Day 10: Naples, Italy

Blogged by: Kenzie

Today we took on the first leg of the trip towards the Amalfi Coast: Florence to Naples with a stop in Rome.

Ok warning: I really don't want to sound like a downer in today's post, but we had a few speed bumps along the way today. Learning to just roll with the punches :)

Brittany left at 5 this morning to catch her train from Florence to Venice where she flew out at 11:30. Hope your flight's going well, Brit!! Miss having ya with us!!

Keni and I were up pretty early due to the snorer in the hostel room, so we headed to the station and caught an early train from Florence to Rome. We Had a 2 hour layover in Rome, so we stopped off in the city to grab a bite. We did a very bad job of choosing a restaurant, though. We realized we were actually at a snack bar when we saw the waiter heating up a frozen meal as our lunch!! Rough, to be sure, but we grabbed some bread at a corner store and caught the train to Naples.

Our plan was to stay in Naples one night and take the quick train ride to Sorrento tomorrow, and then grab the bus to Positano where we will be until Monday. However, when we got to the Naples station, we learned that there is a bus strike today and tomorrow!! So, we don't quite know how we are getting to Positano tomorrow, but we are up for the challenge! In the words of my mom, that is what this trip is teaching me...To deal with situations like this. (mom, that was a very "momish" thing to say, but true nonetheless:) We are going to try to catch the ferry tomorrow as our alternate route.

We found our naples hostel (it's called Pizza Hostel... No joke..) and headed out to find the real reason we are here: THE PIZZA!!

We went to Pizzeria da Michele- the place Julia Roberts goes in Eat Pray Love. It's a pretty no frills place with white tile floor and tables, but BOY IS THAT PIZZA YUMMY!! People say that this restaurant has the best pizza in the world. Keni and I split the Margarita Pizza and oohed and ahhed for a while over the pizza. Mom...don't worry I'm still a loyal believer that your pizza is the best in the world, but they do have something good going on at this place.










We then walked around the city for about 2 minutes before deciding we needed to skeedaddle back to Pizza Hostel before the sun set. We're here now listening to fellow hostel-ers debate if global warming is real. Gonna let them go ahead and figure that one out on their own
Haha.


I'm not going to lie here and say Naples is breathtaking and gorgeous. There are tons of beautiful buildings but they all look very run down and worn out. But, it's cool to see the city, and I will never forget that pizza!!!

Ciao, Naples- probably won't see you anytime soon, but thanks for the pizza!!

- Kenz and keni

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 9: Tuscany

Blogged by Keni
06/29/2011

Well today we leave our beloved Cinque Terre and go on...we woke up early to catch our train ( we were trying to find a train that we get could stop off in Pisa and get a picture with the tower, but it really didn't happen for us)...we did go thru Jill's favorite Tuscan town of Lucca! We finally arrived in Florrence around noon and dropped our bags at hostel and eased to a delicious lunch at cafe deluxe. With seafood pasta, salad, and bread there was no way we could go wrong. There we mapped out our day with our first stop at the leather market where we spent much money and made new friends...






Pictured here is our new leather man friend and Brittany in her hot new bombshell leather jacket. Our first experience was at a leather jacket store which after Cassie came back from Florence with a one we all fell in love and wanted one. Our friend here brought us in, gave us comfy seats, and offered refreshments. It was just like wedding dress shopping, but not quite as expensive. He played mr suave claiming it was his birthday to get birthday kisses and his flattery. "kiss?" bdill: "No!" "oh you have a boyfriend? If you dont i give you cheaper" But hey it worked and Kenz and brit walked away with incredible styling leather jackets! we sealed the deal with a kiss and went on to shop til we dropped.





After having huge success at market, which including a new wallet for all if us, new purses, bracelets, belts, ect..., we headed to the magnificent Duomo. I waited for Dill and Kenz to return from the brutal but amazing stair trek to the top of the dome (I have already done it twice an decided to save euro and sit this one out) and I called mom and got to catch up on all the engagement details I have been missing out on.
We then had a pit stop to get wifi to communicate with all y'all and headed to get Florence's best fresh Gelato at Grome...we then hit up Zara to take on the European style. We took Brit by the amazing shops at the Ponte Vechio and headed to a glorious pear stuffed pasta meal at Fuori Porte.





We then took brit to see the Michelangelo plaza and views of Florence before taking the hour walk home and crashing straight into bed. Tomorrow we have a big task to take on Pizza in Naples!

Ciao,
KTKC

Location:Florence, Italy

Day 8

Blogged by: Kenzie
Location: Cinque Terre, Italy

What a day! We're in Cinque Terre, the five small towns along the Italian coast. Today we set out on the hike between the towns. We are staying in Riomaggiore, the last town of the five, so we hiked backwards towards Monterosa. We set out around 10 am and didn't make it to the last town until 4 pm! We hiked 3 of the 4 trails- one was closed, so we took the train in lieu of the 4 hour detour hike that was suggested.






Ok I have to be honest here- those hikes are not for the weak of spirit!! We were climbing steep steps, hiking down the mountainside, and squeezing past other hikers- the trail usually could only fit one person, so it was always tricky when we would meet hikers coming the opposite way! By the end, my legs were shaky, but I put J Simpson's "these boots Are made for walking" on repeat and kept on going!!

The hike is BEAUTIFUL- it gets you up in the mountain so you can get a birds eye view of the towns. breathtaking. We made some friends who go to UT and hiked a trail with them.

When we made it to Monterosso, the last town on our hike, we literally sprinted for the water and went swimming. We didn't realize we were on a private beach so, after getting kicked off the beach, we got some rays and napped on some boulders out in the water.

And now for the biggest moment of the day- a CELEB SIGHTING!! We saw the guy who plays Mitchell on Modern Family!! I gotta take credit for this one... When I first saw him and his lover hiking the trails, I was SURE it was him. Keni and Brittany didn't believe me, so we very sneakily followed from a distance until we were sure it was him! We actually saw them 3 times while hiking... It was sort of like playing where's Waldo! We tried to play it real cool and act like all suave about the situation, but I mean it's not everyday you just run into a star of your favorite tv show. Brittany snapped the following pic just for proof of the sighting:


I really like how they matched their shoelaces :)

We took the train back to Riomaggiore, grabbed take out Italian food, and headed down to the water to watch the sunset again.




Ciao!!
-kenz&ken

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 7: Ciao Italia

Posted by Keni
06/27/2011
Well today was one of those crazy travel days! We set out alarms to wake up at 7:15 for our 7:42am train ride to Ventimilagio but naturally it didn't quite work. We woke up at more like 7:30 and grabbed our bags and ran to the train station. We caught a train to Ventimilagio and then to Genova and on to our little Riomaggiore. We arrived around 4pm and got off the train and headed up the very steep road to our hostel or so we thought. When we got there there was a note that said be back in a bit. When the woman finally arrived she said she has upgraded us from a 11 person dorm to a 4 person apt. So we walked out the door back down the hill to apparently meet an old man named Antonio who would board us. A little sketched out, but Sure enough a cute little old man appeared around the corner and we begun our hike to the top of an apartment to a room that has one bed and 2 cots mismatched with a lot of antique furniture. The most hilarious part was the bathroom closet that contained an instant toilet, sink, and shower all in one. Brilliant idea haha you just close the door that has the sink on it and there ya are peeing, showering, and brushing teeth all at once. But the room did have a very nice terrace.
Once we threw down our bags we headed to the rocky coast for a glass of wine and a snack which was a mixture of a quesadilla and panini with cheese and that cold ham meat that I can't seem to remember the name of. The little cafe had a great view overlooking the endless sea of blue. We then explored the stores of the town where bdill got a local linen white shirt and Kenz purchased a copper and turquoise bracket. I am attempting to not shop (mom-so far i am succeeding :))
At the store called Hacunna Matatta we met a Canadian woman there who had been on vacation in the town and had met a local man and married him and moved from Canada to live with her husband here full time. Kenz was all over this and Doug & Jill should be quite concerned with her and the Italian babe she is dreaming of. Singlelady is on the prowl for Mr Ciao Bello. We left the store headed to seafood dinner which we split to entrées (one including a complete fish with eyeballs & everything-pretty fresh if you ask me) and in budgeting fashion we had at least 6 pieces of bread each with of coarse our added touch of balsamic in order to ensure that our large Italian appetites were satisfied. We then bought a bottle of wine and headed to the rocky shore line to enjoy the sunset in our private cove with a little bit of skinny dipping in the Mediterranean as the sun set over the ocean and cliffs. One of my favorite evenings yet.



We then headed to the little "bar" aka the outside wifi cafe were apparently everyone goes after 9 pm across our apt and met some very friendly and funny south Africans as we discussed life, politics, our faith, ect...we our loving meeting people from all over the world. It is so interesting to hear everyones views and how our lives in each country differ. One of their families even owned a Christmas Cracker company...I will tell Glad where to order them from cuz apparently he picks out great toys and makes up the jokes for them. We finally went back to our apt to find we had another roommate who was from NYC and traveling Europe by herself for 12 weeks...I can't even imagine doing that but it has been fun to get to know her as well. Life sure isn't too shabby over on the Italian coast! Tomorrow we take on the hike!

One of the most incredible things about this trip for me is the different ways you get to experience and enjoy God. I think one thing that I have learned is how distracted we get in the states and where we put our time. With TV shows to look forward to or we are just always thinking about the next thing and what we have to do... But here, we have no TV, I have no idea what is going on the Bachlorette nor have any clue what is filling the news back home, or a cell phone to constantly check messages or play games and no one seems to care about time. With all that gone, I have been able to experience a deep need for Jesus and have my quiet times on a mountain or somewhere in His gorgeous creation to look forward to in a way I haven't in a while. To truly crave time alone with the Lord is such an enjoyment and l am learning to spend time just enjoying Jesus. The more you experience our God, the more you see His goodness! Today in Jesus Calling it said it so well, "Rest in me a while. You have journeyed up a steep, rugged path in recent days. The way ahead is shrouded in uncertainty. Look neither behind you or before you. Instead, focus your attention on Me, your constant companion. Trust that I will equip You fully for whatever awaits you on your journey."

Missing my man so much, but then again who wouldn't miss going on adventures like alligator hunting in the bayou with this?


Arrivederci,
KTKC

Location:Riomaggiore, Italy

Day 6

Blogged by: Kenzie
Location: Nice, Ville Fraiche, St. Paul de Vence, France.

Today we decided to take the hostel's boat adventure around Nice and the surrounding towns. However... After we woke up at 7 am to catch the boat, we were told that the boat was cancelled! Soooooo that left us with a day beach it up again! Yesterdays beach in Nice was very rocky, so we hopped on the train for 2 stops to Ville Frainche, a little town outside Nice.

GREAT DAY! we spent all day getting some rays, reading, swimming around in the mediterranean, and eating sandwiches/lemon gelato. Considering we were up at 7, we had quite a bit of time at the beach, and after a relaxing day we headed back to Nice.




**above: bad quality pic, but Brit, Sarah, and court soaking in the sun today!!**

There's an iron man race going on in Nice this weekend, so there's all sort of athletic people hanging around the town- we don't hate it!! We've been trying to fit in with them... Maybe people will believe were here for the race?




We parted ways with Courtney, Sarah, and Brooke when we got back to Nice. They headed into the town center to watch the iron man finish before catching their night train back for class tomorrow in Strasbourg. It was so great to hang out with them this weekend- It's kinda surreal to be with five good friends in South France.

Brittany, Keni, and I hopped on a bus to check out St. Paul de Vence, a nearby town that keni's uncle recommended.

Sidenote: we are becoming quite adept with public transportation if I do say so myself... Since getting here we have maneuvered metros, trains, trams, and the bus system!

St. Paul de Vence is an old artist town up on a hill outside Nice. Picasso and Matisse came here in their prime to get inspired and to paint- now it's a little town up on a hill with lots and lots of galleries. We walked around, took some photos, and took in the view. Before leaving we sat on a patio to eat a Nutella crepe and met some French friends who explained to us why Southern France is the best place in the world to live. One was an aspiring landscape architect, and he named all the flowers that crawl up the walls of the city. The Sunday bus ends early, so we had to run back to the bus stop in order to catch the last bus back to Nice.



St. Paul de Vence

I'll be sad to leave Nice. I love it's size- large enough to be "happening" but small enough to feel quaint and beautiful.

We had a great dinner in old nice- loved the restaurant. Our waiter told us we ordered very 'nician' ... Stuffed vegetables and goat cheese lasagna. Us three have gotten very good at sharing two entrees- it's the perfect amount and much cheaper on the budget!

Miss you!!
Love kenz & ken

Overview:
City- Nice
Restaurants:
-fenocchio for gelato (2 rue gambetta)
-L'ecure for Great Nician food (4 rue de march)
Hostels:
-villa St exupery gardens (22 avenue gravier)
-hostel baccarat (39 rue de d'angleterre)
Day trips: Monte carlo, ville frainche and St Paul de Vence

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 5: Living the life of the rich & famous

Blogged by Keni
06/25/2011

Well today was a glimpse of the high roller life. We stayed at a very nice hostel on the outskirts of Nice last night and fell asleep with a little pillow talking with our bunk mates from Princeton & Vanderbuilt. However, once we finally turned the lights off around 2:30 the noise from the hang out area of the hostel was out of control. I finally fell asleep around 5 am when a man finished telling some girl his very sad life story bawling. Along with that our bunk mates were snoring so the morning broke after about 2 hours of sleep! Nonetheless, by 9 were ready to enjoy the Nice beach! We headed down to the rocky beach and had an incredible day of lounging, collecting glass made by the ocean (well at least court, Brooke, & Bdill did-excited to yalls craft), and swam in the glorious blue ocean! It was a more than perfect kind of day!

We then enjoyed an amazing lunch of pizza, pasta, and of coarse bread, bread and more bread!! The ultimate staple for a budgeted backpacker, but of coarse you have to ad our ultimate favorite balsamic...everything is better with just a tidbit of balsamic. After enjoying a perfect lunch outside in the main square we headed back to the hostel to glam up for a night out in Monte Carlo.


We took a train into the glitzy town full of Aston Martins, Maubaches, & Bentleys only followed by their million upon million dollar yachts. At one moment you are enthralled by the wealth of these people and at the next disgusted by the huge amounts of money that they don't seem to know what to do with. We walked around the pier exhibiting all the boats and then headed up to the a grassy area looking over the sunset setting over the water and enjoyed a bottle of wine. Well 4 of us did. Let's just say Court & Sarah enjoyed something more closely related to juice considering the label that said "sin alcohol" however they didn't quite realize why it tasted so sweet and juicy until they were pretty much done with the bottle.

We then walked along the streets where we saw private party after private party with cameras escorting them. It was quite the dazzling life. We finally made our way into the Monte Carlo Casino which was stunning with exquisite chandeliers and decor. Most of us were unsuccessfully, but bdill definitely came out with a little extra cash!



We then processed back on the last train to Nice and had quite the sleepover!





2 to a twin bed! Nothing like a slumber party with our besties!

Absolutely loving Nice & the south of France! We are all relaxed and extremely content...

Wishing you were all drinking a Monaco and relaxing on beech with us!

KTKC

Location:Nice, France & Monte Carlo, Monaco

Day 4

Written by: Kenzie

Good night sleep in Marseille but prob won't be a spot We'll be returning to Asap. The night was spiced up when we got to put our Taken skills into practice- a man offered to share a taxi with us- if we learned ANYTHING from that movie it's to NEVER SHARE A CAB! You should have heard the resounding "NO!" he got from all three of us!

The train ride from marseilles from nice was gorgeous. Couldn't decide which window to look out- the beaches of the Mediterranean on my right or the rocky cliffs on my left. The only problem is that the rocking of the train makes me drowsy and I don't want to miss anything!! Took the train through Casis, Toulon, st tropez, and Cannes.

We got all checked into our hostel and headed to dinner where we met up with Sarah mccready, Courtney jasperson, and Brooke foster. They are studying in Strasbourg, France and have come to nice to meet us for the weekend!! For dinner we ate steak, shrimp, bread, and wine. Loving the bread at every meal- our waiter told us that in France you never have to order bread because it's always assumed. My kind of place.




Time flies 90 mph here (or should I say kpm!) and we had to race to make it to fenocchio. Fenocchio is a gelato place that claims it has the best gelato in France. It closes at 12 am (or should I say 00:00!!) and we were running around the tiny streets of old nice to make it. There was an entire square covered with tables full of people eating gelato and I'm pretty convinced that the gelato held up to their claim.


After dinner we headed home and went to sleep at our cozy hostel.

Love from nice!!
Kenzie and keni

Adios Barcelona...

We are currently in route to Marsielle! And no that was not on our itinerary...which leads us to our day of unexpected twists and turns. After a productive day yesterday of visiting the the Sangrada Familia, seeing the old palace, and shopping and enjoying Pablo Espanol (where kenz got a matching ktkc belt and we enjoyed some chocolate cake in the plaza) we decided to experience Barcelona at night. We went to a delicious restaurant called bodega la tinaja. Well atleast the bread and wine were good. They brought toasted bread which he then took fresh tomatoes and garlic and rubbed it all over the bread with olive oil and salt! Incredible. And of coarse we added our own personal touch of balsamic! It was amazing with some local Rioja wine. Then came the food. I ordered mini sausages flambeed with rum so it came out on fire. They were very tasty...but then came the raw filet of salmon (which we definitely did not realize) and codfish that actually came out in puree form. All in all it was tasty and naturally our waiter in Barcelona style brought a complementary shot of choice to "cleanse the pallet" aka Bailleys. Before we left we got our waiter to take a quick pic for us...which he does, however then proceeds to give us his card asking us to send it to him. Awkward, yes. As were a little sketched out leaving he comes running down the corner asking to take a pic with us and exclaiming that he will cut himself out of it...apparently Spanish men are a little forward?? I prefer my Texas men with wranglers and gun in pants! (quick shout out to Joshua Kain for being newly licensed with his CHL) After a dinner that came to a conclusion at 11 pm (clearly we are living up the nice long European dinners) we headed to one of my hang outs from when I studied abroad. As we walked into the restauraunt to find fire everywhere across the counter top. They had about 1000 drink options which they served in some crazy way that usually involved fire. From the stop light, to gummy bear, to Harry potter, to some drink that you drink fire, to some girl blowing bubbles, it was a hilarious experience to watch! It was full of students abroad and we met some friends from Frankfurt. They gave us pointers on what to do in Germany and were quite entertaining...we then attempted to experience a Barcelona Discotheque. We didn't last long, but it was definitely a Barcelona experience of Barcelona after midnight. We finally got back to our hostel at 4ish and went straight to bed. We woke up this morning (4 hrs later) ready to take on the day and enjoy a relaxing day on the beach. however it didn't quite go as planned. We checked out of the hostel and had breakfast and went on to stop by and buy our train tickets. Well 2 hours later and 8 rude people, we thought we were never going to be able to leave Barcelona. Our options were a 200 euro overnight train to nice or a already full train to Montpellier because tomorrow is a holiday in Spain. We finally decided to go ahead and leave Barcelona and try to make it more than halfway to nice. Hence is why we are en route to Marseilles. After running back to hostel to grab our bags and briskly running from metro to metro to make our train, we are here in the nick of time. So first stop Cerbere, then Narbonne, and finally arriving in Mareille. Well hopefully anyway, our train was delayed and we have 3 min to buy next ticket and switch trains so well see if we make. Can't wait to be in Nice with our women Brooke, Court, & Sarah if we ever make it. And so the adventure across Europe goes on...

Kenz has it been a little bit rough of a day? Train ride #1 of many to come...


A look at our very packed 3 hr train ride... And yes the old man next to Kenz is fascinated by her addiction to Tiny Wings...



(above) a very tired Kenzie Chesnut sporting some Beats by Dre headphones that match Ludacris' and a purple bikini hidden by a classic black v neck and tevas. Fashion icon? I think so. At least her seat mate think so.



Above: Keni and brit enjoying our 2nd round of cokes for the day despite our goal of sticking to one a week... I guess some goals are just meant to be broken.

Update: we made train with our 3 min layover, but no ticket was purchased...sorry I'm not sorry...Europe on a budget. We are now playing Dutch Blitz on train from Narbonne to Marsailles with a gorgeous view out our window of sun setting over Provence while Kenz is throwing down some serious game & practicing her French with a French cutie named Unique...well atleast that's how it sounds.
We now just arrived in Marseilles at 11 pm and attempted to walk to our hotel but quickly returned to train station and hailed a very expensive cab ride but we are safely at our hotel at 12 am...



Our long day of traveling finally ends with nautical themed hotel room in Marseilles!

If anyone has any recommendations for the South of France let us know!

Love from Spain...
KTKC

Barcelona Overview...
Hostel: gothic point youth hostel (c. Dels Vigatans, 5)
Restaurants: dinner at les quince Nits (P. Real 6) on the plaza, sangria at cafe Zurich, churros & chocolate at cafe de l'opera, amazing tomato & garlic bread and interesting but good dinner at bodega la tinaja (C. De l'esparteria, 9)
Other: Dow jones (c. Bruc, 97), chuppitos (Aribau, 97), & catwalk (c. Ramon Trias fargas, 2-4)
Activities: las Ramblas, sangrada familia, montjuic, poble espanyol, mila, casa battlo, parc guell, Columbus monument, beach, la Boquetia, Catedal de canta Cruz y Santa eulalia de Barcelona, Palau de la generalitat

Location:Barcelona, Spain

WE ARE IN EUROPE!! we've had one day here and it is just to beautiful. Keni has studied abroad in Barcelona, so she knows this place well and it's been fun to walk the city with her and see all her favorite spots.

Yesterday, however, we woke up in Dallas to learn that our flight from dfw to NYC had been cancelled just as
We were walking out the door! God sent an angel in the form of our american airlines flight agent who ended up getting us on a BETTER flight than before!

Yesterday we got all checked in at the hostel and literally took off full speed. We walked the city- saw the water and about 200 h&m/zaras. I'm serious- there's a h&m on every corner here! It's probably a good thing that I have a built in shopping "check" that ever purchase I make has o be carried around Europe on mu back for the next month.

In the afternoon we took the metro to parc guel, a city park designed by gaudi, a famous barcelinian architect. This city is very architectural in a kinda funky way. One side may look identical to Paris and the other side of the street will look like that mushroom house over by pcpc!

In the afternoon we found Brittany dillon, who's going to be with us until Florence!

We ate at a little restaurant that keni loves from past trips. Popular too- The restaurant opened at 8:30 and there was a line at the door at 8:15! Everyone eats so late here!

This morning my legs feel like I ran a marathon yesterday- almost feel down the stairs when getting off mu hostel bunk!!

Miss you all
Love kezie and keni

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Europe here we Come...

Well we have about 24 hours till we fly off to Europe and just wanted to post our itinerary so that all yall could know our route and post any recommendations or "must do's"...

June 21-23 Barcelona, Spain

                 night train to nice

June 24- June 27 Nice, France

                Day trip to Monte Carlo/Cannes/Saint Paul de Vence

June 27-June 30 Cinque Terre, Italy

June 29-June 30 Florence, Italy

                Dropping off Bdill to fly out

                Day trip to Assisi 

June 30- stay in Naples

July 1-July 4 Positano, Italy

                Day trip to Sorrento/Ravello

July 4-July 6 Lake Como, Italy

July 6- July 8 Interlaken, Switzerland
July 8-10 Gimmelwald, Switzerland (small town in Alps)

July 10-July 12 Zell am See, Austria

July 12-July 14 Munich, Germany

              Day trip to Dachau 

July 14-July 16- the Rhine River, Germany (Saintk Goar)

July 17-July 19- the Netherlands (Amsterdam & Hindeloopin)

July 19-21- Brussels, Belgium where Keni flies out

July 22- Kenzie flies out from Paris

Au Revoir America!!

Migliori amicis,

KTKC