how much gelato can one person eat in a week?
I know my mom is cringing while reading this, but it seems that in Italy a cone of gelato is a totally acceptable replacement for lunch or breakfast. (Not dinner of course, because thats where the pizza comes in.) There are gelato shops every 12 feet, a cone is only 1 euro, and all flavors are delicious, so who are we to not embrace this culinary marvel multiple times a day? It might be my favorite part about Italy...
In other news, we spent yesterday wandering around Venice again and made a stop at the Doge's palace in the Piazza de San Marco. It was a pretty good time seeing all the ornate tapestries, gold-embellished ceilings and incredible paintings adorning the walls. We later walked around some new neighborhoods in Venice, ending up walking in almost an entire loop around the city. For dinner we found the cheapest restaurant/pizzeria in the small square near our hotel and ate pizza and spaghetti on the patio outside. Children were running around the square kicking soccer balls (I think Matt wanted to join in) and old italian men were playing the guitar and accordian - it felt very quintessential Italian!
This morning we walked back over near the Rialto bridge (a thriving section of town near the Grande Canal, full of street vendors and tourists). We got fresh fruit for breakfast and shopped for Murano glass before heading out to the train station. The train to Florence worked out as planned (except for an unexpected reservation fee). This might be our first transportation experience that was incident-free! Woohoo, we are clearly getting better at being Italian...
Now we are in Florence and are headed out for the evening to hike to the top of a hill on the outskirts of the city where there is apparantly a beautiful view of everything. Sounds great for pictures!
- Carlyn
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Pigeon poop and Posers
So...we never made it to the glass island of Murano :( One of us overslept...I won't say who. The rest of our stay in Venice was great. a great dinner at a small piazza restaurant near our room, complete with violins. We both tried the local venetian drink, a spritz, but neither of us were that impressed. It tasted a lot like a shirley temple chock full o' amaretto to me. so now, after too much beer in munich and a shoddy shirley temple, I've switched to wine just in time to hit our stride in Florence and Rome. We did a bit of shopping this morning, I almost bought Jimbo a pimp silk tie with Gondolas on it, but decided he would look like a venetian poser (sorry bro). a few other small purchases were made...surprises await.
As for the pictures published to the right...Yes, those are rabid pigeons. Yes, i probably now have salmonella. No, they did not poop on me.
Out train to Florence was great, except we had to pay an unexpected 30€ reservation fee...booo! we got a bit of rest until a small child with a blood curdling scream decided he wasn't getting enough attention. oh well...a quick nap in our new (very american) hostel set things straight.
we are off to go see the Brunullesci duomo and the piazza Michaelangelo, a bit of grub on the way. Tomorrow will be a whirlwind art tour of the Accademia galerie and the Uffizi. hope all is well state side. ciao!
As for the pictures published to the right...Yes, those are rabid pigeons. Yes, i probably now have salmonella. No, they did not poop on me.
Out train to Florence was great, except we had to pay an unexpected 30€ reservation fee...booo! we got a bit of rest until a small child with a blood curdling scream decided he wasn't getting enough attention. oh well...a quick nap in our new (very american) hostel set things straight.
we are off to go see the Brunullesci duomo and the piazza Michaelangelo, a bit of grub on the way. Tomorrow will be a whirlwind art tour of the Accademia galerie and the Uffizi. hope all is well state side. ciao!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Italian Job
For those of you familiar with the Italian Job, the movie opens with a gorgeous panorama of Donald Sutherland standing in the Piaza de San Marco, the "prize jewel" of Venice and now, probably one of my favorite square miles on this earth! Amazing! The plaza is filled with tons of tourists, and probably more pigeons, but somehow all of this cannot distract you from the incredible building surrounding the plaza on all sides. The Basilica of Saint Mark is mesmerizing. the entire building seems to be cast in gold, with frescos completed by some of the great italian masters. There is even a portrait of the Virgin Mary we learned about in class, that was carried into battle by the Romans back in the 15th century, very cool. Carlyn went to the top of the bell tower and snapped some great shots of the city from on high, but to be honest, the only way to really experience this place is to wander aimlessly through the narrow streets. How do all of these glass shops, gelatto shops and pizzerias make money? so many of them are tucked away in narrow corridors, visible only if you mistakenly, or purposefully wander off trail on your way to the Rialto bridge. We had a great dinner along the Grand Chanel, complete with red wine and belinis. the pizza was great, the ambiance was fantastic. Italian music seems to pervade everything, with a little bit of Frank Sinatra thrown in here and there.
We are exhausted and will probably head to bed early tonight. Our room is situated in the old part of Venice. When we first arrived, we were sure that it would be a disaster, the front door was surrounded by flies and a weird stench pervaded the street. But...once you open the door and step behind the main facades of these buildings, they are incredibly spacious and accomodating. You would think this whole city could crumble any minute, yet once within the walls, you find yourself quite at home. Remarkable! Sadly I have no humorous stories or adventure stories to share. I was pretty proud of myself for navigating the 65+ turns to make it back to our room from the plaza de san marco...without looking at a map! God help me if we ever drink to much wine and have to find our way home... hopefully tomorrows trip to "the glass island" will yield some fun times. As for the Gondolas, they are sooo expensive! but I'll try to pay someone just to let me sit in one and snap some photos. Ciao, arivaderci, prego...all of the above.
- Matt man dango
We are exhausted and will probably head to bed early tonight. Our room is situated in the old part of Venice. When we first arrived, we were sure that it would be a disaster, the front door was surrounded by flies and a weird stench pervaded the street. But...once you open the door and step behind the main facades of these buildings, they are incredibly spacious and accomodating. You would think this whole city could crumble any minute, yet once within the walls, you find yourself quite at home. Remarkable! Sadly I have no humorous stories or adventure stories to share. I was pretty proud of myself for navigating the 65+ turns to make it back to our room from the plaza de san marco...without looking at a map! God help me if we ever drink to much wine and have to find our way home... hopefully tomorrows trip to "the glass island" will yield some fun times. As for the Gondolas, they are sooo expensive! but I'll try to pay someone just to let me sit in one and snap some photos. Ciao, arivaderci, prego...all of the above.
- Matt man dango
Prego!
I love Venice!
We left Munich last night around 9pm on the train. We were in a compartment with 6 seats (all of which sat pretty much straight up, which was slightly dissapointing at first) but then we realized no one else was in our compartment so we each had 3 seats to lay across. Not bad at all for the cheapest area of the train...until around 1am when two larger ladies barged in and decided to share our compartment. When they started talking to us we were a little groggy (and confused as to where they had come from and why they were taking over our beds) and couldnt really understand them. Matt asked "What language do you speak?" to which the larger lady shot him a dirty look and said "English." Woops. "Oh ya, I mean of course, Your english is great."
Things started a little rough with them, and didnt get too much better, but 4 hours later they finally got off the train in Verona and we were each able to get about 2 hours sleep...
So needless to say the first thing we did after arriving in Venice was take a nap! Our accommodations here are great - We are staying in a place down a tiny ally, not far from the taxiboat stop, owned by Luca - an extremely friendly landlord who happily showed us a map of the city while wearing his pajamas (we woke him up upon our arrival.)
Today we wandered around Venice, got lost in alleyways, saw the incredible St. Marks basilica, and went to the top of a church bell tower where I could see across the entire island. We later ate pizza and gnocci at a restaurant on the main river. This place is so unique and beautiful! Looking forward to taking a boat to Murano tomorrow to see all the glasswork. Ciao!
We left Munich last night around 9pm on the train. We were in a compartment with 6 seats (all of which sat pretty much straight up, which was slightly dissapointing at first) but then we realized no one else was in our compartment so we each had 3 seats to lay across. Not bad at all for the cheapest area of the train...until around 1am when two larger ladies barged in and decided to share our compartment. When they started talking to us we were a little groggy (and confused as to where they had come from and why they were taking over our beds) and couldnt really understand them. Matt asked "What language do you speak?" to which the larger lady shot him a dirty look and said "English." Woops. "Oh ya, I mean of course, Your english is great."
Things started a little rough with them, and didnt get too much better, but 4 hours later they finally got off the train in Verona and we were each able to get about 2 hours sleep...
So needless to say the first thing we did after arriving in Venice was take a nap! Our accommodations here are great - We are staying in a place down a tiny ally, not far from the taxiboat stop, owned by Luca - an extremely friendly landlord who happily showed us a map of the city while wearing his pajamas (we woke him up upon our arrival.)
Today we wandered around Venice, got lost in alleyways, saw the incredible St. Marks basilica, and went to the top of a church bell tower where I could see across the entire island. We later ate pizza and gnocci at a restaurant on the main river. This place is so unique and beautiful! Looking forward to taking a boat to Murano tomorrow to see all the glasswork. Ciao!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Goodbye Munich!
This morning we woke up around 1030 am and started to prepare for an 11am check-out from our hostel...around 1045 we realized check-out was actually supposed to happen by 10. Woops! The great thing about the people around here though is that they dont seem to take anything too seriously. I guess a culture that condones drinking beer around 10am on a weekday cant be too particular about many rules.
After packing up and heading out of the hostel we walked around town, behind one of the many ancient churches to a huge outdoor market. There were numerous vendors selling fruits, veggies, (and spargel of course), gelato, coffee, salami and sausages, fish, and beer by the liter. It was so fun, colorful, and packed full of people! (Again, I cant really figure out when anyone here goes to work... the daily routine seems to include waking up, having a pint, walking around, jabbering in German, eating some sausage, have some more beer and finish off the day with a pretzel.)
Later we headed to the royal gardens and took a nap in the grass for a couple of hours. I only woke up once to a curious black lab in my face, but that was okay because it kinda reminded me of home.
We walked around the city a bunch trying the find the German museum of technology and happened across this awesome little sandwhich shop. The owner was a young lady named Lucy who fixed us delicious salads and then sat and talked wtih us for an hour! She was Czech but knew German, English and Russian and was the most animated and opinionated lady! When I told her I was from Texas she said "Oh! Yes I know Texas!" and then put her arms on top of her head in the shape of a longhorn's horns! haha she also filled us in on the German tax system (of which she is greatly opposed) and the sterotypes of Egyptian travelers.
Later we checked out the Museum briefly and are now about to head to the train station. We have reservations for an overnight train to Venice (or at least we think and hope we have reservations...) Hopefully the train will be comfy enough to get some sleep!
After packing up and heading out of the hostel we walked around town, behind one of the many ancient churches to a huge outdoor market. There were numerous vendors selling fruits, veggies, (and spargel of course), gelato, coffee, salami and sausages, fish, and beer by the liter. It was so fun, colorful, and packed full of people! (Again, I cant really figure out when anyone here goes to work... the daily routine seems to include waking up, having a pint, walking around, jabbering in German, eating some sausage, have some more beer and finish off the day with a pretzel.)
Later we headed to the royal gardens and took a nap in the grass for a couple of hours. I only woke up once to a curious black lab in my face, but that was okay because it kinda reminded me of home.
We walked around the city a bunch trying the find the German museum of technology and happened across this awesome little sandwhich shop. The owner was a young lady named Lucy who fixed us delicious salads and then sat and talked wtih us for an hour! She was Czech but knew German, English and Russian and was the most animated and opinionated lady! When I told her I was from Texas she said "Oh! Yes I know Texas!" and then put her arms on top of her head in the shape of a longhorn's horns! haha she also filled us in on the German tax system (of which she is greatly opposed) and the sterotypes of Egyptian travelers.
Later we checked out the Museum briefly and are now about to head to the train station. We have reservations for an overnight train to Venice (or at least we think and hope we have reservations...) Hopefully the train will be comfy enough to get some sleep!
Biergarten = fun times
PG-13 rated:
wow...so there were only five rules on the pub crawl: 1.) must stay vertical 2.) must stay awake 3.) all beer must stay down once it goes down 4.) no dropping a beer and 5.) no making a complete idiot out of yourself. Well, I came close. Carlyn estimates I consumed 3.5 liters of libations last night, quite a feat. We started the tour with some friendly bonding at the Euro Youth Hostel bar, where we met up with about 20 other eager drinkers from the US. a group from Missou, a couple Purdue grads and some SoCals. What a fun group. Everyone was itching to drink so after an hour in the bar, we walked to the Augustiner biergarten, the third largest biergarten in the world, about 5,000 people! It was packed, even though it was a tuesday. 2 liters later, we hobbled over to a second biergarten, I can't remember the name, and chilled for another hour and a half while feasting on pretzels and drink. Because Munich does not have an "open container law," Carlyn was able to carry her drink around from bar to bar without fear: geeze, why can't Charlottesville be as accomodating?
the night ended around 1, and tired and tipsy we found our way back home...quite the night!
This morning, we walked around town once more. They have to change the tune on the Glockenspiel chimes in my opinion, it gets a bit old! Hilarious though how everyone stands around watching these tiny figurines dance around the clock! You would think someone was performing some death defying stunt on top of the building, and everyone was waiting for the splat! But no...just a bunch of tourists staring in wonder at a large clock, kind of odd. We got lunch at a GREAT shop in the "rich part of town". I'm out of time on the comp. Off to Venice! Hope everyone is doing great!
wow...so there were only five rules on the pub crawl: 1.) must stay vertical 2.) must stay awake 3.) all beer must stay down once it goes down 4.) no dropping a beer and 5.) no making a complete idiot out of yourself. Well, I came close. Carlyn estimates I consumed 3.5 liters of libations last night, quite a feat. We started the tour with some friendly bonding at the Euro Youth Hostel bar, where we met up with about 20 other eager drinkers from the US. a group from Missou, a couple Purdue grads and some SoCals. What a fun group. Everyone was itching to drink so after an hour in the bar, we walked to the Augustiner biergarten, the third largest biergarten in the world, about 5,000 people! It was packed, even though it was a tuesday. 2 liters later, we hobbled over to a second biergarten, I can't remember the name, and chilled for another hour and a half while feasting on pretzels and drink. Because Munich does not have an "open container law," Carlyn was able to carry her drink around from bar to bar without fear: geeze, why can't Charlottesville be as accomodating?
the night ended around 1, and tired and tipsy we found our way back home...quite the night!
This morning, we walked around town once more. They have to change the tune on the Glockenspiel chimes in my opinion, it gets a bit old! Hilarious though how everyone stands around watching these tiny figurines dance around the clock! You would think someone was performing some death defying stunt on top of the building, and everyone was waiting for the splat! But no...just a bunch of tourists staring in wonder at a large clock, kind of odd. We got lunch at a GREAT shop in the "rich part of town". I'm out of time on the comp. Off to Venice! Hope everyone is doing great!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Spargel?
So every 30 feet or so, while walking along the cobblestone streets filled with beer-guzzling folk and interesting churches and historic buildings, we pass a fruit/veggie stand. each one selling roughly three things: strawberries, apricots, and spargel. The question that has been plaguing me is what the heck is spargel? It appears to be an oversized, white asparagus, but could also pass for some sort of wax candle...I am puzzled.
In other news, the bike tour this afternoon was lots of fun! This city is incredibly bike-friendly, and it appears to be a very popular (and eco-friendly) way to get around the city!We saw all the major sites, and spent an hour hanging out at a Chinese-pagoda shaped biergarten. I got "the rattler" which is beer mixed with lemonade - sounds gross maybe, but is quite delicious! Later we walked around the center of town, got ice cream (for only 1 euro!) and climbed to the top of one of the churchtowers to get an amazing 360 degree view of the city. You could also faintly make out the alps in the distance. (I tried to upload pics, but the computers we are using in the internet cafe wont let me, and I cant understand German enough to read the pop-up box that explains why...)The city is full of buildings with red-clay tile roofs, many ornate church steeples, and other incredible buildings. We learned today that over 65% of the city was destroyed in WW2, so it is an interesting hodge-podge of very old buildings, relatively new buildings, and new buildings that look old.
Okay, reading about architecture without seeing pictures is pretty boring, so I'll stop now! I still havent eaten any bratwurst, which is on our list of things to do, but we did get a ginormous pretzel, so I guess that is authentic.
Bye for now!
In other news, the bike tour this afternoon was lots of fun! This city is incredibly bike-friendly, and it appears to be a very popular (and eco-friendly) way to get around the city!We saw all the major sites, and spent an hour hanging out at a Chinese-pagoda shaped biergarten. I got "the rattler" which is beer mixed with lemonade - sounds gross maybe, but is quite delicious! Later we walked around the center of town, got ice cream (for only 1 euro!) and climbed to the top of one of the churchtowers to get an amazing 360 degree view of the city. You could also faintly make out the alps in the distance. (I tried to upload pics, but the computers we are using in the internet cafe wont let me, and I cant understand German enough to read the pop-up box that explains why...)The city is full of buildings with red-clay tile roofs, many ornate church steeples, and other incredible buildings. We learned today that over 65% of the city was destroyed in WW2, so it is an interesting hodge-podge of very old buildings, relatively new buildings, and new buildings that look old.
Okay, reading about architecture without seeing pictures is pretty boring, so I'll stop now! I still havent eaten any bratwurst, which is on our list of things to do, but we did get a ginormous pretzel, so I guess that is authentic.
Bye for now!
a munch-kinn in Munchen
It's 16:55, which means its time for a nap.
This morning, we ventured out to find the infamous Mike's Bike Tours...highly rated as the best way to see the city and take in the local beer scene. However, as we stumbled around Marienplatz, map out and looking lost, we were approached by Lenny, a jovial fellow itching to tell us about Lenny's Free Bike Tours...he said the magic word, "Free!" wow, what a great offer we thought. At first I was a bit skeptical but he sold Carlyn after letting on that he was moving to Austin, what a sucker. Lenny reminds me of John Belushi, big gut and a collegial persona, he assured us that the low stress bike tour would include no hills, a plus given how warm it has been here.
BUT...before the tour even got started, we knew it would be great. While Lenny was giving his pre-ride pep talk, covering the local monuments in Marienplatz, he froze like a deer in the headlights, signaling to a gentleman in the back of the crowd. "Excuse me...have you been on the tour before?...oh wait...You're Rick Steves!!" That's right...Rick Steves, famed travel guide and t.v. personality was hanging around Lenny's bike stand, we knew we were in the right place. After a few pics with the celebrity, we headed out on our Beach Cruisers, dangerous when a pack of 45 American teenagers take to the streets of Munchen. Along the way, we saw several churches, the national theater, National palace of Bavaria, Hitler's stomping grounds, and the incredible English Garden (the largest park in Europe). At the Garden, we grabbed a few brews at a biergarten. I took part in a chugging contest with our fellow tour crew...Carlyn took some pics. The Garden tour included sights of nude sunbathing, river surfing and all around tomfoolery. We met 5 texans, 2 New Jersey Boys and a handful of Illini. Tonight, we plan on heading out to see the city with some of out new friends, should be a good time.
Funny, at 10 am this morning, we walked outside our hotel to find everyone enjoying a nice morning mug of fresh beer...what a way to start the day. Do people work here? as far as I can tell, any work is done with only one hand...while the other holds your beer stein. Happy Memorial Day everyone stateside!
This morning, we ventured out to find the infamous Mike's Bike Tours...highly rated as the best way to see the city and take in the local beer scene. However, as we stumbled around Marienplatz, map out and looking lost, we were approached by Lenny, a jovial fellow itching to tell us about Lenny's Free Bike Tours...he said the magic word, "Free!" wow, what a great offer we thought. At first I was a bit skeptical but he sold Carlyn after letting on that he was moving to Austin, what a sucker. Lenny reminds me of John Belushi, big gut and a collegial persona, he assured us that the low stress bike tour would include no hills, a plus given how warm it has been here.
BUT...before the tour even got started, we knew it would be great. While Lenny was giving his pre-ride pep talk, covering the local monuments in Marienplatz, he froze like a deer in the headlights, signaling to a gentleman in the back of the crowd. "Excuse me...have you been on the tour before?...oh wait...You're Rick Steves!!" That's right...Rick Steves, famed travel guide and t.v. personality was hanging around Lenny's bike stand, we knew we were in the right place. After a few pics with the celebrity, we headed out on our Beach Cruisers, dangerous when a pack of 45 American teenagers take to the streets of Munchen. Along the way, we saw several churches, the national theater, National palace of Bavaria, Hitler's stomping grounds, and the incredible English Garden (the largest park in Europe). At the Garden, we grabbed a few brews at a biergarten. I took part in a chugging contest with our fellow tour crew...Carlyn took some pics. The Garden tour included sights of nude sunbathing, river surfing and all around tomfoolery. We met 5 texans, 2 New Jersey Boys and a handful of Illini. Tonight, we plan on heading out to see the city with some of out new friends, should be a good time.
Funny, at 10 am this morning, we walked outside our hotel to find everyone enjoying a nice morning mug of fresh beer...what a way to start the day. Do people work here? as far as I can tell, any work is done with only one hand...while the other holds your beer stein. Happy Memorial Day everyone stateside!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Attention Passengers!
Okay to be fair, Air India doesn't completely blow...sure, they couldn't get the engine started which is kinda a problem, but the curry that was served while sitting on the tarmac for 5 hours was delicious... It was not that bad of an experience, though I did prod Matt to admit that "go cheap or go home" does not need to be our motto for absolutly everything... (I lost though, he would never admit it.)
After landing in Frankfurt we tested out our new Eurail passes by boarding the train to Munich. The train station was beautiful! Clean, efficient, and luxurious! We got on the train and almost thought it had to be too good to be true - the posh leather seats reclined plentifully and had buckets of leg room. We quickly came to our senses, however, when the conductor politely explained (mostly through hand gestures, as he only spoke German) that this was first class, and we were clearly 2nd class passengers...(though I felt more like cargo with our huge backpacks.) We sheepishly walked to the back of the train where we looked a little more at home.
3 hours (and a long nap) later we arrived in Munich. We got off the train and walked around the town, trying to find our hostel. The town was extremely quaint, lots of flowers and local people meandering about. This confused us a little, as we assumed Munich would look more commercialized and metropolitan. After asking a local German woman for directions to our hostel we found our suspicions correct - we had gotten off the train at the wrong stop and were at a small town on the outskirts of the city. 1 train trip later we had finally arrived at the correct place! I think we would both agree the trip was a welcome detour, however, as it was cool to see smaller parts of the city as well.
Thats all for now! Hopefully later posts will be filled with more exciting stories (but less transportation drama!)
-Carlyn
After landing in Frankfurt we tested out our new Eurail passes by boarding the train to Munich. The train station was beautiful! Clean, efficient, and luxurious! We got on the train and almost thought it had to be too good to be true - the posh leather seats reclined plentifully and had buckets of leg room. We quickly came to our senses, however, when the conductor politely explained (mostly through hand gestures, as he only spoke German) that this was first class, and we were clearly 2nd class passengers...(though I felt more like cargo with our huge backpacks.) We sheepishly walked to the back of the train where we looked a little more at home.
3 hours (and a long nap) later we arrived in Munich. We got off the train and walked around the town, trying to find our hostel. The town was extremely quaint, lots of flowers and local people meandering about. This confused us a little, as we assumed Munich would look more commercialized and metropolitan. After asking a local German woman for directions to our hostel we found our suspicions correct - we had gotten off the train at the wrong stop and were at a small town on the outskirts of the city. 1 train trip later we had finally arrived at the correct place! I think we would both agree the trip was a welcome detour, however, as it was cool to see smaller parts of the city as well.
Thats all for now! Hopefully later posts will be filled with more exciting stories (but less transportation drama!)
-Carlyn
Willkommen!
It's kind of a fun game to play...how much extra would you spend to NOT fly on Air India? Some people would have dropped the plan altogether after they were seated next to several screaming indian children in a plane/sauna being served a dinner of shredded carrots and unsweetened yogurt...yet we were not deterred. not only did we sit on the runway for 5 hours in chicago, we even played along as the airline told us the plane would not leave for another 24 hours! what good sports we are. So, 30 hours after we initially arrived at the airport, and a rousing time watching Iron Man next door, we were off on our European vacation...headed eastbound towards the mother country of Germany where we were sure to revel in good times and drink our weight in first class pilsner while devouring liverwurst by the kilo. Life is grand!
Munich is incredible! What a cool city. I've already had my fair share of churches in this city, they are pretty amazing. Our hostel is great. It's actually a small hotel right near the train station, well within walking distance to the Marienplatz square, home of the famous Glockenspiel chimes and some of the world's best biergartens! great times. For dinner tonight, we each grabbed a sandwhich at a street side vendor, I went with liverwurst on pretzel bread while Carlyn played it safe and ordered a Brie on ''power bread''. We washed it down with some great Höfbraus brew, served in large glass steins in the biergarten. So far, I give German brew 3.5 stars. I'm itching for something a bit darker. Tomorrow we venture out on a bike tour of Munich, we've been told its the best way to see the city. The night will culminate with a grand beer tour of Munich's best breweries. Can't wait. Our german is quite shoddy...luckily everyone here seems pretty well versed when it comes to American tourists. I point at something I want...I open my wallet...they take my money...I am none the wiser. Carlyn seems pleasantly surprised with Munich as well. She told me prior to leaving that she would have skipped Munich all together if we needed to. After today, I think she has changed her mind...just wait until I drag her around the Deutsche Museum of Technology tomorrow!
_ Matt
Munich is incredible! What a cool city. I've already had my fair share of churches in this city, they are pretty amazing. Our hostel is great. It's actually a small hotel right near the train station, well within walking distance to the Marienplatz square, home of the famous Glockenspiel chimes and some of the world's best biergartens! great times. For dinner tonight, we each grabbed a sandwhich at a street side vendor, I went with liverwurst on pretzel bread while Carlyn played it safe and ordered a Brie on ''power bread''. We washed it down with some great Höfbraus brew, served in large glass steins in the biergarten. So far, I give German brew 3.5 stars. I'm itching for something a bit darker. Tomorrow we venture out on a bike tour of Munich, we've been told its the best way to see the city. The night will culminate with a grand beer tour of Munich's best breweries. Can't wait. Our german is quite shoddy...luckily everyone here seems pretty well versed when it comes to American tourists. I point at something I want...I open my wallet...they take my money...I am none the wiser. Carlyn seems pleasantly surprised with Munich as well. She told me prior to leaving that she would have skipped Munich all together if we needed to. After today, I think she has changed her mind...just wait until I drag her around the Deutsche Museum of Technology tomorrow!
_ Matt
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Itinerary!
At my sister's request, here is our itinerary:
May 24: fly to Frankfurt (on Air India...should be an experience!)
May25-26: Heidelberg, Germany
May 26-28: Munich, Germany
May 29 - 31: Venice, Italy
May 31 - June 2: Florence, Italy
June 2 - 5: Rome
June 5 - 7: Cinque Terre, Italy
June 7 - 9: Interlaken, Switzerland
June 9-13: Paris, France
June 14: Fly home!
May 24: fly to Frankfurt (on Air India...should be an experience!)
May25-26: Heidelberg, Germany
May 26-28: Munich, Germany
May 29 - 31: Venice, Italy
May 31 - June 2: Florence, Italy
June 2 - 5: Rome
June 5 - 7: Cinque Terre, Italy
June 7 - 9: Interlaken, Switzerland
June 9-13: Paris, France
June 14: Fly home!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
In the beginning...
A big congratulations to everyone who found this blog...you made it! After taking me a few hours to set this up, despite the "easy to create" blog feature, I hope that everyone gets some satisfaction out of it and finds it an easy way to keep up with our adventures abroad! A word of warning to our readers, I tend to use a lot of !'s and an even greater number of elipses...mostly because a.) I never learned proper grammar in school and b.) I think it demonstrates how spur of the moment these blogs will be, without attention paid to proper punctuation. I realize it may be a bit tough on the eyes...oh well...please forgive me.
So...three days until departure. Carlyn assures me that all her gear will fit inside her small backpack! I'm psyched/scared of how much stuff that actually is. Does anyone think she is a minimalist?! On the plus side, that means we have more room for souvenirs for all of you (please don't hold me to that as we all know the dollar stretches about as much as a fat kid when it comes to European purchases).
Either way, I'm very excited! I only offer one word of advice to everyone, if you don't have the time to read both of our posts, I highly suggest you skip mine and go straight to Carlyn's. It will undoubtedly be filled with much more insight, fun-facts and detailed depictions of our time abroad. My blog will surely focus on the more mundane topics such as "What beer did Matt enjoy most in Munich?", "Why didn't Carlyn let me knock on the Pope's door?" and "Where can one find a Chicago style pizzeria in the heart of Italy?". All good questions which deserve a proper, well-thought-out blog posting.
Until tomorrow...
Matt (a.k.a. Goober)
So...three days until departure. Carlyn assures me that all her gear will fit inside her small backpack! I'm psyched/scared of how much stuff that actually is. Does anyone think she is a minimalist?! On the plus side, that means we have more room for souvenirs for all of you (please don't hold me to that as we all know the dollar stretches about as much as a fat kid when it comes to European purchases).
Either way, I'm very excited! I only offer one word of advice to everyone, if you don't have the time to read both of our posts, I highly suggest you skip mine and go straight to Carlyn's. It will undoubtedly be filled with much more insight, fun-facts and detailed depictions of our time abroad. My blog will surely focus on the more mundane topics such as "What beer did Matt enjoy most in Munich?", "Why didn't Carlyn let me knock on the Pope's door?" and "Where can one find a Chicago style pizzeria in the heart of Italy?". All good questions which deserve a proper, well-thought-out blog posting.
Until tomorrow...
Matt (a.k.a. Goober)
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