U.S.A. (chant, repeat)

Great to be back in the States. Arrived in Newark this afternoon after an eight hour flight and my parents surprised me at the airport, so I am in Philly tonight and enjoying myself before heading back to NYC tomorrow.

Has been a great three months of travel. Some stats from the two trips:

42 cities/towns visited (either on a day trip or at least one night spent in the location)
16 countries visited
9 different languages encountered

3,400+ miles traveled by train in Europe
3,100+ miles traveled by bus in South America

3: average daily count of gelato consumed in Rome
2: times I was a victim of fly-by pigeon droppings
1: times my debit card was eaten by an ATM (digested whole, successfully recovered)

Thanks to all who were able to meet up abroad with me at some point , and to everyone for all the support over the past few months. My trips were that much better because of all of you. Was a fantastic experience, but it's always nice to come home. Until next time.

JH

Lisbon Finale

Have had an enjoyable weekend in Lisbon to put the finishing touches on my Euro trip. This city is pretty and unique in its own ways, though I think its up there as one of the hardest to navigate by foot because the maps are crappy, the street layout is a mess, and the street names themselves are, not surprisingly, in Portuguese which makes them very hard to correctly pronounce when asking locals (and they seem to enjoy watching tourists get lost and wander around their hilly streets). First on my tourist attraction list yesterday was the Castelo do Sao Jorge and it took me about two hours to find the place, and its not that far from my hostel. Youd think that a giant castle on the top of a hill would be easy to find but you would be wrong. After many wrong turns, dead ends, and much huffing and puffing I found the place and it was very cool and provided some great views of the city.

Lisbon (first and second pictures)

Last night a bunch of us from the hostel got dinner then went to an outdoor fado show. Fado is traditional Portuguese music which is a bit melancholy in its original form but we went to a local street party in the Alfama neighborhood that had a lively fado singer and a dance beat and everyone danced for hours. Was a lot of fun and combined with the street fair gave us a good feel for how Lisboas citizens get down on a Saturday night. Then we hit a club afterwards called Lux that was a cool spot but had lame music. Oh well, overall the night was a good one. Also, our group from the hostel for most of the night had two American guys, one Australian girl, one French girl, one Brazilian guy, and one guy from Estonia. Keeping it diverse.

Moorish Castle at Sintra

Today a few of us took the 40 minute train ride north to a town called Sintra which is very pretty and has its own castle that dominates the one in Lisbon. Awesome views, nice little cafes, and some Moorish history lessons all mixed together. A good day for my last full one on the road before I fly back to the States tomorrow. Hard to believe that I left for Rio de Janeiro three months ago, but I am very excited to come home.

Madrid

Spain´s night life is helping me convert to siesta culture in a hurry. These people know how to party, and I have a string of late nights in Barcelona and now Madrid to confirm the hype that I had heard about these places. Arrived in Madrid yesterday and walked around a bit in the afternoon then took a solid nap. Last night went out with a guy from my hostel and his buddy who lives in Madrid, then we met up with some other hostel people from all different nationalities and went dancing at this Latin club til the wee hours. Good stuff, and this town is growing on me.


Today I went to the Museo del Prado and saw some great Spanish art. Saw the Royal Palace as well and in between enjoyed a nice lunch of paella, some steak, and red wine. Again, the Spanish know how to enjoy themselves as they take super long lunches in the early afternoon. Not sure how people actually have jobs here but then again I don´t have one. Will definitely be coming back to Spain to spend more time at some point.

As for now I´m about to head out for my overnight train to my final stop: Lisbon. Hard to believe the travels are almost coming to an end, but I am psyched for a weekend in Portugal.

Barcelona

Not surprisingly, FC Barcelona's colors and gear line every major street in this pretty town. Arrived here Tuesday morning after a 14 hour overnight train ride from Milan. Was not too bad of a ride though our sleeper car was hot as hell for the first couple of hours.

Barcelona has been awesome so far, and reminds me of a more cosmopolitan Rio de Janeiro. Strolled down La Rambla (the main avenue in Central Barcelona) with a couple people from my hostel mid-day yesterday and walked down to the beach. Very pretty, and very clean. Made it over to La Sagrada Familia in the afternoon - Gaudi´s masterpiece of a cathedral that was started in 1882 and is still being worked on today...on schedule for a 2030 finish. Unique structure, especially as far as cathedrals go.

La Sagrada Familia

Our hostel hosted a sangria party last night then a big group of us went out to a local club until 4:30a. When we left, the place was still bumping (with mostly American music - I was feeling the Flo Rida). But Club Roxy closes early on Tuesdays at 5:30a. Spain knows how to party.

Today I visited the Museo Picasso which was one of my more enjoyable museum experiences. The museum is put together well with stages of Picasso´s life explained (in Catalana, Español, and English) in the front of each room then a series of paintings from that period in his life. Was very interesting to see how his style of painting drastically changed throughout his lifetime. I am a big fan. Also, the guy painted a TON.

Strolled a bit more around the city and enjoyed the sun, and had a nice tapas lunch. Now it´s time for a late afternoon siesta.

Firenze and Siena

Florence
Have spent the weekend in Florence (Firenze in Italiano) and it has been a good one. Had a nice day strolling yesterday and visiting the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David statue, which was all it was cracked up to be. Sculptural perfection. Then visited the Duomo and made it to the top for a fantastic view of the city amid the rolling hills of Tuscany. Yet another sweet town in Italy.

Today I took a day trip to Siena which is only 1.5 hours away by train. Very cool little town, and the main Piazza del Campo is one of my favorites, as far as piazze go. The town has a great vibe, which I was feeling even while getting dumped on by 25 minutes of torrential rain (got stranded in an alley when the rain started, under an old arch - less than ideal for shelter). First rainy day in weeks.

Siena's Piazza del Campo
Sadly, my action-packed tour of Italy is coming to an end tomorrow, but it has been a great twelve days in my new favorite country. Tomorrow I head to Milan in the morning where I will spend a few hours before hopping an overnight train to Barcelona. Definitely looking forward to my next stop as I hear good things about Barcelona, and hopefully the town is still partying after FC Barcelona's big win last week. But more important matters to take care of tonight, i.e. gorging myself on my last authentic Italian dinner for a while.

Naples, Pompei, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri

Naples
Has been a very enjoyable last few days here in Southern Italy. I spent Monday afternoon and evening in Naples and hung out with Renee's cousins - had a blast. Her cousin Celene was the best tour guide and took me all over town on the back of her motorino (scooter), which made for a true Napolitano experience. I had no idea Naples was such a pretty town. I did have some idea that the town claims to have the best pizza, and I confirmed that claim at Da Michele.

Tuesday I took the Circumvesuviana train to a town outside of Sorrento called Sant'Agnello (one hour south of Napoli) - beautiful, tiny coastal town and a perfect base for visiting the ruins of Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, and the island of Capri.

Pompei
Pompei was a very cool experience as there is so much of the town still intact despite Vesuvius wiping out the population almost 2,000 years ago. There are countless well-preserved structures amid dozens of city blocks, some very detailed and colorful mosaics inside different (roofless) houses, and even a couple victims on display (the victims were people or animals that were killed after the eruption but their forms appear almost frozen by the ash that enveloped the city).

Spent all day up and down the Amalfi Coast yesterday: it is a 40 minute bus ride to Positano and another 50 minutes to Amalfi. Positano is the prettier of the two towns, but both are gorgeous. Huge cliffs jutting straight into the ocean in front of tree-covered hills, and the towns are full of multi-colored houses built on the rock with small streets that wind along the hillsides through the town. So pretty (pic to the right).

Green Grotto of Capri (we swam through that)
Today a group from my hostel took a boat trip to the island of Capri. Was a blast. Capri is a pretty island off the coast of the mainland here, and the coastline looks similar to the Amalfi coast. But we had two local Napolitano guides and our own boat with food, beer, and biscotti, and this means of transport beat any bus or train I've been on. After spending a few hours on the island, our guides returned and picked us up at the marina, then we went around the island and explored the three different grottos along the coastline. The grottos are naturally formed caves in the cliffs along the ocean that are each named for the colors they produce when the sun shines through the openings. Awesome. Lots of swimming, a little bit of jellyfish (though no sting victims), and plenty of sun. Great day. Will be bummed to leave Italia but I've already come up with a laundry list of excuses to return.

Roman Holiday

Roman Forum w/ Colosseum in background
Rome has quickly catapulted into the top spot for my favorite city. Incredible, truly. So much history and so many ancient ruins mixed in with modern cafes, restaurants, wild people, great little side streets, and the best food. It is hot, loud, in your face, dangerous to walk around (solely due to Vespas filling every gap in stopped or moving traffic), and often crowded despite how massive the city is - chaos, really. And it is a beautiful thing. Long blog entry beginning...now:

Arrived here Friday evening and Im staying with my buddy Zandy as he is in Italy for the week and is meeting up with his family up north on Monday. We hit the tourist attractions hard yesterday - started at the Vatican Museum, and thanks to the tips of Rick Steves (my new favorite guidebook author) and our quick thinking we didnt have to wait at all to get in. The museum has a staggering amount of sculptures dating back thousands of years, and some very ornate ceilings and artwork (ornate is an understatement). The finale of the museum tour is Michelangelo's masterpiece in the Sistene Chapel. Jaw-dropping paintings and detail - truly amazing, and surreal to finally see in person after hearing so many things about the place. But perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Chapel was how every sign and guidebook said that pictures were not allowed, yet the museum staff silently watched tourists shamelessly snapping photos with flashes by the dozens. I may have snuck in a couple photos myself.

Inside the Colosseum

Next was St. Peter's Basilica (above) which we were able to enter through the Sistene Chapel, thereby bypassing the line outside. The Basilica is the largest church in the world by a longshot, and pictures do not accurately illustrate how huge it is inside. I read that it can hold 60,000 people. Pretty amazing. And there are more incredible sculptures and artwork that line the walls and ceilings. Started to get numb at the beauty of this place by that point in the sightseeing, but then we walked outside into St. Peter's Square which is a grand outdoor plaza surrounded by a semi-circle of statue-mounted columns. There is a fountain on either side and an obelisk in the center, and plenty of empty space for gatherings - symmetrical and sculptural perfection. The only thing missing was a Pope sighting.

Since we did not have to wait much at all for the Vatican City sights, I decided to head over to Ancient Rome and see the Colosseum and Roman Forum (Z arrived to Rome before me and already visited these). Incredible. Really beyond words, especially because the structure is still standing and it is 2,000 years old (I'm having a hard time writing about this stuff as I feel like a broken record and I am running out of new words to describe the sights). Walking up to the Colosseum and then inside and around the stadium seating was quite an experience. I kept envisioning the gladiators in the center with the raucous crowd cheering, just as in the movie. Then the Forum (the main square where it is said Rome began) is not far from the Colosseum, and is filled with columns and ruins from centuries ago that are still standing (at least partially) as well as the Temple of Caesar and other relics of that ancient civilization. Awesome.

Ok that was exhausting to type. So many things to see here, and I didnt even mention the Pantheon temple (above) and Trevi Fountain, which are unique and terrific in their own ways. Bottom line: if you haven't already, visit Rome before you die. It is a must.