We had made plans to go to Urbino late in the week after Pamplona which left us a few days to kill in between with which we decided to spend in Marseilles. Neither of us had been there before and both had an interest in the city because we love the book "The Count of Monte Cristo". One thing we've been really lucky about on this trip is meeting nice people who show us a different side of the place we're visiting. This held true for us here in Marseilles as well where on our first night we were invited up for drinks on the terrace of the man who was renting us the apartment, Jean. Even though we didn't know it, it was Bastille Day and there was a huge fireworks show that evening. They had invited several of their friends and some of the other guests with a huge spread of food which included a variety of breads, cheeses, and meats, melon, a carrot and curry salad, a zucchini frittata with a little bit of mint, and some other things I don't remember, followed by a delicious fruit and cream dessert during the fireworks-all homemade. We were so surprised and it was a great introduction to the city. For the other two days there, we took a ferry over to the Chateau d'If, saw an exhibit at the Fashion Museum, and took a train ride through the town to visit the Notre Dame de la Garde at the top of the city. We also enjoyed a little organic cafe we found called Green Bear Coffee owned by this young guy who gave us some of his homemade cheesecake to try because he wanted an American opinion. Brian kept commenting on how nice everyone was in Marseilles which was very different from his last experience in France. Some other things we loved about France was their incredible train system. Everything was super clean and efficient with plenty of space and air-conditioning. I could travel like that all the time. We had heard from some people that Marseilles is the Naples of France and while we definitely saw that in some areas, we also saw a beautiful port city with such a history (it's the oldest city in France), really nice people, and great food. All in all, it was a great time.

Check out the pics on Picasa,

Jessica and Brian

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As you will have read in our recent posts, we've been traveling now more than ever. And needless to say, have exposed ourselves to the pains and pleasures of public transportation. We have taken planes, trains, buses, ships, cars, boats, gondolas, tractors, taxis, bikes, scooters, metros, and of course... a piedi for what feels like a thousand miles. Sometimes it's a breeze, both literally and metaphorically; other times, painfully unpredictable. But regardless of the circumstance, we have always managed to find our way... arriving with more self-confidence than the day before.

From London, we booked a flight on RyanAir to Barcelona. We didn't however arrive in Barcelona. We landed in what RyanAir considers Barcelona; Girona, a small town 50 miles north. From there we took a bus, which had us on Las Ramblas by midnight. Tired, yes. Cranky, yes. Hungry, probably.

Our room was perfect, and in my opinion, the best value we've seen yet. Private room, private bath, AC, shared/modern kitchen, internet, and the location was in the heart of Las Ramblas, the main thoroughfare in Barcelona, all for 45 euros a night. Deals like this will mend a weary traveler, believe me. Then we went to bed with no intentions of waking up before noon.

At noon, we awoke to a downpour that would make south Florida blush. The skies were grey and gave no sign of relenting. We were too hungry to wait, so we skipped out in the storm with our tiny umbrella and took shelter in the first restaurant we could find. This would be our first meal among many other disappointing ones in Spain. Protected from the rain, we ordered what we assumed would be good anywhere, Paella. Not true. Unsalted, overcooked, flavorless bowl of rice it was. La cuenta por favor. Back in the rain.

I wish I could say that this was the worst of our meals, but it just aint true. The tapas tasted like it was being degraded for the tourist season. The sauces were mild and the sandwiches... boring. I'm not sure what caused it, but my acid reflux came back... probably the taller, watered-down cups of coffee.

The saving grace for our Barcelona was the Boqueria Market. It's a daily food market, one of the best in Europe apparently. We took plenty of pictures, so I'll let those that story. We also visited La Sagrada Familia, which was the most impressive cathedral we have seen in Europe thus far. It as well as many other sites there were designed by Gaudi. Plenty of pics to see. We walked around, explored, got lost, admired some of Picasso's stuff, had a picnic, bought a chipmunk from a street vendor and released it into the wild... ya know normal touristy stuff. That was Barcelona for us.

Then we went to Pamplona for the San Fermin (Running of the Bulls) festival. If I had to describe Pamplona in July I would only need three words. Urine, vomit, and drunk people.. okay four. Of course, most people there might've used more flattering words like party woo!!! or running of the bulls!!! yeah!! Or up all night man! yeah! Either way, you catch my drift. All we wanted to see was the bulls, and what all the fuss was about. And for me, the fuss wasn't worth it. The idea is exciting, but the reality... to me... was cruel. We didn't see an actual bull fight though, because our bus was leaving.

All in all, our experience in Spain wasn't what we hoped it would be. However, we DID spend our time in the most touristy spots and during the peak season. We will give it a second shot... someday.



Lunch at Boqueria Market

La Sagrada Familia

Tiny Elevator

Bull gore

Chipmunk Liberation

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Since neither of us had been to London before, we were excited to go. We did a homestay in Chiswick a bit outside of the city center which turned out to be a pretty great little area close to the metro with good restaurants and...Starbucks. I was thrilled. Our first full day there, we met a friend of Brian's, Kingsley, who took us on a walking tour of London with his girlfriend, Ayesha. It was so great to have someone take us around like that to see all the sights. So much quicker than finding our way on our own and we got to see things that aren't just touristy as well. We spent the next day with Kingsley and Ayesha watching the Wimbledon final between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer at a pub (I was pulling for Roddick), walking around, and getting dinner. Monday morning, Brian and I got up super early to get in the "queue" for tickets to La Traviata at the Royal Opera House with Renèe Fleming singing Violetta, my favorite opera singer. We had tried to get tickets months before and they were sold out, but thankfully the ROH does the cool thing of holding 67 tickets of every performance to be sold the day of the show, first-come-first-serve. We were able to get good seats at a much better price than the ones we were looking at on e-bay. After getting the tickets, we went shopping for something appropriate to wear and had a lot of fun at Topshop. The opera was wonderful: Renèe sang beautifully, Joseph Calleja was amazing as Alfredo, the ROH was gorgeous and their chorus was incredible. It was such a fun evening. The next day, we toured the Natural History Museum which turned out to be so much cooler than we thought it would be. It’s a massive, beautiful building and each exhibit is incredibly detailed and presented in an entertaining way with interactive features, videos, etc. We could have spent all day there...but....the Harry Potter premiere was that night and there was no way we were skipping it. I'm a bit of a Harry Potter nut and, let's face it, who isn't, because it was jam-packed with people of all ages, not just kids. We read that people started lining up at 10 am the day before. There was also a huge storm that day and everyone who had waited was soaked. We arrived an hour before it started but still managed to get close enough to see the stars (including Jamie Oliver) and JK Rowling. Brian took pics up close and I hung back a bit where I could see better (too short) and also see the huge projector where they were showing the interviews live. It was definitely exciting to be there. Afterward, we had bought tickets to see the film at the Vue theater which was not the same one with the stars but still right there in Leicester Square. We both loved it and had a lot of fun with the whole experience. The next day, we we were on the road again heading to Barcelona. Overall, it was so great to be in a country where people spoke English (although we still sometimes had difficulty understanding their accent and they ours), eat some proper breakfast as well as lots of other great meals, and to see London which is a really cool city. It's definitely a place I'd love to visit again.


The pics are up on Picasa if you'd like to check them out...


Jessica and Brian

Kingsley and Brian

breakfast more than a croissant!

the Natural History Museum

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Due to unreliable internet connections and trying to spend less time on the computer, our blogging has turned into a blog about what happened several days (and sometimes a week ago). This makes it harder to write with the same enthusiasm and accuracy as if it just happened. Rright now, we're in Barcelona. We just spent 5 days in London and have a lot to write about, BUT first things first right?

That being said...
In our last stop before leaving Italy, we met up with Alan and Erica in Venice. As it turns out, Alan was the only one of us who hadn't been already. No worries, Venice is big enough for several visits. We all shared an apartment that was a 5 min walk behind Piazza San Marco. The window of our living room overlooked a restaurant, "Il Giardinetto", which was hidden under a vine-trellaced roof - tables lit with candles. Pretty romantic.

We spent our two days there as most people probably do in Venice... walking around with a map - scratching the notables off our list - cappucinos for breakfast, paninis for lunch, pasta and wine for dinner - gondola rides and prosecco on the canals - 15 euro bellinis at the world famous Harry's Bar - and generally feeling lucky to be there.

There was a nice surprise on our first night though when Andrea Bocelli appeared onstage in Piazza San Marco singing Con Te Partiro...Apparently there was a summer concert series going on that we didn't know about. Anyways, our time was short but plenty of fun. Spending time with Alan and Erica was wonderful. It was something we all needed and looked forward to.
Thanks for meeting up with us! See you back home one day :)

A new album is posted from Venice.
love you miss you

Brian and Jess

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The explosion at the train station kind of overshadowed our last night in Viareggio, naturally, but we did have some good times before it happened that I wanted to mention. For one, Sara, Brian and I took a long bike ride down to the murolone (big wall) of Viareggio, down through the parks that go through Torre de Lago, and back to our favorite, the Cremeria Emma, for our ultimo crepe with lemon and sugar. The next day, Sara, Brian, and I, along with a girl we had become friends with from the hotel, went to the beautiful town of Lucca which is just a short train ride away. We however rode the bus which took almost an hour through the curvy Italian roads. Once we got there, we were very happy and enjoyed visiting the medieval city-which is also the only city in Italy surrounded entirely by walls. Anche, there is a unique tower in the middle of the town that has a small grove of oak trees growing on top. We climbed it, took in the view, and toured the rest of the city. The pictures show it off better so check them out on Picasa. That evening after Lucca, we had our delicious dinner prepared by Muriel with Sofia, Carlo, Sara, Ivan and his son, Joshua which Brian mentioned in the last blog. Then our walk out to the pier and the explosion. Very tragic and strange and sad... The next day, Sara and I rode over to see the scene at the train station and get some pictures of the fire damage. When we returned, Sofia told us that Berlusconi, the Italian President, was coming to Viareggio because of the tragedy so Sara and I, being the curiose that we are, went over and joined the crowd to wait on him. That was also interesting and something I've never before experienced. When he arrived, half of the crowd started cheering while the other half started shouting out against him. Then some people yelled at them to have respect for the people that died the night before and then people were arguing all over the place and the media jumped all over it. We have gotten very mixed reactions on Berlusconi and his presidency from the Italians we've met and there I got to witness it first-hand. I got a great video of them arguing and tried to post it, but it was too long.

Aside from all this, we loved our time in Viareggio. Sofia, Carlo, and Sara were so wonderful to us and we were very sad to leave them. We made so many memories and had so much delicious food plus the incredible amount of Italian we learned through our day-to-day interaction and their patience was priceless. They're our favorite people in Italy and we'll miss them. I hope you all enjoy the pictures on Picasa! Brian is going to make a post on our trip to Venice with Erica and Alan soon.

We love you all, thank you for keeping up with us,

Jessica and Brian

by the murolone

the view of Lucca from the tower with the oak trees

short video of Berlusconi's arrival (no fighting)

at Carlo's butcher shop on his last day of work and our last day in Viareggio

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