back with pictures!

Okay, these are the pictures I have uploaded so far.. no descriptions, and it is only London and Paris. Florence and Rome to come!
Europe!

almost over!

so i have mixed emotions right now.. on the one hand i am so sad to leave this place. i do not have a care in the world but searching for historic sites and finding cheap but tasty gelato. i cannot even imagine what my life is like back home! i do not remember my routine or anything.. i havent seen TV for weeks and the coffee ive had here either really sucks or is delicious, but never the same (size, taste, amount of whipped cream, if any). i am sad to go, but would only stay if i had another city in mind to visit. i think we have done the best cities in the amount of time we have had. i am so satisfied! my soul is full. but i am ready to come home and hear familiar languages and eat some steamed vegetables . i could also use a decent shower and a fragrance free lifestyle.
thanks for reading the blog.. it has been so fun! i cant wait to see you and tell you all about my trip in person, along with pictures and funny faces!!!
xoxoxo
colleen

Just tried to buy nighttime

Just tried to buy nighttime sleep aid for plane ride home and terrible cough... They told me i am a drug addict and refused!

time for a list

Feeling listy, so I thought I would share how things have been so far:

Best Of Eurotrip:
- seeing the Eiffel tower for the first time
-Row boat in the canal at Versailles
-Night cruise on the Seine
-Climbing the Duomo
-seeing ancient Egyptian tchotchkes at the Louvre
-Ufitzi Gallery in Florence
-Roman Forum
-Gelato cone with four flavors topped with whipped cream
-speaking Spanish in France and French in Italy
- Thunder storm in Rome at the Coloseum and Trevi Fountain

Worst of Eurotrip:
- not being able to get on the Paris metro
- having bacon spaghetti for dinner the first night at Paris hostel
- £7 ($10) gelato in Florence
- getting thoroughly soaked at the Coloseum
- midnight mosquito bites
- being stalked by youth hostel reps asking if we need accommodations
- spending £9 (about $15) doing one small load of laundry

On the fence:

- Creepy night train from Paris to Florence

This has been the most intersting experience of my life... I canàt believe it is almost over!!! Tomorrow we visit Pope land and then fart around until Thursday morning when we need to figure out how to get to the airport...

Ciao!

night trains and leg pains

lauryn and i took the night train from paris to florence last night.. what an experience. i have never been so weirded out in my life! the compartment was like a stackable jail cell. the lighting was sickly and after about two hours, we were joined by a very interesting french lady from dijon or something. she slept below us like a baby!!! meanwhile lauryn and i were half cracking up and half freaking out about being in a moving jail cell. the conductor took our passports and held them hostage until the very last moment when we were basically kicked off the train because we didn't know we had to get off at that stop- our train ticket had only half our stop printed!
arriving in florence was very different from anything we have done. the train station was very small but still managed to be confusing. we found our train to get us to our hotel after going up and down platforms for 20 minutes. then we landed at our stop and found our bed and breakfast- the one we got moved to after our original cancelled and transferred us. the man at the desk speaks no english!! it is great.
first order of business was to complete my dream- see and climb brunneleschi's dome (spelling, i know). it was so amazing! i have legs of steal now. lauryn almost fell off the top of the dome after slipping on the slick marble and i reached out, caught her and saved her life, risking my own without thinking! then we went to the accademia to see David. you think his front is hot? check out the back! it was lady's day- all admission for women to most sites in florence were free- so imagine the scene around David.. they actually have chairs for people to sit in and admire the art...
we had a great italian dinner at a little place near the duomo and drank some italian wine. so good! i had the fillet and lauryn the chicken cacciatore.
next we're off for some gelato. yummers!
we're headed to Rome tomorrow evening and will be there for the remainder of our trip. i will miss florence. the shopping here is irresistable! i can't get enough and spend the euros like monopoly money.
thanks for reading and have a great day!!!!!!!!!

Kiss me, Im French!!

Today I decided that I love Paris. To be honest, I wasn't so sure about it at first. I think not being able to get through the metro turn-gate thing started me off on the wrong foot. Then I got frostbite all over town and spent five dollars on tea... The people at tourist attractions give attitude to English speakers, like they didn't expect to have to deal with us when they signed up for their jobs... But I am converted and happy to report that I LOVE IT HERE!!!!! Everything drips with beauty and celebration. I realized that Paris is composed of all things that celebrate France. What a positive place to be!!!
I have some great pictures to share but nowhere to upload them, so we'll have to wait. Tomorrow we go to Chopin's grave and to the catacombs. Then its a night train to Florence.
Please excuse all the misspelled words.. I have no spell check and I'm either on a whacked out keyboard or my iPod touch. And if I listed all of you that I miss, it would take longer than it did to write this blog. So I'll just say that I miss you all, most of all chicken noodle soup that I so desperately need to get over this cold and the overly rich cheese and mushroom crepe I ate for lunch.
See you in Florence!!!!

Hugeness that is Paris

We went to Versailles today... Huge. I still cannot believe how big it is. Almost sickening!! The best part was the gardens... So many fountains and neat things to see. We rented a row boat and went through the grand canal on the estate. It was magical!! We only crashed into the wall once and the sun came out during our journey... Thank God!! I have never been so cold in my life. It snowed briefly and the French people made fun of our scarves hats and gloves. I guess we are whimps. Tonight we walked along the Seine and saw the Louvre all lit up. The Eiffel Tower beamed its light at us and we saw some pretty amazing couture gowns on display in shop windows. Everything is just so big here. Enormous. We have been here two days and haven't seen even half of this place. But- I went to a boulangerie for some sweets and had real quiche from and outdoor market... That must count for something!! Now I just have to stop saying "si" instead of "oui" and I should be good to go.
I miss Jeepers!!! There are so many cute small dogs here, but nine like him. And he has the courtesy to not poop on the sidewalk.... I've almost slipped a dozen times.
Okay its past midnight and this beast I'd tired. Niht!!!