Nice is Nice

Around 2 am we arrived in Nice. Its funny looking back just how lost and confused we were, unknowing how the city would become such a large part of our trip. We finally made it to the hostel with the help of some local French teens and their limited English skills. We all passed out on our beds to get up for the free breakfast (oh yes, we were excited) in the morning and headed out to stroll along the beach. We stared, walked a bit, stared, walked a bit more. We then found some rocks, climbed on them, and stared at the water some more. We then decided to actually do something that consisted of more than just staring at water and climbing on rocks. So we took a little stroll into the Old Town, where I found a pastry shop (I’m starting to think I have an inner GPS that just directs me towards them) and I got myself a little quiche.

We then walked around a bit more, strolling through a cute little park and eventually making our way back to the beach, this time with some food. We sat and stared some more until finally we made ourselves some pigeon friends. It turns out, pigeons quite like French fries. They will do just about whatever it takes to make sure they get these French fries. It was interesting, to say the least. We walked more along the beach and finally found a good place to watch the sunset. It was an okay sunset, mostly due to the clouds that had been hovering over the city all day. It was then back to the hostel for free Pasta and Beer night. We got a plate of delicious, homemade pasta and either a glass of wine or a beer. It was really nice, and really delicious. We stayed up and talked a bit, then hit the sack for a good night's rest. Little did we know what was to come.

The next day we started off with laundry. Taking our time, meeting some new people in the laundry mat, we were having ourselves an unusually fun time despite the fact that we just running a load through a washer and dryer. We were then off to reserve our spots on the bus for that night to Barcelona. We took our time, taking some pictures of the beach and strolling along without a worry in the world. We got to the bus station and the panic began. The bus was full. And the next bus out wasn’t until Monday. Oh, and the bus station we were at was closing and the other Nice location was an hour’s walk. We ran to the train station to see how much a ticket out would cost us. Our conclusion: way too much. At this point, I was in full panic mode. We hurried back to the hostel to jump on the internet and explore our options, whether they be through air, water, or land. We finally figured out that we would just have to ditch one city and stay in Nice for a few more nights until Monday. We booked two nights with the hostel we were staying at and one with another one, because our current hostel was full. At this point, we thought everything was fine. We relaxed, strolled on down to the beach, and I took another 48203984 shots of the same thing. We then walked down to one of the lighthouses, climbed on some more rocks, and stood in awe of the sea, yet again. We walked down around the port and found a lovely spot to sit on more rocks and watch the waves crash in. Somehow staring at the water never really seems to get old. It’s just so relaxing and calming. I love it! From there, we headed to a nice lookout spot where we could watch the sunset. It was gorgeous, as we could see the whole city and all of the beach. We just hung out there, listened to a bit of music, and enjoyed the scenery. Somehow, though, the officials working there didn’t notice us at the lookout place and locked us inside the park. To get out, we had to climb over the side railing and around these spikes. Not to worry, though, everyone was fine. 

It was then back to the hostel, first grabbing a bit of dinner at our favorite, Pita Break (so cheap, so filling). We picked up a cheap, but nice bottle of wine, and headed back to hang out with some new friends at our hostel. It was so interesting talking to everyone there. People were from all over the world and found themselves in Nice for a variety of reasons. Eventually we all went out to a local place that one of the receptionists actually took us all to, danced a bit, and then (again) headed to the beach to watch the waves crash into the rocky shore at night. Finally we went to bed to deal with the wonderful bus situation in the morning.

The Girl who has Practically Memorized the Nice Coastline,

Jessica

Arrivederci Italia

We got into Florence around 10 at night and went to check into our hostel. It was an interesting hostel, to say the least. We then went to walk around the city a bit before hitting the sack. I got a pastry (what’s new), and we passed by the Duomo, along with a few other sites. It was then time for bed.

That morning we woke up and headed to check out the sites. We started off by going to look at a church (at this point we weren’t completely sick of them yet), but the fee to get in made us change our mind. So we ventured off to the massive Duomo, which is free. The outside is quite insane. There are all sorts of tiny pieces of marble pieced together along the entire exterior. However, Quinn’s guide book did let us in a few secrets. Apparently the original exterior of the church was never completed and during the 19^th century it was torn down and replaced with the exterior that you see now. The other secret: its not actually covered in marble, but another material. Those two facts make the structure a little less impressive, but it still is beautiful. We then stepped inside, which cannot compare to the inside in any way. The marble floor is beautiful, but the walls were bar and one solid color. Yea, I’m starting to sound like a church snob, but I’ve seen enough at this point, I have developed certain standards for churches of this size. The church does have an interesting 24 hour clock in which the 1 is on the bottom and the rest of the numbers follow in a counter-clockwise rotation. At the front of the Duomo, there is the large dome that is masterly painted. That was gorgeous.

We then went to wonder around a bit, heading in the direction of the famous Florence bridge that has shops and houses practically falling off it. On the way, we ran into the old Florence town hall, now museum. Unfortunately, the tower was closed, so we couldn’t go up, but the outside looked pretty cool. Outside is a plaster mold of the David by Michelangelo which stands in the statue’s original place. There was also a little plaza next to It with some molds and originals of various statues from different times.

 At this point, my camera died, which was sad because some of the things we saw during the rest of the day were pretty cool, but what can you do? We finally made our way to the bridge, which was beautiful. The only odd thing is that all the shops only sell jewelry, which I found quite unusual. We then made a spur of the decision to go to the museum which houses the David, along with other pieces of art and statues. We sat through the two hour line and got into the museum with an hour to explore. You  begin by looking at a few other pieces of art and statues, some of which were unfinished pieces by Michelangelo. These unfinished pieces really help you see just how difficult it must be to chisel away at a giant piece of stone until you get a work that looks like what you had envisioned. You then approach the David, which is massive and insane. We stood there, observing it and discussing it (along with snagging a few illegal pictures) for a good twenty or so minutes. It was interesting to me how some people waited in that line for two or more hours, breezed right past all the first pieces of art, looked at the David for about two minutes, and left. It was so inspiring and…well, perfect, honestly, that we could not just take a short glance at it. It deserved a lot more than that. After that, there were a few more paintings that led into a room full of plaster copies of hundreds of statues and busts. These were all done by students when the building used to be an institute. There were nails in many of them that were used as reference points. Even though these were plaster, I still could not imagine carving them out with so much precision and detail as these students did. With only a few minutes until the museum closed, we ran through the art exhibit on the second floor, and headed out.

We grabbed some sandwiches, a bottle of wine, and headed to the Piazza di Michelangelo, which is basically on top of a giant hill. There was a hill, that led to steps, that led to more steps. When we were on the top, it made it so worth it. From there, we could see the entire city. It was one of the best views I have ever seen. As the sun set over the city, we enjoyed a nice glass of wine and remarked about how our last night in Italy could truly not get any better than this. It was a moment I know I will never forget. Truly amazing. I, unfortunately, had to head back too early to see the lights go on in the city to get back to the hostel in time for an interview. At the hostel we talked with some new people from Canada and Iran, then headed to bed to wake up early.

First thing in the morning we went to ensure we knew all we needed to about our bus and the time it left, grabbed some breakfast, and went to stand in the epically long line for the Uffizi Art Museum. A little under two hours later we were inside. Although I had been in the Uffizi before as a kid, I didn’t remember quite so much Medieval and Renaissance paintings. There were so many portraits of Jesus, Mary and other saints that it honestly got kind of old. Every once in a while there was a painting that caught my attention. There was a room full of statues that was not only architecturally beautiful, but caught my attention. The statues were all in distress as they were about to be killed because of something (which has slipped my mind) there mother did. Their mother was also there, looking guilty and attempting to save them. What intrigued me the most was, first of all, that the sculptor was able to capture the despair and distraught in the expression and eyes of the individuals without really bein g able to put expression into the eyes like a painter can. Secondly, I found it intriguing that all of the “children” looked to be adults and the only thing distinguishing them from their mother in age was their size, as they were smaller than her. After the Uffizi, we stopped a place that had 2 courses and a coffee for 10 euro. I got some good pasta and salad. It was then off to the bus station to hop onto our bus to Nice, France. Suprisingly, the 8-turned-10 hour bus ride was quite pleasant, as I was rather excited to be exploring somewhere new.

Your New Michelangelo Expert,

Jessica

Making a Pit-stop

It was then off to Siena. We missed our first train (it was my fault), so got off two hours later than what we had planned, but it all worked out ok (this is a lesson I have learned far too much during this trip). We made it to Siena, found a place to leave our bags for the day, and went first to find the main plaza. We grabbed some food (I had some proscuitto pizza) and sat and stared at the plaza. Its pretty cool. There were people of all ages sitting there, talking, eating, doing all sorts of stuff. There is a large building at the front, that I'm sure used to be used as a town hall of some sort, with a giant tower. After eating, we went inside to see what it was all about. Most of it cost, so we didn't venture to those parts, but there was one exhibit that was free. It was the weirdest art exhibits where it seemed like a guy just took pictures of bird poop and called it art. Not sure what to make of it, but we didn't stay long so it wasn't too big of a deal.

We roamed around the city some, going into the small, free portions of various museums or exhibits. We then made our way to the city's duomo where we forked over 3.50 euro to see the inside. I'm glad we did, though. The outside was marvelous, with all sorts of little bits of marble and detail painting covering the exterior. The inside was just the same. There was so much detail. It was beautiful. There was also a room that not only had a marvelously painted ceiling, but also housed tons of old books, mostly containing songs, that were all ornately decorated. There were also a few paintings by famous artists around the church. It was pretty amazing.

It was then time to wonder some more. We found ourselves in the middle of a tour group, so we went with them a while to see if we could find some more awesome sites. We eventually wound up at a different church, which we didn't go into. We made our way to a park that is housed inside an old fort building. It was pretty cool. From there we could see a lot of the city. Afterwards, we picked up our bags and went to sit in the plaza for a while until it was time for our train. It was definitely a relaxing, beautiful little town. We then were off to Florence.

Plaza-sitting Siennan,
Jessica

The Roman Forum, I got a real good shot of that

On Saturday I finally got into Rome around 4ish. I met up with my friends Quinn and Santiago and, after dropping off my stuff at the hostel and grabbed some pizza, we wondered around a bit. First, we walked by the Colosseum. We walked down the road, passed Julius Caesar, where a took a shot with my bff, and strolled around the city, looking at all the ruins that are literally everywhere you look. We thought we found the Spanish Steps (we totally didn't). Finally we found our way to the Trevi Fountain. I threw my coin into fountain, just as you're supposed to.

We then roamed around a bit more, wound up a bit lost, but eventually found our way back, and sat at the hostel and had a few glasses of wine. There we met one of the most...interesting people I have come across. He was a mid-twenty-something from Chicago who was backpacking across Europe in the most literal sense of the word. By the end of our conversation with him we had some of the best quotes. He chose sleeping in a train bathroom over a hostel room. My favorite quote:
Quinn: I think we're going to try and go to the Roman forum tomorrow.
Guy: The Roman Forum? What's that?
Quinn: All of these Roman ruins.
Guy: Oh yea, The Roman Forum. I got a real good shot of that today.
It was kind of ridiculous.
The next morning it was off to do just about everything there is to do in Rome in one day. It was INTENSE. We started the day off at the Roman Forum. Lucky for us, it was Italian Culture week, so literally everything was free. It was awesome. The Roman Forum was crazy cool. We only had half of an idea of what exactly we were looking at, but it was awesome to try and imagine what it would have been like to be there at the time that the structures were all completely standing. It was also incredibly interesting to see the different pieces from various times throughout the empire's rein. Its interesting how one can tell so much about a culture's history through their buildings. Since I had been to the forum before, I also found it interesting to reflect on how I had seen it when I was 10 or so. I feel as though, even though I appreciated it at that age, I had an even better understanding of it now.

After that we found some food and then made our way to the Colosseum. You walk through the outside for a bit, then finally enter the magnificent structure. It was truly insane looking at this massive stadium that is so old and now having the understanding of structures and forces that I do. The stadium is enormous, bigger than some modern stadiums. And yet, it is still standing after all this time. I can only imagine just how crazy it would have been to walk into that stadium for the first time during its prime in complete awe.

After the Colosseum we found our way to the Pantheon, an old Roman temple turned church. The marveling thing about this structure, aside from its age, is the massive dome in the center. I still am baffled as to how it was constructed and was able to stand for so long without caving in. I will say this, the Roman sure knew how to build massive, strong structures that could withstand just about anything. Inside the Pantheon also lies Raphael's tomb, which was interesting to see as well.

We then hightailed it to the Vatican to see if we could get in before it closed. As we approached it, there was absolutely no line. We ran through, walked past the Vatican museum, into St. Peter's Basilica. That was a mistake. Because we chose to roam through the Basilica first, the museum, which houses the Sistene Chapel, was closed. However, the actual Basilica was amazing. It was insane how detailed the entire thing was. The little side chapels, as I think they call them, all have beautifully painted ceilings. The main hallway is coated in gold and other beautiful colors. You walk in and feel almost inadequate to be in the presence of such beauty. The Basilica also houses Leonardi DaVinci's statue of Mary and Jesus. It was insane.

We then strolled over to Rome's castle to see if it was open. Unfortunately, we missed the last entrance by about 10 minutes. However, we did get to watch a beautiful sunset over the Vatican while sitting by the river that runs through Rome.

We then strolled back to the hostel, stopping at our favorite pizza place where I ordered the most amazing pizza I've ever had (sundried tomatoes and rocket...yum!). We then went to an Irish bar to meet one of Quinn's friends who was studying in Rome. The Irish bar in Rome, Italy was full of Americans. It was kind of an unusual experience, but what can you do? It was then off to bed to get up in the morning for the train to Sienna.

Practically an Ancient Roman,
Jessica

OOMPA!

We arrived in Athens on time with no problems or anything. From there a driver picked us up to take us to the temple of Poseidon. We drove along the coast of Greece. It was absolutely breath-taking. There are thousands of small islands along the coast of Greece that pop up all over, making the coastline view amazing. We then got to the Temple of Poseidon. It was remarkable how high up it was and how intact it was. With the coast in the background and the ruins in the foreground, it was absolutely breathtaking. It baffled me first of all how they got the stones up this giant hill, in addition to how people travelled such a long distance just to pay homage to the god of the sea. After we were done marveling at ancient ruins, we headed back down the coast towards Athens.

We then stopped to have one of the best meals of my life. I know I talk about food, but seriously, this was the most amazing thing I have eaten. The meal began with a salad. I ordered a tomato salad that had olive oil and seasoning on it. The tomatoes legitimately tasted like candy, they were that delicious. Next we received fresh fried calamari. Because Greece does not require seafood to be flash frozen like they do in the states, the fish tasted fresher than any fish I’ve ever had. After our meal, we returned to the coast road. My face was glued to the window, the view was the amazing. We then drove to Greece's only fresh water hot spring. It sit next to a big pool, so people are swimming there at all times of the year. We then arrived in Athens, attempted to go into the middle of city, but then seriously failed, so just walked back to our hotel and went to bed so we could get up early and refreshed for the next day.

We started the next day off with, what else, the Acropolis. We stepped out of the Metro station and BAM, there it was. We started off walking through the ruins of the Theatre of Dionysus. It was pretty crazy to see. They have done a good job at restoring all of the ruins so you really get a wonderful idea of what it would have looked like. We then stumbled across another massive theatre that they actually still use to this day. After that, it was up to the Parthenon. It was remarkable. As you walk up these massive steps, you see the Temple of Athena to your right, the city sprawling across the hills behind you. You walk through the entrance and boom, there it is. Even with the scaffolding and cranes surrounding the structure, its still remarkable. The Parthenon stands on top of a massive rock formation that I can hardly consider a hill, so you can look out over the entire city. Its quite remarkable with the ancient ruins standing above a modern city. After I got my fill of the beautiful Parthenon, we moved over to another temple that is right next to it. Parts of it were completely intact still. It gave a good idea as to what the structure must have looked like back in the day.

After the Acropolis, it was down the hill to visit a Greek equivalent of the Roman Forum. There we saw an old market building which housed a museum with tons of old statues, pots, and other knick knacks they have found. There were ruins from different buildings that used to be in the area, including multiple temples, courthouses, and a few homes. On the top of the hill was an almost completely standing temple. Even the friezes along the top walls were still attached.

The pass for the Acropolis lets you into multiple ruins around the city, most of which we just stumbled across. None of them were quite as extravagant as the Acropolis, but they were pretty cool. During our wondering, though, we found ourselves in the flea market, where I bought some Grecian sandals, and we ate some delicious kebab pita.

Afterwards we headed over to the Parliament building to watch the changing of the guards. The guards there (who were all massively tall) have to wear these crazy outfits with pom-poms on their shoes and lift their feet, arms and guns in an overly dramatic way. It was a completely different experience than that in London at Buckingham Palace.

We then headed to the Olympic Stadium from one of the Olympics in the 1900s, which stands on the spot of the first Olympic stadium and was designed after it. We took a minor detour through the gardens next to the Parliament Garden, where we saw a goose attack a rooster, and saw the President's palace. We then went to our final ruin, but were too late to enter. It was an extraordinarily large temple, but we could see it pretty clearly from the surrounding area. Next to the temple was Hadrian's arch, which was pretty massive. We then headed back to the hotel for a little rest before going back out that night.

We took a look at the Acropolis at night, then ventured to find somewhere to eat. As we were aimlessly roaming around, a nice, old Greek man approached us and offered to show us a great place to eat. It was great. We split a delicious salad and some sardines, then I got my pasticcio, which is basically like an amazing form of macaroni and cheese.

The next day, we had the morning before our flight left. We were going to go to the Archaeology Museum, but found out it was closed. So instead, we headed to the new Acropolis museum. As you walk towards the door, you look below you to see an ancient town. Currently, they are still excavating it, but in the future, you'll be able to walk through parts of it. Inside the museum (you aren't allowed to take pictures), there are ruins from the Acropolis area. In the top portion they have all of the friezes and other statues that used to cover the top of the Parthenon. They had it laid out so it was in the same order and depth as when it was on the building. It was pretty cool to see. We then went to a restaurant our driver had recommended where we enjoyed some traditional Greek food. We then hopped on plane back to Milan.

In short, I'm in love with Greece. Everyone was remarkably nice, the food was outstanding, and the sites were fantastic.

Obsessed with Greece,
Jessica

P.S. I'd like to send a HUGE shout out to my wonderful grandma who made me some delicious lemon bars for my parents to bring over (along with the surprise of those yummy peanut butter chocolate bars).