We haven't forgotten about you...

Before we begin, we realized that we forgot to mention something significant from our time in Germany: While in Munich we daytripped to the Dachau concentration camp, the first camp established in Germany and the model for all camps to follow. This was a really moving and unpleasant day for us but something we are glad to have seen.

Now, back to the hills. Our next stop was Salzburg, after Hallstatt. It was awesome. We ended up staying in a castle...no joke. It was on a hill looking over the city. Stark accommodations, but you couldn't beat the view. Highlights were: cheesy but well worth it private Sound of Music tour (we are still singing), Mirrabelle Gardens, Kaiskaiser Sausage, Austrian costumes, musical mass for Meghan, and plenty of wandering the many quaint squares of the city.

Switzerland was the next stop, and quite possibly a favorite. Spent the first night in Lucern and took a very recommended lake cruise. Then we spent the next three nights in Interlaken at the awesome Balmer's hostel. We spent the days getting too much sun, hiking through pictureque Gimmewald and looking for local cheese, and taking the tram up to the top of the Jungfrau- 11,333 ft above sea level.

Then came the train to the Marriott Milan. We were greeted by a well-known American boy. It was great to see Sam (and a Marriott!). We thought we'd let Sam guest blog from here. Enjoy!

First of all I would like to thank Alana and Meghan for letting me guest blog on this most prestigious blog of theirs..........I met them at the hotel in Milano after a pleasant flight from Boston. The weather was fabulous, 80 degrees, so we decided to sit outside at the hotel bar and a few libations. After getting our act together we took the subway to the Duomo which as Alana claims is "the oldest gothic church in the world." We were most impressed by the columns inside the church which seemed to go up forever. After the church I decided it was time for a drink, so we found a nice cafe and partook in what as know as Appertivo in Italy (happy hour back in the U.S.)

The next morning we were up bright and early to catch the train to Venezia. Upon arriving, we checked into our hostel and found out we were close to the water shuttle that goes to San Marco Square and the Basilica of St. Mark. Just being on that water shuttle was enough to send this guy home happy! It was 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We sat outside toward stern and  enjoyed every moment. To be honest, I felt like I was watching a movie and couldn't believe I was seeing Venice with my own eyes. Meghan, who by the way should become a tour guide, explained that Venice was a trading post to the Byzantine Empire when it was first settled. We noticed many Middle Eastern influences in the design of St. Marks Church. After walking through and checking out the beautiful mosaics we decided to just walk through the many streets of Venice with no map and no true destination. After walking through Venice and enjoying the sunset, we had dinner along a pretty canal.

After a beautiful day in Venezia, the next morning we were on the train very early to head to La Spezia and then onto Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre (Italian for 5 Earths) should be renamed Utopia. When I think of paradise from now on I will only think of Cinque Terre. Going in we had advice to stay in Vernazza, one of the 5 towns along the coast. Apparently the best thing to do for accommodation was to get off the train and as the locals who has rooms to rent. I was not totally sold on this idea but went along with it anyway. Upon, getting off the train we were quickly approached by a nice old man named Francesco who asked us if we had reservations anywhere. We told him we didn't and told us to come check out his apartment. In the back of my mind I'm thinking this is weird. Long story short, we walk up some very narrow steep stairs and he shows us a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment that he rents us for 2 night 150 euro total. It was perfect. He even had homemade olive oil there for us- the best!

After settling into our apartment we walked back down to the main square of town to check out the view. Vernazza's main square overlooks the Mediterranean Ocean while being flanked by huge mountains. We had some local white wine and watched the sunset on the Mediterranean. Meghan's European Guide book suggests to eat the seafood in Cinque Terre which I was more than happy to do. All 3 of us enjoyed some of the finest Crab, Clams, Octopus and Swordfish that we had ever tasted (I'm not quite sure Alana had ever had Octopus, but after 10 minutes of my talking her into, she loved it!) Cinque Terre, according to Nory Hayes, is the birthplace of Pesto. We also enjoyed Pest Piazza, Pesto Gnocchi and Pesto Fettucini. Whether or not Nory was correct, it was by far the best any of us had ever tasted. Sorry Mr. Brown!

The next day we took the train to the first of the 5 towns. Vernazza, where we were staying is the 4th of the 5 towns.The big thing to do in Cinque Terre is walk along the coast on the hiking path that connects all 5 towns. Well, to our bad luck, the only path along the coast that was open was the path from town 1 to town 2! After walking the path, we walked around town 2 doing some shopping and getting a slice of pizza. Feeling as great as we did, because of how beautiful the walk along the coast was, we decided to ask directions to the red path (which was open) that we could take from town 2 to town 3. For some reason when I asked a waiter how to get to red path 6 he looked at me funny. Later I would realize that his funny look probably meant more like "you are even close to being physically able to take on path 6." He was probably correct!

We walked to the top of town 2 which was a hike onto itself. Then we walked on the pave road until the path pointed us in the direction of some stairs. Little did we know that these stairs kept going for the next 45-50 minutes and let me tell you; not one of them was going down. After contemplating giving up several times (I was the only one really contemplating) we reached a small village situated way up in the mountain. The next part of the hike, which was more like boot camp, was across the mountain to get to the next town. We walked along the side of this mountain where one wrong step would have sent any one of us tumbling down the mountain with a lot of wine grapes stuck to our bodies. The view along this hike were some of the most beautiful views anyone could imagine. We were looking down at the town we had just come from (that was very tiny due to how high we had climbed). We could also see the town we were walking to which also seemed quite far away. All in all, the hike from town 2 to town 3 took two and half hours and all of 3 us wouldn't have traded anything in the world for it! What an experience!! That night we met several crunchy granola couples that were hiking in Cinque Terre and regaled the days travels over glasses of local red wine that came out of the tap just like a draught beer. Anyone that plans on going to Italy should certainly plan a few days in Cinque Terre.

Yesterday morning we arrived in Firenze slightly hungover but eager to take in all that it has to offer. Our hostel is conveniently located near the train station so we dropped off our bags and headed to see the David. After waiting in line for an hour we finally got to see Michaelangelo's masterpiece. WOW! Nobody could have prepared me for how tall the sculpture is. The hands and feet were so lifelike it was almost scary. There are also beautiful paintings in the museum including one of Da Vinci on his deathbed. Following that we walked by the Duomo which is built with local stone which just happened to be some of the most beautiful marble in the world. The dark greens and pinks are just breathtaking!! After seeing how enormous this church was I realized that religion was by far the most important aspect of anyone who was living when these churches were built. In each city we have visited it seems that the center of town is dominated by an elegant church. The largest and most intricate buildings are always churches.

Last night we were urged by Brooke Weibel's birthday present to Alana to have dinner at Trattoria Za Za and boy was Brooke right on this one!! Alana and Meghan had pasta carbonara that was out of this world and the veal scallopini melted in my mouth. The food here cannot be described in words.

This morning we climbed to the top of the Duomo. Can't believe we volunteered for another climb, but again well worth it! The views of the city were great. Spent the afternoon wandering, eating gelato, and visiting the Santa Croce church where great Florentines like Michelangelo, Dante, and Galileo are buried. Met Alana's friend Joanna for a walk up to the beautiful Piazza Michelangelo and dinner at Trattoria Anita- a Max Hayes recommendation that was great! Tomorrow we head to Rome for the final 2 days of my visit. (The girls promise the pics will follow very very soon. I am told it is bed time.)