Udvozlom from Budapest

first let me preface this by saying i already typed this entire blog out once. it took me, oh around 30 mins and i was psyched (yes, i said psyched) because i actually had free internet access and there weren't thousands of people around waiting for me to get off, so i could take my time and write out everything i wanted - since it's been awhile since the last time i posted. but of course, the blog didn't post and here i am typing it all again. though a bit has happened since the first time i wrote... here goes again...

last time i wrote in the blog we had been traveling through florence and were on our way to cinque terre. let me tell you now, it's gorgeous. one of those ultimate vacation spots. very relaxing, bella vistas and because we went in september, it was not overly touristy or crowded. didn't end up stopping in pisa to see the tower because it would have complicated the train schedule too much, but that's really no biggie, because once we arrived we didn't want to leave! it took us about 6 hours to hike through the 5 towns on the "via dell'amore" (yes, lover's lane - ugh gross me out). my thighs and gastrocs were screaming at me for the next 2 days, but it was definitely worth climbing up and down the 1000+ steps, hills and bridges. the trail is all along the cliffs so you got excellent views at almost every turn. each town has it's own personality. we stayed in riomaggiore and spent most of our time there and in manarola.

eventually it was time to leave, although we almost missed our train to roma. our boxershort wearing host was late returning after his lunch break (over 1 hour late), so we missed the 4pm train we wanted to take. we soon went into panic mode because the last train was at 6, so dasia and i went into a random shop and the owner was so kind to try to help us. she knew exactly who we were looking for and called him for us.. soon after he came running up the street, still in his boxers, and we got our luggage that was being stored in the reception. off to rome we went.

we got into rome later than originally planned thanks to giacomo, but no problem. at first i was a bit nervous about our hostel - the rooms were quite cramped and they were under construction for the baths.. so only 2 toilets, showers and sinks for the entire place. luckily it wasn't that much of a problem, and i only had to wait once for 45 mins to brush my teeth :) we hit up all the major sites in rome the first day - coloseum, trevi fountain, spanish steps, roman forum, etc.. and spent the next day at the vatican. the sistine chapel never ceases to amaze. i can stare at it for hours. the entire vatican museum is just sensory overload, so very impressive. our hostel turned out to be fun and very social, which was perfect for dasia hahah. every night they had a happy hour with free food and drinks. our room was also a great mix of people, and we all went out to an irish pub (hah) the last night we were there. good company and good conversation - what more can you ask for?

sunday it was time to part ways with dasia. we saw her off to the airport; it was very sad to see her go. theresa and i boarded a plane to vienna that same day. what a city! it is just so filled with things to do and see, that you cannot possibly see it all in one trip. definitely a place i will be returning to. we made a trip to the hapsburg's summer palace - the schobrunn - quite nice for a summer home. walked the gardens there. returning to the city center we went on a walking tour outlined in the guide book and saw a bunch of beautiful buildings with stunning architecture. took in a ballet at the state opera house. it was only 2 euro for standing room tickets - you cannot beat that deal!! i think that might have been my favorite site in vienna. the next day we went to the central cemetary and saw where beethoven, brahms, strauss, schubert and others are buried. mozart is somewhere else, but there was a stature for him as well. the rest of that day was spent wandering through vienna and eating a piece of delicious chocolate torte. it's a specialty there, and very yummy. we also did laundry, as we were in desparate need, but that's not very exciting.

soon it was time to say goodbye to vienna and hello to budapest, which brings me to where i am sitting right now. our hostel is small and very nice. we will definitely enjoy our stay here - plus free internet, whoo! (this is the part that was not included in my first attempt at typing this out). the rest of today was spent wandering around castle hill and admiring the views of the danube. originally i would say prague was my favorite city so far, but vienna is now in competition. we'll see how budapest goes - because i'm loving it so far...

til next time, viszlat!