I love me some Italian wine!

Hi again guys!

I'm not sure what my internet situation is going to look like in Venice, so this might be the last post before I'm back in America.

Florence has been great. Italy is really just all-around the best place of our trip- the best hostels, the cities we've liked the most, the nicest people, etc. I think it's the place that's the most dear to my heart from the trip. It's just beautiful.

We've really enjoyed just walking around and exploring. It's amazing how much you can just run into! You'll be walking and suddenly you'll be on this adorable street (they all are) or in front of this gorgeous church or something. It's so much fun and there's so much to see and do!

The other day, we went to this look-out called Palazzo Michelangelo. It was a bit of a hike getting there, but worth it times a THOUSAND. It was one of my favorite moments of the trip- the view was absolutely indescribable. You could see the whole city and THEN some, and it isn't just any old city! In America, the view would've been cool, but Florence is SO charming and gorgeous, it was breathtaking. Tara and I stood in silence for a good 45 minutes, just appreciating the opportunity. And the other night we went out for Chinese food, which was weirdly comforting. It felt a little bit like home, and the food was great. We tried duck AND sharksfin soup! We're so adventurous on this trip! ha! Oye, and then we went back to the hostel and enjoyed a bottle of wine that some friends in Rome gave us. Italian wine is delicious, but pretty strong. Ha!

Today we head out to Venice, which should be just about the same story as getting from Rome to Florence. Luckily, the train station is near our hostel here, so it's not too much of a hassle with our bags and things. So we've got 2 and a half days in Venice, and then off to America. It's bittersweet, but it's time.

Hope all is well over there in the states! Love you guys--

Ems xo

Ohhh Hawaii. Is it cold there...

Hi again everyone!

The rest of Rome was incredible. We really loved that place. We saw all of the classic tourist things- The Trevi Fountain: 'The Lizzie McGuire Movie was filmed here!' were my first words. I guess it's better than my first words when we went into the Louvre. (ha, Tar!)... And also we saw The Spanish Steps, which were so cool. I love how there's like huge, modern buildings, and then right in the middle of it all there will be ancient ruins. And The Pantheon was pretty cool. That day, we got gellato (Tara found this place that had over 100 flavors, with SOY and YOGURT and everything!), and we've also drank LOTS of espresso. Lots! So delicious! On our last day, we saw the movie "Revolutionary Road", which sounds funny but it was SO refreshing. A movie, in ENGLISH. We knew what was going on!! And they had an intermission, which was just plain funny.

Italy is a really cool place. Definitely my favorite country so far. It's funny because you really can't say "Oh, the people are nasty" OR "The people are SO great!", because we've had both. Yesterday, we took a train from Rome to Florence, and we were so lost and late and desperate for help, and we ran up to this man who was helping people and begged him to help us, and he looked at us, looked at our tickets, and then walked away. SO rude!! But then on the train this adorable woman was going way out of her way to ask the ticket man questions for me because he didn't speak any English and Tara and I had no idea what was going on. So we've definitely had both extremes.

Europe has been really surprising in a lot of ways. One thing that really sticks out is the hilarious stereotypes that are totally fulfilled. I want to walk up to the young people on Vespas, kissing eachother's cheeks and saying "Ciao!" and just thank them for fulfilling my Italy fantasies! And the people in Paris really DO carry huge baguettes home. Everyone in Italy smokes, and they all smoke in your face. There are never less than 10 pubs in sight in England. It's hilarious! Another huge thing that Tara and I have noticed is how people eat here- and how on EARTH are Americans the fat ones?! Guys, Europe has some secret, because these people can EAT! Seriously, it's just insane, the people here think we're so weird because we'll eat a sandwich for lunch, or a salad for dinner. That's like, barely a warm-up for them. I don't understand it, because there are NO overweight people here! Tara and I are so surprised every time we eat out.

ANYWAY, Florence seems cool. We arrived in the late afternoon yesterday, and our hostel is cozy and cute. We just kind of walked around the area a bit last night and went to bed fairly early because the day was kind of long. It's amazing how much the personalities are grouped by country-- in England and Spain, everyone was "party party party!!!", but here it's a lot more laid back. It's kind of nice to be able to end the trip a little more relaxed, and actually be able to re-energize at the end of the day.

Today I think we're going to check out the area around our hostel a little more (there's lots of markets and cute stores). There's only a few things we REALLY want to see here, so I think we'll be relaxing and going to markets and stuff. Should be cool! Then it's off to Venice, and then back to the states. It's funny, we both have little lists of things we're excited for- Acai! Communication! Beaches! TVs in English! People NOT hating me! Breathing air that isn't cigarette air!

All for now, more soon. See ya!

Ems xo

Made y'all some iced tea...

Hi again!!

We've had two incredible days. I'm so glad to be back in that "AHHH, We're in Europe!" mindset. We've been in Rome for a few days, and we still love it here.

Yesterday was one of those days you never dream you'll get to have. We went to The Vatican and saw tons of amazing artwork, and then the Sistine Chapel. Let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint! What an amazing place. I just stood in the middle for a good 5 minutes, staring at the ceiling. You know you could spend hours there and still not see everything. After that, we walked around the area a bit and saw St. Peter's Basilica. There was this huge line and we heard you have to pay 4 euros and stuff, so we didn't know if we wanted to do it, but we finally decided to and we were SO glad we did. It was MASSIVE. Just so huge and so beautiful. I stood inside looking at all of the amazing artwork and statues and I felt like the tiniest little thing in the world. It's amazing how something manmade can have so much power and be SO awe-inspiring.

Today we went to an outdoor market with a couple we met in our hostel from Australia. (We love Australians!!!) It was so huge and crazy! There were just people everywhere, selling things that range from super nice purses to garbage it looked like they found on the way to the market. I bought some stuff though (for SO cheap), and I can't wait to get compliments so I can say, "Oh thanks, I bought it at a market in Rome. No big deal." HA, what a loser! Then Tar and I went to this cute cafe we found called "Momento", because the espresso here is SO good. I can basically drink it straight! I'm definitely going to miss that when I go back to America and drink the bitter nastiness that they call espresso. Ha! I'm soooo above that now!

Tomorrow we're planning on seeing The Pantheon and a few other things, which should be really cool. I just love Rome so much, no other place we've been has compared to here for me. I'm surprised, because I was expecting to love it, but I definitely didn't think it would be my favorite place we see!

All for now, guys. Don't worry, I've taken a trillion pictures (MY CAMERA BROKE OUTSIDE OF THE COLLOSEUM! Talk about bad timing! Luckily, I think it'll pull through for the rest of the trip, it's just hard to take pictures...) Anyway, love you all and can't believe I get to see everyone so soon. I'm gonna be so bummed to say goodbye to Italy.

Love, Emily xoxo

when in rome!

Ciao again!

Rome has been lovely. It's so bella! Ha, just kidding, that'll stop.

Our first day here was perfect. Our goal for the day was NOTHING. We went out for a cute little lunch and dinner, went to the supermarket, etc. We even got our hair cut to have some fun! So now when people compliment my hair, I can say "Oh thanks, I got it cut in Italy. No big deal." But yeah, so our hostel is GREAT (everyone here is NORMAL!!!!), Rome is warm, and the people are so nice.

Anyway, yesterday we went and saw the Colloseum. It was SO cool! So huge! It's so weird to see those things you've seen a trillion pictures of- it never feels real. And it was so nice outside, we could walk there and back, which was SO refreshing. We're definitely over the cold. Today we're going to go to the Vatican City, which I'm really excited about.

The night that we arrived here, Tara and I were so worn out that we've decided to change our plans a bit. We don't want to push ourselves to do more and more if we aren't even going to enjoy it, so we've shortened the trip. We're not really cutting much out (just Bath, which we've already seen, and Ireland, which we weren't even sure about anyway), and we both feel really good about it. It is SO stressful planning all of this (hostels, flights, trains, etc.) and THEN actually traveling! Not to mention things like being kept up all night, being freezing, and washing your clothes in the sink- haha! Don't get me wrong, it is WELL, WELL worth it, but I just want to quit while we're ahead. Plus, when I get back to Hawaii I'm going to be finding somewhere to live and stuff, so the bigger financial coushin I can have, the better.

So we're going to Florence in a few days and then to Venice, and flying out from there. I arrive in Chicago on March 4th. We're so excited, we even get to be on the same flight, because Tar's laying over in Chicago. We've been joking about how weird it's going to be to be apart- I'm SO used to having her at my side all the time, I'm going to be talking to myself! What am I going to do?!?! But yeah so then I'll be in Chicago until March 9th, and then off to Hawaii! Yayyyy I can't wait to be back in my place! Just in time for the big 2-1 :)

I'm so excited to see the rest of Italy, too! We really don't know what to expect, but we heard that Florence is just beautiful and that Venice will be really cool (but dirty, we're only spending a few days there).

All for now, more soon. Love you guys a ton.

Love,
Emily xoxo

I feel like I'm in a sunflower. And I love it.

Ciao!

We're in ROMA!!

Barcelona was good, but we stayed there way too long and were definitely ready to move on. There's only so much to see there! And everyone at our hostels basically SUCKED- they were so loud ALL night, we hadn't slept in forever. We were pretty burnt out by the time we left.

We took an overnight ferry last night, which was super nice. I can't believe, we paid 44 euros each, and the boat was like a cruise ship. There was a pool, 2 bars, a cafeteria, resteraunt, spa, etc. It was nutso! But we just had seats (like an airplane), so we barely slept at all.

When we finally arrived in Rome (2 hours late, though we had no idea what was going on because everything was said in Italian), we got off the boat and stood around with 4 other people who spoke english, and then this massive group of people. We assumed we were waiting for a bus to take us to the train station, but no one said anything to us. We were freezing, exhausted, starving, and so frustrated being unable to communicate with anyone! There was this sweet older man trying to speak to me in French because that was our only common language, but he barely knew any, so that didn't get us anywhere. So we just stood around freezing our butts off. And then this huge bus came, and EVERYONE else got on. They were an organized group! So me and Tara and the few other people who spoke English stood there like idiots. We walked and walked and finally found a train station, and then figured out our tickets. About an hour later, we arrived at our station and WALKED some more. No one speaks English here, so it's really difficult to get around. We FINALLY found our hostel, thank GOD, but they didn't take cash, so we had to go back out in the cold and find an ATM. The first 2 we went to didn't work. We were running around Rome like idiots in the freezing cold trying to find cash, and I was just about ready to book a flight home. That was definitely the closest I've been to a breakdown. I was planning on coming back to the hostel and crying and crying until the guy gave us a bed for the night. Thank God Tara is a fighter and realized that wasn't our best plan. We FINALLY found a working ATM and sprinted back to the warm hostel, where we were given AMAZING beds and a STEAMING hot shower. We ran to the showers (my hair was a greasefest). I stood there, with the water on SCAULDING hot to ease the tension in my back, for basically forever. I was almost in tears, literally, from happiness of just having some comfort finally. My feet hurt so bad, I couldn't even stand on my heels. I curled up in bed and just laid, being the most thankful I've ever been to have the warmth and coziness. As EHXAUSTED, EXHAUSTED as I was, I wanted to take time to lay and appreciate it.

But laying there, I realized something huge. As you-know-what of a day that it was, it was worth it. I'm in ROME. I'm in Europe, having an incredible, priceless adventure, with a great friend. If days like yesterday are well worth it, it says a lot about the experiences I'm having.

ANYWAY, we slept for 11 hours. Actually, I think I was in a coma for 11 hours. And now I feel a trillion times better. We're going to just hang out today and try to recover from everything, and then really start sight-seeing tomorrow. It's so nice to be able to add and subtract days as we please.

I'll write more when we really start seeing Rome! How exciting! Love you all!

Emily xo

it´s nothing a little sangria can´t fix...

Hola again!

Barcelona just keeps getting better. We switched hostels, and our new one is AMAZING. It´s so peaceful and relaxing, we have a private bathroom (HOLY MOLY), the beds are comfy, and the free breakfast is the best one yet. There´s cappuccinos at the free breakfast! FREE CAPPUCCINOS!

Yesterday we saw the Sagrada Familia, which is this crazy HUGE temple. It was really amazing, but pretty hard to describe. Then we went to dinner at this place called "Pita Inn", which is this super delicious fast-food type resteraunt here with pitas and salads and stuff... Afterwards, we went to the grocery store and made the most important discovery of our trip so far: a massive bottle of sangria for 1.69 euros. That´s about 2.50. And it was SO delicious! We basically sat and drank the bottle between the two of us in about 15 minutes. And lemme tell ya, that stuff sneaks up on you! We went to this weird pub with these weird Australian guys (of course), but then went to a Flaminco Dancing show that was SO much fun!

Today (Valentine´s Day!!) was really fun as well. Wé walked to the beach, which was just GREAT. It was so nice to see sun and sand and water and so many Hawaii-ish things. It was still a little chilly, we wore our coats, but nothing like the weather we´ve been dealing with. We brought fresh fruit from the market near our hostel and enjoyed a lovely little picnic (I had a fruit salad with EVERY fruit you can imagine for 2 euros!!)... Then we hung out for a while, and walked to this seafood resteraunt for a fancy-shmancy V-day dinner. Everyone, it was the best meal of my entire life. We paid 20 euros for this MASSIVE plate (the size of the keyboard I´m typing on) of grilled seafood. We´re talkin´ fish, prawns, mussles (who knew I love those!?!?), and calamari (which is AMAZING grilled! YYYUUUMMMMMM)... It was literally one of those meals you will never forget. We were making inappropriate noises while eating it! Oh my goodness, and I have to blog about this one couple at a table near us. It was this cute old couple, and they ordered the same thing as us, but the full-size one (TWICE the size). Keep in mind, we didn´t even finish ours... But they literally DOWNED the entire thing, including the lettuce at the bottom of the plate. THEN the woman started eating the lemons that you squeeze on the fish! And THEN they both ordered dessert! We almost died of laughter!

ANYWAY, tomorrow we´re going to try to arrange an overnight bus to Madrid. We´ll lose our flights (which were like 20 euros), but save money AND a huge hassle in the long run, because the airports have been such a pain. They charge you for EVERYTHING- luggage, shuttles, etc. And it´s such a headache! So it´s a huge relief that we can avoid that!

All for now. I just wanted to blog the heck outta that seafood.

Hope all is well guys!

Ems xo

i licked all your cookies this morning when you were still sleeping, tar.

(you don´t even want to know what her response was.)

¡Hola! I love the keys on this keyboard! Warning: this is going to be annoying.
Ç`ºª?¿ ok, all out of my system.

So we´re in Barcelona! It´s honestly probably my favorite place that we´ve been so far, shockingly. I was expecting Paris to be (I DID love Paris...), but Barcelona has an entirely different feel. One that I´m officially obsessed with. The people are SO nice! You should´ve seen us in the train station: two idiot American girls who speak 4 words of Spanish, and they were like "habla espangnol? oh, hahaha! silly girls!" and weren´t even mad! They were just NICE! And no one kicked me yet!

Our commute was pretty exhausting. We took 2 trains, a shuttle, a plane, another shuttle, and then two more trains. With lots of luggage. And the night before we left, we had wine with some (what else?) Australians, so we barely got any sleep. We were falling asleep walking by the time we got to our hostel! But we loved Barcelona the moment we left the tube station. It´s so much fun to arrive somewhere new and pop up from underground for the first time. We´re always just screaming with "awwww!"s and "look at THAAAAT!!!"s. Anyway, after we arrived, the guy at the desk was a jerk and gave us free beers to make up for it. We don´t drink beer. So we went out for dinner (tapas, paella, SANGREA! so effing good!). And then we came back and hung out with some guys in our room that seemed cool. We were wrong. They were not cool. One of them was from Ireland, and he was already smashed by the time we got in there (at like 6). He joked, "oh, I´m like that Irish stereotype of the guy who just drinks too much". Okay, my friend. You are actually an entirely different stereotype. It´s called an alcoholic who is going nowhere with his life. This is an account of last night (NO exaggeration). Keep in mind how exhausted we were!!

9:00. Finally fall asleep
10:30. Boys come in, turn on lights, talk really loud.
12:00. Same thing.
12:15. Annoying cell phone starts ringing. Doesn´t stop for rest of night.
2:00. 2 boys and a girl come on, turn on lights, girl runs around yelling "I can´t find my pants!!"
3:30. Someone pounds on door. I open it, glaring. "I forgot my key," he says. Needless to say, I was NOT understanding.
6:00. Everyone comes back in, loudly go to bed.
Sometime when I was sleeping: Irish man pees in his bed.

Needless to say, we aren´t bummed that our hostel booking was messed up and we have to switch tomorrow. We already changed rooms!

Anyway, enough venting! Today was brilliant! We walked around the area near our hostel, which is just incredible. There´s this open market with fresh fruit (I got an amazing, AMAZING fruit salad for 1.5 euros! That´s nothing!!!), meat, bread, desserts, etc. We just LOVED it. We also did some shopping and got some pita stuff for dinner that was great. Everything is SOOOO cheap here, especially compared to Paris and London.

I think it´ll be an early night for us tonight, since we basically pulled all-nighters the last 2 nights in a row. Hopefully our next hostel is better.

All for now, guys! More when I can, from Barcelona again, or Madrid!

Em xo