Roma..I came. I saw. I conquered!

haha. WOW. did i say Florence was my favorite city so far?..i think not. Its pretty cool, but its got nothing on Rome. Rome is incredible, it goes far above and beyond a persons expectations. So extravagent, detailed, and SO much history.
Our first day here we got in on a guided tour of the Colosseum, VERY interesting..then we also got in to the Roman forum ( the whole ancient city area, with all the ruins...emporors palaces, etc..) and Pallestine Hill on a guided tour. I feel like i learned enough history for a lifetime in one day, but at the same time i know it was barly the surface of anything! We also got to tour around and be in the very jail room that they kept Paul and Peter prisnor in, in Rome. You can even see their grafiti, dating way back to then..whatever time that was, i cant really remember dates, but its all there, and its all documented. It was SO cool! Only a part of the jail is left, but it is the oldest jail in Rome remaining. The place where they kept them is not a lot taller than my head, and incredibly dark and sick. But its really cool, they had documented that there was a flood while they were kept there, and the water came up through the hole in the ground, so they had no where to go and were going to drown, but then the couple roman gaurds there let them out because of the impact of their faith and Paul and Peter baptized them. Incredible, yeah, it was cool to think that they were there, and here we were standing in the same place YEARS later! Anyway...i could go on forever, but i wont..We also got into the Sistine Chapel today. VERY cool...absolutely insane. You just have to be there to fully get the appreciation for it i think, the entire building is painted, and its huge, and just to think that Michael Angelo painted it all himself..ahhh crazy! I wanted to get pics, but no cameras aloud or anything. theres a million security gaurds in there. however, i did manage to record a quick 4 sec video of the paintings before a security man saw my camera out and started yelling at me.. haha, i think you can actually hear him in it..its funny. The whole museum in the Vaitican there - they said if you were to spend only a single minute at each painting, you would be there for 14 years! imagine!!
Anyway, Id like to sum this up and say ROME is a place EVERYONE needs to see at least once. I know ill be back someday. I love it!
Tomorro we're heading to Corfu, an island off of Greece, and staying at the pink palace..should be fun, and then over to Athens...got a long day of travelling all day by train tmro and then all night by ferry.. so im out! :)

BY the way, very sad sad news, but no more pictures i think, my camera died the first night we got to Rome..and i just bought it dangit! i dont know what the deal is.. but at least i can hopefully get it fixed when im home. just a little unfortunate future-europe-picture-wise.

Art Art Art

Today we spent pretty much all day seeing the Uffizzi Museum of Art and Sculptures. We got there before it even opened and still waited over two hours to get in. Then they put you through security, take your liquids and all that, just like when you fly..its crazy! We spent a good three hours looking around, they have Di Vinci, Micheal Angelo, Rembrant...everything! ..some paintings as big as a theatre screen, its insane. Seriously, a person could spend so long in there, we went through it at a pretty quick pace and it was overwhelming. Its almost too bad that there is SO much there, because by the end of it, all the paintings seem to mesh together and they dont seem as great. It takes away from the individuality or uniqueness of each peice and by the end I was so bored.. haha.. its too much. I cant imagine the Louvre in Paris, Im gonna have to phsyc myself out for that one. Then we went out for dinner and bartered around in all the markets, it was a great time and i spent way too much. We all got these little knock-off sunglasses, and they are so hot. haha.. and it was halarious, cause Im sure theyre all just selling them illegally. They're all set up on these little fold-up tables and they have like 1 guy at the table, and 4 lookin out..and as soon as police walk down the street they instantly pack it in and take off and hide..all in about 3 seconds. It was so funny, i found the sweetest pair ever and i was so excited.. and then i go to grab my cash and by the time i look up, the entire strip of these guys and their stuff, gone. theyre so quick...anyway, goodtimes! Now we're heading out to a classical concert and im stoked .. something I'd probably never hit up unless I was here, but just because I am, Im sure it'll be good. Ciao!

Italia

...Loving Italy and have been here for about a week now. We started out in Cinque Terre, which is this incredible little relaxation holiday destination. Its 9 km of 5 little connected towns in the mountains right along the bright green Med. Sea. We spent 2 nights, and did a lot of hiking in these trails that connect all the little towns. It took us about 4 hours to hike through it all, some of it was pretty hardcore, but a lot of fun. I really gotta get pics on here and youd see what i mean. Its straight up and down curves..through this forest, but not really a forest, its more like how you would picture Peru or something.
Ohh man, and we stayed in Monorosso in this amazing appartment! We were getting pretty frustrated wandering around cause we didnt book any hostels ahead of time and everything ( if there was anything ) was either full or not open, under construction.. and none of us can speak Italian so its pretty difficult to even get directions or help.. but then this we ran into this random lady who owns a store, and happens to own an appartment as well, and so she showed it to us and seriously, it was unreal, sooo nice and it was huge, and she gave us a really good deal. God definately worked out incredible details there! Anyway, the next day we jumped on a train, stopped in Pisa and saw the tower, took a lot of pictures, and jumped back on the train on the way to Florence, only we never made it to Florence, haha...we got on the wrong train, had a nice little detour, and came back and started all over. So it was pretty much a waste of a day, but it was funny. Finally we did maker here though, late at night, and of course everything is full again, so we wander around for forever with our packs and finally opt for another hotel, which is alright, but its not as easy to meet people, which is a little unfortunate. All that aside, Florence could possibly be my favorite city.. or one of, so far. Its hard to say cause every place is so different. Its really classy and full of art. And at nights theres concerts and live music..lots going on. Tomorro is the last day here, and on the 25th we go to Rome.. we hope.. this just gets funnier, because things never seem to work out for us...After a few times now of not booking places and not getting in anywhere, we decided to be smart and do it ahead. today we go to the train stat. to find that the day we booked our hostel for is the day that the trains go on strike! ..it seems we cant win. ha...who knows, one way or another...ok, i should get goin, i will try my best to get fotos on here soon!

Im writing in the colour of the ocean here!! ohh man :)

Happy Birthday DAD!! Hope you are having a Fabulous time being 46. haha, just thought Id tell you all to check out Starr and Stephs blog as well, cause I forgot to mention a lot about Nimes and everything else. There is way too much to mention really, so yeah, get it from a few different view points...tha'd be cool. taker easy!

NICE!

Whoa! Nice is a party!! We changed up the plans a little and went further on past Marseille to Nice, close to the Italian Riviera. We managed to come at the perfect time, cause its right in the middle of their 3 week long 'Carnival de Nice'. Let me tell ya, they do it up crazy here, night and day energy and lights, parades, music..right along the ocean. Its so great, its been rainy here, but still very warm and everyone carrys on like nothings coming down. haha..then we went down right out on the ocean, starr and I took off our shoes and stuff and went in, got a little more wet than we wanted, from a bigger wave, and everyone was laughing cause the water is super cold right now, and no one else was coming close to it. Steph was a little smarter maybe, she just took pics, but then we went out on this point of rocks that stuck way out, and Steph stood on the edge of it, and was lookin' out when this massive wave came out of no where and swallowed her up, hahaha, no, not quite, but she got pretty drenchd all over, and it was halarious. ok... ya im sure this doesnt sound near as funny on here as it does in my head right now, but we got video action of it, so you can all see that later! Anyway, so we're here for another couple days and then into Italy starting out in Pisa, and Im soooo excited for this...
Sry no pics, but we're lucky to even get a comp. here, or a hostel even for that matter! haha, Theres pretty much no hostels in France it seems. We were staying in a hotel the last couple days in Toulouse. I mean, its nice and all, but not so nice for the budget! haha. France is a little outrageous that way, I mean, I ran out of contact sol. the other day and went to pick some up, and well, its all $20-$30 CAD, for one little bottle!. its nuts, but its all good. We got a sweet place in Nice now, and we're having a ball. Hope you guys are all doin' well. I wish you could be here!!
xoxo

Ok..hmm, i just lost my write-up twice now for Barcelona and Andorra here, and im gonna snap.. its definately all the computers fault and I am very angry, and my pictures wont load either, Gah! So I'll try and catch up on this later. We leave for France tmro..rather excited i must say! xoxo

HEY!.. so we're hanging out in Madrid for a few extra days. The plan was to move along to Barcelona today and meet up with some buddies, but no big deal, its definately not a bad thing to be stuck with Brent and Elaine! haha..
I guess i haven't been out as much as Id like lately, but Ive had a lot of time to catch up on sleep and journals, emails... Yesterday I saw a doctor, actually he came TO our house here! Let me tell ya if theres a place to be sick, this is it! I guess I picked up some kind of viral infection along the way, and Im not supposed to be travelling around for at least 48 hours, its hasnt been overly pleasant or anything, but thats life, and Im still in europe :) If this clears up a bit more, then maybe we can get on our way earlier, who knows! Until then, I will continue to enjoy myself in good company!

Spain...

Spain has been pretty great I must say. There is beautiful mountain ranges everywhere, and its been quite warm, not quite like Portugal, but similar. It kind of reminds me of Colorado actually.. Anyway, the last few days we've seen so much. Elaine took us out to Sogovia and Pedraza yesterday. Theyre these little walled cities built up on a hill, about an hour and a halfish-out of Madrid. Really interesting as theres some roman ruins around up there and castels and things. Everything is sooo old! So much history in all these places. We went out for 'tapas' while we were there too.. thats just kind of like the spanish 'snack'. we all shared a baby lamb, which is one of their specialty dishes. It was interesting, reminds me a little of Pork only a more wild taste to it. We also tried Iberical Ham, and basically its a big pig leg. Another spanish favorite. These things are everywhere, and just hanging around in windows and restuarants. they have the whole hoof and hair on it still and theyre cured, so they last for years. Brent and Elaine have on here at their place, so they cut some off for us yesterday (note the pic), and its sort of like beef jerky, only ham. Not so appealing to have sitting around i think, but its not bad! These things are worth quite a bit too, for eaxmple Brent said he got it for a gift, but normally it would cost around $600... for one pig leg! haha.. i was amazed. Spains probably got the most different culture we've hit so far as far as foods and traditions and history. And their meals, so funny- Lunch at 2-3pm, dinner at 9-10 pm and then in the middle, they close down everything for a siesta. like their work, restaurants and stores..Restaurants wouldnt even open again till 8:30pm! Its weird to adjust to that. but its cool! I find myself eating a lot more than normal, since I get hungry at normal meal times, and then I eat again at theirs. haha..its great! Madrids been a lot of fun, its Spains capital, and biggest city. And to compare with Canada, Spain is bigger, ppl wise, than all of Canada combined and then some! Anyway, i gotta run for a while. We are heading out with Brent and Elaine tonight, and Im looking forward to it! They have been SO amazing, so much fun, and its SO nice to see Spain this way, because they know all the things to see and do around here, and they've given us a real taste of the culture, which we could have never got otherwise. Its so nice to not have to take all our little maps out with us and get lost for once. haha.. yeah its been a lot of fun!