Still waiting for Derek. And pictures!

Apparently Derek is well in Italy. We will see him sometime later in the week.

I have unedited photos from the trip on the internets already:

Link to photos!

Tuesday

When Derek gets back to California. I guess he spent the night sleeping in a ditch. Nick couldn't find his car... We borrowed it to go the train station to catch the taxi. But it looks like most everything worked out, Michael and I made it home :)

Fuck

Derek is lost! We are at the airport without him... We searched for 20 minutes and then had to catch the taxi we ordered or miss our flight :( This sucks... I am leaving my best friend behind in Italy. Good luck Derek!

Venice -- The Disney Knock Off

I fell into an alternate universe today known as Venice. There was water everywhere and lots and lots of tutorist stores that sold the same thing... It was almost like being trapped in "It's a small world". It was cool to see but a gondola ride is 80€ and the bathroom ride was 1.5€. Additionally, don't go without GPS or you'll never leave!

Ponte Vecchio

Finally today we went to the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge covered with an assortment of shops. We did some window shopping and ate some delicious waffles!

Michaelangelo's David

Today we went to see the David, since this was a last minute decision we didn't have reservations. We had to wait in line for 40 minutes or so before getting to see David. It was very cool and much larger than life.

Irish Pubs

Last night we found an Irish pub to sit and have a few drinks at. In Rome it's usually standing room only or there us an up charge for sitting at a table usually 2€!

Walking Around Florence

Florence is a nice city and seems to be centered around jewelry, art, and fashion. So much so they have signs warning you not to buy fake goods or else get a large fine. The city is clean and is very romantic with large plazzas and beautiful bridges.

Leaving Cinque Terre

Today we left Cinque Terre and decide to make a stop in Florence before heading on to see Nick an Venice. We also gave in and had a cheeseburger becuase it was easy and beef. Here is Michael with burger and cafe latte.

Levanto Wifi!

We are currently sitting on a park bench stealing wifi from the locals.... Time to post a blog.

Yesterday we hiked from Manarola to Monterosso, this 5 hour hike was fun and challenging. We hiked up and down sooooo many stairs! But everything was beautiful and fun. Here are some great pictures.

Manarola

Friday we arrived in Manarola and made our way to the apartment we'll be staying in till tuesday. It has an incredible view overlooking the sea.

On our way to Cinque Terre

Today we're taking a train across Italy to Cinque Terre. We may not have access to wifi so don't worry if blogging drops off for a while, hopefully we'll post soon!

Night Shots

In our last night of Rome we wandered around taking night shots and drinking. Here's some fun pics!







Here is picture of Nikki, he bought her a rose ...

Great Dinner

We had a really good meal for the first time so far this trip! It was a small resturant near the Trevi Fountain. Surprisingly the better food has been near the monuments.

Here is the Colloseum at night.

Blogging From Italy

We have had significant issues getting online here in Italy. Things ranging from wireless cards that do not talk eurpoean frequencies to expensive cell phone plans.

Melonee makes the best of useful yet expensive wireless.
Here she is attempting to blogging from some wireless that she though she found near this 2000 year old valley in the city that was full of cats.

The Foro Romano

Finally, we made it in the Foro! Now we are on the audioguide trek through the many buildings and temples.






Also inside is the tomb of Julius Caesar, not as grand as you would expect.

Entering the Foro

Today we wandered Around the outside of the foro for about 25 minutes trying to find the enterance. When we got to the picture below we found a sign pointing to the enterance a 5 minute walk away.

Piazza Navona 2.0

Michael and I decided to get something to remeber the trip at the Piazzo. There were many talented artists and we convinced one to do a portrait of more than one person :) Michael forgot to smile while the artist drew the picture.

Baths at Caracalla

This is a good example of the ancient Roman baths. It's a huge complex that was originally 3 stories high.

The Vatican

We started our day by making a pilgramage to the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel. This was truly a journey in itself considering that you must pass through and by the 55 rooms of modern religous art before getting a glimpse of the chapel.

Tap Water

Last night we learn that if you want to ensure the worst service in Rome ask for tap water. Our waiter went storming off when we asked for it and a new waiter had to come serve us. Ahhh what stupid Americans we are wanting to drink perfectly good tap water.

And now for a random photo..

Piazza Navona

This is a beautiful square filled with artists and musicians. We stopped to look at the paintings and buy some gifts for people. Michael of course couldn't help but grab a little statue.

Colosseum

We started by trying to catch a train to the colosseum and failed, they're on strike! So we walked and skipped the line a had a good walk around.

The Pantheon

It's huge... Something that always sneaks up on you is the scale of monuments and the pantheon is huge.

Irish in Vienna

We have stopped at an Irish pub for some drinks and eukre. We are now being sucked into a trivia competition and are doing well!

Schloss Belvedere - The Pleasure House

This is another park and palace in the heart of Vienna. It has many fountains and a great view of the city.

Heldenplatz - Heroes' Square

Took a walk through Heldenplatz, a very beuatiful park near the Vienna library.

The View from Stephansdom

After climbing a billion stairs to the top of Stephansdom church, we got an incredible view of all of Vienna. This is the "mother church" of Vienna.

See You Later United States

I'm finally on the plane to go see Melone and DK! woo hoo!

Felling good about this trip!

The Palace View

Took a tour of the palace and walked through the gardens to the top of the hill to get a great view of Vienna.

Mozart's Greatest Hits

We took someone out to hear some Mozart performed by the Vienna Mozart Orchestra. It was a very colorful performance with lots of clapping, whigs, and fun!

Tim is Lost

We have just completed one circle of the area and notified Tim that we are looping. He doesn't seem to think this is a problem.




And now we found the castle we were looking for, Schönbrunn.

Enroute

We're in the car and on our way to Vienna. Derek has decided to take advantage of the lack of open container laws and have a beer inthe car... Reports are it's a nasty beer.

Landed 2.0

We have just touched down in Treviso. However Nick was hoping we were still in Rome when I called him, he's running a bit late ;) I think I'm starting to understand Derek's love hate relationship with traveling... Too many airports in two days.

Midnight Walk

Wondering around Rome looking for food at 2 am unsuccessful :( But we did see a cool fountain.

Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain

Before we get on the plane to Venice, we're out walking around looking at some sites. Although some sneak up on you... We walked down the Spanish steps and to the Trevi Fountain before we realized the steps we walked down were the Spanish steps...

Ahhhh Jetlag

Well it's 1:45 am in Rome and Derek and I can't sleep any longer. We should have roughed it out and stayed up, instead it's the am and we're going out to look for food. Hopefully we'll come back and sleep before heading off to Venice to meet up with Nick.

Derek Lost in Italy 0.0

As many of you know, my BFF has a slight tendency to get lost. So I most likely will be posting later installments of DK Lost... However we have yet to even collect our luggage and I have lost him in the throngs of people..

KLM Great!

Now this is the way to travel... on demand movies, head to head video games, and free alcohol! This is a good flight :)

The Fifth Hour

Hour five on the plane... I'm half way through my second movie and Derek is playing who wants to be a millionaire.

The Sixth.5 Hour

Derek has moved on from trying to be a millionaire and playing snakes to compulsively playing poker... I am now starting my fourth movie (taken) and well I can't feel my legs anymore. So exciting.

They are dropped off at the airport.

Dropping Melonee and Derek off at SFO.
They were discussing their plans for the trip.

The Airport

We made it, we're early, and we have our passports! All good things when starting a trip. Well we're approaching the terminal, time to go...

Blog Trials and Tribulations!

Michael, in an effort to blog to this blog, is facing large techinical challenges that have forced him into a rant. Unfortunately, I was unable to catch the rant in action... All I got was excuses!

Excitement Abound!

Oh ya! We're so not exactly ready for this trip... And you can see the excitement pooring off DK just look.