Genoa, Italy

Ciao!  We are currently in Genoa Italy.  We arrived here on Monday after a long, but easy train ride from Avignon.  The travel Gods were looking down on us that day as we had very tight connections combined with late trains, but some how we made all of them!  We were greeted by our host Guiseppe at the train station and brought us to his beautiful home, right off the harbor.  He is a wonderful, friendly man who is 65, retired, and has lived in Genoa all is life (reminds me of an Italian version of Dad : ).  Him and his wife have been incredible, giving us recommendations on where to go, what to do, even making us breakfast every morning!  Pat and I have our own little "apartment" within the house, with a bed in a lofted area and our own sitting area below, with a computer to use.  It was a wonderful way to be greeted to Italy.

Genoa has been awesome so far.  I had no idea what to expect going into it.  It is a smaller city, walkable but still has a city feel to it. It is a beautiful city on the Western coast of Italy.  It is an old port town and is know for its pesto (they say it was created here) and its foccacia.  It is also the birth place of good ol Chris Colombus.  There are tiny little streets everywhere that you can easily get lost in.  Laundry hangs out to dry on clotheslines outside windows.  It has a very old world, mixed with new world feel.

Pat and I started our first night going to a place with pizza and home brew which was awesome after the long train journey.  The next day we started by taking an extremely touristy "train" ride through the city (imagine a  train car pulling mini open air cars through a very busy city, while blasting the history of places we passed and stereotypical Italian music)  It was hilarious until we both felt sick after 30 min of the ride.  BUT it did give us a good overview of the city.  The rest of the day was spent wandering around.  I found an incredible vintage store where Pat had to leave me for a bit to do some damage : ) As Elizabeth called it, my "Shwag".  For dinner we had one of the best meals I think I have ever had.  Simple pesto pasta and Tirimisu, but seriously...no words can explain...heavenly really.

Today we took the advise of Guiseppe and went here for the day...http://www.google.it/imgres?imgurl=http://www.italy-travel.net/camogli.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.italy-travel.net/liguria_tour.htm&h=507&w=676&sz=172&tbnid=IJib1UfMNlbL1M:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&zoom=1&usg=__HTcBvZWXYC8QK04eE_b5FBVYFJ8=&docid=x1f85Rgs9k3U0M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Fk6IUPT6HvLR4QSnnIGYBw&ved=0CEEQ9QEwBg&dur=3137

70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, crystal clear water...I could not have asked for anything more : )  A rock beach brought me back to Maine, and I could hear, as Mom says, the rocks "talking" all day long as the calm waves rolled in and out.  I could have spent weeks in the town, on that beach.

So, am I liking Italy?  An overwhelming YES.  On Friday we leave for Cinque Terra (five towns), known for its trail that you can hike on from town to town.  We will be without internet there, so there may be some radio silence until Venice.  Until then, I will spend tomorrow eating as much pesto and focaccia as my body will allow.

xo  : )

Au Revoir France!

Last night in France! We have spent the last five days in Avignon, which is in Provence.  And it has been a magical, relaxing 5 days.  I fell in love with Avignon on day one as we walked around the Palais de Papes and the giant garden/park surrounding it.  After being in busy Paris, it was wonderful to walk every where and be in a small city.

We spent the first few days with our books, on a bench in the garden enjoying the 70 and sunny weather.  The view is amazing here, the city is right on the Rhone and is surrounded by a giant wall.  We finally made it into the palace today and onto the "bridge to nowhere" aka the Pont d'Avignon.

Yesterday we went to Nimes to visit Julianna, a friend of ours teaching English there for the year. As with everywhere, Nimes is full of history including many incredible Roman buildings. Patrick, our little history nerd was loving life. And I thought they were pretty cool too : ) it is amazing to be around something built 2000 years ago, couldn't help but imagine Romans wandering about eating grapes, drinking wine and talking about philosophy.

The food has contined to be amazing. I had a pear and chocolate sauce crepe that blew me away.  We also discovered the market here, which, ive decided, is really the only way to shop. Being in a giant hall filled with fruit/veggie venders, cheese stands, butchers, backers (candlestick makers?) it was too much! And the price of it all was so cheap! We made feast one night of pasta with a sausage, red pepper tomato sauce, salad, and baugette with blue cheese(oh my GOD the blue cheese) and honey in VT Farmhouse style.

So tomorrow we say goodbye to France and move on to Italy.  We have a long/hectic travel day tomorrow but I'm confident we will make it through. We head to Genoa where we will meet out new host Guiseppe! I am looking forward to pesto (created in Genoa), focaccia, pizza, tiramisu, and of course more wine.

France has been amazing, I will be back some day to wander through Provence for an extended amount of time.  On to part 2!

Reflections on Paris

As Claire said in a prior post, Paris seemed to be full of important things at every turn. From art, to architecture, to mouth watering food, everything seemed to strive for your full and unwavering attention. While this at times this made Paris tiring, it also made it incredible. For me however, there were a number of things that held my attention more that others.

1. Art: I have always said that I'm the musician and my sister is the artist. A quick glance at our childhood art still on display in the basement of my childhood home would cement the claim for any skeptics. Due to this, I have never really taken time to enjoy art or appreciate it. However spending time at the Louvre, Musee L'orangerie and Centre Pompidou has given me a new appreciation. Strolling through these places gave me time to both enjoy visual art and learn what type of art and artists I prefer. Leaving Paris with an Notes list on my phone of art and artist I want to spend my time looking into was not something I expected.

2. Bread and Chesse: Any of those who know me understand my allegance to these carb and dairy products. I knew Paris and France were known for these items but I was still floored and continue to be while in Avignon. The croissants Claire and I had from a small bakery in Alfortville outside Paris were one of the best things I have ever eaten. I did not think this could be topped until I ran across the blue cheese here. If nothing else, I will return to Paris again just to eat bread and cheese.

3. Trains: Long distance high speed trains are something I have always yearned to go on and cursed the USA for not have any to fulfill this dream. Needless to say I was giddy as a school boy waiting for our train to leave from Paris to Avignon. As we gently rode through the French country side with ample leg room and comfortable seats, I felt like Peeta traveling with Katniss into the capital on the lighting fast train in Hunger Games. The experience was incredible and we traveled roughly 359 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes! We need to get these in America so I, and everyone else, can ride them regularly.

Avignon has been great as well and we will post more about that soon.

Last night in Paris! Been an amazing week, the last few days included stumbling upon Monet's Waterlillies in a museum, discovering the best croissants ever created, feeling like serious tourists in the crowds at Versailles ( totally worth it to see the hall of mirrors), and all together loving Paris.

On to Avignon tomorrow! Bright and early on the train going three hours South.
Here's to new bakeries and more markets.

: )

Paris!

Ahhhh Paris. Day 4 of our adventure and learning more every day! Being the lazy bones you all know and love we have been sleeping in and getting used over jet lag. We have figured out the RER aka commuter metro so getting to and from Paris isn't so bad (a little harder we learned last night after a few drinks). We have spent our days touring the city and seeing the sites! As Pat said, it's like everything in Paris is important.  So far we can cross off the effiel tower, the Louvre, the canal saint-Martian ( a favorite of mine), Norte dame, Bastille, champs élysées,  arc de triomphe...did I get it all??  I have loved just walking around, seeing everything that is so French to me. Example: cafes with way too many tables squished together, filled with wine glasses, plates, ash trays, etc.  We have been eating a silly amount of bread and cheese and today decided we need to up our pastry intake. You only live once right?
Basically, loving Paris and trying to explore as much as possible. Three more days u til we head to Avignon! Oh, also found my new favorite thing today, Orgina gummys!! Finally, two of the greatest things together at last.
Off to bed, more museums and a market or two tomorrow, followed by dinner with friends of the Love's.
Love you all! Thinking of you as we go about our days : )
Xo Claire
( more from Patrick later)

We made it!

We are here in Alfortville where our host Julie lives, just a short train ride to Paris. After a long day of travel we walked around and found some dinner of cheese, baugette, and wine. We then forced ourselves to stay awake till eight. And now after sleeping far too late today are going to wander into Paris to see some sights.  I am trying to learn some French while Pat gets us by on his 8th grade French  : )

It Begins!

Here we go!  We are officially one day away until the journey begins!  Patrick and I leave tomorrow, Tuesday October 9th at 9:30 p.m. from Boston.  We will arrive in Paris on 10/10 at 1:00 p.m. We have said goodbye to home, family, and best friends in Burlington VT, Rochester NY, Minneapolis MN, Boston MA, and Robbinston ME, packed and unpacked a million times, gone through hundreds of lists, and are (we hope) ready to go!
It still seems unreal that we are really going, but I couldn't be more excited.  For those of you who don't know, our itinerary (as of now) is this...

France (Paris, Avignon) 10/9-10/21
Italy ( Genoa, Florence, TBD) 10/21-31 ish
Austria (Vienna) 11/1-
Hungary (Budapest) 11/13
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos 11/13-12/20 ish
Australia (Brisbane, Sydney)  12/20 ish-1/20 ish

We will post when we can to keep everyone updated on our adventures, so keep an eye out!

So goodbye to all, we love you and will be thinking of you as we travel the globe!In the words of The Muppets, who always know best,.... we will be "Movin' Right Along": )
"Movin' right along in search of good times and good news,
With good friends you can't lose,
This could become a habit!
Opportunity knocks once let's reach out and grab it (yeah!),
Together we'll nab it,
We'll hitchhike, bus or yellow cab it!
(Cab it?)"
"Movin' right along.
Footloose and fancy-free.
Getting there is half the fun; come share it with me.
Moving right along (doog-a-doon doog-a-doon).
We'll learn to share the load.
We don't need a map to keep this show on the road."

(You get to decide which one of us is Kermit and which one is Fozzy Bear...)