Weird

So I got on to make a new post and it seems that after I inserted a couple of pictures the other day, I somehow lost that post. Sorry! Florence was nice. The most notable difference from Rome was that there were fewer cars and more people walking around. I ate some good food and the people I met in the hostel were fantastic. There were 2 couples from Poland there that were very fun to talk to. They are all studying civil engineering so I got along well with them. We mostly walked around the city enjoying the social environment and old buildings. Dave's foot was hurting so we just took it easy a lot, talking with as many random strangers as we could. My North Carolina tshirt brought a lot of attention from the American tourists. Everyone there was nicely dressed (much nicer than I ever am any more) but most seem friendly. Then we went to Pisa. Pisa has the feel of a really small college town that also gets tourists. I was uploading those pictures onto the blog when Celeste walked up and introduced herself. She is from outside Milan and had gone to school in Pisa for translation. This means her English was superb. She offered to show us around and helped us see a side of the city few tourists get. She showed us the best places to eat and the hangouts of the locals. There was a huge uncovered square that was formed by connected buildings. The comoradary and friendship was obvious at first glance. They welcomed us in broken English, often asking Celeste to translate. They are funny people! I am now in cinque terre. I will write more when we finish here in a couple days.

Background

I just graduated from BYU and instead of walking across the stage, I will be walking down the terminal to the airplane and fly to Rome. I have taken a few years to get through school because of my need for distraction from the mundane. I have been to Alaska, the Olympics (in Vancouver), backpacked the Appalachian Trail, and driven buses and trucks (not bad for a high school physics teacher). It has been a good time, but now I am ready to go see another part of the world that (I hope) holds new mysteries, people, and experiences that will help enrich my life.

I expect to be in some huge cities surrounded by people as well as find myself sitting alone on top of a mountain waiting for the morning sun to warm my face. I hope to experience history, enjoy the present, and make friends and memories for the future.

This blog is to allow you to share my experience and encourage me to keep those I care about informed about my whereabouts.

My tentative plan:

• fly to Rome (on Saturday)
• Meet up with Dave (a friend I became acquainted with in Salt Lake)
  
• 2 or 3 or 4 days in Rome
• 1 day travel to Florence (by train, bus, or hitchhiking)
• 2 or 3 days in Florence

this is when it starts to get fuzzy,

• Head up to Turin
• Genoa is next
• Chinque Terre
• Mt. Blanc
• Geneva and CERN
• Then hop on the Alpine Panorama Trail (510km across Switzerland)
• Munich
• Berlin

This is when it gets real fuzzy,

• Brussels
• London (for the Olympics)
• Wales
• Scotland
• N. Ireland
• Ireland
• Fly home from Dublin.

This is my ideal itinerary. Seeing as how I will be flying by the seat of my pants most of the time, I don't know that I will see it all. What I do know is that it will be one fun summer full of adventure.