Barcelonetta

Hey all,

So I am still in Barcelona and actually extended my time here an extra week. I was going to go to Portugual before I met up with Peggy but I really like it here and dont want to leave.

The other day my roomie and I made friends with these guys who have a boat. They told us they had seen dolphins and whales the other day so we went out with them at like 6am to try and see them too. We didnt get to see any though which was quite sad. However, since we had stayed up till 6 we got to see the sun rise which was very pretty. Also, just being on the boat was great for me. I really want to get a boat some day. The guys had a wake board so we tried that for a while. I never managed to get up but it did manage to make me really soar today.

Other than that not too much new stuff is going on. My spanish is getting quite a bit better. Still no where near being good.... but I understand what is going on for the most part. I still have trouble with speaking, but I have been having to practice quite a bit.

Miss everyone!

Amy

Barcelona

Hola amigos!

So since my last post was pretty short I wanted to update a bit more about Barcelona. I am sharing a room with a french girl who is super cute... the bubbly type. There are then two brazillian guys who are in the house, they are both really nice and are amazing cooks. They are even teaching me a few things. I am becoming quite domesticated while living here.... haha, who would have thought. The other girl is american and a very chill sort of person. She trys to help me with my spanish quite a bit and is good with making plans of place to go out.

When we go to the beach its to the same spot each day and there are always a group of guys down there that play music.... drums and guitar mostly. Its very relaxing though, sitting there and reading or practicing spanish with one of the regular guys that are down there.

Other than that I havent been doing a whole lot. Its been fairly hot where walking around the city gets annoying kinda quickly when I know I could be lying at the beach. Although, today was cloudy and a bit rainy so I did spend most of the afternoon exploring the city. I was in Barcelona a few years ago though so I feel like I have seen all of the main museums and sites of the city already. However, I would like to go to the Gaudi park... Parc Guelle (sp) one day. Also, there are supposed to be some prettier beaches just outside of barcelona that I was told I should check out.

For anyone that was waiting for a postcard, I have bought them, wrote on the back, and addresed them, I even bought stamps in amsterdam. ALthough, I still havent sent them.... yea I suck. I know where the post office is here though so I will go on Monday and mail them (maybe).

Ok, well I like hearing from everyone too.... I feel so cut off from people. I am having lots of fun traveling but I still want to know how everyone is doing. So feel free to send me a message or email letting me know what is up with you!

Amy

Germany and Spain

So I have been kinda slacking on updating this lately... what can i say Ive been keeping pretty busy.

After dresden I went to hannover where I met up with mandy and the amazing german friends!! I spent two weeks with them in Germany, Amsterdam and Ireland. It was really nice being in germany and having people there to help us order and show us where to go. And the trip in ireland with mandy was lots of fun. we rented a car and drove clear across the country in three and a half hours and half a tank of gas.

Now i am in barcelona renting a room in a house just ten minutes from the beach. There are four other people that live here with me and at times it reminds me of the mtv show real world. Its great though. I go to the beach pretty much every day. I have been practicing my spanish with guys i met on the beach and then every night in barcelona is saturday night so i go out with my house mates and explore the city by night! Overall this trip is amazing and i am in love with barcelona. I really think i may just move here....

Well im off to the beach!

Dresden, Germany

I have been in Dresden Germany the last couple of days. I hadnt really planned on coming to Dresden at the begining of the trip but it was between Prague and Hannover so I figured why not. Its a medium sized city I would say, overall pretty good though.

I went to this national park, at least i think it was... could have just been a forest marked on a map, and saw this giant rock fortress thing. It took me like an hour train ride to get there and I didnt really know which stop it was so I just got off the train when a bunch of people with back packs and walking sticks got off. Haha, turned out to be the right stop so that was good. Then I just walked between these little towns along the river, it was really pretty. Yesterday I rented a bike and rode a little out of Dresden to see some castles. When I went to rent the bike though the guy told me to test it out before I took it and I almost crashed into a tree when I very first got on, graceful I know. I hadnt rode a bike in a while and it took me a minute to remember how to balance. No worries though, I made it through the whole day with out hitting a single thing.

Tomorrow I am going to Hannover to meet up with Mandy and the Germans I know. The girl at my hostel showed me this website that is like organized hitchhiking. So I am splitting gas money with two other girls and riding with them tomorrow morning. Im kind of excited because I think most of the way there is on the autobahn (sp?) and I havent rode on that before. I hope the girl driving likes to go fast and if she had a cool car that would be nice too. :)

Italy and Prague

The last couple weeks have been pretty fun. I just ended up leaving Italy yesterday.... I miss it already!! I went to Rome again which was ok.... it really just made me miss traveling with Jane and Peggy though, we had such crazy times there. Then up to Florence for a few days. I actually liked Florence a fair bit, but the city didnt seem to have too much going on. After that though we went down to Atrani in the Amalfi coast. This city was beautiful!! Plus we ended up making friends with the two Luigis who ran a bar restaurant. They were really great guys and we made multiple other friends while hanging out there, including the Aussi girls who became our travel mates for a few days.

While hanging out at Luigis us and the Aussis met a couple living in London and vacationing in Italy for like 4 months. They rented this really cute little villa and had us all over for a dinner party the next night. It was amazing, one of the best meals from my trip. It was a very nice quaint little night. The following night we had our first going away party at the bar. This included liters of drinks, Aussi Amy working behind the bar and making me an Acid Amy drink, and a few other shennanigans. After a few days hiking and beach going we went up to Naples.

From there we took a day trip to Pompeii. Ancient Pompeii is really neat to see, and if there werent heaps of tour groups it would be a great place to wander around for a few days. Naples was ok... not one of my favorites though. Although, Luca, from Houston, did come meet up with me here and it was nice for him to show me around for the night.

Yesterday I got into Prague. So far I love it, its such a beautiful city. Although, czech is a ridiculous language to try and speak. I took a walking tour today and learned all about the history of Prague, which I think has made me appretiate the city more. Most of its buildings werent destroyed during WWII so the old buildings are neat to see. Plus it has great views that get even better at night. I would highly recommend it to everyone.

Milano and Torino, Italy

So I have been in Italy a little less than a week now. I spent the first few days in Milan, which turned out to be pretty nice. I didnt really have high expectations for Milan but I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. On my first afternoon there I was just wandering around looking for some place to grab a snack and stumbled into the city center. The Duomo church is the main site in this square and it is ridiculous. I think I read it is the 3rd largest church in the world, but it was more than that.... all of the details of it were so intricate and really just remarkable. I went inside which was very nice as well, but the outside of this church was just more eye catching than I think maybe any building Ive sen before (I cant upload pics now, but I will try to put one up soon). I ended up making a friend in Milan, Luca. I went out with him and some of his friends a couple of nights. One neat thing was the happy hours in northern Italy, you buy a drink but then you get a bufffet style meal too. But really good Italian food buffet. And of course I had to try some pizza. Some other sites I saw were a castel in Milan and the science museum which has some of Leonardo di Vincis things. Other than that it was a good city to just wander around in, window shop, and enjoy the warm weather in some pretty parks.

Friday I ended up taking a train to Torino, which is where the 2006 (I think) winter olympics were held. Today the weather is pretty crappy so I havent been doing much, but yesterday I did all the site seeing stuff. I went to the Royal Palace of Venaria in the morning, which the palace itself was ok... but nothing too exciting (I guess once you get used to the idea of there being palaces and castels all over the place). The gardens there were beautiful though and they looked to the Alps. Ive decided I really like mountains now. I think someday I will have to live between mountains and an ocean. In the afternoon we went and saw the sights of Torino, a castle here, a palace there, followed by a giant church over looking the city and cute little streets filled with delicious food and lots of shopping. In the evening I met some more Italians and we went to dinner and then to a bar. I really need to learn the language better although I am able to pick up a few sentences here and there most of the time I need someone to translate for me. So when I get back in the US I want to learn Italian a little better and maybe actually try to learn to cook. The food here is so great... it really puts my mac n cheese to shame. I think its making me grow up some as far as my appetitie is concerned.

Well tomorrow I am getting up early and taking a train down to Rome. So I would like to send some postcards to you guys back home but I dont know any addresses. If you would like one, leave your address on here or email me it.

Amy

Brussels

So I have been in Brussels over Easter weekend. The city is pretty touristy but not filled with lots of big sights to see. Its more like a relaxing city. I have spent time wandering through the streets and stopping in pubs with friends to try the belgium beers. Also, the chocolate is pretty good too...

I went out with some locals one night and we went to this chill little bar. It was very nice, just relaxing and then all of a sudden everyone starts pounding on the tables and the next thing I know the entire bar is climbing ontop of their tables and chairs dancing/ singing along with the music. This went on for the rest of the night until we left.

The next day I made a friend with another american from the hostel. He was pretty cool and it was nice to have someone to wander around and do the tourist thing with. The only downside of being here is since it was Easter weekend, and monday is a holiday day too, alot of things have been closed.

I am flying to Milan tomorrow and will then be in Italy for about the next 2-3 weeks. I will try to post again in a couple of days!!

Amy