Madrid

We didn't originally plan on going to Spain, but because of the problems in Greece, we changed our minds.

August 25 we walked around the neighborhood surrounding our hotel. We saw kids skateboarding and biking, a soccer game and the royal palace.

August 26 we saw a temple that Egypt gifted to Spain, and was moved block by block.

Next, we went wandering around the city center. It was strange though, because the streets were empty. It must have been because of the heat... it was over 40 degrees. 

August 27 we went to Seville for a day trip. It was gorgeous! We started off wandering around in the city center. 

We escaped to a city garden for some much needed shade.

Then we went to see the bull ring (bull fighting arena).

August 27 we went to Madrid's biggest city parks. It was beautiful.

It was very difficult leaving our air conditioned room because it has been so hot. But, we are now off to Barcelona and looking forward to beach hopping.

Poop, Hotels & Language Difficulties

I forgot to mention that in Rome, while we were sitting in St. Peter's Square, Andrew was pooped on by a bird... must be a sign from God, a bad sign. It was his first time being pooped on (Jenna this will probably make you feel better because I know you have been pooped on multiple times... and thought it was normal). I have yet to be pooped on, but I think my time will come considering how much I am bugging Andrew about it.

We have had some good luck with booking hotels and hostels and some really really bad luck. I thought that I would share pictures of our places in Bergamo and here in Madrid, where we have had really good luck.

This is our hotel in Bergamo. When we got there we realized that it was a 4 star hotel. Andrew and I looked like misfits with our backpacks on and looking disgusting because of the long walk to the hotel. Oh well, they still let us check in.

Here in Madrid we have a kitchenette in our hotel. We are really excited to be able to actually cook food. Hostels usually have kitchens but we have been avoiding them because they are usually pretty gross.

This is the rest of the room in Madrid.

We were so excited about our kitchen that we raced to the grocery store and bought pizzas. We thought that we would fry them in frying pans, which is what we do when we don't have an oven and surprisingly, they usually turn out pretty good

This time we had a problem though. When we got home from our shopping trip and Andrew unwrapped the pizzas, we found out that the dough was raw and that they needed to be cooked in an oven... which we don't have (only a stove and a microwave). On the package it said 'concinada...' meaning we need to cook the pizza. Instead of giving up we decided to cook the pizzas in the microwave and then fry them. This is how they turned out.

They were actually pretty tasty. I guess my theory worked: add enough cheese to anything and it will taste good.

Now that we have eaten we are on our way out to see Madrid.

PS- It was the Alexander triplets birthday yesterday. Happy birthday boys, we miss you.

Switzerland & Garcon Gaga

When we were booking a hotel for Switzerland we found out that it was going to be VERY expensive, so we opted to only spend a few nights there and pack our days full.

We got to Zurich early August 21 and spent the day in the city. It was, of course, really beautiful and clean. We spent part of the afternoon/evening hanging out by the Limmat river, which runs through the city. The water in Switzerland was so blue, it was amazing.

For the rest of the evening we hung out by Lake Zurich, on the south of the city.

August 22 we went to Lucerne for the day. It is another beautiful city with gorgeous and well-kept buildings, hills and a lake.

We walked around the city and lake, and when we got sick of walking we found a beach. The beaches we found were different from the beaches back home. There was no sand, but instead, grass up to the water. The grass was so comfy that we couldn't resist an afternoon nap. It's not hard waking up to this.

August 23 we went to Interlaken in the morning for a walk around. It reminded us a lot of Banff.

We took a train in the afternoon to Bern, where we wish we had more time. It turned out to be one of our favourite cities. It is built on a hill with a river valley running around it. Every building that we saw was well taken care of, and there was no vandalism (very rare here).

Today, August 24, we are off to Bergamo Italy because we fly out early tomorrow for Madrid. We spent the morning in Zurich at our favourite spot overlooking the river. 

Something I should also mention: Swiss chocolate is the best. We went into a chocolate shop and they had an entire section dedicated to Toblerone. We picked up a few different types of chocolate bars... they were all so good.

Andrew was in (as usual) a playful mood. I think I need to start taking more pictures of him goofing off because it is really hard to describe. We have been hearing an awful Lady Gaga song a lot recently: Alejandro. This means that Andrew has been singing this song a little too often. This morning he decided that he missed his calling in life and is going to be a pop singer instead of a lawyer. He is going to call himself Garcon Gaga, and is working on a new hit called Alessandro. I will try and get some sort of video or picture of him singing it soon.

A Quick Stop in Milan

August 20 we stopped in Milan for the night to break up our trip from Rome to Zurich. We arrived late in the afternoon and we were leaving early August 21 so we only spent a couple of hours downtown.

We saw their cathedral. Very nice.

Then we saw the indoor/outdoor shopping mall. It was really beautiful and had very high-end stores, and like everywhere else in the world, a McDonald's.

All Roads Lead to Rome

We got into Rome August 16 and although it was really hot we decided to wander around. Minutes from our hotel was the Circo Massimo (where they had chariot racing) and Palatine Hill behind it (where all the rich Romans lived). We were a little in awe to say the least.

Then we made our way to a view of the Forum.

This is my favourite building. It is the 'Victorio Emanuele II Monument', I still don't know what it is but it really was beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't get to enjoy it for as long as I would have liked because 'O.D.B.' (Old Dirty Bastard) was trying to strike up a conversation with us... but ended up just talking at us in broken English. We were pretty determined to ignore him. 'O.D.B.' was a really old, dirty, stinky guy, with maybe 5 teeth left, carrying all of his belongings in a plastic bag. He was sitting beside Andrew telling him where we should visit in Rome (the Colosseum and the Vatican were a couple of suggestions...). Andrew was doing his best not to engage in conversation. After a few minutes of annoyance we decided to leave to get away from 'O.D.B.'. Before we made a run for it 'O.D.B' asked if we would send him a postcard when we got home, Andrew had to inform him that there were no postcards in Red Deer so it would be impossible (plus I doubt he had an address). As we walked away we couldn't help but turn around to watch 'O.D.B' start to work his next victims.

We went to the Trevi fountain next, where Andrew WASTED 2 cents by throwing it into the fountain. I was appalled and refused to throw any money in. I guess Andrew will be coming back to Rome by himself.

August 17 we decided to go to the Vatican. On our way there an old guy pulled his vehicle over to the side of the road to ask for directions. He had his map out and he was asking us if we spoke English. I felt bad, so I said we did, and he asked how to get to the Vatican. Andrew told him to take a left on the 4th bridge. He was so nice that he offered to give us a shirt and a jacket for helping him. Wouldn't you know it, he was in Rome from Paris (YUCK) for a fashion show. I thought it was strange that he said he was from Paris because he clearly had an Italian accent and it was really strange that he was in Rome for fashion because the clothes he was giving us were disgusting. As we went to take the clothes so that we could continue on our way, he held onto them and proceeded to tell us about how he had gambled away his gas money the night before. He clearly had no intention of 'giving' us the clothes in return for the directions until he had been paid. It is too bad that we didn't care about his imaginary 'gambling problem' or about his lack of gas money, because he remains stuck with those ugly clothes.

Here is the square outside the Vatican. Andrew informed me that this is where Ewan McGregor saved Rome by flying a helicopter with a bomb in it into the sky (Angels & Demons).

Inside the Sistine Chapel... before the security guard said 'NO PICTURES'.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica.

August 18 we decided to spend the day looking at Rome's ruins. Here is part of Palatine Hill.

The Roman Forum, with the Colosseum in the back.

The Colosseum, where Andrew informed me that Russell Crowe killed Joaquin Phoenix and turned Rome back into a republic (Gladiator). He knows a lot about Roman history!

The Pantheon.

We went back to the Colosseum at night to see it all lit up.

Today, August 19... we were lazy. We were going to go to the old Roman port, but it was a long way away. Then we were going to go to the catacombs, but it was far away too. So we decided to just walk around the city again.

The Spanish steps.

Back at the Trevi fountain.

Rome is a beautiful city, especially if you can avoid the touristy areas where there are creepers like 'O.D.B.' and other weirdos who try to give you flowers by resting them on your arm and then demanding to be paid.

Off to Milan next.

Naked Statues & Crooked Towers

Andrew and I got into Florence August 13. After dropping off our luggage at the hotel we went for an evening walk. It seems that no matter where you go in Europe you are no more than 5 minutes from a huge cathedral. Here is the Duomo, one of the biggest in Europe and our favorite so far.

August 14 we went to go and see some sites around the city. We saw the real fake statue of Michelangelo's David. The real one is in a museum on the other side of a 4 hour line-up (summer in Italy...), so we were more than happy with this one, which stands where the real one used to.

We walked across the only bridge in Florence that wasn't destroyed in WWII. It was a really cool bridge because it had numerous little jewelery shops hanging off of it and lining both sides.

Next we went to the castle, where the famous Medici family lived during the Renaissance.

By this time it was pouring rain, so we decided to take a quick walk by the river and return to the hotel.

We were on a mission in Florence to find me a bag because I was tired of carrying this disgusting grocery bag every day (it is way too hot to carry a backpack). We started looking at all the little stands on the sides of the streets and after probably the 4th one, I was tired of shopping and actually found a bag I liked. Before the vendor came and talked to us Andrew turned to me and said 'Ok, now he is going to ask some ridiculous price for this bag and you have to barter with him. Start low, really low so that you don't end up paying too much.' I told Andrew that I hate bartering and that I can't do it. Then I tried to convince him that he should barter for the bag, but he refused, as he did not feel the need to barter for a purse... When the vendor came over to talk to me he said the bag was 65 euros, and that the lowest he could go was 55. I looked at him and started feeling really bad about asking for a lower price and said 'Is 50 okay?' As soon as it came out of my mouth Andrew burst out laughing and said 'No Amy you aren't going to pay 50 euros for that bag. It won't even last til the end of our trip.' So we left, without the bag. For the next few minutes Andrew tried (once again) to teach me the skill of bartering. I think I am hopeless. I will never learn to barter. This means that either Andrew will have to barter from now on, or we will be paying WAY too much for items we buy from street vendors. I did find a bag later in the day, but in a real store, not on the side of the street where you have to barter.

Last night we finally got around to watching the Sound Of Music. I think Andrew has gained a greater appreciation for the movie now that he has seen Salzburg, although he doesn't agree with me that it should still be winning Academy Awards.

August 15 we went to Pisa to see the leaning tower and man is it leaning! It was hilarious.

Tomorrow we are off to Rome.

The Last Of The Vs

We got into Verona August 10 and immediately went to check out the city. It is yet another beautiful European city. Verona has an old Roman arena in the city center which they now us for operas.

The city center has a ton of little crooked streets, some of which turn into pedestrian streets for the better part of the day, making the center even better, according to us.

August 11 we went back into city center to see some of the Verona sites. We visited Juliette's house, from Romeo and Juliette (not sure how a fictional character has a house).

We took a walk by the river to the old castle.

August 12 we took a day trip to Mantua. The town wasn't anywhere near as beautiful as Verona (or of course Venice) but it was cute.

They had a huge market where vendors sold everything from purses to food, but we spent most of our time sitting on a bench by a lake.

Tomorrow we are off to Florence for a few days before we go to Rome.