Back to my old stomping grounds....

Finally!  Finally, I was able to show Sam one of the most important places in my life.  Finally I was able to introduce some of my most favorite people in my life!  Finally I was able to show Sam, San Sebastian Spain! 

I had been waiting for this moment for a long time.  Some of you may remember when Sam and I first met, a few weeks after we were dating I took off for 3 weeks to go to San Sebastian.  Then, he had to put up with me talking about all my friends and I going here, and going there....but the poor guy had NO idea what I was talking about.  We even have some pictures of San Sebastian in our house and he always joked about having pictures of places he had never been before.  I never really felt bad, because he goes to Bandon Dunes and talks about the beautiful setting there, and I have YET to see it in person either.

To me, San Sebastian is a place where I "found" myself.  That may sound really cheesy, but San Sebastian was a place that I struggled the most and ended up creating a life for myself that I will never ever forget.  There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about it or my friends either. 

We got off the boat at 7am and went straight to the airport.  I had hardly slept the night before because I was so excited to get to Donostia (San Sebastian).  We arrived at the airport 4 hours before our flight and we were able to catch an earlier flight!  We flew from Barcelona to Bilbao (familiar territory as well).  As soon as we got to Bilbao I felt at home.  The air, the people talking in Basque all seemed to have put me at ease.  But the thing I enjoyed the most, watching Sam take it all in.  As we drove through the top of the Basque county, I continued to remember the road and as soon as we went through the Aiete tunnel, I knew the sight was going to be San Sebastian.  I pointed out to Sam and said, "look."  As you go through the tunnel, the mountains open up and you see the ocean, as you continue the ocean gets closer and you then see the top of Mt. Urgull and the famous statue of Jesus.  We arrived and went straight to my (our) friend's house. 

Morgan and Imanol live in one of the most beautiful places in San Sebastian.  They are close to the football (soccer) stadium and had a spectacular view of the city.  The last time I visited they had just moved in so I was very anxious to see all of their updates that they had talked about and had completed within the last 4 years.  Imanol's dad greeted us and I was like I was there yesterday. 

I have known Imanol and Morgan for almost 11 years now.  It's amazing to think that, and when I do I feel old!  But it's funny,they are some of the greatest friends you can ask for. Imanol was the first person to take me out with other basque friends and he really truly helped me feel at home when I first moved to San Sebastian.  I met Morgan a few months later and the best part, she was American!  So we could talk about "our" culture and feel somewhat at home. 

Since 4.5 years had passed, a lot had changed, they were parents now!  I was so excited to finally meet Sophie and John that we had brought presents so we weren't just strangers, but strangers who had presents!  Sophie is absolutely adorable!  She is 2.5 and speaks Basque to Imanol and English to Morgan.  She is currently going to a German school where they speak Spanish and German.  She is shy at first but she loves to show off her clothes and she LOVED Sam!  John, is a fire cracker.  He gives both Imanol and Morgan a run for their money, but he has a laugh and smile that will melt anyone's heart.  He also loves to dance and entertain so there was never a dull moment when the tow of them were in the room. 

For lunch we went to a beautiful restaurant called Branka, which is about 100 yard away from the Peine De Los Vientos.  It's an amazing setting because you can see Playa De Concha as well as Playa de Ondarreta.  It was an amazing meal and a wonderful introduction to San Sebastian for Sam. 

Later that night I took Sam to my favorite Pinxto (Tapas) bar, Goiz Argi and we enjoyed their famous Gambas de Brochetta.  We then walked around for a little longer and headed back to Imanol and Morgan's house where we enjoyed some wine and sleep.

Some of the selections of Pinxtos at Goiz Argi:

 

Party in Ibiza....oh wait it's wednesday!

So with Sam only a few days away from turning 37 we thought it would be really cool to say goodbye to 36 in Ibiza!!!!  The party capital of the world! 

One problem (well two), it was Wednesday AND it was off season!  No clubs were open and bars weren't going to be open late!  SO what did we do, we sat at a bar and had sushi, naturally!

Ibiza is a very nice place and I really enjoyed it.  I think I was more in love with the fact that I could FINALLY speak Spanish!  We walked around a lot and we were able to get around a lot better since I was able to speak! 

We drank until a late on land and then went back on the boat.  We still had a lot of fun but it was a bit of a let down! 

Thankfully we have ONE more stop to go, and I know they party there!!!  San Sebastian, here we come!

 

Portofino, Monte Carlo, Saint Tropez and Marseille

The last few days have been a bit of a calming factor for us after the whole crazy day in Pisa and Florence. 

Our first stop was Portofino, Italy, which is on the northern tip of Italy.  It was a very pretty port, but it was small, so we didn't do anything special.  In fact, all we did was find a cafe and use their free wifi. 

After Portofino was Monte Carlo.  Both Sam and I were really excited to go there!  I had been there, but only through passing.  However, it being really close to Nice France we thought it would be fun to hop on a train and go to Nice for a couple of hours.  We spent the day walking about and sat at a cafe and listened to people speaking French.  It was a nice little break from Italian.  :)  We then got back onto the train and went back to Monte Carlo.

We spent the rest of the day walking up to the palace and we went into the  Oceanographic Museum & Aquarium.  Both of us were really impressed on how they live in Monaco.  They are very environmentally friendly, for example, all of the taxi's are hybrids.  They have a great recycling program and they even built the Museum to help educate people on the importance of taking care of the planet. 



We then went back to the boat to change so we could go see what the Monte Carlo Casino was like!  We were told that there was a cover charge and that we had to dress really fancy in order to get into the casino.  Both of us put on nicer clothes and took the electric fairy across the port.  We both played and we both lost!  Sam did way better than I did though!  I had enough money for 5 hands and every hand I was dealt a 3,4,5,3,4!  Oh well, at least I can say I played at the REAL Monte Carlo.




That night we set sail for Saint Tropez France.   Saint Tropez was very nice but again it was a small port town so we basically just walked around and took in the nice weather.  We did sit at a cafe for their free wifi and caught up on the outside world.  It's so funny how much easier it is now than it was when I lived in Spain.  Pretty much everywhere offers free wifi....the only problem is, you have to either eat or drink.  :)

The next day was in Marseille.  It's a much bigger city so Sam and I set out to explore.  The entire city was under construction!  So we both felt a little disappointed and found ourselves at a cafe yet again!  Only this time we ordered creps! 

Now I don't speak a lick of French!  I mean I can order coffee, say I can't speak french, and up until Marseille, I thought I knew how to order a crepe.  Feeling very confident, I ordered a crepe.  The guy looked at me and said "what (in french)", I repeated, and than he corrected my pronunciation like, "crrrrraaaaaapppppp".  I said, "oui" and he came and brought us our crap, I mean crrrraaaaapppppp.

The last few days were very mellow.  Both Sam and I could feel the LBS loading onto our bodies yet, we felt that all were were doing was walking around.  Both of us are really looking forward to Ibiza tomorrow!

Picture from Portofino:

Pictures from Monte Carlo:

Picture from Saint Tropez:

Pictures from Marseille:

 

Pisa and Florence sights in less than 10 hours....

hold on......let me catch my breath.........WOW!  What a day this has been....

Today we sailed to Livorno which is a port town outside of Florence.  The cruise had only given us 12 hours to see what I think is one of the most interesting part of Italy.  We hit the ground running.  We caught a bus to catch a train to Pisa.  We arrived in Pisa a little after 11 and walked straight to the Tower. 

WHAT A SIGHT! Again, this was one site I never got to see so I was excited to see it with Sam. There was a race going on along the side of the tower which was really funny to watch the people trying to take pictures avoid the runners.  Everyone was taking pictures of themselves "holding up" the tower!  It was a funny sight and of course Sam and I played along and took some great pictures! 

As we were waiting in line to go to the top of the tower, I of course made friends with the lady in front of us.  She was from Scotland and she was there visiting with her family.  She told me that she didn't have her camera so I volunteered to take pictures of her and email them to her.  As we started to enter into the tower the guard told me that I couldn't enter with my purse.  I didn't know what to do, so I stepped out of line and excepted the fact that I wasn't going to be able to go to the top of the leaning tower.  The women, Mary told me to give my purse to her daughter, I hesitated for a minute but then thought, if she was with me, then I could hold her hostage until I got my purse back!  :)  I gave my purse to her lovely daughter and headed to the top.  It was insane walking up the tower because your eyes want to see a straight line and there isn't one.  You can feel the tower leaning as you walk up.  As we got to the top we had a great view of Pisa, we took pictures of Mary and she was kind enough to take pictures of Sam and I.  As soon as Mary took the picture of Sam and Me on the top of the tower our battery went dead on the camera!  I was so upset, but I was also happy we got the photos that we had! 

As soon as we exited the tower her daughter was there with a smile and my purse!  I kindly handed her mother back to her and we exchanged emails.  I would NEVER give my purse to a stranger, but I thought two things about this, 1) they were Scottish and 2) they were Scottish!  :)

I love this picture!

with my new friend Mary.

Once we said our good-byes were were off to Florence!

So since I had been to Florence before I was more comfortable walking around then I have been in the other cities (besides Rome).  However, since we had very little time I was worried Sam wouldn't get to see the best parts of Florence.  The very first stop we made was to a tiny store near the train station.  What kind of store you ask?  A pluming store!  Yes that's right, a PLUMING store....not like a store that sells plums or liquor of plums a store you buy parts for your toilet!  Why, you ask?  Well that's a great story.  A few years ago when my mom and dad were building their house my mom wanted to have true Italian faucets.  Seems silly but let me tell you, the faucets in Europe are amazing compared to US faucets.  So one day my mom took my older brother to Florence.  Steve thought it was a trip for just the two of them, but no, it wasn't.  It was a trip for my mom to have someone HELP her carry the faucets back to the US.  Long story short....poor Steve had to carry the faucets up and down all around Italy.  He finally broke down one day and swore at the faucets like a truck driver.  If you have ever been to my parents house, you will know that they are called the "f*cking faucets".  ANYWAYS, a part broke on one of the f-ing faucets and Sam and I were lucky enough to go to the ONLY place in the entire world that sold this part.  With my terrible Italian we managed to get the part that my mom needed.  The funny part about this experience is the guy that was working in the store apologized for not being able to speak English.  I shook my head no and smiled and said, "I can almost guarantee you, I will be your only English speaking customer!"

As we walked through Florence we were offered to buy Gucchi (yes I speleld that wrong) bags and such,we avoided them by all costs knowing full well they were fakes.  Not to mention, I have a lifetime supply after being in Manila. 

We walked to the Falso David and the Duomo plaza. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the ship since it was 1.5 hours away from Florence.  It was a rushed trip and that was my only complaint to the cruise line.  It was a lot to see that its almost a blur....but hey, at least we saw Pisa and Florence!

Here are some pictures I was able to take with my iPhone!

 

 

Sorrento, Pompeii and Amalfi

Tuesday we had officially started our cruise.  We had to go into a town called Cicitavecchia which was about 50 miles east of Rome.  We got onto a train that was going to take us straight there.  It was a commuter train so we had to stand almost the whole time.  There was a split second of fear that we got on the wrong train, but as soon as I saw the ocean, I knew we were fine. 

The train station was just a short walk to the port however, Sam and I wondered around and walked right past the buses that were waiting to take us to the boat.  As soon as we figured it out, we got to the boat from the bus safe and sound.

The ship is wonderful!  It isn't very big but it was a wonderful pool and great dinning options.  Our room was very nice as well, of course the bathroom was very tiny but we had already expected that. 

We settled right in to our room and unpacked.  We had to do the mandatory drill and while doing this we sat next to a wonderful couple from Iran but has lived in England for the last 32 years.  We struck up a conversation and all of us were relieved to have a few friendly faces. 

Our first stop on the cruise was Sorrento Italy.  Sorrento is in the southern coast of Italy and is about 30 miles away from Pompeii.  Pompeii was the one place I really wanted to see.  After we were told by the cruise ship that they strongly recommend we do the trip ourselves because we would be really annoyed with the pace of the tour, we decided to hook up our new friends and see if they wanted to go with us.  We walked straight to the train station in Sorrento and we were on our way to Pompeii. 

As you may know, Pompeii is famous for it being buried after the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD..  The town was not discovered until 1748.  Was was amazing to me was, how big Pompeii is.  All the digging and excavation took years to complete!  I just couldn't believe that it was discovered in the first place. 

After Pompeii we took the train back to Sorrento were we walked around some more and went shopping for Limoncello (it originate in the Sorrento area).  AND boy is it GOOD!  Glad we brought back a bottle!

Images from Sorrento and Pompeii:

We got on  the ship yet again and set sail to Amalfi.  Almalfi is a beautiful town that sits right on the coast.  It's incredible to think that people actually settled here because it's very steep.  It's also about 45 miles away from Napels (the birthplace of Pizza).  We didn't have much interest to go to Napels so we took our time in Amalfi.  We shopped for art and and more gellato.  :) Sam even got a hair cut there as well.  The guy used a straight edge razor which scarred me a bit, thank goodness he had steady hands!

 

Sneaking photos in the Sistine Chapel

Today we went to the Vatican City and toured the Sistine Chapel.  It was UNREAL.  The last time I was in Rome, I was told that the Vatican City was closed to the public due to a religious holiday.  Not knowing any better I took their word for it, only to figure out that its ALWAYS open because it's a COUNTRY! 

Anyways, today was the day that Sam and I got to experience the Vatican City and Sistine Chapel for the first time.  There were weather warnings that it was suppose to be lighting and flash floods so we brought our umbrellas and started walking to the city.  We walked along the Tiber River towards the Vatican City.  Sam asked me, "Are you sure we're going the right way?"  I pointed up and said, "As long as we walk towards that dome (Saint Peter's Basilica) we'll be fine." 

Again we bought our "skip the line " passes and boy were we glad we did that, as soon as we arrived to the entrance of the Vatican Museum it started raining cats and dogs.  We were lucky enough to get an amazing tour guide who was a master in art.  Sam liked her because she was very easy on the eyes, I liked her because she gave more than the, "this is blah blah from blah blah", she actually gave the history behind the art and the artist. 

As we walked through the museum we couldn't help but be in awe of the amount of items this place had.  Not to mention the history of everything. As we approached the Sistine chapel we were given a lecture on how NOT to take pictures, but the tour guide told us that, since there are so many people and so few security guards, it's not hard to sneak in a picture or two.  She just bagged us not to use a flash.  As we walked in we bumped up against people all of which were looking up...to see the famous painting by Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam.  It was simply amazing however, I have to say, I thought it was bigger, but than again, I have only seen that image, not the other images that surround it.  As I looked around I noticed that a lot of people were taking pictures right in front of the guards.  So I of course snuck my iPhone out and turned it to the screen side and started shooting away.  I got a few good pictures, Sam pretended he didn't know who I was.  But in the end, he was excited I took them. 

One funny thing about the Sistine Chapel.  They ask for you to remain silent.  But there is about 1000 people in the room as the same time, including tour guides.  So it does get loud in there.  The guards would make a shush noise to quite everyone down, and then would play a recording in about 16 different languages to tell everyone to be quite. 

After the Sistine Chapel we walked into Saint Peter's Basilica we were in total awe of the dome as well as the Pietà  by Michelangelo.  While we were inside there was some time of procession going on that I swore were with Orthodox Priests because the majority of them had long beards and were wearing a Kamilavka.

After the Basilica we went straight to the post office and mailed our family a post card from the smallest country in the world! 

 

Roma at first sight...

As soon as we landed in Rome, we hit the ground running.  We had arrived at 6pm and took the train from the airport straight to the apartment I had found on Airbnb.  (by the way, I highly recommend Airbnb).  The area we were staying in Travstevere which is about 8 mins (by tram) from the center of Rome.  Everything was extremely convenient when using the tram because it dropped you off in all of the main areas.

Our very first encounter with Rome was the Colosseum.  It was amazing to see the look on Sam's face as we walked towards it, and one of the first things he said, "wow, I thought it would be bigger." I laughed and told him that I thought the same thing when I say it for the first time too.  One thing I did do before we left for our trip was purchase "skip the line" passes for both the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel.  I HIGHLY recommend this!  We saved ourselves about 3 hours in line for the Colosseum and about 4 for the chapel.  Not to mention, there is so much history behind everything that it was amazing to have a tour guide to help you understand everything.  We walked all throughout the Colosseum and each view was more amazing then the one before. It really made you think about the history and the civilization during the time they actually went to events in the Colosseum. 

After we went to the Colosseum and the Forum we took advantage of the great weather and walked around Rome. Rome is full of side streets so it's very easy to wonder around because eventually you will run into a main street. For the rest of the day we saw and threw a coin in Trevi Fountain, sat and sun bathed the Spanish Steps and of course ate pizza and licked on gellato.