Athens, Greece

We have some time before we catch the metro to the airport so I will try to touch on some of the highlights of the places we have been in the last few weeks.

Gimmelwald, Switzerland -
On our third morning at the Mountain Hostel we woke up to a completely cloudless sky. Our first two days spent hiking through the cloud covered Alps left us wondering what we were actually hiking through. By 9:30 on our third morning we were on the first of 3 Gondolas to the top of the Shilthorn, a lookout 11,000 feet above sea level. It was one of the most expensive explorations of our trip but well worth it. The view was 360 of Alps and central European highlands. It was magnificent. While we were on top we hiked a few hundred meters out along one of the ridges and had the chance to watch a few paragliders take off and silently descend into the valleys below. It looked like a lot of fun, but we were sure the price was beyond prohibitive.

Nice, France -
We rearranged our schedule a little due to input from other travelers that we would only need one night in Venice and that we should see Nice if we got the chance. Nice had a pretty good beach, but over all it was a big, rather dirty city. Not our favorite of the trip. We spent our time wandering through the city and on the beach mostly.

Cinque Terre, Italy -
Easily one of our favorite stops. For those of you who don't know, the Cinque Terre is a 15 kilometer stretch of coast that is the home to 5 small, traditional villages connected by a local train and hiking trails. We spent our time hiking between the towns, swimming/laying on the beach, and eating great Italian food (One real meal thanks to Kelsey and Andy). On our second night in the area we met up with Jim and Alecia (We met them in Gimmelwald at the Mountain Hostel, also from Seattle) who were staying in one of the other small towns. They cooked us a great meal and we split a couple of bottles of the local wine before catching the last train back to our place. We had hoped to return the favor and make dinner the following night, but as it was their last day in the area they decided to take a day trip to Piza which didn't get them back until late. Hopefully we will have a chance to see them when we are back in Seattle (they were considering moving back to their home town in Ohio).

Venice, Italy -
We arrived in venice in the evening and had booked a "room" at a campground across the water from Venice island, so after moving into our mini mobile home like cabin we caught a nearby ferry to the city. With only 3 hours until the last boat returned to the camp ground we covered as much ground as possible. We also had our first truly Italian pizza during this time. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down. We were both really hungry and 10 euros only bought us one individual pizza and a small water. It turned out to be more of an expensive snack than a meal. Venice is easily the most unique city we have been in so far, the canals make for interesting, if not sometimes difficult, routes through the city. Andy promised that we would get lost while in Venice, and while we always had an idea of where we were we still ended up running to catch the last boat. The next morning we checked out of our "cabin" and took the bus/train back out to the island. The left baggage line had at least 250 people in it so we ended up stuck carrying all of our stuff while we explored the city in daylight. All in all Venice was definitely worth the visit, but we would agree that one day is probably enough to see the sites.

Rome, Italy -
Rome held one of our more disappointing hostel selections. Other than its great location near the main train station it was little more than a cheap, dirty, old hotel that decided that by placing 5 beds in one room they could call it a hostel. At least our Finnish roommates were fun to talk to. On our first full day in the city we explored the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. It was easy to see the churches Billions of dollars, the marble, gilding, and sculptures throughout the cathedral were amazing. It did take us two trips through the line because Kaylee was showing too much skin the first time through (her scandalous shoulders weren't properly covered). So after buying a shirt from a nearby stand we were allowed in. We also randomly happened to be at the Vatican on the last Sunday of the month which meant the Vatican museum, usually 14 Euro each, was free. Of course we got there a half hour after they closed the entrance. On our second day we went to the Colosseum and the surrounding ruins. Both were very impressive, not quite Egyptian pyramids but impressive none the less.

Bari, Italy -
We didn't spend any nights in Bari, but our 6 hour train from Rome dropped us at the port in Bari to catch a ship to Corfu, Greece. At the check in we were frustrated to learn that the ships no longer stopped in Corfu (contradicting their website) so we would have to take a 10 hour ship to Igoumenitsa, Greece then a 1 hour local ferry to Corfu.

I believe that Kaylee is currently describing our time in Greece, but she is on a computer on the other side of the room so I will end here for now so as not to overlap. Off to Spain in 6 hours!

Simon and Kaylee