A post involving a REALLY small towel!

From the Duomo we made our way to another square, the name of which escapes me, but it's the main square in Florence. Here the David used to stand. There is currently supposed to be a copy there, but it was under construction along with Hercules beside it. We did, however, get to view Neptune in all his glory.

The whole square was quite amazing. I really enjoyed all the horse drawn carriages and the one who was having a little snack. Here, also, was the memorial to Savanarola that my dad asked me to look for.



At the end of the square there were a number of really amazing statues including: The Rape of the Sabines, Hercules fighting the Centaur, and someone of magnificent stature (in other words, I can't remember his name) holding the head of Medusa aloft. All the statues were hugely impressive, but I can't post ALL my pictures. This way I'll still have something new to show people when I come home :)



We passed through a passage way next to the Uffizi, which is a really famous gallery where the works of Boticelli reside (but sadly we never got inside), surrounded by the statues of famous Floretines and Tuscans. Laura was particularly pleased to find Petrarch there. She wrote a large portion of her thesis about him, and he will feature strongly in a later post.
When we came to the end of the passage we found ourselves standing above the river Arno with a veiw of il Ponte Vecchio, an ancient bridge that has long housed merchant shops.


By this point the boys were getting really hungry, so they convinced us it was time to sample some Italian cuisine. Naturally, along the way, we found ourselves in another amazing square with this incredible cathedral, and my favorite Dante statue :)

We did eventually get to the food, and it was well worth it. I had an amazing Margharita pizza. It was spectacular I must say.

After lunch we were all beginning to run down a bit. We'd already seen a lot of really incredible things, and we were starting to wonder if we might smell a bit. This prompted us to really up our search for towels. Let me just say that the center of Florence is more the place you go to see art, eat in really fancy restaurants, buy souvenirs, or shop in boutiques. It's not where you go for common household goods like towels. Especially if you don't want to pay 30 Euros for them. Fortunately, however, we did find us a little Dollar Store type place which sold hand towels. Not very practical you say? Well, beggars can't be choosy, and we were starting to feel like we really looked like bums, so we made our small purchases and headed back for the hostel.
I won't lie. The towels were horrible. They weren't big enough to do much of anything, and served more to move water around than to actually dry anything, but it seemed at least a little step above putting our clothes on without at least attempting to dry ourselves off.
When we parted ways the boys were planning to take naps, and after the cold shower room, Laura was ready to be still for a bit. After making my bed and letting my hair dry a wee bit, I opted to do a little exploring seeing as how holding still would likely lead to sleep on my side as well, and I knew that would be the end of me being able to function for the rest of the day. So out I went, and I took in some nice views both inside and outside our hostel.



When I went back inside we all met up and headed back into the city to enjoy a little walk around at night. While the others were excited to have dinner, I was still really full from lunch. I'm not accustomed to eating a whole pizza by myself, and had already decided that was the end of my meals for the day. I did, however, break down and have some Gelato, because, quite honestly, who can resist Gelato? Well, except for Jonathan who is allergic to eggs. For my first sampling I had half Tiramisu and half Panne cotta. I was commended that both were very Italian choices, and they were definitely both exquisitely smooth and delicious. If presentation is everything, the Italian's would already win, but the flavor definitely takes them over the top!


So now you have day one in pictures. I've got to say that Florence was an amazing city. I would definitely recommend it to anyone needing a stamp in their passports :)

Wow, I took an INSANE amount of photos in Florence!

Just to emphasize the title of my post, let me say that, just choosing the best and most interesting ones, I came up with 30 for the first day. That's right, 30. So now I obviously have to tone that down a bit, as I don't even want to think about how much space that's going to fill. Especially seeing as how I'm sure you want at least a little information to go along with them. Maybe this time the best thing to do is start with the pre-shower half of the day as one post, and then do a second one for the newer, fresher set of photos :)
To begin, let me give a brief overview of our journey to Florence. Let me tell you first that Cheb really isn't very close to Italy. We found that the only way to get there by train was to do an overnight trip. If we'd all been thinking more quickly it would probably have been cheaper to take a bus, but we just went with what was easiest at the moment. We were super excited when, after a two hour layover (can you call it that on a train trip?) in Munich, we ended up with a car with beds in it. According to our ticket prices that shouldn't have been the case, but we sure weren't going to complain.
At first we had only one other compartment mate, a super sweet Italian guy named Cosimo who was fluent in Italian, German, and English. A nice combination since we were traveling with Jonathan (who is also fluent in Italian) and Laura's best friend Jared (who is fluent in German). Cosimo gave us some ideas of places we should visit, and was, in general, just really friendly.
I'm not exactly sure what stop we were at when Naples joined us. (Not his actual name, just the name of the city he's from.) This guy didn't seem to be fluent in any language, but that didn't stop him from talking. Even if no one was talking to him. He literally went on all night, mixing languages this way and that, and not seeming to care if we could make sense of his blabbering or not. Between that, the rather extreme heat in the car, and the little girl shouting in English "Look at ME!" for a good half an hour at 3 AM, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep. Well, except maybe for Laura, who after getting over the thrill of sleeping on a train on the way to Florence, crashed out hard.
We arrived in Florence around 6:30 in the morning, exhausted, but excited about the prospect of exploring this amazing city. The first matter of business, naturally, was finding our way to the hotel. We didn't have very clear instructions, but once we were on the right bus a really nice lady of retirement age told us when to get off, and likewise had advice about the places to see. I can't say that I was able to take in much of the offered wisdom beyond the departure point, but Jonathan actually studied in Florence for a few months several years ago, so he already knew how to get us around.
The hike up to the hostel left a bit to be desired, but once we got there the view was pretty amazing.

We were really taken with the place right away. Once we'd gotten everything paid for we were all ready to rent some towels and head for the showers. Unfortunately, unlike any other hostel I've ever stayed in, they didn't have towels for rent. Seeing as how I'd left my extra towel at home, and Laura and Jared were also without towels, we had a new mission for the morning, and none of us headed out fresh.
Despite the greasy hair and pasty skin, we were still able to enjoy the beauty of the Tuscan sunrise that greeted us when we passed through the columns of the hostel.

We started our morning off right with fresh croissants at a bakery near the center of the city, then we headed off to see what there was to see, and believe me, there was a LOT to see!
The first square Jonathan took us to was also the location of a really old orphanage. Naturally this sight really appealed to me. We never figured out exactly what the building is used for now, but we did get a chance to see the landing where babies were left by their mothers.


Despite the ridiculously greasy hair, we just couldn't manage not to have our photos taken :)

From there we began to catch glimpses of The Duomo. This building was so impressive I probably took more than 30 pictures just of it from all it's different angles. Being far from an expert, I don't want to go into a lot of detail trying to describe what the significance of this church is, but I'm sure anyone interested in knowing more can do the research :)





Can you see why I was so in awe of this place? We're talking amazing. I didn't add here the picture of the baptistery where Dante was baptized. I mean, we're talking Dante! Author of The Divine Comedy. And I saw where he was baptized for real. It was insane.
Here we have a little glimpse into the crew I was with on this trip. Here you see Jared, Laura and Jonathan in the middle of a square. The second picture is of Jonathan being Godzilla and trying to eat all of Florence. This really does give some insight :)

Well, in the end, it's been a long day already and Laura is here now so I think we're going to have dinner. I'll have to leave off with us still being all unshowered, but there is definitely more to come!

It's a two for the price of one kind of day

One of those things where, when the internet is working in the flat I just HAVE to take advantage of it. Even if no one checks my blog often enough to know...Laura tried to convince me today that even if no one ever comments on my blog, if I were to stop writing people would probably let me know I was a bit behind. So with that in mind, let's trek our way through Bratislava today.
Early on Christmas Eve morning Laura and I drug ourselves from our beds (oh and when I say early I mean before 5 AM) and threw our things together. Emeshea and Mary miraculously emerged from their rooms at the exact same time as we did, and we headed out together to catch a very early morning tram into the city. With fears of future issues due to train strikes heavy on our minds, we opted for the safer bus route. By the time we booked our tickets the only available slots were at 7 AM and 4 PM. Since we actually wanted a chance to see Bratislava, we opted for the excessively early option. Fortunately, the main attractions of Bratislava can be seen in a couple of hours, and after that we had plenty of time to chill with Jenni and Karin while they prepared for the Christmas party frenzy.
We arrived around 9 AM, and after a rest of an hour or so while we watched Karin get the Christmas Chili together, we headed out with Jenni for the city tour. The old city of Bratislava really is quite nice, and we enjoyed the extra historical input that Jenni was able to give to us.
We followed a lot of the coronation trail, marked by these lovely little crowns:

We saw the famous "UFO" bridge built by the communists. They wanted to give the city that new modern touch to go along with the insane Panalok city that they built on the other side of the river. This region is now the most densely populated region in Europe. Pretty insane, and not exactly aesthetically pleasing.

There were some nice building views to see as well:


Some statues to make check out. The job of the man in the hole is supposedly to look up the skirts of women...hmmm...The one I'm holding hands with is Hans Christian Anderson. We're not actually sure why he was there, but I liked him anyway, even if he had no point. And the smiling guy whose had Laura is trying to wear was this guy who used to be the official greeter of Bratislava. Apparently a very good natured chap.


We played a game of chess as well. I promise, we're all very serious pieces. I'm clearly a horse...not completely sure what the other girls were playing at. Okay, I'll confess, I know nothing about chess, except that I'm sure there's a horse in there somewhere!

After seeing the sights and having a tasty cup of hot chocolate - although it was unfortunately not at the place that purportedly has the best cup o' chocolate in all of Europe, because it was closed on Christmas Eve of all the most ridiculous things! - Laura and I headed up to the castle while Jenni went to pick up Stephanie and her brother and his friend who were coming in from Prauge. The castle really wasn't much to look at, but I really enjoyed the gate, and thought it only fair to share the view which heavily features Panalok central!

Unfortunately I didn't end up getting any pictures from the big group dinner we had. In the end I think there were 17 of us gathered for the evening. We had an amazing chili dinner, and played cards and Apples To Apples. It's definitely not what I'd call a traditional Christmas by any means, but it was a good time with friends and I'm glad we were able to do it.
We were only in Bratislava for one day. Early Christmas morning we headed off once again. This time we made our way to Prague to have Christmas with our leader, Kelly. It was a small gathering there. Most of the day only Laura and I were there with Kelly, but in the evening another one of our teachers came over with her parents and sister, so we had a nice group for Christmas dinner. They stuck around for the apple pie, and then we were down to three again. We watched Meet Me In St Louis which I had never seen, and which in the end, Laura still hasn't seen because she fell asleep somewhere in the middle and didn't even get to hear Judy Garland sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Ah well. It was fun anyway.
The next day we were off again. This time back to Cheb for a bit of a reprieve. After settling in a bit, Laura went to meet her friend Jared at the train station. He was able to come and stay for a little more than a week, so she was super excited about that for good reason. I had a couple of days to sort of relax and regroup before we were off again...

Back for the final day in BP

I just wanted to start this off with a photo of the artist

There he is, just sitting there on the edge.
Our final day in Budapest we were without Joanna. It was sad to have her go as she'd been a great tour guide and I've no idea when I'll have the chance to see her again. I'm just really glad I had the chance to hang out with her in the city that has become her home over the past four years.
The last day we took really slow. Laura slept til 11, a dream of hers for sure :) and came down late for a breakfast of pancakes and honey courtesy of Emeshea. They were definitely enjoyable.
Today's travels were hosted by Mary. This is her first year in Budapest, and we actually gave her a chance to see a lot of places she'd never gotten around to visiting. We started off with a windy climb to the top of a pyramid like structure from which we got a nice view of the Danube, as well as being to really take in some nice modern buildings.

We walked around by the National Theatre or something like that and I got some nice pictures of the modern art and flags they had up there.



Then we headed out to Margaret Island. It's an island in the middle of the Danube where people come to enjoy nature and can do laps on a nice jogging trail. I'm sure it's really lovely in the Spring and Summer. Sadly during the winter it was a bit on the drab side, but we still enjoyed the stroll, and took in the ruins and other things of interest that we found there.



What's a posting without some nice pictures of graffiti as well.
This last picture is probably one of my favorites from the entire trip. Something about this book, forlorn near some ancient church, struck me as profound.
Following the park we went back to the Christmas market for one last chance at shopping. It's amazing how much interesting shopping there can be around here. I have to be careful to keep myself from going crazy with it. Especially at Christmas time!
We headed back to the homestead fairly early. Oh, and this is what they have in the front yard, just for kicks.

Anyhow, some of their students had come over for dinner and a movie. It was fun to meet them. Most of them ended up leaving shortly after we started watching It's A Wonderful Life. I can't really say that I blame them. While I've always really enjoyed old Jimmy Stewart movies, and it does have a good message, I find it difficult to watch. It's just so frustrating most of the time. Ah well.
So that's about it for Budapest. Up next: Bratislava.(That's the capital of Slovakia for those not in the know. Keep in mind that the Czech Republic and Slovakia are no - and have been for quite a number of years by this point - separate countries.)