London at last! I knew I'd pull it off

Day two we woke up after sleeping straight through until two.  Been a while since that.  It's the life style here though.  If you wake up and get started you still get a full day if your making it to at least 3a.m., which most people are, or later.  this was a waste of a day though.  Not really because we were all in good company, walked the street got some coffee.  Kind of neat to just live it where you are and not pack in any sights.  We gave it a second attempt after resorting to everything to recover.  It was poor but it was an attempt.  At around one we went to a famous piaza with some bars and went into this place that oddly enough had an elaborate tabacco pipe collection.  Played a little poor had a beer, then Sarah sarayha and I headed back.  I gotta give it to page for going all night.  In the morning the four of us got shoved into a three bed room, where we stayed, unknowingly the next two nights until Monday.  It was perfect because it was cheaper with four paying the three bed price and we could just be a mess.  
    Saturday we got some business tended to.  Needed to figure out a train out.  Straight through might train was 70euro for a reservation and reservation needed.  I am so lucky I decided to get a eurorail pass.  Without it trains are like two to three hundred euro.  Unreal.  After that I whipped up a gourmet hostel lunch of assorted grilled cheese, communal bowl of beans, cauliflower dipped in mustard after tearing it right off the head.  There might even have been some bag salad left.  Living large.  Three other girls are a lot to coordinate.  I took off to see some of Gaudi's architecture and the famous Granada familia.  This is still not finished.  Gaudy is a revolutionary architect and his stuff is very trippy.  Like the artist picaso and Miri he had a little help with his visionary work from the drink of the time, absinthe.   The way this liquor was fermented was in old wooden barrels.  The chemiacl in the wood this barrel was made out of would be soaked up by the alcohol and had the same effects as magic mushrooms.  It all makes sense now.  This is why the myth of it making you hallucinate is not true, but it is still extremely strong.  The popular one of that time wS the green fairy. There is a very peculiar building in thr middle of a beautiful square, near the gothic quater, and also near some ancient roman walls and the entrance to the underground roman city that has a story of absinthe behind it.  It is a very ugly building, intentionally set in the middle of the square by Franco s architects, to show how little the beauty of Barcelona meant to him.  Ironically enough it is an office building and library of architects.  On the front there is a picture that had been saved and presented to the builders to be placed on the front.  One night while Picasso and some colleagues were enjoying there absinthe talking of art, the topic of Miro being the greatest artist of the modern era came up.  Picasso was adamant that this was not the case and that he drew like an infant.  He argued, give me ten minutes and I'll do a perfect mire.  At it's completion the critics agreed it was.  This was presented to Franco and he thought it brilliant to take the drawing of Picasso, in exile in Paris for his political views and being a communist, taking a piss on Miro, who was also in exile for being a nationalistic catalone,  to show how little these two artists really meant to him,as after all they were just two old crazy absinthe addicted men.    Later, after Franco's reign it was asked of Miro to do a crack on Picasso.  So the random ugly building that is the library of architects has on it's front an picture done by Picasso to take a piss on Miro while hallucinating on absinthe and on the sides vice versa.  Entertaining really.  Hmm,  maybe that it not really at all for you guys when I think about it.  I though it was brilliant.   
       You should all google Gaudi s architecture it is incredible really.  He has five buildings, that is more than any other architect in the world, on the protected unesco heritage list.  it kind of reminds me of the huderwasserhausen in Vienna, except that Gaudi was designing this stuff in the 1920s.  He died by wandering around and getting hit by a bus.  He was so crazy looking and resembled a bum, that he was just dragged to the Sid elf the street.  His work, the Granada Familia, was not a cathedral until recently.   The pope, needless to say at the time did not want to grant this to a hallucinating old architect, and no joke this place looks like your going to church on acid.  The pope just recently ordained it, or wetf they do.  It was hugely protested.  The Grenada familia s construction is entirely funded by visited fees, and now a portion of this has to go to the catholic church.  Many citizens prefer to have it complete led and feel no satisfaction with it's affiliation with th catholic church.  The popes visit was also protected, because it costs the city 86 million dollars to have him there.  The city is in debt and the unemployment rate is soaring, so for the majority of people, not being a part of institutionalized religion, and the controversy with this specific pope in general, it was seen as not worth his coming.  Finally the large gay and lesbian community here had a huge protest.  This was really quite brilliant.  Over fifty thousand homosexuals, and others, liked more than two kilometers of the street the pope was being taking down on the way to the Grenada  familia, and as he was shuttled by looking miserable and old waving as usual all the homosexual couples started kissing. Down the whole over two mile stretch.  This place is unreal.  
    After this I went back, where is still beat them on getting ready and we headed off to the Barcelona game!  All along the streets on the way you can get beers and cans of Estrella,  btw there are Jo open container laws anywhere here.  It's absurd but great.  The whole crew from the hostel marched down but Sarah srayha and I broke off tom get our seats.  The game was good.  Zero to zero, but Barcelona was clearly in possession of the ball the most.  There was some intense shit that went down.  Even a punch during the penalty kick. Super cool. Made it back through the crowd and called it a night. The game didn't even start until ten.  Even when you don't go out you don't get home until two here.  It is like Italy where restaurants don't even open until 7 or 8 sometimes because the night starts late.  
       The next day, after getting woken up by the hostel lady.  All the hostel workers were cool, and they cut us so much slack letting us all squeeze in together.  It was 11:30.  We Ll slept through our alarms.  I set off for a solo day.  I wandered around after missing the first two walking tours, then caught one at 3.  It was interesting, but certainly not that much walking.  Got a little more info on Las Ramblas,  the famous boulevard, which we were staying on.  a lot of the other little tidbits of info I gave you.  The patron saint of Barcelona Oralia, I think who at thirteen was tortured for proselytizing Christianity in 70 something ad.   saw the gothic churches. Saw the Columbus statue at the end of the strip the next day.  He was considered a hero by some but also was the one to introduce syphilis to Europe,  the queen Isabella being one of the first to get it and then passing it on to Ferdinand . Scandalous.  Colombia should have been the richest man in the world but after his discovery of the islands and the atrocities he committed there were reported Ferdinand, who already despised him, for his own reasons, probably his affair with Isabella, the contract was no longer honored.  Colombia still died a very wealthy man, After first of course successfully driving two of the three tribes of Trinidad to extinction, and this was before spreading small pox to the America, raping, pillaging everything in sight and introducing syphilis to Europe with the help of his skeezy crew.  What a glorious man,  no wonder we all get school and work of for a day to celebrate that man that first starting driving the indigenous population to extinction.  Hey but at least  the Protestants had somewhere to go to practice there religion and Europeanempires got rich off the resources.  Anywho
               After that I waited with the girl hmisha from the tour and we walked around the wine expo that's e had seen.  It was huge. Wine makers from all over.  You paid 6 euro and got a glass and four tickets to get four different glasses of wine.  It was the last day so we also got some tasty treats that they were trying to get rid of before closing up shop,  and had to purchase some cheese of course.  I stumbled back stadiums eight, and intended on meeting up with her again but after she requested me on Facebook I think I responded to late.  It was alrig because it was my last day with Sarah Sarayha and now page.  They are so sweet.  They got me a patch when they were out of Barcelona, the same number as the jersey I got at the game.  I almost dug through the garbage that had already been taken out when I lost my patches one afternoon haha.  It was quite a dilemma.  Joe, the sweet guy that Page might be living with saw them and found them for me. Hahaha.  That night we met up with a couple more people, two friends Muhammad and Husan,  two scotiah kids and Joe and his crew and after dinner went back out to the piazza.  The music was sick.  Like jazz tunes and salsa.  Let's just say I grooved, and I mean grooved.  I didn't even a get a drink the entire time.  Joe rocked out with me.  I was hooked once I got the steps down from the south American guys at the hostel. After four consistent hours of sweating out every drop of fluid I had, and an empty dance floor we walked home.  No one else could make it quite as long.  Sarayha ran into us on our walk back and we had onenlast wander through the streets of Barcelona.  The next morning, the girl from the front desk, who was hammered the nightnbefore dancing around the hostel, we had that place bumpin, woke us up as promised.  It was a drag getting upland cleaning after a past six bedtime again.  I went to get lunch with sarayha while the other two slept, walked around the market, then took a walk down to water, finally during the day haha, while they all got ready.  And then we said our goodbyes and set off.  And here I am now.  Finally in London waiting for the last bus to Cambridge whichnthen arrives there at 11pm.  Four trains, a boat two busses, three countries and thirty hours later, thirty three when all said and done, I have arrived at my destination haha.  It really does not seem that long when you don't really have an objective or anything important to rush off to.  It was bitter sweet saying goodbye to the other girls. Nim sure I will see them again, just as I am now visiting Aleks again and Leanne and juls and zak.  I'm so excited actually! Yaya.  You probably won't be hearing too much from me.   After this weekend I'm leaving for Amsterdam.  I will try to Skype, but write about cambs and London on the way. Love you all!
     

Barcelona to paris....finally hoping to reach London

Awaiting my departure from Paris to London.  I am going to stay with Aleks tonight in Cambridge.  I was going to do a bit of sight seeing first, but Paris I believe deserves more than a day.  The night train was still not the most pleasant, and I was only on four hours of sleep before that.  A bit exhausted arriving at seven a.m. With nothing but vending door chips for dinner:).  I also first want to find a laundry mat to fit my bag and all of my clothes so I can dry them for an hour.  I'm staying with Aleks, then at zak and juls house in London to meet up with leanne, and after that off to Amsterdam to stay with yoram, haha yea that's his name,  the crazy red head Aleks and I met in Edinburgh.  My journey is starting to come full circle I feel like.    At the previous train station, before ei took the metro to get to the station that goes to London, I parted way with the girls.   In Barcelona I also said goodbye to page, who is currently trying to set up her life there.  Perhaps when Ito back through I will meet up again.  I know I will see Sarah and Sarayha again, so not too sad of a departure. They are movers and shakers too, and get the bug to go so I know theyll be in Hawaii after there six month stint in Australia, and I will probably head up to Vancouver.  I was even talking with them about all working the ski resorts in whistler next winter.  Always wanted to do that for a season.  
     Barcelona is a very groovy city.  We all squeezed into a hostel for the weekend.  It had just opened, and because ithink it was just a random building prior to being a hostel, they put up walls and rooms come out of everywhere. One of the rooms even opened into the showers.  The showers are kind of like grandma deaths system of creating walls with stationary sheets, but with water proof material instead.  It is very communal because of this design.  There were also so many of us now, and gem being really excited to see page, that you kind of just got to know everyone.  She even met a kid in the hostel, Joe, who she was house hunting with by the last few days.  Page also spoke spanish which was very helpful.  Although,  for people of Barcelona, Spanish is there second language.  The official language is catalone.   This area had struggle for independence for most of it's history and up to the civil war had sovereignty from time to time.  This is why you see the independence flag hanging.  In Barcelona, you will also find the only memorial plaque of the civil war, which Franco one of course, and because so, because his solution to moving on from it was to not hold anyone to blame for the atrocities and to move on and forget.  This is of course because he won and these were committed on his part, with the help of Mussolini and Hitler.  At The beginning of the Spanish civil war was when the technique of intentionally targeting civilian population was first used, by Hitler, when Franco asked for help with the resistance of the Spanish northern bathe country, and in catalones.  The  monarchy, in the periods in Spain when there was one,  would reside in Barcelona, but I think that was a way of controlling and keeping the northern areas.  I'm not sure though.  The Spanish civil war was ideally because a hand full of general, Franco at the head of the movement, wanted to reestablish the monarchy.  He successfully held power as a dictator until he died, where after the monarchy that the power of the government fell to, was given back and the monarchy assisted in reestablishing democracy.  This was the first time that the transition from dictatorship to democracy was accomplished without a single person being killed.  Well, now I am just kind of rambling.  But the memorial that is in place is outside the church that was used as a bomb shelter for the children of a school during the Spanish civil war, and was the sight were a bomb was dropped concaving the roof and killing forty six, I believe it was, school children.  It was not even put up until 2007.  Now having seen so many memorials across Europe, it is interesting to compare the different way in which certain countries deal with a dark past.  Memorials or the lack there of are very controversial, and it is interesting how some choose to honor, remember or blame those people, now of the past.  
     Barcelona still, desires independence from the rest of Spain.  Being the third richest region they pay out more in taxes than is distributed back to them.  Spain currently has a twenty two percent unemploywmnt rate and between twenty and thirty for those lookng for jobs it goes up to near thirty five percent.  This is the highest of any developed country.  Makes sense now the attention paid to pick pocketers.  The wealth of barcelona in part is probably due to the summer Olympics being held there in the 90s generating mass amounts of tourism.  Still however, they do not identify themselves as Spanish, and in many of the surrounding areas of Barcelona they only speak catalone, which is a mixture of French and somewhat like Spanish.  It is like Bavaria in Germany. Barcelona I  would imagine has a very different feel from the rest of Spain.   I suppose I will find out before to long.  For now I am going to enjoy London and Amsterdam with friend I made at the start of my trip and plot out my next two weeks so that I can do couch surfing the remainder of the time and meet more.  Not to mention I'll have a freshly bed bug free bag.  I don't have any bites or anything but Sicily was sketchyyy I must say haha.  Finished my train station croissant, and off to check the old school board with the flip letters and numbers to await my train platform.  When I, bored at the laundry mat this afternoon waiting for Aleks to be done with class I will attempt to fill you in on Barcelona.  
      Welp,   Glad I decided to set off first thing.  Due to some random holiday the eurorail seats were unavailable for Paris to London.  Would have been 240 euro....whoa.  This is why I randomly got on a train which was pointed out me to me, to be connecting to another train I'd have to find to get to keli or Keliville, something like that.  I realized I spend a lot of time talking about places I've been but not that much about the ways in which I get there, which is truly the best part of backpacking.  I mean I honestly just got to a train station and if the one conductor didn't speak English, I would have not even known where any trains were going.  It was tiny and no sign, I don't even think there was an indoor.  I'm also going to a town I never heard of in hopes that I can take a ferry, to somewhere close to London I think haha.  I hope from there I can beta bus or something.  It would only make sense that they'd have busses near the ferry ports.   It really is so freeing.   No one calling to find out where you are.  People you are usually meeting are travelers themselves so they take into a count a day or two of being lost on the countryside.  I love just floating Round and seeing where it takes me.  With of course some destination in mind.  I feel like my eurorail pass is just a ticket to roam where i please.  It's comforting once youre on a train.  You have a seat and it's warm.  Much better than waiting for somewhere you are set on or being stressed and rushing to a specific train.  When you have no set plans there's no disappointments and you can just go.  If you don't want to sleep in a train station you could honestly just ride a train to a destination, switch at the end and turn around go back to it.  I'm glad to be roaming again. The girls were fun, and they were nearing there end so they couldn't mess up there days, but reserving things and checking at the station on your free time for the best option, mY be responsible but it takes the fun out of just showing up, hopping you can get where you want, and laughing at the ridiculous alternatives if not. I can see the ocean out the window. I have no idea if the stop I am trying to get to is the last or what but I am sure I'll find it.  Can't be to far, since we are cruising the coast.  I think Barcelona might have been the last of t shirt weather.  I'm just in leggings and a zip up but it is still a lot cooler than where I has been. This is why my bag has gotten heavier with a stock up on some warm shirts.  The French countryside is beautiful and it's sunny.  Everyone so far hS been very nice and helpful.  Idk what the stereotype is but I havnt come across any rude French.  I probably have the most horrible accent right off the bat that they just immediately start speaking to me in English.  Bonjour, Parker vous englais....I get a what then....what do you need help with haha.
      So Barcelona is a great city.  The bars and clubs are open until six, there are even some that don't start until six and you get a ticket to party all day.  Page had been there a couple days already and it was a thursday night when we arrived.  This is a big night.  We got together headed out close to midnight and had a night at a place on the beach.  It was a lot fun and a lot of nice people.   
   At the ferry station. 26 euro with eurorail pass.  f yea baby.  that rediculous song Barbara Straisan was on, and it reminded me of simones cheesy brother singing with us or should I say for us when we were trapped in the car with him for the soccer match haha.  He would sing like u2 and I felt bad so I kind of just sang with him haha.  He was stoked but didn't know hardly any of the words.  I will finish this on the ferry.  And finally fill you in on Barcelona, but I have to try to give Aleks a heads up and find a way from the ferry.  

Arrivederci Italy

Alright.  Last night in Sicily.  Off to Barcelona in the a.m.  Italy left a wonderful lasting impression on me.   Such great characters and good hearted people.  Amazing food, beautiful sights and cities, and ocean.  Ah just everything.
     Back to Naples.  After watching, what was usually for this city, an old man chasing down and hitting someone being a nuisance to him with his cane, outmof the market, Simone and guiseppe his brother had planned an English tour of a museum.  They were such sports.  They genuinely cared that we say these things.  Simone always did all the talking and would get us the European prices for everything.  They even did it with us.  This was no ordinary museum however.  It was an underground two thousand year old roman theater that hadn't been discovered until recently.  In Naples, the architecture and building was traditionally don't on top of old monuments.  Therefore an entire city block had been build over, and even utilized parts of this old theatre.  During the war it had been used as a place of refuge, and even thousands of people would live down in the caves to escape the bombs.  All along no one really knowing what lay beneath and right on the other side of the walls.  Beyond the theatre were caves.  It was crazy.  Like windowns to b and bs just opened into it, and part of it had been used for a bike shop.  Archeologists had to give a family a new house just to gain one entrance to the underground.  The bottom foundations of houses just kind of are suspended over you as you walk around the underground part of an old city that was partially and mostly  once above ground.  You would have to demolish a whole city block to completely uncover it.  And from thousands of years of construction over within and utilizing it the foundation would probably just collapse if any structures were removed.  It was so cool.  It was on cities of the underworld.  There are a lot of places like this all through Naples, and many of which havnt been fully discovered.  We went down into the water systems deep beneath all the caves, through a tiny pathway, just barely shoulder width that had to be done entirely by candle light.  Kind of creepy and claustrophobic but so worth it.  It was a full day, as Simone said, filled with many projects.  He escorted us back by train to our hotel where we were alotted our rest time, before the project of the evening, the Napoli footbal match.  
       Guiseppe took us all and Simone rode with Vonda and Francesco and his girl friend that we had just met for the first time.  Guiseppe had grown on me.  He would sing and be goofy.  He really liked coming along for the time.  We crowded into the match, and had seats up quite close.  It was fun.  The crowd goes nuts.  We all got into the spirit.  We, by the end of the night, were exhausted.  I tried so hard to stay awake as the other two slept on the ride home to keep guiseppe some company.  Simone granted us permission to sleep until 11 haha, he got the clear from his friends at the hotel that it wouldn't be a rush to check out.  He would prepare a good day for us.  
   At 1145 the next day Simone was there bright eyed and bushy tailed.  He apologized for not bringing breakfast, but explained that Sunday they eat a lot fo food throughout the day so they don't eat breakfast.  We were joining his family for dinner.  His parents did not speak any English, not a problem.  Simone and his brother would translate in there broken English.  So funny.  His mom would go into long rants, all over the place with her hands, eyes locked on you, then pause and wait for one of them to translate without breaking eye contact haha.  They would laugh because some of the things she would ask or say they didn't even know in English.  What a proud mother.  So typical.  She rocked the apron the entire time and his dad had head to toe jump suit of bright blue, Napoli team colors, and Napoli blue slippers.  Shaven clean head.  His mother was so funny.  She gets very excited and is very affectionate with girls because she has only two sons her husband and no sisters.  Simone has been with vonda for four years now so she has her at least.  Vonda Simone Francesco and most of his other friends houses or flats are near each other.  We had a tour of the coast line before going for luck and he also pointed out most of there houses.  Vonda stopped in for a few minutes, but it was her mothers birthday so she couldn't stay.    
   For appetizers she made these fried dough ball things.  So good.  It is charming because she flattered herself often on her cooking.  She would have simone translate for her, that her friends come over and she cooks them things and they say it is wonderful, so she figured she mist be a great chef:).  She really was though.  She whipped everything up one after another.  One dish done she could clear the table in thirty seconds have the second course served and be sitting eating herself in under a minute I swear.  Things kept coming out of everywhere.  There was this strange nectar drink Simone gave us with the appetizers.  They we sat down for pasta.  It was penne and for me she made it with just tomato and eggplant.  Idk how she even made a sauce.  It was somflavorful  but with just using olive oil I think and mixing the vegetables and seasoning them just right.  Better than anything I had out.  Home made bread across the table on top of it.  His dad pouring wine down our throats.  They had the English dictionary out on the table to reference repeatedly haha.  Not a very good one.  It only ever had half of what we were looking for.  Lab rat was one we figured out for them.  His mom was trying to have them tell us their dad was her lab rat.  She makes him sit at the table on week nights when everyone else is busy and try whatever she decides to whip up.  They seem so young but they are retires.  They live in a flat, but it is really spacious and very nicely decorated.  I genuinely would have like this decoration for my own flat.  She was on top of her stuff.  The next course was sausage, which I guess was really good, seasoned pork, huge mozzarella, the best I've ever had and French fries with the extra oil hahaha.  But wait there's more.  Your choice of lemon chello, creme de lemon which was a creamy lemon chello or a creme de strawberry. Then homemade cake cobbler.  So good.  So full.  We had all sorts of plans to do a hike or go on marcellos  boat, but honestly it was just as nice spending time in a home, with such a hospitable family.  Guiseppe had a friend over as well.  They helped us find a ticket to Barcelona.  What a stress.  Francesco came over a little bit later too.  To celebrate the ticket finally we popped a bottle of bubbly.  Simones mother and father wanted us to google earth where we lived.  I showed them Hawaii, and where my boat was and my school and the beach and the mountains, and Sarah and sarahya did the same for Vancouver.  Bella bella she just kept saying.  She loved little Sarah.  She's hardly five foot and tiny.  She cuddled with her on the couch and wouldn't let her go.  It was funny.  Poor Sarah, but she s a good sport.  She made us home made hot chocolate, which you might as well call chocolate soup and had some chocolate biscuits.  As if it wasn't enough, once Simone could peel us out of his house, after first being reminded to send a magnet from where we live, his mom had the fridge covered top to bottom from places shed been,  we headed out at guiseppes request to meet some more of his friends at the bar.  And to meet up again with his friend from dinner.  We parted ways with Francesco,  so sad.  This kid is hilarious.  Then off to the bar for one last drink, meet a slew of knew people, then off to the train station.  He made it a point to swing by Vonda s even though we we running late.  It is amazing how much he really loves her.  Kind of makes your heart melt when you see them together.  Two wonderful people.  Too cute.  Guiseppe had the English dictionary in hand the whole time haha.  They were jacked up on practicing English.  He even called  out the car that cut us off, "your mother is a fucker".  Close.  I was dying, so much better.  They sped us right up to the station, walked in our bags, checked for our gates and even waited for the train to come.  So sweet.  sad good bye.  
      Boy were we dumb after not having to think for ourselves for three days straight.  The night train was absurd.  I felt like we were getting smuggled across the Mexican border like donkeys with drugs stitched in them.  There were only a few cars, no seats and it reamer like piss.  We had to set up in the tiny narrow hallways outside the six seat boxed rooms.  It was hilarious only because it was so aweful.  We all just looked at each other after twenty minutes to ourselves of silent problem solving, when we finally had to face our circumstances, and said...well this is it, good luck guys.  It was like the fight for comfort through blood shut eyes, numb limbs, dirty as floors, cigarette smoke, apparently when you are a second class citizen your train cart becomes the smoking balcony, and piss smell.  What a long haul.  We got to Palermo exhausted.  Couldn't find anywhere or even think.  Found a b and b.  Determined that we hated Palermo, partially probably based on our own foul dispositions and exhaustion.  Slept the entire day, looked up where to go next and set of first thing to the town our dinky dink airport is in, with the only flight near Barcelona.  Tripane.   As I had already said earlier on we got a ride to the b and b, and set off for the day.  We got pretty lost haha.  We finally found the beach, and the old town and just vegged.  It w nice and well needed.  Cool out but warm in the sun.  Perfect autumn weather.  Some people were swimming and in suits, they're crazy.  Hopefully Barcelona is nice but I think Croatia may of been the nicest weather I'll see until Hawaii again.  Early night in after a grab bag of candy and a canoli on the walk back.  Not to mention a splurge on some new kicks.  Had to be done.  I was feeling very grubby.  Back to the b and b for an early start to today.  
        We went to the island traverse....something.  Can't remember now. After our breakfast of course.  The nice owner had a dilectable spread for us.  So much starch for breakfast in europe.  They dont do the eggs or even meat thing, unless its cold cuts and cheese, anywhere outside of ireland and the u.k. We took a scenic tour first.  Well not intentionally, just the bus the wrong wy all the way to the country side then back to where we started where it headed of the other direction ten minutes to where we were suppose to off gone.  Only an hour later:).  It was perfectly though.  We caught the ferry just as they were setting off.  It was neat to get out into the Mediterranean.  So clear and aqua blue.  Sarah seriously messed up her neck so we decided not to rent and triple on the scooter.  Probably safer not to, even with all my experience doing so.  Instead we did the little train trolley thing.  So ghetto and tourist but hey for five euro it saved us a lot of walking.  Had no idea what the tour guide said.  We would just stare at the stuff he'd explain and everyone would UH and ah and determine that that was probably something important.  We got the ferry back after another beer at the harbor side bar, that gave us free olives and cheese plus.  We decided, since we landed back import near old town Nd city center to go for one last pasta dinner.  I got gnocchi.  Pasta and Italian is good everywhere but some places you really do feel lie you could get it anywhere.  It satisfies our final craving.  One last hunt for a canoli.  The best canoli s.  Bused it back for an early start to the airport tomorrow. And here I sit at 12 :24 still awake writing to you all.  I though I'd scramble to catch up.  I will have cherished and fond memories of Italy.  This has been a strange and glorious journey.  Simone wrote us one last message today,
GIRLSSSSSSSSSS i'm so happy that it's all okk.....  i think that is impossible imagine your fatigue^^,girls i want say you for last time thanks and sorry,thanks becouse your way of thinking has open our mind and has given us a new lease on life...and sorry becouse i didn't find a good place where you can sleep...yes becouse i would have liked thatt you didn't spend so many money:( maybe my home was a better solution.girls i was so sad sunday night i hope that a day in the future i can meet you again. thanks very much and remember my mom's words OPEN YOUR EYES in this travel also i think you are three intelligent girls and you are not in need of advice...good travel girls see you again i hope....remember also that i will want have your picutre of this period...enjoy on your way.
   I'll miss those guys. Arrivederci Italy, and Hola Spain.   

Rome, Naples, sicily

Ciao,
     How to describe Rome.  Being that I lack in creative adjectives, just combine all those that I use constantly, such as  magnificent, beautiful, amazing and incredible, and that is how I would describe it.  It is the combination of a booming metropolis and an excavation  site weaving through, and sitting on top of one another.  The landscape and sky line is dominated by splendid and intricate modern architecture with roman flare, and decrepit but fascinating remains from the Rome a thousand years ago.  The sculptures and fountains, that seem to stand as the middle ground between the ancient past and the modern era,  are still sprinkles throughout the streets, piazzas and along the bridges.    It is difficult to even comprehend the  time spans and eras of development like those of the roman empire, the renaissance.   Everywhere you look there is a beautiful fountain, statue or roman pillars, and it is hard to determine even from what time they are from.  The excavation sites,and eroded buildings clearly indicate that they are from before the far of the empire, and the fountains and statues can be assumed to be some piece of artwork from Bernini, Michael Angelo or perhaps one of the other renaissance artists to follow him.  You could spend a whole day in one piazza, or plaza, researching where each is from and it's origins.  It really is a quite stunning city.
      The first day begot an early start to head off to the Vatican.   The smallest sovereign nation In The world.  At it's entrance there is a massive open courtyard In a semicircle, surrounded by, had to of been Over ten story high roman style pillars, in three rows all around.  This faced st. Peter's basilica.   It was an enormous area and the basilica was as well.  The front balcony is where the pope comes out every Wednesday to greet those who pile in and await it.  We thankfully went on Tuesday.  I don't think we would have been able to see as much if we hadn't. I found it more of a priority to visit the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel than the basilica, although I can imagine its stunning inside.  In the museum they have a collection of replicas of the Greek and roman statues, and behind a locked gate originals.  I think I could make out some of the figures in the distance and I think that some of the statues behind lock and key are suppose to represent the disciples.    
They had numerous collections from Italian artists to egyptian mummy's.  Was a bit peculiar actually.  The majority of it, of course was religious art.  You could have spent hours but it generally wrapped you around and you were shuffled around with the crowd.  The layout however made it easy to just wander through and follow the crowd.  We started with the musio pio-clemintio, which contained the Greek and roman antiquities.  Following that was the galleria dell carte geographite, or map galleriey and the galleria degil Arazzi, or tapestry gallery.  The map gallery was various giant maps of Italy and I presumed territories once of.  The Vatican museum itself is an exhibit.  Many of the artwork is not in a collection on display, but part of the structure itself and painted right on the walls.  The tapestries depict biblical stories, some of which were quite graphic and desturbing, like the massacre of the innocence,which of course was the order of mass murder by Herod to kill all new born children and pregnant woman, when he heard rumors of a prophecy of a new king.  Or at least I think that is how it went.  To follow this was the stanze de rafaello which was once the private room of the pope Julius the second.  The biggest point of interest here is the stanza Della segnatura, which features rafael's master piece frescoes such as the school of Athens and disputation of the sacrament.  There was also one, I can remember the name, that depicted the battle, interpreted by Christians to be the fall of paganism, where co statins defeated his enemies after having received a revelation to march into battle with the cross on his battle flag.  Clearly the one the most significant turning points in human history.  After this Constantine declared Christianity the empires official religion,and ended the persecution of Christian, the second being on a good note,  on the bad note, the empire didn't last too long after.  They were all extraordinary workslf art, or rooms of art of I should say.
          Speaking of the walls being canvas, I had no idea what to expect upon entering the Sistine chapel.  I have never seen any thing so mesmerizing created by human hands.  All you could do was stop and stare in wonder.  There were layers of observation.  First you work through the astonishment that someone painted this all with z paintbrush tied up on a lift, with paint dripping in there eyes, then you try to work out how some things, that you were sure were figures, pillars and statues coming out of the wall, are actually paintings that were done with the use of no technology, and then you can begin to analyze the significance of some of the scenes and specific frescoes.   No picture could ever do this justice. Micheal Angelo was truly a genius.  If you stare the shadowing makes everything threes dimensional.  Every time you look in any direction there is something new new.  I was fooled so many times, it was unreal.  I looked and I was like, wow the statues are even brightly painted, and then realized cater moving positions and standing somewhere else that they were actually as two diminutional as the rest of the figures. I didn't realize until half way through that the curtains along the bottom protium were not actually curtains.  The creases and waves and shadows on them actually made them look as if they were moving and the glass that is placed over them reflects the crowned making it seem as though the light on the other side is making them somewhat transparent.  They had the scenes of the old Teri ate along the right side as you walk in, like Moses receiving the ten commandments from mt. Sinei  and the parting of the red sea.  There was the baptism of jesus, the first sermon and stories of the new testate Long the left.  Those were the only ones could make out at least, but there were about seven to eight on each side. Along the ceiling their was in the center the painting of god touching Adam giving him life, the creation of Adam and then eve and the fall from grace.  Again there were others I just couldn't figure out.  Significant pictures and paintings filled all the spaces in between.  The floor was a beautiful mosaic, but the alter was simple, as there need to be nothing added to this eye full of wonder.  It is one of those places that you find hard to bring yourself to leave, because you can't take your eyes off of it and you know you may never be so fortunate to see it again.  Unbelievable.
     I was satisfied for the day, but I split from the girls because I wanted to see st. Peters. After just parting ways, I gave up on the line and headed of to check of the rest of the sights.  Rome is very easy to get around.  The buses go along all the main road, all the sights are marked clearly on maps, and there are only two metro lonesome that cross in the middle right u der the maintain station.  I walked through a piazza and saw some historical buildings, walked to the pantheon, which is now a church, but the fact that it was the pantheon of the roman gods for thousands of years prior, it is now th eldest church in Rome.  I saw all the main piazzas, then went to the Italian government building, which had numerous remnants of temples and old churches on the streets behind it.  I could even see the colosseum in the distance.  After that I went to see the trevi fountain,found the famous gilato  shop, and after sunset went back to relax by the fountain a bit.  At around seven I found my way back to the hostel.  It is near the university, and about a twenty minute walk from the main station or temini.  All of the buses pretty much run to there so at least you could get yourself in walking distance.  We all pretty much arrived at the same time, and had gotten groceries for stir fry and to save on food so we could pay to see the sights.  My student Id gets me a couple euro off some places but it still adds up quick.  We had some veggies wine and called it a night to beat the crowd to the colosseum.  After of course, people watching some characters in the hostel.  I think I could write a cartoon just using a random character from each of the places I've stayed.  This one had a creepy Chinese couple that slurped there food it seemed like ten times a day.  They never ran out of noodles.  Left there shit everywhere and walked like dinosaurs.   Not even being mean, just very entertained.  
         The next morning we loaded up on free breakfast, escaped the hostel before too much commotion and headed off to the colosseum.  It was radiating sexy romanticism.  Idk wtf that even means but it just came to my head.  I guess I just wanted russel crow to come charging out dirty and bloodied mm .   But instead there are big hairy, perverted, Italian men dressed in costume that think making sexual gestures at you is going to make pay to have a picture with them.  We beat the crowd.  Even as we walked by after our tickets the lines were already starting to form.  Well worth it because we could walk right up to the balconies overlooking the center of it and really take in how massive this place really is.  Without people being loud and crowding around you it made it easier to think and imagine the intensity that this place must have really had. So cool. Idk even know what to say about it, I was so thrilled to just be able to stand and look around.  It is like an ancient super owl size stadium.  The Home of the legendary gladiators.  Incredible. These are like all the places since I was a little kid I thought would be the coolest places to ever see and I was there. I was always such a nerd about ancient civilizations and always dreamed of seeing part of what was left, from what I find to be the most fascinating time period and  cultures in the world, I wish I had a time machine.  That's all I have to say.I just want to go be there, and this is about as close as you get.  I didn't want to leave.  We left and as we walked out the line had already started to get so long.  

Ok well now I've already been to Naples, or Napoli and had one terrible long day in Sicily Palermo after a night train with no seats for ten hours.  Palermo, probably due to the lack of sleep, left a bad taste in our mouths haha.  We slept the entire day and hid out in b and b.  The nice thing about traveling in threes is you can go to places that don't have hostels and b and bs between three are usually really cheap.  we are on a bus now to go to tripane, where the random flight we found is out to a town an hour outside Barcelona.  Forty euro sure beats 300 for a flight though.  Naples was a genuine Italian experience.  We even extended our stay at the request of Simone and his family to stay for a traditional Italian Sunday lunch and dinner.  What seriously kind hearted people.  Francesco, the other friend originally from Ireland may even be getting a work visa to work in Vancouver with sarayha next summer.

Back to Rome, let's see what I can remember.  After the coliseum, which was another place you are hesitant to just walk out of, we went to pale tine hill and the old senate, where they excavated old temples, the house of ceased, the senate, and the surrounding houses of the rich and powerful of Rome.  It was a beautiful day.  The weather since Florence had been extremely nice, even down to wearing shorts.  In Venice, after the first day of rain it was nice as well but still chilly.  We walked through drawers house, where some frescos still remain.  You are let in just a couple at a time where you are then watched and followed to be sure you don't touch anything or take pictures.  You can't take pictures of fre OSS because the flash starts to warp them over time.  In the sisteen chapel they were extremely strict, besides it just being disrespectful.  Pictures in no way could do that any justice anyways.  My legs and feet were exhausted after hours of walking for two days.  We bus to main points but there is so much ground to cover.  It still took us three hours to just quickly see the old stadium and houses at palatine, then the senate on the other side, and the temple of Saturn where the nine Beatle virgins tended the fire of Rome for thirty years, ten to forty.   They had statues of them still erected.  This site is still a work in progress and you can walk by and see archeologist digging and sweeping away the dirt from different areas.  It is a massive archaeological site just sitting in the middle of the capital.  So strange.  We headed back to the hostel, rested up and headed out before sunset again to the Spanish steps with a couple bottles of wine.  After first getting our serving of gelato for the day.  I had gilato every day for like a week straight.  It was a cheap way to treat yourself, and it was everywhere.  Just big slabs you couldn't just walk by when you saw a new flavor.  This is not like gilato from anywhere else.  I didn't think I liked it until I got addicted to it here.  Sunset was nice, and everyone said we had the right idea, with our wine,  stolen Tupperware bowl with guacamole that we made grapes from the stand and a little box of crackers.  We are high rollers.  As darkness defended so did the obnoxious sales men with there squichy noise making balls that they throw in front of you and splat and laser lite pens.  Seriously don't know why these are everywhere.  And can't forget the rose guys that for some reason always think we want to buy roses for ourselves.   After this we were bound and determined to find travesti, which is an area across the river where there are lots of bars to walk around and evening markets.  Kind of the night life, without being in the tourist center.  This was a mission with a couple bottles down and one more at the bus stop.  There were nuns everywhere.  I had to hide the wine out of guilt haha.  When we helped someone with directions one of the other guys on the bus gave us a picture of Mary and said shed bring us luck in our travels and to never get rid of it.  That's a lot of pressure haha.  I have it in my passport.  After getting of at a few wrong stops and being shuffled by broken English directions from one frilly to another and bus to another to get back on track we made it.  One more bottle of wine.  Little Sarah was having a hard time keeping up but she pulled through.  Proseco, that was what I was trying to think of, that is like a champagne wine combination.  Found our way back to the city center from a corner drug dealer pretty sure, well no after I was positive:).  Got some zucchini pizza, managed to find a bus to the train station, we are pretty quick on memorizing public transit roots from going city to city so much now, then walked it from the train station bus stop.  The next day was rough.  We got our stuff together slowly, relaxed in the common area, which is pretty much a front desk, where we had the nicest Italian hostel attendant that just let us hang around, a few chairs and a love seat.  We slowly got out to the bus, or underground, can't remember al, the wys around now an dwelt to the castle, walked around the city center, and got one last amazing gilato.  Blackberry and peach and I got raspberry and dark chocolate, we all share everything to make it cheaper.  The blackberry and raspberry had seeds and tasted just like you stirred up the berries and added fat and sugar.  So good.  We wanted to catch the train at 7 because we knew Simone would be waiting at the train station at 8.  We told him not to wait but these guys are serious gentlemen haha.  Loaded up, piled on a packed bus because we couldn't walk anymore, squeezed out at the train station and headed of for Napoli.  
      Simone had arranged for us to stay on his friends boat at the yacht club, which was really just a small harbor with a locked entrance.  Sure enough Simone was standing at the end of the platform waiting for us.  Sierra, I love the way they say my name with the rolled rs.  Francesco was sitting right outside with the car.  I think they practiced there English for sure when they knew I was coming to visit.  We Gita tour in the car, and asked about our projects.  Plans are projects to them.  What is you next project after Naples Sierra they would ask. It was funny how they just blended all of our names together sometimes.  Sarayha was sariya, mine and sarahs weren't as hard.  This was Thursday night.  We couldn't go to the boat until eleven because pasquealla  hadn't gotten back yet.  They had two friend that lived int he acht club.  Him and so ones other very close friend, like a brother, Marcella.  This guys was a riot.  So sporadic in his motions and expression.  None of his friends spoke English as well as them but a couple of the guy friends knew a little.  The town we were staying in and Simone lived in is a bay town right on the water across the bay from Naples.  It is surrounded by mountains right up to the sea.  It is called castellamare, meaning castle by the sea, and it is after the castle that is overlooking the sea from the hill side.  From the boat you could look up and see it.  The town is known for having 28 different kinds of water, and springs are all over for this mineral water.  It makes sense because the volcano, that had covered Pompeii in 78 ad, mount visuvious, is right over the city, kind of creepy really.  After sampling some of the town waters we headed to the harbor, where there was one last spring.  There were four spiciest with water coming out and people with bottles to refill at this place from morning until night.  It tasted like sparkling water, seriously.  It was incredible.  It tasted like Simone had added carbonation and flavored it, but it came straight from the spring.  It is called aqua de Madonna, or madonnas water, one of the Mary apparitions.  The boys then took us to the boat.  We met everyone, had some lemon chello, which is homemade liquor with lemons soaked into it, until it literally has a lime color.  On mar cellos boat there were about four more of there friends from school.  This was a smaller town, and all of there friends they had known since high school.  They study, or most of them, but they live at home for the most part.  Simone for example still shares a room with his 29 year old brother in there parents house, even though there brother is an architect.  Why leave home when tour mom cooks a feast for you every weekend.  We went to a traditional pizzeria, where frencesco bought us all a pizza.  Literally an entire pizza each.  This is how they eat it here.  The pizzeria had the big cauldron looking dough mixer and huge fire oven.  This was classical pizza we were made to understand.  Naples is the home of pizza and where the first pizzas were made.  They are very proud of this. You only get pizza with mozzarella and tomato sauce.  Red white and green, from basil, like the Italian flag.  I honestly don't think, after having two whole traditional pizzas in the three days I was there, on top of three course meals, I will ever be able to appreciate pizza from anywhere else again.  Unreal.  They wouldn't let us get ourselves anything.  They're girlfriends from high school were hilarious.  One insisted on practicing her English with us.  She was rambunscous and so funny, even though we couldn't understand hardly anything she was saying. We all went to there little town pub, right on the water, in front of the dirty beach.  Simone got us beers, and refused, yet again any money.  They wouldn't even let us get pasquela something for his hospitality.  After a photo shoot with all of his friends that they insisted on having, we huddled into the boat.  Pasquella was going to stay with Marcella, even though he had his own room, but we insisted he stay in his own place, so he came back later after we settled in.  We were out. We didn't even hear him come back.
      Simone arrived in the morning right after we had gotten ready.  They guys have impeccable timing on top of being perfect gentlemen.  He had the most savory and delectable treats for us.  They were chocolate filled light pastries covered in sugar.  They are like malsadas but I don't think you guys tried those in Hawaii, so I guess I could compare them to sugar dumplings from Chinese buffets, and I know half of you havnt tried those, so long story short they were amazing, and he brought two for each of us.  Theywere lik a foot long already.  I am so starch sugar and caffeine out.  I never even drank coffe in my life until Naples, and by the end I was having an espresso break with them every hour.  Wow was I jacked up and on a sugar high for three days.  It was also so refreshing to not have to find where I was or what to do. He set out everything for us.  Break time, got a car to take us everywhere.  Wouldn't accept gas, or parking money, or even for us to pay hos admission into shit we knew he didn't really care to so, nut still acted so enthusiastic about.  We set off for Pompeii.  He showed us a famous church first, then we got his girlfriend from the train station after her class to come join us. I was impressed.  She was so pretty, and studying to be a doctor.  Simone is not the most attractive guy, but his personality outshines that of most people I have ever met, and he is studying to be a nurse.  They are adorBle and you can see she just really loves him.  She was thrilled just as he was to be showing the three random girls he met, the city they loved so much.  She had been up since four and they still walked around Pompeii with us.
   The site was huge.  It was literally an entire ancient city preserved and then excavated.  The temple, the marble shop counter tops, terra-cotta pots, paintings on the wall.  So eerie.  In the pockets archeologists kept discovering they began to pour in plaster.  When they pulled them out they realized they were int he shapes of the people that had been covered with the ash there then there bodies decayed.  They have some of these on display.  It send chills up your spine.  There are people covering there faces and laying face down with there hands over there heads.  Kind of puts it in a bit more perspective.  They didn't have time to evacuate, just as the people of the city now wouldn't if it were to ever happen again, which it very well could.  
        After this we went to the grocery store, because marcello offered to make us pasta on his boat, even though he ate at school, I'm beginignto love Italian men, dropped of Vonda, oh yea that was his girlfriends name, and went to the boat.  He made us these big lasagna type noodles with a. Creme sauce and sausage, that I sneakily picked out onto Sarah and sarahyas plates.  He then put on his water heater and they drove around for forty minutes so we could shower.  Such gentlemen yet again.  We would have been clueless if we were left alone after being privately escorted through our three days haha.one problem, he forgot to switch on the water.  By the time it got to me it was hardly sprinkling and I was covered in soup.  Good thing I'm used to this life style.  The girls were handing me in water bottles to try and rinse off.  It was interesting.  When they arrived we played mice and didn't say anything until marcello realized his switch was off.  He spiracly mumbled to himself stupid stupid stupid haha.  They felt so bad, but we assured them we were fine.  There was a sailboat race the next day so we had to move off the boats, but simone got his friend at the hostel to give a room for sixty.  It was nice and just for the three of us with our own shower.  Can't complain.  If it was just me I could have stayed on his couch or with Vonda, but I liked having the girls with me, and it made for a good crew.  That night, after our Allred two hour break haha, Simone came to gather us and get his brother and cousin and his friend to go to a restaurant where there was an a really good caustic musician they knew of playing.  It rained right after Pompeii so we couldn't do the beer festival. With the local folk bands as initially planned.  As he said, he arranged a nice evening project wi good people.  I could understand everything he meant by the time we left.  It is so interesting how people who hardly speak the same language can spend three great days together.  His brother was a corky guy.  I gathered he was just a bit of a dork, but he loved hanging out with us.  The dinner was a lot of wine and a lot a lot of food, after already having marcello whip us together a feast in a tiny boat kitchenettes.  Francesco met us for that hut couldn't come for dinner.  He hung out the first night but he works at five am and couldn't do two highs in a row.  He lifts and lowers the road blocks when trains go by.  Very boring.   It was a nice evening, after stuffing ourselves, be ause you can't seem rude.  Vonda came with us too.  After that his brother got two of the doughnut pastry things that we had had for breakfast for dessert.  Idk how they eat so much here, and they're skinny.  Well most.  Two very large girls scooted out of there driveway in front of us one day on there mopeds and Simone went, whoa she's very fat, whoa she is too, so sorry you had to see that.  I almost died, so unexpected of such a kind hearted guy, his genuine apology for it was what really got me hahaha.  
    This place gets more and more astonishing as time goes on.  Just from helping the artsy eccentric boy on the bus translate his Shakespeare a little lady from the bus squeezed the three of us in the back seat with her, after he mom and husband came to pick her up, and all our bags.  This was a tiny little deewoo sized car too.  They didn't even speak English.  Yet again this trip has restored my faith in people's capacity to be genuinely kind.  Tripane has left a much better mark on me than Palermo.  We are near the ocean, our b and b has bikes, and comes out to being like ten a night between us all.  P.s. Today is Tuesday.
      For Saturday Simone had a day planned with us and his brother in the city of Florence.  He came at nine to deliver breafast and collect I'd to gomget tickets for the Florence footbal match that night.  Super sweet frozen espresso with cream and chocolate, and this time chocolate filled giant croissants.  Wow.  I was narrow visioned and floating through the first half of the day.  They gave us a tour of the ci and the fifty churches within it, his brother being an architect, filled us in on gothic style to Basel I think it was.  This is the places and piecing together of marble for design.  Interesting.  We walked through the markets.  They had great markets.  There were nativity scenes.  These are extremely important and popolar to Naples.  Then a traditional pizza joint for yet another full pizza to our selves.  Our stomachs are so stretched at this point, thisnis not a problem.
    Checking in at our b and b.  Gotta get out doors at to the beach.  Finish this later.  Love you all.  I'm alive I assure you.  Farewell.  We can use bikes even:). The guy is super sweet and has two big dogs just roaming around.

Croatia, Venice, Florence and now in Rome. Whoa that's a lot

On my way to Florence.  Already postponed leaving Venice from last night to tonight, extending my stay in grandma death's attic.  Think that the hostel, or in my case the reception office attic is ruined by nuns.  She turned down like ten customers yesterday because she would not put boys with us two girls.  I met two girls traveling the same route as me for a while.  They paid for the night train between Slovenia and Venice on my way from Croatia when I didn't have a small enough bill.  Glad to be back to euros, the currency was getting complicated in eastern Europe.  The two girls names are Sara and sarayha.  Funny right?  We already got the, you've got to be kidding me, when we introduced ourselves in a row to the girl heather who joined us Friday afternoon in the attic.  I still very much prefer traveling alone, so I let them go ahead to Pisa and Florence yeaterday, because I thought Venice needed more time, and there really is not much in Pisa, besides of course the leaning tower.  I can google a picture of that:).  I also like being able to couch surf, and I have a place to stay in Naples.  The friends I had made in Galway and met again in Dublin, from Naples, found me a boat to stay on.  They can come stay with me, but I realized a lot of people walk a lot slower than me haha, and I like to cover a lot of ground, so I'll be leaving them in the dust.  I also ate more in one day with these two girls then I usually in a week.  We sat in a cafe in the morning and dinner at night.  Not really my style right now. 
    My last day in Krk was grand.  I took a ferry out to the island of Rab.  It is a gorges little Adriatic island with an old roman town on it.  There are four belle towers that you can see from the sea still coming into the tiny port.  You can cover the whole island in an hour.  It was gorgeous though.  There were grape vines hanging from the walls and old roman ruins, and a church connected to each of the belle towers.  I escaped the crowd by going to the end of town for the last hour to soak up the last of e warm weather for a while. The escape was easy, because I am certain there was not a single person under the age of sixty on my ferry or the other one that came in.  They couldn't walk that far.  It was nice getting treated on the boat ride back.  The kids that worked on the boat gave me an extra fish for dinner, and they kept sneaking me beer, when the old people weren't in line purchasing it.  I got into town with an hour to spare until the last bus back to Rijeka.  I grabbed my bag from the hostel, which was like my own little island get away thT weekend, and set of.  When I got to Rijecka I had a half an hour until the train to Slovenia where I had to wait from eleven until two thirty to catch the next train to Venice.  Even though I have only briefly stopped through Slovenia on two trip, I feel as though I have visited Ljubljana, that place is definitely not without it's stories. I did have a nice kid that worked in the 24hr pizza place give me a diet cook and let me sit at a table until my train came though.  
         I arrived in Venice Friday morning at 7:30 am.  Everything here is by boat, which is incredible to me.  It never got old.  I found the hostel that was ins my book, these girls would have been so lost without me haha, and they were booked.  There was a nice young venetian girl, however that told us about hotel marte, and a local place for dinner, which is usually 21 for the three course tourist menu, but with her card and name 17. I didn't go the first night with these two girls. They aren't much for really wandering around and traveling, although I do think I dragged them out a bit.  We just went to a typical tourist spot near the one star hotel that night.  This hotel was absurd, and probably my favorite place so far.  The attic is divided by sheet on the sides where it slopes down and some beds are thron behind there.  There are sheets and towels hanging everywhere.  This is definitely the storage and cleaning room.  The tiny old Italian lady just took our money said to come back at one then told us to just throw our bags in the corner of the lobby.  We went out to a cafe for breakfast, took a break,  after like two hours, you've got to be kidding me.  Then when it started to rain decided to do the normally really crowded tourist stuff by San Marco square.  It is really gorgeous.  The neatest city, with tons of dead end and random mazes of bridges.  I don't find it that hard at all to get around with a map, but you also never mind getting lost because there is so much cool stuff to see.  Just people driving there personal boats drinking coffee with there baby in a stroller next to them,  gondola s cruising tourists around and boat cabs and boat buses and bus stops of the sidewalks.  The sidewalks are labeled like streets.  The line for San Marco basil, where under the golden alter the remains of saint Marc are, is usually hours I guess but it was hardlyanything at all with the rain driving everyone into there hotels.  The hostels here are hidden a d you can only find out where to go by asking locals, so most people who visit pay a lot for a hotel room.  This is the most expernsive city in Italy.  The basilica was astonishing.  It had originally burnt down in the 900sbut had been rebuilt I the early 9 th century immediately after.  For the 1000s the elaborate detail of this ginormeous domed basilica is incredible.  Inside there are gold mosaics and everything twinkles with gold leaf.  The alter is a giant gold cross with golden figures of the disciples on both side.  The lateens that hang are this deep red and everything seems to be fastened and carved out of some precious metal or gold.  Definitely the coolest churches I have been to in europe, and there are a lot, more like a trillion.after this we wander through the streets, where after turning a corner twice you would some how miraculously find yourself in a circle.  Went back to check in where we were finally introduced to the attic.  The first option was the room at the nearest end with an actual door but crawl space high ceilings and one twin bed.  I think she honestly expected us all to share until I finally last piled in the room, and she realized that not everyone is four ten like herself.  She knew English but would repeatedly gabble off in Italian and laugh to herself, then finally just wave us on, "come on come on".  She was absolutely hilarious.  We moved to the far end where there were five beds,three in a row then two behind a changing wall thing that was about to collapse where she kid tons of creepy old baby toys.  There were photographs of random people everywhere and nothing but curtains for doors, Also everywhere, and lines with random things drying all the way back to the end room.  Even she knew that this was absurd, when I walked by her alone and she saw my face of astonishment she said, "comical".  Yes, comical it was. We set up cleaned up and went to ha e dinner. It was good but touristy.  Our server was a very forward funny and gitty  Italian man.  We might as well of gone to the restaurant that the girl T the hostel had suggested because after wine we ended up spending more.  
       After getting some candy, that all tasted like grandma candy, so I pawned it off on my eccentric waiter on the way past where we ate, we went back to the hotel.  I got a big sloppy kiss from that because I think he though I was being sweet.  I had to walk by him everyday to follow.  At the hotel we met heather.  I had the idea to go to the island villages of murano and burano the following day, so being that they had no plans and hadn't ever heard of these places all three joined me.  Murano is the closer of the two.  You have to get a water bus day ticket to get to them.  Venice is kind of like living in water world for a few days.  It is known for it's glass blowing.  There are incredible works and I even say a free demonstration.   I saw so much I wanted to get for people but knew ere would be no way it would make it back safely so I got a few bead, some pendants for everyone and myself a really cool pair of twirling hand blown earrings that I saw a last making right at her cash register.  I also got a mask.  I couldn't help myself.  It was the same handmade ones I had seen in the tourist shops for double the price.  There were such cool glass galleries and little shops.  After a few hours we got the connection to burano, where it is known for there lace and hand woven lace clothes.  Although impressive and meticulously done, not something I would collect myself.  The houses are so cool here!  They are all along the canal and each in a different pastel colors and bright painted shutters of different colors.  I loved it.  
    I was dead set on going to the Peggy Guggenheim museum so I broke off the two girls, who hadn't ever heard of it, and decided to stay longer or go to Florence later.  Me and heather started to rush there before it closed but realized we wouldn't have enough time so we saved it for today.  We dropped off our stuff and relaxed in the attic then set out for the place the girl had suggested.  It was in a local and remote part of town, and then that night we wanted to see  the part of town that is suppose to be the only night life.  
     I'm going to freak out because right now there is a brain dead jersey girl ranting about her fucking love for the jersey shore and how wonderful it is.  I'm about to rip my hair out of my head because her overly obnoxious loud voice, sharing useless stories to someone hardly listening is making me cringe along with everyone else around me, and the right ear of my headphone just stopped working.  Please don't let this be happening for the next hour.
    Anyways,  I will try my best.  The way to the restaurant was a bit confusing,but in wandering  through the little alleys and back streets in the light from the near full moon, we came across some really neat little hidden places.  One we walked in we told the jovial large bald waiter that Leila sent us and he immediately escorted us to a table for two and brought us, shoot I can't remember,  but it's famous, like a mix between white wine and champagne.maybe starts with a p.  If I didn't have this twat in the background I would remember.  Excuse me for my foul disposition towards this right now.  Even the Italian guy across from me finally slammed down his book.  The way dinner works here usually is. First course of pasta then a second course meal which was a choice between meat and pelentia or fried fish and zucchini.  the pasta was this really good seafood pasta with clams and calamari and shrimp.  Everything is fresh that day.  The fish surprised me.  They are little sardines, heads and all.  Apparently Venice is known for it's sardines.  They were good, just like fish, and it had calamari a d shrimp mixed in with a bunch of zucchini strings.  We got a jug of the house wine, which came out of a barrel and was served in a. Pitcher.  I don't usually even like red but this was fantastic.  As if we weren't stuffed yet here came free desert, and as our waiter got drinker and drinker at the bar he brought us over more and more.  We got some free liquore with cookies, which unless you dipped the cookie, as we were told, you would not have realized how deadly strong this sweet glass of liquor was.  When we finally got out, with under a forty five dollar bill and the best meal either of us had had since Europe, we clumsily managed to find our way to other side of the city where the night life it.  
   It is in. Huge square which is typically a shop spot by day.  By night the bakery, gilato shop, pizza parlor and fruit stands pack away there food and line some liqour bottle on the counter, bust out some bottles of wine and fill the soda fridges with beer.  Everyone just walks around the square, sits on the ground, or statues or the few benches.  It was neat to see.  We were a bit foggy though and heard grandma death say something about locking up shop at 2.  When we had first asked about keys when checking in she just laughed.  I think we would have gotten more of a response if we asked for some string or a twist tie to close our doors. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed, no blanket no changing, nothing.  At eleven this morning we got a late start to the museum.  I snuck on the water bus.  I have snuck onto far to much public transportation so far.  I'm down to eating bread and cheese and some fruit only again after eating out twice now.  I am glad we didn't rush the Guggenheim because we ended up spending near two hours.  There were a lot of Salvador Dali's paintings and Picasa and many other famous relatively modern  artists' works.  On the way I saw the Santa Maria as well, which was also very impressive.  There was this little triply Japanese modern futuristic are gallery set up on the way too.  Crazy, and some what disturbing, but entrancing sculptures and paintings.  We wandered through the remote part of town, which seemed to be a lot more residential, on our way back.  We stumbled out to, wait for it, cars.  It sucked.  We were on the edge of the city.  I wasn't prepared to leave water world yet.  It was easy to find the train station from there though and from that the hotel.  I went back.  Got a snap shot with grandma death, who never even checked if we checked out at all from day one,  and headed to the train station, where to my dismay everything was booked.  I finagled my way on with the conductor.  Apparently only two times a day you don't have to pay a ten euro fee to reserve, which are the two worst times to travel because they are in the middle of the day, in Italy.  I am suppose to technically pay eighteen euro I think but no one has come yet....fingers crossed.  Definitely shooting for couch surfing in Rome.  Then I can go out again and have a local to show me around.  There is so much to see and do there I definitely don't want the hassle of dealing with two other people, especially since they aren't little history nerds like me.
     Well I plan on doing Florence at least allay tomorrow, but if the last free of charge train for me is at four may stay until the twelve o clock one on Tuesday.  Stay in Rome until the cheap afternoon train Friday probably to go meet Simone.  Stay until Sunday or Monday morning the 17th, catch a night ferry, which I need you to call and reserve for me mom!  And can you call and see why the train isn't running between patras and Athens.  I need to get a bus if that's the case.  Can you see if the eurrail still runs to the islands still as well? Come on dog I asked you this already:).  If not I think I will skip out on Greece.  I need to know soon though!  I have to buy a plane ticket to London by this week.  If they don't I will do Sicily and Malta because that is included on the eurorail, and save Greece for another time. I do have a place to stay in Athens though so I'd like to know to let them know.  Ok cool.  So up to Naples I'm set, then who knows where.  Perhaps even a night train up to Switzerland if I don't do Greece, night train to Amsterdam, then take the underground from north France.  Have more time then after too to maybe take the ferry out to the island off Barcelona.  Really want to take advantage of my pass, but Greece is blowing it right now.   Maybe Tuscany for a day.  I'm in Bologna right now I think.   hmmm....don't have much more I can think of.  Kk.  Cool.  A little over stimulated.  Glad to not be stuck in Bulgaria right now.  It think eastern Europe if for a time not alone.  The girl heather I stayed with hitch hiked all of south America.  Don't worry mom, but it does seem fascinating.  I think you could hitch hike here pretty easily.  Couch surfing is kind of like train hitch hiking.  You just literally can't have a plan.  The guy in Budapest to me about someone who was hitchhiking around the world.  Finding boats to crew on across oceans, and hitching rides cross country.  I find this incredible really.  What a free feeling.  Find a job when you need it, don't think of anything else but sustaining yourself and living in the moment. My almonds smell like tomato from my tomatoes squishing the bag with them.  I'm pretty scurvy guys.  They even have a hint of tomato.  Sundries tomato almonds.  I think I'm on to something.  Ok I'm rambling, going a little delusional on my own and tired.  Jersey girl stopped running her trap so maybe an hour of shut eye before wandering around anew unfamiliar city.  Love you all, hope October is treating you right.
    Oh wait there is something else I wanted to share.  The gondola guys wear the crazy hats and striped shirts.  Apparently it is like a family passed down occupation or something.  Anyways,  I saw one of the guys peel of his striped shirt and just as stereotypically expected, he was wearing what else, but a wife beater white tank with a gold chain dangling over it. Too good,  So Italian.  kk bye bye now.


Alright so I never found, Internet.  Florence was neat haha.  Sunday night was a bit absurd, finding what to do with myself for a night.  I'm just going going to go into that.  I met Sarah and sarayha, finally found them, at the Santa Maria cathedral.  This this was massivecand dominated the entire square.  On the ceiling was the mosaic of the cupola of the baptistry.    This is the picture of Jesus with with the crucifixion wounds in his hands and feet sitting almost cross legged,  I remember it from the cover of,  sorry to say it,  the creepy song book at pats church:) from when I would go.  We checked out the ponte vecchio bridge, which was one of the only to have survived world war II and the oldest in Naples.  We checked out the gardens, which had various roman statues and fountains.  I got a picture of my favorite, which I will proudly show you all upon my return.  Then set off for Rome after some last minute reservations and a bottle of wine to bring on the road.  I'm so excited for Rome!    So much to see and do,  I don't know how I will do it all, but I'll try my best.  Also excited for Naples, staying on my friends boat and having a couple locals to show us around,  not to mention Pompeii, where I have wanted to go since I was like ten.  The train is classic.  No light in the bathroom besides the hole in the toilet that goes straight to the outside, shining in a little light. I'm sure I will fill you in on Rome by the time I get to Naples, or both together after.  I am really excited now to be traveling with some people.  The first time I havnt had to wander through a strange place alone.  We are way more on the same game plan than I had expected.

From Island to island

An Adriatic adventure from the island of Krk to Rab until Thursday night in Croatia to the floating city and islands of Venice by Friday morning. Incredible. I walked out of the train station at 7 a.m. To road ways of water, a maze of bridges and docks off the sidewalk for taxis instead of curb sides. Too much to tell about the last three days. I will attempt to relay the series of events tomorrow on my train to Pisa after taking the boat bus to the outlaying fishing villages of burano and murano. For now there is far too much to tell, and I am running on far too little sleep. Love you, take care, and goodnight.

Croatia, escaping to the island Krk

So after kicking through Bosho's door when the handle fell off in the bathroom,  I threw some money on the table, packed up, and headed of to Krk.  Probably the best decision I could of spontaneously made.  It is the coolest little town right on the ocean.  Decided to stay most of my time here.  I think I'm the only person in this romantic old roman town however.  There is no where to eat that is not sitting down, hence the reason I  sit  here by myself ordering off a menu I can't read in the cheapest little restaurant.  
Krk still has all the rock walled streets from the time of roman occupation, and the original bell tower.  the streets seem more like sidewalks than streets at all.  My hostel sits on top of old town.  I have my own room and my balcony can overlook the ocean and faces the sunset.  It's incredible really.  Yesterday I just spent the remainder of the the day after the bus trip roaming the town.  I signed up for an island excursion to Pag and some of the other islands for tomorrow.  All along the Adriatic coast from the town are little bays.  I just went to the first little swimming spot at the edge of town yesterday.  They grind out some flat spots in the stone to lay here and there and some ladders so you can get in and out.  The sea is so clear with teal and emerald green tints.  You can see straight through it even looking out fifty yards.  The sun sets behind the town and you can watch from and of the shores.  I must say this is probably my favorite town so far.  
   Today I walked all along the shore.  It was little bay after bay.  There is a neat little path all along the way.  Observations I've made were a lot of spedo s and naked topless old ladies.  After covering the whole coastline, I found myself my own little nook to sunbathe in the buff myself.  So relaxing haha.  Even if people walk by there is no second glance.  Hey everybody s doing it.  Nudity is not a concern here.  I have also made an observation that there are a lot of stray cats.  I have a few buddies I pass by regularly.  They always run up to me like I'm the creepy cat lady.  There is a big grey tiger cat that is always posted up on the path going to the first bay.  I've passed by him a good ten times now.  He walks with me.  There is another mangy yellow tiger that looks like something has been eating at it's face near the shop I always walk by from my hostel.  He just wants love but he kind of feels like straw.  Then there's a little frisky black one near the beach.  I really need to get out of the habit of playing with stray cats.  The little black one reminds me of Luna my little stray boat kitty.  There are neat little lizards with green stripes that scurry all around while i walk along the paths in the woods near the beach.  This place is tiny and the routes to take through the winding streets are limited so I walk by the same ten shop owners everyday.  They probably have started to think I'm just walking in circles.  I also ran into the german family from night one.  They are at the same hostel.  I see the same Swedish couple on all of my walks as well.  A lovely quant town. I really dig it.
   I am checking out in the morning, leaving my bag with the hostel and heading back to Rijeka for a night train to Zagreb tomorrow.  Not after first going through Slovenia again...oh boy.  I get into Zagreb at around4:30 so I'm going to nap with my bag for an hour or two then catch the first bus to the national park to hike the lakes and waterfalls.  After that is my long journey by night trains two days in a row to Greece.  Try to get ahold of you guys before embarking on that journey.
In case none of you realized, there is a map of where I am in the corner or bottom of these. Peace out

Vienna to Rijeka, Croatia

Great experience. I stayed with a host the weekend before school started.  Her name was Anna and she was definitely one of the strongest, physically and mentally, girls I've ever met.  Especially considering she was only nineteen.  A very admirable and remarkable young woman really.  She was national champion once in judo,  an amazing rock climber,  a great friend, and on the whole has the most open minded personality of anyone I've met on this trip so far.  She had just got back from three weeks in Israel where she had couch surfed the whole way through, and felt it was time for her to reciprocate.  That is why her first weekend back she took on two couch surfers from two different places.  Ezmond stayed with us as well.  He was a very courteous, respectful, and curious kid from Singapore, studying in Australia on an exchange in debark, traveling on his weekend.  It was like my own little buddy the whole weekend when Anna had work one day, and when she took us out with her friend.
      The first night I got a little lost looking for her apartment.  She was genuinely worried, and was up at one when I finally found my way there.  We stayed up and talked, she had work the next afternoon.  Ezmond and I did the quick tourist bit, of wandering around to ambunch of pretty buildings snapping pictures of random shit we didn't know the significance of, and so on.  This is why I have begun couch surfing if you get thendrift.  Pretty city after pretty city just start to look the same and blend together without some real experiences to stand out.  I much more prefer getting to know people from somewhere and understanding a deeper layer of it, or else you never truly do experience and see a place.  One really neat place, however, that I had read about and dragged Ezmond across town to find, was this architectural little village and gallery by the artist hunderwasserhaus.  Asians are good with maps too,  it was awesome not having to think for myself for once.  I had a little Getty guide that was on top of everything.  I contributed my knowledge of the underground when needed however.  Huderwasserhous, is an architect who design these colorful funky apartment building and little town centers.  He only has a few around Europe.  They are so neat, with curvy ceilings, brick and tile floors that are all uneven and humped up with mound, and crooked pillars.  He also has some paintings and retro artwork that are on display in his galleries.  It was much neater than even expected.  We made it back by seven to meet Anna to get directions by underground to her friends party.  She would ride her bike everywhere.  Surprise, another European town where everyone rides a bike.  
    The party was a lot of fun.  Most people in Vienna speak English, or at least a little.  They are also, very sweet.  Even the old lady on the subways when I arrived was hugging up on me and pat me on the back when I left.  We did not speak a word of the same language haha, I am assuming she thought I was cute and was wishing me good luck.  Everyone at the party would interchange German with English, and even when an in-depth conversation was going on at least one person, even if I hadn't met them officially yet, would let me know what was being said, or just start a conversation with me themselves.  I found myself genuinely laughing at Anna s one, particular animated, friend Jan (yan), then realizing he wasn't even speaking English.  It was quite neat seeing how people can still interact even when you aren't vocally communicating.  It is something kind of taken for granted when you never have to pay much attention to people's composure, body language and facial expression to develop an opinion on them, or get a feel for their personality.  Things can be sensed, much more than they can be understood through words I think.  Anyways,  Jan was very good at speaking English.  They say if you can get to a point with a foriegn language where you can understand humor and make someone laugh you can consider yourself fluent.  Well, Jan in is regard was very fluent.  In Vienna there is nothing but cheesy Viennese soup operas, so as explained to me, most all of them download sitcoms and American television shows illegally, and that is how they make the transition from school taught English, to slang and conversational English. Jan was even saying that when he wants to use smart ass remarks he finds that he thinks of what they are in English then has to translate them to German.  They too he says are brainwashed by the box, and attributes it to the downfall of his mother tongue.  He also wears baggy jeans past his boxers and listens to rap.  So to sum it up a white blond with a German accent, talking hood slang, and thinking that he is a character straight out of "how I met your mother".  We clicked right away.  Anna s ex was also very sweet and a lot of the other people.  A lot of girls shave their heads for the, and. A lot of the guys have dreads or long hair.  I got the sense they were like the hippie crowd.  If only I had realized.  The next night would have made much more sense.
    The following day we went rock climbing, or bould at her gym.  Anna is a very strong rock climber.  The gym didn't have ropes just challenging courses to train you form and two floors covered with different rocks and techniques.  The furthest you could far was about ten feet on to soft mats.  I loved it, I hadn't been climbing in a while, Ezmond had a bit of a challenge.  They never put us in the system so it was free when we left three hours later.  Went to anna s favorite restaurant right around the corner on the otherwise of her building.  Eat all you want pay as you wish.  You just leave like three or four euro when you leave. It was all sorts of curry s, rice and dessert.  Anna s a vegetarian too.  We had made plans to go to a trance party with her and some of her friends that night.  I didn't really know what I was in for.  I knew it was a bit like electronic.  Anna goes to a lot of the festivals for this all throughout the summer.  She had freshly shaved one third of her head the night before, geared up in her genie pants, bracket anklets and slipper shows.  I had jeans and a t-shirt.  A bit out of place.  It was held in a huge brewery with one stage for house, one for electron and another for trance.  Anna loves trance music.  It is called trance for a reason, and I will explain further on. 
     We got in a little early with the cheaper admission.  You wander through this gigantic complex, kind of like a factory, and past all the different stages Nd rooms.  What I gathered is house is for weird jacked up electro dancers and they get very aggressive.  Techno and electronic wS more people just clubbing and grooving.  Trance wS a whole different scene.  Let me begin by explaining my first impression.  It is like the hippies of techno music.  If you take the sixty year old burnouts from a grateful dead tribute, combine them with the thirty year old hippies from a phishing concert, and throw in an electronic dance club you get trance.  It was like a combo of LSD and ecstasy.  The music would mellow out then intensify and the projectors would go nuts and the screen in front would have crazy scenes flashing and dancing.  Honestly, I think a lot of them were taken from the discovery channel special Life.  Everyone was for sure on edibles,  I suppose we weren't the only ones who had a good baker in our group.  Every time is started to dance with some rhythm I'd have to catch myself and start kicking out a leg or something to fit in with whatever grooving nature techno dance was going on in this fucking place.  I couldn't focus on anything for two long or else I would have broke out in hysterics.  Just play along.  For as much as every single person in the room was dancing no one touched.  Getting through the crowd was so peaceful.  You just had to touch someone on the shoulder and they would casually. slide to the side without breaking there groove.  it was like I was Moses splitting the Red sea.  Poor analogy I know, but it did cross my mind.  Everyone was literally in a trance.  When the music would climax, I shit you not,  everyone would do the same exact thing and all look up like they were orgasming at the same time.  Unreal man.  When people from the different electronic scenes mixed it was extremely peculiar.  For never being to one of these, you could still see right away that someone did t belong.  When people would come down and start there crazy intense house break dancing thing, all the trance people, would calmly bob to the otherwise and keep on going.  With all that said,  I loved it.  Strange yes,  peaceful fun atmosphere, absolutely.  Managed to find our way home by five.  Ezmond was even grooving, but I don't think he had ever experienced or tried  anything like that.  I grew very fond of this west littl guy by the en of our trip. 
     The next day when we woke up,  Anna had us paint something on her apartment walls to remind her of us.  The apartments a very old Vienna style, with high ceiling and huge doors, and massive bedrooms, with no common area but hallways to get from room to room.  Very nice.  Ezmond painted something in Chinese.  I painted a sailboat, and she asked me to put a surf board on it, so I painted on a yellow one like the one I used to have.         It made me homesick for a minute, but not in a bad way.   We then headed out to get ice cream at her favorite shop.  Ezmond had to catch a train, and Jan and Lucas, Anna s ex came to meet us to go to the park for the rest of the afternoon. I was going to go see the palace, but like said, enough tourist stuff for me.  Jan used his city bike card to get one of the city bikes for me and we all biked through Vienna, at about a million miles per hour it felt like to me on a cruiser, and headed to the park.  It was massive.  Literally one of those tight rope walking things between every two trees.  We just hung out and enjoyed the afternoon, while Lucas and I played frisbee for about two hours straight.  He is kind of like a sweet little kid.  Made plans go come visit me in Hawaii,  that will probably never happen like all the other, but still is fun to imagine.  I left to go pack and shower.  Anna showed up before I left and made me a grilled cheese for dinner.  Then off to the train station, where no I did not leave, but was told the train does not leave until eight the following morning.  Almost eleven thirty, so I just kept my fingers crossed that Anna was still awake. Hot back, and thankfully the apartment building door was still open.  None of her roommates were home and her room is furthest from the door and has thick walls.  I knocked a few times, then used her Internet again to try to see if she had a number she gave me.   By this point a girl that had must moved in across the hall walked up and say me with my bags knocking and offered her phone.  No number.  She without hesitation invited me into her apartment, showed me the couch, said farewell after a little chat, and good luck on your travels.  I left at seven this morning and at four thirty in the afternoon I am still on the train.  I slept all the way to Ljubljana Slovenia where it took a break to be cleaned before the last three hours of the trip.   
  Everyone in Slovenia seemed really sweet, and was very helpful when I was trying to figure out what was going on.  The screens that would usually tell you what platform to go to were half blown out, and the cleaning ladies couldn't tell me why I had to inboard the train that I had been under the impression went straight through to Rijeka Croatia without a transfer.  I had initially planned on a night and afternoon in Ljubljana, and thought if there wasn't really a train this won't be half bad.  That was of course until the teenage boy coming out of the girls bathroom spun right back around as I walked by,  with a drooling face and half opened eyes, grabbed his junk and started making a humping motion.  I flipped obviously and he walked away.  I wasn't really scared just disturbed haha.  There were people all around.  Although i had a sense he was still around so when I came out I was holding the heaviest object I could and took a good swing at him just to really get my point across.  Then casually walked up to my train where a sweet old Scottish man and I waited for our train to Croatia, unmarked, to be finished getting clean.  I am excited to head straight for the ocean. I train leaves tomorrow at 5 in the afternoon, with a three hour layover at midnight half way, then continues down to split on the peninsula, where I hope to hear back from the twenty nine American couple I am in contact with.  My hosts have written me really good recommendations so far, because I usually clean and cook breakfast, so I think they will at least see that and take me in.
    I am excited for some outdoor activity. The weather is beautiful,  the ocean is warm still, and even the capital which I will head inland for a day to see, and catch a train out, has a beautiful national park right outside with waterfalls and hiking trails.  
   Take Care.  I will keep in touch as much as possible.  Love you.  
-Sierra 
P.s. This is the second time a Croatian police officer has come into our cabin to check our passports.  Maybe they want to be sure that the other blond girl and I are not smuggling anything or being smuggled ourselves.  Somewhat intimidating and comforting at the same time.
  Ok wow.  So I'm to Rijeka.  Had to do some bargaining with the apartment owner at the train station to get a room.  I am in eastern Europe now,  hostel are sparse if any.  Between me and another backpacking family from Berlin, we are splitting a tiny studio apartment, I'm on the love seat in the living room, for 45 a night.  I pay fifteen.  The guy Bosho  is hilarious.  He gave us a grand tour of the town, along the harbor, on our walk.  He is an old sailor.  When we got to the apartment the water is off the washing machine is getting installed, but it's a place to put my bag and sleep.  The family is so cute, even the little girl has her own rucksac.  I want to be like that someday haha.  They are sweet, and have no problem letting me crash in the hallway slash kitchen.  Doesn't hurt looking innocent.  The town is small and quant, but I'm a street away from the ocean and an hour bus from the island Kurt.  Head over there tomorrow, or just a beach near town and make my way to split.
   Bosho is ridiculous, finding both me and the German family, all over town.  This city is far too small.  I think he's getting. Kick out of it.