Arrived in Nice

After a looonnnnggg day on trains, we have arrived in Nice!! It is beautiful here. Just had an amazing dinner by our hostel in Old Nice. Will write more later

Greg

Canyon Grimsel

We just took this trip to a new level...

Interlaken is a huge extreme sports haven for the adrenaline seeking junkies. Since before we left we discussed canyoning and couldn't be more happy with our decision. Yesterday we finally got a taste what what his area is famous for.

We arrived at Outdoor Interlaken at 1pm and were greeted by our guides, Ian and D who were Scottish and Irish, respectively. We were in a group of 7(perfect small group). It was us, two girls from Philly and a father/daughter duo from Toronto.

After getting fitted for shoes, wet suits, life jackets and helmets we loaded the van and headed for the 50min drive to Canyon Grimsel. The weather had been cloudy all day and on the ride up we were warned by our guides that they were monitorin the rain and that they would decide when we get to the top. Because we were going in the canyon, a narrow window of space, we could get very lucky or unlucky depending on where the rain was headed.

Honestly, I was never scared but the butterflies did hit me a little when we were pulled over on the side of the road to put on our gear and I was fitting with my harness. "this is actually happening," I said to myself. That feeling quickly went away watching all of us getting undressed to our boxers then putting on these tight wet suits and jackets. Very funny.

After getting dressed we drove up the mountain about another 10 minutes. We pulled over on the side of the road and headed the rest of the way on foot. As we walked I caught one of the guides looking back to the other who was at the car checking the radar. I saw a big thumbs up and was delighted our adventure was officially on. Now I thought we were headed into the woods but all of a sudden we stopped and the guide began clipping himself into the side rails of the street. We were about to belay right off the side of the road.

I watched Steve and Greg go down with ease, channeled my limited climbing experience and said to myself, "let's do this." It all came back to me in seconds and I began taking jumps, freed my hands from the rope and enjoyed the ride. That is, until the big jump.

We headed down the canyon, which was FREEZING. Because of the wet suit, the water would rush in from your wrists or neck area and flow down your body like an intense chill. As long as you kept those parts out of the water, you really didn't notice it too much. First was a relatively small jump to get our feet's wet(pun intended). The jump was easy and after getting that rush of cold water to the face I gave an excited yell and double pound on my helmet which was the sign that you were okay.

The next was the big jump where the butterflies came back a little. It was a 30ft jump where you had to climb up to a small(enough space to barely fit two feet) platform. Before we climbed up, the guide had warned us,"If you climb up there, you are going to jump. So decide now." I said to myself, I was not going on this trip and not doing the big jump. I got up there and was trying not to think. The guide told me where to jump, I gave two thumbs up and he yelled 3,2,1 GO! And I jumped. No thinking at all. I fell only hearing the sound of the waterfall next me and BAM, hit he water, got that freezing rush of water to my face and popped out with a huge yell and an adrenaline packed powerful two fist pumps to my helmet to signal I was okay. Let ms tell you something, I was more than okay. I was fantastic. What a rush.

The rest of the trip was filled with slides, jumps and a zip line jump with walks through the canyon in between. It was a beautiful spot. I literally felt like I was in an episode of Man vs Wild following Bear Grills teach how to maneuver yourself through a canyon.

The whole group had a blast but the three of us in particular really the center of attention when it came to he entertainment. We were just being our goofy selves screaming, cheering and dancing. It was very nice to hear when everyone was leaving, the father in the group thanked us for making it so much fun.

The rest of the day we were on a canyon high, revelaing in what we had just done. It was so much fun we all bought the videos of it. So you will all be able to see us act like fools jumping off waterfalls.

We are headed to Geneva now. See you in a week in a half!

Dave

Cinque Terre

***NOTE: lots of blogs were just posted, so scroll down!***



Cinque Terre (pronounced 'Chink-weh Tay-reh') literally means "five lands". It is a collection of five tiny Italian towns that line the coast along the Italian riviera. Each town is separated by only about a mile or two, and the main attraction are the hiking trails that run between each of the five towns, allowing intrepid explorers (such as ourselves) the chance to hike all the way from one end of the five to the other.



Now before we came here, it was advertised as a lot of different things, namely "The most beautiful place on Earth," and "an escape from touristy Europe."

After having spent two days there and hiking through, I can say that both statements are partially true, but neither is really 100%.

#1, It is seriously beautiful. The towns are all built on huge hills that run down to the water, and as such, they are built on top of each other. Tis Ed to the Brownstein-inspired nickname of "Cinque-Stairs," as going pretty much anywhere required either a steep climb or steep descent up or down stairs. Walking through the the villages and along the mountains, I would say it is on par with the beauty of, say, Santorini. It doesn't exceed it, however, mostly because of...

#2, while it probably was a non-touristy oasis of Europe at some point, this is no longer the case. Led by guidebooks boasting about the remote-ness of the area, the place has ironically transformed into a not-that-remote-anymore destination for Americans, Italians, Germans, and the French. Don't get me wrong, it was nice to not be waiting in line for entrance to a museum, but walking through the towns you got the feeling that every store existed only to serve the needs of tourists; we were not visitors to life in the town, we ran its economy. It was, as a result, a bit kitschy and manufactured.

The benefit of this though, is you have a highly-maintained, easily navigable trail system that criss-crosses the natural beauty of the area. But more on that in a second.

On our first day (we hiked on day 2) we relaxed in town number 1, Riomaggiore, getting our bearings and just enjoying having nowhere to be. At sunset, we met a very nice American couple from Minnesota who were traveling through Italy. Carrie (I hope I got the right spelling) is a real estate agent and Steve flies airplanes for Delta back in the states. While we chatted only a few minutes at first, we ended up running into them for drinks later at the only bar in town. They were exceedingly kind and bought us a round, and we ended up staying up til after midnight laughing and trading stories about traveling. Another great traveling moment for all of us. If you guys are reading this, post the picture of all of us!

On our second day in CT, we set out to hike the area. We woke up around 8:30, grabbed some breakfast and headed out. The hike was awesome. There are not too many words you can use to describe walking for 8-ish miles along a beautiful coast, so I hope the pictures do most of the talking. Each town we got to was prettier than the last, the views were spectacular, the weather was perfect, and the German old people trudging along with their unnecessary walking poles, were hilarious.








The trails were easy-moderate difficulty with lots of up-and-downs and more stairs than any of our knees truly cared for. The reward though, was undeniable, and truly worth the pasta weight that I lost in sweat.

After reaching the 5th and final town, Monterosso al Mare, we headed straight for the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean sea. The water was cold but incredibly refreshing for 3 smelly Americans who just hiked for 5 hours. It was a perfect end to the day. When we returned home to Riomaggiore, we all showered, rested, and got pizza at one of the shops in town. We retreated to our hostel/house and fell asleep around 10pm, tired and satisfied from the day.



Currently, we are on a train, just having passed the Switzerland border (customs is aboard right now), heading to Interlaken, Switzerland. The weather is already cooler, and outside of the train windows, the hills have turned to snow-capped mountains. I think I speak for the 3 of us when I say we have no idea where the time has gone: we have only 4 more cities to go before we head home to the US. It has been an amazing time zipping through this continent, and its going to be a great last two weeks of Interlaken, Nice, Barcelona and Madrid!!

Swiss cheese awaits!

Greg


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Florence

After seeing Rome, the center of the historical Ancient Roman Empire, I was really excited about getting to know the "Real Italy," one that is purely Italian.

Within seconds of hopping off the train in Florence, the cultural capital of Italy and the start of the Great Renaissance, I knew I had found it.

If Rome should be remembered for what the Romans did, Florence should be remembered for what the Florentines re-did. After the Romans skipped town around 500 AD, Europe went backwards into the Dark Ages, a time of highly theological, non-logical thinking in which Science took a back seat to superstition and tradition. It was Europe's "Great Regression," a time where life was so crappy that it was viewed only as an ugly pit stop on the highway toward heaven. For those that have stopped at "South Of The Border" on I-95 while heading between DC and Florida... You know exactly what I am talking about.

This went on for far longer than it should have, almost a thousand years, when a group of men decided that life itself is actually pretty beautiful as is. They looked at mountains and flowers and even the human form and said: "you know, this ain't half bad." They were not, as commonly thought, anti-religion or anti-God. They just viewed all of these beautiful things as God's gifts, especially the gift of creativity in art.

And the center of this great awakening? You got it: Florence

Florence is packed solid with hundreds of renaissance sights: art museums, Renaissance architecture, etc. etc. To give you an idea of how beautiful this place is to the eye, when Nazi fighter pilots were ordered to blow up the bridges connecting both parts of the city they left one of the bridges: the Ponte Vecchio, because they thought it too beautiful to destroy. True story.

We took our two days in Florence to see some of the sights and eat ourselves silly. First, right after arriving in the city, we went to The Duomo, a massive Renaissance-style cathedral that sits in the center of town. It is a beautiful white, green and pink marble with an amazing red-tiled dome. The cathedral was actually built with a big gaping hole in it because they did not have the technology to put the dome on. Now remember that this was accomplished almost a thousand years earlier, and you now know why this was truly a great regression into the dark ages.





We followed another great Rick Steves walking tour through the city, pointing out other examples of Renaissance florentine works and continued all the way south to the famous bridge, the Ponte Vecchio. Truth be told, its just a bridge... But unlike most bridges, it has shops and apartments built right onto it. Situated between the banks of this beautiful city, it truly is pretty. We enjoyed strolling around and sitting on one of the bridges nearby so that we could enjoy the view of the P.V.

That night we bought some great Tuscan wine (for very cheap, I might add) and went to our new favorite restaurant on earth, Leonardo's. This was recommended to us by Rick Steves' book and it did not disappoint. It is a great self-service cafeteria with some of the best food and fairest prices I have ever seen. I'm talking 8€ for a massive lasagna, bread, veggies and wine. You couldn't beat that deal with a stick.

On Day 2, we met at the Ferrovia (train station) to do a free walking tour, this time with a nice lady named Nicolette who was so Italian it was sometimes hard to understand her. She did a good job, repeated some of what we heard Rick day a day earlier, but also walked us to a few other sights in the city. After our tour, we trekked up to Piazalla Michelangelo, the highest hill in central Florence, for a commanding view of the city and mainly the Duomo which sat centrally within the buildings. It was a beautiful view, and reminded me of Munich/Bavaria with the mountains lurking just beyond the city. I can definitely see why the renaissance started where it did.





After, we went to The Academie, where Michelangelo's famous David statue resides. I was awestruck. Michelangelo carved all of his statues out of single blocks of marble without any assistance or marking tools. He just grabbed a chisel and went to town on the block. According to Rick, he viewed himself not as creating anything, but instead freeing the figure that was already in the marble. Deep, I know. How he did this, I have no clue. The David is so lifelike, so perfectly done that its hard to believe anybody could do this at all. Throw in the fact that it was once one block and nothing but hand tools were used!? Crazy.

Lining the hall to the David are unfinished sculptures, called "The Prisoners" because they look as if individuals are trying to free themselves from the blocks. It gave great insight into how difficult the job must have been for Michelangelo, and how incredibly talented he truly was.


For dinner... You guessed it: Leonardo's self service restaurant. Mmmmmmm so good. This time it was a mix of spaghetti, gnocchi and other pastas- so yummy.

Oh and I should mention that both nights we partook in Gelato, described as an edible art form in Italy. We ate at Grom, which was dually recommended in both of our guide books, and it lived up to the hype big time. I was so happy with my vanilla/strawberry double scoop that I did it two nights in a row.



Florence was a beautiful city with a small-town feel. While Rome was like Berlin: big, bustling, busy; Florence was like Munich: more local, smaller, quieter. Walking through the streets to and from our hotel was an attraction all in itself. We had a really great time.

Enjoy the pictures!

Greg

When in Rome...

Rome was so fascinating to us. As the historical capital of the Roman Empire and the current capital of the Catholic church, Rome has so much to see. I feel like it was so similar to Berlin as a historian's dream, just that the history is much older. Unlike Greece, though, Rome's sights still feel fresh. I constantly found myself reminding myself that the column, or building, or fountain in front of me had been there for almost 2,000 years!

To really enjoy Rome, you have to know a bit about the the guys that occupied it for a thousand years. While I am sure I learned a bunch about them through high school, most of the information came back to me through our tour guide Stefano and our trusty leader/deity Rick Steves.

The Roman empire lasted a thousand years, between 500 BC and 500 AD. It's hard to imagine that they're that old because a lot of the things they did are the model for society today. In fact, much of what they did was so ahead of their time that during the period after the empire fell ("The Dark Ages") society pretty much regressed. The government was a representative republic, freedoms of religion and speech were all ideas encompassed in Roman society and protected by Roman laws. They built massive stadiums for entertainment and even had assigned seats in the Colosseum. They threw parades, questioned their leaders, payed taxes, went to horse races. After learning about the Romans, it is easy to see why the thousand years after their departure from Europe were called "The Dark Ages." Society regressed post-Romans, and when it got back on track, it reverted to much of the things that the Romans had already pioneered.

So... 1600 years after the last Roman emperor took off, the three of us trekked around to see how awesome they really were. On day 1, our free tour guide, Stefano, took us around to one of the most recognizable ancient landmarks: the Pantheon. Built nearly 2,000 years ago, this was a temple to all of the gods that Romans worshipped. It was the first temple of its kind- devoted just to spirituality and not to one god or religion in particular. It is really incredible to walk through, imagining that it was built in a time without electricity or machines- it is so unbelievably constructed it looks like it was built yesterday. The dome is one of the greatest engineering achievements; made of solid concrete, thinning out as it rises and capped with a huge hole in the center that allows natural sunlight (and rain) in to the inside of the temple. In fact, its the only source of light in the Pantheon. Its really a sight to behold.





On day two, the three of us headed to the famous Roman Forum and Colosseum for what was easily the most awe-inspiring sightseeing of the trip. The Forum was the center of life for the Romans, hosting the markets, political and religious centers of everyday life. It was "Main street" if you will. With Rick Steves cued up on the iPod, we listened to really interesting commentary about what life was like, while walking through the ruins. The ruins, by the way, were not very 'ruined'. They are so well preserved, and so well understood that it is not a stretch to imagine walking around a thousand years ago. Personally, I enjoyed seeing the arc of Titus, the giant victory arch constructed by Jewish slaves after the conquering of Jerusalem and burning of the temple by the Romans. This, as you may know, was the single event that caused the fleeing from ancient Israel and the formation of the Diaspora that we have today. I have been to Israel many times, and seen the Jerusalem part of the story... But to see it from Ancient Rome, a place where the sacking of the temple was not a travesty but a cause for celebration... It was very weird and different. It reminded me that all of these historical stories truly are linked.


After the forum, we walked a few hundred yards to the ancient Colosseum, the center of entertainment. It is easily the most recognized landmark in all of italy and is even more "awesome" in person. Again, I was so impressed with the ability of the ancient Romans to do pretty much exactly what we do today. For those who haven't been to see this amazing thing, this was no small stadium! It held 50,000 people! It has a huge network of underground tunnels that was used as backstage, as well as public bathrooms, stairwells, concourses, even places to buy food other things while at the event. This is the NFL 2,000 years ago (minus labor discussions and Brett Favre). We did another free Rick Steves audio tour, loved it, and then just walked around ooohing and aahing at the incredibleness of the site. The Romans had their stuff together, it's amazing how between the fall of their empire and a thousand years later, the world managed to screw it up pretty badly.


Our third day in Rome was dedicated to seeing the capital of an entirely different Empire: the Roman Catholic Church.

Christianity was just one of many different religions in ancient Rome... And it grew pretty quickly. Our tour guide made a point of repeating that in only 100 years Christianity grew from being a religion that you could be punished for practicing (because Romans viewed the emperor as one of many gods, and christianity is monotheistic) to the official state religion of the Roman Empire. Big change. This dominance of Christianity in Rome went nowhere, even after the fall of the empire, and that is why Vatican city is located where it is. Vatican City is its own country- it is not in Italy. It has its own police, post office and its own head of state, who is, as you might guess, El Papa- The Pope.

The "country" is pretty tiny by country standards, but includes some great must-see's... Namely St. Peters square, the incredibly large open oval that is featured in every shot of the Vatican. In front of the square is St. Peters Cathedral with the largest dome in Europe (designed by Michelangelo). The church takes your breath away. It is just simply so gargantuan and beautiful. It defies logic. I was so impressed that I converted to christianity for about 15 minutes; you see since it was Sunday, the only way to get close to the Altar is to be in attendance for mass which is open to the public. I walked right up to the guys guarding the entrance to mass, about 3/4 the way down the church, asked if I could attend, tried to look as Christian as possible, and was admitted. And so it can be said: the three of us attended mass at the most famous church on earth.





On a sad note, we did not get to see the big man in the awesome hat... As he was leading mass somewhere in Germany that sunday morning. When we arrived to the square, we were able to see him leading the service on the monstrous Panasonic Pope-Vision boards. But I was pretty sad, since when he is in town he comes out on the balcony on Sundays and does the whole pope thing. We will have to return.

While at the Vatican, we also climbed St. Peters dome which was a claustrophobic 500-ish step trek up to the highest point in Rome. The views were incredible as you might imagine, looking out at a city so old and so riddled with history that is known as "The Eternal City."





It wouldn't be fair if I ended this blog without talking about the food. We got incredible pasta and pizza every night while in Rome. On the first night we were sent by Stefano to a local spaghetti place which turned out some of the best noodles I have ever had. On nights 2 and 3, we went to a place recommended by the Let's Go guidebook people which served amazing pizzas for impossibly low prices. I said to Dave before landing in Rome that my week in Italy would be a failure if I did not gain 5 pounds in carbs. After Rome, I was safely on my way to that goal.

Rome is something else. You can't walk more than a few blocks without seeing a massive Bernini fountain, a church older than most rocks, or a towering egyptian obelisk that was built before Christ. If dropped in the middle of Rome, having no idea where we were, I feel like it would be easy to figure it out within seconds. We walked all throughout the city, from the Spanish steps to Piazza Navolo and back a hundred times. I will truly remember Rome for its incredibly preserved history. Never before has so long ago seemed so recent. For that feeling alone, I would come back again and again.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Been a little while...

It has been a little while since I've posted anything up here. I apologize sincerely since I know you all anxiously await my posts and not the other two knuckle heads I share this blog with. 

So, Italy is pretty cool huh! Now that we are leaving our final stop in Italy, it is crazy to compare the huge differences between each city. Venice was obviously quite unique, Rome is the large historic capital, Florence is very proudly the cultural center (both historically and currently), and finally cinque terre is a great vacation spot/
getaway for locals. And that's it, great country, see you in Switzerland!

Just kidding, I'll elaborate. 

Rome was a sight to behold for sure. Large buildings and piazzas, that's a square for you uncultured folk, are all
over the place, Marble monuments and ruins are scattered about, and Catholicism is everywhere. You can almost still feel the sense of grandeur that was once here when this city was the center of the worlds greatest empire. For me, the coliseum and roman forum were the best part. The Roman empire was a society that had it all right for a long time. They had democracy, art, theaters, sports stadiums, they married for love. But, eventually it was all ruined by some selfish emperors who wanted all the power. The catholics have done a pretty good job of keeping up with the huge monuments in Rome though, with a whole separate country of their own. St peters basilica is not only the largest and most ornate church in the world, but it may beat out all other buildings as well. The view from the top is splendid though, and I highly recommend taking the 520 steps up (Greg thinks they counted wrong though). 

We took a step down in size, but not in culture when we went to Florence. I think we'd all agree that this is a very cute little city. The start of the renaissance occurred here around 1400 and Florentines will be certain to make sure you don't forget that. The art and sculptures are everywhere and they sure are proud of their historic artists. If you don't like art and want to limit it in your trip, make sure to go to the academia and see the David. It is very impressive to imagine this thing once being a single solid block of marble, and the unfinished works by Michelangelo nearby only help make the David more impressive. Florence is littered with churches just like Rome, and the are all covered with green and white marble that is local to the area and very beautiful. The duomo was one of my favorite churches to see from the outside, but inside, well it's hard to compete with St. Peters basilica. Around the duomo is also a great piazza to sit in at night and watch people stroll about. Lots of young students eating gilato, lovers flirting, old friends, and lone photographers trying to get a unique angle on the often photographed duomo. The best way to see Florence though, is from above. The piazza michelangelo sits on a hill overlooking the city and is such a beautiful spot. 

When we left Florence, I think I couldn't have been happier to see mountains instead of another giant church. These five towns, and the coastline they sit on are a wonderful change of pace. Theyre almost like a more colorful version of Oia in santorini. On our first morning, we woke and began hiking the 9km trail between the towns. We were warned about the Germans and French being extremely serious and pushy. I don't think they were pushy, but they certainly took this fairly moderate day hike WAY too seriously. It's about a 5 hour hike, with a stop in a town every hour and these people were ready to join bear grylls in the amazon for a week. They were geared up with hiking poles, huge boots and backpacks bigger than the one I'm using for this whole trip (okay maybe the backpack thing isn't saying that much). The trail itself was complete with some decent climbs, a few nice towns, and some amazing views of the cliff covered coastline.  When we finished the hike, we had a nice swim in the chilly Mediterranean water and it was soo refreshing after a hot and sweaty day of hiking. Since I didn't have a bathing suit, I went european style in my undies! Finally, after training back to the town we were staying in we feasted on pizza and quickly crashed in anticipation for our 6am train this morning. 

I am sad to see Italy and that coastal mountain area go, but extremely excited for what's ahead. I have been awaiting Switzerland and the alps this whole trip! It should be a great few days in the mountains before our final push for home. 4 stops left!

-bear

Been a little while...

It has been a little while since I've posted anything up here. I apologize sincerely since I know you all anxiously await my posts and not the other two knuckle heads I share this blog with.

So, Italy is pretty cool huh!? Now that we are leaving our final stop in Italy, it is crazy to compare the huge differences between each city. Venice was obviously quite unique, Rome is the large historic capital, Florence is very proudly the cultural center (both historically and currently), and finally cinque terre is a great vacation spot/
getaway for locals. And that's it, great country, see you in Switzerland!

Just kidding, I'll elaborate.

Rome was a sight to behold for sure. Large buildings and piazzas, that's a square for you uncultured folk, are all
over the place, Marble monuments and ruins are scattered about, and Catholicism is everywhere. You can almost still feel the sense of grandeur that was once here when this city was the center of the worlds greatest empire. For me, the coliseum and roman forum were the best part. The Roman empire was a society that had it all right for a long time. They had democracy, art, theaters, sports stadiums, they married for love. But, eventually it was all ruined by some selfish emperors who wanted all the power. The catholics have done a pretty good job of keeping up with the huge monuments in Rome though, with a whole separate country of their own. St peters basilica is not only the largest and most ornate church in the world, but it may beat out all other buildings as well. The view from the top is splendid though, and I highly recommend taking the 520 steps up (Greg thinks they counted wrong though).

We took a step down in size, but not in culture when we went to Florence. I think we'd all agree that this is a very cute little city. The start of the renaissance occurred here around 1400 and Florentines will be certain to make sure you don't forget that. The art and sculptures are everywhere and they sure are proud of their historic artists. If you don't like art and want to limit it in your trip, make sure to go to the academia and see the David. It is very impressive to imagine this thing once being a single solid block of marble, and the unfinished works by Michelangelo nearby only help make the David more impressive. Florence is littered with churches just like Rome, and the are all covered with green and white marble that is local to the area and very beautiful. The duomo was one of my favorite churches to see from the outside, but inside, well it's hard to compete with St. Peters basilica. Around the duomo is also a great piazza to sit in at night and watch people stroll about. Lots of young students eating gilato, lovers flirting, old friends, and lone photographers trying to get a unique angle on the often photographed duomo. The best way to see Florence though, is from above. The piazza michelangelo sits on a hill overlooking the city and is such a beautiful spot.

When we left Florence, I think I couldn't have been happier to see mountains instead of another giant church. These five towns, and the coastline they sit on are a wonderful change of pace. Theyre almost like a more colorful version of Oia in santorini. On our first morning, we woke and began hiking the 9km trail between the towns. We were warned about the Germans and French being extremely serious and pushy. I don't think they were pushy, but they certainly took this fairly moderate day hike WAY too seriously. It's about a 5 hour hike, with a stop in a town every hour and these people were ready to join bear grylls in the amazon for a week. They were geared up with hiking poles, huge boots and backpacks bigger than the one I'm using for this whole trip (okay maybe the backpack thing isn't saying that much). The trail itself was complete with some decent climbs, a few nice towns, and some amazing views of the cliff covered coastline. When we finished the hike, we had a nice swim in the chilly Mediterranean water and it was soo refreshing after a hot and sweaty day of hiking. Since I didn't have a bathing suit, I went european style in my undies! Finally, after training back to the town we were staying in we feasted on pizza and quickly crashed in anticipation for our 6am train this morning.

I am sad to see Italy and that coastal mountain area go, but extremely excited for what's ahead. I have been awaiting Switzerland and the alps this whole trip! It should be a great few days in the mountains before our final push for home. 4 stops left!

-bear