Berlin, Germany

Berlin is such a neat city. It has so much history and is well worth the time spent there. Other than Jessica and I having the worst night of our lives EVER last night, Berlin sure than ever made up for itself today during our FREE walking tour of the city and the California Burrito place (Chipotle-esqe) that we found and are going to for dinner tonight. Let's just say I'm ready for something California.

Tomorrow we head to Prague, which will be an exciting journey. Please pray for us!

Frankfurt, Germany

Don't ever go to Frankfurt. Let's just say we walked out of the main train station to bums with a dog leash in one hand and an alcoholic beverage or cigarette in the other, walked a minute to our hostel, which was conveniently located right above LIVE NUDES and next to a SEX SHOP, and checked in. Needless to say it wasn't our type of city and ended up leaving the next day.

The only mediocre thing that we did was an overpriced bus tour with an old white couple, an Indian couple, and two women in their early 30's. We fit right in. Oh, and our roomates were cool, but that's about it.

Amsterdam, THE Netherlands

Going to Amsterdam I really didnt know what to expect. I saw it as a town for people who were not like me, but slowly realized it was a town for just about everyone.

Upon arrival to Amsterdam we checked into our hotel, the quaint Quentin Hotel near the happening and convenient Leidensplein. We loved our hotel and arguably had one of the best rooms in the place, looking out over one of the many canals there, but were disappointed in the hotel staff. They were certainly not friendly and not very helpful, but we managed to avoid them as much as possible.

The first night in Amsterdam we went to this great restaurant called Wok the Walk, which was some awesome Chinese food. We were warned early on in our trip that Dutch food was not very good, but that Amsterdam had many good ethnic restaurants to choose from. After dinner, we decided to go on Randy Roy´s Red Light Tour, which we discovered in a magazine we got from our hotel. We met our tour guide Kimberly in front of the Victoria Hotel and then ventured our into one of the darkest parts of Amsterdam (except for the red lights) with the most random group of people. Although I admit I was quite nervous to go on the tour it ended up being very informative and eye-opening. Amsterdam is so rich in history, and just plain ole rich. But I have to admit there were awkward moments, especially when walking by women standing in windows half naked. Honestly it was just so sad. I am glad I went on the tour because it was verz interesting.

After the tour Patti, Jessica, and I strolled around Dam Square where there was this huge carnival going on. Dam Square was definitely hoppin. The rides were sick, and the food was delicious. Jessica and I were eyeing the chocolate covered Belgium waffles and decided to split one. Man oh man was it delicious!

The next day Patti went off on her own to see Rembrandt`s house while Jessica and I went on a free 4 hour walking tour with the New Amsterdam tours. Our group was a younger crowd and our tour guide Neil was awesome. Think Ryan Gosling meets Ryan Reynolds. The tour took us all over Amsterdam starting in the Red Light District and ending next to Anne Frank`s house. The tour was completely interesting and Jessica and I loved every second of it.

That night we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and it was just what we needed. After dinner we dropped Patti off at the train station and Jessica and I went to this improv show at Boom Chicago in Leidensplein Square called Bye Bye Bush. Our tour guide Neil told us about it and gave us discount cards. We were warned in the beginning that it was neither Republican or Democrat, more on the Independent side. Nevertheless we went. It was kind of awkward in the beginning, but was certainly entertaining and funny as the show went on. We even saw our tour guide Neil there.

After Bye Bye Bush, Jessica and I went to the carnival in Dam Square again to possibly go on a ride a two. When we got there we decided not to go on the swings and chose a really fast swinging twirling ride instead.
Big mistake. Dont get me wrong, it was fun, but it began to rain when we got on the ride and since no one was in line they let us go on forever. The poor kids across from us were about to puke, and luckily they didnt because I dont think I could have handled that. When the ride finally stopped and Jessica and I were getting out of our seats I slipped because of the rain. Luckily no one saw that, BUT people did see when I was walking down the ramp and literally slipped on my butt and slid down the entire ramp. I just sat there in the rain while Jessica laughed her butt off. We both felt sick after the ride so we left the carnival and walked back to our hotel in the rain.

At 5am the next morning Jess and I were woken up by a very loud noise coming from our hotel. Could it have been the fire alarm? YESSS! WE both got up and didnt know what to do. We stayed up until they turned it off but didnt get much sleep after that. It was such a nightmare.

Overall I really enjoyed Amsterdam. It definitely wasnt what I thought it was going to be. It was awesome. Now Jessica and I have a lot of crazy memories to think back on, probably not the same ones other people have from Amsterdam, but they will be memorable nonetheless.

Tomorrow we head to Germany.

Paris, France: Part II

Today was a long day but fun filled indeed!

We woke up early this morning and visited the Louvre, a definite MUST SEE if you are ever in Paris. Since we bought a 2-day Museum Pass we were able to skip the long lines and get in right away (thank you Rick Steve). We went straight to Leonardo da Vincis the Mona Lisa, arguably one of the most famous paintings ever. It was there in the Denon section of the Louvre that Jessica proceeded to sneeze 26 times. There must have been something in the air because I dont think I have ever heard anyone sneeze that much. Or maybe it was because she was being pushed around by all those impatient Asian people, who knows. She probably ended up sneezing around 30 times today overall, if not more. What a freaking record!

After the Louvre we walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral which is one of my most favorite churches. I immediately fell in love with the Gothic architecture and the detail of the saints and gargoyles. There were so many people there it was almost overwhelming. We didnt end up going in but I think I would have enjoyed it immensely.

From Notre Dame we walked A VERY LONG WAY past the Tulleries Gardens to the Champs-Elysees and then the Arch de Triompe. Though the walk made us extremely exhausted, it was well worth it. The Arch was massive and in the middle of the cities most interesting traffic. Think the middle of the Orange Circle, but BIGGER.

Next, we walked to the Eiffel Tower. No one should ever go to Paris and not see its most famous sight. We ended up eating dinner close to the Eiffel Tower where I met up with my friend Kiersten Stevens from high school. She is studying in Paris and came to meet us for dinner, a scenic night cruise on the Seine River, and then crepes under the Eiffel Tower. The night cruise was delightful and it was so good to hang out with an old friend and reminisce about home/catch up on life. From there, we parted ways, but it was definitely one of my most favorite days in Paris ever.

Next on the itinerary: AMSTERDAM!

Paris, France: Part I

Bonjour!

Paris has been quite interesting so far. It didnt take us only one train transfer to get to Paris like we thought, but FOUR train transfers! Then we couldnt find our hotel therefore I had to walk around for about an hour and a half with my 30 lb. backpack on. It was pure torture!

Yesterday when we FINALLY found our hotel we were pleasantly suprised and became very fond of the location...only a couple blocks from Starbucks. Needless to say, Jessica was thrilled!

Today was definitely better than our day of a mess yesterday. We visited the Orsay Museum in the morning and then rode a train to Versaille. In Versaille we visited the main Chateau and Marie Antoinettes house. We were able to view the beautiful gardens and were amazed at how beautiful Versaille is and probably was back in the day. It was a long day but well worth all the walking and sightseeing. I cant wait to show all of you my pictures!

Tomorrow will be fun packed as well. On the agenda: the Lourve, the Champs-Elysees, the Arc dè Triompe, and of course the Eiffel Tower.

Talk to you then!

Interlaken, Switzerland

Greetings from Interlaken!

Yesterday we spent a whole day traveling from Florence to Interlaken. We left Florence for Milan, went from Milan to Brig, Switzerland, then Brig to Spiez, and finallz Spiez to Interlaken. With 3 destination transfers you can imagine how our day went. From having to pay for seat reservations to sprinting to train terminals to telling our life stories in front of 4 complete strangers for a tourist interview, then getting yelled at by border police and having to walk about a mile in the rain to Balmers carrying our luggage made the day exhausting to say the least.

We are staying at Balmers youth hostel and we were immediately impressed by the nice receptionist and pretty much free everything beside the room and internet. We definitely recommend Balmers if you ever come to Interlaken. After we settled into our small log cabin-ish room we headed out to dinner where I tried my first Thai meal ever and had my first Heineken on the trip. The dinner was completely and utterly scrumptious after such a long day.

Today we took a bus to train to a gondola to a train to walking to a gondola to finally reach the top on Mount Schilthorn. Mount Schilthorn is about 10,000 ft. high and had a gorgeous view of the Swiss Alps. After about an hour of taking pictures and standing in awe of Gods gift to the Swiss we eventually toured the inside of the lodge and watched a Touristarama on the making of James Bond 007 at that very mountain top. It was awesome. When we eventually got down the mountain we walked around the city of Interlaken and ate the most delicious meal. We ate a Swiss delicasse called Rösti, which is hashbrowns with an assortments of toppings. Jess had fried egg, bacon and cheese, whereas I had plain ole ham and cheese. We were hungry considering we had no time for lunch but it was well worth the wait.

Tomorrow we leave for Paris, France for four days. Lucky for us we only have one train transfer this time and then its a straight shot for the Eiffel Tower. Talk to you then!

Florence, Italy

Ciao from Florence! Jessica, Patti, and I have been exploring the city for the past 36 hours. We hit the ground running, and all have blisters ALREADY! Jessica and Pattis are a little worse considering they have been here a week longer than I but we are all getting used to actual tennis shoes.

Yesterday I was Jessica and Pattis official (and free) tour guide. We were all over the place from the Piazza del Duomo to the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. Lets just say they got a good overview of the city for our next day. For dinner we met up with my friend Nick from LMU who is studying abroad here through Gonzaga. It was a pleasant dinner and its always fun catching up across the world with good friends from home.

Today we visited the Uffizi gallery and the Academia, in which we saw the David, and numerous (NUMEROUS) other sculptures and paintings. I finally got my own picture of the David, even though you are not allowed to take pictures of him. I wasnt even that sneaky, and I didnt even get caught! I would have to say it was well worth the second trip to see him. Forlunch we ate at the Oil Shoppe which is one of my favorite sandwich places in Florence. Im pretty sure Jessica and Patti enjoyed it just as much as I did. Then we visited the Piazza San Lorenzo for some shopping in the outside markets. After that we trekked to the Santa Maria Novella perfumaria to get my Mom some more lotion that I got for her when I studied here. Then it was back to our hostel for some relaxation and power naps.

Overall the day was a success, EXCEPT for when Patti realized she left her credit card in Venice therefore having to cancel it (which was an adventure in itself). OR maybe when Jessica spent £3 on a tiny shot of ice blended coffee which she was craving all week. Lets just say she couldnt even enjoy it, especially after Patti compared her to her mother.

We leave for Interlaken, Switzerland tomorrow. There will be more stories to come so keep reading!