florence: day one

After an early morning train to Florence, we arrived at our home for the next three days, Ostello Archi Rossi. Our room was not available so we dropped off our bags and went exploring. Unfortunately for Nick and Chip, exploring led Anne and Corinne to find the many markets of Florence. Apparently Florence is known for their silver, gold, and leather. Leather bags were everywhere and the girls vowed to buy bags before they left. We also wanted to find Nick some leather “mandals” (men’s fashion sandals that we saw on every Italian man) but Nick was not as enthusiastic as we were.

When our room was ready we returned to the hostel to put our things away. Luckily we got a room with only four beds and a private bathroom. Unfortunately, the beds were bunk beds and there was no air conditioning. Most of our stops up to this point had been fairly comfortable weather wise but Florence was HOT!! The one little fan we had was not going to do much, especially for Chip and Corinne who got stuck with the top bunks. After putting our things away, we set out to find some sites we wanted to visit. We walked over the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s famous covered bridge and tried to get into the Boboli Gardens outside the Pitti Palace but there was a steep fee for that we had not counted on. We continued our journey to head up to the Piazzale Michaelangelo. We were not aware it would be another hike rivaling Switzerland! We made it to the top to see amazing views of Florence and beyond. We were even treated to a greener and smaller version of David (a tease for the next day).

On our walk back, we stumbled across a restaurant where we had an amazing Italian pasta dinner. A few things got lost in translation here, so we ended up with four appetizers rather than the one we ordered to split but it did not matter because everything was so delicious. We made it back to our hostel and suffered through a very hot night, while still looking forward to the days to come.

~Corinne & Nick

venice: day three

our last day in venice began with a walk down the main pedestrian road back to st. mark’s square to get in an early visit at st. mark’s basilica since we weren’t able to make it the previous day. the basilica is one of the most beautiful churches we saw, and anne and corinne were glad they dressed appropriately (“modestly” with covered knees & shoulders) so they didn’t have to wear the ponchos being handed out which were basically just paper hospital gowns.

afterwards, we walked across the grand canal to the dorsoduro district where peggy guggenheim lived and where her personal art collection is now housed. peggy was an heiress of the guggenheim fortune who built an impressive collection from her network of friends in the modern art community including pablo picasso, jackson pollack, max ernst and other famous surrealists, cubists, abstractionists, and futurists that were painting and sculpting in the early 20th century. we also learned that after france became too dangerous for peggy to live during world war II (because she was jewish), she asked the louvre to hold her collection but the museum refused, dismissing them as “household objects.” so she was forced to hide her collection in a barn while she left for america. this was definitely an interesting stop on our tour.

after learning about peggy’s life, we ate lunch at a local café. at this point we were all tired of the 100 mph pace, but we decided to make one last stop at the customs house at the entrance to the grand canal. during venice’s trading days, venice was a major shipping port and the customs house was where incoming vessels paid their taxes. we then headed back to the hotel for a nap before dinner.

our final mission was to find a gondolier who could help make our experience in venice complete. We couldn’t have found a better guy for the job: he was a fifth-generation gondolier who loved singing and dancing while he maneuvered through the narrow back canals with ease. not only did he give us great tidbits of venetian history and point out historical buildings, but he also sang michael jackson songs, showed us where madonna shot a music video, and told us about his time meeting sting in the venice train station. this continued the “celebrity” theme of our travels, and was a great end to our time in venice.

~anne, chip, corinne & nick

venice: day two

We began our second day in Venice with a yummy breakfast at the hotel including the best coffee yet. We hopped back on the vaporetti (still as crowded as ever) to St. Mark’s Square. This time we started in the Correr Museum which was filled with Venetian art and history including coins, armor, and weaponry. After the Museum we went to Doge’s Palace and got to walk up the Golden Staircase and across the Bridge of Sighs. The tour of the prisons was especially interesting. After a quick lunch on “Sandwich Row”, we realized St. Mark’s Basilica was closing soon. Rather than cut that tour short, we decided to save it for the next day and head over to a different site on our list, Frari Church. This began our adventures in the back streets and alleys of Venice, which we all agreed was one of our favorite times in Venice. These back alleys give you a glimpse into the real life of Venice away from all the tourist traps. You see flowers in the windows, laundry hanging outside, smell dinner cooking, and hear music playing. You cross over small bridges and can see down into the tiny canals. It is absolutely beautiful. We did make it to Frari Church which houses some beautiful artwork in such a small church. On our way back from the church, we got even more lost which just meant it was time to get gelato and wine. We spent the walk back to our hotel shopping, although the wine may have made us shop a little too much. We were excited for another beautiful day to come in Venice.

~corinne

venice: day one

the train ride from switzerland to italy became an all day adventure. we had to switch trains more than we expected due to train maintenance. when we switched from our scheduled train to the alternate train it felt like a chinese fire drill. we had seat numbers on the original train but it was a free for all on the new train and we rushed to find seats. unfortunately, we lost that race and ended up standing on the train until we made our connection. on the next train we dealt with extreme temperatures. it was so hot nick was begging the train engineers to open the emergency window. after several bottles of water and coke we made it to venice.

as we departed the train station we were greeted by the breeze wafting from the adriatic sea and main canal. from there we walked just a few short blocks to hotel santa lucia, a quaint, family run hotel in an alley off of the only main road in venice. we dropped off our bags and bought passes for the vaporetti, the water bus - the only public transportation in venice. we were excited to be on a boat in the middle of the grand canal, but they packed us so tightly , we felt a little claustrophobic. we traveled to st. mark's square to take in the sights, including all of the stupid tourists who were letting pigeons flock around them and eat out of their hands. we sat down to a light dinner at cafe aurora and enjoyed listening to a nearby orchestra. while enjoying our wine and sandwiches, corinne gasped at her next celebrity sighting: from across the square she saw the roloff family from the show "little people, big world" and immediately ran over and asked for a photograph.

afterwards, we made our first sightseeing stop at the campanile to take in the views from the highest point in venice. at the top of the campanile, we watched as boats overflowing with people began congregating in preparation for a celebration that evening (the feast & regatta of the redeemer)--picture a nightclub in miami on water and you can get a sense for the scene.

since we were up at 5am that morning, we called it an early night and headed back to the hotel relaxed and excited about the next few days.

~anne, chip, nick & corinne

switzerland: day two

when we woke up the next morning we saw the clouds all around and decided that we would not go to Jungfraujoch. taking the advice of some locals we decided it would be a waste of money to take the cog train ride to the top if we weren't able to see anything. instead, we took a cable car to pfiengstegg to take in the views of a glacier. in the car we saw a helicopter flying through the mountains carrying a large, white bundle beneath it. after we got off, we discovered the hike to the glacier would take over an hour. with corinne grimacing and anne disappointed in her fashion choices (white jeans), the four of us took off on our hike. we hiked through clouds and above the tree line while anne sang "the hills are alive with the sound of music", surrounded by wild flowers, black salamanders, waterfalls, and snow capped mountain tops. at the summit we found a restaurant where we sat and had some hot chocolate and warmed up. up until this point there were rain showers off and on, but now it was really coming down. we made it to the restaurant just in time. while sitting out the rain we talked to the owners of the restaurant and found out that they receive their deliveries by helicopter so we made the connection that the helicopter we had seen earlier was bringing supplies to them. chip made the comment, "they must get a lot of hikers here" to which we all had a nice chuckle since the only way to the restaurant is on foot. It was almost as good as nick's comment the day prior when he asked our british roommates if england was just south of scotland. needless to say, the girls were entertained. we also learned about the history of the restaurant and how it had recently been rebuilt because it had fallen victim to a landslide. we saw pictures and articles (all in german) about the reconstruction.

we headed back down the mountain after the rain stopped and saw the breathtaking views of the waterfalls that were now larger because of the rain. we also saw some cows and heard their bells. the views were breathtaking and we will certainly be back with the proper gear ready to hike more of the mountains in the future.

after such a tough day and another early morning in store, we hung out at the hostel playing spades and eating pizza. the next morning we had to be up for our train to venice.

~chip, anne, nick, and corinne

switzerland: day one

we were all sad to leave paris, but were looking forward to a slower pace in the resort town of grindelwald. and the long train ride out of paris was a great excuse to catch up on sleep. between naps, we all were able to see beautiful landscapes across the french and swiss countrysides. after taking in the picturesque views and riding along the shores of the thunersee (literally, lake tuna) and breizensee (lake breize, named after a nearby city), we boarded our last train bound for grindelwald, at about 1200 meters above sea level at the foot of the western alps in the bernese oberland.

our hostel was a short walk from the train station, and on the way there, we discovered that grindelwald is exactly what every ski resort in the US tries to emulate: a quaint village town, with more sports & apparel and gift stores than houses. given its proximity to junfraujoch (the highest train station in europe at 3450 meters above sea level), grindelwald is a haven for skiers in the winter and hikers in the summer. just about everyone in town wore hiking boots and carried walking sticks as they either started or finished a hike that day.

we spent our first afternoon acting like true tourists, poking around the gift shops and relaxing before our big trip to jungfraujoch the next day. we also got a surprising lesson in swiss etiquette: while we waited for a table at a popular pizza place, the hostess ignored us and acted as if she didn't speak english. as we investigated to figure out the proper protocol for adding our name to the waiting list in the open reservation book, the hostess yelled in perfect english that we were not to touch her book. that response shocked us and every other patron in the restaurant and on the outdoor patio. needless to say, the reception at a restaurant down the street was much warmer and reassured us that most locals are happy to help american tourists that try to speak german.

we were all nervous about who we might share a room with at the hostel (there were 8 beds in our room) but we were relieved when we saw a mother and young daughter enter the room. they had just completed one leg of their annual hiking trip and stopped at the hostel for a nights rest. as we fell asleep we all anticipated the sights we would take in at the top of jungfraujoch, but we were nervous that the clouds would come in forcing us to cancel our trek to the top.

~anne & chip

paris: day four

even though we had a late night, we also had an early morning. we met at 7:30 to grab croissants for breakfast and head to versailles. we ran into some confusion in the metro but eventually made it there. the palace was beyond imagination. we luckily had an audio guide for this tour, which helped to really get an understanding of the history behind the grandeur. the hall of mirrors truly is an incredible sight to take in. we also explored the gardens and marveled over the upkeep. we took the trip back to paris and found a café for lunch (in case you haven’t realized it, there are cafés EVERYWHERE). anne and corinne were finally able to sample some french cheese here. yum! after lunch, we went on a quick shopping trip. nick was looking for a particular outdoors store that is only in europe for a tent he has been wanting. although we found the tent, he decided it would be a bit too cumbersome to bring along on the rest of our trip. after exploring this area a bit, we made it over to the orsay. unfortunately, we only made it with an hour before they closed. fortunately, this meant reduced rate tickets! we quickly headed to the impressionists section and saw most everything we wanted to see, although it was very rushed. we all decided to make it an easy night. we picked up some baguettes, pastries, cheeses, and meats from various shops and had a picnic dinner on the balcony of our hotel. tomorrow we have an early train to switzerland. we are sad to leave paris but ready to continue our trip. we were truly amazed by paris with its beauty and history!

~Nick & Corinne

paris: day three

after having one of the longest days ever and acquiring some injuries (anne and corinne having knee/back pain and nick’s feet covered in blisters) we decided to plan an easy day to celebrate both anne’s 28^th birthday and bastille day! who knew they would throw such an elaborate party in anne’s honor?! we were able to meet up with corinne’s cousin Emily who has been living in paris for eight months. not only is she great company, but also a great tour guide and translator! she directed us towards a nice café for lunch and then we headed over to the arc de triomphe and champs elysees where a parade and air show had been held earlier in the day (we were able to see some of it on a TV they had inside the cafe). we were able to witness the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier, which was pretty amazing. these guards had some serious weaponry on them. after this we decided to relax in a park. emily directed us to a nearby park and we picked up some wine and cookies. it was a beautiful day and we spent the afternoon laughing, relaxing, and jumping in on some games of soccer and rugby. emily’s friend from australia also met up with us and we headed off to dinner. now, the service is traditionally slower in france but none of us had ever seen anything this slow. we waited about a half hour for drinks and then about another hour for food. this was very frustrating because we wanted to make sure we could get a spot to see the fireworks for bastille day. since dinner had put us so behind, we found ourselves in an extremely crowded metro station. it was a sea of people all trying to get to the same place. by the time we maneuvered around the crowds, the fireworks began and some of us got separated. the view of the fireworks from the eiffel tower was somewhat obstructed by trees, buildings, and people but we still got a pretty decent show and saw some unique fireworks we had never seen before. we managed to reunite after the show and started the long journey home. many metro stops were closed and the streets were packed. we didn’t make it home until about 1:30 and were beat.

~Nick & Corinne

paris: day two

we began the morning bright and early with a trip to the louvre. entering the courtyard area with the pyramid in the center took our breath away. the blue sky in the background completed the picture. we saw all of the highlights including venus de milo, mona lisa, and michelangelo’s slaves. the architecture of the museum itself was also an incredible piece of art. we then ate lunch at a small café on side of the street and looked at souvenirs. next up was notre dame. words can’t describe the beauty of this cathedral. we explored the tranquil interior and then tried to get a glimpse of the gargoyles on the outside. they are actually really cute!! after notre dame, we travelled over to find napoleon’s tomb. you had to buy quite a pricey ticket for the army museum in order to get into the tomb. nick and corinne decided to go while anne, chip, and hans sat that one out. inside the army museum, we saw the chronicles of french warfare from world war I and II. napoleon’s tomb was quite big for such a little man. we all then met up again at the eiffel tower for our second attempt of getting to the top. we waited for 3 hours in order to see the paris cityscape from 1,000 feet high. that’s quite an elevator ride. all in all, it was an amazing and exhausting day that we finished off with a SECOND CELEBRITY SIGHTING!!! right in front of the hotel corinne spotted austin scarlett from project runway. anne and corinne chatted with him for a bit, took a picture, and high fived over their luck of two celebrities in two cities (who will be next??). after another delicious dinner, hans was interested in going to a bar after dinner. nick and corinne were exhausted and went back to the hotel, but anne and chip decided to go with hans. they asked the waitress for a recommendation for a bar where hans might be able to meet some nice girls. the waitress simply responded with a smile, “take the metro to pigalle”. thankful for her friendly suggestion, the three of them were on their way. unbeknownst to them, the waitress was playing a bit of a trick on them and they ended up in the red light district. they did end up seeing the moulin rouge though (corinne was very jealous she missed it).

~Nick & Corinne

paris: day one

we arrived to our hotel in paris (hotel de st. germain) after a few trains and some metro stops at around 5:30 on sunday. anne’s friend hans (they met on her costa rica trip last summer) met up with us from holland. after settling in and seeing the amazing views from our fifth floor balcony, we all were ready to eat and drink. we first stopped into an irish pub on a side street and met a canadian bartender with lots of helpful information. he recommended a restaurant two doors down called le bistrot. we ate their famous 7-hour lamb, duck, and chocolate mousse. it was a wonderful meal and we set off for the eiffel tower. we got off the metro stop and were disappointed to not see the tower immediately. then we turned around. the amazing eiffel tower stood before us and was quite a sight. unfortunately the top was closed (which we wanted to see) so we decided to save it for another night. we then explored (i.e. got lost) in the streets of paris. while painful on our feet, it was a gorgeous walk around the city. we saw all the sights lit up including the eiffel tower and notre dame. but we soon called it a night, as we knew we had a long day ahead of us.

~Nick & Corinne

heidelberg

chip & I landed in frankfurt just 30 minutes before nick & corinne. our timing couldn’t have been better: while we waited at baggage claim, I saw xzibit, a famous rapper and host of a show on mtv called “pimp my ride.” it was kind of exciting and a bit strange to see an american celebrity walking around the frankfurt airport. after nick & corinne arrived, I immediately pointed out the celebrity (corinne is also into celebrities and entertainment) and she and I walked up to him like two giggling schoolgirls and asked for a picture. what a great start to the next part of our trip.

after catching the train to heidelberg, we walked around the university, grabbed a bite at a local cafe, and took in the views along the neckar river. since nick & corinne were fighting jet-lag, we went to bed early. the next morning we headed to breakfast in the hotel where nick was introduced to nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread for toast or croissants. nick grabbed several packets of nutella just in case his blood sugar got too low (wink wink). after breakfast we climbed philosophenweg (philosopher's walk) where we photographed stunning views of the neckar river and of heidelberg schloss (heidelberg castle). we then crossed the alte brücke (old bridge) to the castle and took a cog train up the hill for a tour. after working up an appetite from the tour and steep walk down from the castle, we sat down to eat outside at a restaurant near the heiliggeistkirche (church of the holy ghost). our ate flame pies & sausages were delicious, and nick's liter of beer (2 pints) was served in a very authentic (and huge!) beer stein.

we then walked back to our hotel through altstadt (old town) via haupt strasse, the longest pedestrian street in europe. after a quick stop at the local supermarket for supplies, we crossed the river again to picnic in the park as we waited for the schlossbeleuchtung (castle lighting), the fireworks celebration that marks the 3 times in history the castle went up in flames.

-anne & chip

london: day three

on our final day in London, chip and I went to the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace. it was swarming with thousands of people from all over the world and everyone was pushing and shoving to get the best view. we waited for about 30 minutes for it to begin but we couldn’t see the ceremony so we decided to catch the tube to the museum of natural history and the victoria and albert museum.

both museums were housed in what looked like old churches. They had gargoyles on the front and beautiful stained glassed windows. In the museum of natural history we learned about dinosaurs that lived in Europe long ago and about how cells are formed in the human body. in the victoria and albert museum we saw a fashion exhibit with historic dresses from yves st. laurent and calvin klein. it reminded me of my time at fashion week in nyc.

around 5:30 pm we attended an evensong service at westminster abbey. the church was ornate and beautiful. we heard the boys’ choir sing. they wore the cutest red choir robes with ruffles around the collar and sounded amazing. next, we rushed over to the other side of the river thames to try to score some tickets to the shakespeare theater’s production of a midsummer’s night dream. unfortunately, we weren’t able to get in so we had a bite to eat and called it a night.

the next morning we had to get up at 5:00 am to catch the train to the airport in order to make our flight to frankfurt to meet up with our travel mates nick and corinne. so we said adieu to our tiny hotel room and waved goodbye to london as we headed to our next stop on our exciting european adventure: heidelberg, germany.

check out the pictures we uploaded in the slideshow. i think if you click on the slideshow you will be redirected to the picassa web album where you can view the pictures at your own pace.

~anne

london: days one & two

of course it was raining when we landed in london. it's been overcast and/or raining off and on ever since, but we've still been able to explore the city and see just about every site on our list.

tuesday was a mixed bag. we were fighting jet-lag from the time we got off the plane, but still planned to check in to our hotel in Westminster before visiting the Natural History and Victoria & Albert Museums and walking through Hyde Park. instead, we stopped into a pub off Bond St for lunch, then walked over to the Marble Arch and Speaker's Corner at Hyde Park to take pictures. we hopped back on the tube to Notting Hill, but our stroll down to Kensington ended when we were caught in a torrential downpour.

after waiting out the rain, we jumped back on the tube, succumbing to our fatigue by skipping the museums in South Kensington to walk through Chelsea on our way back to our hotel.

wednesday was a full day, starting with the Tower of London; a walk through the financial district; Blackfriar's for lunch (and a beer & Pimm's cup); Picasso, Warhol & Pollack at the Tate Modern; Big Ben, House of Parliament & Westminster Abbey across the river; Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas and others at the National Gallery (right off Trafalgar Square); a walk through the theatre district from Covent Garden to Leicester Square; and an authentic Indian dinner nearby.

now we're off to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. we'll send more updates later (with pictures!) before anne hits the sales at Harrod's.

-chip & anne

first post for the coolest people we know

after much heated debate on the best name for our blog, and several failed attempts to reserve a URL, we're finally making the first post to our travel blog.

most of your suggestions for names weren't available, so our blog won't be called "the overhead bin," "carry(ing) on," "europe-a, i'm okay," "trippin," "youreapeein," or "turtle travelers" - but we still think you are ALL the coolest people we know.

ultimately, we decided on a name that represents our goal for this trip: "no checked bags" for our 3 week trip across western europe. even if we don't achieve that goal, we're hoping our efforts to travel light and plan without over-planning will help us get the most out of our first trip to europe.

anne & i are about to board our flight to london (through dublin) to spend 3 days exploring the city before meeting nick & corinne in frankfurt. over the course of the next three weeks, we hope to use this blog to post pictures, videos, stories and anything else we can think of to take you on this journey with us.

thanks for all your well wishes, and we'll see you soon!

-chip

p.s. emily & erin, i accidentally left a snicker's and gummy bears in the freezer. if you want them, you'd better eat them before we get back!