Letterkenny

Today was pretty awesome. we got up and kathleen cooked us a traditional irish breakfast, full with fried eggs, bacon, sausage links, toast, and juice. then noel drove us around and we saw some of the oldest graveyards in the donegal and letterkenny area. The first had a cross that dated back about a thousand years. most of the other graves ranged from the 1700s to the 1800s. The churches that stood in each graveyard were crumbling and all that remained were half the walls and steps.
we also went to see where our great grandmother was born. a small cottage set back in the trees and overgrown in shrubbery. if anyone watches lost, jacobs cabin is a good equivalent. it was really cool. we then saw the house where noel was born, and its abandoned now, and we snuck in and saw the entire thing.
Tonight they are having a bunch of friends over, including jeff and gema who im looking forward to meet so it should be fun. Write again soon...

Ireland.

So we flew into Dublin, and I met Kev mcgee, sarah froberg, tom callahan, and vince paglione in the jameson bar. I had my first glass of legit guiness there with everyone, then we headed to our hostel. The hostel was cool, right in the temple bar area of dublin, one block from the oconnell bridge on the river liffy. We got some food at a little pub called fitzgeralds, and then hung out in a park for a little while. We met some sweet people at the hostel. A girl named Sophie from Germany, and a girl named Eliza from california. Later on we met these two other guys from Germany, and all of us went out to the temple bar area to drink! It was so much fun, bouncin from bar to bar. The last bar we got to, we ended up irish dancing with the whole bar, including some crazy 50 year old women haha. Nuts. Dublin was great.

Now we are up in Letterkenny, near Donegal, with the family, Noel, Kathleen, Emma, and Natasha. Melissa is still down in Dublin right now working. Their house sits right on a hill that overlooks mountains and green hills, with sheep and cattle all around. Right around the corner are two lakes that sit down below the mountains, the views are incredible. So far we have visited Glenveagh Castle, some beaches, downtown letterkenny with Natasha to some night clubs, Giants Causeway, and Dunluce Castle. I also met Noels sister, and her kids who are also our cousins. The views are amazing everywhere, and it stays light out here until about 11:30pm so it really throws my timing off, but its cool. Uncle Chris has been here too! The food has been delicious, lots of fish and chips, and the guiness is a lot easier to drink over here. Anyway, until next time...

Florence and Paris

So the rest of Florence was amazing! we went to see the replica of the statue of david, which was in a really awesome plazza with all kinds of other statues. we then roamed around until we found the ponte vecchio, which is one of the oldest bridges in florence, and it is lined with small shops and stores across the entirety of it; had soma great views out into arno river. we then just basically cruised the streets of florenc, saw an old castle, then went back to the duomo. following that, we headed to the church where both michaelangelo and galileo are buried. the church had the most burials and tombs right inside of it that i have ever seen before. we got dinner at a nice place and i had this delicious pasta with a meat and cream sauce. as we ate a kid from penn state we recognized walked by and he told us he was studying abroad for the semester, it was pretty cool.

Then we hit up another night train to paris. it was two hours late but we just hung out at the train station, and met a bunch of people from chicago and paris.

we finally got into paris and it has been amazing. we are staying in a smaller hotel called hotel nouvel opera, but its definitely a lot better than a hostel. its nice and right near the metro stop. the first day we got in pretty late, soooo we bought a bunch of vodka; drank in the hotel, then roamed the streets of paris, eating way too much chocolate, ordering crepes from who knows, hit up a few bars, and then got some late night hot dog rolls and bananas from a random shop that was open very late; somehow got home!

the next day we got up early and went to the louvre. saw the mona lisa and a lot of greek, egyptian, roman, and italian works; the place was huge. Then we walked over to the island that notre dame is on, and explored it. it was so huge, the ceilings were cavernous. Then we went to a place for lunch, and got caesar salads, except these had lettuce, tomatoes, seasoned potatoes, cheese, croutons, and grilled chicken. it really was the best caesar salad i have ever had.
Then at night we got french onion soup, and let me say, french onion at home is a joke to here ha, it was awesome. Then we headed to the eiffel tower, went up to the viewing deck and saw it light up.

today we went to see the palaca of versailles. king louis the 14 did not mess around. almost 2300 acres of fountains, lakes, and gardens. Wild to think one man used to live there. It was cool because on the way there, the subway cars were two stories. Then we heqded over to champs elyeeses, and saw the arc de triumphe. This place is sweet.

There is so much more but i dont have a whole lot of time on this computer. Ireland tomorrow!!!! ill try to call home from ireland. Ok peace for now!

Rome to Florence

So our last day in Rome was excellent. We got up early and headed straight to the Colloseum. You literally exit the metro station, and there it is in front of you. Standing in line to get in, waiting in the large arched hallways, it is wild to think that about 2000 years ago people used this as their stadium, but for much more gruesome shows than we are used to today. The structure is huge. We were able to go up in the upper bleacher section, and to the lower deck level, almost touching the main floor of the stadium. Right next to the Colloseum is the Palatine Hills, which are basically large areas well maintained of numerous ancient Roman ruins. We toured all inside of the Colloseum, and then headed over to the Palatine. It was awesome. All of the sidewalks are maintained, and you can see the ruins of palaces and small stadiums. There were even old houses and foundations of buildings that we could roam in. Then we got to see the Roman Forum, all the old pillars standing freely, parts of old buildings from Roman times still standing at random clustered together. Definitely amazing, and awesome to walk through and even touch these structures that have existed for so long.

That night, we decided to go to an older part of Rome that is more local, called Traverse or something. We had a great dinner, met some local people, and ate and drank wine as a man played the accordian right near by. We even met up with two of our friends from Penn State for dinner, and then we all ran to catch a bus, headed back to our hotel where there was a bar. We spent the rest of the night there.

The next morning we took our train to Florence, where we are now! It is really quiet and extremely nice. We stopped by and saw Il Duomo yesterday, huge and beautiful. Now we are just relaxing and going to see The Statue of David. Ok, ill post later, cya!

We are now in

Last day in Venice, Hello Rome!

Lots has happened since the last time i wrote. Venice was amazing. On our first night we ended up eating at a restaurant outside right on the canal. We all had seafood spaghetti which has prawns in it, which are like a big huge shrimp with eyes, it was the best pasta I have had. After eating and watching all the boats go by, we decided to go to the Piazza Santa Margheritta, which is the plazza campo right next to where our hostel is. It is full of bars and cafes, and mainly younger college aged kids. We bought wine and becks pounders and sat out on the cobble stone in the court yard drinking at night and watching all the local kids. Very sweet.

The last day in Venice, we woke up and decided to go straight to the Island of Lido right off the coast of Venice for the beach! The beach was great, very european, and the water was warm. It was really relaxed there, and it seemed to be mainly local people. Everyone was nice. Its pretty cool I got to swim in the beachs of Venice.
Then when we got back, we went to San Marco Square, and toured San Marco Basilica, which has the largest gold mosaics. It was amazing, and I snuck pictures, and there was a wedding going on in a side altar. After that, we hopped back on the water bus (we were using the water busses that run along the canal all day) and headed to Rialto, which is a big touristy area, and maybe an area where some presents were purchased for some certain family members. (time will tell) It was great, we ate along the grand canal,and then went roaming around the tiny streets and all the shops. At night, there was a traditional italian wedding going on at our hostel, because its really awesome lookingin the back gardens. I watched outside from opened shutters with some breeze flowin in, and music being played down below. Awesome.
We ended up just sitting our by an opera house near our hostel and drinking some beers.

Then we hopped on our day train the next day to Rome! It was a fast train, and we slept most of the time. We got here in rome, 5 min walk to our hostel, The yellow hostel, its great, all kinds of young college and graduate kids. We ate, and then roamed the streets for a lil, and finished by drinking some beers and reading angels and demons in the cool bar downstairs.
TODAY, we went to see Vatican City! Toured the Vatican Museuma, seeing the famous hall of tapestries, greek sculptures, the map room, you name it, it was outstanding. Then we moved on into The Sistine Chapel. Unbelievable. after all my catholic education I finally made it haha. Our tour guide was great (looked and sounded like the woman from medium mom), and she told us all these great facts about Michaelangelo. Incredible.

Then we went into St. Peter's Basilica, larger than life. About 50 or more pictures later, we headed out to St. Peter's square and took about another 50 pictures. Then we got some food at a little pizza place, saw the Castle of St. Angelo, crossed over the Ponte St. Angelo, which is the bridge with all the statues, then made our way to the Pantheon. We turned a small corner and the Pantheon just came into sight. It was awesome to see a structure that old. Inside it was unbelievable, and Raphael was buried there, got a picture of his tomb. We then hit up the B.O. bus back to our hostel, after i bought some more goodies. We are going to shower up and head out for dinner. Tomorrow, the Colloseum and other ancient ruins, and tomorrow night, our hostel hosts a night tour of rome, aka bar tour! We will get to see the spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain so I am looking forward to that. Until next time, hope everyone at home is doing well!

-Tim

Venice!

Last night we ttook the night train to venice! the night train was amazing, we brought wine, bread, and cheese aboard. pretty small spaces, but we chilled up a lot of the night in our own couchette which has 6 bunks in it. We finally arrived in Venice, and it was amazing. Our hostel is very cool, an old high school! we got a huge room with five beds. But when we were all taking showers, the lock on the door got stuck so we could not get back in. So when the man came up, he unlocked a balcony and we were able to climb through a window. But then when he left, he closed the balcony door so we were stuck on the fourth floor room! haha finally we got out. We then walked all over venice. had seafood and gnocci in the plaza near our hostel. The breeze and sea air reminds me of maine! Ventured out to Piazza San Marco and saw the basillica and amazing views. We had Gelatto too, Frutti di Bosco is what i got, awesome, best thing i have ever had. The people are really nice here, and its easy to communicate. Every little corner is a new small street that winds down, with all kinds of pastry, seafood, leather, and glass shops. Its awesome here. Paris was awesome, also intense. Here, its more of a vacation feel. Everywhere there are outdoor cafes, and everywhere there are bridges over the canals. Great times. Write back soon!

PARIS!

I only have a few minutes on this computer!! I am staying at peace and love hostel, haha hilarious. We have seen so much. Paris has been the largest culture shock of my life. Surprisingly everyone has been extremely nice. We explored the town of Montmartre the first day, climbing the tall hills and stair cases, beautiful buildings lining every street! We reached a basilica at the top that over looked the city and we listened on the steps to a parisian playing guitar. We saw so much, ate baguettes, pastries, and at cafes. FORMAGE = cheese! Today we saw the Eiffel TOWER! amazing. We drank bottles of wine on the lawn. Yesterday cait tried to break through the metro but that did not work too well haha. We made it through though! Paris is a city of style, history, and the culture is amazing. People drive like wild animals though. We road in a harry potter :knight bus: and almost crashed into everyone and everything. OUI OUI! I have so much more to say but need to get off. Tonight is our night train to venice! Until then, Aurevoir!

The Day

Well I am leaving in about a half an hour. Driving up to Trenton and taking a train into Newark. Our flight actually leaves from Canada, so we will be hitting up Canada before heading to Paris. Next time I write, I will probably be in France! Let the good times roll...!

The Night Before

So I am leaving for europe tomorrow! I am going nutttts hahaha. Going for the first two weeks, flying into Paris, then Venice, then Rome, then Florence, back to Paris, then Ireland for 12 days to see my family over there! Can't wait to stay in the hostels, and to take the night trains (because they have bunk beds and I will pretty much be a harry potter dork). Booked some awesome places in each city and country. Meeting with everyone tomorrow to take a trenton train up to newark and then fly to paris! I can't speak any other language other than english and spanish, sooo should be very interesting haha. Well, hope whoever reads this will enjoy it and I will keep it updated as much as possible! Bon voyage, ciao, all that amaaazing other language stuff! I can't wait to eat the cheese basically. If anyone knows me, I love cheese. And bread. And booze. So to sum it up, thats all I am going to have. Ok everyone, talk to you soon!