Hello everyone! It’s Michael, your favorite grandson/nephew/cousin/brother/son, travelling abroad in Europe. Firstly, I’m sorry I can’t write you all personal letters, but we don’t have internet access in our hostel, so I’m at a pay-by-the-hour internet cafe down the street. That aside, I’m just writing to say hello, that I hope you’re all well, and that I’m having a terrific time travelling!
As you might remember me mentioning, because Leeds has a month-long Easter break, a few friends of mine from ASU and I planned a trip spanning eleven cities and nine countries for that time, so that we could get a taste of Europe. Last month I made a few weekend trips as well, to London, Manchester, and then Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. We started off this big trip, however, with flying to Paris a week ago, where we saw most all of the major sights — the Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, Notre Dame, and Sacre Couer. We stayed at the flat of a high school friend of Brian’s (one of the friends I’m travelling with). Not only was it a terrific place with enough beds for all of us, but it was right downtown, only a couple blocks from the Louvre! We really lucked out in this respect, particularly because we wound up getting stuck in Paris for an extra day when our flight got cancelled due to the massive protests against new labor legislation.
After Paris, we flew to Barcelona, where we really missed that extra day once we got out in the beautifully sunny, warm weather. We enjoyed it while we could, though, visiting La Sagrada Familia, the Barcelona cathedral, a fresh food market, wandering around downtown, watching the street performers, and walking along the beach. We even passed Drew Carrey and a camera crew on our way out of the market — he was apparently filming a show for the Travel Channel!
On Friday, we got up incredibly early (4am!) to catch our flight to Rome. Once there, we had a little nap, and then took a walk to the Forum and the Colosseum. That night, we went to Piazza Navona, a beautiful plaza ringed with great restaurants and gelaterias. We splurged a bit and had a delicious Italian meal at one of the restaurants with a really charming and dynamic waiter. Finally, we wandered about some more, enjoyed some gelato (Italian ice cream is AMAZING!), walked by the Pantheon, and walked back to the hostel for an early night. Although lacking in cleanliness and amenities such as internet access, the one thing I have to say about our hostel is that the location is superb. It’s right down the street from the bus station and Termini rail station and within walking distance of everything important in Rome. Yesterday we went to Vatican City and spent the day visiting the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. The line to get into the museum and Sistine Chapel took us about 40 minutes, while St. Peter’s was about 20. Not bad for those sights — I think we came at the perfect time of year to beat the big crowds and still get the weather (warm and sunny!). It was still a long day, though, so we were worn out by the evening. We had dinner at a more inexpensive restaurant and then found a bar to settle down and watch the Barcelona v. Real Madrid match. Today, we’re getting some laundry done, writing home, and then heading off to see a few more sights.
I’m out of time now, so I have to run, but I hope you’re all well and I love you very much!!
Michael
Tags: Heavy Things, Life