Istanbul is Constantinople

That was the song Mrs. Brendel used to sing to us in 6th grade. And now I'm HERE! With my parents! Who must've thought I was a hobo when they first arrived. Egypt did not afford me very good shower facilities and had a lot of sand and soot to cover me in. Not to mention no easily accesible laundry places near my hostel. Anyway, Istanbul is great! My parents were zombies when they got off the plane. But they rallied a little that night and we had a very nice dinner right next to our wonderful hotel, the White House Hotel. It really is fantastic, staff, wifi, shower, A/C. This traveling has made it very clear to me what is important to me in a hotel. I'm a little ashamed to put free wifi on that list. Anyway, we also took a stroll between the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque that night, as well as through our first bazaar. It was too late to see many people there though.

The next day we met our tour guide, Numan. He started us off at the Basilica Cistern. I don't like being crowded by people, and that gets quadrupled when I'm stuck underground with them. But we caught the Cistern just as it opened with no one there. It was really cool. Dad tried to toss mom into the water. I have photo evidence. Haha. Next was the Blue Mosque. It was very cool, I had never seen the inside of a Mosque before. I was too shy to ask to go into any in Egypt, although I understand they are very nice about letting in visitors. I would guess they are proud of the architecture and beauty, and they should be. They are all breathtaking. After this we took a walk to the palace. I didn't like this as much. Toooooo many people. Mostly tour groups. I hate tour groups. I love tour guides. I hate tour groups. Too many people in too small a space. The palace was never built to be a museum, and it shows. We got to see lots of treasury pieces though. Mom (Sultan Mandy) wanted the 86 karrot diamond in the treasury. We also got to see a Turkish military band play which was REALLY cool. Apparently it is hard to catch them play, because the time changes each day.

By this point we were exhausted. The palace really did most of the tiring out. We ate some sheesh kebab and turkish meatballs at a famous place right next to the Hagia Sophia. It was outstanding. This gave us some energy back, but we were still pretty tired. So Numan brought us to a Turkish carpet store to see how the handmade carpets are made. They were very hospitable and this little break gave us the last bit of energy we needed to do the Hagia Sophia. Oh we also got some Turkish Ice cream. The stuff is very stretchy, and the guy serving it tossed the stuff around like a frisbee. He also used my dad as a human ice cream cone. It was pretty cool. The Hagia Sophia was definately my favorite. Originally the largest church in the world for several hundred years, it was later turned into a mosque. But rather than damage the images of Jesus and the angels, the Muslims simply white washed them. The result was they were preserved perfectly! It was very cool to see that compromise level. It was also cool to hear the story of how it turned from mosque to museum. Apparently Catholics wanted to turn it back to a church when it had been a mosque for hundreds of years. The two sides were getting heated, so the leader of Turkey decided to turn it into a museum. It probably wasn't his most popular decision, but at least they hated him and not each other. I thought that story was really cool.

For dinner, we went to a famous draw bridge out near the Golden Horn and had some delicious Turkish sea food. Numan joined us, and even helped us find which parts of Turkey were worth seeing and how to get to them. He was a fantastic guide, everything we could have asked for. The food was delicious but was way too much. I made myself sick on some of the most delicious fish I've ever had. But that's ok, cause whatever calories I gained, I burned off today. Today we took a day trip to the Prince's Islands, an island chain right off the shores of Istanbul, to the south. It is also technically Asia, which means I've officially been to 4 continents! There we rented bikes from a very bad company, Trek Bicycles. The island was awesome. Beautiful scenery. Very cool church at the top of the highest point. Definately worth the day trip. Unfortunately it was way too crowded in the main town itself, and the horse carriages are poorly controlled. So try to avoid those and you'll have a great time. Oh also, don't rent from Trek. Their bikes broke more than a dozen times on us. It just became a hike at one point because the stupid thing couldn't keep the chain on the gears. Anyway, it was a hike, but it was really cool. Oh and if you go up to the restaurant next to the church, get the meatballs. They're really really good.

Tonight we are gonna do... something. Not sure what. Dinner probably. Then tomorrow we are gonna try to see the Mini Turk (small models of famous places in the world and Turkey), the Military Musuesm (always fun to see stuff that blows stuff up), and the Harem (a house for the Turkish Sultan's concubines). Until next time!

Police Scams and Internet Jams

Ok first a disclaimer. The scam I fell into today happens everywhere from the US to Egypt and the actions of one crooked police officer should not be the only reflection on the Egyptian Police forces. I was well aware of this scam and let my guard down for a moment by accident.

Having said that here's what happened. I am really trying to enjoy Alexandria, but everything seems to be getting in my way. Today I decided to go see the Qaitbay Fort and the new Alexandria Library. Both are along the water in opposite directions from my hotel. So I started with the fort because it opens earlier. The fort was really cool, with lots of dungeons and towers and all the cool stuff from the 1800's style fortifications.

As I was walking out of one dungeon section, some police were seated at the entrance. You see them everywhere in Egypt so I didn't pay it anymind. One mentioned that I had missed the prison section, which I thought would be cool. He guided me there, which I should not have let him do. Once I did, he began giving me a tour of parts of the fort I had already seen, and I did not known how to get back out of the dungeon sections. At the time he acted like he didn't speak English well. This seemingly free tour is actually a lead in for a tip. You tip for everything in Egypt, but in a situation like this it is less of an option and more of a requirement, especially coming from a cop. Once we reached an outdoor section (with people) I said I can find my own way, and offered him a 5 pound tip, which should have been plenty for the 2 minute tour he had given me. All at once his English cleared up, his voice dropped, and he demanded 20 pounds for himself and 20 for his friend. There was no other cop ever in the tour, so this was just a way for him to get more money. Unfortunately he is a police officer so refusing him would have been a big mistake. I handed him the money, and swiftly walked out of the fort.

I'm sure there are situations where this could have been a hard working police officer who was just giving a friendly tour in exchange for a few extra bucks. But once he began demanding more money than I was willing to offer it became a scam at best and extortion at worst. This scam is purported everywhere, New York to Beijing, by everyone from legitimate police to security guards. The best way to avoid it is to politely answer any questions they ask and keep moving. Do not allow them to lead you anywhere accept their headquarters or guard station. In essence don't take the tour. I let my guard down for a second and it cost me.

Anyway, after the fort I walked to the new Alexandria Library. It was very impressive, with millions of books and petabytes of data, not to mention a small Sun "Supercomputer" facility and a planetarium. It was pretty cool, I just wish more of the exhibits were historical and less art. The few historical ones were really cool, but the art stuff outnumbers it and as we know that stuff flys right over my head.

After getting back and taking a nice shower, I sit down to the now working wifi... and find that Google apparently does not exist according to the Windsor Palace's ISP. It took me a second longer than it should have to realize the ISP had cleared it's routing tables and somehow lost the directions to the Google servers. Egyptian ISP's you fail. Not to worry, a quick ping and traceroute forced the issue through your trash routers and now Alexandria can see Google again. That pretty much closes it for Alexandria. At least the Windsor Hotel redeemed itself. They really did fix everything but the A/C and were very helpful. So the staff gets exemplary marks. The building gets a big fat C. Meh. Back to Cairo tomorrow and then Istanbul Tuesday. See you guys then!

Egyptian Museum and Problems at the Windsor Palace

Yesterday I got to enjoy the Egyptian Museum. It is pretty cool how much stuff they have to see. Thanks to the Ancient Egyptian preoccupation with the after life, there is just a ton of stuff from this period of history. All in great condition. And of course the sci-fi nerd in me was comparing all of it to the props, etc from Stargate. I know I'm a loser. Because of how much there was, it took me all day to do that and get my train ticket to Alexandria. Speaking of which, I was not aware that the "waiting in line" concept is altogether Western. Egyptians do not follow this concept and simply elbow their way to the front of the ticket window. So again, when in Rome. It wasn't too hard to get my ticket.

Today I took the train to Alexandria. It was pretty cool to see the Nile Delta region of Egypt from the train. Everyone in Alexandria is very helpful and friendly. Thank god my Cairo hostel let me keep my big backpack there while I am here. I'm staying with them again before my flight to Istanbul, so that should work out perfect. Unfortunately, the 4 star hotel I'm staying at in Alexandria is actually worse than my hostel in Cairo. It's incredible. First the chair in my room collapses out from under me. Next the toilet starts leaking everywhere. My A/C isn't doing anything, the room is sweltering. And to add a cherry to it all, the "free" wifi, doesn't reach my room. Fantastic. So EVERY reason I stayed at this hotel has gone to hell. My hostel in Cairo was LITERALLY better than this hotel. I feel bad saying this too, because the staff has done everything in their power to help me. It isn't a fault of theirs, it's the hotel which is clearly in need of renovation. It's beautiful on the surface, but underneath it is falling apart. Sad really. Anway, enough ranting, I'm off to shower and plug in my fan. Thank you parents for sending that! And thank you Kristen for bringing it to me. Without you guys I would die of heat exhaustion tonight.

Day One Cairo

Wow. Going from a largely globalized Europe, which has shared much of it's culture with the US, Cairo was very different. Made up of roughly 20 million people in the larger metro area, it is the largest African city, and the largest Arab city in the world. I say Arab since Arabic is it's primary language and over 90% of Cairo's population is Muslim. It is an entirely different world. I have known for a long time that true Arabic culture was slow to come to the US. Not until I came here did I fully understand this.

Having said all that, I have had nothing but good experiences with every person I meet here. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Sometimes that help is in the hope you will buy something from them, but even if you don't they are still happy to help you. You must simply be firm in this explanation. Knowing a few key phrases doesn't hurt either like hello, pardon me, and no thank you. My hostel, American House is fantastic. Very reasonably priced, they gave me exactly what I asked for in the room. Plenty of water and toilet paper available upon request. They do try to push tours on you, but to be honest these are sometimes worth it. Which we'll hear of soon.

So when I got their they said I could hire a driver for tomorrow for 200 Egyptian Pounds (40 USD, 60-80 with tips). So I went with it, having promised Kristen and my parents I would go with tours to be safer. Khaled was my driver, and he was the nicest man. He very easily could have been the Arabic version of any of my friend's fathers. He said he would do whatever I wanted, which was to see three different pyramid sites, and maybe do some shopping. While in Athens airport, I picked up a Cairo guidebook for 10 euros, so I knew somewhat of what I wanted to see. Khaled though made sure I understood, I didn't have to accept the camel ride around the pyramids (even thought I wanted to) and I didn't have to pay anyone extra to see anything. Haggling with the camel ride guys at Giza was actually kind of fun. I'm sure I still got ripped off, but I got a private guide, who spoke perfect english and who honestly loved his job. We rode for about half an hour to an hour at a nice easy pace. Cost about 400-500 pounds with tips. (80-100 USD) We also approached the pyramids from a much higher location, getting better, less people crowded pictures. The cliff had a lot more wind too thank god. I really have to reccommend it, I know it's cliche, but it was fun.

I saw the Sphinx too of course, which was the most touristy part, with lots of people saying I needed to pay extra to take pictures. DON'T BELIEVE THIS. They will also offer to take your picture and then ask for 20 pounds. They are sneaky. Look for a fat guy white guy in a Giants hat instead to take your picture. (Read any tourist.) He'll do it for free. I didn't go inside the Giza pyramids. Apparently it's wall to wall people the whole way down, I would have had a heart attack. Instead we moved on to Sakarra and Dahshur. Both were far less crowded. At Dahshur I walked inside the Red pyramid. Once you walk up to the entrance and then down into the thing, you really get a sense for just how large these things are. They are MASSIVE. And this one is smaller than the Giza one's, by a lot. It was so cool. The tombs are long since cleared out, so they just look like big empty rooms, but the scale is still impressive.

After all that I was exhausted. I meant to get lunch when we got back, but instead I passed out in my room. That night I made some friends while sitting around blogging, and we went out for some food. Some good shwarma and ice cream. Wasn't sure about the ice cream, but Rafeal and Edwardo didn't seem to take notice and they had been here much longer. When in Rome... or Cairo. Anyway, tomorrow is the Egyptian museum and the Citadel, followed by some rest. And the day after is Alexandria, Egypt's second biggest city and one of the most famous ports in the whole world. Until next time! Oh and pictures of the pyramids should be up tonight. Greece will have to wait. Sad face.

Last Days in Greece

Ok back to blogging. So we slept in after the long ferry ride from Santorini. The next day we looked up some bus times, and decided to take the bus to one of our favorite beaches we'd already visited (not Tsigrado, Paleochori) and one we hadn't, Provotas. This time we spent a good couple hours at each beach. Provotas had lots of shallow waters, so we waded around a rock outcropping to a more secluded beach. It was also very... European shall we say. Kristen and I didn't join in, but it was an interesting experience. The shallow water made for a very fun beach to swim around in. Paleochori was a beach we had visited the second day on Milos with the car. It's also the place where I broke my camera, again on the second day. But despite that, it really was a great beach. Lot's of volcanic rock, complete with green sulfur deposits (at least I think that's what they were, that's what they were on Vulcano in Sicily). Again we climbed some rocks and found a beach with less people, but more nudity, which again we didn't join in. But it was nice to have less people around. We also had lunch here at a restaurant that cooks food in the volcanic rock. Very cool, and very delicious. That night we had one last dinner in Adamas. This time at a nice little family restaurant in the boats area. You could one of the older ladies in the family cooking all the meals in the back, and one of the younger kids (12-14) was serving us. Very greek, family, traditional, etc. This time we had fried squid, which was different from calamari in that it wasn't chopped up and was fried less. That was appetizer, for the main course I had a delicious spicy meatballs dish and Kristen had a speghetti with minced meat. So good.

The next day we grudgingly got back on the boat to Athens. This time we stayed at a five star hotel. Not that the Ledra Marriott wasn't nice, but this one definately earned that fifth star. The Intercontinental Athens. It had a pillow menu. We didn't use it, cause the pillows they gave us were great, but still pretty cool. All these high star hotels need to stop charging for internet though. It's just greedy. If a hostel or a McDonalds can do it, why can't you. It doesn't have to be Wifi. Cable works just as good. Anyway, other than that, this place was first class. The view from the terrace at the top overlooked the Acropolis and most of the city. The pool was heated to the perfect temperatures. The concierge helped us find a really good electronics store where I could buy a cheap digital camera. It was awesome. For our last dinner together we braved the tourist trap restaurant one more time, for the chance to dine on a rooftop in Plaka looking up at the Acropolis. We both had a delicious pasta, meat, and cheese lasgana type dish that was amazing. After walking our favorite Athens streets one more time, we headed back to the hotel. It was only the next morning that we learned that someone had sliced Kristens purse! Because it was double layered they didn't get anything, but they came close. Kristen fixed it with some thread so it could make it back to the states. I thought I might have seen the culprit lurking at the bus stop the night before. But I can't be sure. Thank god we didn't lose that camera. Unfortunately Kristen is not quadruple jointed and so could not fit in my backpack. So I had to let her head back to the states. And a few hours later I boarded a flight to Cairo. Olympic Airlines was nice. Meal and everything, roomy seats. They were actually a little better than my Virgin Atlantic flight. Anyway, first day in Cairo is next.

Ia and Fira in Santorini

We took an early ferry to Santorini the next day. Milos was flat land moving up to hills and mountains with cliffs sometimes on the shore. Santorini was one massive cliff face on the west that slopes down to beaches in the east. The port is at the bottom of the cliff and we took a bus to Fira, then another to Ia. Ia was just like it looks in post cards and puzzles. When we got in, we grabbed a gyro, not thinking much of it. It was the best gyro in all of Greece. It was fantastic. It's the place right after you get off the bus in Ia. Amazing. We started walking back the way the bus came along the major road in Ia, so we could see all of Ia. As we walked we came across a little old lady climbing down some stairs. Kristen asked me if we should help her and before I could answer, the old lady asked for help. Kristen and I (mostly Kristen) helped her get across the street and to her apartment. She was the sweetest old Greek lady who spoke only 4 words of english. She was so happy just to be helped, she almost broke into tears. After that we had a Ia photo shoot with both Kristen and I. Oh! I forgot to mention. My camera got toasted during the first day in Milos. I tried to go for a swim with it. So no pictures from Greece from me, but Kristen promised to pass me some pictures to post. I also got a very nice replacement camera in Athens, so there will be pictures from here on.

Once the sun started to set, the tourists started to swarm. We elbowed our way out of Ia, and went and had dinner in Fira as the sun setted. A delicious beef dish to start, then a vegetable dish for Kristen (which I don't think was her favorite) and a tasty meatball dish for me. All on a rooftop overlooking the city and the east side of the island as the sun set. After we took a walk and watched the cruise ships and volcano island to the west before heading for the bus. Our ferry back to Milos was a little late, so we didn't get back to Milos until 4am. We were exhausted! But it was so much fun. Next post is our last day in Milos and last day in Athens. After I will post about my first day in Cairo and then hopefully upload some Pyramid pictures. But not for a little while, because I need to get some food in me.

Milos Beachs

Finally got setup with internet in Cairo. So let me continue where I left off before I go on to Egypt. Milos was PERFECT. People throw that word around too much, but it really was everything we wanted. We got to see island life. There weren't too many tourists at all (and when there were they were European tourists). And there was enough tourism that we didn't feel out of place. The absolute perfect balance. The day we got there we found our hotel, a nice little set of hotel rooms and apartments right outside the main port city. The main port city, Adamas, is a quaint little shore town with tons of food, bars, and bakeries. Our hotel was a 2 minute walk from the center of town (and almost out of town by then). We visited our first beach right in town, relaxed, and got breakfast for the rest of the week on the way back. Cereal and fresh fruit. That night we had dinner on the water, mostly seafood. Sepia (squid) in a wine sauce, muscles, and another shot at Souvlaki that wasn't as good.

The next day we rented a little compact car, and explored the island. In total we saw 10 beaches in total. The northern beaches were a little dirty to be honest. We don't know why, they tended to catch garbage in their caves and such. The southern beaches though, were something out of a movie. None of them compared to our favorite beach Tsigrado. It was a little beach cut into cliffs of the island. To get down to it, we had to scramble down a little crevice, not much wider than a person. There were two wooden ladders and a rope, but it was a steep drop. At the end, there is a leap of faith moment almost to get to the last steps. The climb down alone was fun. Then once down there the beach is all caves and clear blue water. You can swim in and out of caves and snorkel around the rocks to your hearts content. It was amazing. Kristen forgot her sandals at the end, and I jumped at the chance just to climb down and back up again. At the end of the day, we still had the car so we went to the northern shore town of Pollonia. This was our favorite meal by far, it was at a new restaurant (10 days old) called Medusa. We got fried calamari to start, Kristen got a mushroom tortellini that was made by a genius chef, and I got a grilled beef dish that almost melted in your mouth. It was amazing. At the end of the meal, after we had paid, they started feeding us a homemade island liquor made with honey and cinammon. Normally I don't like liquor but this stuff was amazing. If I hadn't been driving, I would have just kept drinking till I fell asleep. The next day was Santorini, which will come in the next post...

Athens and Acropolis

Wow, a lot has happened in the past week or so. I'm going to try to divide this into two to three posts. Bear with me if I jump around a lot. So Kristen flew into Athens airport on the 14th, the last day I blogged. She got in fine, mostly because the strikes got moved to the 15th. She was a trooper too, despite a long flight, she still had lots of energy. So we got to our hotel, which was a good mile hike down a busy Athens highway from the nearest metro station. The Ledra Marriott. Very nice, but lacking free internet and in a strange location. The city was a little grimy on the surface, but the people are all very nice. We both took quick showers before heading into Plaka (the nice part of Athens). We wandered around Plaka till we got hungry and then stopped into a nice little tourist trap of a restaurant. We had some Souvlaki to start (I'll be giving lots of detail on the food, possibly my favorite part of Greece) our trip which was a nice transition.

The next day we headed out early for the Acropolis. We saw the Dionysis Theatre, whole Acropolis, Temple of Saturn, and Temple of Zeus before 2pm. It really is easy to do since they're all right next to eachother. The hike up the Acropolis is the only tough part. The Temple of Saturn (I think) was impressive too because it was largely intact. After we headed back and took a dip in the pool on top of the hotel, overlooking the Acropolis and most of the city. That night for dinner we headed back to Plaka and went to a nice little family restaurant. They brought us a choice of 18 of their best dishes (all very greek) and we got to chose 5. We got Mousaka, fried zuccini, meatballs, sausage, and pork, none of which I am describing correctly, but all of which were delicious. Greek hospitality is amazing, you can't get this much or this quality of food for the same price in America. For 30 euro they stuff you with appetizer, two dinners, bread, water, wine, dessert, and dessert liquor. It's amazing. Anyway, stuffed and happy we went to bed early. The next morning we hopped a cab to Piraeus (Athen's port) and got the 7am ferry to Milos! Which will be the subject of my next post. I only have 45 minutes of free internet here in Athens airport though, so more posts might have to wait till Cairo. We will see.

Downtime in Bari and Ferry to Greece

Hey everyone, sorry the blog posts have been slower. Not much to say since I left Rome. I stayed in Bari for three nights at the same hostel as Kristen did, Bari Belle Camere. Really nice hostel, got my own room for cheap. Bari was a really nice, very Italian city. Lots of shopping and a cool medieval section. Unfortunately timing (and laziness) didn't let me go on any day trips from there. Mostly I think I needed a few days to recharge. I have been going non-stop since Dublin, and it was beginning to wear on me.

Yesterday I took an overnight ferry to Greece, Supfast Ferries. Bari to Patras. The ferry was nice, and the food actually wasn't too expensive. It was pretty good and there was a selection. The airline seats were worth the extra price, but you really have to stake your territory. I didn't head down to sleep until 11, and by then my seat had been taken. Normally I would have asked for it back, but it was a family and it was a little girl in my seat cuddled up with her mom. I couldn't do it, that would be like punching bambi. A lot of people without seats will also steal them or spread out on the ground. I slept on the ground for the first 4 hours, only to wakup and find my water stolen. Little sketchy. After we docked at the first stop, I went back down and found the family gone. I laid out across some seats and got some real sleep (with my backpack in my stomache, wasn't taking any chances after the water). One person (who did not have a seat) claimed they were sleeping there, at which point I pulled out my ticket and told him to get lost. Nice ferry, but some of the people on it were nasty.

The coolest part of the ride were the friends I made. Met a very cool couple from Newfoundland and two other couples from Portugal. I hung out with them for most of the ride, which made it a lot more fun. 15 hours on a boat doesn't feel long at all when you're making friends. Now I'm in a hostel in Athens, waiting for laundry to finish before I head to the airport to pickup a beautiful young woman who will be touring the Cyclades with me! Less than 4 hours until shes here!!! While we're in the Cyclades I won't have much internet, so expect the next post sometime next week. With pictures of course.

Vatican, Basilica, and Florence

So I had to do these on two separate days. On the day I went to the Vatican Museum, the Basilica was closing up at around 1. So by the time I was out of the Museum, it was too late. Apparently there was some event going on in the Basilica that day.

So.... I'm not an art guy. Not that I can't appreciate the difficulty, the history, and the religious or cultural significance of a piece. I just.... don't care. I'm sorry I don't. I know I should, and that this is an intellectual fault or missing piece for me. But I just don't care. As far as art museums go, the Vatican Museum is probably second only to the Louvre in Europe (and by far the most religious pieces). It really is a very large, intricate, and historic collection. But to me, it was an overcrowded building (it was clearly never built for the level of volume it gets) with lots of stuff I didn't really care to see. Oh and some nice little asian girl hit me in the face with a parasol and then got made at me about it. I did however enjoy the Sistine Chapel. Mostly because the police officers in there make sure no one can speak a word. It is DEAD silent. Which I liked, it was very respectful both to the religious and historical significance of the place.

Florence came the next day. I hopped a train to see my Uncle Mark and cousins. Had a very nice walk through most of Florence. Not on purpose actually, first we got gelatto, then we went to two different English book stores, followed by dinner. Everything except dinner wasn't planned, but it was a lot of fun. I've always loved Florence. Something about the city combines my favorite parts of Italy. Dinner was fantastic, I shoveled down a big pizza before everyone else got their food. It was that good. I've said it a lot, but I'll say it again. If Italy had no history or monuments or anything, I would still come for the food. After staying up late talking with my Uncle about pretty much everything, I got to crash in a very comfortable room that was NOT a sweat box (thank you thank you thank you Uncle Mark). And then back to Rome in the morning with Lucia. (Actually she got off a few stops prior to Rome, but it was the same train)

When I got back, I rushed over to try again with the Basilica. I have to say, the whole Vatican is much nicer in the afternoon. I'm not sure if that is because the most touristy tourists all go in the morning, but the Basilica was quite pleasant. It is a very very very large structure, which I got to go up. I thought about taking all 552 stairs... but then remembered my feet have to get me all the way round the world. So instead I took the elevator option, which still required 300 and change. The view from the top is awesome of course. You can see the whole city for miles around. Took some great pictures. They even let you walk around the lower roof part as well, which is kind of cool. Got some great shots from there too. (On facebook soon) Also in the afternoon, the sun comes into the interior of the Basilica just right, so you get some beautiful and somehow very religious pictures inside. I really enjoyed the Basilica. Sorry Vatican Museum.

Stay at Ciak Hostel NOT Legends!

Hey guys, sorry I haven't blogged in a while, so let me catch you up with a few posts. First and foremost, if you are staying in a hostel in Rome, stay at Ciak Hostel NOT Legends. Both are very good hostels, with one key difference. Ciak didn't lie to me. Legends did. I requested an air conditioned room. Both agreed to it. Legends did not deliver. When Rome is facing a heat wave, this little lie, makes a BIG difference. Not to mention that when Ciak says free wifi, they mean FREE. Sorry had to get that stuff off my chest. Ciak was cheaper and didn't lie to me. Plain and simple. Other than that Legends was a fine hostel.

Colosseum, Ancient City, and America's Birthday

Rome is exactly what I expected. I love it. Great food. Good people. Big city. Lot's of old stuff. Went to the Colosseum, the forums, and the rest of the ancient city on Sunday. The line for the Colosseum was only about an hour. Once you're in there it's a spectacle. The thing burned down in 217 AD, and for most of the time between then and Napolean, it just deteriorated. Some of the material was reappropriated for various building projects. Took a ton of pictures. It was 95 and sunny all day. By the time I got down I was completely dead. I'm actually hoping for some rain at this point. It's been so hot everywhere I go. We need some rain. At night I met up with some friends and we went out to celebrate 4th of July. Needless to say, this morning has been pretty rough. Had to change hostels too so that made it harder. Had to spend most of the day in restaurants and book stores just to keep cool. Today was a nice lazy day compared to Sunday. Tomorrow I do the Vatican, and then Wednesday I go up to visit Uncle Mark! I'll try to get some pictures up on facebook soon.

Legoland, Wilhelma, and Dodging Milan

So I'm safe and sound in Rome now. But before I get into the trip down, I should tell you guys about Legoland. It was awesome! Pretty much a full theme park, with little areas where you could play with Legos. If I had been in a group of people I probably could have actually gone on a ride or messed around in the construction areas. Unfortunately it was just me, so to avoid looking like a creeper, I made sure to keep moving at all times. Took lots of pictures though. Legoland for me was more about the spectacle. They had Lego versions of Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Venice, famous castles, an airport and a stadium. Pictures of most of these are on facebook.

The next day I went to the Wilhelma, a big zoo in Stuttgart built on the land from some famous garden. Don't know about the garden part, but the animals were pretty cool. They had a really big selection too, and most of the animals had babies recently, which increased the cuteness factor by a lot. Again pictures are on facebook. After Wilhelma, I ran back to webchat with a special birthday girl, who I miss a TON.

Today I took the day long train ride from Stuttgart to Rome. Three trains. Stuttgart -> Zurich. Zurich -> Milan. Milan -> Rome. Unfortunately, the Zurich -> Milan train was delayed. When it got in, I had to bolt for the Rome train, crossing 10 tracks in under 2 minutes. The train pulled away less than a minute after I jumped on. Sorry Milan. You were so close to messing up another one of my trips. All worked out in the end, and the train ride from Zurich -> Milan was gorgeous. We went through the heart of the swiss alps in one of the most beautiful train rides of my life.

Just about time for a "pasta party" here at my hostel, so I should jump off. Tomorrow is the Anicent City here in Rome. Lots to do and see here!