High up in the Swiss Alps...

The Ponte di Rialto


Venezia by night


Venice by day


Nice from the Chateau hill


the beach at Cap d'Ail where we spent an afternoon


me skipping stones on the Mediterranean


I conquered Eze Village. Actually, we took a bus up there. Don't think less of me.


in front of the Palais Longchamp in Marseille


on a boat out to the Chateau d'If in Marseille harbor


Hello again from the roaming gnome! Yeah, I'm afraid I'm looking rather gnomish these days with the month-old scruff on my face that I'd like to call a beard, but just can't in good conscience. A lot has happened since my last update, beginning actually approximately two hours after the last time I wrote. When we last left our hero, he was poised to board the train from Nice to Venice, which would involve a series of train changes over the course of the night, but would get him between the places without wasting a day of travel (and also saving on accommodation). Our intrepid band boarded the train from Nice to Ventimiglia, just across the France-Italy border. Just as we were about to get off the train, an evil conductor (no doubt the spawn of Satan - his name was even Fabio! I mean, seriously) came around looking for tickets. We dutifully showed him our Eurail passes. Mine is a global pass, meaning basically that I can go anywhere for a month. The girls', however, had a deal where it was travel for four days in a month, where they had to write in each travel date clearly on their pass. Well, they hadn't gotten around to filling that out yet. Fabio saw that immediately, went on a power trip, and seized each of our passes as well as our passports. We were now at the station, and he proceeded to tell us that for "misusing" our passes, we had to pay 118 euros before getting them back. All this time, he hadn't even realized that mine was valid. I finally got him to look at it, at which point he gave mine back. But I couldn't leave the girls behind. So, long story short, the girls wouldn't pay, Fabio left on the next train still holding their passes, and we were without travel means for the night. We went back to Nice. The next morning, through some act of God, the girls managed to get their passes back by talking to Fabio's superior (who agreed with us that he was a moron - her explanation: "he's Italian, you know?"), and we were on our way. So... accommodation was still paid for (although I got a discount since the hostel was booked and I only got a mattress on the floor thanks to the kindness of the owner) and a day of sightseeing in Venice was still lost. So much for my planning. But we got to Venezia safely after the debacle, and it was entirely worth it. We spent the entire day and a half there wandering around the streets, getting entirely lost or turned around, and walking into random chiesas (churches). Piazza di San Marco was incredible, but also incredibly frequented by tourists. I've rarely seen so many people gathered in one place at one time. I'd say my favorite part of the city was the cemetary (I know, morbid), which was an island entirely separate from the main city, reachable only by vaporetto (water bus).
Next, it was on to Florence. It was another beautiful city, but probably one I should have saved for another time. The main things to see in Florence are the museums and the churches, all of which charge ridiculous prices. I wouldn't have any of that. I spent our two days there wandering around the city (I had a great climb into the hills south of the city, seeing a small church up there as well as a convent, both mixed among the olive trees dotting the Tuscan hillside). The famed Duomo would probably have to be my favorite sight there. The inside was pretty lame (basically just a huge open gallery) but the outside was gorgeous. Finally, it was on to Rome. It was a whirlwind. We had two days there. The first we spent seeing just about every renowned tourist site: the Colosseum, the Forum, the Circus Maximus, the Pantheon, the Fountain of Trevi, the Spanish Steps, the Piazza de Popolo, and the Piazza Navonne. It was a long day. I got nearly 11 hours out of my unenthused troops. The next day was spent at the Vatican: walking around St. Peter's Basilica and then touring the Musei Vaticani, where the Sistine Chapel is. That night (the 30th), I boarded a night train from Rome to Geneva. What a contrast: from the heart of Catholicism to the heart of Protestantism and the Reformation in less than a day. It was immediately apparent. Geneva is a beautiful city. It's quite small compared to the places I'd seen in Italy, and there aren't many "attractions," but it was nice to have a breather. I got to walk around, see the pulpit from which Jean Calvin first started his reformative ministry, discuss politics with the members of the United Nations, and lounge around in various lakeside gardens. I just arrived in Gimmelwald from Geneva this evening. Gimmelwald is a little town up in the Swiss Alps (it required taking a cable car ride to get here!) that was recommended to me by one of my high school teachers. It is incredible. The views are breathtaking. I plan on just hiking around the next couple days, stopping on mountain sides to read or write a little, but mostly just taking in the air and the sun (if it comes out). I'll also probably buy some home-made products from the locals, such as bread and cheese. If you're interested, just google the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald, and you can see the views available just from my hostel. Pretty unbelievable. Okay, I tried to keep this short so I can attach some pictures from the journey. Hope everyone's doing well and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in AZ in a couple weeks!