Too much travel, too little sightseeing

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Too much travel, too little sightseeing Orvieto, Italy

Orvieto, Italy

So today my plan was to go see another hill town called Civita di Bagnoregio. The bus schedule had changed since Rick Steves guide was published and they only had a 7:50 am bus and then the next one was at 12:45 pm. Well, I didn’t want to get up to catch the early one, I wanted to be lazy and enjoy my private room for as long as I could. So I hung out in Orvieto for the morning, even though I’d already seen everything there was to see.

I went to get my “included breakfast”, which was just a free croissant from the restaurant next door. Then I relaxed in my room for a while until it was time to pack up and leave. And then I did another lap around the town.

I was very happy to finally get on the bus and be headed to Civita. It was actually a really nice bus ride. It was great to see the countryside a little closer, and there were some amazing views of Orvieto and Civita from a distance.

The bus actually dropped me off in Bagnoregio, the town right next to Civita. And I had to get to the other side of Bagnoregio, where a pedestrian bridge led to Civita. It was either a mile walk or a 1 Euro bus ride, but there were no buses for another two hours. So I walked it. But it was a nice walk. The town was very pretty, and it was all level or downhill.

When I got to the end of town, there was an amazing viewpoint that overlooked Civita and the surrounding land. It’s hard to describe, just look at the picture to see how amazing it was. Then I got to walk over the bridge and up to the city itself. It was a very steep climb near the end. And the city was amazingly picturesque, with stone houses and stone lanes, with some flowers sprinkled here and there. I stopped at a restaurant to get some Bruschetta, like Rick Steves recommended, and it was very good.

There wasn’t much to do in Civita other than walk around and see the city. But it only took 5 minutes to walk across the city. But I had to wait to catch the bus back to Orvieto. So I took as much time as I could walking around every little corner. And then I walked back across the bridge and got some gelato.

I didn’t want to walk back to bus stop so I caught the shuttle bus this time. But I still had an hour to wait for the bus to come. So I just sat in a shady park next to the bus stop, and enjoyed the cool breeze. I was very thankful when the bus finally came, and it was another scenic ride back to Orvieto.

When we got to Orvieto I got off at the train station, and there was a train to Florence leaving in 15 minutes. And I was able to buy a ticket and get on the train. I was very thankful to not have to wait very long. I had done an awful lot of waiting around today, and not much sightseeing.

I used the 2.5 hour train ride to prepare some blogs. But there was also a beautiful sunset along the way. I arrived at Florence about 9 pm and took my bags straight the hostel.

Ciao!

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Orvieto must mean heaven in Italian

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Orvieto must mean heaven in Italian Orvieto, Italy

Orvieto, Italy

Well one month from today I will be returning from Europe (I get back on Sep 30th). It’s hard to believe I’ve only been here for two weeks. What with all of the heat and getting sick, it feels like I’ve been here for ages.

Today I took a train in the morning to Orvieto, a hill town 2.5 hours south of Florence by train. That’s exactly what it sounds like – the city is on top of a hill. When I arrived, I had to take a funicular up to the top of the hill. And then I boarded a bus to the center of town, near where I was staying. I was hoping to at least drop my bags off, but the doors were closed. So I kept them with me.

I spent the next two hours walking around the city of Orvieto. It was very beautiful and extremely quaint. All of the buildings were made of stone, with tiny stone streets. I went to a couple of places where you could walk along the edges of the city, and the views of the surrounding countryside were incredible.

By the time I made it back to my lodging (the La Magnolia B&amp;B), the doors were still closed but I decided to just see if they were open. They were, so I went up a flight of stairs and saw that they had left me a note saying my key was the in the door. This was my first night not in a hostel, because of how small the town is. I actually had a whole double all to myself and it felt wonderful! I could spread all my stuff out and I had my own private bathroom! It felt like heaven after the cramped quarters in the hostels.

I soon headed out again to do a few things I couldn’t before with my backpack on. First, I went to a bell tower in the center of town where you could go to the top. It had an elevator up two floors, but then I had to climb up 173 steps. And the view at the top was worth it! It was amazing. I could see the city spread below me, and the hills surrounding us all around.

I next went to St. Patrick’s well, a very deep well that had been dug a few centuries before when a pope had fled to the town for some reason. He feared being put under siege, so he had the well dug so that the town had a supply of fresh water. That way they could withstand a siege indefinitely.

The well was very well designed, there were two sets of spiral staircases that went to the bottom, so you could have one-way traffic flow. You go down one set of stairs, cross a bridge at the bottom, then go up the other set of stairs. And this time it was 436 steps to the top. It was really neat to go down and back up. There were windows all along the staircases, so you could always see where you were.

My last stop for the day was yet another Duomo, my fourth so far of the trip. This one had an amazing façade on the front, full of golden paintings. And the sides of the cathedral were striped. It was very pretty. And I got my daily helping of gelato while I was admiring the view.

My next task was to go back to my room and enjoy having some privacy. I washed some clothes in the sink, and then took a very long shower.

I went out to try and find a restaurant to have dinner, but all the ones that Rick Steves recommended were either not there, or didn’t look open. So I ended up at a place near my room. I got a fettuccini with some type of mushroom, but I actually didn’t like it very much.

When I got back to my room, there was a band playing in the square right outside my window. They were very loud and playing mostly American music. I had no idea what was going on, but it was pretty annoying. I spent a couple hours watching TV shows on my laptop, and it was nice to have something to do other than sightsee or read about sightseeing. I didn’t bring any books or crossword puzzles or anything like that because I wanted to keep the weight down in my bags.

I was very happy when the music finally stopped just before midnight. And I was soon asleep.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the other great thing about Orvieto is that it’s not very hot here. It was a little warm in the sun, but it was cool in the shade and not very humid. And as soon as it got dark it started to actually get chilly. It felt like heaven compared to the heat and humidity in Florence &amp; the Cinque Terre. Now I’m really not looking forward to going back to Florence. I wish I could stay here in Orvieto for a while longer.

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I'm getting tired of the heat

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I'm getting tired of the heat Pisa, Italy

Pisa, Italy

This morning I left the Cinque Terre and caught a train to Pisa, where I had a quick tour to see the famous Leaning Tower. I walked from the train station, and it was a lovely 45 minute walk. There were a couple of beautiful squares, and I also crossed the Arno River, with beautiful houses lining the water in the morning sun.

When I got to the tower I quickly went to buy a ticket so that I could go up to the top. I had to wait 1.5 hours, but luckily there were other things to see while I waited. The Leaning Tower is actually the bell tower of Pisa’s Duomo (as all large cathedrals are called in Italy). It was large and white and very beautiful. Inside it had more black &amp; white decorations, looking a little Moorish in style. There was also a beautiful baptistery behind the Duomo.

When I finally got to go up in the tower, it was a very weird experience. The stairs spiraled up inside the tower, but around the outside. So when I started going up the stairs I was leaning to the left. But after spiraling around a ways, I started leaning forward, then to the right, and then backward. The tower is quite tall, so I kept shifting direction as I went up. When I finally got to the top, there was a great view of Pisa and the Duomo. But even at the top, you could tell the tower was leaning. When I stood on the lower side, the side opposite me appeared a lot higher. And when I stood to the side, I could see it leaning from one direction to the other.

Going back down the stairs was even weirder than going up. It’s a very odd feeling to be going down stairs while you’re leaning backwards. It was hard to keep my balance. But then when I was leaning forward, it was a lot easier to go down.

After I exited the tower, I walked back to the train station and bought my first train ticket on the fly. This was the first leg of my trip that didn’t require a reservation, so I had to buy a ticket when I got to the train station. They had some very easy-to-use automatic ticket machines. They had touch screens and I just had to press “English” and it popped up a list of common destinations. Florence was one of them, so I just selected t hat and it showed me a list of departure times. There was one in 10 minutes, so I chose that one and put in my 5 Euros. And it printed out a ticket. It was all very easy.

I got very sleepy on the train ride to Florence, but it was only an hour trip so it wasn’t long before we were there. I went directly to my hostel so that I could drop off my big backpack. It was only about 2 pm by that point, so I decided to go out and see some things. I didn’t feel like walking much, so I decided to go to the Pitti Palace, which wasn’t too far from the hostel. It had a museum inside with Italian paintings covering all of the walls. The paintings were a lot more interesting than the ones in the Prado, but what was even more interesting was the palace itself. All of the rooms had ceilings with beautiful frescos and other decorations.

When I was done looking at the painting, I went to see the gardens behind the palace. But they weren’t that interesting, except that there was one place with a good view of Florence.

My plan was to go to a nearby square with another good view of Florence, but it would involve going up. And I was right by the Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge over the Arno River. So I opted for the flat option and went over the bridge. It was very weird walking over it, because I have very clear memories of being there 18 years ago. So it was very familiar, but it felt odd to finally be there again after so many years.

I decided to just go ahead and walk to the other big sights in Florence. I first walked by the Uffizi Art Gallery to the Piazza della Signoria. It’s a large square with the Palazzo Vecchio, a large brick palace. There were also some very cool statues and a fountain. This was the square where I first tried gelato on my trip 18 years ago, so I had to go back to the same place and get some again. I was surprised when they didn’t have any normal flavors, so I got mint chocolate chip.

I next walked to Florence’s Duomo, which is the best of them all. It is decorated in white, green, &amp; pink marble and it is just absolutely stunning. I got there too late to go inside, but it was awesome just to finally see it again.

I headed back to my hostel, where I had free wireless Internet access, so that I could post a couple blogs and then talk to my parents &amp; brother on Skype. It was great to be able to see them again. It was good timing because I was starting to miss home a lot. But I think that’s mainly because of the heat here. There’s just no escaping it, and none of the hostels have air conditioning.

Well, my plan for the next few days is that I’m taking a train in the morning to Orvieto, a hill town two hours south of Florence. I will stay the night there, and visit another hill town (Civita di Bagnoregio) the next day. Then I will return to Florence for two more days.

Ciao!

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My day of (relative) rest

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My day of (relative) rest Cinque Terre, Italy

Cinque Terre, Italy

Well Derek, I finally got tired of walking today. After all of my hiking yesterday, my legs were already tired when I got up this morning. And I couldn’t just be lazy the entire day…I’d be bored out of my mind. But I did take it a lot easier than usual.

I forgot to mention yesterday, but we have an automatic alarm clock here at the Ostello 5-Terre in Manarola. We are right next to a church and a bell tower, which starts ringing at 7 am every day. It also has a bunch of extra-loud rings the first time it goes off. Yesterday there were 35, and today there were 36.

So my plan for today was a lot more relaxed than usual. I was going to walk to previously unvisited village #1, Riomaggiore. Then I would take the train to #5 Monterosso, where I would take advantage of a full service laundry facility. It cost 12 Euro, but it was worth it to not have to bother with it myself. Then I would take a boat back to #1 Riomaggiore, and walk back to Manarola.

My plan worked pretty well, except that there was still a lot more walking and stair climbing than my legs wanted. I still hadn’t really seen Monterosso, and I hadn’t been to Riomaggiore at all. So of course, I had to look around.

The light in Riomaggiore in the morning wasn’t very good, so I didn’t stay there very long before heading to Monterosso. Once there, it was very warm and I kinda wanted to just rent an umbrella and chair on the beach for a couple hours. But there were things I hadn’t seen yet! So first I went to see the church, which was very beautiful with black &amp; white decorations. Then I walked up the “switchbacks of the monks” to an old convent, which is now being used as a monastery. It wasn’t that spectacular by itself, but when I went inside the monks were singing and it was very beautiful.

I next went in search of my daily helping of gelato. It was rather hard to find, and no waffle cones were available, so I was disappointed. It was still good, though, I just didn’t get enough. I also got what is becoming my daily helping of focaccia bread. There are many places that sell pizza and fococcia by the slice, and the focaccia is cheap and very good.

When I was done eating, I found a place to sit near the beach while I waited for my laundry to be done. It was awesome when I went to pick it up. It was still warm, and it was all folded and wrapped in paper.

The next leg of my day’s journey was the boat ride back to Riomaggiore. It was really neat to see all of the towns from the water. And the water was so blue it was incredible.

When I got to Riomaggiore I got off the boat, and the town looked spectacular in the afternoon light. I wandered around and found another church with an interesting black &amp; white interior. Then I walked back to Manarola and watched some kids cliff diving in the harbor. It looked very scary. When I walked back up to the hostel my legs were very, very tired and I went very, very slowly. I was so tired I decided to just eat at the hostel for dinner. I didn’t want to go back down to where the restaurants are and then walk back up (it’s a pretty steep climb). I had some pesto lasagna that was very, very good.

I managed to find enough energy to go watch the sunset one last time, but thankfully there was a cliffside trail that just went through the vineyards and didn’t go up or down much.

So tomorrow I will take the train to Pisa and have a quick tour before continuing on to Florence.

Ciao!

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Bella Italia!

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Bella Italia! Cinque Terre, Italy

Cinque Terre, Italy

Well today I definitely earned my gelato, and a lot more. I ended up hiking almost all of the trail between the five towns in the Cinque Terre. The whole trail is 9 km and I went 8 km, which is about 5 miles. But a couple sections had lots and lots of stairs so it felt like a lot longer.

I’m staying in Manarola, which is town #2 out of the five. I left in the morning at 9 am for town #3, Corniglia. This stretch only took 45 minutes and was mostly flat. But the trail was cut out of a Cliffside right next to the ocean, with beautiful views the whole way. Corniglia was actually on top of a cliff next to the ocean, so to get there I first had to climb up 400 stairs. The town itself was very small, with one tiny lane running along the spine of the cliff. And there was a great view out at the end of town.

The next stretch of trail was a lot more rugged, going up and over a large mountain before descending a bunch of steps to come to town #4, Vernazza. It took me about 1.5 hours and it was noon by the time I got there. The view of the town as I was descending was just breathtaking. This town was much bigger and I was very happy to be able to get some cash from the ATM. The ATM’s in Manarola and Corniglia had not worked for some reason, and I was down to my last two Euros. So the first thing I did, of course, was buy some gelato! I experimented this time, though, and got some vanilla with my chocolate, and they were both great.

Vernazza was very beautiful, with big pastel houses lining the main street. And they had a harbor with a beautiful square, and the ruins of an old castle that I climbed up. I spent a lot of time just resting in the shade, because it was very warm walking around in the sun.

There was an internet café in Vernazza that had wireless access, so I also spent some time there updating the blog. I sat on some steps outside the café, in the shade, and watched some adorable cats that were taking an afternoon siesta.

By the time I left Vernazza it was almost 4 pm. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do the last stretch, but the view looking back down the coast was supposed to be amazing, and the light was good now. So I decided to go ahead and do it and then take it easy tomorrow.

The last stretch started out grueling, with step after step after step. But then the rest was mostly downhill, although it was all in the sun so it was still warm. I was glad I decided to go farther, because the views back down the coast were indeed amazing. And after about 2 hours I arrived in town #5, Monterosso, at about 6 pm. But my legs were feeling a little shaky by this point, so I decided to wait to explore the town until tomorrow. I did, however, go up to the a big viewpoint, and snapped some great photos.

Then I headed to the train station to catch the train back to Manarola. It was awesome to be able to do a one-way hike like that. On the train I met a couple from Indiana who recognized my Rick Steves daypack. We discussed our mutual love of Rick and travelling.

When I got back to Manarola I went out to watch the sunset again, and this time I actually got to see it set. Although it didn’t set over the ocean, there was some land way in the distance that I hadn’t even been able to see in the haze of the day. But it was beautiful.

After sunset I decided that I had earned a real dinner, so I went to a restaurant on the main drag and got a table on a patio. It was very nice and I got some spaghetti that was very, very good. I think it was my first time eating alone at a restaurant, but I was so tired from all my hiking that I didn’t care.

By the time I was done with dinner, it was very dark out. So I walked out for a quick view of town with the light sparkling, and the moon was also shining over the ocean. It was very beautiful. But I was tired, so I went back to the hostel and before too long I was asleep.

So tomorrow I will spend one more day in the Cinque Terre before leaving for Pisa and Florence on Saturday.

Ciao!

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ahhhhh Milano!

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ahhhhh Milano! Milan, Italy

Milan, Italy

Today I got to experience some non-public transportation. One of my cabin-mates from the overnight train, who didn’t speak any English, managed to communicate that I could share the taxi she was taking to the Duomo. That’s where I was headed, so I agreed. It was very nice of her. She had kept trying to talk to me on the train, even though I couldn’t understand what she was saying. But it was a very nice gesture.

So I got to ride in a taxi through the streets of Milan. It felt very weird to be inside a car. It was the first time in 10 days. And Milan was beautiful—very much like I remembered. For those that don’t know, I have been to Italy before. I went on a school trip in high school, where we were bussed around to Milan, Rome, Florence, Venice, and Pompeii.

The taxi dropped us off right in front of the Duomo—the 4th largest cathedral in Europe. Strangely, it was a lot brighter than I remembered it. I thought it had been fairly gray before. But now it appeared almost pearly white. I later realized that they had obviously been restoring it, as I could see sections on the side that were a lot darker.

I first went and walked through the Galleria, an arcaded shopping mall right next to the Duomo. It felt weird and exciting to be in a place I’d last seen 18 years ago.

Then I went inside the Duomo, which is cavernous and dark, with a multitude of huge columns supporting the roof. It was exactly like I remembered. Except this time I was able to take my time and walk all the way around it. Then I walked all around the outside. There were statues, spires, and gargoyles covering the outside walls. Then, I walked up the stairs and went out on the roof. It was really amazing to be up among all the spires on the top. And the view of Milan was superb.

Since I walked up to the roof instead of taking the elevator, I figured I had earned it, so I went to go get my first real gelato in 18 years. On my across the piazza in front of the Duomo, a guy came up to me with bird food in his hand, and got some pigeons to jump up on my arm. Then he offered to take a picture for me. I was afraid it was some sort of pick-pocketing scam, so I said no. But it was fun having the pigeons walking on me. At one point I had three on my arm and one on my head. And the one on my head wouldn’t get off for a while.

I was finally able to get my gelato, and boy was it good! I sat in the piazza while I ate it, taking in the view of the Duomo. By then I didn’t have much time left before I needed to go back to the train station. So I took a quick walk over to the Sforza Castle, a large brick castle that houses several museums. But I just had a quick look at the castle and then took the metro back to the train station.

Then I boarded my first non-overnight train! I was very happy. It was bound for the Cinque Terre, where I’ll be the next two days. It’s a string of 5 villages, all spread along cliffs right next to the Mediterranean ocean. There are no cars allowed, and there are no roads between them, just hiking trails. There is a train between them, though. My plan for the next two days is to explore the towns, hike between them, and relax.

The train ride from Milan was boring at first because it was just flat farmland. But after we went through Genoa we went right along the Mediterranean coast and it was beautiful. When I finally made it to Manarola, it was a bit of a steep walk up to the hostel. Especially carrying by big backpack. It was hard the appreciate the pastel houses lining the street.

After I checked into the hostel, I was very sweaty and really wanted a shower. But I noticed there was a trail out through the vinyards. And it looked like it would lead to a great viewpoint of the sunset. So I opted to go explore first. I was very glad I did. The trail was really neat, going through the vineyard, and there was indeed an awesome view of the sunset. And there were also great views of the town of Manarola. It was basically a cliff beside the ocean, completely covered in pastel houses.

And now I have a bit of sad news to report. I went back to the hostel and searched through all my bags, and I can’t find the first three Hard Rock Café guitar pins I bought for my Dad. I have no idea what happened to them. Either I misplaced them while I was sick or someone managed to steal them out of my zipped daypack. So the Madrid and Lisbon pins are lost forever. But I’ll be going back to Paris, so I’ll to try to buy another one if I have time. I do, however, still have the one from Barcelona.

That’s it for now. The plan for tomorrow is to hike up the coast and explore, for as far as I can get.

Ciao!

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Barcelona's getting better

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Barcelona's getting better Barcelona, Spain and Canary Islands

Barcelona, Spain and Canary Islands

Well, my opinion of Barcelona is much improved today. But it’s still probably my least favorite place I’ve been so far. It’s just too much of a big city. And there’s no overall “characteristic feel” to it like all the other cities I’ve been to. Today, however, I discovered that there are some cool things about it.

But first, I have to mention that I had the best night’s sleep last night that I’ve had the entire trip. A sleep mask, ear plugs, and a cool temperature will do wonders, even with 11 roommates. I was asleep when 9 of them were still out and I didn’t hear any of them come in.

I started my day by going to Casa Mila, one of several houses designed by the renowned Barcelonian architect Antoni Gaudi. He started what became known as the “Modernista” movement of architecture in Barcelona. I think it was in the late 19th century/early 20th century. He is also the one who designed the Sagrada Familia church that I visited yesterday. Anyway, he also designed several houses with very modern styles, not using many straight angles, and using lots of color and curves.

I was able to walk to Casa Mila from the hostel (where I left my backpack for the day). The building on the outside wasn’t that spectacular, it was just gray with some curvy edges on the roof. But then I went inside and first went up to the attic, which was really, really cool. The walls were all done in brick, and it was all hallways that arced around instead of going in a straight line. And there were tons of arcs in the walls, coming down from the ceiling to the floor. I think I would have kept getting lost if I lived there. Then I went up the roof, which was really cool too. It’s hard to describe, you’ll just have to look at the pictures.

My next destination for the day was Las Ramblas, the most famous sight in Barcelona. It’s the main street, similar to the Champs Elysees in Paris, but much better. There were traffic lanes for cars on either side, but the large center area of the street was for pedestrians. And it was lined with cafes, souvenier shops, flower shops, and bird shops (i.e. pet stores selling birds). There were also lovely trees lining each side of the street. But the best part was all the human statues. If you haven’t seen these before, it’s people that get all dressed up and stand as still as statues. Until someone drops them a coin and then they do something cool. I saw a vampire that jumped out of his coffin and tried to bite you. I also saw two guys on stilts that looked like they came out of the movie “Pan’s Labyrinth.” There was an cowboy with guns, a creepy guy in a hood that tried to scare you. I even saw a golden angel with wings and all.

Along Las Ramblas, there was a food market called La Boqueria. I thought the produce section well outshone Pike Place Market (but the fish section was kind of lame). I bought some pineapple that was still in the husk, and a fruit smoothie that were being sold everywhere.

Near the end of Las Ramblas, there was a really neat square called Placa Reial that was surrounded by a pretty yellow building, and some palm trees. And at the end of Las Ramblas was a tall monument to Christopher Columbus, who sailed from Barcelona when he discovered the Americas.

After I was done perusing Las Ramblas, I wasn’t sure what to do for the rest of the day. I only had a few hours left to kill before catching an overnight train to Milan, and there wasn’t anything else I felt I “really” had to do. But, I had bought Dad a guitar pin at the Hard Rock Café that had a picture of a Gaudi sculpture from Parc Guell. So I decided I might as well go there and actually see it.

I was very glad I did. The park was really cool. I had to take a 30 minute bus ride to get there, but it was well worth it. There was a trail up to a viewpoint where you could see the entire city of Barcelona spread below. And then there were a couple more Gaudi houses and the famous lizard sculpture. It was really neat. It was while I was there that I finally got really excited to be sightseeing again.

It was a good thing I’d gotten my energy back today, because when I made my way to train station for the train to Milan, I realized I’d gone to the wrong train station. Once again, my itinerary had been wrong. I guess I learned in Barcelona to always check my confirmations and train tickets. But luckily, I’d gotten there 1.5 hours early so I had plenty of time to get to the other one.

I was able to take the metro, but when we got to the station before where I was supposed to get off, the train stopped and then didn’t go on. I had no idea what was going on, but after 10 minutes I had only 50 minutes before my train was supposed to leave and a sign in the subway said something about an “incindentiones.” I didn’t think I could afford to wait, so I got out of the subway and decided to try and walk to the train station. I had a map, but it was very small scaled, so I only vaguely knew where I was going. So I just walked as quickly as I could, and I was able to find my way there in only 10 minutes.

So I got on the train in plenty of time, and happily I was in a 4 person cabin. My companions once again spoke little English, but this time they were speaking in Italian. And oddly, it didn’t bother me this time that they were speaking to each other Italian the whole time. I guess I must have gotten used to people speaking around me in foreign languages. When I was in the hostel last night, it was actually a little weird to hear people speaking English.

Anyway, tomorrow I spend 4 hours in Milan, where I’ll do a quick tour. Then I’ll catch another train down to Cinque Terre, where I’ll spend a relaxing 3 nights and 2 days, away from big cities and metros and hopefully there won’t be crowds of people like everywhere else I’ve been.

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Spain in August is TOO HOT!!!!

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Spain in August is TOO HOT!!!! Barcelona, Spain and Canary Islands

Barcelona, Spain and Canary Islands

FYI–I’ve added pictures to all the entries. Make sure you go check them out.

Now for the udpate…

I was very tired when I got woken up on the train this morning (the cabin steward wakes you up about a half hour before you arrive). And I was still not feeling 100% better. But it was too early to go to the hostel yet, so I left my bag at the train station and spent the morning walking around the Barri Gotic district, which is the old historic part of town. It’s supposed to be one of the main attractions of Barcelona, but I wasn’t too impressed. Maybe it’s because I was so tried, or maybe I’ve become jaded already, but it just didn’t seem that great.

By the time I finished my walk of the Barri Gotic, I was very sweaty and tired. So I went and got my bags to see if the hostel had beds ready yet. To my surprise, when I got there they couldn’t find my reservation. So I got out my computer, which has all my confirmation emails on it, and I realized I was at the wrong hostel! When I was planning the trip, there were a couple I was deciding between, and I wrote down the wrong one in my itinerary! But luckily, they gave me directions to the right hostel and it was easy to find.

I was very happy to find that my room was very bright and clean, and even better, it was cool. As in, not warm. It did have 12 beds in it, but I didn’t care. I’ve realized that a cool temperature and a bathroom down the hall are the best aspects of a hostel room.

Anyway, after cleaning up and resting awhile I finally started to feel like a normal person again. And I decided I should probably go see something else of Barcelona. So I went to the Sagrada Familia, which is this huge church that’s been under construction for 100 years and still has a long way to go before it’s complete. You may remember seeing it a lot when the Olympics were in Barcelona. It was very huge and very cool-looking, but hard to appreciate close up. And it was weird seeing it still under construction.

By the time I finished touring the church, the heat had zapped all of my energy. It’s not as hot in Barcelona as in Madrid, but I think it’s more humid, which makes it feel worse. I decided to just go back to the hostel and hang out, and hope that I had more energy tomorrow. And happily, when I got there, I discovered that their lounge room was air conditioned. And they also have free wireless. So I spent a lot of time getting caught up on blogs and pictures. I think I have given up on doing a separate, more detailed journal for the trip. I’m too far behind now.

Anyway, the plan for tomorrow is to hopefully have enough energy to see the rest of Barcelona. And then I will catch yet another overnight train to Milan, Italy. Thankfully, though, it’s the last one for a while. And there’s only one more the entire trip.

Just for fun, here’s a list of what I’ve learned so far this trip:

1. 1. Parisians aren’t rude if you only go to tourist sites.

2. 2. Overnight trains are not a good way to sleep if the train rocks too much, or if it’s too hot.

3. 3. Lisbon is awesome!

4. 4. If traveling in Spain/Portugal in August, pay more for an air conditioned room.

5. 5. While in a foreign country, the easiest way to find an internet café is to go to a tourist information center and ask.

6. 6. Being sick while traveling alone is horrible!

Not too many positive things yet, but hopefully I’ve turned a corner on feeling better, and I will start to enjoy the trip a lot more!

Adios!

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I'm feeling better

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I'm feeling better Madrid, Spain and Canary Islands

Madrid, Spain and Canary Islands

Well I felt a lot better today, but I was still pretty tired. So I decided to take it easy. I went to a large park in central Madrid called Retiro Park. I spent most of the day laying down in the shade, but also walked around a bit. And there were a lot of other people taking naps in the grass too, so I didn’t feel weird.

I was leaving on another overnight train tonight to Barcelona, but I was able to leave my big backpack at the hostel. They also had free wireless internet there, which worked out well because I was planning to talk to my parents and brother on Skype tonight.

So I went back to the hostel in the evening and was able to talk to (&amp; see) Mom &amp; Dad &amp; Derek on Skype. It was cool to see them sitting there in the computer room in Ohio, with me in the hostel in Madrid.

I eventually made my way to the train station to get on my train to Barcelona. For all the other overnight trains I’d been on, the station had had a departure board that listed the track number the train would be on. And it would usually appear about a half hour before the train was supposed to depart. But for tonight’s train, about 20 minutes before the train was supposed to depart they started announcing something like, “the track number will be listed shortly.”

We ended up not finding out the track number until five minutes after we were supposed to depart. So everyone was trying to cram on the train all at once. Plus, my other overnight trains were four-person cabins. This was a true “couchette” train with six berths per cabin. So people were entering the train car from both ends and had to go past each other to get their cabins. Except that the hallways are very narrow and it’s almost impossible to pass someone with luggage.

The train actually left the station while I was still standing in the hallway, trying to get to my cabin. I was amazed that people couldn’t seem to figure out that they needed to go inside a cabin to let people pass. They were just staying where they were. But everyone was speaking Spanish and no one knew English, so I just waited my turn.

When I finally got to my cabin, I was on the top bunk and it was boiling hot. My other trains had had a very light air conditioning, but it felt like this one didn’t. And it got up to 95 F in Madrid today. So it took me a very long time to fall asleep. Especially since the Spanish family in my cabin continued to talk in normal voices after I put my sleep mask on and tried to sleep. But I managed it eventually.

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