Another Day; Another Adventure

So... It's that time again! As if Thailand wasn't amazing enough the first time, I couldn't resist going back for a second year in row. This time, I will be taking my time and traveling with a couple of old friends, which means I get to see SO many new places, but I also get to share some of my favorites! Not only am I going to Thailand, but also Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippenes, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam!

Back In Bangkok

Being back in the Mango Lagood Guesthouse in Bangkok for the third time is a little surreal to me. It's familiar... which is nice; but also weird how home-ish it feels for being so far from my actual home. It's the kings 82nd birthday here, so there is a big celebration. It is hard to celebrate though knowing that my time here is so close to being over. I was the last person to fly out today, so goodbyes have been difficult and there have been many. I stayed up until 4am talking with Mike, Julie and Jeff, to say a tearful goodbye to my roommate Kate, then all the LTC crew this afternoon, and then saying goodbye to the leaders and getting in the cab with Julie, Sabrina, Nick and Hanif to head to the airport was SO hard. Right before we left, we all went up to the guesthouse rooftop and sang some last songs while Dennis jammed on the guitar, and we sang a little of those songs in the cab on the way out of Bangkok. I'm excited to go home to Canada now, but also excited to come back to Thailand... and I will be back :P ♥t

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkHTsc9PU2A

"Listen to the moment, people dance and sing, we're just one big family'' - Jason Mraz

Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan is Paradise! We are staying right on Haddyuan beach in hillside bungalows with amazing views and a totally relaxed beach life! I get up in the morning, go and do some yoga on the beach with Kate, enjoy the sun, have some drinks, or just relax. If I could stay anywhere... it would be right here. There isn't much to say about the first two days that we were here other than that we just relaxed ... but night three was all the excitement. Night three was the Full Moon party; 10, 000 people on the beach, all painted with glow paint, dancing, drinking, glowing. We all went over at midnight and then partied until after the sun came up. On the way over, our boat broke down in the middle of the ocean and the waves crashed down on us.. soaking us... until help came. On more than one occasion we hit waves so hard that the entire boat went verticle. All in all though, full mood and Koh Phangan were amazing, and so beautiful. On top of it all, it seemed like one of those places where everyone on our trip came together and really got to know eachother as more than fellow travelers, but learn things about who we are back home.
At the end of it all, I said my second set of goodbyes to those who were moving on their way.. and as much as I know that more goodbyes are coming... I couldn't have asked for a better Free & Easy Family. Cheers to Koh Phangan and Full Moon November 2009. ♥t

Railay... Oh Railay ♥

There was tons to do in Railay! Of course, on the first night none of us got to take advantage of all the fun, because nine of us got super sick and get held up in our bungalows. Having already had my hospital stay in Chiang Mai, being sick made me more home sick than ever. Kate (my equally ill roommate) cried for her boyfriend Ryan, as I cried for my boyfriend Ryan, as we sat together on the bathroom floor with our group leader Jeff. Oh poor Jeff... on the floor with two ladies as they cried for their men lol. And, while I had a master plan to find myself the next flight home and go home to my bed, the sickness soon passed and I had a record breaking day of amazing Railay adventures!
We visited a school and played games and sang songs with the most adorable children. Then, from one extreme to another, we stopped on the way home to go bungee jumping! It felt as if the only thing holding me in was two yoga matts around my ankles and a bungee chord... but it was so much fun! I jumped with Janelle which made it a lot easier. In the first few seconds of the drop all I wanted to do was scream... but Janelle did enough screaming for us both so all I could do was laugh haha!
That night we went to get needle tapped bamboo tattoos after a dinner of crocodile meat, and then sang kareoke at an open mic. night. Then, when it was all over and done with, we hopped on the Ferry and sang along with Dennis on the guitar for the ride to Koh Phangan.
My tattoo was the quote "not all who wander are lost'' written in thai, and the more I travel, the more I feel that way. I can't wait to see what comes next! ♥t

Leonardo Love in Koh Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi has been quite the experience. You've never seen more beautiful sunsets, white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters or had a more relaxing Thai massage then you'll have right here. The first night that we arrived, myself, kate, monica and Janelle went on a night time adventure down the beaches and to the bars (just to get an idea of our surroundings)... and what started as a casual walk, turned into tequilla shots and jumping rope... with a rope a made of fire.
Day two was SO relaxing! We lay out on the beach all morning, and then took a boat tour in the afternoon to Maya Bay (and the beach where they shot.. the beach lol... with Leonardo Dicaprio) where we went snorkling, swimming and ate a yummy curry dinner. At one point, I snorkled under the water with pineapple in hand and was swarmed by hundreds of the most amazing, brightly colored fish! We then watched the sunset and went to see ''Job To Do'' play live accross the island.
We stayed in Koh Phi Phi for such a short time, and while I did have a minor bout of home sickness here, it was a beautiful stop on the trip that I definitely will not forget. ♥t

Jungle Party

The bungalows that we are staying in in Kao Sok are gorgeous, new, glass front bungalows and my new roomie kate is the best roomie a girl could ask for :) PLUS we get to meet up with the other F&E groups here, not to mention a couple of people from LTC who are making their way back to us! Each group meeting here has a theme, and ours is Goth! For today though, we all went river tubing and then stayed up for some drinks while Colin taught (or tried to teach) me how to use/ twirl the fire batons. I'm not too bad at it... but I'm pretty sure if I lit them on fire... I'd die :P

Soooo, last night was the longest night of my life!! All the groups met up and got dressed up in our goth gear and basically drank all day long. I had the craziest day/ night... I'm pretty sure the last thing that I remember is lying out on the porch swing with Janelle and Cody tied to my belt, and Jeff sitting beside us while Burtus sang to us with the power out. I also vaguely remember a limbo... and one of the girls getting sick in a potted plant :P All in all though, it was an awesome day and totally worth feeling like death today, haha. It was really sad saying goodbye to everyone that I knew I wouldn't see for awhile, but it was such an amazing few days.. i wish I could do it all over again!

Skinny Dip in Kao Sok!

So, after my hospital adventure, Colin and I met back up with our new group of travelers in Bangkok and it was off to Kao Sok for another great adventure! We've started off at the floating Bungalows in Kao Sok national park; accommodations made of bamboo and equipped with a mattress and pillow... but there's nothing more beautiful than opening your bedroom door and being able to jump out into the lake! On our first night there we all had a chance to bond with drinking games and singing out on the deck while Dennis played the guitar, but we also bonded with some good ol' skinny dipping when the bungalow lights went out. A good 15 of us stripped down to our birthday suits and drifted along with nothing above us but stars... it was pretty awesome.

On our last day on the lake, we hiked into the jungle and cooked lunch in Bamboo bark, then did that "bamboo walk"where you walk on the bamboo over the water like a tightrope, and then we headed into Smiley's guesthouse (back on solid land) to get ready for the epic day that was The Jungle Party!

♪♫ ♪ Travel Music ♪ ♪♫

While I was traveling, I brought my trusty MP3 player to keep me distracted on those long travel days. I'm the kind of person that can travel for 24 hours straight if I have something to listen to, and then I just watch the world go by outside my window. Here are some of the songs that were "most played" on my LTC trip (as well as a few honorable mentions/ songs that remind me of LTC... but that I did not have on my MP3 player.)

1. Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks
2. Coldplay- Strawberry Swing
3. Joe Purdy- The City
4. Gomez- See the World
5. Eddie Vedder- Far Behind
6. Blind Melon- For my Friends
7. Goo Goo Dolls- Better Days
8. Regina Spektor- Us
9. I Nine- Same in Any Language
10. Sufjan Stevens- Holland
11. Carolina Liar- California Bound
12. Men at Work- Land Down Under


Honorable Mentions;

1. "I am not a whore" - LMFAO (Cody's theme song)

2. "Colorado Sunrise" - 3OH!3 (Janelle's theme song)

3. "doo doo doo song lol" - Job 2 Do

4. "If it Makes you Happy" - Sheryl Crow (Janelle- Karaoke)

1/2 WAY MARK! FAV LTC MOMENTS!

In no particular order:

1. The things we do for pot: adventuring to the island in Vang Vieng to get pot, then putting it in the dry bag and floating home down the river. Not only did the current pull us all over the place, but I got an epic bruise to remember it all AND the little thai kids rushed into the water and tried to pull out the dry bag haha.

2. Group shower (clothed) lol. showering and smoking up in the shower while no one knew wtf was going on. Then we each painted one nail to signify the importance of the group shower :P

3. Watching Cody feed a live chicken to 100 crocodiles and then watching them go nuts fighting over it!

4. myself, Heather, and Kristen putting music on the ipod in our room and dancing around like idiots.

5. Halloween in Cambodia and giving my tie to a little kid on the street. Also, Cody and Shan dressed up like lady boys was pretty funny too. OH and watching drunk Kaley fall off the table when we were dancing at the bar.

6. Tuk Tuk break down on the highway.

7. Standing at the top of that massive waterfall in Luangprobang and then jumping off the little one!

8. Trying to light the lanterns in Nong Khai and how amazing it was seeing all the other lanterns flying through the sky.

9. Urban Khiak... getting super drunk with Shan as we paddled down the river... then accidently paddling onto shore.

10. tug of war in the mud pit after about 6 or 7 free shots :P

11. Singing to distract from the pain in my legs on the Jungle Trek haha

12. Dave throwing up his Happy Water in the middle of the night into a water bottle... didn't miss at all... crazy good aim :P

13. Shaving our legs in the river with Janelle and Kaley... with all the chickens and pigs watching haha.. oh.. and Dave.

14. Dave showing up to surprise Kaley and then not being able to convince her to come out of the room because "there's wine in here!"

14.The formation of Team Cuddlefuck. Myself, Jeff, Cody, Janelle

15. drunk bowling, suck and blow, Janelle chasing Cody down, and Jeff making out with Cody for beer!

16. The elephant trying to eat sharon's entire backpack when she tried to feed him an apple!

17. Dancing with all the kids at Joy's House around the fire.

18. Janelle carrying me home drunk and singing "if it makes you happy" by sheryl crow at the top of our lungs! Then missing the road we were supposed to turn on because we were FAR too distracted.

19. Janelle's epic fall off the brick wall in Chiang Mai.

20. the man on the night train home from Chiang Mai who decided that he loved me. I had to convince him that Colin was my boyfriend... but the guy wouldn't buy it... he was convinced that Colin was my brother... so he gave me a flower. Also... I think he might have been 50 :P

Quote: "If you singin' that song, then you don't hate dat show!"

The Dirty Details - All Hopped up

So I ended up spending two nights in the Hospital here in Chiang Mai. When I first got admitted, Cody and Colin took me over and stayed with me all day. Cody says that I was talking and awake here and there all day... but all i remember from that day was being really confused in the elevator going up to my room, Cody asking me if I wanted anything from the caff, and then when he woke me up to tell me that he was leaving. When Cody left Chiang Mai though, so did everyone else on my tour (accept Colin who stayed with me), and they all continued on back to Bangkok for all the big 'goodbyes' and to meet up with the new group of travelers. All the nurses at the Hospital were SO nice, but every time Colin left for the night I always ended up crying the tears that I wouldn't let myself cry in front of him haha. It sucked being attached to that IV machine, not being able to eat or drink anything, and being so far from home. On a positive note though, Colin is a pretty uiet guy who I didn't know much about... and had been kind of scared of for the entire first 20 days of the trip... and I actually got to have a conversation or two with him one on one... and so he's not sooo intimidating now (lol .. yes.. I'm a dork.. lol.)

So I FINALLY got released today... days that felt like a lifetime! There was a huge mix up with my insurance but that got all fixed up as of this afternoon, and I managed to write a message to my mom and to Ryan to let them know what happened, and that I was fine now and they didn't have to worry. I even managed to talk to Ryan via msn which was well needed! I miss him SO much. Anyways! The amazing woman who runs the guesthouse and took care of me at the hospital, has set me up in the back garden with something to eat so that I can get some fresh air (she's kin of like my "away from home mommy" haha), so I'll be spending the afternoon there and then taking the night train back to Bangkok with Colin tonight. I'm excited to meet the newbies... but sucks that Shan and Cody are both gone now and I didn't get to say goodbye :(

Chiang Mai Ram/ An amazing day and an amazing three day hospital stay

Chiang Mai was definitely an adventure to be remembered. I spent an amazing night out on the town with Janelle, Cody, Jeff, and two of Jeff's friends from Germany (Chris and Sophie). we had a chill drinking night at Panda Bar and the Rasta bar (where Janelle and I belted out "if it makes you happy" by Sheryl crow at the top of our lungs!) The funniest moment of the night though, was jumping a brick wall and watching Janelle take (what looked like) the spill of her life haha.

Love you Janelle!

The next morning (slightly hung over), we went zip lining and it was amazing! I thought I was going to be so terrified... but I couldn't wait for the next run, and our last drop was a vertical 40 ft drop! The guy in charge of the zip lining kept hooking me up to the line in random ways and scare the sh*t out of me. I'm going to try to post a video of the first straight down drop that we did. The guy lowered the guys first so slowly.. then just dropped me so fast I went swinging all over the place lol.

After zip lining, we went out to Joy's House, which is a self sustained farm for disabled and underprivileged thai youth. We did a thai cooking course with all the kids, and they showed us some sign language and some thai dances as well. Going there and spending that time with those kids was probably one of the most amazing experiences so far. Then, on the way home, I just threw in my headphones, lay down in the back of the truck bed and watched the stars go by as we came back on the highway.

Now for the adventures of that night... yup... made it about an hour at the bar before Cody had to walk me home (I did NOT feel so great.) He convinced me to make myself sick to my stomach... he said that if I'm THAT drunk it would make me feel better. Now... I hadn't been sick to my stomach in about 8 years.. and it turns out it WASN'T because I was drunk... but it was food poisoning. SO... i was sick for 13 hours straight and completely immobile and dehydrated on the bathroom floor before the decision was made to take me to the hospital. Yup... which is where I am now (writing by hand to then post later of course lol.) It's a gorgeous VIP room... but I'm still debating on when and how to tell Ryan (my boyfriend)... and my mother... who may freak out! We shall see.

Just try and Trek me down! (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

What do you get when you mix "happy water", a mountain village tribe, a ritualistic healing, bamboo rafts, elephants, an epic birthday bash and song filled starry nights???- Our most epic of Jungle Treks! You thought I packed light for the month??... you should have seen what I brought on this trek *cough* nothing much *cough*... pretty much the clothes on my back, a pair of shorts, a razor and a bottle of water. Of course, I was glad that I didn't pack much after the days of uphill hiking that we did!

We started off lounging in some amazing hot springs... the lap of luxury to ease up the muscles for the torture that we were about to endure haha. The first leg of our trek was about 2 and 1/2 hours up the mountain to an amazing lookout... then a hike down the other side where we stopped for lunch. Then another hike to a small village where we spent the night singing by the camp fire and sleeping all of us in one room under bug nets on the floor (it was actually pretty cumfy.) Not gonna lie, first night was pretty chill compared to what was to come!

Day two, we headed out by foot to the elephant camp ( a two hour hike that ended with a group bath in the river right beside an elephant just hanging out and eating behind us :S) We rode the elephants through the jungle and down the river to the next small village where the celebrations for sharon's bday began! Lots of music and singing, plus a fair amount of "happy water" that made some of us SUPER drunk... and one of us SUPER sick (which is where the ritualistic healing came into play.) The village was pretty amazing though with no electricity or anything... and water buffalo under the shower (yup... i said it.)

The next morning, we hopped onto our bamboo rafts and floated home on the river. It was a lot of work but a crazy three days... I wouldn't trade it for the world... but it's nice to be back in a real bed (rock solid as it may be :P)

Luangprabang, Laos

Luangprabang was a pretty crazy time. there's an amazing waterfall outside of town that we went to and spent the day at. We climbed up to the very top and looked out over EVERYTHING, then swam in the lagoon underneath. There was a rope swing that we went off, plus Kaley, Jeff and I jumped off one of the smaller falls (about a story and 1/2 high) into the lagoon underneath. After that, we went to the bowling ally (which is apparently the late night drinking spot in Luangprabang), and got REALLY drunk. Everyone had such an awesome night there, and it seemed to go by pretty fast (we were eventually asked to please leave :S lol.)

On night two, we went for an asian BBQ where you cook your own food in the middle of the table like fondu, and it was pretty cool... and romantic... if it wasn't just a bunch of us all goofing off haha. That, at 530am on our last day there, me, Simon, Cody, Janelle, Rob, Gina, and shan got up to see the monks walk the streets and collect food for the day. It was a gorgeous city right on the river, but as much as I loved it... I'm excited to get back to Thailand! ♥t

Travel Day (a picture speaks 1,000 words)

Vang Vieng? Tequila Bang Bang?

WOW! So Vang Vieng is amazing! I want to come back here some day with all my friends from home and party THIS hard. We all went water tubing on this river where you stop at 6 different bars along the way with free shots, zip lines, rope swings, slides and mud pits! It was just one huge party, and I met a ton of crazy travelers (while really getting to know everyone that I'm traveling with.) On day 2 we took it easy through the day, and did a little shopping for "Yuckaflux" that night (aka mix ten 26ers of rum, vodka etc., with fruit and sprite in a huge bucket and then drink it up!!!) It was a crazy night and Janelle got SO drunk... I've never laughed so hard in my life!

On day three, we all went cave tubing and swimming in this beautiful lagoon... then Shan and I got incredibly drunk on the khiak home. In fact, we got so drunk in our little boat that we paddled right onto the shore while trying to pose for a picture.. without even noticing :P We named our boat the "urban khiak" and made up rap songs all the way home. Then, we all went out for dinner and drinks and got even more ridiculous. I even tried a "happy shake" aka mushroom shake... and thought I was inside a giant bubble. Lucky for me, I've bonded pretty closely with a couple of people at this point... so i wasn't alone and tripping out. In fact, Cody listened to me ramble about my bubble for what may have been hours.

All in all, vang vieng was an amazing spot, and our bungalos were right on the water so the view across to the mountains would have been worth it all on its own. Today is our travel day to our next location in Laos; only 5 bus hours away though... so I'm happy about that! It was an awesome four days here though... and the only thing I have to show for it is this HUGE bruise on my side from trying to float pot down the river in a dry bag (I ran into a shallow spot... arg!) ooooh the memories I've made here! It shall be missed. ♥t

Nong Khai, Thailand > 1 night in Paradise

Today was mostly a travel day. We went to see some amazing sculptures this morning before leaving for Vang Vieng, Laos. We were only in Nong Khai for one night last night, but it was awesome. Last night was the Loy Crutong festival on the Me Kong River. We bought little boates with candles, lit them (to signify the shedding of unnecessary burdens), and floated them down the river along with everyone in the city. We also lit and floated white lanterns through the sky at night; it was SO beautiful! After the loy Crutong, we all bought some beer at the 711 and drank out on the marble steps along the river and watched all the lanterns floating up above us.

This morning is when we went to see the statues... and our tuk tuk broke down on the side of the highway. It was going SO slow and sounded SO unhealthy trying to hoof it up the hill and we couldn't stop laughing about it. We've all decided that Cody is bad luck on all of these rides :P Luckily, there was another tuk tuk that came back and picked us up... my stomach hurt so much from laughing for so long! And on top of that... while we were all sitting around eating breakfast... an elephant came strolling down the sidewalk to visit us at our breakfast table. Like wtf??? Thailand is amazing! needless to say, it was an entertaining morning. Now we're off to Vang Vieng, Laos! ♥t


v (me, Kaley and Heather stranded on the side of the highway)

Holiday in Cambodia!

Cambodia was an amazing start to our 40 day trip. We are staying in a guest house in Siem Reap (only two blocks from the night market and two streets from Pub Street.) I did a lot of shopping with two girls (sisters) who are on my trip, and we all spent the day touring Angkor Wat, which was beyond beautiful! It's no shock that it's one of the world wonders.

On Day 2, we went to a crocodile farm with hundreds of huge crocs there, and I watched Cody feed them a LIVE chicken! (eek.) We also went to the day market, got a foot massage by little fishes, and went back out to the temple where we all watched the sunset together. I sat and watched from the corner and sat right behind two monks. It was so quiet and SO amazing and I got some really great pictures!

ALSO, it was Halloween while we were there, and a great night for everyone to first get to know each other! We all got dressed up and went out on the town. There was table dancing, boys dressed as girls, lots of buckets of booze and even a few drunken falls lol... but it was an awesome night and we all bonded A LOT.

Today... we recovered :P. Everyone split off to do their own thing... but myself, Kaley, Janelle, Carmen and Sharon all went to a gorgeous hotel on the same block and went swimming in the pool, drank, and ordered SO much food!!! I loved Cambodia and can't wait to see what the rest of this trip has in store. Leaving today, but it's just the beginning!!!

♥t

"Sawatdee Kaa Bangkok"

"Hello Bangkok!" It's day one of my second epic adventure and I'm already exhausted from days in transit! I met some really great people at the Toronto aiport who were going on the free&easy trip too... but it turns out that they're on the 40 day Thailand trip so they won't be traveling with me. I'm doing 20 days in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and then another 20 day drip for Southern Thailand. It was still nice having company for all the flights and layovers though, and now that I'm here in Thailand I've met up with the rest of the people from my group. It's a little intimidating because it seems like everyone flew in together (or came with a travel partner...which I didn't)... so I might be the odd one out :S eek! I really wanted to break into that circle, but I couldn't resist the temptation to spend one last night with my travel buddies... so I went for a night tour around Bangkok with people from the other Thai trip... then came back and spent some time with one of my group leaders (Jeff) and another girl coming over from a different Thai trip (Kristen.) As tired as I was... I didn't end up making it to my room until 4am (leaving for Cambodia at 7am)...and of all things to do... I watched Sex and The City (the movie)... then toured over to the 711 and bought a turkey sandwich.

"I have a Dream!"

I have a dream! I was sitting around on facebook and missing Europe (give me a break.. who ISN'T sitting around on facebook lol), and this site popped up on my sidebar (heaven sent!). So I've decided that my next destination will be Thailand! I really can't stop viewing the gallery, and I have done all the number crunching... and I can definitely make it happen. Europe was great, but it's time for a nice warm beach adventure! Let the saving begin!
♥t

On an island in the sun!

Today we took the ferry to Aegena Island in Greece. I was feeling really sick, but was determined to get the most out of my last day! It was so beautiful there, and we spend the day out on the beach in the sun, and enjoying the food in the small places towards the middle of the island. We eneded up a fancy yaught club drinking root-beer floats with a bunch of rich, french kids.. and then watched the sunset from the beech before taking the last evening ferry back to athens. I wish it had been warm enough to swim, but it was the perfect end to a perfect adventure!

More to come~ eager to see where the road takes me next!

Bye for now!

♥t

Athens, Greece

So here's the scoop on Athens; the downtown area was a lot more dirty and "big city" than I had expected, but the little markets and restaurants were great! I got a lot of little gifts there to bring home to my family and friends, and we went on a big tour of all the "must see" tourist sites. We saw the Olympic Stadium and Dionysus Theater, the ruins, and of course the Acropolis. Here's a picture of me sitting at the top and looking out over Athens;

The hill on the right in that picture is the tallest point in Athens... which I climbed to the top of as well. Definitely some great views in Athens.. and A LOT of walking haha. The weather was great though... it was the warmest place to be (considering that we're traveling in the fall.) It's crazy how close I am to the end of this trip... it seems like yesterday that I was still planning the entire thing!

The hostel where we're staying is really cozy with some talkative travelers working the desk, and some awesome food right around the corner. We've actually stopped every night here (so far) at the chocolate shop down the road to buy these amazing little chocolates tied up in tiny little boxes with ribbons :P. Other than the obvious tourist points though, I don't really love Athens as much as I thought that I would. I think my favorite place is still Amsterdam hands down. Bah!!! only one more full day here and then we're flying home to Canada! It's been quite the adventure! Talk soon

♥t

Stranded outside Athens!!

So it wasn't until we were in Rome, that we decided how the heck we were going to get to Athens. Everything was pretty last minute, however we booked our flight OUT of Athens and back to Toronto, Canada already... so all we knew was that we HAD to be there.

We managed to book a flight from Rome to Athens yesterday, and flew here today. However... we did not realize that there was a transportation strike in Athens at the time :S So... not only was our flight out of Rome delayed two hours on the runway, but now that we are finally here at the Airport in Greece, we have no way of getting to Athens until 6am tomorrow morning when the shuttle train starts up again.

You might think that this would be annoying, or upsetting, but I'm actually kind of enjoying it. Everyone here is stuck, and all the travelers have either pitched tents over chairs using sheets and sleeping bags... or (if you're like me)... have claimed a corner to myself with some great shelter and my pillow (backpack lol.) I got a few hours of sleep already in my sleep sheet under the telephones, however the one thing they don't have in the airport lounge is a "lights out option".

Oh... and I also washed my hair in the airport sink... now THAT was an experience lol. I think today may be the day that I became a traveler! I'll write again soon.

♥t

Welcome to Roma!

Crazy Nights; The Rome edition!

Rome has been amazing! We experienced it all by foot, and walked all day every day... but I've never loved walking more. The gardens and parks were all stunning, and the Colleseum was beautiful. We saw it lit up orange at night and then went during the day to explore as well. The Trevi fountain was covered for restoration the day AFTER we saw it in all its glory and lit up in the night time (lucky break!), and we met a great Ausi named Jeremy who went with Ryan and I on the Spanish Steps Pub Crawl. The Pub Crawl was pretty crazy, free shots at each bar and A LOT of boozing! then, on the second night, Jeremy and I walked about twenty blocks at 1am to find food after talking for hours in the hostel about all the foods that we missed from home. The neighborhood was super sketchy.... and for a moment I thought that we might be in trouble haha... but we arrived home safe and sound after salad and shwarma ...mmmmm.
On our last day there, we saw a huge military parade and celebration, and some great artists... then we booked our cheap flight to Athens, found the airport, and made our way out of Rome with the help of Jose (our roommate.) Rome was an amazing city with a great night life... but I can't wait for Athens!!!

Florence Pt. 2

(An overview)

Ryan, Scott and I went to the top of the Duomo at the Cathedral of S. Maria del fiore in Florence. There's no life so we had to walk 463 steps to the top... and then down again... but it was well worth every step! You could see out over Florence and Tuscany in every direction and all the pillars were white marble and absolutely gorgeous. Inside the ceilings were painted with huge, beautiful murals and there was amazing artwork everywhere. We also went to Museo dell' Opera and Academea where we saw the Statue of David by Michelangelo. They say once you've seen 'Daved' you have seen perfection.. and I absolutely agree. The people in Florence were all very friendly as well, however it's very "fashion forward" aka expensive aka... no shopping for me :( lol. It certainly sets itself apart from everywhere else in Italy that we have seen, and I really liked it there, but after the big attractions there isn't much else to see. Tonight we are going to the street market, and then we are out of here and off to ROMA! can't wait!