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You and Me, Where to Next?, Seoul (2026)

19/09/2021

DAY 90 - SEPTEMBER 19 SUNDAY

Hey everyone! Sorry for no posts...

We've spent the last week exploring Barcelona and enjoying each other's company. We have been to churches, the beach, and shopping malls. We were meant to check out of our Airbnb on Thursday the 16th but decided to extend our stay until Thursday the 23rd.

Last Saturday/Sunday, I received a message that my Grandma Morris had a stroke. Unfortunately, the stroke left her unresponsive and she was only given a couple days to a week to live. With this information and the fact that we have been traveling for 90 days, Charles and I made the decision it was time to return home to Indiana! Our flight for Chicago is on Thursday, September 23rd.

Yesterday, my Grandma passed away peacefully. I wish I could have seen her in person one last time but I was able to Skype her a couple of times which helped.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has reached out to me and my family! We appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this time.

Charles and I have seen so many things during our travels overseas. We have been to 5 different countries, countless churches, parks, restaurants, etc. We have grown closer not only as a couple but also individually. I have always had a strong desire to travel, as I know Charles did. This trip hasn't changed that desire and I know we will be off on other adventures in the future!

For the remainder of our trip, we plan to relax and sightsee as much as we can. Be sure to keep an eye out on my Facebook for any new pictures! Thank you for reading and keeping up with our adventure. Next stop, Indiana. :)

12/09/2021

DAY 83 - SEPTEMBER 12 SUNDAY

Buenas tardes from Barcelona! We have been having a great time exploring Spain and I haven't had a chance to write. I will try to catch everyone up now!

Wednesday, September 8 -

Today was our last day in Greece so we decided to take it easy and not do too much.

We did walk around the "downtown" area and saw that the EKO Acropolis Rally of Gods was going to begin on September 9th. Unfortunately, we would miss it but we were still able to see some pretty cool cars. The Rally of Gods is a motor racing event for rally cars over 4 days. We really wish we could have stuck around to see all the festivities but we had a flight to catch!

Thursday, September 9 -

We are going to Spain! Our flight left Greece at 12PM and we arrived in Barcelona at 3PM. Once we arrived at the airport, we bought a couple 5-day tickets for the public transportation and made our way onto the Metro.

Our Airbnb is technically part of FeelAtHome Apartments. The apartment is super close to downtown Barcelona and the sea!

When we were checking in, the lady at the front desk let us know that the shower was leaking and that she would send some people up to fix it tomorrow morning. We said we would be sure to be out and about so that they could get their job done.

Since it was still pretty early when we got to the apartment, we decided to take a little walk around and see what our neighborhood looked like. The area we are staying in seems very safe and family friendly. There were quite a few parks we walked by.

Also, dogs are the main attraction here in Spain! In Greece, it was the cats. Everywhere you look, you are bound to see a dog! Loving that!

Friday, September 10 -

Today, we woke up early so that we could be out of the apartment by 9AM. We made our way to Starbucks so that we could get some coffee and then found the Arenas de Barcelona. It is a huge shopping center and on top, there is a 360 degree walk around with views of Barcelona. It is breathtaking!

Since we started our shopping experience, we figured we should continue that onto the next place we visited. That would be Gran Via 2. We had to walk about 30 minutes but we didn't mind since we knew we needed to stay away from the apartment. The Gran Via 2 has tons of restaurants, shops, etc... We walked around for a couple hours and then decided it was time to head back to the apartment.

The shower leak was fixed but unfortunately, the water wouldn't drain. I went to tell the lady at the front desk and she brought up some liquid that was supposed to help. We let it sit for 2 hours and tried again. No luck, still no draining. Back down to the front desk and the lady said she would send people up tomorrow to fix the drain. Got to love the plumbing system.

For dinner, we visited Out of India. We have visited Indian restaurants in almost all of the countries we have visited. And this one was by far the best! It was absolutely delicious!

Saturday, September 11 -

It was another early day for us today! First up on our list to visit was the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. It is a huge fountain located at the foot of the Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. We thought about going into the museum but it was a such a nice day we didn't want to be stuck inside.

Instead, we headed up the "mountain" to the Cementiri de Montjuic. It is a beautiful cemetery with modernist pieces overlooking the Balearic Sea. Check out my Facebook for all the pictures. :)

Next, we headed to the Montjuic Castle. It is a 17th century hilltop fortress and former prison overlooking the sea as well. After looking around the castle, we took the cable car back down the "mountain".

We grabbed some lunch and headed off to our next stop which was the Ciutadella Park. It was created in the late 1800s and includes a zoo, boating lake, ornate museums, and a walking trails. The main "exhibit" would have to be the Cascada del Parc de la Ciutadella. It is a classical 2-tier fountain and monument with an arch and central Venus statue. It is truly amazing.

We finished off the day by getting a fresh seafood paella from Portonovo Silvestre, just down the street from our apartment. The dish was HUGE and thankfully, we only ordered one. It came with mussels, shrimp, squid, rice, etc... It was delicious! I was so proud of Charles for eating almost his whole dish since he is normally a very picky eater. I guess we may start eating more seafood!

AND today, we had another full day! We thought we would try to have an "easy" day but of course, that never happens.

We started the day by visiting the La Sagrada Familia. It is Antoni Gaudi's renowned unfinished church, which was started in the 1880s. It is truly a masterpiece. Please take a look at the pictures I posted because words can't describe the artistry that went into building the basilica.

After the basilica, we headed to Camp Nou. Camp Nou is the home ground for the famous Barcelona football club. We were hoping we would be able to see the iconic blue and red seats but unfortunately, the only way to go through is with a tour and it was a little expensive. We were at least able to get pictures of the outside and got a couple souvenirs for the family (and us!).

We are now back at our apartment and resting before we go grab some dinner. We have gotten a lot better about eating out and trying new things. I think it is sushi and dumpling night for us... Yum! Thanks for reading!

07/09/2021

DAY 78 - SEPTEMBER 7 TUESDAY

Good morning from Greece! Today, we will be having a day of rest after our excursion yesterday so I decided to catch you up now...

Monday, September 6 -

Today, we went to the island! Not just any island but Aegina. Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, just off the coast of Athens. We had been recommended by our taxi driver that Aegina was a beautiful island to visit with picturesque beaches and delicious food.

To get to the island, we first took the train to Piraeus. Once there, we visited a shop that was selling ferry tickets. We bought round trip tickets and set out for Gate E8. Our ship was set to leave at 12:50PM but the crew at the check-in said it was going to be late.

While we waited for the ferry, we grabbed some drinks and sat in the waiting area. It started to rain and we were thinking about returning to our Airbnb because we didn't want to be stuck on the island with nothing to do. But our ferry arrived and we made the decision to brave the rain and hoped it would quit by the time we arrived. And it did! Thankfully, while we were waiting for the ferry to take off, the sun started peaking through the clouds and the rain abated.

From what I could tell, the ferry held about 100 people and it went fast! The name of the boat was Flying Dolphin and we zipped around Psittalia, Salamina, Lagousa, and Lagousaki to reach Aegina. The population of Aegina is just over 8,000 people and has an area of about 32 miles. The ferry ride took us about 30 minutes.

Once we landed at the port, we were off to find some lunch. The port is filled with sailboats, dinghies, fishing boats, etc... As you walk along the main road, there are quite a few restaurants serving everything from seafood to Italian to gelato. We settled on Pelaisos. Charles ordered a pork filet and I got the fried squid calamari. Both of our meals were delicious but the calamari was *mwah* perfect. There is nothing better than fresh seafood next to the sea.

After lunch, we walked about 35 minutes away from the main hub to reach a sandy beach area. We spent about 2 and a half hours swimming and sun-bathing. It was a little windy but once you were in the water, it felt great!

Our return ferry was set to leave at 8:20 so we headed back to the port in plenty of time since we didn't want to miss it. But it was late, again. It docked around 8:50 and we were back at Piraeus around 9:30. Onto the train and made it to our Airbnb at 10:15. It was a long day but we had a blast!

AND today, with our day of rest, we will only have 1 more full day in Athens before heading to Barcelona! I have really enjoyed Greece, the people, the food, the sights, etc... I will miss it. But I am excited for our next adventure to Spain! I finally get to use some of that Spanish I was taught in high school. :)

05/09/2021

DAY 76 - SEPTEMBER 5 SUNDAY

Hey there! Charles and I have been having a great time exploring Athens. The time seems to fly since it is already Sunday and we had to make a decision about where we will be heading to next. But I will get to that later on... In the meantime, let me catch you up on our travels.

Friday, September 3 -

Today was our first full day in Athens so we wanted to fit in as much sight-seeing as possible. Our Airbnb is in a prime location so that we are able to walk to pretty much anything we need.

We chose to visit the First Cemetery of Athens first. It is just down the street and I thought it would be an interesting place to start. There are sculptures and elegant mausoleums throughout the cemetery. But what we noticed most was the amount of cats running around! Everywhere you turned, there seemed to be a cat: laying on the ceiling of a mausoleum, running through the grave sites, sitting in the walkways... It was great. They were feral cats so they wouldn't let us near them but it was still nice to see them.

After the cemetery, we headed to the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. The Temple has been under construction for quite some time but I'm not surprised since it was built beginning in the 6th century B.C. Even with the scaffolding, it is an impressive site! When we arrived at the Temple, we decided to get the 3 day full-package ticket. The tickets included admission to Acropolis and its Slopes, Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Hadrian's Library, Olympieion, Kerameikos, and Lykeion.

Once we were done walking around the Temple of Zeus, we made our way to the National Garden. The garden is home to both native and exotic plants, plus archeological remains and a children's library.

We decided to get some drinks at a food stand and happened to stumble upon the Hop On-Hop Off bus stop. We had seen the buses in Rome as well but never figured out how they worked. There was a nice lady who explained everything and we decided to buy a 2 day pass. It is a pretty great idea, being able to just hop on and hop off at the historical sites the bus stops at.

We took the bus to Ancient Agora of Athens. Ancient Agora is a famous landmark featuring the ruins of an ancient Greek gathering place and a museum with artifacts. Again, we were shocked at the amount of cats that we saw wandering around. However, these cats were a lot more friendly! We were able to pet a few and it made us miss our own "kittens" even more. We know they are having a great time with our families but we sure do miss them.

After wandering around Ancient Agora, we were getting hungry so we stopped at a Greek restaurant right across the street. We ordered the meat platter and it was delicious! There were burgers, pork chops, chicken, sausage, pita, and french fries. We were stuffed.

Saturday, September 4 -

Today, we went to the Acropolis of Athens! But first, we stopped at nice pizza place for lunch along the way. It was delicious! The best part about the meal was the apple cinnamon muffin we got. YUM. I will definitely be looking up recipes to make once we are home.

The walk up to the Parthenon was quite long and got a little slippery in places. The steps that you walk along must be marble and our shoes did not have good traction. Ha. But the walk was worth it! The Parthenon is incredible. It is under construction and there is scaffolding on one half of the building but that doesn't take away from its beauty.

Once you make it to the top of the hill, you get breathtaking panoramic views of Athens. Look at my pictures on Facebook and you will be able to see those! I am so glad we were able to go see the Parthenon since I have always wanted to visit it.

It was a hot day so we stopped for a frozen strawberry lemonade on our way home for the day.

AND today was a REST day. We needed it after all the walking and sight-seeing we've done the last 2 days. We picked up some take-out from The Big Bad Wolf, a Greek restaurant selling pitas, kebabs, burgers, etc.. It was delicious!

We also made our decision on the next leg of our adventure. We will be traveling to... Drum roll please... Barcelona! Our last day in Athens is this Thursday so we have lots to see in a short amount of time. But we are so excited to travel to Spain next and experience a completely new place. Thanks for reading and I'll write again soon :)

03/09/2021

DAY 74 - SEPTEMBER 3 FRIDAY

Καλημέρα from Greece!

It is the morning of our first day in Athens and we are so excited to explore. I wanted to make a quick post of the last couple days so as to catch everyone up.

Tuesday, August 31 -

We saw David! We didn't have tickets so we had to stand in the regular admission line, which took about an hour. But we are so glad we waited. The museum is home to many antique musical instruments and paintings. And of course, David! Both Charles and I were super impressed with the size of the statue. It is a towering force. Not only is the size impressive but also the detail. The veins in his hands and legs are visible and so many other details that were not missed by Michelangelo. The statue was completed somewhere between 1501 and 1504 when Michelangelo was just 26 years old. One year younger than me and Michelangelo had created a masterpiece that would be looked upon as the most beautiful and chiseled man for centuries. No big deal or anything. Ha.

Wednesday, September 1 -

Today was our last in Florence and Italy. It is bittersweet. We had such a great time and hope to return in the future.

Since we will be flying tomorrow, we decided to head to the train station to get rapid COVID tests. I am still unsure if we will need to present them since we have our COVID vaccines but better safe than sorry.

The Red Cross has a tent set up just outside the station that you can walk up to and get tested. We had to wait for about 30 minutes for our turn then we were ushered inside to get a q-tip shoved up our noses and wait another 20 minutes for the result. I wish I could say the tests were getting easier each time we get one but that isn't the truth!

Both Charles and I came back negative so headed off for one last walk around the "neighborhood". We made it back to our Airbnb and packed up our things so we were ready for our next adventure.

Thursday, September 2 -

Off to Greece! But first, off to Rome and then Greece. I had researched flights out of Florence to Athens and unfortunately, there weren't many non-stop flights and the ones I did find were expensive. We wanted to stick with the non-stop so we don't have another luggage mishap like in Berlin.

We took the train to Rome and got off at the Roma Tiburtina station. After having some lunch, we took our last train ride in Italy to the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. We arrived around 1:30PM, 4 hours before our flight. I can now officially say we are those people that arrive hours before their flight.

The flight to Athens was a smooth hour and a half ride. We arrived at 8:30PM Athens time, which is an hour ahead of Italy and 7 hours ahead of Indiana. We got our luggage and grabbed a taxi to take us to our Airbnb.

The host met us at our place and was so very nice. He gave us a tour of the place and a ton of recommendations since it is our first time to Athens. Airbnb's have really been the hit of our trips. It is so nice being able to have a home away from home.

By that time, it was getting close to 11PM but we weren't tired yet. So we took a little "midnight" stroll around to check out our surroundings. In both Italy and Greece, people begin eating dinner around 9-10PM so the restaurants near our place were packed with young and old alike. I noticed there were 2 young kids, probably 3 and 5 years old, with their mom playing in a park. So different than the U.S.!

Another thing I noticed was my inability to read almost every single thing/sign we saw. In Italy and Germany, we were at least able to sound out the words we saw because they use the same alphabet as us. Here in Greece, they use the Greek alphabet. So we will definitely be using Google Translate for the duration of our stay.

AND today, since it is our first day, we will be visiting some of the attractions nearest our Airbnb. Not sure what exactly we will be doing since Charles is still asleep but I am so excited to get the day started and go exploring! Thanks for reading :)

31/08/2021

DAY 71 - AUGUST 31 TUESDAY

Buon giorno! It has officially been 71 days since we left the United States.. To me, it seems like a long time. To Charles, not so much. We've had a good couple of days here in Florence and are about to be ending our time here.

Friday, August 27 -

We visited a number of different churches around Florence. We did end up going into a couple of them to take pictures and marvel at the artwork. However, we had to skip over some because of the cost. The overall cost to go into the churches isn't that much but when you are visiting multiple, it can add up. It would be great if they had a pass that would allow you access to all of the basilicas in the area, almost like the Roma Pass we had in Rome.

When we got home for the day, we made some chicken filets we got from the Conad's across the street and settled in for the night. Our Airbnb has a huge window and we had left it open to enjoy the breeze. Around 8PM, we heard singing and come to find out, we have the perfect place to listen to musicians on the Ponte Vecchio. The singer sang in Italian and it was a great way to end the day.

Saturday, August 28 -

We have come to the realization that Florence is much smaller than Rome. In terms of population, 2.8 million people live in Rome and 380,000 people live in Florence. It is great knowing that with just a 15 minute walk, we can be at the Florence bus terminal. A week was the perfect amount of time for us to explore!

We visited the Piazzale Michelangelo today which is a beautiful plaza with panoramic views of Florence and the mountains surrounding the city. We also tried to visit the Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte (an abbey) but we went during the time it was closed. We were able to get some good shots of the outside and that was beautiful enough!

For an early dinner, we visited a Tandoori restaurant down the street from our Airbnb. We had originally wanted to get it to-go but the waiter sat us at a table so we had no choice. It was good Indian food! I had the chicken curry and Charles had chicken masala. For dessert, we went to the gelato restaurant right across the street from our place. Having a gelato place so close to home would be dangerous if we lived here! We tried a flavor called "Maya" which was chocolate and chili pepper. It was good! Weird but good. When you first bite into it, you taste the sweet chocolate. But as you swallow, you can feel the zing of the chili pepper! Yum!

It was still early in the day, around 5PM, so we decided to make our way to the Pitti Palace. It is a Renaissance palace just down the street from the Ponte Vecchio. We made it just in time to get our tickets and make our way through the huge home. Each room was painted in a different color, with murals, statues, and paintings adorning the walls. It was exquisite. The ceilings were my favorite part! Check out the pictures I posted and you will see why.

Tonight, the singer on the Ponte Vecchio sang in English! It was a surprising welcome. When you are so used to hearing other languages, it can be a shock when you hear your own! Being able to sing along to some of the songs was a blast.

Sunday, August 29 -

Day of rest!

Monday, August 30 -

Today, we decided to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa. After a short hour long train ride, we made it to the town of Pisa. It is a small commune in the Tuscany region. We walked about half an hour from the train station to make it to the tower. The Leaning Tower was completed in 1372 and at the time of its completion was already leaning. It is truly a work of art. I had to get the obligatory "holding up the tower" picture and some others of the striped-marble cathedral that sits next to the Piazza dei Miracoli. We thought about going into the church and tower but decided instead to rest in the park and people-watch.

AND today, we plan to visit the masterpiece "David" of Michelangelo. We walked past the museum the other day but didn't have time to make it inside. It is a beautiful day with hardly any clouds in sight so we are excited to enjoy our last couple of days in Florence.

Oh and I forgot to mention that we have decided where we will be traveling next! The winner is... Athens, Greece! We leave on Thursday and will be returning to Rome to fly to Athens. We could have flown out of Florence but the flight was 5 hours and had a layover. From Rome, the flight is 2 hours and non-stop. :) Thanks for reading and be on the lookout for more photos and posts!

27/08/2021

DAY 67 - AUGUST 27 FRIDAY

Hey folks! It's been a couple days of craziness so I haven't been able to write. But it's Friday morning and Charles is still asleep so I thought I would write about our adventures in Italy...

Monday, August 23 -

We did end up going to the Colosseum! When we arrived at the entrance, we found out we had to make a reservation to go inside. We already had our tickets through the Roma Passes so we got online and made our reservation. It was super easy and we were in within an hour.

The Colosseum is amazing and huge! We walked around for about 2 hours, taking pictures and learning more about the history of the Colosseum.

Once we were done, we made our way to the Altare della Patria or Altar of the Fatherland. It is a national monument that was built to celebrate the magnificence of Rome and to commemorate the unification of the country into a single nation. It is a breathtaking structure and the view from the top is WOW.

Tuesday, August 24 -

Since we are leaving in 2 days, we won't be having any rest days because we want to see everything we can. Today, it was a little rainy but we still had to venture out. We took the bus to the Pantheon, also known as "The Temple of the Gods". We had to wait in line to get in but I was able to do some research about the Pantheon while we waited. It has the greatest number of records, including the best preserved, biggest brick dome in the history of architecture and is considered the forerunner of all modern places of worship. It is the most copied and imitated of all ancient works. And I can see why!

It is an impressive monument, with giant columns and an even bigger dome. We took a lot of pictures so check them out!

After the Pantheon, we made the short trek to the Trevi Fountain. It is beautiful. The statues are works of art. I was able to toss a coin into the fountain and make a wish! Charles thought it was a little childish but hey, I'll be childish if it means my wish will come true! Ha.

Unfortunately, while we were looking at the fountain, a storm had started to move in to the area. We hurried over to the Spanish Steps and the Trinita dei Monti church. There weren't nearly as many people there but that's probably because the thunder and lightning scared them off. We got some pictures and found the nearest bus stop to head back to our Airbnb.

Wednesday, August 25 -

Last day in Rome! Today, I bought tickets for us to the Skip the Line at the Vatican Museums. The weather was perfect. We headed to the Vatican City after lunch and stopped to take some pictures of St. Peter's Church. While we were there, a nice couple asked us to take their picture. Turns out they were from New York! They told us today was their last day in Rome as well. We wished them safe travels and continued on our way.

To pick up the tickets, we had to meet at the Enjoy Rome office right next to the museum. When we arrived, there were quite a few people waiting to be escorted to the museum. We went to the front desk and they asked if we would be interested in joining a group tour. Since this was our first time at the Vatican, Charles said it would probably be a good idea. He was right! The museum is huge! And we wouldn't have known half the stuff we were told by our tour guide.

His name was Marco and he was very nice. He spoke English with a very thick accent but we understood him perfectly. In our group was a couple from Germany, a family of 3 from Germany, and 2 men from France. We were able to skip the line and made our way to the museum.

We spent about 3 hours in the museum but we could have spent days. The artwork, tapestries, statues, etc. are incredible. My favorite part was the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, you can't take pictures but let me tell you, the paintings are out of this world. There are so many stories told upon the walls. On the south and entrance walls, the story of Moses. On the north and entrance walls, the story of Jesus. There are portraits of the Popes on the north, south, and entrance walls. The ceiling was done by Michelangelo. The nine central panels show the Stories of Genesis. The most powerful image I saw was the Last Judgement, the painting on the altar wall. I wish we could have spent more time inside but our group was hustled through after about 5 minutes.

I do want to make a note that as you go into the Sistine Chapel, you are told no phones, proper covering of your shoulders and knees, and absolutely no talking. However, the whole time we were inside the chapel, people around us continued to talk. Maybe in hushed tones but it really irked me. The guards came over the intercom 2 or 3 times to say "Silenzio" but it didn't seem to help. The Sistine Chapel is a holy place and it was disrespectful that people couldn't be quite for 5 minutes to just observe. Rant done!

After the museums, we hurried over to St. Peter's Church. We had to wait in line to get our temperatures checked and go through security but it went very fast. The church is amazing! (I feel like I keep saying everything is amazing and wonderful and beautiful but I can't help it!)

I posted pictures on my Facebook of the church so be sure to check those out!

Thursday, August 26 -

Today is the day! We had to be out of our Airbnb by 11AM but ended up leaving around 10. We got on the bus to the main terminal and were able to get tickets to Florence arriving around 2PM.

Once we arrived, we had to wait for the bus to take us to our next Airbnb. Our luggage has been giving us some issues but we were able to hop on the C4 bus to Baird and made it to our stop in no time.

I know most of you have seen the pictures of our new place but the view is just incredible. We have a direct view of the Ponte Vecchio, which is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River.

We were a little tired from our travels so we ended up just walking around for a while once we had unpacked. We stumbled upon a couple of churches that we will be coming back to once they are open. We also were able to listen to a very talented musician along the bridge. Once we got back to our Airbnb, we found out that we could hear the musician from our room so we left the windows open to enjoy the music.

AND today! We will be visiting a couple of churches around Florence. Thankfully, since we are staying in the heart of Florence, we don't have to walk far! Thanks for reading and I'll be posting again soon :)

23/08/2021

DAY 63 - AUGUST 23 MONDAY

Ciao! We have been having such a great time in Rome. :) I didn't have my laptop the last couple days so here's what we've been up to...

Thursday and Friday, August 19 + 20 -

Days of rest! All of the traveling and walking had caught up to us so we decided to take a 2 day break to recuperate.

Saturday, August 21 -

Last night, while watching YouTube videos and resting, Charles and I decided we wanted to take a day trip to Sorrento. My aunt had told me she visited there a while back and strongly suggested we try to see it while we are here in Italy. Sorrento is south of Naples, almost to the "boot" of Italy! We booked our hotel for the night, decided on our course of action, and were out of our Airbnb by 10AM.

We had decided to walk to the train terminal named Roma Trastevere. It was about 35 minutes away but the weather was super nice in the morning so we had no issues getting there. Once we arrived, we had to find the train to take us to the Roma Termini. We had previously bought Roma Passes that would allow us to use any public transportation for free for 72 hours. However, the train we had to take to the heart of Rome was not on the list. Thankfully, the train tickets were very inexpensive and we arrived at the Roma Termini in about 30 minutes.

Once we arrived, we booked our tickets for the 2 hours and 50 minutes train ride to Naples. We splurged a couple euros and bought first class tickets. We found our seats in what we thought was the 2nd train car and put on a podcast to pass the time. (Side note: Come to find out, on the train ride TO Naples, we were in the wrong train car... Don't worry, on the way back TO Rome, we found the right car. Ha.)

I had been told to be cautious of Naples since it is well known for having pickpockets. Even the bus ticket kiosks specifically say "Be aware of pickpockets". However, we had no issues with anyone trying to get near us for that purpose. However, we did have a run-in with a very feisty Italian/New York woman at the Burger King.

We stopped for "lunch" since it was after to 3PM now and we were hungry. While standing in line, the older lady in front of us began speaking Italian to us. We both shook our heads and said "Lei parla inglese" which is "Do you speak English". Turns out, she did. She said she lived in New York but was originally from Italy. She was frustrated because there was no line control and she just wanted a glass of water. She said some other choice words about the people in front of us and Charles and I just stood there (probably looking shocked). She then proceeded to go talk to each of the people in front of us in line to see if they were in fact in line. She met one Italian lady who didn't seem to like what she was saying. They began yelling at each other in Italian and the older lady started shaking her cane at the other woman. We thought she was going to attack her with her cane over a glass of water! Thankfully, they both backed down. Once the older lady got her water (by cutting in line because everyone just wanted her to go), she tried motioning us to follow us and we shook our heads and said "No, no, grazie". What a welcome to Naples!

From Naples to Sorrento was an hour long train ride and we arrived around 5PM. We could take a bus to our hotel but decided to walk through downtown Sorrento. It was absolutely beautiful. On the train ride over, we were able to see Mount Vesuvius and just a peak at Pompeii. Now that we were here, you could smell the sea and people just seemed to be in a more laid-back, carefree attitude. I had read that Sorrento is a very popular touristy area and I would have to agree. We heard German, English, Italian, and many other languages as we walked the streets. Along the main road are dozens of clothing stores, restaurants, gelato places (my favorite!), and souvenir shops.

We arrived at our hotel around 6:30PM and checked in. Our room was beautifully decorated but we headed straight for the terrace. Looking out, we could see the Gulf of Naples and Mount Vesuvius in all its glory. The sight was breathtaking. I uploaded the pictures to my Facebook so go check those out!

Once we had unpacked our backpacks and put our swimming suits on, we headed to Marina Grande for some swimming! The sand was almost pitch-black and the water felt fabulous. After a long day of trains, we were pretty sweaty so being able to swim in the sea and wash off the day felt great.

After our swim, we headed back up to the main road of Sorrento. We stopped at a gelato shop for some yummy dessert. I got dark chocolate and Charles got Oreo. They were both delicious but the dark chocolate gelato was the best "ice cream" I had ever had. It was getting close to 10PM by that time so we decided to head back to the hotel and turn in for the night.

Sunday, August 22 -

We woke up around 9:30AM and had breakfast at the hotel. We had to be checked out by 11AM so we got everything packed up and headed through the heart of Sorrento one last time. I tried to take a lot of pictures to capture the beauty but a picture just isn't enough sometimes. I will definitely miss this place.

We bought our tickets for the train ride back to Naples but decided to stop at Pompeii. Ever since I was little and had learned about Pompeii in history class, I have wanted to visit the ancient city buried in 79 A.D. by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Some of the things we saw were harrowing; a young child and adult, covered in ash. But the beauty of the volcano still reigns over the lost city, always waiting to release its fury once again.

We walked around the city for about 3 hours and then took the train back to Naples and on to the Roma Termini. We arrived in Rome around 8PM and booked it to the bus station to catch a bus to our Airbnb. We arrived at our Airbnb around 9PM. It was a very long day but we had such a great time exploring Sorrento and Pompeii.

AND today, we will be heading back to the Colosseum to go explore inside! We had thought about going the other day but wanted to make sure we had enough time and didn't use our Roma Passes to early. It's hard to believe we only have 3 more days in Rome! We did make the decision to book our next place and... we will be going to Florence! Charles and I want to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa and David of Michelangelo. We will be staying there for a week and then who knows! I will be sure to keep you updated on our next stop. Thanks for reading!

You and Me, Where to Next?

19/09/2021

12/09/2021

07/09/2021

05/09/2021

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31/08/2021

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