Follow The Guide, Please

Let me apologize first for lying to you all last night that I was going to blog after the Eiffel Tower visit. We didn't get back to the hotel until almost 1 am and had to be up at 730 so sleep won over blogging. Our trip is coming to an end tomorrow and it is bittersweet. We have had an amazing time all be it stressful at points. There is so much to catch up on where so I start? When we tried to leave Barcelona to go to France, we could not get the car out of the parking garage where the hotel told us to park because it was Sunday and apparently everything closes in Barcelona on Sundays. So that was fun to try to figure out. Luckily there was an Avis nearby that let me exchange the car (I wont tell you how much that oat but lets just say it was a wee bit more than I had planned) so after MK had a slight panic attack we were on our way. Note to self (or anyone else traveling with Janet in a foreign country. She is not a good navigator when reading maps in another language. But she did he best she could! We finally arrived in Castlenau Montratier to find my folks and got settled in. The house was so quaint and so quiet. It was fabulous. Pics will be uploaded soon. We had a couple leisurely days including a trip to a Tench castle that was awesome! I mean its only fitting that my parents would take me, the princess, to a castle right? After a day at the castle, it was time for a fabulous 4-course French meal at a little restaurant in a little town my mom had heard about years ago and always goes to when in France. It was wonderful! Nest kept secret for my money!! On to Paris this week and we were nit quite as busy as kn Italy but that was planned because we are exhausted! We toured the Louvre and did a hop on hop off. Went to Versailles but you really need to spend a full day there on the gardens. We went with a tour so we only had two hours. Definitely not enough time. But my favorite was the Eiffel Tower. It was everything you expect it to be and more. We had a fantastic tour guide who was informative and HILARIOUS! Took a tour this morning of Notre Dame. I thought of it as my way of cleansing myself for going to the Moulin Rouge tonight as I hear it is quite the show and is enough to make you blush. I did ask our guide last night though if it was comparable to the Red Light district on Bangkok and his reply was "Nothing is comparable to Bangkok." So how bad can this show really be. Unfortunately for all of you voyeurs out here, it is "forbidden" to take photos or anything while inside the theater so sorry. We are flying standby tomorrow ar 10 am so keep your fingers, toes, elbows, legs and anything else crossed that we make it on the flight. We don't really mind being stuck in Paris but we are kind of tired and would like an 8 hour flight to sleep!

Even if You Are a Hot French Guy, Picking Your Nose In Public is Still Gross

Hey my beloved readers. Just wanted to let you know that I have not run off and married an Italian or Spaniard or the hot South African waiter we had at lunch the other day. We were in Castlenau Montratier in the French countryside and did not have Internet access. We have been in Paris since yesterday and are heading out to the Eiffel Tower now for a sunset tour so I promise to fill you all in on recent adventures tonight when we return. Trust me. You wont want to miss it! Au revoir mon amies!

You Go Maybe Hundred Meters...

...then u ask again.

So one of the things I love about Janet and we joke about all the time is her description of everything being "three blocks away.". Regardless of whether it's one block or twenty. Well, thanks to our friendly street vendors in Rome, everything is now "maybe hundred meters then you ask again." I can't even tell you how often we heard this.

We survived our whirlwind tour of Rome. I would not recommend trying to do Rome in three days unless your young and full of energy or it's at the beginning of your trip. But we hit the highlights. Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peters Basilica, Colosseum, Roman Forum and Pallantine Hill all in one day. If you have not been to Rome I would suggest the Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica and the Colosseum. Those really were my faves. And I would suggest buying tickets online to avoid the queue out front but unless you want ALL the history and a blazing fast pace, don't do a guided your. It was nice to get the history and such but we skipped half of everything and barely had time for pictures. I will be posting on Trip Advisor so you can look for that as you plan your travels.

Yesterday we hopped a plane to Toulousse, France. Thank heaven we didn't plan to take the train to France because the Roman transit workers went in strike yesterday. Apparently this happens often and only lasts a day or so. We got lucky on this one, especially considering how everything else has been going.

At Toulousse airport, we picked up our rental car and headed South to Barcelona. Well, we tried to head south. Being the genius that I am, I forgot my directions I printed from the airport to Barcelona. And the guy at the car rental place said it was cheaper to go buy a GPS because he would have to charge so much. So we tried the map on Janet's iPhone which got us nowhere and apparently gas stations don't have attendants. Luckily we came upon a mechanic shop so I hopped out and asked the cute French guy how to get to the motorway to Barcelona. Lucky again for us it was 100 meters then turn left. It really was 100 meters this time!!

The drive to Barcelona was GORGEOUS!! We have done many road trips but never in a foreign country. We can check that off the list!

Getting to our hotel though was a comedy of errors. We got to the Barcelona city area about 7pm and arrived at our hotel at about 9pm.
'nuff said.

So we have today and part of tomorrow to explore. It is cooler here thank heaven do we may not sweat to death again. And our hotel upgraded us for free. The pics below that are of views are from our balcony where I am sitting and blogging. Life if rough sometimes.

I think I broke my ass

First, I've added pics from my birthday yesterday. Janet woke up from a nap and asked if I blogged and I said a little but hadn't downloaded the pics and she said why not? So I did (I didn't want to wake her up to ask where the memory card converter was. See I'm that nice of a bestie!)

So today was probably the day Janet was looking forward to the most. It was our cooking class. For those who know me well you know I don't cook. And today we proved why. But before the class our chef/teacher took us on a walking tour of the old Jewish Ghetto. It was fascinating to listen to what happened with the Roman Jews during WWII. Along the way, we stopped at the butcher shop, bread shop and of course the market. So much fresh food it was unbelievable. Pike Place has nothing on this market!

We strolled by the Pantheon (J and I went back later) and our chef's restaurant to pick up some items. Then it was off to his home to cook. I promise you all that I did help but those pics are on Janet's camera so you will have to wait for those. We learned to make pasta (apparently I should not do that again as my dough was used as the class example of what NOT to do) and several other items that were then prepared for us and we had a great feast. Unfortunately, as we left Fabio's home (yes that's his name and no he doesn't have long hair), I was walking down the marble stairs slowly and watching my step. I looked up for a quick second to look out the open window and my foot slipped on the marble and my whole butt and tailbone landed on the edge of the marble step. To say it was painful is an understatement. Luckily Janet was there with ibuprofen and water and I say on ice at the restaurant. Not sure if it's broken but it hurts like hell. So painkillers it is for a while. Guess I won't be running tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the tour of the Vatican in the morning and then the Colisseum and Roman Forum in the afternoon. Should be another great day! Now if someone could turn down the heat on the country that would be FABULOUS!!!

They say it's your birthday

Another birthday has come and gone but I really don't care this year because I got to spend it in Rome with Janet. We haven't downloaded pics yet from the events of the day but I will start with this. My proof that even at 36 and in a foreign country, my happy ass got up and went for a run on my birthday.

We had a great day though. Once we arrived in Rome and found our hotel we went exploring. As our luck has been, when we went to buy tickets for the hop on hop off bus your, they only took cash. Of course neither of us had cash and Janet is without her debit card so I set out to find an ATM. In the process I found the Spanish Steps which was cool. Unfortunately when I tried to get cash the machine told me I could not make an international withdrawal. Now mind you, this is the same card/bank that I used in China and Norway without problems. So I walked back to find Janet and call the bank. Yep. Yours truly forgot that I set my daily withdrawal limit at $500 and I tired to get €500 which is about $627. That's why I couldn't get money. So I went back got money and got bus tickets.

We meandered down to the Spanish Steps to take pics and such and it turns out that the Benetton store there was going out of business and having a huge sale. Well when does MK ever pass up a sale? Especially on her birthday. So...then we started to find the tour bus. That was an adventure in itself. We finally "hopped" on and ride around Rome. It really was a nice way to see the city.

Made our way to Trevi Fountain and I guess I'd not seen pictures of it before because it didn't look like what I thought it did. It was way better. Holy cow. It's huge!! It's one of those places that you hear people talk about but seeing it in person was spectacular. (Pics will follow when we upload them).

Came back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Had a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant and then went for drinks. All was good until this girl from Australia sits down next to me and starts shamelessly flirting with ALL of the bartenders talking about how she just got a job reviewing bars and restaurants and how this place was "fab" and she doesn't really care for France even though her "mum" is French blah blah blah. Now normally I will just sit there and mutter something under my breath. We all know how I am. But here's when I have an issue. Janet was literally waving her credit card at the bartenders so she could pay and they were so "involved" in this girls self-promotion that they did not see us. It took nearly 10 minutes for them to see we needed to pay and we were sitting right next to her. But I was good. I only talked loud enough about her for her to hear and not everyone else. I wish I could say I am more mature than that but who would I be kidding. Listen honey, I know you think you are God's gift to Italy and maybe even the rest of the world but you DON'T have a national holiday that 95% of the world recognizes. Just saying'.

Anyway...I really did have a fantastic birthday!

Oh no! I might be a wino!

It is official! We have won the travel game against Europe and we able to do an activity we had actually planned. We walked over to the Duomo and took pica of the outside. Didn't have time to go in and the line was ridiculous anyway. We did go in one of the towers that promised a great view of the city. So we climbed and climbed and climbed and they were right. It was a magnificent view of the city. Lots of pica to come I promise. After that we took a tour with 50 others to a castle winery in Chianti. Turns out the word chianti isn't just for the wine. It actually means "hills" and refers to the area where chianti wine is made. And in order for it to be true chianti wine it has to be at least 80% San Giovanni grapes. I could totally be spelling that wrong but blame it on the wine! It was a wonderful tour complete with tastings that make US wine tastings cry. We had three bottles of wine at our table to split among 6 people. It was fabulous. And yes I tried all three and actually preferred the Punitive Grigio over either of the chiantis. Who knew I would like wine. Of course its probably the Italian atmosphere that did it for me. Then we were taken to a quaint little Tuscan town called Greve and wandered around for a bit and had gelatinous (for the third time in less han 24 hours.)Fantastico!! Upon our return we walked over to Piazza della Republica and had a wonderful meal. I may never be able to eat Italian food at home again!!Tomorrow morning we hop the train to Rome to celebrate my birthday and hang out for a few days. Should be fun!

When in Rome...

Actually, we are finally in Florence. We arrived last night but we having connectivity issues so couldn't post anything until this morning. And I haven't figured out how topmost pics on Janet's iPad so guess you all will have to wait for me to get home and post on facebook or wait for my scrapbook. It has been quite the adventure thus far but we have showered (twice each since last night), slept on a non-moving bed and eaten WONDERFUL Italian food so we are quite the happy campers now!! We are off tone explore this morning and then to the Chianti area this afternoon. Oh...I drank two small glasses of wine last night. Yeah it's better thAn wine in the states but I'm still a beer and rum girl!!

Have You Seen My Kotex?

Well boys and girls, we have arrived in Europe. Not Venice or even anywhere in Italy but we are here. I wanted this trip to be one Janet would remember forever and I am pretty sure I have succeeded. We arrived in Amsterdam yesterday (Saturday) as it was the only flight out of Atlanta that the wonderful ladies at the rebooking desk could find. Of course our luggage arrived after us. But that have us time to go find out about hoping a train south to Italy. We tried to get one to Venice but we wouldn't have made it in time to get our train to Florence this morning (Sunday). So we booked the train to Florence. It's all been part of the adventure. The train to Florence didn't depart Amsterdam until 830 pm so we got to spend 8 hours exploring. Went to the Anne Frank house. What an amazing experience. It was like walking back in time and makes me appreciate even more all of the freedoms I have and what our troops continue to do everyday. Took a canal boat ride too because you know Amsterdam is the Venice of the north and we HAD to take a canal ride. So by the time we boarded our train at 830, it had been 36 hours since I slept because of course I couldn't sleep on the plane. I don't know much of what the first leg of the train ride was as I was looking at the back of my eyelids for most of it. Thought I will tell you that the high speed train sleeping cars in China are much better! So now we are in Basel, Switzerland waiting for our next train to Milan which will take us to Florence tonight. We have had to cancel some of our tours but that's why we bought trip insurance. Plus we have had so much fun on our new, unplanned adventure that it's all been worth it. I do want to thank Janet publicly for dealing with my melt down over not getting to Venice and reminding me that it's more about the fact that we are together than where we are going. Life is about the journey not the destination. Sent from my iPad