what a day

so i'm back in munich. today was a day unlike any other. it was chaotic yet perfect all at the same time. we left cinque terre and went to milan for the night so we could catch an early train for munich. our train left at 7:05. we were tired but had an alarm set and everything. so i wake up this morning, look at my watch, and realize its 6:48. after having a mini freakout on the inside, Jessica-Phillips and I literally zipped up our suitcases and RAN to the train station. we made it with a minute to spare. we still laugh when we think we actually made it on. we got into munich this afternoon and i went right away to figure out how i was going to get to spain. at first i was anxious because the guy at the station had me on this very complicated route that would have been almost impossible to do by myself with all of my luggage. so i went a met with the head of the trains, and he found me an almost painless route! the best part is i get to be on the same train with JP for almost 6 hours! such a weight was lifted when i knew that i would and could get to spain on time. then JP and i were albe to get our luggage from Ian, who stored it for us in munich. not to mention the weather was great here. I couldnt help but feel that God was really looking out for us today. everything worked out so perfectly and i know it was because of Him! we got some last minute stuff done and are now relaxing and getting ready for the journey tomorrow!

cinque terre

cinque terre = AMAZING. this is one of the coolest places ive been yet! cinque terre is a group of five coastal villages in italy. the villages were created by peasants and fisherman and they are literaly built into the sides of these clifs. all of the building are different colors and the harbors are filled with tiny fishing boats. we stayed in riogamorrie. it was quite interesting getting our room. we didnt actually book a place so we just showed up in the village at midnight and walked around until we found someone who knew someone who had a vacancy. we met with the landlord and he began to walk us to our room. little did we know that we were about to have to climb what seemed like a thousand stairs with our huge bags. when we finally made it to the room, i felt like i had run a marathon. it was so good to just shower and sleep! we went to the village of manarola on our full day and explored, laid out and swam. it was nice to relax. we had a nice dinner in riogamorrie and went back to manarola to see it at night. we met this cute couple on their honeymoon! it always amazes me the connections you make with complete strangers. we also got to see vernazza for a little bit on sunday before we left for milan. it was nice too. they had some really neat shops. all in all cinque terre was absolutely incredible.

southern france

so jp and i once again changed our plans! we decided to go stay with emilie and ann in fos sur mer, france for a few nights! we took the train all day and finally arrived in fos sur mer 13 hours later! traveling took a while, and some of the train stations were not great. but jp and i have become experts at getting our heavy rolly bags up and down stairs! it was worth the trip though. it was nice to be in a home with familiar faces. emilies grandparents were amazing. they were so welcoming and made us feel right at home. we had lunch by the beach at the pili pili and walked around martiques. one day we also went to cassis, france! it was a beautiful seaside village. we took a boat tour and then we jumped off a big rock into the water! it was incredible. we even went to frances equivalent of wal-mart. there is something oddly comforting being in a store that feels like home, weird i know. we got to meet a lot of emilies family. they came over for pizza and wine one night! i cant begin to thank emilie and her grandparents enough for their generousity and hospitality!

the rest of rome

so the rest of Rome was incredible. on Monday we went to the Vatican and words cannot describe how amazing it was. It was so awesome to see St. Peters and the tombs of the Popes. I got to see Pope John Paul II's grave. We made it right before closing to see the Sistine Chapel! When your in the chapel looking up it really is incredible. words fall short all i can say is i loved it! that night jp and i went to a piano concert at an old theater. i felt very cultured! we walked to the spanish steps and ate gelato! it was a good time in rome, very hot but i loved it. i also got a new piece of luggage to replace the tripod that got broken in munich! cant beat the street vendors prices!

roma and the rest of florence

so we ended up going to the sangria hour at our hostel and met everyone staying the hostel. we met people from all over the US, Australia and many more countries. We decided to go out with some of the girls we met. it ended up being such a good time. we ended up meeting a group of students from elon and hung out with them the whole night! we did some karaoke and went to a discotec!

today was our first full day in rome. it was HOT. we arrived yesterday and met up with emilie and ann! it was so nice to see familiar faces (i think i embraced them for a long time and had to contain my emotions ha). we walked around the city and had dinner in Plaza Novona. in the same plaza we saw a group of break dancers preform and we met them and took pictures with them after! it was really fun. today jp and i went to the ruins and rented a bench bike thing. we rode it all around the city. we were literally in crazy roman traffic going around round abouts. a group of nuns saw us and took a picture!. it was really fun and good exercise! i think tonight we are going to see the city at night and grab dinner somewhere. tomorrow is the vatican!!!!

i have really enjoyed italy so far. we spent our first night in verona and woke up the next morning and had breakfast in the town square and walked around. we didnt see too much because we had to catch the train to venice. i loved venice! we took a boat taxi when we first got there. it was so cool to see things by water. the driver dropped us off at a market and we explored a lot for the next few hours. i got a cool oil painting and of course we had gelato! it was incredibly hot so we also treated ourselves to and icee type drink. we went to san marco square and walked along the water there. i was proud of jp and i for navigating the streets and making it to our train on time. we arrived in florence around 9:30. our hostel was in such an amazing location, right by the Duomo! today we walked all around. i got some more awesome street art! 2 watercolors to be exact. we didnt go in any museums because the wait was so long. we did some shopping and walked to the plaza del michael angelo where we could see all of florence, we also saw the market that is on the bridge. not sure what the plan is for tonight but tomorrow we leave for rome!

today jessica-phillips and i explored prague. the train ride here from munich was eventful. for the first 45 minutes we couldnt find a seat so we sat inbetween cars. we finally found seats in a compartment. we got settled and tried to get as comfortable as possible, even though all i wanted to do was shower. we finally got to prague around 11:30. the train station was kind of sketchy so we quickly got a cab and got to the czech inn. we were ripped off by the cab driver (bad), but we were warned that would happen.

our hotel/hostel made up for it though. we have an awesome room. its modern with sleek furniture and its inexpensive. a lot of americans work here almost everyone speaks english so it has been easy getting information. tomorrow we depart for a long day of traveling down to italy. wish us luck with switching trians a few time!

love and miss everyone

munchen

we've been in munich since thursday! we had a bit of trouble getting here. at the gatwick airport in london, aer lingus forgot to mention that we were only allowed 20kg of luggage total. well i had 25 extra kg and had to pay a ridiculous amount of money to get my luggage to munich. then our flight was delayed, but we finally got here. ok last complaint i promise - the cab driver broke my luggage! i dont mean a minor break, he broke off a wheel and an entire chunk of my suitcase! i was not a happy camper. it is now a tripod that doesnt really function. o well, you live and you learn!

our first day, we walked around munich, went to a few beer gardens and let JP give us the tour since she worked here last summer. last night we went out to eat with JP's boss and his wife. they took us to this really neat beer garden outside of the touristy part of munich. it was so good. it was fun to get to talk to americans who have made a life for themselves here. they are great people!

today we went to salzburg (known for the sound of music and mozart!). Jessica-Phillips and I rode a cable car to the top of a mountain. we got to see all of salzburg, the surrounding villages, and mountains from the top! it was a pretty cool view. we also went and saw the gazebo where the scenes in the sound of music were filmed. we went to the fortress which in on top of a hill. it was built in 1010 and wasnt destroyed in the wars. it was pretty cool. we took the last train back into munich and are calling it a night. tomorrow we might go visit a concentration camp (Dachau ended up being such an amazing experience. i never thought i would get to see a concentration camp and it was definitely life changing. it feels so different when youre actually standing in the same rooms as all of those brave people who suffered through the Holocaust. the barracks and crematorium were eerie and sobering but so powerful. it was very hot the day we went and i couldnt help but think of the conditions the prisoners lived in. i was uncomfortable being there for a couple of hours, it is incomprehensible trying to imagine weathering all of the season for such a long time there)

London has been great! JP and I have done so many things! I think my favorite was Westminster Abbey. It was incredible to see the burial places of the people you have learned about your whole life. We saw poets and prime ministers, kings and queens! Not only was the atmosphere awesome, but the architecture was incredible.

over the week we went to picadilly circus- we had an italian meal and dessert at a cute cafe, we bused it back to lulu's and got to see even more of london-, trafalgar square, the national gallery, hyde park-peter pan statue!!! for those of you who dont know, it was in a mary-kate and ashley movie-, notting hill-dinner/drinks at a pub!-, Buckingham palace, Parliament, the Tate Modern, Covent Garden-pizza and shopping in quaint CG-, and we went back to see Big Ben and Parliament lit up at night! it has been so nice to stay in an actual flat. JP's aunt was so gracious to let us stay here. i dont think i can thank her enough. It has been awesome. I miss everyone back home though. Off to Munich tomorrow.

safely in London. I am so sore from having to get my bags from the airport to the flat (it took JP and I 3 hours to make the journey haha). I am exhausted but excited about seeing London over the next few days.

miss everybody already...

love always

six days

six days left until i leave. i thought i would be more prepared but im not. i am still waiting on my visa to come through. that means the consulate still has my passport which further means i cant go anywhere until i get everything sorted out with them. its frustrating. i am getting excited though. i dont think its really set in that one week from today i will be in London!