Barcelona and Amsterdam...it's beautiful here!

Hola! This is Haley and I am reporting about Barcelona, Spain and Amsterdam, Holland.

First, I must share a little story with you all about our dear friend Kirstin: Let me start by saying that we have picked up a few souvenirs along the way and our backpacks are not quite big enough to carry all our stuff. So, what does Kirstin do while travelling? She finds a nice, hot pink trash bag to carry the overflow while we connect between cities. So, we reluctantly leave Cinque Terre and head for Spain. Several trains and buses later, we arrive in Milan to take a plane to Barcelona. Well, here walks in Kirstin, with her big pink trash bag...filled with stuff...in the fashion capital of Italy!! People are walking around with their designer clothes and expensive handbags, and here is Kirstin...sporting her trash bag!

We arrive in Barcelona and soon fall in love with the city. The style of the city is quite different than much of Europe that we have visited so far. Gaudi had a big hand in the architecture in Barcelona and by the end of the trip we knew by looking at the building that Gaudi had designed it. We knew this because Gaudi has a very distinct look. Some of his work seemed as if Dr. Seuss had dreamed it up for one of his books.

One of his buildings in Barcelona is called La Sagrada Familia and it is a cathedral which is unlike any cathedral I have seen.

Gaudi actually died in 1926 before finishing the building and it has been under construction ever since. There have been many architects who have tried to add to this building since his death but can't seem to quite replicate what Gaudi had intended. Walk around the outside of the cathedral and you can see different styles which don't quite match. The building, by the way, was started in 1882 and is not expected to be completed for another 30 to 80 years!

We really liked walking around the city, just getting lost in the little back alleys near our hostel at night (which, we found out later is a very dangerous area, whoops, sorry mom)! The first night we ate dinner in a square called the plaza real and loved it there.

BTW...if you are ever in Spain, have Calamari! It's WAY better here. That is probably because Barcelona is right on the water. On our second day in Barcelona we decided to just relax and head to the beach. It was an interesting experience and let's just say that the women in Europe have no shame...and also save quite a bit of money by only buying half a bathingsuit!!! I won't post a picture of that...you can use your imagination. Our last night in Barcelona was beautiful. We had amazing tapas and sangria and watched a live flamenco dancing show. The traditional culture is so beautiful here and it was cool to get to experience it for a night.

The next day we arrived in Amsterdam. I didn't quite know what to expect from this city before coming here. The red light district is only a small portion of the city and the rest is full of quaint buildings and rivers.

My favorite part from our visit here was visiting the Anne Frank house. Each one of us was moved so much by her story and felt a connection to her while walking through the small annex which held her family and 4 other Jews for 2 years during the 40's. I was very moved by the room which gave Otto Frank's story. Otto was the father of Anne and was the only survivor from the annex. All of the others passed away after being placed in concentration camps when they were discovered in the annex. Otto Frank was separated from his family and when he was released, he searched for his wife and 2 daughters only to find that they had all passed away. He had to move on with his life after the most earth shattering thing had happened to him. He lost everything. But, he was moved to do something with the chance he had been given. He fought against racial and religious injustice for his family until he died. The house continues to preach the message he had lived for and Anne had written about many years ago.

One of Anne's quotes that has stayed with me was written on the wall in one of her rooms. This was written when she and her family hid in a few tiny rooms, windows blacked out, never to go outside, for two years. "The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be." She couldn't leave her house because of her race and religious choice. I can't imagine not being able to be in nature and be free. It really makes me so thankful for the life that I was blessed with.

We couldn't leave Amsterdam without taking a few of our signiture jumping pictures...

Amsterdam and Barcelona were beautiful and very memorable. But a few of my lasting memories of this trip have involved a tiny zapper that I had bought a while back because we had so many bug bites. The little pen gives out a tiny shock that is supposed to help the itch go away. Well, we rarely use it for bug bites...instead, we zap Kirstin at any chance we get. The zapper doesn't bother anyone but Kirstin. Lindsay will hug her and zap her in the arm. I walk to the bathroom and on my way back, I'll zap her in the neck. The best so far has been when I asked her to pose on the street in Barcelona and Lindsay snuck up behind her and zapped her on the cheak. I snapped the picture below just when she reacted to the (tiny) zap. As you can see, it brings us SO much joy and it brings Kirstin to scream...let's just say that Kirstin doesn't quite trust us since the purchase of this new toy!!!

Cinque Terre

Hey guys, Lindsay here.

We made it to Cinque Terre! Cinque Terre is an area in Italy made up of five small villages along the coast. The village we are staying in is called Monterosso. As we got off the train I knew I was going to love it here.

Right away, everyone we met was so friendly and helpful. We were a little lost trying to find our hotel and some people stopped us to offer help, since there was a bit of a language barrier, they decided it would just be easer to show us the way. We only had reservations at our hotel for one night so our first mission was to figure out a place to stay for the other three nights. We had heard of a place called Manuel's Guesthouse and thought we would check it out. We ended up meeting Manuel who is an artist that has lived in Monterosso his whole life and runs a guesthouse with his nephew. They were full so instead of just sending us on our way he offered to help us out. He called a few friends of his friends, including Luigi, and ended up finding an apartment for us to rent. How cool is that, we get our own place with a washer, dryer and a kitchen! We have a whole new appreciation for the little things. Not only that, but our apartment is right off of the main street in Old Town Monterosso with a balcony that overlooks the whole street. As we were gettting our keys to our new pad, we ran into the guys we met in Rome. We ended up hanging out with them that night and chatting all about our funny travel stories and favorite places we've been along the way. The next day the girls and I decided we needed a day at the beach to relax after our busy travel schedule. I couldn't think of anything I'd rather be doing than spending a warm summer day swimming and lounging at the beach in Italy with my two best friends. It was perfect.

After a day relaxing we were ready to get out and explore the area. We woke up early and got ready to hike the trail between all five villages. We took the train to the farthest village and worked our way back home. The path between the first village and the second is called Via Dell'Amore (Love Walk). All along the trail couples put locks on the fences and railing to symolize their love.

The hike was amazing, we got a chance to visit the other villages and see some the beautiful countryside. Everywhere we looked there were vineyards, olive groves and views of the Mediterranean.

The trail was about 9 kilometers long and took us through some pretty rugged areas, just to add to the adventure, we got hit by a torrential downpour that lasted at least half an hour.

We loved it, plus it was nice to cool down a bit. Once we got back to our house we were ready to shower and chill out around town.

Our last full day in Monterosso we spent hanging out at the beach, visited the outdoor market and just enjoyed the area. I've really loved the slow pace of Cinque Terre, its been quite a change to the bigger cities we've been visiting. I like not having a list of sites to see or maps to read. As the end of our time here approaches, I'm sad to be leaving, but so happy I got a chance to visit. I'll definitely be back.

Next stop... Barcelona!

Ciao

Roman the Streets.....

Hello everyone! THis is Kirstin. We finally have access to a computer for more than fifteen minutes, so I thought I would update our blog...finally!!! From Venice we took a train to Rome, a big city with lots of history. During our first day in Rome, we went on a bus tour. The day was HOT and muggy. Rome was much different than I had anticipated. The city is so busy and huge and right in the middle of big shopping malls and houses you see these huge monuments that are hundrends of years old! I couldn't believe it. Our bus tour took us to the Colloseum...wow! When we got off the bus we were swept into a picture with a Gladiator...who obviously wanted a tip for our picture with him! He was very affectionate and wanted a kiss for the picture. We said tough luck!!!!




The Colloseum was huge and amazing. We couldn't get over the fact that people had built this huge structure. Mostly slaves and servants. It was sobering to realize how many people had been exploited to create the monument. For hundreds of years, Gladiators had fought to the death. Only 2% of the Gladiators survived the death matches. The Christians were persucuted and many were fed to lions and other beasts as the crowds cheered on. It's sad to know that people enjoyed watching the torture and deaths of other people.



We stopped many places along the way and each place had some huge statue or monument. I thought I would take a little break on this bench and work on my poses for my upcoming modeling headshots. I think I look like a Roman, eh?

Along with the many sights, there were Vespas everywhere!!! Dodging the Vespas was a constant task!!! They come out of nowhere. In the big city, I now understand why people use them. You can't drive anywhere in Rome, it's so busy.



One of our last stops for the day was Trevi fountain. This was an amazing sight. The pictures don't do it justice. We were in awe of the beauty. The stairs around the fountain were absolutely packed with people. We managed to get down by the water and threw two coins each into the fountain for good luck and future romance!! Oooooh la la. The coins in the fountain are collected each night and are given to a supermarket in Rome that supports the poor and other various charities. Roughly three thousand Euros are retrieved from the fountain each day. Wow!!
Toward the end of our tour we met three guys from Kentucky, all backpacking to some of the same places as us. They were going to be leaving for Cinque Terre the same day we were. We all joked we might see each other there...and you'll have to stay tuned to find out if we do see them!

By the end of the day, were so exhausted from the heat and crowds that we bought some food and had a feast in a little park we found. We had quite a feast...and looked like a couple of bums. We had trash scattered around our feet, were sweaty, and were covered in bug bites. Rome has tons of mosquitos, and we all looked like we had chicken pox. Haley purchased this little device that is supposed to helo ease the itch of bug bites. It sends a small electrical shock to the bite. They didn't mind using it, and thought it would be hilariuos to randomly shock me with the zapper when I wasn't expecting it!!! Little stinkers.

THe next day we traveled to Vatican City to see the Sistine Chapel. We waited in line for about an hour and a half to get in, and just barely made it in time for the last visitors to get in. Vatican City is the smallest country and has an estimated population of only 826 people, most who work directly for the Roman Catholic Church as clergy or Swiss Guardsman. Vatican City houses some of the most famous art in teh whole world...and we got to see it. I was in awe. While studying at Willamette, I took a course on Renaissance art history and studied all of the art we saw. The

This fresco is Raphael's School of Athens. I never believed I would be able to see any of this in person. I was speechless. The Sistine Chapel was enormous. When we walked into the Chapel, the security guards told everyone to be silent and not take any pictures...we accidently took one!
If you look closely, you can see Michelangelo's famous The Creation of Adam. So cool.

After Rome, we left for Florence for one night. Florence is another city rich in Renaissance art and home of the famous statue The David. Unfortunately, we arrived on a day when all museums were closed and didn't get to see any of the art!! Our night in Florence we took a bus to a lookout point above the city. You could see all of Florence...the famous Duomo cathedral, theSanta Maria Novella, the Uffizi, and the Pitti Palace. Florence is one of the last preserved renaissance cities in the world. Some of the most famous Renaissance artists were from Florence.
That night we ate pasta on a terrace overlooking the whole city. We watched the sun set at the lookout and stuffed ourselves with Italian food!!! Yum. It all felt surreal.

The next day we walked around Florence and visited some of the famous sites such as the Santa Maria Novella and the huge and famous Duomo cathedral constructed by Brunelleschi. We also saw the Basilica of Santa Croce, the famous Bapistery, and the Santa Trinita.

After our exciting excursion, we headed off to Cinque Terre!!!!!

Dear Venice...thanks a lotto for the gellato.

Ciao, our beautiful friends and family fans!

This is Haley and we are in Italy, probably my favorite place on this earth! I travelled to Europe when I was 15 and when asked what my favorite city in Europe was, I never hesitated...Venice was always my response! That's why I was so excited to bring the girls here. We get in and the first thing we see is the large canal that runs through Venice. We then spot many boats and gondolas cruising through the water.

Venice is unique in that there are no cars allowed in the city. Boats are the main mode of transportation. If you need to hail a taxi, a boat will get you there. Feeling sick? The ambulance boat will rush you to the hospital. This is one of the many reasons that I love Venice so much! There are no street lights or loud traffic...no speeding and impatient drivers. No waiting for crosswalks and none of the rushing around trying to get where you need to go quickly. Everyone just strolls around the countless little alleyways and arched bridges.

The buildings are different here in that they use a lot more color. Many of the buildings are painted in orange, pink and yellow colors and work in brick and brightly colored shutters. One of my favorite parts about this town are the little alleyways which mostly measure 5 to 6 feet wide.

Our first day there was so relaxing because we didn't have any agenda, no big sights to see...we just wandered the streets and got l0st...which in Venice is not difficult to do! Venice is well known for a few things, one of them being masks. Almost every other store in this town is filled with brightly colored masks that locals hand make in their shops. I had been to Venice in 2000 and had gotten a mask so I wanted to get one this time. Lets just say that Lindsay and I love the mask stores...so, we would see another mask shop and just HAVE to go in. Kirstin felt a bit different about the masks. I think if she had seen another mask she might have passed out!

Another thing that Venice is well known for are the gondola boat rides. Young Italian guys in striped shirts paddle around and give you history about the town, they are also supposed to sing to you...but I have seen no evidence of that! All day we were wanting to take a ride on a boat but realized quickly that they were quite expensive. Then Lindsay said "what we need to do is just meet some locals with a boat!" I instantly doubted this idea. Like we would be THAT lucky! Well, that day we met a few people that quickly offered to take us for a boatride! It was so awesome! We flew through the large canal and then drifted slowly through the smaller rivers while our friend Argon told us a bit of history about the buildings surrounding us. We felt like locals just cruising around Venice.

Venice continues to be one of my favorite places in Europe. We felt separated from the world. It was a quiet, slow paced trip and we loved it!

I just want to mention a bit about my travel buddies! They are hilarious...we have a least 25 different one liner inside jokes since starting this trip (sorry to our friends back home who will be completely oblivious when Kirstin yells "butterflies!!" to Lindsay...ask us to explain this one later if you are curious). We are rarely bored together and laughter is not hard to come by around these two.

So, thank you girls for being so wonderful and helping me to have a trip of a lifetime! I can't imagine having this great of a time with anyone else! This has been a hard year for me and I am so thankful that God has brought you girls into my life!