7/28/10, Wednesday - Contributed by Danni Leifer

Early last week, Amin and I arrived in Hungary. On Tuesday, July 20, we went to Vienna, Austria, and we returned to Budapest two days later. On Friday, we met up with Jessy and she took us to the Great Market Hall. She had to be back at her apartment at 4PM to catch the shuttle that would take her to the airport to meet Corie (arriving from Turkey).


While Jessy headed back to her apartment, Amin and I went to the West End mall and then back to our hotel, the Queen's Court. Jessy texted us at 5PM to let us know that Corie's plane would be landing in 20 minutes, around 6PM she texted us again to inform us that Corie was with her, and finally at 7PM to tell us that they were both at Jessy's apartment. After Corie got settled, they headed over to our hotel.


It was very exciting to see Corie after 4 weeks! I noticed right away that she looked tan and thin. :) She had lots of presents for me (and my turtles); some Turkish Delight (candy), a few blue and white items to match my house, and turtle memorabilia from almost every place she'd visited.

After we caught up a bit, we headed out to dinner, which my dad generously paid for, at a restaurant near the Oktogon area of Budapest and Jessy's friend Jackie met us there. Amin and I shared a pizza, Jessy got a pizza of her own, and Corie and Jackie each got something called a sandwich with cranberries and blueberry sauce, but it really wasn't a sandwich since it didn't have any bread. After dinner, Jackie left, and the four of us went to a very old, well-known restaurant called Gerbeaud where we got ice cream sundaes (Amin got a piece of cake).

Following dessert, we explored the city a bit and took lots of pictures by the Danube and the St. Stephen's Basilica. We stopped for a minute to watch a street performer man who played classical music on water glasses.Since we were missing our other quarter (Aimee), Corie suggested we take some pictures and leave a space for Aimee so we could Photoshop her in later.

The next morning, Saturday the 24th, Amin and I met Corie and Jessy at Jessy's apartment at noon. We had plans to meet a penpal (email pal, actually) of mine that I started corresponding with about five years ago, but had never met in person. We took the metro and tram to the Cog-Wheel Railway Station where Lajos was waiting for us.

After introductions, Lajos explained that it was only a 15 minute trip to his village, Budakeszi, but we'd be taking a longer, more touristy route. We took the old and bumpy, but scenic, Cog-Wheel Railway to the top of the mountain. From there we got on the Children's Railway, a train operated by 10-14 year-old Hungarian children (Lajos referred to it as child labor).

We got off the train near Budakeszi and walked into Lajos's village. We saw a monument to the man who wrote the Hungarian National Anthem and lived in Budakeszi for awhile, the local post office, and an old steam engine. On the way to Lajos's apartment building we walked through the peaceful town and saw lots of cute houses and fruit trees.

When we got to Lajos's house, the first thing I noticed were the leather jewels. Five years ago, my purchase on Lajos's website leatherjewels.com, is how we first became acquainted. Now I was getting to tour the 'factory'! We spent a lot of time pawing through the merchandise before we finally decided which pieces we wanted. Lajos didn't want to take any money, but Amin left him some, anyway, although it still probably wasn't enough for all the things we got!


While we were 'shopping', Lajos was preparing some food for us. A few years ago he had sent me a recipe for potato pasta and Corie and I made it; it was good but we didn't know if it turned out correctly. Apparently, it didn't. Lajos's potato pasta tasted much better (and spicier) than ours! He had also provided us with a raspberry drink - originally it was concentrated in a bottle and then he put it in a glass. Then he put some water in a canister and when he sprayed the water into the glass, it was carbonated because the canister had acted kind of like a whipped cream can.

We told Lajos about the man we'd seen playing classical music on water glasses the previous night and he informed us that the man used to play on glass jars before he saved up enough money to buy the glasses. While we were eating, Lajos showed us all the different kinds of paprikas he had and he also brought out three different Hungarian wines for us to try. Before we left, Lajos gave me a couple of gifts: a can of pork and beans and a can of goose breast (also with beans so Jessy called it Goose and Beans) because we had discussed it in one of our many emails. He was such a great host!


After dinner, Lajos walked us to the bus station (we passed a Trabant, an old East-German car on the way) and Amin, Corie, Jessy, and I took the bus back into Budapest. We chatted with my Mom on Jessy's cell phone and walked around the city some more. We discovered a little jazz fest going on that had some crafts and food. We bought and shared a cinnamon donut-like thing that Jessy and I had eaten earlier in the week. After some more exploring, we headed back to our hotel where we hung out for a bit. Amin said his goodbyes, since he was leaving at 4AM the next morning and Corie and Jessy headed back to Jessy's apartment.


The airport shuttle was scheduled to pick me up the next morning, Saturday the 25th, at 10AM. It was really nice of Corie and Jessy to venture out in the rain to stop by at 9AM with breakfast. I ate my croissant and cookie, packed up my stuff, and said goodbye at 10AM. :( It was a very dreary, depressing day (the only one we'd had all week). When I called Jessy from the airport a little while later, she and Corie had gone back to bed! I know Corie's having a great time, but selfishly, I'll be glad when she's back home in 2 weeks. (Jessy will be back in 3 days!)

7/21/10, Wednesday - Istanbul, Turkey

It is now the end of my first of two days in Istanbul. After my frustrating trip here, I phoned the hostel and they sent a shuttle driver to find me. I shared the "shuttle" (a VW Jetta) with a Swiss girl, Giuliana, who was half American and half Italian and was in Istanbul for a wedding. I arrived at my hostel, settled in, and then ventured out to see the city. My first stop was the Blue Mosque. There I started talking to Wendy, a native New Yorker who now lives in D.C. We got along so well! She was in Istanbul to celebrate her 30th birthday. It was about 6:00 by the time we met, so we grabbed a kabob, and walked around to check out the city. One store, not far from where we were staying had some really nice jewelry that Wendy was interested in. The typically pushy shop owner finally convinced her to try a necklace on (by basically putting it on her himself.) "It shows off your tits," the old man told her. "And you have nice tits." I was rolling on the floor laughing. Interesting sales pitch.

We looked around a few more shops before calling it a night and agreeing to meet the next morning for a bus tour. I retired to my room and spent an hour or two conversing with my roommates Jo and Ellie (from England) and Gonoula (from Germany) and getting to show off my impressive German skills!

7/21/10, Wednesday - Istanbul, Turkey

I am now on the plane to Istanbul after an incredibly stressful morning. My day started by being woken up by this gross Indian guy talking to our roommates with zero regard for the fact that I was sleeping. "Where are you from?" he asked them. "Australia," they whispered back, aware I was trying to sleep. "I am from Mumbai," he proudly told them, apparently hoping people at home would hear him. After 20 minutes of attempting to sleep through his echoing voice, I angrily got up, stormed past him, and went to breakfast. I don't even think he noticed I was annoyed. After breakfast, I used the computer for an hour and left for the airport with exactly the right amount of time to spare. I got on the metro to the airport. The train stopped about 5 stops before the airport and everyone but me got off the train. One Greek man looked at me strangely. "Hello?" he said. He was trying to tell me it was the train's last stop. I am so thankful that he told me, as minutes after I got off the train, it turned around and headed back into Athens. I exited the train, still unsure of why this train, unlike the other 3 that I had taken to/from the airport, required me to switch tracks. Frustrated and a little panicky, I said out loud (but mainly to myself) "How do I get to the airport then?" A guy about my age answered. "Go up the stairs to the platform across the tracks." As I moved to the correct platform I saw that the next train to the airport did not come for 18 minutes! Though I had left myself the perfect amount of time to get to the airport, I was suddenly running 20 minutes late. I arrived at the airport and ran with my bags like an Army cadet to the check-in counter . Just in time! The check-in guy was very nice and said I had time, but that I was the second-to-last person to check in. I thanked him for his help and went to passport control. I got in line behind a Canadian woman. Though I was stressed out knowing that I had less than an hour to make my flight, she was well past stressed out. She was ready to hyperventilate as she explained to me that her flight home to Canada left in less than 45 minutes. She was in a panic. After standing in line for about a half hour (even though there weren't that many people in front of us), we finally made it to the front of the line. The kid that was checking passports could not have been more than 16 years old. We passed through passport control and sprinted to security, only to find another discouragingly long line. By this point, my new Canadian friend, her two sons, another Canadian woman behind me, and myself knew we had less than 10 minutes to make our flights. The panicked woman asked if she could use the security line meant for airline staff and I tagged along. Good thing, too! As I finally made my way through the last check point, a man from my airline (Pegasus) said to me, "Pegasus?" "Yes!" I said with excitement. "Where have you been?!?" he yelled at me with anger. I had tried to have a good attitude throughout the morning knowing I could always fly to Vienna to meet with Danni or Budapest to meet with Jessy if I had missed my flight. But after my train mishap, the long lines, and this random Greek man screaming at me, I lost it. "Where have I been?!?" I yelled back. "Maybe if you'd tell your ***** security to hurry the ***** up I wouldn't be so late!" I screamed as I ran past him to my gate. It is probably a very good thing I had to run to my flight because at this point he had pissed me off something wicked and if I had the opportunity to stand around and exchange words with him, I might have found myself in a Greek jail.

I am now in Izmir, Turkey on a layover. While I was aware that I was stopping here, I was unaware I'd have to disembark, take a van (just me and the driver) to another terminal, and buy a 15 euro entrance visa! If my bag wasn't on its way to Istanbul, I would have turned around and flown to Vienna to meet up with Danni and Amin. As I was unaware of my layover, I gave the wrong arrival info to my hotel. I hope they are still there to pick me up. The directions that they provided seem difficult to follow. I am so frustrated today that if they aren't there, I might take my bag and hop on a flight to Vienna or Budapest instead, especially since now I can say I have been to Turkey. I have the passport stamp and visa to prove it. The criteria we have set for claiming you have been to a country or state (and not just flown over it) is if you could be arrested by their police. If this is the case, than I have been to Turkey and Greece more than anywhere else!

7/20/10, Tuesday - Santorini, Greece

I haven't written much lately, as I did not feel the need to share my bad attitude and mood across country borders to whomever might be reading this. I don't even like moody Corie and I figured no one else would want to read her negative thoughts, but positive, fun Corie is back after 2 wonderful days in Santorini, so I will write my blog in retrospect (from July 17- July 20).

I woke up in time to eat breakfast, take a shower, and make it to Natalia, Michelle, and Meredith's hostel by noon, when we had agreed to meet up. I took a bus to go see them where they were staying at Hotel Perissa. I asked the bus driver when I got on the bus if he knew of it and he said yes. As the beach we were headed to is called Perissa beach, I had a feeling he wasn't really listening to me and that I'd have to keep an eye out for the hotel. As we cruised along the curvy roads of Santorini smushed in a bus like sardines in a can, I began to talk to the people around me on the bus (it started with me apologizing for basically laying on their laps). I told them I was going to Hotel Perissa, not Perissa Beach, so when we passed the hotel, it was a whole group of us asking the bus driver to stop. I showed up at Hotel Perissa and met up with the girls. They are great and I had a fantastic time with them. We took the 4-wheelers they had rented and went down to the beach. We had a super cute waiter on the beach who brought the food and drinks directly to our lounge chairs. I told them about Kamari and that they should check it out. Natalia teased me. "When people ask 'How were the Greek Islands?' You can tell them 'the rocks were amazing!'" We laid on the beach all day until I had to go. I left on a bus to make it back to my hostel in time to catch my plane back to Athens and, tomorrow, on to Istanbul.

7/19/10, Monday - Santorini, Grecce

It is the end of my first of two days in Santorini and I am finally starting to see the appeal of Greece! This day almost made up for the suffering and boredom I have endured over the last few days.

My day started at 4:30 am so I could catch my 7:00 flight from Rhodes to Athens and then Athens to Santorini. The same American businessmen from my flight to Rhodes were on my plane leaving as well. Quite a coincidence…

As I left Rhodes, things almost immediately became better. I am not sure why, but I even got my own row in business class!

With my horrible opinion of Greece, I was probably a hard guest to win over, but the family that ran my hotel started off on a good note. They were at the airport to pick me up, something no other hotel has offered me. It was nice not to have to worry about how to navigate a bus system or pay an arm and a leg for a taxi. After explaining a bit about the island, the hotel owner offered me free breakfast. While eating, I started talking to these Aussie girls, Ez and Trish, who told me they were going to see the famous sunset in Oia that evening and were nice enough to ask if I'd care to join them. I quickly and graciously agreed to meet up with them that evening. I went and changed into my bathing suit and headed to Kamari Beach. The first thing I did was get a massage on the beach. Though I believe the baby oil she used to be the reason for my sunburn (even though I also gave her sunblock to put on me), it was well worth the 10 euros for a 15 minute back massage on the beach. On Kamari beach and the beach I am going to tomorrow to meet up with my American friends (Michelle, Natalia, and Meredith), there is black sand, as Santorini was formed by a volcano. My science-loving, dorky-self was most impressed with the volcanic rocks. Though you'd think that black sand beaches made by volcanic rocks consist of black rocks, it is not the case. There were also sorts of colored rocks; green, blue, yellow, orange. It was beautiful and I collected a lot of them. There were some nice Americans that gave me their raft as they were leaving. Though I didn't use it today because I was afraid I'd fall asleep and end up in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, I definitely plan to share it with the girls tomorrow.

After my day at the beach (where I got fairly sunburned despite having applied 50 spf sunblock numerous times), I went back to the hotel and showered and looked for my two Aussie friends from breakfast. As I was walking into the hotel, I saw other girls I knew! Katie and Steph, my Aussie friends from my flight from Milan to Athens a few days before happened to be staying at the same hotel as me. Today has definitely been a day of serendipity. In addition to bumping into Katie and Steph, Ez, Trish, and I went up to Oia to see the famous sunset. On the bus next to me was a woman from Great Falls. She actually lives about 3 miles from my dad (off the same road and everything!)

We then went out to dinner and made our way back to the hostel.

7/18/10, Sunday - Rhodes, Greece

I have just finished my day in Rhodes. While the age of Greece is quite impressive everything else about it couldn't be less so. It is run down and dirty and the least Westernized place I have ever been (including Morocco and Honduras). I don't mind non-Western culture but this place is gross.

I arrived in Rhodes on a late flight from Athens. There were two American businessmen on my flight. I caught a glimpse of their passports and was pretty excited to talk to them. "Nice passport," I said. I began talking to them and learned that though they were from New York, one was of Greek decent and owned a house in Rhodes.

My hotel in Rhodes was beyond disappointing. In fact, I would go as far as to say it was disgusting. I arrived at around midnight. Rather than try to navigate the bus system so late at night, I felt I had no choice but to take a taxi. Though it was 32 euros, it was a good decision, as I never would have found the "hotel" (hereafter referred to as the roach motel) on my own. I checked in and it was if they were annoyed that I showed up so late. I explained that I was only there for one day (which contrary to what my American businessman friend said, was plenty) and would like to see as much of the island as I could. "Does a tour of the whole island exist?" I inquired. "Well, it's too late for us to book it for you tomorrow since you arrived so late," I was told. I went to the room they gave me, as I was exhausted.

The room was infested with bugs. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to kill them all, but it was no use. I was so outnumbered! Additionally, the room I was given was directly in front of the hotel bar, where some British people were getting drunk and living it up. I hate to be the buzzkill, so rather than asking the front desk guy to shut them up, I requested to change rooms. I was happy in my new room until I went to unpack my bags and saw the biggest spider I have even seen. It was so huge, I think we actually made eye contact. I gasped and sprinted out of the room. (Note to my high school track coach: if you wanted me to run faster, you should have found a spider like this!) Though I am no girly-girl and am not afraid of bugs, I thought if I tried to smush this thing, it might fight back. I ran into the lobby frantically saying "There's a tarantula in my room! There's a tarantula in my room!" The front desk guy came back upstairs with me and killed it. After paying extra for air conditioning and conducting a very thorough spider hunt, I was finally able to sleep. The repulsiveness of the hotel is illustrated by the fact that when I checked out nearly 30 hours later, the dead arachnid was still on the floor in his final resting place.

Today I visited the cities of Rhodestown and Lindos. Rhodestown had a lot to see. I visited the Fort of St. Nicholas, Avenue of the Knights, Church of the Virgin, and the Palace of the Grand Master (doesn't that sound like something out the World of Warcraft or Magic the Game or something?). I paid to take a brief (self-guided) tour of the Palace.

I also stood (at some point) where the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, once stood. See, they are not sure exactly where it was. It was rumored to have stood straddling the river, but they now know that is impossible. It is believed to have stood where Fort St. Nicholas is or where the Palace of the Grand Master is. Either way I was there.

I bought some souvenirs for my sisters and then took a bus to Lindos. I arrived at the bus stop in Lindos and after walking down the only street I saw, began to feel very frustrated. All I saw were two small stores, a few hotels with pools, and more donkey farms than I care to think about…(the donkeys weren't even fenced in). Right before I gave up and went back to Afantou (the village where my hotel was) I asked someone if there was an actual town to see. "Cross the street and you'll see a carpark," I was told. "Then go down the stairs and down the hill." Turns out the town itself is not really visible from the hill where the bus drops you off. Once I found the actual town, it was quite cute. The problem was it consisted only of souvenir stores and restaurants. I felt like the whole town was designed to make you spend money. Sort of a Disney World without rides. I only spent like an hour and a half there before boredom set in again, and I headed back to Afantou.

7/17/10, Saturday - Athens

Today will be my third day in Athens. Right now I am sitting on a curb waiting (indefinitely) for a bus to take me to Cape Sounion. If nothing else, the bus trip should take some time. During the day I am taking a trip outside Athens because I am so bored here. It is the first time on this trip that I have been flat out bored. It isn't that I hate Athens, but I can't begin to explain how disappointed I am.

I just finished my very brief daytrip to the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion. I only spent like 10 minutes there, as I have seen many ancient ruins in Greece. The highlight has been the bus ride, as it travels along the rocky coast and has provided countless beautiful views.

Tonight I fly to Rhodes where I will spend 2 nights and 1 day and then I am off to Santorini.

7/16/10, Friday - Athens

When I had originally booked my hostel, it was full for the middle night of my three night stay in Athens. Knowing I'd need some respite from the hostel lifestyle anyway, I treated myself to a (fairly inexpensive) four-star hotel. Wow! Let me tell you! I used their (very small) rooftop pool with a view of the acropolis, took an hour-long shower (to scrub the hostel off of me), and watched BBC World News. The only other things I have seen on tv for the last 3 weeks have been soccer (only not broadcast in English). Man, I have missed tv- and knowing what is going on in the world. I then slept for about 14 hours! I guess I had a lot of sleep to catch up on… around 2:00. I left the hotel and checked back into the hostel. My big outing today was going to see the first modern Olympic stadium.

7/15/10, Thursday - Athens

While the hostel I stayed at in Athens was very cool and I met three awesome Kiwis (people from New Zealand), Athens itself was less than interesting. There is quite literally one thing to see here; the Acropolis. This area at the top of a big hill is where the Parthenon and other ancient temples are. It is at the top of a large hill, and though climbing it in 104 degree heat left me feeling less than fresh, after having climbed Masada three years ago in Israel, it really wasn't a problem. After visiting the Acropolis, I went to the new Acropolis museum, where hundreds (if not thousands) of ancient statues and pieces of pottery found in the Acropolis are housed. As you may be aware, I am very much not a museum person. While the age of the artifacts was incomprehensible (and believe me, I know how uncultured this is going to sound), my favorite part of the museum was the air conditioning! I believe it hit over 110 degrees that day.


After the new Acropolis museum, I saw Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus as well as the Greek parliament building. Unfortunately, I covered most of the sights in about four hours, which left me struggling to find things to do since. There is this well-preserved temple that looks like the Parthenon, but is at the bottom of the hill. When I told this Aussie guy that it wasn't the Parthenon, he was very disappointed. "Wait," he said. "So there is only one thing to see here?!? I thought there were two… Great, now what I am going to do tomorrow??"

7/15/10 - Contributed by Jessy Leifer

France always starts out frustrating - two years ago in France when my hostel gave away my bed, and now Friday, July 9 in Marseilles. Corie and I had planned to meet Friday night and then travel through the south of France. Unfortunately, because I had booked my hostel so much later than she had, we weren’t able to stay in the same hostel; instead, we were about three blocks from each other.

She texted me before I left to tell me to take the number four train from the airport to the train station where she would meet me. The only problem with that plan was that the buses stopped running at 10:30PM and my plane had landed at 11:15. To make matters worse, my Hungarian phone didn’t work outside of Hungary and the pay phone wouldn’t take my credit card or my coins. Since it was either sleep at the airport or get to my hostel and find another way to contact Corie, I decided to take a 60€ cab ride to downtown Marseilles. It was in that cab ride that I found out that even though I couldn’t call or send text messages, I could in fact receive them, and I received plenty of panicked text messages from Corie. Knowing her the way I do, I knew she had to be freaking out; if she hadn’t called the French army already, she had at least called Danni.

Once I checked into my hostel, I walked to where I remembered Corie’s hostel being on the map, but I couldn’t find it (apparently I walked right by it, but the sign was so small I missed it). I went back to my hostel where I emailed everyone that I was safe and to let Corie know I was at my hostel where she should meet me the next morning.

I asked the concierge if I could make a long distance phone call to a Dutch number [Corie's European cell phone is from Holland]. He was a bit reluctant at first because the hostel only had one phone and that was the one that customers used to make reservations (and because he was French). However, after explaining the situation, he let me call Corie’s number, as long as I kept it under a minute or two. She answered and we decided to meet at the Vieux Port (the Old Harbor) just a few blocks away. We were excited to see each other, but she kept slapping me in the head for freaking her out so much, as if I did it on purpose. :)

 Anyway, the next morning we woke up bright and early in order to meet at the old harbor by 10:00AM. We took a double decker, hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city. We didn’t get off anywhere, but it was nice to see the city and places like the prison where The Count of Monte Cristo takes place. We ate bouillabaisse, which is like a French paella, and some ices, then headed to the train station. As I was wearing the Holland jersey Corie had bought for me, we drew quite a bit of attention from both those supporting Holland and those supporting Spain.

We arrived in Montpelier to find Corie’s friend from Operation Smile, Maria de la Torre, and her husband Timothy waiting, along with the daughter of a friend named Carolina. They drove us through the city, pointing out Roman aqueducts and shopping districts, before driving us to their beautiful villa thirty minutes away. We passed medieval castles and drove through quaint French villages. We turned off the main highway (which connects Barcelona to Italy) onto a little dirt country road. Immediately we fell in love with their 200 year old home, with its courtyard and vineyard walls.

Maria and Timothy were beyond hospitable, cooking us a five course meal, and not letting us help in anyway. We had four kinds of authentic French dips for appetizers, followed by beef and corn, salad, four types of amazing and smelly French cheese, and ice cream with chocolate wafers. We had Cassis (black current) champagne. Everything was so good that I had three glasses of champagne and seconds of just about everything! Over dinner we learned that Carolina was 24 and trying to get into university in Lyon, France, so she was living there for a year to improve her language skills. Timothy was some sort of international businessman, and gave me some advice on picking a future career. Maria was a linguist for Operation Smile, though she has been a professor at William and Mary, and is starting her own non-profit. She updated Corie on the goings on at Operation Smile.

We also learned about Maria’s romantic lifestyle. She and Timothy own a house boat in London and an apartment (which they rent out) in Bangkok. Her life is so serendipitous, as if the people she meets were meant to be in her life and she was meant to be in theirs. Neither she nor Timothy were meant to be on the plane that they met on, yet somehow fate or destiny brought them together that day. She told us four or five similar stories, taking place all over the world: New Orleans, France, Holland, Ireland…

 After dinner, Timothy and I went into their piano room, where he taught me how to break away from my lessons and improvise, to play whatever I wanted and felt like playing. It was amazing. These people live the life I want to live!
As I went upstairs to go to bed, Timothy showed me their terrace. After I had changed, I went outside and sat there, letting the music and talk from their neighbors waft over the vineyard wall, as I sat thinking to myself, “I am sitting on a terrace in a villa in the south of France. How romantic that sounds! This stuff only happens in movies! Who does this?!” At one thirty I called it a night.

We woke up at about ten the next day, Sunday. As I was getting ready Corie informed me that they were making breakfast for us. I was not expecting anything like that. Maria made us mini pancakes with powder and jelly. They were so delicious! Timothy made us coffee that looked like it came from Starbucks, with whipped cream and chocolate flakes on top.

They told us they would drive us east past Marseilles to a town called Toulon, where we could catch a train to Nice and it would be cheaper than from Marseilles or Montpelier. We passed by beautiful landscapes and towns, with ancient castles and rice patties. We learned that flamingos live in that region of France as well. They wouldn’t let us pay for gas so we had to settle for a snack at a gas station. When we arrived in Toulon, Corie and I thought that we were going to hang out and walk around with them for a bit, but instead they took us right to the train station. They had driven more than two hours just so we could save on our train tickets! We said good-bye and thanked them for everything and were on our way.

 The train ride to Nice was an hour and a half ride along the coast. When we arrived we immediately found our hostel, looked for food, then looked for a place to watch the final match of the world cup. This was a big game for our family- Corie was supporting Holland, wearing a Schneider jersey, and I supported Spain, having studied their two years ago and wearing my support as well. Everyone we passed could not get over the fact that we were together. “Companions?” they would ask. Or they would just yell at us which team they supported. We found out our hostel was showing the game in one room in the basement of the hostel. By the time we arrived, it was so crowded you couldn’t get through the doorway, so we went back to the concierge desk which had a TV behind it. We were joined by a group of seven Canadians, a Finnish guy, and a Scotsman, all of us crammed in the narrow hallway in front of the elevator. After the game Corie and I took a bit of a walk, where we passed a restaurant called Why Nice? (instead of How Nice?), but her grief (from her team's loss) was too overwhelming so we turned around and went back to our room to go to bed.

The next day, we woke up by 9:00AM. Corie let me plan the day and we decide we wanted to rent a car so we would be on our time, rather than relying on trains and what not. We rented one from Hertz and were allowed 200km (I don’t know how many miles that is). We drove up the coast, with the Mediterranean on one side and the train tracks on the other. This was the slower route, but it was beautiful and the faster route was a toll road. We drove through French coastal towns and passed beach stands and even an old fortress.

Once we hit Cannes, we parked the car for a bit. We walked through an antique market and down to the Old Harbor, where we took a ferry to nearby Saint Marguerite Island. The island is home to the fortress where the Man in the Iron Mask takes place, though it is not used anymore. Now the island is a beautiful park, with little restaurants, a museum about the fortress, and amazing beaches, perfect for a hot day like that one. We picked a place on the beach and went into the water. We had to wear our flip flops because the beaches don’t have sand, just pebbles, but the water was a perfect temperature. We were surprised to find out how salty it was and how easy it was to float. Then, we decide to eat our lunch on the dock right there. However, we realized a little late that the dock was in the middle of a summer camp, though they didn’t seem to mind so we stayed.

 We ate quickly because of the camp and because the cheese we had bought was melting, then took a little walk toward the fortress. We decided not to see it because it was up a big hill and we had other things to see. By that time it was already 3:00 in the afternoon so we headed back to the car and drove south past Nice to Monaco. The road became curvier and curvier but it was so lovely that we didn’t mind. We just kept saying, “Oh my God look over here!” or “Oh my God look at that!” and taking pictures all along the way.

When we got to Monaco we went right to the casino Monte Carlo. We took pictures of all the fancy cars we saw: Teslas, Maseratis, Ferraris, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, and so on. Each license plate had one letter and three numbers, like a bingo card or something. We went in the lobby, but couldn’t get to the game rooms because it cost money. Instead, we took a bus to the Royal Palace, which is on a cliff overlooking the rest of the tiny, tiny country. We read about Grace Kelly and took pictures. We ate a wonderful meal at a restaurant up there, where one man spoke English and told us he was half English, half Monacan.

 We went back to the casino as it was getting dark. Since Italy is just a few kilometers away, and we had another 100km left on our car, we headed west. Unsure if we had crossed the border we stopped in a small town to ask some people. The first people said, “We don’t speak French,” and walked away. As we don’t speak French either we weren’t sure if that meant we were out of France or Monaco or if they were tourists. We asked someone else and he laughed and said no, that we were in the town of Menton, France. As we drove through the town on the way to Italy we noticed how cute it was and how many people were still out on a Monday night at midnight. We saw a little street market and decided that if it wasn’t too late, we’d stop by on the way back.

 We crossed the border into Italy, rushed along by an angry motorcyclist. We were about 6km from Genoa, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, when we decided to turn back, unsure of how many kilometers we were from Nice. We stopped in Menton on the way back and walked through the market. I found a bracelet with my name spelled correctly and had to get it. We asked the salesman if it was a French name and he said, “No it’s English!” Maybe it’s British, because I can tell you from experience Jessy is certainly not an American way of spelling that name!

 We returned to Nice at about 1:30AM and left the car behind. We finally fell asleep by 3:00 only to be woken again at 6:00 by our noisy roommates. We woke up (for real) at 10:00, after being yelled at by the hostel manager for not checking out on time. We went to our local grocer, the same one we had used for breakfast and lunch the day before, and then walked downtown. We walked down the main tourist shopping street then up along the shore. On the promenade we found a small tour bus called “Le Petite Train” and rode it throughout the city. I bought a chocolate croissant then it was time for me to go.

My flight was for 5:30 so we got the bus stop at 3:00, where a bus shuttle ran every half hour on the half hour. We waited. And waited… and waited. We didn’t realize that “every half hour” translates to “whenever” in French. After 45 minutes the bus still had not come and I was beginning to stress out. Corie and I ended up talking to three American girls who also needed to go to the airport. The girls were so nice and let me share a cab with them. The driver raced to the airport and we got there at about 4:15. Luckily there was no line and I made my plane with plenty of time to spare.

Overall, the trip was fantastic. It started off frustrating and ended a bit frustrating, but everything in the middle was amazingly awesome. The best part, of course, was that I was with Corie. So to answer that question, “Why Nice?”, well why not?!

7/12/10, Monday - Nice, France

Jess and I had a great day.  Got back (to our hostel in Nice) about an hour and a half ago.  Rented a car, went to Cannes, an island off Cannes, Monaco, and Italy.

7/12/10, Monday - France, Monaco, Italy

Today Jess and I had a very busy day. I was tired of planning, so I handed the reigns over to her for the day. Shocking, I know. I am not usually one to give up control so easily. But she did a great job planning and we had a very busy, very long, but very fun day. We decided to rent a car. The car we rented was a Hyundai and barely had the power of a moped. In order to make it uphill, I had to have a running start and in the parking garages I had to floor it around corkscrew exits (the cars were parked beneath ground) which left Jess and I laughing as hard as we could and feeling like we just stepped out of the movie the Italian Job.


On the way to the train station (where you rent the car) we stopped at our local grocer to pick up stuff for lunch, then headed to Cannes (as in the Cannes FIlm Festival). Cannes had some of the biggest boats I have ever seen! They were private yachts, but looked like cruise ships. We even saw a boat with Jessy's name!


We strolled around an antique market and then took a ferry to St. Maugerite Island off the coast. There we changed into our bathing suits and got into the Mediterranean Sea! It was really hot that day (and every other day) and the water temperature was perfect! The water was very salty so we floated around for awhile. When it was lunch time, we dried off and made ham and cheese sandwiches on a pier. It was wonderful! We kept joking that we could season our sandwiches with the salt on our arms that was resin from our swim.

It turned out that this pier was owned by a summer camp. As the counselor walked by with 15-20 kids we apologized and she said it was fine, but about 60 kids would be coming and she wanted to warn us. When no more kids showed up, Jess and I decided she must gave meant 16, not 60. When we finished our lunch and got up to leave, Jessy turned around and said 'Ohmygod!' I turned to see what she referred to as the French Naval fleet, about 50 French children, all in their own kayaks. She said she thinks it looks like the opposite of the storming of Normandy!


After St. Maugerite, we made our way down these curvy roads with the most amazing views on our way to Monaco.Aas only 32,000 people live in Monaco, Jessy and I got a kick out of their license plates. 'B505,' she read outloud. 'It sounds like a bingo number.'


We visited the casino in Monaco and took a bus to the Prince's palace. We did a little souvenir shopping and ate dinner near the palace, then got in the car again and crossed the border into Italy. On the way back, we stopped in the French border town of Menton, which was extremely lively and even had a street fair (though it was around midnight).

7/11/10, Sunday - France

I arrived in Marseilles Friday afternoon from Fes.  At the Fes airport I was having trouble zipping my bag and a nice guy offered to help.  We were unsuccessful but when I went through security I tried again.  This time the nice guy's sister offered to help and we finally got the bag to zip.  We started talking and she told me that she is going to do a 4-week art program in France.  When she got on the plane and saw me she wished me a nice trip so I invited her to sit next to me.  Turns out she is 22 years old and this was her first time out of Morocco and her first time on a plane.  I asked the guy in the aisle seat to get up so she and I could switch seats and she could see out of the window.  I sat in the middle for the rest of the flight.  I was happy to let her sit by the window, but still hate sitting in the middle...  She was so sweet and thankful though that I really didn't mind.  We talked the whole way to Marseilles and exchanged facebook info.  We promised each other that if she came to the US or I went to Casablanca (which I will one day) that we would meet again.  I was happy to provide a little comfort and security for her and help her figure out a little how to get around a foreign country.  I then took a bus into Marseilles.  I had a little trouble finding my hostel, as the name of the road it's on changes before it gets to the hostel.  Anyways, I walked around a bit  and saw the ville charitie, the cathedral, and old port (which is where my hostel was).

We had plans for Jessy to text me when she landed at the airport and I'd meet her at the train station.  Her plane landed at 11:15 and when I hadn't heard from her by 12:00 I began to panic and I called Danni fairly hysterical not knowing if Jessy was okay.  Of course Danni with her rational thought processes came up with multiple reasonable explanations.  Maybe her phone doesn't work outside Hungary.  Maybe her phone is dead.  'Maybe she's dead!' I said.  Maybe she was kidnapped at the train station.  My mind was racing.  If she doesn't show up, I will have to call the police and I don't even speak French!  I will have to try to explain to the the situation and they won't understand.  After 2 hours and about 40 panicked phone calls to Danni, Jessy called me from her hostel (we stayed at different places because my place was full) to say she was fine and her phone didn't work outside Hungary.  Guess Danni was right.... Anyways, in the 2 minutes Jessy and I had on the phone I told her to meet me at the old port.  It was very exciting to see each other!

The next day we spent in Marseilles.  We took a double-decker bus tour and ate bouillabaisse, which is the dish Marseilles is known for and we also went to a little market.

We walked all around the city, went to the train station and bought tickets to Montpelier to see Maria and Timothy.  We went back to the hostels, collected our stuff, I said goodbye to the really nice girls that worked at my hostel (with whom I had become friends) Zuzana, Kim, and Sophie and then we took the metro to the train station.  In Montpelier, Maria and her friend's daughter, Carolina, picked us up.  I can't imagine anyone more hospitable than Timothy and Maria.  They gave us a mini tour in the car of Montpelier and then drove us about an hour into the countryside and hills of south France to their French villa in a small village outside Sommiers.  They have the most amazing French villa with a courtyard in the middle where they fed us a wonderful dinner and breakfast the next morning.  They even did my laundry!  Travelling really makes you appreciate clean clothes- how luxurious!  It was really great to see Maria again and get to know Timothy and Carolina. After breakfast, they drove us to Toulon so our train tickets to Nice would be cheaper.  We drove past fields of grapevines, sunflowers, and even rice patties brought by Vietnamese immigrants, as Timothy explained, when France had a large presence in Vietnam.  I was truly amazed (but not surprised) at how truly great they were to us both.

7/11/10, Sunday - Nice, France

Jess and I arrived in Nice around 6 or so. We got some dinner and then watched the final game of the world cup. I wore my new Snijeder jersey and she wore her Espana shirt. We got a lot of attention! No one could believe or get over the fact that we were together. I guess in EUrope the world cup can pit brother against brother ike the civil war. ha! Luckily, nothing, not even soccer, comes between sisters! Well, that is, until Holland lost... (just kidding)
I was sad and a little bitter and definitely got harrassed when I wore my jersey out that night and was remembered by many of the locals. 'Espana!' they'd yell at me. I'd stick out my bottom lip and put my head down. It always seemed to get a laugh.
There was a restaurant in Nice called 'Why Nice'. Jessy said she assumed they meant 'How Nice' since why Nice makes no sense.

7/7/10, Wednesday - Fes, Morocco

It's a bit like a mix of Aladdin (in Las Vegas), Israel, and Honduras.  Very cool place.  I have been taking loads of pics!  Fes is known for their artisans so I saw the process of making leather and rugs and ribbon, all by hand.  Everything is handmade.  It's a bit like Hawaii in that I don't want to buy anything because I'll get swarmed by other people selling stuff....

7/6/10, Tuesday - Ghent, Belgium

Now I am on the train from Ghent back to Brussels. Ghent was such a good suggestion from my Belgian boys! What a picturesque, beautiful place! There were several times that I took pictures of 360 degrees of where I was standing. Ghent used to be the second largest city in Northern Europe (beat only by Paris) because it is the place where 2 rivers meet. I must have taken more than 100 pictures! I also ate a Belgian waffle and real Belgian fries (French fries are actually from Belgium) as well as this sugar coated gel things called the famous noses of Ghent. (see pictures) They are purple and look a little like wax candles. I asked the guy at the kiosk what they were. I wasn't even sure if they were food. But they tasted good!

7/6/10, Tuesday - Brussels

Now I am on a train from Brussels to Ghent. I was sad to leave Amsterdam and all of the nice people I met, but I would really like to move to Holland one day. Maybe Haarlem, I loved it there! I went on a windmill tour. Dorky, I know, but I actually learned a lot. Each sail means something different, and depending on the angles of the sails, messages were conveyed (ie birth, death, or warnings in times of war), I was also walking around Haarlem and discovered the most beautiful church that wasn't mentioned in any of my tour books! That is how I judge a good city I think... Can I walk around and accidentally discover something amazing? Yesterday was my last day in Amsterdam and I spent it with my friends from the bulldog, Joel, Matt and Bryan. Today Holland plays Uruguay, I am wearing my new jersey to support my adopted country, even though I am in Belgium. I asked a guy at the front desk of the hostel (in Belgium) if it would be okay. He said 'well people might not be that friendly to you', but people in Brussels aren't very friendly to me anyways...

7/4/10, Sunday - Amsterdam

Today is Sunday, July 4. I didn't even realize it was July 4 until it was like 4pm. It's hard to keep up with the days here on vacation. Today I spent the day outside Amsterdam in Haarlem. I loved it! I really enjoyed the train rides too, but apparently like cars, trains make me sleepy. I watched the Spain/Germany game with Bryan, Alexis and Ben, some new friends of mine. I also bought a Sniejder jersey, as he kicked the goal that put Holland on top of Brazil. Who knew I cared about soccer? I think it's easy to get caught up in it when all the streets are lined in orange!

There were some French guys in my room, here for a bachelor party weekend. Apparently it's traditional in Europe to make the groom-to-be dress in a pink grass skirt or something. It was only like 7:30 pm and he was passed out. Later he told me they made him drink Absinthe. Ouch.

7/1/10, Thursday - Canary Islands

I am now at the airport leaving my side vacation to return to Holland via Brussels. Last night when I got out of the shower, I walked past this room and this guy said hola. I went back and got dressed and went to see if the Irish guys were staying in there. They weren't but there were 2 Belgian guys that I sat and talked with and had a rum and coke. They suggested that when I am in Belgium to skip Brussels and go to Ghent instead. I think I might just do that...

Before that, I spent a very long day in Maspalomas and La Playa De Ingles. There was so much more going on there than in Pozo. I had a really nice time. I rented a towel and a locker for 1 euro and laid out and went in the water for a bit. The beach was so crazy! 50 percent of the women were topless and there was no shortage of naked children. And that was not the nude beach! Finding La playa del ingles was hard. Everyone here is German. It's hard for me to imagine that there is anyone left in Germany. Because there are so many Germans everything is in German, English, and Spanish.