London Calling

With Brad in London



Hanging out with the flatmates


Reunited with Caren

Seeing the Sights


Weak attempt at Abbey Road crosswalk picture


The Changing of the Guards


The three of us got into London around 9 in the evening and took the tube to our Marriott. When we got out, we discovered that we had gone to the wrong stop but opted to walk instead of get back on the tube, thinking it would be very close. We thought wrong. We walked in circles for a short while until some locals offered their assistance and called the Marriott on their phones for us and gave us directions. Friendly place. By the time we checked in and cleaned up, it was nearing 10 o'clock and Brad only had a short time to see the city, so we hit the town. We got dinner at a kebab place (what are we going to do without these?) on Great Portland Street! and followed local's advice to go to Picadilly Circus for a beer. After beer and some dancing, we went to see the sights in the wee hours of the morning. Some local people who had missed their bus offered to show us around. In a matter of hours, we saw Trafalger Square, Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and some other tourist destinations. When we got back to our hotel, we were exhausted and slept in nearly until checkout the next day. When we checked out, Brad hopped in a cab to Heathrow to catch his flight home. Rachel and I went to Abbey Road and tried to recreate the Beatles album cover, however, it is much harder than you would imagine, because not only were there only two of us, but you have to have a random take the picture across the street and mind the cars that are speeding by. Needless to say, we didn't get the best shot off. That night, we took our huge bags and went to Clapham Common to meet up with a friend from New Zealand whom we had met in Greece, but was now living in London named Sam. He was very hospitable and let us stay with his flatmates (all from NZ) and him for most of our week in London. It was great to have a group of people to hang out with. We played rugby in the park, attended birthday parties and watched big rugby games at the local pub, rooting for the All Blacks (NZ team). We managed to see sights during the days, taking a river cruise and riding one of the double deckers through the city. Whilst on the double decker, riding by Big Ben, we saw Caren (a friend from middle school) out the window. We hadn't planned to get out at this stop, but our plans quickly changed as we hopped from our seats and ran for the door screaming her name. It was crazy to run into her in such a big city. That night, we all met up at Hyde Park to catch up, and ended the night in Camden town. The rest of our trip was spent viewing museums, parks and popular neighborhoods and markets and catching up with friends. Steph gets into town today, so we will continue discovering this great city. Molly leaves tomorrow for the good old USA and Rachel heads on to Lagos for round two with Steph. It's hard to believe that it is all coming to an end, but neither of us predict this being our last big global exploration in the coming years.

Amsterdam

When we got to Amsterdam, we stayed at a Marriott again. This time, we were in the center of the city. We were astounded by the number of bikes that were everywhere, and when there wasn't room for another in the alloted bike parking space, people just stacked their bikes on top of the other ones. Amsterdam was very pleasant, a bit like Venice with how many waterways ran through the city. Our second day there, we went to the train station to meet up with Brad. We got there early so that we wouldn't miss him. When we were reunited we all hugged hello and then headed off for the LONG trek to our "centrally located" hostel. With sore backs and tired legs, we checked into our room and headed out to grab some dinner and explore the town. It was funny exchanging travel stories with Brad because we had been to a lot of the same places and had to deal with similar complications. Amsterdam had a lot to offer, from night life to parks to museums. On our final day, we went to the Van Gogh museum and then boarded our train to London...Molly's final stop.

Home sweet...Belgium?

Mannequin Pis

The Atomium


We stayed in Brussels for four nights, apparently much longer than most backpackers ever stay. By the time we left, we had seen the city, mastered the bus system and even had the people that worked at one of the Kebab shops waving at us when we passed...practically locals. We started out on the outskirts of town at a Marriott. We happened to arrive just in time for Belgium's Independence Day. We spent the day in the main square with the rest of the town sampling the beers, chocolates and cheeses (healthy combination...) and preparing for the firework and light show that were to take place that evening. The show ended just in time for us to catch the last bus back to the Marriott. The next day we decided to stay at a hostel closer in town. We went to a bar called Delirium, which is in the Guiness book of World Records because it has over 2000 different types of beer. On our final full day in Belgium, we ventured to see the Atomium, a large scale atom model that was built for an exhibition in 1958-apparently it is Brussel's equivalent to the Eiffel Tower. When we returned to our hostel, the owner told us that he had double booked our room, but that they had a back up room in the basement. So we got a room to ourselves in the end and paid much less than we had expected-their oversight definitely worked in our favor. We left the next afternoon after seeing the Mannequin Pis and scouring the city for the best chocolate. By three in the afternoon, we were on a train to Amsterdam...

paris j'taime

A top the Eiffel Tower



The Tower at night



In front of Notre Dame with Steph



The bus ride was surprisingly tolerable as far as 14 hours of sitting goes. There were movies, mostly Czech, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs Smith, music and refreshments. We got in to Paris where we were greeted by Steph! Although five months has passed since we last saw her, it only felt like days. The three of us got on the crammed metro, Rachel and I attempting not to hit anyone with the many items hanging from our bags. When we emerged from underground, we had a clear view of the Eiffel Tower. Welcome to Paris! We proceded to the apartment where Steph is an Au Pair and met the family she has been living with for the last month. We sat down to dinner the first night with the family and exchanged travel stories. They have lived all over the world so we enjoyed hearing their experiences and perspectives. After dinner Steph, Rachel and I decided to check out the Eiffel tower at night because it sparkles every hour. While we were there, we found ourselves stuck in the middle of a sudden wind and rain storm that sent us running for cover under a nearby bridge. The next day we decided to go to Mont Martre to enjoy the view and some live entertainment. We got crepes and hiked up a hill to a monument. On the stairs overlooking the city, a band was playing. We quickly made friends with them-Rachel was even called up to dance in front of the audience. By the end of their set, they were inserting "we love Oregon" into the musical interludes of their songs. We spent the rest of our time in Paris doing some sight seeing, riding the ferris wheel, viewing museums and enjoying Steph's company. It was nice to get out of hostels for a few days and stay with a family. Next stop, Brussels.

PRAHA

We got into Prague around dinner time and made the trek from the train station to our hostel. We got a Eugene vibe almost immediately; first approached by a wiry haired old man telling us how to get to our hostels and that we should walk instead of cab, and shortly after, while looking down at a map, we were told by a student with dreads that it's better to see the world looking up...thanks for that. We made it to our hostel, which we later found out was a squash playing hostel-that explains why it was lights out at 11 and we were surrounded by people in swishy pants. Prague was incredible. After we checked in and situated, we went to find a place for dinner. We decided on an Italian restaurant that served delicious pasta-and we were presented with a gift of sorbet from the chef. After dinner, we set out to see the city. Around the corner from where we ate dinner there was a huge castle that looked like a haunted house. The buildings in Prague all look like they were once occupied by Kings or witches. And, it was cool because it ws uninhibited by most of Europe, even still using their own money system (a bit of an inconvenience for us to only use for a day, but cool nevertheless). After viewing castles we went to bed. We woke up to rain and thunder. We quickly found comfort at a cafe called Bohemia Bagel where they served breakfast sandwiches and unlimited coffee. The rain cleared in the afternoon so we decided to walk to a castle armed with a map. We hiked up a hill and had a great view of the city. As the sun got brighter, the water looked enticing, so we rented a paddle boat to see a different view of the city. On our way back to our hostel to get our bags from the luggage room, we stopped at a modern art showcase and got the best Belgian chocolate covered bananas of our lives. After a full day of activity, we grabbed our bags and walked to the bus station to board a 14 hour bus to Paris to meet up with Steph.

Austria and Munich

INNSBRUCK AND MUNICH





From Venice, we took a train through the Alps and into Austria. Our friend, whom we had met in Australia, Olivia, was from there. She welcomed us with open arms and let us stay at her apartment in Innsbruck. It was great to see her again and she acted as our tour guide, taking us to the home of Swarovski Crystals, Crystal World, to the highest European bridge and on a hike in the Alps, where we enjoyed Weiss beer and traditional Austrian food. The next day, we got the genius idea of renting a car, which we figured would also double as a place to stay for the nights we had it. Our first day with our portable home, at the suggestion of Olivia, we decided to drive to Munich. When we got there, we realized that we had arrived during a huge gay pride parade, so the city was bustling and there was much beer to be had. After a day enjoying Munich-the Hoffbrau Haus, the parade and a flea market, we made our way back to Innsbruck to join Olivia and her friends at a graduation party. We spent the night dancing and were dubbed by one of her friends as "special edition Americans." We think it was a compliment...The next day we said our goodbyes to Olivia, packed up our car and headed to Salzberg.

SALZBERG







Salzberg was beautiful. We had no map or travel plans, so we parked the car and explored the city by foot. We had a little idea of what was in store-Mozart's birth place and Sound of Music landmarks. We found these things and much more. We stumbled upon castles like a bum stumbles upon cans at Autzen at the end of a big football game. When it came time for us to find a parking place to sleep for the night, we quickly realized that most cities don't encourage homelessness, so the spot next to a lake overlooking the city that we had dreamed about never materialized. Instead we settled on a well lit parking lot next to a park. It ended up working out pretty well, and the sun woke us up early enough to prevent passersby from seeing us and gave us time to see all of the buildings and Sound of Music sights that we had missed on the previous day. We decided to leave around noon for Vienna so that we could explore some of the Austrian country side. Right outside of Salzberg, we found a lake called Lake Mondsee where we pulled over for a swim and some relaxation. It was gorgeous with crystal clear water and a view of the Alps. After a picnic and some downtime, we were back on the road to Vienna

VIENNA





Now Innsbruck and Salzberg were small, rustic towns, so going into Vienna looking hagard from the lake, we assumed it would be similar. We were so wrong. We pulled in to a big city-and if Salzberg was difficult to find a place to park the car, Vienna was nearly impossible. We drove around looking for parking, only to be informed that there wasn't a place to buy a parking ticket, so even if we found a spot, we could be towed. We finally found a garage and decided to leave the car there until parking ws free. We walked around the city a little during the night but were tired from our sparse sleep in the car the previous night. So, we returned to the car to find a spot to sleep. This one was a little harder, so we ended up on a normal street. Maybe homeless with a car wasn't such a good idea...We returned our home on wheels to Hertz the next day and walked around the city looking at churches and the elaborate buildings. We left in the evening for Prague, but we haven't had our fill of Austria.

Water Water Everywhere

VENICE
Our last stop with the Park’s was the beautiful city of Venice. Venice is unlike any other place we’ve been to-cars were replaced with gondolas and boats, and buses were replaced with vaparettos. We stayed on the small island of Lido to avoid tourists and took a vaparetto into town each day. We spent our full day there exploring the city and looking at art. Rachel and Molly went to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and saw modern art while Geoff and Gail went to a gallery with renaissance art. We took quite a liking to a restaurant near our hotel, so we ate there both nights in Venice and got to know the waiter pretty well. He was hilarious and very attentive, making special recommendations and if we asked him a question about Venice he would say “ask me anything, I know everything.“ The food was delicious-we don’t understand how Italians aren’t fatter. On the afternoon of the 9th, we parted ways with Geoff and Gail, they moved on to Cinque Terre and we were off to Austria.

Duomos and Cathedrals and Museums, Oh My!

FLORENCE
After two nights in Siena, the four of us went to Florence. We stayed in an apartment out of the way of tourists, right outside the city. We spent the 4th of July at the Uffizi Museum-it was a little overwhelming but incredible to see so much famous art in one place. Florence has been dubbed by many as the most beautiful city in the world and it’s not hard to see why. Duomos, cathedrals and century-old mosaics dot the street corners like Starbucks in Seattle. We took a day trip to Lucca to see the Dave Matthews Band perform. We somehow worked our way up to the front row-words can’t describe this experience. It got us really excited for the Gorge. For our last night, we went to dinner at a little place where we had gone with Beth and Danielle about a month before called Nell’s. It was the best food in Florence. On our final day in Florence, we saw Michaelangelo’s David and the Duomo. In the evening, we took a train to our final stop in Italy, Venice.

Party at the Palio

SIENA
Our next stop was the small, medievil town of Siena. And we were there just in time to attend their annual horse race called Il Palio. It was one of the coolest traditions we’ve experienced this trip. The main square in town was transformed into a race track. The city is divided into Contradas (basically different neighborhoods), each with a different mascot like a tortoise, shell or snail. Each contrada hires a horse jockey to represent it. They compete for pride and a banner called Il Palio. The entire city and tourists pack into the center of the square, arriving as early as 10 am to save their spot for the 7 pm race. The jockeys ride bareback and are assigned a horse at random only days before the event. It was a lot of build up for a 20 second race. It was an amazing thing to experience, we’ve never seen such neighborhood pride. And there was no sparing the losing teams’ feelings. For two days after the race the winning team, the Tortugas, paraded through the city, wearing their colors, making sure everyone knew who had won. We went to the winning Contrada after the race and they served free wine all night so everyone could celebrate their victory with them. We ran into our friends from the booze cruise again at the race-small world. The next day we squeezed in some churches and museums, packed up and got on the bus to Florence.

When in Rome

Getting from Barcelona to Rome required a lot of travel time. We started the day with a train ride to a bus station and then a bus to the airport, a flight to Rome, and to get to our Marriott was the most ridiculous. We didn’t know which Marriott we had booked, so while we were trying to figure out how to use the phone to call a few, the guy who worked at the lost luggage counter motioned us over and let us use his phone. He then offered us some of the vodka he had seized from somebody’s bag. After we sorted out where we were going, we took a bus to the metro, the metro to another bus, a bus to a train station, the train to a bus stop and finally the bus to the Marriott. We were told that this was the most direct way other than a cab. After all the travel it was nice to recoup at the Marriott. When we settled in, we turned on the TV to the news that Michael Jackson had died!! We watched it for a bit and then used the outdoor pool and gym. The next day we made our way in to the city to find our next hotel where we were to meet up with Rachel’s parents, Gail and Geoff.





ROME WITH THE 'RENTS



Gail and Geoff got in and we were excited to have some parents back in our lives!! We celebrated their arrival by going out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. The four of us took Rome by storm, making sure to see EVERYTHING worthy of seeing in the city. We went to the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Cafe Greco (the best cappuccinos in the world), Vatican City, the Borghese Gallery, Boca della Verita, the Forum, Circus Maximus, the catacombs, we saw enough art and landmarks to last a decade. We spent our nights trying different restaurants and sampling the local wine. Rome was exhausting because we were so busy, but was absolutely spectacular.

...and then there were two

When we checked in to our new room at the hostel, we found that due to a lack of availability we had been seriously downgraded to a 26 person room. It was packed with people and luggage-there was hardly room to move. Our first night as a twosome, without the guidance of Danielle and Beth, we stayed on the metro too long and ended up in the middle of nowhere. Good start...The next day was one of the largest festivals in Barcelona, the Festival of St. Joan. We spent the day on the beach where we ran into some of the people we had met on the booze cruise in Portugal! That night we got ready and got on a metro-which was no easy feat because everyone was headed to the beach for the fest. We squeezed onto the bus and at every stop had to hold on for dear life so as not to be pushed through the open doors. When we got off and were herded above ground, out of the metro, it felt like we had entered a war zone. Rachel screamed “watch out!“ just in time for Molly to dodge a firework whizzing by her face. The beach was packed and resembled Sauvie’s Island on the 4th of July-fireworks, barbeques and tons of people. The next day we left the hostel to stay with Rachel’s dad’s childhood nanny Rita. She was a bundle of energy and welcomed us with open arms. We were relieved to be out of the 26 person. We rented bikes on our last day and, armed with an ambitious list of Barcelona to-dos, hit the city. In one day we went to the Boqueria (a food market), did a Gaudi tour ending inside Sagrada Familia, rode uphill to Parc Guell (a park designed by Gaudi where he lived in the later part of his life), saw some exclusive beaches and used the internet to check our flight plans for the following day-all in time for dinner. Rita made us dinner and then we looked through old photo albums of her world travels. We have a long way to go if we want to catch up with her! The next morning we took an early train to the airport. Hasta luego Espana!

Bicycle Exploration

Return to Spain

SAN SABASTIAN
We got into San Sabastian late, so our first night, we just settled into our hostel, read our Twilight books (yes, all four of us are really into the Twilight series) and slept off any travel grogginess. The guy who checked us in was an energetic man and he explained the things we could do in San Sabastian on the map-sound effects included. We spent our only full daz there on the beach, swimming, relaxing and enjoying our dwindling hours together as a foursome. The next day we hiked to an old castle where we met some Oregonians who, coincidentally, lived pretty close to Raliegh Hills. The castle gave us a great view of the city and made us wish we had allotted a little more time there. After our hike, we gathered our ever-expanding baggage and did a long, slightly painful walk to the bus station. The bus ride was almost on par with some of the worst we’ve had. It was packed, the aircon didn’t work and Beth had to share her row with a baby who was seriously overdue for some diaper changing. The only upside of the bus ride was that we witnessed the most beautiful sunrise just as we approached Barcelona.

BARCELONA
Barcelona marked the last stop for us as a foursome. We spent our days, as we tend to whenever possible, on the beach. That’s not to say we didn’t soak in some Barcelona culture. We were awestruck by Gaudi’s buildings, especially Casa Mila and his unfinished cathedral, Sagrada Familia, both of which looked like they belonged in The Little Mermaid. We also went to the Picasso museum, which we really enjoyed. We consumed our fair share of tapas and sangria while we were there. We also made sure to go to the fountain at the Plaza de Espana on Saturday night to watch the water show, the fountain changed with music. When the 23rd rolled around, Beth was the first to go.We woke up early in the morning to see her off to Paris where she was headed to meet up with Steph. Danielle, Molly and Rachel spent the day doing some sight seeing, tanning and last minute souvenir shopping. When we returned to our hostel, we found that a pipe in the luggage room broke while we were out and our backpacks were waterlogged. Danielle only had a half hour to dry her stuff before catching her bus to Madrid to fly home. We frantically tried to dry some clothes with a hair dryer so she would have something dry to travel in. We parted ways with hugs and tears. It’s hard to believe that after four months together, connected at the hip, half of the group had left.

Peace, Love and Portugal

LAGOS




Meanwhile, over in Portugal, while Danielle and Molly were waiting for their laundry, Rachel and Beth had made their way to Lagos. The hostel we stayed at was much more “backpacker“ than most we’d been in-we shared a room with 14 girls on king-sized bunk beds. The floor and a closet were one in the same-clothes and bags were strewn everywhere. The woman who worked there was called “Mama“ and made everyone in the hostel crepes and lemon tea every morning. The following day was Beth’s birthday so Rachel and Beth decided to celebrate the day before and hit up what was later described by an acquaintance as “the most Portuguese bars in Lagos.“ They had an oppulent birthday dinner, taking advantage of the fresh seafood in Portugal. The next day Danielle and Molly finally made it to Lagos-the guy at reception in Seville joked that he would check if there was availability there for that night in case we decided to get our laundry done instead of catching our bus again. Finally the four of us were reunited again.We got in late in the afternoon and were weary from the bus ride so we decided to properly bring in Beth’s 23rd year the next night. We went an hour away to one of the beaches recommended by our book during the day-it was well worth the distance. That night we hunted down the only Mexican restaurant in town and ordered our first burritos and margaritas in months. We toasted to Beth’s birthday, went to a few bars and called it a night. We spent the rest of our time in Lagos checking out the beaches, sampling the cuisine and trying to decipher Portuguese. Danielle made guacaomole one day that was a hit at our hostel. We clearly miss Mexican food! On the final day there, Danielle, Rachel and Molly decided to do a “booze cruise“ around the beaches and through grottoes. It was gorgeous and a lot of fun. It ended just in time for us to reunite with Beth, grab our bags and catch the bus to Lisbon.

LISBON



We arrived in Lisbon late and decided to stay in a Marriott there-quite an upgrade from our previous hostel-we even had our own bathroom! It rained on our first day in Lisbon, so we laid low and took advantage of the gym and the movie channels, and of course found a nearby grocery store. The next day we set out to see the city. We took the trolley to a point overlooking the entire city and sipped mint cappucinos while taking in the view. We ended the night with Paella and a traditional Fado performance. The next day we went to the airport and boarded the plane to head back to Spain.

Finally Out of Africa.. on to Sevilla

After our ferry mishap, we arrived in the port town of Algeciras too late to take a bus or train to our planned destination, Granda, so we stayed in a dingy hostel for the night. The next morning we woke up just in time to miss the early morning bus, so we took the 11:00am to Sevilla. When we arrived we got directions to our hostel and walked for what seemed like hours, constantly being turned down by cab drivers because they said it was too close to take a cab. After many misdirections, we had given ourselves a mini tour of the city. Beth finally saw the sign for our hostel: Nuevo Suizo. We were delighted to find that they had free coffee, hot chocolate, breakfast, internet and international calls. We spent most of our time in Sevilla just wandering the streets because there was so much to see. That night we went to a free flamenco show held at a nearby bar that had an underground feel to it. We were impressed by the amount of emotion and expression the dancers and musicians were able to show on teir faces and hrough their music. The next night we went to the Plaza de Espana and walked alog the river. Danielle and Molly took their laundry to get it done and found out the hard way that the laundry place closed at 8:30 and not 9:30, so when Rachel and Beth took off for Lagos, Portugal the next day, they had to stay behind in Sevilla because all the buses were full. It was sad to split up the group for a day, especially so close to Beth's birthday. In their final day they went to Alcazar, a palace constructed by the Moors in the seventh century with lavish gardens and labyrinths. They were grateful for the chance to visit. They spent the rest of the day roaming around. That night the receptionist at the hostel showed us around to a few bars and a dance club. It was a great way to end to our time in Sevilla and we are planning on returning.

The next morning we woke up just in time to catch our bus and reunite the group for Beth's birthday in Lagos!

So Many Kasbahs to Rock, So Little Time

MARRAKECH

Carriage to Riad



Majorelle Gardens



After three short weeks in Europe, it came time to tackle our fourth continent: Africa. We spent our final night in Italy sleeping at the Malpensa Airport in Milan so that we wouldn't miss our flight to Morocco. After some funny customs, we finally took a taxi to an internet cafe. Someone there recommended that we stay at a place called Hotel Ali in the center of Marrakesh. After settling in and attempting to nap off our grogginess from the night in the airport, we explored. Venturing onto the streets of Marrakesh is like stepping into Aladdin-snake charmers, story tellers, silver lamps and monkeys on leashes. We quickly fell in love with the 3 dirham (about $0.40) fresh squeezed orange juice. We spent our first day exploring the souks and attempting to take it all in.

Morocco is interesting because while it is not a wealthy country, the doors, tiling and woodwork are all very intricate and beautiful. Danielle and Molly went to one of the oldest Koranic schools in the area the next morning where even the bathroom had more elaborate designs and woodwork than even the oldest churches in the US. Later that day we went to the Majorelle Gardens designed by the late YSL and fell in love with the combination of the colors and the tropical plants there, not to mention they had delicious mint creme brulee. For dinner we found a traditional riad to eat at and took a horse drawn carriage to get there. It was the best food we had in Morocco.

The next day we decided to go to the coast because this is a world beach tour, so we planned a trip to Essaouria. The trip was supposed to be 2 hours each way. We arrived at the bus station and the bus we were supposed to take was full, so we had to leave 45 minutes later than planned. While we were waiting at the station, there was a man with a scythe sitting next to us. The ride took 4 hours so we only had enough time at the beach to grab dinner.

THE SAHARA






The next day we went with a group to the Sahara desert. We stopped along the way at an oasis, a small Berber village and a few other places to "make picture," and then spent the night at an adorable hotel along a river in the Gorge Du Dades. We sipped wine on the terrace and ate a Moroccan dinner with the group, whom we got to know better. The next morning after a Moroccan breakfast (Moroccan bread, honey, butter and o.j.) and as much free coffee as we could stomach we headed off to the desert. After another long day in the van, and a bumpy roller coaster ride to a small hotel on the edge of the Sahara where we drank Moroccan mint tea and were shown how desert nomads rock the head scarf. We grabbed small overnight bags and after picking a camel to ride we were guided into the desert. Molly's camel had a nose ring and a rebellious attitude which inspired her to name him Rufio. The surrounding view was stunning and we arrived just in time for sunset. For a better view we hiked up to the top of a steep sand dune, that required us to climb on all fours. Beth bobsledded down. We ate dinner Moroccan style dnner, meaning with no plates, little silverware and everyone hovering over the tagines like packs of wild animals, since we hadn't eaten all day. After chatting with everyone in the group and listening to one of the desert men play his drum we fell asleep under the stars. We woke up bright and early, whether we wanted to or not, to watch the sunrise and head back out of the Sahara on our camels. We had a quick breakfast and spent the next tweleve hours on the road back to Marakech. That evening, after grabbing our bags from the hotel we finally got in touch with Fatima (Annie's mom's friend's friend) and took a cab to her house in the High Atlas mountains. We were welcomed with a delicious homemade meal and were happy to get a good night's rest in a real home. It was interesting to hear her perspective of Morocco, having grown up in the states. The next morning we woke up, unaware of the time change, and quickly made our way to Imlil, a small town in the High Atlas mountains. We spent the day sitting by the river, eating cherries we'd picked and relaxing in the sun.

That night we headed back to Marrakech, and off to Fez on the train. Unfortunately, although we were on the night train, it arrived at 2:00am so we had to sleep/sit uncomfortably in the cold outside of the bus station. We layered ourselves in all the clothes we had with us, not having anticipated being cold in Africa. At around 6:00am we decided to catch a cab into the city to find a hostel. We ended up choosing a room from a Moroccan family that had wall to wall couches, one bed and a bathroom that had it been merely inches smaller we would have been stuck between the walls. The hallway to our room was not much wider than Beth's head and steeper than
everest. As always, we found the nearest grocery store and stocked up on essentials like cheese, candy and wine. We took an instant liking to Fez because of its more relaxed feel and less aggressive vendors. We also received many compliments, like that we were beautiful flowers, spice girls and the best one, received by Rachel, was "excuse me, believe me, you are blowing my mind." Or "I would trade 1000 camels for you as my wife." We stayed in the old city which looks like a medieval movie set: castle walls, men wandering the streets on donkeys and the most gorgeous mosaic gates. One day we hired a young boy by the name of Mustafa to give us a tour of the city. He showed us the tanneries, a riad filled with Berber rugs, a madersa (a koranic school) and an ancient mosque. Afterwards we went to dinner where we tried such Moroccan fare as pastilla (phyllo dough chicken pastry with cinnamon and almonds) and harira (veggie soup). We loved both.

The next day we hopped on a bus to our next destination, Chefchauon, a small town in the Rif Mountains painted primarily in blue and white. We loved the periwinkle walls and huge wooden doors. We found a great Spanish style hostel called Gernika, settled in and hit the different shops for some last minute souvenirs. We had dinner and ran into friends from the camel trek. The next morning we headed out early to Certa to cross the border to Spain and catch the ferry across the Mediterranean. Another long travel day, not to mention we were unaware of yet another time change and missed a ferry we had been waiting around for for around 2 hours...time for some tapas and flamenco!!

OPA!!

After a nine hour flight, and a stop-over in Doha, we made it to Greece! We were all very excited to be in Europe finally. We walked out of the airport to find a man holding a sign that said "Beth Gorman." Beth's parents had arrange for a taxi driver to pick us up at the airport and take us to the apartment in Athens where her parents had been for the last couple days. The taxi driver was great, he actually spoke English!! Plus it was a little chilly that day, which was a nice change from sweaty, sweaty Asia. It was also wonderful not to have to make any decisions about where to go or where to stay for once. We got to the apartment and were all very excited to see Jan and Paul. Having a nice apartment with brie, coffee, and a washer/dryer was also great.
Our first night in Athens we were all exhausted but headed out to have our first authentic Greek meal with Beth's parents. After some mousaka and a few glasses of wine we were all ready for a good nights sleep. The following morning Beth headed out around 6 am for a run, it was all going well until she found herself lost in Athens! Luckily she had her phone with her, unfortunately it died before she found her way home. Without any money for the metro and without any knowledge of the Greek language she felt utterly hopeless, but also found it funny at times. Roughly 6 hours later after her own personal tour of the city she made it "home." Later that day we all headed out for some shopping in Athens with Jan. We were all excited to see H&M and Zara. Beth's feet and legs hurt. That night we all went to see the Acropolis lit up, and had dinner, where we had our first taste of Restina and Ouzo!
The next day Beth went to the airport to get Justin (Justin is Beth's boyfriend) while the other girls wandered around the city. That night we all ate dinner together before heading off to catch a ferry to Crete.
We decided to take an overnight ferry to Crete, which was about 12 hours away. Getting to the port turned out to be much more difficult than we'd imagined, but luckily we made it with some help from a nice Athenian boy. The ferry was huge, we all quickly realized that we were not in Thailand anymore. There was a restaurant, a lounge, a casino; we were starting to think we were on a cruise ship. We arrived in Crete early in the morning and took a bus to Hania. While we waited for the hostels to open we took a look around at the lighthouse and the beautiful Venician-style buildings that make up Hania's harbor. After settling in and some breakfast we took a bus to Platanias, a nearby beach where we spent the day relaxing. We went out for dinner and
Rachel and Molly headed out early in the morning for the Gorge, where they hiked all day long.

That same day Danielle, Justin and Beth spent playing volleyball with the locals, burying Danielle in the sand, and swimming. It was a great day! Justin saw a postcard with a beautiful beach, asked around, found out it was Balos, and decided it was a must-see. We decided to stay a day longer than we'd planned to make our way to Balos. We accidentally wound up on a ferry to Balos with several tour groups. We stopped at Gramvousa Bay and hiked up a steep mountain to a Venetian fortress. Justin lost his sunglasses :(. Then we set off for nearby Balos. The water was crystal clear. It was a bit windy but the view was incredible, surrounded by turquiose waters. A great way to end our stay in Crete.
The next day we spent a few hours on a bus to Iraklion, and then took a ferry to Santorini, which we almost missed. It was a short ferry ride, and once in Santorini Beth and Justin split off from the girls. Sadly we had to part ways for the first time in 3 months as Beth and Justin headed to Fira where they ran into Beth's parents at the bus stop, what a small world!


T

Italy

Milan
After a quick flight from Athens we arrived in Milan. We made our way into the city center just as it was getting dark after an hour bus ride from the airport. Finding our hostel was a tougher feat than we had expected, after discovering that rather than having street signs, the street names were just posted on buildings. Our big backpacks didn't help. After settling into our room, we craved our first Italian meal. Luckily when we walked onto the street, just around the corner there was a hole in the wall Pizzaria, that had by far our favorite pizza to date. And of course we sought out the best gelato spot on the block and fell in love. The next morning we made our way to the train station and off to Levanto we went.

LEVANTO
Our first European train ride flew by because we were so excited to be in Italy. We decided to go west to a small city just north of Cinque Terre called Levanto. We were quickly swept away by the charming feel of the city. While searching for our hostel we realized that we arrived during a really intense bike race/festival going on in the middle of the city. We seem to be in all of the right places at the right time. Shortly after checking into our hostel, we found a local produce market where we bought some fruit and veggies. This was followed by a trip to the grocery store where we loaded up on cheese and wine. After polishing off our treats we meant to take a short cat nap, but ended up falling asleep until the morning.

The next day, to make up for our lazy first day, we decided to do the Cinque Terre hike. It was a 5 hour hike/walk through five coastal towns nestled in between cliffs, olive groves and vineyards.
We managed to make a few stops for pictures, gelato, chocolate caneloni and the occasional glass of vino.

The next day was our final day in Levanto so we spent it on the beach. We wanted to stay an extra night but tourist season had started and we had to change our plans last minute. The woman at the reception mentioned that Lucca was a cute place to stay the night, so we made hostel reservations and were off.

LUCCA
Upon first glance, Lucca reminded us of a scene out of Big Fish or Pleasantville. The Centro Storico, where we stayed, was walled off from the rest of the city and the main plaza contained little more than an antique carousel. Our hostel exceeded our expectations-it was furnished with enough beds for all of us, a couch, a table and a big window overlooking the plaza. They even had free coffee and pastries! The first night we went out to dinner where the men at the table next to us asked us to do a jingle for the radio station that they deejayed for. After a few takes we cam3e up with a real gem, something along the lines of: Hello, you're listening to radio 2000, woooo!! We also tried our first lemoncello that night, on the house.

The next day we woke up early because we had big plans to go to a small town on a hill called Terriciola to celebrate the annual Fragola (Strawberry) Festival that we had read about somewhere. People told us that it would be impossible to get there, but after several buses and a cab ride later, we defied the odds and ended up at the fest...only to get there during siesta so we were the only people in attendance. To pass the siesta hours, we decided to grab a bottle of local Tuscan wine, some strawberries and whip cream and sit on the ledge of a building overlooking the countryside. When we thought siesta might be ending we went back to the location of the festival just in time to see a marching band, dancers and to see that there were actually people other than us at the festival. We dined on strawberry risotto and scalopini (thinking it was strawberry scallops but realizing that that actually meant pork). It was one of our favorite Italian meals.

We spent the rest of our time in Lucca relaxing, seaking out grocery stores and enjoying the small town feel. On our final day in Italy we went to Pisa to see the leaning tower and then took a train to Florence for dinner and some sight seeing. We were there just in time to see the sun set over the river. After stuffing our bellies with walnut ravioli, pesto pasta and gelato we got on a train to Milan where we bussed to the airport to sleep for the night. Next we were off to Morocco!

Dizzy Donkeys

After a short ferry ride we arrived in Santorini and said our goodbyes to Beth and Justin. We quickly found a transfer from the port to Anna's Youth Hostel on Perissa Beach and unloaded our bags in a 4-bed room. After eating some yummy greek omlettes we headed straight to the ocean and were delighted to find our first black sand beach. Rachel enjoyed a relaxing foot massage while Molly and Danielle sunbathed on the free beach chairs. That night we enjoyed a lovely dinner by the beach and coincidentally found that our waitress was from Medford! She was nice enough to give us free baklava for dessert, which we graciously devoured. The next day we hit the beach again in the morning and then rented ATV's to drive around the island! It was truly an incredible experience to be able to drive around Santorini and take in the picturesque countryside. It took us about an hour to drive to Oia where we enjoyed crepes, wine and yet another spectacular sunset. Oia was even more beautiful than we expected and we all took pictures left and right. The next morning we quickly packed our bags, bought ferry tickets to Ios, and drove out to Oia one last time to say goodbye to Santorini. Around 4 that afternoon we were off to Ios for a taste of greek party life. We were definitely not disappointed. We spent the next 5 days lounging in the sun in front of Far Out Camping, and spent the nights dancing our hearts out at local bars in Hora, Ios' main city. We arrived in Ios at the same time many others did to work for the summer season, and found ourselves wondering why we werent doing the same. Almost every night we ate at our favorite food joint, Porkys, which served up the most delicious gyro crepes. On one of our last days on the island we decided to splurge and go for a ride on the "flying fish," which looked like 3 banana boats connected at the top so that when it is pulled behind a boat it literally flies in the air. It was way too much fun and we were all screaming and laughing hysterically the entire time. All in all, Ios was one crazy experience and we were definitely sad to leave Greece behind.

Livin' la vida Laos

From Chiang Mai, at the urging of various travellers we met in SE Asia, we worked our way to Laos. We began our two day journey taking a bus from Chaing Mai to the border town of Chiang Kong. After staying overnight there at a small hostel, we headed to the water to depart on our boat and cross the border into Laos. This proved to be a much longer and more tedious process than any of us had prepared for. At the port, we exited Thailand, only to be shuttled across the river to the Laos border on a longtail boat. Here, we paid for our visas, got stamped and made about three other random stops alongside a group of equally clueless westerners before boarding our slow boat down the Mekong about three hours later. One would assume that the seats of a boat that we would be spending enough time on in the next two days to drive from Portland to L.A. would at least have cushions. This was not the case. We each bought them before boarding and found a place in the only two remaining wooden benches in the back. Because the seats were full, however, in no way meant the boat was full. As long as there is space on the floor, the boat is not full.

We finally started our slow journey. After two long, sweaty and occasionally tipsy days, everyone on the slow boat got to know eachother. And we arrived at our first Laos destination, Luang Prabang.





LUANG PRABANG
We had few expectations going into Laos beyond the tubing in Vang Vieng, so we were pleasantly surprised when our first stop was a quaint, French inspired town with cobblestone streets, wooden shutters, striped umbrellas and monks in tangerine colored robes. We settled in to our guest house, grabbed dinner and strolled in and out of the shops lining the streets. We retired early the first night weary from travelling. We took it pretty easy the next day, walking around, watching the monks swim in the river and checking out the night market. That night, our friends who we stayed with in Australia, Lindsey, Hillary, Jai and Alexa came and met up with us from Vang Vieng. It was a great reunion-we always enjoy having new people join the group. The next day we decided to go to some waterfalls 35 km away. Beth and Molly decided to do it by bike and about halfway through they realized that there is a reason that they are called beach cruisers. Apparently the baskets on beach cruisers are not meant to be used because Beth's tire became flat, fortunately when they stopped to fix the tire they stumbled upon some adorable puppies :). After two hours riding through undulating hills they reunited at the base of the falls. They were spectacular and had an enchanting feel to them, like they belonged on one of those unicorn fairy posters that grace the walls of magic card playing high schoolers. We hiked to the highest fall that fell into a series of clear pools. Shortly after arriving, middle-school aged monks arrived and started doing backflips off the surrounding trees into the small pools. Later everyone gave the rope swing a try. Around dinner time we headed back to the guest house and got ready for a big night at the bowling alley-the town hangout. The night ended with Rachel, Molly, Jai, Hillary and Alexa playing a variation of hide-and-seek, called sardines in the street.





THE INFAMOUS VANG VIENG
The next morning we took a tuk tuk to a van where we were shuttled off to Vang Vieng. Lindsey joined us, even though she had just come from there. The ride was one of the funniest, most unpleasant rides of the trip. We were all exhausted but the road was windy and the car lacked seat belts or any way to keep yourself in one spot, so sleeping wasn't an option and every turn sent us flying into one another for a grueling 8 hours. All we could really do was laugh because everyone was in the same boat. When we finally got in to town, we got a bungalow along the Vang Vieng river.

After settling in, Lindsey and Molly were on their way to the internet cafe to meet a friend from school who was already there, Carrington, when they ran into him on the street. Our first night, the six of us grabbed some of the best kebabs of the trip and Linds and Carrington filled us in on what we were in store for with this tubing. The next day Danielle and Beth weren't feeling well so they decided not to go to the river. Molly, Rachel, Carrington and Lindsey hopped in a tuk tuk and were greeted at the river with MGMT's Kids blaring from the first bar. It consisted of a bar counter, area with picnic tables and a railless deck covered in mangy rugs and college aged kids drinking Beer Laos and Whiskey buckets. There was a circus style trapeeze swing hanging about 20 feet above the water hanging from a tree. Molly and Carrington climbed to a platform and seconds later were flying through the air while people looked on. As we advanced down the river people got a bit rowdier, music got a bit louder and rope swings, zip lines and water slides materialized. It was a good way to spend our first full day.



Most days played out like this, but on the third day, Molly dove into murky water and had a run in with a rock, sending her to the emergency room in a tuk tuk. Rather than asking her what happened, accustomed to dealing with injuries from the river, the doctor simply asked "were you diving or swinging?" She left bandaged like a cartoon character with a tooth ache. Two days, twenty-something stitches, a black eye, a border crossing and 13+ hours of bus rides later we found ourselves back in Bangkok. As always, John was extremely hospitable and let us stay with him until our flight to Greece. It was a good time to rest, recoup, catch up on The Hills and for Molly to get checked out by a hospital. One night we went out on the town in Bangkok to see how the locals did it-not as much dancing as we expected. We went to a place called Titanium that had an ice bar-a freezer that had a bar sculpted from ice and a bartender in a puffy jacket inside.

Our final night was Cinco de Mayo, and by coincidence, we prepared John a goodbye Mexican feast. The next morning headed to the airport to leave Bangkok for the final time. Goodbye SE Asia!