Home sweet home

I just wanted to thank everyone for following me! It was a great trip and an awesome experience. I learned so much, met so many cool people, and the sights were unbelievable. It's so cool to compare the western european lifestyle with ours.

The Final Itinerary is as follows:

Paris, France
Amsterdam, Holland
Frankfurt, Germany
Bacharach, Germany
Interlaken, Switzerland
Como, Italy
Menaggio, Italy
Florence, Italy
Pula, Croatia
Rab Island, Croatia
Plitvice National Park, Croatia
Split, Croatia
Hvar Island, Croatia
Rome, Italy
Cinque Terre, Italy
Nice, France
Barcelona, Spain
Bilbao, Spain
Barcelona, Spain

Favorite Place (since this is the first question EVERYONE asks): Hvar Island, Croatia

I would post pictures, but i took over 1,000 and it's far too hard to pick the best of's. Contact me if you wanna see any specific place.

Thanks!!
-Evan


next trip? .... S. America? SouthEast Asia? Eastern Europe? Australia? .....

Barcelona

Doin time in barcelona. Met Bekah and her friend here. We're havin a blast. I'll have to post some pictures a little later on. We have 2 more nights, and then moving on to Valencia. Stay updated for photos!

Nice, France - Bilbao, Spain

So we made it to Nice for 2 nights. We basically just hit the beach and then went to Monte Carlo, Monaco for dinner. Monte Carlo was like a fantasy world. The most ferraris, Porsches, Bentleys, Maseratis, etc, etc... i´ve ever seen. The casino was pretty impressive and the yachts were ok, i guess.

After Nice we had a full day of trains to Barcelona. We had to make 3 different connections, and almost missed our train at every one. We spent 1 night in barcelona because we´need to connect with a train up north. We'll be back in barcelona on the 16th though.

So now we're in Bilbao which is pretty nice. We did the Guggenheim Museum today so that was fun. Really impressive building and some fun exhibitions. We have 3 nights here then another night on the train back down to barcelona. I think we´re going to do a day trip tomorrow to San Sebastian and then another day trip to Guernica.

-evan

Pisa?

Italians on strike... stuck in pisa til 9 tonight... the leaning tower isn't THAT interesting..

Pisa?

Italians are on strike... we're stuck in Pisa until 9 tonight. Not the greatest city to be stuck in.

When in Rome...

When in Rome...

Buy a pair of fArmanis
Have a faux-hawk
and take a picture of yourself in the middle of the street with the Colosseum in the background...

Yea, I'm pretty cool...

Mom and Dad, for some reason i remembered that one piazza while we here a few years ago with the lion fountain things and the 2 identical basilicas. I think it's cuz we hung out there for awhile, and i played on the fountain... Well i had the HARDEST time finding it, i forgot what the name was and where it was. I was walking around by myself today and finally ran into it (After having the best pizza for lunch annndd the best gellato i've ever had). I wanted to get a picture of me on the lion again, but unfortunately i was by myself. No problem tho, i asked some random to take 2 pics of me, a nice one and a cool one. See if you can figure out which one this is...

We did the pub crawl last night and had a blast. It started at 9 and we started off with an hour walking tour and saw the Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps at night. Our tour guide was hilarious. Then we went to a few bars and met some cool people.

Walked around a lot today and saw a lot of cool things. It's nice to be back here after a few years seeing it from a different perspective. The weather was really nice today and really enjoyed myself.

OH! ANNNDD i met 3 guys on the Italian National Team for Rowing. I saw some guys walk by with rowing shirts on, and i had my head of the Charles shirt on. I went up and showed them my shirt and they were really excited. Barely spoke english, but I got their names (Totally forget now, but something like Federiccio, Luigi, and _________ [fill in the blank]) and 2 of them rowed lightweight and 1 heavy. Really cool.

Don't have too much set up for Cinque Terre tomorrow, i just know we will prob leave for there around 8 in the morning and stopping in Pisa for about an hour.

If I don't post while in Cinque Terre, my next will be Nice, France.
'evan

Roma

Well, 2 ferries, an hour walk, and a train ride later, Shane and I have arrived in Roma. We took the 10hr ferry from Split, Croatia, which actually wasn't that bad. Finding the train station in Ancona, Italy WAS.

We arrived in Rome at about 3 and hit up the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps and grabbed an awesome dinner where the chef decided he would order for us. Fun stuff

It is really hot here and super crowded. Today we went and saw Saint Peter's Basilica and the Sistene Chapel in the Vatican. Some pretty impressive stuff...

I think we're doing a pub crawl tonight around the city and then gonna do the Colosseum and the Ancient City (and maybe the zoo?!) tomorrow.

Then off to Cinque Terre on Monday.

evan

Sad day...

We reluctantly departed from Hvar Island today, and i am currently back in Split waiting for an overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy. Enjoy some pictures...

Most of the rowdy gang of the Green Lizard Hostel.
Pulling into the Tree Fort Bar. The collapsed white umbrellas off the the right is the bar.
Bala being a monkey, Shane enjoying his drinks, and the Sophies chillin.
Life is tough.

More Hvar.

So, 4 nights in Hvar wasn't enough. Yesterday we decided we would stay an extra night, then this morning we said why not stay another? So instead of 4 nights here, we're doing 6 nights. Unfortunately, we have to kick dubrovnik out of our itinerary. Which is ok, because we have heard it is very hot and touristy. And why go there when we can stay here?

So i think what we're gonna do is head back up to Split on thursday to catch an overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy. We will hopefully be in Rome by the 4th? i think? i'm kinda confused on the days... i thought yesterday was thursday..

Hvar Rocks.

Really great day today. Met a bunch of people at the hostel last night and everyone decided to hang out today. There were 14 of us in 3 rental boats crashing islands. Ton of fun. We hit this 'tree fort bar' on one island and had a drink there while chillin in a hammack near the beach... rough life.

Gotta post pics soon. Could stay here for another week. However, Dubrovnik is next.


.e

hot

It's really hot in croatia.

Plitvice National Park and Pictures!

So Plitvice was really cool. It was nice to take a break from the beach and go inland a little bit. The lakes were so blue! All the lakes (Somethin like 23) are connected by waterfalls. The first pic is of some waterfalls and the second is one of me when i hiked up some bit and go a shot shooting down.


Here i am jumping off a cliff in Pula.
Nice little beach near some cliff jumping.
This picture is a shot of the crowd in the Roman Amphitheater in Pula during the Croatia vs. Turkey Game. As you can see, red flares were going off everywhere. Great time.


Nice Little jump here...



So we made it to Split, Croatia today. We are doing two nights here, and then heading to Hvar, Croatia for 4 nights. Gonna do a beach tomorrow i think.


Hope you enjoy the post!
'e

Rab Island, Croatia

So we made it to Rab after an awesome time in Pula. The game ended up being absolutely ridiculous. I have some sweet pics i'll have to post. Croatia ended up scoring in the 119th minute of a 120 minute game. Crowd went ballistic. Then turkey decided to score with 5 or so seconds left. Unfortunately, Turkey won (yea, i know how to spell) in the shootout. It was a sad night in Croatia...

Gonna hang out here for 2 nights, and then head to the Plitvice National Park. Supposed to be gorgeous.

Staying with 2 Americans tonight. We ended up in the tourist office at the same time and the woman there decided it'd be easier to put us all together. We're staying in an apartment type thing with this crazy woman living above us. Can only speak croatian. Pretty fun.

I'll update after plitvice.

PEACE!
'ed

CROATIA!

Pretty much love Croatia. Hung out on the beach for the past 2 days. Jumped off some cliffs today... nbd. Got some great pics (will post them soon). Gettin a pretty sweet tan broski.

And on a scale from 1 to DB i'm totally a 15 (hahah jen. and btdubs, get over yourself). ESPECIALLY because we're renting.... SCOOTERS TOMORROW!!!

And although the Celtics might of one (and the only one who cares is mmaaara. and maybe tony.), Croatia vs. Turkey is tonight. Big playoff game for the Eurocup. Everyone is goin nuts here, so i better get ready.

So Jen, keep truckin.
Lorna, PURALATOR
Mara, smh.
Travis, you better be pulling hard
and Tony, you better be stuffin your face now. cus upon my return, its race season.

k, you all better read this or i did all those shoutouts for nothing!

anyways,
missin everyone and next post i should be in Rab, Croatia.
-e

Lake Como / Firenze

So after a very relaxing time at Lake Como, we made our way to Florence.  Como was really cool and met some really nice people.  Our view was awesome from our hostel in Menaggio (2 hr ferry north of Como).  

We got to Florence yesterday, and was able to meet Colin's relatives.  They're taking us in for 3 nights which is absolutely awesome (Clean bathrooms, big towels, and food!!!).  Very thankful of that.  Their house is about 30minutes outside of the city and is in a cool location.  Their kids are cool and we're havin a good time.  Hiked the duomo today and we have a 4:45pm reservation to see Michelangelo's David.

We will be heading to Venice on Wednesday and then Croatia!!!

'til then.

-max.

Canyoning

So here are some pictures from canyoning... doesn't really explain everything, but still some pretty cool shots. The top pic is of me making a really cool face on the zip line, and the pic on the bottom is one of the bigger rock slides with the drop at the bottom.

Fun stuff.

Made it to Lake Como today after an interesting night AND train ride...

more to come.

Interlaken

So i went mountain biking yesterday, and just got back from Canyoning today. Unbelievable.

Mountain biking was really fun. We biked about 500 meters up to the town of Grindlewald. It was pretty hard going up obviously, but coming back down was sweeeet. Just to imagine the tour de france bikes through these alps for days at a time.

Canyoning today was definately something different. Didnt quite know what to expect. We started off by putting on 2 wetsuits, neoprine socks and shoes, a harness, a lifevest, and a helmet. After driving an hour into the alps with snow still on the ground, we get out and walk towards a cliff. Clipping in, we had to repel down a 50 meter (~180ft) drop off. Then the water began. Very very cold water. It consisted of traveling through about a waist deep or so creek with tons of huge boulders and what not. To get through certain obstacles, we would use these natural waterslides with drops off the end, jump of waterfalls\cliffs, and use zip lines and rope swings. With adrenaline rushing and the wetsuits, halfway through it seemed like i was in 80 degree water.

Tried putting a pic up, but this computer won't let me. I'll get some up soon i prrooomise.
Anyways, great time in interlaken... could spend a week here without getting bored.

Next Stop: Lake Como. I think. Then Milan. We gotta check the train schedule.

K, 1 minute left, gotta peace out.
Bye.
-emd

Switzerland!!

So after almost a full day of train, we made it to Switzerland! We're in Interlaken right now and it's absolutely incredible. The alps are surrounding us with some snow on the summit still. Unfortunately, the weather is gonna be kinda crappy with light rain the 2 days we're here. Gonna make the best of it tho... gonna do a hike up some peak tomorrow and then I gotta do somethin extreme on Thursday. I don't know. It's between Canyoning, Bungee Jumping, or Mountain biking. Probably gonna do canyoning so hopefully the rain holds off for a little. I'll let you know how it goes!

_Evan.

Übermeister

Made it to Bachrach in Deutschland and its awesome, ja!. Stayin in a castle right now. We´re paying
€20 for a room with an incredible view. Gonna head out tomorrow and we decided we´d go straight to Zürich and then Interlaken. This way it gives us time before we have to be in Firenze on the 15th to stay with Colin´s family. So we have planned: tomorrow we´ll head to Frankfurt to catch a train to zürich, then from there Interlaken for 2 dazs, then I think a little bit of lake Como and Milan until we reach Firenze..... and then Venice and Croatia!! Sent some postcards out last week in paris and a few more today so keep zour ezes open!

sorrz about the z´s. again.

bye.
-edawg.

Amsterdam and Frankfurt

So renting bikes in Amsterdam was a blast. We went all over the place and saw the Van Gogh Museum, and a diamond factory. We decided we would get up and head to Berlin in the morning. Unfortunately, we got on our first train and had to make a transfer at a station about 20 minutes out. We missed our train to Berlin somehow. Sooo, we decided we would catch the next train to Frankfurt, which is where I am now. We´re trying to figure out if we can make it to the Rhine Valley tomorrow where theres some cool sightseeing and big castles. I cant get in touch with a hostel there... its a 12th century castle converted into a hostel...sounds cool. Probably gonna hit up the blackforest at sometime, and i think we will do Austria and Switzterland cuz we are a little ahead of schedule. I´ll call you later mom about switzerland and Sierra, give me some stuff about Austria!

Look for an update tomorrow or tuesdaz. AHHH the z is where the y usuallz is. So frustrating.

kbze.
ßß . cool symbol.

-ev

Amsterdam

Well, we made it to Amsterdam. Barely. Almost missed our train out of paris. Yea, we were running. Classic.

Amsterdam is pretty cool, even though the minute i got off the train i started sneezing uncontrollably, maybe im just allergic to the city. It sucks, somethin is def. bothering me but i took some antihistemine (spelling, mom?) so im feelin kinda better. It's a gorgeous city and the canals are awesome. We're gonna do a bike rental tomorrow and check out the heinekin museums (with some free bruskies). We saw the anne frank house today which was pretty moving. Very interesting. We're here today, tomorrow, and some of sunday. Then we move onto Germany. I think we're anxious to get to the beaches...

My time is running out here, so i gotta head out. Keep following me and hopefully i can post pics soon!

Bye!
-e

Paris!

So we finally made it to Paris and are havin a good time. We saw the Palais du Luxembourg, and Notre-Dame on the first day (avec 2 hrs of sleep from the plane ride). Exhausted, we passed out at around 7pm and started our next day at 8. We decided to head to Le Louvre for about 4 hours and afterwards saw the Arc du Triumph and the Effeil Tower. We are gonna spend our last day tomorrow by going to trhe catacombs, the Musee d~Orsay, and hit up the eiffel at night. We will be on our way to Amsterdam on Friday.

Until then!
-Evan

Late Packing Sesh

Finally finished packing (kinda?). New York City tomorrow to catch my evening flight. My next post will be from Europe.

Gnite.

Closing In

Hello all,

Shane O'brien, Colin Nevins, and myself will be traveling Western Europe this summer for 2 months. I will do my best to keep this blog up-to-date for those interested in my whereabouts. I will be leaving on June 2 (12 Days!!!) and will return on July 29. We are flying into Paris, France and flying out of Madrid, Spain. We will be traveling in a clockwise loop which will makeup our flexible itinerary. So far, we are going from Paris to Amsterdam and then some cities in Germany.

If you email me or post your address, I can send you a postcard!