Off to Romania...Slowly

Ok. So, those who have been following my posts before this Europe adventure know that I get behind, try to play catch up. And then skip somedays to be current and never catch up those missed days. Well. I am skipping somedays so that I can write in the moment BUT I promise that I will go back and fill in those gaps. I only have a couple left and who knows. Maybe by the time I get Internet to post these blogs ill be all caught up.

So, currently it is Sunday May 26 2013 1644(4:44pm)

I am sitting in the train station in Budapest because I had to take a train from Rome to Vienna. Then Vienna to Budapest, and then Budapest to Cluj Romania. But of course my train from Rome to Vienna was late and as I pulled into the station. My next train was leaving. :/ so I took a letter train and that one was right on time...9 min after the train I wanted to be on for Romania was suppose to leave. I was hoping it got delayed or something and I could jump in last minute. I ran though the terminal to the screen, looked up, and my train was no longer on the board. Bye bye 2nd miss train for the day. So now I'm sitting on a bench waiting for the next train. 2 hours later and gets in around 130am. At least the hostel is close if my friends aren't able to pick me up.

So, for those who don't know. I'm now traveling by myself. Autumn was ready to go home and I was a little bit to. Then suddenly she had her ticket to go home and I hadn't looked yet. Pretty much it was, ok. I'm leaving tomorrow morning....when are you leaving. So I looked at prices and decided its to much to change the ticket. So I'm now making my way to Turkey by way of Romania. I have always wanted to see Romania and having friends that I made at the Idaho Dance and Music Festival a couple years ago I am really happy I'm able to make it.

So. Who knows what the next 2 weeks hold. I might make it to turkey in a week and decide to come home then or be able to spend 2 weeks in Romania and Turkey we shall see.

So here is me now, tired slightly annoyed :) but still happy and in good cheer.




So my goal now is every night to write a post about what I did that day and then to do at least 5 min on a previous day that has not been published yet. I apologize for the confusion as well for any grammar or spelling mistakes made. I am doing this from my iphone(not my favorite) and I am not checking spelling or grammar. Just writing.

Well. So long and who knows what the next post will be about. Hopefully Romania and not about being in a train station for a night.

- Posted on the go.

Verona

Oh Verona. I want to say I came here with my parents before but honestly I have no memory what so ever of this place. Going to venice, Rome, and Florence I can connect dots to memories that I had but couldn't remember where they were from. But not Verona. I recognize some places but I think it's from movies or TV. But getting back to this trip.

Autumn and I got to meet up with my sisters good friend Heather. I knew heather before but would consider us good friends just because of our age difference and me being Sarah's little brother. But she is a friend for sure.




We met up that morning and went exploring. Heather is becoming an expert at all that Verona has to offer. We got to see beautiful fountains


Eat amazing pizza


And lasagna. I think it's the best lasagna I have ever had. There is a vegetable one


And a meat one




Both were deliciousness with just enough cheese and sauce. The vegetable one beat the meat one. I almost went to get another one. But decided to wonder.

We got to see churches with beauty all around











Even go to see love locks locked on a shackle


Not sure how that shows love. But to each their own :)

It was so much fun to spend the day with Heather who was such a trooper. She was fighting a cold and was leaving the next day. But still was an amazing host.

After we said goodbye to Heather, Autumn went to go see the Roman ruins that the city had to offer and for me and my bum foot ( I've learned that cobble stone and a lamo foot don't mix) I slowly wondered and sat in a park for a couple hours. The. Met autumn at Juliet's balcony. Now we did see it with Heather but we wanted to go back and spend some more time there.

We went into the Juliet store next to it where you can write letters to Juliet and also buy something and get in embroidered. They gave Autumn her name and when I asked if I could see my name they said NO. Only for the lady.

Oh well. I might of boughten something like a chef hat or apron. But NO, only for the lady.




Here is a statue of Juliet and I still don't understand the touching of statues. I guess I'm not that superstitious ( no idea how to spell it.) I mean I won't whistle on stage because oh the reasoning behind that. But touching every boob, penis, nose, or body part that a statue has to offer. No thank you.
I really liked the entry way into Juliet's courtyard. They had all the sides where you could write your name and your partners name/ or a note.









So after a quick tour of Juliet's shop we got gelato. Of course




Oh how I don't miss ice cream. But thinking of how i will miss gelato.
At least Gelato Paradiseo(sp?) is good in Cali.

So that night we got back and autumn had been talking all day about the movie Letters to Julia. So I bought it on iTunes and watched it. It's my new favorite chick flick. The acing isn't the best. But the story line is fun, cheesy, and very enjoyable. I am now hooked. It was also fun to watch the movie and say OH I have been there and there and there.

Well. That's a quick explanation of Verona. I am guessing I have more pic on my camera. Because there aren't to many on my phone.

Anyone beside my family even reading this?? Sometimes I wonder.


Next post. Lake Como, Star Wars, 007 and Bellagio
- Posted on the go.

Venice... A time portal of its own

Every time I go to Venice(3 times now) I get a feeling of walking through a time portal or something. I always thought it was my imagination as a kid. But going again at the young age of 24 :) I now know it not me making it up. It's truly the feeling that I get. From the buildings, stone walkways, gondolas(sp) food and the artistic craft everywhere you go. The funny thing is I remember it being smaller. It is a lot larger than I remember it and I'm sure, after I talk to my family that I missed a lot.

Oh well, will have to go back someday. Maybe with my spouse, then the whole romantic theme won't go to waist :)

when we got to venice, we decided to try walking to our hostel. Though I loved the walk, going up over about 10 bridges with my bag, autumns bag and my foot still sore, I think next time ill take the water taxi. Then go back and do the walk with no bags :)

Oh yeah. And 2 nights in a row, I can do it. But I don't love it.

So once we got freshened up, we went wondering. This trip has just confirmed how much I love to just wonder. Choose a general direction, walk and then an hour or so later, the. Figure where you are and go a new direction or home. We found this amazing restaurant next to one of the canals and after that day, we couldn't find it again because we had wondered upon it. But it was so good.


After that we wondered over to St Marks square and fed the birds



Anyone else think about Mary Poppins?? No, just me. Oh well. :)

So we stayed at a nice apartment converted into a hostel and I mainly wondered while autumn when into all the museums. I'm not a huge museum fan. I have to be in the right mood for what is being showed. But I just took the water taxi bus thing everywhere and explored all that I could. And then I found a mask that I fell in love with.



I left the store and figured I'd forget about it. But then I realized that I liked it way to much and went back the next day and got it. Though its not the most traditional mask out there. I like it :) and that's what matter. Right?

Other than that, venice was beautiful but uneventful. I love venice because of that. You just fall in love with the streets, people, and food that nothing else matters. It's very relaxing while so many things are going on.

.







Well, might not be the most exciting post, but I am trying to get caught up. about 2 weeks behind. So. There's venice. Next stop, Milan

Oh oh oh. I almost forgot. We got macaroons. I forgot what they tasted like so we found a bright colored shop with every flavor you can think of( slightly exaggerating) and got a box of them... YUMMY. Just saying.




- Posted on the go.

Plitvice lakes.

Ok. This has been one of my favorite day trips in Croatia. The lakes themselves travels through a valley and is just...words also can't describe the beauty. Imagine Lord of the Rings and think of Rivendale ( where the elves live with all the waterfalls flowing around it.) this could of been the perfect location.



With cascading waterfalls and caves to explore






It has fun for everyone. You can hike the entire trail or on sections of it you can take a electric boat across a large section and then they also have a train/bus type thing that you can take along onesie of it. I wish I could say I hiked the entire thing. But with my foot acting up, I was not going to push it.







With the rain that had been there days before, the river was high and even the local life was out of their homes to enjoy the sunshine that peaked through the clouds.


(Snake)



(Snake #2)



(Caterpillar) he was trying to go home with me. He would keep climbing up my boot and I'd keep putting him back down on some yummy leaves. And then he would come back to my boot. Silly caterpillar.

All in all. It took us about 3 hours to go through the intermediate route but totally worth it. My goal is next time I go back. Not to have a hurt foot and hike the entire lake. Plus the woods they have on the end :)

Well, more pictures are on Facebook and more will also come when I get back to the states.



So after we finished up with the lakes we caught the bus home and got back before the last train left for Venice. So we are deciding to go another night on the go. 2 nights in a row. Lets see how autumn and I hold up.

Till next time in Venice. Ciao

- Posted on the go.

Milan as home base and day trips to Parma and more

So after departing Venice :( I could just relax there for an entire week it feels like. We headed off to Milan. At the time I didn't care to much to explore Milan, but now I'm kind of kicking myself for not checking it out more.

We left each morning early, hopped on a train and took full day trips all around. But only slept and ate in Milan.

But, there were some awesome day trips to do while up in Northern Italy. Our first one was Parma



And the picture kind of describes our day. It was raining all day. Not just a light drizzle. No, it was Lex go buy an umbrella cause its raining hard, kind of a day. But, non the less. Autumn and I found ways to enjoy ourselves on this grey rainy day. We went for a walk in the park. :) yep, don't you do that in rainy days? Well we saw a cool pond lake kind of a deal



And an old building that is now the EU's food inspection office



And then while in Parma, we had to get cheese. And since in Italy we had to get pizza. So we got yummy pizza. Not as good as what we had in Florence but pretty dang good. We ate it all :)





We also went into a really old theatre/opera house(?) that everything was made out of wood and the stage was slanted. Thanks to my drama teacher on high school I didn't even think twice as to why the floor was slanted :) also I remembered not to whistle while in stage. Thank you Mrs. Weidauer.

So, one day I will go back to Parma because I feel with some more research and knowledge it will have a lot to offer. But as a quick day trip it was nice. Maybe the country side is better. Any suggestions??

Well I'm going to leave you with a short one because Verona and Como are going to be good lengths. At least I think so. We will see how I'm feeling when I write them.

Next stop
Verona



- Posted on the go.

Croatia...aka healing time for me

Hello. So Croatia wasn't the best time for me. Somehow I hurt my foot in Budapest by wearing flip-flops for like an hour or so. So, not wanting to cause more pain and to heal faster I mainly relaxed while in Croatia. We went to Split, Croatia and spent 2 nights there which exploring the city and the nearby island of Hvar.

Split was a wonderful town. The entire town is built in a walled city it seems like and mostly everything is still used today.



It has a lot to offer with arts, food, beaches, and a main harbor to the surrounding islands.













Autumn explored a lot of the museums while I hobbled around on my own just wondering and reading the literature of the history. Not much happened from what I found out but it was neat to walk through an old town that in most places is just for looking and seeing that it is still used today for shops, homes, restaurants, and more.



One of the best parts was that a restaurant, right in the middle, played live music every night. It was a great gathering place for locals and tourists to come and relax and listen to music.

We then went to Hvar for a day trip and that was gorgeous. The boat ride out was like going to Catalina Island off the coast of California. When we got there we hiked up to the fortress on the mountain and... Wow. The view was perfect.









Though that hike was totally worth it. My foot was not happy with me. So with that, I went and laid out on a dock for the rest of the day and sun tanned. :) and swam/floated in the ocean. Totally worth it. :)






So after Split we went to Dubrovnik, Croatia and this place was breath taking. We stayed at a little old lady's house while we were there. Yep that's right. We got off the bus and there was a cute old lady with a sign saying rooms. After getting the price down half the amount and cheaper than any hostel we could find online we loaded up into her car and drove off to her house.

I was nice, farther from town then she told us, no surprise there 😉, but wasn't to far.





I didn't get to many pictures because this was whenever foot was hurting the most. Honestly I spent pretty much a whole day in the room just babying my foot while Autumn explored. So maybe if I ever go back I can explore more of the city.

But that trip came to an end and we went back to Split hoping to catch the last train out that night for Venice. Unfortunately due to the buses being on winter schedule they ran every other scheduled time. So we got to wait at the bus station for an hour or so and then get on the bus

The bus ride had to go through Bosnia for a portion and the border checks took a long time and due to the later bus and long border checks we missed the night train by 10 min :(

But at least I got some awesome sun set pics.





So back to the hostel where we had stayed the other nights and checked in for the night. The next day we made new friends :). I know surprise surprise. Me being social. Never :)



So we met Joanna from Poland and Steffan from France. Really fun individuals spent the day with them. Well autumn did, I explored a little then went back to the hostel because of my foot 😠 .me and my foot were not on good terms. But still had fun finding a handful of random things










(Not photoshopped.)



Squid!!!!




And exploding lighters. FYI, don't keep cheap lighters in your pocket in direct sun light. They explode and leave bruises. Luckily it didn't happen to me. Just Fillip.

So that night we went to the train station early to get the night train and low and behold the train was cancelled due to a problem with the tracks. But they had busses yay...no. Riding a public bus all night is not that fun. But it got us to Zagreb.
Here are some more random pics. Remember, all my iPhone pics can be found on Facebook.

Here is where I'm going to end this post. Because the next thing we did will take its own.


So next post. Plitvice lakes :)
- Posted on the go.