We both woke up a bit later than planned this morning and had to scramble to be packed and out of the hotel on time. We said goodbye to the Westin Palace in Milan and walked back to the train station. We had a quick breakfast at the station and some gelato (oh Italian gelato, how you tempt us and win every time!) before boarding the train for Florence. I must take a moment to mention how utterly fantastic every single scrap of food is in Italy!! Even packaged pastas and salads taste like manna from heaven!! Everything in eateries is fresh, cooked to order, and so positively delectable! But, I digress.

The train ride was about an hour and 45 minutes. On the train, we received an email from our airbnb host, telling us that he would pick us up at the station! We reached Florence, gathered our belongings, and schlepped off the train. There to greet us at the end of the platform was a smiling Italian gentleman named Paolo with a big sign that read RYDER. Paolo is the reason we fell immediately in love with Florence! He was so kind, bringing us groceries to get us started and helping us bring our bags into his flat that we are renting for two weeks! After showing us the ropes, we bid Paolo goodbye, hoping to see him later in the week for dinner, and spent some time reading and relaxing in the flat. Around 6pm we ventured out for dinner.

Our flat is located right in the heart of Florence, only a 12 minute walk from the Ponte Vecchio! We found a nice little eatery a few blocks down for dinner. I had a yummy salad and Ryder some real Italian pizza! Then we strolled through the streets towards the river, taking in the cobble stone streets, tiny walkways, and the bustling sounds that are Florence. The river was wide and very far down from the street level. We meandered down the road and finally caught a glimpse of the Ponte Vecchio! Well, I saw it, poor Ryder broke his glasses and I accidentally left the broken half in Germany, so he is a little blind at the moment in one eye.

We crossed another bridge and made our way to the famous Ponte Vecchio and the crowd of jewelry shops that line its main street. The bridge was a bit busy with tourists taking photos and Italians hurrying by on bicycles. The sun was setting over the river, turing the sky pale pink and soft yellow. From the other side of the bridge we could just make out the Duomo thrusting high above the block buildings the line the streets. We decided to walk there next.

Before we made it to the Duomo, we came upon an old building that looked to be part of a castle. The inside was full of painted mosaics and frescos. A sign read Ponte Vecchio Museo. We ventured into the atrium for a look at the frescos, then continued onto the Duomo. Of course the Duomo was closed this late at night, but it looked like something out of a story book. Lines of green and white stone paint patterns along the walls meeting rows of friezes and statutes. The dome itself is still the color of natural red brick, bringing it out in stark contrast to the rest of the building. We walked almost entirely around the building, soaking up its awesome hight and size.

We made our way back to our flat after that. I took a shower and unpacked while Ryder worked. All in all, a very successful first day in Florence!

Looks like we are about three days behind, sorry bout that folks! Well quick update on Ryder: He is doing better, still got the cough, but we are taking it easy and he is ready to start touring again once we get to Florence! Yippeee!! Ok back to where we left off:

Friday, Sept 14: We woke up to clear skys in Interlaken!! For the first time we were able to see the peaks of the mountains surrounding this gorgeous valley. The photos really don’t do the place justice! We woke up early enough to see the sun rise over the mountains and set to packing up our luggage. We grabbed a quick breakfast, locked our luggage in a cubby at the hostel, then headed out to the train station for Grindelwald. Grindelwald is a small village further into the Alps and is the gateway to the highest point in Europe, Jungfrau.

The train ride only took about thirty minutes, passing through canyons, along rivers, and beside the gigantic Alps. Really, the views were breathtaking. We stepped off the train in Grindelwald and our jaws dropped. The mountains surrounding the village were so large and so far above us they looked slightly blue against the sun. We wondered around the main part of town for a few hours, stopping in shops along the way. I purchased a new backpack with better support straps from a outdoor/hiking store. All too soon we were back on the train heading back to Interlaken. When we reached Interlaken, we headed back to the hostel to picked up our luggage then made our way back to the train station for our train to Milan. We had to get off and change trains in Spiez.

While walking down the platform toward our part of the train in Spiez, we stumbled upon a couple who we knew through mutual friends that had also gone to Cal Poly! It was such a nice shock to see familiar faces!! We spent some time chatting, discussing our travel plans with each other. Once the train arrived, we said our farewells, and hopped on our car. They were headed directly to Rome from Milan while we are staying in Milan for a few days. The train ride was long, but relaxing. Our first view of Italy was a beautiful lake with large islands in the center covered by old buildings. So very Italian! We arrived at the train station in Milan around 4pm. The station is a lovely building, modeled after Roman architecture. We walked about five blocks to our hotel and settled in for the night.

Saturday, September 15: We didn’t do too much yesterday. We ventured out for some lunch as we had slept through breakfast, wandered back to the train station to purchase some SIM cards for our phones since we will be staying in Italy for awhile, and spent the afternoon searching for places to stay in Florence. We are looking to rent a flat… No luck so far. We skyped with a few friends and family, eating dinner from the local grocery store (MUCH cheaper, but still excellent food!).

Sunday, September 16: Today we had breakfast in the hotel and went out for lunch later. It was really hard to find any restaurants that were open today as it’s Sunday; everything is closed on Sunday. We spent a few ours on the 8th floor terrace, enjoying the view and relaxing (me reading, Ryder working). Venturing further out from our hotel for dinner, we discovered a busy main thoroughfare full of people shopping. Again, hardly any restaurants open, but we did find a pizzeria and gelateria! Yippee! Interestingly enough, the main street had crowded sidewalks and crowded streets, but instead of car congestion, it was bicycle congestion! Ryder and I couldn’t believe all of the people biking for transportation! There were hardly any cars!! It was quite a wonderful sight to behold. We walked back to the hotel and are relaxing for the rest of the evening 🙂

Well, so much for the good nights sleep we had hoped for! One of our bunkmates had a serious case of the lawnmower snores last night. Needless to say, no one slept much, apart from loud mouth. We got up at 7am, intending to do a slow walk up the mountain to Grinderwald with one of the guys staying in our room. Unfortunately, Ryder woke up this morning still under the weather, so we decided to forgo the hike and caught a train back to Zurich to visit the clinic again.

After some blood work and x-rays it’s confirmed that he has pneumonia, but the blood work also showed he is on the mend. The doc said we need to take it easy and avoid high altitudes, so we will not be able to visit the highest point in Europe this time around. We left the clinic and took the train back to Interlaken. The sky is clearer today and we are almost able to make out the tops of the mountains on one side of the valley. We walked down the Aare River which runs through Interlaken and took some good photos. We’re in the hostel for the night, taking it easy and will be on a train tomorrow for Milan!!

Yesterday was another restful day. We ventured out twice for food and a short walk, but otherwise we read or worked. Ryder’s feeling so much better and will hopefully be back to 100% soon! We still can’t believe how expensive everything is in Zurich! Ryder went to Starbucks for a tall cappuccino for me and grande latte for him. The total was 12 francs! Nuts!

Our hotel in Zurich was really great. It’s right in the heart of the city, and just down one block sits the beautiful lake that Zurich has grown around. We really enjoyed our walk through the city streets and spending time relaxing at the hotel. It started raining last night, then pouring with thunder and lightning! So much for good weather!

This morning we took a taxi to the train station, catching the next train to Bren. From Bren we literally walked off the train and on to the other on the opposite platform to Sprieg. At Sprieg, we hopped off the train and directly on to the next one for Interlaken. The closer we got to Interlaken, the more beautiful our view outside the train. Through the window, Switzerland slowly unfolded before us in a tapestry of mountains, forests, canyons, alpine lakes, and quaint little towns with shuttered windows and pitched roofs.

Off the train and we were standing in a breathtaking valley with mountains on all sides. Imagine Yosemite, but with higher mountains and a wider valley. Unfortunately we’ve got rainy weather, but the low hanging clouds have made the mountains seem more mysterious. I have no idea how high they go, though we did see the snow line on one of the ridges when the rain finally let up! We are staying at a hostel for two nights, in a 6 bed dorm room with three other guys. For those of you who know me, this is a big stretch, but our bunk mates are friendly and I think it will all work out.

We walked through the town a bit, taking it easy. We can’t believe the amount of watch shops here! We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and decided after the $58.00 check to stick with the grocery stores. By the time we got back to the hostel after dinner, it had completely stopped raining. We spent some time in the common room chatting with a couple who also went to Cal Poly and graduated the same year as me! Small world, huh? We played a few games of ping-pong and are ready for a good nights sleep!

Wow, we are a bit behind! Well I can tell you that the 5th of September was a travel day. We took a very long train from Cork to Dublin, checked into our place in Dublin, grabbed some food and basically stayed in our room working and planning the rest of the day.

Yesterday was a touring day. We got up and had breakfast at a coffee shop across the street, then took a cab to Trinity College. The campus was absolutely stunning with large courtyard expanses and beautiful, old architecture. Our focus for the visit was to see the famous Book of Kells. Produced in the 9th century, the Book of Kells is a copy, in Latin, of the four gospels. The tiny, neat script is adorned with beautifully intricate works of art, created by the monks of Iona. We bought tickets for the exhibit at €9.00 each, and spent some time reading about the process used to create this book and two others which were also on display. At the end of the exhibit, two of the volumes for the Book of Kells were on display, allowing us to admire the tiny, intricate scroll work of the illustrations on four of the pages. We left the exhibit, exiting through the Long Room in the Old Library. This one room houses around 200,000 of the library’s oldest books arrayed in rows of shelving along each side of the main corridor. At the ends of each shelf stand busts of famous philosophers and literaries. We took our time walking down the long corridor, looking at the old books on display and soaking in the “old book” smell. After, we headed to the library shop, then out of the college and on to the Guinness Factory.

The Guinness Factory is HUGE! We came upon the entrance from the road and had to walk all the way around one of the vast warehouses used to brew the famous stout. We were given a quick orientation, then ushered into the self-guided section of the touring facilities which included 7 stories of information about the Guinness brews. Unfortunately, no actual brewing is done in the touring facility, but we were shown examples of all of the equipment and graphic animations depicted the various stages of the brew as it flowed through the process. On the fourth floor, we were taught and then able to pour our own pint of Guinness! We had quite a fun time and were given a certificate at the end. We took the elevator up to the seventh floor and entered the sky bar which provided a 360º view of Dublin skyline. The ambiance was lively and the place packed, but we took some pictures and admired the view before heading back down and out of the facilities.

We caught a cab back to the hotel, grabbed some dinner nearby, and stayed in our room for the night. After booking our flight to Germany, we were dismayed to discover the airline had gone on strike! Luckily our flight hadn’t been canceled yet. Ryder worked while I read and sketched for the remainder of the evening.

This morning we were up bright and early to pack and grab lunch before heading to the airport. We hired a cab at €25.00 total and arrived with plenty of time. The line was long to check baggage, but we made it through and no canceled flight, yay! Next came security, then waiting at the departure gate. Our flight was a little late, but we arrived safe and sound in Frankfurt, Germany after about 2 hours in the air.

Upon exiting the airport, we decided to attempt to take public transportation to our hotel near the city center. After trying the bus system twice, we opted for the rail and a kind gentleman pointed us in the right direction. We emerged from the train station close to our hotel and started walking the two blocks to it. Along the way, I was looking around, reading the business signs on the windows when I realized every single business we passed was either a sex shop, strip club, brothel, or casino. Oh my god, we had stumbled head long into Frankfurt’s red light district! And, just a block over sits our hotel, directly across the street from one of the most famous brothels in Europe. Lucky us. Let’s just say, we ventured out for some dinner then went straight back to our rooms. We don’t plan to linger…