Prague, Czech Republic

I took an overnight train from Venice to Prague. It was only 70 Euro and I was in a 4 bed sleeper with a family that I believe was German. The daughter was around my age and had a bunch of piercings and hair dyed reddish purple. When I took off my jacket and she saw my tattoos she seemed suddenly interested in me and helped me figure out the lights. I don´t think any of them spoke any English though. The train was fine, I slept well, except that early in the morning they woke us to get off, get on a bus and drive into the Czech Republic from Austria. They said it was because they were crossing borders that this had to be done but I´ve now taken 5 overnight trains and that was the only one where we had to disembark and take a bus.

After a little confusion I reached my hostel in Prague. It was a bit far from the city but it was incredibly relaxed and nice. One of my favorite my whole trip, actually. It was called Sant Jordi Hostel. Check it out if you ever go to Prague. The first day I used the free internet for awhile and then walked into the city and randomly found myself in front of the astronomical clock just as it was about to start. It was a little anticlimactic but whatever. Then I found a grocery store and bought some soy milk and cookie crisp cereal, gnocchi, pasta sauce, and broccoli. When I was leaving I noticed a little stand just outside selling these sweet pretzel like rolls. There had been a huge crowd when I entered the grocery store so I bought one upon exiting and it was hot and delicious. I made the trek back to the hostel with my goods and cooked a scrumptious dinner that I couldn´t finish and passed out.

The next morning I woke to find a drizzling Prague outside my window. Since I was alone (first part of the trip alone besides Lucerne!) and could make these sorts of decisions, I had a museum day. When I was on the internet after eating my soy milk and cookie crisp, I looked up and noticed this giant poster of a drawing of a woman. It was beautiful. The signature in the corner said ¨Mucha¨. My guide book had said something about a Mucha museum and at that moment I knew I would be visiting said museum. It happened to be the closest to the hostel so that was my first stop on my impromtu museum day. I had never heard of Alfonso Mucha until that day but now I think he is my favorite artist, graphic artist at least. His drawings are swirly and intricate and beautiful. Check this out.



The museum was really amazing. There was a little film about how Mucha (pronounced ¨Mooker¨) was born in then Czechoslovakia and by chance became famous because he was working in a print shop on Christmas Eve when all the real artists were at home and the famous actress Sarah Bernheardt came to the shop demanding a poster quickly. They gave him the job and he produced and long thin beautiful poster for her and was immediately signed to do all her posters afterwards. He moved to Paris and became very famous but he always felt guilty about his wealth knowing his Slavic people were still not independent. So he travelled to the states to make money so he could return to his homeland and devote his talents to helping his people become free. He made a whole Slavic epic series of huge paintings with really Slavic looking girls and Slavic symbols. Those are not in the museum because they are huge but the film showed them. When Czechoslovakia finally gained independence Mucha designed their postal stamps and all the money. He did everything. I bought a shitload of postcards and bookmarks at the shop. I think I might get one of his flower designs or something of his for my next tattoo.

Next up was the nerby Museum of Communism. It was a little hecticly laid out but I enjoyed it. There was some film footage of the protests in Wenceslas Square against communist occupation that were just brutal. To think that it was all happening in 1989, when I was alive, blows my mind. It was just kids trying to voice their opinions peacefully and they just got beat to hell. I had to look away several times as I couldn´t help but tear up at the police brutality. Revolution sounds so cool but the reality is bloody and not pretty.

I was getting hungry at this point to I headed to one of the veggie restaurants happycow.net and Julie recommended. I was practically jumping out of my seat I was so giddy to be in Prague seeing awesome museums and eating at cute vegan restaurants. The meal was really good (read the review next). Afterwards I crossed the street to Charles Bridge. Since it was sort of rainy out there weren´t a whole lot of people on it, which was really nice. I wandered across to the castle side and took a small side street to the Franz Kafka Museum. I haven´t read a whole lot of Kafka but as he´s a really influencial classic writer I felt I should go to the museum. It was a bit confusing but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The low point was in the mirrow hallway where a school group of german 15 year olds were camped out. I could hear one boy saying ¨sex¨and ¨pussy¨over and over again. He had probably just learned them in English and he was, you know, a 15 year old boy. Anyway, I avoided that hall.

Finally I walked to Wenceslas Square to see the memorial for the two young students who lit themselves on fire in protest of the communists occupation in 1969. Then I came back to the hostel and showered, ate lunch leftovers, read and wrote until I passed out. It was so nice to do whatever I wanted!

My second day I set aside to do Prague Castle, which is the largest castle in the world. I shelled out 40 bucks for the extended ticket and audio guide so I could see everything. First I went to St. Vitus Cathedral which had huge beautiful stained glass windows (including an amazing one done by Mucha) and a million chapels. The tombs were closed as was the option of climbing the tower. I walked around and saw some more but about a third of the things I wanted to see were closed. I wish they´d tell you that when you buy the more expensive ticket just so you can see those things. It was cold and windy at the castle and I was just so fed up with everything being closed that I left and walked back to the hostel. Ok well not before I ate at the same veggie restaurant as the day before. On the walk back I stopped and bought 3 different kinds of Czech beer to try. People in the hostel living room were watching Little Miss Sunshine so I drank my beers and watched with them. Then I wandered into the kitchen and talked to some people about where I should stay in Krakow and what to do in Turkey. When I finally got back to my room there were two new Australian girls so I stayed up with the two Canadians talking to them for awhile.

The next morning I finished up my soy milk and cookie crisp and headed out to Dresden.

Venice and I are not friends

In Venice I could not find a bed to sleep in so I opted for 8 hours there and then an overnight train to Prague. On the train from Florence I could see that it was raining in Venice. Undeterred, I marched headlong into the storm with flip flips on because the Florence storm had taken out my chucks already. I got to Saint Mark's Square after huddling under various souvenir shop canopies until the owners kicked me out. By the time I finally arrived I was cold, wet, tired, uncomfortable, hungry, and my feet ached. I walked around the square, took some grey pictures, got lost in the little streets continuously crossing this or that canal, ate some overpriced Chinese food sitting in my soaked pants, bought gifts for Jacki and Remy, and then walked back to the train station. I still had 4 hours until my overnight train. It had basically stopped raining at this point but I was so miserable that it was too late. I paid a Euro to go to the bathroom and change into dry clothes and then sat in the train station, reading and sleeping.

Venice was what I expected it to be: rainy.

Il Vegetariano Veg Restaurant Review - Florence, Italy

Back to Florence. It wasnt hard to convince Julie (also a vegetarian) to check out Il Vegetariano. We got there right when they opened. The interior is really rustic and cute. Theres a dining room when you walk in and stairs to the left which lead down into another dining room, the kitchen, and a further dining room. The staff didnt speak much English but there was one woman there who translated the menu for us. The place was full of locals so Im not sure she even worked there. You order with the cashier and then wait at the counter for your food to come up. I think youre supposed to give them your ticket as well. The menu is a little small, with the vegan items marked. Dishes include pasta, couscous, eggplant, salads, soups, and lots of desserts. Free whole wheat bread comes with the meal. Julie had pasta with mushrooms, which was good. It had a nice flavor and at first I was a little jealous that I hadnt picked it as well. I had the seitan wih green beans which came with rice and salad. The flavor was very rich and the seitan had a good consistency, not too chewy. The portion was quite large. I want to try the desserts next time but I was too full.

I forgot Pisa!

Im so far behind! Anyway, I forgot that before arriving in Florence Julie and I made a quick stop in Pisa to see the infamous leaning tower. Thanks to Rick Steves we were able to find the right bus and head to the area where not only the tower is located but the baptistry and cathedral as well. There were gobs of tourists and people selling souveniers but the buildings were cool to see in person. Julie pointed out that the buildings sort of go in life order- you are born and baptised in the baptistry, get married in the cathedral, hopefully live a long life full of twists and turns (ok so I dont remember how the tower fit in), and then are buried in the cemetary behind the tower. Something like that. We took the obligatory photos holding the tower up and got the only photo of the two of us together taken. Then we ate some shitty lunch by the train station and headed on to Florence.

PS Right now Im in Lagos, Portugal. The people at the hostel are being really nice to me because theyŕe from Boston and one kid working here is actually on co-op from Northeastern. I cant imagine getting school credit AND paid for working at a hostel in Portugal called The Rising Cock. Amazing.

Florence, Italy

My original plan when I left Geneva to meet Julie in Italy was to try to convince her to join me in Venice after Cinque Terre. However, this was not to be. Julie had already been to Venice and wanted to check out Florence and Rome before heading to Greece for the last leg of her trip. Plus, I could not find anywhere to stay in Venice. Instead I took Julie's invitation to go to Florence with her, despite having already been there once with my mom when we were visiting my sister in Rome.

We took a short train to Florence and after a little confusion found our hostel. It was one of the stranger hostels I've stayed in as it had free internet and breakfast. That is not why it was strange though. The free internet meant there were about 8 computers in the lobby as well as a computer with internet in every room! That is very strange, and awesome, for a hostel. As for the breakfast, there were literally 10 choices for the free breakfast. Usually "free breakfast" in a European hostel means there is shitty coffee and some bread with nutella if you're lucky. This hostel's free breakfast was a choice of cereal or croissant or toast or eggs or an omlette or something else. It was pretty cool but all I could really get was the toast. There was a little buffet of fruit salad and other things I could eat so that was cool. Ok, enough about free breakfast.

Our first night in Florence we went to check out one of the veggie restaurants I had looked up on happycow.net (ps happycow I love you). We got there about half an hour before it opened so we wandered around for a bit and happened upon the back of the Duomo. We then bought some water and wine at a grocery store and headed back for a hearty vegan meal. I'll write up my review of the restaurant after this post. We were pretty tired that night so we both used the internet instead of going out. I tried to find somewhere to stay in Venice or a different place to travel to, with no luck. Finally I let Julie use the computer and took a shower. I was feeling really frustrated and freaked out but then I had an ephipany. I could go wherever I wanted. I had no plans at all, no deadline to be back at work, nothing. I felt much better when I realized this and was able to drift off to sleep easily that night.

The next day we headed to the train station to buy tickets to our next destinations. Earlier in the morning I was able to find an overnight train for Prague leaving from Venice. I bought a ticket for Venice early in the morning and a place on the overnight train for that night so I'd have 8 hours in Venice and be able to see it afterall. Julie was headed to Rome. Once we had our tickets in hand we had the whole day to explore. We started off walking across Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge that crosses the Arno River and was the only bridge in Florence to survive the second World War. I'd read that it used to be lined with butcher shops but the Medici family changed them all to silver shops. It's now lined with jewelry stores. There were tons of people on the bridge but Julie and I had a good time picking out the most obnoxious pieces in each store window. Next we headed to the Uffizi gallery to see if there was any possibility of getting in. As I mentioned earlier, I'd been to Florence for the day before with my mother. We had climbed the Duomo, seen David, and crossed the Ponte Vecchio. Basically, we'd seen everything I was interested in seeing except the Uffizi gallery as it is known for having all day lines. I think Julie wanted to go so that I'd see something new on this trip. As expected, the line was a couple hours wait at least so we instead checked out the living statues outside and then started towards the Santa Croce. We got hungry on the way so we stopped for lunch at a place on a backstreet that Julie's brother had recommended. We're not sure if it was actually the place he suggested but it was good nonetheless. We did find the gelato place next door that he definately recommended and tried their wares (I had the sorbet flavor of cantelope. It tasted eerily like the actual fruit).

Finally we got to Santa Croce, the church that houses the monumental tombs to most of the famous Floritians. Inside we found the tombs of Dante, Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machievelli among others. I also realized once inside that I had been there before with my mother. Oh well. We looked around the leather workshop in the back and watched a man branding a complicated pattern into a piece of leather. It looked cool but it was creepy to be around so much dead animal skin. Not my thing. After the Santa Croce we headed the the Duomo. We discussed how the front and bell tower of the Santa Maria del Fiore, the big church at the center of Florence's Old Town, looks like a wedding cake due to all the pastels and decorations. Then we studied the famous Baptistry doors just opposite, though we read they are not the originals. I told Julie that climbing to the inside top of the Duomo was really great and she should do it but since my legs were still sore from Cinque Terre I'd sit on the church steps and write postcards. I had a postcard of David's junk that I was eager to write out to Bonnie. So we parted with plans to meet in the square in 2 hours. I sat on the steps and listened to some dude try unsuccessfully to pick up the girl from Hungary that was sitting next to me before it started to rain. At first it was just little drops. I walked behind the Baptistry and sat on a bench and then it started to really come down. In the row of shops just behind me there was a deep archway that people were huddling in so I joined them. Soon it was pouring. I think I stayed in the archway for maybe an hour. The rain would let up a little and some people would leave the shelter and then it'd come down hard again and new people would join. I realized I'd have to make a run for it or I'd never leave so I waited for it to let up a bit and then ran. I had a rain jacket but it didn't cover my backpack so I had to wear it over the backpack which meant I couldn't zip it in the front, which meant the front of my shirt got wet. It started pouring hard again while I tried to figure out how to get back to the hostel and I was completely soaked within 10 minutes. I had my chucks on which have holes in them everywhere so my feet were cold and wet as well. When I finally found the street where the hostel was located the rain had slowed to a drizzle. I got inside and stripped everything wet off but I knew none of it would dry before the next day. My shoes were the most troublesome as they were really the only ones I had.

Julie returned about an hour later, pretty dry, saying she couldn't find me anywhere. We bought oranges and cookies from the front desk and sat in the cafeteria area eating them as well as leftover chips and wine for dinner. Soon we were joined by a very annoying young man from New York who told us multiple times he'd just taken the bar exam and could tell by my accent that I was from the Northeast. As flattering as that was, I lived in Boston for the past 7 years which makes me hardly from the Northeast and definately does not effect my accent. He tried to convince us to go out with him that night but we were not having it. Finally he found some Australians who were also going out and abandoned us, thankfully. There was one Kiwi in the crowd who, when hearing where she was from, the soon to be lawyer asked, "Hey, have you ever heard of Flight of the Concords?" The Kiwi girl answered, "No!" so sarcastically everyone understood but our New York friend who then launched into an explanation of the show. I'm sure they all had lots of fun together out on the town in Florence. Julie and I instead used the internet some more and went to bed on our last night in Europe together.

Coming up: Venice, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, Krakow, Budapest, Munich (Oktoberfest!), and more Geneva. If anyone is reading this let me know, ok? I'm really behind and I need to know if it's worthwhile to play so much catch up.

Cinque Terre, Italy

I left Geneva on a train to Genoa, Italy. At about 11:50 that night I met my friend Julie in the Genoa train station coming from southern Italy. I met Julie in Sydney in 2004 when we were studying abroad. I've seen her once since then, Boston 2005, so it's been awhile. I was excited to finally see her again and have a travel partner. We stayed overnight in a somewhat shady hotel by the train station. It wasn't that shady though, because we passed the night without interuption dispite discovering the next morning that we left the keys in the outside lock.

The next morning we caught the train to Cinque Terre and decided to get off at the fourth town, Vernazza. Right off the train we found a small apartment to stay in for the night for our desired price, grabbed a slice of pizza each (I scrapped the cheese off mine), bought Cinque Terre cards at the train station so we could hike the trails, and walked around. Cinque Terre is an area of 5 small towns just south of Genoa on the northwestern Italian coast. I've wanted to go for awhile after hearing that the coastal hike between all the towns is stunning. We found that each town has it's own personality as well. Only locals are allowed to have cars in the towns to tourists are forced to walk between each. The hikes range from difficult to paved and easy and take anywhere from 15 minutes to 90 minutes between two towns.

Since we arrived in Vernazza at around 1 in the afternoon we decided to hike to the fifth town, Monterosso. We read in Julie's Rick Steve's book that Monterosso was the most yuppy touristy because it has the nicest beach. The hike turned out to take us more than 90 minutes because it was pretty difficult. Lots of steps and steep up and down climbs. We passed lots of English speaking tourists who seemed to find the hike challenging as well. It was really sunny and hot so the views of Vernazza as we left and Monterosso as we approached were truly amazing.

Here's an internet image of Vernazza since I haven't uploaded my pictures yet. You get the idea.



And Monterosso...



We were exhausted when we arrived in Monterosso but also seriously psyched about the swimming. The hike was all along the coast so we could see the wonderfully blue water tempting us the whole time. After paying a euro each to use the public bathrooms at the beach to change into our swimsuits, we found a spot on the small public beach (most of it is private and must be paid for), set down our bags and waded into the water. It was probably pretty cool by normal standards but we were so hot and exhuasted that it felt incredibly refreshing. We swam for awhile, bought some gelato, and headed back onto the trail. It was close to dusk so we knew we had to hurry. The walk back was equally tough but worth it for the views of Vernazza and the water. When we got back to our little apartment we took turns showering and then headed out onto the town to eat some Italian food. The area is known for Pesto as it was aparently created in nearby Genoa so Julie ordered that while I had pasta with a simple tomato sauce. We picked sort of a crappy restaurant but the location right on the water could not have been better. Afterwards we sat by the beach and caught up on the past three years. I'd missed Julie and it was really nice to be able to experience Cinque Terre with a good friend.

The next morning we quickly exited our apartment and hopped back on the train towards the first town, Riomaggiore. We walked up the hill straight off the train and were surprised not to see the little town right away. Once we found some accomodations after a little bargaining we walked back towards the train station and realized the town is down a tunnel in the opposite direction. At least we'd be right by the train the next day, we reasoned. I put some clothes in the washing machine at our new apartment and we wandered around the town looking for breakfast and a post office (the latter was never found) before we returned and I hung out my wet clothes. Then it was time to hike to the rest of the towns.

The beginning of the walk to Manarola, the next town, is one of the most popular walks in Cinque Terre. It's called via dell'amore or something like that, and is flat and paved. There's even a tunnel where there's usually someone playing accordian or guitar. We reached Manarola quite easily. I wanted to stop for lunch but it was too early so we bought stamps and browsed in the little souvenir shops leading down to the water before getting right back on the path. Manarola is the best town for deep sea swimming as there really is no beach. The coast area by the town is made up of big rocks that people lay out on and jump off. There are even some ladders from the water built onto the rocks. I really wanted to swim there but we said we'd come back for that and mushed on.

The path to Corniglia was not paved but it was still pretty short and easy after the previous day's hike. We reached the Corniglia train station and decided to wait for the bus to the town center instead of hitting the many steps we'd otherwise have to traverse. Julie and I sat and wrote postcards while waiting for the bus and then got a nice ride up the hill. At this point we were pretty hungry to we picked one of the restaurants we could see and sat down for a relaxing Italian meal while enjoying the view of Corniglia. It was one of the best meals we had in Italy. Afterwards we walked the little backstreets of Corniglia and I contemplated getting Lemoncello for Remy but decided I didn't want to carry it. We found a little water fountain at which we refilled our water bottles and started on what we had read was another tough hike to Vernazza, the town we'd stayed at the previous night. We walked until we could see a postcard perfect view of Corniglia from the back and then discussed whether to continue or not. Finally it was decided that we'd turn around as we'd already seen Vernazza and would rather swim and enjoy the rest of our afternoon. We hiked about half way back to Manarola before we saw people swimming below the path, down a little metal staircase and decided to join them. There was no beach to speak of really, only rocks, but we'd worn our suits so we stripped down and got in. The water was beautiful. Sitting in Remy's apartment now writing this I feel relaxed just thinking about how wonderful it felt to be floating in the sea off the Italian coast with an old friend and no plans other than to walk for awhile, shower, and eat something.

After our swim we slowly walked home, savoring the views and feeling content. Julie desparetly needed to check her email so we used the internet at the Cinque Terre tourist info center because picking up some pesto, fruit, chips, and cookies for a dinner at home. I had leftover ciabatta bread from the bakery near Remy's apartment so we used that for the pesto and had a nice dinner with a bottle of red wine. While closing the swiss army knife I had picked up in Lucerne I accidentily cut a deep gash into my left thumb. Julie and I sat there drunkenly looking at it as the blood started to gush out before I ran to the sink and ran cold water over it. I had a little first aid kit in my bag so we washed the cut out after the bleeding slowed down and bandaged me up. I felt pretty stupid though. [FYI the cut is totally healed now. Fear not!]

Julie did long overdue laundry and we both took nice hot showers before heading off to bed on our last night in Cinque Terre. Then, and looking back now, I realize that hiking Cinque Terre was one of my favorite parts of what has been an amazing trip. I suggest everyone does it one day. I'll include pictures once I update them.

Geneva, Switzerland

Remy picked me up from the train station and drove me to his little apartment in a high rise just over the border in St. Genis-Pouilly, France. I dropped off my bags and then we headed to CERN a he had to get back to work and I wanted to use the internet. He went to get some water and two French firefighters came into the office, said something in French to me to which I could only nod, opened the window (mind there was a storm raging outside), looked around, closed the window, and left. It was weird. A few hours later we left the office with some of his coworkers for the CERN cafeteria where we had a couple beers, met more people, and then went to a pizza place for dinner. I had pasta with tomato sauce of course. I tried ordering pizza with no cheese in Croatia and that didn't work so I'm not risking it again. After dinner we headed home.

In Allston, Remy had a single bed. This is part of the reason we spent most nights together at my apartment (and Taylor pig RIP). In France, he has a single bed that is actually somehow smaller than his American single bed. It's freaking ridiculous trying to sleep on that thing with a 6 foot 6 inch tall man. Not comfortable.

He had to work during the week so the day after I arrived I spent alone in his apartment doing my laundry and reading The Secret History (recommended by former roommate Brian). At night I watched the Daily Show and Colbert Report projected onto the living room wall with Remy and his roommate. It was raining in Geneva when I arrived and stayed that way until Friday when I decided to head into the city and check it out. I saw the giant water thing which sprays water 400 feet into the air and walked towards it. I then found the botanical gardens and spent about 4 hours reading the Secret History laying in the sun. After traveling constantly it was great to just lay in the sun and not feel like I was wasting time not touring.

During the weekend it rained all day to Remy and I stayed inside hanging out and making runs to the grocery store and bakery for croissants and pasta. I helped him and his roommate find a bar for the empty end of their living room in this giant thrift store like warehouse called the farm. I found The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein and Harold and Maude (the book) for about 2 bucks total there as well. Saturday night we went into Geneva with some of his friends to meet up with some UN interns and get some drinks. The first bar we went to was an "Irish" pub where everyone was American, Canadian, Australian, or British. We didn't stay there long. Next was a more chill bar with cheap drinks where Remy and I both would have liked to stay longer but the UN girls wanted to meet up with some of the male coworkers at this squatter bar area so we left after a drink. The girls informed me that Geneva used to have a lot more squatter bars but the city had been cracking down on them so there were only a few left. They were in a little strip of land where the abandoned buildings were covered in graffiti (Remy said it was the only place in Geneva where he had seen graffiti) and there were little make shift stands selling some kind of street food that I can now not remember (it wasn't vegan though!). We went to a bar right by the entrance called "Shark". When we got there the DJ was playing some good 80's stuff but by the time I emerged from the gross bathroom he had moved on to shitty techno. Remy and I drank some really cheap beer that tasted like piss (worst beer ever according to Remy) and watched the euro peens dance like spastic seniors. I had had about 8 beers and this point and pretty much passed out in the car on the way back. Sunday we were going to head into the city but decided to chill and watch the latest James Bond on the projector before his friends came over to watch NFL football on the projector. I did more laundry and got ready to leave for Italy the next morning.

Northern Italy and Switzerland

We ended up staying in a trucker's motel in Slovenia because it was late and we couldn't find anywhere else. It was kind of like a decent hostel but my father was pretty grossed out by it. My mom accidentily put zit zapper in her eye instead of her eye drops. Thus was our night in Slovenia.

The next day we drove into Italy and stopped in Padua for lunch. At first I thought Padua was just a crappy city but once we found the old town with the giant square filled with statues and a little moat I decided it was quite lovely. We had lunch at a little restaurant off the square where no one spoke English. The food was pretty good. Afterwards my mother and I walked through the square and took some photos.

Then we drove on to Verona. We parked and walked into the old town, past the arena, which is the third largest Roman amphitheater to have survived antinquity. We strolled down the main shopping street into a big Piazza where there was a tourist market that my parents said was not there when they visited Verona years ago. We sat at a cafe and had a drink while people watching and then walked down to an archway to see the whale bone which hangs there. My dad claims there is mention of the whale bone in Romeo and Juliet but I can't find any info on this online so I'm not sure. Afterwards we walked up to see the supposed house and balcony of Juliet Cappulet. There's an archway before you reach the courtyard that is covered in love letters and graffiti to Juliet. I took a picture of my parents by the Juliet statue and the balcony. Apparently the actual story of Romeo and Juliet was written into two novellas before Shakespeare made it famous, so perhaps it is a true story afterall. Verona was quite nice and I'm glad I got to see it.

From there we drove into Switzerland. We passed Lake Cuomo and arrived in Lugano where we had a room for the night. We were all pretty exhausted from days of driving so we had a low key night with dinner at a local pizza place and then a nice stroll along the lake. Lugano seemed very beautiful sitting between the Alps right on a lake but we didn't really have a great chance to see it during the day as the next morning we got back in the car again and headed for Lucern.

I had a bit of a freak out in the morning when I couldn't find a room anywhere in Zurich online so I had to cough up a lot of cash for a double room in a budget hotel in Lucern instead. When we arrived at around 11 am we walked across the Chapel Bridge, the famous covered bridge for which Lucerne is apparently known. The outside was covered with flowers and the paintings on the inside show daily life in 12th century Switzerland. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant just across the road from the bridge, ironic because Lucerne is in the German part of Switzerland not the Italian part which we had just left. It was a nice going away lunch as my parents were leaving me there to head back to the states while I was on to visit Remy in Geneva.

After I was dropped at the hotel (Hotel Alpha, it turned out to be very nice and I was very happy to be alone for a night), I took the map I was given at the front desk and headed out to do some sight seeing. First up I walked up to the Lion memorial. It's a giant rock wall where a dying lion is carved. It's a memorial to the Swiss mercenaries who died fighting in the French Revolution. It's quite large and pretty intricute. I like the idea of a memorial featuring someone or something sad and dying instead of proud and solemn. The glacial garden was right next door. My mother had told me it was very cool but admission was too expensive for my blood so all I could do was peak in. Then I hiked up to the old city walls and climed two of the towers as the third was closed, for a nice view of the city. Next I wandered through the old town which is now the shopping area and sat by the river for awhile watching people feed the swans across the way. It was nice to just sit and write. I decided I was done seeing everything I wanted to see and walked back to the hotel. I had chocolate soy milk and a granola bar for dinner and started reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which Brian had recommended to me for plane reading. It was really engrossing and I stayed in my room for hours reading it until I fell asleep.

In the morning I left for Geneva on a very clean and prompt Swiss train. And that is where I shall stop typing.

Nishta veggie restaurant in Dubrovnik

Nishta was actually listed in my mother's Rick Steve's guide book which is, I believe, how we were able to get my dad to eat there. It's on one of the back streets in the walled city so that probably helped as well. When we first arrived all of the 6 little tables were occupied so we had to walk around for an hour before we came back. All the tables are outside in the little lane. We were the last table to be sat for the night so unfortunately they were out of a lot of the food in which we had been interested, like the spring rolls and avocado salad. The menu is not very large with a few options of: salads, apps, soups, main, desserts, and beverages (alcohol included). I tried the seitan appetizer, which was thin slices of seitan laid out around a few veggies. Overall I enjoyed it but some of the slices were a bit thicker and were a bit too chewy. My mother said the same. My father tried the "Om salad" with cheese. I tried some without the cheese and really enjoyed the flavor. My mother tried the miso soup which I found unlike classical miso soup and a bit too strong as well. For my main meal I had the potato salad, despite my mom's exclamation that I've been eating potatoes the whole trip. When it arrived I was worried it was going to be too strong on mustard because it looked completely bathed in mustard sauce. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the mustard did not overpower the potatoes or veggies but actually brought out their flavors rather well. The serving was large and the sauce was very nice. My mom had the falafel. I found it just how I like my falafel, crispy on the outside with a moist flavorful inside. It was not the best falafel I have ever had but it was quite good. My dad tried the Chinese Noodles and I don't think he liked them. I should say that he seemed skeptical of the whole place so his opinion should be read with that side in mind. I found the noodles a bit spicy with a really strong overpowering flavor. I still ate a lot of them and liked them more than both my parents seemed to.

Our waiter was very friendly and joked with us throughout the meal. I enjoyed everything about Nishta and would love to go back earlier in the day before the ran out of some dishes.

Cres and Dubrovnik, Croatia

I'm really behind in updating this so I'm going to be brief. Last I left off we had just arrived in Cres, Croatia at about 6 in the am. I slept until about 11 am when I woke up and started writing postcards. Soon my parent's friends came back and asked if I wanted to walk around the town with them. We took a stroll along the harbor and checked out an old church or two. Cres is really beautiful and relaxing. It's a bit like Italy, and in fact used to be part of Italy, but is nowhere near as expensive or touristy. We came back to the condo at about 1 pm to find my parent's still sleeping. While they got up I went swimming in the condo complex pool (cold but refreshing). Then everyone got ready and we walked around the harbor again, had a drink at a little cafe, ate dinner ("tomato salad" is made up entirely of tomatoes. Now I know), then walked around some more. Whilst browsing postcards I saw a poster for a viewing of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" in English with Croatian subtitles for that very night. No one but my lovely mother wanted to go with me so my dad and the friends went to get plastered while my mom and I wandered up and down the little streets trying to find the theater. We finally did find a little outdoor set up with out 5 other people waiting for the show to start. The whole set up was so cute. My mom even made me stand in front of the screen so she could take a picture. The movie was pretty funny and there was full frontal. Afterwards we found the rest of our party, plastered, as planned.

My parents and I were pretty tired of driving but the next morning we nonetheless hopped in the car for a grueling 7 hour drive down the Croatian coast to Dubrovnik, the jewl of the Adriatic. The drive was fine until Split when the highway ended and became a one lane winding road right on the edge of the coast. The scenery was breath taking but I was busy trying to keep my head from swimming. When we finally reached Dubrovnik just as the sun went down we were ecstatic to find that our hotel was not only really close to the old city but also really nice, easy to find, AND included a free upgrade with a better view. We walked around the old city a bit and even went to a vegetarian restaurant (review to come) before retiring for the night. The next morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel and headed to the city to hike the city walls. I think we were all in a sort of foul mood as the day began but as soon as we got onto the walls that changed completely. I'm not sure I can really even describe Dubrovnik. I don't mean to brag but I feel like I've travelled a fair bit and I've never seen anything like Dubrovnik. It's like this medieval town of orange tiled roofs surrounded by complete city walls. My mom read to us from her Rick Steve's book that during the Yugoslavian war the Serbian and Yugoslavian armies bombed the hell out of Dubrovnik despite it really being just a tourist town. They destroyed some of the buildings in the old city completely and damaged many of the famed orange roofs while the city residents stayed within the walls for 8 months waiting out the Serbian attack. She read that some nuns put all their money in Swiss banks just before the war and after it was over the took it all out and used it to rebuild Dubrovnik. It took us over 2 hours to walk the walls but I could have walked around that city all day. The various churches and buildings with their tiled roofs with the amazingly blue Adriatic Sea sparkling just below was a site I don't think I will ever forget. Unfortunately we had not even a full day in Dubrovnik so after the wall walk we had lunch and then headed back up the coast.

We had plans to take an overnight car ferry to Ancona, Italy from Split but that didn't work out so we drove up to a random hostel like hotel in Slovenia and stopped for the night. Earlier we stopped in a random Croatian small town for dinner. I have never felt more out of place. Every single person in the restaurant/bar turned to look at us when we walked in. I ate a salad and fries. Not unusual those days. But anyway, I shall leave you in Slovenia.

Still to come: Padua, Verona, Lugano, Lucern, Geneva, Cinque Terre, Pisa, and Florence.

Salzburg, Slovenia, and Zagreb

I am finally in Geneva! I didn't have much internet access before now so I haven't posted about all the wonderful places I've been but now is better than not at all, I suppose.

I flew into Frankfurt, Germany with my parents on August 26. We rented a car and stopped in Wurtzburg (which was really cute. It would be a good place to study abroad) on our way to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg seemed a little like Boston to me, sizewise that is. I didn't feel overwhelmed or unsafe. The population is only 150,000 but it still seemed quite large. I guess it's only the fourth largest city in Austria. Anyway, the river area and the old town just below the castle are so picturesque. Walking around there is like being inside a postcard. We spent two days drinking beer, walking through the castle, wandering the shopping streets in the old town, and making fun of Mozart Balls (which are EVERYWHERE. Salzburg will do anything to capitalize on Mozart and this small chocolate Mozart Balls seem to be very successful. I was going to buy some for Remy but the hotel gave us two for free and when I tried mine I was less than impressed and knew Remy would be as well, so I didn't).

After Salzburg we drove to Slovenia. My mom and I had to beg my dad to take a small detour to see Lake Bled. It was a perfect sunny day and the lake was absolutely perfect. We ate famous Slovenian desserts (that my mom read about, of course) while sitting by the lake. To the right was a church and the castle just above it and to the left you could see the little island with an old church on it. I wanted desperately to get a boat out to the island but my dad said we had to meet their friends in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. So we drove on. Ljubljana looked very communist and ugly from the outskirts and much of downtown but when we hit Preseren Square I understood why people had told me I should go there. When I post pictures you'll understand as well. It isn't the fairy tale city people call it but it is quite lovely. The river area with all the different bridges was full of young people eating and hanging out. We trekked up to the castle (I know, castles everywhere!)which was actually kind of disappointing. They've covered up most of it with ugle plain walls and porches so you can't see much of the original castle at all. It cost 2 Euros to walk to the top and when my mom didn't have enough so jokingly asked if she could pay in American dollars. There were two younger guys manning the desk and one laughed and said, "no no! your currency is not worth much here. And even less if McCain gets elected. See, I am up to date." I laughed but my mom and her friends just said, "you're talking to the wrong crowd here." The view from the top was interesting. On one side you could see the beautiful river area with all the bridges and Jože Plečnik designed buildings (ok, he did the bridges too). Then on the other side you see the sprawl of the city where most of the residents live and work. It still looks very plain and communist.

My dad then convinced everyone that we should drive to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, for dinner. We were staying on the island of Cres, Croatia, for the night but my father somehow thought it would be faster to drive east for dinner before driving west towards the Istrian Penninsula. Zagreb was even more communist looking than Slovenia but as we wandered around the city looking for somewhere to eat that was still open, we saw some old buildings that I'm sure had some historical significance. While it took us awhile to find a place to eat, we did get to see the night light of Zagreb and let me tell you, it was hopping. Finally I led the group to a creepy alley where we found a sex shop AND an amazing restaurant. I had white wine, a mixed salad, pasta in truffle sauce (no cheese), and really amazing spinach with potatoes. Everything was great except for when I found a tiny worm wiggling around in a tomato on top of my pasta. When told the waiter gave us the much heard of "Croatian shrug." At least the experience gave me that.

After dinner we drove to the ferry that would take us to the island of Cres, where my parents' friends have a condo they said we could use. We left Zagreb at about 10:30 pm and reached the ferry at 2:00 am. The ferry is supposed to leave every half hour but, surprise surprise, the next one didn't leave until 4:30 am. I had been sleeping in the back of the car but hearing we had another 2 and a half hours of waiting/sleeping was still brutal. I had to pee really badly and there was nowhere to go so after checking out some potential spots (I really wanted to pee between the parked cars ala Sarah Nealon at Andy/Justine's first party) I settled for the little downhill sidewalk to the little beach that all the guys were peeing off of. While in the act I realized that of course my little stream of pees was quickly heading down the sidewalk onto the beach, leaving a big obvious trail. Why hadn't I just peed on the beach, I kept wondering. As I was trying to fall asleep in the front seat afterwards I was worried someone (who? I have no idea who else would be there waiting for the 4:30 ferry 2 1/2 hours early) would come along and see my shame. No one did as far as I know but the next thing I was awake for was boarding the ferry. The ride to Cres took about half an hour and then all the cars on the ferry had to race up the one road on that side of the island. There was no shoulder, it was right on cliff's edge into the water, there were goats everywhere, the road was one lane wide (for traffic going both ways), and my dad drives like a mad man. So yeah, it was not fun. We finally got to the condo at 5:30 am and crashed hard.

Green - Tempe/Scotsdale, AZ

I've been to Green a couple of times in the last few years. It has come a long way since the first time we dined on Soynami's and vegan pizza. Green has expanded into the store front next door and is now constantly filled with diners. The atmosphere is relaxed and artie with the customer demographic ranging from tattooed vegans to older hippie vegans. They've also recently added a small vegan shop which sells vegan whipped cream and other rarities. The menu ranges from asian veggie stirfry bowls to pizza and sandwiches.

On this particular visit my mom opted for my usual order, greenza pizza. It's a medium sized pizza with pesto and vegan cheese. She added mushrooms and artichoke hearts for a tasty, filling pizza. The pesto could have a bit more salt but overall I enjoyed it. She also tried the fruit salad and while she liked it, she complained that the dressing had too much vinegar.

My sister choose the sweet and sour bowl with tofu. She's not a fan of fake meat in general so she avoids it at Green. The tofu was well cooked, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, but I wanted more sweet and sour sauce in the bowl. I found it a little bland.

I decided to try the meatball po boy with fries. The thyme fries were crispy shoestring fries with a hint of thyme at most. Even without the seasoning they were perfectly cooked and I couldn't stop eating them. My sister also ordered the chili fries for appetizer because she says they're very flavorful and she likes the curry after taste. I tried them and found that the fries were a little mushy under the chili and I wanted more flavor from the chili but perhaps this was not the best batch she's had. The meatball po boy was messy and hard to eat but worth it. The fake meatballs had the composition and flavor of real meat. I would definitely order it again.

And now to my favorite part of Green, the Soynami. Green's answer to the Dairy Queen Blizzard, the Soynami is vanilla vegan soft serve ice cream with any combination of fruit, nuts, or sweets to create delicious ice cream desserts that any vegan with a sweet tooth would love. There's a whole list of fruit combos as well as sweeter ones. Jacki went for the Chunky Munkey which is banana, pecans, and chocolate syrup. Unfortunately they were out of bananas on this particular visit but we've had it in the past and it's good. She then chose the Almond Oy vey! which is almonds, coconut, and chocolate syrup. Very yummy. I had the Rocky Road which was walnuts, chocolate chips, marshmallow, and chocolate syrup. It was one of the best Soynamis I've had.

I would recommend Green to all my friends, vegan or not, and will definitely be dining there again.

Phoenix, day 2

I arrived in Phoenix Tuesday (8/19) night after a long day of mailing boxes, packing, throwing things out, and pulling out my hair. In the end I only left behind one thing I really wanted to take (plus the dress and bra I forgot about in the dryer) and I'll just have to come back to Beantown and pick that up later.

Yesterday I hung out with my mom in Goodyear. We got some Mexican food for lunch (I'm trying to stock up on good Mexican because I know this will be hard to come by in Europe), went grocery shopping, and to the bank. We then went swimming in her fantastic pool. She even let me turn on the waterfall and slide! We shared the goggles to swim laps and then while we were having a hand stand contest I stepped on something. Upon closer inspection I discovered that I had in fact stepped on a scorpion! It was at the bottom of the pool so of course it was dead but I was still freaked out. Afterwards we got cleaned up and headed into Phoenix to meet Jacki and her boy for some vegan food at Green and then Project Runway viewing. I was exhausted when we finally got back to Goodyear and so thankful that I got to slip into the guest room with the new Queen mattress.

Today we ran more errands and I got: a quick dry towel, a watch, a camera card, a birthday present for the best sister ever, and some sushi. Now mom is cleaning the pool and I'm going to join her. I could get used to this Phoenix thing.

2 days left in Boston

It is now 1:35 AM on Sunday. I have two full days left in Boston before I leave for good. I've been so busy the past week that I haven't really been able to enjoy my last days in this wonderful city. I'm sad to be leaving. I came to Boston without knowing a soul and I leave 7 years later with many wonderful friends and as a new person. I would never be as outgoing as I am if I hadn't taken such a huge leap by choosing Boston as the city where I'd become an adult.

That said, I am excited to have all the stress of packing, selling things, and disposing of things no one wants over. I can't wait to ride bikes with my sister through the lazy streets of downtown Phoenix and walk the lakes with my mom. And after a few days of desert I'll be off to Europe and who knows what. Something huge is about to happen. I think I'm ready.