Cinque Terre

The northwest coast of Italy is a beautiful haven for the city-weary traveler. We spent the day yesterday wandering by train through five small (no motorized traffic allowed) towns overlooking the ocean. The rooster crows early in the morning outside our window, and the church bells ring every morning at 7 am to wake the town - I don't think anyone wants to miss a moment here. Tim is eating lots of fresh seafood and I'm enjoying the pesto and foccacia bread, both of which originated here. The beaches are warm with people and sun, and the gelato shops wait for us to come in from the beach to cool off. I wish I could post some of our picutres of this paradise, but it is "strictly forbidden" on this computer!

Rome. We are finishing our second day of exploring this grand city and we are hot, tired, and our feet really hurt! We walked almost everywhere. This place is hard to describe, because it is many places combined into one. It as though a baker created a fine marble layer cake over time, and the finishing touches (our modern era) are now the many shops and restaurants stuffed in around the edges and on top for decoration. Each layer of the cake represents an entire civilization or religious movement here. There are almost too many parties involved in this baking project to mention - Romulus, the Greeks, Ceasar, the Romans, Constantine and the Christians, and modern Italians as Tim and I know them.

We started on Tuesday with the Vatican Museum (4 miles of art, sculpture, and other religious and pagan artifacts - everything from mummies to modern paintings (1950's onward). We viewed the Sistine Chapel and Michaelangelo's amazing frescos, toured St. Paul's Cathedral, and walked several miles around the city to view other churches and fountains. We met a great friend in our hostel named Curtis. He is a history major from Canada who took a class here and toured every site over the past month. Last night we went to dinner and Curtis then took us to the Colosseum after dark. (see photos below, if I can figure out how to post them on this very foreign computer - or maybe I'm the foreigner!) Today we walked around the Colosseum again, Palatine hill, the Roman Forum, the Mamertine prision (where Peter and Paul were held) and St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, where Peter's chains are kept on display. Ann, if you're reading this, we didn't have time or energy to find the foot!

24 Hours in Firenze!

Hello again, friends.

Well, here we are in Italy (Florence, to be precise)--home of gelatto, ancient buildings and high heels. On the last point--Jess and I seriously can't figure out how Italian women are able to walk on these 700 year old cobblestone streets in stilettos without breaking an ankle. It is truly an art form.

Our train trip from Switzerland was, once again, remarkably smooth. Quick transfers, kind people and relatively comfortable seats. We arrived in Florence at about 3:00 PM yesterday and took a cab to our Hostel. Now, that may sound like a boring detail...but you didn't see this cab. The woman who drove the cab had lost her husband (who used to drive the cab) to cancer some years beforehand. She now gives free rides anywhere in the city to those who are fighting cancer. She was one part philosopher, one part hippy and one part muppet. Seriously. Her cab had so many peace-nik paraphernalia and stuffed animals inside of it that it looked like an atomic muppet bomb had gone off in there. She loved it. She also gave Jess a sucker.

We arrived at our hostel in the Southwestern part of Florence and were very impressed. It is called Casa Santo Nome di Gesu--it is a beautifully preserved and pristinely clean 15th Century convent. The Sisters who run the place spoke very little English, but (fortunately) very decent French.

Jess's French saves us again.

We decided to head out to the Uffizi Museum shortly after our arrival. It sports one of the finest collections of Renaissance and Medieval artwork anywhere. Now, usually you have to wait in line for up to three hours if you go there when it first opens. Fortunately for us, an hour before it closes, the waiting time was only about 20 minutes. We spent the 60 minutes in absolute awe at the artistic fortitude of those who died centuries ago. It really defies explanation.

As does the gellato.

If you haven't ever had it, we suggest a trip to Italy.

Today, we had a wonderful breakfast at the convent and hit the streets. After sending back the remainder of our borrowed luggage to Ruth in Brussels (thank you, Mailboxes Etc.!!!!), we viewed the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella. See the description of the Uffizi again for our reaction. The architecture around here is incredible. Construction was undertaken on this church 250 years before some guy named Christopher 'sailed the ocean blue.' Shortly after, we walked a quick half mile over to the Duomo. No such luck on the entrance to this site. It's one of Florence's most famous, and the line stretched all the way down the block. We took a leisurely stroll around it and savored the view from the outside. It was breathtaking.

So, here we are in an internet cafe at the train station, ready to hop on another train and head for Rome.

Ciao!

The hills are alive....

There are few words to describe our journey today. See photos below. We took a cable car to the top of the Shilthorn peak today in the Jungfrau region of the Alps. We then hiked 4 hours down to the town where we are staying. We are in awe.

Interlaken, Switzerland

We had a very enjoyable day in Interlaken yesterday. First, we found out that our bags were alive and well and we arranged for them to be delivered to Interlaken. We then took a long walk through the non-tourist part to one of the lakes boarding this town. The water is a fresh mint color and the air smells like sweet morning dew all day long. We purchased bread, grapes, cheese, meat and of course, chocolate, from the local grocery. They also have the most wonderful peach juice! It's as if they squeezed apricots like oranges the very morning of my purchase. We took care of laundry and met many people around the hostel yesterday evening, including some traveling Americans.

Arriving at the train station

Tim enjoying the chocolate aisle at Migros grocery

View from our hostel

Our creative lunch!

At the fresh mint lake

View of Interlaken Ost (East) churches

Eureka, They Found It

-or- How Murphy's Law Once Again Proves True Well, friends, old Murphy has found us out for the millionth time. Yesterday morning we left Brussels. Yesterday afternoon they found our bags. Isn't that convenient? (The answer is 'no'). Oh well, at least our things are in the care of the Roberts family (we hope). We're awaiting information about whether or not they have received the bags in our stead. More information to come on the FASCINATING SAGA of Tim and Jess's prodigal bags. Thanks to all who prayed for us!

A Good, Good Day

Hello, friends and blog reading faithful...This keyboard does not allow apostrophes or new paragraphs, so I will make this as close to a Dickens entry (one LONG run on sentence) and contraction free as possible. Jess and I had a wonderful day today. We boarded the Brussels metro system at around 7 AM and had about 4 smooth train changes. Long story short, we arrived in Interlakken to a GORGEOUS mountain scene at about 5 PM. That was about 2 hours earlier than expected, and best of all, it was HASSLE FREE. I would put exclamation points on that last bit, but I cannot find the damn things on this keyboard. So, in brief--we are in Interlakken enjoying the amazing scenery and the hospitality of our VERY nice hostel. They might not have flawless technology, but who does? I trust you are all doing well back in the states. Jess and I are in good spirits, looking forward to a good night sleep and a relaxing day in a small town tomorrow. PS related only to my father--Dad, there are no watchcows in Switzerland. They are all evenly spread across the grazing surface, rather than in one pack near the corner with a single cow to watch for possible danger or human interaction. Jess and I thought that would blow your mind. :)