F*#@ING Florence

The heading says it all. But please, read on:) Sarah and I arrived in Florence, a short trip from Venice on a comfortable train. We stepped off and were immediately bathed in sunshine. We had booked a room here during our stay in Venice; it was a little out of budget, but it looked like a castle. 15 foot ceilings with murals, a moonlit swimming pool, wifi and breakfast,this place had it all. Not to mention, the walk there was nothing short of breathtaking as "le duomo" was the main landmark that beaconed us to our new home. As we rounded the beautiful domed church and began up the marble staircase we recognized from our booking online, we both bubbled with excitement as we stepped up to the reception desk of our new home. THIS IS WHERE THE TABLES TURNED! As it turns out,the confirmation letter we received was shortly followed by a cancellation notice! (we never knew of the cancellation as we do not regularly check our mail due Our limited wifi access. As it so happens, we arrived on Florence during a five day long weekend and it seems we are competing with every family in Italy for a hotel room. Our hotel could only accommodate us for the night. Not the three we had originally booked. Our hotels wifi did not work,and we needed to try and find new solutions to our impending homelessness, and fast. We pretended to be guests at a different hotel and sat on their couch for the next five hours trying to piece together our next few day. We did manage to book another room in florence, but when we called to confirm it we soon learned it wasnt available either. Rooms had booked up fastel than the hotels could update or keep track of. It was hopeless. Florence was booked solid. Cinque Tera was booked solid. I picked up a cardboardbox and practiced sleeping in it, Sarah did not laugh. We considered going to Greece early but all the travel to come back just seemed silly. Well, without going too far off track we figured we could find a room in Pisa, and we did. Pisa here we come, Stay tuned, Pat and Sarah

Imagine Venice

Imagine Venice Imagine a city with no cars, it's easy if you come to Venice. Not so much as a motor scooter . If there is a road, it's for walking! This gorgeous city is a quant little maze of endless walking paths, surrounded and crossed by waterways slightly too large to Leap across. Gondola pilots on every corner, with their ribbon decorated hats offering tours bathed with accordion melodies and operatic delight.  We arrived with nothing but our backpacks and our need for a place to stay. We began hitting up lobbies of hotels along the grand canal and quickly learned there was no shortage of rooms for 300 euros a night. Not wanting to sell a kidney just yet, or sleep on the cobblestone we pressed on. The main arteries of Venice were clearly out of our league, so we started down the shadowy fingers that branched off the tourist boulevards. With our packs bending our backs, we were encouraged to press the call button next to an iron caged dimly lit doorway. Two stars, San Salvador, it was worth a shot. The door buzzed and we pulled it open, heading up a narrow stairway. Hello, ciao, Bon joir, said the friendly face behind the counter. This place felt like home. And at a "reasonable 90 euro" a night it was. Check the pics to see how "cozy" our room is:) We had a taste of this city when we arrived at a small cafe. Our server was a very friendly young man,who was pleasantly drunk. Okay, he was very drunk. We arrived on a holiday, he was working, and instead of going home for lunch as he had planned, he went out for drinks with friends. One thing lead to another,and before he knew it the only thin more smashed than his was our wine glasses as he knocked them off the bar! Very pleasant, and sloshing our drinks as he slurred his sentences, he delivered a great meal and made us laugh with his makeshift euro robot dancing. If only the oil patch at home had a similar tolerance for drinking, smoking, and cellphone usage on the job;) Stay tuned, Pat and Sarah P.s. the Dali museum was amazing.

Oh my Gaudi!!

It has been a crazy last few days. Sunday we spent the day all over Barcelona by way of the Metro (that's an L.R.T. in Edmontonian:) The whole city has been touched by the hand of the famous architect Gaudi, as his work is sprinkled throughout Barcelona. We visited his Park Guell, home, several apartments he designed as well as the colossal unfinished church La Sagrada Familia. It's construction began over 100 years ago, and they are still gathering funds and building it's main 300' foot spire today. As we stepped out of the metro tunnel and into the shadow of this magnificent work of architecture, we were dwarfed by both it's size and amazing blend of old and new to the finest detail. Our next conquest was to climb Montjuic. This is a mountain housing the olympic stadium, Museu Nacional d'art de Catalunya (a huge museum  that looked like the legislature building sitting on the butter dome), and Castell de Monjuic ( a Spanish castle with all the usual fixins, ie. giant cannons overlooking the bay and brick floored hanging squares.) It was awesome, we treated ourselves to a gondola ride to get down. Monday was destined for greatness, the busy hustle and bustle of the local shops was sure to quiet as locals returned to work and Sarah planned to efficiently shop at all the designer stores we had seen so far on our travels. Or so we thought. As it turned out, it was Spanish valentines day (Festa Di San Marco)! We got a number of explanations from the locals, ranging from a princess falling in love with rat, to a dragon slayer who collects blood that becomes a rose. At any rate, the girls get flowers and the boys get books. Every street corner was decorated with red and yellow striped tables crammed with books and roses. Wall to wall people on the street, shoulder to shoulder. No one In the shops, everyone on the street.  A pickpocket nightmare for two curious tourists.  Right now it is Wednesday April 25, 2012. We have been riding a train for 16 hours on our way to Venice. We're almost there. We took a night train and got rested up while chatting with some friends we made from LA. We're skimming through our lonely planet book and starting to make a plan for Italy, and what do we see? A local festival, in which men and women exchange books and roses on the street corners Ina wild festive party. Hold on to your bags, Here we go again!!! Stay tuned, pics to follow, our connection here is a little slow. Pat and Sarah

Barcelona, a little hung over...

Cover your ears moms, or eyes. Yes, we were a little hung over this morning. But that didn't stop us from taking in this amazing city by day. Today was our first full day out in the sunshine of Barcelona. We met a guy wearing a "university of Alberta Edmonton softball team" jersey. He has never been to Edmonton. He is from the UK. He got it at a department store in the UK cause he thought it "looked cool". Here are some highlight pics from the day. Take a look at the picture of the painting. What do you see, a guy with crazy hair or a man on a horse? Stay tuned, Pat and Sarah

We made it... Just!

Wow, we made it... But just... We know what you're thinking. "What do you mean "But Just..." Save us the drama." Well, on the night before we left for the airport we were rounding up our tickets and passports. For some unknown reason we looked at their expiry dates. Yeah, mine is only good until the beginning of July, and it clearly states on all our paperwork that to be given access to any European country the traveller must present a passport valid for three months after their anticipated return date. I didn't have that, and with about 12 hours to our flight we didn't have many options. It's not like sarah couldn't go. So we opted to fly across the world and play customs officer roulette. When we landed in Germany, I let my lady do the talking. Not only is she far more attractive, but her paperwork was also much more impressive. She explained we were on vacation for five weeks, and travelling the medeterrannian. With my heart in my throat and my pulse pounded brain i passed the man my inadequate pass port and waited to be dragged away by armed nazi guards. The officer asked me "five weeks" with a stern voice and his eyes locked down at my passport. I said "yes" as calmly as I could and waited for his response. And it was then, he looked up with a grin and exclaimed "Vundehbah" as he pointed us through the gate and into European freedom. Wow, relief swept over us, actually mostly just me as we could now begin our adventure. Officially. A short plane, bus, and urban hike got us into our hotel for a short (5 hour jet lag stress induced coma) nap before we hit the streets of Barcelona. We had some great drinks and amazing tapas on a number of patios sprinkled throughout the historical downtown area. This place looks like whyte ave if it was 300 years old,5 stories high and had a bazillion friendly people on the street. What a great start to the trip of a lifetime. Stay tuned, Pat and Sarah

10 more sleeps...

Hey Everybody!

Thanks for stopping by. This is where you can find the latest news on what Me and Sarah have been up to as we hash our way across the mediterranean from Spain to Croatia! Please, leave a post, a tip or two, or just wish us on our way. Check in frequently as we'll be sure to post tonnes of pictures and let you in on our latest adventures in the coming weeks.

All the best. Pat and Sarah.