Venice, Italy

Our hostel room.... so the ONE day our entire trip we had crappy weather (rainy and gray and cold) was the day we arrived in Venice. Because the weather was so miserable we were upgraded from tents to this spacious room WITH HEAT... blissssss =)

Venice was an uber chill city for us. As a matter of fact, we spent a lot of our time meandering the streets (because we were ALWAYS lost!), stopping at EVERY store (even though they sell the same things!), reading on benches, and falling asleep in the sun...

Near all the sightseeing stuff with Joyce...

The Grand Canal from the Ponte Rialto

Venice was very relaxing. The 2.5 days we spent there were probably the most unhurried, chill times I had during my month around. To be completely honest I don't entirely understand all the hype about Venice. It's geared so entirely towards tourists that its impossible to get a feel for what the city and its people are really like... plus, the canal water doesn't smell so hot! =) Whatever the case, I'm really glad I went!!!

Rome, Italy

THE Colosseum...

@ the Palatine... so Joyce and I didn't know anything about the place other than that its the largest plot of preserved Roman ruins and that Augusto had something to do with it. Being the people that we are, we walked around making up really ridiculous stories about what the ruins meant... I won't go into greater detail but let's just say that the main character's name was Gusto and there was a lot of giggling involved =)

Joyce eating the world's largest donut... well, maybe not, but its bigger than her face!!! =P

Me with gelato... man, I ate A LOT of gelato in Italy. My first day I had two cones this size only a few hours apart from one another and had a really weird sugar high... but do you notice the mini cone? It helps you scoop the massiveness! genius! =)

Inside the Vatican Museum. The Sistine chapel (which you can't take pictures of) is amazing for sure but the rest of the building is pretty darn sweet too! It's all frescoed which that means they'd have to paint everything before the fresco dried which is insanity because you're hanging from the ceiling and you gotta get all the perspectives and stuff right because its the ceiling AND its curved!!!

Last but not least, we saw the POPE!!! We were just walking around Saint Peter's Basilica when we saw this massive crowd and BAM! There was the Pope! Cool and all but it really wasn't that interesting when you don't speak a hint of italian...

So I'm too lazy and my computer too slow for me to put up pictures from all the incredible sights in Rome but my favorites were probably the Vatican Museum, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish steps (minus the ridiculous amount of tourists). Joyce and I were also able to meet up with my friend from high school who took us to Rome's best cannoli and coffee shop... yum =). I don't even like coffee but when you're in Italy, coffee really does taste better! So much so that I considered (but decided against) taking it up! =)

I really enjoyed Rome but I'm super glad we weren't there during peak tourist season because even when its not its pretty touristy...

Ciao!
-H

Paris, France

Dates: April 24-25

In front of the Louvre (home to THE mona lisa)... there is THE MOST amazing elevator inside that I forgot to take a picture of =(

Sorry that its basically the EXACT same pic with a different background but the Arc de Triumph...

Gardens in Paris are incredible. They take beauty and elegance to a whole new level! That's the huge spider sculpture in the middle of the Jardin de Tuillieres... (btw, I'm SURE i'm spelling everything wrong but I'm too lazy to wiki it...)

Joyce, Me, and the Eiffel Tower... the ultimate Paris trademark. This picture has some major self timer action going on =)

Paris is beautiful. All the cliches you hear about it are really true but in the best possible way. Though my stay there was cut short by a day I know I'll return again one day... you could spend a week there and still have not seem all the incredible sights. Plus, I loved the pain au chocolat... yum =)

Gotta make it out to Versaille next time...

Au Revoir,
H

Stockholm, Sweden

Dates: April 21-22

Joyce and Me next to our hostel that was a BOAT!!! =) and yes, our bags were monstrous and heavy!

Inside our hostel on our beds... not gonna lie, it was pretty sweet! =)

The beautiful view from the patio of the Modern Art Museum/Architect Museum...

Me and Joyce with the cherry blossoms (???) that lined both sides of the street... SOOOOO pretty!

The cute old men playing jumbo chess... I've decided I need to do this sometime! =)

The two of us on the Ballerina boat around Stockholm. It didn't quite take us all the way out to the archipelago but there were still incredible views EVERY where!

Stockholm is AMAZING!!! To be honest, the only reason we went was because there weren't any direct flights from Amsterdam to Paris but it turned out to be incredible! Everything about this city is breathtaking, the buildings, the people, the architecture... Plus, we were apparently there on the nicest day its been all year which is always a good thing. =)

I've always heard the Nordic countries are nice places to live and I totally agree, except that it also means being subject to crazy taxes/prices. One day, when I can afford exploring for over a day, I definitely want to go back...

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Dates: April 19-21

Me and Joyce in this really beautiful enclave that's been preserved...

THE smallest house in Amsterdam... less than 2 meters across!!!

you can't go to Amsterdam without riding a bike! i LOVED it!!! =)

you know what they say about big feet??? you need even bigger dutch clogs!!! =) joyce is SOOO strong!!!

the BEST french fries in europe. the line went around the corner and this place ONLY sells french fries... granted you can choose from like 20 different sauces.

THE Anne Frank house (its the one with the green doors). Its definitely a worthwhile exhibition and makes the childhood book all the more realistic... highly recommended.

Fact: Amsterdam, when founded, was intended to be THE perfect city. Therefore, rather than creating their city on the typical grid pattern with parallel and perpendicular streets, the designers created the streets to be a series of concentric circles. Unfortunately, this means that you are ALWAYS lost. At least Joyce and I were... we ended up giving up on the map and just starting on the outer most circle and biking inward until we could find what we were looking for!

Amsterdam was great. Contrary to popular belief, the city isn't just made up of pot smoking tourists and the Red Light District. Most of it is actually quite picturesque with its quiet canals and flat brick roads. Plus, its ridiculously convenient to bike anywhere you'd want.