tales from the road...#1

ok, so here is the deal. We have been traveling for right at two weeks today. Currently I am in Vienna, Austria. As it stands I and two of my friends from Swansea University, Will and Davis, have made it to Barcelona for two days, Nice-2, Rome-2, Florence-2 1/2 (for me), Venice-2, and now Vienna for 2 (give or take). We had to make some changes because originally we had planned to visit Marselle instead of Nice, but we couldnt find any good train routes from Marselle to Rome. We have also finally met up with mz good friend from Swansea Universitz, Nate, here in Vienna. From here I dont know what will happen. Plans may change? I´ve had a strange urge to break from the pack and travel the rest of the trip solo. Like this is something I need to do for myself. Does that make sense?

Barcelona,

So, we started in Barcelona and honestly didnt reallz see a thing...(fyi if i spell anzthing with a z instead of a y, it is because the kezboards in mz hostel are a little off), ok mmmm, oh zeah, so we are in Barcelona and all we really did is take in the scenery. We hit up the beach, walked Las Ramblas (sp?), ate some tapas, sweets, beach again, got lost in a beautiful city....I walked up the highest hill surounding the city and tagged my name on a metal rail. Sure, it sounds terrible, but i figured i had too. I was coming down from the top of the hill where they had these lifts that could carry u over the bay and I came accross these kids with a spray can. They were about to tag this rail along a dirt path when I came accross them. They saw me and began walkin away like they didnt want me to see them tag stuff. So i did what any responsible adult would do....I asked if i could tag my name on the rail. They all laughed and thought it was cool that I would suggest something like that. Needless to say, they gave up the can, I did my work and got a picture of the kids (that they were all to happz to pose for) and continued down the hill/mountain. Barcelona was more about getting our feet wet for this trip and experiencing the culture more than anzthing. I dont feel too bad not seeing any museums. I made up for that in Rome and Florence. We hung out in our hostel and I made conversation with our roomates from Rome. It was a mother and daughter, Pilar and Poema, on a weekend holiday. They gave me some pointers for Rome and we mostly chatted about Barcelona and so on. They gave me their info and I was suppossed to contact them when I got to Rome, but I couldnt make out the email so I gave up. Barcelona overall was wonderful! It was warm and sunny. I ate some squid out of a can, had squid tapas, had some McDonalds, had some....doughnut-e thing that was wayyyyy too sugary and some desert that had kiwi and strawberry with a creamcheese-ish paste on it. Not the best food, but it worked. As soon as I get back to Uni I will post pictures too. The best source of internet has come from internet cafes along the way. And let me tell u. Depending on the city and how close to the tourist places u are, they can be quite expensive for fifteen to thirty minutes online. This is the first hostel that has had a computer for free available in the lobbey, and supprisinglz it didnt have anyone on it. I do need to wrap up this post for the time. We have lots to see in Vienna. I apologize in advance for not being able to upload pictures right now, but I promise I will get to it when I get back to the University in Wales. There isnt even a spot on this computer to plug in a memory stick from mz camera. Next time I will update on Nice, and Rome. I will say this....Florence was by far my most favorite place to visit this far. Coming from an art background and studying art historz for nearly the last fifteen years made Florence like being in the pressence of gods and monuments of the gods. I woke up at 4 and 5 every morning because I was so excited to go out and see the city. And I will point out that my travel mates said that Florence was their least favorite spot. They have absolutely no interest in art and were ready to leave. I wound up staying an extra half day after they left in order to see Michelangelo´s David. Let me tell ya....I lost my breath on multiple occasions looking at it. It was quite overwhelming and magnificant. Okay, i gotta go, my mates are staring at me. I think I´ve burned up too much time writing/facebooking etc. etc. Plus I´ve been trying to school my mother on some travel tips by email. She and my father are planning on meeting up with me in Paris. They have a mini-trip planned from Rome to Florence, to Mareselle, to Paris. I wish them the best of luck! Later All!