Summer vacation part 2

On the morning of July 26th I put the old woman on a plane in Amsterdam and then walked over to the arrivals hall to meet Jason and Christy. They were jet lagged so I won't reproduce any of the comments that Jason made about my hair.

FORESHADOWING: We went to six cities even though we had only planned to go to five. Also, one of the six photos in this collage is the original.

By the time that Jason and Christy arrived in Amsterdam the hot weather had broken. Instead, we had a mixture of sunshine and random rain showers; It was pretty great. We had an awesome time exploring the city and experiencing everything from the Rijksmuseum to the Red Light District.

We walked by this sweet windmill/brewery on our first day but we didn't go inside. I have the windmill remorse.

Jason and Christy treated us to a canal tour! They paddled while we drank beer under an umbrella to protect us from the sun.

We were only in Amsterdam for two days so it was kind of a blur. Before we knew it we were hopping on a train to Paris. Becca had found us first-class tickets so we were literally wined-and-dined on the 3ish hour trip. When we got to Paris a very convincing scammer tried to sell us metro passes at the train station but the girls didn't fall for it.

We tried to take this photo on the first night but the rain sent us running for cover.

The view from Tour Montparnasse is a great way to get an overview of Paris.

Becca and Christy visited museums while Jason and I did the laundry, drank Brew Dog beer, and then supported the communists by smoking cigars in the park that this window overlooks. This is the one photo that Becca could take in the Musée d'Orsay without getting yelled at by a security guard.

We divided our time between exploring the city, hanging out in the gorgeous parks, and finding opportunities to appreciate being in France (read: cheese, wine, pastries). Jason was able to trace the route of the Tour de France riders on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Becca visited Monet's Water Lilies in the Musée de l'Orangerie, Christy enjoyed several stinky cheeses, and I ate religieuses for breakfast every day: great success!

Cheese + wine + pastries + park = happy, blurry people

On August 1st we boarded a train to Marseille so Christy could show us around the city where she studied for a few months in college. Becca and I had never been there before and we liked the relaxed, coastal atmosphere and the preponderance of sea food. We did not, however, appreciate the ridiculous amount of dog poop that is left on the sidewalks by the relaxed, coastal French people.

The main port in Marseille is a wonderful mix of contemporary and ancient architecture.

The hotel that Jason and Christy chose was the nicest one we stayed in during the trip: modern art, nice pool, really expensive drinks at the bar, great air conditioning, locally-made soap in the bathroom, really expensive drinks at the bar, and a tapestry of a disapproving Indian family in the bedroom.

And then we tried to go to Florence, Italy. Except the French train to Italy was experiencing the kind of problem that ends in a 10 hour delay. They gave us crackers and French food in cat food cans that tasted like cat food as a consolation prize. Thankfully, we had purchased unlimited SIM cards for our phones so at least we had internet access while we waited. After an uncomfortable day on the train we made it to Italy. Barely (4 miles from the border).

We arrived in Ventimiglia at 8pm and the ticket agent at the train station was stereotypically adversarial. When he wasn't stopping to answer his cell phone he informed Becca we weren't going anywhere until the next day. Meanwhile, Christy and I were literally running around the town trying to find decent hotel rooms for the night.

It all worked out fine. We had a classic Italian dinner (food was mediocre and the waitress tried to charge us for stuff we didn't order), ate some delicious gelato, took some photos, and then crashed in our air-conditioned hotel rooms.

Our first impression was that the gelato was cheap. However, after Jason commented that the town felt 'stabby' we fixated on the number people sleeping on the beach/in the bushes.

The next morning we caught a train at 6:30am to Florence. The train ride to Florence was beautiful but our delayed departure meant that we had fewer than 24 hours to spend in the city. The hotel was nice (although they made Becca and I wait while they prepared the room that we had already paid for since the night before). Also, it was like 100 degrees F outside. Thankfully, you can purchase an ice-cold bottle of white wine in Italy for $4 and they will open it for you and give you plastic cups.

The architecture in Florence is very regional: the color of the buildings reminded us of the buildings we saw in Marseille.

The river that runs through Florence attracts a lot of visitors; this may be because of the pretty reflections, all of the shopping, or the fact that they charge people an entrance fee to the public parks.

Shopping on the left, pretty on the right.

The train ride from Florence to Rome was very quiet (probably due to the $4 white wine from the day before). Unfortunately, Rome was also about 100 degrees F so we formulated a plan: do stuff in the morning, sleep during the hottest part of the day, and then do stuff in the evening.

Castel Sant'Angelo is one of my favorite places in Rome. However, the river is embarrassingly filthy and the roof where I was standing was approximately 150 degrees F.

Holy crap the Trevi Fountain is gorgeous at night. Also, I literally can't say 'Fontana di Trevi' without gesturing with my hand.

The Colosseum has to be experienced to appreciate. Only a remnant of its former glory remains but it's impossible to visit without being overwhelmed.

Tanned skin is damaged skin. Floppy hats are the reason we still get carded when we buy beer.

The view from Saint Peter's Basilica is incredible if you don't mind the 320 steps to the top (including the additional fee for the elevator).

The Colosseum on a summer night is the best part of visiting Rome. A $3 bottle of rosé makes the night even more poignant.

Notice the lack of pictures with people in them? That's because it was so freaking hot outside that we all looked like we were melting cones of gelato.

We had a great trip with Jason and Christy and we are very glad that we got to spend some time with them. Next time, however, Jason is going to have to ride a bicycle around Jonsvatnet with me.