cars max.  Most people had to sit outside for the ferry crossing which was about 30 mins.  Thankfully it was warm out.

Yesterday we spent some time in Malmo, Sweden.  A very cool small city.  I absolutely love the old historic buildings in Europe!!  We went to the castle in Malmo which was very cool.  As far as castles go it really doesn't compare to the ones I saw in England but who's comparing, right!?  But they had an exhibit that showed the history of Sweden with artifacts dating back to 800 B.C.  The exhibit sort of showed the timeline from the Stone age to 1800's which is around the time the castle was built.  The castle was last used as a jail in the 1800's and they had a section that portrayed the stories and lives of the different inmates and prisoners.  Crazy what life was like back in those days!! You could get arrested for being homeless!   There was also an art exhibition and we were lucky enough to stumble upon it.  It was an exhibit portraying Nelson Mandela.  Very very cool!  What an amazing man and I feel so fortunate to have been able to experience this exhibit!!  It was the first time it was being shown outside of South Africa.  There was a mock jail cell that showed you where he had spent 18 yrs!!  How that man didn't lose his mind is beyond me!!  Another section was a short wall with several phones lined up.  Each phone was a conversation re-enacting a letter that he had written with dialogue.  The prison was so strict that most of his letters never got sent but to hear his use of words and sense of expression was really amazing and awe-inspiring.  A very moving experience about a truly truly amazing man!!

I also got to see Flyinge which is a famous stallion stable that houses some of the best know stallions in Sweden.  It was a beautiful equestrian facility and the buildings were very old, dating back to the 1800's.  The property was beautifully manicured and there were several riding arenas.  So so pretty!!

Henrik and Harriet were wonderful and I feel so fortunate to have been treated like the guest of honor!  Harriett prepared an amazing dinner for us every evening and one night Henrik was the BBQ master!!  Right now I am feeling so lucky to have so many people treat me so wonderful!  It is great to be taken under their wing and shown such a great time!!  Every now and again I have to pinch myself that this is all real!

I am very tired and it's late!!  Traveling is work but I feel that I have to write every several days so as to not forget to leave anything out!!  I like writing when things are a little more fresh in my mind.  I am back in Copenhagen in 2 days and will catch you all up on what I have been up to in south Sealand.


That's all for now...

SWEDEN

So...

I have just arrived in Sweden this evening. It is a short drive to my friend Eva's parent's house here in Sweden. It was only an hour and most of that drive was over a bridge. I last saw Eva about 15 years ago when she came and stayed with us in Quilcene for a summer. I promised her I would come to Denmark and visit her and well, it only took me this long! But it has been great to see her and even though it was about half of my life-time ago that we saw each other it's like we haven't missed a beat. Her step-father is Henrik Johansen who is a dressage trainer. My mom came to Sweden and spent a summer here working with him and apprenticing 18 years ago (this was also when Denmark beat Germany in the world cup soccer!)!! My mom started riding with Henrik in the early '90s and it is a very cool story because one of Henrik's students had sold her horse to someone in the states and this was Chivas my mom's horse!! So when she heard that there was a Danish trainer coming to her area she was intrigued and started riding with him and to make a long story short Henrik knew Chivas!! So it is a small world and the dressage world is even smaller!! If you are interested in learning more about Henrik's training go to his website and check it out: www.positiveriding.com

Their house is beautiful!! It is set among farms and bright yellow crop fields and there is a lovely view from almost every window in each room in the house. There is even a pool in the house!! It is great to see these guys and even though it has been years the connection between our families is a bond that knows no time. Henrik and Harriett had just returned from the Danish Championships and they got home at just about the same time we arrived so it was a little chaotic but Henrik was sure to give me a tour of their lovely home and make me a gin a' tonic that was perfection!!

I spent a great day in Copenhagen yesterday and can't wait to get back and see more!! After staying at the farm for a couple days my friend Maiken dropped me off at her apartment in the city on Friday evening. It is perfectly located and within walking distance to everything!! I had a nice time walking around that evening, I went back to the town square and took in all the great street performances and found a cheap yet yummy pizza shop and got a slice for dinner then stopped by the local super market to pick up some groceries to hold me over for a few days. :) I had a great time in Copenhagen yesterday! I went to the Botanical Garden that has thousands of different species of plants. It was a nice sunny day to be outside and taking in all the sights and the garden was really pretty!! Then I went to the State Museum of Fine Arts. I think I spent about 3 hrs in there taking in all the art work until my head started spinning!! There was a lot of local Danish art and several different exhibits from different time periods and genres of art. I think my favorite was the modern art and I fell in love with Mattisse! Of course I enjoyed all the old paintings from the collections of classic art as well. So much history!! I love it!! Then I walked through the King's Garden on my way back to my friends apartment and did a quick change and met up with Eva at Norreborge Park for an outdoor music festival!! Great fun and so cool to meet all her friends and just hang out!! Copenhagen truly is a lovely city!! It's not as big as London but I have to admit that since I will be navigating it mostly solo I am kind of glad. There's lots going on and it has a really cool vibe!!

I am in Sweden 'til Wednesday and am meeting up with another girl, Sofie, whom I worked with in Florida. She lives south of Copenhagen by about 2 hrs. and she will show me around that area. Then I will be back in Copenhagen to see some more stuff!! So cool, I will take pics and post them later!!

The rest of my trip is starting to iron out a little bit. I have made all of the hostel reservations for Italy except Venice. Then from Italy I go to Spain! Right now I am trying to decide whether to go to Spain for 2 or 3 weeks and then I was thinking since I am so close I might as well hit up Portugal so then I am wondering if maybe I do 2 wks in Spain and 2 wks in Portugal??? Any thoughts!

That's all for now,

Cheers!