Living on pizza and prosciutto

We are in Milan today. It wasn't exactly how we had planned it, but we think it will work out better in the end. Our plan had been to go to the Cinque Terre region and a lack of accomodation options left us with few choices, so we bagged that plan and headed for Milan. We'll have to do Cinque Terre at the end of our trip.

Our day today was pretty lazy. We actually slept away a good 3 hours of it, but we must have been still catching up because it felt great! Then we walked into downtown to see the Duomo which was spectacular! Apparently it is the fourth largest in Europe. I can't even begin to guess how many ornately carved spires come out the top of this church. The stone they used is a white-ish color, so it reminds me of an elegantly decorated wedding cake. Even the buttresses are carved and fancy. And of course the inside was just as impressive. The ceilings throughout the nave and the entire cathedral are incredibly high - moreso than the National Cathedral. It is able to seat 10,000 people. The stained glass inside is some of the most beautiful glass I've seen. Instead of pieces of glass put together like a mosaic, it's more like many, many squares painted on and put together to create a scene. The windows directly behind the altar were enormous. It was a beautiful church overall. I would say the trip to Milan is worth is just for this building alone.

Milan is very different from Venice. It has a very designer-esque feel. If you like shopping, Milan is the place to be.

We spent the evening taking it relatively easy. We were beginning to feel really dumb not knowing a word if Italian. We found that when anyone would utter a single word of English to us, we would automatically give up trying Italian altogether, which really isn't very nice considering we're visiting their country. So, we sat in our room this afternoon practicing some basic and essential phrases. We can say things including: we'd like...beer...wine...table for two...check please...where is...what time...to go please...etc. We practiced tonight buying our prosciutto pizza and vino rosso from the local pizzeria. (by the way...you really can live on pizza and wine here we've realized). It worked out pretty good for us and we're already feeling a bit more confident. We have another 10 days or so here...we'll be pros in no time. Ha...right...

We want to include pictures eventually, but we haven't found a computer that wants to download them yet. We're searching and will post as soon as we can.

Venice

We spent the day in Venice today. What a beautiful city! Very tourist-ie, but beautiful. We had heard that getting lost in Venice is kind of inevitable with all the windy streets and alleyways...so that is what we did.

Highlights include:
- A quasi domesticated pigeon that landed on Phill's shoulder
- Delicious gelato from Gelato Nico
- Walking along the canal (the breeze made the awful heat bearable)
- Eavesdropping on a Vivaldi concert practice
- A woman hanging out the window of her second story apartment to offer us directions in very thick Italian (we must have appeared lost)
- Another older Italian woman nearly shouting at me to sit down next to her after I gave up my seat for her (these Italian women are tough!)


We're both still a bit jet lagged. I think we'll sleep great tonight.

We made it

We have arrived in Europe and have had no major glitches. Our flight from Montreal to Paris was delayed by 2 hours due to lightning, but otherwise, no issues. We arrive in Paris around 9am and took their metro train into the city. Since we did not get much sleep on the plane, we had very little energy to explore much. So, we looked at Notre Dame from the outside, sat on a park bench and slowly made our way to the train station. Note to self...find a place for the backpack before trying to do much of anything. It was so hot and muggy yesteray and packs feel like they weight a thousan pounds. It took two tries to find the right train station, some weird language barriers, a man in the women`s restroom, a near brawl between two women in the restroom as well...and we were ready to put our feet up and sleep. We found a spot in a park nearby and almost instantly fell asleep in the grass. We woke up to three little French girls playing a game with a ball next to us. It was cute to hear them giggling and yelling. I`ve been a little nervous about the language difference. It`s challening trying to communicate and I feel like they get a little frustrated with me as well. That`s all a little stressful. So, it`s been a bit of a roller coaster, but we seem to be managing okay. It was just been a big first day.

We got on our train later that night. Unfortunately, due to space limits, Phill and I not only had seperate sleeping quarters, but seperate cars altogether. It was a little strange, but I really lucked out with my cabin mates. One was a very nice older Italian woman that spoke relatively good English and the other was a Brit. It really makes you feel like a loser when they all speak 3 or 4 languages and you speak one. I feel like that obnoxious American that expects everyone else to cater to me. They were both great though and very helpful which really put my mind very much at ease. I slept great and the rocking of the train was actually very pleasant to sleep to. And Phill and I even found each other this morning in his car. His cabin mate got off at an early station, so we were able to share his room for the final couple of hours of our trip.

So, now we`re in Venice for today and we`ll spend the night here and part of the day tomorrow. I`m not entirely sure what our plans are, but we intend to get a pass for this water ferry thing to get us around town. Our first goal was to find internet and our second will be to ditch our bags! And then we`ll be free to explore. So far it seems very charming and the heat is not too bad...yet.

More later!

Catching Up

Well, I've completely failed at keeping this thing updated over the past month in the Seattle area. So, I guess I'll do that real quick before we leave for Europe. Our time in the area this summer has been great! We each did a little bit of work, but mostly play. It's been an unforgettable summer.

I already mentioned Hawaii, which was incredible! We spent seven days near Lahaina in Napili Point. Phill and Steph each surfed a little bit. We found a great hole in the wall surf shop owned by a guy named Wayno. His store was called Killah Wiffah because of the killer smell behind the shop. Hilarious! The guy was a total riot. He builds surf boards himself and is involved in all sorts of island preservation associations. He seemed like a genuine article.

Other than surfing, we spent a lot of time just on the beach and snorkeling. One evening we did a luau and another day we drove to Hana. Unfortunately, the road to the seven pools, which is what we really wanted to get to, was closed. We were all so bummed out because it's a terribly long drive to get there and then you have to turn around. So, we found a little natural pool in the edge of a cave in a park that we were able to swim in. It's entirely fresh water and so clear because of how pure it is. We had to kind of climb down this rock edge a bit before we could get in to swim.

Once we got back from Hawaii, we did a bit more relaxing. Some of the highlights include the Pike Street Brewery, local wine tasting, lots of boating days, lots of bon fires, lots of games of washers, a few days in Lake Chelan, and a wedding in the San Juans.

Tomorrow my mom is driving us up to Vancouver, BC. We'll stay the night there and then have an early flight the next morning headed to Paris. So, next time you hear from us, we'll be on the other side of the pond. Can't believe this trip has actually arrived...

I posted some pictures of the last month that we've missed updating.

Paradise

We're spending our final evening in Hawaii tonight. I am not ready at all to go home tomorrow. The weather is wonderful, the ocean is gorgeous, the attitude is so low key. We've done some incredible site seeing, lots of swimming, snorkeling like I've never seen before, and even met a sweet surfer dude with some great island tips. This is Phill's first trip, and he's having a great time playing all day and surfing when he can. And although it's not my first time, I think it's possible that I'm enjoying myself more than ever before. Hawaii is always great, but this time...I'm truly not ready to go back. We're thinking we might have to live here someday! Maui no ka oi...

I know we haven't had a moment to update a lot recently. Our apologies to our devout followers! I promise that we will update with the final road trip adventures and happenings since then. But until then, here's some pictures from the final days of our road trip.

We Made It!

We've arrived in Seattle as of yesterday afternoon! We left Sacramento, made stops in Crater Lake, Roseburg Oregon, Nehalem Bay State Park, Cannon Beach, Mount St. Helens and finally stopped! It was an incredible trip, but we are happy to have landed and have nowhere to drive to for a while! More later on the final adventures of the road trip. We'll post pictures shortly as well. Stay tuned...

Nearing the End

We spent the day in Sacramento yesterday doing almost nothing...and it was wonderful. I slept in until 9 AM which I haven't done in, well, I don't even remember how long. Phill and I lazed around the majority of the day until Garrett got home in the afternoon. We watched some episodes of That 70s Show, Price is Right...aw, midday television! Then Garrett took us down to the air station to give us a tour of his offices and the hangar. It was really impressive to see it all. The plane that was in the hangar was the plane that he just returned from deployment in. It was so much bigger than I imagined. We walked around the outside and then got a tour of the inside as well. I've never been inside the cockpit of a plane before, so that was pretty cool. There are so many dials and gadgets in there. I don't know how anyone keeps all of it straight.

Then we went grocery shopping in search of some Pacific Salmon for dinner. In terms of good seafood, it's nice to be back on the west coast again. We BBQ-ed some delicious Coho salmon. We lucked out too because Garrett forgot frosting for the cake he made, so Phill and I both got to ride in his little convertible Jensen Healey to get frosting. It worked out for us pretty well! What a fun little car. The whole stay in Sacramento was such a nice refresher to the busy-ness we've had going on. We both feel refreshed and ready to press on.

This morning we're getting packed up and ready to head further north. We'll be arriving in Crater Lake this afternoon and camping there. I still can't believe we're almost to Seattle. What a trip...