The three hour tour! A Megans Perspective

The sun was shining on the little french towns as we drove happily to our next destination. Everything was fresh and clean and Perfect! .. A little too perfect. Where were all the people or the cars? Where was the suttle signs of life in these towns? Rain started falling heavily as we continued on through the villages and the farm lands. Massive grape vines hugged the earth leaving the scent of wine in the air. I looked down at the map for one single second when BAM WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!!! Standing on the side of these deserted roads was a child like black cut out figure with a broken heart. (Can you say freaky).
It took several minutes to shake that one off but when I did we finally came across a 4 star camping resort. Ok so the camping didnt quite work out, theres something about a old abandoned mannor house with a few campers that didnt sit right with us. Needless to say we kept driving.
Its around sixish now, nothing has come up sept a few more cut outs of the black figure with the broken heart but it doesnt faze us any longer. By this time we are so tired we just want to find a hotel.
Comming to another village we finally see signs about 15 minutes away from a nice cheap hotel, are hearts skip for the first time and we get large smiles on our faces. Nothing now could spoil our moods, or so i thought, what pops out of the bushes yet again? Its not the man with the broken heart, no, its the man with a big read crack down his head!!! I mean COME ON!! This time these figures were paired with two or three of their kinds, the door locks and we keep driving to our location.
Well folks theres nothing a hot shower and a good meal can't fix. With a roof over our heads we set out to the old fashion Texes grill for dinner! YEE HA, they brought us a wonderful salad that was free, endless rolls, I hadnt eaten that well for over a month. We both decide on the big thick bison burger and fries, mainly because we couldnt read the menue and lets face it we are not rich.
Mouths watering the lady brings them up, it smells wonderful, she places it infront of me. My mouth must of twisted in such horror that Phil couldnt contain his laughter. THATS NOT KETCHUP I TOLD HIM ITS BLOOD! I stuck my fork into the burger and warm liquidy blood came oozing out. I was so disgusted I had to send it back to get cooked for a second time. Phils burger was the same. Although our buns were drenched in a pint of blood Phil bravely shut his eyes and backed the creature down. It was the worse experence I had ever had at a sit down resteraunt.
Well the next day we finally made it to Paris! But yea thats another story!

Where can a 4 day drive get you from Rome

Paris.....yes thats right 4 long days. That is because the highways are quite expensive and plus you see more on the back roads. Up and down mountians that twist and turn it takes a lot of time but is also some the best driving I have got to do. From leaving Rome we made it through Cinque Terre and past but not quite to Genova on the coast. The campsite was 31 euros.....ouch....and wasn't great except for the crazy lady that owned it. She kept coming over and asking us to do strange things like move our car closer to the tent. Well it was only about 6 feet away and we were the only people in the camping field. I said I would and then just never did. She also came by and asked us to put some of the trash outside the campsite in the garbage bin outside. Then another couple came and they got in trouble for having a big tent. Quite amusing to watch.

Anyways the next day we made it to France.....so nice to get a country where I can understand 10% of what they are saying. We did a driving tour through Monaco heading down to the rich part and seeing Ferrari's, Bentley's, and Aston Martins. Our little Ford Fiesta looked good next to them all. After that we drove to the village of Eze and then down to Nice for a while and finally stopping on the west side of Nice to camp and swim in the sea again. We are going to be coming back to France to do it in more detail but we are getting low on money and very tired. Its being almost 2 months since we left England and we have seen a lot.

By the third day of driving we stopped in a hotel in a place called Moulin. Yes it was a cheap one. 35 euros had finally had a shower. (it had been a few days......a by few I am being generous).

Well the 4th day we made it to Paris. We got there around 4 and then set up camp and headed into the city to see Paris by night. We took a long walk along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower and went up just as it was getting dark. It was great since we got to see it during the day and at night for the same price.....Budget travellers strike again. After that it was getting late and we headed back to the campsite.

The 2nd day in the city we went to the Arc de Triumph and walked down Champs Elysees and ate at the fanciest Mcdonalds I have ever seen. Still the same great low price we expected though. Continuing down the street we got the louvre and found it was closed on tuesdays.....forgot to check the book we have. oh well. Instead we got a 2 day bus hop on hop off tour and did the main 2 hour trip round the city. Saw the milatary training camp where Napolean Boneapart trained, Notre Dame, all the sites we had seen on foot. Then getting on a different tour (same ticket) we went down another shopping district and to the Moulin Rouge. It was a fun but long day and we headed back to the camp site, but not before stopping in at the hard rock to get another shot glass for my collection. Its up to 8 on this trip along now. Somewhere around 20 I think in total.

Today we started with a little shopping but it was pretty unsucessful. Everything here is really expensive so christmas presents are going to have to wait. We then headed to the Louvre to see the mona lisa, the venus de milo, and countless other paintings and statues. That was followed by going inside Notre Dame, and then doing yet another section of a the tour....once again same ticet. Last but not least we stopped off at the church St. Sulpice to see the rose line and see the square in front. I will post photos later for all you people who have read the Da Vinci Code.

We tried to make it up to Sacre Coeur but the bus was a little late and we figured at 6:15 it was probably closed so we are saving it for our next trip to Paris when somebody decides to come and visit us. Anyone....????

Well that brings us up to date besides some photos which unfortuantley will have to wait since I didn't bring my camera cable in today. We should be back in England in a few days so I will post some them, and a lot more from our travels so far. Talk to you all soon.

Amalfi, Positano,and Sorrento, and Pompeii

Well the last 5 days have been great. We relaxed, drove along the coast to the small towns on the amalfi coast, and snorkeled in a secluded bay. The drive was long but we found our campsite in a place called marina del cantone with somewhat ease. We set up camp and then had well deserved beer at the bar. The next day we read, played cards, and soaked in the sun all day. It was funny because after what we have been doing we found just laying around quite boring. So the 2nd day we went for a drive to Positano and Amalfi for the day enjoying the driving (the craziest driving I have ever seen) and the views of coast that reminded me somewhat of hawaii. We were going to leave that day to go to Sorrento (about 30min away over the mountain) but we saw a snorkeling trip for a cheap price on tueseday so we decided to wait and do that. It was well worth it as well. We got to this little secluded bay by boat and started our snorkeling right away. Before we knew it we were in 25ft deep water and our guide was diving to the bottom and pulling up starfish. We got to touch a pretty big bright red one. We also saw a few schools of fish and a plastic bag that looked like a jelly fish at first but that was about it. The even included drinks and 2 giant rolls.

After the dive we headed to sorrento for one night walking around in the city and taking photos of the bay of naples and the city of naples itself. (decided to skip naples after hearing some stories about it). We also got some good photos of mount Vesuvius.

The next day we headed towards pompeii to find out that is was 10 euros each to get in. Well Megan and I am not extremley hurting for money but we do have to watch where we spend it. Luckily there gave us a half price discount with our British Passports. So that made up our minds and we spent the next 2 hours walking around the ruins of pompeii which was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. I have attached some photos for your viewing pleasure.








Following Pompeii we drove back to Rome so we could finally see the sistine chapel having missed it again last saturday due to a huge and I mean huge lineup. Today was no better and it was packed. After about an hour or so we finially got to the chapel and it also was packed with a ton of people. the paintings though are amazing. I can't even descirbe it. You will just have to see it for yourself.

Rome (Day 1)

Well there is no way to see everything in Rome in one day. It was been a long day of about 10 hours or walking and site seeing and still there are things on our list. We will be coming back into the city tomorrow. We made an early start into the city and made our way straight to the Vatican via a castle called Castel S'Angelo which is really close to the Vatican. We made our way down the road Via Della Conciliazione leaving italy and going into the smallest country in the world. Vatican city, passing the Canadian Embassy on the way. The walk into St. Peters Square was amasing. It was a great site walking into it and seeing the dome of the Vatican above us. The only problem was all the people. Everywhere you looked there were a ton of people but I guess that was to be expected. Heading through the huge line, through the metal dectectors and security we were finally inside. It is a trurly breathtaking site to be inside the Vatican and to be looking at the high alter. We spent a good hour inside and another half hour in the treasury.

Well once we were done we headed to see the Sistine chapel and the Vatican Muesuem but it was going to take us a long time to get around so we decided to save it for tomorrow and go and get something to eat since we were starving. A much needed real meal at the hardrock cafe was had stopping at the pantheon and Piazza Navona on the way. After that we took a long walk down the main shopping streets on our way to tghe Collisium. We also stopped at Foro Romano and musei capitolini. This may not sound like a lot but we walked the whole thing before walking all the way back up to Vatican to catch our train back to the campsite.

One of the greatest things about Rome is that every turn there is either a monument, a fountian, or a amazing building with tons of carvings on it. Rome has got to be one of our favorite cities we have been to so far. Tomorrow we plan on seeing the Pantheon again in more detail,the fountain Trevi, and Isola Tibernia as well as some other churches and monumnents. Oh yes and the Sistine Chapel is first on our list.

Attached is also some photos taken today. I will try and post a lot more once I get a chance.

Enjoy!!

Eh The Leaning Tower of Pizza (Megans perspective)

Well not quite pizza however just as appitizing to the eye. With the massive marble buildings surrounding the tower. Pisa stands forever slanted to the right side almost falling directly over the museum.

It definatly was worth the drive to this small shady town, To our amasemet Phil and I even ate proper Pisa street meat.. thats right, one hot dog cut down the center smothered in ketchup layed on a nice pinini bun. What more can you ask for. No sooner downing the dogs of all dogs we were truly now living it up, Feeling energetic we decided to grab some tickets and head up this slanted tower. 15 euros later we were definatly not up it. Are you mad people, we may be euro kids but we are definatly not stupid tourists willing to pay those prices to get a view of the famous Pisa! Walking through the markets surrounding the out side of the square horse and buggies trotted up and down the street. Police men wearing there pointy hats moved people off the grass, as who but a Canadian couple from Toronto no doubt ignored the piercing whistles and embarrassed themselves immensly as they were pushed off the grass. And no it wasnt us, a funny site to see though

Well Phil has just informed me he had wrote a blog about this already so take care and have fun,

Yours
The Euro kids

Pisa and Siena

Well we spent on night a Pisa and luckily found this campsite without to much of a problem. The drive from Florance was really quick so we set up camp and walked the 800m to the tower. There is a crazy market place along the stip that has the cathedral and the tower which is encircled by a large wall. The market sells just about everything. I even got some fake oakleys for 5 euro. Well the tower itself was really impressive and it really does look like it is about to fall down. We wanted to go up it but the price was crazy. 15 euros per person and lets face it, the view over the rest of the town of Pisa is not one I care to see.

We spent about 2 hours walking around the grounds, snapping photos, and easting some cheap hot dogs from a street vendor. With that we headed back the campsite for a nice swim in the pool (where I had to buy a swimming cap) and read for the rest of the afternoon.

Today we drove the long way through a town called Volterra on our way to Siena. We came into the town about 2:00pm and went to see the mumified head at the church San Domenico. Its encased in a glass shrine but you can still see some of the teeth. Really strange. Once again though no photos were allowed. After that we headed to the Duomo which from the outside is really quite spectacular. We paid 3 euro to get in and were we unaware that it was just babtistry since it was all under scalfolding and was under an extensive renovation. When we tried to get into the actually church there was a huge line up and they wanted another 6 euro each plus another 6 euro each to get into the crypt. Can't pay to go in everything. We headed over to the main town sqaure called Plaza Campo. It was filled with restaurants around the outside and a lot of touristy stores. Well that should bring the trip mostly up to date. Tomorrow we are heading to Rome for 3 nights and then off to the Amalfi coast for some R and R.

Florance round 1

Well I just wrote a blog about florance but I have also just drank a bottle of red wine at dinner. The spelling mistakes and grammer are horrendous so I have decided to hold back on the post for now. I will post it later so you can enjoy. It will include Michaelango's David and the cathedral among other things. Hope that is good enough for now.

Cheers

Phil

Florance (the edited version)

Its 10:10 and a litre of wine later at the moment in Florance. The city itself was amasing. We spent a full day walking the streets visiting not only the touristy sites but also the local streets and really taking in the city. Our first stop was this old fort at the north of the city which was nothing like any of the castles I have seen so far. From there we had only been in the city for 30min when I was giving some Americans directions. Its funny how many people are English speaking in Italy. Americans and Austrailians seem to be everywhere. Following that we went to the museuam that has the statue of Michalangelo's David. Well it is far more impressive in person than any of the photos. It must be about 18 or so ft. tall and the detail is amasing. The hands and the veins are so impressive since it was sculptued 501 years ago. It was truly a sight worth seeing. Unfortunaley there was no photos allowed and guards were watching all the time. Still we got a postcard but it doesn't do it justice. After that we went to the cathedral which was really a great site since it is unlike any other exterior I have ever seen on a cathedral. The inside seems really empty though. After that we had to try some Geloto according to Megan. It was damn good although we had to share it because of the price.

Then we did a little more sight seeing looking at the oldest bridge in Florance, a palace, and a sketchy market which was probably best left to the locals. Another hour was then spent looking for out bus stop and then we had some cheap wine and pizza back at the campsite. Megan however does not enjoy red wine so it was up to me to drink the whole bottle. That would bring us up to the present time where I have drank a bottle of wine and I am waiting for her to finish with the phone.

Cheers

In a downpour will the streets of Venice flood???

Well the answer is yes. It absolutley poured down on us there. The morning however was really nice. We got really lost at first. We had walked all the way across the downtown core without knowing it. There are no cars on the small streets and all transportation is on the canals (around 180 of them) and of course walking on the 415 or so bridges. We found a lot of the sites we wanted to see in the morning such as the oldest church in Venice and a few statues that we accidently came accross. Then it started to pour with rain. At first we hid in a cafe eating a cheap slice of pizza and then just decided to get wet. Well it just would not let up so we bought 2 unbrellas and walked around in the rain until we came across san marco square. And it was flooded. I mean water up to Megans knees flooded. We splashed and ran around in the puddles though and people just stood and stared at us from under the canopys. We did manage to get some great video though of Megan dancing in the rain and my feet under water. Even all the stores were flooded inside. Finally the rain stopped and then everyone else came out to play and take photos in the puddles. We went stragiht the cathedral of San Marco which was also flooded out so they put up bridges over the 8 inches of water for tourists to walk across to get in. We walked around for another hour or so after that in the puddles and streets until we decided to take the ferry back to our campsite.

Had yet another great meal of cheeze toasties (grilled cheeze) for dinner and went down to the bar where we played cards with a American from California and 2 germans from Dussledorf near Koln. The American tought us a game called slam which was basically just snap which I played when I was 3 but a few beers later the game was actually a lot of fun. That and the germans kept losing. Then we tought them a game we learned in Scotland called shithead and the kept losing at that as well. It was a great night at the fusina bar.

This morning we got up and drove to Ravenna which was a bit of a dive so we kept on going and then on to Bolonga which was also a dive but with crazy drivers. We narrowly missed getting in a accident when a guy decided he wanted to to get off the roundabout from the inside lane and just cut right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes hard and swerved a little and missed him by inches. Also mopeds run red lights and drive on either side of the car when there is no lane. A 2 lane road just means there is enough for 3 lanes....I kid you not.

Anyways we got to Florance and could not for the life of us find the campsite. Either one of two would have been great. After about an hour for driving around the subburbs to Florance (which are dirty and crappy) we decide to get on the highway for teh first time and just pay the tolls. WE drove for about 10min and I caught a glimpse of the campsite and luckily enough found it no problem after. And that is wehre we are right now and off to Florance tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow will be another great adventure. It always is.

Austria and the 11 hour drive to Venice

Hello once again. We are currently in Venice in a small internet cafe completley lost in the maze on allyways and canals. But it is nice not to have to drive today. Let me start from the begining. On tuesday we left Curtis and Anna in Regensburg and drove to Salzburg Austria which was about 2 and half hours. We pitched our tent and headed straight into the town centre by bus. Salzburg is a great Austrian town. Its population is about 150,000 but you wouldn't guess it from the size of the downtown core. Its small but beautiful. It also has one of the most beautiful church interiors I have ever seen. Its worth looking into St. Ruperts for photos. Some the the interior walls have balconys making it look like its really an exterior wall and it is covered with paintigns everywhere. Salzburg is also famous for the sonud of music which was filmed all around there. We went to the Palace gardens where all the garden scenes where filmed. Salzburg is more famous for being the city Mozart was born in even though he appently couldn't wait to leave.

The following we day we packed up and drove 30min to Wolfgangsee which is a lake surrounded by the Austrian Alps. Don't worry we took tons of photos. We swam in the fresh water. Swam really far out to a diving platform only to find out it was privalty owned so we rested and swam back. Then sat on the bank of the lake and read for a few hours before getting the car and heading to the town to St. Wolfgang for 3 hours. Did the sightseeing, relaxed on the waterfront, and then played a 2 euro 18 hole mini putt. It was a close game all the way until the last hole where megan cheated and one by one stroke. I noticed this however and then changed it so we tied. Girls....can't trust them for anything.... After that we returned to the campsite, swam again, and then relaxed and fell asleep.

The following day we decided not to that the highway because it cost 12 euros in Austria and a ton in Italy. We drove for 11 hours, 5 of them through the alps in Austria. Up and down up and down. The roads curved like crazy as well so it was really a fun drive with all the motocycle gangs.

We got to Venice drove the wrong way and crossed the bridge to Venice. We turned around and then found the campsite was really well posted so we followed the signs and got there in the dark at 8:30 and just crashed. I guess that finally brings us up to date as this morning we took the ferry over to Venice and now I must go and enjoy the city. Take care.

At last some photos

Hello everyone we have at last taken some time to post some photo's. I have't decided which photo posting service I want to use plus I don't have the time to upload over 2 gigs of photos at the moment. That will have to wait until we return to Canada but for now I hope you enjoy these select few because it was hard to choose out of the 1500 or so photos that we have taken.


Yes there really is a memorial to our first Prime Minister in Rogart Scotland


The Scotish Highlands in all their Glory


Looking up at Edinburgh Castle from Princess Street

Loch Ness, Scotland

Loch Leven, Scotland


Scara Brae, Orkney Islands


A coffee shop in Amsterdam


Cathedral in Amsterdam


Riots in Edinbugh during the G8 Protests


Brugge, Belgium. Probably Megans and my favorite city we have been to so far.


The white cliffs of Dover


The back of Cologne Cathedral. I couldn't get a photo of the whole church because of its size


Berlin Wall


One of the Museums on museum island in Berlin


Looking up at Prague Castle and the Cathedral St. Vitis


Charles Bridge in Prague is the most famous of the 16 bridges crossing the Vltava


Walhalla just outside of Regensburg Germany


Me and Megan in Prague

A quick Update

Hello everyone

We are still currently in Regensburg Germany taking it easy this week going out for small day trips and night trips to a few bars and fairs. Tomorrow will consist mostly of finishing up our plans for Italy. On saturday Curt, Megan, and me are heading to Munich for 2 days by train and taking the city tour and making a stop off at a few Beer Gardens along the way. Monday we are going to be organizing our car and packing everything into it. Then on tues morning we are off to Salzburg Austria for a night or 2. Then we begin our tour of Italy. Our first stop is going to be Venice followed by Bolonga, Florance, Pisa, Siena, Perguia, Asissi, Gubbio, Spoleto, Rome, Naples, Sorento, and Pompei (not sure if I spelled those correctly since I don't have the list with me). After that we are considering taking the ferry to Sicilly for a few days and then depending on the price taking the ferry to the top of Italy to save us the drive.

So that is our plans for the next few weeks and then we are unsure if we are just going to go from there to the south of France and go to Monaco and Nice or head back to Regensburg in time to partake in the Octoberfest festivities.

Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to your emails and posts. Cheers