Wanderweg

I have been exploring the great outdoors since my last post. We went to Jungfreau yesterday. It was a two hour train (the train looked like a Disney World excursion) ride to the top. Once there, it was absolutely amazing. We could see glaciers and mountains for miles. We decided to hike to a lodge from the base. As we tredged through more snow than I have ever seen in my entire life, the sky started to close in. That is right, we were stuck in a white out. I could not see my hand in front of my face. But, the pursuit of beer always prevails and we continued to hike toward the lodge with hopes of a clearer view from the top.
We eventually had our beer. It actually tastes better at 12,000 feet. Unwilling to wait any longer for the clouds to disappear, we trudged back in the white out. It was really surreal. I could barely see David next to me. Once at base, we explored an ice castle (unnecessarily touristy) and stopped for more beer (David) and hot chocolate (me). Despite the white out, it was nothing short of amaying. The white out was a pretty fun adventure too. Afterwards, we returned to Interlaken to fetch our stuff for Lucerne.
We spent today in Lucerne. We listened to the advice of a receptionist at our hostel and headed on a free trail toward Pilatus. To say it was a mistake would be the understatement of the century. We climbed for five hours directly up hill through a swamp. It was exhausting. Unfortunately, when we reached the top, it was too cloudy to see all of Lucerne. We rode the cable car down. To give you an idea of the distance, it was a 25 minute cable car ride. I have never been so exhausted in my life. I guess we can say we climbed it? Once at the bttom, we treated ourselves to Swiss beer by the lake. It was certainly the most successful part of the day. At least we got our Swiss hiking in. Headed to our final stop, Zurich, tonight.

Nice Mouth Awareness

There is no possible way to describe what I saw today. It was so wonderful that I had to call my mom from the top just to tell her what I saw. We hiked through one of the tallest mountain ranges in the Alps today. In addition to taking David's hiking virginity, it was an extraordinary hike. The Alps are so majestic. I had to continually remind myself where I was as they are overhwhelmingly enormous and beautiful. There were peaks on all sides. It was an amazing and humbling experience to see them from below yesterday as a rafter and from within today on my hike. I will see them from above tomorrow on our hike to Junfreau, which should really be the icing on the cake. Clearly, Interlaken is one of my favorite stops thus far.

Looks like David is ready to trade his Converses in for hiking boots and that I am particularly greatful that my family instilled in me a love of the great outdoors. I really cannot get over how amazing it is here.

Anyway, we are clearly exhausted and will be retiring soon with hopes of seeing the sunrise over Junfreau tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night....Lucerne!

Deaf Lesbians

I have been fortunate to see a lot of wonderful places in my life, thus I have a frame of reference. In Pollock-Goldberg family terms, today I spied "a pretty thing." An exceptionally pretty thing. It exceeds many other pretty things.

The weather in Interlaken has been pretty rough, but that was no deterrent. Today we hiked to see a set of seven waterfalls in the alps. It was extraordinary. The waterfalls ran through the inside of a mountain, and we got to go inside and see them. The glacial water formed immensely interesting and varied patterns in the rock which in turn created fascinating waterfalls. This was a top not set of waterfalls and I am a true (self-proclaimed) connosieur.

This afternoon, I left Davd in the hostel for a rafting adventure. Despite the chilly water (it was seven degrees celcius), it was a great trip. Everywhere I looked, I was surrounded on all sides by the alps. The river was glacial so the water was incredibly clear. We ended the trip, which was a pretty tough paddle, in a brilliantly blue glacial lake. Every mountain top was covered in snow and I was in awe. I went for a refreshing (read: exceptionally cold) swim in the lake and enjoyed the scenery. I feel like I need to pinch myself it is so beautiful here. Still thawing out, but loving every minute.

Stay tuned for the hike to Junfreau tomorrow.

Cow Stomach

I arrived in Geneva last night to meet David. It was a night of lessons. He whisked me away on a whirlwind two hour tour where we saw a large fountain and a famous clock. Seeking Swiss cuisine, we stopped in a boulangerie.

Enter French language lesson one: boulangerie means steak house. Neither of us eat cow or pig. We share broth and a salad. We chase with McDonald's (which is astronomical in USD by the way).

Lesson two: do not order shrimp and avocado wraps at McDs as David did.

Disappointed, we headed to sleep in the hostel where we were greeted with a freight train as a roommate.

(Societal) lesson three: If you snore, don't stay at a hostel.

We ditched Geneva this morning and headed to Gruyeres, home of the cheese and the castle. Best known for the cheese. Sidenote, the informational video prelude to the tour of the castle had a higher production value than Avatar. Let's see James Cameron try to pull off a hologram-medieval costume-talking head hybrid.

After visiting the castle and the cheese factory, where the tour was dictated by a potentially menopausal cow with a superiority complex, we headed to a local fondue restaurant. It felt very authentic as Gruyere cheese fondue is quite potent. With a minor wine buzz as a complication of extreme fondue ingestion, we left a great day in Gruyeres behind for adventure in Interlaken.

Melted Hits

It is hard to know where to start on yesterday as we did the jam packed tour of Paris. We started the day at the Arc de Triumph and we did not stop until midnight. We walked down the Champs Elysee and through other famous shopping streets to see the obelisk and a famous park. After refilling with lunch, we headed to the Pantheon. It was really beautiful and the pendulum was reminiscent of my fourth grade science project. Tons of famous Parisians are buried there and I certainly would not want to be locked in the crypt at night. Right outside, we stopped in Luxembourg Gardens. It was hopping with Parisians. Finally we headed to Notre Dame and did the requisite crowded walk through.

For dinner, we decided to challenge ourselves and head to Chinatown. Lesson to all readers: if you do not speak any of the primary language (Chinese) or any of the secondary language (French) of a restaurant, do not attempt. It was an epic fail, but at least we got some Evian out of the deal as we could not communicate tap water. It was the best darn water I have ever had. We promptly followed our Chinese "food" experience with some vending machine cookies in the Metro. Even for intrepid traveleres like ourselves, Chinatown was definitely pushing it.

We finished the night with a nighttime view of the Eiffel Tower lit up. We briefly considered taking romantic prom pictures in front of the tower, but decided better of it and headed home to crash.

Today is our last half day in Paris and then Valerie sadly leaves. Next stop for Shayna: Switzerland.

Stripes and Ballet Flats Galore

We had a fabulous first day in Paris! We started our morning in Vosges Square. It is dubbed the best planned square in France and it is home to the first useable balcony. Of course I loved it! After the square, we wandered around the area for a while and popped into lots of adorable shops. Everything seems so Parisian! Valerie picked up another pair of shoes, but I am still looking for a perfect souvenir. Exhauted from all of our shopping, we grabbed a quick bite at a delicious falafel stand on "rue de falafel." We deemed it as good as or better than Israel.

We spent the afternoon at the Pompidou. A lot of it was really abstract and we had to do the end of the museum Pollock-Shuping style, but it was a good experience. There was a temporary exhbit on India that we both really enjoyed.

We had our nighttime drink and people-watching in another part of town and then went to Bastille for dinner and ice cream. Now we are prepping to go out in the hostel. It was a great first day and we are psyched for our final Paris push, but sad that it is almost over.

Parlez vous anglais?

We are currently in a library in Aix en Provence, so I decided to take advantage of the free Internet. So far, France is great! We keep getting mistaken for real French people, which is so flattering until strangers asking for directions realize that we only know the words for "one" and "two" as well as a few phrases like "fleur de lis" and "nouveau riche." Anyway, Villefranche sur mer was quintessential south of France, with colorful houses, cobblestone pathways, and a clear ocean. We took two day trips to Nice and to Eze, and while they were nice to see (pun intended haha), we still liked Villefranche sur mer the best. We finally found the center of town after walking around and had this amazing dinner of goat cheese egg rolls with fig and salmon cooked on one side with wasabi and walnuts.

Now we are in Aix en Provence; and it is great. Definitely top two at least of the places that we have visited. Our hostel leaves something to be desired, but hey, I guess we are getting the true backpacking experience. A shower head that you have to hold in your hand at all times? No big deal. Last night we had another great dinner that included gorgonzola and pear ravioli that was to die for. Don`t worry, we withstood the embarrassment and took pictures of most of these dishes for the benefit of posterity and you, our loyal readers. Today we went to this museum of an artist that created a lot of optical illusion art. Luckily we got the audio guide, or else we would have had no clue what we were looking at.

Tonight we go to Paris: I can't believe that this trip is almost over! So far, France has certainly lived up to my expectations of glamour, good food, and lots of shopping, and I am sure Paris will do the same. We will try to update you when we are there.

Au revoir!

The Whole City on Strike

Once again, sorry about the delay in postings.We are simply having too much fun to keep up. We spent the last two days in Cinque Terre, a set of five fishing villages in Italy.
Despite a run in with an Italian train strike, we finally made it to Cinque Terre late Sunday night. We woke up Monday planning to hike through all five villages on the blue trail. However, the blue trail was closed for construction for most of the journey. Instead of hiking along the sea, we hiked through the mountains. It was a tough climb but totally worth it. The views were unbelieveable. It was probably my favorite city thus far. I wish I could write more on it but this French keyboard is crazy.

We spent Tuesday morning in the marina of one of the small Cinque Terre towns. We are now headed into Nice for the day.

Cliff bars for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Sorry about the lag in postings. We have been so busy.

We had a great last morning in Florence! We did a walking tour of the city that started with coffee at an authentic Italian café, Gilli's. We drank our lattes standing up in a historic and beautiful building. Next we went to a market where we rubbed the nose of a pig statue to, according to Florentine tradition, ensure a return to the region. We finished the walking tour at a hidden museum that used to be residence. So ornate and fancy!

Next we headed to Venice. Personally, I am not a fan. Within the labryntine walls lies the world's largest tourist trap. The entire city seems like Disney World and there are no locals anywhere. I think it would be better enjoyed if we had a larger budget for eating and entertainment.
I did have to restrain Valerie from buying a tacky mask a couple of times but we made it out alive! On the plus, we stayed in a really fun hostel and we went bar hopping while we were there. That was the main highlight. We also saw a few of the major sites.

We left for Cinque Terre today. We finally made it to our hostel after a grueling 12 hr journey due to Italian strikes. It was a bonding experience! But now we are here and happy. We already like Cinque Terre and are looking forward to a long hike tomorrow.

disclaimer: despite all of this we are having a great time. also, I wrote this on a phone. Don't judge.

When I heard they eat horses here, I said Neigh

After a restful sleep, we woke up early to pack in everything that we wanted to in Florence. Luckily, our hostel, The David Inn, is extremely close to the museum with The David statue. Go figure. So we got some coffee from a cafe to drink while in line, and as soon as the museum opened, we went in and saw it Pollock-Shuping style. Basically make a beeline straight for the important thing, then glance around to see if there is anything else good, notice there isn't, and leave. We had heard that this museum didn't have much else anyway. Next, we headed to the Cattedrale Santa Maria del Fiore, which is this gigantic cathedral with a huge painted dome inside. Entrance to the main floor was free (what a novel concept!), and Shayna and I both liked it better than St.Peter's Basilica. It was less crowded and touristy, and the painted dome was as beautiful as the stained glass and the tiled floors. Then, as per the recommendation of our friends at the Rome hostel, we waited in another "queue" to go to the top. After a series of narrower and narrower stairs, we got a closer look at the Duomo (dome--my Italian gets better every day!), and we got to go outside on a balcony that gave us a view of Florence and some of Tuscany. Don't worry, we took a lot of pictures.

Next, it was time for lunch. We are really proud of ourselves, because we have finally learned how to schedule meals into the day, instead of just waiting to get hungry then trying to pick a good place but really just picking a convenient place. This leads to generally better moods and better food. So we went to Trattoria Mario, where the menu is outside and posted very small on the wall, and that is all. We were seated at the same table as a nice Pittsburgh couple, and we shared secrets about the places each had each been to already that the other had yet to visit. We are convinced that any restaurant that squeezes you in with other patrons at the same table must be great. So far, we are 2 for 2, as this lunch was one of the best yet.

I didn't realize that Florence was famous for its leather until we were planning this trip. So basically I didn't realize that Florence was famous for its leather until a weekend before this trip. It is though, and really pretty leather at that. We walked through a couple markets before deciding on these cute keychains and a colored leather friendship bracelet for each of us. And no, we are not too old for friendship bracelets, thank you very much. I also scored a leather crossbody bag, which looks pretty authentic, if you ask me. We might go back later for sandals if we have time.

Off to the wine tour! Notice that I call it a wine tour, which is how it was advertised. After a hectic period of getting lost, thinking we were scammed, and finally making it to the bus to realize that we are the last people on it, we begin the drive to Tuscany. Though everyone else on this tour is at minimum 45 years old, we are excited for the wine and views. We drive through pastoral Tuscany, and we are at our first stop. We taste three wines and have some snacks, as well as take some pictures. That stop was great, and we couldn't wait for the next two. Well, the next two stops were in these quaint (or fake quaint for tourists' sake, we couldn't tell) Tuscan towns. But they weren't wine tasting--it was free time! If I had wanted free time, I wouldn't have signed up for a guided tour. And the tour guide was not that nice about it either. She would hold up her umbrella in the air so we could see her (because the big group of American retirees was so easy to lose, and yes, we have become those people who follow the lady with the umbrella), drop us, and tell us to be back at the bus at a certain time. We stopped for dinner at the end though, and it was pretty good. We had pasta, tirimisu, and more wine.

As we got back, we ran into some hostel friends who were going to a club. We were a little hestitant about the club aspect of it, but we felt that we had to take advantage of the area, so we went. It was actually just a bunch of tables with some live classic rock music, which was really fun. Funny though--all of the probably 25 songs that we heard were in English, but I only knew two of them. I guess that either I need to brush up on my classic rock, or something got lost in translation about which classic rock songs from the U.S. and the UK are actually the most popular. Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and we left to go home and get a good night's rest. Next up, Venice!

Wine Drunk

We had another busy day as we moved from Rome to Florence. We went out to a wine bar last night and consumed our always classy and affordable option, the house white wine. After staying out late, we still heeded our early wake up call and headed for the Collosseum (round 2) this morning. After walking around the Collosseum, we went to the Jewish Ghetto.

While in the Jewish Ghetto, we had our best meal yet. Our lunch place, Sora Margherita, was located in an unmarked building at the end of the alleyway. After making our way through the crepe paper adornments, we were greeted by a bustling restaurant of squished Italians. We were seated next to an Irish couple as the restaurant was too full for us to have our own table. The waitress brought us the restaurant favorites: fried artichoke, gnocchi, and a fried zucchini and cheese delight. It was really authentic. Turns out, we really like Roman Jewish cooking (although our arteries might not)!

We just wandered through Rome for the rest of the afternoon. We made it to Florence tonight and settled into our hostel. We had more Italian food (and house wine) for dinner followed by our best gelato yet. Delicious!

Thats about all! Everyone is safe despite a few minor mishaps with some oversized backpacks. Everything is great here and it still seems surreal to be surrounded by all of this history. We might never come back! Ciao!

Nutella Gelato

We've been busy busy today.

Last night we went to Campo Di Fiori for drinks/dinner. We partook in "apertivo", which is basically happy hour food and a drink for a reduced price. For only 8 euros we got wine and a sampling of snacks. It was delicious and we sat outside and faced the plaza. It was lovely! We had planned on dinner afterwards, but we filled up on our bargain snacks. Thus, we headed for gelato.

Using our Lonely Plante guidebook (we are convinced that it was written by college students that spent all of their assignment money on beer and therefore filled the remainer of the guidebook in with wikipedia info). Anyway, in typical Pollock/Shuping style, we wandered the streets of Rome for quite some time in search of the perfect gelato. Luckily it paid off and we returned back to our hostel exhausted and satisfied.

We woke up early this morning to head to the Vatican. Turns out, Wednesday means the Pope is coming! So....we saw the Pope up close and personal. Disclaimer: "up close and personal" actually means that we played Where's Waldo with the Pope as he drove through hordes of Catholics and tourists. The closest we came is actually through the viewfinder of someone else's camera. Regardless, it was awesome!

Next we headed to the Vatican Museum. We saw lots of old paintings and statues. I (Shayna) have developed a conspiracy regarding the ehem, packages, or lack thereof, on all of the statues. They are all missing! Valerie isn't convinced but once I find the room of severed parts in the Vatican....It cannot possibly be just a coincidence. We also saw the Sistine Chapel (wow) and went into Saint Peter's Basilica (it was a madhouse).

Next we walked from the Vatican to the Pantheon. It was certainly an adventure, but Valerie, recently dubbed "navigation queen," pulled through for us. We saw some neat places along the way! We also walked to the Colosseum, but it was closed. We saw the outside but we will return tomorrow.

Exhausted from a long day and lots of walking, we went to another part of town for dinner. We had pasta and wine followed by Gelato (of course!). We are totally exhausted and our legs are super sore, but we are headed out for some more fun tonight.

Thanks for staying through that entire post (I know it was brutal)! Headed to Florence tomorrow afternoon!

Our First Taste of Pizza

We arrived safe and sound in Rome this morning. In case we are keeping tabs, the sleep count on the plane was:
Valerie-7 hrs
Shayna-1 hr
Crying infant-0 hrs

Regardless, we are now here and happy! The weather is absolutely beautiful- 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

We had a busy first day and it is not even over yet. After checking into our hostel, we walked to the Trevi Fountain. We took the requisite tourist pictures and read about it in the guide book. Next we moved to the Spanish Steps. We sat there for a bit and people watched, but our stomachs begged for attention. Thus, we embarked on our first Rome epicurean adventure. We picked a pizza place swamped with Italians, ordered, and ate standing. We felt so Italian (sans our Chacos and backpacks). We closed the afternoon portion of the day at the Bourgehse Park. It was so expansive and really beautiful. We spent a lot of time just wandering around there and basking in the glorious weather.

We also saw a lot of Rome by foot. I am amazed at all of the ancient architecture; it is hard to believe that it is also a modern city! I am capturing pictures of neat doors and bicycles on my camera in hopes of making a collage of them when I return home. That is all for now. I must run as wine calls. My life is rough.