So, almost a month and half after my last blog entry - here I am - back at home in California. Its crazy to think that 2 weeks ago I was still exploring Nice - laying out on the rock covered beach and working on getting rid of my crazy tan.
During the month of May, Emily and I traveled all over Europe - well not really. I left Villefranche and head to Brescia, Italy (where Emily was living) via train to Lyon and then overnight bus. on the morning of May 1st, I was picked up by Emily and Marina, her host "mom", and taken to the farm - what would be my temporary home base. That same day, we were dropped off at the train station to take an overnight train to Croatia - destination Zagreb. We spent about 5 days in Zagreb - which was more than enough time. We pretty much saw the city in a day and a half, but had enough time to visit Varazjdin - Croatia's former capital and Plitvice National Park - a park full of paths made of wooden planks that run over and along waterfalls - you can walk on water!
From Croatia, after sampling the famous plum burgundy - rijeka - and drinking cheap Croatian beer, we trained it back to Venice where we had only about 30 minutes to get from the station to the airport to catch our flight to Naples. Luckily, the Marchetto's - an Italian family Emily knows well and that I met in February - had a worker drive us in a company car from the station to the airport for free - talk about private service!
Once we got to Naples, we set off to explore Southern Italy. It was a first for both Emily and I. We had heard Naples was a very dirty city and full of crime. It is dirty, but it wasn't as dangerous as people had described to us. We had a great time. We were able to visit all the amazing churches and historical buildings as well as take some day trips to Capri, Amalfi, Positano, and Pompeii. Not only did we do sight seeing, but we also enjoyed eating the Neapolitan specialty - Pizza.
After Naples, we spent 2 days in Brescia before leaving once again. We gave ourselves just enough time to wash our clothes and pack them up again. We left from Milan on a direct train to Paris. Emily had never been to Paris and there was no way I was going to let her visit France without visiting. Fortunately, we were able to save some money - my friend Thibault, who I met in Bordeaux in 2008, was living in Montmartre and offered to host us during our stay. Montmartre is my favorite place in Paris - and its an ideal location to get from one place to the next - so I think. After seeing the sights for 4 days, we went to Bordeaux - the first city of France I lived in.
It was nice to go back and see how much Bordeaux changed within the last 2 years. Plus, it also helped that my host parents, Daniel and Claire, offered us a place to stay. Emily and I were welcomed and fed delicious food for the weekend. Sarah, a friend I made in Bordeaux from UC Davis, was also there - she is now living in Bordeaux with her boyfriend. She helped me give Emily a tour and had a party where we were able to talk to the UC students that were there for the year/semester. It was cool to be back and say - I remember this...I remember that...
To be continued...
