Budapest

I would like to say that everyone should go to Budapest once in their lifetime, it is an absolutely amazing city!! The whole city centre on the Pest side is filled with 18th and 19th century buildings and some of the main streets, Andrassy Avenue in particular, are protected by Unesco. The city has such a good energy to it and there are so many things to do. Whether you climb up Castle Hill in Buda to see the Royal Palace and the Museums on the Hill, or if you walk along the Danube Promenade between the Empress Elisabeth Bridge and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge the whole place is just stunning. The best view of the city is from the top of Gellert Hill in Buda where you can see virtually the entire metropolis, just stunning. Things I also enjoyed include visiting the Parliament, a beautiful building filled with neo-classical architecture built during the Habsburg era (when Hungary was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for the uninitiated). Another Habsburg Era building that is a must see is the National Opera House on ANdrassy Avenue. The Theatre was built in the 1880's and was inaugurated by Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) in 1885. Anotehr must see building, is St. Stephens Basilica, a huge church dedicated to St. Stephen, the forst King of Hungary. I also visited some less cheery buildings, notably the Terror House, which is a museum dedicated to the memory of those killed and interned by the Nazis and Soviets. The Museum is located in the same Building that housed the headquarters of the Nazi SS and the Soviet Secret Police from 1944 to 1956 and where thousands were tortured, tried, and many sentenced to death. It is a real eye opener because they do not spare any details, not a place for the faint of heart. I also walked up Andrassy to Heroes Square, a huge square at the entrance to the city park that commemorates heroes of Hungarian History. I did not get a chance to go to some of the famous baths however due to a lack of time. Anyways, Bye Bye from Europe, next entry will be about Austria and Vienna.

Slovenia and Croatia

I took my first steps into Eastern Europe in the last days by visiting Slovenia and Croatia. I have to say that there is a very big difference between the two countries in terms of wealth and friendliness. Slovenia in many ways can no longer be called an Eastern European country. The people are quite wealthy, similar to the wealth of western countries, they are already using the Euro, their capital is modern, clean, and functional, and they have adopted many other western customs. The people are also very friendly and helpful and Ljubljana, the capital, at least is in many senses a western city. The only complaint I have with the capital is that there is not a whole lot to do for tourists in the winter, you have to go to the mountains for that and I did not have the time or money. Ljubljana is more like a big small town and I imagine that it would be a very nice place to live. Croatia is much different. The two cities I managed to visit, Zagreb and Split, are both very beautiful but not the cleanest. The cars are old and smoky, and the areas outside the immediate centers are quite run down. In saying that the city of Split is beautiful and full of beaches, must be a great place to visit in the summer, it was quite dead in the winter. My major complaint with Croatia is that you are allowed to smoke in public and there are often no non/smoking sections. In least on trains there are non/smoking cars. The people of Zagreb tended not to be too friendly to non Croatian speakers, but in Split everyone was really helpful. I am now in Budapest, Hungary and will send a report in a few days.

Venice

Venice is the most unique and interesting city I have visited thus far. The whole place is just completely different from anything else, and it is incredibly beautiful. I spent three days there at an incredible hostel that provided free supper in a family like setting so you had no choice but to meet people, then we all sat around and socialized, it was great. I spent my days seeing the sights and wandering around the city. I got lost many many times because in Venice getting from point A to point B is not a simple task due to the fact that the streets are narrow and winding and there are various bridges and dead ends, but the whole place is just beautiful. To give directions the Venetians give distances in number of bridges, but that can be misleading because there is no sense of uniformity of distance between the bridges, causing much confusion to tourists. I managed to get on a gondola ride, which is normally really expensive. A few people from the hostel got together and took the ride and we split the cost, It was really amazing and the gondolier acted as a tour guide. I also got to see St. Marks square and watch the sunset from the pier next to the ocean, very nice view. The only downside of Venice is that everything is very expensive, except for pizza which costs the same as the rest of Italy. I am now in Ljubljana, Slovenia and will write more from here and my next destination, Split, Croatia.

Florence (Firenze)

Have spent the last few days in Florence, the city of the art masters, a fact not lost on the locals. The city itself is quite nice, although overly touristy which can be both good and bad. Good in the way that things are very clearly indicated (a rarity for italy), but bad in the way that it seems kind of sterile at times. The Florenties are also very frustratingly cunning in the way that they display their art. There are about four different galleries, each charging 6-12 euros and the famous David by Michelangelo is in this tiny little gallery that costs 6.50 to enter and has pretty much nothing BUT the david, while the major gallery which houses all the Leonardos, Michelangelos, Donatellos, and Rafaels (Ninja turtles references aside) costs 12 euros to visit, which leads one to believe that the whole place is a tourist trap, which is untrue. There are also some great churches in Florence, the central cathedral, or the Duomo, is really beautiful. There is also a central hill where one can get some amazing photos. The Hostel I stayed in was really nice, the people running it were really friendly and I met a lot of really nice people. I am now in Venice and will post more soon, to all who read this, send my love to the people who do not.

Naples

Spent a few days down in Naples, a very interesting place. Everything about the city is fast and excited, from the people to the dvers, especially the nutty scooter drivers.... The people may be in a hurry but they all seem very friendly and helpful to tourists. WHile in Naples I visited Pompeii, Capri, the old Royal Palace of Naples and many other things. The Hostel I staye in was amazing, I met all sorts of interesting people, even some whom I am meeting up with tonight in Rome, just amazing peole. Naples is also the home of Pizza, and the locals are not shy to tell you that they inveted it. The Pizza is also a million times better than the pizza you get back in Canada, or maybe it is just because it was Neapolitan Pizza. The afformentioned scooter drivers are a sight to behold, they do not seem to abide by any sort of traffic law and they do things that are nuts, I would never pass a bs on the right or drive on the sidewalk, would you? Despite the craziness I never saw any incidents and the locals just shrug it off and ignore them. While here I also went to a mardi gras party at the local university with some people from the hostel, southern italians are good at parties!!!!

Cheers from Italy!!!!!

Rome

First I have to say sorry for not posting for a week. Got sick in Nice and then came to Rome.

Rome is a pretty cool place, lots of history with the colosseum, the roman forum and the vatican are all super neat. St Peters Basilica is incredibly massive, just breathtaking, and the sistine chapel cannot be compared. I also visited the Basilica of St Paul by accident after getting on the Metro and going the wrong way to discover that It was not very far, that is another really beautiful church, the Catholics seem really good at making nice churches....... The city does not have the natural beauty that the cote d azur does, but the history is just incredible, and the locals play it up. They have Historical reenactors around the colosseum that look as though they are having a great time. The Romans are also good at exploiting the history to sell trinkets to tourists. I also went to a soccer game, or Calcio as the locals call it. Lazio of Rome vs Sampdoria. It was a pretty good game which the home side, Lazio won 2 - 1 much to the delight of the crowd who were more than boisterous with their songs. It was also a good day for Lazio because arch-rivals AS Roma lost 3-0 in their away game. I am off to Napoli tomorrow and then doubling back to Florence, so I will be posting more later, I should have time to upload photos from the next hostel, here I have to pay for internet at one of the bizarre Internet point/laundromats they have in these parts, although it is not a traditional laundromat because they actually do your lauyndry for you, very convenient!